SHOULD WE BE TRYING TO MAKE THE GOSPEL MORE APPEALING?

George Sarris has written that “Hell, as most people perceive it, is the greatest hindrance to the spread of the Gospel.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMYJtthI0Xk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2QKd0RN-0yjd5mT6XbC-SJQTRzhsZhSxxUeFD8dKpxehBgmJS6k00Gils

I doubt that this is true. However, making the Gospel more appealing should not be foremost in our thinking. Instead, the truth of the Gospel must be uppermost:

·       1 Corinthians 1:18-19 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Nevertheless, hell is a difficult doctrine to preach. Although it is clear that hell must be understood as a terrible threat, there are many specifics that remain unclear to me. However, the Good News depends upon the reality of the bad news – hell. We cannot adequately appreciate the grace of God unless we also understand our fate apart from the grace of God (hell), and failing to appreciate this grace is a great tragedy.

Consequently, Sarris’ prescription doesn’t make the Good News more attractive at all, but, instead, hum-hum.