I think it’s a real place.

-That really lasts forever.

-Where real people go.

-With real and everlasting torment.

I believe that Hell is the wrath of God poured out for our sins.

I believe that Hell was created for the Devil and his angels.

I believe that Hell is eternal separation from God, from love, and from hope.

I believe in Hell because Jesus did.

I take Hell seriously because Jesus talked about it more than Heaven.

I believe that Hell is what I deserve for rebelling against God.

I believe, that, once Hell is entered, it cannot be escaped.

I believe that though we deserve Hell, we were given the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

I believe that, that grace, is received through faith in Him.

I believe that when we follow the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, and receive His grace though faith-

That we will never have to suffer the torment of a place meant for the Devil and his angels.

I believe, that then, we can experience the everlasting goodness and joy of a relationship with God Himself.

Because I believe these things so strongly, I choose not to allow the topic of Hell to intimidate me, but instead to propel me forward in speaking of it all the more. Because if I don’t, the blood of those I failed to share the full truth of the Gospel to, will be on my hands.

Navigating the maze of rules encompassed within political correctness can be very complicating.

One arena where things get interesting is Christmas time. Christmas time, for centuries, has been a holiday where the birth of Christ is celebrated by Christians and anyone else who would like to get in on the festivities. There have always been people around the world who do not profess to be Christians, and because of that or other firmly held beliefs simply chose not to celebrate such a holiday. And that is their choice. No one has ever infringed on their right to not celebrate the holiday.

But recently because of a few fanatical non-Christians, it has become questionable whether or not it is appropriate to talk about Christmas in public, in schools, at work, and in the marketplace. So Christmas has been changed into “The Holiday Season”, Christmas Break has been turned into “Winter Break”, and Christmas Trees have been turned into “Festive Trees”.

Those who stand on the soapbox crying foul when anything Christmas is mentioned say that they do so because it infringes on their freedom of religion. They claim that anyone who is celebrating Christmas is pushing religion on them. And surprisingly businesses, government agencies, schools, and the marketplace have bowed to the demands of the vast minority who fear religion.

So in order to avert religion all together, it has become acceptable to celebrate things such as snow, snowmen, Holiday cheer, merriment, turkey dinners, and festive colored lights instead of the birth of the highly offensive Christ. But the thing that is elevated above all is gift giving.

I have a six year-old and a two year-old and every “Holiday” movie we watch promulgates the idea that the “reason for the season” is to give and receive gifts. Not because God gave the greatest gift of all in His Son. And not because wise men from the East came to bring His Son gifts. The reason for the season is to give and receive gifts simply because it’s a good thing to do.

So our children are taught, including my son by his school where “Christmasy” things can’t be mentioned, that in order to receive gifts from Santa, they must be “good”. And if these children are good, they are taught that, Santa will take notice and give them rewards in the form of gifts. And if these are children are not good, then Santa will punish them by leaving them coal. In order to appease Santa all-the-more, milk and cookies are to be left near his entrance to the house.

The problem with all of this, and the reason for which I am writing this to begin with, is how ironic this all is. In order to prevent religion from creeping into our lives with Christmas, we have invented all of these ideas, concepts, behaviors, and rituals to celebrate instead. What’s so ironic is the very things that are invented to keep religion out, are by their very definition religious!

Religion at its very core is being what you consider to be good so that you can appease a deity or deities, avoid punishment, and get a reward. In our modern “religious-free” Holiday season, we celebrate and promote that very thing. Be good and nice so that you can get a gift. Give gifts because it’s the right thing to do and it will make you feel good.

Quid Pro Quo.

The secular version of Christmas that we teach our children and celebrate even as adults couldn’t be any more religious! Be a good boy or girl so that you can appease the Holiday god (Santa). Leave a sacrifice (Milk and Cookies) to the Holiday god at his alter (the fireplace) and he’ll be even more pleased with you and will probably come back next year. If your behavior throughout the year has appeased the god who perceives all things associated with human behavior (Santa), and if your sacrifice to him was appropriate, he will bless you and allow you to enter into his heaven (Holiday gifts). If you do not please your god (Santa) he will send you to his hell (coal). If you in turn give gifts to others on his Holiday, he will be more pleased with you and you will be a good little worshiper. And finally in celebration of your god and his Holiday, you and your tribe (family) will participate in a sacred feast (Holiday dinner) in worship to him.

