He Who Wins Souls Is Wise - Oh Really, Who is That?

"Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all humanity. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God... And now I commend you to God and to the word of His GRACE, which is able to build you up and to GIVE you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:26-32)

The revival was over. We had listened to a dynamic speaker for two weeks. During that time there were over 90 decisions for Christ and many other rededications. At one service, everyone there walked the aisle to make one decision or another or to pray at the altar, myself included. At the end of the last service, we had been challenged to "go win the world to Christ, one person at a time, bcause he who wins souls is wise". Everyone was saying Amen and left fully intending to be a part of a great renewal. The evangelist received a big love offering and off he went to his next scheduled revival.

Sound familiar? 

Problem was that two weeks later no one was out "winning souls", and all was back to normal. This has been repeated over and over again in institutional protestant churches since the 1730's yet the percentage of the world's population that refer to themselves as "Christian" remains the same, maybe less. 

WHY I asked myself?

WARNING!: Stop reading if you are a Christian prone to getting defensive when your views are challenged.

I asked an evangelical pastor WHY and his response was that God's people are disobedient to their commission from the Lord. 

He was right, but he did not have a clue why he was right in my opinion. 

So, here are my thoughts after meditating on the problem.

The gospel message being presented in our churches and on the mission fields is flawed. It has been changed from a glorious declaration of the Salvation of ALL sinful men to a mere "offer” to save "if" people jump through certain hoops. After 40 years of study, I cannot find anywhere in the bible that says we should go "offer" salvation or "win the world to Christ". 

The Salvation of humanity is not a game we are playing which can be won or lost by hard work and obedience. Nevertheless,  if you like the game analogy consider this - the GAME HAS ALREADY BEEN WON! And that pastor friend, myself, you, Paul, nor Billy Graham had any part in the victory. God guaranteed the salvation of humanity "before the foundation of the world".  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious GRACE, which He has FREELY GIVENus in the Beloved One (Jesus)." (Epesians 1:3-6)

Salvation is a done deal for humanity. It will be complete at the end of the ages when sinful humanity have ALL become a new creation in Christ Jesus, old things will have passed away - all things will have become new.

"So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away.  Behold, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:16-18)

Those of us who realize we are saved have a commission and ministry to TELL people about their salvation and reconciliation, not play a game to WIN or LOSE their souls! 

I know what some of you are thinking, the preacher told us  "he who wins souls is wise" and he read it right out of the Bible. 

Yep, and the last time I looked, Jesus is the ONLY wise man who has ever lived that had the power to win souls - and HE won them ALL at the cross. The first part of that verse is that the fruit of a righteous man is a tree of life. Jesus is also the only righteous man who ever lived - and his fruit is the "tree of life" for the souls he won - ALL SOULS...

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls." (Proverbs 11:30)

What we should be telling those who have never heard is "You have been saved by the Love and Grace of God through the wisdom and righteousness of His Son Jesus".

So, I am telling you now - believe it, rejoice, and go tell your family and friends the GOOD NEWS! 

Then live your life like you appreciate what God through Jesus has done for humanity.  Do what God requires, not what some priest of pastor requires. Here it is...

"What can we bring to the LORD? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of ramsand ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:6-8)

There you have it, 1) Do what is Right 2) Love Mercy, and 3) Walk Humbly with your God

If you want to play games that is OK, but play golf or some other game.

"But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a SAVIOR has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10)

Who Will Jesus Deny?

"Whoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)

The context is NOT salvation. Jesus was speaking to the house of Israel concerning the promise of God to Israel to reestablish the Kingdom of Israel ON THE EARTH at some time in the future. The JEWS who do not confess that Jesus is their Messiah will be denied entrance into that Kingdom when it is restored by Jesus at his 2nd coming. The timing of this restoration of the Kingdom was the last thing the JEWISH apostles asked Jesus about before he ascended into heaven after his resurrection.

"So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:1-10)

After the ascension of Jesus, Peter told the JEWS that if THEY would repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus he would immediately return and restore the Kingdom as promised by their "holy prophets from ancient time".

