The
Law: Tools for Evangelism
Introduction
Have you seen
bumper stickers or the slogan, “Jesus is the Answer”¨?
If Jesus is the answer what then is the question? What are we trying
to accomplish when we share Christ? What is the gospel itself? And
does the Bible give us any tools for evangelism?
Using the Law
According to
Romans 3:23, we are all sinners,
for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
And that,
For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a]
Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
This is in essence,
the gospel.
Yet, how do
you show nonbelievers that they are a sinner in need of God¦s
gift of eternal life? This is where the law comes in.
The purpose
of the Law serves to point towards Christ as Galatians 3:24 testify,
So the
law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[a] that we might be
justified by faith.
How does the
Law do this?
It shows the
impossibility of self-righteousness:
Is the
law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not!
For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness
would certainly have come by the law. (Galatians 3:21)
It declares
one sin as a violation of God¦s decree:
What shall
we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not
have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not
have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do
not covet." (Romans 7:7)
Someone might
then ask, if using the law on the unrighteous is a correct use of
the Law:
We also
know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers
and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious;
for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for
adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and
for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine. (1Timothy
1:9-10)
Is the Law able
to 'convert' then?
The LORD
is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple. (Psalms 19:7, King James Version)
Objection:
This is Judgemental and Turn People Off
Claim:
"This doesn't show the love of Christ! It is judgmental and
turns people away from Christ!"
Response:
- How can they
know sin then? Recall Romans 7:7,
What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed
I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For
I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had
not said, "Do not covet." (Romans 7:7)
- Romans 2:16
shows that the gospel does declare judgment:
This will take place on the day when God will judge men's
secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
- We must remember
also that those that do not have Christ are already hardened in
their hearts:
the sinful mind[a] is hostile to God. It does not submit to
God's law, nor can it do so.(Romans 8:7)
- The Law is
just revealing their hardened condition:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men
loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into
the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
Declaring Jesus
Christ as the Remedy
But God demonstrates
his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. (Romans 5:8)
That if you
confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
(Romans 10:9)
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