Interview with Ray Comfort

This interview was done by Spirit of Revival online: http://lifeaction.gospelcom.net/soro/[image][img align=left]http://lifeaction.gospelcom.net/soro/revivingthegospel/images/Ray_186x250.jpg[/img]SORO: Ray, it is great to speak with you. I'd like to start by getting a sense of how God called you into evangelistic ministry and what motivated you to come to the States.Ray Comfort: From the moment I got saved, I immediately felt deep concern for my family, neighbors, and even people I didn't know. I wanted to reach out to the lost with all the energy I could muster. It's been my heart's cry to be used of God. I remember being so passionate in my prayers that I would actually punch things (not my family) in desperation. I felt like Jacob when he wrestled with God, "I'm not going to let you go until you bless me!" I knew God would honor my cry and use me in gospel ministry.D.L. Moody said, "I'd rather put a thousand to work than do the work of a thousand." God graciously opened an itinerant ministry to me, equipping Christians to share their faith. It was clear that one of the main reasons Christians aren't sharing the gospel is that they don't feel equipped to do so.During the early years of my ministry, I learned some principles from God's Word and church history that helped me get beyond the intellectual objections of unbelievers and speak to their conscience. After all, the Bible says that the sinful mind is set against God — so I learned how to address this using the Ten Commandments as Jesus did in Mark 10, Luke 10, and other places. As I began showing this principle to other Christians, it proved to be effective at revealing to sinners their great need of a Savior.SORO: What is the state of the gospel in Western culture today?Ray: The contemporary church is sadly lacking in real evangelism. Bill Bright said that only 2% of believers in America share their faith regularly with others, meaning that 98% of professing Christians aren't doing their job. One of the reasons for this is that the average believer doesn't feel equipped. Any soldier sent to the battle lines with a feather duster isn't going to be courageous; but give him state-of-the-art weapons, and he'll be encouraged to get into the battle. The modern gospel is like that feather duster, but God has equipped us with "weapons that are not carnal, but mighty through the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4).Another issue is that the priority in the pulpit will be the priority in the pews. Many pastors don't think evangelism is their job. But even the Apostle Paul, the pastor of pastors, said, "Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:16).SORO: Why do you think so many people who claim to follow Jesus look so little like Him?Ray: The church lacks clear teaching regarding true and false conversion. Many Christians haven't even heard that there is such a thing — false pastors, false teachers, and even false believers. Yet Jesus spoke of it all the time — tares among the wheat, good trees among the bad, seeds falling on stony ground, the sheep and the goats, etc. For the past few decades, the church has proclaimed a "God-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life" gospel, not a biblical gospel. We have shifted the emphasis away from sinners fleeing to the cross to escape God's wrath to telling them that God wants to improve their earthly lifestyles.Imagine if you were taken back to September 10, 2001, and asked to speak to the staff on the top floors of the World Trade Center. You knew full well that every one of them would be dying a horrific death tomorrow — so what would you say? "God has a wonderful plan for your life"? That's absurd. The plan isn't "wonderful." That version of the "gospel" wouldn't even be applicable in that situation, and I'm saying that it's never applicable. It's not biblical. The plan isn't "wonderful" by the world's standards. The gospel never promises worldly happiness, but it does promise righteousness.SORO: How can someone desiring to share the gospel with a friend avoid "decisionism" and "cheap grace"?I would encourage them to listen to the audio message entitled Hell's Best Kept Secret. It's available as a free download on our website. I believe it will help them understand God's ultimate weapon for witnessing. Then, I'd challenge them to forsake every modern method of winning souls that isn't rigidly biblical; things like music at altar calls, appealing to the emotions rather than to the will and the conscience, the "heads bowed and eyes closed" methods, etc. We need to speak eye-to-eye with sinners, to reach their conscience.When it comes to "praying the prayer," I don't pray the Sinner's Prayer with people. I think of it this way: If a man has committed adultery against his wife and wants to confess that to her, I shouldn't have to write a note for him, "Dear wife, I'm sorry for my sins, please forgive me." That's ridiculous! If he is serious about repenting, it should flow from his heart. The same is true when people seek to repent before God. SORO: What evidences should we expect to see in someone who is truly converted?Ray: There should be certain fruits — righteousness, praise, thanksgiving, repentance, and fruit of the Spirit. Heading up the fruit of the Spirit is love, and the Bible says if you haven't got love, your faith is worth nothing. One of the expressions of that love is a concern for unbelievers. If I found a professing Christian with no zeal to reach lost people, I'd question his salvation. SORO: What do you believe God's goal is in the world today?Luke 10:2 is the relevant Scripture. The laborers are few, and Jesus said we should pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers. Even Billy Graham has said that the key isn't in mass crusades, it's one-to-one. If a Christian isn't evangelizing, he'll feel guilty and he won't pray for laborers, and the enemy gets a double victory. We not only need to pray for laborers, we need to be the laborers — that's the key to reaching the world with the gospel.Imagine a general looking at a battle field and seeing that no progress is being made. Then, someone hands him a report that shows that 98% of his troops are in the barracks, and only 2% are fighting the battle! Many in the church are doing everything but what they are called to do.SORO: Someone considering this might feel a burden to start sharing the gospel, but may not know where to go from here. What suggestions can you give to that person?Ray: Greet strangers. I know it sounds funny, but just try it for a day. Say "hello" or "good morning" to everyone you can. Watch their reaction. I've done it for years, and I've found that people immediately warm up when someone goes out of their way to be friendly. Practice relating to strangers. Next, try to swing your discussions to spiritual matters. "So, do you have a religious background?" or, "Are there any good churches in this area?" or, if you are using gospel tracts, "Did you get one of these?" I've found that tracts are a tremendous way to introduce the gospel. I'm not talking about the embarrassing ones that say, "Come visit my church," or, "You're going to hell." We have many non-embarrassing, creative, Bible-centered tracts available for people through LivingWaters.com