I’ve got several different blog ideas running through my mind and so many that I want to write. I’ve also got a list of video blogs and thoughts I’ll be sharing, different from the ones directly related to “What the Hell.” Tonight, I ran across a great blog from my friend Julie Ferwerda. Click on the photo below and be blessed by her encouraging words.
A press release went out today to hundreds of book stores, journalists, and media. It’s an exciting time and I ask that you pray for people to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ when they read this book.
Here’s the sell sheet that they see and they will be able to do reviews and things like that if they’re interested.
Click on the cover to see 
1 Corinthians 9:24-27- Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
If you’ve ever ran a race, you know that there are times you just don’t feel like running. I run a few times a week. My normal runs are around 5 miles. I’ve been running for the last 14 months and absolutely love it. The first time I ran I only made it one block and had to turn around and walk home. My chest hurt and I felt terrible. I stuck with it and am thankful I did because I’m in better shape and am much healthier.
We run a similar spiritual race and this race is much more important. Sometimes I don’t feel like sharing my faith or reaching out to those who are hurting. Sometimes I’d rather just sit by myself and not socialize or I’d rather pretend I don’t see my neighbor that needs help bringing things inside the house.
Do we get too busy to pray, study, serve, and love? There are so many things that take up our time and our relationship with God ends up being the part of our lives that suffer. Are these things really more important than reading the Bible, helping our neighbor, or building a friendship with someone at school or work? Our priorities have to be in order and God must be number one.
Hebrews 12:1-3- Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
Raising Hell by Julie Ferwerda exceeded my expectations from when I set out to read it. Ferwerda writes with passion, conviction, and provides solid evidence for the claims in this book. In chapter 4, Who’s Responsible For Lost Souls?, she forces you to ask this very real and important question. Are we responsible? Is God responsible?
Ferwerda writes, “Maybe we are sending people to hell by giving them a choice now, in a world where they have to chose by faith” (33). She raises a great point. Are we sending people to hell by sending out missionaries? Because, according to the doctrine of eternal punishment, giving people a chance to “accept” Jesus would eternally condemn them if they choose not to accept Him.
Ferwerda makes the claim that God is ultimately responsible for our eternal destination while making a strong case for Christian evangelism. I enjoyed and agreed with her position that we are still to evangelize but that our will cannot win out over God’s will, no matter how hard we try.
Chapter 5, The Missing Hell, was one of my favorite chapters in the book. She brings up a crucial piece of evidence against the traditional view of hell. Ferwerda writes, “If I were going to defend my position on hell, Genesis would be the first obvious stop. I should think that if God wanted to present the ramifications of the most crucial choice and fearsome destiny for mankind-the prices for sin-in the beginning is where He should express it, not waiting until the middle or the end” (39). She’s absolutely right. Why don’t we hear about hell from the very beginning? This is where sin is introduced and a rational person would think that the place sin leads you to would be mentioned here as well.
Ferwerda gives compelling evidence for the Orthodox view concerning hell in the early church. She accurately points out that the Apostle Paul never once mentioned hell and that the first few hundred years of the church after Christ believed in Universal Reconciliation. She writes in depth about when and where eternal punishment and hell came from and shows you that it does not come from the Scriptures.
The book is well written and easy to read, yet dives deep into the historical and theological background concerning hell. The end of the book includes a fantastic talking points and resource section that could have been a small book by itself. It contains a plethora of resources, Scriptures, books, and web sites for you to further your study. There are very few books I can recommend more than Raising Hell.
You can find out more by visiting her website at Julie Ferwerda and check out her book at Raising Hell