I once saw a business card that referred to the “jelly bean gospel.”  Using the color of four jelly beans, the “plan of salvation” on this card went something like this.

Black is for sin.  There is little room for disagreement here because sin is so ugly it cost Jesus His life on the cross (Jn. 3:16).

Red represents Jesus’ blood shed on the cross.  Jesus did die, His death was designed to justify man from sin (Rom. 5:9), so using the color of red to symbolize this act is certainly not objectionable.

Purple is for a sad heart.  Sadness is involved with become a Christian (2 Cor. 7:10), but sadness is not enough.  On the Day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, some were certainly sad (Acts 2:37), but Peter said they needed to “repent” (verse 38).  Repentance is a turning from what is wrong and embracing what is right (i.e. turning to and following God’s will).

Blue was the other key color on this card and this was said to represent the “personal faith in Jesus Christ that results in salvation.”  Or, as another has said, “Blue is the way you stand up and say, Jesus washed my sins away.”

Blue could stand for faith because faith is absolutely necessary (Heb. 11:6), but blue could also represent baptism.  There was no mention of baptism on the card I saw, but there are numerous passages in the Bible that say God requires baptism for salvation.  Jesus said we must believe AND be baptized (Mk. 16:16) to be saved.  Peter said baptism “now saves us” (1 Pet. 3:21).  Paul said baptism puts us “into Christ” (Gal. 3:27), the place where salvation is located (2 Tim. 2:10).  Sins are “washed away” (Acts 22:16) and “remitted” by being baptized (Acts 2:38).

Whether you use jelly beans or something else to teach people about Christianity, be sure to inform those you know about the need for “faith” (Jn. 8:24), “repentance” (Lk. 13:3), “confession” (1 Tim. 6:12), and being “buried with Christ in baptism” (Rom. 6:1-3) so they can have a “new life” (Rom. 6:4).

–Brad Price
www.abiblecommentary.com