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Hell and Hawaii

Romans 6:23

In the 19th century, those suffering from leprosy in Hawaii were sent to Molokai, a remote island designated for quarantine. It wasn’t an act of cruelty—it was an act of containment and protection. Leprosy was incurable at the time, highly contagious, and absolutely devastating. The colony existed to keep the disease from spreading to the rest of the population. It was heartbreaking but necessary.

Now, imagine if the government had done nothing. What if they had allowed leprosy to spread unchecked? That wouldn’t have been love - it would have been neglect. The only loving option was to separate the disease from the healthy so that others could continue to live.

This is a picture of why hell exists. Sin is a disease. It corrupts, wounds, and ultimately destroys. God is creating a new, restored world - one where love, peace, and righteousness reign. But he cannot allow sin to infect that world. For God to make all things new, he must deal with the sin that corrupts, destroys, and unleashes death into his world.

The truth is that a loving God must judge evil; otherwise, he isn’t truly loving at all. If God allowed sin to go unchecked, his new creation would be no different than the old, broken one. Some people, especially during our day, really struggle with that truth. They imagine that love and judgment are opposites. But love demands justice. If God didn’t care about death and destruction, he wouldn’t be loving. The Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” A God who doesn’t judge isn’t kind - he’s unloving. And that’s not the God of Scripture.

That is why hell exists. It’s not a place for those God wants to send away - it’s for those who refuse his healing. Like those suffering from leprosy who were unwilling or unable to leave Molokai, hell is the quarantine for sin and rebellion against God. It’s torment and punishment, but it is the sad reality of those who refuse God’s healing offered through Jesus.

However, there is good news: God has provided a cure. Through Jesus, we can be healed of our sins, forgiven, and restored. We don’t have to remain spiritually dead and diseased. Jesus took the penalty of sin upon himself so that we could step into life. So the question is: Will you receive his healing, or will you choose to hold onto the disease that separates you from him? The choice is ours. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Praise be to God.

Pastor Ryan Paulson

by Ryan Paulson

Identity For Eternity

In Luke 16, we met a very rich man and a very poor man, named Lazarus. That’s how they’re identified, but there is much more to these two men beyond the labels “rich” and “poor”.
Identity is important. Who am I? Who are you? What’s your true identity—who you are? Poor man Lazarus had a hard, painful life full of hunger and literal sores. In Matthew 5, Jesus looks out at a crowd of his followers and says, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” I’m guessing there might have been a few listeners like poor Lazarus in the crowd that day. And Jesus saw and said they were much more than their daily lives of difficulty.

What was the rich man’s identity, beyond his riches? Beyond the fashion and gourmet foods, we learn that he knew the poor man Lazarus well, probably saw him daily. He sat there at his gate, desperately in need. In the first century, it was assumed that if someone was wealthy, then wealth was a reward from God for their righteous conduct. But since the rich man dies and ends up tormented in hell, we can assume his identity was far from “righteous”. While alive, the rich man had every opportunity to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He could love others as he loved himself—others like his neighbor Lazarus.

You see, how we live reveals who we truly are. Identity is shaped by behavior. We can say we “believe” something, but that belief is proved true or false by how we behave, how we speak, how we share with others, how we love.

What I DO displays who I honestly am.

It’s no fun to picture this rich man, now full of regret. The text says, he’s burning in agony in the fire. It’s difficult to think about and talk of God’s judgment, even though he warns us in Matthew 7 that "wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. May we be encouraged today by poor Lazarus. Because Lazarus became a truly rich man, he found the narrow gate that led him to everlasting life, the richest life of all. Few find that gate, but Jesus commands all of us in Luke 13 to MAKE EVERY EFFORT to enter through the narrow door, because many…..will try to enter and will not be able to. Christian, may we make every effort to live out our true identity in Christ faithfully and sincerely, one day at a time.

