The beer was cold, the sun was bright, and the conversation was hot.
A superior in my company and I were hanging out on our day off to get to know each other better.
Our order of food arrived and we sank into a thrilling conversation about religion – because what better way to get to know someone you work for than to discuss something that divides people worldwide, right?
As we sipped cold beer and snacked on our wings, or whatever we were eating, we settled into our respective positions – he an Atheist to my Christianity.
The debate was lively, with pointed jabs civilly pulled as we edged closer to danger zone of division…
Then, out of the blue he set down his beer, looked me in the eyes asked the question I never saw coming:
“I don’t believe in God, so according to you I’m going to hell, right?”
Answering No win Questions:
“‘By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.’” Mark 11:28 – 30
The scenario is different for Jesus, as He’s not being directly asked the same question. In fact, it’s His authority the leaders are questioning.
That said, the lesson here still applies.
Recognize the Consequences:
Their question was a trap. They had just watched Him drive out all the people from the temple and began seeking ways to destroy Him (vs 18).
His heavenly authority was a threat to the religious leaders and his earthly authority was a threat to the political leaders. No matter which way He answered, truthful or not, the consequences were negative.
Framed their way, it would have prematurely ended His mission and so He re-framed the dialogue to change that.
Answering the “Hell” Question:
Sometimes, the best way to learn is from your mistakes. I answered my ‘boss’ with something like this:
“That is what the Bible teaches. Entrance to Heaven only comes through faith in Christ alone. Ultimately only God knows where you’ll end up and it’s not for me to judge.”
Theologically right, but only half way answered… I missed it – I missed a chance to discuss God’s mercy…
The question led me to talk about theology on salvation when I should have focused on God’s mercy…
The conversation dwindled, we finished our beer and we to be honest, we only hung out a couple more times…
What should I have said? I’ll address this in a future post at some point. Stay tuned!
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