Tough Questions Post 1: Did They Go To Hell?

Welcome to the first post in my series "Tough Questions."
Someone on a Christian discussion board once asked how to handle a conversation like this:

Non-believer: My brother just died.
Believer: I'm so sorry! That must be so hard.
Non-believer: Yeah, it's tough. But I know I'll get to see him in heaven someday.
Believer: Your brother was a Christian?
Non-believer: No, but he was a great person. He'll go to heaven, right?

The believer wanted to know how to tell the non-believer, basically, "Your brother went to hell" without being too harsh.

Well, here's my answer: you don't have to lie, and you don't have to tell them their brother went to hell. Because you don't know for sure that he did.

Example: Charles witnesses to Bob. Bob turns down the gospel invitation and drives away. Bob is driving on the highway when he realizes that he really does need God. Bob becomes a Christian. Bob reaches for his cell phone to call Charles, and a drunk driver swerves in Bob's lane while Bob is looking down. Bob dies.

Should Charles live life believing that Bob went to hell? No, of course not! Just because Charles doesn't know that Bob became a Christian doesn't mean Bob never did become a Christian. Last-minute conversions happen; think of the thief on the cross the night Jesus was crucified!

You see, we can explain the gospel to others, but we can never be sure whether they go to heaven or hell. Even those who deny God to their dying breath might, while believed to be in a coma or dead, make a last-minute decision to trust in Him.

So no, don't say "Your brother went to hell." You're not God. You don't know that.

Tell the person what you believe: no one is good enough to get into heaven, so Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. Tell them that you believe only those who trust Jesus go to heaven. But also tell them that you believe their brother could have made a conversion without their knowledge and gone to heaven. :)

Tough Questions

Hi all,
I'd like to start a series called "Tough Questions."
Please comment with your question ideas - they can be your question's, a friend's questions, a relative's questions, something you read in a book....any tough questions dealing with Christianity.

Psalm 105:14-15

¹⁴ He allowed no one to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:

¹⁵ "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm."

This passage is from Psalm 105. Here, God speaks of how He protected the Israelites.

Some observant Christians may see a contradiction.

The prophets certainly underwent harm. The Israelites certainly were oppressed - they were slaves, for goodness' sake!

Reading the verse in context:

¹³ [the Israelites] wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.

Now, we could hardly call going from one conquerer to another "wandering."

Or could we?

You see, God was always in control of the Israelites' situation. He realized that, though it appeared that the conquerers were ruling the Israelites' destiny, He was protecting them and guiding them. Though it appeared that the prophets were being abused by the people, God only allowed certain harm to come their way. When extra abuse was introduced, God said "No - do my prophets no harm."
Only the things He allowed into their lives happened. Only the places He gave them they went. Their conquerers were really powerless; God was in control, doing what was best for the people and for His glory.

Now, imagine that you are an Israelite. Have you any "conquerers"? Have you imagined anything to be a controlling factor - friends, school, weather, whatnot? Realize that God sees everything - EVERYTHING - that is happening in your life right now, in the past, and in the future. He not only sees it, but He has set it up like that and it's for your best, for His glory, and for the good of those around you - all at once.

Changes your perspective, huh?

Do You Know Her Name?

That new girl in your class. Do you know her name?

Yeah, I know. Your heart goes out to her. You're praying that God will provide friends for her.

Are you brave enough to introduce yourself? Are you willing to be that friend who God provides?

I've met some amazing people. I believe that God is the One who brings people into our lives, and I know that I would never have met many of my friends if it had not been for Him.

Use that knowledge - that God is in charge - as a tool. Trust that because God brought this girl to your attention, He may want you to reach out to her.

It always shocks me when I have Christian friends who pass up opportunities to reach out to other girls. I'm thinking, "You're in the perfect position to introduce yourself - and you didn't. That girl is so unique - you will never meet anyone like her. Besides, Jesus loves her, and that's enough reason to encourage her. She's feeling uncomfortable/depressed/etc. Why, you don't even know her name. You don't know her grade or her school or her favorite movies or what makes her tick or what breaks her heart or what makes her excited or her hopes or her dreams....how can you pass up an opportunity get to know this amazing girl God has created?" Don't be like that. Get to know about people. Care about people. Don't just wildly reach out to everyone in sight in an attempt to be a better person. Reach out to those people God has given to you, those on your heart.

Trust me - when I've stepped out, even when I've felt like it may be too late to do so, I've met some amazing people and gained friends I can't imagine not knowing anymore.

I know we've all been tempted to just stay in our comfort zone. But I'm challenging you to do something different.

Today, reach out to someone who God has put on your heart.

Sin

I just realized this today...I don't have time for a whole post, but...

You know when we say someone's beautiful inside and out? Or someone is beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside?

Everyone was created beautiful. Everyone IS beautiful on the inside. But some people let sin run rampant in their lives (willingly), and we begin to see the sin instead of the person. Not because there's anything wrong with us, but because the person is letting the sin DEFINE them.

Like people who are mean and don't care if they hurt others' feelings. They were created beautiful, and they still have that potential. They still are beautiful. But like fog on a mirror, they let sin mask their personality until all we can see is sin - and sin is ugly. When they repent of their sin, their beautiful self begins to shine through. As they try harder and harder to follow Jesus, their beauty becomes more and more obvious.

We are all beautiful on the inside..sometimes our lives just need a really good scrubbing ;)