by Clint Archer

On February 19^th, 1945, at 2am, the first US Marine landed on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The tiny volcanic island covered a mere 8 square miles, and had a population of 1,018 people, mostly fishermen and their families. But this island would become the most infamous battleground of the Pacific effort. The Americans would suffer more casualties than the entire combined Allied force landing at Normandy on D-Day.

Iwo Jima was a strategic piece of land. It had two airstrips and was used by the Japanese to defend the mainland from Allied air raids. America knew that if it was to get the atomic bombs to Japan, to end the war, Iwo Jima had to be secured. Japan realized this too, and so it fortified the island. The 1,018 people were evacuated to the mainland and were replaced with 21,000 soldiers to defend the island.

Now America had a decision to make. It’s not as if Japan would sell the island. There simply was no price they would accept. America knew that those 21,000 soldiers would fight to the death, but they could not get reinforcements. So the decision came down to cost. How many lives would it cost to secure that island? America did the calculation, deemed it an acceptable price, and sent their boys in.

One month later only 216 Japanese soldiers had surrendered. The rest of the 21,000 were dead. American deaths numbered 7,000 with some 20,000 casualties. The total cost of Iwo Jima: the blood of nearly 28,000 men.

There are some things money can’t buy. And in the spiritual realm, the only price is blood.

Last week we saw that Paul rejoiced in the election that turned the pagan Ephesians into believers. Today we see the next spiritual blessing all believers have: redemption.

3 ASPECTS OF REDEMPTION SO YOU WILL LIVE FREE NOT ENSLAVED TO SIN

1. MEANING OF REDEMPTION

Ephesians 1:7  In him we have redemption through his blood,

The word for redemption, ἀπολύτρωσιν means to release for a price.

Leviticus 25: 47-49 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan, then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself.

In the Old Testament it was a man’s responsibility to buy his family members out of slavery. He would be called the kinsman redeemer, i.e. the family member who paid the price to free you. Paul uses this imagery to illustrate the work of Christ. Christ pays the price for us to be freed from slavery to sin.

Paul says that we were slaves to sin – and need to be set free, redeemed, by Jesus. Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, …

Not just anyone can pay your ransom to God.  You can’t pay for me, because you have your own sin to pay for. If you put your faith in the wrong person to redeem you, you are lost. If you put your faith in Muhammed, or the Buddha, you are lost.

2. COST OF REDEMPTION

Ephesians 1: 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,

What was the price of our sin? Jesus’ blood.

Most people want to broker their own deal. They want to buy themselves salvation with the currency they have. So they come up with a system of good works.

If you ask a guy “Why do you think you are going to heaven?” He’ll probably say something like this: “Because I go to church, put money in the offering, take my kids to youth, work hard, I don’t cheat on my wife or my taxes, I don’t shoplift, I’m a good person.”

But those commodities, when compared with what God requires, is like offering Monopoly money to your mortgage company. It’s not an acceptable currency. God doesn’t want your good works, he demands justice. The wages of sin is death. To pay for your sin, someone has to die.

You say, but I don’t claim to be good, I have the opposite problem: I’m too bad. You don’t know the things I’ve done! God could never forgive me. That brings us to…

3. EXTENT OF REDEMPTION

Ephesians 4: 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Because of what Jesus did for you, there is total forgiveness. The word means to send away.

Micah 7:18-20 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression …He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Is Jesus’ death really enough?

Can his blood cover every sin I have ever committed? Absolutely. Look at the verse:

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

He carried our sin away from us, into the gaping mouth of God’s fury and wrath, until it was all paid for. Then he said “It is finished.”

4. RESULT OF REDEMPTION

Ephesians 4:7-9 … according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

When Jesus died to redeem you from your sin, you were granted forgiveness of your sins. But that’s not all.

You now have a new heart with new desires, but also with new abilities: which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will

When you were a slave to sin, your mind was darkened to spiritual realities. But when you are bought back from your sin, you are issued with all the wisdom and insight you will need to live a life pleasing to God.

