DOES JESUS LOVE YOU ENOUGH TO TELL YOU ABOUT HELL?

I found an interesting exchange in the comments section of a previous post. Greg had been accused of not being very "loving" or "Christ-like" in trying to convince some other readers that they were wrong about reality and in danger of hell. He noted "Loving someone does not mean being nice to them.  Loving someone is guiding them towards their best interests."

An anonymous writer replied "I don't recall Jesus qualifying love like this. I thought he taught unconditional love of everyone which is much broader than simply guiding someone towards their best interest."

This person either needs to read more of the gospels or work on his or her power of recall, because Jesus certainly did "qualify love like this." Jesus was intent on guiding people toward their best interests, and that often meant getting into harsh arguments with them (just look for the continuing dispute he stoked with the Pharisees, not to mention the famous cleansing of the temple).

Greg also said "I love people enough to not want to see them go to hell. And I love them enough to proclaim boldly that hell is precisely where they are going." To which the commenter replied

I respect the passion you have for your cause, however, your approach is undermining your ultimate goal. Forcing your beliefs on others with the threat of damnation and hell for noncompliance is the one sure way to give people a reason not to embrace religion. Instead, wouldn't it be more productive to invite others to join with you in your form of worship and let them decide for themselves if your religion is right for them? Jesus as I recall said come follow me, not, come follow me or else. It seems to me forcible preaching inherently conflicts with the very beliefs it professes to embrace.

Wrong. First of all, we should not be feeding people some comfort inducing, touchy-feely, subjective "reasons" to embrace a religion. We should be trying to convince them that it is true and explaining fully the consequences of their decision. Religions are not "right or wrong for people", they are either objectively true or they are objectively false. They either accurately describe reality or they do not. As such, there either is such a place as hell or there is not and your feelings about that place matter not at all in deciding the answer to that question.

This was Jesus approach. He tried to convince people that he was telling the truth about reality (that truth being that He was God and the only way to get to Heaven and avoid hell) by doing miracles and rising from the dead. He did not try to sugarcoat the message or induce people to try it out and see if it "worked" for them by being nice to them. In fact, in John 6, when the people came and wanted to follow him for reasons other than the fact that they thought he was telling the truth, he chastised them and gave them a particularly hard teaching which caused many of them to leave. He offended them, but it was necessary because what mattered was that they understand the truth, not that they liked him.

Jesus talked about hell all the time and his most common type of parable involved the final judgment, where mankind is divided between those going to heaven and hell. Some typical teachings:

 

Matthew 5:22
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

Greg was following the model of Jesus. Truth matters more than hurt feelings. If hell is real, we should be trying to convincing people not to end up there, whether they like us for it or not.

Comments

Thanks for these last two posts. After reading the comments on the Mormonism article, those are the two points I wanted most to respond to, but you have done it more eloquently than I would have anyway.
I was reading Peter's discourse in Acts 3, and he includes repentance and the consequences of unbelief in his presentation fo the good news. Paul does, too, calling men to repentance in light of the coming judgment (Acts 17, for example). Of course, they are following Christ's example, as Don already articulated. So love includes presenting the truth to people, even if it's painful.

Let us be wary, though, of thinking love is callous. The message we present is still GOOD news. It is freedom from a far greater pain than the discomfort of being told "you're wrong" and it is an invitation to a joy immeasurably greater than participating for a while in something that "feels right." And let us also be mindful lest in our zeal we forget compassion.

[Mason]

Ok. First of all, Who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell? In your belief.

[Mason]

Well is someone going to answere my question?

[Mason]

"Jesus was intent on guiding people toward their best interests, and that often meant getting into harsh arguments with them (just look for the continuing dispute he stoked with the Pharisees, not to mention the famous cleansing of the temple)." Yeah you notice he got into harsh arguments with people who didn't believe in Him. The Pharisees didn't believe that Jesus was the Christ. So if you want to tell someone that there going to Hell don't tell people who already believe in Him. Tell someone who doesn't believe in Him. Not Mormons cause they already believe in Him whether you think they do or not.

[Greg]

Mormons don't believe in the Jesus of the New Testament. They believe in some dude named Jesus who was the brother of the devil, literal physical son of God, and who appeared to people in America.

[Mason]

Umm..yeah i read the New Testiment in the King James Version and thats the Jesus i believe in. The same one you do. If you look in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 25:13 it says, -Begold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for i have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name.- Now isn't that talking about the Jesus in the New Testiment? Also in the same chapter on verse 26 -And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins- Im sorry that you think we don't believe in the same Christ as you and other Christians. Just cause we translate the Bible differently doesn't mean were not Christians.