Under the Wings of Grace
“God desires that everyone be saved . . . for Christ Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all.” (I Timothy 2:4,6) If God’s will is that all people be saved, does this mean that everyone upon death will enter into heaven? That cannot be, since God’s will is also that people have genuine freedom, which means above all the freedom to choose to accept or reject God. Those who reject God’s grace alienate themselves from God; and such alienation from God is precisely what the Bible is talking about when it speaks of hell. This is why the Bible speaks of hell as a serious reality because many people reject God—in their hearts and in their lives—and thus place themselves upon death into the condition of hell.
But will God leave people in that condition—in painful alienation from God—forever? This question arises because the concept of eternal hell seems to conflict with the love of God and the will of God that all people be saved. Many theologians and pastors have wrestled with this question and have considered the possibility that people might yet be redeemed out of hell into heaven. A good example of such reflection is the 2011 book, Love Wins, by Rob Bell.
But even if there is a possibility of that people could be saved out of hell, this is no reason to take hell lightly! When the Bible describes hell, it uses dreadful images to indicate the anguish of being separated from the goodness and blessing of God. Even if such anguish might not be everlasting, any such anguish is to be avoided! We do not have to be in hell—either now or into eternity. The way into heaven has been opened through Jesus Christ. We are invited to come today to Christ, to know the grace and blessing of God, and to live in the light of God’s promise of heaven.
Sunday’s Scripture Readings:
Matthew 23:2–33, 37–39
John 6:35–40
