Question: should fear of hell play a part in salvation?I've heard people speak honestly about what brought them to God, and sometimes they admit (as would I) that a fear of hell played a small/large part in their salvation. This is an interesting quandry. I can say that I've avoided doing things that seem tempting to me because I fear the negative consequences.
I know and agree that we are to have a fear of God, and that this is more than a healthy respect. However, knowing the Creator as I now do leads me to question the motivations of fear. Are we not called not to have a spirit of fear but of power of love and of a sound mind? I know that's a bit of proof-texting (sorry), but the point is still valid. If we love Him because He first loved us...interesting.
This could of course very quickly become a semantic discussion, so let's try to avoid that. But what brings someone to Christ? What brought Jesus to be a sacrifice. He overcame fear with love, but he is by far the scariest person to read in all the Bible. He just lays it out on the table and essentially says "Deal with it." He says to Pharisees, "How can you escape being sentenced to Hell?" (matt. 23:33) Christ certainly wasn't afraid to talk about it.
I guess it becomes a two-part question here: First, is it wrong for fear to drive the decision? If not, one part question, if yes, then is some form of pragmatism/utilitarianism okay? Does the end justify the means?
Love your thoughts...
1 comment:
Do you want my thoughts?
I think about fear sometimes. Fear paralyzes me more than anything. If I'm afraid of what's in the dark, I stay in my bed.
But sometimes I'm afraid of what I'd be without God. So, I could say that fear of what I would become is some of what keeps me following Christ. I want to be the best person that i can be. I don't want to be a bastard to others, and I know without the grace of Christ that would be my tendency.
But it's not fear of God, it's fear of the absence of God.
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