Fear Factor Revisited

We have today an absence of the fear factor in evangelism. I say that and I think of that stupid TV program where they create artificial fears.

 I don’t need any artificial fears. Instead of people dealing with artificial fears, traumatizing themselves through contrived means, they really ought to find out what true fear is and that is to understand the judgment of God. Let me tell that FEAR  is an Essential element of salvation.

 Really there are four things that are necessary for a person to be saved. You could call this the science of salvation. One, fear…you have to be saved from something, from hell. I don’t think people would want to be saved from their sin if they could have their sin and have heaven too, agreed? Does that sound reasonable? If I could have my sin and go to heaven, that sounds like a deal. 

But hell, that’s another matter. And I don’t think evangelism is done properly and I don’t think a heart is prepared properly if there isn’t a component of fear of eternal judgment, eternal hell. And in our evangelism we have to do that, even with our children we have to do that.

 Second component, the second element is humility.  Not only do you have to be afraid of eternal hell, but you have to also understand that you can do nothing to rescue yourself. You have to humble yourself and deny yourself and see your utter unworthiness and your utter nothingness and your utter bankruptcy. This is heart work in the matter of evangelism. This is the plowing of the soil. 

And the third element is repentance. You have to come to the place where standing, as it were, looking into the yawning mouth of hell, fearing that you will spend forever there, understanding that you can do nothing to change that, understanding your utter wretchedness and sinfulness and unworthiness, and then coming to the point where you say, “I want to be delivered from this, I want to be rescued from this. I want You to forgive my sins. I acknowledge my sins.” 

That’s all the heart work and only then do you come to the fourth element which is to believe the gospel. Most evangelism today is “Jesus died for your sins, believe that, join a church, get sprinkled, pray this prayer, and you’re in.”  What about the first three? What about the heart preparation? You may have to put the fear factor back in the gospel. It’s all through Scripture.

We have today an absence of the fear factor in evangelism. I say that and I think of that stupid TV program where they create artificial fears.

 I don’t need any artificial fears. Instead of people dealing with artificial fears, traumatizing themselves through contrived means, they really ought to find out what true fear is and that is to understand the judgment of God. Let me tell that FEAR  is an Essential element of salvation.

 Really there are four things that are necessary for a person to be saved. You could call this the science of salvation. One, fear…you have to be saved from something, from hell. I don’t think people would want to be saved from their sin if they could have their sin and have heaven too, agreed? Does that sound reasonable? If I could have my sin and go to heaven, that sounds like a deal. 

But hell, that’s another matter. And I don’t think evangelism is done properly and I don’t think a heart is prepared properly if there isn’t a component of fear of eternal judgment, eternal hell. And in our evangelism we have to do that, even with our children we have to do that.

 Second component, the second element is humility.  Not only do you have to be afraid of eternal hell, but you have to also understand that you can do nothing to rescue yourself. You have to humble yourself and deny yourself and see your utter unworthiness and your utter nothingness and your utter bankruptcy. This is heart work in the matter of evangelism. This is the plowing of the soil. 

And the third element is repentance. You have to come to the place where standing, as it were, looking into the yawning mouth of hell, fearing that you will spend forever there, understanding that you can do nothing to change that, understanding your utter wretchedness and sinfulness and unworthiness, and then coming to the point where you say, “I want to be delivered from this, I want to be rescued from this. I want You to forgive my sins. I acknowledge my sins.” 

That’s all the heart work and only then do you come to the fourth element which is to believe the gospel. Most evangelism today is “Jesus died for your sins, believe that, join a church, get sprinkled, pray this prayer, and you’re in.”  What about the first three? What about the heart preparation? You may have to put the fear factor back in the gospel. It’s all through Scripture.