But Officer, My Speedometer Said I Was Going 35MPH!

A man was pulled over for speeding. The officer told him that he clocked the driver traveling at 60MPH in a 45MPH zone. The driver contested saying that he was not speeding because his speedometer was reading 35MPH when he saw the officer turn around and turn his blue light on. Upon glancing in the driver’s car the officer brought it to the driver’s attention that his speedometer STILL said he was going 35MPH…

A funny story until one realizes that people, even Christians, are also guilt of using a “broken gauge.” I’m sure many have heard this line (or something similar) when attempting to witness, “I’m a good person; God would not send me to hell because my good outweighs the bad I’ve done.” The problem is the person is using a gauge that has been deemed faulty[Isa 55:9]. God’s gauge is set at Holiness[1 Peter 1:16]… unattainable in our fallen state[Rom 3:23]. To effectively witness to this person they need to realize their utter inability in being able to appease God with “good works.” To do this the person must be brought face to face with God’s Law and shown that they are incapable of meeting His standard of Holiness; therefore they are doomed to hell. Once the person realizes that they have offended a Holy God and will be judged as guilty on Judgment Day, they will cry out “What must we do to be saved?!” Thus opens the opportunity to sow the Good News upon broken soil that promises to bear much fruit[Matt 13:18-23]. Psalm 19:7 says “The LAW of the Lord is perfect, CONVERTING THE SOUL: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

An example of this can be found in Acts 2:36-41 where Peter rebuked the Jews gathered for Pentecost of their responsibility in the crucifixion of God’s Son, Jesus. Scripture says that upon hearing what Peter said, the Jews were pricked in their hearts and asked, “What should we do?” So you see, once they were convicted of their guilt, they WANTED to know how to be saved.