This book is about religion, and man, and God. The author states that "discussion itself is divine". In this “discussion” he argues for a type of theology that is plural, liberal, emergent, and universal.
In Love Wins, it is the author’s intention to take back the Jesus story from those who have hijacked it. The author believes that he knows which story Jesus wants told. And this book is written for everyone who has heard a version of the Jesus story that they didn't like. The author states that believing that some people go to heaven and others go to hell is "misguided and toxic".
Subject, Thesis, and Summary
As the title says, this book is about “the fate of every person who ever lived.” The author’s thesis is: Forgiveness is unilateral. That means every person will be saved and will spend eternity in “heaven” a place where no evil or injustice is allowed.
The author rejects a literal hell, because a good God just wouldn’t send anyone to hell. Instead, because God is merciful, we are all accepted into heaven. God’s justice only means that He will not allow any injustice to be in heaven. God is not going to punish anyone; we do NOT need to be rescued from God! Jesus did not literally save us from God’s wrath. God was never angry. God loves. He is simply waiting for us to change.
Throughout the book, the author makes emotional appeals and uses dramatic language. Much space is devoted to words such as “vibrant pulsating” “patterns” “rhythms” “sustaining” “epic” “elemental reality” These seem to be a primary method of convincing the reader of the truth of what is being presented. Individual’s personal stories are also used, even exploited, for sensationalism in hopes of swaying the reader’s opinion.
Analysis and Critical Comments
In order to argue that every human will be saved, the author must combat several historical Christian doctrines. In the following sections some of these doctrines will be discussed with the author’s position summarized first and critical comments second.
1. Sovereignty of God
Author’s Position
The author rejects the Sovereignty of God in chapters 1 and 4. In chapter 1, the author argues that salvation can't be dependent on men because people are fallible. If our salvation depends on a fallible preacher or missionary, it’s just not fair. And, if our salvation depends on us responding, it would be works and not grace. The author chooses not to trust in God’s providence for the elect. The only alternative is to conclude that we are required neither to hear, nor do anything, and salvation is universal. Further, in chapter 4, the author states that if everyone is not saved, it is because God has failed. God wouldn't have created all those people just to spend eternity in a real hell. If God would send people to a literal hell then he is not our friend. The author simply rejects the idea that God has the right to send sinners to hell. The author appeals to emotions and human reasoning by asking why wouldn't God just give them one more chance, why not two, or why not just as many as needed. The author states, “you don't have to believe in [hell, judgment] to be a Christian” and in the author’s opinion, the stuff about hell and judgment is not a very good story.
Comments
God is sovereign over salvation. Every one who is called will be justified (Romans 8:28-30). Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-29) and no one can snatch us from his hand (John 10:27-29). So we need not worry about the gospel being hindered; either by fallible people or unexpected circumstances. Jesus promised that he would not lose one of all which the Father had given him (John 6:39) and Paul wrote that Christ is able to keep our souls until the heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 1:12).
God is sovereign over salvation. Every one who is called will be justified (Romans 8:28-30). Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-29) and no one can snatch us from his hand (John 10:27-29). So we need not worry about the gospel being hindered; either by fallible people or unexpected circumstances. Jesus promised that he would not lose one of all which the Father had given him (John 6:39) and Paul wrote that Christ is able to keep our souls until the heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 1:12).
God has the right to send men to hell. God is just, and he will not acquit the wicked (Nah 1:3). His own justice declares that anyone who justifies the wicked is an abomination (Pro 17:15). We are the wicked. Every one of us (Rom 3:9-12)! So God cannot simply forgive us without his justice and wrath being satisfied. Apart from Christ, we would be left alone to face God in his justice and wrath. Apart from Christ, God would send every one of us to hell.
God will send some men to hell. He is patient and longsuffering, but he will judge the world (2 Peter 3:7-9) and each of us at our death (Heb 9:27). Those not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15, Rev 21:8).
2. Heaven
Author’s Position
In chapter 2, the author portrays a kind of Heaven which we can, and must start achieving right here and now; because god “has been looking for partners”to participate in “the ongoing creation” Heaven is just a metaphor for a place where evil cannot survive. It is a place where we can do what we love to do as long as it’s not unjust. But if we, like the rich man, do not want to behave nicely then God can’t make us. He just won’t let us ruin the party for everyone else. So the rich man will have to wait on the sidelines until he gives up his pride and selfishness. God cannot send him to hell; he’s just on the sidelines in Heaven until he changes his attitude. If you want to have your part in the next life, start living well now, you won't achieve peace here, or there, until you do.
Comments
God is not looking for partners, he is looking for worshippers. That is why we were created (Rev 4:11). Jesus is preparing a place (John 14:2); there is a holy city that will be built on the new earth (Rev 21:1-27). The wicked will NOT enter into that city (Rev 21:27). They will be cast OUT into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 22:13, 25:30). The wheat will be gathered, and the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire (Mat 3:12). Again, the wheat will be gathered and the tares will be burned (Mat 13:30). The chaff, or the tares, are the children of the wicked one (Mat 13:38). It is clear that there will be a separation of the righteous and the wicked; the wicked will NOT go to the same place as the righteous. It would be an abomination to treat the righteous and the wicked in the same way, and shall not the judge of all the earth do right (Gen 18:25).
