The Rev. Fred Johns, pastor of Brookview Wesleyan Church in Irondale, Ala., said after a workshop discussion of hell that pastors do shy away from the topic of everlasting damnation.
"It's out of fear we'll not appear relevant," he said. "It's pressure from the culture to not speak anything negative. I think we've begun to deny hell. There's an assumption that everybody's going to make it to heaven somehow."
The soft sell on hell reflects an increasingly market-conscious approach, Selles said.
"When you're trying to market Jesus, sometimes there's a tendency to mute traditional Christian symbols," he said. "Difficult doctrines are left by the wayside. Hell is a morally repugnant doctrine. People wonder why God would send people to eternal punishment."
Thank you, Bryan, for your courage in posting this video. I pray that I, too, would toss and turn all night, so that the truth of Hell, would compel me and others to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ boldly and intentionally so that many will neither hear nor experience those 19 seconds for all eternity. May God have mercy on us and give us a burden for the lost.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also important to remember that as sinners we deserve to go to hell. I have people that ask why would God send people to hell that never heard the Word? Well, some would say they are saved by Grace and others would say because of sin we really do not deserve any better. But! By God's love for us he choose to save us. It is a gift that I am happy to have.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed a lot of Pastors getting into debates over different levels of hell or hell vs hades, etc. The way I see it is this; hell is hell. It doesn't matter what level or what it is called, it is total seperation from God. If you believe in God now you are the furthest away you will ever be from Him. If you do not believe, you are the closest you will ever get to Him - and look at the struggle, fear, and sadness we all go through now.