You Can Share The Gospel

Session 10: Four Spiritual Laws

The Four Spiritual Laws were created by Campus Crusade For Christ and have been one of the most popular methods for sharing the gospel for decades.

The Four Spiritual Laws are:

1. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
   
   
2. Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
   
   
3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
   
   
4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

The Four Spiritual Laws are intended to be shared when you give a person a copy of the Four Spiritual Laws tract. You can read through the tract together, so there is no need to memorize your presentation.

The Four Spiritual Laws have been used effectively, but they can be confusing to someone who has not grown up in a Christian culture.

For example, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." can sound like the prosperity gospel--believe in Jesus and your problems will go away. But the Bible never promises a wonderful plan for your life.

When Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross next to his, did he tell him that God had a wonderful plan for his life? No. The thief was about to die in excruciating pain. The cross is one of the most pain and cruel death devices ever invented. What was left of the thief's life was going to be short and horrible.

Christianity promises persecution.

"Indeed, all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." - 2 Timothy 3:12

The tract does explain that God's wonderful plan for your life is to have Jesus die on the cross that you might have life. Be sure not to miss this point, which is made in the tract by quoting John 10:10.

Another problem is that the Four Spiritual Laws completely avoid defining sin. 1st John says that sin is lawlessness... breaking God's laws. In the Four Spiritual Laws sin is described as being separated from God. While that is true, it never explains what separates us from God... our disobedience of God.

America has had a Christian cuilture since it was founded. People in America, because of what we learned in school and from our culture, understood what sin was and why we need a savior. But that is rapidly changing. Christianity has been removed from our textbooks, classrooms, entertainment, culture, homes and even from many churches. Unlike the past, you can not automatically assume that someone understands what sin is.

So if you are using the Four Spiritual Laws, be sure to explain sin. People need to understand that sin is a word that means breaking God's laws. Keep in mind what you say in Session Eight. People don't even know what it means to break God's laws, because they don't know God's laws. You may need to go through some of the Ten Commandments with them so they understand sin and their need for a savior.

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