Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God... Romans 11:22
Contemporary
teachers of grace viciously attack any mention of hell, as though it is
alien to scripture, asserting that it is not good news, which the
gospel is. Yes, hell is not good news, but how can the good news be
adequately presented without warning of the danger of rejecting the hope
it offers. The assertion that hell is not good news will be right if
hell becomes the message. But is it consistent with the nature of grace
to warn people about the reality of a place Jesus called hell?
When
grace is understood as telling of only the goodness of God, then the
severity of God, which the scriptures speak about is overlooked to the
detriment of sinners. The true message of grace cannot just tell of the
goodness of God, it also warns of the severity of God. Grace cannot make
any sense if its message excludes warning sinners of the wrath of God.
If God is not wrathful towards sin, then why did Jesus need to come to
the earth to die for the sin of the world.
To
be sure, there's a place known as hell, all who reject the gospel end
there. Hell is a real place, and Jesus severally warned people against
it. Yes, hell is not the message of grace, yet, you can't honestly
present grace without warning of the danger inherent in rejecting the
hope it offers. I agree that grace doesn't throw hell at people, it
presents to a dying world the message of hope, yet, it never fails to
warn of the eternal consequence of being eternally separated from God in
a place called hell when its offer of salvation is rejected.
This
is the message that grace brings, for how can a good God fail to warn
of the eternal danger that awaits all who reject His offer of salvation?
Toni
