I read Love Wins before I read Erasing Hell, mostly because I didn’t want to be one of “those people”  who reacted without a complete set of facts, but more so because I thought Chan and Sprinkle were writing a response to it. It turns out that they did and they didn’t – Erasing Hell was much more than that.

While I was intellectually satisfied by finally reading Erasing Hell, I was also deeply convicted that prior to reading it, I missed the whole point. Shaping theology for 21st century and sound exegetical interpretation wasn’t the point. The fact that people are going to hell is.

As  I said earlier, Erasing Hell is and isn’t a response to Love Wins, and I don’t believe it was intended to be. The approach to the areas of Bell’s book that begged for correction, namely that Gehenna was the city dump, hell is a place for correction and purification, and the gates of the New Jerusalem are eternally open and waiting for those released from the fire were addressed with in a spirit of love and correction with respect. By chapter 4, roughly mid way through the book, there are no overt references to Love Wins.

Chan and Sprinkle then focus on what is really at issue – there is a real hell where people who are living all around us today will go if they don’t accept Jesus and start living differently.

“We can’t be wrong on this one.”

“When it comes to hell, we can’t afford to be wrong.”

“Don’t forget to tremble.”

Structured like a Pauline epistle, Erasing Hell first sets out and corrects the erroneous doctrine of the day, pressing into scripture and scholarship with equal intensity as Chan and Sprinkle refute the more dangerous aspects of the point of view expounded by Bell.  Before moving into the exegesis of the new testament teachings of Jesus, John, Peter and Jude, they ensure that the 1st century foundations for understanding the content of the teachings was laid, most notably that for 1st century Jews, hell was punishment as a result of God’s righteous judgment, would have been a given, which added the appropriate heaviness to the expounded teachings of Jesus and his followers.

Chan and Sprinkle then urgently explain how we should not only think differently in light of this information, but live differently. With the same level of loving admonition that Paul wrote to the Ephesians in the later chapters of that epistle, they go on to paint solemn warnings for Christ’s church today.

To say that the imagery of hell in this context is sobering is an understatement. Judgment. Punishment. Wrath. Lake of Fire. Utter darkness. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Whether or not this is an eternal destiny or final annihilation isn’t ultimately decided by Chan and Sprinkle (although Chan admittedly leans towards the everlasting and eternal view vs. destructive), but considering the imagery, I, like the authors, have a new appreciation for the cross and Jesus, and his willingness to endure that horror and agony for me.

And at this point, I repented – “God wants us to do more than intellectually agree with scripture, he wants us to live in light of them.” Chan and Sprinkle make sure that the reader understands that this is life and death – most likely in perpetuity - and this subject impacts the fate of every person that has ever breathed on this planet. I am encouraged to grieve, mourn and rejoice and live my life in the beautiful tension that is created by knowing, and serving and loving a God whose ways are so much higher than ours.

Hell is real, judgment and wrath aren’t pretty, but God is God, and he is good, even when we can’t understand His ways.

Jesus answered questions from the crowd on point – yes, sometimes with a question, because the expectation was that you would find the answer yourself if you took a hard, practical look. He forced those around him to think. That is great leadership.

It would have been great if someone from the crowd yelled out, “Teacher, what about the gays?” I hope one day I will get e chance to ask him myself, because this is one issue that Jesus didn’t address. He went hard after the Pharisees and defended those who couldn’t defend themselves, but his summation of the Law was to love God and neighbor (with a great parable to define neighbor) with his only addendum being “as I have loved you.”

Parables, Jesus’s preferred way of communicating with the masses, force us to reconsider what is around us and apply our God given sense of reason, and in the Christian context, the Holy Spirit’s leading is paramount to understanding. Jesus doesn’t tell us what to think, he teaches us how with the Holy Spirit’s enablement.

So, at the risk of getting unFriended and unFollowed this morning, I am going “on the record” to say that God loves gays, and we are not equipped in the slightest to make the call on whether or not this is a lifestyle or a sin, or any of the other things that both sides of this debate. Christ called us to love as he did, unconditionally and sacrificially. Love and harsh judgement is a house divided, and Jesus teaches that a house divided will not stand.

Today, as Jesus commanded, I choose love. Not “loving the sinner, hating the sin”, just love. I’m reserving judgment of “sin” for the one true Judge.

I might have just lost a lot of you who thought this was yet more fodder for Bell bashing, but if you are still reading this, you might be asking yourself why on earth I would start a blog post like that in light of the recent thunderbolt that struck the Twitterverse on this subject and its aftermath. The truth is I’ve been more focused on the reaction than the debate, in an effort to understand why there is a tendency to name and classify absolutely everything and every thought around us.

