Understanding how to witness pt 4
Suppose You came to me hold a tube and said,
“This is a cure to Groaninzin’s disease; I sold my house to raise the money to get this cure. I’m giving it to you as a free gift.” I’d probably react something like this: “What? Cure to what? Groaninzin’s disease? You sold your house to raise the money to get this cure? You’re giving it to me as a free gift? Why, thanks a lot. Bye.…
That guy’s a nut.” I mean, that’s probably how I’d react if you sold your house to raise the money to get a cure for a disease I’d never heard of and your giving it to me as free gift, I’d think you’re rather strange.
But instead, if you came to me and said,you’ve got Groaninzin’s disease. I can see ten clear
symptoms on your flesh. You’re going to be dead in two weeks.” And I became convinced I had the disease (the
symptoms were so evident), and said, “Oh! What shall I do?” And then you said, “Don’t worry. This is a cure to
Groaninzin’s disease. I sold my house to raise the money to get this cure. I’m giving it to you as a free gift.” I’m not
going to despise your sacrifice; I’m going to appreciate it and I’m going to appropriate it. Why? Because I’ve seen
the disease that I might appreciate the cure.
we have preached the cure without first convincing of the disease. We have preached a gospel of grace without first convincing men of the law, that they’re transgressors; and, consequently, almost everyone you witness to around
the Bible belt has been born-again six or seven times.
You say, “You need to give your life to Jesus Christ.” “Uh, I did that when I was seven, eleven, seventeen, twenty-three, twenty-five, twenty-eight, thirty-two…” You know the guy’s not a Christian. He’s a fornicator. He’s a blasphemer, but he thinks he’s saved because he’s been “born-again”.
What’s happening? He’s using the grace of our God for an occasion of the flesh. He doesn’t esteem the
sacrifice. For him it’s not a bad thing to trample the blood of Christ underfoot (Heb. 10:29). Why? Because he’s
never been convinced of the disease that he might appreciate the cure.
Biblical evangelism is always, without exception, law to the proud and grace to the humble. Never will you
see Jesus giving the gospel, the good news, the cross, the grace of our God, to a proud, arrogant, self-righteous
person. No, no. With the law he breaks the hard heart and with the gospel he heals the broken heart. Why?
Because He always did those things that please the Father. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble
(Jam. 4:6; 1Pet. 5:5). “Everyone who is proud of heart,” scripture says, “is an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 16:5).
Jesus told us whom the gospel is for. He said, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives and the blind” (Luke 4:1
.
Now, they are spiritual statements. The poor in spirit (Mat. 5:3). The broken hearted are the contrite ones (Is. 57:15). The captives are those of whom Satan has taken captive to do his will (2Tim. 2:26); and the blind are those of whom the god of this world has blinded lest the light of the gospel should shine on them (2Cor. 4:4). Only the sick need a physician (Mark 2:17), and only those who are convinced of the disease will appreciate and appropriate a cure.
So we’re going to now very briefly look at examples of law to the proud and grace to the humble. Luke
10:24…Luke 10:24.
go to pt 5 now
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