What About Hell? Well, What About It?

"... Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Gen. 18:25, ESV).
"For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33, KJV). 

NB:  JUSTICE DELAYED IS NOT JUSTICE DENIED!  

I heard an anecdote of a child asking the parent what the word heck was, and was told that it was where you go when you don't believe in Gosh!  Many people feel so uncomfortable about hell that they avoid the subject and it isn't even part of their vocabulary. In fact, this is the doctrine that probably gives Christianity a bad rap and people become antagonistic.  The word is often avoided in polite company and euphemisms are used, just as for death itself.  We're all guilty of not taking it seriously, even trivializing it or correcting someone's diction, even when offended.  We don't want to admit publically it exists because people object--a way of showing tact and sensitivity.  But the truth can be offensive.  Even the heathen will bid someone go there when they want to curse them, take revenge, or get even.  Sometimes it seems that at some time everyone wishes there was a hell, even if they don't believe in God--just for a place for their enemies to go. You may even hear an atheist tell you to go there when angry!

Now, God is also uncomfortable about hell; yes, He created it for the devil and his fallen angels and it's the "other place" where people realize who they wanted to be for eternity apart from God; however, God had no choice (what's He to do?) because He is holy and just and cannot tolerate evil but must judge it.  If He overlooked it without retribution, He wouldn't be just!  There is no other place to go as an alternative final abode; either one is with God or separated for Him forever--no middle ground of neutrality or no-man's land. 

The punishment and this is not a place to learn a lesson or to be reformed like a prison, but a place of comeuppance--being dealt their due desserts.  But God is just and people are not punished beyond what strict justice mandates and the more one knew to do right, the more accountable they are, that of whom much is given, much is required also.  There is final equity in hell for the just punishment of the lost or condemned. People in hell will not be able to repent, it's not a place of people changing their minds concerning their lives and lack of faith in God, for they will still insist that they are right and God wrong and accuse Him, instead of owning up to their own failings and evils.  You would think people would realize their failures, but they will not and only be hardened and committed in their animosity toward God. Repentance is the gift of God and a matter of grace, but there's no grace in hell; as it says in Dante's Inferno, "All ye who enter here abandon all hope!"

If we eliminate hell from our doctrine, Christianity would be a lot more palatable to the infidel and some even think that that is the weakness of the faith--this teaching. They may want to be apologetic for God, protecting His reputation, but hell is real whether we preach it or not; Jesus mentioned it twice as much as heaven and the same word for everlasting was used to describe it--it's not annihilation or the grave as cults lead one to believe.  Hell is a necessary doctrine because it must be  If God is just and didn't punish sin it would mean He has weakness or is nonchalant or not holy.  But God is almighty and holy and can do something about what offends Him.  Sin isn't just something that God can overlook like we can, because God is allergic to sin and good and evil are antithetical to God and they cannot co-exist.

The torture of hell might be that this is the place where there are no rules and people get what they always wanted, but the real hell of it is that God isn't' there and they will realize that God's presence is what gives us joy in life and the ability to live life to the fullest.  Just like it wasn't good for man to be alone and that's why God created Eve, hell could be a place of ultimate solitariness where one must contemplate forever what he did and have no one to blame but himself.  They will have to live with their depraved self without any redeeming value or blessings.  It's like having everything to live on and nothing to live for; in that case, even rich people are bored and find no purpose in life until they find true meaning in God.

Thus hell is the eternal monument to man's dignity where ultimate justice is meted out accordingly and in due measure, no more nor any less than required.  It's a salute to man's so-called free will and the choices he made and that all choices have ultimate consequences!  Time to pay the piper!  Time for the recompense of the wicked getting what they deserve.  If there was no hell we would lose an important anchor in preaching and society to the reality of sin's judgment.

