by One of the phrases that has stuck with me since my time at Bob Jones University is one that was sort of a question and answer phrase:
Speaker: The most sobering reality in the world today is that…
Response: People are dying and going to Hell today.
Some in modern Christendom have decided that Hell is not real, that all make it to Heaven. They are shrinking from this reality because this reality is inconvenient and, frankly, difficult to accept. How can a loving God send people to a place of eternal torment? The answer is that in order to be good, He must be just. That justice does not allow for sin to be excused without a substitute.
On this Good Friday, as we remember what Jesus has done by shedding His blood on the cross and taking the punishment of our sin on Himself, let us remember that there is a punishment for sin– death and Hell. Let us remember the call, that there people that are dying and going to Hell today, and that we are tasked with the mission to reach them with the Good News of redemption.
It’s interesting…we were talking yesterday about how maybe the focus on the lost soul isn’t what the gospel is all about. Not that I disagree or believe that we shouldn’t have compassion for the unsaved and want to save them from hell (that’s biblical!), but what about the focus being primarily about it being Christ’s just dues…the saved souls gleaned for his kingdom. We Christians OWE him so much, so in our great love for him and all he has done for us, we want to see Him glorified in as many folks’ lives as possible. So that those folks will go on to tell more and more, and Heaven, rather than Hell, will be greatly enlarged to fit all the ones who love him. So many times I have gotten the focus on the poor lost sinner who desperately needs what Christ has to offer…and some others that I know, only care about the #’s (how many I witnessed to that got saved). In reality, what’s the Heavenly purpose, for His glory? Did this make sense? What do you think?
What you say reminds me of the latter part of Isaiah 53, where Isaiah says that the Servant will be glorified above that which He could have been glorified because of the depths that He endured to save us. So I can definitely say that there’s an aspect there that the spreading of the Gospel is in part a declaration of what Christ has done to his exultation. Much like the parable of the king having a feast and sending out messengers to invite first a select and then everyone in, we’re charged to go and tell everyone.
But I think there’s also a part in there that shows the compassion that Jesus had on the multitudes. He wanted us to pray for people to go into the harvest, for the field’s were white. He prayed that God would have mercy on those crucifying Him. So I also believe that there’s a part of us that should long for all to come to repentance, and be saddened for those that refuse.