Revival’s
Golden
Key
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Interactive Table of Contents
1. Phenomenal Growth
2. The Way Out of Problems
3. A Lifestyle Without a Life
4. The Purpose of the Law
5. Our Broken Backbone
6. The Key Was in the Folding
7. Mangled Bodies
8. Making Grace Amazing
9. From What Did They Flee?
10. The Motive and the Result
11. The True Test of Experience
12. The Badge of Authority
13. Don’t Leave Me Like This!
14. Call Me When You’re Mourning
15. An Angry God
16. The Mystery of the Fish
17. A Burden for the Lost
18. The Rich Man
19. Your Role in Witnessing
20. Raiders of the Contents of the
Lost Ark
About the Author What Must I Do to Be Saved?
Learning the Ten Commandments The Evidence Bible
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4
Lesson 1:
Phenomenal
Growth
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5
Problems in the Church
 1 in 4 of American “Christians” believe that
Jesus sinned while on the earth.
– They do not believe that Jesus “did not know
sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
– They do not believe that Jesus “in every respect
has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”
(Hebrews 4:15).
– They do not believe that Jesus “never
committed a sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).
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6
Problems in the Church
 10% are “normative Christianity.”
– They are more tolerant of people of diverse
backgrounds.
– They are involved in charitable activities.
– They are involved in practical Christianity.
– They are absolutely committed to prayer.
 90% are not “normative Christianity.”
 Their lives do not match their claims.
 They are not a “breed apart.”
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7
Problems in the Church
 There is “very little difference in behavior”
between the churched and the unchurched.
–
–
–
–
–
91% lie regularly at work or at home.
86% lie regularly to their parents.
75% lie regularly to friends.
92% own a Bible; but only 11% read it daily.
90% of Americans pray; but 87% do not
believe in the Ten Commandments.
– 61% believe premarital sex is not wrong.
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8
Problems in the Church
 Christian Teen Survey
– 42% watch MTV (vs.
33% of unchurched).
– 65% pray daily.
– 72% believe the Bible.
– 66% admitted lying to a parent or teacher.
– 65% admitted to having sexual intercourse.
– 55% admitted to cheating on an exam.
– 20% drink alcohol or have used illegal drugs.
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9
Making Excuses for the Problems
 There is a “lack of opportunity” to serve.
– Are there enough Sunday School teachers?
– Are there no sick and elderly?
– Are there no evangelism teams?
– What about the church building?
 A worldly heart craves only worldly desires.
– The proverb is true that describes what has
happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit.”
(2 Peter 2:22)
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10
Making Excuses for the Problems
 Judas had plenty of excuses:
– He was publicly humiliated by Jesus.
– He felt rejected.
– He needed the money.
– The chief priests made him do it.
– The responsibility was too much for him.
– He was abused as a child and lacked a father.
– He had a betrayal syndrome.
– He didn’t think about the repercussions.
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11
Making Excuses for the Problems
 Judas was not a believer; he was a devil.
– Jesus said that in John 6:70.
– That’s not something one of us would be likely
to say of one of “God’s children” in our midst.
 Judas was a hypocrite and a pretender.
– He had no idea who Jesus was.
– He complained that sacrifice was a waste.
– Jesus was worth 30 pieces of silver to him.
– Judas was a thief and a liar.
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12
The Parabolic Key to the Problem
 The Parable of the Sower
– This parable is the key to all of the parables.
– There are true and false conversions.
– Both conversions remain along side each other
in the church.
– Other parables follow the parable of the Sower:
•
•
•
•
The Wheat and Tares
The Good Fish and Bad Fish
The Wise Virgins and the Foolish Virgins
The Sheep and the Goats
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13
The Parabolic Key to the Problem
 The Parable of the Dragnet
– “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net
thrown into the sea that gathered all kinds of fish.
When it was full, the fishermen hauled it ashore. Then
they sat down, sorted the good fish into containers, and
threw the bad ones away. That is how it will be at the
end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the
evil from the righteous and will throw them into a
blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and
gnashing of teeth. Do you understand these things?”
They said to him, “Yes.” (Matthew 13:47-51)
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14
The Parabolic Key to the Problem
 Judas was a false convert.
 Judas was a thorny ground hearer.
– “...but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of
wealth, and the desires for other things come in and
choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop.”
 Some false converts stay in the Church.
 They can have a measure of spirituality.
– Judas seemed so trustworthy.
– No one suspected him of the betrayal.
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15
The Parabolic Key to the Problem
 We are surrounded by “Judas” Christians.
 We should be alarmed by the statistics we
have cited.
 We should be alarmed when the Church
ought to have massive clout in society, but
does not when (and where) it matters.
 Why is abortion still with us?
 Something is radically wrong.
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16
Lesson 2:
The Way
Out of
Problems
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17
The Modern Gospel Message
 The enemy has taken the focus off our
message.
 The true gospel is about righteousness.
– Sinners can be made righteous in Christ and
thereby escape the wrath to come.
 The modern gospel is about lifestyle.
– We can be happy in Christ and thereby escape
the hassles of this life.
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18
The Modern Gospel Message
 “Everyone is looking for a way out of their
problems. There’s no easy way out. You
won’t get respect by joining a gang. You
won’t find love in the back seat of a car.
You’ll never find success by dropping out of
school. And the chances are about one
million to one that you’ll win the lottery. If
you’re really serious about making your life
better, then try God’s way. God gets right to
the source of most of our problems: sin.”
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19
The Modern Gospel Message
 The modern gospel promises people “a way
out of their problems.”
– The modern gospel sounds admirable.
– The modern gospel sounds biblical.
– The modern gospel is not true.
 We are so entrenched in traditional
“evangelism” that we don’t equate real life
with the message we preach.
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20
The Modern Gospel Message
 God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life. He wants to give you true
happiness and to fill the God-shaped
vacuum in your heart that you’ve been
trying to fill with sex, drugs, alcohol, and
money. Jesus said, “I have come that you
might have life, and have it more
abundantly.” So come forward now and
give your life to Jesus, so that you can
experience this wonderful new life in
Christ.
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21
The Modern Gospel Message
 If “God loves you and has a wonderful plan
for your life” is our gospel, we’d better hide
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs from sinners.
 How would your loved ones respond to:
– “Everyone is seeking happiness. Why, then, are
more people not experiencing this happiness?
According to the Bible, true happiness can be
found only through God’s way.”
 What would they say to God’s “wonderful
plan” of persecution and martyrdom?
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22
The Reality of the True Gospel
 Multitudes have suffered martyrdom.
 Persecution should have been no surprise to
the early Church.
 Jesus warned them about what to expect.
– “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a
father his child; and children will rise up
against parents and cause them to be put to
death. And you will be hated by all men for My
name’s sake.” (Matthew 10:21,22)
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23
The Apostles Faced Persecution
 Philip was crucified in Phyrgia, 54 AD.
 Barnabas was burned to death in Cyprus,
64 AD.
 Peter was crucified in Rome, 69 AD.
 Paul was beheaded in Rome, 66 AD.
 Andrew was crucified in Achaia, 70 AD.
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24
The Apostles Faced Persecution
 Matthew was beheaded in Ethiopia, 60 AD.
 Luke was hanged in Athens, 93 AD.
 Thomas was speared to death in Calamina,
70 AD.
 Mark was dragged to death in Alexandria,
64 AD.
 James was clubbed to death in Jerusalem,
66 AD.
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25
The Godly Will Face Persecution
 Persecution has always been the portion of
the godly.
– Others were brutally tortured but refused to accept
release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even
chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death,
sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went
around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy,
oppressed, and mistreated. The world wasn’t worthy of
them. They wandered in deserts, mountains, caves, and
holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35-38)
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26
God’s Truly Wonderful Plan
 “And we know that he works all things
together for the good of those who love
God, who are called according to his
purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
 God’s plan is wonderful in the truest sense
of the word.
 No matter what happens to a Christian, he
can rejoice because of God’s promise.
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27
God’s Wonderful Plan?
 Why shouldn’t we use the “wonderful plan”
as bait when fishing for men?
 It is not biblical to do so.
– Nowhere in Acts do the apostles tell sinners that
“God loves them and has a wonderful plan for
their lives.”
– They are guilty criminals.
– They are enemies of God.
– They need righteousness.
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28
A Definition of “Wonderful”
 To a sinner, wonderful has positive
connotations. But…
– Beheadings are not wonderful.
– Executions are not wonderful.
– Persecutions are not wonderful.
 If people respond to a “wonderful plan”
gospel just to improve their lives, when
persecution comes, and it will, they will be
disillusioned and fall away from the faith.
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29
Embracing the Real Gospel
 Jesus did not tell Paul that he loved him and
had a wonderful plan for his life. He said:
– “For I am going to show him how much he
must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:16)
 Stephen was stoned to death.
 James was murdered with a sword.
 John the Baptist was beheaded.
 Christians throughout the ages have been
persecuted for the sake of the gospel.
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30
Embracing the Real Gospel
 Could it be that the “wonderful life” gospel
only applies to the United States?
 If persecution and hardship are the realities
of the Christian life, why in the world
would anyone in his right mind choose to
become a Christian?
 What would bring someone to the Savior if
it were not the promise of a “wonderful new
life” in Christ?
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31
Lesson 3:
A Lifestyle
Without a
Life
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32
Marks of Lawless Conversions
 They have no spiritual struggles.
 They are friends of the world.
 They “go with the flow” and not against it.
 They have no tribulation because they do
not live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
 They suffer no persecution.
 They are not hated for His name’ sake.
 They live in the flesh.
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Marks of Lawless Conversions
 They do not wrestle against the devil; he
would be pleased with what he sees.
 They have “found religion.”
–
–
–
–
They think they are “right with God.”
They joined the church.
They enjoy the music.
They partake of social activities at the church.
 They have found their “happiness.”
 They have not found new life in Christ.
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34
The Limits of the Lawless Gospel
 The “happiness gospel” restricts the harvest
to those in society who are interested only
in happiness, not righteousness:
–
–
–
–
Those with alcohol problems.
Those with drug problems.
Those with marriage problems.
Those with financial problems.
 “Problem” people don’t hear the message of
sin, righteousness and judgment.
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35
The Limits of the Lawless Gospel
 “Problem” people hear that Jesus is the One
who can fill the “God-shaped vacuum” in
their lives.
 They fail to repent because they have not
been told to do so.
 They have a false conversion.
 They do not become new creatures.
 They “name the name of Christ” but they do
not depart from iniquity (2 Tim 2:29).
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36
The Effect of the Lawless Gospel
 Lawless converts bring their sins and their
problems into the Church.
 Lawless converts wear out the pastor.
 Lawless converts are “hearers of the Word.”
 Lawless converts wear out the laborers.
 Lawless converts don’t need counselors and
propping up.
 Lawless converts need repentance.
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37
J. I. Packer on the Lawless Gospel
 “This is a complex phenomenon, to
which many factors have contributed;
but, if we go to the root of the matter,
we shall find that these perplexities
are all ultimately due to our having lost our grip
on the biblical gospel. Without realizing it, we
have during the past century bartered that gospel
for a substitute product which, though it looks
similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a
decidedly different thing. Hence our troubles.”
—J. I. Packer
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38
The Promise of the True Gospel
 The call of the gospel is universal.
 It is not confined to the unhappy people.
 The gospel is a promise of righteousness.
 The gospel is not a promise of happiness.
 The gospel may be offered to those who are
enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season.
 Happy people are not candidates for the
“modern gospel.”
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39
The Lie of the Lawless Gospel
 Many people fail to see the intention of the
true gospel: righteousness, not happiness.
 They think the gospel is only for:
– People who lack money.
– People who are brokenhearted by difficulties.
– People who are problems in society.
 Modern “worship” choruses reflect this:
– “Heartaches, broken people, ruined lives are
why you died on Calvary…”
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40
The Lie of the Lawless Gospel
 Modern “evangelistic” outreaches take the
Good News to the “hurting and needy.”
 The gospel is not confined to the hurting
people with ruined lives and heartaches.
 Hurting and happy people need to be shown
their sinful state before God.
 They must seek the righteousness that is in
Christ, not the alleged happiness that is
supposed to come from being a Christian.
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41
The Lawless Gospel Defended
 You will desire to be where the Lord is. And He
spends His time with those who hurt. At the beginning
of His ministry, Jesus quoted Isaiah to describe the
work He was called to do: “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year
of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18,19) Thus the more you go
after God, the deeper you will move into a world filled
with hurting people.
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42
The Hearers of the Gospel
 Luke 4:18-19 tells us who the gospel is for:
– The gospel is for the poor.
– The gospel is for the brokenhearted.
– The gospel is for the captives.
– The gospel is for the blind.
– The gospel is for the oppressed.
 But exactly who are these people?
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43
The Hearers of the Gospel
 “Poor” does not speak of financial need.
 “Brokenhearted” does not speak of a jilted
romance.
 “Captives” have been taken captive by the
devil to do his will (2 Tim 2:26).
 “The blind” are those whom the god of this
age has blinded to the gospel (2 Cor 4:4).
 “The oppressed” are those who are
oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38).
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44
The Hearers of the Gospel
 The gospel is for the humble.
 The Law of God is for the proud.
– God resists the proud. (James 4:6)
– Everyone who is proud in heart is an
abomination to the Lord. (Proverbs 16:5)
– He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted the lowly. (Luke 1:52)
 God looks on the man who trembles at His
word. (Isaiah 66:2)
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45
The “Abundant Life” Gospel
 Jesus said he came to bring us an abundant
life. Can’t we use this message as gospel?
 True, the Christian life is full. Consider:
–
–
–
–
Paul was stoned once.
Paul was shipwrecked three times.
Paul was beaten three times.
Paul was whipped five times.
 Paul also despaired to the point of death.
(2 Cor. 1:8)
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46
Paul’s Life as a Gospel Example
 Paul’s abundant life:
– Paul was condemned to death.
– Paul was hungry and thirsty.
– Paul lacked clothing.
– Paul was beaten and had nowhere to live.
– Paul was forced to work to earn a living.
– He was reviled, persecuted, slandered, and
treated like filth.
 Paul said, “Imitate me.” (1 Cor 4:9-16)
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47
Where Was God’s Love for Paul?
 Paul did not look to his lifestyle.
 Paul did not quote “God loves me and has a
wonderful plan for my life.”
 Paul looked to the cross:
– “I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me, and the life that I
now live in the flesh I live by the faithfulness of
the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
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48
Where Was God’s Love for Paul?
 The cross was Paul’s joy and strength.
 Those who seek happiness in Christ will
think their happiness is evidence of God’s
love for them.
 But the purifying trials and suffering are the
real evidence of God’s love for His people.
 Those who look to the cross as a token for
God’s love will never doubt His steadfast
devotion to them.
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49
Lesson 4:
The Purpose
of the Law
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50
What Would Jesus Do?
 This question is asked for everything except
evangelism.
 What did Jesus do when he was confronted
with a sinner?
– He made the issue one of righteousness.
– He never said “I love you and I have a
wonderful plan for your life.”
– He let the Ten Commandments show sinners
the righteous standard of God.
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51
Jesus Used the Law to Expose Sin
 In Mark 10:17-27, a sinner comes to Jesus.
– The man came running.
– The man knelt before Jesus.
– The man appeared to be a potential convert.
 Jesus never gave him a message of grace.
 Jesus used the Law to expose the man’s sin.
 Love motivated Jesus. Mark 10:21 reads:
– Jesus looked at him and loved him. Then he told him, “You're
missing one thing…”
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52
What Should We Do?
 Every time we witness to someone, we
should challenge our motives.
– Do we love the sinner enough to make sure his
conversion is genuine?
– Do we love the feeling of getting another
decision for Jesus?
 Our zeal without knowledge produces
another potential Judas.
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53
Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Law
A gospel which merely says
“Come to Jesus,” and offers Him
as a Friend, and offers a
marvelous new life, without
convincing of sin, is not New
Testament evangelism. (The
essence of evangelism is to start
by preaching the Law; and it is
because the Law has not been
preached that we have had so
much superficial evangelism.) True evangelism...
must always start by preaching the Law.
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54
The Sinner’s Response to the Law
 Sinners will thank you for using the Law in
your evangelistic efforts.
 They will see the Christian message as an
expression of love and concern for their
eternal welfare.
 They will not regard you as proselytizing
for a better lifestyle while on this earth.
 They will understand why they should be
concerned about their eternal salvation.
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55
John Wesley on the Law
The second use [of the Law] is to
bring him unto life, unto Christ that
he may live. It… acts the part of a
severe schoolmaster. It drives us by
force, rather than draws us by love.
And yet love is the spring of all. It
is the spirit of love which, by this
painful means, tears away our
confidence in the flesh, which leaves us no broken reed
whereon to trust, and so constrains the sinner, stripped
of all to cry out in the bitterness of his soul or groan in
the depth of his heart, “I give up every plea beside,
Lord, I am damned; but thou hast died.”
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56
An Objection to Using the Law
 Objection: We should never condemn
sinners.
 Response: They are condemned already.
– Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe has already been condemned, because he has not
believed in the name of God's unique Son. (John 3:18)
 The Law shows the sinner his true state.
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57
The Law Reveals the Flaws
 After you dust your
table, open your shades.
 The bright sunlight
does not create the dust.
 The bright sunlight merely exposes what is
already there.
 In a similar manner, the Law shows the
sinner that he is already condemned.
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58
The Law Reveals the Flaws
 Proverbs 6:23
– The Commandment is
a lamp, and the Law is
light.
 The wrath of the Law
showed the adulterous woman that she
stood condemned before the Savior.
 The sinner thinks he is rich in virtue, but the
Law shows him he is morally bankrupt.
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59
The Use and Purpose of the Law
 The Law must be used lawfully.
– Of course, we know that the law is good if a
person uses it legitimately, that is, if he
understands that the law is not intended for
righteous people but for lawbreakers and rebels,
for ungodly people and sinners….
(1 Timothy 1:8-9)
 There are those who would use God’s Law
for which it was never designed.
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60
The Use and Purpose of the Law
 The Law was designed for sinners.
– …for those who are unholy and irreverent, for
those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or
other people, for those involved in sexual
immorality, for homosexuals, for kidnappers,
for liars, for false witnesses, and for whatever
else goes against the healthy teaching that
agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed
God…. (1 Tim: 9-11)
 The Law is for the unsaved, not the saved.
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61
The Use and Purpose of the Law
 The Law was given as a “schoolmaster” to
bring us to Christ.
– Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24 - KJV)
– And so the law was our guardian until
Christ came, so that we might be justified
by faith. (Galatians 3:24 – ISV)
 The Law was designed as an evangelistic
tool!
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62
Unlawful Uses of the Law
 The Law should not be used for justification.
– A person is not justified by the works of the
law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
– [We are] justified by the faith of Christ and
not by the works of the law, for no human
being will be justified by the works of the
law. (Galatians 2:16 – ISV)
 The Law is a mirror telling us we need to be
cleansed. You don’t use a mirror for
cleansing. You go to Christ for cleansing.
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63
Unlawful Uses of the Law
 The Law should not be used for legalism.
– Christ has set us free so that we may enjoy
the benefits of freedom. So keep on standing
firm in it, and stop attaching yourselves to
the yoke of slavery again. (Galatians 5:1 )
– Those of you who are trying to be justified
by the law have been cut off from Christ.
You have fallen away from grace. (5:4)
 The Christian refrains from lawlessness.
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64
A Commitment Via the Law
 The Christian refrains from sin not to gain
God’s favor.
 The Christian already has God’s favor in
Christ.
 The Christian wants to do all he can to
show his gratitude.
 The motive is love, not legalism.
 “The Law can chase a man to Calvary, no
further.” —D. L. Moody
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65
A Commitment Via the Law
 If the Law is used in evangelism, it will rid
a new believer of any thought of legalism.
– The law reveals that there is no way to please
God outside of faith in Jesus.
– At Mt. Sinai, he knows that his Creator knows
his sinful thoughts.
