Rob Bell: A Response

My comments will be brief but pointed.

I have read Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Love Wins. I have also listened to Rob Bell speak in person and on the radio. After reading and listening to Bell, I have come to some conclusions (they will be listed in no particular order).

One, Bell is a Functional Universalist. All men will be saved. It will come through a melted heart, but it is still ALL men. No matter how much one hates God and refuses His ways, some day (in this life or the next) they will be persuaded to love Him and receive His grace.

Two, Bell’s god is a small god. Bell’s god is man centered and bound by radical free will. He is incompatible with the God of scripture who is holy, for this God is able to exhibit love and justice in ways that shatter the conception of Bell’s god.

Three, Bell’s works seemingly validate proof-texting. Bell repeatedly cites scripture to support his views, but when examined in context he either misses the whole point of the passage, or curiously leaves out verses that challenge his view.

Four, Bell’s inclusivity essentially nullifies the call to evangelism. Bell leaves room in his theology for salvation to be found in other faiths. He also espouses a faith so based on subjective experience separated from objective knowledge that a plurality of truth is inevitable.

Five, Bell’s view on Hell is about as unorthodox as it gets. It also finds its basis in presuppositions that guides his exegesis into the waters of eisegesis.

Six, Bell’s insistence that he is just a pastor and that Love Wins is not a theological work is simply dishonest.

Seven, Bell’s lack of compassion for his opponents is saddening. If his opponents are so wrong he should be broken by their lack of understanding and dogmatic defense of things they cannot know or are unbiblical.

Rob Bell is a ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing; a false prophet tickling the ears of those who want nothing to do with the God of the Bible. He captivates thousands with eloquent speech and aura reminiscent of the deceiving serpent from the Garden. Rob Bell is on a path leading to destruction, and he has a whole hoard of loyal followers duped into following.

In the spirit of 2 Timothy 4, Rob needs our prayer and our rebuke. With his insight on and connection to contemporary culture, Bell could be a great tool for the advancement of the kingdom. Our hope and desire should be that he worships the God of the Bible in spirit and truth. We should pray that when we behold the glory of the Lord in the life to come that Rob Bell will be standing hand in hand God’s elect.

Rob Bell, I pray that you run to the Father’s arms and that we can be united in the Brotherhood of faith. I do not wish harm to come your way and I do not wish to see you spend an eternity in Hell. I pray for the Lord to guide you in His ways and that He would be gracious to you. You are loved Mr. Bell. Repent and embrace the true love, the true joy, the true shalom of God. Come home Rob; come home.

Depravity in a Bodega

Today as I browsed through some of my favorite news sources I stumbled upon another article detailing a brawl captured on video. This time the brawl was in a New York City bodega, but the situation was similar to many of the other such occasions. Apparently, one woman’s outfit was not appreciated so she was brutally mauled by three women. The victim received a slash to the face that required medical attention. It should also be noted that there were witnesses to the attack standing within feet of the brawl and not one of them stepped in to help the defenseless victim. It was only after the attack carried on for some time that a store employee stepped in to quell the situation.

This got me thinking.

I am not so naïve as to think that America is free from depravity, but every time I encounter the ugliness of sin I am shocked. I understand that Pagans will act as Pagans, but I still cannot help the shock that I experience when the harsh reality of depravity so boldly makes itself known.

How low have we sunk as a nation if this is becoming the norm? How barbaric and uncivilized is it to find such things entertaining? And how disgusting is it to see someone in need and do nothing? I feel like the people in these videos would make the priest and the Levite from the parable of the Good Samaritan blush. A helpless woman is pummeled by three attackers and bystanders, with the ability to halt the monstrous act, watch as if it is an episode from one of their beloved television programs. How sick!

So my question is: what are we as the Church in America doing if this is the fruit of the people to whom we proclaim the Gospel?

Or is that question assuming something that is not being done.

If so, better questions: are we, the American Church, proclaiming the Gospel? Are we preaching the sound doctrines of God from the pulpit? Are the words we speak to friend and stranger dripping with the Gospel or worldliness? Is it clear by our actions outside of the Church walls that Jesus even matters to us?

The power of the Gospel is transformational. It can change a heart of stone to a heart of flesh, it can bring reconciliation to a family plague by abuse, and it can even change communities and nations.

Maybe these incidents that are becoming the norm on our nation’s news programs are meant to wake us up from our slumber; a sort of “slap in the face” from God to get up off of our behinds and live the lives we were called to lead.

So why do I post on this happening and ramble on? To spur my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith to not grow stagnate, to not let our faith be something confined to Sunday mornings, to not make faith simply academic, but to go and do; to preach the Gospel through word and deed. We may be broken people, brittle clay pots, but what we have in Christ transcends our weakness. The power of God working through His people can overcome all things. There is not one enemy that can stand before the Lord and halt His plans. We as the Church, especially here in America, need to grab hold of the truth and power of the Gospel and go forth as faithful witnesses of Christ for the glory of God. The world is dying and we have been called to preach about the One who gives life and to be His hands and feet. Let us press on brothers and sisters for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Why We Continue To Miss The Mark

Today's article comes from guest writer, and my good friend, Jon Hinton, a recent graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.

