Over the past 2 years, my life has undergone a radical transformation, due in large part to the teachings I encountered from a church called Bethel in Redding, CA. Recently I was led to a website that had a lot of negative things to say about this church and its teachings. I've seen this before about my own church, and it's usually by people who don't really know what is going on. But one of the things this site said made me think. The accusation was that Bethel teaches only about the goodness of God, seemingly ignoring God's judgement and the Old Testament God that had a tendency to smite people that displeased Him. I want to share my thoughts on what I concluded.
This accusation is not only against this particular church, I've personally heard it from others here and there. Christians and non Christians alike, this is a sticky subject. My pastor often mentions what he calls the both/and. This refers to what many would call contradictions in the Bible. Jesus is a lion - Jesus is a lamb. which is it? Both. He has many many aspects to His character and at a first glance, they can seem contradictory. So let me just narrow it down to the one specific instance that was mentioned. God's goodness vs God's wrath.
I was raised in church, so I know all the Bible stories and all the teachings, but all of that never brought be into a personal relationship with Jesus. I didn't trust Him. I was always afraid that He would ask me to do something scary like become a missionary to Africa. ;) I knew that He didn't like sin, so I spent so much of my life being "good" - trying to be perfect so He wouldn't be mad or disappointed. I was never willing to open my heart and share my inner self with Him. Why? Because I didn't know that He was good. I knew what the world in general seems to think. God is waiting to toss a thunderbolt my way if I screw up.
My introduction to Bethel was all about the goodness of God. I was told about His amazing unconditional love. I heard songs sung by worshipers who obviously believed their joyful proclamations 100%. I watched the congregations as well as the singers and speakers. I could see that these people really knew this good God. It wasn't fake. It wasn't hype. They were truly basking in the goodness of God. The more I heard of the teaching, the more I heard a sound that rang true to me. There were always little bits that didn't sit right with me in church growing up. I was young, so questioning the pastors wasn't really an option in my mind. I figured they must know what they're talking about because everyone seems to believe the same thing. It's not that they were wrong, but the teachers at Bethel were able to put words to what I was feeling was off. Their lessons clicked with me. Their Kingdom based teachings were just enough different that I finally began to understand who God is.
I didn't just have the internet teachings and books and music, I met someone that had lived there, been a part of that community for a time. I experienced the human form of that unconditional love in a new way. I watched a life that was just different. I saw hope. I saw a life that had been transformed and was living the way I wanted to believe was possible. I began to think that I didn't have to live this miserable controlled little life anymore. I saw enough evidence of God's goodness that I started to believe it, and that allowed me to open my heart and trust Him. That little tiny act of trust opened the floodgates and I was drenched in His Love and amazing goodness. I experienced it. I felt His Love in a tangible way that brought me well out of the reach of doubt.
So does God have wrath? Does He cast judgement? Yeah, but don't we all? When you get angry with someone, do you have a good reason? Is there ever a place for that? We sure seem to think so. When you watch a movie, don't you love to see the bad guy get what's coming to him? We get that sense of justice from our Father. But the thing is, we never know all the facts. Do we know that the guy that raped and killed all those girls was brutally abused and molested himself as a child? Would that make us a little more sympathetic towards him? Not that his acts were justified at all, but maybe we'd understand a little more that he himself was hurting and acting out of that place. The thing is.... God knows ALL the facts. He is JUST. He is the perfect Father. Our human brains and limited knowledge have no right thinking our judgement of a situation is right.
Many accuse God of letting bad things happen to good people. They accuse Him of pouring out His wrath in the form of natural disasters. I just don't believe that is true. I believe that He set the Earth on it's course, and human kind has made a lot of bad decisions that have had ripple-like ramifications. I believe that Jesus came to take God's judgement in our place. I believe He finished it at the cross. I believe that He loves us soooooooo much that He went to extreme measures to make sure that we could live in His love forever. He's a Father. How many of you as parents nail your kids to the wall for every little thing they do wrong? No, you love them, and you would do anything for them wouldn't you? You overlook so many mistakes b ecause you love your kid. You just want to see them happy and living a good life. Are we better than God? I don't think so. I think that the perception of many is very skewed. Now that I believe He is good, I view all situations a little different and I can trust that He is taking care of everything. I don't have to fight to make sure the "bad" people around me get what is coming, I can trust that my Daddy knows more than I do and He will make sure everything works out in the end.
So what do I think about Bethel's "goodness" focused teaching? I love it!! Without knowing God is good, why does anything else matter? Why would I want to go to a God of wrath? Out of fear? The Bible says there is no fear in love. Fear is the opposite of faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. It also tells us that it is His kindness that leads us to repentence. I don't think that preaching a God of wrath gets the results we really want. If we want souls to be saved, scaring them is not going to work. Without God's goodness, why would anyone want to know Him? I think Bethel is right on in teaching the goodness of God as the base truth for everything else. There is a place for all aspects of God, but without the goodness, we have no way of understanding the rest of it in context. I wouldn't be living the joy and peace filled life that I am if I didn't get this exposure to the goodness of God.
