Revival's Golden Key by Ray Comfort Page B

Law.”
    According to John Newton, “Ignorance of the nature and design of the Law is at the bottom of most religious mistakes.” Charles Spurgeon stated, “I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law.”
    When we preach the whole counsel of God, we merely work with the Holy Spirit to convince men of sin.
    Then he warns, “Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [its most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ... They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place.”
    Look at how the Law did its part in bringing Robert Flockhart , one of Spurgeon’s favorite preachers, to the cross:
    I consider the language of the apostle in Romans 7:9 not inapplicable to my situation at that time, “but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Sin, that had been asleep before, came like a giant upon me. I saw myself in the mirror of God’s Law. That Law was spiritual and extended to the thoughts and intents of my heart. Dreadful and blasphemous thoughts, like sparks out of a chimney, now came out of my heart. I was afraid to open my Bible or even to look up, for fear the Lord would send a thunderbolt out of heaven to crush me.
    What a translation from darkness to light, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son! My guilt removed and my pardon sealed, peace flowed like a river into my soul (The Street Preacher, pp. 77 ,81 ).
    Perhaps modem evangelism’s reticence to preach what produces fear is simply due to concern about the reaction of sinners. Some may worry that the message may be aligned with what is commonly called “hell-fire” preaching. Yet there is a vast difference between the use of the Law and hellfire preaching. Understandably, the thought of the existence of hell, without the use of the Law to justify its existence, is unreasonable to a sinner’s mind. How could a God of love create a place of eternal torment? Imagine if the police suddenly burst into your home, thrust you into prison, and angrily shouted, “You are going away for a long time!” Such conduct would undoubtedly leave you bewildered and angry. What they have done is unreasonable.
    However, if the law burst into your home and in-stead told you specifically why you were in trouble by saying, “We have discovered 10,000 marijuana plants growing in your backyard. You are going away for a long time!” at least you would understand why you are in trouble. Knowledge of the law you transgressed furnished you with understanding. It makes judgment reasonable .
    Hellfire preaching without use of the Law to show the sinner why God is angry with him will more than likely leave him bewildered and angry—for what he considers unreasonable punishment. However, when we use the Law lawfully, it appeals to the “reason” of sinners. Paul reasoned with Felix about judgment to come and his sins, to the point where the governor “was afraid” (Acts 24:25). Hell became reasonable. No doubt the “righteousness” Paul spoke of was the righteousness which is of the Law, and the result was that the fear of God fell upon the heart of his hearer.
    Those who come to the Savior with such knowledge are not strangers to fear, even after the cross. They tremble at the cost of their redemption. They gaze with fear-filled hearts at the grizzly sight of Calvary’s cross. They work out their own salvation with “fear and trembling” because they were not redeemed “with silver and gold, but with the precious Blood of Christ.”
    In his wonderful book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala , rightly