Heaven vs. Hell is OK

I found myself discussing a relatively popular objection to "confrontational" evangelism with Tyson today. Some feel that reducing the evangelistic encounter to a question of heaven or hell distracts the attention from the centrality of God Himself and instead concentrates excessively on the individual and his personal comfort. One can certainly understand the motivation. The presentation of the preeminant Christ is of great importance, and it may seem compelling to avoid concentrating too concretely on anything else.

So... is it acceptable to preach the Gospel in terms of "heaven vs. hell"? Well, where is the scripture on this? I wanted to do a quick survey of one-to-one evangelistic encounters in scripture, and see what the typical picture is in the Bible:

Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16) -- "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Jesus goes along with his query, and even tells him (academically of course) that it is by keeping the law. This is done to show that the ruler's pet sin of coveteousness will condemn him.

Nicodemus (John 3) -- "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God is the eternal, heavenly kingdom. Nicodemus is to consider how he can get there. What ensues is a contrast between those who are condemned and those who receive eternal life.

Woman at the Well (John 4) -- Here, Jesus uses a concrete transition from well-water to living water as a symbol for eternal life (explicitly in verse 14). The acquisition of eternal life was the gateway to this conversation which concludes with a hard-hitting rebuke concerning her adultery and postmodernism.

Philippian Jailor (Acts 16) -- Prompted by the events surrounding the earthquake, the jailor's introductory question: What must I do to be saved? It is final, eternal salvation that is the focus of the conversation -- and it's apparently a valid central concern for the jailor.

Felix (Acts 24:25) -- The three topics of discussion were righteousness, temperance, and judgment. The discussion was of the eternal state, evidently concentrated on Hell and final things.

Some Counter-Examples
In some cases, this is not the primary focus of discussion. Philip preaches Christ as the Lamb of God to the Eunuch (Acts 8) and Paul affirms the resurrection and preaches contrition and repentance to Agrippa (Acts 26). Further, some of the open air preaching examples are not focused on an individual's afterlife, such as Pentecost.

Conclusion
It is not necessary to show that the biblical examples all support a "heaven vs. hell" or "reward vs. judgment" approach to the evangelistic conversation. It is sufficient however, to show, that it is acceptable to use these as a focal point with a lost person. We should feel no shame when accused of distracting from the centrality of Christ.

Ultimately, the centrality of Christ is that the death, burial, and resurrection (the Gospel itself) is for the very purpose of setting Him forth as a propitiation for our sins to allow for reconciliation. The eternal aspect of this work of Christ is the most concrete, accessible, and farthest-reaching consequence of our response to the Gospel.

It is strongly biblical to entertain an individual's query about how to get to heaven (the rich young ruler), and also to lead off with the importance of obtaining eternal life (woman at the well). The essentials of the Gospel include all these things, and escape from judgment is at the heart of the Good News.

Caveats
It is important to note that in no case is a positivistic presentation made without clarity about the negative. Heaven is not presented as a target without discussion of judgment. Even the Philippian Jailor is clearly shaken and contrite, requiring the briefest presentation (we also don't know what he heard in the hymns prior).

The error of easy believism is not in asking whether someone expects to be in heaven, or what it takes to get eternal life -- it is in baiting someone with the chance to easily and quickly make sure of it right away, without even understanding the Gospel. Quick prayerists say, "Would you like to make sure of heaven right now with this simple prayer?" A non-prayerist says, "What does it take to get to heaven?"