– He sees that he is by nature a “child of wrath.”
– He flees to Christ from the wrath of God.
– He knows that grace alone saves him.
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66
A Commitment Via the Law
 The true believer is saved knowing that
nothing commends him to God.
 After a lifetime of good works, reading the
Bible, prayer and seeking the lost, the true
believer is still saved by grace, and grace
alone.
 The true believer is an “unprofitable
servant” who merely does what he should.
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67
A Commitment Without the Law
 He seeks “lasting fulfillment” and “inner
peace” and not shelter from God’s wrath.
 He comes to fill a “God-shaped vacuum”
but does not see his own sin.
– There is no trembling.
– There is no fleeing from wrath.
– There is no fear of God in their eyes.
 God is a benevolent father figure.
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68
A Commitment Without the Law
 The Law has not stripped him of his self-
righteousness.
 He does not truly believe that his just
reward is eternal damnation.
 He thinks he is basically a good person.
 He thinks he is pleasing God by his works.
 He is deceived.
 He says “Touch not, taste not, handle not.”
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69
The Function of the Law
 The Law when used lawfully liberates the
believer from legalism.
 If neglected before the cross, those who
profess faith:
– Are prone to go astray.
– Impose demands on other believers.
– Thereby steal from them the liberty we have in
Christ.
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70
The Law and Pilgrim’s Progress
– “It was he [the Law] who did bind my heavy
burden upon me.” Faithful agrees: “Aye.
Had it not been for him, we had both of us
stayed in the City of Destruction.”
– “Then he did us a favor,” answered
Christian. [Faithful then shows how the
Law alarms us:] “Aye. Albeit, he did it none
too gently.”
– Then Christian say, “Well, at least he played the
part of a schoolmaster and showed us our need.
It was he who drove us to the cross.”
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71
Lesson 5:
Our Broken
Backbone
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72
The Law and the Gospel
 The modern gospel has degenerated into a
means of happiness.
 We have failed to show the sinner that he
has violated the Law of a holy God.
 The Law is the backbone of the gospel.
– “In its true and proper work and purpose, it
humbles a man and prepares him—if he uses
the Law correctly—to yearn and seek for
grace.” —Martin Luther
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73
The Law and the Gospel
 The Law is the rod and staff of the
Shepherd that guides the sheep to Himself.
 The Law is the net of the fisherman.
 The Law is the hoe of the farmer.
 The Law is the ten golden trumpets that
prepare the way for the King.
 The Law makes the sinner thirst.
 The Law reveals the dust of sin.
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74
The Law and the Gospel
 The Law should be esteemed by the Church
because it prepares the heart for grace.
 We must esteem it as the priests of the
covenant in Joshua 3:14-17.
 The Law is the embodiment of the gospel
that we carry.
 Many have neglected the “weightier”
matters of the Law, counting it as worthless.
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75
J. C. Ryle on God’s Law
 “But never, never let us
despise it. It is the symptom
of an ignorant ministry, and
unhealthy state of religion,
when the Law is reckoned
unimportant. The true
Christian delights in God’s Law (Romans
7:22).”
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76
Some Illustrations on the Law
 The Law is like the ten camels of Genesis
24:1-20.
– Abraham’s servant sought a bride who would
have consideration for the ten camels.
– Rebekah ran to serve them.
– God sent his Spirit to search for a bride. He has
chosen the Law to carry His message.
– The bride satisfies the camels of a just Law.
– The convert comes for a similar reason.
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77
Some Illustrations on the Law
 The Law is like Aaron’s rod that budded.
– It resembles hard and dead wood.
– Use it in your witness. You will see it bud.
 The bronze serpent was an allusion to sin.
– Looking to the serpent became the means of
their salvation.
– It was the Law of Moses that put Jesus on the
cross. Jesus became a curse for us.
– Jesus redeemed us from the Law.
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78
The Key of Knowledge
 The Messiah was to “magnify the Law and
make it honorable” (Isaiah 42:21).
 The religious leaders dishonored the Law.
– They twisted it so it had no effect.
– Tradition rendered God’s law ineffectual.
 The religious leaders hindered others from
entering God’s kingdom.
 Jesus berated them.
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79
Run to the Border
 The border of Jesus’ robe represented the
Law in Numbers 15: 38-40.
– “And it shall be to you for a border, that you
may look upon it and remember all the
commandments of the Lord, and do them…”
 A woman approached Jesus to touch the
border of His robe.
 Her faith saved her.
 The story depicts true conversion.
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80
Run to the Border
 The story depicts the conversion of the true
believer.
–
–
–
–
–
Our life’s blood drains from our being.
The Law shows we are without God.
The Law shows we are without hope.
The Law shows we are without righteousness.
The Law shows we are filthy.
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81
Run to the Border
 Our only hope is to reach out to Jesus.
– The gospel has power to conquer sin.
– The gospel has virtue to cleanse us from every
transgression.
 The gospel employs this power.
 The gospel gives us this virtue.
 Proverbs 31 is a picture of the Bride of
Christ.
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82
Discerning the Difference
 God’s Law prepares the heart of the sinner
for the Good News of the gospel.
 Without the preparatory work of the Law,
the sinner’s heart is hardened.
 Without the preparatory work of the Law,
the sinner is a candidate for a false
conversion.
 Solomon faced a similar situation.
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83
Discerning the Difference
 Two women claimed to be the mother of the
child. (1 Kings 3:16-28)
– Both women dwelt in the same house.
– Both women called the king “Lord.”
– Wisdom was the discerning factor.
 A false convert will split the church.
 A false convert lacks wisdom.
 A true convert works for unity.
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84
Discerning the Difference
 A false convert is often not clearly evident.
– Only one of the twins of Tamar had a scarlet
thread around his ankle.
– Only the true convert has the blood of Christ.
– God knows those who are His.
– The blood separates the true from the false.
 Some converts appear to be testimonies for
modern preaching. Why is this?
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85
Lesson 6:
The Key
Was in the
Folding
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86
How to Fold a Parachute
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87
How to Fold a Parachute
 Over 30 separate steps
are required to fold a parachute properly.
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88
How Not to Fold a Parachute
 The fast-fold technique is quicker,
but the results are deadly.
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89
How Not to Fold a Parachute
 Knowledge of the tragedies from the “fast
fold” technique motivated the folders to do
their job with uncompromising conviction.
 Yet many still refused to follow the
manufacturer’s instructions. Why?
 The folders pointed to the 1 out of 10 who
survived the fast-folding method as their
justification for using the technique, while
ignoring the 9 out of 10 who died.
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90
Free from Their Blood
 There is a great battle for the souls of men.
 Those who have gone before us in past
centuries have not had an easy task.
 Labor in the gospel was often slow and
arduous.
 But they knew that if they followed God’s
pattern, they would deliver sinners.
 They wanted to be faithful and true.
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91
Free from Their Blood
 The ministries of
Wesley, Wycliffe,
Whitefield and
Spurgeon were
effective because of
their careful use of
the Law to prepare
the way for the
gospel.
Wesley
Wycliffe
Whitefield
Spurgeon
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92
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– It does not follow Christ’s example of
presenting the balance of law and grace.
– Never once did Jesus give the gospel to the
proud, arrogant or self-righteous.
– He followed God the Father’s example: God
resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
– Biblical evangelism is always to give the Law
to the proud, but to give grace to the humble.
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93
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– With the law, we should break the hard heart.
– With the gospel, we should heal the broken
heart.
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94
Martin Luther on the Law
 “Wherefore this is the proper
and absolute use of the Law,
by lightning, by tempest and
by the sound of the trumpet
(as in Mount Sinai) to terrify,
Luther
and by thundering to beat
down and rend in pieces that beast which is
called the opinion of righteousness.”
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95
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– With the Law, we should break the hard heart.
– With the gospel, we should heal the broken
heart.
– Without the Law, there can be no knowledge of
sin.
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96
The Function of the Law
What should we say, then? Is the law sinful? Of course not!
In fact, I wouldn't have known sin if it had not been for the
law. For I wouldn't have known what it means to covet if the
law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin seized the
opportunity provided by this commandment and produced in
me all kinds of sinful desires. For apart from the law, sin is
dead.
At one time I was alive without any connection to the law.
But when the commandment came, sin sprang to life, and I
died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to
bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the
opportunity provided by the commandment, deceived me and
used it to kill me. So then, the law itself is holy, and the
commandment is holy, just, and good. —Romans 7:7-9 (ISV)
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97
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– With the Law, we should break the hard heart.
– With the gospel, we should heal the broken
heart.
– Without the Law, there can be no knowledge of
sin.
– The Law was the instrument of death of the old
nature.
– The Law made sure that sinners were born again.
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98
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– The Law made sure that the convert was a new
creature in Christ.
– The Law—specifically the Ten
Commandments—is the biblical means of
awakening sinners.
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99
John Wesley on the Law
 “The very first end of the Law
[is] namely, convicting men
of sin; awakening those who
are still asleep on the brink of
Wesley
hell…. The ordinary method
of God is to convict sinners by the Law,
and that only. The gospel is not the means
which God hath ordained, or which our
Lord Himself used, for this end.”
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100
A.W. Pink on the Law
 “The unsaved are in no condition
today for the gospel till the Law
be applied to their hearts, for
“by the Law is the knowledge of
Pink
sin.” It is a waste of time to sow
seed on ground which has never been
ploughed or spaded! To present the
vicarious sacrifice of Christ to those whose
dominant passion is to take fill of sin is to
give that which is holy to the dogs.”
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101
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “One other reason why this soil was
so uncongenial was that it was
totally unprepared for the seed.
There had been no plowing before
Spurgeon
the seed was sown, and no harrowing
afterwards. He that sows without a plow may
reap without a sickle. He who preaches the
gospel without preaching the Law may hold
all the results of it in his hand, and there will
be little for him to hold.”
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102
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Robbie Flockhart, when he
preached in the streets of Edinburgh, used to say ‘You must
preach the Law, for the gospel is a
Spurgeon
silken thread, and you cannot get it
into the hearts of men unless you have made
a way for it with a sharp needle; the sharp
needle of the Law will pull the silken thread
of the gospel after it.’ There must be plowing
before there is sowing….”
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103
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– The Law made sure that the convert was a new
creature in Christ.
– The Law—specifically the Ten
Commandments—is the biblical means of
awakening sinners.
– The most precious pearl that the church has is
“Christ crucified.”
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104
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– Preaching grace to the proud has evil results.
• The resulting false profession tramples the blood of
the Savior under the feet of the proud.
• The resulting “converts” will become enemies of
the gospel.
• The resulting “converts” will tear you to pieces,
often verbally and sometimes physically.
– Preaching grace to the proud creates a convert
who becomes a two-fold child of hell.
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105
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– A profession of faith without a humble heart
has the experience of 2 Peter 2:22.
• The proverb is true that describes what has
happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and
“A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the
mud.”
– The Bible calls the proud dogs or swine.
– The false concert has never crucified the flesh.
– The false convert must wallow in the mire.
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106
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel is unbiblical.
– The false convert has never repented.
• His or her flesh is not dead with Christ.
• His or her flesh burns with unlawful desire.
– The “fast fold” gospel forsook the Law in its
power to humble the proud.
– The “fast fold” gospel did speed the process of
evangelism, making “commitments” easier.
– The “fast fold” gospel stirred less opposition.
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107
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel omits the Judgment.
– The Bible presents the Day of Judgment as the
very reason to repent and to trust the Savior.
• God… now commands everyone everywhere to
repent, for he has set a day when he is going to
judge the world with justice through a man he has
appointed, and he has given proof of this to
everyone by raising him from the dead. —Acts
17:31 (ISV)
– The “fast fold” gospel is not faithful to God.
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108
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel omits the Judgment.
– There is no hint of even the approach of
Judgment Day.
– The essence of the gospel is that Jesus died on
the cross to save us from the wrath of the
judgment to come.
– The “fast fold” gospel has no mention of the
existence of hell or the judgment to come.
– The fast folders have ripped the heart out of the
body of the gospel.
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109
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel omits the Judgment.
– William Booth, founder of the
Salvation Army, warned that in
the twentieth century a gospel
would be preached which
promised heaven without
Booth
mentioning hell.
– Modern “fast fold” evangelism has done just
that.
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110
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel omits the Judgment.
– The “fast fold” tracts of our day:
• Do not mention Judgment Day
• Do not hint of a hell to shun and a heaven to gain.
• Do not use the Law of God to bring the knowledge
of personal sin.
• Hold the gospel up as a means of happiness, rather
than a means of righteousness.
– All “fast fold” tracts are a recipe for a false
conversion—a “stony ground” hearer.
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111
George Whitefield on the Law
 “That is the reason we have so
many ‘mushroom’ converts,
because their stony ground is
not plowed up; they have not
got a conviction of the Law;
they are stony-ground hearers.”
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Whitefield
112
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel omits the Judgment.
– Modern evangelistic authors are sincere.
– Modern evangelistic authors are earnest.
– Modern evangelistic authors are loving.
– Modern evangelistic authors are godly.
– But their zeal lacks knowledge of God’s Law.
– The resulting devastation cannot be ignored.
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113
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 “A belief that Christians are entitled to the
‘good life’ can result in demoralizing
church members. Expecting the Christian’s
life to be a bed of roses can be very
discouraging to a new Christian and to more
mature ones as well—when they are jostled
by the storms of life.”
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114
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel glosses over sin.
– “…since all have sinned and continue to fall
short of God’s glory.” —Romans 3:23 (ISV)
– What is meant by “glory”?
– We define sin as an archery term which means
“falling short” of the mark.
– But the sinner needs to know what and where the
target is to measure how short he has fallen.
– Greek doxa means “honor, worship, and praise.”
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115
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel glosses over sin.
– Humanity falls short by failing to give our
Creator the honor, worship and praise due Him.
– We have failed to love God with all of our heart,
mind, soul and strength
– This is the essence of the Law.
– “All have sinned” comes in the context of Paul
saying that the whole world is guilty before God
(Romans 3:19).
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116
“Fast Fold” Gospel Problems
 The “fast fold” gospel glosses over sin.
– When we fail to tell the sinner anything about
the mark for which he is to aim, we let him
think that he can still give it his “best shot.”
– When we display the Law in front of him, we
leave the sinner without hope of ever coming
near the mark.
– The sinner’s only hope will be in the Savior.
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117
Check the Soil
 90% of the evangelistic crop is failing.
 The crop withers and dies when tribulation,
persecution or temptation shines.
– We water them with the Word.
– We fertilize them with counsel and support.
– We follow them up thoroughly, but to no avail.
 We need to check the soil.
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118
Check the Soil
 Before we plant the seed of the gospel, we
must take the time to thoroughly turn the
soil of the heart with the Law.
 The effect will be the removal of the stones
of sin upon repentance.
 God has given us insight into the area in
which we are planting—it is very hard.
 It is a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26).
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119
Check the Soil
 Some claim that 75% fall away, based on
the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20).
 The parable is not meant as a consolation
for disappointing evangelistic results.
 The parable is meant for our instruction.
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120
The Parable of the Sower
 The good soil hearer had understanding.
(Matthew 13:23)
 He had a noble heart (Luke 8:15)—i.e, an
understanding from outside himself.
 The schoolmaster of the Law taught him his
heart was wicked.
 The Law spells out for the sinner what is
wrong with his life.
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121
Lesson 7:
Mangled
Bodies
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122
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 U.S. Crusade (1990)
– 600 “decisions”
– 100% fell away after 90 days.
 Cleveland Inner City Outreach
– 400 “decisions”
– 100% fell away.
 Four-day Crusade (1985)
– 217 “decisions”
– 92% fell away.
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123
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 Eight-day Crusade
– 68 “decisions”
– 100% fell away after 30 days.
 Salt Lake City Crusade (1991)
– 95% fell away after one year.
 Russian Crusade (1991)
– 2,500 “decisions”
– 99% fell away after one year.
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124
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 Leeds, England
– 400 “decisions”
– 99.5% fell away after 4 weeks.
 Mass crusade
– 18,000 “decisions”
– 94% never joined a local church.
 Forth Worth convention (1970)
– 30,000 “decisions”
– 99.999% fell away after 6 months.
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125
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 Sacramento, California
– 2,000 “decisions”
– 100% fell away among sample follow-up.
 Leading Denomination (1995)
– 384,057 “decisions”
– 94% fell away.
 Omaha, Nebraska
– 1,300 “decisions”
– 100% fell away.
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126
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 Rajmundry, India
– 80,000 “decisions”
– 99.999% fell away.
 Leading Denomination (1993)
– 294,784 “decisions”
– 95% fell away.
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127
Fixing the Blame
 We claim that there are not enough leaders.
– “Many thousands have received salvation and
healing, but because of there not being many
leaders, not many stayed with their faith.”
 But this violates God’s Word, because God…
– “…is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand
faultless in his glorious presence with rejoicing.”
 Either God was not able or God’s hand was not in
their profession of faith in the first place.
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128
Who Wants to Admit Failure?
 What organizing committee will admit…
– After pre-crusade prayers…
– After spending vast sums of money…
– After using a big-name evangelist…
– After truckloads of “follow up”…
– That their “wonderful results” have evaporated?
 The organizing committee has no
reasonable explanation was to why the
catch of fish has slipped through the nets.
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129
Who Wants to Admit Failure?
 “A soul at the altar does not generate much
excitement in some circles because we
realize approximately ninety-five out of
every hundred will not become integrated
into the church. In fact, most of them will
not return for a second visit.”
— Charles E. Hackett
National Director, Division of Home Missions
Assemblies of God, U.S.
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130
Who Wants to Admit Failure?
 “Crusades don’t do as much for non-
believers as some might think. Three
percent to sixteen percent of those who
make decisions at crusades end up
responsible members of a church.That’s not
counting Christians who recommit their
lives.”
—Peter Wagner, Professor of Church Growth
Fuller Theological Seminary
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131
Who Wants to Admit Failure?
 “Despite all the Christian
broadcasting and high-profile
campaigns, the Christian
population is not growing in
numbers nationally. In fact,
church attendance in a given
week during 1996 was down
to 37 percent of the population, a ten-year
low... even though 82 percent of Americans
claim to be Christians.”
—Jim Cymbala
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132
The Root of the Problem
 The problem is not with our crusades.
 The problem is with the method of modern
evangelism.
 The problem is with the message of modern
evangelism.
 The mangled bodies of those who are
erroneously called “backsliders” are the
inevitable result of a “fast fold” gospel.
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133
Still-born Babes: A Case Study
 “We have seen over 1,000 led to the Lord.
Not many of these teens are in church.
Preached the whole gospel (death, burial
and resurrection) with a focus on repentance
and remission to 155 people. Seventy made
commitments to Christ. I know my
preaching is correct, but I need better
follow-up. Any recommendations?”
—A local pastor
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134
Still-born Babes: A Case Study
 He preached the light of the gospel (Christ’s
death, burial and resurrection) without using
the Law to awaken the hearers.
 But “follow-up” is not the answer.
 Providing follow-up to a false convert is
like putting a stillborn child into intensive
care.
 There is no life in the “new born” child.
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135
Some Important Observations
 A “no compromise” gospel will not awaken
sinners. That is not its function.
 Did your conversion include the Law?
– What was your sin?
– How did you know that you had sinned?
 Somehow, somewhere your conscience bore
witness to the law.
 You would not have known sin except
through the Law (Romans 7:7).
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136
Impersonal Statistics?
 A failed parachute means
death. There is no second
chance.
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137
Impersonal Statistics?
 A failed parachute means
death. There is no second
chance.
 There are false converts who
have left the church, and are in the church.
 “Millions have been brought into some kind
of religious experience by accepting Christ,
and they have not been saved.”
—A. W. Tozer
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138
Impersonal Statistics?
 We speak of salvation of men and women
from death and eternal damnation in hell.
 We must put a quick end to the “fast fold”
gospel, even though it eliminates the
reproach of the gospel and seems to be
filling our churches.
 Don’t look to the few who fill the pews.
