When Good People Don’t Need Jesus

“I’m a good person. I don’t need saving.”

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. One particularly memorable encounter happened recently. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t defensive. He was simply stating what he believed to be an obvious fact—like telling me water is wet or the sky is blue.

These types of situations help me understand why 70% of young adults who attended church regularly in high school have walked away from the church. Many of them feel that the church is offering answers to a question they’re not asking.

It’s time we remember what has been forgotten, so we can get back to the REAL reason people need Jesus.

The Problem Most People Don’t Want to Talk About

It seems that a large number of Christians have spent decades trying to make the gospel more palatable. We lead with God’s love (which is real). We talk about purpose and meaning (which Christ provides). We promise better relationships and inner peace (which often follow).

But here’s what I’ve learned after twenty years of street evangelism: none of that matters to someone who thinks they’re already good enough. And it’s completely irrelevant to people who enjoy their life apart from Christ.

This week in our “Out of the Fire” class, I shared a method I’ve used since becoming a Christian—one that many find controversial but that addresses this exact problem. Check out my detailed review of Way of the Master here.

The Airplane Parachute That Changed Everything

Picture this: You’re on a flight, and someone hands you a parachute, promising it will “improve your flight experience.” You strap it on. It’s bulky. People stare. The flight attendant spills coffee on you because you can’t maneuver in your seat.

Frustrated, you rip it off. “So much for that promise,” you mutter.

Now imagine the same scenario, but this time they tell you: “The plane is going down in ten minutes. You’re going to have to jump. This will save your life.”

Suddenly, that coffee stain doesn’t matter. The stares don’t matter. You’re gripping that parachute like your life depends on it—because it does.

This illustration from Ray Comfort demonstrates how we ought to share the gospel. We’ve been handing people parachutes and promising comfort when we should be warning them about the jump.

The Most Difficult Conversation I Ever Had

Let me tell you about the hardest moment in my evangelism journey. A dying woman shared how her best friend—also dying—had poisoned her because she didn’t want to die alone.

Here was ultimate betrayal meeting ultimate tragedy. And through her tears, she kept saying, “I’m a good person. I don’t deserve this.”

My ministry partner and I faced a choice. Offer comfort only? Or share the full truth?

We gently used God’s law to help her see that even in her tragedy, she—like all of us—had sinned against a holy God. Two days later, she called. She believed. She died shortly after, saved not because we made her feel better about her circumstances, but because she finally understood her need for a Savior.

The Three-Step Method That Changes Conversations

This approach can be distilled to three principles:

1. Bypass Intellectual Smokescreens
When someone pivots to evolution, church scandals, or philosophical objections, acknowledge briefly, then redirect: “That’s worth discussing, but can I ask you something? Have you ever told a lie?” It’s possibly to bypass intellectual arguments and speak directly to their conscience.

2. Diagnose Before You Prescribe
Nobody takes chemotherapy without a cancer diagnosis. Yet we try to give people the cure (Jesus) without helping them understand the disease (sin).

3. Match Your Message to Their Heart
Law for the proud. Grace for the humble. I once spent an hour going through commandment after commandment with someone who kept insisting God would be “too harsh” to judge them. They weren’t ready for grace because they didn’t see their need. Unless and until someone is humbled by their sin, they won’t appreciate the offer of salvation in Christ.

Why Modern Christians Hate This (And Why That’s a Problem)

Today, many people think the law is “dirty” or “old covenant stuff we’ve moved past.” This is true even for some Christians who ought to know better.

Paul said the law is “holy, righteous, and good” (Romans 7:12). He said we don’t nullify the law through faith—we establish it (Romans 3:31). The law is God’s gift to show us our need for Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Yet we’ve become so afraid of seeming “judgmental” that we’ve abandoned one of God’s primary evangelism tools.

The Shocking Statistics That Prove Something’s Wrong

• 1972: 92% of Americans identified as Christian
• 2020: 64%
• Projection for 2070: Less than 50%

Even more alarming: During COVID, for the first time ever, more churches closed than opened. And 70% of young adults who attended church in high school have completely stopped attending.

Maybe—just maybe—it’s because we’ve been offering them a parachute for comfort instead of survival. Many people who have been offered a perverted gospel message realize that they can actually be more comfortable if they simply take the parachute off.

A Challenge from an Unlikely Source

Penn Jillette, the famous atheist magician, once said something profound:

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize… If you believe there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell… how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?”

An atheist understands the stakes better than many Christians.

Your Next Conversation

The next time someone tells you they’re a “pretty good person,” you don’t need to panic. You don’t need a theology degree. You just need to know how to ask a few questions:

• “Have you ever told a lie?”
• “Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours?”
• “Jesus said if you look with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart. Have you ever done that?”

Let their own answers do the work. The law is a mirror—it shows us what we really look like before a holy God.

The Bottom Line

For twenty years, I’ve watched this method open more doors, break down more barriers, and lead to more genuine conversions than any other approach I’ve tried. Not because it’s clever. Not because it’s manipulative. But because it’s biblical.

The law doesn’t save anyone. But it shows us why we desperately need Someone who can.

Ready to go deeper? Watch the full video teaching from this week’s class below.

Because in a world full of “good people” who don’t think they need Jesus, we need Christians bold enough to lovingly show them the truth.

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