_PERSONAL WORK_

Book One (of Three), comprising:

HOW TO WORK FOR CHRIST

A Compendium of Effective Methods

By R. A. Torrey

 

Etext, last modified June 15, 2001, edited by

Clyde C. Price, Jr.

{CLYDE.PRICE@CDLF.ORG} for the Christian

Digital Library Foundation

from a printed book (used by CCP as a

textbook at the Atlanta School of

Biblical Studies) published by....

 

Fleming H. Revell Company

{no date, but first published shortly after 1900}

Printed in the United States of America

 

{ CDLF Etext Editor's Note:

 

The printed edition of this work is definitely in

the public domain, and we issue this etext edition

also freely into the public domain.

 

I request that in subsequent editions based upon

this one, that this etext editor's notes be

retained, perhaps at the end of the file. Anyone

is welcome --and encouraged!-- to mark this etext

up into other digital formats. (I strongly

recommend that any who would do so would find the

print-media edition of the book to observe the

indentions which were ignored and lost in this

etext edition.) Please let us know, and perhaps

share a copy of the file with us for parallel

distribution.

 

At the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies in the

late 70s and early 80s, my teachers inculcated in

us an appreciation of "old books" along with an

emphasis on going back to the Scriptures

themselves. Our heavy use of this Volume One of

Torrey's "How To Work For Christ" in our Personal

Evangelism course, and reference to it in other

courses, was a prime example of this strategy.

 

In our class, we discussed some of the points on

which Torrey appeared not to be as "Calvinistic"

as we were. Our teacher, Rev. Ben Wilkinson,

defended his use of this textbook, because of

Torrey's extensive experience, his practical

wisdom, the fact that with this _old_ book, it was

easier to spot merely cultural stuff, and... he

admitted with a sigh... the fact that "Reformed

and Calvinistic" writers have not written much on

the hand-to-hand details of personal work. As far

as he was concerned, this was about as good as it

got.

 

Let me add quickly that we did read _Evangelism

and Your Church_, an excellent Reformed discussion

of evangelism and manual for church outreach, by

Dr. C. John Miller. We also discussed other

Reformed-perspective books on evangelism, which we

noted tended to have a negative tone, criticizing

the evangelism of others without promoting (or

maybe even necessarily defining) _proper_

evangelism. "Mr.Ben" told us a story (which I

can't document at the moment, that went something

like this...) about Mr. Moody facing a critic of

his evangelistic methods, and Moody asked the man,

"Well, since your method is so much better and

more Scriptural, would you tell me how many people

you've led to Christ in the last year?"  The man

answered that he hadn't led anybody to Christ in

that time. Moody replied, "Well, God seems to be

blessing the faulty way I'm _doing_ it better than

the superior way you're _not_ doing it." Ben

hastened to point out that obviously this

principle has limits, but God DOES bless

gospel-preachers, such as Dr.Billy Graham, with

whose theological statements we --that is, we

"Reformed folks"-- sometimes nitpick, and

sometimes disagree strongly; but Dr.Graham

preaches CHRIST, and people TRUST CHRIST while he

preaches. Ben considered that Torrey's work was

Reformed _enough_ for us to use it, with our

"sifters" on, and was practical enough to study

thoughtfully even eight decades after its

publication.

 

It should be noted that Torrey ministered and

wrote in the beginnings of the "Modern" period,

and this etext is being issued in 2001 in a "post-

Modern" cultural environment in which absolutes

are often absolutely denied, and the USA and the

rest of the "Western" world are experiencing

unprecedented rates of immigration from

"third-world" countries: immigrants who bring

their religious and cultural heritages with them.

