Militant Evangelism! (35 page)

What I normally do is share my own testimony by saying how, as a non-
Christian,
I judged my standard by the standard of men. I didn't realize how high God's standard was. I often tell a story of a little girl who remarked to her mother how clean some sheep looked against the green grass. Then, as snow began to fall, this same girl remarked how dirty the sheep looked against the white snow. I tell them that if they compare themselves with the standard of other people, they may look reasonably clean, but if they compare themselves with the snow-white righteousness of the Law of God, they will see themselves as unclean, desperately needing God's cleansing and forgiveness. It is essential to know how to use the Law effectively. Most

Christians today don't even know what the Ten Commandments are . . .
do
you? Can you say with the Psalmist, "Oh how I love Your Law, it is my meditation day and night"?

When I speak at different churches, I often make my way to the Sunday school and speak to the children before I minister in the main service. I say that I will give one dollar for each Commandment that any child can recite. Often I only have to part with one or two dollars. Yet, our children should be soaked in the knowledge of right and wrong, and the Law is God's direct ordinance of morality.

Do you understand why the Commandments were given?—as a mirror to show us our true state before Almighty God. In the story of the little girl, the snow gave her a standard by which she could measure what clean and unclean was. Until the snow fell, she was deceived as to what real purity was. If we don't let the snow of the Law of God fall upon the sinner, he will have no gage by which to measure
himself
. "All have sinned" does not tell them
how much
they have sinned; the Law does.

How weak and fickle much of our preaching is, compared to men of the past who knew how to use the weapon of the Law.
Charles Spurgeon said:

"Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father's house, and never making him say, 'Father,

I have sinned.' How can he be healed who is not sick?
or
he be satisfied with the Bread of Life who is not hungry? The old-fashioned sense of sin is despised and consequently a religion is run up before the foundations are dug out. Everything in this age is shallow. Deep sea fishing is almost an extinct business so far as men's souls are concerned. The consequence is that men leap into religion and then leap out again.
Unhumbled
they came to the Church,
unhumbled
they remain in it, and
unhumbled
they go from it."

Jesus said the enemy is the one who sows tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:25). With today's Gospel, he doesn't need to, we do that for him. How aptly Spurgeon describes so many of our "converts."

So our job is to lay the righteousness of the Law clearly before the sinner. What we are attempting to do, with God's help, is show the sinner that he is destitute, without God (Ephesians 2:12), without Christ (Ephesians 2:12), without hope (Ephesians 2:12), without strength (Romans 5:6), and without excuse (Romans 1:20). We neither condemn nor condone, but we are seeking to convict then convert. To do this, learn the essence of the Law of God.

Reason of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment

I sat down and looked around the scene. Three people were talking together and I didn't feel comfortable approaching them to witness to them. As a
passerby
passed by, one of them asked, "Got a light?" and held up a cigarette. The
passerby
didn't have a light. The would-be cigarette smoker glanced at me, but decided not to ask for a light. Another
passerby
passed by matchless. As the young man looked at me, it suddenly struck me, "I've got a light, and I'm
gonna
let it shine," so I called him over. As he held out his cigarette, I said, "Let me show you this first," and gave him a tract, then spent some time giving this man light for his darkened soul. As I did so, I did some sleight-of-hand, which attracted another four men, who asked if I would do an encore. I did,
then
witnessed to them using the Law to bring light to them. One of them said, "That's really neat. I have never had anyone take the time to sit down and explain this to me." The Commandment is a lamp, and the Law is light (Proverbs 6:23).

The fields are white unto harvest, but if we will not pick up the sickle of the Law, we will not cut deep into it. If we continue using man-made methods, we will continue to reap stony-ground hearers. A quick study of scripture reveals that the Apostles did not pray the
sinners
prayer with every listener. Paul "reasoned" with Felix. He did not tell him that Jesus loved him. He reasoned of the three things that convict the world; of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Paul preached future punishment by the Law, and Felix "trembled." To fail to preach future punishment is to enlist potential deserters into the ranks of the Army of God.
Before I could walk with peace of mind with a soldier behind me wielding a bayonet-fixed, loaded rifle, I would want to know for certain that he was on my side.
His decision to enlist would not convince me, nor his uniform or his boastings. Before I put my faith in him, I want to know his spirit, his heart—does he love the country he is fighting for? Does he believe in the cause? Is he willing to die for it?