We don't repent to get so-called fire insurance or a ticket out of hell, but we must realize there are consequences to our choices and decisions which God will judge.  Christians shall not come into judgment (cf. John 5:24; Rom. 8:1), but the wicked will be judged (cf. Rom. 2:6; Heb. 9:27) according to their works and the books opened to show that they fall short of the perfect requirements for heaven's entree in spite of their do-goodism.   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Naked Ape...

"There is something about the way God is that is like the way we are." (Moreland and Rae, Body & Soul, 158). 

There was a popular '60s book entitled, The Naked Ape, about the similarities of man to the beast. He just looks at how we're alike without recognizing the vast contrast:  viva la difference!   "Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals..." (Job 18:3, NLT). "Do you think we are mere animals?  Do you think we are stupid?" (Job 18:3, NLT).  People are brainwashed with the Big Lie that we are animals, and thus can do or live according to our own morals and mores or ethics.  Consequently, believing we are animals, is it any wonder we act like them (rampant immorality, and always new inventions of sin)?   They say that "people of faith have a psychological need to believe, but they have behavioral and psychological needs not to believe--it might upset their lifestyle!

But man is distinct from the beast:  he's programmed or hard-wired to be like God in image and likeness in order to relate to God and fellowship and worship Him.  We were not made to be complete in our relationships with the beasts--Adam found no suitable helpmate before Eve.  God made man to be in communion with Him and to glorify Him while enjoying the ride!  We are "naked" in the sense that we are self-conscious, not that we evolved into wearing clothes because we had no fur coat to keep warm!  Chihuahuas have less hair and no desire to wear clothes.  Why is it that it was after Adam and Eve ate of the proverbial apple that they put on aprons of fig leaves?  They became self-conscious and knew good and evil for starters. Why is it that young children are unaware of their nakedness? They are innocent!  Man is a sinner and is the only creature that is--animals aren't accountable for their deeds! '

Man is hard-wired for many things since he's in God's image:

To worship God (if he doesn't he'll find something or someone to worship, even if it's himself!); to work (man fulfills himself in his labors and makes himself in God's image); to communicate and relate to others (animals communicate but don't argue, or communicate about the communication; only man can know God in the sense of having the mind to fathom, the heart to love, the will to obey)--note that God is abstract and animals are incapable of this type of reasoning; to be rational with a sense to reason with (you cannot reason with beasts!); to know right and wrong, good and evil (we alone have a conscience to feel guilt!); man is not a creature of instinct like the beast because we can control our passions and channel them to what's responsible (beasts are merely animals in heat avoiding pain and discomfort and seeking pleasure and are mainly sex, shelter, and food-driven); we're creative and want to accomplish tasks; while we're also self-critical; we can plan and forecast the future within reason;  we have a learning curve that passes on to the next generation and increases in knowledge; we alone appreciate beauty, design, and harmony of nature, especially in art and music; man alone has imagination, and man is called Homo sapien because he's the wise man;  we're drawn to be moral and principle-driven, and we're temperamental and emotional and express it in complex manners.

When you see all the differences between man and beast we have to wonder when did hominids become human?  There are more to differ than to compare--we are in contrast to beasts not just better beasts.  Even Darwin scoffed at the idea we should trust the convictions of a monkey!  And when did hominids acquire human rights?   But most of all, man is hard-wired for dignity (extrinsic from God), purpose (in God), and meaning (in God)!  In fact, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless (Bertrand Russell, atheist).  In sum, we must ask why man alone has the concept of eternity in his heart and seeks after God and isn't oblivious to Him.  We seek fulfillment in life and to live for something above and beyond, bigger than ourselves.    

In sum, a man realizes his potential in being like God expressing virtue and abstract behavior: good sportsmanship, good faith, altruism, bravery, integrity, justice, decency, unselfishness, et cetera.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Christians Rock Too!

