Jesus’ Demands — Fear Him Who Can Destroy Both Soul And Body in Hell (#11)

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Click to orderNote: these are devotional posts based on John Piper’s new book What Jesus Demands from the World.

This post is number 11, because I started the series a while ago. If you like this post, check out the other posts in the series. But most importantly get the book (it’s also available to read online)!

Now, on the heels of demand #10 Rejoice and Leap for Joy, comes a more startling and sobering demand…

Demand #11 — Fear Him Who Can Destroy Both Soul And Body in Hell

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me. (Luke 19:27)

Then he will say to those on his left, “depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” . . . And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:41, 46)

The Awful Place Called Hell

It’s fashionable these days to downplay Hell. Many “evangelical” leaders are denying its existence, suggesting it is not eternal, or claiming there is no actual fire in Hell. Some claim it is a state of mind, or that hell is on earth.

In fact, this very Sunday, on Good Morning America, I heard an interview of an influential (former?) evangelical pastor who has changed his mind about hell, claiming it is here on earth, and a mere creation of superstitious man. ABC is going to be dedicating a 20/20 special this Friday to the topic of Hell. I can already guess their conclusions!

Sadly, these same evangelical leaders claim to be following the example of Jesus. But don’t they realize that Jesus didn’t share their view of Hell? Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in Scripture.

He refers to it as a terrible place to be feared. A place of “outer darkness” with “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12). He describes it as a “fiery furnace”, with “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 13:41, Mark 9:44). It is the “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

And worst of all, Hell is eternal. Jesus describes it as a place of “eternal punishment”. On this point let me quote John Piper,

This last description–“eternal punishment”–is especially heartrending and fearful because it is contrasted with “eternal life.” “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” In this contrast we hear the tragedy of loss as well as suffering and endlessness. Just as “eternal life” will be a never-ending experience of pleasure in God’s presence, so “eternal punishment” will be a never-ending experience of misery under God’s wrath (John 3:36; 5:24).

A Passive Hell ?

At this point, many a sincere believer tries to lessen the full effect of this teaching by claiming that Hell is “a mere natural consequence of bad choices”. People do consciously reject God’s free offer of salvation made in the gospel, and this choice does lead to hell. But Piper is quick to point out that such is not the whole story.

People make choices that lead to hell. But it is not the whole truth. Jesus says these choices are really deserving of hell. “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to [that is, guilty of, or deserving of] the hell of fire” (Matt. 5:22). That is why he calls hell “punishment” (Matt. 25:46). It is not a mere self-imposed natural consequence (like cigarette smoking leading to lung cancer); it is the penalty of God’s wrath (like a judge sentencing a criminal to hard labor).

The Biblical picture of hell, is of a just God pouring out righteous anger and wrath over sin. God sends people to hell, and Jesus is pictured in Revelation and Isaiah as the One Whose garments get stained with the blood of his enemies as He “tread(s) the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15b with Is. 63:3 and Rev. 14:20).

Fear, But Don’t Fear

We are to fear God as a holy Judge indeed. So is Jesus calling us to a “life of anxiety that God is angry with us and is ready to punish us at the slightest misstep”? No! Piper highlights the very next few sentences which follow on the heels of Jesus’ admonition to fear God.

. . . Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31, emphasis added — compare also Luke 12:4-7).

Piper says,

In the same breath Jesus says, “Fear God who casts into hell” and “Do not fear because God is your Father who values you more than the sparrows and knows your smallest need.”. . . How does Jesus mean for us to experience these two truths about God–he is to be feared, and he is to be trusted? It won’t do to simply say that “fear of God” means “reverence for God” rather than “being afraid of him.” That does not fit with the words, “Fear him, who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12:5) . . . The key is that God himself is the one who removes his wrath from us. Our peace does not come from our removing the God of wrath from our thinking, but from his removing his wrath from us. . . .

The Seriousness of Sin

There is a beautiful encouragement to trust God as a loving Father in this text, but there is also a serious warning about the seriousness of sin. Piper says that this demand of Jesus “teaches us to see sin as more serious than we ever dreamed”. That unforgiven sin leads to hell, makes sin serious indeed.

