Rob Bell goes off the deep endA few years ago I overheard some friends talking about a new minister named Rob Bell. They were watching some of his videos online and when I asked what they were doing, they told me...before following it up with, "But we don't think you'd probably care for him too much."
Frankly, they weren't terribly far off in that assessment. Please understand I don't know Rob Bell and I'm sure he's a delightful and warm and genuine person. But the reason my friends felt that I wouldn't "care for him" was because they knew I'd have bigger problems than just the fact that he was of the hipster emerging church movement: the jeans-wearing, un-tucked shirt school of latte-sipping gospel spreading. Though it's not my style, I can deal with that. My preferences are just that...preferences...so long as it's the true gospel that's being spread.
But I've always feared that too often a casual attitude demonstrated in approaching the throne of God reflects a casual attitude about the holiness and authority of who sits on that throne. With Rob Bell, such a concern is seemingly validated.
A recent TIME Magazine profile explains Bell's disastrous decision to blaspheme the Word of God and consequently lead an untold number of congregants who follow him -- rather than Christ -- down a destructive path. The TIME piece begins by telling the opening story of Bell's new book, Love Wins. In the account, Bell has an art show at his church that includes a piece quoting Gandhi. Someone who attended the show posted a note on the piece that said, "Reality Check: Gandhi is in Hell."
Now, I can certainly appreciate Bell being concerned about the lack of tact. But what I can't understand is any minister who supposedly holds to the authority of Scripture using this incident as the impetus to begin preaching something fundamentally opposed to Christian doctrine:
He suggests that the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal -- meaning that, as his book's subtitle puts it, "every person who ever lived" could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be. Such a simple premise, but with Easter at hand, this slim, lively book has ignited a new holy war in Christian circles and beyond.For those who might be confused as to the significant danger of this "holy war," Dr. Albert Mohler put it plainly:
"When you adopt universalism and erase the distinction between the church and the world," says Mohler, "then you don't need the church, and you don't need Christ, and you don't need the cross. This is the tragedy of nonjudgmental mainline liberalism, and it's Rob Bell's tragedy in this book too."Precisely. And the reason "tragedy" is such an appropriate term is that this failure doesn't involve just Bell and his own family. It includes countless families that have trusted him with their spiritual guidance. This unfolding disaster reflects undoubtedly why Scripture warns those who teach and preach to be wary -- for they will be judged more harshly than others.
But Bell doesn't appear overly worried about his judgment...or, more frighteningly, anyone else's for that matter. His own words betray his greater interest may be accumulating earthly accolades -- becoming the leader of what he perceives as a great Christian revolution:
"I have long wondered if there is a massive shift coming in what it means to be a Christian," Bell says. "Something new is in the air."What arrogance. No Rob, there is no shift coming in "what it means to be a Christian." You may be successful in diminishing the number of people who adhere to biblical Christianity, or who regard all Scripture as God-breathed. But no mortal -- no matter how many people fill his parking lot (something Bell bizarrely boasts about in this piece) -- will alter the immortal meaning of being a disciple of Christ.
And I would implore Rob Bell to take a good sniff at that smell that is "in the air." It's nothing new at all. It's the same, tired old stench of false teaching. Consider:
He believes in Jesus' atonement; he says he is just unclear on whether the redemption promised in Christian tradition is limited to those who meet the tests of the church.Tests of the church? Where did this man get his theological training? It becomes clear from this statement that Bell is one who, consciously or not, rejects the infallibility of Scripture and the inerrancy of God's Word. Much as Bell might love to tuck Love Wins right in there between Galatians and Ephesians, the Word stands alone -- and if one can ignore the exclusive nature of the Gospel message (meaning while open to all, the narrow path is reserved for only those who choose it), interpreting it away for some universalist, liberal doctrine that soothes itching ears, what prevents one from doing the same with any sticky or uncomfortable teaching of Scripture?
Even the TIME writer gets the problem:
[T]o take away hell is to leave the church without its most powerful sanction. If heaven, however defined, is everyone's ultimate destination in any event, then what's the incentive to confess Jesus as Lord in this life? If, in other words, Gandhi is in heaven, then why bother with accepting Christ? If you say the Bible doesn't really say what a lot of people have said it says, then where does that stop? If the verses about hell and judgment aren't literal, what about the ones on adultery, say, or homosexuality? Taken to their logical conclusions, such questions could undermine much of conservative Christianity.Drop the intentionally misleading word "conservative," and that assessment is about spot-on. This has been the tactic we Christians have had to protect ourselves against coming from the world. They have sought to call into question certain biblical teachings, and we have resisted by stressing that once you relinquish the inerrancy of one portion of the Word, who is to stop another from calling into question the plan of salvation itself? To our horror we have now found that questioning taking place by one of our own. This isn't an outside assault against biblical authority. It's internal subterfuge -- a mutiny from within.
Bell is later quoted as saying it is fair to speculate about heaven and hell because no one has sent back video footage of what happens after we die, so we don't know for sure.
If you needed more proof of Bell's sorry confusion, his arrogant willingness to boldly mislead, or his blasphemous undermining of the authority of Scripture, you need look no further. A true disciple of Christ recognizes that we may not have video footage, but we do have the testimony of One who has seen both sides of the eternal divide -- One who conquered Hell to reign in Heaven.
It is He who said that no man comes to the Father except by Him, with no alternative Gandhi route mentioned. It is He that we are told represents the one name under heaven by which we must be saved. It is He that the most popular Bible passage of all time reminds us whosoever believeth in, shall live eternally.
And it is by His authority and His Word I choose to stake my life; not that of Rob Bell, who in the end -- despite undoubtedly earning earthly wealth and fame for doing so -- has accomplished nothing more than adding the latest chapter to the sorry text of humanism...and has willfully joined the lineage of those who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
Pray for "Pastor" Bell's repentance, and especially for those who he has permitted Satan to tragically lead astray through this false teaching.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1333688