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Is Rob Bell a Universalist?

Having just completed a 15 week sermon series on the 25 verses of the Epistle of Jude, I am definitely up on the New Testaments exhortation to "earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints". The opening line of my first sermon in the Jude series was this:

"War is hell!  At least that is the way that General William Sherman described it. He served as a General in the Union Army under Ulysses Grant during the Civil War, and he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy." 

What is interesting is that the very concept of literal Hell is what is being questioned these days and specifically in Rob Bell's new book: Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.  In a promotional video for the book, Rob Bell asks provacative and leading questions that would leave one at least speculating that he has fully embraced a Universalist theology.  With questions like these I might conclude that indeed he is a Universalist or he has constructed careful questions to stir the pot and sell a lot of books.

Rob Bell asks:

    Gandhi’s in hell? He is? And someone knows this for sure?

    Will only a few select people make it to heaven?

    And will billions and billions of people burn forever in hell?

    And if that’s the case, how do you become one of the few? Is it what you believe? Or what you say? Or     what you do? Or who you know? Or something that happens in your heart? Or do you need to be     initiated or baptized or take a class or be converted or be born again? How does one become one of     these few?

The word in Jude 3 for contend is the Greek word epagōnizomai.The word comes from the athletic world – from the wrestling mat. It is a strengthened form of the word meaning “to agonize.”  The prefix ep means upon or against.  The word means to agonize against. This is a picture of that word:

Jude encourages all believers to "agonize against" for the gospel.  The gospel is precious and has been placed in the hands of true believers in sacred trust.  We must not become too complacent and comfortable to contend for the faith.

Those whom Jude warns about are men who have crept into the church unnoticed.  The word for unnoticed in Jude 4 is the Greek word pyrasdunno which means to enter secretly, slip in stealthily.  The idea of a stealth is that it’s undetected by radar.  These men have come in by stealth, unnoticed.  How?  Why?  Because they appear to be one of us.  They appear to be spiritual leadership.  They came in even as shepherds.  Jesus gave a warning against those who appear to be true spiritual leadership.

Matthew 7:15

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Shepherd’s wore clothing made from the sheep’s wool.  These false shepherds wore sheep’s clothing. The false teachers Jude warns about were in the church.  They were pastors, shepherds.  Today is no different.  The question I have raised in this blog is:  Is Rob Bell a universalist (The belief that many or all will be saved without confessing Jesus as Lord).  I don't know the answer to the question.  But I guess we all will have a better idea of that when his book is released on March 15.  In any event, I for one have been praying that the church would rise up and contend for the the true faith and present Jesus Christ to a "lost" and dying world.

By Charles Nestor II

"Location, Location, Location!"

Watch this short video where I explain the significance of the location of the crucifixion of Jesus.  When it comes to business, location is very important.  When it comes to Jesus finishing the Father's business, it was not only important but a place selected before the foundation of the world.  Check it out.  I delivered this teaching at Calvary Church in Irving, TX in August of 2010.  The lead Pastor is Ben Dailey and the founding Pastor is Executive Presbyter, J. Don George.

 

 

The Government On His Shoulder

The following is the manuscript from my Christmas Eve message last year given at Calvary Chapel South Orlando, December 24, 2009, the day that Congress passed the current healthcare bill.

The Government on His Shoulder

Text:  Isaiah 9:6

Introduction:

The opening line of the famous Christmas carol “Joy to the World” says:  Joy to the World, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her king.   This song declares a powerful truth about Christmas that Jesus has come as King.  He is the ruler of the heavens and has come to earth to seek those who would enjoy the benefits of His government and peace.

A new leader is often a welcome message.  Why is this?  It is because so many rulers, leaders, kings and politicians let us down.  The history of the world is filled with rulers, kings and leaders who have let the people down.  They have used the people.  They have stolen from the people.  There are those who have felt let down by previous administrations here in this country.  And there is a ground swell of those who feel let down by the current administration and congress who seem to be robbing an empty treasury.

So what is the answer to to this succession of unfaithful rulers?  Let me submit to you tonight that the answer to that question is Christmas.  The answer to the question is what Christmas is all about.  Jesus may have come into this world as a baby, as a child, but He came to bring a kingdom.  He came as a King.  He came as one who would faithfully rule the people of God almighty.  And this was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah several hundred years before He was born into the world.

Let me take you to book of Isaiah chapter 9 and let us tonight take a look at the Government that Jesus offers to each and everyone of us tonight.

A Child is Born. 

Isaiah 9:6

 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;  And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 1.  The prophet Isaiah prophesied that a child would be born, a son would be given.  There was one that was coming that was going to be wonderful. 

Wonderful - Denotes the awe that He provokes in those who will see Him.  We are the ones who will be full of awe and wonder because He is full of wonder.  He is awesome and majestic.  His Person is beyond our comprehension.  That is why His name is Wonderful.

