(This is part 2 in a series on missing ingredients of evangelism. Read part 1 here).
“So do you think my granddad is in hell?” he asked.
That was the question posed directly to me by a student. We were talking about salvation in Christ and he went on to explain how his grandfather was Jewish and just passed away.
He and his friend next to him stared me straight in the eye and waited for my response.
What do you do in that moment? How would you respond?
A question like that will really put your convictions to the test. Learning how to share the Gospel is always great in theory until you get thrown into the fire with a real life question like that.
Talking about the Taboo
It’s taboo to talk about hell in our culture. We even have a negative connotation of “fire and brimstone” preachers who emphasize it. Can you think of a better strategy of Satan than to remove this ingredient to our gospel message? How clever of him to make hell and sin off-limits.
I’m not advocating for insensitivity or obnoxiousness, but we can’t shy away from talking about hell. God’s hatred against sin and the danger of hell are real warnings.
If you think this topic sounds intense and might turn people off, you’re right. It shows just how much we must listen to God’s Word and avoid the pressures to conform to the culture in our witness.
What I’ve learned is that most of us go looking for newer and clever methods to share the Gospel. More often than not there is nothing wrong with your method, but there might be ingredients missing in the message.
The Second Missing Ingredient…HELL.
In last week’s post, I shared how it was easy to be soft on sin. Missing that first topic inevitably leads to the second missing ingredient, which is judgment and hell.
When sin is presented as merely unwise decisions, then the penalty for sin isn’t separation from God, it’s an unfulfilled life.
That’s basically what my message became. I would say something like, “Sin leads to brokenness and lack of fulfillment. Christ has come to give you life to the full.”
It’s a pseudo-prosperity gospel. It’s partly true. Jesus does come to give us life to the full (John 10:10), but it misses the main idea of the Gospel. On top of that, the “life to the full” that Jesus was talking about differs greatly from what most of our students would imagine when they hear that concept.
Jesus doesn’t primarily come to make our life better. He comes to save us from condemnation and hell. Sin has separated us from God. We’re guilty and deserve punishment. We don’t need a better life, we need to be rescued.
Not better Methods, but a Better Message
You don’t need more clever methods to present the Gospel. You need to be faithful to present the essential realities of sin and hell.
Trust me, this is what makes the Gospel good news!
“Rescue from hell” is a way better message for college students, anyway. Think about it. Most students are fairly well off. Most of them already have a great life, relatively speaking. They don’t need a slightly better life. They need to be confronted with the challenge “what good is it if a man gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matt 16:26).
Students need to realize hell is what awaits people who are separated from God, but Jesus came to rescue us. The good news isn’t good news if there is nothing bad at stake!
Remove this ingredient and the Gospel is weakened of it’s power. However, as students start to see the judgment that awaits, all of a sudden, the Gospel becomes more urgent.
So how do we do it?
Put it into Practice
When you shy away from sin, it becomes very difficult to make a case for judgment. However, when you talk about sin it’s easier to explain the natural consequence of punishment.
When proclaiming the Gospel, after explaining sin and getting them to identify with it, I like to introduce the concept of hell by talking about God’s holiness.
In the context of Romans 6:23, I like to highlight how the main point of the first phrase is to show that man is separated from God by his sin. The bridge illustration is a visual representation of that.
“Why are we separated? Because God is holy and just. Any sin against him is serious and cuts us off. Because He is holy and just He must punish sin. Since everyone sins, it’s easy to think it isn’t that serious, but this verse says what we earn from our sin is DEATH. That death means being cut off from God, separated from Him, and headed for hell.”
There are a few questions I like to ask:
- “Do you believe in hell?” (only 56% of 18-29 year olds in America believe in hell)
- “Do you think it’s fair that God punishes sin? Why of why not?”
- “What would happen if God didn’t punish sin? “
Many will say they believe God forgives us if we ask Him. If they mention asking for forgiveness I like to use the courtroom illustration.
The Courtroom Illustration
“Imagine you walked into this restaurant and held everyone up at gunpoint. You rob the store and head out. But you get caught on camera, are arrested, and taken before the judge. The judge asks how you plea. You say, “Judge I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. I’m truly sorry. I promise I will work hard to make amends for this and I will never do it again. Will you please forgive me?”
For the sake of the illustration let’s say you are sincere! You really will do better. What’s the judge going to say?
At this point students always realize how ridiculous this is. They admit the judge is still going to punish you.
“Yes,” I say. “Only a terrible judge would let that criminal go free. If we were all in the restaurant we’d be furious if we let him go free. He has to punish the crime according to the law. In the same way, God cannot just overlook sin. He is a perfect judge and His holiness demands justice. Spiritual death and separation from God are the punishment for our sin. That’s what hell is.“
Most people think hell is incompatible with the love of God. They think God’s love requires Him to forgive. I want them to see that God’s holiness and justice demand a payment. Somebody is going to pay for sin! God’s character demands it. He can’t simply overlook it. And sin against an eternal, holy God demands an eternal separation.
The question is whether they will pay or whether someone can pay for us?
Questions are key. Talking about hell is a tough subject. I want to do it with compassion. I’ve learned by asking a couple of questions about justice and using this illustration, people can start to comprehend why God must be tough on sin.
Responding to the Student’s Question
So how did I respond to that student who asked me about his granddad?
In all honesty, I felt like a politician. How could I answer without giving a real answer?
The heart of his question wasn’t really asking if God judged his granddad, but if I did. It was important that I tried to answer with the truth but in a gracious way.
Here is how I responded…I said I didn’t know his granddad’s heart but I shared how all people are sinful and separated from God and without Christ paying for our sin we will all have to stand before God and give an account for the actions we’ve taken. I turned the attention back to him and asked him, “Man, I don’t know your granddad. God knows the right thing to do. But the thing that matters most to me is you. If you were to stand before God today and have to give an account, would you be okay?”
Did I handle that perfectly? I don’t know. One thing I do know is that we must be committed to include the concept of judgment when we proclaim the Gospel. It’s a necessary ingredient.
Reflect:
- What makes judgment and hell hard to talk about when presenting the Gospel?
- What are some effective and ineffective ways you’ve seen hell and judgment presented?