We are now working in a MUCH larger "arena". The

Gospel is still true, and the word of God is still

alive and powerful. All (or almost all)

non-Christian world religions are systems of

"works", with a wide variety of "standards" of

judgment, but Biblical Christianity is still the

only "GRACE religion". It may be that we need to

adapt our approaches somewhat and learn new

currently-effective "slants" to get the Sword of

the Spirit through... But I stubbornly believe

that MOST of Torrey's work is _still_ useful and

worthy of study and application. And the

Scriptures which he references are even more

savingly relevant and eternally useful.

 

We do NOT want to emulate the cults, who skip from

verse to un-contexted verse; but we DO want to

learn how to minister the Scriptures in a

_practical_ way in our personal work. Torrey was a

master of this, and we can still learn from him.

 

In the "camp" with which I identify myself, we

emphasize in-context inductive Bible study and an

approach to Scripture which is mostly-

"expository", i.e., taking and preaching from a

coherent "chunk" of Scripture at a time, and often

consecutively preaching through a book of

Scripture. While this approach to Bible study and

preaching is --in my opinion-- the best and safest

approach, learning how to deal hand-to-hand and

face-to-face with people about their souls

requires a PRACTICAL knowledge of the Scriptures

such as Torrey demonstrated and taught. Very

often, SHORT quotations and phrases will speak to

issues at hand and meet the need of the moment.

(In our "sound bite" culture, this sounds very

current!) For the times when you do topical

preaching, much in this book is immediately

adaptable.

 

Certainly, students: KNOW the Bible book by book

and follow the flow of thought in context. But

also learn Torrey's method of taking short

passages and adding them to your everyday

tool-box, and USING them effectively day in and

day out. Be READY to establish the context of any

passage you employ, but MEMORIZED verses of

Scripture in your toolbox will be as ready at hand

as hammer, screwdriver, knife and drill.

 

There are too many references in this work to

memorize all of them quickly, but the highlighted

and repeated ones should present themselves as

obvious candidates to memorize in a good

translation.

 

Let me also note some other possible uses for this

wealth of PRACTICAL Bible material: One practice

of many Churches and groups of Christians through

the centuries is to READ ALOUD a sermon by "an

accredited minister", particularly when there

wasn't one available for their meeting. Book Three

is entirely on "Preaching and Teaching the Word of

God", but here in Book One (which I have seen

separately with a slightly different title in a

preacher's library), there are sections which

could be read aloud --perhaps after judicious

editing/cutting-- as topical sermons. The section

beginning on p.122 on "III. Special classes of

skeptics.", perhaps beginning with point "2. Those

who doubt that the Bible is the Word of God",

gives a wonderful outline study of how Jesus

Christ personally put His stamp of authority on

all of the Bible, section by section, and then

adding other Bible references about the

inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. There

are certainly many other studies which could be

adapted or even read aloud without editing. In

meetings small enough to employ this "reading

aloud" tactic, I would recommend _some_ "group

discussion" afterwards to identify cultural

factors which have changed, and/or other ways to

deal with specific types of people. Torrey is

inspiring, but he's NOT "inspired".

 

A small quibble: In book one, page 76, article

XVI., I strongly recommend reversing the

presentation of the three points, and emphasizing

point 2 (using both Scripture references,

Ephesians 4:32 and Matthew 18:23-35, perhaps also

referencing the Lord's prayer). Maybe even

presenting the ideas as 2, 3, 1; but definitely

stressing that unforgiveness towards others

effectively short-circuits our own forgiveness-by-

faith, and once we have been forgiven our own

multi-billion-buck debt, it's EASY to release our

fellow-servant's hundred-buck debt.

 

I think that you should always save the "Do this,

or GO TO HELL" -argument for the _last_ point.

 

I'll restrain myself from other quibbles, but

suggest that perhaps some other of Torrey's

outlines could be rearranged for presentation.

 

For reference purposes, I am including the

print-media-edition page numbers before the

material from that printed page. Block-quotation

indentations have been lost. I have spelled out

most Scripture references, and made a few spelling

changes and typographical corrections. This etext

edition is a _separate_ CDLF edition, with perhaps

fewer changes than a print-media publisher might

make.

