I have never really cared for Rob Bell myself, I have felt that his style is too ambiguous and for me, I like directness and honesty from a pastor or any leader in the church for that matter. Personally I feel that being direct and authoritative (especially when in a preaching/teaching position) because it is your job to proclaim the Word of God. No, it should be your JOY to proclaim the Word of God. That is why I like guys like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Matt Chandler - because they are direct and while they call out sin they do it in a loving way. THIS is my bias and I want you to know what it is prior to me drawing out this situation so that you may test to see whether or not I was giving both sides their credit.
First, I want to address the side that I usually assign myself with. A lot of the reformed church-goers seem to be crucifying Bell for a simple video he made for his book. They have been rude and condescending towards Bell and everyone in support of him. Brothers, why are we readying the noose for someone who has not yet revealed to have done wrong. This is ridiculous how we have spent our time bashing a man who has such influence rather than praying for him. I am reminded of 1 Timothy 2 that we should even pray for kings and ALL who are in high positions. Brothers, I am also reminded of Romans 13 which tells us that every authority has been put into place by God. I wish to appeal to you, not to assume anything until you go and read it for yourself.
Unfortunately, the other side is guilty of the very same thing. There have been blogs written, twitters tweeted, and insults thrown at those who questioned what it was that Rob Bell was teaching.
People criticizing John Piper just as much as people who are criticizing Rob Bell - you who are sitting on your couch eating cheeto's need to realize that pastors who are as well known as Piper and Bell are going to suffer much criticism from the ignorant public about what they do and how they justify it. These men are in authority positions, I again plead Romans 13 to you. Pray for these men, whether you agree with them or not.
The only issue I have with the video presenting his book, is that he continues to be ambiguous and unauthoritative. People view this ambiguous speech of his to be a broad and deeper theology than everyone else - but it appears as though that he says a lot without saying anything at all. When I look at his church's website and go to the things they believe, I walk away with no real sense of why they have that section because it just sounds like hyper-spiritual non-sense with no scripture to back it up. I know most of this is just Rob Bell's style, but sooner or later you have to explain what you mean instead of just keeping the audience waiting (i.e. Lost). Because is our JOY to proclaim the good news, to be given that responsibility is an awesome one - but it comes with serious consequences if you rely on your own understanding.
Among the blogosphere, there has been a lot of talk about if a loving God would send billions of people to hell. Unfortunately, the answer is yes. The reason I say 'unfortunately' is because my heart breaks for these people but when I look at the scripture it is evident that it is not about God sending people to hell, it is about God SAVING people from hell. None of us deserve to go to heaven, there is no reason for God to allow anyone to be in His presence. Isaiah says it better than I could put into words "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." Isaiah 64:6 and also Romans 3 which quotes the Psalms
"As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”
We are dirty, unrighteous, and we are ill-deserving of God's great and wonderful mercy. In Ephesians 2 it describes us as children of Wrath by nature. Later on in Ephesians 2, it tells us that we are saved by grace and not by anything that we do, but by Him who gives the grace. There is so much more here than asking our Creator why He dares to send billions of people to hell, He sends them because that is what they deserve, that is their 'wages' as described in Romans 6:23.
If you have any questions/comments/concerns please feel free to email me
rogermwinters@gmail.com
In Christ,
Roger Winters
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