Law to the Proud & Grace to the Humble Evangelistic Priniciple

The following is a great principle to continually keep in mind in our evangelistic endeavors. It is taken from Ray Comfort's book, What Did Jesus Do? A free PDF copy can be downloaded here.

Scripture tells us that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”(James 4:6). Those who have a humble heart, who recognize their sin and see their desperate need for God’s mercy, will understand the gospel of grace. But the proud and self-righteous—those who proclaim their own goodness (see Proverbs 20:6)—don’t see their need for the Savior. They need the Law to show them the righteous standard that God requires.

Biblical evangelism therefore follows the principle of “Law to the proud,and grace to the humble.”If someone is proud and self-righteous—like the self-righteous man who ran to the Savior and asked how to be saved—we must do what Jesus did. We should give him the Law to show him the nature of sin. If he is humble of heart (already possessing the knowledge of sin), such as in the case of Nicodemus,then we should do what Jesus did and give him grace.

It is as simple as sowing seed. A wise farmer always checks the soil before he plants seed. If the soil has stones, he removes them. If it is hard, he breaks it up. He knows that if he wants to successfully grow a crop, he must properly prepare the soil before he sows the precious seed. That’s the principle behind the evangelistic use of the Law: “Law before grace.”