But I am so prone to excuse my sin, and I suspect you are too. Yet both of us enjoy casting stones at others. The key in appreciating the justness of Hell according to Piper is seeing God as He really is. Let me quote him now.

Therefore, the seriousness of sin arises from what it says about God. God is infinitely worthy and honorable. But sin says the opposite. Sin says that other things are more desirable and more worthy. How serious is this? The seriousness of a crime is determined, in part, by the dignity of the person and the office being dishonored. If the person is infinitely worthy and infinitely honorable and infinitely desirable and holds an office of infinite dignity and authority, then rebuffing him is an infinitely outrageous crime. Therefore it deserves an infinite punishment.

The Place of Fear

For us Christians, especially those of us who are conservative doctrinally, this article has so far been easy. We have applauded it from the peanut gallery. Hell is real, sinners need to fear God and accept the provisions made for them according to the Gospel. Amen.

But if you notice, Jesus is directing his remarks to his disciples. This is plain from both Matthew and Luke’s accounts. So what does this message have to speak to us?

While we don’t need to be continually fearing God as unbelievers, we do need to fear unbelief. Sin is in essence, unbelief. When we disbelieve God’s promises, we give in to the appeal of sin. The demand to fear God, is a call for us to realize how serious sin really is. Let me quote Piper at length on this point.

What then is left to fear? The answer is unbelief. For those who follow Jesus, fearing God means fearing the terrible prospect of not trusting the one who paid such a price for our peace. In other words, one of the means that God uses to keep us peacefully trusting in Jesus is the fear of what God would do to us if we did not believe. The reason we do not live in the discomfort of constant fear is because we believe. That is, we rest in the all sufficient work of Jesus and in our Father’s sovereign care. But at those moments when unbelief tempts us, a holy fear rises and warns us what a foolish thing it would be to distrust the one who loved us and gave his Son to die for our anxiety-free joy.

This message is not popular today. People would rather believe that once they commit to Christ, they are eternally secure and can coast through life. This is not necessarily true, as the abundant Scriptural warnings to persevere and “endure to the end” contest.

What trips up many on this point is that they conclude that if you believe it is potentially possible that you are not sincerely a believer, that you could possibly fall away from the faith (and thereby evidence that you never were a true believer), then the Christian life must just be all about our works. If we really have to fear God in this way, we must be continually depending on our efforts to keep believing.

It is true that some pervert the Biblical doctrine of perseverance into just such an introspective self-effort. But this is a perversion of the true doctrine. Piper says concerning fear: “This is the best effect of fear: It wakens us to our need for help and points us to the all-sufficient Redeemer, Jesus.” A true understanding of the perseverance of the saints will lead one to depend all the more on Jesus as our only sure hope of eternal life. Those who believe themselves beyond the possibility of falling (contrary to 1 Cor. 10:12), can tend to trust on their own work of believing in Christ and are tempted to not cling all the more earnestly to Christ day in and day out. For more on the idea of perseverance, check out these posts I have done on the topic.

So to conclude, we are to fear God because He can destroy us in Hell. Yet at the same time because of Jesus’ blessed sacrifice on our behalf, we don’t have to fear God as a distant and holy Judge, but we can lovingly trust him as a loving and caring Father. All praise to the Lamb for bringing us to God, and giving us such a wonderful relationship with our Heavenly Father.

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The Surge Is On

~ fundyreformed

It’s official! Today marks the launch of Kingdom Surge, a new team blog devoted to missions.

This project will aim to harness some of the excitement and energy spent in the Christian blogosphere and direct it into thinking about and aiding the cause of missions, particularly to the unreached people groups. The team (with the exception of myself) are all involved with missions. I consider some of them to be experts in missiology, and I know they all have much to say which can help motivate and equip others for missions to the unreached.

So, head on over and check out our first post. Consider linking to this blogging enterprise, and then continue to stop by as the missions discussion unfolds. See you there!

NOTE: Now is your chance to leave the first comment on Kingdom Surge. Years from now, you will look back and count that an honor! đŸ˜›

“With One Voice: Singleness, Dating & Marriage to the Glory of God” by Alex & Marni Chediak

~ Bob Hayton ~ 11 Comments

I’ll get right to it. With One Voice: Singleness, Dating and Marriage to the Glory of God by Alex & Marni Chediak is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Aside from skillful wordsmithing and intuitive organization, the book hits a home run when it comes to addressing the topic at hand.

