Using the Law to evangelize the lost.

Be sensitive! That seems to be the order of the day when it comes to evangelism. Of course there are other things we should do as well, lest we weaken our evangelism. Things like, be aware of their (felt) needs or don't scare them away with theology, build a relationship, let them see your life and when they are drawn to you, then you talk about Jesus but don't forget: Whatever it takes, do not offend them.
In the midst of so much advice on evangelism, one cannot help but notice the true, genuine love and care for the lost that is demonstrated by brothers of all kinds of christian denominations, through the time, money and effort spent on that endeavor. If you start reading the multitude of books written on the subject in the last 35 years, it does not take long before questions start arising:
Is not the Gospel undoubtedly offensive to the lost?

How is it that those who are enemies of God (Rom 5:10) , blinded by Satan (II Cor 4:4) and lovers of darkness because their deeds are evil (Jo 3:19) are not going to be offended by the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ?

If and when I tell them the truth (and they get offended) does that mean I'm insensitive?

And yes, Am I the only one who gets nervous substituting the proclamation of the Gospel with "let them look at my life" even if it is for a short periood of time?

Those are serious questions about a very serious matter and we all should examine ourselves and be convinced by the Holy Scriptures on how to reach those who are perishing. After all,

we all want to further the Kingdom right?

We are all saddened by the fact that an untold number of people everyday take the plunge into a hopeless eternity and above all,

it is disheartening to know that God is not worshipped as He should all over the earth by everything that has breath.

All that being true, Christians must ask the question: How should we evangelize the lost? I believe that the answer might not be as complicated as it may seem. To proclaim the gospel of salvation to the world, one must first know what the gospel is. In our day and age, many things are called gospel that are no Gospel at all. The Gospel is the good news of God. Sinners can be saved! But for the good news to be GOOD, or to make any sense at all, you have to understand that you are in danger. You are under the just condemnation of the Almighty God. It makes little sense to offer medicine to those who think they are healthy. If you convince them that they are terminally ill, it will make all the sense in the world and the chance that the medicine now will not only be accepted but also applied is much greater. In the same way, to ask people to accept Jesus in their heart without them knowing the horror of their sin against God is not evangelizing at all. You see, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not "He is at the door of your heart knocking and if you let Him, He will come in" or "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life". The glorious Gospel is that Christ Jesus came in to the world to save sinners, lived perfectly without sin, died on the cross receiving the punishment of God on behalf of sinners, was buried and rose again on the third day for our justification. All who trust in Him for eternal life are adopted by the father and become co heirs with Christ and are bound for a life of eternal joy. All who reject Him are already condemned. (I Ti 1:15; I Cor 15:3,4; Rom 4:25; Eph. 1:5 Jo 3:15 - 19)

But how do you approach the "sin subject" without the Law? It is simple, you don't! For the apostle Paul says "...through the law comes knowledge of sin."(Rom. 3:20) The 10 commandments are an indispensable component of evangelism. Your hearers must come to the knowledge of their sin before coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. If they don't think they are guilty, there is NOTHING to be saved from. Also, the Law reveals the character of God, which is utterly important because without a Holy God, there is NOBODY to be saved from. Didn't our Lord talk about the Law with the young ruler? (Lk 18:18 -23) Didn't it become evident that the rich young ruler had another god before God? His idolatry was exposed by the commandments. Jesus also employed the Law in John 4 with the samaritan woman, showing to her that she had repeatedly broken the 7th commandment by having had 5 husbands, in fact she was presently living with a man that wasn't even her husband. It seems that the Law brought about enough conviction in her heart that the Lord revealed himself to her on verse 26 and shortly after that she was already telling people about Jesus.

The apostles also employed the Law in soul winning quite often. Peter in Acts 2 charges the Jews with murder and by the end of the day 3000 were baptized; Paul exposes the idolatry of the men of Athens saying that "... we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man." Acts 17:29 and on the very next verse he says that God commands every man everywhere to repent of it all.

Much more could be said I suppose, but I am persuaded of one thing: If the use of the Law is good for the Lord and His Apostles, it is certainly good for me. I have no right, nor business really, in substituting the use Law for faithless pragmatism to reach those who are perishing. Only God saves and He does it through His Word and if we love and trust Him we should proclaim it boldly and faithfully and let the chips fall where they may for He is faithfull and His Word will not return to Him without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent.

May the Lord of the harvest bless you as you reach the lost for the glory of Christ leading people to His Gospel through His perfect Law.