Thinking Rightly About Hell

This weekend we looked at the doctrine of hell as a part of our “Contend” series.  If you weren’t with us, please take some time to listen to the message online as we tried to honestly tackle the tough questions surrounding this doctrine.

The fact that some within Christianity are trying to argue against the doctrine of hell is not surprising.  It is a logical result of the other topics we have covered so far.  In the message, I referred to the “pathway of doctrinal decay”, which all starts with the simple question “Will we have God on His terms?”  Or, to put it a different way, “Will we believe in God for who He says He is, or for who we wish Him to be?”  The doctrine of hell is woven throughout the Bible and is tied to the very character of God – that He is the rightful judge over all He has created.  The current aversion to the doctrine of hell flows from a narrow, man-made concept of who God is and what He is like.  To these critics, it is impossible to reconcile how God could be loving and yet how He could send anyone to hell.  In the message, we sought to address these issues.

For anyone wanting to dig a little deeper for themselves into the current debate or into this doctrine, here are a few suggested resources…

– Here is a link to a well-rounded critique of Rob Bell’s book “Love Wins” by Kevin DeYoung

– A simple yet thorough book laying out the doctrine of hell is “Erasing Hell” by Francis Chan