This past Saturday where I minister, I taught a mini-seminar on evangelism, which got me to thinking. It seems that, at least in the Southern Baptist Convention, an old monster has once again raised its head: the argument that “Calvinists” do not evangelize (Covered thoroughly and thoughtfully by Tom Ascol of Founders Ministries here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five) [a straw man is still made of straw, no matter how big]. Rather than cover ground that Ascol has already covered better than I am able, I want to briefly talk about the concept of evangelism and argue that it is only the Reformed position that is able to have any confidence in evangelism, and I also want to briefly introduce a helpful resource in evangelism training.
While most believers give lipservice to the doctrines of God’s sovereignty (Job 42:2, Psalm 115:3, etc.) and man’s depravity (Genesis 6:5-6, Ephesians 2:1-10, etc.), it is only the Reformed position which takes them seriously, arguing that salvation truly is a miracle. All other positions limit one, the other, or both of these doctrines, arguing something like, “God in his sovereignty, chose to limit his sovereignty, allowing man complete ‘free-will,” or maybe that “yes, man is dead in sin, but only mostly dead, we still have that spark in us that allows us to respond or reject God’s call…” I find neither argument terribly Scriptural or convincing.
The Reformed doctrine of Total Depravity does not argue that man is as bad as he could possibly be, nor does it argue that we do not have “free will.” Rather, it simply seeks to define the concept of “free will” biblically. I do not have the “free will” to jump to the moon because I am bound by the constraints of gravity. In the same manner, our will does not have the ability to come to God because it is bound by the constraints of sin. Scripture is clear that, prior to salvation, we are spiritually dead. The leopard cannot change his spots (Jeremiah 13:23), the dead cannot raise themselves and fallen man cannot come to God on his own (nor does he want to[Psalm 115:17]). The Gospel is nothing less than a command that the dead rise!
This brings up an interesting clarification. The Gospel is NOT God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Picture Noah’s ark tossing about on the waves with men, women, boys and girls drowning all around it clawin for safety, under God’s just judgment. All of the sudden, a drowning man notices that on the side of the ark is a huge smiley face with the words Smile, God Loves You and Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Life written across the side of the ark. What is going to be the reaction? (I have to thank Dr. George Martin for that illustration). The Gospel is the command to repent and believe (Mark 1:15), to escape the coming and just judgment.
When either of the doctrines of God’s sovereignty or man’s depravity are lessened, evangelism ultimately becomes a sales game. It’s up to us to word it persuasively and attractively, and if an individual doesn’t respond, we just need a different approach. Ultimately, there is no confidence in such preaching because there is no power in such preaching. I can talk a room full of people into raising their hands, but I can’t talk anyone through the Narrow Gate (Matthew 7:13-14).
Instead, we are to boldly transcend our culture with a message of sin and salvation, of life to the dead and good news to the poor. It is not up to us to ensure that people come forward, it is up to us to be faithful and deliver the message, discipling (Matthew 28:18-20) those God Himself draws (John 6:44).
The question then becomes, what is an appropriate way to preach the Gospel? One of the best resources that I have come across features Ray Comfort, and of all people, Kirk Cameron. No, it’s not the Left Behind movies.
Called Way of the Master, Comfort and Cameron essentially teach people to use the Law to convict the conscience. This is a method that does not take extensive “training,” simply a basic knowledge of the Ten Commandments and the Gospel itself (which, sadly, many professing Christians do not even have). One disclaimer, Comfort and Cameron play heavily on guilt as a motive for evangelism, which does have a place, but I would rather emphasizing obedience as a product of our overflowing joy in Christ.
It builds on the premise that just about everyone is going to say that they are a good person, so you casually direct the conversation that way. Once they say that they are a good person, you simply ask something like, “Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions to test that out?” Again, just about everyone is going to agree. You then ask them if they are familiar with the Ten Commandments, and if God were to judge by that standard, would they be innocent or guilty?
At this point, you ask if they have ever stolen anything; anything at all, taken a pen that didn’t belong to them, a candy bar, goofed off at work, etc. This makes them a thief. Next, you might ask if they have ever told a lie. This makes them not only a thief but a liar (I like to start with this one so that if they say that they’ve never stolen anything you can say that it’s already established that they’re a liar!). You might follow this with “One of the Ten Commandments is that you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said that anyone who looks at another with lust has already committed adultery, have you ever done that?” You could continue, but here you might just want to say, “By your own admission, you’re a lying, thieving adulterer at heart, now, let me ask you again, if God were to judge based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? If guilty, then where will God send you (to hell)? Does that scare you?” The way is now sufficiently paved for the Gospel. This approach, coupled with John Piper’s evangelistic tool “Quest For Joy” is extremely effective.
Though it sounds harsh, this method is extremely Biblical and effective. You are going straight for the conscience rather than arguing for the existence of God. You are going straight for the heart rather than arguing for objective truth. The vast majority of people will not be offended at this method because you simply use their own admissions against the Ten Commandments; it’s not you judging, nor is it you preaching, it’s God’s Word at work. Thus you are able to say, “Repent and believe, flee to Christ while there is still time.” It’s not up to you to convince them of anything, because God’s Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), it is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) and when wielded correctly, it will do the work that we could never do.
Visit the Way of the Master website.
Read Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer.
Listen to How To Effectively Use The Law by Ray Comfort.
Watch Hell’s Best Kept Secret with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (Windows Media file).
My wife and I have seen several of the Way of the Master episodes (if you can call them that) and they were helpful. It is quite a powerful method for humbling people so they see themselves as criminals. You see lots of people broken over sin as you watch Comfort and Cameron address people, and you see a lot of the opposite - direct hostility and persecution. We are the aroma of life to life and death to death.
Another great resource is Mark Cahill’s book called “One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven”. Cahill’s book shares the same core method as Ray Comfort (Ten Commandments), but adds a lot of helpful questions to ask, encouragement, answers to tough questions, etc. Cahill’s book and the Way of the Master episodes compliment each other very well. The book can be ordered from markcahill.org, along with some great free audio sermons.
