Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Must we always talk about hell in evangelism?

Must we always talk about hell in evangelism?

Last updated on: July 12, 2022 at 4:18 pm by Brad Vaughn

Must we always talk about hell in evangelism? 2022-04-15T03:53:06-07:00 Brad Vaughn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Must we always talk about hell when we evangelize? No.

Before you cancel me or spread false rumors about my theology, you should know that I do believe in hell, and I do think it’s something worth discussing. It’s simply not something that people need to emphasize every time they share the gospel.

When did Jesus talk about hell?

It’s noteworthy that neither Jesus nor Paul routinely appeals to hell when teaching about the gospel. Whether they ever do so is a different question.

In the ministry of Jesus, we find a nuanced position that some might think. He mentions “hell” (γέεννα) in a narrow range of texts.[1] The occurrences are almost only located in Matthew. The two texts in Mark and Luke are repeated in Matthew.

What patterns do we see in the way Jesus spoke of hell? In each instance, he is not addressing a broad audience with the primary concern of explaining how people “become Christians.” Instead, Jesus generally reserves hell talk for three situations.

First, Jesus uses hell to underscore how seriously one should fight sin (Matt 5; Mark 9; cf. James 3:6). For example, he says,

“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:30).

Second, Jesus alludes to hell as a way of stressing the supreme authority of God. Hence, in Matthew 10:28, he says,

“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (cf. 18:9; Luke 12:5).

The third set of texts is remarkable. These verses are the only ones where Jesus uses hell as a threat against a specific group of individuals. In Matthew 23:15, 33, he says,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves…. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

He does not target the general population. He expressly rebukes those who supposedly represent God as teachers yet mislead the people away from him. Such men were negligent shepherds whose misguided agendas corrupted the character of His sheep.

Did Jesus Use Hell in Evangelism?

There’s much more to be said on this topic. Grasping how Jesus talked about hell is a crucial starting point that shouldn’t be glossed over.

However we understand Jesus’ use of hell language, we can conclude one thing:

It does not resemble the methods of evangelism that we see recommended today by countless churches and ministries.

There’s a place for talking about hell. It is in the Bible, so it’s a truth worth being known and taught. But talking about hell in disproportion or in ways inconsistent with the Bible’s approach can cause confusion.

(It’s interesting that articles like Greg Gilbert’s “Why Hell is Integral to the Gospel” affirm hell as biblical teaching, but they do not show how Jesus and others use it to preach the gospel explicitly.)

Might some biblical passages speak about hell indirectly, such as when authors refer to “judgment”? Aren’t those implicit references to hell? In the next post, I’ll respond to these questions.

[1] Most are bunched together in Matthew 5:22-30; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43-47. Other references include Matthew 10:28, 18:9; Luke 12:5.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Previous Post

July 6, 2022

Will you pray to change the world?

Next Post

July 19, 2022 Preaching Judgment Without Being a Jerk

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Biblical Theology Book Reviews China Chinese Church Chinese Culture Chinese Language Collectivism Contextualization Culture (General) Ecclesiology Evangelism Gospel Honor & Shame (Face) Interpretation/Exegesis Justification/Righteousness Missiology Mission Methods One Gospel for All Nations Other Practical Contextualization Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes Resources Romans Salvation (General) Saving God's Face Seeking God's Face The Cross in Context Theological Contextualization Theological Education Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who built an ark to survive the great flood?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Shem Abram Enoch Noah

Books by This Author Books by Brad Vaughn

See All Titles »