Preface
The Growing Few of Us
To begin with,
a bit about this critique.
First, I believe the truth about Jesus Christ is first and foremost about the glory of God and His love for the world. It is a love that rescues men from perishing in their sins and gives them eternal life at the cost of the suffering and death of God’s only Son. This love and truth of God in Jesus Christ is so wide, so deep, so contrary to the ways of this world that it is foolishness to those who are perishing but life to those who believe. This love is so vast, so far reaching, so encompassing that it can save anyone, anywhere, no matter what they’ve done in their past. This God of love is ready and willing to forgive and accept into His eternal family all who turn to Him and put their faith in His only Son - Jesus Christ.
That’s the story (at least part of it anyway).
“For God so loved the word,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish,
But have everlasting life.”
That is why Jesus came.
That is His message.
That is where life is found.
Yet today, the world is ever growing with teachers who love to tell other stories. Love stories. Fictional stories. Like bedtime stories. Stories that make you feel good and leave you with warm fuzzies. Stories that aren’t actually true but do draw from THE true story. Stories that are:
Not true,
Not black.
Not white.
Just grey.
Open to the imagination,
and interpretation.
Having space for additions,
for expansion,
for new interpretations.
Stories that avoid those old, outdated, archaic, troubling, divisive words like:
Right.
Wrong.
Truth.
Absolute truth.
Factual history,
and the like.
Specifically stories that have to do with the “fate of every person who ever lived.”
In the words of Rob Bell:
There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus’s story has been hijacked by a
number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he
came to do.
As for that statement, I agree with Rob Bell.
The Jesus Story.
Hijacked.
In the name of Love.
I’ve written this critique for all those, everywhere, who have just recently read Love Wins – a version of the Jesus story that is not found in their Bible – for those who are considering reading the story called Love Wins, and for those who don’t know the scriptures well enough and might be swept away into delusions by following their emotions and what “sounds and feels” good and right to their own eyes and ears. It is a story that denies the truth while claiming to present it; it’s a story that uses scriptures but fails to comprehend them; it’s a story about a Jesus but not the one found in the scriptures. It’s a story titled “Love Wins” by Rob Bell. It’s a story that is causing those who read their Bibles and believe them to say “I could never believe that.”
You are not alone.
Though most of Christendom is in and is headed deeper into apostasy,
there are a growing number of us who love God and read our Bibles and believe what God has said.
This love for God and His truth compels us to question some of the stories being told about Jesus. In this critique, we will look at the story that has just been told and retold by Rob Bell. In the truest sense of the word – it is a story. It’s a story that draws from factual events and retells them in a way to give the events new meaning, meaning the original author never intended. It’s a story about
Questions.
Doubts.
Emotions.
Insinuations.
Exaggerations.
And at the core……Humanism.
And so, this critique.
In this critique, I shall go through the chapters of Love Wins. My intent is not to go through every error and subtle deception that Rob Bell teaches but to examine the overall teaching of each chapter. In doing so, I will quote statements made by Rob Bell and his explanations of different passages of scripture. I will then look at these quotes in light of what the word of God says. To go over everything thing Rob Bell says in his book would require more than I will be presenting here. It is my aim that as you see the twisting of scripture, the nature of deception, and the love of humanism; you will be part of the growing few who “test all things” and believe what God says about Himself and His plan, even if the perishing world around you considers it foolishness.
I am glad that Rob Bell has said:
Some communities don’t permit open, honest inquiry about the things that matter most. Lots of people have
voiced a concern, expressed a doubt, or raised a question, only to be told by their family, church, friends,
or tribe: ‘We don’t discuss those things here.’ I believe the discussion itself is divine.
Thankfully my tribe has shown no objections to the discussion, so I will now enter into this “divine” discussion about God and Jesus and salvation and judgment and heaven and hell and the words of Rob Bell in his book Love Wins.
And, if this critique keeps you from being “deluded with persuasive speech” (Col 2:4) – well, I’d be thrilled.
