Giving thanks to God is one of the most important qualities of a Christian’s life.

To give thanks to God is simply an expression of gratitude toward Him. Pride takes all the credit for any good in my life. It takes HUMILITY to acknowledge all that I am (1 Cor 15:10), all that I have (1 Cor 4:7), and that I accomplish (John 15:5) is by the grace of God. How many things can you give thanks to God for? The length of your list might indicate how humble or proud you are.

It takes FAITH to give thanks to God. Sometimes we experience bad circumstances. Everyone does. And it’s difficult to give thanks to God when things aren’t going well for us. But God remains enthroned on high even if it doesn’t seem like we are. Giving thanks in difficult times is a declaration of your faith that God is still in control and will work all things together for good in the lives of those of us who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Thanksgiving should be VERBAL. Take time tomorrow (and every day) to thank God verbally – out loud with words. It’s essential to have a “thankful heart,” but since the mouth will speak from what fills the heart (Luke 6:45), make sure you are verbalizing your praise. We are told in Hebrews 13:15 to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips which gives thanks to His name.” Using spoken words to praise God takes our thanks from the realm of the vague to the specific. Plus, since the devil can’t see our heart but he can hear our words, I think it is particularly irritating to him to when we verbally praise God. I like to irritate the devil; let me encourage you to as well!

Thanksgiving is a time to think not only of our personal blessings, but of our national blessings as well. Seldom has there ever been a country more blessed of God than ours. We have come a long way from our humble beginnings of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. God has blessed our lives with abundant resources and the ingenuity to develop those resources. We have not had war on our soil in generations. The poorest among us have more access to health, security, convenience and luxury than kings had in previous centuries.

Best of all, we have freedom. Freedom to worship God, think for ourselves and speak what we believe is a gift unknown to many people throughout history and in many other parts of the world. Spiritual freedom has made American perhaps the most Christian nation in the history of the world and economic freedom has made us perhaps the most prosperous ever. Of course, some will misuse this freedom by believing and teaching things that our false or exploiting others with greed. Such is the downside of being able to think and act as free people. But when I consider the benefits and consider the alternatives, I would have it no other way.

Might you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Might Jesus be central in your heart, your thoughts and your conversation.

Might we as individuals, families and as a nation seek the Lord and honor Him as our God, and might His blessings reign over us all the days of our lives.

When I am new to a campus it usually takes some time to train them in
proper behavior. I don’t know whether some of these antagonists are naturally rude or whether they have had other campus preachers come before me whose preaching seems to stir up rudeness and anger in others. Probably a combination of both. Either way, it took a bit of time for the students to realize I’m not there to insult them, but to present serious ideas worthy of serious consideration.

The highlight of my day was a young lady named Emily. She asked about a friend who had rejected God because of all the evil she saw in the world. I pointed out that the evil in the world is the result of our rejection of God and that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. If her friend rejects God as well, she will be contributing to the evil of the world. If she follows Jesus, she would be on the side of destroying the evil and bringing good to others. My answer seemed to connect with Emily and she listened intently for at least two hours.

At the end of the day, I called upon those who wish to follow Christ to come forward and join me in prayer. Emily joined out circle and afterwards, I spoke with her personally about her relationship with God. Turns out that she had one in high school, but had terribly fallen away and become trapped in various sins while here at college. She was torn with which direction to go in life and was especially concerned that she not lose her friendships even though those friends were pulling her away from God.

We talked for quite some time. I could tell that a part of Emily really wanted to follow Jesus, but she was experiencing the classic pull of the flesh described in Galatians 5:16-24. I urged her to love Christ above all others ND assured her that, in the long run, the best thing she could do for her friends is to model love for Jesus. It was also, obviously, the best thing she could do for herself. To be in the center of God’s will is ALWAYS the best place to be in life for both us and also for all the other people in your our lives.

Emily was making some difficult decisions. It took some time, but she went from tears of shame to tears of rejoicing as she repented and came back to God. A terrible burden of guilt and conviction seemed to be lifted from her.

