Chapter 1: What problems can arise from the sinner's prayer?
What can be a problem with the sinner's prayer?
The gospel's been twisted to God has a wonderful plan for your life. You want to experience the wonderful plan that God has? Just say this prayer and give your heart to Jesus. It's not biblical. And we think we can lead people to God and have them repeat a prayer of repentance. It's not in Scripture. Christianity doesn't offer, as someone said, a smooth flight, but it offers a safe landing.
Most people don't know what good is. They say, I'm a good person. No, no, no.
Chapter 2: How has modern evangelism distorted the gospel message?
You need the moral law to show you're not. Think you've kept the Ten Commandments? Oh, yeah. How many lies have you told? Oh, lots. Ever stolen something? Yeah, just little things. Ever used God's name in vain? They say, yeah, it's a bad habit. Shouldn't do it. Jesus said, if you look with lust, you've committed adultery in the heart. Ever done that? And every guy says that. Absolutely.
All the time. By your own admission, you've just told me you're a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart. And you have to face God on Judgment Day. Can I be innocent or guilty? And they say, guilty. The sinner has been shown that he's unclean in the eyes of God and he needs God's mercy. And that's when the cross will make sense.
Today's episode goes straight into the most controversial conversations in Christianity. Repentance, false conversions, the sinner's prayer, eternal judgment, and whether belief alone actually saves. I'm joined by the legendary Ray Comfort, one of the most well-known street evangelists in the world, and his little dog, too.
Best-selling author, co-host of Way of the Master, and founder of Living Waters. Ray has spent decades training everyday Christians how to share the gospel biblically, boldly, and effectively. And today he's breaking down where the church has gone wrong, why modern evangelism often fails, and what real gospel clarity actually looks like.
We're talking about how to evangelize as a busy mom, how to start conversations with unbelievers and spiritual but not religious people, and why skipping sin, repentance, and God's holiness doesn't make the message more loving, it makes it incomplete. If you wanna watch this episode, you can by subscribing to Real Alex Clark on YouTube or Culture Apothecary on Spotify.
We release two episodes a week where we bring on experts doing their best to heal us at culture, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. If you're a first time listener or long time, please pause, leave us a five star review before we get started. Please welcome evangelist, Ray Comfort to Culture Apothecary. How bad have Christians gotten at evangelizing?
Well, they just haven't got good. It's been left in the dust. That's the problem. Very few Christians evangelize. I ask congregations, how many of you have witnessed verbally, not with your life, but verbally, with your mouth, to more than a dozen people in the last year? It's usually only about 10%. And we've moved so far away from the book of Acts, it's not funny.
The disciples didn't stay in the upper room, put a little notice out the front saying, tonight, seven o'clock, all welcome. They went open air because God had granted eternal life to humanity. And so they said, we cannot but speak that which we've seen and heard. And peril of their lives, they went out and preached the gospel to every creature as they were commanded to do by Jesus.
Are you finding that the most used excuses from Christians on why they're not evangelizing more is because they don't feel confident in how to do it? Is it because they're embarrassed and don't want to offend?
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of repentance in Christianity?
And we have what's called sheep trials. You know what a sheep trial is? It's not like an O.J. Simpson trial. It's like, ever seen the movie Babe? Of course. Yeah, okay, Babe. That's where they were getting sheep through a little sheep gate. And I remember I was in a pastor's house once, and the pastor was getting a drink. It was non-alcoholic. Came back in, and I said, look at this.
Here's a shepherd trying to get sheep through this little sheep gate. If he got them through the sheep gate, 5-0 sheep, he wins a national prize. And he was just standing very still, holding a rod.
Chapter 4: How can busy moms effectively engage in evangelism?
And I said, one wrong move from that shepherd and he's going to scatter the sheep. And I said, that's like the local pastor trying to get his flock involved in evangelism. One wrong move and he's going to scatter the sheep. You make us feel guilty about reaching the lost, we'll go to another church, greener pastures. The pastor said, where's the evangelist?
And suddenly a sheepdog came, screaming through, went up to those sheep and just went, whoop. And the sheep immediately went through the sheep gate. And I said, there is the equipping evangelist. So when I go to a local church, when I did, I go to a local church, I bark at the sheep. I say what I want. I say, if you're not evangelizing, where's your love? Don't you care about unsaved people?
They're going to hell. There's a lake of fire. Too concerned about worshiping the Lord and not reaching out to the lost? If you're going to lift your hands in worship to God, make sure you're prepared to reach out your hands in evangelism for God. And I can bark at them because I don't care what they think of me because I'm leaving the next day. That's the ministry of the equipping evangelist.
He should come into the local church and do what the pastor doesn't feel comfortable doing because he's got a lot of authority. He can come down heavy on the sheep, but if he does, they'll scatter. He lets the equipping evangelist come in and bark at his sheep and say, you should be reaching out to the lost. That's genuine church growth.
