Beyond personal experience
If you were to sit down with six Christians and ask them how they came to Jesus, you would discover that almost all of them have a different conversion experience. Some came because they asked deep questions, others because Jesus healed them, others because they were convicted by reading the Scriptures, and still others because they had a dream or a divine encounter. Everyone comes in different circumstances to the same Jesus. So sometimes we tend to present the gospel according to our personal experience; and this limits us when it comes to soul winning because we are not presenting them with the fullness of the gospel. There is an objective truth related to the coming of Jesus that is independent of and beyond my personal circumstances at the time of conversion. This objective truth applies to every human being, and this is what we preach; it is good news for all.
The good news is that Jesus came in human form because of our human condition of separation from God. He came to bridge the gap, to pay the price for sin and reconcile us with God. He succeeded in providing for the forgiveness of sins. He succeeded in making it possible for human beings to have a relationship with God. But to benefit from this, one must believe in Him, follow Him and Him alone, hence the need to preach the Gospel. After all, the Bible is clear that for people to believe, they must hear; for them to hear, they must be told something; to be able to tell them, they must go. Jesus sent us, He told us, 'Go and preach the Gospel.' The good news is that salvation is available to all in Jesus, and in Jesus alone.
A true soul winner knows that Jesus is the only solution
One day after the service, I was talking with someone who had come for the first time. He was a very nice person who said he knew the Lord, but at one point, when talking about other religious beliefs, this
Redemption, justification, forgiveness, substitution—these are all spiritual realities without which human beings are destined to an eternity separated from God. Is this pleasant? No! Is this God's will? No! And this is why Jesus came. Jesus came to die so that humanity could live, and we must preach it. I wrote this in an article, “The value and necessity of redemption only become evident when we understand the fundamental error of humanity and the tragic situation in which man found himself after the Fall.”
If we don't know the gospel, we can't preach it. If we think it's just about going to church and singing contemporary songs, leaving our miniskirts at home and serving only on weekdays, not only are we not saved, we won't be able to be an instrument of salvation for our generation.
And for some, it's about making money, receiving blessings, attending a trendy church where the pastor wears skinny jeans, and the girls at the front desk wear tight skirts. After all, we're not religious. For still others, it's a musical thing; they're attracted to the CDs and the beautiful worship team. We're seriously missing the point, and we're sending a generation into a Godless eternity because we want to be cool.
True soul winners are convinced that hell is real.
Years ago, I had told God that I needed greater conviction. I believed, of course, that the gospel was true. However, it seemed to me that if I were going to confront people and ask them to change their thinking and living to follow Jesus, I had to be deeply, completely, and utterly convinced that there was no other way. Otherwise, it would be dishonest of me. Did he take offense? No. He answered my prayer by giving me the conviction that there is no other way by which humanity can be reconciled to God except through Jesus.
Without this absolute conviction, we will procrastinate; we will avoid even thinking about it. We will simply hope that God has a plan B, because we don't want to sully our reputation by pestering people about Jesus. In other words, we choose not to be soul winners.
The gospel has not changed; Christ came to seek and save the lost. Humans are not as lost today as when Jesus came. The wages of sin are the same: spiritual death and eternal separation from God. Gospel music doesn't change that; Christian television and multi-site churches haven't made hell obsolete. Nor have they made soul-winning obsolete. So why don't we preach the gospel? Have we forgotten how?
Christ came to seek and save the lost. Humans are no less lost today than when Jesus came. Share on X
Do I have the right to doubt?
Sometimes some people, especially in Europe, feel the need to sing a hymn to doubt. It would seem that there would be a philosophical virtue in being uncertain in the face of eternal realities. This is not the case. We are not engaged in mental jousting; people's eternal destiny is at stake. Of course, everyone has the right to doubt; no one will be condemned for doubting. However, God gave us the capacity to believe, and human beings exercise this capacity every day. Just look at the people who campaign for various causes, animal rights, ecological causes, not to mention those who fight to protect their children. Their strength and tenacity are impressive. Why? Because they are convinced of the justice of their cause.
Why then would Christians, on a question as fundamental as the reality of God, and the manner in which men can come to him, give in to intimidation by calling into question their faith?
Choose to believe and draw the necessary conclusions from these words of Jesus, 'I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.' Then go out and preach the Gospel to all who are not in Him, because ALL need it.
Shalom!
Why then would #Christians, on an issue as fundamental as the reality of #God, give in to intimidation by questioning their faith? Share on X
In the same series
Becoming an Effective Soul Winner (1) What You See
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