"...repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you (Israel), whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time...It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant of God made with your fathers" (Acts 3:20-25)

We Gentiles have no part in this covenant, and Israel did not repent and eventually blindness came upon Israel and remains today - nearly 2000 years later. Paul tells us that this blindness was a "mystery", but Jesus would someday return and "all Israel shall be saved".

"For I would not, brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:25-26)

The Bible is full of the details of what happens just before the return of Jesus to restore the Kingdom to Israel. That is what the book of Revelation is all about. But even that age and Kingdom ends after 1000 years.

"Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection...but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:6)

Israel is the only nation whom God assigned "priests", despite the so called "priesthood of the believer" doctrine taught in some denominational churches.

As far as the "salvation" of ALL mankind from death (both Jew and Gentile), the knowledge of it was brought to ALL mankind when Jesus came the first time. 

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men..." (Titus 2:11)

This "salvation" will be manifested only when those who are still dead after the "first resurrection" are raised to immortal life, and so all death is "destroyed". 

"And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken...This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation...The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (Isaiah 25:7-9; 1 Corinthians 15:26)

What is left after death is "destroyed"? Life. Abundant, immortal LIFE - for ALL! That is the good news we are supposed to be sharing.

So, to whom will Jesus deny this salvation? Not one soul.

"It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things." (1 Timothy 4:9-11)

Is that what is taught and believed where you assemble together? 

A place where they "prescribe and teach these things" is hard to find...I'm still looking. I agree with Jesus when he said...

"...when the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)

Very little it seems to me.

God Is For Us

Life and death. These are choices that God has reserved for Himself. And we should remember that "God is for us"...

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered him over for US ALL, how will He not also with him freely give US all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)

People do not get to choose whether they will be born, nor do they choose whether they will die. At best, people may choose the timing of death by their lifestyle - either sooner or later - but eventually we ALL die.

"And inasmuch as it is appointed for people to die once and after this - judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those awaiting him." (Hebrews 9:27-28)

What happens after death has been the great question for most people. The word judgment is "krisis" in the Greek language of Scripture, and simply means in this context, "a Devine decision". So what is the Devine "judgment" that awaits people after death?

Jesus the Christ "will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin" to those "who sleep in death"...and those "awaiting" his return.

"...in my father's house are many dwelling places...I go to prepare a place for you...I will come and get you, so that you may be where I am...Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death...for the Lord himself will come down from heaven...and the dead in Christ will rise...and so we will be with the Lord forever. Comfort one another with these words." (John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Depending on where and in what religious environment people are born, they will grow up being taught something about life after death. The Bible clearly teaches that "God is for us" - not against any of us. All people are the beneficiaries of the "love of God", and will not be condemned by what they grow up believing. The Good News for all is that we are the "elect" of God, elected "for salvation without reference to sin" when Jesus appears the ”second time for salvation“.

"Father forgive them...Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died, yes, rather who was raised, and who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Luke 23:34; Romans 8:33-36)

Jesus forgave from the cross all those who crucified him, and in that death, saved them. Yep, God is for us all, even the bad guys - so we will all win the victory over sin and death!

Paul,the Evangelist

The apostle Paul was an "evangelist" in the true meaning of the word - a bearer of the good news from God. I do not find any evidence that those who consider themselves evangelists today even know what the "evangel" (good news) is so here it is from Paul, the evangelist.

"God commends His love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His son.” (Romans 5:10)

“For the wages of sin is death,but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

“For even as in Adam ALL are dying, thus also, in Christ shall ALL be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself not counting their sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

“And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile ALL unto Himself.” (Colossians 1:20)

“God our Savior…will have ALL men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4)

"...there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who have himself as a ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:5-6)

“Trust in the living God, who is the Savior of ALL men.” (1 Tim. 4:10)

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THE EVANGEL (GOOD NEWS)

"Prescribe and teach these things." (1 Tim. 4:11)

Do Not Be Afraid

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men… Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed…These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.” (Titus 2:11-15)

The Greek word for "grace" is “charis” and the Greek word for joy is “chara”. They are both from the same root. I have been told that there was not a great distinction placed between them in classical Greek. And the idea of joy includes thankfulness.

