Is It Unloving to Tell People About Hell?

There is one teaching in Scripture that I sincerely wish did not exist. It would be so comforting if it wasn't in the Bible! But, oh, brothers and sisters in Christ, this very somber, uncomfortable teaching is in Scripture! Guess what? Jesus, Love Personified, talked about it more than almost any other subject! I truly wish that this teaching did not exist. Sadly, I see it all over the Bible. There is no way of evading it. It is heartbreaking to know that it is real and that many people will experience it!

I'm talking about the teaching about Hell.

Yes, I realize that it is unpopular, even in the Christian community, to broach the topic of Hell. If you are like me, you may have never heard your Pastor preach a sermon on this topic. It does not make for drawing crowds and most Pastors long to fill their church pews every Sunday. Is that not so? A number of books have been written by people who claim to have died (or almost died) and have been to Heaven. These books are almost always very popular with the public. And almost all of us, my brothers and sisters in Christ, would far rather talk about Heaven than to mention Hell. We fear that we will turn people off. After all, it is considered politically correct, by our culture, that a good, loving God would never send anyone to Hell. Now would He? But this topic is often neglected, even avoided, by many Pastors and by most in the pews. I understand this avoidance. So many of us have been turned off by "hellfire and brimstone" preaching of the past. "Turn or burn!" AS a child growing up, I have been approached by street preachers warning, "Repent or be damned by God!" Like most people, I tuned it all out. No, in most cases, God will not call us to walk up to people and challenge them, "Repent or else you will go to Hell." At least not at first.

We love to say how real Heaven is. Many people believe that all of us are automatically headed for Heaven. There is a belief system, called Universalism, which declares that everyone, no matter what he or she believes, is going to Heaven. How comforting a teaching this is! The only trouble is, the Bible does not teach this. Nor does Jesus, the compassionate, loving Second Person of the Trinity, teach this. Jesus, in fact, taught about a broad road to hell that most people are on" and that the "way to life is narrow and few find it." Even if people agree that Hell is real, they may rationalize it or soften its unsettling impact by subscribing to a teaching called Annihilation, which tells us that those who go to Hell simply stop existing. Ah, I can find little in Scripture that supports this teaching. Rather, the Bible and Jesus teach that those who dwell in Hell will suffer alone, fully conscious of this suffering, and will suffer forever. Hell will be more horrible than we can possibly imagine, just as Heaven will be more wonderful than we can conceive. But do you get why God created Hell?

God is eternally loving. Of that there is no doubt. But He is also eternally holy. He must punish sin and those who commit it. He can't tolerate any sin in HIs holy dwelling. He had to take action to make it possible to be with Him in Heaven. He loves us so much that, in Jesus, He came to Earth to live a perfect human life and to die in our place, so we would be with Him in Heaven instead of Hell. Now, the only thing that sends us to Hell is rejecting God's plan of forgiveness--Jesus as Savior and Lord. I would rather not blog about Hell, post about it, or mention it in conversation. I know that some people, in talking about despised criminals, tend to say this, "Let him or her rot in prison and then after death, let them rot in Hell!" In frustration or anger, we may order someone, "Go to Hell!" And some may even joke about Hell, saying, "I will be playing poker in Hell with my buddies." Reader, if we know what Hell is actually like and believe what the Bible teaches about it, we will never say those things or wish Hell even on our worst enemies. If we are serious about being Christlike, may I suggest that this includes warning people about Hell and how they can avoid it?

To learn more, visit 23 Minutes in Hell.

Don't Conclude that You Can't Help the Severely Persecuted Until You Read This

You have no doubt heard or are aware of all the world's atrocities. The ongoing Middle East violence and inhumanity. The violence and hostility in the Ukraine. Disturbing and graphic stories of violence in Syria. One recent and one current Malaysian plane crash with no survivors. The heart-wrenching crisis of thousands of children crossing the US border to escape the horrors of their homelands. What the news rarely mentions is that Christians in many of these countries are caught in the middle of all that and probably suffer most of all. You may be thinking, It's all so massive and dire, what can I do about it?

One Christian wife and mom, in Pakistan, needs your help. You can help her. It's simple.

