And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.

Deuteronomy 17.19

When is the last time you have preached the gospel to anyone?

Most Christians today (myself included), if asked, would have to admit to no obeying Messiah's explicit command.  It is very easy to find ourselves overburdened with everyday life to the point that at the end of the day, we are just plain tired.  We blame inadequacy and inexperience for our lack of evangelism.  But when we remove all the worldly excuses we are left with the simple truth: We have been a disobedient people.

Those of you who find yourselves not preaching the gospel but yet having a compassion for the lost will cherish Ray Comfort's "Hell's Best Kept Secret."  It will make you repent and look for the next opportunity to preach the gospel.  This book is an outstanding piece of work.  It was written over 10 years ago, but its teaching will abide until the coming of the kingdom.

Ray starts the book off by giving us some very bad news.  The percentage of backsliders is appalling.  I find it amazing that as we excel in technology and in the ways we spread the gospel that the number of those who fall away from the faith also increases.

Ray does what you rarely find in Christendom today - preach the law.  Ray says, "the true convert has joy and peace in believing because he knows that the righteousness of Christ will deliver him from the wrath that is to come." (p.13). I agree.

When you are done studying this book you will definitely find yourself in agreement with Ray.  You will know that the gospel should be understood as a command and not as an invitation, as Ray teaches.  He spends time going into detail about the law, its purpose and present day use in evangelism.  He gives witnessing examples and examples from a  life of preaching the gospel.  You will find an entire chapter dedicated to explaining why preaching the law works.

There is an appendix section which contains 15 questions with answers.  I take issue with his answer to question 12 which reads, "How do I deal with backsliders in reference to the Law?"  Rays' answer is typical of those who preach and teach that a Christian is once saved and always saved.  He seems to believe that backsliders had a false conversion.  That is totally un-biblical.  The shear fact that one is labeled a backslider proves that sometime in their past they were born again, regenerated or converted to bond slaves of Christ.  He references Mark 4 as his biblical witness.  But, if a believer was to read Mark 4 with perception and understanding then they would have to conclude that Mark 4.16-19 clearly teaches that a person could believe unto salvation and then later fall away or backslide.

With the above point made, I would still recommend this book to all Christians.  Get it and study it, then practice it.

Rosa L. Allen

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