Transcription
[Music] Have you heard the exciting reports of millions making decisions for Christ, of the church exploding and increasing in number? Well, we want to tell you about a secret. It's called the fallout rate. 80 to 90% of those who were making decisions for Christ are now falling away from the faith. That means that modern evangelism and the methods it uses to bring people into the church is producing 80 to 90% of what we commonly call backsliders for every 100 decisions for Christ. Let me make it more real for you. A number of years ago, a major denomination in the U.S. was able to obtain 294,000 decisions for Christ. 294,000. Unfortunately, they can only find 14,000 in fellowship, which means they couldn't account for 280,000 of their decisions. And this is normal modern evangelistic results, from local churches right up to large crusades.
And we believe this tragedy is happening not because of a lack of follow-up, but rather because the church has strayed away from the biblical way of presenting the gospel, the way Jesus did. So let's look now at how Jesus's approach was radically different from the typical modern methods. In Mark 10, verse 17, we have the story of the rich young man who runs up to Jesus and says, "Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, I don't know about you, but if that happened to me, I would be very excited. That would be a chance of a lifetime. Notice that Jesus does not say, "Oh, my friend, you have a God-shaped hole in your heart that only I can fill, and if you will say this prayer and ask me into your heart, you'll get love, joy, peace, and go to heaven when you die." No. Jesus started by saying, "Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, and that is God." So he was correcting this man's understanding of the word "good," and then he pointed him to the Ten Commandments. He gave him five of them. He said, "You know the law: You shall not lie; you shall not steal; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; and honor your father and mother." And the young man said, "I've kept all those since my youth." And then Jesus pointed him to the essence of the first and second commandment and said, "There's one thing you still lack: Go and sell all your goods, give to the poor, and then you'll have treasure in heaven, and come follow me." And the Bible says that the man went away sad.
And I'm thinking to myself, "Didn't Jesus know that no one can keep the Ten Commandments? We're not saved by keeping the law; we're saved by grace." Why did he talk to him that way? I mean, he didn't talk about God's love, God's grace; he didn't pray with him; he didn't even say something like, "Wait, come back. Would you like to come to my house this weekend for a lamb barbecue where I could establish a no-strings-attached, non-confrontational relationship with you?" It seemed to me Jesus might have benefited from a friendship evangelism course. But that was my shallow and immature understanding of what he was doing. He was using a principle that prepares the heart for grace. It's a principle that has been used by Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, George Whitfield, and it converts the soul according to the Bible. It shows a person why they need the Savior. It's a key that changes everything, and that's why the enemy does not want you to get a hold of it. It's something that the enemy has bent out of shape over the years; he's misused it and even hidden it so that much of the church does not even know that it exists. That's why we call it hell's best-kept secret. So please watch and listen carefully, and don't let anything distract you. Seek and save the lost the way Jesus did. There's only a certain amount of time left. Time left. Time left. So use the law and use your testimony. Reach out to the L; reach out to the Lo. There's nothing more important in your eternal [Music] salvation.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 19:7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." What is it that the Bible says is perfect and actually converts the soul? Why? Scripture makes it very clear: The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. That'll illustrate the function of God's law. Let's just look for a few moments at civil law. Imagine if I said to you, "I've got some good news for you: Someone has just paid a $25,000 speeding fine on your behalf." You'd probably look at me and say, "That's not good news; it doesn't make sense; I don't have a $25,000 speeding fine." You see, my good news would probably not be good news; it would sound foolish, but more than that, it would also sound offensive because I'm implying that you've broken the law when you don't think you have. But if I said it to you this way, it might make more sense: "On the way here today, the law clocked you at going 55 mph through an area set aside for a blind children's convention. There were 10 clear warning signs stating that 15 mph was the maximum speed, but you went straight through at 55 mph. What you did was extremely dangerous. The law was about to take its course when someone you don't even know stepped in and paid the fine for you. You are very fortunate." Can you see that telling you precisely what you've done wrong first actually makes the good news make sense? If I don't bring clear instruction you violated the law, the good news will seem foolishness; it will seem offensive. But once you understand you've broken that law, then that good news becomes good news indeed.