Follow my logic?

You see, if religion is what the politically correct powers want to avoid, then they ought to embrace the actual meaning of Christmas instead. That which they deem to be religious (Christianity and its version of Christmas) is in fact the exact opposite of religion. Religion, as explained earlier, teaches that “IF you do X, THEN you can be Y“. Christianity teaches something entirely different. It teaches that “BECAUSE Jesus did X, NOW you can be Y“. Religion is works-based. Christianity is grace-based. God freely giving us exactly what we don’t deserve (salvation), but what we want so desperately want (forgiveness, relationship, purpose, and eternal life). Grace is received not through anything we’ve done, only by what Christ has done for us.

So instead of crying foul the next time someone says the word “Christmas” or shares the true meaning of this ancient holiday, the easily offended ought to look at the religion they’ve created and embrace the original freedom from religion: Jesus Christ.

Believe me, I am excited for the day of Christ’s return. My heart aches for it. But there are some believers, who, it’s the only thing they think about. I believe that for most of them, probably unknown to them, it’s a selfish longing because Christ’s return means a better life for them and an end to their problems. It’s almost like they’re giving the rest of the world ‘the finger’ while they’re on their way to Glory Land. I’m afraid that for these Left Behind obsessed Christians, that, they have forgotten the heartbeat of God which has always been the lost- of which they were once a part.

So the next time you are getting impatient for the coming of Christ, stop and remember that there are billions who won’t be taken to be with Him. Let that thought transform your heart and give you the desire to unselfishly share the grace, love, and hope that you have found in Christ with the lost world around you.

Know that Christ is coming and rejoice! Know that the lost will perish and allow your heart to mourn! Live within the tension because that’s where we are who God has called us to be.

And while I believe that people of all religions should respect each other and treat each other peacefully, there is a big problem with stating that these religions should, or even can, COEXIST with each other. The problem is that all of these religions are exclusive- claiming that their ‘way’ is the only way to heaven, god, or nirvana. In the end, the all think that they are right, and that everyone else is wrong.

All world religions essentially teach that you must act a certain way, do certain things, and achieve certain levels in order to be “saved” and to achieve the religion’s goal (heaven etc…). Christianity, however, is different. It teaches that there is nothing you can do to be saved and achieve an everlasting relationship with God. Instead it teaches that Jesus (God the Son) came to live the life that you could never live (a life of holiness and perfection unto God), and to die the death that you deserved to die (for your sins on the cross) so that your sins could be forgiven, you could have the righteousness of Christ imparted to you, and you could have eternal life and relationship with God as He restores all things through Christ.

So Christianity, itself, is exclusive- teaching that all other religions and world systems will not lead lead to God. Jesus said,” I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” If someone wants to receive salvation, forgiveness of sins, a new life, relationship with God, and eternal life they must put their faith (trust) in the gracious (unmerited favor) gift and finished work of Christ- that’s it.

What does this have to do with the COEXIST bumper sticker? Answer: None of these religions will ultimately COEXIST in peace because they all are impotent to bring about salvation. They will each battle against each other as they try to achieve their exclusive path to enlightenment. They, because Jesus is the only way, will only really COEXIST in hell apart from God because they failed to put their faith in the One who can set them free.

COEXISTence is only temporary as the world awaits the judgment of a holy, righteous, and just God. We as Christians should seek peaceful and respectful relationships with people from all faiths and lovingly find ways to show them the only Way- the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thinking that we can COEXIST forever in peace with all religions is naivety and is rejection of Jesus as being the only way to God and perfection.

We all entered the highway off of very curvy, unkept, and dangerous roads bound for destruction.

Sometimes I think we believe that the highway will be smooth sailing- that we can just turn on the cruise control, listen to some good music, pass all the best landmarks, and enjoy our air-conditioned, leather-seated luxury car.

For those of us who don’t get trapped in delusion, we know nothing can be further from the truth!

Often times the highway can be filled with accidents and road work, making for delays and causing us to learn to be patient.

There are consistantly exit signs promising cheap gas, delicous food, and exciting adventures tempting us to pull of the highway- just temporarily.

We do have to stay the course, pay attention to the road signs, and learn to drive patiently for our home exit is straight in front of us.

