Emmy and her letter

One of the cool things about being a missionary is when you get a letter from 3000 miles from a 7 year old asking about missions.  Emmy was excited since she is also 7 so she wrote this letter back to him.

The only means to awaken sinners

Concerning all those people who think that raising someone from the dead, or performing miracles, signs and wonders will make people believe in Jesus, read the Scriptures and attempt to validate your reasoning but you will find something quite different than you believe. In the book of Luke, Jesus tells us that if people will not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

During the time of Elijah and Elisha there were a multitude of miracles performed but the people did not regard their prophecies nor their miracles.  Jeremiah warned the people through his prophecies for 40 years yet the people did not repent, even worse, they turned against him like animals.  During the time of Moses, the people heard God speak out of fire and they even trembled for a time at His words but soon hardened their hearts and rebelled.  Even though they saw many powerful miracles and wonders in Egypt, the Red sea and the wilderness, they only turned in rebellion.  Even in the times of Jesus, with all His miracles very few were brought to repentance. 

Even when people are dying and are so close to hell that they tremble, if they recover, they still are not awakened but easily forget.  Even if men are warned of Hell or could even taste hell, they still will not be awakened.  Jonathan Edwards writes about this:

If one should come from hell to warn sinners, it may be he would tell them of hell in such a manner as would have more of a tendency to drive men into despair, and set them a blaspheming as they do in hell, than to excite them to strive for salvation.  The declarations of one come from hell might more tend to drive us from God than to bring us near to Him. 

Even the great speeches and declarations, the elegance and enthusiasm of men delivering messages about hell will more likely move people in their emotions for a short time than awaken sinners.

So if none of these methods will awaken sinners then what are the means that we should use?  Edwards gives us the answer:

The warnings of God's word are more fitted to obtain the ends of awakening sinners and bringing them to repentance than the rising of one from the dead to warn them.

This brings us back to the power and sufficiency of the Scripture.  God has ordained the means to awaken sinners and it is by His word and His word only.  Many have forgotten about the power that the word of God has to penetrate the hearts of the wicked.  Many people use every modern method that they can invent to awaken sinners but none work or can work but only create false conversions and confusion. 

I will end with another quote from Edwards, he says:

If the word of God will not awaken and convert sinners, nothing will.

Please brothers, depend on the word of God as the power of salvation, not the word of God plus all the silliness that I see little boys implementing to the shame of the Scriptures.