Feuding over gay marriage, abortion, and capital punishment while arguing over tolerance, love/acceptance, and seeker-friendliness when we are surrounded by a world that is beaten, battered, bruised, scarred and falling apart from the damaging effects of sin......doesn't seem to make sense until we step back and take a look at what's really going on.

What we see all around shows us why we desperately need a Savior to redeem, transform, renew, and restore our hearts and minds to a proper way of thinking.

So many of us think that the Lord is on our side whether they be practicing homosexual Christians, agnostics who want to do good in the world, Conservative Bible-thumping Jesus Freaks, or Social Justice Christians who over-emphasize love and tolerance. This isn't about the Lord being on our side......it's about being on the Lord's side.

These issues that I listed above are not about left vs. right or even right vs. wrong - at the core, they're about whether or not we believe in what God has defined/ordained. Either we as the Church believe that God's Word is Divine and that He is God and has a reason/design for why He has declared some things good and others sinful.

Or we ultimately believe and act like we are our own God and that we can pick and choose what Scriptures are applicable to us today due to cultural context and social evolving.....that our LOGIC/REASON is the ultimate authority of right and wrong.

That, my friends, is the definition of pride and arrogance.May I remind you that "The Lord opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble." - James 4:6

Am I saying that Christians haven't made a mess of things? NO!!

Those Christians come from the same world that makes a mess of things every day.......it's called Total Depravity, we're all infected by it.

Just because you’re a Christian......others think you're perfect.

We ALL should know better!!!

Issues like abortion and gay marriage are symptoms of a deeper problem that lies within men's souls.

These issues should never have been politicized in the first place - they always should have brought us back to redemption.

You cannot change the mind without first changing the soul and you cannot change a culture without first changing the hearts and lives of men!

What these topics show is that ALL people desperately need the redemptive, transformative, salvific grace of Jesus Christ......in more ways that we can even fathom (and that includes the hearts of His people)!

If we ALL do not allow that Grace and Power to transform every part of our being everyday........I cannot help but think that we are left with culture war arguments and petty church squabbles while a broken world is still left searching for answers.

And then we wonder why nothing changes for the better.........

In other words, the focus should be on Jesus and what He has laid out for us in His Word.

In other words - If you want to speak truth and fight the advancement of evil that is around us, you have to confront and transform the culture.

If you want to confront and transform the culture, you need to change its way of thinking.But to change our culture's way of thinking, you need to transform the hearts and minds of men. And authentic transformation only happens thru the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we as Christians in America put as much effort into evangelism and discipleship over the last 30 yrs as we did political issues.......we would have transformed our culture and the issues we fight for would have taken care of themselves. But since we haven't done that in the manner/degree we should have - we stand on Biblical principles and share/try to legislate them with a culture that doesn't believe in the Bible to begin with. Then we wonder why they don't understand what it is we share with them in the first place.

Instead we as Christians waste our time and ignore God's command to disciple the nations by fighting over the civilians affairs that Paul warned Timothy not to involve himself in - and being a critical thinker, I have to admit when I see a problem that is helping to contribute to the place where we are at today.

But as I close this reflection, I cannot help but think of how much I desperately need Jesus myself.......because the change I want to see in the culture around me - starts within me thru allowing Jesus to take control of my entire being. Revival starts when I ask the Lord to revive my heart for Him and then I live that transformation out on a daily basis. That is where real hope and change for a society begins and ends.......in the power of Christ alone. And I don't think I realize the power and authority that is within my reach.....and it's just a prayer away.

Lord, Imprint these words onto my soul and make them my heart's cry.
Let me see my life, the lives of others, & Your world through Your eyes.
Then give me the strength and courage to do what has been commanded of me as a Man of God.
I ask this in Jesus' name,
AMEN

Love Wins

Rob Bell's newest and most controversial work to date has generated quite a stir in the evangelical world. Bell attempts to tackle the tough issues of the nature of Heaven and Hell and the fate of mankind. While he has received praise from prominent figures like Greg Boyd and Doug Paggit, there has been a backlash in the Evangelical community coming from leaders such as Justin Taylor, Kevin DeYoung, Russell Moore, etc. Some call Mr. Bell a heretic, others a universalist, and Martin Bashir of MSNBC (of all places!) told Mr. Bell to his face that he was guilty of "amending the Gospel so that its palatable." So, is Love Wins worthy of praise, or is this work just as dangerous as many Evangelical leaders are proclaiming? That is a question I will answer personally when I finish Bell's work and am able to thoroughly analyze his claims. Until then I direct you to some recent responses to Love Wins to help in understanding what is at hand. Enjoy.

Open Letter to Rob Bell - Frank Turk
A Response - Justin Taylor
A Review - Kevin DeYoung
The Blood Drained Gospel of Rob Bell - Russell D. Moore
Interview - Martin Bashir

Expectations

There are many blogs and many bloggers on the internet, some of which I read regularly. Some of these blogs have massive followings while others have a small circle of devoted readers. I am not looking to create the next "great" blog or establish myself as some prominent voice in whatever topics may be discussed. This blog will simply feature my random thoughts on various issues as they take coherent substance in my mind. It is likely that I will link to various blog postings, new stories, and videos of interest. It is possible that at some point guest writers may be featured. So what are my expectations for this blog? At this point they are vague and low. Enjoy.