Must we use the Law in our evangelism?

All is not fulfilled. Jesus has yet to return. What did He say in Matthew 5?

Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth have not passed and will not pass until the heaven and earth are made anew. This covers the whole of our existence on this earth before Jesus comes, and thus the law is binding.

In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus said that, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." The two commandments, to love God and to love your neighbor, were not new, they were given in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

The law is written in the heart, according to the covenant (Jeremiah 31:33). Therefore, if anything it is now even more intimate, being written in the heart.

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

The law is a delight, not a burden.

Jesus not only taught the law He kept the law. He emphasized the love of God and others and keeping the law (John 14:15), so did Paul (Romans 13:8-10).

Conclusion: Love is the answer.

Absolutely not, God is offering His free gift of Eternal Life, not a law to be followed. To which God's free gift of Eternal Life is only received by believing in Jesus for Eternal Life. Not by following the law or even knowing about the law.

hopeforhappiness said:

Must we use the law in our evangelism?

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Must we? Not necessarily. But it has its place, like when you’re confronting someone who insists he doesn’t need saving. “Let’s check that briefly.”

Generally speaking, though, I don’t like using the law in evangelistic efforts because Christianity is not fire insurance, if you get my meaning.

hopeforhappiness said:

One last question, which is relevant: Jesus talked of not one jot falling from the Law until "all is accomplished." How does that relate to Christ's final words, "It is finished"?

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“All is accomplished” is comprehensive, spanning the whole mission of Christ, including his life, death, resurrection, exaltation, and the consummation of the kingdom. “It is finished” is the pivotal moment within that mission: the completion of the atoning work that secures everything else.

hopeforhappiness said:

Tuesday at 9:37 AM
#1
I have an acquaintance who insists on this and in my opinion has made this a harsh and judgemental approach and he uses it often in his dealings with church members.
Now, clearly there is a discussion about how to use the Law. If it is about behaviour then yes, it can serve a purpose in that those self-righteous in their behaviour can be made to see how that separates from God. But the Law (summarised especially in the first two) is also to do with attitudes and desires. These also separate from God and are very relevant in pre-evangelism.
BUT....Jesus IMO majored on the attitudes and this IMO leads evangelists to be more compassionate and empathetic in their work. (which is all our work, as well). Because I don't think Jesus used the Law in its behaviour dimension, especially in his dealings with those who would be more receptive. He saw inside them, to their hidden weakness (the woman in adultery, the rich young ruler), with Knowledge from His Father. He didn't go through the 10 commandments, getting the people to examine their failings in each category. He went straight to a One Issue that would convict. A lesson for us?
Because the central issue, and I argued this with with the guy I have mentioned, is the Original Sin of the Garden, in that mankind really doesn't like the idea of God in our lives and wants to go its own way in pride. It is this that has to be finally acknowledged, even after repentance for thoughts and deeds of greed and lust and anger, and it was this that Christ died on the cross for. To repair our estrangement from God. But then of course this is encapsulated in failing the first commandment.
One last question and which is relevant. Jesus talked of not one jot falling from the Law until "all is accomplished". How does that relate to Christ's final words - "It is finished"

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The law for evangelism is the Gospel of Jesus. If anyone who "believe" the Gospel will be saved. This the law based on God's power to save.

The 10 commandments is the law for salvation based on our own strength.

Without the law how would you convince people that they're sinners and teach them how to live a holy and godly life?

hopeforhappiness said:

Please expand on this. It's important in this discussion. Because it was the approach of Billy Graham and certainly J John. How did Jesus make people aware of their need of personal salvation?

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I understand that people like Billy Graham and Ray Comfort have represented the gospel as fire insurance, so to speak, but I think that is the wrong approach. The response to the gospel becomes a matter of self-interest. That is self-centered, not Christ-centered. While guilt-awareness is necessary, it is not sufficient—and it is not the gospel. The gospel is the person and work of Christ.

And Jesus didn’t always make people aware of their personal need for salvation (although sometimes he did); the Holy Spirit did that when they were confronted by Jesus as he is. Jesus proclaimed himself as the authoritative Son and the fulfillment of Scripture.

And the effect varied. Some were cut to the heart. Others were hardened. That divergence is not explained by rhetorical technique but by sovereign grace. The Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. No one comes unless drawn by the Father (John 6:44). So, the decisive agent in awakening need is the Spirit through the Word, not the evangelist’s strategic deployment of commandments (e.g., 1 Cor 2:4-5).

