What about Hell?
Posted in Once I Was a Kansas Girl on June 16, 2008I don’t agree with where Sheryl Crow stands politically and religiously, but there’s a sentence that really strikes me from her song, “Letter to God.”
“Told me I was saved,
But you never said what from.”
What really strikes me about this statement is that’s where too many times we Christians have failed when we share the gospel or talk about our beliefs. Yes, our God is the God of love. The Bible makes very clear that He loved us before we could love Him, and has demonstrated this love for us through the death, burial, and resurrection of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ.
That’s all wonderful, truly it is. I praise God for it. But what good is being saved unless I’m being saved from something? Aren’t we missing it if we forget to include that in the gospel message?
I deserve to go to hell. You deserve to go to hell. We all deserve to go to hell. Why? Because I am a sinner and so are you. I have done, said, thought, or believed something (many things) that go against God and the plan He has laid out in Scripture. I have acted on sinful motives, desiring to live my life my own way for my own pleasure with no reference to God or others. And I’m pretty sure you have too.
Of course, it’s wrong to emphasize the going-to-hell thing exclusively. That’s why I don’t agree with those like Fred Phelps and his followers who say things like “God hates fags” (which is both insensitive and untrue) and “You’re going to hell” (while most likely true, is no more sensitive or helpful for to the Gospel than the last statement).
There’s two parts of the gospel message. Let’s not forget that.
“For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23, NASU
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June 16th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Good post!! It is good to know what we truly deserve and to really thank God for the wonderful gift that we have available to us.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I so remember growing up in the “fire & brimstone” ultra-fundamental churches, and it was not a good experience. They made Christianity seem like it was all about fear of going to hell. But they didn’t preach about how to live in Christ.