I recently found myself in a discussion with a friend about the theology of popular writer, Rob Bell. I was enthusing over the creativity of his Nooma videos and how effectively they present aspects of the Christian faith to the cynical and skeptical among us. My friend’s tightening smile let me know that he did not share my excitement about Bell or his message. When I asked why, he said he was frustrated with Bell’s unwillingness to share “the whole gospel.” He was concerned that sin and wrath and judgment were being short-changed in Bell’s attempt to emphasize God’s love and acceptance.

His concern got me to thinking about the ways we present the gospel. Some of us emphasize the love of God as the starting point, and others focus on sin and repentance. My limited personal (and granted, anecdotal) experience has led me to see that the vast majority of non-believers in our culture don’t really resonate or identify with a presentation that begins with the realization our sinful state and are much more likely to pay attention and be moved by a message that emphasizes grace. Maybe that is just a quirk of our time and culture, but it seems to be a reality, especially among the young.

Perhaps it might be helpful to think of the gospel message as a tapestry. A tapestry can be very beautiful when viewed from the front, a picture or design that emerges from many separate strands threaded together. However, viewed from the back a tapestry usually looks like a riot of random threads. It is not attractive and it is not likely you’d ever hang a tapestry with its backside showing. So it is that the gospel has two sides—a side which is beautiful and immediately appealing (grace, love, forgiveness) and a side that is less appealing (recognition of our sinful state, judgment upon sin, and some the thorny paradoxes that are part of some key doctrines). This side is what is sometimes termed “the offense of the gospel.”

If we present this less-appealing side to the unbelieving world as their first glimpse of the “good news,” then it should not be surprising if they remain unbelieving. Is it not better to begin by holding up the beauty of the attractive side and letting the seeker understand the power and beauty of Jesus’ message before we get into all the stuff that may be harder for them to accept? For here is the secret…the “ugly” truths of the gospel look much less ugly once you have fully understood the power of the “beautiful” truths. Once someone has truly grasped God’s love and mercy and grace it is easier for them to really understand the ugliness of sin. Once their eyes have taken in the beauty of the tapestry of the gospel, only then are they really prepared to view it from the back and able to fully appreciate all the ugly truth that makes the beautiful truth possible. The offense of the gospel is less offensive when we understand the gracious side of the story.

So yes, there is a time to talk about sin and judgment, but perhaps it is not a bad idea to first share the astonishing love of God which is what really sets the context for understanding the rest of the gospel message.