We have musical pews in much of our Christendom rather than genuine church growth where unsaved people get saved and then come to the local church to be fed.
Where did you get this idea to start evangelizing people on the street?
I got saved.
Tell us about that.
I was a very successful young businessman. I had my own business, a surf shop, and I used to make leather jackets like this, but in leather to order for people. It was very successful. And one thing that bothered me was that I really had a Solomon experience. I got old prematurely at the age of 21, 22. I'd done everything I wanted to do and got everything I wanted to get.
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Chapter 5: What are common signs of false conversions?
And I thought, well, if there's a heaven, I'll make it. Never done that. And then I read what came next. But I say to you, whoever looks upon a woman to lust for her has committed adultery already with her in his heart. It was like an arrow hit my chest. I thought, I'm guilty, like every other red-blooded guy.
Chapter 6: How do you identify a good person according to the Bible?
And I thought, if God's seen my thought life on Judgment Day, I'm in big trouble, heading for hell. And that's when I understood the cross. Never understood it until I saw my sin. You'll never appreciate and appropriate a cure unless you first realize you have a disease. And when we realize the disease of sin, then the cure of the cross comes. Makes sense.
I came to Christ, born again, immediately began sharing the gospel. Gospel tracts, put billboard outside my home, got a 34-seater bus, put scripture around it, professionally sign writing.
At 21 years old?
Yeah, on the front window of my house. business, I put John chapter 3 verses 1 to 16 and 3 inch professional lettering. And I got a soapbox, began preaching the gospel in the local square, did that every day for about 12 years, almost every day. And so if anyone could have been considered a religious nut in those days, it was me. Nowadays, I'm much worse.
Yeah, you're an extremist.
Yes, and loving it.
What does repenting actually mean and how do you do it?
You can see it in the life of King David. Nathan came to David and he began in the natural, told of a man who stole another man's lamb as pet lamb. David stood on his high throne and just said that man will restore fourfold. He knew God's law and he said he will die forever. And that's when Nathan said, you are that man. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord?
And then David cried, I've sinned against heaven. And then we see, because of that knowledge of seeing sin as being exceedingly sinful, we have Psalm 51. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions against you, and you only have I sinned, and now there's evil in your sight.
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Chapter 7: What practical tips can help start conversations about faith?
Ever stolen something? Yeah, just little things. Ever used God's name in vain? That's the third commandment. Yeah, it's a bad habit. Shouldn't do it. Do you realize you've used God's holy name as a cuss word? That's blasphemy. You wouldn't do that with your mother's name. And you've taken the God, the one who gave you a mother, and used his holy name in place of a filth word to express disgust.
What am I doing? Applying the law to the conscience. The work of the law written on the heart, the conscience bearing witness. They know it's wrong to blaspheme God's name. They know it's wrong to lie and steal. And then we come to the spiritual nature of the seventh commandment. You shall not commit adultery. But Jesus said, if you look with lust, you've committed adultery in the heart.
Ever done that? And every guy says, absolutely, all the time. By your own admission, you've just told me you're a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart. And you have to face God on judgment day. You're going to be innocent or guilty. And they say, guilty? Heaven or hell. Looks like I'm heading for hell. And that's happened in a matter of three minutes. What's happened?
The prodigal has been shown that his desires are unclean. The sinner has been shown that he's unclean in the eyes of God and he needs God's mercy. And that's when the cross will make sense. Now what modern evangelism does is it circumnavigates that law. I don't want to show people their sin.
Chapter 8: Why is understanding God’s law essential for evangelism?
And this is what the prosperity gospel does. They circumnavigate. Don't talk about sin, righteousness, or judgment. They just say, come to Christ. Give your life to Jesus. So the prodigal goes back home, and instead of saying, I've sinned against heaven. Make me your servant. The modern convert says, I've run out of money. You be my servant. They look on God as a divine power.
Because they've never been shown their sin and the cross has never been shown to them to make sense. And so it's very important to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and use the Lord to bring the knowledge of sin. Do what Nathan did with David. Do what Paul did in Romans chapter 2. You who say you shall not steal, do you steal? We need to make Felix tremble. What did Paul do? He reasoned with him.
of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come and Felix Tremble. We need to do what happened with the Philippian jailer. Give him his own little personal earthquake. Put the fear of God in him. You see, you can't make people fearful. Listen to what Jesus said.
He said, "'Fear not him who has power to kill your body "'and afterwards do no more, "'but fear him who has power to kill your body "'and destroy your soul in hell.'" And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And Proverbs says, through the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. And sinners will never let go of their darling sins until they fear God.
And so the fear of the Lord, for me, not only caused me to depart from sin, but keeps me free from the attraction of sin. Because I know the eye of the Lord is in every place beholding the evil and the good.
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