This sister in Christ is named Asia Bibi. For a little over five years she has been in a Pakistani prison, awaiting a death sentence. What was Asia's "crime"? It dates back to June 19, 2009. That day, Asia and other ladies were debating theological matters. When a lady, according to Voice of the Martyrs (a Christian nonprofit that serves the persecuted), championed Islam, Asia countered, "Our Jesus is alive. Our Christ sacrificed for our sins...Our Christ is alive." The ladies, growing angry, assaulted Asia. Males bystanders, locking her in a room, threatened to punish her. Trying to protect Asia, local Christians call the police. Asia was taken into protective custody. Despite pleas not to charge Asia with blasphemy and due to pressure by Muslim authorities, Asia was charged with blasphemy anyway.

After a long trial, a judge sentenced Asia to death on November 10, 2010. She was fined $1190 (US currency). Despite the advocacy of Salmaan Taseer (Panjubi governor) and that of Shahbaz Bhatti (Christian cabinet member of Pakistan), Asia remains in prison and awaits a death sentence. Her two advocates were killed for their efforts to assist her. Asia is only one believer who is jailed or imprisoned for because they bear Christ's Name and have identified as Christians. Only one. In China, a Christian leader has been imprisoned for six years. IN more recent months, the media, to their credit, have covered the story of Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian wife and mom who was also put in prison and sentenced to death for identifying as a Christian. She was charged as an apostate. That was in Sudan. The media have kept Meriam in the news and the massive advocacy and international pressure on her behalf have pressured Sudan to release Meriam. Meriam, her husband and their two small children remain in a US Embassy in Sudan and await government approval to leave Sudan and enter the US. Every signature of petitions set up for Meriam, every share of those petitions, and every effort to support nonprofits advocating for her, every letter written on her behalf, have saved Meriam's life. What can such united efforts and advocacy do for other people who have no voice?

Asia remains in prison. Because two sympathetic authorities already were killed in the attempt to advocate for her, other are afraid to assist her. But, maybe we can still help. There is a petition to the Pakistani authorities that has the goal of collecting 1,000,000 signatures before taking it to those authorities. Please sign it here. Thank you!

The above photo of Asia is courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs, Inc..

Autism & Following Jesus

Months ago, I was surfing on the Internet. I came upon a popular website that is about autism and is maintained by an autistic person. At that time, he had posted an article concerning autism in the context of religion. It was titled, "Why I Will Never Embrace Religion." In this article, he stated, "I will never embrace religion because it tells me that my autistic traits, especially preferring things to people, fear of them and preferring to be alone, are bad. That is, I am bad. So I can't embrace it because I would reject my autism." While many parents, professionals and much of the public see autism as a bad thing that needs to be eliminated, many in the autism community see autism as a positive difference to be embraced as "neurodiversity."

The Bible, of course, does not know anything of autism as autism is a man-made diagnosis. But the condition has probably been around since ancient times and was just known as other things. In ancient times, such people's traits may have gotten them called "feeble-minded," "mute," and even "demon-possessed." In more modern times before the diagnosis was coined as a spectrum, such people were probably known as "mentally retarded," "emotionally disturbed," "lazy," delinquent," or "underachievers." Autism is a complex neurological disorder that affects certain parts of the brain and affect the way a person sees the world, people and self. It ranges from "severe" classic autism to "mild" Asperger's Syndrome. Autism shows up differently in every people who is autistic. If you filled a room with no one but autistic people, no one's autism would resemble anyone else's. What effect does following Jesus have on those who live with autism, whether parenting autistic children and/or being autistic?

Autism causes difficulties in the social and communication arena. Half of the Ten Commandments involve relationships. Relationships, to work well, involve effective communication skills and good social skills. As Christians, we are called to do many things which involve social skills and socializing. We are called to "be in the world but not of it." To do that we are to spend time with people, both fellow Christians and non-Christians. We are called to communicate in our families and churches, and to share our faith. All this will involve more or less the willingness and ability to use social communication skills. About Jesus, we are told that he was "a friend of tax collectors and sinners." He was usually surrounded with people and when He was, he was always busy healing them, teaching them and caring for them. We are called to live as He lived on Earth, to walk as He walked. Is the life of a follower of Jesus really against autism and does it prohibit finding identity in one's autism?

