'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1
When I evangelize to people, I often ask them where they go when they die, heaven or hell. Another way to put it is, “do you stand redeemed or condemned?” What an interesting question to start a conversation.
Romans 8:1 is a verse that every professing Christian should know and love. It is a simple yet foundational truth, so what about those outside of Christ? Those individuals outside of Christ stand condemned. That is the truth. And you can’t get away from it. You can’t alter the Gospel or preach something different; if you do, you are not preaching the Gospel at all. Those outside of Christ, upon death or His return, will go to hell. Christians need to proclaim this message. Far too often, the message is altered or watered down to make people feel comfortable. As ambassadors of Christ, we have no right to change the Gospel to make those outside Christ feel good. As harsh as this may sound, it is the truth. Jesus is our example for this straightforward proclamation.
In the ministry of Jesus, we see that He never shies away from the tough topics. I want to look at a passage in the Scripture where Christ is teaching
'There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." - Luke 13:1-5
Repent or Perish, that is the message that the Messiah preached. That is the message that we need to preach as well. As preachers, our job is not to condemn but to faithfully preach the truth. We should not change or alter the message to get our point across. Just As Jesus preached this message and made His point clear, we, too, should proclaim confidently and make His point straightforward. Those outside of Christ, those who don’t repent, will perish.
As we focus on the ministry of Jesus, we see that repentance is a key topic. In the Gospel of Mark, we have Jesus preaching about repentance:
Mark 1:14-15 – 'Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
In this passage, Christ not only commands repentance, but He also commands belief. Belief in what? The Gospel. What then is the Gospel?
2 Corinthians 5:21 – 'He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.'
That is the Gospel message. Those in Christ have Christ as their substitute accepting the penalty due them for their sin. In this, Christ declares those in Him as righteous, but those outside are unrighteous and will face the Wrath of God. If you are reading this and don’t know Christ, repent and believe in the Gospel. To wait is to risk perishing without knowing Him as your Lord and Savior, resulting in condemnation.
Theological Digressions 