OK, Ken raised an interesting point yesterday, the fact that many people don’t see personal sin as a problem. That got me to thinking: are the good news only about forgiveness of sin? That is, are we being deceptive when we try to appeal to the felt needs that people have?

The articles that I write for our HopeForLife.org blog are intended to interest non-Christians in what God has to offer them. Sometimes I discuss sin and guilt, but I often address other topics. Those of us that write there write about hope, but it’s not just hope for forgiveness. We talk about things like peace during hard times, community, and purpose in life.

What do you think? Is evangelism mainly about convincing people that they are sinners and need God’s forgiveness? Or is it legitimate to address other felt needs that people have?

[Edit: Let me clarify that I don’t think Ken was advocating “turn or burn” evangelism or anything of the sort. His comment raised such issues in my mind.]