 Look to those mangled on the soil of hard
hearts because of the “fast fold” gospel.
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139
Lesson 8:
Making
Grace
Amazing
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140
One Hundred+ Years of Failure
 Something is wrong.
 The Church has forsaken
the key to the sinner’s heart.
 When the Church set aside the Law of God
in its function to convert the soul, the
Church removed the sinner’s means of
seeing his need of God’s forgiveness.
– “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul…” (Psalm 19:7)
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141
The Purpose of the Law
 Romans 5:20 tells us why God’s Law
entered the scene.
– “Now the law crept in so that the offense would
increase. But where sin increased, grace
increased even more,…”
 When sin abounds, grace abounds much
more.
 What makes sin abound is the Law.
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142
An Example from Civil Law
 Consider a freeway where
there is no sign of the law.
 People transgress the law by
driving 15 mph or more
above the posted limit.
– The law has forgotten to patrol
this part of the road.
– Besides, everybody’s doing it!
 Watch what happens when the police come.
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143
An Example from Civil Law
 Consider the freeway of sin.
 The world “goes with the
flow.”
– Who hasn’t desired an affair?
– Who hasn’t told a white lie?
– Who hasn’t taken something?
 Their security is that so many
others are just as guilty, if not more so.
 It seems that God has forgotten about sin.
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144
An Example from Civil Law
 Watch the Law enter with
red lights flashing!
 He examines the speedometer
of his conscience. It shows him the measure
of his guilt in a new light—the Law.
–
–
–
–
His lust becomes adultery.
His lie becomes a false witness.
His hatred becomes murder.
His sticky fingers make him a thief.
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145
An Example from Civil Law
 Without the Law entering,
sin is neither personal nor is
it veritable to the sinner.
– “For without the Law, sin is dead
[the sense of it is inactive and a
lifeless thing].”
—Romans 7:8 (Amplified)
 The Commandment showed Paul
the nature of sin in its true light—sin is
exceedingly sinful.
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146
An Example from Civil Law
 The real function of the Law:
– “is to make men recognize and
be conscious of sin [not mere
perception, but an acquaintance with sin which
works toward repentance].” — Romans 3:20
 An illustration: “I have some good
news. Someone has just paid a
$25,000 speeding fine for you!”
 Your reaction: “I am not guilty of that!”
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147
An Example from Civil Law
 Your reaction is quite
understandable.
– It you don’t know that you have
broken the law in the first place, the good news
of someone paying the fine for you
won’t be good news to you.
– It will be foolishness.
– Our insinuation of unlawful activity
will even be offensive to you.
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148
An Example from Civil Law
 This way makes more sense:
– “Today, the law clocked you
traveling at 55 mph in an area
designated for a blind children’s
convention. You ignored ten clear
warning signs saying that the
maximum speed was 15 mph. The
fine is $25,000 or imprisonment.
Someone you don’t even know
stepped in and paid the fine for you.”
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149
A Failure to Communicate
 Telling a sinner the good news that Jesus
died on the cross for his sins without
showing his transgressions makes no sense
to him.
– “For the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing.” (1 Cor 1:18).
– He will respond, “What are you talking about?”
– Your insinuation that he is a sinner, when he
doesn’t think he is, will be offensive to him.
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150
A Failure to Communicate Solved
 Those who take the time to follow in the
steps of Jesus and open up the spirituality of
the Law by carefully explaining the
meaning of the Ten Commandments, will
see the sinner become convicted by the Law
as a transgressor.
 Once he understands his transgressions, the
good news will not be offensive or foolish,
but will be the power of God to salvation.
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151
What Was David’s Sin?
 When David sinned with Bathsheba, he
broke all ten of the Ten Commandments.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
He coveted his neighbor’s wife.
He lived a lie.
He stole her.
He committed adultery.
He murdered her husband.
He dishonored his parents.
He broke the other 4 in his relationship to God.
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152
Nathan’s Rebuke Is a Model
 The order of Nathan’s rebuke is significant.
 Nathan gave David a parable about
something he could understand—sheep.
 He began with the natural realm, rather than
immediately exposing the king’s sin.
 Nathan told a story about a rich man who,
instead of taking a sheep from his own
flock, killed a poor man’s pet lamb to feed a
stranger.
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153
Nathan’s Rebuke Is a Model
 David understood the message.
 He was self-righteous and indignant.
 He revealed his knowledge of the Law by
saying that the guilty party would restore
four-fold and would die for his crime.
 Nathan then exposed the king’s sin of taking
another man’s “lamb.”
 After David repented, Nathan gave him
grace: “The Lord has put away your sin…”
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154
Nathan’s Rebuke Is a Model
 Imagine if Nathan, fearful of rejection, gave
a “fast fold” message:
– “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life. However, there is something that is
keeping you from enjoying this wonderful plan;
it is called sin.”
 Imagine if Nathan had glossed over the
personal nature of David’s sin with a
general reference that “all men have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.”
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155
Nathan’s Rebuke Is a Model
 David’s reaction might have been to cry out
“What are you talking about?” rather than to
admit his terrible transgression.
– Why should he cry, “I have sinned against the
Lord!” at the message of the “fast fold” gospel?
 Instead, he would in a sincere heart want to
experience this “wonderful plan” and admit
that he, like all men, had sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God.
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156
Nathan’s Rebuke Is a Model
 If David had not been made to tremble under
the wrath of the Law, the prophet would have
removed the very means of producing godly
sorrow, which was so necessary for David’s
repentance.
– Godly sorrow produces repentance. (2 Cor 7:10)
– The weight of his guilt caused him to cry out “I
have sinned against the Lord!”
– The Law caused him to labor and to thirst for
righteousness.
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157
An Onion as an Illustration of Sin
 Sin is like an onion.
 Its outer wrapper is a dry and crusty
self-righteousness.
 It is only when the
external casing is
peeled away that
it brings tears.
 The Law peels the onion and allows
contrition.
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158
The Vase as an Illustration of Sin
 A child broke his father’s
antique vase.
 He had been forbidden to
touch it, and with good reason!
A Vase from the
Ming Dynasty
 But the child undervalued the
vase, so he wasn’t concerned about it.
 Only when he learned its true value, and
that he could never replace it, that he felt
the import of breaking the command.
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159
The Vase as an Illustration of Sin
 The lawless “God loves you
and has a wonderful plan for
your life” message does not
cause the sinner to tremble.
A Vase from the
 It is a “fast fold” gospel.
Ming Dynasty
 It does not show the sinner the utterly
serious nature of his transgression.
 He will never find the godly sorrow that
produces repentance with a fast fold gospel.
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160
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “The Law serves a most necessary
purpose… They will never accept
grace, until they tremble before a
just and holy Law.”
Spurgeon
 Those who see the role of the Law
will be Sons of Thunder before they are
Sons of Consolation.
 The shoes of human pride must be removed
before approaching the burning bush.
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161
The Tragic “Fast Fold” Gospel
 We can evoke a tearful response from
sinners by telling them that God loves them.
 The “fast fold” message is more appealing
to both the Christian and the sinner.
 It is easier to speak the “fast fold” message
of love than to speak of sin.
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162
The Paradox of the Law
 The Law makes grace abound in the same
way that darkness makes light shine.
 John Newton said “A wrong understanding
of the harmony between Law and grace will
produce error on the left and the right
hand.”
 Very few would know more of grace than
John Newton, writer of Amazing Grace.
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163
Lesson 9:
From What
Did They
Flee?
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164
Scofflaws and Civil Laws
 In Washington, DC, traffic authorities found
that members of a foreign embassy owed
$6,000,000 in unpaid traffic fines.
 Having ambassador status, they felt they
were immune to paying their obligations.
 Having no fear of future punishment
resulted in a lack of respect for the law.
 Cars of violators could not be registered; the
cars could not be driven.
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165
Scofflaws and Society
 A strip club boasts:
We didn’t create sin; we just perfected it.”
 A cable channel promotes its programming:
“Guaranteed to break more Commandments
than any other lineup.”
 A magazine cover touts its contents:
“Stuff so bad, it’s good. We’re so ashamed.”
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166
Scofflaws and God’s Law
 How can the world “fear the Lord” when
much of the Church itself is offended by the
concept of fearing God?
 They are storing up wrath that will be
revealed in the Day of Wrath. (Romans 2:5)
 Unless the world is convinced that a Day of
Reckoning is coming, they will continue to
believe that God does not require an account.
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167
Scofflaws and God’s Law
 The same thing has happened with the
Church.
 The Church has failed to preach future
punishment for the violation of God’s Laws.
 Sinners have become bold in their
lawlessness.
 They have lost respect for the Law and its
agency, the Church.
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168
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 L. E. Maxwell surveyed 2,500 Bible
students as to what motivated them to
salvation?
– Moved by fear: 65%
– Moved by love: 6%
– Moved by other: 29%
Fear
Love
Other
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169
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 When they found a place of repentance, of
what did they repent? It must have been sin.
 When they understood they had sinned,
did they not fear at all?
Fear
 Did this not produce fear,
Love
the beginning of wisdom?
Other
 How did they “flee from
the wrath to come” without
fear?
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170
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 Have you come to the point of fearing God?
 What do you think when you read that God
killed a husband and wife because they
broke his 9th Commandment?
Fear
(Acts 5:1-10)
Love
 Was the psalmist
Other
misguided when he wrote
“My flesh trembles for fear
of You, and I fear Your judgments”?
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171
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 Have you obeyed the command of Jesus?
– “I'll show you the one you should be afraid of.
Be afraid of the one who has the authority to
throw you into hell after killing
you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid
Fear
of him!” —Luke 12:5 (ISV)
Love
– Jesus spoke of himself!
Other
 “Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling”
was the motto of the early Church.
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172
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 The early Church walked “in the fear of the
Lord” (Acts 9:31)
 Do you and your church have Paul’s motive
for seeking the lost:
– “Therefore, since we know
the fear of the Lord, we try
to persuade people.”
—2 Cor 5:11 (ISV)
Fear
Love
Other
 Scripture makes it clear what causes men to
flee from sin: “fear of the Lord”
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173
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 L. E. Maxwell’s conclusion was not a
concern that so many had fled to Christ in
fear.
 His concern was that some
Fear
had not!
Love
Other
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174
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 F. B. Meyer questioned 400 Christian
workers about why they came to Christ.
– An overwhelming number testified that it was
because of some message or influence of the
terror of the Lord.
– “This is more interesting and astonishing,
especially in these days when we are rebuked
for not preaching more of the love of God!”
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175
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 R. C. Sproul said:
– “Jesus doesn’t save us to God. He saves us from
God.”
– “There’s probably no concept in theology more
repugnant to modern America than the idea of
divine wrath.”
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176
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 Dr. Robert Morey did a study on some of
the common admonitions of Scripture:
 Fearing God
 278 References
– 235 in OT; 43 in NT
 Trusting God
 91 References
– 82 in OT; 9 in NT
 Loving God
 88 References
– 45 in OT; 43 in NT
The same number of New Testament references!
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177
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 A. W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy:
– “God’s justice stands forever against the sinner
in utter severity. The vague and tenuous hope
that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has
become a deadly opiate for the consciences of
millions. It hushes their fears and allows them
to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while
death draws every day nearer and the command
to repent goes disregarded. As responsible
moral beings, we dare not so trifle with our
eternal future.”
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178
Fear and the Motive for Salvation
 L. E. Maxwell spoke on the importance of
fear:
– “Is the majesty of the Moral Ruler to meet with
no respect? Is the authority of His Law of no
consequence? Is there nothing in God to fear?
An effete dilettantism would feign tell us so.
Nevertheless all history and Scripture and
experience cry out against such an emasculated
and effeminate theology.”
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179
Failure to Fear God in the Pews
 A Christian confessed to the author his
lack of the fear of God.
– God was just a good friend.
– One day, he found out his girlfriend’s parents
were out of town.
– He prayed for an opportunity to sleep with her.
– His “prayer” was answered.
– And he thanked God for giving him his desire.
 He later repented and is now serving God.
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180
Failure to Fear God in the Pulpit
 A lack of fear of God is not confined to
the pews.
– 40% of polled pastors admitted that they had an
extramarital affair since beginning their
ministry.Those who do not fear God will not
stop at fornication.
– “Most I fear God. Next to him, I fear him that
fears him not.”
– If someone has no fear of God, he will lie to
you, steal from you, even kill you.
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181
Fear and the Motive for Preaching
 The fear of God should stop us from flirting
with the eternal well-being of sinners by
diluting the message with which we have
been entrusted.
 Our devotion to the truth will be rewarded.
– “Those who rebuke the wicked will have
delight, and a good blessing will come upon
them.” (Proverbs 24:25)
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182
Fear and the Motive for Preaching
 John Wesley had those in
his day who refused to
preach the Law as a means
to bring a knowledge of sin.
 They justified their message
by saying that they “preached Christ and
Him crucified,” to quote the Apostle Paul.
 Wesley pointed to Paul’s method of
preaching Christ crucified.
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183
Fear and the Motive for Preaching
 Wesley on Christ crucified:
– “When Felix sent for Paul
that he might ‘hear from him
concerning the faith in
Christ,’ instead of preaching
Christ in your sense (which
would probably have caused the Governor
either to mock or to contradict and blaspheme),
‘he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come,’ till Felix (hardened as he
was) trembled (Acts 24:24-25).”
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184
Fear and the Motive for Preaching
 Wesley on Christ crucified:
– “Go thou and tread in his
steps. Preach Christ to the
careless sinner, by reasoning
‘of righteousness, temperance,
and judgment to come!’”
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185
Fear and the Motive for Preaching
 The Apostle Paul’s reasoning:
– “From morning until evening he continued to
explain the kingdom of God to them, trying to
convince them about Jesus from the law of
Moses and the Prophets.” — Acts 28:23 (ISV)
 Our goal is to “convince sinners about
Jesus.”
– He is the way, the truth and the life.
– Without Him, they will perish.
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186
Fear and the Motive for Preaching
 Paul used the Law of Moses and prophecy.
– Prophecy appeals to a man’s intellect and
creates faith in the Word of God.
– As the sinner realizes the Bible contains
hundreds of indisputable prophecies that
substantiate its supernatural origin, he begins to
give Scripture credibility.
– The Law of Moses appeals to a man’s
conscience and brings the knowledge of sin.
– Prophecy does not bring an awareness of sin.
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187
A “New” Gospel Presentation
 A well-known charismatic couple say:
– Ask “Do you know there are two kinds of
beautiful waitresses?”
– “Really?” the waitress responds.
– “Yes! Those who are saved and those who are
about to be! Which one are you?”
– If the answer is anything other than “I am
saved,” lead them in the “sinner’s prayer.”
 They claim an angel gave them the method.
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188
A “New” Gospel Presentation
 The technique is not new.
 It’s an age-old manipulative sales technique.
 Why would an angel of God, after 2,000
years of evangelism, suddenly announce a
method that is not in line with God’s
revealed Word?
 Did God suddenly figure out a new way?
 Did He change His mind?
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189
A “New” Gospel Presentation
 If an angel tells us of a gospel (or a method
of gospel promotion) that is not in line with
Holy Scripture, we should reject it without
a second thought.
 Why do it, even if it seems to work?
 We fear God in light of this sober warning:
– “But even if we or an angel from heaven
should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to
what we proclaimed to you, let that person be
condemned!” — Galatians 1:8 (ISV)
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190
Evangelism and God’s Law
 Our heart’s cry is for people to be saved
from hell.
 Modern evangelism methods work against,
not for, that end.
 Can it be that those who employ those
methods are actually doing the devil’s
work, rather than the Lord’s work?
 The modern “fast fold” evangelism that
omits the Law is the work of the enemy.
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191
Evangelism and God’s Law
 “While people were sleeping, his enemy
came and sowed weeds among the wheat
and went away.” —Matthew 13:25 (ISV)
 We must be alert to the workings of the
enemy.
 We must understand about true and false
conversions.
 We must fear God enough to follow in the
steps of biblical evangelism.
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192
Evangelism and God’s Law
 We should heed Paul’s warning against
peddling God’s Word:
– “At least we are not commercializing God’s
word like so many others. Instead, in Christ we
speak with sincerity, like people who are sent
from God and are accountable to God.” —2
Cor 2:17 (ISV)
 To “peddle” or “commercialize” means to
“shortchange”or “adulterate” the divine
message.
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193
Immunization from Salvation
 One southern pastor comments that almost
every person in the “Bible Belt” parrots the
same phrase.
 When challenged about their salvation, they
say “I have received Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior. I’ve dealt with that.”
 Yet there are no signs of regeneration.
 It’s as though they have been inoculated
against the truth. And they have been!
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194
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 “It was at a youth camp that my oldest son
‘gave his heart to Jesus’ and was baptized,
but since then has shown no real desire that
I can see to live for the Lord. I don’t want
to seem critical, but I just don’t see the
desire in any way, shape or form. I don’t
want to see the same thing happen with my
two other kids.”
 This is a result of “fast fold” evangelism.
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195
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 When false converts fall away, they become
bitter.
– Their latter end becomes worse than the first.
– They are inoculated against the truth.
– Fruitless converts become venomous
backsliders.
– They can do great damage to the cause of the
gospel.
– They are the sad product of manipulative
modern “fast fold” evangelism methods.
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196
Results of the “Fast Fold” Gospel
 The next time you find someone who is
into the occult or some religious cult, ask
some questions.
 They probably once “gave their heart to
Jesus.”
 The Scripture warns us about them:
– “Now the Spirit says clearly that in the last
times some people will abandon the faith by
following deceitful spirits, the teachings of
demons.” —1 Timothy 4:1 (ISV)
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197
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “God [has] appointed a Day in
which He will judge the world,
and we sigh and cry until it shall
end the reign of wickedness, and
Spurgeon
give rest to the oppressed. Brethren,
we must preach the coming of the Lord, and
preach it somewhat more than we have done;
because it is the driving power of the
gospel.”
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198
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Too many have kept back these
truths, and thus the bone has been
taken out of the arm of the
gospel. Its point has been broken;
Spurgeon
its edge has been blunted. The
doctrine of the judgment to come is the
power by which men are to be aroused.
There is another life; the Lord will come a
second time; judgment will arrive; the wrath
of God will be revealed.”
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199
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Where this is not preached, I am
bold to say the gospel is not
preached. It is absolutely
necessary to the preaching of
Spurgeon
the gospel of Christ that men be
warned as to what will happen if they
continue in their sins.”
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200
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Ho, ho, sir surgeon! Are you too
delicate to tell the man that he is
ill? You hope to heal the sick
without their knowing it. You
Spurgeon
therefore flatter them; and what
happens? They laugh at you; they dance
upon their own graves. At last they die!
Your delicacy is cruelty; your flatteries are
poisons; you are a murderer.”
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201
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Shall we keep men in a fool’s
paradise? Shall we lull them into
soft slumbers from which they
will awake in hell? Are we to
Spurgeon
become helpers of their damnation
by our smooth speeches? In the name of
God, we will not.”
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202
How Shall We Then Preach?
 A preacher in Colliery, England saw a
number of conversions take place under his
ministry.
 Then a “stranger” passed through and
conducted meetings in which “there were
great numbers of persons” who confessed
faith in Jesus.
 But the message was a “fast fold” gospel.
 The results was sad to behold.
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203
How Shall We Then Preach?
 “But many of them were, in a short time,
gone back again into the world. Indeed, so
complete was the failure that the Minister
who succeeded me in that Circuit said,
‘There was not one single person, out of
about ninety who professed to obtain
Religion through that man’s services, that
continued to be a member of the Colliery
Church.’”
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204
How Shall We Then Preach?
 “I had observed the same sort of thing
before in regard to the efforts of suchlike
persons in other places. And, therefore, I
was very desirous to find out what was the
cause of such failures. I was sure that the
persons, said to be brought in under my
own ministry, had nearly all of them held
on their way, and were then members—
either in the Church above, or in the Church
below.”
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205
How Shall We Then Preach?