1 Cor 1: 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The Spirit enables you to understand spiritual truths that you were unable to grasp before. The implications are vast. You don’t need more insight than what is available in the Bible. You don’t need prophecies and words of knowledge to make the right choices. You don’t need to submit to people who claim that they have a special word from God for your life. You have what you need.

CONCLUSION

Redemption is a payment Jesus makes for your sins, through his violent death on the cross.

If you don’t believe in Jesus to save you, then you will appear on judgment day with nothing to offer God but your Monopoly money, your good works.

I promise you this: he will not accept any currency but the blood of Jesus Christ.

Don’t go to bed tonight without making peace with God through the ransom paid for you by Jesus.

________

Clint Archer was born and raised in South Africa. After pastoring there for 14 years he now serves as pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist in Mobile, Alabama. He and his wife Kim have four children and a Jeep

by Clint Archer

I witnessed something interesting at Johannesburg International Airport. Our flight to LA via Atlanta was grounded for some reason. I was instructed to wait at ticketing. I was sixth in line. The guy at the front of the queue was in the same predicament and he was livid. I couldn’t help but overhear his voluminous ranting.

The lady behind the counter had politely explained to him that the flight was grounded, but that the airline had made an alternative arrangement with another airline to take him via another route to Los Angeles – his final destination. The man wanted nothing to do with it. He was objecting loudly: “I don’t want to catch a plane to another destination, my connecting flight is in Atlanta. If I miss that flight, I won’t get to LA. I have to be on that plane!” “But Sir,” she explained patiently (again), this new route will get you to LA on time.” “I don’t want to go another route. I want the route I paid for.”

Eventually she said, “Hold on a minute.” He continued grumbling, possibly to me, or someone else in line, because there was no one at the counter now. A few minutes later the lady returned, and without a word, she just slid a ticket over the counter and before he could object she pointed to something on the ticket. The man stopped mid-sentence and smiled. His entire demeanor changed. He was grateful and courteous. What changed?

Later I heard him on his cell phone expressing how lucky he was that his plane was grounded. What had happened? The man had been bumped up from economy class to first class, on Air France, via Paris, to LA.

Many people misunderstand the doctrine of election. They think it teaches that people who want to get a ticket to Heaven can’t. When actually the Bible tells us people who are certain they are heading in the right direction, are then powerfully acted upon to change their minds and wills so that they enjoy their new destination.

Paul is writing to the Ephesians. They were entrenched in superstition, occult practices, pagan worship, and polytheism, and yet they suddenly start believing in a dead Jewish carpenter who allegedly rose from the dead. How did this happen? God appointed them to believe, and Paul rejoiced in God’s sovereign election.

5 ASPECTS OF ELECTION SO THAT WE WILL REGARD IT WITH THE SAME PASSION THAT PAUL DOES

1. GOODNESS

Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…

Paul isn’t serving the Ephesians soup as an appetizer. He just serves up a slab of tough theological meat. Bon Appetite!

Election means choosing – God chooses whom to save, and it is not based on our merit.

This teaching excites Paul. Notice from the text that Paul calls election a spiritual blessing – something good and worthy of praise that comes from the Holy Spirit.

You might not be able to get your mind around this. That’s fine. There is nothing wrong with admitting that our thimble-sized brains can’t contain God’s ocean of wisdom.

2. METHOD

Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…

From these verses it is clear that everyone must believe that God chooses. But Arminians say that God chooses those who have believed, and Calvinists say that those whom God chooses – will believe.

How do you know which view you take?

If you pray for someone to be saved, you are Calvinist.

If you think God wishes he could save your friend, but he is not able to save him until he believes, then you are Arminian.

So which view is correct?

Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,

Paul says clearly – if you are saved then you were chosen before you believed, before you heard the gospel, before you were born, before the world was created.

