Kind, Not Soft
By Matt
I read: Romans 1-3
So, going back to the question, "Do good people go to heaven?" I find this in today's reading: "The day is coming when [the fire is] going to blaze hot and high, God's fiery and righteous judgement. Make no mistake: In the end you get what's coming to you--Real Life for those who work on God's side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!"
Well, this is interesting, and while not a contradiction of Jesus' claim, it certainly opens the door to more people than just those who acknowledge Jesus. I can think of a lot of people who work on God's side: those who heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. But they don't all do it for the same reasons, some are even doing good things for the wrong reasons. But then again, it's not our works that grant us grace, either. Oy, this is confusing.
But then again, Christ tells us that when we do these things "to the least of these," we're doing it for him. And that is a tacit acknowledgement of Christ, right? I don't know. I'm honestly wrestling here and trying to stay above the heresy line. Whereve that is :) I just don't know if it's as quite cut and dry as it might first seem.
Or I just love MTD. :)
posted by Matt Wiggins @ 4:32 PM
3 Comments:
An apologist would say that there is more than enough evidence for Christ that anyone who refuses him as their lord and savior would be foolish. This would then suggest that people who have been given the choice to accept Jesus have been given the choice to accept heaven or hell.
This brings us to the innocents. What about people who never have heard about Jesus (or the deeper question: who have heard incorrectly about Jesus)? Do they still go to hell? The Old Testament (and even Jesus' life) are pictures of how we should treat the innocents. God's laws repeatedly show the innocent being forgiven (Exodus 23:7).
However, this doesn't appease the guilty feeling in our guts. Some get this feeling because they realize that had they been born into a different culture or time period, they might not have been a Christ follower. Others get this feeling because they are a product of their culture: A "whatever works for me may not work for you" theology. We have confused "tolerance" with "blindness" - we choose to let another go down a wrong path because we don't want to infringe upon their rights. (After all, we wouldn't want someone else telling us how we should live.) It is in these times that we should be representing what we believe in. "Love you neighbor as you love yourself." If someone had the key to my eternal future and they decided not to give it to me because they were afraid of hindering my lifestyle, I'd regret having made them feel as though they couldn't share with me. So, go out there and share God's love with those around you.
But that's what an apologist might say. P.S. I really couldn't figure out what MTD meant. So, I looked on Wikipedia: and none of the 12 answers made sense here. I'm still confused.
Is that original or are you quoting? Couldn't quite tell the way you phrased it. Either way, that was exceptionally well-written. And MTD is "moralistic therapeutic deism." I'm sure you've heard of it before :)
That was my writing. Thanks, btw.
Ah yes, MTD. I thought it might be "Making Things Difficult"
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