I realized this morning that the answer to my question was in Genesis 2:19, where we learn that “the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” God actually brought each living thing to Adam so that he could name it. Adam gave it a name, and it was so. Adam was given the exclusive right to name that which he was given dominion over in the Garden of Eden. This verse points to a “soul DNA” explanation for man to have the propensity to classify and name the things around them.

There where however, exceptions – two trees, the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, were named by God. The latter was specifically excluded from man’s control – eating from that tree was the only prohibited act in the garden. Man’s tendency to name and differentiate theology, movements, and schools of thought just might be an sinful overextension of the naming rights that were given to man in the Garden.

I would be cautious about naming anything that God didn’t bring to me for that purpose, and I’d be just as careful about what knolwedge trees I am eating from too.

It stands to reason that the question comes more often from random people making conversation when we are out on the motorcycle than from people who know me and actually know that I can ride a motorcycle. The dirty looks and sneers I get from most women within hearing range of my response is always counterbalanced by the gaze of admiration from the men who quickly ask whether I have a single sister.

The answer, you see, seems uncomplicated, but it always seems to stir up curbside controversy. I don’t ride on the street simply because my husband doesn’t want me to. While I thoroughly enjoy throwing a leg over a dirt bike and have actually raced motocross in a local women’s class in the past, I choose to follow my husband’s wishes because I know he has my best interests at heart. I defer to him because I know he wants the best for me and because he knows me better than I know myself. That’s biblical submission its finest.

When we were actively riding and racing as a family, there wasn’t much time left for much else but motocross. We loved every minute of it, but we had very little time for a Sunday afternoon a ride on the street. When we finally made time to get away together, I unintentionally became a terrible passenger. I leaned when I shouldn’t have been leaning. I anticipated turns and repositioned myself on the back of the bike as I would have on a dirt bike. And, perhaps most significant, I stopped holding on to my man. We lost the harmony of riding together, and until I course corrected, riding me around became a chore. We stopped having fun. Non-compliance always has consequences.

Now when I get on the back of my man’s bike, I know am turning over the journey over to him to do what God made him to do – protect me and lead me. I know I’m never just “along for the ride” – we are equal partners. He values me leaning into his ear to point out that the restaurant we are looking for is not too far ahead or where the scent of fresh daffodils is coming from. I love being able to kiss the back of his neck at a traffic stop and give him a quick squeeze with my thighs to let him know I’m having a great time. The point is that he is out front, taking the bugs to the face, pelts of unforecasted rain, dodging oblivious drivers on cell phones and whatever other challenges the road might offer up that day, and I am free to just appreciate being behind him and enjoy the ride – I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve learned about me and my adoption into God’s family.  I am a co-heir with Christ because of Jesus’ sacrifice.   I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have trouble remembering who I am supposed to be in that.  I worry about being qualified to act on my Father’s behalf, even when I know He is calling me to His side to get involved, when in fact He has called me to that specific purpose.

For some reason, I hear people talking about where they are from, what they’ve done and how long they’ve done it, and my mind shifts into a curriculum vitae mode – the moment I hear it, I hear “this is what has qualified me to say what I am about to say …” Instead of measuring my qualifications by the only measure that counts – the Blood of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit – I find myself measuring against the spiritual resume of others.   I grew up in New York, far from the Bible belt – and church wasn’t the cultural “do” that it is here in Texas.  I’ve never been to seminary.   I don’t have 20 or more years of faithful service to God.  I allow those “shortcomings” to hinder me.   I feel the Spirit moving me, calling me to action, and I throw up these shortcomings as barriers to obedience. 

I’m learning that God uses people however and whenever He wants, no matter where they might be in their life and in their walk with Him.  11 seemingly unqualified men, after hanging around Jesus for only 3 years, have changed the world.  Shortly thereafter, a seemingly highly qualified man joined them, who blissfully admitted that he knew nothing apart from the cross. 

So, today, I am committing to throwing off everything that hinders.  That includes feeling smaller than the others around me.    If I am to live in the fullness that I was intended to live in, I must be prepared to answer His calling without human reservation.

There was a time when the apostles were so full of the Spirit that their shadows passing over someone would heal.  Why aren’t we living that way?  Same God, Same Spirit – what’s different?   Have we lost sight of who we are in Jesus?  Are we afraid that we might hurt God’s witness when we pray one way and the outcome is different?   How can I profess to live a spirit filled life if miracles aren’t happening around me?

