Until soul winning becomes the business of our life, we will not lead many men from darkness to light.
Soul winning is the art of arts. We should study carefully the lives and methods of the great soul winners. Get every book possible on the subject, but never neglect the Bible by being so occupied with other books.
“He that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). You can see it is the world’s greatest business proposition.
Think what it can mean! You are tied up with Jesus Christ in winning individuals to Him. It is a divine drama—taking men out of the hands of the enemy, out of bondage, failure, and weakness, and giving them strength, joy, and success.
Jesus likened it to fishing. He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
A fisherman is a skilled man. We should study to show ourselves approved unto God, soul winners who need not be ashamed in the way we handle the Word.
We are selling the greatest thing in the world. It brings the greatest joy, success, and dividends. The joy that it gives to the one who finds Christ, the blessings that go into the home, can never be estimated.
The man you lead to Christ may become a key man in some community, turning a whole section of men to Christ.
You want to realize that you have been engaged by the Master to do this kind of work, that your time is not your own, and that every unsaved man is an opportunity.
You are selling the greatest blessing, and the price you are asking is their confession of the lordship of Jesus and their acceptance of Him as their Savior.
For every soul you win, you get stars in your crown.
They get eternal life and blessings beyond words.
Here are some suggestions:
• Never ask a man if he is saved.
• Never tell him he must repent, or go to hell.
• Give him the Word and he will repent.
• Be courteous; be very kind. “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
• Get alone with your prospect if you can.
• Never argue. Answer all questions from the Word.
• Be firm, but gentle.
• If he asks questions you cannot answer, acknowledge it. Never bluff, never show off.
Remember, you are dealing with eternal personalities. That person is eternal, and you are dealing with eternal issues.
Win their confidence and then win them with the Word. Show them gently and tenderly that because of Adam’s sin in the garden, man died spiritually and lost his standing with God.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16–17)
Adam died spiritually and was driven from the garden the day that he ate the forbidden fruit. His physical death took place some 930 years later.
“Death passed upon all men” (Romans 5:12).
Since the time of Adam, every man except Christ has been spiritually dead, and the evil that is in the world is an outcropping of the death that is in man’s spirit.
Spiritual death shows itself more plainly in some people than in others. Take the case of a criminal; it is easy to see how he could be spiritually dead. But in the case of an honest, good-living man, it is not manifested so openly. Yet, he too is spiritually dead.
God’s Word declares it. First Samuel 16:7 explains this: “For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
We see only a man’s conduct and a man may justify himself in the eyes of men by his good manner of life.
God looks on the heart, or the man’s spirit, and it is here that spiritual death is lodged. Knowing this, that every man outside of Christ is spiritually dead, we can see that Jesus Christ offers the only solution to man’s need.
In John 10:10, He tells us, “I am come that they might have life.” This is eternal life, the nature and life of God, imparted to man’s spirit, making him an actual son of God, a new creature with a new nature.
The following Scriptures show how to receive eternal life:
• Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Our redemption has been purchased, and our penalty paid. It remains for us to accept it.
• John 1:12 (DBY): “But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God, to those that believe on his name.”
• Romans 10:9–10 tells how one may receive Christ, and thus become a child of God: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
It is a heart affair. A man believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth. When he does this, God gives him eternal life. The Word of God that he has acted upon is his evidence of salvation.
Joy may come as a result of what has taken place, but the real evidence of salvation is the Word of God, which says that if he believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth, he is saved.
The closing of the “deal”—getting the man to make the actual decision—is the most important thing, the thing that counts. You are rewarded for the deals closed, not the number of deals started.
Results are the only things that count. Your arguments, your logic, your talking do not mean a thing unless you are able to bring a man to make a decision for Christ.
Go out and win them for the Master.
The most effective aid to personal work is a thorough knowledge of the Bible. This can be obtained by a careful study of our Bible study course, The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption.
This book on personal evangelism is not intended to take the place of the Bible study course, but to enable you to use more effectively your knowledge of the Word.
QUESTIONS
- Explain Matthew 4:19.
- Why does the unsaved man need eternal life?
- What does the unsaved man have to do to obtain eternal life?
- What is the real evidence of salvation?
- What us the main object of personal work?