What Did Jesus Do? | Ray Comfort

Ray Comfort. What Did Jesus Do?: A Call to Return to the Biblical Gospel. Genesis, 2005. 176 pp.

The Diagnosis and the Cure

A television documentary showed a Tibetan peasant woman making her pilgrimage around a sacred mountain. She stopped every few steps to prostrate herself on the rocky soil. She stood to her dust-covered feet, walked a few more paces, and repeated the arduous and painful ritual. She had completed the thirty-two-mile pilgrimage twenty-nine times. Asked why she did it, she smiled sweetly and answered, “We want to be reborn in heaven.”

She is not alone in her spiritual philosophy. Much of humanity thinks that by their suffering and self-denial they can enter heaven. They crawl on their bloodied hands and knees, fast from certain foods, cut their bodies, throw their beloved children into the Ganges River, refrain from worldly pleasures, and give money sacrificially to some worthy cause. Many lie on beds of nails, and many more sit on hard pews tormenting themselves under the sound of dull and dry sermons. Very sadly, they think God will consider their suffering or self-denial to be an acceptable sacrifice—a worthy atonement for their sin.

However, the payment that they offer God reveals that they lack understanding of the true nature of sin. Like the Jews of old, they seek to establish their own righteousness, being ignorant of God’s righteousness (see Romans 10:3). This would be like a vicious mass murderer thinking that the good judge will let him go if he simply hands him a day’s wages, when the only thing that will satisfy the demands of the law is the finality of the death sentence. . . .

The Judge of the universe is not satisfied by humanity’s self-inflicted suffering. In fact, He is greatly appalled by it. The Bible tells us that the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord (see Proverbs 21:27). Even the best that we can offer the Judge is a detestable insult to Him. Our attempts to make any atonement for sin reveal that we don’t see our crimes against His Law as being very serious. We trivialize them.

This is why we need the Law (the Ten Commandments) to show us the standard of righteousness that God requires of us. It is ignorance of God’s moral Law that leaves most of humanity with the delusion that their good works commend them to God. As long as the peasant woman doesn’t know the righteous standard of the Judge she seeks to influence, she will continue to trudge around the sacred hill.

However, the Law reveals that sin is “exceedingly sinful” (see Romans 7:13), and when we see the depth of our sin, we are divorced of any thought that we can make atonement ourselves. It leaves us with nothing but the hope of God’s mercy and brings us to the cross of Jesus Christ.

Consider what the Word of God says about the purpose of the Law:

But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners . . . (1 Timothy 1:8,9)

These verses state that the Law is good only when it is used “lawfully.” It is therefore implied that the Law is bad when it is used unlawfully—for seeking justification or for promoting legalism. It is very clear from Scripture that no one can be made right with God by keeping the moral Law. So what then is the Law’s function? Paul tells us:

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)

The Law was given by God to bring the knowledge of sin, so that a spiritually blind and self-righteous world could see their need for the Savior. This is the lawful use of the Law. Do you know any who are ungodly, who are sinners? The Law was made for them. But when the Law isn’t used and a sinner simply makes a “decision for Christ,” he lacks understanding of the true nature of sin. He thinks that his good works commend him to God, and he is liable to say “do not touch, do not taste, do not handle”he becomes legalistic, thinking these things have a role in his salvation. . . .

While many are deceived into thinking they can be justified through the Law or are bound up in legalism, the Law’s purpose is to reveal to the world its desperate need of God’s mercy. . . .

There are many in the Church today who deny this, insisting that the evangelistic use of the Ten Commandments has no basis in Scripture. To those who believe that there are no incidents of the Law’s use by the early Church, I present my case in these pages. I do this because I want the Church to see that God gave only one method to reach the lost, and that method is the one we should be using. All other methods are man-made, and are therefore detrimental to the cause of evangelism.

In these pages, we will see that Jesus used the moral Law as He spoke to the lost, and that the use of the Law wasn’t confined to the Master Evangelist (as if that weren’t enough). My hope is that those who are skeptical will look to Holy Scripture as the final authority on the subject. . . .

In addition, we will examine biblical instances where they preached the reality of future punishment for those who break the moral Law (a topic that many within the contemporary Church have neglected, in the name of discretion). To make an important point regarding this issue, I have used footnotes to highlight instances of the preaching of future punishment by the One whom we are commanded to imitate.

I will emphasize the importance of preaching the reason that men and women are commanded to repent—because God “has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:30,31). We need to be reminded of these truths in a day in which many within the Church are telling us to forget them. . . .

What Did Jesus Do?

We live in days of rampant hypocrisy. As a result of our failure to give people the knowledge of sin and its consequences, there are many who profess faith in Christ but whose lives say otherwise. Without a proper fear of the Lord, they have a form of godliness but deny its power in their lives. Millions of people fall into this category, so how should we awaken them? Let’s look at how the Master Evangelist used the moral Law to reprove the hypocrites of His day. Jesus said,

Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ . . . Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matthew 15:3,4,79)

These are not the gentle, affirming words of life enhancement that can be heard in many churches today. Why would Jesus speak so harshly? Because He wanted to alarm those who were self-righteous, to awaken them to their true state. He used the Law to bring the knowledge of sin, telling His listeners that they have transgressed the “commandment of God,” specifically referencing the Fifth Commandment.

