Heretic?

Heretic is a word thrown around a lot these days. I don’t know if that is wise, unless of course heresies have been spouted.

Recently, in an interview with the Grand Rapids Daily, Rob Bell is quoted as saying this:

“That is apparently the story of the Bible: God saying, ‘I know how you feel.’”

I would love to hear more about this, but I do not have the time to do a deeper investigation just now. In other words, I have to take Rob Bell at his word, and see that he believes the story of the Bible is God saying I know how you feel. However, In my studies recently into the scriptures for our weekly worship service, I have observed an overwhelming theme, and it is not God saying “I know how you feel”. It is God, full of love, demonstrating his grace on those who deserve His wrath. Psalm 7:11-13

God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.

The word translated indignation is zaam, and day is yaam, so it says that God is fiercely angry and expresses His anger about sin with people every single day. It does not express that God is concerned about your feelings (though God knows about our feelings…indeed He knows everything about us) but He is concerned about our actions, our motives, indeed the very breaking of His righteous standard. God does know our sufferings; He even allows them as another sign of His love and grace towards us giving us all the more time to repent. Suffering, is not as Rob Bell says:

“There is a creative impulse that is birthed by suffering. So-and-so loses their job and it’s awful and it’s gut-wrenching. But, for the first time, a whole new future opens up. They begin to imagine things they never did before. Maybe, sometimes, it takes suffering to get the other stuff out of the way, so you can get at the greatness that’s inside you.”

Suffering is not to open up a new future, it is not for our imagination, it is not to get to the greatness inside of you. it is part of God’s purpose for Christians to become more like Christ, indeed to remind us of His wonderful grace, indeed of His greatness given to us when we were at our worst:

3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Rob Bell, Suffering is not about revealing our greatness, it is about revealing God’s grace towards us. Our sin leads us to death. In this life, our sin brings about our suffering. Indeed, our first father Adam introduced sin and death through sin to our entire race. As a result of sin, God’s wrath is revealed

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Many of us believe that somehow despite our unrighteousness and ungodliness can earn God’s favor by religious acts such as contemplative prayer, breathing, being involved in social justice, and doing other acts that bring the kingdom to this earth such as creating works of art and beauty out of suffering will earn God’s favor.

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Man’s suffering is part of God’s grace. In our suffering, things are stripped away, and we can either rely on ourselves, or we can turn to God who in his riches of kindness, mercy, forbearance, and patience does not give us what we deserve (death) but brings things (sometimes suffering) into our lives to reveal our need for Him. This kindness should lead us to repentance, not doing works of art and beauty. If we refuse to turn to Him, using the grace of suffering as a means of realizing the kindness of God, we continue to store up wrath for that day when His righteous judgment will be revealed.

Rob Bell, how many times does this truth need to be revealed? Do we need a bullhorn? It is not about how you feel, it is about what is true. Peace with God is not something that is earned through the good works that we do, how many noomas we produce, how creative we are with our messages. No, peace with God was purchased and is available through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Rob Bell, it is not about how we feel, for our feelings can deceive us. Our heart is desperately wicked, it can deceive us. It is about what is true; that Christ died for the ungodly. The story of the Bible is not God saying I know how you feel, the story of the Bible is Jesus Christ. The story of the Bible is how we deserve suffering now and into eternity because of our sin, and Jesus Christ paid the ransom and covered our sins for us if we will only believe and repent. I pray that you and the people that you pastor can discover the truth of the Gospel this Easter and beyond.