The Soul Winners Reward

Last summer I received a phone call from a North Carolina pastor indicating that a man he had recently baptized would be in Sarasota for several weeks visiting with a lost friend. The pastor requested that we make an attempt to share the gospel with this lost friend.

The new Christian visited our services the following Sunday and reiterated the request. On the following Monday evening, our Deacon Chairman, Ed Baker and I visited with the new Christian and his lost friend. After a few minutes of a wonderful visit I asked the lost friend the following question, "If you were to die tonight, do you know for certain that your soul is going to heaven?" She responded by saying she was not sure but would like to know. In just a few minutes I shared with her the gospel of God's love and grace and she prayed to receive Christ. This elderly lady was active in a church from another denomination and we encouraged her to share her commitment to Jesus with her pastor. Following the visit Brother Baker and I rejoiced in God's goodness allowing us to be participants in seeing this dear elderly lady come to Jesus.

Now for the rest of the story. Last Wednesday evening the pastor who had originally requested we make a soul winning visit was in our service. Following the service he shared with me that the elderly lady who had received Jesus had gone on to heaven 2 weeks after our visit.

Soul Winning is not a church program of growth or the activity of a specific night. Soul Winning is the response of an obedient heart to the command of our Savior. This precious lady did not show up in an annual report nor did she increase our attendance or income, however she is in heaven today and that is reward enough for me.

Souls are lost, dying and going to hell without Jesus. Let us, with the urgency born of their great need, do our best to win them to Jesus.

Attempting to Connect the Dots...

Wayne

Calvinist and Traditionalist - Share the Gospel Today

As time draws near for the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston the dialogue between the Calvinists and the Traditionalists seems to be ramping up. The blogosphere is bloated with blogs defending the Soteriology of the blogger and often condemning the Soteriology of those who disagree. While this is a dialogue that Southern Baptists should and must have let us not lose focus on the main thing. Those who know me know that I have an opinion in this discussion, however, my purpose is not to defend my Soteriology or to attack that of another. Allow me a few random thoughts:

There is an evident lack of humility among some, not all, who are posting. As the level of rhetoric rises so does the level of arrogance. The great scholars of Christian history have failed to settle this debate. By what rationale do we think that a few words in a blog will correct the perceived doctrinal errors of those with whom we disagree? Or, is it possible, that we are simply enjoying the oft abused privilege of expressing our opinion. A good dose of humility would go a long way to healing the hurt and division that exists.

It would be good for those who are spending their time writing, researching and positioning to spend an equal or greater amount of time sharing the Good News with the lost. It does no good to have the correct message if we keep it to ourselves. We must communicate it not only from our pulpits but also face to face in the marketplace where we live. Many assert that only the radical or hyper-calvinist is not interested in evangelism. Those who claim that they are not among this group should be busy about sharing the Gospel. Many Traditionalists avow the need to win the lost, yet, do nothing week in and week out to share their faith. These errors must be corrected if we are to impact the world with God's message of redemption.

I have discovered lost people do not ask me, "Are you a Calvinist or a Traditionalist?". They are in need of hearing the message of God's love and the grace He so freely offers. We live in a sea of people drowning in their sin and they need our Savior. Let us not become so busy debating the design of salvation as we are in sharing the truth of the salvation Jesus purchased on the cross.

Again, we should have the discussion concerning Soteriology and each individual believer should be fully persuaded in His own heart as to the correctness. But, this should not become our focus. Our focus should be our obedience to Jesus' command to preach the Gospel to all the world. Dear Calvinist friend and dear Traditionalist friend - let us leave our keyboard, go into the highways and byways and find someone to tell about Jesus the mighty to Save. Soul Winning still pleases the heart of God.

Attempting to Connect the Dots...

Wayne