Follow this link. Read Justin Taylor's blog, but more importantly watch the Rob Bell video. But you might not want to watch it more than once, it has the ability to put a bad taste in your mouth. **Note: I saw this by Kevin DeYoung right after I posted this entry. If you skip my blog and read it instead, it's even more enlightening.
And if Rob Bell turns out to be either a full-blown universalist or Karl Barth-type universalist (i.e. his arguments lead him to the logical conclusion of universalism, but he can't quite go there) it wouldn't surprise me. But the philosophically-appealing idea of universalism is unfortunately found nowhere in the Bible, so it simply isn't something we can hold to as Christians.
But what raises an internal sorrow and an internal uproar are the following comments Rob Bell makes in his video:
"Millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message of the gospel...is that God is going to send you to hell unless you believe in Jesus. And so what gets subtly caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God."
Everything about this statement is as Biblically unsound as the idea of universalism and it grieves my heart that Christians can buy even these ideas as truth...The truth is that we chose hell, we chose to disobey God and our sin brought upon us all the punishment we deserved. But in His love, God sent Christ to die to offer salvation to all. So ultimately Jesus rescues you from YOURSELF, and from the wrath of God that your actions merit. Romans 5 gives an excellent picture of what our sin has brought upon ourselves and the righteousness Christ's obedience grants us.
Consequently, "we should rejoice that God is gracious and merciful in saving anyone" (Mark Driscoll). And this grace should change us so much that the gospel truly becomes good news--good news that we wish to share with a lost and broken world. Read this book for lots of amazing tidbits, especially the chapters on Predestination and Grace.
So, I guess in the end, I'm worried that Rob Bell, while fighting against this untruth, replaces it with the untruth of universalism. And I'm worried that part of the major reason he may do this is because he fails to see our responsibility and place as ill-deserving sinners who have spat in the face of God. And because he ultimately fails to see what true grace is: a divine miracle that God, through Jesus, offers salvation to all, though only some will respond. A salvation that empowers us, like Paul, to spread it like the good news that it is.
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