The Wayside Pulpit No.99
A Passionate Plea for Truth
Before saying anything else
let me make one thing perfectly clear. The Almighty God, the Creator of the
Universe, doesn't need Arthur Eedle to canvass His character electronically
across the globe, as though on some campaign trail. He is quite capable of
looking after His own affairs, as He always has done, and always will do.
Neither do I vainly imagine that He has set me up to act in this capacity.
I have often spoken about
the sterling character of the Lord, and will continue to do so, and the reason
is that as the years go by, my eyes have been opened yet wider still to
perceive the greatness, the wonder, the creative ability, the mercy and pity,
the purity, the holiness and righteousness, and the amazing love of God,
in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Quite simply, I delight in
speaking about the One whom I yearn for with a full heart, mind and soul. That
is the reason, and I am glad to testify in this vein.
In the last paper I posed a
question, and made a plea for my readers to face the facts squarely, rather
than shrug shoulders and assume that I am back on my Universalist hobby-horse
once again. If God's character is the parameter by which all truth is thrashed
out, then no one who names the name of Christ can afford to leave important
matters in the pending file. Sometimes a jolt is necessary to make people face
up to facts, and I make no apology for doing just that.
Dorothy L. Sayers, author
of the play The Man born to be King, was a great protagonist for
truth and excellence. The Rev. Dr. E.L.Mascall, writing about her, said, "Her
central concern is clear and it is supported by almost everything that she ever
wrote about religion. It is that, when all is said and done, the only really
relevant reason for accepting Christianity is that you are convinced that it is
true, not that it is comfortable or uncomfortable, interesting or
uninteresting, profitable or unprofitable, or what-have-you, but simply that it
is true."
Now many Christians argue
about this and that, topics of religion becoming like the balls that are batted
back and forth across the tennis courts of academia. It might be supposed that
this issue of an everlasting torment is just one of those balls, and it is
merely a matter of opinion whether or not it is believed. This I strongly
refute. I maintain that anyone who has been fully advised of the facts
concerning hell and the lake of fire from the whole gamut of the Bible, (as I
began to do in the last number) and who still maintains belief in eternal
torment, grossly offends the character of God, and hides behind a wall of
falsehood.
I am aware that
"truth" is hateful to Satan, and he does everything he can to impugn
it, sully it with compromise, and destroy it. Like Paul said in Romans
I am quite aware that I am
but a voice in the wilderness, preaching the gospel of Jesus' total
victory at
In recent days the Holy
Spirit has been quietly but effectively working in the lives of a number of
people to bring them to the place of decision, and sometimes it is a most
traumatic experience, causing even greater turmoil than in dramatic
conversion experiences. Let me quote from one or two who have written to me.
I'll mention no names. It would serve no useful purpose, and possibly detract
from the power of their testimonies.
"For
many years, as a Christian, I was unable to rest in God's love while trusting
Him to bring me into wholeness. Perhaps you struggle now with the same
restless panic that held me captive. Perhaps you wonder, 'How can I rest in
God's love in my wretched state?! Yes, God is love. But the Bible also says He
hates sin, and it warns us of God's eternal wrath and judgement.'
That
was my state of mind for decades. It finally resulted in hospitalisation and
living for a year without sanity, and for many months being 'sustained' by prescription
anti-depressants.
I
was brought up in a legalistic Christianity that taught, 'Jesus loves you, but
watch out! No sin will enter Heaven, and He may return or let you die
on one of your bad days. . .' Sheesh! As a young adult, it suddenly dawned on
me; that concept of the gospel had to be wrong, for it was anything but 'good
news.'
So
I found friendship with Christians who understood the gospel differently. Their
version (and, for years, my own) was, 'Jesus loves you, and if you'll receive
Him as Lord and Savior before it's too late He will save you. And once
you're saved, you will always be saved. And once you are truly saved
you will want to obey and serve Him, though sinless perfection will never
happen in this lifetime.'
Problem
was, so much wreckage still remained in my life, my reflexes, thoughts, mind
and emotions! I could see what appeared to be evidence of God's Spirit working
in my life. I even received, on occasions, what seemed to be positive proof God
was affirming and loving me - actually speaking inside my heart,
On
the other hand, I saw what appeared to be proof positive - repeatedly - that I
had never been truly saved. (Uh oh, there's the catch! Right?) There
were times when nothing inside me wanted to obey the Lord - not even to try!
Not even a little! I found myself filled with rage, lust and rebellion. Seasons
came (and, thankfully, went) in which I didn't want to think
about God or Jesus - let alone hear or speak about spiritual issues.
