Soul-winning vs Evangelism

[Revmitchell]

This all appears to be semantics and much ado about nothing.

 

[Bro Tony]

but we DO "win" souls, in the sense that the word "win" can mean "convince" or "persuade" a person to agree with the message being put forth. We do NOT "SAVE" a person's soul, as that is only Christ. And so, the ultimate conversion is only and completely being done by Christ through the Holy Spirit unto reconciliation with the Father.
But the Bible does call us "soul-winners".
I do not understand some people's seemingly obsessive problem with the term or phrase "winning souls". We do not "win" (or convince) them to US, we "win" them to CHRIST. But it is still our duty to go out there and actively seek to win the lost.

I too was glad to see an OP from this author that I could pretty much agree with.

Not to sound like a full-blown Calvinist which I'm not but I don't believe whe convince or persuade anybody when it comes to salvation. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. We share and God does what only He can do in convicting, convincing and redeeming.

Bro Tony

 

[richard n koustas]

Not to sound like a full-blown Calvinist which I'm not but I don't believe whe convince or persuade anybody when it comes to salvation. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. We share and God does what only He can do in convicting, convincing and redeeming.

Bro Tony

:thumbsup:
This is why I like to just present the gospel message...and leave it. I don't try seal a deal as some others feel compelled to do.

 

[whatever]

:thumbsup:
This is why I like to just present the gospel message...and leave it. I don't try seal a deal as some others feel compelled to do.

I have actually heard people talk about baptizing converts, especially children, as soon as possible so that they won't change their minds. I just don't understand this mindset.

 

[Bro Tony]

I have actually heard people talk about baptizing converts, especially children, as soon as possible so that they won't change their minds. I just don't understand this mindset.

Me either.

Bro Tony

 

[gb93433]

It is not up to us to win souls.. that is the Holy Spirit's job.
We are not salesmen trying to close on a sale.

Our job is to witness, to tell about Christ.
The Holy Spirit will draw them to Christ. If you were following the Holy Spirit's lead, then you may have just watered the seed someone else planted...

Someone else may come along and harvest that fruit.

The Holy Spirit is no substitute for preparation.

God uses the man but the Holy Spirit works through the man giving the message.

Too often man delegates their role to the Hoy Spirit when it is their job.

The Holy Spirit convicts the person while man preaches the gospel. I cannopt think of one time that a person has come to Christ without the gospel message presented in the Bible or by a person.

Look at Acts and see who the overseer is and who makes him that.

 

[gb93433]

I have actually heard people talk about baptizing converts, especially children, as soon as possible so that they won't change their minds. I just don't understand this mindset.

Gotta have those numbers to look good.

About 15 years ago the SBC did a study in the Dallas association and found that some pastors baptized the same person up to five times.

 

[John of Japan]

:thumbsup:
This is why I like to just present the gospel message...and leave it. I don't try seal a deal as some others feel compelled to do.

Do you ever invite folk to trust Christ as Savior, as the Bible says to? "Let him that heareth say, come."

 

[John of Japan]

Soul-winning is one way of saying one witnessed to a lost person. But wouldn't it be better to say, "The Lord saved so-and-so today"?

JofJ, it's a blessed thing to be able to say "I won a soul for Christ," but doesn't doesn't that tend to give too much credit to our human efforts? Not that we want credit, for we agree that it is God who saves from start to finish. I'm talking mainly about the way it comes across, like bragging.

Seems to me if make God the actor then we can give more glory to Him. I suggest something like, "The Lord gave me an opportunity to witness to someone today. God opened his heart and saved him."

We have enough man-centered preaching and evanglism anyway, and we ought not to use expressions which aid and abet them.

Actually, in the crowd I run around with, we don't say "Great job" when a person says, "I lead a soul to Christ." We say, "Praise the Lord," because everyone knows that it is God's work to save him.

If I feared to ever say what I did for the Lord in His service, then I would fear to write a missionary prayer letter. Concerning our ministry trip to Okinawa earlier this month I would say, "We happened to be in Bro. S.'s church in Okinawa when half the church got right with God," instead of saying, "Praise the Lord that when I preached, about ten people got on their knees before God and prayed for forgiveness and revival."

I agree that if we are not careful this can turn into a numbers game, or praising one's self. But I don't think "I led a soul to Christ" says that. I think it says, "I was obedient to the Great Commission, and God saved a soul." Maybe it is different in the crowd you hang out with.

 

[John of Japan]

The Holy Spirit is no substitute for preparation.

God uses the man but the Holy Spirit works through the man giving the message.

Too often man delegates their role to the Hoy Spirit when it is their job.

The Holy Spirit convicts the person while man preaches the gospel. I cannopt think of one time that a person has come to Christ without the gospel message presented in the Bible or by a person.

Look at Acts and see who the overseer is and who makes him that.

Well said! :thumbs:

 

[John of Japan]

You know, even the Calvinists used to like this word "soul winning." I just found it several times in a positive light in True Evangelism by Lewis Sperry Chafer, c. 1919. :thumbs:

 

[Rippon]

LSC was a quasi-Calvinist -- not full-fledged . I see no problem in using the term -- but it's a little on the vague side and open to a wrong interpretation .