 

For several reasons (including the fact that my

bound copy is copiously marked up and

highlighted), I have chosen to retype this work

manually, mostly changing printed italic and

boldface fonts into uppercase. ("Markups" into

other digital publishing formats SHOULD be made

with the Revell- published book at hand.) One of

the things that slightly irritated me about the

typography of this and other older works was

putting block Scripture quotations in SMALLER

print. I request that future editors who "mark up"

this text into other formats, if you use a

different font for Scripture, that you make it a

LARGER or BOLDER font, since it is the Scripture

itself which is most important. If someday an

editor decides to substitute a more "updated"

translation of Scripture (or if/when this work is

translated into another language), I strongly

exhort that the surrounding text be consulted,

since Torrey sometimes makes points on specific

wording from the quoted translation: most often

the Authorized (King James) Version or the

(English) Revised Version (cited as "RV") of 1885.

 

At my own "editor's discretion" in a very few

places I judged the cited AV/KJV to be too likely

unclear, and shifted to the 1901 American Standard

Version, identified as "ASV".

 

"Language notes":

 

Torrey frequently uses the term "men" to refer to

people in general, no doubt intending to include

both sexes; and I have not "updated" this.

 

Torrey's use of the term "Baptism in the Holy

Spirit" does not mean the same thing that many

charismatics and almost all Pentecostals mean by

this term, and his view of this matter is not the

same as that of most non-charismatic evangelicals

in 2001. Please do not get mad at him if you

determine that you disagree with him on this; but

do keep reading. His _point_ is that believers

should be filled to overflowing and empowering and

being specifically led by the Holy Spirit, and if

you have problems with THIS, you need to REPENT!

 

Not all of Torrey's observations or suggestions

are "universal", but the entire work, in all three

volumes, is worth reading carefully and

prayerfully, and --in MY opinion-- could _still_

be used as a primary text in a 3-4 month course in

personal evangelism. Even though cultural (and

even LEGAL) circumstances have changed, when you

read about some Gospel venue in the book that

makes you think, "THAT wouldn't work NOWADAYS" or

"...HERE", I challenge you to think about ways to

adapt his idea, or devise something different, to

accomplish the same goals of ministering God's

Word. Open air meetings and tract/literature

evangelism are NOT dead, even if we need to adapt

some of the trappings.

 

It has been my my prayer especially during the

editing of this etext, that the ministry of this

century-old book will continue to bear fruit in

the lives of God's servants.

 

I pray that God will use THIS very valuable book

--in WHATEVER medium it comes to you-- to make you

a more fruitful soul-winner and disciple-builder

for Him.

 

--Clyde

May 2001

Alpharetta, Georgia, USA

 

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PREFACE

 

This book is written for both ministers and

laymen. It will be of help to the minister in

suggesting to him how to make full proof of his

own ministry and how to get his people to work. It

will be of help to laymen in leading them into

many fields of fruitful labor for Christ.

 

The Church of Christ is full of people who wish to

work for their Master but do not know how. This

book is intended to tell them how. It contains no

untried theories, but describes many methods of

work that have been put to the test of actual

experiment and have succeeded. So far as I know,

there is no other book that covers the same field.

For years it has been upon my heart to write this

book, and I have been asked again and again to do

so. But I have never found time for it until now.

May it be used of God to the conversion of

thousands to Christ.

