It is surely true to say that unless one has a true understanding of sin he will never really understand salvation. Indeed, he will never understand the need for salvation until he realises that man by nature is spiritually dead.
Take it the other way. If a sinner does not realise his need of salvation, it is because he has not understood the nature and effects of sin in his heart. Or, if he does not see that he is spiritually dead, he will not appreciate what salvation is or what it can do for the spiritually dead sinner.
This explains the reason why defective evangelism is being conducted in the name of Christianity. It is so glib, so superficial, so inane. It has degenerated into a farce with evangelists doing his comedians stunt before preaching with a view to conditioning the congregation to receive the Gospel message. Entertainment is used to soften people up, or to win their confidence, or to prepare them for the Gospel.
But these ploys are resorted to because of a fundamental flaw in their theological understanding of the Gospel message. Were they to believe with Paul that unconverted sinners are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph.2:1), they would depend totally upon God the Holy Spirit to do His sovereign saving work in the sinner's heart. Until he grasps the fact that the unconverted sinner is governed by this world and its thinking; and until he sees that his life is governed by the principle of evil that is working in this world and which in turn is governed by the "prince of the power of the air," his evangelism will be flawed.
Preachers must grasp the reality of what it is they are dealing with when they evangelise. What they ought to be seeking God for is a spiritual resurrection in those to whom they preached the good news. This is essential basic understanding that will determine our approach to evangelism, as well as enabling us to understand why the world is as it is today.
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