An Examination of Rob Bell's "Love Wins." Chapter 1: What About the Flat Tire?

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

 

Recently, Rob Bell published Love Wins, and it debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list. Bell is a very influential pastor and author, and because of this popularity, I have decided to examine his work chapter by chapter. For the next several days, I will be examining Love Wins in order to determine how it lines up with Scripture.

Chapter 1: What About the Flat Tire? (pages 1-19)

1. God on Trial

“Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish? Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God?” (p. 2)

Observation: God did not create mankind for punishment. God created Adam and Eve to be in a perfect relationship with Him. Adam and Eve decided to reject God, so God cannot be blamed for sending people to Hell. Bell’s line of thought at this point is not new. After the Fall of Adam and Eve, Adam blamed his wife for the sin, and Eve in turn blamed the serpent. People still tend to blame others today rather than taking personal responsibility for their actions. In this quote, Bell blames God for that which humankind is responsible.

2. The Age of Accountability

“If every new baby being born could grow up to not believe the right things and go to hell forever, then prematurely terminating a child’s life anytime from conception to twelve years of age would actually be the loving thing to do, guaranteeing that the child ends up in heaven, and not hell, forever.” (p. 4)

Observation: In this quote, Bell is interacting with the belief that some Christians have that children are not personally responsible for accepting the Gospel until twelve years of age. This is not a doctrine that all believers hold, yet Bell seems to apply it to most Christians. Furthermore, Bell implies that the ramifications of Christianity lead to the strange logic that he presents above. One also could make the argument that any child could grow up to be a serial killer, so we must prevent this from occurring by exterminating all children, but the idea would be equally absurd. Bell is arguing “from extremes” by providing an option that no true Christian would hold.

3. The Strawman

“What about people who have never said the prayer [of salvation] and don’t claim to be Christians, but live a more Christlike life than some Christians?” (p. 6)

Observation: First, Bell implies that believers do not live Christlike lives. Second, it should be pointed out that the word Christian means “Christ-like.” By definition, if a so-called Christian is not Christ-like, then, he is not really a Christian. Third, Paul explained that salvation is not a result of “good works”:

2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

4. The Central Message of the Christian Faith

“. . . if what Jesus does is get people somewhere else—then the central message of the Christian faith has very little to do with this life other than getting you what you need for the next one. Which of course raises the question: Is that the best God can do?” (p. 6)

Observation: In chapter 1, Bell often challenged the image of God presented in the Bible, and this quotations is a prime example of this attitude. Although trusting in Jesus does give us a home in Heaven, the primary purpose of salvation is to glorify God: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). In other words, salvation is not just a future promise, but a present reality that affects the way that we live in the here and now. Also, everything is not about us, but about honoring the one, true God who is worthy of all praise!

5. Another Strawman

“If this understanding of the good news of Jesus prevailed among Christians, the belief that Jesus’s message is about how to get somewhere else, you could possibly end up with a world in which millions of people were starving, thirsty, and poor; the earth was being exploited and polluted; disease and despair were everywhere; and Christians weren’t known for doing much about.” (pp. 6-7)

Observation: Notice Bell’s use of the subjunctive “could.” In other words, he admits that this paragraph is not the case but that it could be the case. He clearly ignores the fact that true Christians are involved in helping others because the love of Christ motivates us to love others. One example is the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).

6. Flat Tire

“If our salvation, our future, our destiny is dependent on other’s bringing the message to us, teaching us, showing us—what happens if they don’t do their part? What if the missionary gets a flat tire?” (p. 9)

Observation: Bell speaks as if everything is dependent upon us. His two sentences ignore the fact that God is sovereign. The same Lord who sacrificed His Son to save us from our sin is capable of empowering us to go to all the world to preach the Gospel.

7. Semantics

“The problem, however, is that the phrase ‘personal relationship’ is found nowhere in the Bible.” (p. 10)

Observation: True, but neither is the word “Trinity” in the Bible. The fact of the matter is that a concept can be present in the Bible without using a certain set of words. The concept of a personal relationship is present in Scripture: I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one  (1 John 2:14). To know Jesus is to have a personal relationship with Him!

8. Works

“If the message of Jesus is that God is offering the free gift of eternal life through him—a gift we cannot earn by our own efforts, works, or good deeds—and all we have to do is accept and confess and believe, aren’t those verbs? And aren’t verbs actions? Accepting, confessing, believing—those are things we do. Does that mean, then, that going to heaven is dependent on something I do?” (p. 11)

Observation: Of course not, and the Bible never suggests this: not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:9). Furthermore, the Bible declares that a person must confess that Jesus is Lord: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). This is not a work, but a recognition of who Jesus is!

9. Story?

“At this point another voice enters the discussion—the reasoned, wise voice of the one who reminds us that it is, after all, a story.” (p.12)

Observation: Often, critical scholars use the word “story” to indicate that the Bible does not contain actual events. It must be pointed out that the stories of Scripture are actual events that really took place!