In the same way, if I approach a hardened sinner, someone whose understanding is darkened, and say, "Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins," it'll be foolishness to him and offensive to him. Foolishness because it won't make sense—the Bible actually says that the preaching of the Cross is foolishness to them that are perishing—and offensive because I'm insinuating he's a sinner when he doesn't think he is. As far as he's concerned, there are plenty of people far worse than him. But if I take the time to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it may make more sense. If I take the time to open up the Divine Law and show the sinner precisely what he's done wrong, that he's offended God by transgressing his law, then when he becomes, as James says, convinced of the law as a transgressor, the good news of the fine being paid for him will not be foolishness; it will not be offensive; it will be the power of God unto salvation. Now, with that thought in mind, let's look at Romans 3:19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. So there's one function of God's law: it's to stop the mouth of the sinner, to stop a person from justifying himself, saying, "Ah, there's plenty of people far worse than I am; I'm not a bad person." No, the law stops the mouth of justification and leaves the whole world—not just the Jews, but the whole world—guilty before God. Romans 3:20: "Wherefore by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." So there, the law tells us what sin is. In fact, 1 John 3:4 says sin is transgression of the law. And then in Romans 7:7, Paul says, "I had not known sin, but by the law." Paul said he didn't know what sin was until the law told him. And Galatians 3:24: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." So there he's saying that the law is like a schoolmaster that leads us to Jesus Christ so that we can be justified through faith in his blood. The law doesn't help us; it just leaves us helpless. The law doesn't justify us; it just leaves us guilty before a just and holy God. Let me say that again—this is so important—we are not saved by the law; we are saved by God's grace through faith. The law just shows us we're filthy, dirty, and in desperate need of God's cleansing. [Music]
And the tragedy of modern evangelism is that around the turn of the last century, when it got rid of the law and its ability to convert the soul, to drive people to the Savior, modern evangelism had to therefore find another reason for people to come to the Savior. And the issue that it has chosen to attract people to Jesus is the promise of life enhancement. The gospel has degenerated into: "Jesus Christ will give you love, joy, peace, fulfillment, and lasting happiness." Now, to illustrate the unscriptural nature of this very popular teaching—one that I used to teach myself—please listen to the following story, because the essence of what we're saying pivots on this particular point. Two men are seated in a plane. The first is given a parachute and told to put it on, as it would improve his flight. He's a little skeptical at first, as he can't see how wearing a parachute in a plane could possibly improve the flight. After a time, he decides to experiment and see if the claim is true. As he puts it on, he notices the weight of it upon his shoulders, and he finds that he has difficulty in sitting upright. However, he was told the parachute would improve the flight, so he decides to give the thing a little time. And as he waits, he starts to notice that the other passengers are laughing at him because he's wearing a parachute in a plane. And as they continue to point and laugh, he finally can't stand it any longer; he slinks in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it on the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart, because, as far as he's concerned, he was told an outright lie.
The second man is given a parachute, but listen to what he's told. He's told to put it on because at any moment he'd be jumping 25,000 feet out of the plane. He gratefully puts it on. He doesn't notice the weight upon his shoulders nor that he can't sit up right. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without that parachute. Now let's analyze the motive and the result of both passengers' experience. The first man put on the parachute solely to improve his flight, and the result of his experience was that he was humiliated by the other passengers; he was disillusioned and somewhat bitter toward those who gave him the parachute. As far as he's concerned, it'll be a long time before someone gets one of those things on his back again. The second man put the parachute on solely to escape the jump to come, and because of his knowledge of what would happen to him without it, he has a deep-rooted joy and peaceless heart, knowing that he's safe from sure death. This knowledge gives him the ability to withstand the mockery of the other passengers. His attitude toward those who gave him the parachute is one of heartfelt gratitude. Now listen to what the modern gospel says: "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ; he'll give you love, joy, peace, fulfillment, and lasting happiness." In other words, Jesus will improve your flight. And so the sinner responds and, in an experimental kind of way, puts on the Savior to see if the claims are true. And what does he get? Just what Jesus promised: trials, tribulation, persecution. The other passengers mock him. What does he do? He takes off the Lord Jesus Christ. He's offended that he's been mocked; he's disillusioned and bitter. And how can you blame him? He was promised love, joy, peace, fulfillment, and lasting happiness, and all he got were more trials and humiliation. His bitterness is directed toward those who gave him the so-called good news, and now he's worse off than he was before, because now he thinks he's given Jesus a try and all he got was a big letdown. Another inoculated and bitter backslider.