Yes, it is true that we are called to do as Christians are socially relational in nature. What does this look like for an autistic person who dislikes social small talk and cannot carry a conversation unless the topic is about a special passion or interest? What does following Christ look like for a person with social anxiety? It indeed makes following Jesus in relationships more challenging than it is for typical people. Many autistic people feel far more comfortable and are far better at self-expression through writing than through face-to-face interaction. For example, such a person may be more comfortable and better at making quality Gospel tracts or writing Christ-centered notes than at approaching people and talking with them about their lives and their spiritual need. Such a person may gravitate to ministries that call for communicating with people via writing or computer, rather than in person. In the cases of severe autism where the person cannot speak, these preferences in prayer, worship and ministry are even more likely as spoken communication is unavailable. God, being all-knowing, is not limited from communicating with His own even if they cannot speak. I read somewhere of the mom of an autistic boy who would cry herself to sleep, wondering how he would ever be able to communicate with God without being able to talk. But God's grace and power are not limited by the ability to speak or by social communication. I'm sure that He wants those of us the autism community to work to modify the traits of autism in our children or in ourselves.

Yes, in some ways autism aggravates our inherent sinful natures. It can be said that, depending on the extent of an autistic person's impairment, he or she has reduced responsibility for behavior. But this is no excuse for parents of autistic children, and autistic people themselves, to decline to pursue God and make Him priority. Matters like autistic meltdowns and sensory-based social and behavior problems might not be sin in themselves; if no effort is made to do anything about them, this neglect is wrong. The "acceptance" people in the autism community have it right in that God loves and values each of us, including autistic people. But the "cure" people in the autism community get it right when they say that we are responsible to change undesirable autistic behaviors as much as possible. Focusing on Christ would unite both warring factions in the autism community.

I only wish that the web owner who wrote that article about "Why I'll Never Embrace Religion," will know that the God of the Bible is not limited by social communication or even the ability to speak, in being able to relate to us and to use our lives.

Want a practical way to show support for autistic people, especially those in the Body of Christ? Please sign this autism petition.

Must We Welcome Registered Sex Offenders Into Local Congregations?

Sexual abuse. Child molestation. Rape. Sexual assault. These are all loaded words that stir strong emotion. Pedophiles. Predators. Rapists. Sex offenders. All of these words also stir up equally strong emotions. The victims of their offenses are devastated, maybe for life. Their families are also victimized. After all the scandals especially among the clergy and others in Christian leadership, we ask ourselves, What should we do about these people? In the interests of protecting our members, particularly children, youth and vulnerable adults, should we keep these convicted sex offenders away from our fellowships? What about grace and redemption? How far do these go?

First of all, let us define the kinds of sex offenders we have in mind before we answer the question. They are different. Pedophiles are individuals who have a sexual attraction to children or youth. They normally are attracted to a certain type of child or youth, a certain body type, appearance and age. They may or may not give in to their impulses. It is those who yield to their impulse who pose the most danger to children and youth. Rapists are people who may sexually violate victims of any age, of the same or the opposite sex. Predators are people who prey on the vulnerabilities of victims, whether through force or grooming (luring victims with gifts or favors before taking advantage of them). Pedophiles, who act on their impulses and rapists, along with other criminals, are predators. Sex offenders are individuals who commit sexual offenses, whatever they may be. Sadly, many are no doubt unregistered and have not been convicted. We can do nothing about them until they are caught in the act, or rarely, confess. It's the convicted sex offenders we have to reckon with.

We also have levels of registered sex offenders. There are those who, as teens, may have had so-called statutory rape with underage youth (as an 18 year old having sex with a 14 year old). This young person may have to register as a sex offender, maybe for life, though he or she poses no present danger to society. Should this person be locked out of the life of our congregations as though they pose some kind of danger to us? Then there are those more dangerous sex offenders who may re-offend and who are known to have recently committed sex offenses. It's true that because of their official sex offender status, they have to follow many regulations as ordered by the courts they deal with, including wearing ankle monitors. Still, what should local churches do about them?

