CAN A GOOD GOD JUSTIFY HELL?

I read this today and found it helpful...

We know God is good, kind, patient, longsuffering, always willing to forgive. He is love personified, magnified, and exemplified (1 John 4:16). But God is also just, infinitely holy, and perfectly righteous. The Scriptures picture Jesus as both the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Like a lamb, He is meek, gentle, a holy sacrifice for the sin of those who confess Him. Like a lion, His claws can tear the unrepentant to pieces.
It is this picture that reveals a first answer to the problem of hell: God's character demands it. While God's love, mercy, and grace are demonstrated in the atonement of Christ, other attributes demand equal authority and actually justify hell. What are these attributes?
Righteousness/Holiness. That God is righteous and holy means He always acts in accordance with those things He deems just and lawful. He cannot do anything less than what is right. God's great plan is ultimately to bring the universe back to perfect righteousness—back into harmony with His character. There are only two ways He can do that. One is by providing a way for sinners to return to righteousness—through the death, Resurrection, and power of Jesus Christ. In Christ He makes us new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17).
But what about those who do not seek righteousness, who desire darkness over light? There is a second option. God will confine such people in a place where they cannot affect or harm those who seek righteousness. That is hell.
Justice. The justice of God functions as a logical complement to His righteousness. His righteousness demands that He make things right. His justice demands that something be done about sin. Again, to bring about perfect justice for all the wrongs in the universe, God offers two options: to make payment for them Himself through the death of Jesus; or to require payment by the sinner. God cannot wink at sin, overlook it, or allow it to persist (Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4–6)
Omniscience. God's omniscience enables Him to know everything that is, was, shall be, and could be (Psalm 139; Isaiah 46:10). How does this attribute require a hell? An omniscient God must eliminate evil from His knowledge. One way is to forgive that evil and choose to forget it forever.14 God can actually "blot out" or eradicate His own knowledge on such an issue.
But what of those whom He has not forgiven because they have not accepted His forgiveness in Christ? God's only other option is to gather all the evil into one place and render it dead—separated from Him forever. That is hell. While God may be conscious of the evil in that place, He does not have to have contact with it or look on it ever again.
Love/Wrath. These two aspects of God's nature are linked together in the doctrine of hell. His love requires a hell because He must protect those He loves from the defilement of His enemies. His wrath calls for vengeance—that His enemies be punished for injuring, hating, and rejecting Him.
Nearly any aspect of God's character can be used to explain both heaven and hell. We have to take God and what His Word says about Him on His terms, not ours. Those who accept His grace and love but balk at the idea of justice or perfect holiness are guilty of folly.
By Mark R. Littleton—Discipleship Journal

Get Your Reward

God will reward those who serve Him. Below are three scriptures that have formed my beliefs about eternal reward. God evaluates the quality of our work, the motive behind it, and whether or not it is pleasing to him.

(A person’s) work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Reflection:
How does your belief about eternity affect the way you live today?

If you died today and stood at the judgment seat of Christ, when your works and motives are revealed, would you feel good about your life? Why or why not?

Since you still have an opportunity to change, what is God showing you to do differently?

Live for Him today!

YOU WILL FACE THE JUDGMENT

...man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment… Hebrews 9:27

There are two specific times of judgement clearly mentioned in the Bible.

1. GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it…And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-12, 15

The "books" are opened and a "book" is opened. The "books" contain the deeds of us all. But another "book" contains names. This is the book of life. It is also refered to as the lambs book of life. This book holds the names of all who have recieved the gift of eternal life through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. If your name id written in the book it won't matter what is written in the books because it will be forgiven. If your name is not in the book you had better hope you have lived an incredible life.

2. JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10

When the scripture above is read in it's context it is clear that it is adressing Christ followers-those whose names are written in the book of life. This passage and others seem to indicate that this is a judgement of our service to the Lord for the purpose of reward.

(A person’s) work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15

So our daily choices all have eternal implications. Tomorrow I will write more specifically about the how I believe God will reward those who seek to serve Him.

1 second after you die

The moment you die the soul and the body separate. The body goes into its natural state of decay while the soul goes toward its ultimate destination.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

Those who have not recieved Christ will find themselves in torment. We will talk about that in detail next week. Those who have recieved eternal life through repentance and faith toward Jesus Christ will awaken to the presence the Lord Himself.

8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 5:8-10 (NLT)

Over the next couple of days I will discuss what the Bible has to say about "judgement".

"...man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…" Hebrews 9:27

Have you thought about death lately

Over the last few days I have had the serious implications of death impressed on me as we just held the funeral of one of our dear friends Ralph Muse. His death was sudden and unexpected. He left behind a wife a three kids.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28

What you believe or don't believe about death will determine how you live. There are some clear teachings in the Bible that I will be exploring over the few days and in our weekend services. Join me at http://newcommchurch.blogspot.com/ engage the conversation. Are you looking forward to death? Should you look forward to death? Tell me what you think.

Knocked out of blog routine

I have been totally knocked out of my routine because of travel and the early surprise birth of my 2nd son Jonathan. I plan to write more in the future but cannot find time right now. Back in a few days hopefully.

Get out of town

Today I go to Dallas/Ft Worth area to speak at a men's retreat. I'll be back for weekend services but it will be good to get out of town for a couple of days. Pray that I'll be able to serve these men well.

What his name?

Michelle, Sam & I have been praying for the last few days asking God for the name of our son who is to be born in a few weeks. We have some names that we like but nothing that I feel is "just right" yet. Sam was not named until he was born. I am hoping to hear from God today. Will you pray for God to reveal the name today?

Send me your thoughts.

Why I occasionally fast

…I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:14-17

Fasting is a way for me to renew my spiritual hunger and regain my spiritual strength. For me this is key to maintaining victory over Satan and his temptations to love this world more than God. Fasting is how I allow the cravings of my flesh to be disciplined and brought under control. When I fast and pray I get clarity about the things that God wants me to have and release my desires for the things of this world.

The desires of this world anchor down the soul-they oppress the spirit. But pleasing God is truly what pleases me AND it leads to eternal life. Sin leads to death and separation from God. Fasting helps me make that choice clear.

Prayer Warrior

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Dan. 6:10

Today New Community begins three days of training in prayer warfare. We are learning from Daniel how to pray. He often humbled himself and fasted and prayed. God responded to his prayers in big ways. Fasting is to be a part of the life of a disciple of Jesus.

For the next three days we will take only the most basic food and water, turn off our TV's, eliminate all forms of entertainment and find refuge only in God. We will look to Him for everything. We will ask Him to meet with us and cleanse us. We will ask Him to glorify Himself in and through us. We will ask Him for breakthroughs in the lives of those we love.

Join us for three days of prayer and fasting.

NCC building open for prayers at: 6:30 am, noon, 6:30 pm Mon-Wed. Have a great three days.