That evening, Emily choose to skip out on a previously planned program and join our small group for dinner and discussion. She wasnfilled with questions that helped direct our evening in very edifying discussion. Although she asked many of the same questions I am daily asked out on the campus, I couldn’t help but notice and appreciate a huge difference in attitude in how she asked her questions. She was hungry for truth rather than just seeking an argument. She listened carefully and asked good follow-up questions when she didn’t understand or needed clarification. What a blessing and encouragement it was to have her join us that night and I hope and pray that she will become a real part of the Grace Campus Church at Purdue.

“I recycle,” he proudly declares.

“OK, I do too. Anything else make you a good person?”

“I rode my bike for 23 years so I wouldn’t pollute with fossil fuels,” he said.

“How about sexually?” I asked. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“I’m married,” he said.

“Wonderful. Are you faithful to her?”

“Yes.”

“Since you didn’t mention it as part of your morality, I’m curious: on a moral basis, do you think it is more important for you to recycle or to be faithful to your wife?”

Without hesitating and on three separate occasions just to make it clear, he emphatically declared his moral priority: “To RECYCLE!”

Wow! No kidding! And he was dumb-founded that my morality — based on a “silly book” — that it it was more important for me to faithfully love my wife than to drop my Mt Dew can in the recycling bin. In his mind, our duty to the “global community” superseded our moral duty to our own family.

Personally, I’d hate to be married to someone who constructed their own morality without reference to God. They might come up with bizarre ideas like this fellow. I doubt his wife feels very secure knowing she rates somewhere below plastic and aluminum on her husbands scale of values. But when we cut ourselves loose from God’s standards of right and wrong, no telling what we will come up with. “Professing to be use, they became fools.”

(Note: To be fair, this fellow returned to me a couple of hours later wanting to assure me that he wouldn’t cheat on his wife. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t tell me why nor could he assure me that his family is to be more important than the “global community.” Personally, I shudder to think than any man could believe the “global community” is more important than his wife. I sure hope this guy never gets involved with politics / government and tries to run our lives.)

A number of students remember me from previous years. One of the, Jeffrey, said he has listened to me for years was was disturbed because I preach “a dark form of Christianity.” His basis for claiming is? “You divide people. Jesus wants to bring everyone together, but your message divides people.”

To such an accusation, I must plead “guilty.” my message does divide. But is there anything wrong with that? I think not.

A key difference between Jeffrey and me is that I believe the entire Bible and he simply believes the parts that make him feel good. So, what does the Bible say about “dividing”? You might be surprised. Liberal Christians who attend liberal, mainline churches and who have been indoctrinated with a politically corrext Jesus will definitely be surprised. Let’s take a look.

One of the very first things GOD did was to “separate (read “divide”) the light from the darkness.” (Gen 1:4) Why did he do this? Because He saw that “the light was good.”

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and the people had worshipped the golden calf, he separated the people. “whoever is for the Lord, come to me,” he cried out (Ex 32:25-29). Those who didn’t join him were to be slain.

The entire Old Testament contains prophet after prophet calling the people to forsake the idols and customs of the surrounding people in order to to fully devoted to the Lord. God hates sycretism — the mixing of worship of God with the worship of others. Elijah typified this call to separate from the idols of the land when he called upon the people of Israel. “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21).

Joshua challenged the people: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and myu house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15).

But is this type of “dividing the people” only for the Old Testament? NO! Let’s see what Jesus taught.

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Matt 12:30

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. Matt 10:34-36

On Judgment Day, Jesus will separate / divide the sheep from the goats (Matt 25:32) and the wheat from the chaff (Matt 3:12). The goats and chaff will go into eternal fire; the sheep and wheat into eternal glory with our loving heavenly Father.

The apostle Paul taught the same thing. “Do not be conformed to this world” he exhorts (Romans 12:2). We, as Christians, are called upon to stand out at lights — like stars — in an increasingly dark world ((Phil 2:14-15).

“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. (2 Cor 6:17). “Do not be bound together with unbelievers,” he commands. “For what partnership have righteousness with and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Chrsit with Belial? Of what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? (2 Cor 6:14-18)

I fear “Christians” like Jeffrey have a lot in common with unbelievers, darkness and lawlessness. They don’t like division. They just all want to get along. They have allowed the idea of political pluralism in our country to bleed over and become religious pluralism. And, as these verses and the who tenor of both OLd and New Testaments reveal — God hates idolatry and the mixing of true religion with the false idols of the surrounding culture.