Yes, I know that many of you will say, Why not just lock the more dangerous sex offenders in jail, prison, or consign them to something called civil commitment to protect society? Why not let out the nonviolent drug offenders and lock up the registered sex offenders who are likely to re-offend? I have asked these same things myself and have signed petitions calling for tougher laws for convicted sex offenders and more lenient laws for nonviolent drug offenders. Sadly, it does not look like these things will happen any time too soon. As Christians, we believe in God's grace, knowing that all of us are sinners who have been saved by this same grace. Though we feel a natural disgust and revulsion for the dangerous sex offenders, we may know that they can be saved by the same grace that saved us. But even if a convicted sex offender may become a true Christian, should he or she be welcome to worship among us? What about service?

In this era of backgrounds checks, more and more congregations are adopting the policy of background checks for everyone who wants to serve, even as a greeter. many recommend monitoring escorting convicted sex offenders who want to join us. Some say that they should be made to disclose their sex offender status. Many say that these convicted sex offenders should be allowed, under supervision, to worship but that they must not be allowed to serve around people, especially children, youth or vulnerable adults. By all means we should extend grace to these offenders but we have the moral and legal obligation to protect members and to keep our churches safe. Yes, running background checks on all volunteers may lock out certain innocent and capable candidates for service, but this unfortunately has to remain the lesser of two evils. Abuse is terribly devastating to the victims, to their families and it leaves local churches vulnerable to lawsuits. And exposed abuse can split local congregations and destroy their unity. It's sad that all of us have to be treated as potential predators but this has to be done to keep our churches safe. Nothing in Scripture supports the idea of coddling criminals while forgetting their victims or failing to protect society from them.

Unfortunately, these issues are not going to go away. But we have to maintain the Biblical "tension" of protecting the innocent, supporting victims and extending grace to everyone with their redemption in mind. A suggestion is to set up recovery groups for sex offenders where they receive support to live as Christians and accountability so they will have a disincentive to re-offend. At the same time, they may have limited contact with the larger congregation. Your idea about how to address this sticky issue?

Not A Golden Season for All : Our Help Is Needed Even More!

"Here comes summer."

"I can't wait for school to get out for freedom from teachers and homework."

"It's vacation time."

"Time to swim, snorkel, scuba dive, camp and have a blast."

Summer. As I write this, I'm sure that many of you who are parents of young children have them enrolled in summer camp programs, maybe with financial help. Maybe, as a Christian, you are fortunate enough to enroll your child in a Christ-centered camp where your child gets to experience the love and truth of Jesus. Of course, many Christian congregations host Vacation Bible School programs that normally last no more than a week in duration but that we hope and pray is lasting in its impact on the children and families we serve. Many of you who have resources or financial help, go on fun vacations, whether short-term or maybe longer-term.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying family or individual vacations. It's okay to go out of town to visit relatives or loved ones who don't live close to you. If you are able to take advantage of vacations or programs, these are ways to draw your family closer to each other and to God. Nothing wrong with that.

But not everyone looks forward to summer.

Who may not find summer a blessing? Many low-income children, during the school year, get most of their nutrition from free or reduced lunch programs. They depend on those programs to meet many of their nutritional needs. But when school lets out, these sources of support dry up. These children may face more hunger because they are at home. Unless they are fortunate enough to get assistance to use programs, including camping programs, they suffer. To make matters worse, donations to food pantries and to nonprofit organizations, including Feeding America, are known to decline during the summer months as $$$ are committed to summer activities and vacations. These nonprofits, both secular and Christian, affect people who least can afford to lose support--the poor, the marginalized, the hungry, and the oppressed. Contributions to our local churches also are known to drop during the summer months, with similar results for those in need that we serve. Also, funds to further the message of Christ also decline, with the result that the cause of Christ is affected by decreased giving. Is this not so?

If you can, go ahead and enjoy your vacations and summer activities. But don't forget to keep up your giving to those in need. We can do this!

Consider helping hungry children in the US by supporting Feeding America.

Consider helping needy children worldwide, in Jesus' Name.