are we commanded to soul-win?

HEBREWS 8:11..And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

 

True Christians (born again) should ALWAYS be actively trying to win souls to the Lord. WE DO NOT do the saving. We are merely the tools God uses to spread His Words (AV1611) to the lost, so that He can do the saving.

We are commanded by Jesus Christ to go and teach the lost how to get saved. We should do this in anyway we possibly can. By witnessing face-to-face, door-to-door, street preaching, tract distribution, gospel stickers/magnets on cars, gospel signs in front of our houses, preaching in churches and any other way you can think of getting the Gospel of Jesus Christ out to the lost. There may be some places where you just cannot do some of these things, but there is NO place where you can't do them all. Even in Red China! Anyone who denies any of this does not truly love the Lord. If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

 

Yes you are correct that nobody will have to do any soul winning during the Millenial Kingdom since Jesus will be reigning with an Iron Rod here on the Earth. That is what this passage is talking about.
This is the problem with not rightly dividing the word of truth, you get yourself all mixed up. You think this passage is talking to you. You are wrong.

 

Randall

Praise God for your testimony! It is good to hear another person on here that is on fire for working for the Lord. Keep it up brother and we'll reign together with the Lord someday!

 

Where is the millennial kingdom in Hebrews 8? Paul begins speaking of a high priest according to the new covenant who is set on the right hand of the throne in the heavens, one who is the mediator of a new covenant established upon better promises and who has obtained a more excellent ministry. Set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens is not in Jerusalem. He says a second and new covenant has replaced the old. If the second covenant is reserved for the millennium and the old law covenant has been done away, what covenant are you now under? Unlike the first covenant which was with everyone physically born into the nation of Israel, the new covenant is with only those who are spiritually born of God. That is why under the new covenant "all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." Do you believe that everyone who lives in the physical millennial kingdom will know the Lord? Rightly dividing the Word of Truth doesn't mean shredding it to pieces and reassembling it to fit one's preconceived ideas.

 

Harvest

That will be a glorious day and I look forward to it – hopefully it isn’t far off. Just now would be great!

I hadn’t noticed the post on Hebrews but it has, according to my view, been taken out of context if one should apply it to witnessing in the present world.

Randall

 

I will leave the soul winning up to the Lord!... Will not the Lord save all his blood bought grace wrought children?... I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me... And this is the Fathers will that has sent me of all the Father hast given me "I should lose nothing" ... but raise it up again at the last day.

Thou shall bring forth a son and thou shall call his name Jesus!... "For he shall save his people from their sins" ... Brother Glen

 

the sower went for to sow. any questions?
we should be sowing seeds 24/7. weather we are going door to door or shopping at the grocery. the command is to go and sow, nothing said in the scripture about watering the seed. let God do that.

 

actually 1 Cor 3:5-7 says that our job is to plant and water. however, the important thing is that if we do that, it is God that gives the increase. we are to plant the seed by sharing the Gospel with them and then water by praying for them and continuing to witness to them as we are able. God does the saving after we do our part.

 

So Harvest, God can't save a soul unless we do our part? I'll use one of your quotes: "This is the problem with not rightly dividing the word of truth, you get yourself all mixed up."

 

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17 If a person has not heard the word of God, then they can't believe it. it is our job to spread the word of God so that they can accept it and He can save them.

 

Now read v18

 

Now read the rest of the entire chapter.

Context my good man, context.

[ January 25, 2003, 12:15 PM: Message edited by: The Harvest ]

 

In my country there is much talk about this soul-winning craze, but the fruit the actions of those soul-winners is more and more false converts filling the religious temples, so that in reality they could be called idol-temples. It is nothing more than deceptive proselytism like that of the Pharisees who Christ the Lord rebuked. Lutheranism came to my country in the first part of the 1500's with its "evangelical" solafidianist soul-winning machinery, and today their 400 plus years of soul-winning shows a present fruit of about 90 per cent of the Finnish belonging to the Lutheran state church, an unregenerate church just as the mormon church here in Finland. Man is unable to win souls, his soul-winning efforts end in total fiasco. There is only one Person worthy of being called Soul-Winner, the Triune God of Israel, a just God and a Saviour.

Harald

 

There is a huge difference between a person who goes out to win souls to the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and a person who goes out trying to bring people into their church (ie mormons). The purpose of the soul winner is show people from the Bible how they can be saved. We can't let the people who are doing it wrong or with the wrong motive stop us from being soul winners like Jesus commanded.

By the way, I don't think anyone here has said the people save souls. All we do is tell people how Jesus can save them.

[ January 25, 2003, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: SaggyWoman ]

 

I read some good responces, not much to add. Soul winning is main reason a Believer is left here in this world. There are many ways in which we do this however. Planting the seed, letting people hear the Word, preach. But we also live a righteous life before the world and let them see the Light of Christ as something they too want.
We can ask God how He can use us to lead a soul to salvation - preparing the soil, planting, watering... And He will show us what to do. As with me, He uses me to witness and minister encouragement to people in prison. There is joy in having any part in His Kingdon work.
We only need to yield to the Spirit.
By the way, our church goes door to door, but we are rural. Still think that's needed and won't ever be outdated.
God bless you,
mercy