Salvation is God's work
"Salvation belongs to the Lord"
(Psalm 3:8).
When someone appeals to God and seeks forgiveness in Jesus,
his sins are removed, he is cleansed, his relationship with God is restored, and he is
made a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). All of this is the work of God, not man.
The Bible has a phrase that describes the non-Christian. It
is 'natural man'. In 1 Cor. 2:14 Paul says, "But a natural man does not
accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot
understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."
Our human condition can be compared to a drop of poison in
a glass of water: all the water is poisoned but it is not as bad as it could be. The water
is incapable of being good. We, too, are incapable of really being good.
When Jesus' disciples asked Him who can be saved, He
replied, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"
(Matt. 19:26). That is why salvation rests in God alone by grace through faith
(Eph.
2:8-9).
About now you are probably wondering what this has to do
with witnessing. Why do you need to know all this? I am glad you asked. It is helpful to
know because you must realize it is God who saves people. Specifically, it is the Holy
Spirit who convicts the sinner of sin -- not you. "And He [the Holy Spirit], when He
comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment"
(John
16:8).
Remember, the gospel is preached after sin is made known.
Because the sinner cannot come to God on his own, he must be convicted of his sin, and
thus be made aware of his need for salvation. The conviction of sin is beyond our control.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit (John
16:8).
Prayer is essential in witnessing
It is, then, vital that you pray and request God to
convict as well as save. Prayer is an essential part of witnessing. When you witness you
must pray. Then you are free to spread the gospel as effectively as you want and to trust
God to give the increase (1 Cor.
3:6-7). Ask Him to send the Holy Spirit; ask Him to
convict the world of sin. The work of the Holy Spirit is essential in salvation.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit works in two types of people during
witnessing: the saved and the unsaved. In the saved, He dwells within (Rom.
8:11), teaches (John 14:26), anoints
(1
John 2:27), guides (John 16:13), and sanctifies
(1 Pet. 1:2).
Without the Holy Spirit we would be like ships without rudders, unable to live as
Christians and certainly unable to witness effectively.
In the unsaved, He convicts of sin (John
16:8). Sinners
come to Jesus to have their sins cleansed. They do this after they discover their guilt
before God. This too is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Since the natural man is separated from God because of his
sin (Isaiah
59:2), the Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures (that you quote) to convict him of
his sinfulness, convince him of his need for salvation, and convert him through the Word.
When a natural man (or woman) is aware of his sinful condition then the gospel message of
deliverance from sin is preached and becomes effectual.
Sin
Sin does two things: it offends God and it kills man.
How? It offends God because it is His law we break. It kills us because of the nature of
Law. Have you ever heard of a law without a punishment? A law without a punishment is only
a slogan. Since God is just and laws have punishments, then God must punish the
lawbreaker. But that is not the end of the story. God is also merciful and gracious. His
justice fell upon Himself -- on the cross. His mercy falls upon us -- by grace through
faith.
Justice, Mercy, and Grace
Imbedded in the relationship of Law and Gospel are the
concepts of justice, mercy, and grace. One of the best ways you can show the difference
between them is to use illustrations that show their differences and relationships. For
example, Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace
is getting what we don't deserve.
Let's suppose you have a bicycle and I want it. So, one
night I sneak over to your house and steal it. You catch me and I go to jail. (Jail would
be where I "pay" for my crime of breaking the law.) The penalty is met and that
is justice. I get what I deserve.
Let's change it a little. I sneak over to your house and
steal your bike. You catch me. But you don't send me to jail. Instead, you tell me to
forget about it. The penalty, jail, is not met. That is mercy. I did not get what I
deserved.
One more change. I sneak over to your house and steal your
bike. You catch me. You don't send me to jail. In fact, you give me the bike plus a
hundred dollars. That is grace. The penalty is met (by you paying the 'damages') and I was
given what I did not deserve (the bike and money).
Justice, which demands payment, does not meet the
requirement of mercy, which seeks forgiveness. Mercy does not meet the requirement of
justice. Grace meets both.
The Lamp Analogy1
Let's say I am at your house or apartment with my wife.
We are talking about church and in my zeal I accidentally knock over your lamp. Now, this
lamp is special. A dear friend gave it to you and it has great sentimental value, and
besides, you need a light in your room. After a moment or two you realize that the damage
is done and decide to forgive. You say to me, "That is alright, Matt. I forgive you
for breaking the lamp, but give me ten dollars."
Is asking for ten dollars after you've just forgiven me,
true forgiveness? Certainly not! When God forgives our sins, He says He will remember them
no more (Jer. 31:34). Forgive and forget are similar in spelling and similar in meaning.
If you forgive me can you demand payment from the one forgiven? No, because a forgiven
debt does not exist.
Let's say that instead of asking me for ten dollars you
turn to my wife and say, "Matt broke my lamp. You give me ten dollars for it."
I ask you again. Is that true forgiveness? No. You are
simply transferring the debt to someone who was not involved in the original offense.
But, we have a problem. The lamp needs to be replaced. In
true forgiveness, then, who pays for its replacement? (Think about this a bit before you
go on to read the answer.) Who pays? You do! You're the only one left. Remember, if you've
forgiven me the debt, how can you demand payment?
Now, who was my offense against? You. Who forgives? You do.
Who pays? You do.
When we sin, who do we sin against? God. Who forgives? God.
Who pays? God! Did you get that? God pays! How does He do that? Simple. 2000 years ago on
a hill outside the city of Jerusalem He bore our sins in His body and died on the cross
(1
Pet. 2:24). He took our punishment: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our
sorrows He carried... He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for
our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him..."
(Isaiah 53:4-5).
God is just. God is merciful. God is gracious. In the
justice of God, He took our place. In the mercy of God we don't get punished. In the grace
of God, He gives us eternal life.
Even though we are unworthy of salvation, even though we
are unworthy of God's love, even though we are unworthy of mercy, even though we are
worthy of wrath, God saved us. He did so not because of who we are, but because of who He
is, not because of what we do, but because of what He did. God is love (1 John
4:16). God
is holy (1 Peter 1:16). God is good
(Psalm 34:8). We could never fathom the depths of His
purity and kindness (Rom. 11:33). We could never, through our own efforts, attain Him.
There is only one thing left for us. We must worship Him, love Him, and serve Him. He
alone is worthy. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
__________________
1. I do not remember where I read the lamp
analogy, but I have been using it for many years. Someone contacted me
and mentioned that it was used by Josh McDowell. If that is the case
then he received the credit for the analogy.
Return to the Evangelism Page
|