The Joy of Soul Winning
Scripture Reading — Psalm 126:5-6
Soul winning should be the chief concern of every true beliver. All may not be able to preach, nevertheless each one should seek converts to the Lord. The bringing of a person to Jesus is the highest achievement in this life.
The best method of winning the lost to Christ is the personal method, the bringing of individuals. Andrew is an example of this type of action, “He first findeth his own brother Simon … and brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41-42). We do not read of Andrew himself preaching a sermon. How it must have thrilled him to hear his own brother Peter preaching Christ on the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 were saved!
What joy results from the bringing of a soul to the Saviour! The sinner rejoices, so do the Saviour and the angels (Luke 15:10). To these the value of a soul is much; it is described by the Lord. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). This in itself should be a strong incentive in winning souls.
When we realize that the lost suffer the vengeance of eternal fire, we discover another weighty argument for warning every man and attempting to win them for Christ.
Another great reason why we should rescue souls is the love of God shown at Calvary. All the agonies and sufferings endured by our blessed Lord are proofs of the worth of one precious soul.
The pertinent words of Psalm 125 have often been an inspiration and encouragement to those who serve in the spread of the Gospel. Notice, please, some of the salient points in these verses.
The Soul Winner’s Commission
“He that goeth forth.” Our Lord, after persuading the disciples of His resurrection, gave them His great commission: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15-16). This command is still the daily duty of every Christian. We are not to wait for the sinner to come to us; God’s Word is that we are to go to him, and declare to him the glad tidings of a Saviour’s love.
The Soul Winner’s Compassion
“And weepeth.” The Lord Jesus is our perfect example in this as in all else. He wept over sinful Jerusalem as He thought of her doom, proving that His heart was full of pity for the perishing (Luke 19:41). The Apostle Paul also wept for souls; he said, “I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31). His anxiety for an erring people led Jeremiah to cry, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears” (Jer. 9:1).
I had the joy of pointing a young man to the Lord who had been brought under deep conviction through the tears of his parents after a Gospel meeting he had attended. He sensed that those tears were being shed for him.
The Soul Winner’s Text Book
“Precious seed.” Our Lord Jesus sowed good seed and it brought forth fruit, some one hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty (Matt. 13:3-8). Peter reminds us that men are born again through this incorruptible seed, the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever (1 Peter 1:23). One may plant, another water, but God gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).
We must not expect people to be saved by arguments. Faith cometh by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). A young man who was saved through the reading of a tract gave it to his own brother, and he likewise through it found the Saviour. Good scriptural tracts have been often used by the Lord in reaching the unconverted.
The Soul Winner’s Assurance
“Shall reap in joy.” The seed may not yield fruit immediately, for the law of the spiritual kingdom is that the good seed cast into the ground springs and grows, “First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:26-29). That which goes on in secret under the ground is not in vain.
The sower “shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” We may witness to the same person ten times, and win him the eleventh. Keep praying; keep sowing the good seed; God will give the increase.
The Soul Winner’s Joy
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” There is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth. How gracious of the Good Shepherd to call us to share this delight! He says, “Rejoice with Me; for I have found My sheep which was lost” (Luke 15:6). Paul knew that the souls he had won for the Lord would be his joy and crown of rejoicing (1 Thess. 2:19).
In due time there will be the joy of harvest. Let us have confidence in the Word of God, and having sown the seed earnestly and well, leave the results with the Lord. The future will prove that no sowing of God’s seed in God’s own way will be in vain. There is the danger of expecting quick returns, but if these result from arguments rather than from the Word of God, much damage may follow.
If one soul through my feeble efforts meet me in glory, I shall feel like Samuel Rutherford who said, “My Heaven will be two Heavens in Immanuel’s Land.”