The Everyday Club

1/12/12     Sandy,     65
"Law and grace" evangelism acknowledges that people don't put their trust in the Savior until they know they need to be saved. the law is a tool God uses to help bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24) This means we are to use the law like a farmer uses a plow - to do the work of an evangelist by preparing the soil of people's hearts in preparation for the Gospel seed. I was trying to do just this at a McDonalds today as I talked with Sandy, an African-American woman whose heart seems hardened after years of her dysfunctional church. She related a recent controversy with her church friends - whether or not she "dissed" them when she gave their group a general greeting when they thought they deserved a special personal greeting. Sandy views the whole church as hypocrites who only want to judge others, so naturally she thought I was judging her when I asked how well she has kept the law. She was immediately defensive, giving excuses instead of taking responsibility for her sins. "I don't tell lies, I just tell stories" for example. But before her defensiveness turned into belligerence, I went to plan "B" - apply the law to myself. I explained how I would be found guilty on Judgement Day if judged according to the standard of the law, such as the Ten Commandments. Almost immediately, Sandy came to my defense, probably because she knew that what applied to me would apply to her too. Instead of getting nowhere arguing about her sin, she began to understand her own sin indirectly - by seeing how the Ten Commandments would apply to me. Now she understands more clearly why she needs a Savior.