7/20/12 Samuel,
21
In Matthew 7, Jesus
made an interesting statement. “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.
If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you
to pieces." What did he mean
by this? Was he saying that some people
are simply beyond help and we shouldn't try to reach out to them? Absolutely not! What he was saying, however, is that like
dogs and pigs, some people don't appreciate what is truly valuable. Our sacred "pearl of great price",
of course, is Jesus himself. We have
come to know how precious He is, but unbelievers usually have no idea. To start out a Gospel conversation talking
immediately about Jesus is like "throwing our pearls to pigs". Unbelievers find it easy to dismiss their
need for Him, mock Him, and ridicule His
followers. Where then, should we
begin? The law! Just as John the Baptist brought the law to
prepare the way for Jesus, Paul taught that "the law was put in
charge to lead us to Christ" (Gal. 3:24)
The work of evangelism is to use the law to help people see their need
for the grace found in Jesus! Today I
had the privilege of sharing the law and grace of the Gospel with a young man
named Samuel. I spent probably 90% of
our 45 minute conversation using the law to show his need for a right
relationship with God. By the time I
shared about Jesus, he knew his need for salvation and was ready to listen as I
shared my testimony: "...I knew I deserved to be punished for my sins
against God, but when I found out how He
gave His precious Son to die in my place, it broke my heart! I've never known such love as this! He gave His life for me, the least I could do
is give my life to Him" Samuel
agreed, but said "It's just not right! I'm the one who deserves to be punished! I should be responsible for my own
sins." "But Jesus already died
for you Samuel, 2000 years ago, on a cross. Its already happened. The best way to honor Him for that is to put
your faith in Him and follow Him. He
said that if we love Him, we will keep His commands..." Jesus is indeed the Pearl of Great Price. I believe the law helped Samuel understand
that.... (For more on law and grace
evangelism, and to see videos of this biblical approach to witnessing, go to
the Living Waters website at http.Livingwaters.com)
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