God is not looking for partners, he is looking for worshippers. That is why we were created (Rev 4:11). Jesus is preparing a place (John 14:2); there is a holy city that will be built on the new earth (Rev 21:1-27). The wicked will NOT enter into that city (Rev 21:27). They will be cast OUT into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 22:13, 25:30). The wheat will be gathered, and the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire (Mat 3:12). Again, the wheat will be gathered and the tares will be burned (Mat 13:30). The chaff, or the tares, are the children of the wicked one (Mat 13:38). It is clear that there will be a separation of the righteous and the wicked; the wicked will NOT go to the same place as the righteous. It would be an abomination to treat the righteous and the wicked in the same way, and shall not the judge of all the earth do right (Gen 18:25).
3. Mercy and Justice of God
Author’s Position
In Chapter 2 the author also explains that God’s mercy and justice really go hand in hand. The mercy of God is that everyone gets into heaven. Even though there is evil in our hearts, God lets us into heaven because He is merciful. But, God is also just. His justice is served by stopping all injustices; that is, there will be no injustice allowed in heaven. God’s justice doesn’t actually require any payment/punishment for evil, and His mercy is automatic.
Comments
As mentioned previously, God’s pure justice would require that we all go to hell. He cannot simply forgive us. That would be unjust. Justice is NOT only stopping injustices from happening. Justice means punishing the wicked and giving them what they deserve. Because God is perfectly just, it is right for him to take vengeance (Rom 12:19). God’s justice must be satisfied. His wrath and anger must fall (Rom 9:22).
As mentioned previously, God’s pure justice would require that we all go to hell. He cannot simply forgive us. That would be unjust. Justice is NOT only stopping injustices from happening. Justice means punishing the wicked and giving them what they deserve. Because God is perfectly just, it is right for him to take vengeance (Rom 12:19). God’s justice must be satisfied. His wrath and anger must fall (Rom 9:22).
God’s mercy is that he allowed a substitute to take our punishment. But among men not one worthy could be found. So God in his mercy and love also provided the substitute (Gen 22:8-14). Jesus Christ our Lord, God himself. Jesus bore our sin (2 Cor 5:21) and took the Father’s wrath (Isaiah 53). What an unspeakable gift, that the very God we had angered would himself take the punishment we deserved. That is mercy.
So God’s mercy and justice are related. In God’s mercy the punishment that we deserved did not fall on us. Instead it fell on Jesus who fulfilled every demand of the Father’s justice. To say that God’s wrath did not need to be satisfied is to nullify and make void what Jesus did on the cross. That is heresy and blasphemy.
4. Hell
Author’s Position
Hell, the subject of chapter 3, is explained by the author as purely metaphorical. Every warning and description about hell is not to be taken literally. There is no real place called ‘hell’. To the author, “the idea of hell is a holdover from primitive, mythic religion". And what Jesus taught about hell is “a volatile mixture of images, pictures, and metaphors that describe the very real experiences and consequences of rejecting our God-given goodness and humanity." We can be good, but if we choose to be bad we create our own hell here and now, and that's hell. We can even continue our own hell right into heaven (and be on the sidelines) if we want to. But everything is a metaphor, even Jesus’example of the rich man and Lazarus and the lake of fire. Jesus was referring to the fire burning at the city garbage dump. Really, Jesus is “calling people to see things in a whole new way”.
4. Hell
Author’s Position
Hell, the subject of chapter 3, is explained by the author as purely metaphorical. Every warning and description about hell is not to be taken literally. There is no real place called ‘hell’. To the author, “the idea of hell is a holdover from primitive, mythic religion". And what Jesus taught about hell is “a volatile mixture of images, pictures, and metaphors that describe the very real experiences and consequences of rejecting our God-given goodness and humanity." We can be good, but if we choose to be bad we create our own hell here and now, and that's hell. We can even continue our own hell right into heaven (and be on the sidelines) if we want to. But everything is a metaphor, even Jesus’example of the rich man and Lazarus and the lake of fire. Jesus was referring to the fire burning at the city garbage dump. Really, Jesus is “calling people to see things in a whole new way”.
Comments
Hell is a real place, because God will send some men to hell. Again, those not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15, Rev 21:8). Jesus said that the Master “delivered [the wicked servant] to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him”(Mat 18:34). Then he said, “so also my heavenly Father shall do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses”(Mat 18:35). But we can never pay the debt that we owe to God. Our sin is infinite because we have rebelled against and profaned the infinite holy God. So to us the phrase “until he should pay all” means everlasting punishment (2 Thes 1:8-9).