In one of His last messages to the church, Jesus says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:15-16). Modern day, “postmodern,” politically correct Christianity that presents a Jesus who is ambivilent about truth, apathetic towards sin and just wants to “bring everyone together” in a lukewarm unity of new age feeling good is not something God approves of. He will vomit such lukewarm people out of His mouth. As for me, I hope I join with God in helping people repent, forsake their sins and truly come to Jesus. I will shake the fence of those who have one foot in the world and one foot with the Lord. I hope they come down on the side of Jesus, but if not, I at least hope they will understand where they really stand with God.

And as for me and my house, we will be “hot” and we will serve the Lord.

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For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 1:5

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 2 Timothy 4:1-2

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” Romans 10:14-15

“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24

For I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. Luke 21:15

“And the master said to the slave, ‘go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. Luke 14:23

Then I heard the voice of the lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5:20

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. Jude 3

Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of john; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 18:24-28

But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. Acts 6:10

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

“For so the lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed you as a light for the gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” Acts 13:47

‘Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. Psalm 2:8

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22

And he said to them, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Then he said to his disciples, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38

“Do you not say, ‘there are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. John 4:35

“For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

This reminds me of a similar decision I made in the spiring of 1974. I used to ride to church and Bible study with friend who often commented about how God convicted him to give up his secular rock music once he had gotten saved. He particularly brought it up when I was driving and had the radio on He was definitely trying to send me a message, but I was not very open to making the same decision myself. I loved my rock music!

And then Lent came around. I was still involved with a traditional church and thought I should give up something for Lent. I couldn’t think of anything to give up except my music. Reluctantly, I decided to forgo rock music for 40 days.

Gone were The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Black Sabbath. Wishbone Ash. Carlos Santanna. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Even James Taylor and Carol King. And the radio would be off while I drove.

We didn’t have “contemporary Christian music” or Christian radio in those days. Consequently, my life got a lot quieter. My car rides got a lot quieter. And then, a strange thing happened. I began to remember songs I had sung at church and prayer meetings. I began to SING songs of praise to the Lord. My car became a sanctuary of prayer and praise to God! My heart and mind were set on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:1-2)!

I’ve never gone back to listening to secular music (well, I sometimes listen to instrumentals by Enya or Kenny G, but that’s about it). And, I’m far better off for it. I thought I would have a big void in my life if I stopped listen to my secular music; instead, I filled a big void in my soul by praising God all throughout the day and night.

Now, I look back at some of the junk I used to listen to and wonder how I ever liked that stuff. Most of it was filled with sin and ungodliness. I said I didn’t listen (or at least didn’t believe) the lyrics, but even today — nearly 40 years later, the lyrics come back to me word for word if I hear one of those songs in a restaurant or on the car radio of someone stopped next to me at a red light.

The truth is, music goes deeper than your ears or mind — music goes to the heart. I believe it was designed by God to do so. And the most prolific preachers of our day are not in a pulpit — they are musicians singing to us over the radio, on MTV or on our iPod. And when we hear a 35 minute sermon once a week, attend a Bible discussion once a week and read a few minutes a day, how can that compare to hours of secular music penetrating our soul on a daily basis? Truth is, it can’t.

Well, my hats off to Christina for her decision to cleanse her heart and mind by taking the practical step of cleansing her iPod. Trust me: she will be a different person in a matter of weeks! And, if you make the same decision, you might be as well. I know because it worked for me.

The generosity of God’s people was overwhelming. A number of you gave to sponsor students at the Faithwalkers India conference. Later, one of my ministry partners agreed to underwrite all remaining expenses for the conferences and our evangelistic crusades. A week before departing, we sent out a request for donations that we might bless the poor, especially those who are ministers of the gospel, many of whom are very poor.

