Hell is Full of Who?
This article is originally from Heresy Hunter.
By James Pruch
July 30, 2007
Most people in America grow up in some kind of Judeo-Christian home. Since we have been able to crawl, we have been taught that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Now, if you are a Bible-believing, born-again Christian, you understand that there’s a bit more to eternity than that. When we come to Orthodox Christianity, we learn that those who enter heaven are those who have confessed the Lord Jesus and believed that God raised him from the dead (Rom. 10:9). We learn that those who don’t have Jesus do not have “the life” (1 John 5:12). Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” If we are in Christ, we have forgiveness-this is what 1 John 5:12 implies. No Jesus equals no life and no life equals no forgiveness and no forgiveness equals the left side of God’s throne at the judgment.
This is what Christians believe.
Well, everyone except Rob Bell.
Rob Bell thinks everyone is forgiven. Here is what he says in his book, Velvet Elvis:
Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for (146).
This is simply a ridiculous, outlandish, liberal, universalistic, nearly blasphemous statement. In Matthew 25, Jesus says that when he comes in glory “he will separate people one from another as shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Jesus’ sheep are those whom he died for. He says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” A good shepherd does not lay down his life for the wolves so they may live and devour the sheep. Again in 1 John, this time chapter 1 verse 9, John writes, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
So who are the forgiven people? The Bible makes it pretty clear that the only people whom Jesus forgives are those who believe in Jesus. They are the ones whom Jesus died for.
Yet, Bell believes forgiven people go to hell. He explains:
This reality then isn’t something we make come true about ourselves by doing something. It is already true. Our choice is to live in this new reality or cling to a reality of our own making (ibid).
Now, the fact that the phrase “our choice” is a terrible theological phrase (which derives from Arminian theology) is awful enough. Add in that all Rob Bell thinks it takes to get to heaven is to “live in this new reality.” How do we get saved? It starts with a “godly grief” that goes on and “produces a repentance that leads to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
At least Bell admits that there is a hell, which is a hell of a lot more than Emergent mascot Brian McLaren does. But, I still ask, “If every person in the world is forgiven, then why do they have to be punished in hell for eternity? If Jesus really died for everyone’s sins, then why does God still damn some to eternity separated from his grace and love?”
It just doesn’t make any sense. Whoever admits that “everyone” was forgiven at the cross is teaching universalism and it is clear that Bell, and other Emergent teachers, tend that way in order to “make the world a better place” and “have it be the way Jesus intended it.” I hear this all the time and frankly, it’s starting to hold less and less water.
I’d like to analyze each of Bell’s statements above. It seems to me that the Bible is very clear that hell is full of unforgiven, unregenerate transgressors who never realized their need for a Savior to pull them out of the muck and mire of sin.
I don’t know any right-minded, bible-oriented Christian that would agree with Bell that actual forgiven people go to hell. I can see and respect people who at least say, “Jesus died for everyone’s sins, but he only forgives those who believe.” That makes much more sense and most wouldn’t have a problem with that (the agreement on everything in that statement isn’t relevant for this discussion). There’s no verse in the Bible that reconciles Bell’s statement. In fact, if someone does not love Jesus, does not turn from their sin, and is not given sight to their blind eyes, no forgiveness is given. Look at Paul’s account of his own conversion and what Jesus said to him in Acts 28:16-18:
But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles-to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
It’s clear at the end of verse 18 when Jesus said that forgiveness of sins hinges on turning from darkness to light and from Satan to God. Without that, you only have condemnation.
Without that, you have damnation in hell. No forgiveness. Forever.
Bell’s second statement of living with this “new reality” is also sketchy. There’s no mention of the godly grief like in 2 Corinthians 7:10. There is no mention of confession of Jesus and belief in his resurrection like in Romans 10:9. Bell is right in saying this reality is already true. Of course it is. Whether one believes it or not has no bearing on truth. Two plus two will always be four, even if I decide not to believe it.
But though Bell says it is not of our doing something, he says that it comes by “our choice.” Is that not “doing something”? Is that all it takes to be saved-chose to live in a “new reality”? Jesus doesn’t talk about new realities. He talked about repentance and being holy. Jesus talked about being born again.
