Share the bad news of the Gospel.

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” (John 4:16-18 ESV)

Here is a lesson for us in evangelism. Jesus is confronting the woman at the well with his knowledge of her sin. Before he tells her the good news of how she can be saved from her sin, she must be convinced of the bad news that she is a sinner in danger of suffering the wrath of God.

It is common these days for Christians to be timid in speaking to others about sin. We don't wish to offend, so we don't talk about it. But no one will accept a Savior until he is convinced he needs one, and this won't happen if he is not aware of his lost condition due to his sin. We must be willing, with love, to explain the existence and danger of sin to those who are lost. Only then will the good news of the Gospel make sense: Jesus suffered the punishment we deserve so we can enter an eternal life we don't deserve.