Is the Gospel simply black and white?

 

Is the Gospel black and white? It is a simple enough question to ask, isn’t it? What do you think? Is your answer an immediate yes or no, or are you having to think about the question?

How does your belief in the clarity of the Gospel affect the urgency and way that you share it? Have you ever found it difficult to deal with questions surrounding eternity, heaven and hell?  Is the Gospel a turn or burn message that was preached years ago and heard of so little today?

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” Matthew 7:13

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Matthew 25: 31-46

If you are a regular reader of my blogs, you will know I believe that the Bible is very clear in what it says about ‘being in Christ’ compared to not believing and accepting Him as Lord and Saviour.

I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting that you go and start telling people that they are destined for hell. My point is that we should present the Gospel with clarity, and not be afraid to speak plainly when required.

My first pastor for 16 years had a major effect on my life during those years. He taught me very much, challenged me, pushed me and even irritated me sometimes. An outstanding part of his character was that he was always very clear when it came to the Gospel message and from his ministry and my own study I have developed very similar beliefs about doctrine.

On one occasion a person who had been attending our church for a while told my pastor that they wanted to try a different fellowship. He was disappointed to hear this and asked why the person felt that way. I will never forget the person’s reply. They said, “Oh, the stuff that you preach is too black and white for me”.

I remember thinking, “Too black and white! Do you really want the matter of your eternal destiny to be a grey area?” People need to understand that the only way to God is through His Son. There is no other way. It is a fact that cannot be watered down. It is through Jesus and Jesus only!

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14: 6

So then how do we answer the “Am I going to Hell” question and other difficult ones like it?

I suppose you could be direct and answer “Yes”, if you knew that the person you were in conversation with had not received Christ as Saviour. I believe that if you did that on a regular basis, you would have very short conversations with people while witnessing.

Whenever I am asked a question like that I tend to deal with it in a way is not offensive. When asked about Hell and other similar questions I try to answer saying something like, “That is a great question and probably the best way to answer it would be to tell you what the Bible says about it”.

Key Point: Never be tempted to compromise the message so that it becomes more palatable.

I would then go through something like the Roman road scriptures and explain them in simple, easy to understand terms. Sometimes you will need to be sensitive, while at other times you will need to be quite direct. The Holy Spirit will guide you if you seek Him. But never be tempted to compromise the message so that it becomes more palatable for your listener.

I have covered the Roman Road before in previous blogs, but just as a reminder the scriptures are:

Romans 3: 23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6: 23: "The wages of sin is death..."

Romans 6: 23:"But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5: 8: "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"

Romans 10: 13: "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"

Romans 10: 9-10: "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

Jesus talked more about Hell that He did about Heaven. He is our model and example to follow. He was the ultimate evangelist, so that should answer any questions we have about harder to deal with areas such as this.

I have had debates with people on this subject and have then asked them, “Do you believe that you know a better way of answering difficult questions like this than Jesus did”?

On the other hand I have met people who have a great desire to share Jesus, but all they seem to talk about is hell and damnation. We need to share the love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus and what He accomplished for us on the cross. As we witness people must see the love of Jesus in us.

We must also be prepared to give straight answers when asked the difficult questions. People respect honesty, especially when you answer in love.