Soul Winning is God's Plan to Bring Lost Sinners to Christ for Salvation
The term “soul-winning” simply refers to the practice of trying to lead lost
sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Surely, I nor you can save anybody—Only Jesus Christ can save!!! However, God Almighty has entrusted the job of soul-winning to ALL
HIS DISCIPLES. If you are a saved,
born-again Believer, then you are COMMANDED to be a soul-winner. Listen to
the clear teaching of Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 28:19 and 20, “Go ye
therefore, and
TEACH ALL NATIONS,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost:
TEACHING THEM to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you: and,
lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” It
is our duty as Children of God to “teach them.” Teach
who? We are to teach the Gospel of
Christ to lost sinners. We are to
teach those whom we lead to Christ how to win others to Christ. We
are we supposed to teach them. What
do we teach them?“...to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” It
was the responsibility of the disciples in Jesus’ day to teach the Gospel to
all nations (all people). If someone
became a Believer, accepting Jesus Christ as Almighty God and Savior, then
the disciples were to help that new convert grow in the Lord and become a
soul-winner also.
This is God’s divine plan to win the lost to
Christ—We are responsible!!!
I
am sickened when I hear some dead-beat, backslidden Believer criticize
soul-winning. The Bible praises the soul-winning Christian, “The fruit of
the righteous is a tree of life; and HE THAT WINNETH SOULS IS WISE”
(Proverb 11:30). It is wise to win souls to Jesus! It is wise to go
soul-winning! It is wise to witness to friends, family and strangers
concerning the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t let the
pessimism of fools rob you of your reward in heaven—soul-winning is
wise!!! By the way, the opposite is also true—it is foolish NOT to be a
soul-winner—It is foolish to criticize soul-winning—it is foolish NOT to
warn your loved ones of the coming day of judgment when they will stand
before God. We read the following words in Mark 16:15, “And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and
PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.”
The Blood of Jesus Can Wash Away Anyone's Sins
Lest there be any doubt as to whom we should
witness to, God tells us to witness to ALL. As
an example: The gruesome mass murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer, was considered more
of a creature than a man by many. Even still, a couple of soul-winning Christians went to visit his
prison cell to witness to him. Unbelievably,
Dahmer confessed Christ and was baptized a couple weeks later. Shortly
thereafter he was murdered by a follow prisoner himself. Did
this wicked man really get saved? Only
God can answer that. Many people
scoffed and accused Dahmer of simply trying to get a lighter sentence, etc. The
bottom line folks is that WE DON’T KNOW. If
Dahmer was sincere, He is in heaven right now. Jesus
clearly stated, “...him that cometh to me
I WILL IN NO
WISE CAST OUT” (John 6:37). “If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
(1st John 1:9). What a blessed promise!—Anyone, no matter how wicked or
sinful, can come to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. If
Jeffrey Dahmer came to Jesus Christ as a wicked sinner seeking forgiveness,
he found it. We cannot rightfully
judge what has happened or not happened in another person’s heart—Only time
will tell. Never
underestimate the power of the Gospel.
Someone, Somewhere is Always Ready to Be Saved
Soul-winning
works folks!!! Many people who will not come to church or read a tract will
listen to someone whom they feel respects them. Jesus said, “Say not ye,
There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you,
Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for THEY ARE WHITE ALREADY TO
HARVEST” (John 4:35). The Bible teaches that there is always someone who is
ready to get saved. You may witness to many people who seem disinterested
but in fact, you have sowed a seed in their heart that the Holy Spirit will
use to lead them closer to salvation. Eventually, hopefully, some
soul-winner will have the joyous opportunity to win that person to Christ as
Savior. This is why Jesus said, “And herein is that saying true, One soweth,
and another reapeth” (John 4:37). My point here is that you may think your
wasting your time witnessing to some people, but your not. Only God knows
the countless number of sinners who were eventually reached for Christ
because of all the failed witnessing attempts by other soul-winners. You
simply don’t know my friend what is going on in the heart and life of
another person. It is our duty to witness to others concerning Christ
crucified, whether they listen or not is an entirely different matter
between them and God. Our job is to get the Gospel out to sinners.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 declares, "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt
find it after many days." Soul winning is never in vain. You never know
which of those planted seeds may one day sprout into a born again believer.
The seed of God's Word needs to be planted first before anything can happen.
Soul winners are seed planters. The Holy Spirit waters the seeds.
Most
Believers are Immature and Apathetic Concerning Lost Souls
Most
Believers are NOT soul-winners. This is because
they are NOT soul-conscious!!! There
is no burning hunger in their hearts to see sinners come to know Christ as
Personal Savior. There is no sadness
over the fact that most of the world is headed straight for hell to burn in
torments of fire and brimstone. The Bible teaches SOUL-WINNING.
soul-winning!!! I believe in
approaching people concerning their salvation. If
the Gospel offends them, so be it. If
hell is real and hell has fire and people without Christ go to hell—We must
warn them!!! I once had a preacher
(of all people) tell me that he didn’t believe in “shoving the Gospel down
people’s throats.” He was upset at my
mention of “door-to-door witnessing.” Now
I don’t believe in being rude or unkind to people but I certainly disagree
with his statement. Going
door-to-door soul-winning is taught in the Bible. The Bible tells us that the Apostle Paul was a door-to-door
soul-winner, “...but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and
from HOUSE TO
HOUSE” (Acts 20:20). Houses
have doors and doors need to be knocked on if the Gospel is to be taught to
the folks living inside. Sure, most
people won’t listen to you BUT SOME DO LISTEN AND
SOME DO GET SAVED.
The
Apostle Paul Was a Door-to-Door Soul Winner
The Apostle Paul was a door-to-door
soul-winner!!! Acts 20:20 has been
referred to as the “Christian’s 20/20 vision.” Are
we better than the Apostle Paul? I think not. If the Apostle Paul went door-to-door, we have no excuse not to at
least confront our loved one’s and friends concerning Christ. The
idea that only a pastor or evangelist is supposed to be a soul-winner is NOT
taught in God’s Word. ALL Believers
are expected by God to make an effort to lead others to Jesus Christ for
Salvation. Unfortunately, people are selfish and self-centered by nature and
seek not the things of the Lord. These were the words of the frustrated
Apostle Paul, “FOR
ALL SEEK THEIR OWN, not the
things which are Jesus Christ's”
(Philippians 2:21). Paul was a loner,
he had a hard time finding other Believers who cared about lost souls. This is the same situation we face in America today. So
many Believers have been choked by the cares and riches of this present
world. It’s difficult to find
Believers that truly have a heart’s concern to see folks saved anymore. Sadly—music,
TV, sports, cars, sex, alcohol, drugs, casinos, the stock market, parties,
lotteries and Hollywood have become the false gods of America. Certainly,
each of us can do more for Christ in our personal soul-winning efforts. Every
Believer should have a tract ministry, a life of prayer, a consistent Bible
study and a time for witnessing to others concerning our wonderful Savior.
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