Thursday, July 1, 2010

Teach Hell to Your Children

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt 10:28).


One of the thought-provoking pieces from the previously-noted series on Hell at The Briefing is by Gordon Cheng, "Should We Tell Our Children About Hell?" Of course, the short answer is "Only if you actually love your children."

Though Cheng's post is worth reading in its entirety, I was especially helped by his observations on what might occur if we consistently instructed our children in the biblical teaching on hell:
Naturally, if we begin to preach about hell and judgement to little children, we could potentially land ourselves in enormous strife. Those who have the privilege to teach children the gospel in schools would, in many cases, find it swiftly removed—through popular outcry in the school community or, eventually, through government legislation. The church, still seen as a community pillar in some places, might speedily become a community pariah. Funding would be withdrawn, tax breaks called into question and lawsuits would ensue. The pastor's phone would ring hot. The children's worker's phone would go into meltdown. Jobs would be threatened, committee meetings would be held and nervous warnings would be issued. In other words, the gospel would be heard and God would be glorified.
What an awesome thing such ostracism would be for the cause of Christ in our churches, communities, and country!

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