The Web Site and Blog of Pastor Chris Brauns
“Watch” Abraham Piper and his people cross the new bridge in Minneapolis. They were giddy. I can’t imagine that Moses and the Israelites were any more excited crossing the Red Sea.
I put this under “eschatology” because if these guys were this stoked about the bridge, I look forward to seeing how pumped they are when the queue up for the New Jerusalem.
What are you doing today for the least of these brothers of Christ?
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus vividly describes the last judgment. The importance of this teaching can scarcely be overemphasized. Frederick Dale Bruner writes:
“This depiction of the Last Judgment is especially important because it is the final story in Jesus’ public teaching ministry. This may be the teaching Jesus most wants imprinted on people’s conscience. Only the Beatitudes at the beginning rival this Last Judgment scene at the end for importance in Matthew’s catechism.”
So, what are you doing today for “the least of these brothers of mine”?
“ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”(Mt 25:31-46).”
Al Mohler posts that some of the media find it noteworthy that Sarah Palin’s pastor believes in the reality of hell. (Click here to read it).
First, credit to Mike Wittmer for the title of this post (see his book by that title here).
In Heaven is a Place on Earth, Wittmer encourages us that God’s people have an earthly destination. We are “earthlings” created for this earth. Believers will not spend eternity hovering about in the clouds somewhere strumming golden harps.
When I first heard this point in seminary, it was new to me. In fact, I had always been scared that Heaven would be a combination of an old person’s home (don’t have fun or you will break something) and church (you will be bored stiff).
While I didn’t want the alternative destination, I wasn’t sure I was going to have much fun in heaven.
In recent years, however, there has been an increased emphasis amongst theologians on the continuity between this creation and the next. While it is true that this earth will be purged by fire, that doesn’t mean there is no continuity whatsoever.
If you haven’t explored this thought previously, then spend time reading what Tullian Tchividjian wrote today, as well as the posts to which he links.
Tullian writes:
For a long time now, I’ve been convinced that the way most Christians think about redemption is influenced more by ancient Greek philosophy than by the Bible. We think of ultimate redemption as being redemption from the body, not of the body; redemption from the world, not of the world; redemption from the material, not of the material.
This, however, goes against what the Bible clearly teaches about redemption.
In the Lord’s Prayer we see that God’s ultimate goal is for earth to become like heaven: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s mission is to bring heaven to earth—this planet!
You can read the whole thing here.
To forgive in the right way, you must believe rightly about hell.
If I was asked to layout the areas of systematic theology/doctrine which most immediately come to bear on unpacking forgiveness I would begin with these.
First, the Bible often encourages believers to take comfort in the fact that God will deal justly with evil people.
“The assurance of God’s ultimate justice (then) frees radical love (now).” John N. Day
“. . . it is only when God’s wrath and vengeance are hanging as grim realities over the heads of one’s enemies that something of what it means to love and forgive them can touch our hearts.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a letter from prison to Eberhard Bethge.
Second, the Bible motivates offended people to forgive by teaching that a Christian who is unwilling to forgive someone who has offended him or her, should fear for his or her soul. Saying, “I will never, ever forgive that person is much like saying, “I’m planning on going to hell.” (Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:35).
It is in this latter area that Western Christians are most deficient. Believers in our culture may summarize the doctrine of salvation and the centrality of the Cross on some level (though they don’t apply this to forgiveness nearly enough).
People will often say, however glibly, that God works all things together for good.
But, as Al Mohler explains here, many Christians increasingly question an orthodox understanding of hell (that unbelivers will suffer eternally).
The less people are willing to accept what the Bible teaches about hell, the more vulnerable they are to bitterness.
Hell, I realize is not a popular topic of discussion today. Broadly, we prefer to avoid thinking about hell too much for at least a couple of reasons. First, the biblical teaching about hell is infuriating to unbelieving culture. Those who do not know Christ, resent the idea that their Creator is a just judge.
A second reason that we prefer not to talk about hell is that emotionally it demands so much from us. I know, personally, it is draining to consider that some of the people I love the most may spend eternity in darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, with no hope of ever escaping, that every moment will be worse, and that in a million years they will have not diminished their sentence by even one second.
But, pushing the thought of hell from our thoughts is not an option; it is not up to us to choose the doctrinal truth that we believe. Laying out the scope of doctrine is God’s job through the Bible. And, what the Bible says about hell is unmistakably and graphically clear. Those who reject Christ will spend eternity in conscious torment.
Remember this. God gives us so much Scripture on hell because he is a loving and merciful God. When we learn this truth in the Bible, then as Christians we will understand more fully his glory and goodness in salvation. We will more deeply appreciate the sufferings of our savior who paid a hellacious penalty so that we might have eternal life. When we reflect on hell, we will be less inclined to be petty about minor squabbles at church or with our family and we will be bolder in proclaiming the Gospel.
I listened this morning to a sermon by John Piper on Hell. It is very profound - - very worth considering. Piper begins by laying out that the Bible teaches the reality of hell. From there, he shows that that magnitude of the suffering in hell is an echo of the glory of God. (You’ll probably have to listen to the sermon to understand that point). He also demonstrates that the awfulness of hell helps quantify the substitutionary sufferings of Christ. Finally, he reasons that people cannot be saved simply out of not wanting to go to hell. Rather, they must desire Christ.
There is so much in this sermon - - -I think I could lead a whole small group series simply reflecting on the content.
It’s an amazing world we live in, where we have instant access to such preaching.
