GODS SOVEREIGNTY & SOUL WINNING By Pastor P. Hume Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 9:16-23; 2 Cor. 5:14-6:2 Much of the time, sad to say, when a person treats the subject of the sovereignty of God, the truth concerning genuine soul winning is either left out or ruled out. On the other hand, oftentimes those who major on soul winning almost totally circumventor rule out the sovereignty of God. Again, as in any Divine truth, there needs to be balance and proportion. The Old Testament declares--long before this present Dispensation of the preaching of the Grace of God---He that winneth souls is wise (Prov. 11:30). The word winneth is actually a military word denoting taking captive the enemy. In the Gospels we hear our Lord telling His disciples: Come ye after, Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17). His intent was that as these disciples had been used to catching fish, now they were to learn how to catch men alive for Christ. Paul brings out the same truth when he states: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life. (Phil. 2:15-16). The idea here is that just as the blackness of the night is punctuated by the shining forth of the heavenly luminaries, so the darkness of this present evil age under the power of darkness is to be punctuated by believers holding out to the members of their generation the Life-giving light of the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God (See 2 Cor. 4:4-6 and I Tim. 1:11). Where does soul winning, then, fit in the plan of God? If God sovereignly has elected a certain number unto Life in Christ, and if God is the One who must woo them, draw them, convict them, and then regenerate them, where does witnessing and leading people to Christ fit in? God has ordained that through the foolishness of preaching (lit. the thing preached ---that is, the preaching of the word of the cross) to save them that believe. This preaching is not only that which the God-called pastor or Evangelist or Missionary does. It is the giving forth by word of mouth the truth of the Gospel so that those who hunger after salvation might be saved. Dear Lord, I thank You and praise You for Your great grace toward me. May I increasingly know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, through a growing relationship with Him. May I become an instrument of Your grace in the lives of others, all for Your glory and honor, in Jesus name, Amen. CLICK BELOW PLEASE ADD ME TO YOUR EMAIL AND DEVOTIONS WEB SITE graceandthetruth
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 05:20:39 +0000
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