This may be the most important blog post you’ll ever read

 

No, I’m not aggrandizing. I’m all too aware of the meager mark I’m making on the world. But as my goal with this blog has always been primarily to help the nonbeliever and skeptic move towards and eventually embrace faith in the true God, I have to believe something I write will provide some propulsion…for someone. And if it does, for that person this post could be the spark that ignites an incendiary search for truth, resulting in their salvation.

Salvation from what?…I hear some nonbelievers and skeptics saying. I suspect that one of the reasons why Christendom isn’t having an even greater influence in the developed world is our hesitancy to talk about Hell. We love talking about the rewards of Heaven for all who have faith in Christ, but often tend to leave it to our listeners’ imagination for the implied alternative.

So I’m just gonna’ lay it on the line here for all those who have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ…and rejected it. You are in a dangerously precarious position. Whatever you may think about the justice or injustice of Hell, in any of its variant descriptions, the Bible clearly teaches a place and/or destiny of condemnation.

“There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

Do you know that God loves you, and does not want you to perish?¹ So why would he send me to Hell, just for not believing in him? some will ask. Seems pretty petty and vindictive. My short answer to that is, his character requires it. Because he is holy, righteous, and just he must judge rebellion and sin. However…because he is also merciful, loving, and compassionate he has provided a way for us to escape condemnation. But we must take it.

Some skeptics will claim that they can’t be faulted for not being convinced of the truth of the Gospel, or even that there is a God, and hence it would be unjust to condemn them for not believing in him. To them I say, surely God will not. He will not condemn anyone who was willing but unable to put their faith and trust in him. But the reality is that most, if not all skeptics who claim “not enough evidence” are able but unwilling to choose to believe.

Just as we choose to believe that the universe has existed for billions of years, we know the way to the mall or our place of employment, and when we lay our head down at night we will wake to see another day, so our faith in God is an act of our will. We don’t have absolute certainty for much of what we accept as true, but we choose to believe it because we think we have good reason to.

My dear skeptic friend, created in the image of God to know, love, and be loved by him…I urge you to honestly examine your motivations, fears, and presuppositions. Is your rejection of God really an honest conclusion based solely on a thorough examination of claims and evidence? Or could it be an unwillingness to submit to his authority?

Only you…and God…know.

 

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. – Romans 1:18-20

 

¹ 2 Peter 3:9