ChristianMuse said:
If this was truly the case then I would think that the Gospels would be conspicuously absent of any remark about hell, judgment, and eternal punishment. Since it is found in each of the gospels the understanding of hell, etc. must have been necessary. As for those who had the Gospel originally given to them... did they know all this ( hell etc.) before Jesus revealed the truth to them? I doubt it. Even though Jesus picked them that doesn't mean they already had the knowledge. Like the parables Jesus used... he was always having to explain it to the apostles in planner language because too often they didn't understand what Jesus was saying to the crowds. Of course this misunderstanding of what Jesus was saying was in fulfillment of scripture.
They understood
sin because they ate, drank, slept, and breathed the Law (the ten commandments). It is conspicuously absent of the Law being preached. Look at the preaching of Paul (read Romans) and compare how much more he used the Law to convict of sin to the Gentiles.
Now if you are saying that just before he ascended to heaven, when the great commission was given to the church, that then they understood the gospel... I would agree with you. Yet the gospel is everything that Jesus revealed. That includes teachings and mentioning of hell, etc.
No. The Gospel means "Good news". The full Gospel does, in fact, include the bad news so that the good news will be better understood and appreciated. If Jesus preached both bad and good news to the Jews who ate, drank, slept and breathed the law, then how much more a nation with an idolatrous understanding of God's holy nature?
[BTW]I have the strange feeling that I am agreeing with you, but seeming with an argument...am I right?
I agree that, in order to understand the solution, one first needs to know that there is a problem. Where I disagree is in whether the lost understand the problem in the first place. Hell is eternal separation from God, right? I assume we can agree to that premise. Before I came to Christ, I was quite aware of what it is like to be seprated from God. In fact, I believe that the only thing that I failed to understand about my situation was that I could not escape the hell that my life had become through death. I thank God that He got to me before I tried to escape on my own. What I am getting at here is that I think the lost understand the problem quite well. What they need to hear is the solution.
Bill Bright conducted a survey in which he concluded that modern evangelistic efforts can expect an 80-90% backsliding rate. Right now, we exclude the law very much. I have been to a great many churches, and the 'alter call' is done at the end of every sermon, whether or not the cross, sin, hell, or God's judgment or righteousness was mentioned. I have to disagree with you.
I don't think that our ministry should avoid the topic of Hell altogether, but the focus, IMO, should be the solution rather than the problem.
Say I am a doctor. I have a cure for a newly discovered disease. It is horribly expensive, though. I walk down the street and see someone with it. In horror, I sell my car and mortgage my house to acquire the cure, find the person and say "Excuse me, you have a deadly disease. I just sold my car and morgaged my house to get the cure." How will the person react? He might take it, he might not. And he will definately think you are kind of weird for coming up to him, a stranger, and giving up so much for a disease you don't really think you have. (Go up to
anyone on the street, I challenge you. You think people are already convinced of the disease of sin? Ask a stranger (after you get a little conversation going) and ask them if they think they are a good person. They will, without fail, say "Yes", though some might concede that they make mistakes 'sometimes'.) Now, how much better would it be if I were to go up to the stranger, start talking to him, and point out the symptoms and ask him to examine himself to see if what I am saying is true. If he becomes convinced of the disease, he will seek the cure. And he will appreciate the sacrifice made for the cure. And he will take it with great thanks.