Instead of saying that Jesus improves the flight, we should be warning the passengers that they're going to have to jump out of the plane; that it's appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. And when a sinner understands the horrific consequences of breaking God's law, he will flee to the Savior solely to escape the wrath that's to come. And if we are true and faithful witnesses, that's what we should be preaching: that there is wrath to come; that God commands all men everywhere to repent, why? Because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. You see, it's not an issue of happiness but of righteousness. It doesn't matter how happy a person is or isn't in their current lifestyle; without the righteousness of Christ, they'll perish on the day of judgment. The Bible says, "Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." You see, that's how I realized that I needed a Savior. I had many of the things that the world has to offer, but I knew that none of that would matter on the day when I stood before God and all of my sin came out as evidence of my guilt. It was the righteousness of Christ that I would need to be saved. Now let me say that peace and joy are legitimate fruits of salvation; they are the wonderful, beautiful results of salvation. But it's not legitimate to use those fruits as a draw card for salvation, why? Because if a person comes to God looking for peace, some joy in their life, but they're not broken in their heart, repentant over the fact that they've sinned against Almighty God, they won't find peace with God; they won't know the joy of the Lord; they'll remain enemies of God in their minds, through wicked works, separated from God because of their sin. And if we continue to give people the wrong reason to come to Christ, they'll respond with a wrong motive, lacking repentance. Can you remember why the second passenger had peace and joy in his heart? It was because he knew that parachute was going to save him from sure death. In the same way, I have, as the Apostle Paul says, joy and peace in believing, because I know the righteousness of Christ is going to deliver me from the wrath that's to come.
Now, with that thought in mind, let's take a look at another incident on board our airplane. We have a brand new stewardess, and it's her first day on the job, and she wants to make an impression on the passengers, and that's exactly what she does, because as she's walking down the aisle carrying a boiling hot pot of coffee, she accidentally trips over somebody's foot and slops this boiling hot liquid into the lap of our second passenger. Now what's his reaction as this boiling hot liquid hits his tender flesh? Does he go, "Oh man, that hurt?" Yes, of course he feels the pain, but then does he stand up out of his seat, unstrap the parachute, and throw it on the floor, saying, "The stupid parachute"? No, of course not. Why should he? He didn't put the parachute on to improve his flight; he put it on to save his life. And if anything, the hot coffee would cause him to cling tighter to the parachute and even look forward to the jump. If you and I have put on the Lord Jesus Christ for the biblical motive—to flee from the wrath that's to come—when tribulation strikes, when the flight gets bumpy, we won't get angry at God; we wouldn't lose our joy or peace. Why should we? We didn't come to Jesus for a happy lifestyle; we came because we had sinned against God and needed a savior to save us from the wrath that's to come. And if anything, tribulation drives a true believer closer to the Savior. And sadly, we have literally multitudes of professing Christians who lose their joy and peace when the flight gets bumpy. Why? They're the product of a man-centered gospel; they came lacking repentance, without which you cannot be saved.
Think of the woman caught in the act of adultery. She had violated the seventh commandment. The law called for her blood; they were about to stone her. The law condemned her, and that's one of the functions of God's law: it condemns. Now you might say, "Wait a minute, that's not right; we can't go around condemning people." Well, that's true; we don't need to; they're condemned already. John 3:18 says, "He that believeth not is condemned already." All the law does is show a person himself in his true light. Some of you may identify with this: You've got a wooden table in your living room; you dust it down; it's clean; it's dust-free. Then you draw back the curtains and let in the early morning sunlight. What do you see on the table? Dust. What do you see in the air? Dust. Did the light create the dust? No, the light merely exposed the dust. And when you and I take the time to draw back the curtains of the holy of holies and let the light of God's law shine upon a sinner's heart, all that happens is that he sees himself in truth. The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. That's why Paul says in Romans 7, verse 13, "By the commandment sin became exceeding sinful." In other words, it was the law that showed Paul sin in its true light. This next clip shows how little some people know about God's [Music] law.
"Can you name any of the Ten Commandments?"
