Focus on modern evangelical teaching has changed from God’s loss (coin, sheep, son) to man’s loss (hell). If the rebel is not recovered, God suffers loss. God saves the sinner not for the sinner’s sake but for His own. Paul said in Titus 2: that Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” John confirmed this in his first epistle: “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake” (1 John 2: 12).
We need to be frequently reminded that the universe does not revolve around us—our needs, our wants, our happiness, our eternal well-being. God is the true center of reality, and therefore of biblical concern—God’s glory, His prerogatives, His pleasure. Like all other things Christian, biblical salvation is God-centered, not man-centered. Participation in salvation requires a reorientation that is brought about by genuine repentance (which means a change of the mind)
It is evident that the gospel, as preached by Jesus and His apostles, had an entirely different focus from that which has become standard evangelistic fare in American evangelism. Modern presentations are commonly directed to the self-interest of the hearers (“ Come to Christ so you can escape from the punishment you deserve in hell”). By contrast, the biblical sermons appealed to God’s interests, namely, the crown rights of Christ and the duty of man to surrender, here and now, to His lordship and to become a part of His expanding kingdom. Primitive preaching focused on giving Christ the place that He deserves, rather than on sinners escaping from the place that they deserve.
Whatever value there may be in informing unbelievers about hell, it cannot be claimed that any particular view of the subject is central to the biblical message that the church has been commissioned to preach to the world. The gospel is the good tidings of the reign of the righteous King Jesus. The message that the church is commissioned to preach has never been about hell, but about Christ.