Date: August 25, 1948Place: Kuling
In the previous message, we saw from the New Testament that many people were saved without being very clear about the gospel truths. Because of the influence of tradition, many gospel preachers think that they need a great deal of truth and a thorough and lucid presentation of the gospel that addresses the entire range of human problems before men can be saved. Many workers do not expect men to be saved immediately. They try to help people to understand many doctrines. As a result, the salvation of many people is delayed. Sinners also procrastinate in their decision because gospel preachers have this attitude. They think that they have to be a little clearer about the gospel and understand a little more about the truth of the Bible. Often, they delay their own salvation through their perceived ignorance of the gospel.
If we are experienced in this matter and have thoroughly researched it, we will agree that some have not received much truth before they are saved. Yet they have stepped forward with a simple heart to touch the Lord. These ones bear a much stronger testimony before the Lord than those who are saved only after understanding a detailed exposition of the truth. In our preaching of the gospel, we should always exercise ourselves to discern how much truth a person needs before his heart will turn to God for salvation. In the Bible every person who was saved did not turn after understanding many doctrines. They only knew a little, but it was enough for them to come to God. In preaching the gospel, we do not have to apply a heavy dose of doctrines; a little truth is good enough. The extent and amount of the truth needed for the occasion depends on our own judgment. All that is needed is for a man to understand enough for his heart to turn to God.
First we have to ask ourselves: How much Bible truth did we understand when we were saved? In studying the examples in the Bible and in reviewing the history of our own salvation as well as those of others, we find that many people were saved by listening to just two or three sentences of gospel truth. Some people are even saved by hearing something totally unrelated to the gospel. Indeed, a man's salvation is not dependent on the amount of words he hears concerning salvation. As workers, we have to keep a record of the kind of words that precipitate salvation in various kinds of people. We will realize that not everyone is saved by great, long sermons. Instead, many are saved by one or two words. Their hearts are stirred up to touch the Lord, and they are saved. Once we have done such a study, we will become wiser in our preaching. We will find that everyone in this world is more or less the same; there are not too many different kinds of people. The ways men accept the gospel can be grouped, at the most, into a few categories. Some people are saved by one kind of speaking. Others are saved by another kind of speaking. Men can be identified by types, and there are not too many different types. Some people are of a certain disposition, and they are saved by a certain kind of speaking. When we meet a person of similar disposition, we can lead him to salvation with the same kind of speaking. It takes time to research and study the way people are saved. If we do this, we will become very skillful at leading men to Christ.
The Bible says that Jesus is a friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19). What is the meaning of a friend? A friend is a person whom one loves in an extraordinary relationship. Friendship is a relationship that is out of the ordinary, that pays no regard to status. Master-servant relationships, spousal relationships, sibling relationships, and parent-children relationships are all ordinary relationships. Friendship is an intimacy that goes beyond these relationships. Friends are people who are not linked to each other by ordinary relationships, but who love one another and are drawn to one another apart from such ordinary relationships. Such ones may be fathers and sons, but they are also friends apart and aside from their father-son relationship. This means that friendship is a relationship that has no regard for status. Some people are employer and employee. As far as their statuses are concerned, there is a difference of rank. However, they can also be friends apart from such a normal relationship.
The Lord is God, and we are man. He is the Savior, and we are sinners. These are the obvious relationships. But the Lord is also willing to establish a friendship with us outside of such normal relationships. Hence, the Bible calls Abraham the friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7; James 2:23b). God was able to be a friend to Abraham because He put aside His own status. Abraham also put aside his status. In this way the two became friends with each other. The Lord Jesus is the Savior, and we are sinners; this is the "normal" relationship. Under this normal relationship, there are "proper" procedures. For example, a sinner must believe and be baptized before he can be saved. This is the proper procedure under a normal relationship. The Bible, however, has a wonderful declaration: the Lord Jesus is also a friend of sinners. This is a great thing. This means that apart from the normal relationship of Savior with sinners, there is another relationship — that of a friend. A sinner can bypass the "proper" procedure and confer with Him as a friend. He can ask the Lord, "How are you going to save me?" In other words, a sinner can receive the Lord as the Savior without going through the proper procedures of salvation such as repentance, confession, believing, receiving, and baptism. Under normal circumstances, a sinner must go through these steps before he can be saved. But thank the Lord that He is also a friend of sinners. We can come to Him as His friends.
Sinners can come to the Savior and ask for help as His friends without going through the "proper" procedures. For example, there was a man in the Bible who wanted to believe the Lord but was not able to. He cried to the Lord, saying, "Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). Here was a man who was in unbelief. Yet he could still come to the Lord and ask for help. This is friendship. Consider the example of Luke 18:18-23. The young ruler wanted to inherit eternal life, and the Lord charged him to sell all he had, distribute to the poor, and follow Him. The young ruler could not do this, and he left sorrowfully. The Lord wanted him to sell his all; this is the proper procedure under a proper relationship. The young ruler felt that he could not comply. He should have come back to the Lord and conferred with Him based on the relationship of a friend and said, "I cannot make it. What should I do? Please help me!" The Lord surely would have helped him. Unfortunately he did not make use of this friendship to confer with the Lord. Instead, he turned away in sorrow.
Because the Lord Jesus is the friend of all the sinners, they are able to come to Him just as they are. They can confer with Him and seek His help. Originally, a sinner could only come to the Lord according to the proper procedure. But if he comes to Him as a friend, this approach is unconditional. A sinner can approach the Lord boldly just as he is. Suppose a father demands that his son be obedient to him. If the son does not obey him, he has trespassed in terms of his proper relationship with his father. Yet apart from this proper relationship, the son can approach the father as a friend and say, "I cannot obey you. What should I do? Please help me." The father can tell the son what he must do to obey based on their relationship as friends. In this way, the friendly relationship can make up for the breakdown in the proper relationship. A gospel preacher should allow a sinner to receive salvation under any condition. He can even forget all conditions and bring the sinner to the Lord with no conditions specified whatsoever.
The initial step of the gospel is for a sinner to treat the Lord as his friend. The consummate step of the gospel is for a sinner to treat Him as the Savior. Some may ask, "If a person does not believe in God, how can he come to God?" Even if a man does not believe in God, he can still come to Him. Under proper conditions, a man must believe in God before he can come to Him (Heb. 11:6). But as long as a man calls on God, he will be saved. Man thinks that he has to acquire a certain amount of faith before he can come to God, but this is wrong. The Lord is a friend of sinners. Anyone can come to Him and be saved. Under proper conditions, a man has to repent when he comes to the Savior. But if a man comes to the Lord by acknowledging Him as the friend of sinners, he can come to Him even without repentance. If our preaching is based on the fact that the Lord is a friend to sinners, we will bring sinners to the Lord immediately. Once we push a sinner into the presence of the Lord, something will happen.
We have to allow the Lord Himself to work on the sinners. We should not preach the gospel according to our own concepts. There is no sinner on earth who is so evil that he cannot pray. There is no sinner whose condition is so hopeless that he cannot be brought to the Lord. No matter what kind of sin a person has committed, no matter what kind of person he is, he can come to the Lord because the Lord is a friend of sinners. It is the Spirit who operates to bring men to repentance and to reject the world. If we realize that the Lord is a friend of sinners, the nature of our gospel will be uplifted, and our gospel will be greatly changed. First, we must have a strong assurance of this fact. We must believe in this fact, and then we can bring many people to salvation through our preaching.
