The other day a friend and I conversed about Christianity. They are of the persuasion that all roads lead to Heaven. Had I had this discussion with them 5 years ago I would have inevitably asked that great question, sure to bring a sinner to their knees "If you died tonight, do you know where you'd go?"
This particular question was posed before me at the end of every youth group meeting I attended. And each week it scared the hell out of me... I could see the flames of hell licking at my feet. I prayed "Please God, please let me go to Heaven if I die tonight." But what if I walked out the door and for a split second doubted God's existence and in that same second was hit by a bus, then surely I was going to go to Hell. I tried hard not to let my mind even question God's existence out of fear... I just had to believe, I JUST HAD TO, because I didn't know when my time would be up.
Fear is no way to instill faith in people. Jesus didn't use fear to persuade his followers. Instead he spoke truth and that truth brought light. We all know the story of Thomas. Jesus never said to Thomas "Thomas, if you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" Instead, he allowed Thomas to have his doubts. It was in Thomas' doubting that he became a seeker. He sought after Jesus, because he was seeking truth.
Many people doubt, and seek. I believe God wants us to seek, even if it sometimes takes us away from Him. It is in the seeking when we find God and then we either choose to believe or not believe.
I did not ask my friend that question, instead I wished them luck on their spiritual journey and said a quiet prayer for them.
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jess says....
it's true the Bible says that some will be saved by hell-fire, but...what people fail to realize is that that is not supposed to be the norm. sure, we all get scared of hell from time to time. i mean...is there any scarier thought? an eternity apart from God? i think no.
anyways, this totally coincides with a term i've just heard recently called "fortress theology": the faith whereby we scare everyone into thinking that they are going to hell if they so much as blink an eye the wrong way. this sort of foundation elicits the following wrong-headed doctrines: guilt as a means of keeping one on "on track"; patriotism to a cause rather than reaching out; viewing women one of two ways: either quiet, subserviants dressed in feed sacks or else flaming liberal lesbians; preaching about politics as though there is a "good" political side (c'mon! give me a break!); scare tactics; church services set up like a presidential campaign speech rather than a fellowship of disciples; and the list goes on.
what i mean to say is that you are right on when you say that we should deal with people the way Jesus did. He didn't preach a militant gospel. that was the point. He came as a servant. "but He overturned tables!" yes, He did. He overturned the tables of the people who should have known better. how did He deal with those who didn't? patient love.
the Spirit can do more than you think. be willing to share the gospel, but...leave it up to the Spirit!
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