Can a spiritually dead person “choose” to live in a “new reality”? Ephesians 2:1, 5 says that we were dead in a trespasses and sins. If we are dead, then we need a marvelous, gracious, and merciful Being to miraculously resuscitate us to life in Christ. This is not a choice for us. It results in a choice made, but it does not originate with a choice made.
People who go to hell are not forgiven. They do not think they need to be forgiven. They aren’t even aware of some “new reality,” or as I would say “new life” in Christ. Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all but effective for a few. Forgiveness is granted to those who repent and believe. Let that be your “new reality.”
Heaven is full of forgiven sinners God loves, whom Jesus died for. They are forever blessed in God’s glorious presence. Hell is full of unforgiven sinners who did not repent of sins or love, believe, and abide in Christ. They are forever damned to eternal punishment.
Trust in God’s reality, the way of repentance and faith.
Not Rob Bell’s.
What i have to say is that Rob Bell`s does not kno what he is sating we christians as a mission god gave us to do on this earth should treat warn and let him kno abot JESUS CHRIST
Kevin,
Thanks for your response. Your comment is a little jumbled, but if I am correct, it seems as if you and I are on the same page. I go back and forth on whether Bell is a true believer, but certainly he has more good deeds to accompany his faith than most believers. Obviously, that doesn’t make him saved, but the evidence of faith is there: hope, forgiveness, love, grace, etc. Still, his theology is sloppy in areas–the biggest of which is this issue of justification and atonement.
Hell is full of forgiven people simply means people chose hell.
I don’t know if I’d phrase it that way. I don’t know who would choose hell over heaven, honestly. I guess the difference would be if you are a Reformed thinker or not. I am, so I don’t necessarily see people “choosing” hell. In the grand scheme of God’s will, they choose their sin over joy in Christ. The bottom line is, if someone is “forgiven,” then they do not have to suffer for their sins. They are atoned for. No person who is atoned for needs to go to hell. Bell, whether he thinks so or not, wrote that in his book. That’s what I have a problem with.
My mind has been totally blown since reading this passage in Velvet Elvis. Since then, i asked our church’s pastor and — shocker! — he actually agreed! It goes something like this:
1) Christ’s death & resurrection paid for our sins. His blood PAID THE DEBT. Forgiveness doesn’t happen because we “do” anything (i.e., asking for it). It is 100% UNEARNED.
2) Not everyone gets to heaven, because not everyone RECEIVES the free gift of salvation God is offering the world. A gift must be both given and received. We are told plainly in the N.T. that getting into heaven requires our (a) belief and (b) repentance (confession). We actually don’t have to beg God to forgive us. This makes the scripture much more understandable that says “NOTHING can separate us from the LOVE of God…” (Not even our rejection of Him affects His love. This scripture has NOTHING to do with salvation).
Rob Bell has been unfairly blasted as teaching “universalism” (everyone goes to heaven) because of this. Obviously, he doesn’t believe this or he wouldn’t mention that “hell is full of…”
By the way… if you are unsure of where you fall in this discussion, Rob Bell’s position is a casual, modern way of stating the Arminian understanding of the atonement (shared by methodists, pentecostals, AoG, CoG, and even classical catholics). If you are horrified by the idea that God’s will can be thwarted (i.e., forgiven people can still choose to reject Him and go to hell), then you are likely a CALVINIST (baptist, lutheran, reformed, etc.).
There you go…rock on.
Brady,
I know where I stand. Yes, I’m a Calvinist–unashamedly. If that’s what Bell means, then great–still, I disagree with the terminology. The way we phrase words is so important in theology. And yet, not everyone is forgiven. The Bible makes this clear. Here is SIMPLY ONE passage from Acts 26 when Paul is retelling his conversion. Here is what Jesus said to him, “I am sending you [to the Gentiles] to open open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (17-18). This shows that FORGIVENESS and SANCTIFICATION only come through faith in Christ and being turned from dark to light and from Satan to God. There are other passages, but that one is from our Lord himself. It seems clear to me.
By the way, the passage from Romans 8 you alluded to IS in fact about salvation, because from verse 26 to 34 we are reading about election, predestination, calling, justification, glorification, and God “who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all”. Who is the “all” in this passage? It’s the Romans–the Christians in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his saints (1:7).
I hope that clears things up. I’d love to hear your thoughts.