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For God so Hated the World

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I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said:

"Stop! Don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I?" he said.

"Well, there's so much to live for!"

"Like what?"

"Well... are you religious?"

He said yes.

I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"

"Christian."

"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ?

"Protestant."

"Me too!

"Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"

"Baptist"

"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"

" Baptist Church of God!"

"Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God!"

"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"

He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"

So I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.

(Emo Philips)

Fortunately, that "story" isn't really true...at least I hope it isn't! But what is true is that sometimes Christians are truly seen as intolerant and judgmental folks who find pleasure in telling people that they are going to hell. Unfortunately, this makes people think that God is like that as well.

He's not. In fact, He's just the opposite- and I'll prove it from His own words:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. (John 3:16-17)

These are Jesus' words from a conversation with a religious Superman who lacked a basic understanding about how God works. So I think it's fairly obvious that God is not intolerant:

"God so loved the world ..."

World-not as in the big round thing spinning in space, but world - as in every person who ever breathed the air on the third planet from the sun. Sounds pretty tolerant to me!

What about judgmental? Well, this verse sort of shuts the door on that:

"God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it."

So God isn't intolerant or judgmental...how then could He justify sending people to hell- especially those who never even heard about Christ? That sounds incredibly intolerant and judgmental to me- almost like God is waiting to say "die heretic scum" to people who never even knew they were heretics (i.e. people who hold false beliefs) in the first place!

And you would be correct, and if that were actually true, John 3:16 might go something like this:

For God so hated the world that he gave his only Son, but only let a few people know about it, so that the few who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.

But this theory is not true, because God doesn't "send" anyone to hell- they choose to reject the free offer of salvation and therefore choose their destiny with Him or apart from Him...and by the way, there are no people who aren't given a chance to trust Christ.

You see, according to the Bible, everyone is given a fair shake on the "use it or lose it" principle - here's how it works:

As I mentioned before, there actually are no people who haven't heard of God. He has made Himself known in the outside world:

For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. (Romans 1:19-20 NLT)

And inside people's hearts:

And when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. (John 16:8)

So - if people recognize that there is a Creator through nature and through the Holy Spirit, He will reveal the gospel message to them, and at which point they can choose to accept or reject Him. The reason we know that the gospel gets everywhere on earth is because we know that SOMEHOW, at least SOME people from EVERY nation on earth end up in heaven:

For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5:9)

This verse was written by John when he was given a view of the future in heaven. He looked around and decided to use the word "every"- meaning every tribe, every language, every people, and every nation. I think that pretty much covers it.

So what about those who never heard? What about them? There aren't any! But there are those who are supposed to be the messengers of the greatest message on earth...that would be you and me. So rather than sitting around being intolerant, judgmental, and arguing over the destiny of people several continents away, how about we start sharing the gospel with those who are a few feet away on a daily basis? I guarantee they've "heard" from God...now it's your turn to tell them the rest of the story.

Head: What you need to know about this truth

There are no people who aren't given a chance to trust Christ because God is knocking on the door of everyone's heart through nature and through the Holy Spirit.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

Incredibly honored that you were left here on earth after you trusted Christ so you could be the messenger of the greatest message on earth to those who need to hear the rest of the story.

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

This week, write down the name of a close friend or family member who doesn't know Christ, and write down the name of a people group from a different country, and start praying for them to trust Christ. You can browse this web site for great information about other people groups.