It’s an old picture and a familiar one. The police haul in a suspect. They put him under a bright light. They stand in the darkness. The interrogation begins. “And where were you the evening in question?” Slowly but surely the questions wear down the suspect. After several hours of very intense interrogation, under the bright light, the police coerce a confession out of the suspect.
Some evangelists approach the gospel in almost the same way. They twist arms and manipulate emotions. They treat the gospel like a used car or a vacuum cleaner. The objective is to get people to make a decision and close the deal. But suppose faith is a gift from God. Suppose hostile dispositions need to be changed by God. Suppose wills inclined against Christ need to be renewed by the Holy Spirit.
If you treat the gospel like a refrigerator and force a confession of Christ out of someone, it’s bound to be superficial. People who are unwilling to serve Christ need the grace of God. The only answer is the mercy of God. If there is an unwillingness within your heart to confess Christ as Lord over your life, you need to cast yourself on the mercy of God and cry to Him, “God be merciful to me the sinner.” (Luke 18:13).
