The Forgotten Key to
Biblical Evangelism
The Law of God[1]
By Pastor Matt Black
28 August 2005
Sunday School
I Timothy 1:9-10
I Timothy 1:9-10, “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but
for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for
unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for
manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for
them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for
perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound
doctrine”
“The Law is also very useful, because it shows us our
defections and stains. It is like the
looking-glass which my lady holds up to her face, that she may see if there be
any spot on it. But she cannot wash her
face with the looking-glass. When the
mirror has done its utmost then there are the same stains. It cannot take away a single spot, it can
only show where one is. And the Law,
though it reveals our sin, our shortcomings, our transgressions, it cannot
remove the sin or the transgression. It
is weak for that purpose, because it was never intended to accomplish such an
end.”
CHARLES SPURGEON
The purpose of the Law is to revive the reality and presence of sin in
all humanity—to make it obvious, to reveal and show it to every man, so that
they will see the absolute necessity of coming to Christ! This key has been lost in our day!!
Charles Spurgeon, called the Prince of Preachers, also stated, “I do not
believe that any man can preach the Gospel who
does not preach the Law. The Law is the needle, and you cannot draw the silken
thread of the Gospel through a man’s heart unless you first send the needle of
the Law to make way for it.”
Introduction: This
teaching is critically important. To be properly instructed in how to
effectively reach the lost with the gospel, you must begin with the
biblical foundation for evangelism. Listen to what I say very thoughtfully.
Don’t let anything distract you as you discover what Charles Spurgeon
called “our ablest auxiliary”—that is, our most powerful weapon.
“I’m just as good as the next
guy!!”
A Christian, by himself, isn’t
good. Jesus said that God alone is good. The only “goodness,” or righteousness,
that the believer has comes from Jesus Christ
·
2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.”
·
Philippians 3:9, “And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith.”
The Gospel is NOT about happiness, it is
about righteousness!
The unbeliever, even though it is
obvious that he is not good, still proclaims his own righteousness.
·
Proverbs 20:6, “Most
men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can
find?”
The Bible tells us that, without Christ,
man is corrupt and filthy.
·
Psalm 14:3, “They are all gone aside,
they are all together become filthy: there is none that
doeth good, no, not one.” (See also
Romans 3:10-12)
·
Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
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H |
ave you ever thought, “There must be a
key to reaching the lost”? There is—and it’s rusty through lack of use. The
Bible does actually call it “the key,” and its purpose is to bring us to
Christ, to unlock the Door of the Savior
·
John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if
any man enter in, he shall be saved.”
Not only is it biblical, but it was used
throughout church history to unlock the doors of revival. Much of the church
today doesn’t even know it exists. The problem is that it was lost around the
turn of the twentieth century. Keys have a way of getting lost. Jesus used it when he spoke to the Samaritan
woman at the water well. Remember He
reminded her of the seventh commandment (“Thou shalt not commit adultery”
[Exodus 20:14]) when He said:
·
John 4:18, “Thou hast had five
husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that sadist thou
truly.”
And remember what Jesus told the rich young ruler?
·
Matthew 19:17, “And he
[the Lord Jesus] said unto him [the rich young ruler], Why
callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou
wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Christ was constantly using the Law to
show the sinfulness of men.
Paul used the Law of God
constantly. He called it the Main
Teacher or the Master of the School that brings us to the knowledge of
Christ. The reason is clear—the Law
cannot justify us, just like a mirror cannot fix your blemishes. We must be justified by faith in Christ!
·
Galatians 3:24,
“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith.”
Do you understand now that
there is a false Gospel being preached today.
It is the “Prosperity Gospel.” This is the Gospel that says, God loves you
so much, He wants to make you happy; He wants to give you peace, happiness, and
joy in your life. This is a false
Gospel. Let me give you two examples of
how this Gospel does not work, and then we will look at two Scripture passages.
EXAMPLE 1: RICH GUY
EXAMPLE 2: SEPTEMBER 10TH
EVANGELISM
·
Romans 3:19-20, “Now we
know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the
law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before
God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is
the knowledge of sin.”
·
James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
Steven used the Law
when he preached before the Jewish leaders before he was martyred.
·
Acts 7:53, “Who have received the
law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”
Peter found that it
had been used to open the door to release 3,000 imprisoned souls on the Day of
Pentecost.
·
Acts 2:38-19, “Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Jesus said to the
Jewish lawyers:
·
Luke 11:52, “Woe unto you, lawyers!
for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in
yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
The key of knowledge is that key that
unlocks the knowledge of our sinfulness.
The Pharisees didn’t take it
away; instead, they bent it out of shape so that it wouldn’t do its work
·
Mark 7:8, “For laying aside the
commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots
and cups: and many other such like things ye do.”
·
Isaiah 42:21, “He LORD is well pleased
for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it
honourable”
Satan has tried to prejudice the modern
church against the key. He has maligned it, misused it, twisted it, and, of
course, hidden it—he hates it.