There are not too many books out there which deal with how to find a mate, yet are written from a wholly Christian and Biblical perspective. And even then, some of the books which qualify as Biblical and Christian major on a specific dating (or anti-dating) method to the detriment of a well-rounded Christian philosophy of dating in general. This book provides just that: a distinctly Christian approach to the philosophy of singleness, dating, and marriage.

Alex Chediak, with the help of his wife Marni, begins the book by detailing the pervasive cultural changes which influence our view of dating. He shows how a changing job market has spread out families, and focused on the value of individuals in the marketplace. Technological and commercial advances have coupled with the increasingly personalized society to lure courtship from the parents’ front porch to the drive-in movie theater and eventually to live-in relationships. The Chediaks also highlight how the new concept of delayed adolescence gave room for today’s entertainment and me-oriented culture. One widespread result of these cultural changes is the tendency for young adults to remain single until they are almost 30. Confronted with these changes, which certainly threaten a Christian view of marriage and sexuality, Alex doesn’t just settle for an appeal to bring back the golden days of yesteryear. He calls such nostalgic responses “unwarranted and misplaced”, which often “fall short of addressing the heart issues”. Men have always been sinful. The Christian response should be to study culture with a view of applying Biblical principles in such a way as to redeem and confront it.

After setting the stage, the book goes on to emphasize that marriage should be normal. Excepting those gifted for lifelong singleness, marriage is God’s will for the Christian young person. That being the case, cross-gender relationships should not be all about fun and enjoyment, rather they should be intentionally focused on the reality of marriage. Before detailing how a single adult should go about finding a mate, Alex & Marni lay an important foundation by discussing a Biblical view of masculinity and femininity, and the concepts of leading and submitting. They do this, because one of the book’s primary themes is for singles to focus on becoming the right kind of person first, before looking for the right potential mate.

The wisdom of the Chediaks shine through in the final two chapters detailing how to “choose [a mate] wisely” and “proceed carefully” with your relationship. There is a wealth of wisdom available as they discuss objective and subjective considerations necessary in a prospective mate, and the intentional and careful progression of a relationship. There couldn’t be a more practical “how to” book for this process, yet at the same time the book gives plenty of space for a variety of methods to be used. Instead of a detailed prescription, the book offers an undergirding framework of Bibilical principles upon which to erect a healthy and successful, Biblically faithful relationship.

This book comes at the marriage issue from a Biblically faithful, conservative theology. It does not offer a theological defense of a complementarian view of masculinity and femininity. Nor does it defend the Biblical priority of marriage and denial of extra-marital sexual activity. Instead it assumes these views and aims to be very practical. This in good part forms the strength of the book. It helps you think Biblically about marriage and dating, and supports you in your quest for a godly mate. I wish I had such a book when I was thinking through my own dating philosophy. It would have saved me much time and grief in thinking through such things on my own!

There isn’t much to say by way of criticizing the book. Perhaps it could have brought up the influence of the romantic movement in the 1800s on society’s present view of dating and marriage. Also some of the statistics on page 22 are a little hard to follow. But all in all, this is a fantastic book. It is extremely easy to read, with large font and a well-written, fast moving arrangement. It is a short read, being only about 140 pages long; yet it will be an incredibly profitable read. I recommend the book to singles everywhere of any age, and also to youth pastors, pastors and parents. Indeed, there is much wisdom available even for those singles who feel especially frustrated in finding a mate. So by all means get this book, you’ll thank me later!

Note: you can learn more about the authors and the book here.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, or direct from Christian Focus.

Bible, the Sole Authority?

~ fundyreformed ~ 17 Comments

“The Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice.” I bet you have never heard that line before. Oh wait, if you are Baptist, you probably have.

Sadly, while many affirm this in principle, in practice they deny it. Tradition or culture often dictate a particular application of Bible principle. In the end, this application becomes Bible teaching and dogma. Alcohol, movies, pants on women, specific styles of music, specific translations of the Bible — the list of topics on which Scripture is “steered by tradition” could go on and on.

