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Foreword:
A Theologian of Grace
What Does the
Bible
Really Say About Hell?
For
his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime. —Psalms 30:5a
I suspect that most
persons picking up this volume have never read a book
devoted solely to the topic of hell. It would seem a
recipe for depression. But readers of What Does the
Bible Really Say about Hell? are in for a surprise.
Here Randy Klassen is a theologian of grace. In a
profound sense, hell is only the pretext of this book;
grace is the text. And Randy writes on good authority.
His understanding of grace is rooted in Jesus Christ and
spelled out in Scripture.
As with all
evangelicals, Klassen holds tenaciously to both Jesus and
Scripture. But it is important for readers to note
Klassen’s ordering of these two authorities. He
begins Chapter 7 by quoting from an article in Christianity
Today by Timothy George: “The authority of the
gospel is established by the authority of the
Bible.” Here is a typical Reformed formulation that
moves from Word to Spirit, from Bible to the Christian
life. But Klassen’s theological method reverses this
order. Growing up in the Mennonite Brethren Church and
ordained as a minister in the Evangelical Covenant
Church, he understands that Scripture is first and
foremost to be read in the light of the Spirit’s
witness to Jesus Christ.
Whether Word or Spirit
is given epistemological priority is not just a
“chicken and egg” argument. The ordering has
consequence. Asking questions about a biblical
understanding of hell through the eyes of Jesus Christ
and his Spirit causes Klassen to turn from focusing on
issues of retribution and punishment and to focus,
instead, on the good news. The reality of judgment is
recognized. But qualifying it and keeping it in
perspective is God’s amazing grace as revealed in
Jesus Christ.
Tellingly, Klassen
finds that the early apostolic preaching concerning Jesus
that is recorded in Acts includes no mention of hell.
Rather, there is a call to commitment based on the good
news of the risen Lord. Klassen finds an underlying
gracious intent even in Jesus’ language of judgment
recorded in the Gospels. Jesus’ words must be
understood as “siren language,” speech meant to
cause the hearer to stop, look, and listen. Jesus wants
us to repent and experience God’s grace.
In this book, the
question Klassen asks is, As a Christ-one, a Christian,
how can I speak faithfully about hell? How can I
formulate a biblically informed perspective on hell
“that is morally consistent with the character of
God as revealed in Jesus Christ”? If God is not
limited even by death, for example, could there be the
possibility of a final salvation for all? If the goal of
God’s justice is closure, not torture, could
“annihilationism” be a more biblically
consistent doctrine of judgment than eternal torment?
Klassen recognizes the
reality of divine judgment but so too “the infinite
greatness of God’s love.” Klassen remains in a
questioning mood throughout the text, as any student of
Scripture must on this topic. But he is also not without
passion. He does not know how to reconcile at every point
God’s wrath with God’s love. There is judgment,
and warning is part of the gospel message. But he writes
tellingly when he asserts that “It is correct to
say, ‘God is love’; it is wrong to say,
‘God is wrath.’ Anger is an action of God, not
a fundamental characteristic.”
Reading Klassen’s
book reminded me of an earlier theologian of grace,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In his Letters and Papers from
Prison, written from a concentration camp during
World War II. Bonhoeffer explored what it would mean to
have Jesus in the center of our present life, a Jesus who
allowed himself to be pushed out of the world and on to a
cross. Writes Bonhoeffer, the God of the Bible “wins
power and space in the world by his weakness”
(letter of July 16, 1944). One implication for Bonhoeffer
of leading a Christ-like life was his rejection of any
evangelistic scare-tactics by the church. We should not
try, for example, to make room for God by focusing our
witness on the ultimate questions of death, guilt, and so
on. To concentrate one’s attention on those
“secrets known to (someone’s) valet” to
encourage repentance was simply a form of religious
blackmail. A Christian apologetic
“sniffing-around-after-people’s-sins” was
“ignoble,” “un-Christian” and, in the
end, “pointless” (letter of June 8, 1944).
Klassen would concur.
Klassen believes we need not try to scare people into the
kingdom with threats of hell as eternal torment. Too much
of traditional preaching on hell has sought to win
converts through power plays rather than through grace.
Here, in a small book
on hell, Klassen offers a wise and helpful perspective on
Christian evangelism. What should our witness be like? It
should call people to judgment. “But,” states
Klassen, “grace is greater than judgment.
‘Grace that is greater than all our sin,’
states the hymn writer.” I concur.
Not all will agree with
Klassen’s hope-motivated conclusion as he suggests
the possibility of hell’s temporary status. But all
will sense his humble spirit and profit from his biblical
reflections. Most of all, readers will be encouraged to
focus once again on the grace of Jesus Christ, a grace
that is not complete until the last sheep is found (Matt.
18) and the lost son comes home (Luke 15).
—Robert K. Johnston
Professor of Theology and Culture
Fuller Theological Seminary
Pasadena, California
What Does the Bible Really
Say About Hell? orders:
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