Category: Love of God

How Can I Believe In A God that Tortures People In Hell?

Posted on by admin

An unbeliever asks, “How can you believe that God tortures people forever in Hell?” Now, wait a second; let’s think this through. First of all, the most startling thing is that God punished His very own Son (and Self) on the Cross two thousand years ago. In fact, the word excruciating comes from the Latin word for cross. Keep in mind also that the pain God inflicted on His Son was not only physical, but spiritual in nature. Jesus endured the guilt of our sin. He was tormented in body and spirit for our wickedness, though He is God and completely perfect. (II Corinthians 5:21)

Secondly, God “tortured” Himself, if you will, in order that we might be freed from the penalty and punishment we justly deserve. He deserved none of it, for Jesus is the perfect Son of God (I Peter 3:18). In effect, God does not send any person to eternal and tormented separation from Him without first offering the torment of His own Son (and Self) as the primary sacrifice … and the way out of anguish for all believing humans.

Thirdly, we are finite creatures sinning against an infinitely holy God. It is one thing for me to sin against another human being (and God holds us accountable for that), but in every sin we are ultimately offending God (Psalm 51:4). Sinning against an infinitely holy God obviously demands an infinite punishment. And, my friend, only an infinite God could absorb the world’s sin in a moment of time. That’s exactly what Jesus did! His infinitude allowed Him to absorb the totality of sin in one event of history. We finite creatures, however, would have to carry our own guilt on ourselves forever in order to pay it off. (John 3:36) Hence, Hell is an everlasting punishment.

So, before we get disturbed by the concept of Hell, we need to get amazed by the concept of Calvary. There, God inflicted immeasurable spiritual, emotional, and physical pain on His own Self as Jesus suffered and died. Jesus is our Way of escape from the misery of Hell, which is brought on by our own rebellion and refusal to believe in the measureless love and perfectly just plan of God.

First and foremost, we must understand that God placed our well-deserved penalty on Jesus, the Perfect One, who deserved no chastisement. Our punishment rightly follows if we sinners refuse to accept this great plan of unimaginable love. (Isaiah 53:10)

Torture or Trust

Posted on by admin

Read this paragraph carefully:

    As she lay there suddenly unconscious, he hovered over her body with his glistening knife. His accomplices nervously awaited his every move as beads of sweat dripped from his forehead despite the well-thought-out plan. He lifted his arm slightly … and then … it happened. His gloved hand began its descent toward her chest. The intense breathing could be heard from behind his mask. Then, swiftly, the glistening knife pierced her skin and went deeper, deeper.

This scenario sounds pretty awful, doesn’t it? However, before you make a judgment call, read the end to the story:

    Within minutes the doctor had removed the deadly bullet which had been lodged perilously close to her heart. She would recover.

Do the last two sentences change your whole outlook of the account? What at first appeared to be a horrendous act of cold-blooded murder … was actually an act of life-saving mercy. The masked man is a surgeon, his accomplices comprise the medical team, and his goal is to save life – not end it.

When we lack proper knowledge, what is good can be mistaken for bad. For example, try telling a two-year-old boy whose own mother is holding him down as a doctor jabs an IV into his arm that the adults are actually trying to help him and not torture him. Explaining this to a child is a difficult – if not impossible – task. The qualitative and quantitative gap in understanding between a baby and an adult is a large one. But, in a few decades, the gap will disappear. A twenty-year-old young lady can comprehend the need for IV hydration. She would not accuse her parents or the doctor of some cruelty. She can accept that while the method for healing is painful, it is necessary.

It is easy to see why a baby being injected for an immunization might be very confused by his mother’s participation in such a painful and mysterious event. A baby needs a few decades to grow in order to have the understanding of an adult, which would give him proper perspective on this protective action.

So, picture if you would, that you are a little child on the lap of God. And He is allowing some mysterious “injection” of pain and struggle to come to you. He is holding you, but it hurts. You have no idea what good this trial could possibly be accomplishing. It makes no sense to you from your limited perspective. All you feel is the agony, and God is holding you there. Should you assume that He is just torturing you? Of course not.

If a finite gap in understanding between children and adults causes a child to confuse necessary healing procedures for seeming torture, how much more could the infinite gap in understanding between humans and God cause us to confuse His ways of healing for what appears to be only misery?

I never expect a baby to comprehend the need for an injection of medicine via a sharp needle. That expectation is unrealistic. I can only hold the baby and hope that he will continue to associate my regular pattern of love and comfort with my current actions, even though he can’t possibly figure them out. One day, after the child has grown, my actions will make sense. He will look back and know that I had his best interest in mind all along.

