I have had some discussions lately about saying “hard things” to the lost when witnessing to them.  There are some that find this very difficult to do, but don’t we have a responsibility to do it?  How good is a physician who does not tell the truth to the patient, even when the news is bad?  In fact, isn’t it more compassionate and right to tell them the bad news?  For if they do not know the bad news and the cold hard facts, then how will they care or want to hear about the good news?  Knowing about a cure does not concern those who do not think they have a problem.  I know….. I see it all the time.  Telling the lost that God loves them doesn’t mean anything to them.  In fact, it always seems like a license for them to keep on sinning because God is loving and will forgive.

That is why I believe the facts such as judgment and hell need to be included in any gospel presentation.  Jesus certainly was not shy when it came to this.  He spoke of hell as the “fiery furnace”(Matt 13:42), “weeping and gnashing of teeth”(Luke 13:28), “outer darkness”(Matthew 25:30), “their worm that does not die”(Mark 9:48), “eternal punishment”(Matthew 25:46), and being”cut in pieces”(Matthew 24:51).  For when a lost person says that they don’t believe in hell, and deny that they have a problem, the fact of Jesus believing in it can be shared with them.  In fact, I think to be compassionate, we need to be very clear that hell is a real place according to Jesus, and is eternal.  And that in comparison to eternity, our lives are described now as a “vapor that appears for a little while and disappears”(James 4:14). 

Now, we can do this in a loving way.  In fact, is it not a loving thing to do in warning the lost of the eternal consequences of sin?  As the bible says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble(James 4:6), we can be biblical in our presentation of the fact of hell.  As it was with Jesus, and especially when confronting the religious people of the day, He was very harsh with the prideful types who thought their religious duties would please God enough to be found righteous in His sight.  Jesus makes it clear that no one is good other than God(Mark 10:18), and even all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags before Him(Isa 64:6), and no one is righteous(Rom 3:10).  But to those who are humble or repentant about their sins and their lost condition, we can be full of grace. 

When I was in Denver a couple of weeks ago, the first person I talked to was a Jehovahs Witness.  He denied the existence of hell and certainly was not concerned that he was in any eternal peril.  I told him that Jesus certainly believed in hell and explained how Jesus said that if your eye caused you to sin, you should remove it, as it would be better to be in heaven with one eye than in hell with both.  He was not concerned or impressed with anything I was saying, so I told him he knows the truth now and he will be held accountable when God judges him.  That we all “are to live once, then are appointed a day of judgment”(Heb 9), and he will be held accountable now that he knows the truth. I also shared with him that even though he might have a zeal for God, that it is without knowledge, and not knowing the righteousness of God, he was making a righteousness for himself(Romans 10).  He shook my hand and we parted ways.  I think it was the most loving thing to say to him.

Using the law in witnessing is an invaluable tool to make the gospel make sense to the lost.  But there are plenty of folks who do not agree with this and say it is unbiblical.  “The law is for the folks in the Old Testament, not the New”, they say.  Now, the idea of “law to the proud and grace to the humble” is not specifically spelled out in scripture, but it sure is alluded to a lot.  How about just these 2 scriptures?

Take Romans 3:19-20   Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

And 1 Timothy 1:8-12  Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,  in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

And how about these guys?

Now, the law is a good thing if used lawfully.  God can use what He wishes to save people, but the proclamation of the law is necessary to expose the lost as to what sin is.  For unless they understand what sin is, then how will they ever see their plight of being under the wrath of a holy God?

There is a radio ad running here in town that promotes a church with the preacher saying the bible’s purpose is for “life transformation”.  Now I certainly believe the bible can and does change lives, and is the best gospel tract out there.  But the way this issue is presented always bugged me, and I could never really figure out why.

A quote from Michael Horton’s new book, The Gospel Driven Life, may just clear that up for me.  I guess the idea of life transformation is ok, but the focus should be on God, not on us.  Maybe the focus on the reader plays well to our world today, but we should focus on the author instead.  A quote from the book………

The Bible is not a collection of timeless principles offering a gentle thought for the day.  It is not a resource for our self-improvement.  Rather, it is a dramatic story that unfolds from promise to fulfillment, with Christ at the center.  Its focus is God and his action. God is not a supporting actor in our drama; it is the other way around.  God does not exist to make sure that we are happy and fulfilled.  Rather, we exist to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.  God is not a facilitator of our ‘life transformation’ projects.  He is not a life coach.  Rather, he is our Creator, Lawgiver, Judge, and Covenant Lord. (Michael Horton, The Gospel Driven Life), p. 26

Spent my day in downtown Denver sharing the good news of the gospel.  What a beautiful day and tons of people hanging out.  Great day for “fishing”.

Talked to many folks.  One of the first was a guy that kept talking about Jehovah.  When I finally got him to reveal the version of the bible in his bag…the New World translation, then we got to get to the reason for his self righteousness………..he was a Jehovahs Witness.  I am not sure why I keep running into these guys, but it seems that it happens all the time.  Anyway, I shared the gospel and refered to Romans 10, about having zeal without knowledge, and not knowing the righteousness of God and depending on his own righteousness.  I told him that he knows the truth now and will be held accountable when standing before God. 

There was also a huge crowd around the bus stop and I handed out tracts and everyone was asking me what they were about.  Then I took out a $5 bill and told everyone that I would give it to anyone that could prove they were good.  I had throngs of folks wanting to prove it, so I picked Sara out of the group.  When I got done presenting the gospel, I gave Sara the $5, even though she wasn’t “good”, and explained that even though we were sinners, Christ died for us.  And I also explained that she still had to take the $5, even though it was hers.  The crowd was into it.

Talked to a couple of teenagers also that hung on every word of the gospel.   Maybe they were the real reason I was out there. 

Thanks for your prayers