Click here for the Intro: The New, Same As The Old
The Growing Few of Us
To begin with,
a bit about this critique.
First, I believe the truth about Jesus Christ is first and foremost about the glory of God and His love for the world. It is a love that rescues men from perishing in their sins and gives them eternal life at the cost of the suffering and death of God’s only Son. This love and truth of God in Jesus Christ is so wide, so deep, so contrary to the ways of this world that it is foolishness to those who are perishing but life to those who believe. This love is so vast, so far reaching, so encompassing that it can save anyone, anywhere, no matter what they’ve done in their past. This God of love is ready and willing to forgive and accept into His eternal family all who turn to Him and put their faith in His only Son - Jesus Christ.
That’s the story (at least part of it anyway).
“For God so loved the word,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish,
But have everlasting life.”
That is why Jesus came.
That is His message.
That is where life is found.
Yet today, the world is ever growing with teachers who love to tell other stories. Love stories. Fictional stories. Like bedtime stories. Stories that make you feel good and leave you with warm fuzzies. Stories that aren’t actually true but do draw from THE true story. Stories that are:
Not true,
Not black.
Not white.
Just grey.
Open to the imagination,
and interpretation.
Having space for additions,
for expansion,
for new interpretations.
Stories that avoid those old, outdated, archaic, troubling, divisive words like:
Right.
Wrong.
Truth.
Absolute truth.
Factual history,
and the like.
Specifically stories that have to do with the “fate of every person who ever lived.”
In the words of Rob Bell:
There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus’s story has been hijacked by a
number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he
came to do.
As for that statement, I agree with Rob Bell.
The Jesus Story.
Hijacked.
In the name of Love.
I’ve written this critique for all those, everywhere, who have just recently read Love Wins – a version of the Jesus story that is not found in their Bible – for those who are considering reading the story called Love Wins, and for those who don’t know the scriptures well enough and might be swept away into delusions by following their emotions and what “sounds and feels” good and right to their own eyes and ears. It is a story that denies the truth while claiming to present it; it’s a story that uses scriptures but fails to comprehend them; it’s a story about a Jesus but not the one found in the scriptures. It’s a story titled “Love Wins” by Rob Bell. It’s a story that is causing those who read their Bibles and believe them to say “I could never believe that.”
You are not alone.
Though most of Christendom is in and is headed deeper into apostasy,
there are a growing number of us who love God and read our Bibles and believe what God has said.
This love for God and His truth compels us to question some of the stories being told about Jesus. In this critique, we will look at the story that has just been told and retold by Rob Bell. In the truest sense of the word – it is a story. It’s a story that draws from factual events and retells them in a way to give the events new meaning, meaning the original author never intended. It’s a story about
Questions.
Doubts.
Emotions.
Insinuations.
Exaggerations.
And at the core……Humanism.
And so, this critique.
In this critique, I shall go through the chapters of Love Wins. My intent is not to go through every error and subtle deception that Rob Bell teaches but to examine the overall teaching of each chapter. In doing so, I will quote statements made by Rob Bell and his explanations of different passages of scripture. I will then look at these quotes in light of what the word of God says. To go over everything thing Rob Bell says in his book would require more than I will be presenting here. It is my aim that as you see the twisting of scripture, the nature of deception, and the love of humanism; you will be part of the growing few who “test all things” and believe what God says about Himself and His plan, even if the perishing world around you considers it foolishness.
I am glad that Rob Bell has said:
Some communities don’t permit open, honest inquiry about the things that matter most. Lots of people have
voiced a concern, expressed a doubt, or raised a question, only to be told by their family, church, friends,
or tribe: ‘We don’t discuss those things here.’ I believe the discussion itself is divine.
Thankfully my tribe has shown no objections to the discussion, so I will now enter into this “divine” discussion about God and Jesus and salvation and judgment and heaven and hell and the words of Rob Bell in his book Love Wins.
And, if this critique keeps you from being “deluded with persuasive speech” (Col 2:4) – well, I’d be thrilled.
Click here for the Intro: The New, Same As The Old