Counselor – Jesus is a counselor who would counsel you to receive the benefits of His rule.  He would counsel you to not rely on your own resources or the resources of an earthly kingdom, but to receive from him the riches of his kingdom.  He wants to give you the riches of Heaven and he Wants to give you the clothes that you need to get there, the white robes of His righteousness.

Mighty God - KJV and GLT, "the Mighty God".  To avoid any mistake, this is Jehovah, THE one God of Israel, and of all men.  To Jewish readers, there is only one option.  Jehovah God is coming in the form of a baby, born of a woman, as a human being.

Everlasting Father - One of the infrequent times God is referred to as "Father" in the OT.  Yet it is applied to the Messiah, giving Him equality with the eternal and everlasting Jehovah.  There is no end to Messiah or His kingdom.

Prince of Peace – Jesus comes to bring peace and not as the world gives peace.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  He has come to be our peace.  He offers to anyone who come to him, Peace with God.

The Government on His Shoulder.

1.Right in the middle of this verse, we have this interesting sentence.  And the Government will be on his shoulders.  What is about?  Have you wondered?

Israel had over 40 kings from King Saul all the way through to the Babylonian captivity that started in 586 BC.  And of all of the kings they had only 8 that are described in the Scriptures as good.

They say that power corrupts.  And absolute power corrupts absolutely.  This was the history of Israel.  After the glory days of David’s reign you had a succession of Kings that lead Israel in and out of idolatry, sin and corruption.  It’s just like our current situation of dealing with politicians here in US and kings around the world that deal in corruption. 

So Isaiah here is prophecying of the one who would be the Messiah, who would be born.  And he would have the government on His shoulder.  What is this deal with this reference to the government being on his shoulder?  What is meant by this?

Let me take you to a judgement that God brought down on a ruler in Israel through the prophet Isaiah.  It is found in Isaiah 22.  Isaiah chapter 22 is the story of man named Shebna and a man named Eliakim. 

Isaiah 22:15-19  Read

1.  Shebna was a man that was given great authority and power.  He was given the key of David.  It was a key to the treasury of David’s kingdom.  And he wore this key on his shoulder.

2.  And what did he do with this power and this key to the treasury. (Verse 16 and 18).  He made himself a carved seplechre, a grave.  It seems that he put some of the treasury in his seplechre.  Isn’t that interesting?  When we don’t use what God has given us for His glory, we just put it into our own grave. Verse 18 tells us Shebna rode in chariots.  He had his money and his ride!

So this guy with a key to the treasury on his shoulder used it for his own benefit.  He misused the Lord’s treasury.  Isaiah delivered God’s message concerning Shebna.  “You will lose the key that was given you, and the key was taken from Shebna and given to another.

Isaiah 22:20-25  Read

The focus is on a man named Eliakim, but the picture is Messianic.  The key of David's governement was given to another who would properly use it. 

Isaiah 22:22

The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut;  And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;  And the government will be upon His shoulder…

Jesus talks about this key on His Shoulder in Revelation 3 to the church of Philadelphia.  It is an interesting thought that here in the United States that Philadelphia is the city where our government was formed and our Constitution signed.

Revelation 3:7-8

These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:  8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;

So Isaiah tells us that Jesus would have this key of the Government on His shoulder and Jesus himself tells us that He is the one who has this key to the treasury, this key of the government on His shoulder. 

So what is Jesus kingdom and rule like?  How is it different than all those who have come before him? What might such a government look like? First of all, it would look like its king. Politicians of this day look for what they can get from you. Jesus looks for what He can do for you.  Leaders of this day surround themselves with servants. Jesus surrounds us with His servanthood.  Leaders of this day use their power to build their empire. Jesus uses his power to wash our feet and make us clean and comfortable.  Leaders of this day trade their influence for money. God so loved that he gave . . .  Leaders of this day are desperate to be seen and heard. Jesus sought anonymity so He could be useful.

Obviously, Jesus is not in charge of the halls of Washington, London, Moscow, Baghdad or Pari. So, how can we ever believe the “government will be upon His shoulders”?

Actually, His government shows its workings in wonderful ways. Whenever I see someone who miraculously leaves a life of drugs or alcohol and is restored to his family and work, I can see that he is now governed by God. Whenever you see loving Christians gently caring for orphans and those rejected by family, you can know your watching people governed by God.  Whenever you see people eagerly learning the Bible and joyously praising, you know who the governor is. Whenever you see people give up lucrative careers simply to go and share the Good News of Jesus, you know they are governed by God.  When I see pastors carefully teach and lead the flock God has given them, I know they are getting signals from the great King.  When you see people leave family to live and teach in distant lands because they love the people who have not heard, you know they are governed by God.