To compound this, doctrinal positions, where the Bible seems to allow for competing yet Biblically faithful interpretations, again morph into “its just plain Bible”. So if one doesn’t agree with a pre-trib rapture position, for example, he is rejecting the Bible; yet the facts of the matter stand differently. The one who denies a pre-trib rapture, only denies it on the basis of another Biblical position with various strong proof texts of its own. Of course only one end-times doctrine can be absolutely correct, but is it a sin to be wrong? And are we to be as dogmatic of our correctness on lesser points such as eschatology, as with major points like the Trinity and the Gospel?

All this comes from thinking about a fascinating look at church creeds by the always thought-provoking Carl Trueman. In an article called “A Good Creed Seldom Goes Unpunished” from the March 2007 issue of Reformation 21, Carl has the following insights into the “Bible only, we don’t need creeds” view.

On the issue of creeds, the evangelical world often seems absolutely divided into two broad camps: There are those who are so passionately committed to a particularly narrow view of scripture’s sufficiency that they not only deny the need for creeds and confessions but regard them as actually wrong, an illegitimate attempt to supplement scripture or to narrow the Christian faith in doctrinal or cultural ways beyond the limits set by scripture itself. Then there are those whose view of creeds and confessions is so high that any other theological statement, and sometimes even the Bible itself, seems to be of secondary importance. Neither group, I believe, really does the creeds justice.

I am very suspicious of both approaches. While I share the concern of the first group to safeguard the uniqueness of scripture and to avoid imposing my own cultural preferences and tastes on someone else under the guise of gospel truth, I have a sneaking suspicion that the cry of `No creed but the Bible!’ has often meant rather `I have my creed, but I’m not going to tell you what it is so that you can’t know what it is and thus cannot criticize it or me for holding it.’ Such is often the case with those evangelicals who reject creeds but have very definite views on the legitimacy of the consumption of alcohol and the nature of the end-times, for example. In practice, they effectively allow for no hypothetical distinction between what the Bible says and their own, or their church’s, interpretation of the same. Thus, they render themselves immune to any criticism. Further, as soon as they use words such as `Trinity’ or even consult a commentary, they reveal that what they say about their relationship to tradition and what they actually do in practice with tradition are in conflict. (HT: The Journeymen)

As I have stated above, I think Trueman hits the nail on the head with this issue. (Be sure to read the entire article.) We need to be careful to recognize our tendency to bring culture, and preconceptions to the Biblical text. Let us be silent where Scripture is silent, and cautious when the issues are truly complex. Let’s respect God’s Word and not presume to speak for It.

With Friends Like These

~ fundyreformed ~ 19 Comments

One of the joys of blogging, is interaction with many new acquaintances. Virtual community, web camaraderie, electronic friendships — these are achieved in a very real sense. It is fun to meet new people as you gain readers, interact with comments, and interact on other blogs as well.

In part, this is what makes blogging, blogging. We could all just publish web pages with tons of content. But without the interaction, the appeal of blogging would wane.

Of course, part of the interaction and the thrill of blogging, is recognition from blog-peers, and the joy of being linked to. This along with a constant following of your blog stats (numbers of hits and page views), tend to encourage bloggers to be narcissistic and egotistical, and present a very real danger to a Christian blogger. Then again, a wider readership is part of the goal of blogs and even more so with theology blogs.

With these thoughts in mind, I want to publicly recognize the blogs that link to me. I appreciate the links, and really want to keep better track of those blogs. (Alas, the blogosphere has far too many good blogs to follow.) And since I find myself with such a large fan club, of sorts, I would be remiss not to recognize them.

Knowing I have many who tune in from time to time and listen to what I am saying is encouraging. It also helps keep me blogging, writing, and thinking. With my blog, many of you know that controversies and heated debates have been quite common. So especially in light of the blog wars and scuffles I can find myself in, it is nice to know I have some brothers and sisters who are cheering me on and benefiting from the debates and exchanges here.

So without further ado, let me provide a list of blogs which link to me. Those with asterisks below, have already spent time in my blogroll. The others, will now find a permanent home in the “Blogs That Like Bob” section of my sidebar. If I missed anyone, or if you have linked to me and want a reciprocal link.