Isn't She Beautiful #3

Mars Hill Conference
Main session 4: Rob Bell
Who’s in, and who’s out

NOTE: This session was very very cool. It covered questions of salvation, and how the pastor (and other Christians for that matter) have to deal with the tension that salvation can cause. So it was really a raw, and heartfelt study of the scriptures, and exploration of some deep questions regarding Heaven, Hell, and who is going to be there.

First thing Rob said was this: talking about salvation only in language about who is GOING to heaven makes the message of Jesus about some “other” life, and totally cheapens the message He may have for us here and now.

Here are some questions he posed, and in a display of the art of creating tension just let hang in the air:

What about the person who has “said the prayer, and come forward in Church” but doesn’t FOLLOW Jesus?

What about people who have never “said the prayer or come forward in Church”, but live like a FOLLOWER of Jesus?

If it doesn’t really matter what kind of person you are, then why does Jesus talk so much about the kinds of people we ought to be?

Which Jesus?
1. The “Charismullet Jesus”
The orthodox Jesus
The “social justice” Jesus
The “Republican” Jesus

Which Jesus needs to be rejected? (He talked about the book stumbling Towards Faith, where a girl named Renee recounts being with her raped by her father. He raped her and recited the Lord’s Prayer while he raped her…some of the Jesus` out there are frauds, abusive, etc…)

Of all the billions of People on the earth, US and only US? (this sort of became a discussion about who the “us” really is)

A few select people who happen to believe, confess, and do things that even they can’t agree on?

What if a missionary gets a flat tire when he is on the way to preach the Gospel for the very first time to a tribe who has never heard it?

Those under the “age of accountability”?

What is the age of accountability? (He asked for a general answer, most people yelled out 13)

What about the kid who dies in a car accident 1 hour after his 13th birthday?

What if that boy was our own son?

He asked another question that sort of brought this rant to an end, and to be honest it’s a pretty cool question to ponder.

“So how is any of this Grace?”

The idea here was that each of the questions above presupposes that there is something that must be done, other than what Jesus has already done, to gain salvation:

You don’t have to do anything it’s all grace, all you have to do is…
Say a prayer…
Confess before the Church…
Go through confirmation…
Take communion…
Be this certain kind of Jesus…
Vote republican…
Stand up for social justice…etc…

I think you get the point, and it does get kind of absurd…but I think he makes a great point…whaddayouthink?

Rob used this introductory rant to point to this simple question:
If someone where to ask you “how do you get saved” and all you had was the Bible to answer the question with, what would you say?

Is it something you have to say?
Luke 7:1-10, I know you have authority over me
Luke 18:9-14, I recognize I am a sinner, have mercy on me
Luke 23:42, Please don’t forget about me

Is it a something that you have to “be”, a particular kind of person?
John 3, being “born” again
Luke 20:35, being “worthy”

Is it something that you have to “do”?
Matthew 6:14, forgive others to be forgiven
Matthew 7:21, do God’s will
Matthew 10:22, Stand firm
Luke 7:36-50, her great “love” has shown her to be saved
Luke 15:18, come home and admit sin
John 11:25, live by believing in me
Acts 2:37-39, repent and be baptized

Is it something you “say” that you’re going to do?
Luke 19:1-10, give everything back, pay back with interest


Is it something that someone else does for you?
Matt 9:1-2, Jesus saw “their” faith, not just the man on the mat
Mark 2:1-4, Your friends dig through a roof and Jesus saves you because of their faith
1st Corinthians 7:15, get married

Is it something someone “says” to you?
Acts 9, get up…go…go…go

Is it something someone tells you to say/do/trust/believe?
Romans 10:14-15, they cannot call on Jesus and/or believe if we are not sent to them to preach the good news and tell them what to do

Rob's point is pretty simple, if someone where to ask you “how do you get saved” and all you had was the Bible to answer the question with…

You’d have a lot of answers.

Rob went on to say that he is not trying to make either extreme point:

All are saved, or universalism. The Bible is clear in one thing about salvation, it is only by Jesus that one is “saved” (and he talked at length about salvation being more than just hell rescue for the future)

All it takes is belief. Luke 4, and James 2 say that the Demons believe, that they know exactly who Jesus is…so just believing is not the whole picture either.

Rather, Rob said we must realize that the Bible paints a big grand and mysterious picture of salvation, and that people come to Jesus in all sorts of ways.

“Salvation is holistic in nature, it’s not just about hell, and Jesus wants to save ALL of us and wants to save us ALL from…
· Anger
· Greed
· Sin
· Addiction
· Hell in the future
· Hell now

Jesus came to bring “shalom” life. A life of peace in the deepest sense. Shalom is not a destination, but a Journey. Matthew talks about Jesus coming to renew ALL things, Acts talks about the cross restoring EVERYTHING, and Colossians talks about Jesus reconciling to Himself ALL THINGS…ON THE CROSS, SOMETHING BIG IS GOING DOWN…

SO WHO IS SAVED? I DON’T KNOW, BUT I DO KNOW THAT JESUS WANTS TO SAVE ALL OF US AND HE WANTS TO SAVE US ALL AND WE ARE TO TRUST JESUS AS WE INVITE PEOPLE TO TRUST HIM WHEREVER THEY ARE IN THEIR SIN, ADDICTIONS, POVERTY, BROKENESS, ABUSE…WE INVITE THEM TO TRUST JESUS WHEREVER THEY ARE ON THEIR JOURNEY.

That was a long quote, but that is what he said and I didn’t want to misrepresent him there on that one, because I think his presentation was entirely Biblical, and yet you could pull some stuff out of his lecture and pigeonhole him in a bad place.

Rob talked about Shalom some more, saying that it was more than just “peace” but rather it was a “piece” of God’s goodness.

Shalom is the blessing and goodness that God wants for all things…

Salvation is holistic because shalom is holistic , God wants to restore his blessing and goodness on us all as we relate to Him, to each other, to ourselves, and to creation.

Great definition of sin:
Sin is anywhere shalom is disrupted

Couple of quotes in order to end this lecture…

To be a Christian is to believe that history is going somewhere…
But the goal is not escape!

The story does not begin with sin…the story begins with shalom


Last Session
Rob Bell:
Reclaiming your innocence

I don’t have a lot of notes on this last session because it was mainly a communion and spiritual healing session…and it was a speechless experience that lasted about 2 hours.

Rob talked about Numbers 15:37-41 about how God, through Moses, tells the Israelites to make tassels on the edge of their garments to remember all the commands of the Lord.

The garment was called, and I hope I don’t have this backwards “kanaf”, and the tassels were called “tzit tzit”.

The Israelites believed that when the Messiah came, that he would have healing in His “Kanaf” which is also translated “wings”.

So in Luke 8 when the woman who had been bleeding came to Jesus and touched the edge of His garment, she touches the “tzit tzit” on his “kanaf”.

Q: Does she believe that he is the Messiah?

Rob said this in response to that short talk:

Reclaiming your innocence requires trust that Jesus really is the Messiah and that there is healing in his wings…Reclaiming your innocence starts with praying “Jesus please heal me”.

Salvation from Jesus is being born again…and again…and again…and again...because there is Healing in his wings

Shalom...I hope one day