The response to this final request was, as I said, overwhelming. Nearly $16,000 was given – over three times what I was expecting. These gifts enabled us to provide

• A motorbike to a very faithful and fruitful gospel preacher who was spending over two hours per day riding a bus from one place of ministry to another.
• Toilets for a growing church located in a slum (not extra toilets: previously, this church had no toilets and meetings in India often run for hours!).
• A meeting room for another brand new church that is still meeting outside in a fly-infested porch areas.
• A years worth of medicine for an adopted orphan who suffered from a rare disease – tuberculosis of the brain. A pastor and his wife had adopted this street child whose Hindu mother and father had died of AIDS.
• Annual support for the first Great Commission ordained pastor in India ($300 per month).
• Bicycles for some young evangelists.
• Travel expenses for an explosive evangelistic effort that is just beginning in one of the most unreached parts of India.
• Back rent for a pastor who two years ago had fled persecution in another state (this pastor had literally been in a line of 300 unarmed men who stood protecting their wives and children from advancing, armed Hindus. Men on his right and left were shot and killed in this attack. He escaped, became a refugee and is now starting a new ministry in a new part of India).
• A meal for those who attended our gospel crusades.

Having raised far more than we planned, we were also able to use this money to purchase Bibles in the Hindi language and pay for the printing of 100,000 evangelistic “Bridge Diagram” tracts.

So let me say once more, I am so grateful for your generosity and I believe God is pleased as well. One of the trials of visiting India is seeing so many poor brothers and sisters who work so hard in the gospel. They sacrifice and make so much out of so little. In addition to preaching and teaching, we are always moved to help in material ways. Those of you who contributed to this fund enabled us to abundantly help. From the bottom of my heart: Thank-you!

And, now, what we did…

South India Faithwalkers

Our first week consisted of five one-day conferences in south India. This was our third year of conducting Faithwalkes India conferences.  I usually go to India in January when the weather is more pleasant, but political unrest this year required us to postpone until May – the hot season. And, boy, was it HOT! Over 100 each day (in the shade). I’m sure this negatively affected the turnout and we were disappointed that not as many students came as we had anticipated. Still, over 850 attended the conferences, up from the 600+ who attended last year.

Our theme was “love never fails” from 1 Corinthians 13:8. I spoke on God’s love for us and how that love should motivate us to love one another and love the lost. I also gave a strong exhortation to be people of God’s word and hundreds responded to the challenge to read and meditate on the Bible every single day.

Some days we met outside under a canopy and other days inside. Meeting inside got really hot as there was no air-conditioning.  Also, at times, the electricity would go out, which meant no fans, no lights, no amplification of the microphone. Still, the people sat and listened attentively for hours as we taught the word of God. These young people really are hungry for God!

Ministering in India can be very frustrating. We sometimes joke in America about “Christian Standard Time” meaning we start the meeting 10 minutes late.  In India, its not unusual to start an hour or two late (or even longer) and, if you are the honored guest speaker, you are usually kept away from the meeting until it starts. For us Americans to be kept waiting like this is really difficult. On Wednesday, we were kept waiting nearly two hours and when we got there, the meeting was small, the room was hot and I was irritated! It was definitely a low point of the trip and led to a long, frank talk with our hosts that evening about expectations and excellence in serving God.

Early the next morning (about 5:00 am), we got a call from our taxi driver saying he could not drive us that day. Our meeting was two hours away and, after the disappointment the day before, I was secretly thinking I didn’t care if we couldn’t make this trip anyway. At the last minute, we secured a driver and departed – and I’m glad we did, for God had a special day in store for us.

We drove to the city of Vemalawda.  A major Hindu temple is built here and people travel far and wide to worship here. Worshipers shave their heads and offer their hair to their god, so many people – men, women and children — were walking around with shaved heads. It was very eerie and an oppressive spirit was in the air. I felt like we were going to the very place of Satan’s thrown. (Rev 2:13). Furthermore, the place where our meeting was to be held was right next to the city headquarters and our hosts feared that radical Hindu’s would hear our message and disrupt our meetings. What an honor – what a privilege – to share the word of God with so many young people who live under this cloud of oppression and threat of persecution! We started ON TIME and about 150 students were there. By the end of the first session, the audience had grown to several hundred. Their spirit was awesome. They were hungry for God. I couldn’t help but think that there were some mighty men and women of God in that audience who would one day lead many fellow-Indians to Christ. And, I couldn’t help but think some of these young people would pay with their blood because they have chosen to follow Christ.

We visited the temple on the way out of town. It was so demonic. People painting cows, worshiping cows, bathing in “holy water,” and bowing before idols. There were poor beggars crowding the entrance way. There were temple prostitutes. A number of people seemed to be demon-possessed. There was no joy there; only fear and darkness.