This guards against two errors: (1) legalism, thinking that sufficient moral pressure will generate repentance, and (2) pragmatism, assuming that a particular technique guarantees conversion.

The law has its place, I admitted, like when you’re confronting someone who insists he doesn’t need saving. In its pedagogical use (Gal 3:24), the law still functions to shut mouths (Rom 3:19). For the self-righteous, explicit confrontation with the law is appropriate. For the crushed and weary, Christ proclaims himself as rest (Matt 11:28). Wisdom discerns which is needed.

Evangelism is not fundamentally about producing awareness of hell; it is about proclaiming Christ as Lord and Redeemer. The Spirit, through that proclamation, exposes sin at its root—namely, our refusal to have God as God.

hopeforhappiness said:

Expand on this as well in the light of my OP? What does this mean for our use of the Law and the 10 commandments in our evangelism. Especially if after being saved we no longer have to observe the Law in the way the Jews had to.

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From A (“it is finished”) to B (“until all is accomplished”)

In Matthew 5:18, when Jesus says that not the smallest letter or even stroke of a letter will pass from the law “until all is accomplished,” he is speaking about the abiding authority and teleological fulfillment of the Mosaic economy within redemptive history. The law remains in force until its goal (telos) is reached in him.

In John 19:30, “It is finished” refers specifically to the completion of his atoning work—his obedience unto death, the climactic act that satisfies divine justice and secures the covenant promises. So, the cross does not cancel the law, it is the climactic fulfillment of the law in its covenantal and typological dimensions. Christ fulfills the law’s precepts (active obedience), its penalties (passive obedience), and its types and shadows (sacrificial system, priesthood, temple).

Thus, “all is accomplished” reaches its decisive turning point at “it is finished,” but it extends beyond the cross to resurrection, exaltation, and the eschatological consummation. The cross secures; the resurrection vindicates; the ascension enthrones; the parousia consummates.

Evangelism and the Ten Commandments

The Mosaic law as a covenantal administration is therefore fulfilled and no longer binding upon believers as a covenant of works. We are not under law but under grace. The believer does not relate to God through Moses but through union with the risen Christ.

However, that doesn’t mean the moral law has evaporated. The ceremonial law is fulfilled and abrogated. The judicial law has expired as Israel’s national code. But the moral law, reflecting God’s character, is abiding in substance. The Ten Commandments, as a summary of the moral law, continues to reveal God’s righteousness.

But its covenantal function has shifted. It no longer condemns those in Christ (Rom 8:1). It now functions normatively, not covenantally. And this distinction is critical for evangelism. If Christ has fulfilled the law’s condemning power for his people, then we don’t preach the law as something we must keep—Christ kept it. Nor do we preach the law as a perpetual threat hanging over the justified—we preach Christ crucified and risen.

Yet the law still serves a pedagogical use. For unbelievers, it exposes sin and shuts the mouth; it reveals not merely behavioral failure but covenantal rebellion. In light of my original point, evangelism shouldn’t devolve into a mechanical recitation of the Ten Commandments, as if awareness of infractions automatically generates repentance. That would treat the law as a technique. Rather, the law functions diagnostically. It reveals idolatry. It exposes autonomy. It strips self-righteousness. The gospel is not “you broke the rules.” The gospel is, “God has acted in Christ to reconcile rebels to himself—and you’re a rebel.”

Jesus does not abolish the moral substance of the law. That persists for as long as God is God. Rather, Jesus embodies and fulfills the law. Our evangelism should then reflect that structure. The law reveals God’s holiness and man’s rebellion. Christ fulfills the law and bears its curse. The Spirit unites sinners to Christ, granting repentance and faith.

Conclusion

The shift after “it is finished” is not that the law becomes irrelevant, but that it’s no longer the covenantal administrator of the relationship between God and his people. Christ is—and always has been, a point to which the Mosaic covenant always pointed.

To answer your question, then: We use the law insofar as it exposes sin and drives to Christ. We do not use it as a covenantal framework to place people back under Sinai, nor do we reduce the gospel to an escape from penalty. The law prepares; it is Christ who saves. The law diagnoses; it is Christ who heals. The law commands; it is Christ who accomplishes.

John Bauer said:

I understand that people like Billy Graham and Ray Comfort have represented the gospel as fire insurance, so to speak, but I think that is the wrong approach. The response to the gospel becomes a matter of self-interest. That is self-centered, not Christ-centered. While guilt-awareness is necessary, it is not sufficient—and it is not the gospel. The gospel is the person and work of Christ.

