Ten Commandments and Evangelism

A Master’s Seminary Professor named Jesse Johnson gave a lecture last March at the 2012 Shepherd’s Conference titled “The Way(s) of the Master.”  The lecture was a critique of the evangelistic method promoted by street evangelist Ray Comfort called “The Way of the Master”.  If you have ever seen a YouTube video of Ray such as the 180 movie or the occasional video of Kirk Cameron sharing the gospel then you are probably already familiar with the evangelistic approach.   The approach always starts out the same,

“Do you think you are a good person?”

99% of people say something like, “yah I think so, I’ve never murdered anyone, I’m faithful to my wife, I help the old lady cross the street…”  To which the Way of the Master evangelist says, “Did you know that Jesus said that if you get angry at your brother you have already committed murder in your heart?  Have you ever lusted after a woman? Then you have already committed adultery. Ever lied? Ever used God’s name as a curse word?  You have already broken half of the Ten Commandments.  By your own admission you are a murderous, adulterous, lying, blasphemer.  If you were to die right now and stand before God how do you think you would do if He judged you according to the Ten Commandments?”

That is a simplified version, but I think you get the gist of it.  The motto is “Law to the proud, Grace to the humble” and the strategy is to use the Ten Commandments, aka “Law”, as a mirror to show people that they are sinful before God.  Since most evangelistic methods avoid sin and judgment, the Way of the Master has appealed to many conservative evangelicals, especially those in the reformed crowd.

This is why many people found it strange that Jesse Johnson would give a negative critique of The Way of the Master.  Johnson’s criticism focused on two aspects, 1.) An overemphasis on the Law, and 2.) The method is a single approach to evangelism making it a divisive issue in churches.  Under those two headings Jesse Johnson listed about a dozen problems with The Way of the Master.  Here’s his written critique:
 

http://thecripplegate.com/concerns-with-the-way-of-the-master/

Jesse has a lot to say, which I actually think is a problem.  Some of the concerns he brings up are whether or not Martin Luther used the Ten Commandments in evangelism, whether or not there is something you can do to be saved, and whether or not people go to hell for breaking the Law or rejecting Jesus.  These are important questions, but they can be distracting.  When you shoot a shotgun of arguments against a position, your opponent will simply pick the weakest arguments to refute.   This is exactly what happens.  When Ray Comfort responds he picks a bunch of Jesse’s arguments and shoots them down one by one.  Jesse Johnson doesn’t respond (I suspect because it was getting out of hand and was becoming divisive).  This becomes confusing because it gives the impression that Comfort has soundly won the argument.  From the audiences’ point of view, Comfort writes a long blog about how Jesse’s critique is incorrect and then Jesse Johnson doesn’t respond.  Unfortunately the discussion ends there.

I was hoping there would be more of a discussion between the two parties on the relationship between the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law (rather than whether or not Martin Luther used the Ten Commandments in evangelism).  Personally, I like using the Ten Commandments in evangelism, but it is not about what you like, it’s about being accurate.  From what I can tell, the Ten Commandments are part of the Mosaic Law and not independent from it.  If this is the case then verses like James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” and Galatians 5:3 “And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law” seem to indicate a specific unity of the law.  In other words, the O.T. Law is not separated into different categories, but rather the Mosaic Law is a single unit as a whole. 

It should not be controversial for me to say that we are not obliged to follow the Mosaic Law today.  Have you ever been insulted that your family eats hot dogs, shrimp, and seafood? Have you ever rebuked your sinning brother for wearing a t-shirt mixed with linen and wool?  Ever objected to crazy Uncle Ben boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk? No? Why not?  Because the Mosaic Law was given to Israel and we Gentiles are not under them.  Moreover the Mosaic Law was done away with - Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15, Hebrews 7:11-12, 8:13, so even Jews who recognize that Jesus is the Messiah are no longer obliged to follow the Mosaic Law.

If this is the case, then why do we act like the Ten Commandments is still binding?  The answer is because there is something of an overlap.  The Ten Commandments is not binding today, but many of the values that the Ten Commandments advocate are still commanded by the New Testament.  Try this illustration.  When you are in California you are under California laws such as stopping at a red light.  If you run a red light in New York, are you guilty of breaking California Law? No, you are out of that system.  Of course, you are still guilty of running a red light, just under New York laws.

The same goes for the Bible.  Almost every one of the Ten Commandments is repeated in the New Testament (eg. Lk 4:8, 1Cor 6:9-10, Romans 13:9, Ephesians 6:1-2).  However there is at least one commandment that is missing.  The Forth commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy (Ex 20:8-11) is nowhere repeated as obligatory in the New Testament.  If we were to believe that the Ten Commandments are still binding, then we would have to move church service from Sundays to Saturdays and stop all weekend activities.

So as Christians we do not follow the Mosaic Law (which includes the Ten Commandment), but we follow the New Testament.  With that said, I actually do not have a problem with using the Ten Commandments in evangelism.  They are helpful and concise and I think they can be used to point out the law that we already have on our hearts.  Moreover, in my experience most people cite the Ten Commandments without me even bringing it up.  When asked if they think they will go to heaven, a lot of people instantly start judging themselves according to the Ten Commandments, “well, I’ve never murdered, I’ve never committed adultery, I honor my parents…” and so on.  All you have to do is show them that their own standard will condemn them. The problem I do have with this sort of evangelism is that some people really will act as if the Ten Commandments are still binding in and of themselves which is false.  But otherwise, I find a lot of benefit in the Way of the Master and their form of evangelism. 

p.s. watch the 180 movie! It's interesting and if for no other reason you can watch Ray Comfort evangelize at Cerritos College and Huntington Beach.