"Um, not to kill. Thou shalt not kill. I know stealing's one of them. Let's see, 10 commandments. I think there's 10 of them. Okay, I don't know. Do you know any of the Ten Commandments?"
"And I don't know anymore."
"Can you name the ten commandments?"
"No."
"Give me one."
[Music]
"It's that, but… Heineken, Red Dog, Miller, Bush, Rolling Rock, isn't Zema beer? That's like six. I think that's about it. Miller, Miller Lite, Bud, Bud Light, Corona, Heineken, Heineken, Budweiser, Old Style, um, Red Dog, Bush, Red Wolf, don't forget that Guinness. [Applause] Fosters."
While that may seem funny to some, it's a sad reality that many people today know more about beer than they do about the Ten Commandments, God's moral standard. If someone does not know God's law, they will not see their sin as being exceedingly sinful, and their heart will not be prepared for the gospel. It's as simple as this: What farmer would take good seed and cast it on hard soil? Now, firstly, he prepares the soil; he breaks it up. Good seed, good soil, good harvest. And what modern evangelism does is it takes the good seed of the gospel and casts it on the hard, unregenerate heart of humanity. Biblical evangelism, without exception, is always: grace to the humble, never will you see Jesus giving the gospel, the good news, the grace of God to a proud, arrogant, self-righteous person. Now, with the law, he breaks the hard heart; with the gospel, he heals the broken heart. Why did he do that? Because he always did those things that pleased the Father. The Bible says, "God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble." Let me put it in another way: What doctor would give a cure to a patient when the patient's not first convinced of his disease? Imagine I'm a doctor, and I say to you, "I've got this wonderful cure," but you're not convinced of the disease; you're going to pour it down the drain. And why shouldn't you? You don't appreciate it, and there's no point in appropriating it. But if instead I say to you, "You've got a terrible, terminal disease. Sit down; I can see 10 clear symptoms on your flesh; you're going to be dead in two weeks," and you say, "Huh? What should I do?" Then I say to you, "Oh, don't worry; I've got a cure," then you're going to grab it; you're going to appreciate it, and you're going to appropriate it because you've seen the disease that you might appreciate the cure. The disease is sin, and the cure is the gospel. And if we care about people, we must take the time to first help them see that they have the disease and help them understand the serious consequences of sin before Almighty God, so that they will appreciate the cure of the Gospel.
I'd like to share with you now how I share my faith personally, how I put these principles into action. I love to read about how Jesus shared the gospel, and there's a beautiful example in John chapter 4 with the woman at the well, demonstrating how Jesus interacted with this woman. We like to call it the way of the Master. It shows Jesus first relating to this woman in the natural realm, talking about natural things, and then he swings to the spiritual realm, talks about spiritual things; he brings conviction using the seventh commandment and then reveals himself as the Messiah. And I'll try to follow in his footsteps, so to speak, by talking with someone about everyday things and then deliberately swing to the subject of God. And sometimes I do this by bringing up something religious that's occurred in the news, a general question like, "Hey, do you think about what happens when you die? Do you believe in God? Do you know any good churches around?" Or I'll use a good gospel tract to bring up the subject of spiritual things. I did this not too long ago; I was on the golf course with a friend of mine, and we got on the subject of the things of God, and I asked him, "I said, 'Do you believe in God?'" He says, "Yeah," and he says, "Um, yeah, I used to go to church when I was a kid." And then I asked him, "Would you consider yourself to be a good person?" And he said, "Yeah, I do." And then I asked, "Do you think you've kept the Ten Commandments?" And remember that's what Jesus used—the Ten Commandments—with that rich young ruler. And this man said to me, "Well, I've kept most of them; I mean, I've never murdered anybody." And I'm thinking, "Well, that's a good thing out here on the golf course." And I said, "Well, have you ever lied?" And he said, "Yeah, of course." And then I said, "What does that make you? What are you called?" And he said, "A liar." And then I said, "Have you ever stolen anything?" That's the eighth commandment. And he said, "Uh, no." And sometimes I'll say to him, "Come on, I'm not sure I believe you; you just admitted to me you're a liar." And he said, "Okay, okay, okay. I did when I was younger; yeah, I've stolen a few things." And then I asked him, "Are you familiar with the seventh commandment, 'You shall not commit adultery'?" But listen to what Jesus said: Jesus said, "Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever done that?" And this man said, "Oh, yeah, plenty of times." And then I said to him, "By your own admission, you're a lying thief and an adulterer at heart, and that's only three of the Ten Commandments; there's seven more pointed at you." You should have seen the look on his face; boy, he looked guilty because he knew he was guilty. And that's what the