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Dr. Harry Ironside told the story of a new convert who gave his testimony at a church service. With great joy he told how he had been delivered from a life of sin. He gave all the glory to God, saying nothing about his own merits or anything he had done to deserve his salvation. The man in charge of the service was a legalistic man who did not appreciate the reality of salvation by grace through faith apart from human works. So he responded to the young man’s testimony by saying, “You seem to indicate that God did everything when He saved you. Didn’t you do your part before God did His?” His question seems like a logical one. But it is not a good question. Gabriel chastises Zechariah, telling him in no uncertain terms that he, Gabriel, stands in the very presence of God. Of course he can deliver on this promise of good news!
EstherSpeaksTruth – Telegram
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. In other words, "I'll take care of the Babylonians in my time. It will all work out in the end. Be patient."With how image-conscious Christianity has become, I'm surprised that this response to Rob Bell's Love Wins doesn't take many cues from the book that inspired it. Instead of echoing Bell's stylistic flourishes, postmodern structure, and graphic design obsession, Galli writes in a straightforward, often dreary way, that Hell is real and people who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will go there. I point this out because this plodding, dogmatic text will almost certainly not appeal to the same people who feel excited and moved by Bell's writings, which begs the question - why bother writing it? I guess it's to give the establishment talking points that can be trotted out when some fresh-eyed idealistic hipster starts talking about making the world a better place NOW instead of worrying about eternal damnation.
God Wins | Christianity Today
The contrast is compelling, but I'm not sure it's accurate. Galli seems to forget the clear case of Thomas after Jesus' resurrection, demanding to see physical evidence to believe that the resurrection has actually occurred. This sounds more like a Zechariah question to me. Yet Thomas was not at all condemned, rather met with deep love and the evidence he needed. God, of course, does not always provide the evidence we want, but asking is not necessarily sinful. The new Christian jumped to his feet and said, “Oh, yes, I did. For more than 30 years I ran away from God as fast as my sins could carry me. That was my part. But God took out after me and ran me down. That was His part.” Ironside observed, “It was well put and tells a story that every redeemed sinner understands” (from “Our Daily Bread”). Those who truly belong to the Lord are lowly people who take refuge in the name of the Lord, who bow under His sovereignty. But no matter the questions, here's the point: for some, these questions arise out of a trusting faith. For others, they arise out of a desire to have God prove himself on human terms.That's a lot to take in. Most mothers just want to know they'll have a baby with all ten fingers and ten toes. But what exactly all this means—Son of the Most High? ruler like King David? reign forever?—seems not as perplexing to Mary as one other detail. "But how can this happen?" she asks. "I am a virgin." Galli also criticizes Love Wins as presenting God as impersonal and not present in Heaven. I would simply chalk this up to differences in reading because I read Love Wins as an intensely personal, relational Father who is the epitome of Heaven. Bell may have used different language than many evangelicals do in describing the personal nature of God. However, I found the language incredibly meaningful and personal. People have been asking hard questions since biblical days. But some of those questions have also been answered. Let's note two of them, and how God answered. It will help us see what we're up against when we start asking tough questions of the Creator of heaven and earth.
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