Jesus may be different things to different people, often depending on your culture and background. If you are partial to Rock, you may believe Jesus rocks or rather can rock; however, if you love the Classics, you may be inclined to believe Jesus loves orchestras, and so forth!  Listing to Johnny Cash, I believe Jesus may speak Country! Many of the classical composers were devout Christians and I can say personally, that God has given me a great degree of appreciation for the Classics, now that I have His Spirit.  I sense the Holy Spirit especially when I hear the organ music of J. S. Bach, written as a prelude to worship services.  Haven't you ever heard the oratorio, Handel's Messiah and recognize the glory of heavenly choruses singing the "Hallelujah" in harmony? He claims to have seen a vision of God while composing it.  In my opinion, heavenly music is beautiful and doesn't have to carry a beat.  Is Jesus in a choir? Truly, Jesus is different strokes for different folks.  There is no one-size-fits-all type of worship or musical genre that pleases believers or God.

It is dangerous to put God in a box and claim that Jesus exclusively endorses a certain genre of music--some may rightly claim that Jesus has a soul, or that Jesus raps, too.  God is out to reach as many people as possible and can use any medium He chooses, but that doesn't mean we have to like any medium against our nature or culture. If you liked Rock & Roll, you are bound to feel an affinity to "Christian Rock."  What we need to do is find the genre we can relate to and not think that we have cornered the market on Christian music with it--as they say:  "To each his own." I do not see the heavenly choruses of angels rock and roll myself, but that's my opinion.  It seems that heavenly music is of a different dimension!

It is a dangerous doctrine to interpret an enthusiastic gathering as meaning that God endorses it in any special way, or that "Jesus is there!"  Christ wants us to learn to walk with Him wherever we go and to find Him in all our situations, not just at a concert.  According to Scripture, whenever two or three are gathered in His name, Christ is present.  He warned against saying, "Christ is here," or "Christ is there," to mean a blessing or sanction on the music genre or a special presence.  We believe Christ is present in a special way at the Lord's Supper--not at concerts (you shouldn't feel that you have to go someplace to be filled with the Spirit, as it is written of David, who "strengthened himself in the LORD his God), because concerts often feed on emotions and not truth.

I take issue at some of their lyrics; however, music often rules and you can get people to believe almost anything by putting it to a tune. Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, according to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Today's phenomenon is that the musicians seem to be dictating the doctrines of the church.  Truth still matters!

If you are not musical, meaning, by definition, you cannot carry a tune, sing in key, or even sense rhythm, then how can you agree that Jesus fits into your box or you know what music He favors or blesses?   Are we at the mercy of the musicians to decide for us or can we find our own way that God speaks to our souls? Before the dawn of Rock & Roll, was Jesus musical, or was He silent?  Has God changed?  I decry the way the Christian music scene today has become so dominated with professionalism and musicians out to hold concerts, charging for admission--you shouldn't have to pay to worship God! Have we witnessed the professionalization of worship?

And so, one must say that "his Jesus" (Jesus as he knows, relates, and sees) rocks, but others may take issue and posit that "their Jesus" has the preference for soul, raps, or personifies the ageless appeal of the classics. When you say, "Jesus rocks," you should make it clear what you are saying, because those are loaded terms, easily misconstrued.   There is no such thing as "Christian music" because God transcends our limits and cannot be defined musically (i.e., put in a box), who invented it:  it is not the music that is non-Christian, but the lyrics in many cases.

Case in point:  I get goosebumps every time I hear the "Star-spangled Banner," or "God Bless America." Does this mean that Christ is a patriotic American?  There is so much unnecessary confusion in the church due to not saying what we mean, and leaving it open to private interpretation. Just because drums and guitars are used, doesn't define it as Rock; but merely contemporary--we should never limit ourselves, nor God!  Soli Deo Gloria!

I Write The Songs...

