Part two
of Four:
How to Help Unbelievers Realize They are Sinners and Need A Savior
How to Help Unbelievers Realize They are Sinners and Need A Savior
In my
previous blog article, I suggested that the largest percentage of people we
engage in evangelistic/apologetic conservations will most likely be people
who think of salvation as being achieved
according to their behavior, especially how they compare with “really bad
people” (rapists, murderers, drug dealers, child abusers, etc.). In other
words, God will accept people into heaven on the basis of “how good” they are.
This assumption is true not only for followers of non-Christian religions—which
always stress some form of “works righteous” salvation—but also for people with
no particular religious affiliations at all. In fact I went a step further and
suggested that that even people who raise apologetic issues for why they reject
Christianity often assume that God will welcome them into heaven in spite of
their doubts and skepticism. Why?
Because, again, they are basically “good” and “decent” people.
We have
already looked at two of the four approaches to evangelism: Part one introduced
this series, part two focused on sharing the gospel and part three focused on
lifestyle evangelism. Part four, the present article, deals with applying
“law,” and part five will explain how and when to use apologetics. Actually,
Jesus engaged in all four approaches. Lifestyle evangelism is obvious; Jesus’
entire life and ministry was the quintessence of lifestyle evangelism. This is
so self-evident we don’t need to pursue it further. And of course Jesus shared
the Gospel, and one example is particularly relevant because it illustrates why
He chose gospel rather than law or apologetics.
When we witness to someone who believes in God; knows they are a sinner whose lifestyle is unacceptable to God (and themselves); who craves change; and yearns to experience God’s love, acceptance, and forgiveness—we do not need to apply law (demonstrate they are sinners in need of a Savior) or apologetics (remove intellectual obstacles). Rather we share the Gospel; we explain that everything he or she desires is theirs as a free gift from Jesus Christ. In these occasions, it’s obvious that God has prepared the person’s heart and mind to hear and receive the Gospel message (e.g. Acts 16:14; 1Cor. 3:5-6; 12:3, and many other passages).
John 4:3-16
recounts the story of Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman. This woman had been
married five times and was living with yet another man (v. 17-18). How did
Jesus deal with her? Did He directly condemn her sexual sins and therefore her
failure to obey the law? No. She knew she was a sinner (v. 29). Did Jesus use
apologetics to defend His messiahship? No. When He claimed to be the Messiah in
verse 25-26, the woman didn’t challenge Him. (I think it’s fascinating that
the first time the Bible relates that Jesus openly claimed to be the Messiah
was to a Samaritan!) Instead, Jesus
proclaimed the gospel. He offered the woman forgiveness—“living water” (v. 10,
13-14; cf 7:38-39). The Bible further records that many of the Samaritans
became believers because of the woman’s personal
testimony (v. 39) and Jesus’ preaching (v. 39-42).
But what
about the people were discussing in this and the next few blog articles? People
who think they are “good enough” to get into heaven on their own merits? With
these people, at least initially, we may have to apply “law.” And there is a perfect example of Jesus using
this approach. But before we look at this and then explore how to apply it
ourselves, we need to understand what is meant by “law” when used in the New
Testament sense.
In the Old
Testament, law is used in several ways. In particular, there were (1)
ceremonial laws (laws that concern Israel’s religious rituals), (2) civil laws
(used to maintain order and justice in Jewish society, and (3) moral laws (most
clearly articulated in the Ten Commandments). When we speak of “law” in terms
of evangelism, we are referring to moral laws. Jewish ceremonial and civil laws
are no longer applicable because Jesus did away with them when he fulfilled the
Old Testament law through His sinless life and perfect obedience to the law (Mt
5:17). On the other hand, moral laws still pertain today. How do we know?
Because nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus or the apostles endorse the
ceremonial or civil laws. In fact they condemn them, such as Jesus did on
several occasions about the Sabbath and Paul about circumcision. Moral laws, on
the other hand, were repeatedly
restated in the New Testament by both Jesus and the apostles (e.g. condemnation
of murder, adultery, lying, homosexuality, and so on.
Moral law,
then, is what God demands of us. In other words, if it were possible for people
to “go to heaven” on their own merits or so-called “good works,” moral law
tells them what they would have to do.
Gospel, on the other hand, as Christians know, is what God has done for us
because we are unable to fulfill the
law. It’s the free gift of grace, forgiveness, and salvation through the work
of Christ (e.g. Acts 13:38-39; Gal 2:16).
Now I know all this is fairly
elementary stuff for most Christian readers. But it’s the necessary groundwork
in order to fully understand how and why law is a valuable tool for evangelism
and apologetics. In my next blog article, we’ll see how Jesus applied law in
His own encounters with the people He evangelized, which will act as a guide
when we apply it ourselves.
* This and the
other blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and
may not be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in
print, without permission. But feel free to link this blog to your own website,
personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or email it to people who may
benefit from it. I explore the topic of this present series of articles more
fully in my book Engaging the Closed
Minded; Presenting Your Faith to the Confirmed Unbeliever (Kregel
Publications).
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