Four Spiritual Laws (John 10:10)
Text:
The Four Spiritual Laws is a tract that Campus Crusade for Christ developed for its own use, which has become one of the most popular gospel tracts.
I think the key verse of this gospel presentation is John 10:10.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
The Christian life is a happy, blessed, abundant life! It would be enough for Christ to save us from sin. But He also makes us alive! It’s not saying that life is suddenly perfect, with no trials. Rather, it’s saying that through our trials, we have hope. We have joy knowing Christ, having restored fellowship with God, and able to live as we were created to live.
We often get the reputation of being party-poopers. Certainly we should be faithful to follow Christ’s commands, but do we do that out of reluctant obedience, or so that others will see that we are different from the world, or out of joy? God created food, sex, nature, etc. We enjoy these things best when we enjoy them the way God intended us to.
A few things to note about this method of evangelism:
1. Diagrams can be helpful because they illustrate ideas, but bad diagrams can be confusing. The third diagram of the circles representing two kinds of lifestyles is a bad diagram.
2. It’s been criticized for not starting out with God’s holiness. That isn’t all bad as long as you make sure people are aware of their sin. And that the wonderful plan isn’t a reality in your life until your sin is dealt with. Without your sin being dealt with you can’t be right with God. But sometimes starting with God’s love is more appropriate than starting with their sin.
3. It’s been criticized for eluding to the idea that life is easy after salvation.
Things I like about the Four Spiritual Laws:
1. It’s easy to share, well laid out, and clear to understand.
2. Does a good job clarifying the church language.
3. First two diagrams are very useful.
4. It ends with an emphasis on how this is a life-changing decision.
5. Encourages a person to look at their lifestyle and compare your life with what the Christian life ought to look like.
When might you use this method? Leave it with someone after going through it or even after using a different gospel presentation. People leave tracts all over the place. Leave it in a public place. We’ll talk about effective ways to use tracts in a couple weeks.
Pastor Chris Huff has been with us since July 2009. He and his wife, Abby, have four children. Chris is originally from St. Louis, MO and even though he was raised as a city boy, he has a small town heart. Chris is all over the internet, so you can find him on Facebook, Twitter,… (read more)
