@1Tonne
Whereas, if you beat them with the bible, or come across as judging them, vs, offering them God's reconciliation, then you can push them away from God, for life, and then you have sent someone to Hell.
We are meant to show people how they have sinned. This can be confronting to some, and they will hate it. But to others it is enlightening. And Jesus said that if we did this, then the world would hate us. So, if do as Jesus did, then some will be pushed away. Many will hate it.
Many believers in this day and age choose to skip the bad news of sin and simply tell people that if they believe and say a prayer, they will be saved.
And yes, we do have to be careful about how we show people their sins. We are to do this with gentleness and respect, but at the same time we should not lower the depravity of sin. We should show it in its fullness.
See, unbelievers already feel that God is angry with them, so, we dont need to reinforce that...
You will not find that in the Bible. Most unbelievers that I speak to on the streets say that they are good enough to get into heaven.
Unbelievers have also been told by many Christians that God loves them and the Christian will then leave out the part that God hates sinners. The unbeliever then thinks to himself that God would never send someone He loves to Hell.
The bible says,
"For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity." Psalm 5:4-5 (NASB)
So, we should not downplay God's anger as it is doing a disservice to the unbeliever.
"Preaching that downplays God's wrath does not enhance true evangelism, it undermines it."
John Mcarthur
We instead need to reinforce just how WELCOME THEY ARE to the Family of God... as "Jesus came into the world to save SINNERS", and they certainly qualify.
So, don't point out someone's sin? Just tell them that God loves them, and they are welcome to join His family. Where does Jesus do this type of evangelism?
In Mark 10:17 a rich young ruler asks how to get eternal life. Jesus then takes him through the commandments to show his sin. This is very confronting and to some Christians may seem unloving. But we should be doing just as Jesus did. And we should do it with gentleness and respect.
When talking about the great harvest Charles Spurgeon said.
"He who preaches the Gospel without preaching the Law of God may hold all the results of it in his hand and there will be little for him to hold. I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law."