Some of us know these things all too well and we stay in the middle lane on the highway all the way home. But when we do only that, we’re missing something all together. In fact, it’s possible that we were never on the highway home to begin with.

Because on this straight highway that leads us home there are exits, not the exits we are to avoid, but exits that we have been called to take. These exits are usually dark and appear to have very little to offer. But they’re the exits that God has prepared for us to take since before the highway was ever constructed.

These exits have millions of drivers with cars who are desparate to get home. They just need someone to pull of the highway and show them the easy entrance on to it so they can begin their journey home.

If there were no drivers off of these exits who needed direction, the highway would have been much shorter and we already would have been home. You see, taking these exits are not really an option, they are part of this straight highway that lies in front of us. And once you have given directions to these lost drivers off of the dark exits, it’s easy to pull right back on to the highway until you find your next exit, and eventually reach home.

There’s nothing we can do to ‘not sin’. We can wear all sorts of masks to make it look like we’ve got everything figured out and put together, but behind the mask we’re still just a sinner bound for an eternal hell.

We can join a religion, work hard, read good books, and do lots of good things but those things will never forgive us of our sins or change the fact that we are sinners.

Our only hope in being acquitted is the just judge who created us and set the rules to begin with. But because He is just, there must be punishment for sin. Because He is holy and blameless those who are sinners cannot dwell in His presence.

So out of His great love for us He sent His Son to live the sinless life that we could never live and to take on the punishment that we deserved to be given: the wrath of God poured out on Him for all the sins of man.

Because Jesus, His Son, took our punishment, we stand forgiven of our sins if we claim and trust in His finished work on our behalf. We no longer are seen as sinners by God. When we have been saved by Jesus. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ because that’s what we have been given.

So without Jesus, we go to hell for what we DO. But with Jesus we go to heaven (to eternal relationship with God) for what He DID.

We never go to heaven because of what we do or do not do, it will always be because of what Jesus already did for us.

As a Christian, throughout my life I’ve been taught from time to time (directly or implied) that even if you have been saved, that if you die while in the act of sinning, that you will go to hell. For example, a Christian hits his thumb with a hammer and mutters “dam it” under His breath. Then at that exact moment he has a heart attack and dies, because of saying a ‘cuss word’ at the time of his death he will ‘go to hell’.

This is silly because just as there’s nothing we can DO to get into heaven, because Jesus already DID all that needs to be done, once we trust in His finished work and submit our lives to Him, there’s nothing we can DO to keep us out of heaven.

That being said, as Christians, we don’t have the liberty to sin against God whenever we want because there’s nothing we can DO to keep us out of heaven. Because one who sins whenever and however they feel like it with no concern for Christ’s work on the cross, does not understand the sacrifice and grace of Christ, has not had their life changed by Christ, and according to the ‘fruit’ of their life is not saved by Jesus from hell to begin with!

The purpose of all these seemingly random thoughts? You can’t save yourself! Being a nice guy, loving your family, and believing in God will not save you- ever. The only thing that can save you from the punishment and consequence of what you have done is Jesus Christ’s sinless life, His death for your sins, and His resurrection from the dead. So stop talking about what a good guy you or someone else is because it’s just not true. You are a sinner whose every intention is evil and who is bound for hell without the grace, love, and hope of Jesus!

You must turn from your evil ways and turn to Jesus as the author and the perfector of your faith. And once you have recieved the free gift of salvation from Christ He will change you and you will not want to take advantage of His grace by continually sinning against Him.

Will you still stumble and fail as a Christian? Yes because you still reside in a body ravished by sin. But if you deliberately live a continual lifestyle of sin as if Christ never died for you, you don’t have a sin problem, you have a salvation problem.

2. What you do in life impacts others and changes the world.
You make a difference in the lives of those around you, for the good or the bad. Your choices impact everyone, especially those closest to you. If you think you’re only hurting yourself when you do stupid things, you’re wrong. Because of your birth, the world will never be the same. And because of your death, the world will never be the same.

3. When we cry and mourn at a funeral, we’re not only feeling bad for the one who died and their family, we’re also coming to grips with our own mortality and the mortality of those closest to us. That causes us to mourn even more, and for people (including ourselves) who haven’t even died yet.

