The Message
by John Duncan
As we begin to preach and people gather, we usually begin with the fear
of the Lord. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Prov
9:10)
If one is to see his need of a Savior, the cross, and forgiveness, he
must first be exposed to the light of his personal guilt before a loving
God. We must work with the Holy Spirit, who has come to reprove the world
of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
When our hearers begin to become aware of their moral crimes against
God, then we share about forgiveness, the cross, and the Savior Jesus.
Jesus warns us to "give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before swine." (Matt 7:6).
Preaching the law to precede the Gospel has been, throughout church
history, one doctrine that has been agreed upon by both Calvinists and
Armenians until recent years, when we adopted the sloppy-agape,
sin-excusing- greasy-grace.
Our new modern methods yield a 80% - 90% fall away rate within the
first year. If the law precedes the gospel, we may have less responding to
a call of salvation, but of the ones who do, as in Finney's day, 80%
remain faithful and full of zeal to the Lord.
David said that the law (not love, not grace) is perfect in converting
the soul (Ps 19:7). Paul said that the law was our schoolmaster and
brought the knowledge of sin (Gal 3:24, Rom 3:20). In our fears of
legalism we have fallen into the perils of
Antinomianism.
When going to a (good) doctor, one always receives a diagnosis and a
prognosis before he receives the antidote. Yet, many times today, we
simply want to shove the antidote down peoples' throat who don't
understand their need for Jesus. The result is a generation of spiritual
miscarriages and premature spiritual babies, who left the womb of
conviction too soon.
What the law does is show the standard of God and how the individual
has fallen short. His conscience affirms his guilt, shame, and remorse for
his sin; he sees his prognosis if he doesn't repent and entrust his life
to Christ: Eternal hell fire.
See, when people have a great understanding of their need for
something, they are more likely to hold on to it for dear life. Yet, when
we offer Jesus as a means to happiness and the new convert finds
persecutions, trials and temptations (which are promised), he feels
cheated and deceived.
Ray Comfort wrote two great books expounding on this: Hell's Best Kept
Secret and The Ultimate Deception, which I would highly recommend to all
interested in leading someone to Christ. Actor Kirk Cameron has
helped to make these teachings popular. We have made Ray Comfort's
materials available here for your convenience:
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