I’m not saying you are saved before you believe. You get saved when you believe.

Of course, you might remember choosing God, but why did you choose God? Because you believed. Why did you believe? Because God gave you faith. Why did he give you faith? Because he chose to. When did he choose to? Before you were born.

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.

Christ’s selection of his apostles is an example of his unilateral choice in action. The Bible teaches from cover to cover that man never initiates a choice of God, God always initiates, including Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptizer, Paul, and you.

3. PRODUCT OF ELECTION

Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…

The reason God chose us was because he wanted someone to be holy before him and no one could be holy on their own.

Ephesians 5:27  Christ gave himself up] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

4. MOTIVE

Ephesians 1:4-5… In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

God chose us because God loved us and wanted a relationship with us…not because we were worthy. Election is a doctrine rooted deeply in the fertile soil of God’s rich love for us.

The word predestined means to determine beforehand. Like writing a script. My life is a novel written by God, planned in eternity and worked out by him day by day, and he knows exactly how it ends: with me as his adopted son in glory, no matter what. I am a son of God, because, in love, he willed it to be so.

5. GOAL

Ephesians 1:5-6 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

This doctrine ascribes all the glory to one source: God.

There is no explanation for my salvation except God and his grace. It wasn’t because I was a bit better than the guy who rejected him. It wasn’t because he saw something in me that made him like me more than others. There is nothing in me that deserves Jesus. But I am saved by his death for me, because he loved me. And so there is no glory left for me to bask in.

CONCLUSION

You might ask – how do I know if I am elect?

It’s simple. If you want to be saved, then you can be. Only those God is working in want to be saved. If you love God, if you believe in Jesus, that means he put that faith in your heart. That means you are elect.

Anyone can be saved at any moment. All you need to do is believe.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Like the disgruntled man at the airport, God booked you your ticket while you were protesting. But when you receive it, you smile in appreciation. Express that to him for the praise of his glorious grace in Christ Jesus.

I challenge you to think of this glorious doctrine the same way Paul did: with joy.

_______

Clint Archer was born and raised in South Africa. After pastoring there for 14 years he now serves as pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist in Mobile, Alabama. He and his wife Kim have four children and a Jeep.

I find it interesting that the first paragraph of military combat orders cover the battlefield “Situation”, followed by “Mission”. Many of us might think that a statement of the missions would come first. ‘Situational Awareness’ (SA), a term familiar to many of us, means nothing more than recognizing your circumstances; knowing what’s going on around you. For instance, a military commander must be aware of the total situation (enemy and friendly) around him and his unit on the battlefield, as well as the bigger ‘strategic’ picture.  Total situational awareness is essential for successful military operations against any enemy, on any battlefield, for any warrior.  As Christians, and warriors in the Kingdom of God, we need to maintain complete situational awareness as inhabitants of planet earth (the battlefield environment), as well as our Commander’s intent (God’s strategic picture).

Sadly, we often lose focus of both our battlefield environment and our Commander’s intent, for a variety of reasons, ranging from our tendency to focus almost exclusively on ‘personal’ growth and fulfillment, to applying human wisdom and worldly principles to the operation of the ‘postmodern’ church as a whole.  At both levels, the result is that the Lord of the harvest, the Holy Spirit, sits in the back of the bus as we arrogantly occupy the driver’s seat!

Dear readers and friends, it is past time to regain our ‘situational awareness’ and overcome our spiritual ‘nearsightedness.’  For that task, we need to ‘begin at the beginning’ of our lives as Christians and go from there.  In a familiar and often quoted verse of Scripture, the Apostle Paul tells us:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”     2 Corinthians 5:17

What a promise – the greatest makeover of all time!  When we place saving faith in Christ, we step out of darkness and into the light, passing from death to life!  We are given a new nature in Christ as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our being, giving us a desire to serve God and the power to live a life of obedience to Him. This is common knowledge, not rocket science.

