Rob Bell’s Problem: The Holy Spirit Can't Win??
Rob Bell caused quite a stir last year with his book Love Wins. The book is provoked by a dilemma that many Christians feel. How could a loving God create billions of humans knowing that most of them will end up in hell. He says,Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news?" (Love Wins).
This is a valid concern. Christian trot out various solutions, but most fall short. Rob came up with a different solution. He suggested that God would give people a second charge after death. When people see their lives from an eternal perspective, they will change their attitude and accept God’s love.
Rob’s gets his solution wrong because he begins with a wrong assumption that has been missed by critics and defenders. He makes the same assumption as many Christians.Most of the people who will live on earth will not be saved.
Once this assumption is accepted, God’s love problem becomes a problem, because it is not consistent with this outcome. However, the problem is not with God’s love. The real problem is a basic assumption that denies the ability of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's purpose.
This wrong assumption comes from assuming that the future will be the same as the past. Because only a minority of people living on earth have come to Jesus up till now, Rob Bell, and most other Christians, assume that the future will be the same. They assume that we have seen the best that the Holy Spirit can do. This belief is wrong.
The Bible teaches that the future will not be the same as the past. The time will come when the glory of the Kingdom of God comes to fulfilment on earth. During that season, most of the people living on earth will choose to be followers of Jesus. Many more people will live on earth during the Kingdom age, so over the whole of history, the vast majority of people who live on earth will find salvation through Jesus. The number lost will be quite small. I explain how this works in Times and Seasons.Since the time of Jesus, several billion people have come to faith in him, far short of the multitude that John was promised. History will have to go on for much longer for this countless multitude to be brought in.
Once this truth is understood, Rob Bell’s problem disappears. The huge number of people sharing God’s heavenly glory will be proof of his love. God’s love wins, because the Holy Spirit is a winner, not by lowering the bar.
If the world were to end now, the number of people lost would far exceed those who are saved. This score makes God seem quite mean, as the vast majority of people who have lived on earth would go to eternal destruction. This impression is wrong, because it judges God’s performance on the first half of the game, when half the team is missing and the coach is seriously constrained.
By the time the game is complete, the score will have changed dramatically. During the second half, most of those who live on earth will be saved and only a minority lost. The second half could be five times longer than the first half, so the total saved will be enormous. The few billion people lost during the Times of the Gentiles will be minute compared to the thousands of billions that will come to Jesus in the future. The final score will be far more respectable, and better reflect God’s character. God is gracious and generous, so he will not be stingy with salvation. He will allow history to continue for long enough to ensure that the number saved will vastly exceed the number who are lost (Times and Seasons p. 108).
7 comments:
sorry thats a simplistic view of things and does not deal to the problem. Billions of people is not a small number, even if once all is said and done it only represents 1% or less.
Certainly it lessens the weight of the argument from a numbers point of view, but the problem still remains.
It may provide some comfort that god will take action in future to ensure a greater % of people are saved. However that still creates a problem if we accept an eschatology that has god increasing his salvific activity in the earth as time progresses, how then can there justifiably be negative eternal consequences for those born into a time where his activity is much more restrained.
This brings up the arminian problem that in reality freewill is somehow mysteriously dependent on gods activity. If not our hope for a move of the spirit is in vain.
Finally i dont think rob bell is a universalist, i did not get that from his book, he was just asking questions and sowing some much needed doubt over the dominant theological discourse. No matter how the argument is framed, bottomline is we each have our own understanding of what it means for god's love to win.
Eli
The billions lost are a different problem.
They are an embarrassment for the church that has been ineffective in sharing the gospel.
They are an embarrassment for the people of God who have constrained the Holy Spirit.
They are problem for those who cling to the theology of eternal conscious torment.
I agree that Rob Bell is not a universalist. He just wants to get more people in. I believe that God has a better way of achieving it.
Interesting post BE, I always found the idea that most people will be lost little disconcerting. I find such a statement to be a symptom of the impotence of what we call Christianity, as though Satan's power to deceive is greater than God's power to save. One area I disagree however is that I do not believe that history has to go on for a long time in order for billions more to be saved, unless, of course, we keep doing things the way we've been doing them. I believe the Holy Spirit will move in these coming days in ways we've barely even imagined, so that whole multitudes or even nations of people will be reached in a short time. He will in fact show that He is greater than the deceiver.
very true it is an embarrassment and definitely a cause to make us question the efficacy of our beliefs and practice.
I too look towards a time when the activity of the holy spirit will be much increased, add to that our engagement.
I do see that one has to tread carefully, one extreme is where people blame God and accept no responsibility for lack of results. We are clay and have no room to point the finger at God.
Blessed Economist,
I see much biblical truth in what you write. Like you, I tend to agree with the concept that God has a much longer timeframe for the remainder of human history than mainstream American Christianity believes, motivated by His patience, mercy, and love for us (2 Peter 3:9). But I want to be like the Bereans, and every day check my beliefs against the whole counsel of God's Word.
To that end, what do you make of Scriptures such as Matthew 7:13-14, where Jesus speaks of few ever finding the gate that leads to life ("For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.").
I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this matter. God bless you.
No King But God
P.S. - I posted this comment on this post because of its relevance. I hope that, even though this post is old, this comment will still reach your attention. If not, I may repost it on your most current post, despite being off-topic.
No King but God. Good question.
Jesus was not making a theological statement about the percentage of people that will get into glory, but warning that it is easy to go the wrong way and get lost. Following false prophets is just one that this can happen.
The last few words of the warning in Matt 7:14 are present tense, not future, so I wonder if Jesus is also speaking to his hearers about the Mosaic covenant. The Jews had assumed that they were okay with God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exposed the danger of this belief, by explaining that fulfilling the requirements of the law was much harder than they thought. Only a few like Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:6) were righteous in God’s eyes. Most were on the pathway to destruction, despite their confidence in their covenant.
The narrowness of the old covenant contrasts with the new covenant, which is so narrow that only Jesus can get through, but he brings a great multitude with him.
Mr. McKenzie,
Thank you for your thoughtful and considered reply. You have certainly given me some spiritual food for thought to chew on for a bit!
The contrast you have highlighted reminds me of Jesus' reply to the disciples in Matthew 19:23-26:
23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “ With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
God bless you and guide you!
No King But God
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