by Ray Comfort
128 pages / 2010
Why doesn’t the modern evangelistic message “work”? In this book Comfort is confronting an enormous problem that he argues is related, at its root, to a lack of concern for the law – 90% of seeming converts in Christian crusades are gone from the church within a year, and many never set foot in a church at all. He argues the cause for this distressing statistic is the “modern message,” which promises earthly happiness for those who turn to Him. Meanwhile the Bible and church history show persecution is a likely result of following Christ.
Comfort tells us that the “lost key” to true evangelism is the use of the law. Only knowing our sin – our specific sins, not just our weakness or brokenness – begins “making grace amazing.”
To illustrate this, Comfort makes a brilliant analogy about giving parachutes to two airplane passengers. The first man is told that the chute will make his flight much more comfortable. When, instead, he finds that wearing it makes him feel silly in the eyes of the other passengers and makes it hard to sit in his seat, he gives it up in frustration.
The second passenger is told that the chute will save his life when (not if) the plane crashes – a metaphor for our inevitable appearance before the judgment seat of God. You can imagine how much more grateful he is for his “gospel chute.”
Comfort next makes it clear that Jesus Himself used the law to convict sinners of their need for forgiveness through God’s grace – the only chute that can save us from the crash of our condemnation – and concludes by stressing that churches filled with false converts are no testimony to the power of a false modern message.
The appendix is a model of “gentleness and respect” as Comfort passes on a word “For My Campus Crusade Friends,” demonstrating that some of the organization’s own leaders have come to see the necessity for the law in the proclamation of the gospel.
CAUTIONS
This is not the first book by Ray Comfort that I have read. The previous one, Revival’s Golden Key, was a good read, but this one is a really good read. The two books have similar messages, but God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life is a better read for two reasons:
1. It’s almost 100 pages shorter.
2. Comfort’s use of Scripture is simpler and more literal.
In Revival’s Golden Key, Comfort sometimes slips into an allegorical interpretation of particular passages to support his contention that it is the law of God that brings sinners to true Christian conversion. God Has a Wonderful Plan sticks to texts that clearly relate to preaching and evangelism to make the same point.
CONCLUSIONS
If you believe that Comfort can show a better way to obey the Great Commission as Reformed churches begin to make evangelism a greater priority, you can download a free pdf copy of the book here (just click on “Start Reading Now”).
This review first appeared on ReallyGoodReads.com.