 

[John of Japan]

LSC was a quasi-Calvinist -- not full-fledged . I see no problem in using the term -- but it's a little on the vague side and open to a wrong interpretation .

Call out the band! Strike up a chorus! Rippon and I agree! :godisgood: :1_grouphug: :applause: :wavey:

 

[Rippon]

At long last , peace between South Korea and Japan .

 

[ituttut]

We have been enamored by the image of some ecumenical Billy Sunday crusade ..........

Great insight to the misunderstandings Bill Sunday, Graham, Carter, and others preaching man, and/or the church will bring peace to this world. Paradise didn't become Paradise until Jesus Christ made it so, and peace will come to this earth only when He returns to this earth. We'll be long gone by then.

Tried earlier to listen to your sermon, but for some reason couldn't access. Have done so now. You are an energetic "fire breathing", devoted preacher giving forth His Word, as you have been shown. Not in accord with all, but you have much that is right.

 

[ituttut]

This all appears to be semantics and much ado about nothing.

Agree.
Make disciples, win souls to Christ, surely we do that. But our true mission that the good Pastor lays out for every one of us in the Body of Christ is to recognize that we are Ambassadors for Christ, His informal representative in this dispensation. Since someone reconciles us to Him, are we not after all disciples for we believe and help to spread the doctrine of that disciple, otherwise known today as Ambassador?

 

[John of Japan]

Originally Posted by sanderson1769
We have been enamored by the image of some ecumenical Billy Sunday crusade ..........

Great insight to the misunderstandings Bill Sunday, Graham, Carter, and others preaching man, and/or the church will bring peace to this world. Paradise didn't become Paradise until Jesus Christ made it so, and peace will come to this earth only when He returns to this earth. We'll be long gone by then.

Tried earlier to listen to your sermon, but for some reason couldn't access. Have done so now. You are an energetic "fire breathing", devoted preacher giving forth His Word, as you have been shown. Not in accord with all, but you have much that is right.

Actually, Billy Sunday did not conduct ecumenical crusades, but interdenominational crusades. There is a huge difference. The old time evangelists--Sunday, Moody, Torrey, Sam Jones, Bob Jones, John R. Rice, etc.--never cooperated with liberalism and Catholicism as ecumenical evangelism does. It took Billy Graham to take that road at his New York Crusade in 1957.

 

[John of Japan]

We have been enamored by the image of some ecumenical Billy Sunday crusade where hundreds are flooding down “the sawdust trail” and supposedly getting saved, when God’s method has always been going out into the highways and hedges and preaching the Gospel from house to house. Jesus was constantly winning people to the Lord one by one, not in giant services. In his giant services (e.g. the Sermon on the Mount), he preaches more on Christian living and against sin as opposed to an evangelistic message.

For years preachers have misinterpreted the story in Acts 2 and made statements like, “Peter preached, and 3,000 people were saved and baptized.” In my sermon this Sunday morning I proved conclusively that nothing could be further from the truth, and that Peter was only speaking to a small percentage of those who got saved. There were 119 other soul-winners preaching the Gospel and getting people saved in at least 17 different languages! 3,000 people did not “come down the aisle,” 3,000 people were won to the Lord by 120 soul-winners who WENT OUT where the lost were. (Here is the link if anyone is interested in hearing the sermon that conclusively proves this point:

....

Sincerely,

Pastor Steven L Anderson
Faithful Word Baptist Church
www.faithfulwordbaptist.orghttp://www.faithfulwordbaptist.orghttp://www.faithfulwordbaptist.orghttp://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org

While Sanderson is right about the importance of personal work, he is wrong about the lack of importance of mass evangelism. The evangelist is an important part of God's plan. He sees souls saved and he strengthens the church to do more for God. Oftentimes he is used to bring revival.

A cursory study of Acts 2 will show that Sanderson is also wrong there, expecially when we look at v. 41. Even more to the point, when Evangelist Philip saw great revival in Acts 8, there were no personal workers with him.

 

[tinytim]

You know, I just had a thought that is very important...

If everyone would just do their part of evangelism, whether it be direct (soul winning) or indirect (inviting to church), and if everyone would just let the Holy Spirit lead them into what to say to people, souls would get saved..

Oh, and if everyone would quit paying attention to what others are doing, it would help too.

That is the one thing that I grew up with....the competition between people on how many souls were "won". They looked at each others weekly totals, and for me now when I hear "soul win" I think of this competition. Soul winning in the Bible is about winning them to God, like Bapmom said, (I think she was the one) not about winning a competition.

That may be why I use the term "evangelize" more than "soul win". but I mean the same thing:

Telling people about what Jesus did for them.

 

[richard n koustas]

Do you ever invite folk to trust Christ as Savior, as the Bible says to? "Let him that heareth say, come."

No. I used to. but i just don't see any 'invitations' of this type in the NT.

I just like to tell them about"Jesus Christ, and him crucified".