The Kindness Approach to Sharing Faith

Could your view of evangelism be rooted in fear rather than love? This episode challenges the traditional fire-and-brimstone approach to sharing the Christian faith, questioning the logic and morality behind motivating conversions with the threat of hell. We delve into a rich discussion that unpacks the incongruence between a loving God and the concept of eternal punishment, as portrayed in the commonly used evangelistic scare tactics. By examining scriptural passages from 1 John and Romans, we explore the transformative power of God's love and kindness as the true heart of the Gospel message, which invites a genuine, fear-free relationship with the divine.

Prepare to be inspired as we propose a shift from instilling fear to demonstrating the life-changing kindness of God. Emphasizing the importance of love-based evangelism, this conversation encourages spiritual leaders and believers to rethink traditional methods and embrace a message that resonates with the essence of Christianity. Prioritizing the kindness, patience, and love of God, the episode paints a compelling picture of inviting others into the fold through a genuine display of divine affection – a call to repentance led by the richness of God's benevolence, rather than the shadows of dread. Join us for an enlightening journey towards a faith that is anchored in love, not fear.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hello, greetings. Today I'm going to be talking about why I think using the message of sin and going to hell is the wrong way to go about evangelizing and bringing somebody into the sheepfold of God's house and to bring them to Christ. I heard one time that what you gain by fear, you must maintain by fear, and I want to talk a little bit about why I think this is the wrong approach. First off, we present hell as a eternal place of punishment, a place of hellfire and brimstone, where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth and where people live in eternity in a place of punishment if they don't accept Christ. And if you think about it, the logic doesn't really make much sense. We are going to try to convince people that they are saved from hell because of what Christ has done, but the reason we bring them to Christ is because we want people to be afraid of hell. We want people to be afraid of this place of eternal punishment. Right, and it doesn't make any sense when you think about this from the place of God. Being a loving God, how could a loving God banish his creation to a place of eternal torment and punishment? And I'll tell you why I think this is an incorrect assumption about God's character.

Speaker 1: 2:26

In the book of John I'm sorry, the first book of John, chapter 4, there's a whole section verse 7, through pretty much the end of that chapter, which is all about God's character being that of love, god's nature, his character, his love. Verse 8 even says it God is love. So if God is love, that means he's loving. And how could a loving God put people in a place of eternal punishment? Let's go down to verse 18, 1 John, chapter 4, verse 18. Now remember, we're talking about getting people to come to Christ because they're afraid of going to hell. So in order to get them, we need to get them to be afraid of hell first of all, and then we need to keep them afraid of hell in order to keep them with God. Right, that's the logic here. Verse 18 says there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

Speaker 1: 4:21

Think about this logic for a second. We get people to come to Christ because they're afraid of going to hell, and they're afraid of going to hell because of the punishment that involves. What Christ did doesn't really even factor into anything. We can't keep people in the house of God, so to speak, if they're constantly in fear of punishment. That's what this verse says here there is no fear in love. So if you're going to be in God, you can't have any fear, which means you can't have any fear of hell, you can't have any fear of eternal damnation and punishment. But the way that we preach, quote, unquote the gospel is we make people afraid and then we have to keep them afraid, to keep them there.

Speaker 1: 5:28

I think there's a better way and I think that better way is found in Romans, chapter 2, verse 4. I'm reading, by the way, out of the New American Standard Bible 1995 edition. And here's what Romans, chapter 2, verse 4 says. Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? If you want people to repent, if you want people to come to Christ, start showing them the kindness of God, start showing them the love of God. That's what's going to turn people's hearts. It's God's love, it's his kindness or her kindness that is going to bring people to the repentance that we so want people to have. Let's stop preaching a fear-based gospel and start preaching a love-based gospel. Hope you've enjoyed this. Thanks and have a blessed day.