Commandments do; they leave the whole world guilty. I mean, think about it, even for you sitting right where you are, do you think you've kept God's Commandments? Look at the first one: "You shall have no other gods before me." Jesus said to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, so much that your love for everyone else is like hatred compared to your love and devotion for God. Have you always loved God that much? Or the second commandment: "You shall not make for yourself a graven image." Now you can either make a false god with your hands or with your mind. Have you ever said something like this: "My God is a God of love and mercy; he's not a God of judgment and would never send anyone to hell." Well, if you've said that, you're right, your God never would send anyone to hell because he couldn't, because he doesn't exist; he's a figment of your imagination. You've created a God in your own mind that you're more comfortable with; you've created a God to suit your sins. It's called idolatry, and many people call that simply their own beliefs, but the Bible calls it idolatry, and idolators will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Or the third commandment: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." Have you ever used God's name as a cuss word to express disgust, something called blasphemy? Jesus warned: Every idle word a man speaks he'll give an account thereof in the day of judgment. And the Bible says the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. The fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." I went for twenty-two years as a non-Christian, knowing that God had given me life and never once did I say, "God, you gave me life; what do you require of me? One day in seven."
I violated that commandment, or the fifth: Honor your father and mother. If you always honored your parents implicitly, in a way that's pleasing in the sight of God, or the sixth commandment: You shall not kill or murder. Most of us think we're innocent with that one, but Jesus said, "Whoever is angry with his brother without cause is in danger of judgment," and the Bible says, "He who hates his brother is a murderer." We've already looked at the seventh, the eighth, and the ninth, and who of us can say that we're not guilty of violating the tenth commandment: coveting, or being jealous, greedy for things that belong to other people? And remember, God even sees our thought life and the secret deeds done in darkness. James 2:10 says, "He who keeps the whole law and violates it at just one point is guilty of all." Can you see how the Commandments leave us all guilty?
My friend, I could see that on the golf course, and so I asked him, "If God were to judge you by the Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty?" He said, "Guilty." I said, "So does that mean that you'd go to heaven or hell?" And you know what he said? He said, "Heaven, because God is forgiving. You just need to ask him." And I said to him, "Man, try that in a court of law. You're standing before a judge, guilty of a serious crime, and the judge says, 'What do you have to say before I pass sentence?' And you stand up and say, 'Judge, I just like to say that I believe you're a good man, and therefore you'll let me go.' Is the judge going to let you go if he's a good judge? Of course not. He'll probably say, 'Because I'm a good man, I'm going to see that justice is served. Because I am a good man, I'm going to see that you're punished for what you've done.'"
The very thing that many people are hoping will save them on the day of judgment is the very thing that will condemn them. Because if God is good, then by nature he will make sure that justice is served and that people are punished for what they've done. And the Bible says that God will punish sin wherever it's found. He'll punish murderers and rapists, but he won't stop there. God is so good; he'll also punish liars and thieves, adulterers, blasphemers, and all those who violate the inner light that God has given to every man. So I said to my friend, "If God gave you justice, you wouldn't be headed for heaven, would you? But for hell." It's when he hung his head and his mouth was stopped that I knew the law, the Commandments, had done their work, and he was ready for grace.
I said, "Man, I want to tell you some great news. Put yourself in a courtroom. You're guilty of a serious crime, with a million-dollar fine or life in prison. You can't pay your fine, when all of a sudden someone comes into the courtroom and pays your fine for you." I said, "That's what God did for you and for me 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ stepped into the courtroom, so to speak, and paid our fine when he suffered and died on the cross." The Bible puts it like this: "God demonstrated his own love for us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." We broke the law, and Jesus paid our fine. It's as simple as that. And then he rose from the grave, and he is seated at the right hand of the Father. And then I told him, God commands him to repent and put his faith in Jesus Christ. We got to the end of the golf course, and he put his face in his hands and began weeping in the middle of the parking lot, crying out to the Lord to forgive him. It was a beautiful thing. And he said to my wife the next day, "That was the best day of my entire life, and golf had nothing to do with it."