 “So I set myself calmly to consider the
whole affair. In doing this, I soon found
that the preaching that does not address the
sinner’s conscience, and strive to break the
unconverted spirit down by enforcing the
Law of God, scarcely ever leads to the
salvation of the soul. And these men
scarcely ever preach the Law.”
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206
How Shall We Then Preach?
 “Yes, that is it, and nothing else—“By the
Law is the knowledge of sin.” Let a
minister get that important sentiment burnt
into his very soul by the Light and flaming
Love of God. And then let him go forth and
preach the truth as it is in Jesus, and many,
many precious souls will soon be saved.”
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207
How Shall We Then Preach?
 “But let him omit preaching the Law, and
whatever else he may do—for he can
accomplish many great things—yet, under
that man’s ministry, conversions will be
scarce.”
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208
How Shall We Then Preach?
 We cannot agree more!
 “Yes, that is it, and nothing else—“By the
Law is the knowledge of sin.”
 This teaching is so fundamental.
 Yet we have failed to see its simple truth.
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209
Lesson 10:
The Motive
and the
Result
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210
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 Two men are seated in a plane.
 The first is given a parachute and told to put
it on, as it would improve his flight.
 He’s a little skeptical at first, since he can’t
see how wearing a parachute could possibly
improve his flight.
 After some time, he decides to experiment
and see if the claims are true.
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211
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 He tries on the parachute.
– He notices the weight of it.
– He has difficulty sitting upright.
– He consoles himself in the message told to him.
 Other passengers laugh at him.
 He feels humiliated.
 He unstraps the parachute and discards it.
 Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart.
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212
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 The second man is given a parachute, but
listen to what he is told.
 At any moment, he’ll be
jumping 25,000 feet out
of the plane.
 He gratefully puts it on.
 He doesn’t notice the weight, nor that he
cannot sit upright.
 He is consumed with the consequences.
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213
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 Motive of the First  Motive of the Second
Man: To improve
Man: To escape the
his flight
jump to come
 Result
 Result
– Humiliation
– Disillusionment
– Bitterness
– Joy and peace
– Patience
– Gratitude
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214
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 The lie of the modern “fast fold” gospel:
– God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life.
– Jesus will give you love.
– Jesus will give you joy.
– Jesus will give you peace.
– Jesus will give you fulfillment.
– Jesus will give you lasting happiness.
– Jesus will improve your flight.
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215
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 The result of the modern “fast fold” gospel.
– In an experimental fashion, the sinner puts on
the Savior to see if the claims are true.
– The passengers mock him.
– He takes off the Lord Jesus Christ.
– He is offended for the Word’s sake.
– His bitterness is toward those who gave him the
so-called “good news” about Jesus.
– His latter end becomes worse than the first.
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216
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 Instead of preaching that Jesus improves the
flight, we should be warning the passengers
that they have to jump out of the plane!
– It is appointed for man once to die, and after
this the judgment.
 When a sinner understands the horrific
consequences of breaking the Law of God,
he will flee to the Savior solely to escape
the wrath that is to come.
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217
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 If we are true and faithful witnesses, we will
preach that there is wrath to come.
– “God commands all men everywhere to repent,
because He has appointed a day on which he
will judge the world in righteousness.” —Acts
17:30-31
 The issue is righteousness, not happiness.
 The Bible never mentions happiness even
once, but mentions righteousness 289 times.
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218
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 A sinner’s happiness is not the issue.
 Without the righteousness of Christ, he will
perish on the day of judgment.
– Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but
righteousness delivers from death. — Prov. 11:4
 Peace and joy are fruits of salvation.
 It is not legitimate to use the fruits of peace
and joy as a drawing card for salvation.
 An impure motive lacks repentance.
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219
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 The second man had joy and peace in his
heart because he knew
that the parachute was
going to save him from
certain death.
 We have joy and peace
in our hearts because
we know that the righteousness of Christ
will deliver us from the wrath to come.
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220
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 A new flight attendant is on her first flight.
 She wants to make an
impression, and she does!
 She spills hot coffee all
over the first passenger.
 If he hasn’t taken off his parachute before
this, he certainly will now!
 The parachute definitely did not improve
his fight.
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221
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 A new flight attendant is on her first flight.
 She wants to make an
impression, and she does!
 She spills hot coffee all
over the second passenger.
 The hot coffee causes him to cling more
tightly to the parachute than ever before.
 He even looks forward to the jump.
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222
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 If we have put on the Lord Jesus Christ for
the right motive—to flee
from the wrath to come—
then when tribulation
strikes, when the flight
gets bumpy, we won’t get angry at God.
 We won’t lose our joy and peace.
 We didn’t come to Christ for a better flight.
 We came to flee the jump to come.
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223
A Tale of Two Parachutes
 Tribulation drives the true believer closer to
the Savior.
 Professing Christians
lose their joy and peace
when the flight gets
bumpy.
 They are from a man-centered gospel.
 They came lacking repentance, without
which they cannot be saved.
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224
What Was Pharaoh’s Problem?
 Why did Pharaoh take so long to let God’s
people go?
– “I’ve sinned this time. The LORD is righteous,
but I and my people are wicked. Pray to the
LORD! There has been enough of God’s
thunder and hail! I’ll let you go; and you need
not stay any longer.” —Exodus 9:27-28 (ISV)
 Pharaoh seemed to be repentant.
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225
What Was Pharaoh’s Problem?
 Pharaoh saw his sin as something he had
done “this time”.
– “But as for you and your officials, I know that
you don’t yet fear the LORD God.” —Exodus
9:30 (ISV)
 In his heart, Pharaoh did not fear God
enough to obey him.
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226
What Is the Sinner’s Problem?
 Many who profess faith are like Pharaoh.
 A lack of knowledge of the Law has left
them with a shallow understanding as to the
exceedingly sinful nature of sin.
 They have sinned “this time”.
 They think sin is something they have done.
 They do not see sin as saturating their very
nature.
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227
What Is the Sinner’s Problem?
 Sinners lack the fear of God.
 Sinners entreat the Lord simply because
they find themselves in the midst of
thunderous trials.
 Like Pharaoh, when the plagues of life stop,
they sin again and harden their hearts to the
will of God.
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228
What Is the Sinner’s Problem?
 What, then, will break the will of a stubborn
sinner who does not fear God?
– He needs to be terrified by the plagues of God’s
Law.
– He must see the death of the Firstborn (Jesus).
– After the Law has done its terrifying work, the
gospel will show the cost of his redemption.
– His heart will fear when he realizes his liberty
from wrath comes through the death of Jesus.
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229
Charles Spurgeon on the Price
 “The placing of the cross in its
socket had shaken Him with great
violence, had strained all the
ligaments, pained every nerve,
Spurgeon
and more or less dislocated all His
bones. Burdened with his own weight, the
august sufferer felt the strain increasing
every moment of those six long hours.”
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230
Charles Spurgeon on the Price
 “His sense of faintness and general
weakness were overpowering;
while to His own consciousness
He became nothing but a mass of
Spurgeon
misery and swooning sickness….
To us, sensations such as our Lord endured
would have been insupportable, and kind
unconsciousness would have come to our
rescue.”
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231
Charles Spurgeon on the Price
 “But in His case, He was wounded,
and felt the sword; He drained
the cup and tasted every drop.”
Spurgeon
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232
The Scars of Sin Remain
 The risen Savior retained the scars of the
cross for a reason.
 Calvary’s grisly wounds must remain before
the eyes of the Christian.
 They stand as fearful testimony, not only of
God’s unfathomable love for sinners, but of
His incredible love for justice.
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233
Lesson 11:
The True
Test of
Experience
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234
Martin Luther on the Law
 “Satan, the god of all
dissension, stirs up daily new
sects, and last of all, which
of all other I should never
have foreseen or once
suspected, he has raised us a
sect as such as teach… that men should not
be terrified by the Law, but gently exhorted
by the preaching of the grace of Christ.”
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235
Martin Luther on the Law
 Luther’s words perfectly
describe the methods of most
of contemporary evangelism.
 Modern evangelists would
never think of using the Law.
 “The true function of the Law is to accuse
and to kill; but the function of the gospel is
to make alive.”
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236
J. C. Ryle on the Law
 “People will never set their
faces decidedly towards
heaven, and live like
pilgrims, until they really
feel that they are in danger
of hell…. Let us expound
and beat out the Ten Commandments, and
show the length, and breadth, and depth and
height of their requirements.”
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237
J. C. Ryle on the Law
 “This is the way of our
Lord in the Sermon on the
Mount. We cannot do better
than follow His plan. We
may depend upon it, men
will never come to Jesus,
and stay with Jesus, unless they really know
why they are to come, and what is their
need.”
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238
J. C. Ryle on the Law
 “Those whom the Spirit
draws to Jesus are those
whom the Spirit has
convinced of sin. Without
thorough conviction of sin,
men may seem to come to
Jesus and follow Him for a season, but they
will soon fall away and return to the world.”
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239
Isaac Watts on the Law
 “I never knew but one
person in the whole course
of my ministry who
acknowledged that the first
motions of religion in his
own heart arose from a
sense of the goodness of
God, ‘What shall I render to the Lord who
hath dealt so bountifully with me?”
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240
Isaac Watts on the Law
 “But I think all besides who
have come within my notice
have rather been first
awakened to fly from the
wrath to come by the
passion of fear.”
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241
Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Law
 “The trouble with people who
are not seeking for a Savior,
and for salvation, is that
they do not understand the
nature of sin. It is the peculiar
function of the Law to bring
such an understanding to a
man’s mind and conscience.”
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242
Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Law
 “That is why great
evangelical preachers 300
years ago in the time of the
Puritans, and 200 years ago
in the time of Whitefield and
others, always engaged in
what they called a
preliminary “Law work.”
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243
John R. W. Stott on the Law
 “We cannot come to Christ
to be justified until we have
first been to Moses, to be
condemned. But once we
have gone to Moses, and
acknowledged our sin,
guilt and condemnation, we
must not stay there. We must let Moses send
us to Christ.”
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244
The Conscience Bears Witness
 A Nazi soldier was interviewed about his
war crimes.
 Then asked how he felt, he said “I was
given 20 years, and I served 20 years.”
 He had paid his debt to society.
 When asked about his conscience, he
refused to speak any further.
 The conscience bears witness to moral Law.
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245
Paris Reidhead on the Law
 “If I had my way, I would declare a
moratorium on public preaching of “the
plan of salvation” in America for one or two
years. Then I would call on everyone who
has the use of the airwaves and the pulpits
to preach the holiness of God, the
righteousness of God, and the Law of God,
until sinners would cry out, “What must we
do to be saved?”
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246
Paris Reidhead on the Law
 “Then I would take them off in a corner and
whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic
action is needed because we have gospelhardened a generation of sinners by telling
them how to be saved before they have any
understanding why they need to be saved.”
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247
Paris Reidhead on the Law
 “Don’t use John 3:16. Why? Because you
tell a sinner how to be saved before he has
realized that he needs to be saved. What you
have done is gospel-hardened him.”
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248
D. L. Moody on the Law
 “It is a great mistake to give
a man who has not been
convicted of sin certain
passages that were never
meant for him. The Law is
what he needs. Do not offer
the consolation of the gospel
until he sees and knows he is guilty before
God.”
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249
D. L. Moody on the Law
 “We must give enough of
the Law to take away all
self-righteousness. I pity
the man who preaches
only one side of the truth;
always the gospel and never
the Law.”
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250
A Tale of Two Prisons
 Peter slept in Herod’s prison.
– Faith snoozes in a storm.
– Peter was bound with
chains between two soldiers.
– The light from the angel’s
appearance did not awaken
him.
– The angel had to strike him first.
– It was then that the chains fell off.
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251
A Tale of Two Prisons
 The sinner sleeps in prison.
– He is asleep in his sin.
– He is taken captive by
the devil.
– The gospel light cannot
awaken him.
– He must be struck by the
lightning of Sinai.
– He must be awakened by its thunderings.
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252
A Tale of Two Prisons
 The sinner sleeps in prison.
– He will be roused to his
plight.
– The will arise and the
gospel will remove the
chains of sin and death.
– It is the “power of God to
salvation.”
– He will be saved.
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253
A Nation Full of Prisoners
 The nation is full of people—in and out of
church—who have come under the gospel,
but who never been struck by the Law.
 The are still asleep in their sins.
 They are unaware of their plight.
 The Law has never awakened them.
 The power of the Commandments must
open their eyes.
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254
The Sequence of Salvation
 “That is why it says,
‘Wake up, O sleeper!
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.’”
—Ephesians 5:14 (ISV)
 There must be an awakening before Jesus
Christ gives us light.
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255
Timothy Dwight on the Law
 “Few, very few, are ever
awakened or convinced by
the encouragements and
promises of the gospel,
but almost all by the
denunciations of the Law.”
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256
Jonathan Edwards on the Law
 “The only way we can know
whether we are sinning is
by knowing His Moral
Law.”
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257
George Whitefield on the Law
 “First, then, before you can
speak peace to your hearts,
you must be made to see,
made to feel, made to
weep over, made to bewail,
your actual transgressions
against the Law of God.”
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258
Walter Chantry on the Law
 “The absence of God’s holy
Law from modern preaching
is perhaps as responsible as
any other factor for the
evangelistic impotence of
our churches and missions.
Only by the light of the Law
can the vermin of sin in the heart be
exposed.”
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259
Walter Chantry on the Law
 “Satan has effectively used a
very clever device to silence
the Law, which is needed as
an instrument to bring
perishing men to Christ. It
is imperative that preachers
of today learn how to declare
the spiritual Law of God; for until we learn
how to wound consciences, we shall have
no wounds to bind with gospel bandages.”
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260
John MacArthur on the Law
 “God’s grace cannot be
faithfully preached to
unbelievers until the Law
is preached and man’s
corrupt nature is exposed.
It is impossible for a person
to fully realize his need for
God’s grace until he sees how terribly
he has failed the standards of God’s
Law.”
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261
John Newton on the Law
 “Ignorance of the nature
and design of the Law is
at the bottom of most
religious mistakes.”
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262
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “I do not believe that any
man can preach the gospel
who does not preach the
Law…. Lower the Law
and you dim the light by
which man perceives his
guilt; this is a very serious
loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it
lessens the likelihood of his conviction and
conversion.”
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263
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “I say you have deprived
the gospel of its ablest
auxiliary [its most
powerful weapon] when
you have set aside the Law.
You have taken away from
it the schoolmaster that is to
bring men to Christ... They will never
accept grace till they tremble before a just
and holy Law.”
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264
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Therefore the Law serves
a most necessary purpose,
and it must not be
removed from its place.”
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265
Robert Flockhart on the Law
 “I consider the language of the apostle in
Romans 7:9 not inapplicable to my situation
at that time, “’but when the commandment
came, sin revived, and I died.’ Sin, that had
been asleep before, came like a giant upon
me. I saw myself in the mirror of God’s
Law. That Law was spiritual and extended
to the thoughts and intents of my heart.”
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266
Robert Flockhart on the Law
 “Dreadful and blasphemous thoughts, like
sparks out of a chimney, now came out of
my heart. I was afraid to open my Bible or
even to look up, for fear the Lord would
send a thunderbolt out of heaven to crush
me. What a translation from darkness to
light, from the kingdom of darkness to the
kingdom of God’s dear Son! My guilt
removed and my pardon sealed, peace
flowed like a river into my soul.”
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267
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 Perhaps modern evangelism’s reticence to
preach what produces fear is simply due to
concern about the reaction of sinners.
 Some may worry that the message may be
aligned with what is commonly called “hellfire” preaching.
 Yet there is a vast difference between the
use of the Law and hell-fire preaching.
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268
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 Hell, without the use of the Law to justify
its existence, is unreasonable to a sinner’s
mind.
 Imagine if the police suddenly burst into
your home, thrust you into prison, and
angrily shouted, “You are going away for a
long time!”
 Such conduct would leave you bewildered
and angry—the act would be unreasonable.
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269
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 But if the police suddenly burst into your
home, and told you the nature of your
crime, at least you would understand why
you are in trouble.
 Knowledge of the law that the sinner has
transgressed furnishes him with
understanding.
 Knowledge of the law makes judgment
reasonable.
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270
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 Hell-fire preaching without use of the Law
to show the sinner why God is angry with
him will more than likely leave him
bewildered and angry—for what he
considers unreasonable punishment.
 When we use the Law lawfully, it appeals to
the “reason” of sinners.
 Paul reasoned with Felix about judgment to
come and his sins, to the point where the
governor “was afraid” (Acts 24:25).
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271
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 Hell becomes reasonable under the Law.
 The “righteousness” Paul spoke of was the
righteousness which is of the Law.
 The result was that the fear of God fell upon
the heart of his hearers.
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272
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 Those who come to the Savior with such
knowledge are not strangers to fear, even
after the cross.
 They tremble at the cost of their
redemption.
 They gaze with fear-filled hearts at the
grizzly sight of Calvary’s cross.
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273
Hell-fire Preaching and the Law
 They work out their own salvation with
“fear and trembling” because they were not
redeemed “with silver and gold, but with
the precious blood of Christ.”
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274
Jim Cymbala on the Law
 “Once they were empowered
on the Day of Pentecost,
however, they became the
church victorious, the church
militant. With the gracious
manifestation of God’s Spirit
in the Upper Room, the
disciples encountered their first audience.
Peter, the biggest failure of them all,
became the preacher that day.”
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275
Jim Cymbala on the Law
 “It was no homiletical master-
piece, to be sure. But people
were deeply convicted—“cut
to the heart,” according to
Acts 2:37—by his anointed
words. Three thousand were
gathered into the church that
day.”
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276
Preparing the Ground First
 The key was the empowerment of the Holy
Spirit.
 We have the same Holy Spirit nowadays,
and we rarely see such a harvest of souls.
 Peter properly prepared the ground upon
which he was sowing.
 His audience was “devout men” who were
gathered at Pentecost to celebrate the giving
of God’s Law on Mount Sinai.
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277
Preparing the Ground First
 Peter told them they were “lawless.”
 The “devout men” had violated God’s Law
by murdering Jesus.
– “Therefore, let the entire house of Israel
understand beyond a doubt that God made this
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ!” —Acts 2:36 (ISV)
 They saw that their sin was personal.
 After the Law’s conviction came grace.
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278
Preparing the Ground First
 Nicodemus was a leader of the Jews whom
Jesus called a “teacher of Israel” (John
3:10).
 He was thoroughly versed in God’s Law.
 He had a humble heart.
 He was a leader of the Jews acknowledging
the deity of the Son of God (John 3:2).
 The Law was a schoolmaster to bring this
humble, godly Jew to Christ.
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279
Preparing the Ground First
 Nathaniel was an Israelite (brought up
under the Law) in whom there was “no
deceit.”
 He did not twist the Law as did the
Pharisees.
 He read “the way of God in truth.”
 The Law also served as a schoolmaster to
bring this godly Jew to the Savior.
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280
Lesson 12:
The Badge
of Authority
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281
Moral Darkness and God’s Law
 America has chosen to
live in moral darkness.
 Its Constitution has
replaced Holy Scripture
as the point of moral reference.
 The writings of men have become sacred.
 Contemporary America is no different from
the Pharisees of Christ’s time, whose
decrees made the Word of God void.
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282
Moral Darkness and God’s Law
 Why is pornography
tolerated by our leaders?
 The answer allegedly
is from our “forefathers”
and not from Scripture.
 “We have a right to
produce unclean literature.”
 Personal pleasure becomes the standard.
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283
Moral Darkness and God’s Law
 Our Constitution is being
used for something it
was never intended.
 When a legal document
is employed as a moral
beacon, we end up with
morally blind legislators leading a morally
blind nation.
 Both fall into a dirty ditch.
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284
Moral Darkness and God’s Law
 The argument concerning
pornography is settled
by Scripture.
 “Anyone who stares at a
woman with lust for her
has already committed
adultery with her in his
heart.” — Matthew 5:28 (ISV)
 Case closed!