 

R. A. Torrey

 

{5}

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

BOOK ONE -- PERSONAL WORK

 

Chapter                         Page

01. The Importance and Advantages of

     Personal Work  9

 

02. The Conditions of Success  14

 

03. Where to do Personal Work  22

 

04. How to Begin  28

 

05. How to Deal with those who Realize

     their Need of a Savior and Really

     Desire to be Saved  33

 

06. How to Deal with those who have

     Little or no Concern about their

     Souls 44

 

07. How to Deal with those who have

     Difficulties  55

 

08. How to Deal with those who Entertain

     False Hopes  90

 

09. How to Deal with those who Lack

     Assurance  103

 

10. How to Deal with Backsliders  109

 

11. How to Deal with Professed Skeptics

     and Infidels  114

 

12. How to Deal with those who Wish to

     put off a Decision until Some

     Other Time 133

 

13. How to Deal with the Deluded  138

 

14. How to Deal with Christians who Need

     Counsel, Rebuke, Encouragement or

     Comfort  150

 

15. Some Hints and Suggestions for

     Personal Work  171

 

{In separate CDLF etext files:}

 

BOOK TWO -- METHODS OF CHRISTIAN WORK

01. House to House Visitation  183

02. Cottage Meetings  192

03. Parlor Meetings  202

04. The Church Prayer Meeting  205

{6}

05. The Use of Tracts  213

06. Open-Air Meetings  222

07. Tent Work  234

08. The Use of Autos, Trailers, etc. 241

 

09. Colportage Work  244

10. Services in Theaters, Circuses, etc. 248

 

11. Organizing and Conducting a Gospel

     Mission  254

12. Meetings in Jails, Hospitals,

     Poorhouses, etc.  268

13. Revival Meetings  273

14. The After Meeting  284

15. Children's Meetings  295

16. Advertising the Meetings  305

17. Conduct of Funerals  314

 

BOOK THREE -- PREACHING AND TEACHING THE

WORD OF GOD

1. How to Prepare a Sermon  321

2. Preparation and Delivery of Bible

     Readings  332

3. Illustrations and Their Use  337

4. Teaching the Bible  344

5. Textual Sermons in Outline  356

6. Topical Sermons in Outline  454

7. Expository Sermons and Bible Readings

     in Outline  486

 

{7}

 

BOOK ONE

 

PERSONAL WORK

 

{8}

{9}

 

@01  CHAPTER ONE

 

THE IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF PERSONAL WORK

 

In our study of the various forms of Christian

activity, we begin with "Personal Work," that

hand-to-hand dealing with men, women and children.

We begin with it because it is the simplest form

of Christian work, the kind that every one can do.

It is also the most effective method of winning

lost souls. The Apostle Peter was brought to Jesus

by the hand-to-hand work of his brother Andrew.

Andrew first found Christ himself, then he went to

Peter quietly and told him of his great find, and

thus he led Peter to the Savior he himself had

found. I do not know that Andrew ever preached a

sermon; if he did it is not recorded; but he did a

great day's work when he led his brother Peter to

Jesus. Peter preached a sermon that led to the

conversion of 3,000 people, but where would

Peter's great sermon have been if Andrew had not

first led him to Christ by quiet personal work?

Mr. Edward Kimball, a Boston business man, led D.

L. Moody, the young Boston shoe clerk, to the

Savior. Where would all Mr. Moody's wonderful work

for Christ have been if he himself had not been

led to the Savior by the faithful personal work of

his Sunday school teacher? I believe in preaching.

It is a great privilege to preach the Gospel, but

this world can be reached and evangelized far more

quickly and thoroughly by personal work than by

public preaching. Indeed, it can be reached and

evangelized only by personal work. When the whole

church of Jesus Christ shall rouse to its

responsibility and privilege in this matter, and

every individual Christian become a personal

worker, the evangelization of the world will be

close at hand. When the membership of any local

church shall rouse to its responsibility and

privilege in this matter, and each  {10}  member

become a personal worker in the power of the Holy

Spirit, a great revival will be close at hand for

the community in which that church is located.

Personal work is a work that wins but little

applause from men, but it accomplishes great

things for God.

