Letter to Rob Bell

Dear Pastor Rob Bell,

Good Evening! I am writing in regards to your recent book entitled, "Love Wins: Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person who ever lived." I believe that in the book you attempt to explain to your readers a theological system known as Universalism. Correct me if I am wrong but you believe that there is no Hell and that every person regardless of what they believe will end up in Heaven. I can only imagine all of the letters, e-mails and phone calls you have received in the past few days since the subject matter of your book was released. How has the reception been? Are individuals being challenged by your teachings or are they rebuking you and pleading with you to return back to a more traditional view of Christianity?

I am writing you to neither rebuke you or to say I agree with what you have written, rather, I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for your book. Thank you for having the guts to say what the majority of the people in our churches actually believe. Someone once said that the majority of individuals in church today are functioning universalists. In one sense we affirm a literal Hell but with our actions we deny the existence of a literal Hell or the simple fact that hundreds of people go everyday. We show we are functioning universalists when we do not share the Gospel with our unsaved friends, family members, co-workers, or neighbors. We show we are functioning universalists in the fact that we only give 2% of our income to the work of foreign missions. We show we are functioning universalists in the fact that there are still billions of people who have never heard the name of Christ yet we struggle over God's Will for our lives. We show we are functioning universalists in our education. I attend a Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina and when you walk through the Student Center you will hear more individuals arguing over Calvinism vs. Arminiasm or End Times, rather than talking about how to best share our faith with those we come in contact with. We may claim to believe in a literal Hell but by our actions we show we are functional universalists.

In conclusion, thank you for having the guts to say what the majority of individuals in the church actually believe. Thank you!

Sincerely,

A Repentant Functioning Universalists

Return Home

"The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."-Luke 8:38-39

Luke 8:26-39, records an interesting story about how Jesus heals a man who is demon possessed. Here is a brief synopsis.
                     Jesus travels with his followers to the other side of the river. On the other side of the river lives a man who has been possessed by demons since his birth. The demons would make the man run around naked and he would cut his body on the rocks. The villagers tried to chain the man in a cave, but he broke the chains by bashing them against the rocks. When the demon possessed man saw Jesus he ran up to Him and said, "Jesus Son of the Most High God, why do you torment me." Jesus asked the demons their names. The demons replied, "Legion, for there are many demons in this man." The demons begged Jesus not to throw them into the abyss, they said instead to allow them to go into a herd of pigs which was grazing near by. Jesus allowed the demons to enter the pigs and instantly when the demons had entered the pigs the pigs ran down the hill and into the lake and drowned. The herdsmen watching the pigs saw all of this and ran into town to tell everyone. When the townspeople came out they noticed the man who had been naked and demon possessed was sitting at Jesus feet, fully dressed and in his right mind. The townspeople were afraid of Jesus and told Him to leave. Jesus listened to the people and turned to leave. As Jesus was leaving the formerly demon possessed man wanted to go with Jesus but Jesus said no and told him to return to his family and share with them all that God has done. The man went into the surrounding villages and shared with everyone all that Jesus had done.

What I find interesting about this story is that when the man wanted to go with Jesus, Jesus said, "No." Jesus said that the man was not follow Him but to go back to his family and share with them. The man does not listen however and goes into the city and shares with others. I believe this passages raises two questions which are relevant for us today. Why was the man told not to follow Jesus and to go home? Why didn't the man do as he was told?
Why was the man told to go home?
I believe that the man was told to go home because Jesus wanted this mans family to see the miraculous power of God. Remember the villagers asked Jesus to leave. Jesus listened to their request and left but he made sure their was a witness in the town who was able to share with everyone about who Jesus was and what He had done. This man had been demon possessed since birth. His mom had properly agonized over her baby who was filled with demons. She properly wept night after night for her child. Pleading with god to save her son. His dad probably wished that his son would grow up to be a successful young man but instead his son was filled with demons and would never be made well. Imagine accepting that your son was filled with demons and no-one could change that or make it better. Imagine, the sadness in his parents heart as they brought him to a cave and bound him with chains so that the demons would stop hurting him. Imagine, now what the reaction would be when he went home healed! The demons completely gone because of the power of Jesus Christ. Imagine his parents asking him, "Who healed you?" "Where did the demons go?" His response would be Jesus, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth healed me. Imagine the glory which would be given to God over this miraculous work. All of this imagining leads us to the second question...
Why didn't the man do as he was told? Why did the man go into the city instead of going home?
I believe the man didn't go home because he was afraid. He was afraid of what his parents would think. He was afraid of the reaction from his friends and close relatives. He properly thought to himself, "O, they will never understand." Maybe, he quoted, "a prophet is not recognized in his own home" and used this to justify not going home. Chance are at the root of all of this was the fear of rejection. This man was afraid of being rejected by the people whom he loved the most. This man had been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ however, his fear prevented him from going home. Instead, of going home he went back into the city and shared with others, strangers. He found it easier to share with strangers who had never known him then to share with members of his own family.

Take a look at your own life. If you are a Christian then you have been transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has done an incredible work in your life. You have been transformed by Jesus. Jesus tells all of us to return to our homes. Jesus tells all of us to share with those closest to us about the transforming power of Him. We are scared though, we too are scared of being rejected by the one group of people whom we love the most, our family. Instead of sharing with our families we share with strangers. We share over-seas, we share in church, or over the internet, but we never take the time to share with those closest to us. The ones who we would miss the most if they were not in Heaven are usually the ones whom we are the slowest to talk with. Why? B/c we are afraid. Afraid of what they might think, say or do.

It's time we STOP being afraid and return to our homes and share with those closest to us about what Jesus Christ has done to us. We have been transformed by Jesus the Christ of Nazareth and that is a story which needs to be shared with those in our families. Return to your house and share all that God has done for you.

I AM SECOND

If God can save this man, then He can surely save you. Look to Christ and find life.

The Way to do Church

My mind is being blown away by this concept of doing church. What do you think?