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285
Our Authority and God’s Law
 When we point to Scripture
as an ethical beacon, we
must show that our reference
is the Moral Law of God.
 A practical illustration from
street preaching.
 If the badge of authority is
not visible, there is no
respect for the message or the messenger.
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286
Our Authority and God’s Law
 Those who represent the
living God but do not point
to the Law as the core of
their authority, will not gain
due consideration from the
world for their message.
 Jesus always pointed to God’s
Law as the basis for His authority.
 Isaiah predicted this of the Messiah.
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287
Our Authority and God’s Law
 “I did not come to destroy
the Law, but to fulfill it.”
 “One jot or tittle will by no
means pass from the Law…”
 “Have you not read in the
Law…?”
 “It is easier for heaven and earth
to pass away than for one tittle of the
Law to fail.”
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288
Our Authority and God’s Law
 Abortion is wrong.
 Pornography is wrong.
 We can shout our moral
convictions from the highest
rooftops, but the world
will not listen.
 It exalts itself above the claims
of the Christian faith.
 It has no incentive to listen.
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289
Our Authority and God’s Law
 The badge of authority
makes one take notice of
coming judgment.
 To tell the world that it is
wrong to kill, to steal, or
to commit adultery without
reference to future punishment
is to point an unloaded
cannon.
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290
Our Authority and God’s Law
 Some may listen because
morality does have positive
influences.
– Theft ravages a society.
– Adultery ruins families.
– Lying shatters friendships.
 Morality makes sense.
 God’s Law adds an inducement to
obey the gospel because eternity is at stake.
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291
Our Authority and God’s Law
 For the Church to neglect to
point to the Law of God is
to hide the badge of
authority from the world.
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292
Our Authority and God’s Law
 For the Church to neglect to
point to the Law of God is
to hide the badge of
authority from the world.
 The gospel we preach is
there because God stands
by the holiness of His Law.
 Without an eternal Law, there would be no
need for Christ’s sacrifice.
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293
Our Authority and God’s Law
 God’s Law demands
retribution.
 It was the divine fire of
God’s Law that fell on
Christ’s sacrifice at
Calvary.
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294
The World and God’s Law
 If the world knew that
there is an Eternal Law
it must face, then the
world would seriously
consider the claims of
the gospel.
 If it understood that the long arm of the Law
will reach right down into the heart of
humanity, the world would repent.
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295
The World and God’s Law
 If the world knew that
Almighty God is angry
at the wicked every
day, that His wrath
abides on them, the
world would flee to
the Savior.
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296
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Having thus removed the mask
and shown the desperate case of
the sinner, the relentless Law
causes the offense to abound yet
Spurgeon
more by bringing home the sentence
of condemnation. It mounts the judgment
seat, puts on the black cap and pronounces
the sentence of death. With a harsh unpitying
voice it solemnly thunders forth the words
‘condemned already!’”
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297
The Keys of God’s Law
 Each one of the Ten
Commandments is of
itself a “key.”
 These are not keys
that release a sinner.
 These are the keys that
lock the sinner in the
holding cell of sin and death.
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298
The Keys of God’s Law
 Paul spoke of being
“kept under guard”
by the Law.
 He was left without
hope, condemned,
waiting for capital
punishment from the
hand of the Law he had so blatantly
violated.
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299
The Keys of God’s Law
 It was in the darkness
of the law that Paul saw
the light of the glorious
gospel.
 The grace of God
pointed him to
another door—the
door of the Savior.
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300
The Keys of God’s Law
 It was in the darkness
of the law that Paul saw
the light of the glorious
gospel.
 The grace of God
pointed him to
another door—the
door of the Savior.
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301
The Keys of God’s Law
 Paul could leave the cell
because his fine had been
paid in full by the shed
blood of the spotless Lamb
of God.
 It was the Law that
showed Paul that he was
unable to save himself.
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302
The Keys of God’s Law
 Paul knew that salvation
was an act of mercy.
 Paul’s deliverance from
death was the result of
God’s grace.
 It was not something in
his own character that
drew mercy toward him.
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303
An Example from the Streets
 A young man destroyed a prop used in
street preaching by author Ray Comfort.
 Ray “captured” the young man and held
him under arrest for the police.
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304
An Example from the Streets
 A young man destroyed a prop used in
street preaching by author Ray Comfort.
 Ray “captured” the young man and held
him under arrest for the police.
 He gave him a choice: pay the debt or pay
the penalty.
 The young man could not pay the price.
 Ray paid it for him.
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305
An Example from the Streets
 The young man’s guilt was evident.
 He had been caught in the act.
 He could not make atonement.
 He deserved nothing but judgment.
 Instead, he received mercy.
 His mouth dropped open in unbelief at the
grace showed by the forgiveness of the debt.
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306
The Pleasure of Sin
 People know the consequences of a sinful
lifestyle, but the immediate pleasure far
outweighs the fear of long-term negative
consequences.
 Sinful man will not give up his darling
lust unless he has a good reason to do so.
 Hell is a good reason.
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307
Lesson 13:
Don’t Leave
Me Like
This!
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308
Trembling Before God’s Law
 We should not be afraid to make the sinner
tremble.
 Which is worse?
– Trembling because of guilt?
– Eternity in the lake of fire?
 Whitefield preached until the Law “stopped
the mouth” and sinners hung their heads in
shame.
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309
Trembling Before God’s Law
 Terror of the Law drives men to the cross.
 A resurrected and accusing conscience is
the first evidence of the beginnings of the
work of the Holy Spirit.
 It is a great mistake to muffle its voice with
talk of God’s forgiveness before it has a
chance to do its precious work.
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310
The Conscience and the Law
 A sinner will often make excuses about
doctrine to sidetrack talk about salvation.
 Ask if the sinner has ever told a lie.
 Ask if the sinner has ever stolen.
 Ask if the sinner has ever lusted.
 Leave the lying, thieving adulterer with his
own conscience for a while.
 The sinner will become uncomfortable.
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311
The Conscience and the Law
 A sinner cannot begin to justify his sin in
light of a quickened conscience.
 The sinner’s conscience cannot let him
admit that his sin is right.
 The conscience is an ally of the “work of
the Law.”
 Because the conscience of a sinner is
actually an ally working with us, we can say
hard things to sinners.
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312
The Conscience and the Law
 The conscience does not join in with the
pleasures of sin.
 The unregenerate person loves sin with all
of his heart, mind, soul and strength.
 The “judge” in the “courtroom” of the mind
stands aloof and makes an impartial
judgment.
– It is the “the conscious bearing witness, their
thoughts accusing or excusing them.”
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313
The Conscience and the Law
 In parts of Africa
during the drought
season, antelope are
drawn by thirst to
pools of muddy
water.
 Without drink they
will die of
dehydration.
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314
The Conscience and the Law
 Hidden in the foul
waters lie hungry and
vicious crocodiles.
 The only thing visible
in the water is the
naked eye of the monster as it watches the
antelope’s every movement.
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315
The Conscience and the Law
 Desire so consumes
the animal that he
slowly ventures to
the water’s edge,
and completely lets
down his God-given
guard as he drinks in the life-giving liquid.
Instinct warns him of the danger, but his
unquenchable thirst drives him to the water.
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316
The Conscience and the Law
 Suddenly, great
jaws open and
amid the splashing
of water, the
animal is pulled
to a terrifying
death.
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317
The Conscience and the Law
 The sinner is drawn to the muddy pool of
iniquity by his uncontrollable thirst for sin.
 The cries of his God-given conscience are
muffled at the sight of what lies before him.
 Suddenly, death seizes upon him in an
instant.
 He is gone forever, swallowed by the jaws
of everlasting hell.
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318
The Conscience and the Law
 The Law reveals the crocodile before it
attacks.
 As the sinner drinks in the waters of sin, he
suddenly sees sin’s terrible form as it lies
hidden in the pool.
 This is what Paul is speaking about in
Romans 7:8–12.
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319
Paul on Sin and the Law
 8But sin seized the opportunity provided by this
commandment and produced in me all kinds of
sinful desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead.
9At one time I was alive without any connection to
the law. But when the commandment came, sin
sprang to life, 10and I died. I found that the very
commandment that was intended to bring life
actually brought death. 11For sin, seizing the
opportunity provided by the commandment,
deceived me and used it to kill me. 12So then, the
law itself is holy, and the commandment is holy,
just, and good. —Romans 7:8-12 (ISV)
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320
The Law Shows Sin
 The Law showed
him the appetite
in the eye of the
beast, causing him
to quickly draw back
from the pool of
iniquity.
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321
Lesson 14:
Take Two
Tablets and
Call Me
When
You’re
Mourning
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322
Compulsion for the Gospel
 Why are there so few
“front-line soldiers”
in the body of Christ?
– Many people say
they love God.
– Many people pray.
– Many people read the Word.
– Many people praise God with passion.
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323
Compulsion for the Gospel
 Few have what
Spurgeon called deep
“tenderness.”
– These have an anguish
of soul for the fate of
the ungodly.
– They break out of complacency.
– They seek by any means to save the lost.
– The love of Christ compels them (2 Cor 5:14).
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324
Compulsion for the Gospel
 The Greek word
συνέχει denotes that
His love arrests them,
preoccupies and
presses them to reach
out to the lost.
 These are the ones of whom Jesus said there
was a great and tragic lack.
 We are to pray that God gives us more.
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325
Compulsion for the Gospel
 What fire forges these
hardy soul winners?
– Do these diamonds
sparkle more because
of a God-given
temperament?
– Were they born fearless by nature?
 Some of the most zealous and bold
witnesses have been quiet and shy.
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326
Searing in the Tenderness
 If you want to produce a
tender charbroiled steak
on your barbeque, the
best way is to sear the
meat on both sides.
 This process seals in the
juices.
 Then you cook it slowly until it is done.
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327
Searing in the Tenderness
 When a sinner comes
under the intense heat of
the Law of God, it seals
within him a tender
heart.
 As the spirituality of the
Law bears down on him, it shows him the
exceeding sinfulness of his heart.
 It reveals the vile nature of his very core.
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328
Searing in the Tenderness
 The Law shows him that
his lust is adultery.
 The Law shows him that
his hatred is murder.
 The Law shows him that
he is a liar, a thief, and a
murderer.
 The law shows him to be a selfish,
ungrateful sinner.
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329
Searing in the Tenderness
 He begins to see that he
has loved what is
abhorrent to his Creator.
 The Law shows him that
even his so-called “good”
works are tainted by a
self-centered motive.
 The face that hell is his just dessert is the
heat that seals in the tenderness of his soul.
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330
Searing in the Tenderness
 When grace is revealed, it
is embraced as a man dying
of thirst embraces a jug of
water.
 The searing heat of the
Law brings him to the point
of death.
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331
Searing in the Tenderness
 Being freely given the
waters of life forever
secures the virtue of
unspeaking gratitude.
 This makes him a
laborer for life.
 He is forgiven much, so
he loves much.
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332
Searing in the Tenderness
 Such tenderness is difficult
to cultivate in someone
who already possesses
knowledge of God’s grace
in Christ.
 His realization of God’s goodness deprives
him of the fear of wrath.
 Only those who can sing “and grace my
fears relieved” truly see grace as amazing.
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333
Searing in the Tenderness
 It is a mistake to tell a
guilty unregenerate
sinner that “God loves
you and has a wonderful
plan for your life.”
 Such knowledge does not allow fear to enter
his heart.
 This deprives him of a depth of gratitude he
would otherwise have if fear had worked.
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334
Searing in the Tenderness
 The enlightened witness
of Christ is not afraid to
gently put on the heat
when speaking with
sinners.
 As the smoke of the wrath of the Law
condemns the prisoner, it prepares his heart
for a pardon.
 The pardon is welcomed because of fear.
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335
Appreciating the “Cure” for Sin
 The tears that fear produces
will be wiped away by the
gentle hand of God’s grace.
 That hand will not be fully
appreciated if the Law is
not allowed to do its most
necessary work.
 The Law of God exposes sin.
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336
Appreciating the “Cure” for Sin
 The Law of God exposes sin.
 When sin is viewed under
the penetrating light of the
Law, it makes grace abound.
– “Where sin increased, grace
increased even more.”
—Romans 5:20 (ISV)
 The Greek υπερεπερίσσευσεν means to
“super abound.”
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337
Appreciating the “Cure” for Sin
 A physician would never
give you a cure without
first carefully explaining
that you had the disease.
 He will let fear work for your
good.
 Fear will cause you to want to
take the cure.
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338
Appreciating the “Cure” for Sin
 Fear will cause you to
embrace the cure.
 When the cure is
received, fear will give
you tremendous appreciation
for the doctor who provides
the cure.
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339
Portraying the Passion
 A great preacher once
asked a well-known actor
how it was that when
performers present a story
they often bring the
audience to tears, yet rarely do ministers
move a congregation to such a degree.
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340
Portraying the Passion
 The actor responded that
actors portray fiction as if
it were a reality, while
ministers of the gospel
too often portray reality
as if it were fiction.
 If we really believed souls
were going to hell, we
would preach with
overwhelming passion.
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341
Portraying the Passion
 Our hearts would groan in
constant prayer.
 We would run to sinners
with solemn words of
warning.
 We would take hold of them
and beseech them to turn
from their sin.
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342
Portraying the Passion
 Instead, we lack any real
sense of urgency.
 We are afraid to speak
frankly with sinners about
their personal sins.
We think that searing them
under the heat of the Law
will do harm rather than
good.
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343
Portraying the Passion
 Consider how Jesus spoke
to the woman at the well.
 He applied the heat of the
Law to her in John 4:18.
 He spoke of her personal
transgressions.
 She became an immediate
laborer and preached
Christ to her city.
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344
Kirk Cameron on the Passion
 “I believe I was robbed of
the deep pain of seeing the
depth of my sinfulness, to
experience the exceeding
joy and gratitude that
comes from the cross,
because I was convinced
of God’s love before I was
convinced of my sin.”
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345
Kirk Cameron on the Passion
 “I didn’t see the big
problem, but by faith
believed I was a sinner…
and repented of my general
sinful, selfish attitude.
I had never opened up the
Ten Commandments and
looked deep into the well
of my sinful heart.”
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346
Kirk Cameron on the Passion
 “I never imagined that God
was actually angry with me
because of my sin. Because
of grace, I skipped over
that part and was just
thankful that He loved me
and had promised me
eternal life.”
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347
Kirk Cameron on the Passion
 “While I think I was saved
thirteen years ago, I was
rocked out of my chair last
night, on my knees
confessing the specific sins
that have plagued my heart
that were never uncovered
before.”
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348
Kirk Cameron on the Passion
 “I think my knowledge of
the new covenant and
‘under grace, not Law’
kept me from ever
examining my heart by the
light of the Ten
Commandments.”
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349
Kirk Cameron on the Passion
 “The new weight of my
sin is causing more pain in
me... wounding my ego,
and showing me how much
more Jesus had to pay to
set me free. Oh, the
wonderful cross!”
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350
Lesson 15:
An Angry
God
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351
Preaching False Peace to Sinners
 If our theology omits
the Law, and thus
the necessity of the
conviction of sin, we
will see nothing
wrong with leaving
a sinner with false
peace.
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352
Preaching False Peace to Sinners
 We must never
preach a false peace
to the sinner.
 “They have treated
my people’s wound
superficially, saying,
‘Peace, peace, when
there is no peace.’” — Jeremiah 8:11 (ISV)
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353
How to Give False Peace
 Ask “Do you have assurance that you will
go to heaven when you die?”
– Who in his right mind doesn’t want to go to
heaven?
 Say “God wants you to have that assurance.
All of us have sinned and come short of the
glory of God, but God sent His Son to die
on the cross for us so that we could have
peace with God.”
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354
How to Give False Peace
 Then say,“When we repent and trust in
Him, God will give us everlasting life. He
writes our name in the Book of Life.
 Then ask, “Would you like to accept Jesus
into your heart right now and have your
name written in heaven?”
 Then say, “I could lead you in what’s called
a ‘sinner’s prayer’ right now. Would you
like to pray?”
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355
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
 A blind sinner is heading
for a thousand-foot cliff.
 The fast fold gospel says,
“Blind man, I am going
to give you a wonderful
gift that will give you
peace.”
 He is given a CD player.
 The man adjusts his headphones.
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356
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
 He hears “Amazing Grace”
sung by a choir!
 He smiles and says “Thank
you very much.”
 He shakes your hand.
 He turns up the volume.
 He continues tapping his
way toward the cliff.
 He perishes from the fall.
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357
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
 Modern evangelism fails
to awaken the blind sinner
to his true plight.
 It gives him a false peace.
 He is not only still heading
toward a horrible death,
but he is deaf toward any
further warning.
 We have done an unspeakable service.
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358
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
 Millions have been given
“assurance of salvation”
but are strangers to biblical
repentance.
 The Law has never
awakened them.
 They have never been
warned to turn from the
cliffs of eternal destruction.
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359
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
 Millions have been given
“assurance of salvation”
but are strangers to biblical
repentance.
 The Law has never
awakened them.
 They have never been
warned to turn from the
cliffs of eternal destruction.
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360
The Tragic Result of False Peace
 1/3 of America’s 70,000,000
baby boomers call themselves
“born again” Christians.
 Only about 1/2 of those go to
a conservative Protestant
church.
 20% do not belong to any
church at all.
 7% believe in astrology and reincarnation.
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361
The Tragic Result of False Peace
 Our nation has lost God’s blessing.
 “Natural” disasters abound around us.
– 1,382,400 new cancer cases each year.
– Killer bees and massive hurricanes
– Devastating floods and increasing earthquakes
– Prolonged droughts and numerous tornadoes
 After decades of modern evangelism, most
people see God as “benevolent.”
 These are seen as “natural” problems.
 God would never judge our nation.
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362
The Dilemma of False Peace
 To go from preaching
“God loves you and
has a wonderful plan
for your life” to “God
is angry at the wicked
every day” is too
great a leap to take.
 Few preachers have the courage to say that
America is under God’s judgment.
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363
The Dilemma of False Peace
 Those who do are
considered fanatical.
 100 years ago,
modern evangelism
forsook the “stepping
stone” of God’s Law.
 Without it, the world
cannot see that God could and would be
angry at humanity.
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364
The Dilemma of False Peace
 Without the use of
the Law, judgment
is totally
unreasonable.
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365
The Dilemma of False Peace
 “When we say that we
are bad, the ‘wrath’ of
God seems a barbarous
doctrine; as soon as we
perceive our badness, it
appears inevitable, a mere
corollary from God’s
goodness.” — C. S. Lewis
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366
The Dilemma of False Peace
 Without the use of
the Law, judgment
is totally
unreasonable.
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367
The Dilemma of False Peace
 Without the use of
the Law, judgment
is totally
unreasonable.
 The Law helps us
perceive our
“badness.”
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368
God is… Nice?
 A “Christian” heckled
Ray as he preached.
– “Don’t listen to this
man. God loves you.”
 Ray asked her where
her hearers would go
if they died without the Savior.
 “To hell,” she replied. “But God is nice.”
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369
God is… Nice?
 God is many things:
– Holy and perfect
– Righteous and loving
 There is no biblical
foundation for saying
that God is “nice.”
 To tell sinners that their creator is “nice” is
to give the false impression that God is
pleasant, sweet, delicate and agreeable.”
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370
God is… Nice?
 No wonder she was
offended by the biblical
revelation of His nature.
 The mention of hell
without the Law to
make it reasonable makes God look like a
tyrant.
 Preaching hell without the law brings scorn.
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371
God is… Nice?
 “Even some evangelicals,
who generally take a more
literal approach to biblical
teachings, view hell as ‘a
blemish to be covered up
by the cosmetic of divine
love.’”
– Douglas Groothuis, Denver Seminary
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372
God is… Nice?
 They deliberately cover
any mention of the cliff
toward which the blind
man is headed.
 They don’t want to alarm
him.
 No wonder the world has
a misguided understanding
of the nature of God.