 

There are many who think personal work beneath

their dignity and their gifts. A blind woman once

came to me and said, "Do you think that my

blindness will hinder me from working for the

Master?"  "Not at all; it may be a great help to

you, for others seeing your blindness will come

and speak to you, and then you will have an

opportunity of giving your testimony for Christ,

and of leading them to the Savior."  "Oh, that is

not what I want," she replied. "It seems to me a

waste of time when one might be speaking to five

or six hundred at once, just to be speaking to an

individual." I answered that our Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ was able to speak to more than five

thousand at once, and yet He never thought

personal work beneath His dignity or His gifts.

Indeed, it was the work the Savior loved to do. We

have more instances of our Savior's personal work

recorded in the Gospels that of His preaching. The

one who is above personal work is above his

Master.

 

ITS ADVANTAGES.

 

Let us look at the advantages of personal work.

 

1. ALL CAN DO IT. In an average congregation there

are not more than four or five who can preach to

edification. It would be a great pity, too, should

all attempt to become preachers; it would be a

great blessing if all would become personal

workers. Any child of God can do personal work,

and all can learn to do effective personal work.

The mother who is confined at home by multiplicity

of home duties can still do personal work, first

of all with her own children, and then with the

servants in the home, with the butcher, the

grocer, the tramp who calls at the door, in fact,

with everybody who comes within reach. I once knew

a mother very gifted in the matter of bringing her

own children up in the nurture and admonition of

the Lord, who lamented that she could not do some

work for Christ. I watched this woman carefully,

and found that almost every one who came to the

house in any capacity was spoken to about the

Savior, and she was, in point of fact, doing  {11}

more for Christ in the way of direct evangelistic

work than most pastors.

 

Even the one shut up at home by sickness can do

personal work. As friends come to the sick bed, a

word of testimony can be given for Christ, or even

an extended conversation can be held. A little

girl of twelve, the child of very poor parents,

lay dying in the city of Minneapolis. She let her

light shine for the Master, and spoke among others

to a godless physician, to whom, perhaps, no one

else had ever spoken about Christ. A poor girl in

New York City, who was rescued from the slums and

died a year or two afterwards, was used of God to

lead about one hundred men and women to Christ,

while lying upon her dying bed.

 

Even the servant girl can do effective personal

work. Lord Shaftesbury, the great English

philanthropist, was won to Christ in a godless

home by the effective work of a nurse girl.

 

Traveling men have unusually good opportunities

for doing personal work, as they travel on the

trains from town to town, as they stop in one

hotel after another and go from store to store. A

professional nurse once came into my Bible class

in Chicago, and at the close of the meeting

approached me and said: "I was led to Christ by

Mr.--- [a traveling man connected with a large

wholesale house]. I was in a hotel parlor, and

this gentleman saw me and walked across the parlor

and asked me if I was a Christian, and when I told

him I was not, he proceeded at once to show me the

way of life. I was so startled and impressed to

find a traveling man leading others to Christ that

I accepted Him as my Savior then and there. He

told me if I ever came to Chicago to come to your

Bible class." I have watched this woman for years

since, and she herself is a most devoted Christian

and effective worker.

 

How enormous and wonderful and glorious would be

the results if all Christians should begin to be

active personal workers to the extent of their

ability! Nothing else would do so much to promote

a revival in any community, and in the land at

large. Every Pastor should urge this duty upon his

people, train them for it, and see that they do

it.

 

2. IT CAN BE DONE ANYWHERE. There are but few

places where one can preach. There is no place

where one cannot do personal  {12}  work. How

often, as we pass factories, engine houses,

lodging houses and other places where crowds are

gathered, do we wish that we might get into them

and preach the Gospel, but generally this is

impossible, but it is altogether possible to go in

and do personal work. Furthermore, we can do

personal work on the street, whether street

meetings are allowed or not. We can do personal

work in the homes of the poor and in the homes of

the rich, in hospitals, workhouses, jails, station

houses, and all sorts of institutions -- in a

word, everywhere.

