What Is The Devil's Best Secret by Ray Comfort
The Devil's Best Secret is one of Ray Comfort's shorter evangelical presentations. It's designed around the premise that Satan's most effective strategy is getting people to avoid thinking about spiritual consequences entirely. Comfort presents a series of questions aimed at revealing personal moral failures, then pivots to a Christian gospel message. The presentation follows a specific interview structure. The evangelist asks questions like "Would you consider yourself a good person?" followed by probing inquiries about breaking commandments, lying, stealing, or harbouring lustful thoughts. The goal is to lead the conversation toward a conclusion that everyone has violated moral law, making salvation necessary through Christ rather than personal merit. I've used this approach myself at street conversations and outreach events. The real difficulty isn't asking the questions. It's handling people who either deflect with humour or get defensive when you ask about specific sins. Some participants will agree to everything but refuse to accept the implications. You learn quickly that agreement on a question doesn't equal openness to a response.
One edge case I encountered regularly involved people who had genuine theological knowledge but weren't actually convicted by it. They could recite answers perfectly while remaining completely emotionally detached from the point. I found that pressing harder usually backfired. Instead, I started pausing after each question and letting silence do some of the work. It took longer but produced noticeably different outcomes. Downloading or accessing the material is straightforward. Ray Comfort's ministry website and The Way of the Master Church Planting Network host the resources. Search for the Spanish version if you specifically need El Mejor Secreto Del Diablo Por Ray Comfort for Spanish-speaking outreach. Multiple formats exist including printable tracts, DVD content, and digital presentation files.
Common Problems People Face Using This Approach
The biggest issue I've observed is mechanical delivery. When someone reads through the questions like they're checking boxes, the conversation feels scripted and insincere. People can detect that immediately. The material works best when you understand the logical progression well enough to adapt it to the actual person you're talking with. Another pitfall is rushing past the gospel explanation. Many first-time users spend five minutes on the questions and thirty seconds on the response. That imbalance undermines the whole exercise. The questions build the case, but the explanation is where the actual message lands. Don't treat it as an afterthought. A counter-intuitive detail most beginners miss: the presentation assumes the other person agrees with basic moral standards. If you're speaking to someone who rejects objective morality entirely or operates from a radically different ethical framework, this method won't work the same way. You'll need to establish common ground first or use a different conversational entry point. No amount of rephrasing fixes that fundamental mismatch.
Get the Full Details
The approach also has limitations in certain cultural contexts. In communities where religious language carries heavy institutional baggage or negative associations, leading with moral accountability questions can trigger immediate resistance before you've established any rapport. I've had to abandon this format entirely in those situations and build trust through unrelated conversation first.
Practical Tips for Implementation
Practice the questions until they sound natural coming from you. Record yourself and listen back. You'll notice patterns like rushing, over-explaining, or sounding confrontational that you didn't catch in the moment. Learn to read body language during the questioning phase. Someone leaning in and making eye contact is engaging. Someone checking their phone or stepping backward is disengaging regardless of what they say aloud. Adjust your pace accordingly or end the conversation gracefully. Keep the gospel portion clear and concise. Long sermons during street conversations lose most listeners within two minutes. State the problem, the solution, and the response clearly. Let them know they can ask follow-up questions later.
The Spanish language version maintains the same structure with culturally adapted phrasing. If you're working primarily with Spanish speakers, using El Mejor Secreto Del Diablo Por Ray Comfort in their native language removes a translation barrier and allows for more natural conversational flow. Don't translate word for word though. Work from the Spanish material directly instead of translating an English version on the fly.
