Indictment of the Four Spiritual Laws, Or Why I Would Not Use the Would You Like to Know God Personally Tracts

Before anybody gets angry or defensive, realize that I am not in anyway criticizing or discrediting either Dr. Bill Bright and/or Campus Crusade for Christ. I am not seeking to harm anybody’s reputation or to attack what I believe was a true intent to further the Kingdom of God. This is not a personal vendetta against any person and/or organization, but rather showing how this method/tool is insufficient, and could even be harmful to the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.

First, let me clarify. I am not saying that nobody has come to the Lord through the Four-Laws booklets, nor that people still cannot come to Christ through them. They are witnessing tools that can and do work, and have probably been used in bringing more people to the Lord than any other tract (I have no statistics, but they seem to be the most widely used tracts available). However, just because something works, does not mean it is the right, or even a good tool for the job. For example, try using a screwdriver to get a nail out of a wall. The screwdriver will eventually get nails out of the wall, but may put holes in the wall in the process. It is not the proper tool for the job, and by far not the best. Also, there have probably been people who have come to know Christ through the Jesus Seminar (this is clearly not the aim of the Jesus Seminar), but I would not give a John Dominic Crossan book to introduce someone to Jesus; that would be an absurd practice.

Now let’s get into the real nitty-gritty of the issue. The Four-Laws fail to give an ample understanding of sin. Point number 2 in the Four-Laws is “Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.” That’s obviously true, but all that this does is tells people there is a problem, without giving them evidence they are sinners. The Four-Laws gives two Biblical examples (Romans 3:23 and 6:23) as evidence. However, telling people who do not accept the Bible as the authority of God (most unbelievers) are not going to accept this, they need evidence that they are sinners and separated from God. This is where we should use the Law (the Ten Commandments, etc) to show people they are sinners by an objective standard. While they may disagree that God will judge based upon the Ten Commandments, they cannot disagree that if God is judging upon the Ten Commandments, they fail.

There is also little allusion in the Four-Laws to the judgment of God. Not only is man sinful, but all mankind is going to die and face God in judgment, to be rewarded based upon the good and evil he/she has done in the flesh (Galatians 6:7-9, Romans 2:5-16). Even if there was allusion to judgment in the Four-Laws, all that a person needs to do (in order to logically convince him/herself) is to appeal to Spiritual Law #1 (Laws of the Universe such as gravity or spiritual laws cannot be broken), saying “God loves me, and will send no one to hell.” This is very good logic (from the standpoint of the Four-Laws) (God loves me, a loving God could not send anyone to hell, therefore God will not send me to hell) even though this is not the intent of the Four-Laws.

Another problem with the Four-Laws is that they do start out simply telling people God loves them (see above). Now, I have found nobody who doubts that God loves him/her. If a person doubted this, this person would probably do whatever it takes to get on God’s good side. Every religion tells people that God loves them, and that God is love. Few today, however, tell that mankind is sinful and that God is going to judge people. People today usually do not question that God loves them, since this is always pounded into their brains by our pluralistic friends. However, most do not believe that God is going to judge them and condemn them for their sin. Thus, the Four-Laws are not culturally relevant to the shifting need of today’s world (this point may be good to start with in other nations, but not the United States.)

The Four-Laws further leave easy-believism open. In other words, it does not adequately describe how someone is to come to Christ. First, it says you can receive Christ “by faith through prayer.” You will find such a “truth” no where in the Bible. Never in Acts, Jesus’ ministry, or any of the epistles does a person ever ask a person to pray to receive Christ. This is simply not the way a person “receives” Christ. Before we get more into that, there is an inherent problem with the statement “by faith through prayer.” Not only is this not the means, but it also makes people think that by praying a simple prayer they have exhibited saving faith. Faith is not exhibited through praying a prayer, but in the actions of one’s life. Though a person may pray a prayer to express him/herself to God as a sinner in need of God’s grace, a prayer is not the act by which a person receives grace. Rather, a person becomes a Christian by faith in Christ (not just the works of Christ, but who He is). Faith is not visible in itself to the human eye, rather, faith is justified by works (see James 2). Works will evidence faith and show that true faith is present; thus a faith that does not produce works is not a real faith, for anyone who truly believes something will act upon it. If we tell people they are saved by praying a prayer, we are actually preaching a works-based salvation. Praying is a work (a deed). Only faith in itself is not such a deed, as it is the gift of God (cf. Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 1:29).

