I picked this up on the radio the other day. It gave me some pause for reflection:
A member of the British royal family was leaving church after services one Sunday. He stopped for a moment to speak to the minister.
He asked, " Reverend, is there a place called Hell?"
The Reverend answers, " Certainly, Jesus speaks strongly on that. It is part of our church doctrine."
The member of the Royal Family then asked, " Then why don't you ever speak of it?"
Think about that. When was the last time you heard a sermon on Hell? Not a small mention, but a sermon. Certainly there is plenty in the Bible a sermon just on Hell could be based.
Think of this, if we say Jesus has defeated the grave: You receive eternal life; you go to heaven, what do you mean. What do you mean by death? Certainly every Christian who has ever walked the earth, or ever will, is going to die. Save a small fraction alive upon Christ's return. Jesus does not prevent that. So what do you mean? What is "Spiritual death"?
So what is this death you are spared from? If you did suffer that death what would it entail? When we do rarely mention God's wrath, what is that? Isn't he a God of love and blessings?
Maybe it's because we don't want to hear it. We wish to put a lid on that box and never speak of it. Maybe we are so focused on Him being a God of love that we forget, or deny, that he is also a God of justice and wrath. And that the justice and wrath are as much a part of him as the love.
Just a few thoughts.
Why should we believe any of it?
