Hebraic Musing – Accept
a Free Gift or Go to Hell
I received a
message from a scholar friend who is starting to question a foundational Christian
teaching by asking – Can Hell be a place
of “Eternal Conscious Torment”? Further,
he questions whether and how a loving God could possibly send people, His
creation, to “Eternal Conscious Torment”?
See Note 1 below for the natural extension of this line of reasoning.
The counter
argument has to do with the over emphasis on saying and preaching “God is
Love.” We know Love is not God’s only
attribute. He is also Just, Gracious,
Forgiving, Righteous, Generous, etc. etc. etc.
Note 2 below reveals the way the
prophet Nahum described our Lord in the introductory verses of his message.
Losing sleep
about all this until… I just read that most cultures deem not accepting a gift to
be an insult, an unforgivable affront. That
statement resonated with my personal experiences with other cultures I have
encountered around the world. The giving
of gifts is taken seriously; and not accepting is an affront.
Ephesians 2:8
comes to mind. “For it is
by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God—“ Clearly this is not the only reference in the
Bible to God’s gracious gift of grace. (Redundancy wasn’t intended but I
like it!)
BTW, the
Bible has many warnings about rejection?
The words “Reject” and “Rejected” appear 101 times in my NIV! And Jesus Himself did not mince words when He
said (in red letters) “Then what is the
meaning of that which is written: "'The stone the builders rejected has
become the capstone”? Everyone who falls
on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
Luke 20:17-18
Quick
clarifications:
The “gracious
gift of God” was freely offered to us; BUT it was not without a cost. The Father and the Son paid a heavy price. And the gift was not given to us; it was freely
offered to each of us and we had to personally accept the gift.
Admittedly,
this discussion does not answer the salvific questions applicable to peoples in
unreached nations who have not yet heard the Gospel.
Points to Ponder
How do you feel when someone
offends your child?
Or does something worse to your child?
Or does something worse to your child?
How does it feel when your
own children do not appreciate
a precious gift you sacrificially gave to them?
a precious gift you sacrificially gave to them?
“Thanks
be to God for his indescribable gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:15
Yosef a.k.a.
Joe Brusherd September 27,
2016
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the
Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life” “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings” www.InsightsByYosef.com
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life” “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings” www.InsightsByYosef.com
Note 1. - The
natural extension of contrasting “Eternal Conscious Torment” with “God is Love”
results in justifying “universalism.”
Simply stated, it means that since God is Love, He will find a way for
all His creation to make it to heaven – justifying “many ways”.
Note 2. - Nahum 1:2-3
“The Lord is a jealous and
avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and
maintains his wrath against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave
the guilty unpunished.” NIV
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