If you grew up like I did, you may have seen the bumper stickers and license plates plastered all over youth camps and camp meetings. You may have heard preachers shout this from the pulpit. It sounds good. It's catchy. Unfortunately, (and please don't just stop reading here...) it's wrong. Here's the deal - in logical argument, or philosophy, this is what we would call a "false dilemma." It's the illusion of two choices, borne of an inequality. Obviously, in this case, since you don't want Hell, you choose holiness. It's like asking, "Which is your favorite fruit, corn or oranges?" Since oranges are the only fruit on the list, you'll have to choose oranges. But what if, in fact, your favorite is bananas? In order to look at this logically then, we have to break this down into its component parts: Hell:
Holiness:
Now, let's take a look at the opposites of these two items on the list: Heaven:
Worldliness:
For the purposes of this argument, I will have to define one more term: Salvation:
After just reading the definitions you may have a good idea as to what the problem is with the statement "Holiness or Hell," but I'll complete the argument just to be sure you fully understand. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Romans 3:23-24 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Later, Paul says in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" Matthew 1:21 says of Jesus, "... for he shall save his people from their sins." Paul here was saying that a life of holiness should be the result of turning to God. We should be more Christ-like as a result of our salvation. James Henley Thornwell said, "Hence, it is perfectly ridiculous to represent works as conditions of salvation, since the ability and disposition to perform good works are blessings which we receive from our Savior in fulfillment of his office as Redeemer. Holiness is a benefit received, and not a price paid; it is our meetness for heaven, not our title to it." Whichever definition of holiness you may hold, it becomes obvious that Salvation is a necessary prerequisite to holiness, as well as the prerequisite for going to Heaven. Since salvation is the prerequisite for going to Heaven, then not-salvation, or rejection, is the prerequisite for going to Hell. Holiness is the eventual and progressive earthly outcome of salvation, but not a choice against which is the eventuality of Hell. Salvation is the opposite of Hell. If you subscribe to definition 1 of holiness, you place all of the emphasis on denomination, behaviors, and appearances, with no mention of salvation. Thus, "Go to this church and appear like them or Hell." Alternately, if you subscribe to definition 2 of holiness, you place the emphasis on a requirement which, alone, cannot be met, again with no mention of the salvation. Thus, "Get sanctified or Hell." Salvation of the lost should always be the foremost goal of any form of evangelism. In either definition, "Holiness or Hell" fails to even mention salvation - neither as a prerequisite, nor to even imply its importance. Unfortunately, "Salvation or Hell" just doesn't have the same ring to it. In light of this, I would like to propose a time-tested replacement, "Turn or Burn." (Just kidding!) Honestly, I'm not fond of any of these little catchy phrases. Either they end up sounding good, but are theologically and logically unsound, or they get a negative response because they typically end up plastered on the same cars that have all the wrong and hateful bumper stickers. In my experience, the best way to reach out to the lost is to talk to them, and explain the Gospel to them. Tell them of your experience of salvation, and what a difference it has made in your life. We are the living, breathing testimony of God's love, mercy, and grace. We shouldn't need catchy phrases or bumper stickers to spread the Gospel. |
Research >