In the computer game Sim City along with many role playing games you can create a second identity and fake world that fits the way you think things should be. I believe that many people want a Sim Gospel. They want to have all the benefits that they think God can give them, such as love, security, meaning, and hope for the future without the perceived negatives such as sin, submission, wrath, repentance, obedience, etc.
This creates a real danger when sharing with others about Jesus that we fail to share the whole gospel, because some of the gospel is going to make people feel uncomfortable and that in turn makes us feel uncomfortable. Most people do not want to hear about their sin problem and the need for them to repent before a holy God. I know repentance does not make me feel good initially. It is generally easier to believe that the problems in my life and the world around me are the fault of circumstances beyond my control or are cause primarily by someone else's wrong doing.
Also God's wrath and eternal judgment are hard ideas to discuss, but they are true parts of the gospel because that is how serious sin is. We really have rejected God and the good, and unless we repent we will face God's wrath. Now the gospel is good news in that God does not want us to face this wrath and does want the best for us, which means coming into relationship with Him, but we have to understand the negative about ourselves and our condition to truly understand what God is offering.
I have been guilty of sharing a Sim gospel with people and I believe I know some people who have accepted a Sim gospel. These people's lives tend not to be transformed and they fail to become like Jesus because they have never truly repented and submitted their lives to Him. They liked the idea that Jesus loves them unconditionally, but they have never really recognized that their condition without Jesus is truly awful, so they have never wept over their own sin and come to the cross in true repentance.
Recently as I have tried to be more careful in sharing the complete gospel with people I am noticing the resistance to the negative parts. I am getting push back but I have noticed it is not intellectual doubts that are the problem, rather there seems to be an emotional/spiritual barrier. I think this is what scripture means when it talks about the eyes of unbelievers having scales on them. It is not a problem of intelligence or information, rather it is a problem of the will.
My response is to continue to love people so that they can see God's love in action, continue to share the whole gospel, and then pray that the Holy Spirit will break down the barrier so that they can see that God truly is good.
Have you accepted the true gospel or do have you rejected the parts that seem uncomfortable to you? If you have accepted the true gospel, do you share it with others or perhaps do you only share those parts that seem good to others? In the long run we are not doing anyone any good if we let them think that they can have a relationship with God without repenting of their sin and submitting to God.