Our last day in the South, we held a baptism in a large lake. It was awesome! People who had been Hindu just a few months earlier were now making the commitment to follow Christ! This simple baptism in a remote part of the world really is what the Great Commission is about. On the way home that night, we stopped by a village to show my traveling partners a taste of India they had not yet seen. I had visited this village a year ago and my son-in-law had shared the gospel with the villagers until one of the elders became irritated, somewhat hostile and demanded that we leave. This time, the women of the village did a traditional dance for us and afterwards, we talked a bit. I asked if I could share the story of Jesus with the children and they gave permission. For over 30 minutes in this small remote village of India, these children (and their parents) sat in rapt attention learning about Jesus. I concluded by offering an invitation and all the children responded positively. The first girl to respond then asked if she could sing a song. This 14-year-old girl stood in front on her village and sang a song about Jesus that she had heard years earlier. She was so sweet and so sincere singing about a Savior she now embraced. Somehow, as I sat in that poor village late that evening, I couldn’t help but think we had the attention of God and that He was happy that salvation had come to this far-away village.

North India Crusades Report to come…

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I begin with five one-day conferences which we call Faithwalkers India. We expect about 2000 students will attend. Our theme is “Love Never Fails.” God often uses events like this to redirect the course of a person’s life and I am believing He will do this with hundreds of these precious and spiritually hungry young believers.

My second week will be in the state if Punjab. I will teach pastors during the day and each evening I will lead outdoor evangelistic meeting. We are expecting thousands to attend each evening — most of whom will be hearing the gospel for the very first time. We pray that hundred — perhaps thousands — will respond to the gospel each night. If so, this would be a first for me and the thought of it is overwhelming. Pray for us! I expect God to show up in a powerful way.

Also, please pray for the weather to be mild (forecast is for temps around 100 each day with miserable humidity), for good health, unity with my traveling companions, wisdom to minister to the leaders hosting us and grace in all that we do. Pray that we would not limit the Almighty by any unbelief.

Also, I praise God for the response to my request last week for funds to help the poor. The amount given far, far surpassed my expectations. As a result, we will be able to meet every need I mentioned in my last ShortNotes as well as some others as well! My heartfelt thanks to all who contributed.

One final thought: you might wonder why so many many more people respond to the gospel over in India than here in America. There are probably several reasons. There are so few believers there compared to how many are already saved here. But also, there is a far greater respect for and acknowledgement of God there. Secularism materialism and intellectual pride have probably done more spiritual damage to America than idols and false religion have done to India. Guard against these destructive sins in your own life.

I’m not sure how much access I will have to the Internet, but I will post updates as I can on both ShortReport.com and my Facebook page.

God bless you and thanks for your prayers.

But, where Satan rears his ugly head, God is usually at work! At least eight people professed faith in Christ! A number of others expressed real interest and were close to salvation, but not quite there yet. Believers were encouraged an emboldened. One young lady witnessed to an antagonist and told me that was the first time she had ever shared her faith. One girl came up to me front of the entire crowd and burst into tears asking why God was having her suffer so much. Her sincerity and desperate need for help was unashamed in front of all those mockers and I believe God gave her grace and comfort that day.

By the end of the week, the crowd was — for the most part — tamed. Some who mocked me earlier in the week were now demanding that people show me respect, listen to my answers and wait their turn to speak. It was an awesome change in the whole atmosphere and I praise God for a fruitful week.

But this time, the story was different. Rather than citing some “Bishop” or “Biblical scholar” who doesn’t even believe in God, this article focused on the teaching of Rob Bell and his recent book, Love Wins.

Rob Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI — a huge megachurch, that has experienced extraordinary growth since it’s inception in 1999. Bell is one of the leading voices of the “Emergent Church Movement” and obviously has a significant appeal to young people (although, to be clear, his audience is definitely not limited to youth). He is extremely gifted in the arts and artistic communication and originally, while in college, he was part of a rock band and thought that would be his future. Bell went on to graduate from Wheaton College and Fuller Seminary – two institutions that have a stellar reputation in the evangelical world.

