Osama Bin Laden, Hell, and You?

Even many non-Christians are hoping that there is a hell for people like Osama Bin Laden. After all, how can his one death make up for the fact that he has killed thousands? So we look for ultimate justice and hell provides that. But sadly the OBLs of the world often obscure a deeper truth—that we are all desperate sinners who deserve hell unless we trust in Christ’s sacrifice for our sinfulness. What I mean is that many people think they are “good” because they compare themselves with those who successfully act out their evil ambitions: “I’m not a murderer like Osama Bin Laden, after all.”

But do we think that OBL deserves hell more than the terrorist that murders only one person? Why would that be? Indeed, C. S. Lewis was right to point out that those capable of the greatest good are also capable of the greatest harm. That Bin Laden was able to orchestrate the deaths of thousands versus the terrorist who succeeds in killing only one person tells us more about Bin Laden’s intellectual prowess and charismatic leadership than it does about whether his heart is more wicked than the person who kills only one.

But then what do we think about the person who only wishes he could kill, but doesn’t? Is he a better person than the terrorist who actually kills? Not according to Scripture. In 1 John 3:15 we read that “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” In other words, those who hate would murder if they thought they could get away with it. And if the only reason the hater doesn’t murder is self-interest, then that doesn’t make the hater a better person than the murderer. Thus Jesus warned in Matthew 5:22: “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus pointed out the depths of human sinfulness. We should follow His example. WWJD, after all.

Of course, that comes at a price. Thus Jesus said in John 7:7 that the world hated him because “I proclaim that what it does is evil.”

Romans 3: “There is no one righteous, not even one…. Their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood…. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Amen.