Back in the USSA.....or USA

Yes I got back last Saturday and am now in Texas. It is nice to be in my own country, with my own family, with my wallet in my back pocket, and putting toilet paper in the toilet where it belongs.

Some thoughts that I have been chewing on:

You reading this may be a fan of the super "popular" and "relevant" preacher Rob Bell. It was brought to my attention that Rob has a lot of criticism, and since I liked Rob I decided to investigate.

I came across sites like: ROB BELL SAYS GOD HAS ALREADY MADE PEACE WITH ALL MEN, a video by my boys at Way of the Master (who are all about the Bible) made Bull Horn Rebuttal, Rob "Oprah" Bell, just to name a few.

(The "Oprah" link says this is Rob Bell's theology:
"God is love. He is not angry. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t feel shame. Just love {OPRAH}. God loves you just the way you are {MR. ROGERS}. Feel good about yourself. Love wins. All we need is love {JOHN LENNON}. Celebrate God’s love. Don’t turn from your sin. Everybody is already reconciled to God. Just breathe it in.”)

I side with those articles that Bell is wrong but I am not going to talk about that. I am going to talk about how the salvation message is not a salvation message without "Fire and Brimstone" or as some people say "Condemnation" because they say that it is not loving.

Let me not only disagree but also prove it is the only way of true love.

The law (10 Commandments) are essential for the salvation message. Telling people that "God has a great plan for you and wants to transform your life" is 100% true, but an offer people can pass up without any consequences. People can already feel like their life is going good the way it is.

It is essential to let people know they are dead in their sins and that we are all liars and sinners at heart that will have to face a wrath filled God on judgment day. Some people say that God isn't like that because God is love. But a wrath filled God can be loving too. You can love your friend and hate it when someone slits the tires on your car. That doesn't make you not exist or not be loving.

People need to know that without repenting and trusting in Jesus (not saying one prayer and doing nothing) is the only way to enter heaven. Telling them that "God is love" without the Law and eternal damnation doesn't make sense, and the law not only shows us our sins (Romans 7:7) but shows us how truly loving God is by saving us!

The free gift of salvation is the biggest way God shows His love! Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If someone said "Billy died for you" you would be like "You are crazy that doesn't make sense." If someone said that Billy died for you by taking a bullet for you while you were napping, that would make a lot more sense and show love.

Its like a doctor telling you he has found the cure for you and not what needs to be cured. You don't know that you have a terrible disease that will kill you in a week if you don't take the remedy.

That may be "loving", but here's a better way, the REAL WAY.

You first need to know you have a horrible disease (sin Romans 6:23 and are bound for hell without forgiveness) and then you will hear about a cure and joyfully accept it because you know the TRUTH about the horrible future you will face.


I take a lot of my analogies from Ray Comfort and he pipes in about not using the law in evangelism,

"He [the doctor] didn’t like the feeling he got when the needle brought them pain, so his discarded it in the name of love. When his patients began to die of an agonizing disease, his professed love was seen for what it was---a terrible betrayal.

Millions of unconverted church-goers sit in pews with a Bible on their lap, asleep in their sins within earshot of the pulpit.

Listen to these sobering words of warning from J. C. Ryle: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but never so fearful as when men fall from under the Gospel. The saddest road to Hell is that which runs under the pulpit, past the Bible, and through the midst of warnings and invitations.” How much more sad is it when there is no warning given . . ."


Read your Bibles and don't mess with false prophets.


I hope someone caught that Beatles reference in the title. I don't know how lucky I am.