Through the blood of Jesus, we all have the opportunity every day to go beyond the velvet rope and have a VIP experience with God.   It is within our reach, yet still, we don’t fully grasp the attainable – that we can live in a way that defies the natural order of things in Christ.  God wants to use me to set things right, and yet I remain short sighted despite His clear vision for me.   If I stay close to God, His will and mine become one.   While the “why” may not be revealed to me, I will understand what my next steps will be and how to pray specifically for those areas which I have been called in to prayer.   If I remain in Him, and if I remain obedient, I can be confident of what I say as I go boldly before Him in prayer. 

I have actually prayed safe.  God forgive me.  Instead of really quieting my soul and listening to Your leading, I’ve tried to cover all the bases for You.   My words were carefully chosen by my flesh in an effort to ensure that You came out on top no matter what the conclusion of the issue was – Lord, I’m so sorry.   

I want to live this Christian life life in all the fullness that You promised – miracles and all.  I’d love to solely use Your name to explain the inexplicable in my life and in the lives of those around me.

So, no surprise, as it generally the case with New York transplants, it didn’t matter that I lived in Texas – I still rooted for the Yankees with my whole heart.   I can honestly say that I will never be a Texas Rangers fan, but there’s a certain outfielder that I can’t help but admire, not only for his game (which, from what I could tell from Game 6, is anointed and ordained), or even his testimony (http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Josh_Hamilton/), but for his amazing, unashamed, reverent and bold witness for Christ.  My ears wait expectantly at each and every interview to see how his words will bring God glory.  My jaw drops to the ground every time I hear him faithfully and respectfully give God the glory.   

It’s a fact – God showed up in MLB post season play this October. 

I know there are a lot of Christian athletes out there – not to say that they aren’t being used by God to further His kingdom, but there’s something really special about Josh Hamilton’s humility and his approach of awe and wonder in his post game interviews that really moves me.   It’s not the usual Christian athlete darling that ”thanks to the Man Upstairs” or a gives a rushed “thank you to my Lord and Savior for keeping me safe out there” that we might usually hear from pro athletes and pro racers, it’s a more genuine and sincere act of worship.

Although the Yankees aren’t in the World Series this year, I know that God is.  Josh Hamilton is an amazing example that God can do whatever He wants, where ever He wants, and my heart is overjoyed by that fact.   And I can’t wait to see what God’s going to do next!

What’s the difference? A cursory reading without context would lead us to believe that all three of these statements are basically saying the same thing in three distinctly different eras, but there is a major differentiator – centeredness.

While it might appear that all three of these men are all saying the same thing, both Hemingway and Shakespeare are looking inward, towards self and the rational conclusions that one can make from a completely personal and inward experience. They are self centered.

The self centered perspective relies on the personal experiences that shape us to draw conclusions about whether or not something is good, right or beneficial. This approach presupposes that I can trust my own judgment and that the filters which I use to view situations are clean and objective, because I have no emotional scarring that contribute any color to my perceptions, or that my damaged view works for me, and therefore it is good or right – the judgment call is solely and squarely in the eye of the beholder.

Paul’s statement is Christ centered. The filter that Paul applies and asks us to apply is simple: Do my actions honor or grieve Him? Does this particular action bring glory to God? 

It’s really not about me.

What do all these situations have in common?  They all presume that I, me alone, on my own – I must do something to clean up and fly right before I show up for God.    How incredibly self serving to think that in my own power, I can actually do that.  In essence, staying away from church or your Bible is telling God that He can’t save you - you must save yourself and clean up really good before you could stand in front of Him.   While its certainly true that the Most High God enjoys seeing his children clean and white, He knows that it is just not in us to do it for ourselves, heck, we couldn’t even identify what needed scrubbing until He gave the Law to point us to what was wrong.  It sounds harsh and its definitely an ego buster, but its impossible for us to save ourselves – we are incapable of it.

This is why Jesus’s redeeming act was so important … A holy God cannot condone sin or simply let it  pass.  That would contradict His nature, and praise God, He never changes.  Jesus willingly bore our sin, paid it all, and through him we gain the privilege of standing before God, blameless.  I can barely stand it – he paid the penalty for my, your, our sin – how grateful I am for that.

When I feel most tempted, most discouraged, most angry, most alone – those are the times I need to run to His word and meditate on what’s right, lovely, praiseworthy – if I let him, he meets me there and I am restored.   God keeps his promises.