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I |
In Acts 28:23 the Bible tells us that Paul
sought to persuade his hearers “concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses,
and out of the prophets.”
·
Acts 28:23-29 “And when
they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom
he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till
evening. 24 And some believed the things
which were spoken, and some believed not. 25
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that
Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto
our fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this
people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye
shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the
heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear
with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and
I should heal them. 28 Be it known
therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and
that they will hear it. 29 And when he
had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among
themselves.
Here are two effective means of persuading
the unsaved “concerning Jesus.” Let’s first look at how the prophets can help
persuade sinners concerning Jesus. Fulfilled prophecy proves the
inspiration of Scripture. The predictions of the prophets present a powerful
case for the inspiration of the Bible. Any skeptic who reads the prophetic
words of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, etc., or the words of Jesus in Matthew 24
cannot help but be challenged that this is no ordinary book.
The other means by which Paul persuaded
sinners concerning Jesus was “out of the law of Moses.” The Bible tells us that
the Law of Moses is good if it is used lawfully.
·
I Timothy 1:8, “But we
know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.”
What is the purpose of the Law? The following verses give us that answer.
·
I Timothy 1:9-10, “Knowing
this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and
disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for
murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile
themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and
if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine”
The Law was designed primarily as an
evangelistic tool. Paul wrote
·
Romans 7:7, “I had not known lust,
except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
The Law of God (the Ten Commandments) is
evidently the “key of knowledge” that Jesus mentioned in Luke 11:52. He was
speaking to lawyers—those who should have been teaching God’s Law so that sinners
would receive the “knowledge of sin,” and thus recognize their need of the Savior.
Prophecy speaks to the intellect of
the sinner, while the Law speaks to the conscience. One produces faith
in the Word of God; the other brings knowledge of sin in the heart
of the sinner. The Law is the God-given “key” to unlock the Door of salvation.
The Bible says in the Psalms:
·
Psalm 19:7, “The law of the LORD is
perfect, converting the soul.”
Scripture makes it very clear that it is
the Law that actually converts the soul. To illustrate the function of God’s
Law, let’s look for a moment at civil law. Imagine if I said to you, “I’ve got
some good news for you: someone has just paid a $25,000 speeding fine on your behalf.”You’d
probably react by saying, “What are you talking about? That’s not good news—it
doesn’t make sense. I don’t have a $25,000 speeding fine.” My good news
wouldn’t be good news to you; it would seem foolishness. But more than that, it
would be offensive to you, because I’m insinuating you’ve broken the law when
you don’t think you have. However, if I put it this way, it may make more
sense: “While you were out today, the law clocked you going 55 miles an hour
through an area set aside for a blind children’s convention. There were ten
clear warning signs stating that fifteen miles an hour was the maximum speed,
but you went straight through at 55 miles an hour. What you did was extremely
dangerous; there’s a $25,000 fine. The law was about to take its course, when
someone you don’t even know stepped in and paid the fine
for you. You are very fortunate.”
Can you see that telling you precisely
what you’ve done wrong first actually enables the good news to make sense? If I
don’t clearly bring understanding that you’ve violated the law, then the good
news will seem foolishness and offensive. But once you understand that you’ve
broken the law, then that good news will become good news indeed. In the same
way, if I approach an impenitent sinner and say, “Jesus Christ died on the
cross for your sins,” it will be foolishness and offensive to him. It will be
foolishness because it won’t make sense. The Bible says that “the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:18). And
it will be offensive because I’m insinuating he’s a sinner when he doesn’t
think he is. As far as he’s concerned, there are a lot of people far worse than
him. But if I take the time to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it may make
more sense. If I open up the divine Law, the Ten Commandments, and show the
sinner precisely what he’s done wrong —that he has offended God by violating
His Law—then when he becomes “convinced of the law as a transgressor” (James
2:9), the good news of the fine being paid will not be foolishness. It will not
be offensive. It will be “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans
1:16). With that in mind, let’s look at some of the functions of God’s Law for
humanity. Romans 3:19 says, “Now we know that whatsoever things the law
says, it says to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and
all the world may become guilty before God.” So one function of God’s Law
is to stop the mouth, to keep sinners from justifying themselves by saying,
“There are plenty of people worse than me. I’m not a bad person, really.” No,
the law stops the mouth of justification and leaves, not just the Jews, but the
whole world guilty before God. In Romans 3:20 we read, “Therefore by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law
is the knowledge of sin.” So God’s Law tells us what sin is. First John 3:4
says, “Sin is transgression of the law.” In Galatians 3:24 we learn that
God’s Law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Jesus Christ that we might be
justified through faith in His blood.
·
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
The Law doesn’t help us; it just leaves
us helpless. It doesn’t justify us; it just leaves us guilty before the
judgment bar of a holy God.