The essential thesis of Love Wins is that God wants a love relationship with everyone and that He will ultimately win everyone by His love. Some will be won in this life; some won’t be won until eternity. But ultimately everyone will be won and no one will end up in the eternal punishment known as “hell.” Thus, whether he owns up to the word or not, he is advocating a heretical doctrine known as universalism – the belief that all people will ultimately be saved and go to heaven.

Now few of us really like to talk about hell and when we do, it should be with tears and a broken heart rather than with cold academic precision. The hell described in the Bible is terrible beyond comprehension. We should do our best to avoid hell and we should never wish this punishment upon even our worst enemy. But, apparently unlike Bell and his ilk, I’m neither embarrassed by hell nor ashamed of a God who would send people there.

I trust that the Bible is the word of God. It clearly teaches that God is a compassionate and loving God. It also teaches that God is a God of wrath and judgment. The same Bible teaches both. I don’t pick and choose which parts of the Bible I believe. I don’t embrace the parts that make me feel good and ignore, reject of explain away the parts that make me feel uneasy. I don’t exalt my feelings above the revealed word of God. When seeking truth, the Bible is my ultimate and final authority.

The judgment of God presented in the Bible will be totally just and righteous. There will be no evidence gathered illegally or excluded from the judgment. He will perfectly know everything we have ever said, done and thought. He will perfectly know our motives. Nothing will be hidden from His sight. His judgment will be totally and completely impartial and unbiased.

No one will be sentenced to hell who does not deserve it. Eternal hell will be the punishment for all the proud, self-centered and self-righteous who chose to live life in disregard of the One who gave them life and who holds them accountable for how they lived that life. No one goes to hell on a technicality (i.e. they really were good people who simply didn’t believe the right thing). People go to hell for being wicked sinners who lived their lives in a manner offensive to God.

Bell seems disturbed by a God who would send someone to eternal punishment. He claims that this is not a “good story.” It seems, he believes, as if Jesus needs to save us from a mean and wrathful God and, again, says he doesn’t like that “story.” It doesn’t feel good to him.

I’m on the other side of Bell on this one. I think it awesome that God will ultimately execute justice upon the wicked and that we will all be called to account for the way we have lived our lives. It seems that so often the wicked prevail here on earth. Is there no justice? The Biblical answer is “Yes, there is! It might not be until the end of our lives, but ultimately, there will be justice for all who have been violated and oppressed.” After all, would you like to worship a God who did not bring about justice – who ignored the evil people have done? Would you respect an earthly judge who never found anyone guilty and released all offenders because of His great love for them? Of course not! (And, as an interesting side-note, Bell is the son of a federal judge. I wonder how this relationship has affected his aversion to God being a God of judgment?)

Bell also seems quite taken aback and offended by someone who left a message at an art show contending that Gandhi is in hell. I don’t know that Gandhi is in hell, but I certainly wouldn’t be shocked to discover that he is. After all, why should he be in heaven? Does he deserve salvation because he cast off British colonialism and preached non-violence. Is salvation gained by political achievements? Is sincerity and devotion to any religious belief the path to heaven?

NO! Salvation is the gift of God given to us through Jesus Christ. Religion never saved anyone! Good works doesn’t save anyone! Only Jesus can save us!

The gospel tells us that God has tremendous love – so much so that He gave His most prized treasure, His only Son, to die for us. But God is also a God of wrath and judgment. He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. So, since we are all sinners, how can God show ultimate love to those who are guilty and worthy of judgment? He does so by lovingly bearing the punishment we deserve. This is the message of the cross. Praise be to God! Jesus bore my judgment and paid the penalty for the sins I’ve committed! Thus, at the cross, we see the love of God for sinners and the punishment of God for sin in the death of Jesus Christ. Now, salvation is God’s gift to all who receive Jesus as Savior and Lord! It’s freely given to all who come to Him in simple faith.

I urge you to come to a God who loves you. Escape the judgment of hell by embracing the love of God in Jesus Christ! Failing to do so will have dire consequences both now and eternally.

Below are several verses that explain the reality of hell.

Revelation 20:10-15

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Matthew 5:22

Matthew 5:29

Matthew 10:28

Matthew 18:9

Matthew 23:15

Matthew 25:41

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9

There are plenty of others, but I gotta go!