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Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up QUOTES

Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up QUOTES

1 " Jesus didn't speak of hell so that we could study, debate and write books about it. He gave us these passages so that we would live holy lives. Jesus evidently hates it when we tear into our brothers or sisters with demeaning words, words that fail to honor the people around us as the beautiful image-bearing creatures that they are. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

2 " Chan is drawn to his coauthor because he says they have, "different gifts but similar convictions". "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

3 " Nothing outside of God and His truth should be sacred to us. And so it is with hell. If hell is some primitive myth left over from conservative tradition, then let's set it on that dusty shelf next to other traditional beliefs that have no basis in Scripture. But if it is true, if the Bible does teach that there is a literal hell awaiting those who don't believe in Jesus, then this reality must change us. It should certainly purge our souls of all complacency. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

4 " Let us be eager to leave what is familiar for what is true. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

5 " God is love, but He also defines what love is. We don't have the license to define love according to our standards. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

6 " Hell is the backdrop that reveals the profound and unbelievable grace of the cross. It brings to light the enormity of our sin and therefore portrays the undeserved favor of God in full color. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

7 " Don't believe something just because you want to, and don't embrace an idea just because you've always believed it. Believe what is biblical. Test all your assumptions against the precious words God gave us in the Bible. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

8 " God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable ones. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

9 " In my desire to distance myself from sadistic Christians who revel in the idea of wrath and punishment, I may have crossed a line. Refusing to teach a passage of Scripture is just as wrong as abusing it.

I really believe it's time for some of us to stop apologizing for God and start apologizing to Him for being embarrassed by the ways He has chosen to reveal Himself. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

10 " It's incredibly arrogant to pick and choose which incomprehensible truths we embrace. No one wants to ditch God's plan of redemption, even though it doesn't make sense to us. Neither should we erase God's revealed plan of punishment because it doesn't sit well with us. As soon as we do this, we are putting God's actions in submission to our own reasoning, which is a ridiculous thing for the clay to do. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

11 " I don’t believe God wants our church life to be centered on buildings and services. Instead, God wants our churches—whatever specific forms our gatherings take—to be focused on active discipleship, mission, and the pursuit of unity. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

12 " Sometimes we hide behind questions like “how could a good God create someone and then torment that person forever?” Yet few people deny that He does this to Satan. Some even rejoice in this. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

13 " It’s not about figuring out all of the mysteries of God, but embracing Him and cherishing Him—even when He doesn’t make perfect sense to us. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

14 " There’s a difference, in other words, between God’s values that please Him (moral will) and those events that He causes to happen (decreed will).15 "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

15 " God has the right to do WHATEVER He pleases. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

16 " The most terrifying images of hell occur, as we have seen, in the book of Revelation. But let's remember the context in which John writes this book. This isn't an evangelistic tract written for unbelievers--the hell passages here weren't designed to make converts and scare people into the kingdom. They were designed to warn believers to keep the faith in the midst of adversity. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

17 " We need to surrender our perceived right to determine what is just and humbly recognize that God alone gets to decide how He is going to deal with people. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

18 " God, I want to know what is true. I know I have cravings that sway and distort my ability to reason. You promise that Your Holy Spirit will guide me into all truth. I pray that He will now. I don't want to be wrong. I don't want to be deceived by others or myself. You alone possess all truth, and I want to be on Your side. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. Give me courage to live and speak what is right no matter the cost. I don't want to believe anything about You that is not true. Amen. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

19 " This is the tension we live with as followers of Jesus. We are thrilled to know Jesus and be saved from God's wrath, yet we are burdened for our loved ones who don't know Him. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

20 " ...we must understand God's love in light of God's freedom. As we have seen in this book, God, as the Creator, is free to do whatever He sees best. He is compelled by none other than Himself. And God's freedom means--though it's difficult to swallow--that God can withhold love (Rom. 9). It's a logical (and theological) mistake to think that God can't be loving unless He saves everyone. Such an assumption, while seeking to cherish the love of God, violates His freedom and sovereignty. "

― Francis Chan , Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up