Our ‘makeover’ is so complete that in another of his letters to the early church, Paul presents what is a mystery to limited human logic.

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” – Ephesians 2:6

This is a bit more difficult for human logic to grasp, but notice the past tense verbs in this verse. Paul is saying that as Christians, although we physically remain here on planet Earth, we have already been ‘raised up’ and ‘seated with Christ in the heavenly realms.’  Paul partially explains this mystery in more easily understood terms a bit later in the same chapter:

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. . .” – Ephesians 2:19

A citizen is a legal resident of a nation, country or state.  Paul is saying that, at the moment of salvation, our ‘legal citizenship’ status changed!  One could say that if before we received Christ, we could have visited the ‘heavenly realm,’ we would have been ‘illegal aliens.’  We are not like the child born to an American military family overseas, who has dual-citizenship status until he or she is 18 years old and needs to make a decision.  We are NOT dual citizens.  Now listen to the Apostle Peter in one of his letters to the early church:

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” – 1 Peter 2:11 

Do you see the contrast here? Paul tells us that at one time we were ‘aliens and foreigners’ to God’s household, while Peter tells us that as Christians we are now ‘aliens and strangers’ in the world in which we live!

Why is the world in which we live ‘foreign territory,’ why are we ‘aliens and strangers in it,’ and how do we apply these truths?

First, we need to understand that the world in which we live is not, the world that God created and pronounced ‘good’ and ’very good’.  In fact, Scripture tells us that the willful disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden affected more than just our little piece of turf.  There is a clear description of the present condition of God’s creation in Romans 8:17-24, in which we find the following:

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”  – Romans 8:22

All of God’s creation is somehow tainted, polluted by sin, and in need of redemption.

Scripture also gives us an interesting description of the state of the human race after the fall of Adam, as well as a who seems to be controlling things (the god of this world).

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”   – Ephesians 2:1-2

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:4

As believers, we are citizens of the household of God, with a new ‘landlord,’ servants of the Most High God, no longer bound by the god of this world.  And as members of God’s household, we are now foreigners and strangers to the world we live in and enemies of the ‘god of this world.’

If you still aren’t convinced of your citizenship as a Christian, listen to the words of Jesus from his high priestly prayer:

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  – John 17:13-16

I have come to the inescapable conclusion that we are living behind enemy lines!  Perhaps this has caused your thought process to pause for a moment of speculation.  Maybe it came to a screeching halt because your first reaction was “No way!”  Then hear what the Apostle James had to say to believers in his day who were becoming a bit too ‘friendly’ with the fallen culture around them.

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”  James 4:4

If you still aren’t convinced that we are living in enemy territory, I encourage you to read James 4in its entirety, followed by Jesus’ words to his followers in John, chapters 15 and 16, concerning what to expect from the world that is hostile to God.

All of the above leaves with an inescapable question: “Why are we still down here?”   More to follow.

It’s not exactly rocket science that our American culture seems to be more hostile to public expressions of Christianity with each passing day. Christian values across the board are ridiculed when they run counter to a society’s prevailing values and attitudes, and it’s nothing new. At the same time, sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is both the mission and great privilege of all believers. So how are we to accomplish this mission knowing that merely expressing our faith in public settings outside of our respective faith communities?

This is the first in a series of articles addressing this all important issue from the personal perspective of an old soldier who just wants “to leave something behind” (to quote the title of a Sean Rowe song) that might help others traveling along Gospel Highway.

As the above title states, the first step is to just ‘be available’. It sounds easy, but it might be more difficult that it sounds. While all of us have at one time or another told God (not without a certain amount of pride) that we are available to do whatever he commands us to do, who among us has not taken a step backward when faced with very real consequences of exiting the jump door of a high performance aircraft into unknown darkness. Paratrooper metaphor aside, it can be scary. So before you declare to our Savior your willingness and availability to share His gospel with the world around you, consider the cost in terms of what it will mean in your personal life. Are you ready to be open about your Christian faith, no matter what? That’s the starting point. Keeping your faith to yourself isn’t an option.

