A few weeks back (in all honesty that can mean anytime from yesterday to a year ago) I heard a preacher start in on an honest-to-goodness hellfire and brimstone, scare ’em to salvation type of message. I was a little shocked to say the least since I thought we had all agreed that these types of sermons are not beneficial. Also I haven’t heard one preached since I was a kid myself, too many years ago to mention. Later that day I was talking to my husband about the sermon. I was a little surprised to see how upset he got about the whole thing. Not much gets David riled up (except me – somehow I have the ability to get him upset pretty quickly) but this subject obviously gets under his skin. He said, “Michelle, you can’t scare people into heaven! It doesn’t work that way!” I agree, but it got me to thinking…..and we all know what happened then!
Don’t get me wrong, I think we could all use a good dose of godly fear. One of the things that kept me from getting into too much trouble as a kid was a healthy fear of my daddy. The man never did much more than yell or express his disappointment, but that and the threat of a spanking was all it took to put me back on the straight and narrow. And I’m convinced that’s one of the things keeping my own kids from running too wild – the fear of mom and dad. So I think a little fear of God is a good thing. We need to understand that He has the power to wipe us off the face of the earth if He so chooses. We need to be a little concerned about what will happen when He finds out what we’ve done (though we seem to forget He already knows even before we do it). We need to be a little worried about disappointing Him when we make bad choices. But can that really lead to salvation?
It can if it’s used to get people’s attention. But I don’t know how sincere and lasting a decision it is if its made simply to keep someone from going to hell. Truth is, salvation is a personal decision. I can look at the fruit being produced in your life, or not being produced. I can look at the overall movement of your life toward godliness or toward worldliness. But I can’t look at your heart to determine your salvation. You have to do that on your own. I’m sure there are people out there that were saved by being “Scared Straight.” I’m sure they took that first step and kept on going. But I’m just as sure that there are people who made a move toward God in an emotional moment and have never thought about it again. People who would consider themselves “saved” because they walked down an aisle at church, or repeated the words a preacher said, or raised their hand when asked if they wanted to go to Heaven instead of hell.
What I really got to thinking about was the role of discipleship in all of this. If we were more concerned about discipling people, would this really be an issue at all? In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus gives us “The Great Commission.” He says:
“All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” (HCSB – emphasis mine)
He tells us to make disciples. He doesn’t tell us to worry about salvation but about discipleship. You see, salvation is the first step in discipleship. You can’t be a disciple until you’ve experienced salvation. But someone who has experienced salvation isn’t necessarily a disciple. Discipleship is a process, a lifestyle, a journey that begins with salvation and continues from there.
Maybe we’ve spent so much time trying to “save” people that we’ve forgotten to teach them to live out their salvation. Maybe one of the reasons the church seems to be struggling is because we’re not putting enough emphasis on discipleship and too much on salvation. That sounds almost heretical even as I type it. But I hope you understand that I’m not advocating one over the other…..I can’t – they’re interdependent. There is no discipleship without salvation. Salvation without discipleship is unsatisfying. If you’re wondering if I believe that you can be saved and remain undiscipled – my answer is yes. But I’m very sad for those who live that way. I don’t think that is God’s plan for you or anyone else. I am fully convinced that God intends for EVERYONE to come to repentance (1 Peter 3:9). I am just as fully convinced that He intends for EVERYONE to grow and mature in their personal relationship with Him.
If we’re going to focus on discipleship, we HAVE to focus on evangelism. The difference is that we can’t stop there. We continue to evangelize while we disciple. We disciple while we evangelize. One = the other. So, all this is to say that I have my doubts about the benefits of scaring someone into Heaven. Not saying it can’t be done – just saying there might be more productive ways. Like making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them. Isn’t that what Jesus modeled?
Michelle Suarez 