Those who oppose Free Grace Theology often say that it does not emphasize the sinfulness of the unbeliever in an acceptable way. We are told that when we evangelize, it is not enough to tell unbelievers that Jesus offers them eternal life if they will believe in Him for it. The unbeliever must first “admit that he is a sinner.” Sometimes we are told that he must repent of those sins. It is common to hear that the unbeliever must confess his sins and feel sorry for them.

I remember, in the past, being asked to preach sermons that were more “fire and brimstone.” This was another way of saying that I didn’t sufficiently emphasize the need for the unbelievers who heard my teaching to realize they were vile sinners who were in danger of going to hell because of that sin. The non-Christian needs to see the depth of his sin and have a fear of hell.

Can an unbeliever be saved from the lake of fire without understanding the seriousness of his sin? Related to this is the need for him to see the holiness of God. We are told that without understanding how the unbeliever has offended that holiness, he cannot be saved. Of course, before he can experience this salvation he must turn from those sins.

I recently heard a popular speaker address this topic. He was sad because, in his view, most modern-day evangelists have been negligent in pointing out how sinful the unbeliever is. He said that many claim to be Christians but are not because they have never recognized they were sinners in danger of hell. They were not turning from their sins in order to avoid the terrors of the lake of fire. This speaker longed for the good old days, when evangelists stressed what unbelievers needed to know and do. Faith was not enough.

He gave an example of an evangelist of days gone by who, in his opinion, properly pointed out the sin of those who heard him. A woman called this evangelist–who lived in another era–and told him she was worried about her husband’s soul. She wanted him to speak to her husband. The evangelist was glad to do so.

As he talked to the man about his sin, the man fell into a terrible state of fear. He ran from the room and grabbed a column outside the house, hoping that it would keep him from falling into hell. He was terrified and was crying out for anything that could save him from his fate.

The man’s wife was terribly concerned about her husband. She asked the evangelist if he could help him. He said that her husband needed to be left alone “to cook.” His point was that the best thing for the terrified man was to simmer in the terror he was feeling. Only then would he flee from that sin and ask for forgiveness.

I am a cynic and have serious doubts that that is a true story. Maybe I feel that way because I hope it never happened. I know that many will hear it and think, “We need more of that.” But I hope that anybody who reads this blog will recognize it as a horrible account.

This story has absolutely nothing in common with how the Lord evangelized unbelievers. We need only look at Nicodemus, the woman at the well, or Christ’s conversation with Martha about what would result in eternal salvation (John 3:1-16; 4:10, 14; 11:25-26). Faith in His promise of eternal life is what He sought. It is simply impossible to imagine His saying that the woman at the well needed to cook in the juices of terror for a while before He would speak to her about His grace and the gift He had for her.

The same is true regarding evangelistic messages in the Book of Acts. How would we compare Phillip’s conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 or Paul’s with the Philippian jailor in Acts 16 with the story of the man clinging to the column? Any unbiased observer will immediately see that there are no similarities at all.

I have no doubt that some non-Christians look at their lives and see how sinful they are. I also have no doubt that some of them fear hell because of that sin. This might cause some to seek release from that terror.

Others, however, do not travel that path. The examples of evangelism in the Gospel of John and Acts are cases in point. Whatever experiences different unbelievers might have, they all have one thing in common. They receive eternal life when they believe they receive it as a free gift by faith alone in Christ.

They don’t have to cook in a pot of terror first.