Soul Winning… A Disciple’s Calling (pt.1)
By: Paul Joseph
The Lord has put on my heart to address the topic of reaching out to the lost and soul winning, primarily because Christianity should be all about soul winning. Jesus made this clear for all of His disciples: “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mk 16:15). The idea of “soul winning” tends to make people uncomfortable, because it has not been emphasized as a personal responsibility in our Christian lives; so therefore, we’re not exercised in weekend or faith too others and it becomes an embarrassment. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” (Ro 1:16).
Everywhere Jesus went, He shared the good news of the Kingdom. “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38). Jesus was God in the flesh, but now the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus is with us. And we are commanded to do the same as Jesus did. “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” (Jn.20:21). For, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.” (Mt 9:37,38).
We are the physical body of Christ. We are the ones to perform the Word of God. God accomplished His will in Israel through Christ, and He now accomplishes His will through us. Jesus sent the power for us to do so and that power lives in us: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me..” (Acts 1:8).
We have been given the greatest of gifts: we are redeemed; “sozo’ed”, which means, restored, healed, made free, and redeemed. We now know the truth!–That God so desires to save all men/women, the same as we have been saved. So we’re responsible and accountable. God valued one soul so highly that He sacrificed His Own Son to redeem it!
His plan and purpose in sending Jesus is for everyone to be redeemed and be restored into relationship with Him. God is not willing that any man should perish. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2Pt 3:9). That’s the heart of God.
God’s plan is for believers to share their faith: Paul says, “How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Rom.10:14,15).
As it’s recorded in the book of Acts, the disciples and those born again, were all about soul winning. They went from house to house, to the marketplace, to the public square, to their own families, children and relatives. Insiders and outsiders, in season and out of season. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” (Acts 5:42).
In Ephesus, Aquila had his church in his house, not in a building. (Acts 28:30,31). And everywhere he went, people heard the good news. –Paul had even witnessed while in jail. (Phil 1:12,13). Paul said that ALL of Asia Minor had been individually reached in twenty-four months. (Acts 19:10). It says that the Lord was working with them…through them. They were His voice. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the Word.” (Act.8:4).
The responsibility of preaching the gospel was given to man, not to angels. In the book of Acts, an angel was sent with a message to Peter to go out and minister to Cornelius. (Acts 10:1-48). We are the ones who need to demonstrate God’s love, in word and in our example. The job was assigned to us, not to God. We can pray and pray for souls to be saved, but God has to operate through each one of us. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13).
I am thankful that as soon as I was brought into the kingdom, my teachers insisted on pairing us two by two, and sending us out witnessing and soul winning. I was telling people about Jesus three days after I got saved. I fought it, because I thought I didn’t know anything, at least not enough to win a soul. Plus, I spoke very little English. I had received the Lord in Amsterdam, but French is my mother tongue. However, I had been taught during those there days a few awesome Bible classes from the book of John, so when I tried to wiggle my way out of going out witnessing, I was told, “Why don’t you sit with someone and read the different chapters that we read together in the last Bible classes and trust that it will have as much impact in their heart as it did in yours.” And I did, and started leading souls to the Lord from day one.