3-30-06
I don't think very many people really believe in an eternal hell any more. It
is simply not conceivable to today's mind that it could even exist at all. It
is considered barbaric to believe that someone would be tormented
eternally for bad things they have done and there wouldn't even be a word
to describe the horror of believing hell is for those who have offended God
and refused His offer of salvation through His Son.
Yet many of those same people do claim to be Christian. I'm sure it is
quite possible to be a Christian and not believe in hell, but why would
someone believe in Jesus and not hell? It doesn't make sense to accept
someone as savior and at the same time believe He spoke so much and so
clearly about a place that the person himself believes is nonsense.
I wonder too, though, about many who say they do believe in hell but do
not seem concerned at all that people are actually going to end up there.
Would those same people watch a loved one walk into a fire without a
warning? If we believe in hell as we say and do little or nothing about it we
are either lying or incredibly cruel.
Christian parents seem more concerned about their children's education
and good job prospects than their eternal destiny. Church members seem
more concerned that their church provide acceptable entertainment than
the way of salvation.
To the degree that we think hell is out of proportion to what is deserved by
those who live some semblance of a moral life we do not understand who
Jesus really was and how great a horror it is to refuse to see Him for who
He is and what He has done.
Dale
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