Listen to George Whitefield speak on this subject:

"I am glad you know when persons are justified. It is a lesson I have not yet learnt. There are so many stony-ground hearers, that receive the Word with joy, that I have determined to suspend my judgment till I know the tree by its fruits ... The way the Spirit of God takes, is like that we take in preparing the ground; do you think any farmer would have a crop of corn next year unless they
plow
now; and you may as well expect a crop of corn on
unplowed
ground, as a crop of grace, until the soul is convinced of its being undone without a Savior. That is the reason we have so many mushroom converts, so many people that are always happy!
happy
!
happy
!
and
never were miserable; Why? Because their stony ground is not
plowed
up; they have not got a conviction of the Law; they are stony-ground hearers; they hear the Word with joy, and in a time of temptation, which will soon come after a seeming or real conversion,

they
fall away. They serve Christ as the young man served the Jews that laid hold of him, who, when he found he was likely to be a prisoner for following Christ, left his garments, and so some people leave their profession. That makes me so cautious now, which I was not 30 years ago, of dubbing converts so soon. I love now, to wait a little, and see if people bring forth fruit; for there are so many blossoms which March winds you know blow away, that I cannot believe they are converts till I see fruit brought forth. It will do converts no harm to keep them a little back; it will never do a sincere soul any harm."

While we rejoice over "decisions," Heaven reserves its rejoicing for
repentance
(Luke 15:10).

Don’t Fear
Fear

The thing that motivated Christian to search for salvation in
Pilgrim's
Progress,
was fear of the judgment to come:

"In this plight, therefore, he went home, and restrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because this his trouble increased. Wherefore at length he
brake
his mind to his wife and children and thus he began to talk to them. O my dear wife, said he, and you the children of my bowels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone by reason of a burden that
lieth
hard upon me; moreover, I am for certain informed that this our city will be burned with fire from heaven; in which fearful overthrow both myself, with thee my wife and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I see
not
) some way of escape can be found, whereby we may be delivered.

"I saw also that he looked this way, and that way, as if he would run; yet he stood still, because (as I perceived) he could not tell which way to go.

I looked then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, and asked,
Wherefore
dost thou cry?

"He answered, Sir, I perceive, by the book in my
hand, that
I am condemned to die, and after that come to judgment; and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.

"Then said Evangelist, why are you not willing to die, since this life is attended with so many evils? The man answered,
Because
I fear that this burden that is upon my back will sink me lower than the grave, and I shall fall into
Tophet
. And, sir, if I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit to go to
judgment,
and from thence to execution; and the thoughts of these things make me cry.

"Then said Evangelist, if this be thy condition, why
standest
thou still? He answered,
Because
I know not whither to go. Then he gave him a parchment roll and there was written within, Flee from the wrath to come."

We must not fear making reference to the Judgment! This is the climax of the ages. It is an event that the very creation cries out for, from the blood of
Abel, that
calls for vengeance to the last injustice of this age. God loves justice ... and He will have it:

"Let the Heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the wood will rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.

He shall judge the world with
righteousness,
and the people with His truth" (Psalm 96:11-13, italics added).

Judgment is the most "reasonable," rational, logical thing there can be. We need to appeal to the reason of the sinner. Judgment makes sense. Surely when God sees that 98% of all street crimes in New York never come to justice, He cares. Surely, the Creator of the sun, the moon, the stars, flowers, birds and trees has a sense of right and wrong. When God sees a man like Hitler slaughter literally millions of innocent people, is He stirred, or hasn't He as much sense of goodness as has man? Is it only man who deals out fines and imprisonment for crimes? The very reason mankind has a court system is because deep within his fallen nature, he still has a sense of right and wrong. It is there because he is made in the image of God.

Preaching Judgment by the Law is like a light shining upon the dark, unregenerate mind. It is powerful because it is reasonable! It will cause him to tremble, as did Felix. How we must warn them! How great will be the terror of that Day:

"God is a just Judge, and God is angry at the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His Sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready" (Psalm 7:11-12).

God will bring every work to Judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14). It is appointed to man, once to die, and after this the Judgment. Every idle word a man
speaks,
he will give an account thereof in the Day of Judgment. How can we, as lights to this generation, say that we are free from their blood if we don't warn them of the reality of Eternal Justice! How can we expect to receive the commendation, "Well done, you good and faithful servant" if we don't serve God faithfully? We have such an awesome responsibility. Someone sent me this poem, which says what I am trying to say:

My friend, I stand in judgment now, and feel that you're to blame somehow.