Erasing Hell

Does hell exist?  Are biblical references to it just metaphoric?  And if it does exist, what are the implications for our everyday life? 

Francis Chan addresses these issues in his new book: Erasing Hell.  He co-wrote the book with Dr. Preston Sprinkle (best name ever!)  I love Francis Chan’s writing mostly because of the zeal that He has for God, not just in the things he says, but in the way that he lives his life.  He is not afraid to live out the things he teaches; in fact I dare say, he is afraid not to. 

Erasing Hell is only an exception to this in the sections that Dr. Sprinkle (still the best name ever!) helped write, and it’s fairly easy to tell where he jumps in because instead of focusing on God and how we should live for God in light of the issue of hell, he focuses on history and context. 

These things aren’t bad, and I learned some things for them. For instance there is no record of the Gehanna Valley being a city dump for trash and corpses with fires that burned continuously.  That idea doesn’t even appear until the 13^th century from a European rabbi trying to dispel Christian thought on the idea of hell. The references Jesus makes to Gehanna is in reference to the Jewish 1^st century understanding of hell as punishment after judgment, which is evidenced in other Jewish writing of the time.

And that’s a good thing to know.  Jesus is talking about a real, honest to goodness, fire and brimstone, hell.  Nothing else.  But it’s Francis’ parts of the book that make the idea of hell less abstract. 

He talks about how sometimes he thinks about his grandmother who denied Christ until her death and how much sorrow he feels knowing that she is probably spending eternity in hell.  He talks about how he was sitting in a coffee shop writing this book, and when he looked up and saw all the people sitting in front of him, he realized they might all be going to hell too.  And how he had to stop writing and talk to them about Jesus.

This is the rub isn’t it? 

If you believe there is a hell, and that your friends and family, coworkers, peers at school, teachers, your boss, the wait staff at the restaurant, the guy on the street corner, anyone who doesn’t know Christ may be heading there, how can you go on with life as usual.  The only way to do it is to push thoughts of hell out of your mind, and just send all those people on to their eternity. 

Is that loving others as you love yourself?  Is that loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength? 

I recommend the book, but don’t get if you’re just looking for some more knowledge about the subject.  Get it if you want to gain the heart of Christ when it comes to hell and the multitudes trekking blindly towards it everyday. 

Buy it now for $8.46

Halfway Herbert

Francis Chan tells us the story of Herbert who never finishes anything.  He finishes half his homework, he eats half his dinner, and he only brushes the top half of his teeth.  That’s why all his friends call him Halfway Herbert.  And when Halfway Herbert crashes his bike into his dad’s car, he tells his dad a half-truth so that he won’t get in trouble.

Halfway Herbert soon learns that a half-truth is a whole lie, and Jesus doesn’t take us halfway, He wants us to give Him our all. 

In the author’s note at the end of the book Chan writes, “The typical American pattern is to tell our kids about the love of Christ and wait until they are older to teach them about what it means to follow Christ.  Let’s not sell our kids short.  Let’s not underestimate what the Holy Spirit can do in the lives of our children.”

This is why I love this series of children’s books that Francis Chan has released.  They teach biblical truth in an accessible but unreserved way to children.  I find myself as convicted as the children in the stories by the lessons that are taught.

I highly recommend Halfway Herbert and any of the Francis Chan children’s books for the children in your family.

Buy It Now $9.35

Ronnie Wilson's Gift

At nearly two, our son is starting to enjoy cuddling up to a good book read by his mother or me.  We have quite a collection of books that was given to us by his generous grandmother, including great titles from Dr. Seuss and Arnold Lobel.  There are good lessons in these for children.   There were a few Christian titles, but we still wanted to expand our boy’s choices of Christian children’s literature to fuel a hunger after God early in life.

As part of that quest, we came across the book, Ronnie Wilson’s Gift by Francis Chan.  The book tells the story of little Ronnie Wilson.  One day in Sunday School, Ronnie learns that Jesus gave him the ultimate gift through His death and resurrection.  Ronnie is so thankful that he wants to give Jesus a gift in return, but it’s hard to get your favorite baseball glove to heaven.  During his attempts to send Jesus his gift, Ronnie takes the time to help some people in need. 

At the end of the book, Jesus appears to Ronnie in a dream and tells him that all those things he did to help others was like doing them for Jesus, so Ronnie gives his baseball glove to a boy in need of one.

My wife and I cry every time we read it to our son.  Not because the story is particularly moving but because Jesus is particularly moving.  That He would empathize so much with those in need that He makes charity given to them equivalent to charity given to Him, our King, is mind-boggling!  No wonder we’ll sing of His love and His mercies forever.

If you’re looking for a gift for a child in your life, I whole-heartedly recommend Ronnie Wilson’s Gift.

• Buy It Now only  $10.39
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