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We have the best tools of all to use, the 10 Commandments,
the law, which will help a sinner see his ways. We can see where Jesus actually deals with the woman at that well
and with Nicodemus, with the rich young ruler - just to name a few. You can talk
to that person as Jesus did. He was not telling the woman at the well, “you
are bound for hell if you don’t say the sinner’s prayer.” He
used a few principles that we can learn and then begin to use ourselves. This is what Ray Comfort calls the RCCR Principle.
1) Relate Relate to the person on the natural level. Jesus did not go up to the woman and say, “what is the state of your soul?” He first spoke in the natural. 1 Cor 2:14 says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
Where do you fish at? You fish where the fish are at, not elsewhere. Fish bite on
bait. You can not catch a fish by using things that are of no interest to the
fish. They will swim away to something more appealing. Also, you will probably
not find them in the church (museum for saints instead of a hospital for sinners).
We can talk about anything to strike up a conversation to let others know we are
friendly.
2) Create Jesus switched from the natural to the spiritual. It was a deliberate
switch and it requires courage. As Joyce Meyer always says, “Do it afraid.” Remember, God is with you and he will never let you down. If God be for me, who can be against me? If they seem uninterested,
move on. No man comes to the Son unless
the Father draws him. John 6:44
Once we get warmed up and break the ice, ask the person if they
have a religious background. Then, depending on their response, if they seem open, ask them if they think they are a
good person. Then you can ask them if they think that they have kept the 10 Commandments. Take them into a presentation
of the law.
3) Convict Please present
the law respectfully. Do you want to win a debate or win someone for Christ?
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Remember
what your goal is: the same as Jesus’ - to seek and save that which is lost.
You may not sow, you may only reap. One will reap while another sows. We are not looking for decisions, but rather, conviction. It is usually a process in which a person goes through and it is not “I need
an answer by tonight” type of a thing. Your job is to present the truth
in love and be patient, to plant seeds.
The law will bring conviction. It
is the only thing that will. It's
God's prescription for us - just what the Great Physician ordered! Why did Satan
want to attack Judge Roy Moore and remove the 10 Commandments? I believe it is
because he knows what the law will do! He has the church believing we don’t
need the law because Christ died for us but actually the law is our schoolmaster and it brings the conviction
to prepare our hearts so we can readily accept Christ. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Gal 3:24
Jesus used the 7th commandment to bring conviction to the
woman at the well. She confessed her sins. She knew it was wrong. The law had done its job, it was a mirror. Although
she could see her sin through the mirror of the law, she could not see herself without
the mirror. The law also could not clean. Only Jesus could cleanse. And because she was convicted, she
was ready for the grace that Christ offers his cleansing power which brings us to the last principle of revealing Christ to
those who are ready for his cleansing power.
4) Reveal If a person is under conviction, then tell them about what Jesus did for them. We reveal his gift, him dying on the cross for their punishment so they would not have to. Come all to me who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Jesus was not talking about physically tired here; he was speaking of the spiritual.
If a person is not convicted, he is not ready for the savior or the grace that
the Lord offers. He must realize his present state, be unhappy with it, and be
willing for change before he is ready to hear of God's mercy. Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their
feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Matthew 7:6 If you tell him of God's grace before he is ready,
he will scoff at it. At that time takes him back through the law. Sometimes
it bears repeating. Faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 But
please don't get into an argument with them. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord
must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition,
if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses
and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:23-26
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