How To Win Souls
“I think God is unjust… how can a just God not allow all good people, regardless of religion, into heaven?” I sat in silence. Every inkling of my heart wished to profess my disagreement, but I thought to myself “Be Quiet Stuart, souls are won this way.” It was day 3 of my backpacking trip, and my uncle (a former deacon) and I were adequately comfortable enough by this point to discuss our faith.The night previous, he exclaimed to me that abstinence was unwise and led to bad decisions. Now, as he told me his beliefs on God being unjust, I sat wondering how I could possibly externalize the God that I know to him. Thirty minutes later, I had not said a word. I listened intently, nodding, sympathizing, and trying to understand his point of view. Suddenly, he stopped talking, and said “Well, I guess I’ve said enough.”I gently replied “When I first walked into my church… I was a broken man. I had never known God or the Holy Spirit. For the first time in my life, I felt the Holy Spirit – the hair on my neck stood up, and it changed me. For the first time in my life, I found hope, peace, joy – for the first time in my life, I felt empowered.As time passed, I found that my church wasn’t perfect, but it is a church that believes in grace and the redemptive power of Jesus. I’m a sinner, and I’m not proud of it; but I thank God every day that He sent his son for me, so that I could receive his spirit and live life to its’ fullest. Further, I made new friends; friends that celebrated with me, wept with me, and painstakingly built me up. That’s why I do what I do, why I gladly worship God, why I love serving in my church – not because I feel a duty to be there, because I love God, and want to be with Him.”
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“Stuart” my uncle replied, “I want to come to your church.” After 30 minutes of explaining why he was not interested in church, and felt God was wrong about some things, two paragraphs had changed his outlook. I was flabbergasted, how did that happen? God moves on this earth, and God had moved in my Uncle’s heart – but I had been obedient to God, and unknowingly opened certain doors to allow God in. Let’s explore some of these keys to winning souls.
- People need to feel like they are being accepted and listened to. I sat for 30 minutes and listened to every word my uncle said, without interrupting. I could have interrupted, argued, or quoted scripture – but this only helps to build walls, not tear them down.
- Arguing over scriptures almost never has the desired effect. Scriptures are God’s word – but without the Holy Spirit, they are simply words on paper. In order to win souls, we have to show the world God’s spirit.
- People are attracted to hope. I think that night, deep down, my uncle saw in me something that is not often seen; Hope. He saw a man that has a burning love for God, a man not burdened by sin, but empowered by grace. If we show people hope, they will be attracted to God.
Step 4 – sit back and let God do the rest! In many ways, we expect too much of ourselves. I’d be lying if I said that I don’t sometimes expect myself to single handedly save people. God simply asks us to live the life He calls us to live, and articulate it when necessary. That’s it! Hope y'all enjoyed this and are able to apply this soon!