If we can’t expect a child to grasp the healing work of adults just because fifteen years of growth stands in the way, why do we demand to grasp the method of all of God’s work in our lives when an infinite gap of wisdom stands between us and Him? By doing so, we are placing an unfair demand on our supreme, supernatural, and loving God.

When I get to Heaven, I expect to begin growing in understanding in a way that I simply couldn’t while in this world and bound by sin. Eternity and a new likeness to Christ (I John 3:2) will help me to see all the ways God was making me better through the pain. Until then, I will sit on His lap, and I will trust Him even though it hurts.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15, NKJV)

Who Do We Think We Are?

Posted on by admin

In the middle of a Bible teaching session about the Trinity last week, I found myself stopping in my tracks as I read a particular verse to the crowd. The question that immediately bombarded my mind was, “Who do we think we are?” We can be so self-focused. We often look at circumstances with a main concern of, “How will this affect me?”

The problem with that attitude is … the Holy Spirit Himself chooses not to be self-focused – even though He is God! The third Person of the Trinity has every right to receive glory, yet He has chosen to glorify Someone Else!

It hit me right between the eyes – that tremendous statement of Jesus about the Holy Spirit in John 16:14 (ESV, emphasis mine), “He will glorify me.”

If the third Person of the Godhead willingly lifts up Jesus with His very existence, what in the world am I doing? Am I thinking I am better than God, as I attempt to serve myself at any given moment instead of pointing all hearts around me to Jesus?

Does my frustration about situations glorify my own feelings instead of God’s sovereignty? Does my anger at people exalt my wish to be placated more than a longing for God to be obeyed? Does my pride in accomplishment turn people’s eyes toward me instead of toward the Savior? Does my fear glorify ominous circumstances rather than the God of all comfort and hope?

Two of the great mysteries of the Trinity are the willing submission of the Son to the Father and the willing glorification of the Son by the Spirit. We simply cannot get around this clear revelation. And what a loving example for us! The three Persons of the Godhead love one another so much that they willingly do what is essential for our redemption.

Holy Spirit, thank You for making Jesus big for the world. Thank You for lifting Him up that we might be saved by His death and resurrection. And Holy Spirit, please help me to make Jesus the biggest thing in my life. You are God, and You give me the power I need to glorify God. I love you!

No Further from God’s Love in the Lows of Life

Posted on by admin

We live in a culture marked by insecurity – ups and downs. Walking into a coffee shop, I spotted near the front door a leading newspaper with charts strewn across its front page. Each one showed lines shifting sharply upward and downward in spurts – all describing financial markets. Every morning, my blood tester shows me whether or not my blood sugar level is high or low compared to normal. Our ministry’s website analyzer graphs peaks and valleys according to people’s interest in our site. We are inundated with ups and downs. Even our emotional mood changes with circumstances, body chemistry, and human interaction.

In the midst of continual fluctuation, what a comfort it is to realize that God’s love never vacillates. No high or low – no up or down – can ever change the care and love of our God who transcends a fickle world. Though riding the roller coaster of an unstable world system may tend to make us feel insecure, God’s faithfulness never lessens and never ceases. We may be tempted to feel less loved because we endure a particular shift or low point, but – in reality – NOTHING separates us from God’s love. Take the poetic words of Romans 8:38-39 (ESV) at face value:

    “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Did you catch that all-important phrase, “Nor height nor depth”? The highs of the stock market or my savings account make me no more a receiver of God’s love than do the lows of the same. The zenith of my physical health makes me no more accepted by God than my illness. I see God in the peak of my joy and favorable circumstances, but the pit of sadness and suffering do not move me any further from my Creator. Nothing separates me from His love – no height and no depth – nothing.

We rest secure and accepted because God’s love is relentless. His love does not wane when circumstances do. His love does not increase when blessing comes. Why? Because His love is infinite in strength. Compared to the changes and situations of life, God’s love cannot be measured. His love is always at full capacity. His love consumes whatever would sever us from Him. The appearance of angels in our lives does not make God love us more, just as the attack of demons cannot remove one bit of His love from us. Life itself cannot divide us from God’s love, yet neither can death. No matter the place or way in which we find ourselves, God’s love is greater and unyielding in its grip on us.

Let no man of earth or demon of Hell steal from you this truth. Let no circumstance of life – good or bad – high or low – take from you this hope. Let no argument, speech, or false teaching rob you of this fact. Nothing in all creation can separate you from God’s love. He is the Creator. He loves you. Everything He made ultimately bows to His will. All creation belongs to Him. Nothing under His sovereignty can diminish His love for you, because He is THE Sovereign!

Come high, come low. Come angel, come demon. Come today, come tomorrow. Come life, come death. Come anything. God’s love is with me. Always. Highs don’t draw us closer, and lows don’t take us further from His love.