I heard a sermon recently while visiting Stillwater, Oklahoma where the Pastor presented a message on the four R’s of salvation. These are:
- Recognition of sin
- Remorse for sin
- Repentance of sin
- Receive Jesus Christ
While witnessing to people, I have been able to review the four R’s with them. With one woman that I was speaking to at the West End DART station, I told her about the four R’s and took her through them. She said she recognized her sin and was even remorseful. But she had not repented of her sin or received Jesus Christ. She took a tract and a Bible before she got on the train.
You can listen to the sermon online. I believe that you will be blessed by the 33 minutes that it will take to listen.
I’ve had the chance to listen to the sermon online a couple of times since I first heard it live. I have also had several friends listen to it and we have had a number of discussions about it. I think there is a fifth R that we can add as well. That is “reason”.
We see this both in the Old Testaments in the book of Isaiah when it comes to recognizing sin:
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:8)
We also see Paul talking about reasoning from the scriptures about why Jesus had to suffer and rise:
And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” (Acts 17:2-3)
I don’t write this to take anything away from what Dr David Chapman says in the 4 R’s sermon. Rather, I add this so that we know it is also reasonable to reason with people about their sin, the scriptures, Jesus, Heaven and Hell. Do it “as you go” and share the Gospel with everyone that you meet!
