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Program Transcript (click to view):
I have a couple of questions for all of us who have children. Here’s the first
question: Has your child ever disobeyed you? Now, take a little time to think
about it in case you’re not sure.
Okay,
now if you answer was yes, like all
the rest of us, here’s the second question: Have you ever punished your child
for disobedience?
Finally,
let me ask you this: How long did the punishment last? More to the point, Did
you declare that the punishment would last forever?
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Small
group discussion guide
Discussion groups might wish to prepare their own topics,
request topics from the group, use the following suggested topics, or mix and
match all three.
Suggested topics:
1. Why is it important that we not separate God’s wrath from
his love?
2. How do you feel about the statement, “God loves the
victimizer as well as the victim?”
3. Why was it emphasized that we must not project our human
concepts of wrath onto God?
4. “God’s wrath must be understood in the light of his
redemptive purpose”—any thoughts?
5. How do you understand hell in the sense of “alienation from
God?”
6. Please comment on, “hell is populated by people who are
loved and forgiven by God.”
7. Why do you think people assume that death in this
life is the cutoff point for salvation?
8. What do you think about good science being described as a
“wonderful gift of God?”
A few simple guidelines for leading a discussion: 1)
Encourage open discussion. 2) Ask questions relevant to the topic. 3) Listen
attentively. 4) Encourage divergent views. 5) Encourage everyone to
participate. 6) Summarize and paraphrase. 7) Minimize teaching and preaching.
Program Transcript (click to view):
Announcer:
Welcome to a special edition of You’re
Included recorded in the ancient Scottish city of St. Andrews. St. Andrews
is the home of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university,
founded in 1413. St. Andrews enjoys the reputation as one of the finest
institutions of higher education in the United Kingdom. It is the home of St.
Mary’s College, the university’s renowned divinity school. In St. Mary’s nearly
500-year-old College Hall, You’re
Included host, J.
Discussion groups
might wish to prepare their own topics, request topics from the group, use the
following suggested topics, or mix and match all three.
Perhaps you
know of someone who might like to watch this program. If so, go to the bottom of
the page and click on "Email this page." Fill out the short form, and share the
good news! There's also a way to share the page on Facebook, Twitter,
Buzz, and other websites.
If you'd like to support this ministry, click here.
Suggested topics:
1. Why is God’s love
and mercy inseparable from his wrath and judgment?
2. Why do we tend to
divide God’s traits rather than seeing them as one unified attribute?
3. Why should we see
God’s character as revealed in Christ and not project our ideas onto him?
4. How does “double
predestination” promote legalism and works righteousness?
5. How do you
understand the statement, “God made provision for hell on the cross”?
6. Why do you think
Dr. Colyer said that “hell is a better place for sinners than heaven”?
7. Why is it
as wrong for Christians to see Jesus as a “political conqueror” as it was for
the Jews?
8. Was the “Fatherhood of God” as revealed in
the New Testament encouraging to you? How?
A few simple
guidelines for leading a discussion: 1) Encourage open discussion. 2) Ask
questions relevant to the topic. 3) Listen attentively. 4) Encourage divergent
views. 5) Encourage everyone to participate. 6) Summarize and paraphrase. 7)
Minimize teaching and preaching.
Program Transcript (click to view):
J. Michael Feazell: Elmer,
thanks for being with us.
Elmer
Colyer: It’s delightful to be with you again.
It was my first visit to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City. I was standing before The Last Judgment,
a painting by the 15th-century Dutch artist Jan van Eyck.
On the floor, directly in front of the painting, lay a sheet of paper
bearing a few hastily written words. An earlier visitor had placed it there,
and it had not yet been removed by museum personnel.
"The world will probably be converted into…a vast ocean of fire, in which the wicked shall be overwhelmed…their heads, their eyes, their tongues, their hands, their feet, their loins, and their vitals, shall forever be full of glowing, melting fire…they shall eternally…feel the torments…without any end at all, and never, never be delivered."1
"If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away," said Jesus. "It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell" (Matthew 5:30). Hell is serious. We need to take Jesus’ warning seriously.
Our approach
On this subject, as with many others, we must listen to Jesus. If we take him seriously when he teaches about mercy, we should also take him seriously when he teaches about punishment. After all, mercy doesn’t mean much unless we are escaping something.
Perhaps you
know of someone who might like to watch this program. If so, go to the bottom of
the page and click on "Email this page." Fill out the short form, and share the
good news! There's also a way to share the page on Facebook, Twitter,
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If you'd like to support this ministry, click here.
Program Transcript (click to view):
If God is full of grace and mercy, where does hell fit in?
Surely a God of love would not torture people forever and ever, many say. After all, the Bible reveals God to be compassionate, but the traditional doctrine of eternal excruciating torture in hell seems to portray God as a vengeful sadist who is crueler than any human sinner.
But rebellion against God is infinitely terrible, say some theologians, so it demands the worst punishment.
Jesus told the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man to illustrate a point about having an authentic relationship with God. Some believe Jesus meant the parable as a satire of the Pharisees’ belief that they were in a privileged position with God. In that context, the parable would be a statement about their love of privilege and wealth.
On the floor, directly in front of the painting, lay a sheet of paper
bearing a few hastily written words. An earlier visitor had placed it there,
and it had not yet been removed by museum personnel.
