Soul Winning, Part 1
Central Thought: Soul winning is a mandate given to all believers by God.
Text: Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 10:1-12
When man disobeyed God’s command through Satan’s deception, he became corrupted, was brought under the dominion and rule of Satan and was destined for destruction. His relationship with God was severed. But God in His love, promised to restore man back to Himself. However, the consequences of this disobedience passed on to all men from generation to generation until God fulfilled His promise by sending Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son to earth for the redemption of man.
All through His time on earth, Christ engaged Himself in the work of reconciling men back to God. He completed this work by His death on the cross, and resurrection according to God’s plan. Before He returned to His Father in heaven, He commissioned His followers to proclaim the ‘good news’ of redemption to all creatures so they can believe and accept that Christ died for the redemption of their souls. Soul winning therefore is an important mandate which all believers owe as a duty. We shall, in this study, examine the implications and the requirements for effective soul winning.
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What is soul winning?
Soul winning, also referred to as evangelism or witnessing, is a process of letting people understand their sinful and dead nature before God. It involves explaining to them what God, in His love, has done through Jesus Christ to liberate men from the consequences of sin and Satan’s dominion. It also entails encouraging them to see the need for them to believe the message and accept the person of Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Savior, so as to be truly free from Satan’s rule, and be made children of God, having the hope of eternal live in God’s kingdom.
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Why is soul winning an urgent assignment?
This assignment is urgent because:
-It is to be carried out within a specified time, until Christ comes back. His coming is very imminent, Revelation 3:11, 22:7. No one knows when this will be.
-The harvest is ripe and the harvesters need to be urgent in order to preserve the harvest from rottenness or wastage.
-Life is very, very short. “You have made my life not longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you: at best, each of us is but a breath’, Psalm 39:5 (NLT). Job said, “We blossom like a flower, and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear’, Job 14:2 (NLT). These scriptures buttress the urgency of the assignment. The opportunity given for the work is short, John 9:4.
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Why should we be involved in soul winning?
Jesus, at the end of His earthly ministry commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the ‘good news’ with the sole purpose of winning souls. We are Christ’s followers today and by implication, we are commissioned by Christ to go and win souls. We should be involved because the command is to us and if we fail to go, we will be disobeying our Master. There are grave consequences if we fail to heed the command and be involved in this exercise. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 clearly states that God reconciled us to Himself and thereafter committed to us the work of reconciling others to Him. Moreover it we fail to tell people, how will they hear and believe so they can be saved. There is the danger of God holding us accountable if people we are supposed to preach to die without hearing the gospel, Ezekiel 3:17-19. As believers, we are all awaiting the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and one of the conditions for His quick return is that this good news must be preached to all creatures; so it behooves us to ensure that people within our reach hear the gospel.
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Discuss the following requirements for effective soul winning;
Holy Ghost Empowerment, Acts 1:8; Luke 24:49-50:
The power to preach the gospel is given by the Holy Ghost and this power manifests in the area of courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability and authority. These attributes are basic necessities for effective soul winning. This was evidenced in the address of Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost where over 3,000 souls repented and believed in Jesus and they were baptized the same day, Acts 2:41. The Holy Spirit empowered Peter, who previously denied Jesus because he was afraid, to speak so powerfully that his hearers were pricked in their heart by the words from his mouth. Holy Ghost baptism is very necessary for effective soul winning.
Love and Compassion for Souls:
What prompted God to send Jesus to earth for the salvation of mankind is Love. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”, John 3:16. When Jesus saw a great crowd of people who appeared to have lost hope and were described as sheep without a shepherd, He was moved with compassion for them that He began to teach them, Mark 6:34. Love and compassion for souls are great motivators for soul winning.
Perseverance, Acts 21:11-14; 2 Timothy 1:8, 2:3, 4:2:
Going through Paul’s description of the characteristics of the last days, 2 Timothy 3:1-7, you will discover that it is typical of our society today. People are ready to resist anything that challenges their personal life. God’s ways of life and man’s are contrary to each other, so preaching the gospel which tends to turn man from his lifestyle, is sure to face a lot of opposition and stiff resistance. Jude 1:18 tells us that the people who are living in these last days are scoffers whose purpose is to satisfy their ungodly desires, and to get such people to believe the word of God and change their course of life will definitely require a lot of perseverance. Therefore if we must succeed in our soul winning commission, perseverance is one of the essentials.
Prayers:
In prayers, we communicate our desires and request to God. We know that of our selves we can do nothing. Christ said, “Without me ye can do nothing”. If we must be effective in our soul winning exercise, we must cultivate the habit of praying like Christ did during His life and ministry on earth. Soul winning is more of a rescue mission. The sinners are under the captivity of Satan, and to get them out involves contention with the power of darkness. These powers have to be dealt with before their captives can be delivered; ‘the strong man needs to be bound before one can plunder his house,’ Matthew 12:29. Spiritual battles are only won through prayers. Christ’s experience at Gethsemane is a typical example for us. Success in this assignment, truly requires prayer. The good news is that Jesus has conquered the strong man (Satan) and has given us victory.
Knowledge of God’s Work:
The word of God is Spirit and Life. Any believer who lacks the knowledge of the word of God is spiritually immature. Believers need to build their lives on the word of God and at the same time build God’s word into their lives, Psalm 119:11. God’s word tells us how to live and work for God. One cannot teach what one does not know. A soul winner who lacks the knowledge of God’s word has no message to preach. If we must be successful in our soul winning assignment, we must be consistent and diligent in the study of the word of God, 2 Timothy 2:15. The word of God is a veritable tool for the assignment, without which, failure will be inevitable. God’s word is the word of reconciliation which has been committed unto the believer, 2 Corinthians 5:19.
The authority of the believers’ message is in the word of God, Matthew 7:28-29.
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What should be the component of the gospel a Christian should preach to sinners?
The gospel message is centered on the Lord Jesus Christ as declared by the Scriptures; how God promised to send His only begotten son Jesus Christ to the world to redeem mankind from sin and its consequences. At the fullness of time Jesus truly came to the world, preached God’s message of salvation and God bore Him witness that He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He was crucified, He died and was buried, the third day He rose from the dead and was seen by the apostles and many other people for many days before He ascended to heaven, leaving a promise that He would come back to take to Himself all those who believe in Him. The sinner should be made to understand where he or she belongs and the benefit/final destination of anyone who believes the message. The gospel message is wholly and solely centered on Christ and not Church denomination, human personality, doctrine or creed. Any message outside Christ is therefore not the gospel message.
Daily Living Application:
The Lord Jesus commanded all believers to go out and preach the gospel to all creatures. The brethren that are gone before us obeyed this command and through their obedience, we received the gospel message. They have handed us the baton and nothing less is expected of us believers today. God is looking for people who are willing to be used of Him to rescue the dying world. This is a call that should be paramount in the heart of all believers. What is your response? Can you answer ‘here am I. . .’?
Memory Verse:
Mark 16:15 – “And He said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”