Should We Preach Healing, Not Hellfire, Based on Romans 2:4?

Romans 2:4:
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

There is no question that we should proclaim the works of God widely so that people can see how good He is.  Jesus drew crowds based on the healing miracles that He did.  However, even Jesus warned people about hell on several occasions.  Healing miracles still draw attention to the gospel.  We are to present the full gospel, including healing, to everyone we can.

However, there are two problems with the idea that we should “preach healing, not hellfire.”

The first is that the early believers preached CHRIST, not just what Christ can do for you, such as heal your body.  For example:

Acts 8:5:
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Signs and wonders confirm the gospel, they are not the gospel.  The gospel’s central message is Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, which provided forgiveness of sins and the ability to be born again, escape hell and enjoy a great number of new covenant blessings.

The gospel also INCLUDES healing for your body and soul, but it would be a mistake to only focus on preaching healing while people are going to hell because they don’t know how to be born again.

The second problem is that in an attempt to make the gospel attractive to sinners, we can make the mistake of neglecting to mention hell.  Jesus had plenty to say about hell, and He actually preached on hell more than on heaven.  This is the same Jesus who demonstrated God’s goodness by healing the sick.  Trying to be more “seeker-friendly” than Jesus is obviously a mistake.

Some people need to hear about God’s goodness, while others need to be warned to avoid hell.  I was in the second category.  People would tell me how wonderful it was to know Jesus, and I would think, “That’s great, you and Jesus have a good time and leave me alone!”  It was only when I realized that I would suffer forever in hell if I did not receive forgiveness of sins that I got serious about Jesus.

Jude even talks about these two types of people and the need to minister differently to them:

Jude 22-23:
And of some have compassion, making a difference:
And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Watering down the gospel by never mentioning hell is unbiblical and may result in some people never getting saved!  Healing and hellfire are both biblical concepts and we need to preach both.  We should be led by the Spirit which to major on with which specific people.