Hell's Best Kept Secret

In this book Ray Comfort challenges the pervading notion of modern feel-good Christian evangelism and argues for a resurgence of the true version found in the New Testament. He makes the case that true evangelism needs to make clear the basis of salvation (i.e. deliverance from going to hell after one dies). That basis is to reveal that we humans are totally depraved and corrupt and that despite our claims of being “good”, compared to a complete understanding of God’s Moral Law embodied in the 10 Commandments, our thoughts and deeds fall far short of that standard. Consequently, in the eyes of God, we are not good at all. Therefore we are condemned to hell. Ray then describes the notion of a substitute that received the punishment for us… the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Ray goes on to say that we can appropriate that sacrifice by desiring and trying to turn from our violations of God’s Moral Law and trust in Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for our violations (not in our goodness). Consequently we will be free from the punishment we would otherwise have received. So, far from feel-good evangelism, Ray describes feel-bad evangelism as a basis for understanding why evangelism is necessary in the first place. As a side note, if we compare the words and deeds of Jesus Christ as depicted in the gospels to a complete understanding of God’s Moral Law, we will find an incredible witness of how Jesus life was so far removed from any other human life. And we will see how much he deserved exaltation and instead received our punishment voluntarily… which continues to show how far above our behavior His was. And it shows how merciful God is to accept His punishment in our place.

Hell’s Best Kept Secret explains why Christians are lukewarm. It explains why churches are empty or are populated with people who feel like God is “outdated” or “not relevant” to their life in the 21st century. It explains why evangelism crusades lack long-term results. It explains that the secret password that unlocks the door to an unbeliever’s heart has been staring us in the face for millennia, but the secret has been buried underneath cultural relativism, fear, and subjective truth. Hell’s best kept secret is the Law of God which convicts people of their sin, draws them to genuine repentance, and sets their hearts ablaze for a Messiah to deliver them.Sin is a dirty word in the 21st century and it is something that makes people feel bad, guilty or just plain uncomfortable. And that’s exactly the point. Why do you feel something is wrong? Because no one can deny the objective sense of right and wrong written on their conscience. Hell’s Best Kept Secret shows the reader how God’s Law is exactly the thing people need to be aware of so that they will be convicted of their sin and turn to The Lord.Ray Comfort equips you by first giving a clear and persuasive look at what the Bible actually says and then reveals why modern strategies to “convert” people have failed: because they have strayed away from the Bible and thus only created more backsliders. After elucidating this fundamental principle, Comfort then details strategies for evangelism. Of course, those who do not know The Lord are never enemies or targets to be vanquished but future potential allies. Hence, Comfort describes not only how to approach people by providing specific strategies, but also details how different types of individuals will require different approaches. The appendix contains commonly asked questions as it pertains to difficult areas in evangelism. What you walk away with is a working knowledge of what not to do, what to do, why it works, how it works, and when to engage specific evangelism strategies based on who you are speaking to.Hell’s Best Kept Secret does what any towering pillar of Biblical illumination does: it brings us directly back to God’s Word when time and culture have nudged us away from timeless Biblical truth. This book is a refreshing and inspiring breath of theological imagination that will animate you in your Bible study, encourage you in your sermons, and equip you with strategies to evangelize effectively. Ultimately, if you seek to be used as a vehicle to convict hearts and minds for Christ, then you absolutely must read this book, treasure it, and then tell all your friends about it.

This author was recommended to me by a friend who is passionate about sharing the gospel. This particular book was especially helpful in understanding what we often leave out of gospel messages. The law, which states the expectations of our holy God, and hell, which is the consequence of our inability to meet those expectations, clarify our need of Jesus Christ. Without the conviction of being sinful, the gospel message has little urgency. When we water the gospel down, there is little power to change lives for the kingdom of God. This is a book I will refer to as I move forward with the command to "go" and "teach". I highly recommend it.

Fantastic! The chapter on "Buy the World Lunch" is worth the price of the whole book. It has given me a new concept on evangelism that our entire church is going to incorporate. Instead of vegetable evangelism we are instituting "battery evangelism". We are using the basic concept of the letter and using it to distribute 9v batteries to every home in reach of our church. Everyone should change batteries in their smoke detectors twice a year. to insure no loss of pets,property, or persons give out the batteries twice a year on the time changes from daylight savings time.

I'm not very good in English but any way I'd like to express my opinion about this job. I agree about the most important topic of this book: lack of the law on today's evangelism. There are too many false or not convinced convertions due to the missing mention of the law in "good news" message. In many cases this can produce many backsliders in the churches. Jesus itself teach us to preach to the losts mentioning that knowledge which convince the hearts being in the sin in order to prepare them to the message of the cross and of the love of God in Christ.

This was a fantastic read. Like many people, I’ve always understood that the Gospel is the way to bring people to Christ. What I didn’t understand is that some people need tone are the Law in order to understand just how badly mired in Sin they are, and truly understand WHY they need the Gospel!

I found this book very inspiring, thought provoking and challenging. I would recommend it to every Born-Again Christian. It is the best book on evangelism I have ever read.

recommend we buy any books thanks

An excellent foundation to evangelism, very concise with supportive evidence of biblical scripture to evangelise. I am still reading as I found that certain parts of the books should not be rushed but rather absorbed to have a greater understanding.

Great book

Thanks