Any attempts made by churches or youth ministries to scare people into the arms of Jesus under the threat of Hell are counterproductive.
Yesterday in Sunday school, we were reading the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18.
You probably remember the story. A King decides to settle accounts with all of his servants. The first to be called owes a huge debt. Under the threat of being sold into slavery along with his wife and children, he begs for more time. The King does one better and completely erases the debt.
But then the story takes a dark turn when that same servant finds a co-worker who owes him a tiny sum of money. He chokes the guy, ignores his pleas for mercy, and throws him into debtor's prison.
When news gets back to the King, that 1st servant is reprimanded for not practicing forgiveness after being forgiven so much by the King, and then his is thrown into prison himself until he paid back every penny he owed.
It occurred to me as our class reread this familiar story that the first servant didn't take his debt seriously - only the danger of punishment. He knew he was guilty, and the knowledge of his own guilt inspired nothing more than a fear of the repercussions.
When his punishment was canceled, he was left unchanged. He hadn't come to terms with the depth of his sin, and so he was not forgiving toward others.
As a result, the very punishment he thought he had escaped, he brought upon his own head with a vengeance.
It is bound to be the same today whenever people turn to Christ only to escape hell.
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