The Biggest Lie

McDonalds makes you fat.

Smoking makes you sick.

Materialism makes you poor.

Lies.  All of them.  

McDonald’s doesn’t have the power to make you fat; you choose to eat poorly on a regular basis.  Smoking doesn’t make you sick; you choose to smoke knowing the potential consequences.  Materialism doesn’t make you poor; your choice to buy things you don’t need with money you don’t have makes you poor.

But the biggest lie of all?  God sends people to hell.  

I’ve heard non-believers use this to characterize God as spiteful and punitive.  A recent meme is what sparked this blog:  a quote attributed to R.C. Sproul, “It has been said that God hates the sin and loves the sinner.  But it’s the sinner God sends to hell, not just the sin.”  As with many quotes and memes, I suspect this nugget was taken out of context as part of a larger message.  However, without that context, and with the use of the word “sends”, this is a dangerous sentiment.

Just like the three lies at the beginning of this blog, Sproul’s attributes the action to the wrong individual.  You see, McDonalds, smoking, materialism, and God don’t DO anything to you without your consent, participation, choice, and active involvement.  God will, however, ALLOW consequences to your choices.  And God will provide an alternative.

John 3:16 is the most well-known Bible verse.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  The Greek for “one and only,” or “begotten” in the KJV, is monogenēs which has two primary definitions.  The first “pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship.  In Hebrews 11:17, the writer refers to Isaac as Abraham’s “only begotten son.”  Abraham had more than one son, but Isaac was the only one by Sarah and the only son of the covenant.  

The second definition is “pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind.” This is the meaning that is implied in John 3:16.  John was primarily concerned with demonstrating that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:31), and he uses monogenes to highlight Jesus as uniquely God’s Son—sharing the same divine nature as God—as opposed to believers who are God’s sons and daughters by adoption (Ephesians 1:5). 

The verse says clearly, “…that he gave his one and only son…”. Give is an action verb.  It means to “freely hand over possession of something.  It is not an act of coercion.  It is a choice.  And in the case of God, it is an act of unfathomable love.  The act of a Father who sacrificed his one-of-a-kind Son so that his adopted children might have a way home.  A Father who loves us so much that He would do the unimaginable to save the undeserving.  A Father who desires to be in relationship with His children rather than enslaving them to Him.

God doesn’t send people to hell.  People send themselves to hell.  They do it when they reject the life-saving gift of salvation offered by our Father in Heaven through His Son Jesus Christ.  When they choose the world over eternity.  When the possessions and accolades of the earth are more important than the promises of eternity.  When it is easier to be comfortable rather than endure criticism or mockery in the name of Jesus Christ.

If you believe Heaven is real, you must believe in hell.  Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a choice.  It is your choice.  It is THE only choice that will determine where you spend eternity.  

Just as you are responsible for what you eat, what you purchase, what you put into your body, you are responsible for accepting the life-saving power of Jesus.  God will allow your free will to determine your eternity.  God won’t force you to love Him.  God won’t force you to accept the gift He’s offering.  But God will never stop fighting for you in the hope that you will choose Him.  

It’s about time we stop the lie.  And it is time that we, as believers, are vocal and unrelenting about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Like God, it should wreck us to lose one brother or sister to hell.  God sent Jesus.  And He is sending us.  

The time is now.

The choice is ours.

Eternity or hell.

God is waiting.