And Jesus didn’t always make people aware of their personal need for salvation (although sometimes he did); the Holy Spirit did that when they were confronted by Jesus as he is. Jesus proclaimed himself as the authoritative Son and the fulfillment of Scripture.

And the effect varied. Some were cut to the heart. Others were hardened. That divergence is not explained by rhetorical technique but by sovereign grace. The Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. No one comes unless drawn by the Father (John 6:44). So, the decisive agent in awakening need is the Spirit through the Word, not the evangelist’s strategic deployment of commandments.

This guards against two errors: (1) legalism, thinking that sufficient moral pressure will generate repentance, and (2) pragmatism, assuming that a particular technique guarantees conversion.

The law has its place, I admitted, like when you’re confronting someone who insists he doesn’t need saving. In its pedagogical use (Gal 3:24), the law still functions to shut mouths (Rom 3:19). For the self-righteous, explicit confrontation with the law is appropriate. For the crushed and weary, Christ proclaims himself as rest (Matt 11:28). Wisdom discerns which is needed.

Evangelism is not fundamentally about producing awareness of hell; it is about proclaiming Christ as Lord and Redeemer. The Spirit, through that proclamation, exposes sin at its root—namely, our refusal to have God as God.



From A (“it is finished”) to B (“until all is accomplished”)

In Matthew 5:18, when Jesus says that not the smallest letter or even stroke of a letter will pass from the law “until all is accomplished,” he is speaking about the abiding authority and teleological fulfillment of the Mosaic economy within redemptive history. The law remains in force until its goal (telos) is reached in him.

In John 19:30, “It is finished” refers specifically to the completion of his atoning work—his obedience unto death, the climactic act that satisfies divine justice and secures the covenant promises. So, the cross does not cancel the law, it is the climactic fulfillment of the law in its covenantal and typological dimensions. Christ fulfills the law’s precepts (active obedience), its penalties (passive obedience), and its types and shadows (sacrificial system, priesthood, temple).

Thus, “all is accomplished” reaches its decisive turning point at “it is finished,” but it extends beyond the cross to resurrection, exaltation, and the eschatological consummation. The cross secures; the resurrection vindicates; the ascension enthrones; the parousia consummates.

Evangelism and the Ten Commandments

The Mosaic law as a covenantal administration is therefore fulfilled and no longer binding upon believers as a covenant of works. We are not under law but under grace. The believer does not relate to God through Moses but through union with the risen Christ.

However, that doesn’t mean the moral law has evaporated. The ceremonial law is fulfilled and abrogated. The judicial law has expired as Israel’s national code. But the moral law, reflecting God’s character, is abiding in substance. The Ten Commandments, as a summary of the moral law, continues to reveal God’s righteousness.

But its covenantal function has shifted. It no longer condemns those in Christ (Rom 8:1). It now functions normatively, not covenantally. And this distinction is critical for evangelism. If Christ has fulfilled the law’s condemning power for his people, then we don’t preach the law as something we must keep—Christ did that. Nor do we preach the law as a perpetual threat hanging over the justified—we preach Christ crucified and risen.

Yet the law still serves a pedagogical use. For unbelievers, it exposes sin and shuts the mouth; it reveals not merely behavioral failure but covenantal rebellion. In light of my original point, evangelism shouldn’t devolve into a mechanical recitation of the Ten Commandments, as if awareness of infractions automatically generates repentance. That would treat the law as a technique. Rather, the law functions diagnostically. It reveals idolatry. It exposes autonomy. It strips self-righteousness. The gospel is not “you broke the rules.” The gospel is, “God has acted in Christ to reconcile rebels to himself—and you’re a rebel.”

Jesus does not abolish the moral substance of the law. That persists for as long as God is God. Rather, Jesus embodies and fulfills the law. Our evangelism should then reflect that structure. The law reveals God’s holiness and man’s rebellion. Christ fulfills the Law and bears its curse. The Spirit unites sinners to Christ, granting repentance and faith.

Conclusion

The shift after “it is finished” is not that the law becomes irrelevant, but that it’s no longer the covenantal administrator of the relationship between God and his people. Christ is—and always has been, a point to which the Mosaic covenant always pointed.

To answer your question, then: We use the law insofar as it exposes sin and drives to Christ. We do not use it as a covenantal framework to place people back under Sinai, nor do we reduce the gospel to an escape from penalty. The law prepares; it is Christ who saves. The law diagnoses; it is Christ who heals. The law commands; it is Christ who accomplishes.

Click to expand...

The apostle Paul asked what fruit we had in the things we are now ashamed of. It seems that guilt is a part of the gospel