While I might not know you, I do know that if you are available, God will use you. Here are a few examples I know of from within the Special Forces community.

• ·A small detachment of SF soldiers were training in the Allegheny forest in Pennsylvania. One of the men was known by all of the men to be a Christian, although he didn’t advertise it. Another of the men, a team medic, was dating a girl from Boston who was a Christian and talked about God now and again. The entire detachment was sitting around a camp fire in the woods (non-tactical) and the medic started talking about his ‘Christian’ girlfriend from Boston and asking questions.
• ·An SF Battalion field headquarters was established in the Cape Cod area for a training exercise. During the exercise one of the SF soldiers in the Bn died when both of his parachutes failed during an infiltration operation in upstate NY. His name was Bob and he was a strong believer. The Bn Commander in the Cape Cod location wanted to have a memorial service for Bob and asked for someone who was close to Bob to visit with the local minister who was to mold the service in the field headquarters. As a result of the meeting, the entire field headquarters heard a clear presentation of the gospel message, from the commander (LTC) on down.
• ·An SF “A” Team Leader (CPT) was killed over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988 returning from an exercise planning event. The Pan Am aircraft was destroyed by a bomb. One of his Team Sergeants, an E-8, who had served his Team for a year before being reassigned to another position in the 10^th SF Group, was a believer and all of the team members knew it. The former Team Sergeant attended the funeral service at the SF Chapel at Ft. Devens. When the casket bearers were walking from the chapel to the waiting hearse, the former Team Sgt’s eyes and the eyes of the casket bearers met and a silent reminder of the finality of death passed between them.

We share these examples solely to demonstrate what can happen, in God’s providence, just because you are available, without any overt actions on your part. No initiating religious conversations, passing out Gospel literature, or “I’m a Fool for Jesus, Whose Fool Are You?” bumper stickers. God opens doors. All we do is walk through those doors and let God be God. Seeds of the Gospel are sown and souls are eternally saved.

I leave you with a question.

Are you available?

Be blessed as you grow in Christ!

By Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe | 1972

There are many good things that a man can do in the world today. But I have a conviction that the greatest work any of us can do is to help lead people to Jesus Christ. You do not have to be a “full-time Christian worker” to be a soul-winner. In fact, many of our greatest soul-winners are dedicated men and women who hold “ordinary” occupations, but who use every opportunity to witness for Christ.

We use the word “soul-winner” so often, and yet I wonder if we really know what it means? Perhaps it would be helpful to us if we discovered from the Bible just what a soul-winner is and what he is supposed to do. As I was studying this subject, I was interested to find many pictures of the soul-winner in the Bible; and I want to share some of these pictures with you.

The soul-winner is a shepherd.

“Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).

James is speaking particularly about Christians who may stray from the truth, but his words also apply to the lost. If it is important for us to guide wandering believers back into God’s way, how much more important it is to guide unbelievers! We are shepherds, out seeking the wandering sheep. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). If the lost sheep is left to himself, he will die; and if the lost soul is left to himself, he will perish forever.

Here is one reason society is in a mess: people have strayed from the truth. It was a gradual thing. First men questioned God’s truth; then they criticized it; then they ignored it; then they laughed at it. The world would rather believe lies than face God’s truth, in spite of the fact that these lies are leading men to death.

Jesus told the story about the shepherd who went out into the wilderness to find the lost sheep. What a beautiful picture of the soul-winner!

“But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how black was the night that the Lord went through,
E’er He found His sheep that was lost.”

The most important characteristic for a shepherd is love. The Good Shepherd so loved us that He laid down His life for the sheep. Do we love lost souls enough to search them out and share the Good News with them? Or are we so wrapped up in our own plans that we do not have time to think about the other person? We are supposed to be shepherds who help to guide the wandering back into the fold.