 

3. IT CAN BE DONE AT ANY TIME. The times when we

can have preaching services and Sunday schools are

quite limited. As a rule, in most communities, we

cannot have services more than two or three days

in the week, and only three or four hours in the

day, but personal work can be done seven days in

the week, and any time of day or night. Some of

the best personal work done in this country in the

last twenty years has been done on the streets at

midnight and after midnight. Those who love souls

have walked the streets looking for wanderers, and

have gone into dens of vice seeking the lost

sheep, and hundreds upon hundreds of them have

thus been found.

 

4. IT REACHES ALL CLASSES. There are large classes

of men that no other method will reach. There are

the shut-ins who cannot get out to church, the

street-car men, the policemen, railroad

conductors, sleeping-car men, firemen, the very

poor and the very rich. Some cannot and others

will not attend church or cottage meeting or

mission meeting, but personal work can reach them

all.

 

5. IT HITS THE MARK. Preaching is necessarily

general; personal work is direct and personal.

There is no mistaking who is meant, there is no

dodging the arrow, there is no possibility of

giving what is said away to some one else. Many

whom even so expert a Gospel preacher as Mr. Moody

has missed have been afterwards reached by

personal work.

 

6. IT MEETS THE DEFINITE NEED, AND EVERY NEED OF

THE PERSON DEALT WITH. Even when men are aroused

and convicted, and perhaps converted, by a sermon,

personal work is necessary to bring out into clear

light and into a satisfactory experience one whom

the sermon has thus aroused, convicted and

converted.  {13}

 

7. IT AVAILS WHERE OTHER METHODS FAIL.  One of my

best workers told me a few weeks ago that she had

attended church for years, and had wanted to

become a Christian. She had listened to some of

the best-known preachers, and still was unsaved,

but the very first inquiry meeting she went into

she was saved because some one came and dealt with

her personally.

 

8. IT PRODUCES VERY LARGE RESULTS. There is no

comparison whatever between what will be effected

by good preaching and what will be effected by

constant personal work. Take a church of one

hundred members; such a church under an excellent

pastor would be considered as doing an

exceptionally good work if on an average fifty

were added annually to this membership. But

suppose that that church was trained to do

personal work, and that fifty of the one hundred

members actually went at it. Certainly one a month

won to Christ by each one would not be a large

average. That would be six hundred a year instead

of the fifty mentioned above. A church of many

members, with the most powerful preaching

possible, that depends upon the minister alone to

win men to Christ by his preaching, would not

accomplish anything like what would be

accomplished by a church with a comparatively poor

preacher, where the membership generally were

personal workers.

 

{14}

 

@02  CHAPTER TWO

 

THE CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS

 

I. PERSONAL EXPERIMENTAL KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST

AS SAVIOR.

 

The first condition of success in personal work,

and in all soul-saving work, is a personal

experimental knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior.

It was because the Apostle Paul could say:

 

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all

acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world

to save sinners; OF WHOM I AM CHIEF."  1_Timothy

1:15.

 

that he had power in bringing other men to that

Savior. It is the man who knows Jesus as his own

Savior, who will have a longing to bring others to

this wonderful Savior whom he has himself found;

and it is the man who knows Jesus as his Savior

who will understand how to bring others to the

Savior whom he has found. There are many today who

are trying to save others, who are not saved

themselves. There are others, who, while they are

probably saved men, have such a vague knowledge of

Christ as their own Savior, that they cannot hope

to make the way of salvation clear to others.

 

A personal, experimental knowledge of Jesus Christ

as a Savior includes three things:

 

1. A knowledge that our own sins have been

forgiven because Jesus bore them in His own body

on the Cross;

 

2. A knowledge that the risen Christ is delivering

us daily from the power of sin;

 

3. An absolute surrender of our wills to Jesus

Christ as our Lord and Master.

 

II. LIFE IS CLEAN WITHIN AND WITHOUT.

 

The second condition of success in personal work

is really involved in the first, and is a life

clean within and without.  {15}

 

In 2_Timothy 2:21 we read,

 

"If a man therefore purge himself from these, he

shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and

meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every

good work."

