“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” -Philippians 3:18-21
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” -Hebrews 13:14
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” -Hebrews 11:13-16
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” -John 15:18-1
“We are not going somewhere else at the end of time, because this world is our home. And our home is good. One of the most tragic things ever to happen to the gospel was the emergence of the message that Jesus takes us somewhere else if we believe in him.” -Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis p.171
One of the mega-themes that you will observe if you read Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis is this pervasive idea that the Christian should not be awaiting a life in heaven, but instead they should embrace that heaven is coming here and is something we can bring ourselves. At one point he says, “Jesus’ desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth (p.148).” Again, in another place, “As we live this life , in harmony with God’s intentions for us, the life of heaven becomes more and more present in our lives. Heaven comes to earth (p.147).” In Bell’s theology, the goal of a Christian’s life is to bring heaven instead of hell to earth. This is nice, and comforting, and uplifting, … and completely unbiblical!
In other places we see Bell say things like “this world is our home.” Yet, Christ himself says to the disciples, and then forevermore to us, “you are not of the world”! So, only one person can be right, Bell or Jesus? Hmuh… I pick Jesus.
The problem with this view of us bringing heaven to earth is not that heaven is not coming to earth, and this is really the point where Bell and his ilk are so smarmy. In Revelation 21:1-3, the Apostle John records for us what will happen after the final judgment:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
So, in the end there will be a new Jerusalem which will descend from heaven, to this terrestrial sphere, and in that city God will dwell with us! This is the fulfillment of Hebrews 11:13-16 above which says “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” Bell knows this. He knows, and even cites in his book, that the final revelation is of the new Jerusalem coming to earth. However, he then uses this acknowledgment of the truth to advance his nice warm, fuzzy lies.
Yes, the new Jerusalem is coming. And how shall it come? According to Velvet Elvis, it shall come because Jesus’ followers “live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth.” Maybe you want to object that this is just a euphemism . However, if you want to make that objection I challenge you to actually read the book and see if Bell is just being cute when he says this. I am fairly convinced that in Bell’s book he is advancing the claim that good living is the driving force which brings heaven (or the new Jerusalem) to earth.
But, contrast that with Revelation 19 and 20 which depict a great battle where Satan is chained and then defeated forever, and the Great Judgment where all are ultimately judged. All of this happens BEFORE the new Jerusalem comes down to us. And yes, I understand that Revelation is a hairy book, full of symbolism, but there is not an interpretation in existence that doesn’t recognize Jesus as the Rider on the White Horse who defeats Satan or that thinks the final judgment has already come. Therefore, if none of this has happened yet, and if the old heaven and old earth pass away following this, then wouldn’t it be a waste for us to “bring heaven to earth” now when God is just going to throw it in the garbage at the end of time?
Honestly, this can get very speculative and unwieldy real fast, but the real issue is this: are we supposed to embrace this world because it is “our home” or should we accept the fact that we are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) on this earth and we are awaiting our return to where our true citizenship is, that being heaven? I believe Bell wants us to embrace this world because he denies that it is a wicked and corrupt world, and because he thinks that we are any less wicked and corrupt to be able to change it. Bell loves this world and creation, not unlike the fools in Romans 1:22-23.
However, if we truly respond to the Holy Spirit’s call on our lives, then we must acknowledge that we have been called out of this world, acknowledge that we have become “strangers and exiles” on the earth, acknowledge that on this earth there is “no lasting city”, and trust that God has prepared for us a city where he will dwell with us for eternity without end! That is our home!
August 23, 2008 at 4:52 pm |
I often toss back and forth the ideas of Rob Bell. His best commentary, when applied to living as a believer in Jesus in our society is summed well in a sermon he gave. He was referring to Luke 15:1. He was pointing out how Jesus was so often looked down upon with who he hung out with.
Bell, pointing out this, stated, and I am paraphrasing, “Do people, who are apart and have nothing to do with church or religion love to be around you, seek you out, tell you their secrets, and do religious conservative people have issue with you”.
Rob Bell has his critics, of course. Too often, we as believers, split hairs and point out each other’s faults. It almost gets like spiritual trignometry, with heresy and such being slung around at each other. Meanwhile, that troubled coworker, or friend, desperate for good news, gets lost in the lists and theology. That type of worldview, typical of alot, not all!, of Bell’s sermons, lines up with the often abscent important relationships believers need to have.
By the way, I love your site. Great thoughts here. Thought I’d share mine.
Be blessed.
August 24, 2008 at 12:01 am |
Thank you for your compliments on my site and thank you for taking the time to submit a comment.
As you can see from searching my site I obviously am not a big Rob Bell fan (as will be even more apparent when I post my review of “Jesus Wants to Save Christians” in the coming week or two). That said, I totally get your comment about “Too often, we as believers, split hairs and point out each other’s faults.” I agree one hundred percent, but for at least two reasons I think it goes beyond this with Bell.
The first reason, calling back to your paraphrase of ” . . . and do religious conservative people have issue with you,” I think this is a problem with Bell. Yes, legalistic “Christians” should have an issue with someone who is living the genuine revolutionary Christian life, but I see Bell as do his best to be antagonistic to ALL conservative, orthodox Christians. It almost pours out of his voice at some points, an arrogance and pride of how cool he is for challenging the man. I see it in his decision to offer a full bar at his shows and his decision to have Steve Chalke preach from his pulpit on a Sunday morning. One place where it stuck out like a sore thumb was in his endnotes for “Jesus Wants to Save Christians” where he was talking about a passage in Hebrews. Now, it is accepted that we don’t know who the human author of Hebrews was, but it is basically unquestioned that the author was male. However, in talking about this person, Bell chose to use the female pronouns. This was unnecessary and when viewed for what it is is clearly an instance of someone saying “Up yours” to orthodox belief. It is one thing to not be legalistic, it’s another thing to try and tempt others into legalism.
The second reason I think we are doing more than just splitting hairs by criticizing Bell is because I honestly struggle to see where his message is actually Christian at times. Sure, he encourages people to do things a Christian should do, but so did Mohammed and Buddha and Ghandi. That doesn’t make it Christian. For something to be Christian I believe that it needs to have a proper perspective of the necessity for following Jesus through faith and not just acting out some moralistic mimicry of a great teacher who lived long ago. Yet, in neither “Velvet Elvis” nor “Jesus Wants to Save Christians” does Bell mention the necessity of faith in Christ to salvation. Instead it comes off as a series of doing “the next right things” which save you and allow you to experience “heaven on earth.” And if you watch “Everything is Spiritual” and a great deal of the Nooma videos what you get is an improper elevation of man and his satisfaction as being God’s ultimate purpose instead of worshiping and glorifying God above all else. For the most part I see little difference between Bell and secular humanist icons like Oprah or Dr. Phil. That is certainly unacceptable for a Christian minister.
I hope that this further clarifies my feeling of the danger of following what Bell says too closely. I’m not saying that a mature, well-discerning Christian can’t benefit and be lead by what Bell says to some extent, but since that description fits a pretty narrow population of people who call themselves “Christian” I think it would best if we are a little more cautious of using his materials for Christian evangelism and discipleship.