The soul-winner is a hunter.

Proverbs 11:30 says, “He that winneth souls is wise.” That word “winneth” has the idea of “catching, as a hunter catches an animal.” We are supposed to “capture” souls!

In many ways, the lost sinner is just like an animal. Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 9:5). What is a goad? It is the sharp stick that the farmer uses to prod his lazy animals. God was “prodding” Saul; He was treating Saul like a stubborn animal! The lost sinner is just like a stubborn animal: he wants his own way, and yet he does not realize that his own way leads to death.

Just as it takes love to be a shepherd, so it takes skill to be a hunter. It takes skill to “capture” lost souls. The hunter is careful not to frighten the animal. He is very careful not to permit his scent to be carried to the animal. I wish more Christians were that wise! Too often unsaved people “get the scent” from the church and know all the things that are going wrong! We Christians must be very careful not to get in the way of the wind, but to let the “wind of the Spirit” blow as He desires.

Hunters will use different approaches in capturing animals. Many different kinds of traps are mentioned in the Bible, because you cannot use the same approach with different animals. Too often you and I use the same approach with every lost person, and we wonder why we often fail. It takes skill to be a hunter, and it takes skill to be a successful soul-winner.

The soul-winner is a fisherman.

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Christ called four fishermen to be disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, and John. And remember that fishing was not their hobby; it was their life’s work. To them, catching fish was not fun: it was a matter of life or death!

Do you know why Jesus called four fishermen? Because fishermen know how to stick with the job and get it done. You will rarely see a fisherman sitting around doing nothing. He is either casting his nets, or cleaning his nets, or repairing his nets. He is always wrapped up in fishing. So it is with the soul-winner: he is always involved in witnessing—and he stays at it! The most important thing about a fisherman is his ability to stick with it, because fishing can be a very difficult and disappointing vocation.

Too often, we “fishers of men” give up too soon. When the going gets tough, we decide to head for shore and give up fishing for a while. We sit around and discuss fishing instead of heading out to the depths to let down the nets! One preacher has suggested that most Christians have ceased to be fishers of men. Instead, they are owners of beautiful aquariums, and they spend most of their time moving the fish from one tank to another!

In Bible days, fishermen had three methods of fishing: hooks, spears, and nets. Peter let the hook down and caught the fish that contained the money for the taxes. If you plan to use a hook, be sure you have the right kind of bait, and be sure you stay alert so you know when the fish is there! It takes real skill and patience to use the spear, but this is a good way to get fish. Just keep your eye on the one you want, and spear him!

But the best way is the net, because you can catch more fish that way. It requires several men to use the nets; soul-winners must learn how to work together. To be sure, not every “fish” will be a good one. Jesus warns us that the net will contain all kinds of fish, some good and some bad (Matthew 13:47-50); but the presence of the bad fish is no reason for us to reject the good fish. Not every fish we catch for the Lord will be a true believer, but many of them will; and the more we try to catch, the bigger will be the percentage of true believers.

If we are going to bring souls to Christ, we must be like the fishermen that Jesus called: we must have persistence. Only God can give the catch, no matter how hard we may toil. And let’s remember that only God knows how big the catch is! Let’s not get so wrapped up in numbers that we forget how important one individual soul is to Jesus Christ.

The soul-winner is a harvester.

Jesus tells us to “look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35-38). It takes all kinds of workers to have a harvest: people to plow, people to sow and water, people to fight weeds, and people to reap the grain. But all of them are a part of the harvest! This is why soul-winners are compared to harvesters: we need to practice cooperation. Not compromise, but cooperation, a willingness to work together.

There is no end to what God will do for the Christian who does not care who gets the credit. The important thing out in the field is not competing for attention, but reaping the harvest. We are laborers together, and each one must help the other.