Again, Jesus didn’t avoid words that might offend His hearers. When told that His words had offended the Pharisees, He emphasized the certainty of future punishment (verses 1214). He then explained to His disciples what defiles a man, giving them a list of sins and where they originate. Jesus lists several of the Commandments, clearly showing that “sin is transgression of the Law” (1 John 3:4, KJV):

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” (Matthew 15:19,20)

Jesus continually honored the Law and opened up its spiritual nature to give understanding to the self-righteous Pharisees. God only knows how many of them were awakened by the knowledge that they had sinned, and found themselves among the three thousand saved souls on the Day of Pentecost.

If we care about the salvation of the lost, we will want to awaken them and bring them to true repentance. Rather than sharing an inoffensive gospel that creates false converts (hypocrites), we must follow the biblical principle of “Law to the proud, grace to the humble.” . . .

What Can You Do?

I hope that through these pages you have become convinced that much of the Church today has moved far away from biblical evangelism, instead offering Jesus as the ultimate Fixit-Man for humanity. Unto us a Child was born, unto us a Son was given—the Savior came to this world to save His people from their sins, but we have presented Him as the Wonderful Life Planner, the Great Marriage Counselor, the Mighty God-shaped Hole Filler, the Prince of Peace of Mind, and the Everlasting Father figure. We have added what we think is necessary to attract people to the message, and taken away what we think is offensive.. . .

The fact that Jesus is the only hope for salvation is offensive to those who have not been taught by the Law. But once a sinner has seen how desperate his situation is, he is no longer offended by the great truth, “Nor is there salvation in any other” (see Acts 4:12). It becomes the most welcome and wonderful news. The rope is of little value to him . . . until he understands where he is going to end up without it.

How to Do What Jesus Did

Let me show you a structure I have used for many years to present the Law and the gospel. Remember that to do as Jesus did—to seek and save the lost—you have to seek them. Rarely will they come to you. So as you are going about your day, learn to initiate spiritual conversations with people you encounter. I often begin by greeting a person warmly and handing him a gospel tract. Tracts are great “ice-breakers,” giving you an easy way to start a conversation with strangers and to get the gospel into their hands if they don’t want to talk.

I usually say, “Did you get one of these?” That makes them think that they’re missing out on something—and they are—and then I follow up by saying, “It’s a gospel tract. Have you had a Christian background?” You could also say, “May I ask you an important question? Do you ever think about what’s going to happen to you after you die?”

After bringing up the subject of the things of God, ask the person, “Would you consider yourself to be a good person?” Most will answer that they do, as Proverbs 20:6 tells us: “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness.” Ask, “Do you think that you have kept the Ten Commandments?” Then gently go through the Law.

After you have opened up the spiritual nature of the Commandments, ask, “If God judges you by the Ten Commandments on Judgment Day, do you think you will be innocent or guilty?” Then, “Do you think you will go to heaven or hell?”

Here’s how to remember what you have just learned. Use the acronym WDJD (What Did Jesus Do):

W: Would you consider yourself to be a good person?

D: Do you think you have kept the Ten Commandments?

J: Judgment—If God judges you by the Ten Commandments on Judgment Day, do you think you will be innocent or guilty?

D: Destiny—Do you think you will go to heaven or hell?

The Bible tells us to “convince, rebuke, and exhort” them with patience and doctrine. If this person dies in his sins, he will spend eternity in hell. So we can’t be concerned with a fear of offending or even of angering him. If the person says that he doesn’t believe in hell, tell him that the electric chair still exists, even if the criminal doesn’t believe in it. Our beliefs don’t change reality. Reason with him about the “goodness” of God. Ask if he thinks that God is good. Most people do. If God is good, should He punish a vicious criminal who raped and murdered a woman and was never brought to justice? Most will naturally agree that He should, if He is good. Then ask the person if he thinks God is good enough to also punish thieves, adulterers, liars, etc. Tell him that God is so good, He’s even going to punish us for every idle word that we speak, and that His place of punishment is called “hell.” . . .

Don’t stay too long in the intellect, the place of argument. Get back to the conscience, the place of the knowledge of right and wrong. Never forget that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. This is a spiritual battle, so fight it with the spiritual weapons God has provided for this purpose: the Law, which He’s written in the heart, and the conscience, which bears witness to its truthfulness and brings conviction of sin. Gently and firmly take control of the conversation; let the person speak, but don’t let him sidetrack you. Remember, you are a doctor with an agenda—to convince the patient of the disease of sin so he will appreciate the cure.

As you speak with the lost, always be loving, kind, but obstinately uncompromising when it comes to the issue of sin. Tell them that the moral Law will be God’s standard on Judgment Day, that God will bring their every work into Judgment, and that it’s a fearful thing to fall into His hands. Keep an eye out for the encouraging “deer in the headlights” look, to tell you that you are heading in the right direction.

Taken from What Did Jesus Do? A Call to Return to the Biblical Gospel by Ray Comfort. © 2005 by Ray Comfort. Used by permission of Genesis Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

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