Today’s Scripture Reading (January
12, 2015): Romans 15
In a recent
article on the beliefs of Rob Bell with regard to the subject of hell (how long
ago did Rob write “Love Wins?” I know it’s only been about four years, but it
seems like much longer), one of the unintentional conclusions was that as
Christians, we really know how to hold a grudge. At one point the author of the
article (John Pavlovitz) makes the comment that Bell’s sin was to dare to go
off the Christian script. One of the comments left at the bottom of the article
asked if the script that Rob Bell violated was the Bible. Ouch! Interestingly,
hell is only one of the sacred cows that Bell has tried to recently turn into
hamburger. Since the release of “Love Wins,” the former pastor has also taken a
run against the idea that God is against homosexuality.
But the
problem is that Rob Bell doesn’t stand alone. Nothing that he has said is new,
others before him have held the same views that he has espoused. With regard to
hell, Bell doesn’t seem to believe that hell doesn’t exist, as some have
asserted, just that hell may not be eternal. His main point is that the Bible
clearly states that it is God’s wish that all would be saved (The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance
– 2 Peter 3:9). And Bell simply asks the question “what
if an all-powerful God gets exactly what it is that he wants?” Bell’s answer is
that if that was to happen, then one day hell would have to be empty.” And I am
not sure that Bell is right, but I admit that there is part of me that hopes
that he is. There is no one that I would cheer as they went to hell. And I will
also defend Rob Bell’s right to say (and write) what it is that he believes.
And I am nervous about what this kind of a declaration might bring from
those who read these pages. But this is exactly the way that Paul felt as he
begins to close his letter to the Romans. We know that Paul would eventually
die in Rome, but, amazingly, as Paul writes to the Roman Church, he asks for
their prayer to keep him safe as he goes to Jerusalem. But his prayer request
is double pronged. Not only does Paul request safety, but also that the
collection that he had been taking as he has moved through the Gentile churches
would be received by the Jewish Church in Jerusalem. The problem was that Paul
was probably viewed, in some circles in Jerusalem, as the Rob Bell of his day.
He was advocating that the Gentile church did not have to fulfill the Jewish requirements
of the law. Paul had gone off the script and, in this case, the script was the
Hebrew Bible.
So Paul has a collection for the Church in Jerusalem, a collection that
the Gentile churches had given often out of their own poverty, and he wasn’t
even sure if the collection would be accepted by the Jerusalem Church. They
might simply write Paul off as a heretic, reject the offering, and the result
would be that the church could then divide on racial lines. And that was not
what Paul wanted. He dreamed of a united church that could love each other
through their differences.
Our reality is that there is no guarantee that we will always agree with
each other, but we are still expected to love each other. But more than that,
we have a world that is waiting to see if the church can do just that. They don’t
think that we can. But we need to prove them wrong.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Romans
16
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