Featured Successful Evangelism

To fire one up for soul-winning try The Soul Winner's Fire, by John R. Rice. This little book was a huge blessing to me when I received it from the author as just a boy. It has been translated into many languages, including Japanese. As has been noted, Rice wrote many books on soul-winning and evangelism. Particularly helpful are this one, The Golden Path to Successful Personal Soul-Winning, and the classic on the office of evangelist, The Evangelist.

None of these books had the pragmatic approach you seem to think my OP is about. All were very strong on the role of the Holy Spirit in evangelism.

 

You apparently think I am presenting a pragmatic view of soul-winning and evangelism. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible teaching (and what my OP is about) is that if we are relying on God and His power, God Himself will supply the fruit.

Does Speed say nothing about the fullness of the Holy Spirit? If this is so, then he has missed the Biblical teaching. And since you don't mention the Holy Spirit and His work here in Speed's quote (whether Speed does or not), you have missed the point of the OP entirely.

I would like for you to comment on the following Scripture. Tell me, what is the fruit mentioned by Jesus?

John 15:16--"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

This is close to what I said. And I ask again. Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Right now?

It being true that you have not seen a single soul come to Christ in 8 years, you desperately need the Holy Spirit to fill you. You are in America, where a huge percentage of people are already believers, there are churches all over, and where there are many just waiting for someone to care enough to give them the Gospel. For crying out loud, you are in America! "The harvest truly is plenteous."

I once preached in a country that was 86% Muslim, and through the faith and work of the missionary and the believers, 700 people (including many Muslims and Hindus) gathered to hear me preach the Gospel, and folks were saved. They had a baptismal service with 46 baptized who were saved prior to me going there.

Your problem may be in the area of compassion. I will ask you again, do you weep when you preach on Hell and judgement, or do you do it with no compassion?

Since you are so big on Calvinism, read the books by Calvinists from which the following quotes come:

“Soul-winning is the chief business of the Christian minister; indeed, it should be the main pursuit of every true believer” (The Soul Winner. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co, p. 13).

"Paul's ultimate aim in evangelism was to convert his hearers to faith in Christ. The word 'convert' is a translation of the Greek epistrepho, which means--and is sometimes translated—'turn'. We think of conversion as a work of God, and so from one standpoint it is; but it is striking to observe that in the three New Testament passages where epistrepho is used transitively, of ’converting’ someone to God, the subject of the verb is not God, as we might have expected, but a preacher. The angel said of John the Baptist: ‘Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.’ (Luke 1:16). James says: ‘Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner…shall save a soul from death…’ (James 5:19 f.). And Paul himself tells Agrippa how Christ had said to him: ‘I send thee (to the Gentiles) to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,’ and how he had obeyed the heavenly vision by proclaiming to both Jews and Gentiles ‘that they should repent and turn to God’ (Acts 26:17 ff.). These passages represent the converting of others as the work of God’s people, a task which they are to perform by summoning men to turn to God in repentance and faith” (Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, pp. 49-50; all emphases by Packer).

 

The difference is that the Ethiopian eunuch got saved because Philip specifically was lead by the Holy Spirit. V. 29--"Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." But you say that no one gets saved through your ministry.

When you do your street preaching, do you pray ahead of time that the Holy Spirit will guide you and that God (not you) will save souls? Do you pray in faith, believing that God will do the work?

 

I'm sorry, that's a copout. Charles Spurgeon did not believe that way, and neither does J. I. Packer, to name for you the two Calvinists I've quoted. When you give the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, some will reject it, but some will be saved. Read the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit worked all through the book, and people were saved all through it.

Here is what I suggest. Map out your time, and begin spending one hour a week--just one hour--specifically praying for the power of the Holy Spirit and for God to use you to bring souls to Christ. And by the way, I suggest you quit thinking and talking about "the elect" when you think of evangelism. Only God knows who they are. You just go out and obey Him.

This suggestion is for just one hour a week, but our church this year has a special emphasis in prayer, and we are encouraged to spend a whole hour every day with God, based on the "Hour With God" plan. (Look it up.) Our church has somewhat modified that. Anyway you do it, spending more time with God will revolutionize your walk with Jesus. You need to deepen your walk with Jesus, brother. God can and will use you to actually win souls rather than just preach at them if you are open to His power.

I asked you about John 15:8--"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." What is the fruit mentioned here?

 

Completely different circumstances from nowadays: it was a different dispensation, so they did not have the Holy Spirit to help; they did not preach the powerful, complete Gospel that we have; they did not have the New Testament in all of its power; they did not have churches; etc., etc.

 

In fact, there were 500 who were witnesses of the resurrection!

 

Actually, nowhere in this thread have I gone "by just sheer numbers." My point is that we must see God work. The numbers are up to Him. But if God is doing the work, someone will get saved.

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not" (Jer. 33:3).

 

If you are aiming at profundity here, you failed.

But hey, if you won't listen to me, listen to Spurgeon. God used him in a mighty way. Have you ever read his book, The Soul Winner? You don't even have to buy it. Just read the PDF here: http://hopecollege.hopechurchaustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/12/The-Soul-Winner.pdf