ANNOUNCER: What things should we emphasize when we are doing evangelism? Ray Comfort focuses on sin, perhaps like getting the person lost before you get them saved? What about grace? What’s the right balance? How should we present the gospel to an unbeliever? Let’s talk about it today. Glad you are with us. This is Grace in Focus, a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website is faithalone.org. We have a bookstore there with Bob Wilkin’s latest book, “The Gospel Is Still Under Siege.” And you can also get information about our upcoming national annual conference. This year our theme is “Believe in Christ for Life” and discipleship. There will also be VBS for the kids. They will be studying crowns and rewards. The dates are May 18th through the 21st. Get registered soon at faithalone.org. 

Now with today’s question and answer discussion, here is Bob Wilkins, along with Ken Yates. 

KEN: David asks a question about how we present the gospel or how evangelicals present the gospel. He mentions Ray Comfort. Now, for those who don’t know what Ray Comfort does, and what would you say? He’s certainly one of the most well-known evangelists in Christendom today. 

BOB: I think so. I think he’s Australian, right? Originally, I think. Maybe not, but he doesn’t sound too Australian any more, but he has this approach to evangelism where he initially talks about their sin. 

KEN: The Ten Commandments. 

BOB: The Ten Commandments. He wants to say things like have you ever lusted after a woman, have you ever slept with someone that wasn’t your wife? Have you ever lied? Have you ever cheated? And then when you say yes—so what does that make you? And he wants them to say, that makes me an immoral person, that makes me a liar.

KEN: Makes me a sinner, right? 

BOB: Makes me a sinner. And then from there, what he wants to do is say, Jesus offers you salvation, 

KEN: From your sin, right? 

BOB: From your sin and from eternal condemnation. And in order to get that, you have to turn from your sin, you have to commit your life to Christ. 

KEN: First, you’ve got to recognize it. That’s why he does it, you’ve got to recognize your sinful status. 

BOB: And I think David’s question is, is that the right approach? 

KEN: Yeah. We, really, his question is, when he says, we, I’m assuming he means grace people, we emphasize the goodness and love of God. I would say the grace of God, right? Jesus offers you eternal life as a free gift by His grace through faith in Him alone, but he says, are there times when it might be appropriate to use something like what Ray Comfort does? In other words, that there’s going to come a time when you’re going to give an account of your life. 

And David actually mentions the Great White Throne Judgment. So whether it be a time, for example, for those of us who are grace people who would say something like this, you know, one day as an unbeliever, you’re going to stand at the Great White Throne Judgment. And the books are going to be opened. And you’re going to see that you fall short, something like, I’m assuming this is what David means. So you need to be considering about that day, your works are going to show that you fall short, if you will. 

And so his question is, is there ever a time when that is a valid approach? What if you meet somebody who is really, really, really dragging the bottom of the barrel when it comes to a sinful life, you know, he’s a drug addict, whatever the case may be, would comfort’s approach be an appropriate one? 

BOB: Let me tell you a quick story and then we’ll go to a some Scripture. When I was at Dallas Seminary, we had an assignment one chapel service where we were supposed to go out into the community around the seminary and find people to evangelize. And so I got together with a friend of mine who had been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ with me. And he and I went to this park about a quarter of a mile or so from the seminary. And we walked up to this park bench and there was the guy laying down on the bench. We asked him, hey, could we talk to you? We got to talking to the guy and I was, I think I was leading the conversation. And I said, if God were to say to you, this was during the time when Evangelism Explosion was a big thing. And I started out by saying if God said, why should I let you into heaven? What would you say? And he said, well, you know, I’m from Oklahoma. And he said about two years ago, I came to faith in Christ. And I believe that by faith in Jesus, I was saved once and for all. I believe in once saved always saved. And so I knew that Jesus died for me and he promised that by faith in Him, I would be with him forever. And so he said, the reason he should let me into heaven is because I believe in Him. And I know that it’s true. But he said, you know, I’m not living the way I should. And he said, here I am sleeping in the park and I’m a wino and everything. I left my wife, my kids. So I don’t feel good about that. But I do know that I am secure forever. 

And so I said to him, look, if what you’re telling me is true, if you do believe that by faith in Jesus, you have everlasting life and you can’t lose it, then you are indeed born again and you’re my brother in Christ and I rejoice in that. But you also know your life’s messed up and you’re not living the way God wants you to live. And this isn’t good for your wife or your kids or you. And I said, I would urge you, you’re not far from Union Gospel Mission. It’s just down the way here. Go to Union Gospel Mission. They’ll put you up tonight. They have a discipleship program. If you want to see if they’ll let you into their discipleship program and you can live there and be discipled by them. But I would urge you to get your life together because it’s not honoring to God the way you’re living. So we had a prayer with him and we left. And as we got up and left, the guy started walking toward where Union Gospel Mission is. I don’t know if he went there or not. 

