Rob Bell is not the first person to ever have a dangerous idea. At the dawning of dangerous ideas was a creature who considered and toyed with the idea that perhaps he would make a better god than the only God. (We all know how that turned out) In almost every case of heretical thinking, such thinking is accompanied by the Gnostic attitude of pride. (It is welcome to the “I know something that you don’t know” club) It is then presented as enlightened thinking—a more creative way of viewing truth—a more progressive approach to doctrine than ancient orthodoxy. At the core it is always the same story…pride!
I am continually reminded of Paul’s advice in 2 Cor 10:4-5: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” I am certain that I have brought forth some dangerous ideas in the pulpit while presenting those bits of “insight” as the gospel truth. It is a bad habit that I strive to avoid. Anytime I twist scripture (and there are many effective techniques to do so), I am preaching my opinion as opposed to God’s truth. Here’s the kicker—my ideas will probably do more harm than good—God’s truth has the power to lead a soul to salvation. It really does not matter how enlightened I believe myself to be, any deviation from the clear and orthodox teachings of the Bible are indicative of pride and possible self-deception.
How important is the doctrine that I teach? In 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul gave Timothy the following advice: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” What does this tell me? That I would rather teach the truth and see people saved, than teach dangerous ideas and see people dammed. OK…I’ll be honest: I like it when people view me as a kind of insightful spiritual guru kind of a guy; but that is also coming from the same pit of ego-centricity that drives the formation of my dangerous ideas. Enough about me…
Rob Bell is toying with the ancient heresy of universalism. (The belief that everyone will ultimately be saved) It is a dangerous idea, because, it is built upon a foundation of wishful thinking and selective passages of scripture. One should avoid building a new gospel when it requires the author to exclude unwanted passages of scripture while including only passages that support the idea. Such an approach to developing doctrine will turn out to be “another gospel which is no gospel at all.” Is there such a place as Hell? Does the love of God allow the existence of eternal judgment? Will people remain outside of God’s favor and grace? I think that the answer is “yes.” At least for those willing to subordinate their dangerous ideas to Biblical truth.
In my own approach to preaching, I tend to be a pro-active, faith, hope and love kind of a preacher. That said, I know that there is a broad path that leads to destruction and that many people are on that path. I am also convinced that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life—and that no man comes to the Father, but through Him. My own dangerous ideas…I think I’ll just keep them to myself.
1 comments:
This is a great post RJ on a very important topic. Especially for our younger generation that can quickly be steered away solid biblical teaching by a whims of a dynamic speaker but one that does not share the whole truth. My prayer is that more and more come to know the one true God and that those that call on Jesus will walk with him for all of their days.
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