In response to Angela Adair’s article entitled “Christianity about kindness, not hate”:
I personally have not seen Michael Venyah preach on campus. Right now, in fact, I’m on my co-op term. I don’t know how he preaches. I don’t know what he says, other than from what I’ve read. But, there are a few things I would like to clear up that you stated in your article:
Angela, you stated that the Bible never says “God hates you.” This is true, but the Bible does say that the wrath of God abides in those who have not repented and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior (John 3:36). It also says these same people are enemies of God (Colossians 1:21). Jesus himself preached hell, the punishment for transgressing God’s law, numerous times (Matt 5:22-20, 10:28, 23:15, 23:33; Luke 10:15, 12:5, 16:23). Read those verses. Jesus did condemn. He did preach about judgment and hell.
I hope Michael is getting others to look into God’s law to see how they would do on Judgment Day. Have you lied? Have you stolen? Have you used God’s name as a cuss word? If you said yes, you just admitted to being a lying, thieving, blasphemer (and that’s only three of the Ten Commandments). I’m not condemning anyone. God’s law has already done that. If anyone of us is honest with ourselves, we know that we will be guilty before God. Because God is good he must see that justice is done, and that justice is hell.
Think about it. You’re standing before a judge in a civil court. You’ve just been convicted of a crime. Do you tell the judge, “Well, I confess that I did it, and I believe that you’re a good judge so you’ll let me go?” Your confession would be a guilty plea. The judge cannot let you go, but must make you pay the fine for the crimes committed.
I hope Michael speaks about how God doesn’t want anyone to be punished and ultimately sent to hell. I hope he speaks of God’s love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners (those who have broken God’s law), Christ died for us. Let’s go back to that court case I was talking about. Let’s say you’ve just been convicted and the judge rules that you must pay a $1 million fine or be sent to life in prison. As the guards haul you away, someone you don’t even know pays the fine. He sold everything he had so that you didn’t have to be punished. The judge says, “Your fine has been paid, justice has been done.” That’s exactly what God did for us with Jesus Christ. He suffered and died, taking our places. All he asks of us is to repent (confess and forsake our sins) and trust in him.
Again, I’ve never seen Michael preach. I only know of him from what I’ve read. If he’s preaching fire and brimstone without God’s law, it doesn’t make too much sense. If he preaches “God loves you” without Judgment Day and hell, it would be misleading. But when we look into the mirror of the Ten Commandments we see how sinful we really are, and then the fact that God would send us to hell, and Jesus Christ died for us, both make sense. I hope Michael continues to preach repentance, righteousness, God’s Judgment, hell and Christ crucified, but not to forget God’s law in his speaking.
James Barnett is a junior in mechanical engineering.