 

If a man is to be used of God, his life must be

clean -- not only his outward life as the world

sees it, but his inward secret life as it is known

only to God and to himself. One who holds on to

any sin of act or thought or affection cannot

expect to have power with a holy God, and

consequently cannot expect to have power for God.

Many a man and woman of great natural gifts, and

unusual knowledge of the Bible, are trying to do

work for God and meet with little or no success.

People wonder why it is that their work is so

devoid of results, but if we knew their secret

life as God knows it, we would understand their

failure; there is sin before God. It has often

been said, and well said, that "God does not

demand a beautiful vessel for His work, but He

does demand a clean one." Many are working on in

disappointment and failure, working hard but

accomplishing nothing, because God sees sin in

their inner life which they will not give up.

 

III. PERSONAL WORK IS A SURRENDERED LIFE, A LIFE

WHOLLY GIVEN UP TO GOD.

 

The third condition of success in personal work is

a surrendered life, a life wholly given up to God.

Paul was mighty as a worker for Christ because he

could say,

 

"For me to live is Christ."

 

The miracle of the five loaves and two fishes

(Matthew 14:17-20), is deeply significant. The

disciples said unto Jesus, "We have here but five

loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither

to me." We are told with a good deal of emphasis

upon the definite article, He "took THE five

loaves and THE two fishes," that is, He took all

that they had. It was not much, but they brought

it all. Then He blessed it and broke it and there

was an abundance for all. But if one of these

insignificant barley loaves had been kept back, or

one of these little fishes, there would not have

been enough to go around. We, too, may not have

much, it may be only five barley crackers and two

little fishes, but if we will bring them all,

absolutely all, to Christ, He will take them,

bless them and  {16}  multiply them; but if we

hold back one cracker or one fish, He will not

bless and multiply. Here lies the secret of

failure in many a one who would work for Christ;

there is one cracker kept back, or one little

fish. We talk very lightly of absolute surrender

to God, but it means more than most people who

profess it seem to realize. I would ask each

reader of these pages, have you brought all to

Christ -- absolutely all -- absolutely ALL?

 

IV. MEN OUT OF CHRIST ARE LOST.

 

The one who would have success in personal work

must have a deep realization that men out of

Christ are lost. Jesus had this. He said,

 

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save

that which was LOST." Luke 19:10.

 

When He looked upon men living in sin. He knew and

realized the utter ruin of their condition. The

same thing was true of Paul. We read in Acts 20:31

that he "ceased not to warn every one night and

day WITH TEARS." He knew that if one had not a

saving knowledge of Jesus Christ he was eternally

lost. This overwhelming conviction that men and

women out of Christ are eternally lost, seems to

be very rare in our day, and this is one great

reason why so few have real power in soul-winning.

How can we get this realization?

 

1. First of all, by studying what the Bible has to

say about the present standing and condition and

future destiny of those who are out of Christ.

 

2. By believing what the Bible says upon these

points without trying to tone it down, and make it

fit in with the popular notions of the day.

 

3. By dwelling upon these truths about the lost

condition of men out of Christ until they take

hold upon our hearts and we realize their meaning.

These things are not pleasant to think about, but

they are true, and we ought to think about them

until our souls are on fire to save men from the

awful condition of utter ruin in which they now

are, and from the destiny of eternal shame and

despair to which they are hurrying.

 

V. LOVE.

 

The fifth condition of success in personal work is

love. Nothing wins like love. In the first place

it leads to untiring effort for  {17}  the

salvation of others. If I really love men, I

cannot bear the thought that they should be lost

forever, and I will be willing to work day and

night to save them from such an awful destiny. In

the second place, love attracts others to us.