Donielle Winter
EFCC Member

by Donielle Winter

Thy Will Be Done

There is much I don’t understand or have certainty about. On a small scale, I don’t know what I’ll make for dinner tonight. On the larger scale, I don’t know what’s at the end of the universe. (For that matter, at this very moment, I don’t know whether or not Pluto is categorized as a planet; I’ll Google it later!) But God is infinitely wise and understanding, unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28) and He’s given us Scripture containing truths of history, prophetic words, and opportunity to understand His character. So with that in mind, I humbly read Luke 16:19-31 and ask, “What would you have me learn from this God? What does parable mean?”

At a glance, I notice a theme of contrast between the two characters. The rich man lived a life of comfort and self-centeredness, lacking compassion for the poor man, Lazarus, at his gate. Lazarus lived at the gate of the rich man, where he could get scraps of food to sustain him. The rich man was clothed in purple, signifying wealth and honor. While Lazarus was clothed in sores, signifying his poverty and misery. After death, the rich man found himself in torment while Lazarus found himself comforted. The name of the rich man is never stated and yet the poor man’s name is recorded as Lazarus.

There is a profound difference—a chasm if you will—between these two men but nothing more impactful than the states of their souls. Scripture tells us that a “chasm has been fixed” (verse 26) when referring to their eternal states, meaning choices were made and consequences are irreversible. It’s not that God made decisions for these men—quite the contrary. God makes Himself knowable through invisible qualities, powerful and divine, that beg a choice to be made and leave people without excuse (Romans 1:20). God’s desire has always been to spend eternity with all of mankind and He chases after each of us with an invitation, but it’s up to us whether we bend our will and accept it.

I’m reminded of the C.S. Lewis quote,

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock, it is open.”

How about you? Have you accepted God’s invitation of Jesus? The Son of God invites you to experience his love and eternal hospitality and “dwell in the house of the Lord all your days, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4). If so, AMAZING! Who else needs to hear of his beauty and experience His lavish goodness? Pray for them now and ask God how you might be part of their journey of faith. I am certain you won’t regret it!

Jessica Klootwyk
Discipleship Director

by Jessica Klootwyk

Understanding God’s Love

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 145:8

The hardest part of being a parent, I think, is making sure your children feel loved while establishing boundaries to keep them safe and help them navigate life. We want them to learn that their choices can have unwanted consequences, appropriate for their age and maturity. We want them to learn that the stove is hot, they need help crossing busy streets, etc. When they are little, we want them to slowly learn they can trust us to keep them safe.

We sometimes want to focus more on our loving God, rather than the holy, sovereign God who is both gracious and just. He is both, but judgment and wrath aren’t part of God’s character, they are responses that come from his character. Confronted by unholiness, a holy God responds. Confronted by extreme sin or evil, a righteous God responds.

When we see the evils of this world, we want justice and mercy. God’s hunger for right is so strong that he won’t stop until wrong is righted, and evil is no more.

The other side of God’s anger is mercy, which wants to give us everything we need to resist wrong and do what’s right. God’s perfect love and justice collided when Jesus died on the cross, resulting in eternal grace for those who believe. Without God’s righteous anger, we have no hope, no Gospel. Our heavenly Father’s anger or judgment assures us that all things will be made new.

As a parent, you love your children but at times need to discipline them. They have to learn what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior from loving, patient parents. In a greater way, God loves us, but he also disciplines us when we need it. Jesus’ sacrifice for the sins of the world is the proof God loves us, he took the judgment we deserve. However, God will not force anyone to go to heaven, it is our choice to follow him or reject him.

“He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9

Deb Hill
EFCC Staff

by Deb Hill

Nothing is Impossible

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the roaring thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

I was reminded of the words in “How Great Thou Art” as I thought about the verse in Matthew 19 that says “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

In the book “Whisper” by Mark Batterson, he asks when was the last time you thanked God for keeping us in orbit. I’m guessing the answer is never because God is so good at what He does that we take it for granted. We can’t feel it but our planet is spinning on its axis at a speed of approximately 1,000 miles per hour and speeding through space at about 67,000 miles per hour. We experience a miracle of astronomical proportions every day.

