Today’s Bible passages: Isaiah 32:1-7 & Matthew 13:43-52
Matthew 13:49-50 Jesus said: “This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
It’s culturally convenient for our 21st century people to discard any weird religious notions that Hell exists. After all, in this marvelous scientific age where we are discovering new things about ourselves, the world, and the universe each day, quaint bronze age myths hold no terror for our sophisticated society. Hell may have been used over the centuries to control spiritually weak and sinful people, but in today’s cosmopolitan world and multi-cultural marketplace, Hell is no longer required.
But this leaves us with a problem: if there is no Hell and Jesus is sinless, then He must have been lying when He talked about angels throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace. Worse than that, because Jesus is God, He must have been intentionally lying. And if Jesus was lying, then He broke the Ninth Commandment and is therefore not sinless. If Jesus is not sinless, then He is not the Obedient Son of God and His Death on the Cross was not a pure and supreme sacrifice for our sins. We are therefore still under God’s condemnation and have no hope of any everlasting life.
You see, folks, we can’t have our theological notions about there being ‘no Hell’ without any consequences. If there is no Hell, then the whole point of our Christian Faith and the complete Truth about Jesus totally falls apart. We cannot have our Christological cake and eat it at the same time. Either Jesus told the truth, so we need Him to save us; or He told a lie and we are doomed to be separated from God forever.
This is why we need to read the Bible each day; this is why we need to carefully listen to what Christ said; this is why we cannot mold Jesus into our own godly guru or joyful genie. Christ is either the King of All Creation or He’s a comical character of our own creating. There is no middle ground or grey area, sitting on the fence or cozy Christianity. It’s all true or its nothing at all.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You speak to us across the centuries through the Gospels. Your words contains unaltered truths about God, the Universe, and Everything. We seek Your Guidance and long for Your Love. Help us to truly and completely, faithfully and honestly follow You. Amen.
John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.
Today’s image is one of John’s latest Epiphany/ nativity drawings. It’s called “King of Kings” and features the wise men worshiping the Christ Child. If you would like to see a larger version, then please click the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6507913925_81a1f32f9e_b.jpg
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