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373
God Hates Sin, Loves Sinners?
 A failure to use the
Law lawfully has
forced contemporary
evangelism to say,
“God hates the sin,
but loves the sinner.”
 This has been used as
an “inoffensive” means to reach out to
homosexuals.
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374
God Hates Sin, Loves Sinners?
 The use of the slogan
has backfired.
 Christians have been
accused of “singling
out” the sin of
homosexuality.
 And they have!
 But the law was made for homosexuals
(1 Timothy 1:9,10).
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375
God Hates Sin, Loves Sinners?
 Instead of falling into
the trap of
condemning
homosexuals for
sexual behavior, we
must show them that
they are damned
despite their lifestyle.
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376
God Hates Sin, Loves Sinners?
 A homosexual is too
ready to defend his
sin.
 When they see that
they have other sins
and that they are in
danger of damnation,
they will see their need to repent.
 God will give a new heart and new desires.
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377
God Hates Sin, Loves Sinners?
 “God hates the sin,
but loves the sinner”
is not a new concept.
 But the Bible says,
“Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I
hated.”
 God is angry with the wicked, not with
abstract sin.
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378
God Hates Sin, Loves Sinners?
 If the wicked do not
turn, God will whet
His sword—He has
bent His bow and
made it ready—not
to shoot at the sin,
but at the sinner.
 This is the only doctrine of the Bible.
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379
Lesson 16:
The Mystery
of the Fish
and the
Mystery
Solved
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380
The Parable of the Leaven
 The Kingdom is like a mustard seed and
like leaven in bread. (Luke 13:18-21)
 The Kingdom is like leaven hidden in three
loves of bread.
 Why three loaves?
 God told the Israelites not to eat leavened
bread. (Exodus 12:15-20)
 “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, the
Sadducees and Herod.” (Matthew 16:6)
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381
The Parable of the Leaven
Knowing this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you
discussing the fact that you don't have any bread? Don't
you understand or perceive yet? Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes but fail to see? Do you have ears but fail
to hear? Don't you remember? When I broke the five
loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets did you fill with
leftover pieces?”
They told him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many
large baskets did you fill with the leftover pieces?”
They told him, “Seven.”
Then he said to them, “Don't you perceive yet?”
—Mark 8:17-21 (ISV)
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382
The Parable of the Leaven
 How can bread relate to Pharisees,
Sadducees and Herod?
“How can you fail to understand that I wasn't talking
to you about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees
and Sadducees!” Then they understood that he did not
say to beware of the yeast used in bread, but of the
teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
—Matthew 16:11-12 (ISV)
 Why was Herod lumped in with them?
 How is doctrine related to excess bread?
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383
The Parable of the Leaven
 Leaven puffs up.
 Paul spoke of leaven in the context of pride.
“Your boasting is not good. You know that a
little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough,
don't you?” — 1 Corinthians 5:6 (ISV)
 The self-righteous man thanked God that he
wasn’t like “other men” who sinned.
 Pride kept the Sadducees in denial.
 Pride caused Herod to murder John.
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384
The Parable of the Leaven
 Jesus linked leaven to leftover loaves. Why?
 The bedfellow of pride is abundance.
 Pride is fed by independent wealth.
– Wealth of knowledge (1 Cor 8:1)
– Wealth of money
 Independent wealth was the sin of the
Laodicean church.
– You say, “I am rich. I have become wealthy. I
don't need anything.” —Revelation 3:17 (ISV)
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385
The Parable of the Leaven
 The rich man needed bigger barns.
 But he wasn’t rich in the sight of God.
 He was puffed up with a sense of his own
carnal security.
 He was “high-minded”.
 The proud, self-righteous man thinks his
own good works will save him.
 He is puffed up by his fleshly mind.
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386
The Parable of the Leaven
 Jesus also equates leaven with hypocrisy.
– “Watch out for the yeast—that is, the
hypocrisy—of the Pharisees!” Luke 12:1 (ISV)
 Herod heard John the Baptist gladly, but he
lived in adultery.
 Why is a man proud, self-righteous, and
hypocritical?
 He has not been humbled by the Law of
God.
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387
The Parable of the Leaven
 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and
not a doer, he is like a man who looks at
himself in a mirror. For he studies himself
carefully and then goes off and immediately
forgets what he looks like. But the one who
looks at the perfect law of freedom and
remains committed to itthus proving that
he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of
what it requireswill be blessed in what he
does.” — James 1:23-25 (ISV)
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388
Peter and the Number “3”
 Mount of Configuration story told 3 times.
 Jesus returned to the disciples in the Garden
of Gethsemane 3 times.
 Peter denied Jesus 3 times.
 Peter’s denial of Jesus is told 3 times.
 Jesus asked Peter if he loved him 3 times.
 When Peter preached at Pentecost, 3
thousand were saved.
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389
Peter and the Number “3”
 When Peter preached at Pentecost, it was
the 3rd hour of the day.
 Peter’s vision of the full sheet of unclean
animals in Acts 11:10 was repeated 3 times.
 When Peter was called to speak to the
Gentiles, 3 men came to see him.
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390
The Mystery of the 153 Fish
 The third appearance of Jesus after the
resurrection relates an unusual fishing story.
– John 21:1-14
 The catch was 153 fish.
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391
The Mystery of the 153 Fish
 The third appearance of Jesus after the
resurrection relates an unusual fishing story.
– John 21:1-14
 The catch was 153 fish.
 In Luke 5:4-7, Peter brought in so many fish
that his net began to break.
 He had to call another boat for help.
 And then both of the boats began to sink.
 The catch was impressive!
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392
The Mystery of the 153 Fish
 In the case of the 153 fish, the weight
neither sank the boat nor caused the net to
break.
 Therefore, Luke’s “great number” of fish
was greater than 153.
 If this is just a “fish story,” why didn’t Luke
tell us of the number of fish caught in the
story he relates?
 But no number is mentioned. Why?
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393
The Mystery of the 153 Fish
 Jesus linked the incident in Luke’s gospel to
evangelism.
 But no mention is made of the number 153
in any of the other New Testament
Scriptures. Why?
 What is the reason for the number 153
being hidden?
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394
The Mystery Solved
 2 Kings 1:9-14:
Then the king sent to him a captain of
fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to
him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a
hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the
king has said, ‘Come down!’” So Elijah
answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If
I am a man of God, then let fire come down
from heaven and consume you and your
fifty men.” And fire came down from
heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
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395
The Mystery Solved
 2 Kings 1:9-14:
Then he sent to him another captain of
fifty with his fifty men. And he answered
and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the
king said, ‘Come down quickly!’” So Elijah
answered and said to them, “If I am a man
of God, let fire come down from heaven and
consume you and your fifty men.” And the
fire of God came down from heaven and
consumed him and his fifty.
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396
The Mystery Solved
 2 Kings 1:9-14:
Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his
fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went
up, and came and fell on his knees before
Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him:
“Man of God, please let my life and the life of
these fifty servants of yours be precious in
your sight. Look, fire has come down from
heaven and burned up the first two captains
of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now
be precious in your sight.”
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397
The Mystery Solved
 Fifty men and their captain were sent.
– They were devoured by fire from heaven.
 Another fifty and their captain were sent.
– They were also consumed by fire.
 A third fifty and their captain were sent.
– This captain fell on his knees, interceded on
their behalf, and saved them from heaven’s fire.
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398
The Mystery Solved
 Three groups of 51 men were sent out.
 3 x 51 = 153.
 153 is our hidden number from John 21.
 2/3 of the 153 perished by fire.
 1/3 of the 153 were saved because of the
captain’s humbling intercession.
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399
Parallels and a Question
 Those who are saved from Him who is
coming “in flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians
1:8) are saved because of the ministry of the
Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10).
 He always lives to make intercession for us
(Hebrews 7:25).
 Could 2/3 of the professing Body of Christ
face condemnation?
 Much of the Church is lukewarm to the lost.
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400
Parallels and a Question
 Only God knows how many will be saved.
 After Jesus likened the kingdom of God to
leaven, the disciples asked how many would
be saved.
 He said many would seek to enter, but
would not be able to do so.
– They were workers of iniquity.
– They were lawless transgressors.
– They did not fear God enough to obey him.
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401
The Concept of “2/3 Lost”
 Zechariah 13:7-9
– “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be
scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little
ones. And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
says the Lord, “that two-thirds in it shall be cut off
and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring
the one-third through the fire, will refine them as
silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my Name, and I will answer
them. I will say, “This is My people”; and each one
will say, “The Lord is my God.”
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402
The Concept of “2/3 Lost”
 The Shepherd is clearly Jesus. (Mark 14:27)
– “All of you will turn against me. For it is
written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the
sheep will be scattered.’ (ISV)
 These verses apply to God’s dealings with
the Church. (1 Peter 1:7)
– “…so that the genuineness of your faith, which
is more valuable than gold that perishes when it
is tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and
honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (ISV)
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403
The Concept of “2/3 Lost”
 The Church is made up of people who have
called upon the name of the Lord (Romans
10:13).
 God says of the Church, “This is My
people.”
 We were once not a people, but we “are
now the people of God” (1 Peter 2:10).
 People wait in the gospel net who don’t
have the “things that point to salvation.”
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404
D. James Kennedy Comments
 “The vast majority of
people who are members
of churches in America
today are not Christians.
I say that without the
slightest fear of
contradiction. I base it on empirical
evidence of twenty-four years of examining
thousands of people.”
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405
Results of Modern Evangelism
 Many “name the name of Christ” but never
depart from iniquity and lawlessness.
 They call Jesus Lord, but do not do the
things he tells them.
 They profess to know him, but he will say
“I never knew you. Depart from me, you
who practice lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:23)
 They shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord.
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406
Lesson 17:
A Burden
for the Lost
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407
Breaking Through to the Well
 David longed for a drink of cool water from
the well at Bethlehem.
– So the three mighty men broke through the camp of
the Philistines, and drew water from the well of
Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and
brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink
it, but poured it out to the Lord. And he said, “Far be
it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not
the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their
lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things
were done by the three mighty men.
—2 Samuel 23:16,17
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408
Breaking Through to the Well
 The three “mighty men” had a love for
David that was more than lip service.
 They risked their lives merely to get a drink
of water for their beloved leader.
 David poured out the water as an offering.
 David’s conscience would not allow him to
indulge in self-gratification.
 The water was a token of their love and
devotion to him.
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409
Breaking Through to the Well
 God has placed eternity in our hearts.
 We are aware of our destiny with death.
 Deep within each heart is a cry:
– “I don’t want to die! Oh, that one would give
me a drink of water from the wells of
salvation.”
 Before the beginning of time, God saw the
cry within every human heart.
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410
Breaking Through to the Well
 God broke through the hosts of hell to draw
water from the Well of Bethlehem.
 God was in Christ, reconciling the world to
Himself.
 The offer to sinful man from John 4:14 is:
– “But whoever drinks the water that I will give
him will never become thirsty again. The water
that I will give him will become in him a well
of water springing up to eternal life.” (ISV)
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411
Breaking Through to the Well
 The true convert holds the Cup of Salvation
in trembling hands.
 He has seen the cost of his redemption.
 He sees that he was not redeemed with
silver or gold, but with the precious blood
of Christ.
 Like David, he cannot drink of that cup in a
spirit of self-indulgence.
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412
Breaking Through to the Well
 Rather than drink in the pleasures and the
comforts of the Christian life, his
“reasonable service” is to present himself as
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, and
to pour his life out as a “drink offering” to
the Lord.
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413
Breaking Through to the Well
 An elderly man in a department store
illustrates the state of many church goers:
– “I believe in God the Father; and the Son, he’s
around, too… somewhere.”
 This man went to church.
 This man had faith in God.
 This man believed in the deity and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 This man was not saved.
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414
Breaking Through to the Well
 If you love God, your heart will go out to
the millions who are in such a state.
 They are in the “valley of decision.”
– Valleys are often without direct light.
– Direct light is what sinners need.
– They don’t understand the issues.
 These sinners are so close to salvation.
 Without repentance, they will perish.
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415
Breaking Through to the Well
 Such thoughts are grievous.
 If you are born of God’s Spirit, you will find
that something compels you to run to the
lost.
 Something compels you to reach out to the
unsaved.
 God gave you a new heart that delights to
do His will.
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416
Oswald Chambers on “The Debt”
 “So long as there is a human
being who does not know
Jesus Christ, I am his debtor
to serve him until he does.”
—Oswald Chambers
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417
C. F. W. Walthers on “The Debt”
 “A believer is ready to serve
everybody wherever he can.
He cannot but profess the
gospel before men, even
though he foresees that he
can reap nothing but
ridicule and scorn for it;
yes, he is ready also to give
his life for the gospel.”
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418
Apostles of Passion
 Peter had a passion for the lost.
 He put behind him three denials.
 He preached on the day of Pentecost.
 He preached to a crowd that gathered at the
healing of the lame man.
 He testified before the ones who had
murdered the Savior, and he told them so!
 He had a passion for God and for sinners.
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419
Apostles of Passion
 Paul had a passion for the lost.
 He had a passion for evangelism.
 He said he was in debt to the world.
 He would have given up his relationship
with Jesus Christ if it would mean his
brethren would be saved.
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420
Apostles of Passion
 “I am telling the truth in union with Christ
—I am not lying, for my conscience
confirms it in the Holy Spirit. I have deep
sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart,
for I could wish that I myself were
condemned and cut off from Christ for the
sake of my brothers, my relatives according
to the flesh.” —Romans 9:1-3 (ISV)
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421
Apostles of Passion
 Paul could not be speaking of his own
salvation.
 The reference is rather to Paul’s willingness
to be cut off from Israel.
 But he was already cut off from Israel
because of his faith in Jesus.
 If it was merely a reference to being cut off
from his people, why did he say he had
already suffered the loss of all things?
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422
Apostles of Passion
 If they were “but rubbish” to him, why then
does he have to back that up with what
seems like oaths to make his point?
 His hearers would not be able to understand
such love and commitment.
 His evangelistic intensity weighed so
heavily on him that he was prepared to be
cut off from the Lord Jesus to see his desire
fulfilled.
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423
Apostles of Passion
 Paul testifies that in what he was saying:
– He is telling the truth in Christ.
– The One who is truth itself was Paul’s witness.
– His Holy Spirit regenerated conscience bore
witness that he spoke the truth.
– Paul had cultivated a conscience that was
tender before God and man.
– The “work of the law” did not accuse him of
lying.
– His words could not be dismissed.
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424
Apostles of Passion
 Paul carried a burden: he was saved, but his
brothers in Judaism were not.
 Perhaps you think Paul was lying when he
said his concern for the lost meant more to
him that his relationship with Jesus.
– But he said all liars would see the lake of fire.
– He would violate the 9th Commandment, which
condemned Ananias and Sapphira.
 Moses felt the same about Israel.
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425
Charles Spurgeon on Passion
 “Have you no wish for others to
be saved? Then you are not
saved yourself. Be sure of that.
The saving of souls, if a man
has once gained love to
perishing sinners and his blessed
Master, will be an all-absorbing passion to
him. It will so carry him away, that he will
almost forget himself in the saving of
others.”
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426
Charles Spurgeon on Passion
 “He will be like the brave
fireman, who cares not for the
scorch or the heat, so that he
may rescue the poor creature
on whom true humanity has
set its heart. If sinners will be
damned, at least let them leap to hell over
our bodies.”
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427
Charles Spurgeon on Passion
 “And if they will perish, let
them perish with our arms
about their knees, imploring
them to stay. If hell must be
filled, at least let it be filled in
the teeth of our exertions, and
let not one go there unwarned
and unprayed for.”
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Spurgeon
428
What Should Our Passion Be?
 When an emergency
vehicle drives through
a city, the law demands
that every other vehicle
must pull over and stop.
 Someone’s life may be in jeopardy.
 That’s how we should be when it comes to
the eternal salvation of men and women.
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429
What Should Our Passion Be?
 There is an extreme
emergency.
 Everything else must
come to a standstill, or
we are in danger of transgressing the Moral
Law.
 God’s Moral Law demands “You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.”
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430
What Should Our Passion Be?
 Hell should be so real to us that its flames
burn away apathy and motivate us to warn
the lost.
 Do we see the unsaved as hell’s future fuel?
 Sinful man is the anvil of the justice of God.
 Have we wept because we fear their fate?
 The depth of our evangelistic zeal will be in
direct proportion to the love we have for the
lost.
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431
A Passion for Eternity
 If you are not concerned about your
neighbor’s salvation, then I am concerned
for yours!
 Eternity is a long time.
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432
A Passion for Eternity
 The zeal we have described should be
normal for a Christian.
 But 68% of professing Christians outside
the “Bible Belt” do not see evangelism as
the number one priority of the Church.
 75% of those surveyed could not even
define the “Great Commission.”
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433
A Passion for Eternity
 A Christianity Today survey says that only
1% of its readership had witnessed to
someone “recently.”
 99% were lukewarm to the fate of the lost.
 97% of the Church has no involvement in
any sort of evangelism.
 But 3 parables in a row deal with the lost.
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434
Lesson 18:
The Rich
Man
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435
The Parable of the Rich Man
Once there was a rich man who used to
dress in purple and fine linen and live in
great luxury every day. A beggar named
Lazarus, who was covered with sores, was
brought to his gate. He was always craving
to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the
rich man's table. In fact, even the dogs used
to come and lick his sores.
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436
The Parable of the Rich Man
One day the beggar died and was carried
away by the angels to Abraham's side. The
rich man also died and was buried. In the
afterlife, where he was in constant torture,
he looked up and saw Abraham far away
and Lazarus by his side. So he shouted,
“Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and to cool off my tongue, because I am
suffering in this fire.”
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437
The Parable of the Rich Man
But Abraham said, “My child, remember
that during your lifetime you received
blessings, while Lazarus received hardships.
But now he is being comforted here, while
you suffer. Besides all this, a wide chasm
has been fixed between us, so that those
who want to cross from this side to you
can't do so, nor can they cross from your
side to us.”
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438
The Parable of the Rich Man
The rich man said, “Then I beg you,
father, send him to my father's house—for I
have five brothers—to warn them, so that
they won't end up in this place of torture,
too.” Abraham said, “They have Moses and
the Prophets. They should listen to them!”
But the rich man replied, “No, father
Abraham! Yet if someone from the dead
went to them, they would repent.”
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439
The Parable of the Rich Man
Then Abraham said to him, “If they do
not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they
will not be persuaded, even if someone rises
from the dead.”
—Luke 16:19-31 (ISV)
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440
The Parable of the Rich Man
 This parable is inconsistent
with every other biblical
reference to deliverance
from death.
 Good works as a means of
entrance into heaven seem to be portrayed
here.
 The rich man’s sin seems to be a failure to
feed Lazarus.
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441
The Parable of the Rich Man
 Then could not the unsaved
earn salvation by feeding
the homeless?
 How much food would
merit eternal life?
 But salvation is by grace through faith and
not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
 The rich man’s sin could not have been a
mere failure to give Lazarus free food.
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442
The Parable of the Rich Man
 Was the rich man’s sin the
fact that he was rich?
 Then Abraham should have
been damned, for he was
rich.
 Was the rich man’s sin
gluttony?
 Was his clothing
abhorrent to God?
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443
The Parable of the Rich Man
 What did Lazarus do to
merit salvation?
 Did his suffering in this
life appease the wrath of
God?
 If so, let us seek suffering
instead of the Savior.
 Let is inflict our bodies as did the prophets
of Baal.
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444
The Parable of the Rich Man
 Let us crawl up the steps
of some cold cathedral.
 If Lazarus is a picture of
the way of salvation, then
eternal justice can be
perverted.
 God can be bribed.
 The sacrifice of the wicked is not an
abomination to the Lord.
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445
Who Was the Rich Man?
 Purple is the color of
royalty (Esther 8:15).
 Fine linen represents the
righteousness of saints
(Revelation 19:8).
 The Church is the “royal
priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).
