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| Vol. 16 No. 7 July 2014 | Page 9 |
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| Vol. 16 No. 7 July 2014 | Page 9 |
Thomas Baxley
Hell, it seems, has lost a lot of its fire over the last few decades, and perhaps even through recent centuries. The reason for this lies in the fact that mankind has forgotten one simple precept: God hates sin, and He will punish those who refuse to repent and turn to Him. When you deny the existence of hell, you deny the Bible. When you overemphasize attributes like love and mercy, and neglect attributes like wrath and justice, you deny God. While God most certainly is a God of love and mercy, He is also a God of vengeance (Deuteronomy 7:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9). It does not take long to find proof of this; simply read Genesis, and you will find two major events in the first 19 chapters. Genesis 19 records the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the neighboring cities in the valley, on account of their great wickedness. Prior to this is the greatest catastrophe this planet has ever seen – the great flood. Genesis 6-7 details the account of the flood that destroyed “all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land…” (Genesis 7:22 NKJV), man and animal, because of sin. Since the Bible unequivocally declares that the wicked will be punished, it behooves us as Christians to make sure that we warn as many as we can, and show them the way to safety. “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (2 Corinthians 5:11).
No God – No Hope;
Know God – Know Hope
Dean Kelly
I actually am not real big on short slogans because they can be misleading in their brevity. Cutesy phrases often do not express the fullness needed to understand a subject; they merely sound good. However, this little phrase above is very powerful in its simplicity. There is no true hope outside of a relationship with the God Who created heaven and earth.
Occasionally, I will read where someone will write or quote a writer who tries to give meaning to life without God. It is amazing and amusing to see the doublespeak and convoluted attempts to explain the significance of life without God. Here is a quote, and I will let you explain to me what he is saying, if you can. The author Eckhart Tolle claims to be a “spiritual” teacher combining thoughts from various world religions, though he is very vague about a “god” of any kind. “There is only one perpetuation of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your true power emerges, the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring on the light.” HUH? Really?
How about this instead? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Tolle is right that we do need to leave the darkness and go to the light. The light is only found in Jesus Christ, with the hope that only comes from God though the Gospel. Indeed: No God, No Hope or Know God and Know Hope.