Please watch carefully as Ray uses the Commandments in this clip to help a person see the disease of sin before he offers the cure of the Gospel. Okay, can you name any of them? Um, yes. "Thou shalt not murder," "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not commit adultery," "Thou shalt not—" U hold on. I I know you know a few. Yeah. Now, do you think you can get those 10 commandments? Um, yes. Have you ever told a lie? Well, at times, you know, most every human does. So you broke that one? Yes. So what are you called if you tell a lie? A liar. Have you ever stolen? No, sir. I haven't, even something really small. Be honest before God. Well, I guess a little stuff, like maybe like a piece of gum or something. Oh, just a piece of gum. So what does that make you? Well, that's stealing, I guess. Thief. See, the value of the thing you steal doesn't make any difference. If I open your wallet and just take out $1, it's as bad as taking out $100. I'm a thief. And Jesus said, "If you, if we look at a woman and lust after her, we commit adultery with her in her heart." Have you ever done that? Um, no, sir. You never looked at a woman with lust? Um, well, your friend over there is laughing at you. He doesn't think you're speaking the truth. Well, I mean, yes, I have looked at a woman, you know. So you've told another lie. All right, yes. So you've really blown it, haven't you? So you've broken three Commandments. We've only looked at three; we haven't looked at the other seven. Have you ever used God's name in vain? Yes, sir. So instead of using a four-letter filth word to express disgust, you've taken the name of the God who gave you life and used his name as a curse word, which is called blasphemy. So on Judgment Day, when God judges you by that standard, are you going to be innocent or guilty of breaking his Commandments? I would be guilty of that one. You think you've got a heaven or hell? Um, well, I think I'd probably go to heaven, in the sense that that's that's one thing that from now on I'll try to improve myself, and that God might forgive me for all my for the sins that I've broken from that. So do you think God should let murderers and liars and thieves and adulterers into heaven? I guess not. So you're in big trouble, really. You're headed for hell, aren't you? Yeah. Does that concern you? Yes, yes it does, 'cause there's nothing more invaluable than your life, is there? Would you sell one of your eyes for a million dollars? No, sir. Your eyes are precious to you, aren't they? And they're the windows of your soul; your soul, or your life, looks out those those eyes. And Jesus said, "You to despise the value of your eye compared to the value of your soul." He said, "If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you, for it's better to enter Heaven without an eye than go to hell with both your eyes." And do you know why Jesus died on the cross? Why he did? For uh, for sinning? Sinning. Well, he died for our sins, for the sins of the world, of everybody around the world, like you know, sacrificing himself for everyone else. Now, do you know how to uh, partake in that gift of Salvation? Do you know what you should do? No. Well, if you were on a plane and you knew you had to jump and there was a parachute under the seat, what would you do? I would take the parachute and put it on. You wouldn't just believe in it, would you? You'd put it on. Yes. It's exactly what you have to do with Jesus. The Bible says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." You've got to repent, that is, turn from your sins once and for all, and put your faith in Jesus, the same way you put your trust in a parachute. The moment you do that, the Bible says you'll pass from death to life, you'll come out of darkness into light, and you receive God's gift of everlasting [Music] life. Perhaps you're a professing Christian and you're beginning to doubt the motive for your salvation. Well, the Bible says, "Examine yourselves and see if you're in the faith," and if you're not sure, "make your calling and election sure." Go somewhere quiet, confess your sins to God, open the Bible at Psalm 51 and make it your own penitent prayer. We really want to thank you for taking the time to listen carefully to this teaching. Now, if you have questions, be like the Bereans and search the scriptures to see if these things are true. See you next time. [Music] Visit wayofthemaster.com today and sign up for our free online newsletter to receive Ray's witnessing clips, our DVD training courses, and online school of evangelism. We'll equip you to share your faith. On the box is our daily webcast program where we answer your questions about evangelism. Our pro-life documentary, 180, is available for free viewing online. You can order this complete episode along with the rest of our season 4 episodes complete with bonus features. Go to wayofthemaster.com for details.