4. It can and does happen to you.
Often when thinking of tragedy, people think or say things like,” that could never happen to me.” The death of a friend or a loved one shows that it will. You’re terminal. Surprise! You’re going to die!

5. You could die one second after reading this post.
We, and those we love, are never promised tomorrow. We have to live this day as if it was our last.

6. Without Jesus, you’re going to hell!
Whether you want to believe this or not, I think everyone comes to understand this in some rudimentary way while going through the death of a loved one.

7. Times of tragedy, adversity, and great sadness bring frineds and family close together, but if not intentionally managed can drive families apart after the event.

8. No one grieves the same- period. Don’t judge people according to their emotions or actions shown while grieving.

9. Sharing (publically at a funeral) is just as much about you and the people there as it is the person who died.

10. The physical is temporary.
While looking at a loved one’s dead body, it becomes immediately obvious that (the body) is not the person you knew so well- that the thing (the person’s body) we associated with that person most of all, was only a shell for the living being they truley are. You realize that death is not the end, or the beginning, just a part of life.

I talked to someone who just came out of a cult. I talked with someone who was a witch and practiced Satanism. I talked with someone who didn’t believe in the claims of the Bible yet called himself a Christian. I talked with an elderly artist who has lived an extremely interesting life with prominent figures of Hollywood’s Golden era. I talked to a severely disabled woman bound to the confines of a wheelchair for the rest of her life. And I spoke to a dear friend who is at the threshold of completely loosing the little eyesight she has left. I talked to a few others two, but these are the interactions that stuck out.

One think that’s really going through my mind right now is the young man who doesn’t necessarily believe the claims of the Bible, yet says he’s Christian out of fear.

There was so much about this conversation that I would love to elaborate on but simply don’t have the time. He essentially, though, didn’t want to go to hell -which he thought was only a temporary judgement before all people go to heaven (?)- so he “was Christian” to avoid it.

I explained to him that the Bible says that,” perfect love casts out all fear”- that the purpose of being saved (or being a Christian) was not getting out of hell, but to experience an abundant everlasting relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I let him know that God’s purpose was perfect and abiding in His purpose will lead to a gratifying and fulfilling life for us; better than any life we could live for our own purposes. I told him that I have a relationship with God because God deserves my love, praise, and devotion for what He has done for me and simply for who He is.

I told him that hell was a real eternal place for sinners who do not receive the gift of eternal life through Christ, but that it was certainly not THE reason to become a Christian.

I heard Rick Warren say on his ministry podcast that heaven and hell were no longer the great motivators of evangelism. My wife and I were talking about that several days before I heard Warren on the podcast say the same thing. Another evangelism point of previous generations was creation, where today’s generation doesn’t seem to allow the creation/evolution debate to effect their decision on whether or not one receives Christ.

It was interesting, however, to talk with this young man whose objections to faith had to do with creation and science; and whose desire for faith had to do with hell.

But I shouldn’t be surprised. This guy grew up in a Christian home and attended church all of his life. And one of the prominent messages that the church gives still is that you become a Christian to get into heaven and to avoid going to hell.

I wonder if people who have so called “conversions” based off of these motivators are truly saved. They, after all, are not compelled to become Christians based off of their desire for relationship with or honoring of God. It’s simply to avoid hell. This motivator is self-serving and not Christ-Centered.

God could and can certainly use such motivators to lead to real transformational relationships with Him; but to have such decisions based solely off of the desire to escape hell are questionable at least.

This post is far from containing any full thought about this subject, but like usual, it poses a question: What can we as Christians  do to share the grace, love, and hope we have in Christ with others so that they may experience transformational eternal relationship with Him, without the motivation being self-serving?

And more importantly: Is my relationship with Christ merely self-serving? Is yours?

Our mission as a church must define- in a broad sense-why we exist.

We, as Christians, believe that God has commanded us to take part in an extraordinary mission with Him on earth. God by no means needs us to complete this mission, but He has chosen us to work with Him and we consider that to be a great privilege and honor.

As mentioned above, and reiterated here, this mission was given on the day Jesus ascended from the earth, after dying on a cross and rising from the dead, into heaven. We can read about His command to us in Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So in response to Christ’s command to us, we have adopted this simple Mission Statement:

“Our mission is to connect people to an everlasting committed relationship with Jesus Christ and with others.”