In Matthew 19, we see people believing wealth was evidence of God’s favor, so Jesus teaching that possessions and riches could keep people from receiving eternal life made them ask ” . . . then who in the world can be saved?” Jesus’ response, and belief in him changes what is humanly impossible into unlimited possibilities with God. Nothing we have or do on this earth will give us eternal life!

Is it impossible for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of heaven? No–more difficult sometimes–yes. Anything that makes us self-righteous or self-sufficient could be a roadblock to complete dependence on God. He welcomes those who come like little children humble and full of faith.

The same God who spoke the universe into existence with four words, “Let there be light,” is still creating galaxies today, and he sent his only son Jesus to die for us so we could have eternal life and experience God’s love for us more fully on this earth. He is the all-knowing, all-powerful holy God committed to loving us unconditionally. With him nothing is impossible.

Deb Hill
EFCC Staff

by Deb Hill

How Hard Could It Be?

My college marketing professor would say, “Marketing rules the world”; it influences our thoughts and actions. Effective advertising makes slogans and products memorable.

Twenty years ago, office supply retailer Staples launched a marketing campaign: the Staples EASY Button. The message was "When something is hard ... .press the easy button and “voila” It’s EASY." The campaign worked by tapping into our primal, innate desire for simplicity.

In Mark 10, Jesus relays his encounter with a rich young ruler. This is not a parable. This was a real, face-to-face encounter with a young man, maybe like the 2008 Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and at 23 the world’s youngest billionaire—if Zuckerberg was royalty.

This man had everything, except eternal life. But he just couldn’t part with his stuff, he liked his riches more, and he valued security most. The Rabbi’s price tag for life eternal, the kingdom of Heaven was ridiculously too much.

Exactly.

Jesus said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”Jesus repeated himself to his perplexed disciples, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God.” He called them children—because their understanding was juvenile and incomplete.

Wait a second. I want the red EASY button. But the red words in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospels say it’s hard. Kinda the opposite. I don’t like the way that sounds, do you? The rich young ruler didn’t like it either. What was Jesus trying to tell his immature followers and friends? Flip back two chapters to Mark 8, Peter boldly proclaimed his faith in Jesus as Messiah Christ, son of the living God. So Jesus shares some hard truths, explaining how he must suffer, be rejected, and be killed. Peter wanted EASY. “You’re the Christ, you rule, Rome loses, we win big, no more hard, end of story.”

But there’s nothing easy about Jesus’ words in 8:34. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

He says I must think, speak, and act like Jesus does instead of thinking, speaking, and acting the way I want or how I feel. That’s denying oneself. Giving up my rights, for his glory. Day after day after day. Jesus wasn’t joking when he said, “How hard it is….”

Everyone knew that the Staples red EASY button didn’t fix problems. But it symbolized confidence. It’s hard but possible, it can and will get done.

Jesus is NOT the easy button. But he makes the “hard” possible—by his shed blood, by the power of his Spirit, because of his merciful love, we can follow Jesus and enter the Kingdom of God.

Donielle Winter
EFCC Member

by Donielle Winter

Youth, Wealth, and Jesus

In Mark 10:17-27, a rich young man approaches Jesus with earnest intent. He asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus looks at him, loves him, and replies, “Sell all you possess, give to the poor, and follow Me.” The call to part with his great wealth overwhelms him. He departs, sorrowful and disheartened. Abraham, the Old Testament patriarch, faced a similar test. God commanded him to offer Isaac, his cherished son. Each was called to part with something deeply personal and of extreme importance to them.

Abraham faltered early in life. He deceived others about Sarah and tried to hasten God’s plan for an heir. Yet he grew to trust God fully. When tested with Isaac, he obeyed. God blessed him by sparing Isaac, righteousness, and a lasting legacy. The rich young man lacks such trust, he clings to his wealth. Yet Jesus loved him still. His sad departure might not be the end. That love carries hope, as Abraham’s journey shows, faith can grow. In the biblical timeline, our young man might witness the Pentecost and be among the thousands to join the new church.