God has given us some marvelous tools for harvesting the grain: radio, television, literature, cassettes, computers, and a host of other tools. We are not to use these tools to impress each other, but to gather in the harvest. I fear that too often we harvesters are using the sickles on each other instead of on the grain! It is discouraging to see how one Christian attacks another Christian, or one worker criticizes another worker; and all the time the harvest is going to waste. One of the basic laws of the harvest is partnership: one sows, another reaps, but God gives the increase.

The soul-winner is an ambassador.

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Imagine! We are God’s ambassadors! This certainly puts dignity into this business of winning souls! Instead of apologizing when we witness for Christ or make a visit in a home, we ought to act like dedicated dignitaries, sent by God—because that is exactly what we are! “As my Father hath sent Me, so send I you” (John 20:21).

As ambassadors, we have been chosen and commissioned; and our task is not to preach ourselves, but to represent the One Who sent us. “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We represent Him, and we carry His message of peace. When an ambassador is sent to a foreign country, all his needs are met by his government, and he is protected by their armies. So with us: God has promised to meet all our needs, and His protection is our assurance of victory. All that the government asks is that the ambassador be faithful, and that is what God asks of us.

God is not at war with the world, but the world is at war with God. Our task as ambassadors is to tell the world that God loves sinners, Christ died for sinners, and that men can be reconciled to God. One of these days, God will declare war on the world; but before that happens, He will call His ambassadors home! While we are waiting, let’s be faithful ambassadors, representing Jesus Christ in the way we live and the words we speak.

The soul winner is a fireman.

“And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire” (Jude 23). “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2).

The lost soul does not have to die to be in the fire; he is in the fire of condemnation right now! “He that believeth not is condemned already” (John 3:18). Lost people are already living in the “suburbs of hell,” yet they think their life is wonderful! Our task is to pull them out of the fire, because they are unable to save themselves. In other words, soul-winning requires urgency.

Perhaps this is why many Christians avoid trying to win souls: it is a bit risky to put your hands in the fire! Certainly soul-winners get “burned” occasionally but it’s worth a few scars to rescue somebody from eternal fire. Sometimes the situation gets a bit “hot,” but we must keep right on witnessing, because God may use us to snatch some precious soul out of the burning. And God has promised to be with us when we go through the fire, so there is really nothing to fear.

The next time you look at a lost soul, remember that he is already in the fire of sin and judgment. The worst is yet to come! Sin has so numbered him that he does not even feel the pains in his soul, and this is what makes his situation so tragic. Oh, the urgency of it! We must reach into the fire and help to pull them out! As those angels took hold of Lot and pulled him to safety out of Sodom, so we must lovingly snatch the brands out of the burning, before it is too late.

The soul-winner is a witness.

“If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? And He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? And shall He not render to every man according to his works?” (Proverbs 24:11-12).

The picture here takes us back to an Old Testament Jewish village. Here is a man who has been condemned to die. The elders are taking him outside the village to stone him to death, and you see the man as they go by. And you know that the man does not deserve to die! You have the one piece of evidence that will save his life! What are you going to do?

Some of us might say: “Well, I don’t want to get involved.” Or, “It’s too late to do anything now.” Or, “Who am I to tell others what to do?” God says, “Excuses! Excuses that will cost a man his life!” As soul-winners, you and I must be witnesses who have honest concern. It must burden us that men and women are being dragged off to judgment! It must concern us that we have the one message of life that can save them! The time has come for us to stop making excuses! Christ has left us here to be His witnesses, and our witness is the only thing that can save sinners from eternal death!

What does it take to be an effective soul-winner? It takes the love of a shepherd, the skill of a hunter, the cooperation of a harvester, the dignity of an ambassador, the urgency of a fireman, and the heart concern of a witness.

Let’s ask God to make us the kind of Christians that He can use to win others to Christ. Winning souls is the greatest work in the world—the most rewarding work in the world—the work that God blesses and that brings Him glory for all eternity!

______________

“Copyright © Moody Church Media. Used with Permission. www.moodymedia.org”