by Michael Bott
When
it comes to seeking after the Living God we need to look
in the right place. Some people have told me that they
feel really close to God when sitting on mountain tops
or looking at the beauty of flowers. I don't want to
condemn these people, but we must be careful that we
don't confuse God with a sense of being at peace with
ourselves, or with the relief we all feel when we
"get away from it all".
There
is only one place where we get truly accurate
infonnation about God and that is in His book, the
Bible. Many people, even some Christians, don't believe
this. They think that all that matters is that you are
sincere in your search for God. However, you can be
sincere, but still wrong. Imagine if I walked into my
friend's place one day and found him sitting in a
coal-bucket. When I ask him what he's doing, he tells me
that he's taking a rest on his sofa. No matter how
sincere he is, he certainly isn't doing that!
It's
the same with truths about God. If we haven't got them
from the Bible, then we are probably making them up. The
Bible tells us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the
Life and that there is no other way to the Father, but
through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Well,
what's all this got to do with 'The Choice with the
Greatest Consequence'? We have all been, or
are, faced with the choice to follow God, or reject Him.
The Bible tells us that if we choose not to follow God,
then we will go to hell. Many people tend to ignore or
disbelieve this fact because they think that a God of
love could never send anyone to hell. "Surely God
is too good to send people to hell?" they think.
They believe that to preach about hell is to use scare
tactics to frighten people into belief about God.
About half an hour's travel from where I grew up in the Hawkes Bay,
there's a beach called Waimarama. On that beach the
local life-saving club erected flags and signs. The
signs told us to swim between the flags because they
were the areas where there wasn't a rip. It would be
possible, of course, to accuse the surf club of engaging
in scare tactics, of trying to restrict our freedom. But
you would be a fool to do that because the danger is so
real. There is only one way to describe their action
-theywere
helping us by warning us of a very real danger.
Likewise,
the Bible warns us of the seriousness of our danger if
we reject the gospel. We read in Thessalonians 1: 5-10
of a description of what will happen.
He
will punish those who do not know God and do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with
everlasting destruction and shut out of the presence of
the Lord and the majesty of his power. (v 8-9)
From
this we know that Jesus will be the agent of judgment
and the basis on which judgment is made. It is foolish
to pretend it won't happen.
As
a former university student, I certainly know it is
easier to pass a test when you know what questions will
be asked. God has told us in this passage what questions
will be asked: "Did you know God and did you obey
the gospel of the Lord Jesus?" At first hearing
this sounds like two questions, but it's really only
one. I'm being asked if I know God personally as opposed
to knowing about Him. The only way I can do that is by
responding in obedience to the fact that Jesus as Lord
of every- thing, died forme. He is asking, " Are
you my friend, or not?"
Going
back to my university days and in regard to tests, I
know from painful experience that no matter how sincere
you are, if you misread the examination question, you
still won't pass. Imagine if I thought that all I had to
do to be saved was to be good:
Jesus
would ask me: "Michael, did you know God, and did
you obey the gospel?"
It's
not really an answer to say: "Well, I've led a
decent life, I was a member of Green Peace, I've never
hurt anyone and I've been a good neighbour. "
You
see, being a friend of God, being a Christian, is not
primarily about rule keeping -it's about relationship.
For
example, see how you would rate this marriage: There is
a man and wife. He is a great provider, he works
extremely hard and makes sure his
family has plenty to live on. Every night the man drives
to his Khandallah home and the house is spotless. The
wife looks as though she belongs on the cover of More
magazine. The children are all washed and doing their
homework. His wife is a great cook - every meal better
than the last. The only trouble is, this couple haven't
spoken to each other for three years and they sleep in
different rooms. This marriage stinks ! What does it
matter what your wife looks like, if she won't talk to
you? Who cares about food if you aren't friends?
To
think I can be good enough by living a decent life and
somehow God will be happy with me, is to treat God as if
He isn't a person. How can you be friends with someone,
if they ignore you?
Let's
now unpack what the message in 2 Thessalonians says
about hell. In verse 9, we're told that those who don't
know God and don't obey the gospel, will be punished
with everlasting destruc- tion, shut out from the
presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power.
What this means is, if I continue to say to God,
"Stay out of my life," then eventually God
will say, "Right, I will stay out
completely."
To
be destined for hell is to be God-forsaken and to be
God-forsaken is to be good-forsaken. After you've lived
a life of telling God to leave you alone, in hell you
will be - alone.
In
many ways, hell is like watching the news on television.
Every night you can see murder, famine, fires and
warfare. Yet, however bleak the situation, there is
always someone trying to help. A fireman to fight the
fire, a peace negotiator to help stop the war and so on.
These people may not be able to stop evervthing. but at
least they are there. Now imagine
an existence where every force which resists evil, every
form of relief to the suffering, is gone. Evil in all
its blackness takes over completely - this is the
Bible's picture of hell. Robbery, violence,
meaninglessness - utter loneliness and desolation.
As
I said before, some people don't like to talk about
judgment and hell because they believe a God of love
can't be like that. However, it can't be any other way.
This is because God takes us and His world seriously.
Love and judgement are not opposites.
As
a young boy I remember being told by my mother to wait
until she had shut the car door, so she could cross the
road with me. I wasn't going to wait for her and I was
just about to hurtle across the road, when suddenly she
pulled me back and smacked me for my disobedi ence -I
was about to run into the path of an oncoming car.
Hate
is the opposite to love, but judgement is not.
Sentimentality is not love, its laziness - it does
nothing. Genuine love will always be angry when
something is not right. God has to act in judgment or
else His entire plan to rescue His people will be
ruined. God wants His people to come back to Him. We
fell from grace when we turned from God and replaced His
standards with our standards. God's answer to our
disobedience was to send His Son Jesus into the world as
His agent of reconciliation. He did this by dying for
our sins. However, if everyone, regardless of whether
they have accepted God or not, gains a place in God's
promised new world, then we end up back at the beginning
and the death of Jesus will have been for nothing.
To
be in true fellowship with Jesus is to have real life -
to reject Jesus' friendship is death, which means
eternal separation. God tells us of His existence so
that we can respond to Him in friendship. God sent His
Son to die for us. He calls us to come back and warns us
not to resist or delay.
If
you are pretty sure that Jesus is the Son of God and you
believe that He died for you, but have never done
anything about it, why don't you do something right now
and accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord?
2003 Wellington Christian Apologetics Society (Inc.) All Rights Reserved.
Previously published in
Apologia (The Journal of the Wellington Christian Apologetics Society)
vol. 2 no.2 (1993): 7-9
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