SOS Monthly Newsletter - December 2005

Genuine Conversion

Dear Christian friends,

One of the temptations for those involved in evangelism ministry is to water down the gospel message. In doing so, they can generate excitement about their ministry by reporting about the hundreds or thousands that were saved. If we avoid talking about sin and repentance, if we tell people that Jesus is a quick fix for all their problems, we can get lots of people to raise their hands or sign decision cards.

However, when we try to follow﷓up on such "converts," we find out that very few were really saved. Hundreds of people may have "prayed to receive Christ" during an outreach, yet often less than 10% will begin to attend church. Of these churchgoers, many want Jesus as their savior but are unwilling to obey Him as Lord. "The evangelist told me I only needed to invite Jesus to be my savior and I would be saved, why are you now telling me I must make Him Lord?" Eventually, the church becomes filled with people who won't witness or deny themselves for Jesus. Repeated exposure to a watered﷓down "gospel" has immunized millions against being infected with the true gospel.

The Function of God's Law

Many of you are familiar with the teachings of evangelist Ray Comfort at Living Waters. Ray argues that the primary reason for the lack of genuine conversion in our evangelism is that we fail to lay the proper foundation in our gospel presentation. Before a person can fully appreciate the good news, he must first learn the bad news. He must see himself as a lost sinner deserving God's judgment, like the publican who smote upon his breast, saying "God be merciful to me a sinner."

According to Ray, the way an unsaved person will come to see his sinfulness is through proper use of the law. Here are some scriptures he uses: "I had not known sin but by the law; for I had not known coveting except the law had said, Thou shall not covet" Romans 7:7. "Sin worked death in me by that which is good (the law) that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful" Romans 7:13. "Whatever things the law says, it says...so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God...By the law is the knowledge of sin" Romans 3:19﷓20. "Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" Galatians 3:24.

While this approach to evangelism is rarely used today, it was commonly used by great evangelists in the past. John Wesley said, "Before I can preach love, mercy and grace, I must preach sin, Law, and judgment." He wrote to a young friend, "Preach 90 percent Law and 10 percent grace." Charles Spurgeon said, "They must be slain by the Law, before they can be made alive by the Gospel!" He wrote in one of his sermons: "All the Ten Commandments, like ten great cannons, are pointed at thee today, for you have broken all God's statutes, and lived in daily neglect of all His commands....What will ye do when...the great books shall be opened, and all your sin and shame shall be punished?" Charles Finney, who had an 80% success rate for lasting conversions, wrote, "It is of great importance that the sinner should be made to feel his guilt, and not left to the impression that he is unfortunate. Do not be afraid, but show him the breadth of the Divine Law, and the exceeding strictness of its precepts. Make him see how it condemns his thoughts and life. By a convicted sinner, I mean one who feels himself condemned by the Law of God, as a guilty sinner."

"Owing to the fact that the Law is rarely used in modern-day evangelism," Ray writes, "many are frustrated to a point of making the Gospel ‘man﷓centered’ in an effort to attract converts....Instead of driving the fish to the nets using the Law, they are trying to attract them by holding up only the ‘good things’ of the Gospel. Let me give an example of an average altar call:

“’Come to Jesus; won't you give your heart to Him? He loves you and died on the cross for you. He wants to give you love, joy and peace...He will make your life happy and give you what you've been looking for.'”

"Instead of desperate sinners knocking on the door of Heaven, we paint a picture of Jesus pleading at the heart of the sinner, almost giving the impression that the sinner will be doing God a favor if he responds." Those who respond to such a gospel presentation, Ray argues, will often be like the seed that falls on rocky ground in the Parable of the Sower. They are expecting Jesus to do all these good things for them, and when they face tribulation and persecution, they will often fall away disappointed, and be much harder to reach in the future. "I came to Jesus expecting him to improve my life, but things only got worse."

In contrast, those who through use of the law (and conviction of the Holy Spirit) are made to see the full extent of their sinfulness and need for a savior will really appreciate what Jesus did for them. Jesus said, "to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little (Luke 7:47)." Those who come to Christ in true sorrow over their sinfulness will want to turn from those ways and obey the Lord. They are likely to continue to follow the Lord even in times of adversity.