 The tabernacle (a type of the Church) was
made of linen and purple (Exodus 26:1).
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446
Who Was the Rich Man?
 The rich man is a type of
the professing Church.
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447
Who Was Lazarus?
 Lazarus (a leper) is a
type of the sinner.
 The foul sores of sin
permeate his very being.
 He is an “unclean thing.”
 All of his acts of
righteousness are like
filthy and leprous rags.
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448
Who Was Lazarus?
 Unclean spirits, like
hungry dogs, feed off
the wounds of his sin,
waiting to consume him
at death.
 He is laid at the gate of
the Church—a fat, rich
Laodicean Church—the “royal priesthood”
of believers, clothed in fine linen and
purple.
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449
The Rich Man is the Church
 The Laodicean Church
feeds sumptuously on
prayer, justification,
prophecy, providence,
sanctification, and
purification.
 The Church enjoys an
“abundant life” of men’s camps, youth
camps, and marriage seminars.
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450
The Rich Man is the Church
 The Church enjoys
ladies meetings, worship,
prayer, and praise.
 The Church has young
people’s meetings, Bible
studies, audio tapes,
video tapes, and CD’s.
 It heaps to itself teachers, having itching
ears.
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451
The Rich Man is the Church
 The itching ears of
the Laodicean Church
are so scratched by
feasting, so dulled by
over-consumption,
that the muffled cries
of Lazarus at the gate
go unheeded.
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452
The Rich Man is the Church
 We have become like
Israel when God spoke
to them in their
prosperity, but they said,
“I will not hear.”
 The sin of the Church is
not that it is rich, but that
is hasn’t the compassion to throw even a
few evangelistic crumbs to the starving
sinners at the gate.
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453
The Rich Man is the Church
 The rich man’s thoughts
are only for himself.
 He is filled with his own
ways.
 We have built for
ourselves big beautiful
buildings, with cool clear
acoustics and colorful carpets.
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454
The Rich Man is the Church
 As cozy Christians we
sit on padded pews,
living in luxury while
sinners sink into hell.
 We say that we are rich,
but we are poor, blind,
wretched, miserable,
and naked.
 We have lavished luxury on the lifeboat,
while people drown en masse around us.
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455
Ray Comfort on Itching Ears
 “I have watched vast
multitudes crowd around
ministries of “power,”
“healing,” and “faith,”
and prayed that what I
suspect is untrue. I have
listened to the message
that these men and women bring and
hoped that I was mistaken in my thought
that there was something radically wrong.”
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456
Ray Comfort on Itching Ears
 “I’m not bothered by
what they say, but by
what is left unsaid. There
is healing in the
atonement. Who doesn’t
pray that God would heal
a sick loved one?”
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457
Ray Comfort on Itching Ears
 “We need to have faith
in God’s promises; and
historically God does
bless His people and lift
them out of poverty,
hunger, and suffering.
But why don’t these
ministers preach Christ crucified for the
sins of the world?”
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458
Ray Comfort on Itching Ears
 “They consistently
leave the cross out of
their message, other than
to mention it as the
means of purchasing
healing and prosperity
for God’s people. Why is
there no preaching against sin, and
exalting God’s righteousness?”
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459
A Teacher’s Responsibility
 There must be many in our congregations
who do not know God’s mercy in Christ.
 But they are not warned to flee from the
wrath to come.
 Judgment Day is never mentioned.
 Hell is never mentioned.
 There is no call to repentance.
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460
A Teacher’s Responsibility
 Perhaps the problem is because the
preachers are “teachers” whose gift is to
exhort and encourage rather than to seek
and to save what is lost.
 But the most gifted teachers cannot be
excused for not caring about the fate of the
ungodly.
 Paul pleaded for boldness to share the
gospel as he “ought to speak.”
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461
A Teacher’s Responsibility
 Paul said, “Woe is me if I do
not preach the gospel!”
(1 Corinthians 9:16).
 What are the ethical
implications of a fire captain
who is preoccupied with
making sure that his firemen
are well-dressed, while people
he is supposed to be saving burn to death?
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462
The Path of the Prodigal
 The Prodigal Son said his
desires were for pig food.
 He said, “Father I have
sinned. Make me like one
of your hired servants.”
 If the Prodigal Son had
returned to his father
before he realized that his
desires were base, he may have come to him
with a different attitude.
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463
The Path of the Prodigal
 The Prodigal Son may
have said, “Father, I have
run out of money.”
 Rather than saying,
“Make me,” he would
say “Give me.”
 Instead of wanting to
serve his father, his father would become
his servant.
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464
The Path of the Prodigal
 That is the category of
many who sit in the midst
of the Body of Christ.
 The Law has not been
used to show them that
their sinful desires are
exceedingly sinful.
 God is merely a means to
further their own ends.
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465
Admirers of the Admiral
 Few see how great a sin it
is to neglect evangelism.
 So few have any concern
for the lost.
 Many within the Church
think we are here to
worship the Lord.
 They think that evangelism
is for the few who have that gift.
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466
Admirers of the Admiral
 They see their call to
worship as a “higher
calling.”
 There was once a
respectable captain of a
ship whose crew spoke
highly of him.
 They esteemed him to where everyone
knew of their professed love for him
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467
Admirers of the Admiral
 One day an ocean liner
struck an iceberg.
 People were drowning in
the freezing water.
 The captain made an
impassioned plea to the
crew for life preservers.
 The crew just sat there, praising the captain.
– “We love you. You are worthy of our praise.”
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468
Admirers of the Admiral
 The reality of their
adoration should have
been seen by their
obedience to his
command.
 Their “admiration” was
nothing but empty words.
 If we worship in spirit,
we will also worship in truth.
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469
Admirers of the Admiral
 To lift our hands in
adoration to God, yet
refuse to reach out our
hands in evangelism for
God is nothing but empty
hypocrisy.
 “You shall worship the
Lord your God, and Him
only you shall serve” is more than a mere
satanic rebuke.
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470
Admirers of the Admiral
 If the average church
made as much noise
about God on Monday as
it does to God on Sunday,
we would have revival.
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471
Revival Starts With the Believers
 Only 2% of believers in America regularly
share their faith in Christ with others.
 Evangelist Bill Fay on the numbers:
– Never more than 10% ever indicate they had
shared their faith the previous year.
– In one church of 4,000 people, only 12 had
shared their faith the previous year.
 In one major denomination, a survey
showed that 97% of its membership will go
to their graves without sharing their faith.
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472
Revival Starts With the Believers
 Evangelism should be
the life’s breath of the
Body of Christ.
 If the breath is not in
the body, neither is the
life.
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473
Revival Starts With the Believers
 Evangelism should be
the life’s breath of the
Body of Christ.
 If the breath is not in
the body, neither is the
life.
 This lack of concern for the lost may be
because Christians haven’t been taught the
biblical priority of evangelism.
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474
Revival Starts With the Believers
 However, if we are aware
of our debt to both Jew
and Gentile, and yet
refuse to hold out the
Bread of Life, we prove
to be the rich man of whom Jesus spoke.
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475
Priorities of the Modern Church
 The very reason the
Church exists on earth is
to evangelize the world.
 The Church is to be a light
in darkness.
 The Church is to preach the gospel to
every creature.
 If we worship God, yet ignore His
command to take the gospel to every
creature, then our worship is in vain.
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476
Priorities of the Modern Church
 We must not
draw near to
Him with our
lips, and have
our hearts far
from Him.
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477
Priorities of the Modern Church
 The priority of
the modern
Church for
evangelism
can be seen in
the evangelism
section of your
local Christian bookstore.
 You will need a magnifying glass to find
it.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
478
The “Evangelism Enterprise”
 “I don’t think anything has been done in the
name of Christ and under the banner of
Christianity that has proven more
destructive to human personality and hence
counterproductive to the evangelism
enterprise than the often crude, uncouth,
and un-Christian strategy of attempting to
make people aware of their lost and sinful
condition.” —A Positive-Thinking “Pastor”
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479
The “Evangelism Enterprise”
 What is the “evangelism enterprise” if it is
not to warn sinners to flee from the wrath to
come?
 Modern Christianity has degenerated into
merely a means of self-improvement, selfesteem, and self-indulgence.
 It is self-centered rather than centered on
and in the will of God.
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480
The Purpose of the Law
 “The Ten Commandments were designed to
put pride and dignity in your life.”
 But that is not what the Bible teaches.
 The Ten Commandments were given to do
the exact opposite: to humble us.
 They show us that sin is “exceedingly
sinful,” and that we are in desperate need of
God’s mercy.
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481
The Purpose of the Law
 The Bible tells us that the “Law brings
about wrath” (Romans 4:15).
 The Bible shows us the reality that God’s
wrath abides on us.
 It is God’s purpose for us to use the
Commandments lawfully.
 We are to make people aware of their lost
and sinful condition, “crude and uncouth”
though it may seem to some.
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482
The Rich Man’s Problem
 He was idolatrous.
 His understanding of God
was wrong.
 He did not fear or obey
God.
 He did not love his
neighbor as himself.
 The irony is he waited until he was in hell
before he became concerned for others.
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483
Lesson 19:
Your Role in
Witnessing
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484
What Good Thing Shall I Do?
 Many in contemporary America think they
are good people.
 This the fruit of a nation that has forsaken
God’s Law.
 The Law is “good,” but when there is no
knowledge of the Law, “good” becomes
subjective.
 This was the case with the rich young
ruler’s question in Matthew 19:16.
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485
What Good Thing Shall I Do?
 Jesus reproved the misuse of “good”.
 The young man used the word without
knowledge of its true meaning.
 Sinners often say similar things.
– The “good Man upstairs”
– “You’re a good person. Tell me why…”
 Often, the more “good” people the world
can find, the more they will try to justify
their own goodness and reject God’s mercy.
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486
What Good Thing Shall I Do?
 Like the rich young ruler, sinners need to be
enlightened as to what good is.
 Follow the example of Jesus.
 Decimate the fig leaves of selfrighteousness with the Ten Cannons of
God’s Law.
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487
Good is Not a Reward
 Any good that comes our way comes to us
because God is good.
 Until we understand that “there is none who
does good, no, not one,” we will expect
blessings because we think we are good and
that we deserve them.
 When life brings us suffering, we become
angry at God because we think God owes us
happiness.
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488
Good is Not a Reward
 The Law not only gives us
understanding of the grace
of the cross, but of the grace
of life itself.
 God has not dealt with us
according to our iniquities.
 The only thing God “owes”
us is wrath.
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489
On Grace and Cookies
 A man in a London airport
decided to purchase some
English butter cookies.
 He opened the small tin,
took one out then placed
the tin at his feet.
 After he had waited for his flight for some
time, a middle-aged woman smiled politely
and sat next to him.
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490
On Grace and Cookies
 To his astonishment,
without a word of
permission she reached
down, took a cookie out
of the tin, and ate it.
 He couldn’t believe what this complete
stranger had just done!
 Suspecting that it may be a local custom, he
smiled at her and took one himself.
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491
On Grace and Cookies
 A few minutes later,
she took another one.
 He smiled awkwardly
and took a second cookie
himself.
 She then took a third.
 Who did this woman think she was?
 Then she took the very last cookie, looked
at him, broke it in half and offered it to him.
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492
On Grace and Cookies
 The audacity of the
woman!
 Other words flashed
through his mind:
–
–
–
–
She was brazen.
She was rude.
She was impudent.
She was presumptuous.
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493
On Grace and Cookies
 He bent down and saw
that his identical tin of
cookies was at her feet.
 He had been the brazen,
rude, impudent, and
presumptuous person.
 He was eating the cookies of a stranger!
 He also realized how her response to
his actions had in truth been very
gracious.
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494
On Grace and Cookies
 An unregenerate world
judges God as being the
guilty party for the
sufferings of humanity.
 As far as they are
concerned, He is unjust.
 But the Law of God
gives us sudden light
to our misconception.
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495
On Grace and Cookies
 The Law shows us who
is eating whose cookies.
 It is we who are in
transgression.
 It dawns on us that we
are more than brazenly
impudent in our
accusations.
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496
On Grace and Cookies
 We are guilty criminals
standing before an
unspeakably holy and
gracious Judge, accusing
Him of transgression.
 In light of God’s holiness,
it is hard to understand
why He continues to let a
sinful humanity such as we
to even draw another breath.
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497
Charles Spurgeon on the Law
 “Explain the Ten Commandments
and obey the Divine injunction;
‘Show my people their
transgressions, and the house
of Jacob their sins.’ Open up
the spirituality of the Law as
our Lord did.”
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Spurgeon
498
Jack Hayford on the Law
 “As a pastor I’ve had to come
to terms with a devastating
fact: Through my teaching on
God’s grace, an alarming
number of my flock have
perceived that there is
nothing to learn from the Commandments
now that the Law, as a schoolmaster, has
gotten them to Christ.”
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499
Jack Hayford on the Law
 “Too many view their
conversion as a graduation
from accountability to the
Law... which violates Jesus’
own objectives.”
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500
Imbalance and the Law
 Hayford saw the consequences of an
imbalance of Law and grace as being a
“devastating fact.”
 No, what has resulted is utterly
disastrous.
 This “alarming number” of people are
not confined to any one church.
 The products of a “fast fold” gospel
think they have graduated from
accountability to the Law.
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501
Imbalance and the Law
 They therefore live their lives
accordingly —in lawlessness.
 They have a mere “form of godliness.”
 They are hearers and not doers.
 They listen to the sayings of Jesus, but
don’t do them.
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502
The Non-Accountable Lifestyle
 There is a direct result of the Church being
confronted with biblical teaching on God’s
immutable Law.
 The “sinning convert” would no longer be
consoled in his or her sins.
 Instead of dealing with the symptoms of the
sinner’s non-accountability lifestyle, the
pastor would deal with the cause.
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503
The Non-Accountable Lifestyle
 The symptoms of non-accountability:
– His or her fornication and pornography.
– His or her lack of discipline and holiness.
– His or her theft.
– His or her wife beating.
– His or her adultery.
– His or her drunkenness.
– His or her lying.
– His or her hatred.
– His or her rebellion.
– His or her greed, etc.
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504
The Non-Accountable Lifestyle
 In dealing with the cause of a non-
accountability lifestyle, the pastor will say:
– “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit.”
– “No spring yields both salt water and fresh.”
 He will gently inform the hearer: “It sounds
like you have had a spurious conversion.
You need to repent of your lawless deeds
and make Jesus Christ your Lord.”
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505
The Non-Accountable Lifestyle
 Then, using the Law of
God, he will show the
“exceeding sinfulness” of sin.
 Next, using the Law of God, he
will show the unspeakable
gift of the cross.
 This will awaken a false convert.
 This will also put most Christian
psychologists out of business
and will cut “counseling” to a minimum.
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506
The Non-Accountable Lifestyle
 “In survey after survey, researchers find that
the lifestyles of born-again Christians are
virtually indistinguishable from those of
nonbelievers. The divorce rate among
Christians is identical to that of
nonbelievers. Christian teens are almost as
sexually active as non-Christian teens.
Pornography, materialism, gluttony, lust,
covetousness, and even disbelief are
commonplace in many of our churches.”
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507
No Lukewarm Converts Allowed
 Such teaching would stop the insanity of
modern evangelism’s zeal without
knowledge.
 It would show that the category of
lukewarm “converts” does not exist.
 There is no division in the kingdom of God
for those who are tepid.
 We should be either hot and stimulating or
cold and refreshing.
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508
No Lukewarm Converts Allowed
 Lukewarm “converts” are not part of the
Body of Christ.
 They merely weigh heavy within the
stomach of His Body until He vomits them
out of His mouth on the Day of Judgment
(Revelation 3:16).
 They didn’t pass through the jagged-edged
teeth of the Law of God.
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509
No Lukewarm Converts Allowed
 They remain hard and impenitent.
 They were never broken by the Law that
they might be absorbed into the
bloodstream of the Body of Christ, to
become His hands, His feet, and His mouth.
 They never felt the heartbeat of God, so
their hands didn’t reach out in compassion
to the lost.
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510
No Lukewarm Converts Allowed
 They their feet were not shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace.
 Their mouths didn’t preach the gospel to
every creature.
 This mass of converts is like the “backslider
in heart,” who is “filled with his own ways”
rather than the ways of God.
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511
No Lukewarm Converts Allowed
 Their “Here I am Lord, send him,” doesn’t
come from a rational fear of man.
 It comes from rebellion to the revealed will
of the God they call Lord and Master.
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512
Add Flour to Nullify the Poison
 Elisha told his servants to make some stew.
– “One went out into the field to gather herbs,
and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a
lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them
into the pot of stew, though they did not know
what they were. When the stew was being
eaten, the guests cried out, “Man of God, there
is death in the pot!” Elisha then put flour into
the mixture, and there was nothing harmful in
the pot.” —2 Kings 4:38–41
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513
Add Flour to Nullify the Poison
 We have gone into the field of the world
and brought back the wild vine of the
modern gospel.
 We have added the wild vine to the Church.
 Now there is death in the pot.
 What should be giving life-sustaining
nourishment instead leads to death.
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514
Add Flour to Nullify the Poison
 As sinners are fed a gospel of modern
evangelism, they consume a deadly mixture.
 They are becoming false converts.
 The answer is to add flour.
 Flour is created by going through the
process of brokenness; it has been ground to
powder.
 The Law is the millstone that does that most
necessary task.
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515
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 Jesus said, “Go in through
the narrow gate. For the
gate is wide and the road
is spacious that leads to
destruction, and many
people are entering by it.
How narrow is the gate
and how constricted is the
road that leads to life, and few are the
people who find it!” —Matt. 7:13-14 (ISV)
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516
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 Jesus warned that the way
that leads to destruction
was broad.
 But more than that, He
said it had a “gate,” and
that “many” would “go
in” that way.
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517
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 If the way of destruction
is the way of the world,
why did Jesus call it a
“gate” that many would
“enter”?
 Surely if that were the
case, He would have said
that the ungodly are born
into the way of destruction.
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518
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 Many will enter the way
of destruction because the
way that leads to life is
narrow.
 There are only two gates:
if they don’t go through
the narrow way, then they
go through the broad way.
 The wide gate is entered because the other
gate is narrow.
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519
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 It seems rather that Jesus,
in His usual consistency,
is speaking of true and
false conversions.
–
–
–
–
–
–
The Sower
Wise and Foolish Virgins
Wheat and Tares
The Good and Bad Fish
The Goats and Sheep
The Wise and Foolish House Builders
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520
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 Jesus uses the word
“many” in describing
them.
 He used the same term
when speaking of the
“workers of lawlessness”
whom He never knew.
(Matthew 7:22,23)
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521
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 Jesus likened the kingdom
of God to “a man going to
a far country, who left his
house and gave authority
to his servants, and to
each his work, and
commanded the doorkeeper to watch.”
(Mark 13:34).
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522
The Parable of the Wide Gate
 The doorkeeper should
keep the door.
 He should “watch.”
 He should allow in only
those who should enter.
 Instead, we have forsaken
our watch.
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523
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 The false convert is like
the Prodigal Son before
he understood that his
appetites were base.
 The false convert is like
the Prodigal Son before
he understood that he
had “sinned against
heaven” and in his father’s sight.
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524
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 Modern evangelism fails
to show him heaven’s
holy standard.
 He doesn’t see that his sin
is against God.
 He thinks it is quite
acceptable to desire “pig
food.”
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525
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 He returns to his father,
but his heart is still with
the harlots.
 He chooses to be with the
people of God, but to
secretly enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a
season.
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526
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 It is easier to lie than to
speak the truth.
 It is easier to steal than to
pay for something.
 It is easier to lust than to
be holy.
 It is easier to live for
himself than to live for others.
 His mind is on the things of the world.
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527
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 The professing convert’s
mind is on the things of
the flesh.
 He he is still “bound by
iniquity,” as was Simon
the sorcerer (Acts 8:23).
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528
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 Like Simon, he may
believe, associate with
the apostles, and see the
miracles of God.
