This article at Apprising Ministries really got me thinking. Much of today’s evangelism methods involve what I call the “John 3:16 Approach”, telling sinners that “God loves you, Jesus loves you, accept Him into the ‘hole in your heart’ and you shall be saved!”.
Ugh!
Yet, if we look closer at how the Apostles went about preaching the Gospel, we find that (while we acknowledge that God is love and concur with what John wrote in John 3:16 not a single mention of the “feel-good” message of “God loves you, Jesus loves you” is found, but what they preached was how lost people were, bound as slaves to sin, emphasizing on forgiveness of sin by Jesus Christ the Messiah.
Reading the article also reminds me of a great quote by A.W. Pink on present-day evangelism which I very much agree with:
The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day “evangelist”.
He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin.
And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire, who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!
The very first thing said of Christ in the New Testament is — “You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” (not from the wrath to come)
Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. And He is a Savior for no others.
Were He to “save from hell” those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God.
What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One!
A.W. Pink
To read the full article, visit Apprising Ministries.
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