Perilous Times

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me why more people are not getting saved in the U.S. Actually, quite a few people do get saved in this nation. Young people are often saved through involvement in Christian youth groups. People frequently get saved as a result of some kind of crisis – sickness, financial loss, divorce, death of a close friend, etc. Often, these people will turn to a trusted Christian friend for help.

As long as things are going well, however, most people see no need for a savior. The U.S. is a very rich nation and Jesus said it is hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Most Americans are well educated and we are told that knowledge causes people to become puffed up with pride (1 Corin. 8:1). Many hardened criminals, when they are sentenced to death, will plead for a pardon for their wrongdoing. They rarely get a pardon from the Governor. However, God freely offers a pardon to all of us, yet very few take advantage of His generous offer. Because of their pride, most people are unwilling to admit that their sins are serious enough that they need a savior.

I do believe that it is helpful to use the law, as Ray Comfort teaches, to help people see the seriousness of their sin and their need for salvation. We incorporate this into our preaching and our tracts. Still, I do not think that we will see large numbers of people saved in the U.S. until our nation faces a great crisis, such as a financial collapse. It is quite possible that continued natural disasters, such as we have seen the past few months, and/or a terrorist attack could cause a financial collapse. Our money says “In God We Trust,” but the god most Americans are trusting in is their money. During the Great Depression in the 1930’s, people jumped out of buildings because they had lost all their money. Many people also were saved during this period. It could take such a crisis to bring large numbers of Americans to salvation.

ON THE STREETS

On October 14, we witnessed in Chinatown. May, who has recently moved into our house, speaks Chinese, so we were able to witness to many Chinese-speaking people in this area. She read salvation scriptures in Chinese, and Carol read them in English. On October 15, we witnessed in Berkeley. Mark Whitehead, now Pastor of Northridge Assembly of God in Ceres (near Modesto), brought 12 people from his church. Most were witnessing on the streets for the first time. Fred witnessed to a crack addict. He asked him if he wanted to receive Christ. The man said yes and they prayed together. While Pastor Mark was singing, Lee, who used to attend a church Mark pastored in San Jose, walked by. Mark stopped playing so he could talk with Lee, who is now backslidden.

On October 21, we witnessed on Valencia St. At 9:45 PM we were shut down by a police officer. Fortunately, we had been preaching and singing for over 2 hours, and were planning to leave in 15 minutes. On October 22, Paul and Noreen Coca ministered with us at Fisherman’s Wharf. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the street was filled with thousands of people. We were blessed to have Chad Taylor with us. Chad is Director of Consuming Fire Ministries and author of Why Revival Still Tarries.

	Northridge Assembly Christians witness in Berkeley.
	Brandon preaches at Fisherman’s Wharf
	Lois and May pray with woman at Fisherman’s Wharfr

Coming Events

Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 541-9903 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday December 2, 9, 16 7:30-10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. (Call for location).

Sat. December 3, 10, 17 11:30-5 PM San Francisco Christmas Outreaches. Location depends on weather. Call Sat. morning for location.

Ministry News and Needs

Once again we want to thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. Eric Baxter, who lives in our house, had surgery this past month on one of his ears. He had been going deaf in that ear, but now his hearing is much better. Please pray for attorney Rick Nelson and me as we work on our final legal brief this month.

By the time you receive this newsletter, we should have dates for next summer’s SOS-San Francisco outreach. Call or email me if you need to know them right away.

We still need a musician to minister at our Friday night outreaches. Also, we still have openings for two Christians to live in our ministry house. This house is not for new believers but for those who are ready for evangelism ministry. We are looking for soldiers who will endure hardship and persist in God's calling to evangelize the San Francisco Bay Area. Our Tape of the Month is True and False Conversion by Ray Comfort.

Christmas season is the time when people are most receptive to the gospel. This month, I hope you will take time to let people know the real reason for this season. I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum