Using the Law in Evangelism

The Law Is Good If Used Lawfully

1 Timothy 1 .8 says, Now we know that the law is good if it is used lawfully. What is the proper use of the law in evangelism? And again, when we refer to the law as it pertains to evangelism, we're referring to the Ten Commandments, God's moral code, the law that He has written on every human being's heart.

There is actually a right way and a wrong way to use that law in evangelism. Maybe you've seen the characterization of an open-air preacher who is yelling and screaming and calling people names and telling them that they're going to hell.

Very angry, even abusive towards the people that they're talking to. But that is not the picture of a biblical open-air preacher who is using the law lawfully. That person who is using the law unlawfully, who is angry with other people, who is beating people over the head with God's Word, is using the law of God as a hammer.

They are misusing that law. The proper use of the law in evangelism is to use the law as a mirror, to hold up the law in front of someone and their conscience to show them how they appear before a just and holy and good God.

Human Goodness and God’s Standard

Most people, if not all people, will declare their own goodness, the Word of God tells us. Most people believe they are good. Most people believe that when they die and stand before God, He is going to look at all of the good things they have done, overlook the bad things they have done, and allow them into heaven on the basis of their goodness.

But the Word of God is very clear. There is no one who is good, no not one. Jesus Himself said that no one is good but God. God's standard of goodness is moral perfection. Jesus said, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, and no one measures up.

Sin, the Law, and the Need for Christ

All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Apostle Paul rightly said that had it not been for the law, he would not know what sin is. The Word of God says that the law is our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ.

The Word of God also says that the law will close the mouth of the sinner. And I have seen that happen over and over and over again, as I have rightly applied the law of God in my evangelism to unbelievers.

By holding up the law of God as a mirror to the person in front of you, again you are helping them to see, through their own perceived goodness, to who they really are, a sinner before God. And so that is the proper use of the law in evangelism, not as a hammer, but as a mirror to show someone how they appear before God.