"Beautiful words stir my heart.  I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet" (Psalm 45:1, NLT).   "You are always on their lips but far from their hearts (Jer. 12:2, NIV).  "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." (Psalm 29:2, NIV).  "To sing is to pray twice."  --Augustine

Barry Manilow was known in the '70s for his song that assumed the personification of music.  "I wrote the very first song.  I write the songs that make the whole world sing,  [I am music]..."    Music is symbolic language (NB:  musical instruments are symbols too and music isn't mentioned until Gen. 4:21) and those who speak the language know that it can be interpreted in many lights too, it can soothe the savage beast and lift the spirits, as well as arouse to patriotism and warfare readiness.  They used to march into battle at the sound of a trumpet or horn's ram.

Music is essentially worship in essence and we all have this inclination to express this because our God is musical and invented it.  As man is the religious creature he is--hard-wired for worship, he will worship someone or something (even himself), if not God, to fill this gap and need of ours. Hero worship and celebrity enchantment or fascination are two examples prevalent today.

The Scripture, especially the psalms, exhort us to "sing unto the LORD," but not everyone has musical ability to carry a tune or sing in key and some may feel embarrassed at their voice handicap.  That's all right, because not every believer is called to be the voice of God or to bring Him praise in the same way.  We all must find our niche by virtue of exercising our gifting and make ourselves useful in God's service as unto the Lord (we must try out to test our gifting).

One thing I want to point out about interpreting the psalms is that poetry is another type of genre than teaching or didactive type found in the epistles.  And the principle is to interpret metaphoric poetry in light of didactive portions, not vice versa.  Don't try to base your doctrine solely on a poetic phrase.  When the psalm says to sing unto the Lord, it may mean in a symbolic or spiritual sense--singing in the Spirit and with one's spirit--which is much better than going through the motions and memorizing the song and dance routine of the pious!  After all, if the mountains can break forth into song and the seas can roar, we know it's metaphoric and not necessarily to be taken literally  The hermeneutic principle is that we take the Bible as literally true, but not everything is literal!

Everything we do is to be as unto the Lord and in His name; for instance, the writing of a hymn requires the filling and anointing ministry of the Spirit.  In that case when someone pens a song unto the Lord, he is the hand of Jesus that is worshiping God and not being inhibited.  In a sense, writing is a form of singing in the Spirit, just like playing an instrument is, and whistling and humming are, and one's spirit is singing aloud the praises of God realizing fulfillment in song.  That's why we believe in the freedom of expression.  A song is incomplete until sung!  A poem is incomplete until read.   That's what brings life to them and satisfaction and fulfillment.  The Jews used to believe that they had to read aloud to bring life to what they were reading.  We don't want our thoughts to remain that--just something in our head as head belief!

We must be careful not to judge another's worship or expression of it by whether he's audibly singing or voicing aloud his worship publicly. There are those who are inhibited and refrain from verbalizing their praise, but often to their regret:  One dying man said, "If I had the strength, I'd shout praise to God!" The reply by the chaplain, "It's too bad you didn't praise God when you had the strength!"  God doesn't look at the outward appearance, but the condition of the heart--He alone is in a position to judge and we don't have enough info to do it; for instance, it says to sing a new song, and they may not like the song it's not new to them and they would be just giving mere lip service hypocritically. Some are very discretionary as to what they will sing, and agree with.  But it's better to be silent than to pretend worship or do it without a heart after God or being after God's own heart.  

Corporate worship is complicated and involves input from instruments, writers, worship leaders, and even choruses--it's not a performance, but service and ministry of the Spirit.  Worship is done throughout the service (offering, the preaching, sharing, fellowship, gift usage) and when people know their niche, are edified, and feel part of the fellowship, they are worshiping in spirit and in truth. Singing unto the Lord is not just vocalization, but also instrumentalism and instrumentation, silent reverence and awe, and finally, even singing in one's spirit.

We don't need a list of dos and don'ts, for our faith is not a to-do list, because God wants us to want to sing unto the Lord, and not do it from compulsion. He wants it to be a natural response.  He seeks joyful and glad adoration from the heart; it's paramount that we be ourselves and act without hypocrisy--how you act alone might be indicative of your real identity.     Soli Deo Gloria!