“Charis” (grace) is unexpected and undeserved favor joyfully given to another. “Chara” (joy) is the feeling experienced by both the giver and the recipient.

Christianity has so screwed up the gospel message that it is a wonder anyone experiences the joy of it so they can give God thanks for it. It is a simple message of "GOOD NEWS" for all.  When shared it brings "GREAT JOY"…not FEAR.

“But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. (Luke 2:10-11)

We are to "exhort and reprove folks" with this gospel message of "great joy"…when folks grasp the grace of God in saving them, they thank Him.

Justified Freely

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the good news of God…regarding his Son…Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith…” (Romans 1:1-6)

If you are a Gentile like me, or a Jew who is tired of failing to keep the Law of Moses, there is some Good News from God given to the apostle Paul. You will find it in the New Testament books of Romans through Philemon.

This good news "brings salvation" to everyone.

“…it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

What is this good news that "brings salvation to everyone when they believe it?

“…all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:22-25)

This salvation is by the grace of God and is freely given as a result of the "redemption that came by Christ Jesus". All are "justified freely by his grace". We should be genuinely thankful to God for this GRACE in which we stand, expecting to one day be resurrected to immortal life...

"…the dead will be raised imperishable…for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:52; Romans 6:23)

The gospel (good news) is for every person and it is really simple. Intellectual religious types stumble over its simplicity and twist it to try to control behavior by bringing guilt and shame. Take the following verses in Hebrews…

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

SIMPLE EXPLANATION: The book of Hebrews presents Jesus as the Savior of the world and the Great High Priest of Israel. He is the AUTHOR of our faith that God will save mankind and that God will FINISH what He promised. We have a great cloud of witnesses that died without having experienced what they had been promised. All those promises will be fulfilled when Jesus returns to resurrect the dead.

RELIGIOUS EXPLANATION: We have a great cloud of witnesses who are looking over the balcony of heaven and watching our every move and cheering us on when we do good and shaking their head in horror when we sin. So we better go to church, quit drinking, smoking, chewing, cursing and having too much fun in the world because Grandma is watching our every move. We are in a race for our eternal destiny and how we live and the choices we make will determine whether we are saved to sit with Jesus at the right hand of God in heaven or burn in hell for all eternity.

One explanation gives peace and hope and is the promise of God - the other is an attempt to scare the hell out of us. Paul, however, opted for peace and hope…

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us” (Romans 5:6-11; Romans 8:30-21)

“Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? ...I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again...” (2 Corinthians 11:22-27)

Who are the “they” Paul is talking about? It was the Jewish “servants of Christ” who kept insisting that Gentiles cannot be saved without joining their group by becoming Proselytes to the Law of Moses.

“…woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:12-13)

Nothing much has changed it seems to me over the past 2000 years. We are still told by our leaders that people must join the church or they will be eternally excluded from the Kingdom of God. But the message from God through Paul says….

“…as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive...” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

Again, the salvation of sinners is not an offer to be accepted or an organization to be joined….but good news to be believed. Some are chosen by God and gifted with faith to believe in this life, ALL will believe after the resurrection when…

“EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is Lord, TO THE GLORY OF GOD the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-11)

Israel was in comfortable exile in Babylon when Jeremiah reminded them of God’s plan for them….

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

About 14 years ago I found myself a captive, but comfortable member of a church, exiled there by God it seems to me, much like the children of Israel were exiled to Babylon. In the grace of God I realized that it was not an ideal place for me to grow in the grace and knowledge of God and Christ Jesus, but a temporary sanctuary from life in a world without hope.

It is difficult and costly to escape once entangled in its comfortable atmosphere…similar to a hospital, or an opium den…no offence intended. Those sanctuaries often demonstrate prejudices and judgmental attitudes that you will not find outside in the world. The fanatics of Islam want to kill all the infidels now, in the name of Allah. The fanatics of Christianity simply reason that God will assign everyone who does not choose him in this life to eternal damnation and torture in hell. They both provide sanctuary for their followers.