 He may pass through the
waters of baptism and
impress many with his
subtle trickery.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
529
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 But those who understand
the Parable of the Sower
are not swayed.
 Those who understand
the Parable of the Sower
see its broad implications.
 Those who understand
the Parable of the Sower see beyond
Simon’s sleight-of-hand illusion into reality.
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530
The False Convert as a Prodigal
 Those who understand
the Parable of the Sower
can see, to their horror,
that the Church by
preaching a Lawless
gospel is ushering
multitudes through hell’s
broad gate.
 The gate is oiled smooth by modern
evangelism.
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531
Rebuilding the Walls
 Nehemiah chose two men to be in charge of
gathering citizens for Jerusalem.
 Their names were Hanani, which means
gracious, and Hananiah, which means Jah
(Jehovah) has favored.
 Scripture tells us that Hananiah was faithful
and that he feared God.
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532
Rebuilding the Walls
 Nehemiah told them, “Do not let the gates of
Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot.”
 God has favored us with the gospel of grace.
 Faithful servants who fear God will seek
citizens for the New Jerusalem.
 They will not open the gates until the sun is
hot.
 They will let the heat of the Law do its most
necessary work.
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533
Lesson 20:
Raiders of
the Contents
of the Lost
Ark
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
534
Removing the Law from Society
 In 1980, when the Ten
Commandments were
removed from the
schools of the United
States, the eyes of an
entire generation were
removed.
 The “Commandment is a lamp, and the Law
is a light.” (Proverbs 6:23)
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535
Removing the Law from Society
 The removal of the
Law left a generation
in the dark as to moral
absolutes.
 We now live at a time
when a generation of
human beings can kill,
steal, hate, dishonor their parents, and revile
God without qualms of conscience.
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536
Removing the Law from Society
 Today’s generation
doesn’t just lack the
moral values of its
grandparents.
 It doesn’t have any
moral values.
 We are daily reminded
that what one generation permits, the
next generation embraces as normality.
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537
Removing the Law from Society
 The enemy has
removed from the
Body of Christ its
ability to be salt and
light in a dark and
decaying world.
 Jesus warned that if
salt lost its flavor, it would be good for
nothing except to be trampled underfoot.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
538
Removing the Law from Society
 We are living in times
of gross darkness.
 This is not a “Godforsaken” world.
 It is a world that has
forsaken God.
 God can, in His great
sovereignty, open Satan’s clenched fist and
drop the riches of revival in the lap of the
Church.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
539
Is There Hope for Revival?
 “Almost every book dealing with spiritual
awakening or a revival of history begins by
describing the pre-revival situation in
approximately the same words. For
instance, you will read such words as these:
‘The darkness before the dawn’; ‘The sleep
of midnight and gross darkness’; or
‘dissolution and decay.’”
— Eric W. Hayden
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540
Is There Hope for Revival?
 “Note how invariably the revival is
preceded by a period of corruption.”
— W. T. Stead
 There is great hope for the masses of false
converts who sit within the Church.
 It is a rich field of evangelistic endeavor.
 The fact that they are still there is a
testimony to the fact that they remain open
to the things of God.
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541
Is There Hope for Revival?
 History shows us that virtually every major
revival of the past has been birthed out of a
great awakening of those who thought they
were saved, but were not.
 We have seen this teaching awaken many
false converts as to their true state.
 God has soundly saved them, and from
there they have begun to be the witnesses
they are commanded to be.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
542
Martin Luther on the Law
 “This now is the Christian
teaching and preaching,
which God be praised, we
know and possess, and it is
not necessary at present to
Luther
develop it further, but only to
offer the admonition that it be
maintained in Christendom with all
diligence.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
543
Martin Luther on the Law
 “For Satan has attacked it
hard and strong from the
beginning until present, and
gladly would he completely
extinguish it and tread it
underfoot.”
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Luther
544
The Ark Has Been Raided
 The enemy has duped
the Church into
believing that it is
advancing by getting
decisions for Christ.
 What has actually happened is that he has
invaded our ranks and stripped the gospel of
its power.
 The ark has been raided.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
545
John Wesley on the Law
“O take knowledge what Satan
hath gained over thee; and, for
the time to come, never think or
speak lightly of, much less dress
up as a scarecrow, this blessed
instrument of the grace of God.
Yea, love and value it for the sake of Him from
whom it came, and of Him to whom it leads.
Let it be thy glory and joy, next to the cross of
Christ. Declare its praise, and make it
honorable before all men.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
546
Ray Comfort on Using the Law
 “The enemy hates this
teaching. I have many
examples of the enemy’s
resistance, but one stands
out in my mind. For years
as I spoke on this subject,
we tried to get a master
audiotape of this teaching
so we could share it with others.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
547
Ray Comfort on Using the Law
 “Each time we listened to
the tape, we would find a
mysterious “buzz” running
through it, or a fifteensecond silence in the
middle of an important
illustration. However, in
the late nineties, I spoke at
a large church in Chicago that had a
sophisticated sound system.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
548
Ray Comfort on Using the Law
 “They gave me a one-hour
audio master with no
flaws on the entire tape.
That is, except for an
eight-word sentence that
had to be removed
because it was cut in half
when the sound man
turned over the tape.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
549
Ray Comfort on Using the Law
 “That eight-word sentence
that had to be deleted from
a one-hour teaching was:
“Satan doesn’t want you
to hear this teaching.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
550
The Law Signified God’s Power
 The devil is quite
happy if the Church
sings of the power of
the presence of God.
 But remember that in
the Old Testament, the ark of the covenant
signified His presence.
 It wasn’t the ark that God prized.
 It was what the ark contained.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
551
The Law Signified God’s Power
 Have you ever
wondered why it was
that God manifested
Himself in such a
glorious way that the
priests in the house of the Lord could not
minister? (1 Kings 8:10,11)
 It happened when the priests brought in the
ark of the covenant.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
552
The Law Signified God’s Power
 Scripture tells what
was in the ark.
 Nothing was in the
ark except the two
tablets of stone which
Moses put there at Horeb.
 It seems God so esteems His Law that He
could not withhold His glorious presence
from the temple.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
553
The Law Signified God’s Power
 The Psalmist never
said,“Oh, how I love
Your ark!”
 Paul didn’t say, “I
delight in the ark of
God.”
 It was God’s holy Law that they loved
and revered.
 It was written with the finger of God.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
554
The Law Signified God’s Power
 The Law was an
expression of His
character.
 We are the “temple
of the Lord.”
 When we give the Moral Law its rightful
place, perhaps we will truly see that
power of His presence.
 It causes demons to tremble.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
555
Benefits of Teaching the Law
 It awakens the false convert to his true state.
 It puts the fear of God in the heart of the
Christian.
 It therefore assists him to walk in holiness.
 It gives him a reason to reach out to the
lost.
– The issue isn’t the happiness of sinners in this
life, but their eternal welfare in the light of a
wrath-filled Creator.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
556
Ray Comfort on Using the Law
 “The enemy has attacked
the use of the Law in
evangelism “hard and
strong from the beginning
until present.” However,
our great consolation is
the fact that this is God’s
teaching, and I believe that
it is His timing to bring it to light.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
557
A.W. Pink on Using the Law
 “It is true that [many] are praying
for worldwide revival. But it
would be more timely, and more
scriptural, for prayer to be made
Pink
to the Lord of the Harvest, that
He would raise up and thrust forth
laborers who would fearlessly and
faithfully preach those truths which are
calculated to bring about a revival.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
558
Using the Law in Evangelism
 The use of the Law in evangelism is the
golden key to revival.
 It is heaven’s answer to the prayers of
those who yearn for the salvation of a
hell-bound world.
 If we want to see revival in these last
moments of time, we must take a firm
hold of that key with unwavering
conviction.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
559
Modern Evangelism’s Ox Cart
 King David had
an experience with the
Ark of the Covenant.
 Instead of having the sons
of Kohath carry it on poles as the Scriptures
commanded, he put it on an ox cart.
 As the ark was brought into Israel, the ox
stumbled and it began to rock.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
560
Modern Evangelism’s Ox Cart
 When Uzzah reached out
his hand to steady it, God
killed him.
 R. C. Sproul rightly said
that Uzzah presumed his hand was cleaner
than the dirt.
 We have put the ark of the gospel on the ox
cart of modern evangelism.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
561
Modern Evangelism’s Ox Cart
 Sincere though we may
have been, we dare not
presume that we can reach
out our sinful hand and
steady the things of God, and then carry on
the way we have been going.
 If we fear our Creator, we must discard our
own ways, and then do all things according
to the pattern given to us in Holy Scripture.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
562
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 Jesus bent down and wrote
with his finger while a
woman’s accusers spoke.
 What he wrote caused His
hearers to come under
conviction.
 Did you ever wonder what
He wrote?
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
563
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 He probably wrote out the
Ten Commandments.
 What else would God
write with his finger?
 The Law strips us of
self-righteousness.
 We dare not point a finger
at another when the ten condemning fingers
of a holy Creator are pointed at us.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
564
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 It was the Law that
brought the sinful woman
to the feet of Jesus.
 It left her with no other
option than to run from
its wrath to the Savior.
 That’s its function.
 The Law sends us to Jesus for mercy.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
565
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 But more than that, it is
the wrath of the Law that
makes us appreciate
mercy.
 Jesus began to write as
though He didn’t hear
them.
 There is no reasoning with the Law.
 There is no insanity plea in God’s Law.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
566
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 It is written in stone.
 It grimly says, “The soul
that sins, it shall die.”
 The Law demands nothing
but death.
 The Law doesn’t hear a
cry for mercy.
 The Law is cold and unmerciful.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
567
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 The ten great rocks of
wrath call for justice and
justice alone.
 The first time God wrote
His Law, it was engraved
on hard stone.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
568
Jesus and the Law Breaker
 If it was the Law that Jesus
wrote in the sand, it was
symbolic that it can be
erased only with God’s
mighty hand.
 That was what He did at
the cross.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
569
Accusers Set Traps for the Law
 The Bible also tells us that the accusers
came to “trap” Him.
 Arrogant and sinful man stands as the
accuser of a sinless God.
 Do you know of a skeptic who mocks God
and His Word?
 Does he accuse God of crimes against
humanity?
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
570
Accusers Set Traps for the Law
 Does he think that God is responsible for
famines and wars that are fought in His
name?
 Then don’t be afraid to shut the accuser up
under the Law.
 Stop his mouth. (Romans 3:19)
 Turn the wrath of the Law on him.
 Show him that he, not God, is guilty of
heinous crimes.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
571
The Measuring Rod
 Are you concerned about your
immediate family’s salvation?
 What about your other relatives?
 How about your neighbors?
 What about strangers?
 Are you concerned for the salvation
of people you don’t know?
 How about your enemies?
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
572
The Measuring Rod
 Are you deeply worried about the
salvation of people who have crossed
you?
 Do you love your enemies enough to
be troubled by the fact that they will
go to hell forever if they die in their
sins?
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
573
The Measuring Rod
 If you have measured up to all of the
above, congratulations—you are a
normal biblical Christian, who has
been commanded to love your
enemies and to love your neighbor
as much as you love yourself.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
574
Your Role in Witnessing
 You do not have to convince a sinner of the
reality of Judgment Day.
 That is the work of the Holy Spirit.
 John 16:8 says that the Holy Spirit will
convict the world of sin, righteousness, and
judgment.
 The word used for “convict” in John 16:8
also means “to convince.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
575
Your Role in Witnessing
 The mind of the unsaved cannot understand
the judgment of God:
– “The wicked in his proud countenance does not
seek God; God is in none of his thoughts. Your
judgments are far above, out of his sight.”
 Only the Holy Spirit can convict a sinner
about his sin and convince him of judgment.
 We can’t do that.
 All we can do is plant the seed of truth.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
576
Your Role in Witnessing
 When the sinner repents and trusts the
Savior, it is then that the Holy Spirit dwells
within him and seals him.
– He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, for it neither sees him nor recognizes
him. But you recognize him, for he abides with
you and will be in you. —John 14:17 (ISV)
– When you believed in him you were sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit… —Ephesians
1:13 (ISV)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
577
Your Role in Witnessing
 It is not our job to convince someone of the
deity of Jesus.
 When Peter identified Jesus as the Son of
God, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not
revealed it to you, but My Father who is in
heaven” (Matthew 16:17).
 It is God who reveals that great truth, so let
Him do that task.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
578
Your Role in Witnessing
 Nor do you have to
be an expert on the
creation/evolution
debate, although it
is good to have some
knowledge on the subject.
 It hardly seems relevant to a man once he
admits that he’s a lying, thieving, adulterer
who has to face a holy God.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
579
Your Role in Witnessing
 We are to reason with
a sinner using the Law.
 Never underestimate
the power of reasoning
about the reality of
hell.
 Learn how to give extreme scenarios that
stretch the sinner into a moral dilemma.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
580
Your Role in Witnessing
 Say, “Imagine if
someone raped your
mother or sister, then
strangled her to death.
Do you think God
should punish him?”
 If the person is
reasonable, he will say, “Yes, of course.
That makes sense.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
581
Your Role in Witnessing
 Then ask, “Do you
think He should
punish thieves?”
 Then follow with liars.
 Tell him that God is
perfect, holy, just, and
righteous; that He will
punish all sin, right down to every idle
word.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
582
Your Role in Witnessing
 Tell him God’s prison
is a place called hell.
 Always take him back
to his personal sins.
 Remember to speak to
his conscience.
– “You know right from
wrong. “
– “God gave you a conscience,” etc.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
583
Your Role in Witnessing
 The Bible, however,
speaks of conscious,
eternal punishment.
 If he thinks that is
harsh, tell him that it
is harsh.
 If we think eternal
punishment is horrific, what should we do
about it?
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
584
Your Role in Witnessing
 Should we shake our
fists at God?
 When such foolish
thoughts enter our
minds, we must go to
the foot of the cross.
 We must consider the
great love God had for us—that He was in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
585
Your Role in Witnessing
 Then, we must turn
any horror into
concern, and plead
with sinners to flee
from the wrath to
come.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
586
C. S. Lewis on Hell
 “There is no doctrine
which I would more
willingly remove from
Christianity than the
doctrine of hell…. But it
has the full support of
Scripture and, especially,
of our Lord’s own words;
it has always been held by the Christian
Church, and it has the support of reason.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
587
Your Role in Witnessing
 That is why the Law
is so wonderful.
 The Law gives hell
rationality, and thereby
gives access to a heart
that was once closed.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
588
George MacLeod on Witnessing
 “I simply argue that the
cross should be raised at
the center of the marketplace as well as on the
steeple of the church. I am
recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in
a cathedral between two
candles…
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
589
George MacLeod on Witnessing
 “…but on a cross between
two thieves; on the town’s
garbage heap; at a crossroad, so cosmopolitan they
had to write His title in
Hebrew and Latin and
Greek... at the kind of a
place where cynics talk
smut…
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
590
George MacLeod on Witnessing
 “…and thieves curse, and
soldiers gamble. Because
that is where He died.
And that is what He died
for. And that is what He
died about. That is where
church-men ought to be
and what church-men
ought to be about.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
591
Supplement:
What Must
I Do to Be
Saved?
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
592
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
593
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
594
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
595
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
596
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
597
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
598
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
599
You Have Broken God’s Law
 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
 Worship only God.
 Do not murder.
 Don’t make an idol.
 Do not commit
 Don’t take God’s
adultery.
 Do not steal.
 Do not lie.
 Do not covet.
name in vain.
 Honor the Sabbath.
 Honor your father and
mother.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
600
You Were Born a Sinner
 All people are born sinners. We are all
unrighteous people.
– As it is written, “Not even one person is
righteous. No one understands. No one searches
for God. All have turned away. Together they
have become worthless.” (Romans 3:10-12)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
601
Your Best Efforts Will Fail
 All people sin. Our best efforts will never
measure up.
– … since all have sinned and continue to fall
short of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
602
The Price of Sin is Death
 The price of sin is death.
– Therefore, just as sin entered the world through
one man, and death through sin, so death spread
to everyone, because all have sinned. (Romans
5:12)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
603
Jesus Paid Your Debt
 Jesus paid your debt by dying in your place.
– For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus
our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
604
Christ Died for You
 Christ died in your place, paying your price,
and suffering so that you would not have to
suffer eternally.
– But God demonstrates his love for us by the
fact that Christ died for us while we were still
sinners. (Romans 5:8)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
605
His Invitation Is to You… Now
 His invitation is open to anyone… even
you.
– For “everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
606
Confess, Declare, Believe
 You must confess your sin, declare His
Lordship, and believe in your heart that God
raised Christ from the dead.
– If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is
Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved. For a
person believes with his heart and is justified,
and a person declares with his mouth and is
saved. (Romans 10:9-10)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
607
Your Prayer for Salvation
 “Lord, Jesus, I have broken your holy Law.
I confess that I am a sinner and I stand
condemned before you. I know that you
paid the price for my sins by dying on the
cross. I ask that you forgive my sins and I
receive you as my Savior and Lord. I thank
you for forgiving my sins and giving me
eternal life. Take control of the throne of my
life. Make me the kind of person you want
me to be. Amen.”
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
608
Some Truths to Remember
 Remember these simple truths from God’s
Word:
– If we make it our habit to confess our sins, he is
faithful and righteous to forgive us those sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9)
– The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that
we are God’s children. ( Romans 8:16)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
609
Some Truths to Remember
 Remember these simple truths from God’s
Word:
– For by such grace you have been saved through
faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift
of God and not the result of works, lest anyone
boast. (Ephesians 2:8)
– For I consider that the sufferings of this present
time are not worth comparing to the glory that
will be revealed to us. ( Romans 8:18)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
610
Some Truths to Remember
 Remember these simple truths from God’s
Word:
– I have written these things to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God so that you may
know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)
– Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. Old things have disappeared, and—
look!—all things have become new! All of this
comes from God, who has reconciled us to
himself through Christ… (2 Cor 5:17-18a)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
611
Supplement:
Learning
God’s Law
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
612
Learning the 10 Commandments
 Imagine a little boy
struggling to lift a
large “boom box”—
an FM radio.
 He gives the FM
radio to a little girl.
 She hefts the FM radio to her shoulder,
showing a mass of muscle on her biceps.
 You’ve just learned the 10 Commandments.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
613
Learning the 10 Commandments
 The 10 Commandments
are summed up in
this anagram:
GIVeS FM; show me
your MASLE (a slight
mispronunciation of
that mass of “muscle”).
 It’s called a mnemonic device because it
sounds like something you already know.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
614
Learning the 10 Commandments
GIVeS FM
 G = God
 I = Idol
 V = Vain
 S = Sabbath
 FM = Father and
Mother
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
615
Learning the 10 Commandments
Show me your MASLE.
 M = Murder
 A = Adultery
 S = Stealing
 L = Lying
 E = Envy (covet)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
616
Learning the 10 Commandments
GIVeS FM
 G = God
 I = Idol
 V = Vain
 S = Sabbath
 FM = Father and
Mother
Show me your MASLE.
 M = Murder
 A = Adultery
 S = Stealing
 L = Lying
 E = Envy (covet)
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
617
About Ray Comfort
 Ray Comfort has preached in over
700 churches. His video teachings
have been viewed by over 30,000
pastors. Millions of his gospel
tracts are distributed every year.
He has written over 30 books,
including Hell’s Best Kept Secret,
which has sold more than 100,000
copies. Ray Comfort makes his
home in the city of Bellflower in
Southern California. Visit him at
http://www.raycomfort.com.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
618
About The Evidence Bible
 Study how to share your faith with
your family or at your workplace.
Learn how to witness to an atheist.
See from Scripture how to prove
God’s existence without the use of
faith. Discover how to prove the
authenticity of the Bible through
prophecy. See how the Bible is full
of eye-opening scientific and
medical facts. Click here to review
The Evidence Bible on line. Click
here to order on line.
Revival's Golden Key – Visit Ray Comfort at www.raycomfort.com.
619