Then
. . . . I would 'wake up' again, filled with fear, shame, self-loathing and
remorse. Had I ever been truly saved? How could I have been, in light of all
the havoc I was causing? Had all my, so-called 'God-encounters' been only
demonic delusions? Perhaps I was a counterfeit, an evil and deluded
dreamer who only thought he was one of the 'elect.' For, given the parameters
of my Scriptural understanding - Biblically speaking - there was no way to
know. 'God' was an agonizing blur in my tormented brain. I found that I loved
Him, yet also I hated Him and recoiled in horror from Him."
This was how my dear friend
began his testimony, and in great detail went on to show how the Spirit of the
Lord led him to understand God's larger plan, His total victory at the cross,
and that salvation was not a matter of 'chance', but rather of God's design for
all mankind. Not all would rise to the ranks of rulership in the Kingdom, but
all were washed by the precious blood of
Here is the majority of a
letter we received just a short time ago from another friend.
"Thank
you very much for your response. To say that I've been struggling with
the issue of eternal hell vs. universal reconciliation would be a huge understatement.
For the past two years, it's occupied my thinking constantly. I've
researched anything and everything I could get my hands on which I thought
would give me further insight to my question. I just don't have any peace
whatsoever if I ever feel that eternal hell is the destiny for
anyone. The
reason that I started researching this issue so intensely two years ago is that
I was able to finally pinpoint exactly what the root problem was which
caused my severe feelings of anxiety and insecurity. My problem was that
I did not completely trust God under my then-present belief about
hell. I felt that if God would ever abandon anyone for eternity if they
did something wrong, then how can anyone feel secure until they finally
get to heaven. In addition to that, how could anyone really
enjoy heaven if another human being was suffering eternal torments in
hell. I mean, God Himself completely instils in His children to love
unconditionally- would we just lose feeling for the people in hell
once in heaven?
Anyway,
fortunately I've been able to dispel one myth after another regarding this
horrific teaching. It's been the most difficult 2 years I've
ever experienced in dealing with this issue. Sometimes, I didn't know how
I was going to get through. I researched as hard as I
could. I prayed constantly. For the longest time, I felt that
I just couldn't find any relief. Even up to very recently, I felt
this way. Sometimes I wonder why the Bible doesn't make it more
clear. But, I have found assurance now. In taking all of the
Bible verses regarding hell, judgement and punishment along with all of
the verses dealing with salvation, reconciliation, and restitution, I feel
confident that the message of the Bible is that at the end-- God will be all in
all. Now, this alone does not give me the confidence level and
assurance that I need in order to feel at peace and secure in and of itself,
but this taken together with the character of God- like you said- solidifies my
assurance that there is no eternal hell. "
Finally, here's a third
letter just received.
"In
regards to the present message, [i.e. Wayside Pulpit No. 98] I'll use the
testimony of my Mother, now deceased, 'I would not serve a God who
would torment his children for eternity.' This is strong, coming from a devoted
Christian, reared in orthodox Southern Baptist religion. But, I agree with her
- I do not believe in a literal hell where God sends bad people to burn
forever. God's punishments are for correction, not revenge. Those who do
believe in eternal punishment will say: 'In Christianity without the
doctrine of eternal punishment, there is absolutely NO reason to serve the
Lord.' They are living a life of fear, instead of love.
Now for a short testimonial from me: God found me, turned my life around,
cleared my mind and planted my feet on solid ground. He revealed His true
character to me, and now I serve Him because I love Him, not because of fear.
If I were a king, I would want my subjects to serve me out of love, not fear.
So does He."
As C.S.Lewis said in
Mere Christianity, "Though our feelings come and go, His love for
us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and,
therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of
those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him."
Finally, here is a word
from God the Father, by which He expresses Himself to us all in clear language
that no one can misinterpret.
"I know
you. I created you. I have loved you from your mother's womb. You have
fled - as you now know - from my love, but I love you nevertheless and
not-the-less however far you flee. It is I who sustains your very power of
fleeing, and I will never finally let you go. I accept you as you are. You are
forgiven. I know all your sufferings. I have always known them. Far beyond your
understanding, when you suffer, I suffer. I also know all the little tricks by
which you try to hide the ugliness you have made of your life from yourself and
others. But you are beautiful. You are beautiful more deeply within than you
can see. You are beautiful because you yourself, in the unique person that you
are, reflect already something of the beauty of my holiness in a way which
shall never end. You are beautiful also because I, and I alone, see the beauty
you shall become. Through the transforming power of my love, which is made
perfect in weakness, you shall become perfectly beautiful. You shall become
perfectly beautiful in a uniquely irreplaceable way, which neither you nor I
will work out alone, for we shall work it out together."
Taken from
"Known", by Rev. Dr. Charles K. Robinson,