5. Atonement
Author’s Position
Jesus death shows us that we don’t need to worry about whether or not God is pleased. In chapter 5, the author explains that whatever happened there, on the cross, was just part of the process of life. Old things die and new things grow. It was not about an actual atonement for sin, or the wrath of God being satisfied. Jesus didn’t literally take our sin upon him, or literally redeem us. “The writers [of the Bible] were extremely clever, employing incredibly complex patterns with numbers and hints and allusions...” It was a "brilliant, creative work these first Christians were doing when they used these images and metaphors" to talk about the cross. The story of the cross is about the process of life in which everything in heaven and earth, including us will become new.
Comments
Romans 3:23-26 KJV For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Because we have sinned, we stand condemned. We are each in need of justification; without it we will be sent to hell. There is literally a charge against us, a conviction, and a sentence. We have already discussed that Jesus bore our sin and took our punishment. It was absolutely necessary for Jesus to shed his blood to atone for our sin. Without this atoning sacrifice, God could never declare us justified and still be a righteous judge. But now he is the “justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” This propitiation demonstrates God’s righteousness. He did not just ‘forget’about our sin, he punished it fully. On the cross Jesus Christ was literally atoning for our sin.
Colossians 2:13-14 KJV And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
The conviction against us was taken away, and nailed to the cross. We must humble ourselves in the face of this truth. We must be broken over our sin; it is our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross! To even suggest that Christ’s work on the cross was just some kind of “metaphor about the process of life”is unthinkable wickedness, and shows complete disdain for the Lord and Savour.
6. CHRIST Alone
Author’s Position
In chapter 6 the author quotes Jesus, in John 14:6, saying “no one comes to the father but by me” And since, “Jesus is bigger than any one religion” this, according to the author, actually means that Jesus is already in every religion, custom, tribe, and nation in the world. Every person actually is coming to the father through Jesus. So called “un-reached”people have actually been talking about Jesus for years, maybe not by that name. When Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life” it was as “wide and expansive a claim as a person can make” It is the author’s conclusion that because everyone must come to the father through Jesus, Jesus must be in every religion. This means that everyone, no matter what they believe or do, is coming to Jesus. All paths really are Jesus, whether they use the name “Jesus”or not, and we cannot judge anything, because Jesus is everywhere, in everything.
Comments
Here the author begins with man, and what man wants. He then interprets God’s word to suit man’s desire. This is blatant humanism. Just because we have many religions, it does NOT mean they are all correct. God’s word is pure (Psa 119:140) and true (John 17:17), regardless of whether men submit themselves to it or not.
We must receive Jesus Christ (as our Lord and Master) and believe on his name in order to become sons of God (John 1:12). There is NO other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved (Acts 4:12). Now or at the judgment, every knee will bow, and every person will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Rom 14:10-12, Phil 2:10-11).
All roads do NOT lead to salvation. Jesus said, “the gate is narrow”(Mat 7:14). This means that repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. It is the only gate, or entrance, to eternal life. Those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be punished with everlasting destruction (2 Thes 1:8-9).
With all these “toxic”and “misguided”doctrines supposedly refuted, the author uses the last two chapters to restate and argue his position that every human being that ever lived will be saved. Many pages are devoted to the story of the prodigal son and his older brother. In the author’s opinion, neither son needed to repent, nor to be forgiven; they are just loved. The author makes another emotional appeal: any other kind of God just will not do, we couldn’t love that kind of God. The author states that hell is what we’ll do to ourselves if we refuse to join God’s party; we have the choice. Finally, the author emphatically states that we do not need to be rescued from God; God is looking for partners! We just need to trust that we are loved. It is the author’s belief that Jesus asks for nothing more than this moment.
But that is a lie. Jesus commands us to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). And we absolutely do need to be rescued from God! Jesus is the Saviour because he took the wrath of God in our place.
This book is both wicked and dangerous. It is a stumbling block; snatching the seed away from some, and overthrowing the faith of others. The author’s opinions reject historical Christian doctrine. Scriptures are used and interpreted loosely; there is absolutely no trembling before God’s word (Isa 66:2). Genesis is not a “poem” Genesis is a historical record and contains the words of the living God.
We are warned that in the last days men will not endure sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3-4). Pretending that everyone will be saved regardless, or that we do not need to be rescued from God, or that the cross of Jesus Christ was just a lesson in the “process of life” is nothing more than vain and profane babbling (2 Tim 2:16).
1 Corinthians 1:17-18 KJV 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Let us give the pre-eminence to Christ in all things; he is the author and finisher of our faith, our Lord and our Master, Saviour, Messiah, the only mediator, all our righteousness and our only hope.
Background on the Author
Rob Bell is the Founding Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church. He graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
Previous Publications: “Velvet Elvis” “Sex God”
source: Mars Hill Bible Church, www.marshill.org
Bibliography
Bell, Rob
Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.
First Edition
EPub Edition, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-204964-3