Stop Erasing Hell by Preston Sprinkle & Francis Chan

Author:Preston Sprinkle & Francis Chan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Erasing Hell, Francis Chan, hell, Love Wins, Jesus, Crazy Love, Forgotten God, fire, sin
Publisher: David C Cook
Published: 2012-01-09T16:00:00+00:00

Write some reflections on …

What Does This Have to Do with Me?

SESSION 6

What If God …?

For more information on the material in this session, read chapter 6 of the book Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We Made Up.

One of the most troubling of God’s characteristics is His sovereignty—His right and ability to rule over all things. A loving God we like. A forgiving God we take pleasure in. Even a just God we can handle (as long as His justice looks like ours). But a sovereign God scares us. Can God really do whatever He wants to do?

The answer is both yes and no. Yes, God can do whatever He wants to do: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3). But no, God cannot do something that goes against His character. He cannot sin, He cannot cease to exist, and so on. But then again, God would not want to do something that goes against His character, so the answer is really more yes than no—God really can and does do whatever He desires to do.

And this can be troubling, especially since we are living in a world filled with pain and suffering. One of the greatest dilemmas of the Christian faith, one that scholars have been wrestling with for centuries, is the so-called problem of evil. In a word, how can a loving and all-powerful God allow such evil in the world? Either He’s not very loving or He’s not all-powerful; otherwise, He would stop such evil, heal the hurting, and dry the tears of those living in misery.

1. Is there anything in your life that has raised this question in your mind? It could be a personal tragedy or simply looking at world events and wondering where God is in all of this. Please write down your answer and share with the group. I encourage you to be open and honest here, as much as you feel comfortable.

2. How did you cope (or how are you coping) with this tragedy? How did people help you through this issue, or what Scriptures did you turn to in order to find rest and encouragement from God? Or what Scriptures did you find particularly troubling as you dealt with this issue?

3. If you have read chapter 6 of Erasing Hell, what are one or two things in the chapter that helped you think through the problem of evil, or things that were especially difficult and troubling as you thought through this issue?

Chapter 6 of Erasing Hell was especially difficult to write. Francis and I worked through the issue in great detail and even wrote several drafts before we landed on the version that’s now in the book. The problem was that we wanted people to come face-to-face with God’s sovereignty and recognize that He has the right and ability to do whatever He wants. And yet in no way did we want to downplay the real pain and misery that people are going through.

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