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BOB: But I believe that the man was born again. Well, we got back to Dallas Seminary and we had lunch. We were visiting with a few other friends and I told him the story. And one of my friends who had also been on staff with Crusade said, oh, that’s a terrible story. That guy clearly wasn’t saved. 

KEN: What about the guy that was with you? 

BOB: Oh, yeah, the guy was with me. They asked him and he said, I’m not convinced, but he said, Bob could be right, but I don’t know. He sure wasn’t living the way he should be living and so I question it. But the other guy was like, no, I’m absolutely sure the guy’s not born again because you can’t be a drunkard and be born again. 

And so I think with the question that David’s asking, should we follow Ray Comfort and do that, it wouldn’t have helped at all because this guy already believed that by faith in Jesus, he was secure. He didn’t need anybody to tell him he was a sinner. He already knew it. Now in answer to David’s question, is there ever a time? Well, biblically, there’s at least one. Look at Acts 17, Ken, in verses 27 to 31. This is where Paul is speaking to the Athenian philosophers. Now, I don’t believe this is evangelism. I believe this is pre-evangelism. Okay. So pre-evangelism is kind of an apologetic to get people to listen. But what does he say in Acts 17:27 to the philosophers at Mars Hill and Athens? 

KEN: He says, “So that they should seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him, we live and move and have our being as also some of your own poets have said, for we are also His offspring. Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we are not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” 

BOB: And then he mentions coming judgment. 

KEN: “Because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world and righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.” 

BOB: Notice he calls Jesus the man. He doesn’t even try to say this is the God-man.

KEN: The second person of the trinity. 

BOB: Right. He’s just pre-evangelism here. 

KEN: Right. “And He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

BOB: So he does talk about coming judgment. Obviously, if Paul could do that, I don’t think there’s anything wrong to tell an unbeliever about the coming Great White Throne Judgment. I don’t think there’s anything wrong to say we’re going to be judged according to our works whether we’re a believer or an unbeliever because at both the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment we’re judged according to our works. 

But I do think it would be a terrible mistake to say, because we’re going to be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, we need to turn from our sins and clean up our life and then we’re going to be worthy to be born again. No, if you read Revelation 20:11-15, the basis of being cast into the lake of fire is if you’re not found in the book of life and the way you get in the book of life is by believing. So what Paul’s trying to do there is to lead people to faith and I think doesn’t it say at the end then some of them believed?

KEN: Well, it says that “when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter.’ ” And I think that’s a key here. He’s talking about the resurrection of the dead. So he’s not saying that if they repent, they’re going to be resurrected from the dead. But he does talk about the resurrection of the dead. And so the question is that if they had listened to him more, he would have said to believe in Jesus will be resurrected to be part of His kingdom. That’s the problem with the Ray Comfort method. He doesn’t talk about eternal life like that. 

BOB: And Ray Comfort doesn’t view what he’s doing as pre-evangelism. One of the things we used to say with Crusade is don’t bruise the fruit. I think he’s bruising the fruit because even though he shows videos with him and Kirk Cameron talking to people and a lot of these people take it well and they’re nice and happy. I don’t know how many videos he has to do before he finds one he can use. My guess is it’s probably 25 or 50 before he gets somebody that goes, “Oh yeah, that’s cool. This is really helpful. And you know, I grew up in the church and I’m not living the way I should. And then, you know, whatever happens.” 

I would suggest that a lot of people when you approach them and try to convince them they’re a sinner, it’s not a good thing to do. And besides that, what did Jesus do? When He talked to Nicodemus, did He talk about his sin? How about the woman at the well? No. How about anybody in the Gospel of John that Jesus talked to? He did not make sin the issue. He made the fact that they were unbelievers an issue, that they were dead and needed life an issue. 

KEN: I saw a video of Ray Comfort one time and he was interviewing a young man. I’d say he was in his early 20s and he had a little bit to drink and Ray Comfort said, well, if you died, basically would you, he goes, yeah, because I believed in Jesus. And Ray Comfort said, no, no, no, no, that’s not enough. So he denied that it was by faith. 

BOB: And the guy with the buzz on was arguing with him. 

KEN: Yeah, like, no, no, I know I’m going to go to heaven. He goes, I know I’m not living the way I should, you know, but I believed in Jesus. So it’s, I mean, I’m laughing, but it’s sad. 

BOB: So he evangelized Comfort. 

KEN: That’s right. So to answer David’s question, we would say something like, yeah, there might be times when you point out the sin of the person, but the bull’s-eye is eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ. 

BOB: And it has nothing to do with us turning from our sins. It’s just believing in Jesus. 

Well, thanks for the question, David. And until next time folks, remember, keep grace in focus. 

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On our next episode: what does let the dead bury their own dead mean? Jesus said it. We’ll talk about it. Join us again for more grace in focus.