The rich young man in Mark 10 missed following Jesus in person and went away grieving. We too may falter, clinging to what God calls us to release. Unique opportunities may flit away and sorrow may attend us for a time. But God wastes no hardship. His love holds us fast. As Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Jonathan Duncan
EFCC Member

by Kim Freels

One Thing

Are you familiar with the game “Would you Rather?” If you haven’t played it, it’s a game that forces you to choose between two things, selecting the most preferable. Here are some examples: Would you rather be a whiz at mathematical equations or be fluent in every language? Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly? In biblical times, the game might have sounded something like: “Would you rather ride a camel or a donkey? Or “Would you rather be a fisherman or a tax collector?” It’s a great get-to-know-you game, but with the right questions, it’s also helpful for self-examination as it reveals much about the heart.

In Mark 10, the man who ran up to Jesus was presented with a “Would you rather” question (of sorts): “Would you rather be rich or have eternal life?” At that moment, the desires of the man’s heart were revealed as he weighed the value of all his wealth brought him and the personal cost of giving it up to follow Jesus. It had already been determined that he had kept the commandments ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother’” (Mark 10:19). But what Jesus presented him was an opportunity to follow the commandment to have no other gods (Exodus 20:3). For this man money had become his God.

Money can provide many things including security, stature, freedom, and opportunity. But these are tangible experiences that can fade away and be gone with life’s final breath. The invitation presented to him, if he had accepted it, held eternal life. The choice was his. And the choice is ours too. Every day we are presented with ‘Would you rather decisions and with the gift of free will we choose Jesus as the one thing that our heart desires above all else.

Ask God to examine your heart to reveal your attachments, loves, desires, priorities, and motivations.

What material possessions or pursuits might be hindering a relationship with God?
Are there sacrifices that might be necessary to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus?
How might a costly sacrifice of your resources serve others and reflect the love of God?

Ask God to reveal any areas where you need to prioritize Him and truly love Him most.

Jessica Klootwyk
Discipleship Director

by Kim Freels

What must I DO to inherit eternal life?

How many of us have read the story about the rich young ruler and were excited at this question? Reading forward in the hope of getting “the answer”, and only to wonder- what do I do with that answer? In the Gospel of Mark, his question uses “inherit “but in other gospels, we see the word get, obtain and do. In all cases, the man is questioning what he must outwardly do to receive the gift of eternal life. As he views it, he must “earn” eternal life.

This brought me back to when my mom passed away leaving my sister and me without parents as young adults. My dad had died 7 years earlier, so it was then that we “inherited” my parents’ estate. Neither my sister nor I did anything to “earn” this. It was “who” we were to our parents and their choice to leave their “all that they had” as a provision for us.

Jesus’ response clears up the idea of earning. He states all the areas the young man has brilliantly succeeded. He had checked ALL the boxes, almost. It wasn’t about box checking though. Jesus then went straight to the heart of the matter. What was in his heart that was not allowing complete surrender? Jesus graciously shared that it is not about works but giving up one thing and following Him.

Choosing to abstain from something unimportant to us is quite easy. I remember as a kid wanting to give up lima beans for lent and thinking I was obedient. Yes, immaturity was a part of that but so was my “me first” flesh. The heart posture is not necessarily about abstaining or the “one thing”. What or who do you put before following Jesus? It could be more than “one thing” so we must not focus on the number He asked the young man to give up.

The man was “disheartened” because Jesus had nailed it. There was no earning that could be done to inherit eternal life. A fully surrendered heart to follow Him is what was being asked. It isn’t our works that are the provision for the inheritance, it is “who” we are inside as well. God knows our hearts and for each of us, it will be a different heart request.

It’s interesting to think of the word inheritance. It is always connected tot the loss of a loved one. Someone had to die for us to receive the inheritance. We simply receive it. Whatever you receive as an earthly inheritance, at best it could last your lifetime. It doesn’t compare to the inheritance offered through the gift of eternal life. Jesus had to die for us to receive this. We must surrender and place Him first in our lives. The treasure is ours to receive.

Tammy De Armas
EFCC Member

by Tammy DeArmas