Law & Grace

Last week I spoke at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Convention on witnessing and in the session I spoke about the importance of using the Law to bring conviction of sin and the whole idea of “Law to the proud – Grace to the humble.” Below are a few quotes from some the greatest preachers in history. With the Bible being so clear on this issue and history showing us the results of using the Law to bring conviction, how is it that we seem to miss this today? Instead most preaching is of the lovey-dovey , “God has a wonderful plan for your life,” variety. May God help me to be faithful to speak the Truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment and then when hearts are convicted to share the glorious Truth about Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf!

Martin Luther said, "The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God's Law and show the nature of sin, because it will act as a schoolmaster and bring him to everlasting life which is in Jesus Christ."

Charles Spurgeon, who is known as the "Prince of Preachers," said, "They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law."

Charles Finney said, "Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the Gospel; to overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts."

John Wycliffe said , "The highest service to which a man may attain on earth is to preach the Law of God."

D.L. Moody said, "God being a perfect God, had to give a perfect Law, and the Law was given not to save men, but to measure them." He also said, "It is a great mistake to give a man who has no been convicted of sin certain passages that were never meant for him. The Law is what he needs...Do not offer the consolation of the Gospel until he sees and knows he is guilty before God. We must give enough of the Law to take away all self-righteousness. I pity the man who preaches only one side of truth - always the gospel and never the Law"

J.C. Ryle said, "People will never set their faces decidedly towards Heaven and live like pilgrims, until they really feel that they are in danger of Hell...Let us expound and beat out the 10 commandments, and show the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of their requirements. this is the way of our Lord in the sermon on the mount. We can not do better than to follow His plan."

Paris Reidhead said, "If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on the public preaching of "the plan of salvation" in America for one or two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airwaves and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the Law of God until sinners would cry out, "What must we do to be saved?" Then i would take them off into a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved. Don't use John 3:16. Why? Because you tell a sinner how to be saved before he realized that he needs to be saved. You have gospel-hardened him."

John Wesley said, "Before I preach love, mercy and grace, I must preach sin, Law and judgment." He later advised a friend, "Preach 90 percent Law and 10 percent grace." What percentage is your preaching? Remember God has called us all to be His witnesses so this applies to all of us!