When one comes to know the one true God and His Son, the Savior of the World, he must grow, if at all, outside the various sanctuaries erected by men. He must seek God among the world He sent Jesus His Son to save. Seek and worship God with a sincere heart and an open mind, with the best translation of the bible one can find as the only resource.

What I found is really good news for mankind…and the one true God who is worthy of the Name!

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

“The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1)

“…every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:11)

These verses clearly say that ALL that dwell in the world belong to the LORD and that Jesus Christ is LORD. So listen as the Lord Jesus talks about all who belong to him.

“And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of ALL which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:39)

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you… that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

“…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God…” (Romans 5:8-9)

I sometimes wonder if the reason prayers are not answered is simply because Christianity does not believe God…or have forgotten the gospel….or do not know or believe what it means. 

Christ the LORD died for sinners…ALL of them. 

Sinners will be saved…ALL of them. 

This is the good news (gospel) that we are to proclaim…but it is NOT being proclaimed in any institutional Church that I am aware of.

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:1-6)

All of us are addicted to something. And those who have overcome an addiction to medication, drugs, or alcohol are some of my heroes. They would not realize or know, but what I saw in their struggle and victory has helped me with my own addiction.  Are you ready for this?  My addiction to church. I guess you could call me a recovering "churchaholic".  I am not making light of addiction or trying to be funny.

Sometime after moving back to Sayre in 1977 I became addicted to church. I am not talking about my relationship with God or Jesus, my place in the Body of Christ, or my love for the Bible.  I am talking about organized, programmed involvement in a local church. It was some 20 or 25 years later that I realized what had happened to me. By that time I was a deacon and a Sunday school teacher and a lay preacher.  I taught Sunday night and Monday morning Bible studies, sang in the choir, and did part time preaching. And for five years I had served on the national board of trustees of the largest evangelical mission organization in the world.

I worked my normal job five days a week and then spent Saturday preparing for Sunday.  On Sunday (at the height of my addiction), I would teach Sunday School, rush to a local church in the area to preach in their Sunday morning service, conduct a nursing home service Sunday afternoon, return to teach my church evening bible study group, and then rush again to a nearby church to preach their evening service.  I would get up on Monday morning and lead another bible study, and I would return to church on Wednesday night for choir practice or whatever my church wanted me to do. Many times I used my vacation time at work to go to some church camp, retreat, or mission trip somewhere in the US or abroad.  I will NOT be rewarded for that time - just forgiven.

I was high on this ritual.  I felt good and fulfilled only when I was participating in these church related activities.  I was hopelessly addicted!

And then my Father God intervened - lovingly, graciously, and mercifully. I was preparing for some activity at my computer. In the search engine, I typed the word "hell," and from that time forward God began the five year process of delivering me from my addiction to church and the false doctrine I had assumed was the truth.

He eventually set me free from religious ritual.  Free to live life every day producing genuine fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, etc.  And free to have a new and real appreciation for my loving and gracious heavenly Father, and for His Son Jesus, and their Word.

Most importantly, I now have time for my wife, my kids, and my grandkids.  And golf.  For the first time, I am sharing the true Gospel - the really good news of the GRACE of God! Not in temples made by hands.  But on Facebook and a blog on the world wide web of all places. Manmade doctrines had kept me addicted to church programs and rituals. God knew that for me, the GOOD NEWS could only be found by first becoming addicted to the ritual found in the “law."  It was necessary in order to find the JOY of "grace and truth."  This good news is simple. It is really all you need to know and share.

God loves you.

He is not mad at you.

You are and will be saved.

Thank Jesus.

Tell people about it!

When God gave me the faith to believe that simple good news, He opened up the floodgates of the water of abundant life.  And along the way I have discovered His wonderful and detailed plan, found only in the Bible.  It details how God eventually wins the love and adoration of all His creation.  And He becomes ALL in ALL, not just the few addicted to church.