10-11-2005, 11:20 AM
YOUR CHOICE WILL BE HONORED
by Max Lucado
We donÂ’t like to talk about hell, do we? In intellectual circles the
topic of hell is regarded as primitive and foolish. ItÂ’s not logical.
“A loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.†So we dismiss it.
But to dismiss it is to dismiss a core teaching of Jesus. The
doctrine of hell is not one developed by Paul, Peter, or John. It is
taught by Jesus himself.
We are free either to love God or not. He invites us to love him. He
urges us to love him. He came that we might love him. But, in the
end, the choice is yours and mine. To take that choice from each of
us, for him to force us to love him, would be less than love.
God explains the benefits, outlines the promises, and articulates
very clearly the consequences. And then, in the end, he leaves the
choice to us.
Hell was not prepared for people. Hell “was prepared for the devil
and his angels.†(Matthew 25:41) For a person to go to hell, then, is
for a person to go against GodÂ’s intended destiny. Hell is manÂ’s
choice, not GodÂ’s choice.
Consider, then, this explanation of hell: Hell is the chosen place of
the person who loves self more than God, who loves sin more than his
Savior, who loves this world more than GodÂ’s world. Judgment is that
moment when God looks at the rebellious and says, “Your choice will
be honored.Ââ€
To say there is no hell is to say God condones the rebellious,
unrepentant heart. To say there is no hell is to portray God with
eyes blind to the hunger and evil in the world. To say there is no
hell is to say that God doesnÂ’t care that people are beaten and
massacred, that he doesnÂ’t care that women are raped or families
wrecked. To say there is no hell is to say God has no justice, no
sense of right and wrong, and eventually to say God has no love. For
true love hates what is evil.
Hell is the ultimate expression of a just Creator.
by Max Lucado
We donÂ’t like to talk about hell, do we? In intellectual circles the
topic of hell is regarded as primitive and foolish. ItÂ’s not logical.
“A loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.†So we dismiss it.
But to dismiss it is to dismiss a core teaching of Jesus. The
doctrine of hell is not one developed by Paul, Peter, or John. It is
taught by Jesus himself.
We are free either to love God or not. He invites us to love him. He
urges us to love him. He came that we might love him. But, in the
end, the choice is yours and mine. To take that choice from each of
us, for him to force us to love him, would be less than love.
God explains the benefits, outlines the promises, and articulates
very clearly the consequences. And then, in the end, he leaves the
choice to us.
Hell was not prepared for people. Hell “was prepared for the devil
and his angels.†(Matthew 25:41) For a person to go to hell, then, is
for a person to go against GodÂ’s intended destiny. Hell is manÂ’s
choice, not GodÂ’s choice.
Consider, then, this explanation of hell: Hell is the chosen place of
the person who loves self more than God, who loves sin more than his
Savior, who loves this world more than GodÂ’s world. Judgment is that
moment when God looks at the rebellious and says, “Your choice will
be honored.Ââ€
To say there is no hell is to say God condones the rebellious,
unrepentant heart. To say there is no hell is to portray God with
eyes blind to the hunger and evil in the world. To say there is no
hell is to say that God doesnÂ’t care that people are beaten and
massacred, that he doesnÂ’t care that women are raped or families
wrecked. To say there is no hell is to say God has no justice, no
sense of right and wrong, and eventually to say God has no love. For
true love hates what is evil.
Hell is the ultimate expression of a just Creator.