One thing I love about teaching systematic theology and the New Testament in the prison classroom is that I get to see the dramatic changes that the Lord Jesus is doing in the lives of great sinners by the power of His Spirit.
I teach and disciple men who have experienced dramatic heart changes. There might be a few men in my classroom who are innocent of the charges that were used to convict them. But most of my students are men who have committed serious crimes. Recently a student told me that he was innocent of the crime for which he was in prison—but he admitted that he had run with the gangs. He had engaged in criminal activity. Most of my students did not live lives that were clean and pure like the wind-driven snow. They were not upright members of society. A good number of them committed murder. Others engaged in repeated thefts which led to charges for armed robberies. I have some students who continue to walk unrepentantly in sin. I catch them cheating on exams.
But the Lord is using (1) the teaching of the truth of the gospel and (2) the love of our faculty for our students to transform the lives of great sinners. I just read a book about Francis Schaeffer’s apologetics. I was struck by the fact that Schaeffer was effective in his apologetic outreach for two reasons. First, he was ready to defend and promote a biblical and Christian worldview within the context of his times. Second, he and his wife Edith loved the people who made pilgrimages to a L’Abri Fellowship to ask their questions about the meaning of life and the identity of Jesus. The Schaeffer’s showed good old-fashioned, Christian hospitality. Francis took the time to talk with and, importantly, to listen to individual persons.
The key to prison ministry is to bring the gospel of Jesus with deeds of mercy. The deeds of mercy include loving the lost—and loving them as unique individuals.
One of my students lived for decades on the outside as a depraved and wicked man. It was only after the Lord incarcerated him that he was brought to repentance and faith in the Son of God. This man still becomes emotional when he talks about the transformation that the Lord brought about in his heart and life. His mind and heart are now in the service of the King. He is bearing much fruit in old age.
I have one student who was regenerated and converted not long ago. He ran with the gangs. He was indicted for murder. He was found guilty. In prison the Lord suddenly showed mercy to him. He manifests what the Lord Jesus in Revelation 2:4 describes as a “first love” for Christ. Recently I handed out a new textbook that I had written on the mystery of the trinity for my class on the Doctrine of God. Some chapters are quite deep. I gave my students reading assignments in the book that they would only need to complete by the end of the semester. In one week, this transformed student read the entire book and completed all the discussion questions. He came to class absolutely excited about learning about the glory of the Triune God. His face lights up with joy when you talk to him about any spiritual topic. If I had met this man a couple of years ago, he would have been a radically different man. He is humble and realizes that he has much to learn. As a young, immature Christian he realizes that he is making mistakes. But he is teachable because the Holy Spirit has made him teachable. And he continues to mature and grow.
This same young man is presently being a witness to his mother. The irony is that in the past she had always encouraged him to read a Bible. He would not. Now that the Lord has saved him, he has come to realize what is involved in being a genuine Christian. He has experienced a genuine Christian conversion. Recently, he asked his mother whether she believed that Jesus was God. She didn’t. He was astonished to learn that his mother was lost. But you can be assured that in this Christmas season he is trying to convince his mother that Jesus is the Son of God, and the only hope for sinners.
It is wonderful how the Holy Spirit transforms elect sinners from within. It is significant that the Spirit gives elect sinners a new heart. A soft, fleshly heart. He changes men’s desires. When a man receives the mind of Christ for the first time, it is remarkable how this affects everything from family relationships to work ethic. It influences one’s desires and hearts. It changes how you spend your money. In prison, a spiritual transformation impacts whether you stay addicted to drugs or not. It alters your friendships. It determines whether you continue to engage in criminal activity in the gangs or whether you now treat the saints as your delight.
And I get to see firsthand many students in a medium-high security prison and a maximum-security prison who are being transformed by the Holy Spirit from glory to glory into the image of the Son of God.