The Four-Laws do not give a good representation of repentance (it is called “turning to God from self”—while this is true, it should go into more detail, since repentance is the God wrought change of heart that causes us to turn from sin, which includes self-interest (self is such a misunderstood and cliche term.)) While the Four-Laws makes an attempt not to fall into easy-believism, it fails by not defining faith when it says, “Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.” What does this look like? It seems to look like praying a prayer (then it goes on to giving assurance to people who have not done anything that shows their faith to be genuine.) However, it does not go into great detail that a person must count the cost of being a follower of Christ, take up his/her cross, etc. The pictures at the bottom of the page are nice, but more detail is necessary to show what it means to make Christ Lord of one’s life; ie. “To confess Jesus as Lord.” (It seems that such things are merely suggestions for Christian growth, not necessary results of the faith of the person. God demands perfection but gives grace because no one, not even Christians are perfect (though they ought to strive for perfection.) These are not only suggestions, but are necessary overflows of the life of faith.) The pictures suggest a second step: making Christ Lord of one’s life. This gives Christianity a varsity/junior-varsity mindset. Those who make Christ Lord can boast, as they are the varsity Christians. Those who do not are merely JV Christians. This is not at all the way Christ presents it. He is either Lord or you aren’t saved (cf. Luke 14:26).

Finally, I think the greatest fault of the Four-Laws is how it separates laws 1 and 3. The Four Laws are thus in effect separating God’s love from Christ’s work upon the cross. In other words, God just loves everyone. This is not so. God loves everyone in Christ. God loves people because of what Christ has done, making God just in giving mankind ample opportunity to repent and turn to Him in faith. Now, you may object, “but John 3:16 is printed under law number 1”. While this is true, it is not God’s love in Christ that is highlighted, that is not highlighted until law number 3. John 3:16 says “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” This means absolutely nothing until it is established in a person’s mind that he/she is a sinner (law 2, which comes after law 1) in need of being born-again (see the context of John 3). Thus God loves by sending Christ. This is the way God shows His love to sinners, by sending His Son to die for them. Laws 1 and 3 should be combined and placed after Law 2. When these two are combined, only then can a sinner truly grasp how God loves him/her and what is necessary to appease the justice of God. Thus a person must properly respond to God (by repentant faith). By separating these two points, the Four-Laws is essentially separating God’s love with the necessity of Christ. This may be the worst foul that the Four-Laws commit. The four-laws could easily start out by talking about how God created us to be satisfied in Him, how God needs nothing from us for His own happiness, or some attributes of God defined clearly.

In light of this, I cannot say that I would personally use the Four-Laws if it was all I had. It would be better than using a book by the Jesus Seminar, but it still falls short of a good gospel presentation. With all the resources available, we do not have to, nor should we be in the position where all we have to use when sharing is the Four-Laws/Would You Like to Know God Personally? tract. Ray Comfort’s Four Simple Laws tracts and John Piper’s Quest for Joy tracts are readily available, and for a similar price. These tracts are far superior and do not make the same mistakes that the Four-Laws make. If you do not wish to purchase tracts, I have developed some and I would be glad to send you a copy that you could print them off of your own computer.

Why do I even care what people use in presenting the gospel? Well, because I am jealous for the church “with a godly jealousy,” to present her to her one true Husband, “so that to Christ” she might be presented “as a pure virgin” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Also because doctrinal purity is essential, since by our life and doctrine “you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16). I also fear that any should fall into preaching another gospel, and be “accursed” by God (Galatians 1:8-9). Or that someone should not be sanctified and being deceived should come short of the grace of God (Hebrews 12:14-15). And most of all, because people are dying and going to hell. Many go to hell without ever hearing the truth about God’s grace or without hearing how they are to properly respond, and so they continue in sin, which a Christian will seek to turn from, because they received an inadequate gospel.