This blindness concerning sin is the chief cause of the almost universal rejection of the Gospel in our time. People who fail to recognize the horrible nature of sin decline to accept the sacrificial death of the Son of God for the reconciliation and redemption of this world of sinners. They consider His death completely unnecessary and, therefore, regard the story of the Gospel as a miserable fable.
It is, therefore, one of the most important requirements of a true, Gospel-oriented pastor that he know how to explain to his listeners the true nature of sin in terms that are loud and clear as they are terrible, drastic, and relevant. For without a real knowledge of what an awful thing sin is, a person cannot understand and accept the Gospel. As long as he is not alarmed that sin is his greatest enemy and the most awful horror living in him, he will not come to Christ.
It is, therefore, one of the most important requirements of a true, Gospel-oriented pastor that he know how to explain to his listeners the true nature of sin in terms that are loud and clear as they are terrible, drastic, and relevant. For without a real knowledge of what an awful thing sin is, a person cannot understand and accept the Gospel. As long as he is not alarmed that sin is his greatest enemy and the most awful horror living in him, he will not come to Christ.
C.F.W. Walther, Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible,
(trans. Christian C. Tiews; St Louis: Concordia, 2010), 362
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