On Hell

"In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of hell is itself a question, 'What are you asking God to do?' To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But He has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To let them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what He does."

C.S. Lewis

A Good Example

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. Luke 4:1-2 KJV

The temptation of Jesus is often pointed to as an example to follow. Jesus clearly won the battle by quoting scripture and putting Satan in his place. Some are inspired by the fact that Jesus did not give in to temptation.

As for me, I'm inspired by the fact that Jesus was even tempted. By this I don't mean that He was targeted, but that there was the possibility of failure. Without this possibility, there was no temptation, and that makes Jesus even more significant than being God.

Jesus being God gives me confidence in His ability to keep His promises. His extra abilities provide me with a sense of safety. When it comes to salvation, Jesus is the person I count on.

However, when it comes to an example of how to live, being God can put the actions of Jesus out of my reach. The temptations recorded in Luke make Jesus a more realistic model.

Temptation is an interesting thing. People are not tempted to do things that do not interest them. I am not in the least tempted to join the ballet (me in tights is just not pretty). I am however, tempted to ignore the fact that the cashier gave me too much change. I am tempted to things that benefit me.

In the account of Jesus' temptations, three are listed but we can assume that throughout the 40 days there were others. There are some interesting insights in the three listed.

First, Jesus was tempted to miraculously provide food for himself. In other instances in scripture we see Jesus provide food supernaturally, so it's not an outrageous request. However, in this instance, we can conclude that food was not the issue, but self-determination. I believe that Jesus could have made bread, but if He had, he would have been using his authority over creation for selfish ends. Based on His response, He had no blanket release to use creation as He saw fit.

Second, Jesus was offered authority over all the kingdoms of the world. Some say that Satan did not have the authority to give it. I say, if he couldn't give it, then it wasn't a temptation. When my son offered me my neighbor's car, I had no inclination to accept the offer. In the same way, if Satan did not have it to give, how could Jesus have been tempted.

From this we see just how much influence Satan actually has. And from Jesus' response, where the ultimate authority lies.

Finally, Jesus was told to prove that He was God by jumping off the temple. After all, He had the authority to command all the angels to protect Him. Again, Jesus responds by pointing out that God will not submit to tests.

Key in this account is that Jesus considered what Satan had to say. How can I say this? How do I know that Jesus ever thought differently than God?

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:41-42 KJV

Clearly the will of Jesus was different than the will of God. He said, "not my will, but thine" which let's us know, that Jesus did not want to die. Jesus had his own desires.

Jesus, the man, is the example to Christians. To say that He was God and had an advantage is to miss what the gospels show us. Scripture shows that Jesus, while on earth, operated as a simple man. He did not pull a get out of jail free card. Jesus did what He did to show what we can do.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 KJV

Every child who has gone to Sunday School has learned this verse. And, in spite of all the posters at sporting events, this particular verse is worth the time to understand.

God loved the world. This does not mean that God had warm fuzzy feelings about His creation and what had become of it. God loved the world in much the same way a good parent loves their child.

This love is of the type that desires that the loved one be the best person they can be. This type of love does what is necessary to assist the loved one move toward perfection (even though we doubt perfection will ever be attained).

C.S.Lewis said Love continues to love in spite of flaws, but does not cease to will their removal. When the Bible says that God loved, this is the love to which it refers.

So, God desired ultimate accomplishment for His creation and was willing to do everything in His power to make that happen.

God gave His only begotten son. This is Jesus, who was not only human, but also God. This not being the place to explain the doctrine of the trinity, let's just say that God was willing to separate Himself from his Godly attributes and reside in the man Jesus. He put all His eggs in one basket.

God did this so that whoever believed in His son would not perish/die/be eternally separated from God and life.

Here is where things get a little confusing. Our use of the word believe has quite a wide range of certainty. We can say, "I believe John will be here in ten minutes," or "I believe the brakes on my car work." In the first statement, your confidence is minimal, possibly so low that you wouldn't wager on the outcome. In the second statement, your confidence is high enough that you'll literally bet your life.

It is this second type of belief that this verse is speaking of. The belief that causes you to act on it. "I have confidence in my brakes, therefore I will drive my car" translates to "I have confidence in Jesus therefore I'll follow His lead."

This is the way to be a Christian. Recognize that God desires you're perfection enough to put all His eggs in one basket so as to give you the best example possible to follow so that you will not be eternally separated from Him, the source of life.