Nightline Interviews Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort

Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort appeared in an interview on Nightline tonight, March 17, 2006. If you would like to read the transcript or watch video clips of the interview, click here.

I think they both did a commendable job responding to some very difficult and challenging questions. ABC aired some of the WOTM interviews where people stormed off, and aired short clips which, out of context, would be the most provoking against Kirk and Ray. Well, it seems like the Nightline doesn't like the message. Certainly not unexpected.

1Pe 2:6-8 NET. For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame." (7) So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, (8) and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

1Co 1:20-25 NET. Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish? (21) For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. (22) For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, (23) but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. (24) But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. (25) For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Spurgeon on "How to Become Fishers of Men"

The following is part of an article from C. H. Spurgeon entitled "How to Become Fishers of Men" (emphasis mine). His words are powerful and admonish us to be all that God has called us to be in Him.

I understand this, first, in this sense: be separate unto Christ. These men were to leave their pursuits; they were to leave their companions; they were, in fact, to quit the world, that their one business might be, in their Master's name, to be fishers of men. We are not all called to leave our daily business, or to quit our families. That might be rather running away from the fishery than working at it in God's name. But we are called most distinctly to come out from among the ungodly, and to be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing. We cannot be fishers of men if we remain among men in the same element with them. Fish will not be fishers. The sinner will not convert the sinner. The ungodly man will not convert the ungodly man; and, what is more to the point, the worldly Christian will not convert the world. If you are of the world, no doubt the world will love its own; but you cannot save the world. If you are dark, and belong to the kingdom of darkness, you cannot remove the darkness. If you march with the armies of the wicked one, you cannot defeat them. I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. Nowadays we hear Nonconformists pleading that they may do this and they may do that—things which their Puritan forefathers would rather have died at the stake than have tolerated. They plead that they may live like worldlings, and my sad answer to them, when they crave for this liberty, is, "Do it if you dare. It may not do you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your cravings show how rotten your hearts are. If you have a hungering after such dog's meat, go, dogs, and eat the garbage. Worldly amusements are fit food for mere pretenders and hypocrites. If you were God's children you would loathe the very thought of the world's evil joys, and your question would not be, 'How far may we be like the world?' but your one cry would be, 'How far can we get away from the world? How much can we come out from it?'"

The Non-Negotiable Gospel

The content of the gospel is not something we have been given creative license with. We are not to water it down (ie. only mention the good parts and leave out the life that Jesus is calling us to), but neither are we to hide it under an emotional experience (setup the "atmosphere" to seduce decisions), use non-biblical motivations, trickery or peer pressure. In light of this, the following is a relevant excerpt from Dave Hunt's booklet entitled "The Non-Negotiable Gospel":

Why could not even a Mother Teresa get to heaven by good works? Because we're all sinners; and because once we have broken one of God's commandments, we "(are) guilty of all" (James 2:10); and "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight" (Romans 3:20). Keeping the law perfectly from now on could never make up for having already broken it. For God to grant salvation by any other means than faith in Christ alone would be an insult to the One whom the Father insisted had to endure his wrath as the sacrifice for sin. Furthermore, God would be breaking His own code of justice and going back on His Word. No, even God Himself could not save earth's most notable "saint". Christ's blood avails only for repentant sinners.

Oswald Chambers warned lest, in our zeal to get to people to accept the gospel, we manufacture a gospel acceptable to people and produce "converts" who are not saved. Today's most popular perversion is the "positive" gospel which is designed to offend no one with truth.

One of the most popular televangelists in the USA, for example, has said that it is demeaning to call anyone a sinner and that Christ died to restore human dignity and self-esteem. He claims to win many to Christ with that seductive message – but such a gospel does not save sinners.

Evangelistic appeals are often made to "come to Christ" for the wrong reasons: in order to be healthy, happy, successful, to restore a marriage, or to handle stress. Others preach a gospel that is so diluted or perverted that it deceives many into thinking they are saved. No fraud could be worse, for the consequences are eternal!