So, indeed, the government of Jesus Christ is alive and working. Often silently, mostly unseen. We can be and are, by choice, governed by God. Hope and joy and peace and rest cover its subjects. Justice, mercy and grace, amazingly coexist. I like this Kingdom. The borders are open. Come on in.

And so how does Jesus use it.  He opens wide the door into the treasury of God’s kingdom.  So that whosever would come to him and turn to Him and trust Him, He will give to him from the riches of the treasury of Heaven.  What are these riches?  The New life that Jesus came to give to whosoever will call upon His name.  It is a new life, where Jesus is your Lord.  He is the one who is the government of your life.

 

I've Achieved Balance!

I have acheived the Charismatic balance! I do believe I have. In the last few weeks, two families have left church fellowship here at Calvary South Orlando. Both of these families are people that I love and respect. Both of them are educated, successful and great people.

One of the families said that we weren't charismatic enough. The other family told us that we were too charismatic.

Striking a charismatic balance is hard to do. But that is exactly what the Calvary Chapel movement has sought to do. If someone were to ask me to put the Calvary Chapel movement in the simplest of terms, this is how I would do it.

1. We teach the whole Bible verse by verse in context.

2. We have a balanced theology on the Person, work and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

What gets me is that some people actually don't understand that our theology on the Holy Spirit is one of the biggest distinctives of Calvary Chapel. Some people that have come into our fellowship from other Calvary Chapel's have never had any experience at all with spiritual gifts. And so when you do almost a line by line teaching on the gifts and baptism of the Holy Spirit from Pastor Chuck Smith, they are shocked and a little bit uncomfortable.

The last time I checked, Calvary Chapel's symbol is the descending dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. I feel that we are classic Calvary Chapel when it comes to the spiritual gifts in the services. We don't have tongues and interpretation in our services. We look for words of wisdom and knowledge from the "prophetic" verse by verse teaching, whereas the Holy Spirit speaks to each individual present through the teaching.

We do have passionate worship. Now this to me should neither be charismatic or non-charismatic, pentecostal or non-pentecostal. As far as I'm concerned this is Biblical. For crying out loud, read the Psalms! Let's face it people, correct me where I'm wrong here but the "Passion" movement was birthed out of a Baptist church (Andy Stanley - Louie Giglio). Are they actually more passionate in worship, than a supposedly charismatic movement such as Calvary Chapel?

Anyway, I would love to hear comments and perspectives on this.

By: Charles Nestor II

Pastor Chuck Smith

  Pastor Chuck Smith is a huge influence in my life.  I came into Calvary Chapel over 8 years ago now and my life has been changed as a result.  I know it has been a work of the Holy Spirit, but God has also used this man in my life.  I just love being a part of Calvary Chapel.  I love the simplicity of teaching thru the Word of God and relying on God's Spirit to build His church.

One thing that really impresses me about Pastor Chuck is that he is a man who is full of the Holy Spirit and is full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  The joy of the Lord just overflows from him.  He is always smiling because His trust is in the Lord.  And you know that leading Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa has its challenges, yet Chuck models a trust in God that I want to emulate.

I feel like Elisha when it comes to Pastor Chuck.  Give me the Spirit that he has.  In fact, give me a double portion of that annointing.  And may I be a person who follows Christ wholeheartedly and has the joy of the Lord overflowing in my life.

By Charles B. Nestor II

Ricky Ryan at the Senior Pastor's Conference

I've been thinking about Ricky Ryan's message from this past week's Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor's Conference. It was of course one of the highlights of the conference for me. Ricky pretty much said what I think I have been feeling about Calvary Chapel for a long time. Calvary Chapel is movement that is centered on the teaching of God's word and being led and moved by the Holy Spirit. Ricky told the next generation of Calvary Pastor's to "go out and do church for this generation." What he was sayng was that we need to go out and do church for this generation with the same sensitivity to the Holy Spirit that Chuck Smith had during the Jesus Movement.

Pastor Chuck followed the Spirit. He followed as the Spirit of God brought about a radical change in the way church was done. For the most part at that time the church was stuck in the rut of traditionalism. Then these young hippies started getting saved and they brought in the contemporary music of the day. Pastor Chuck would let the young guys and gals come in and do their music. Sometimes Pastor Chuck would let them do a song that they wrote that day. Pastor Chuck and Calvary Chapel were a huge part of changing the way worship and church is done.

Was there anything wrong with the previous "style" of worship? Was there anything wrong with the previous way of doing church? The answer is no, but God was doing a new thing. Ricky Ryan told young pastors like myself to go out and follow the Spirit. God wants to do a new thing in today's generation. The kingdom of God is big. The Body of Christ is big and there are many different gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit move today in our church. Let's follow His leading. Let's use our gifts, talents and creativity for the glory of God.

By Charles B. Nestor II