There is nothing so irresistible as love. It is

Jesus Christ lifted up on the Cross, a revelation

of God's love and of His own love to man, that

draws all men unto Him (John 12:32). Men will not

put you off if they really believe that you love

them, but they will never believe that you love

them unless you really do. We need not only to

love to men, but love to Christ. It was the love

of Christ that constrained Paul to his untiring

efforts to bring men to a knowledge of Christ. The

great men and women of Christian history have been

the men and women who have had a great love to

Christ, men and women whose hearts were all aglow

with love to the glorious Son of God.

 

But how can we get love? First of all, by dwelling

upon Christ's love to us.

 

"We love him, because he first loved us." 1_John

4:19.

 

We shall never appreciate Christ's love to us

until we see it against the black background of

our own sin. It is the one who is forgiven much

who loves much (Luke 7:47). The one who has never

been brought to a deep realization of his own

sinfulness before God will have no warmth of love

to that Savior who, by His own atoning death on

the Cross, redeemed him from the awful depth to

which he had sunk. The Apostle Paul realized that

he was the chief of sinners, and that Jesus loved

him and gave Himself for him, so he was full of

love to Jesus Christ.

 

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all

acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world

to save sinners OF WHOM I AM CHIEF." 2_Timothy

1:15.

 

"I am crucified with Christ, nonetheless I live;

yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life

which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith

of the Son of God who LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF

FOR ME." Galatians 2:20.

 

If we are to have love to Christ and love to men,

the Holy Ghost must impart it. The first fruit of

the Spirit is love:

 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace,

longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith."

Galatians 5:22.

 

If we will look to the Holy Spirit to do His whole

work in our hearts, He will soon fill them with

love to Christ and love to our fellow men.  {18}

 

VI. PERSEVERANCE.

 

The sixth condition of success in personal work is

perseverance. No work requires so much patience

and perseverance as soul-winning. Men are not

usually won to Christ in a day. You must hold on

to men day after day, week after week, month after

month, and if need be, year after year. You must

not give up even though you seem to make

absolutely no headway at first, and even though

you seem to do more harm than good. When you start

out to lead a man to Christ, keep after that man

until he is saved, no matter how long it takes.

Study how to get at men who are unreachable. Men

who cannot be reached in one way can in another.

There are very few men in the world to whose

hearts there is not an open door somewhere, if

only we will search diligently until we find it.

If we cannot get in at the door, perhaps we can

break up the roof and get in that way. Any one who

wishes to win souls at the rate of one every

fifteen minutes had better go into some other

business. Take time; never give up; and do

thorough work. I waited and watched fifteen long

years to get my chance with one man. Never a day

passed for all those fifteen years that I did not

speak to God about that man. At last my chance

came, and it was my privilege to lead him to

Christ. He afterwards became a preacher of the

Gospel, and is now in heaven. I was with him the

day before he died, and shall never forget that

day as long as I live. When you undertake to bring

a man to Christ, never give up.

 

VII. PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE.

 

The seventh condition of success in personal work

is a practical knowledge of the Bible.

 

"Every Scripture inspired of God is also

profitable for teaching, for reproof, for

correction, for instruction with is in

righteousness: that the man of God may be

complete, FURNISHED COMPLETELY UNTO EVERY GOOD

WORK." 2_Timothy 3:16-17 RV.

 

In the Bible is all the truth we need in dealing

with men. The Word of God is the only instrument

that God has appointed for the salvation of men,

and the only instrument He honors is the Word. It

is the Word that produces conviction of sin. It is

the Word that regenerates. It is the Word that

produces faith:  {19}

 

"Now when they heard this, they were PRICKED IN

THEIR HEART, and said unto Peter and to the rest

of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we

do?" Acts 2:37.

 

"Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed but of

incorruptible, by THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth

and abideth for ever." 1_Peter 1:23.

 

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by

THE WORD OF GOD." Romans 10:17.

 

If then we are to be used in soul-winning, we must

know the Bible. There are five texts that ought to

sink deep into the heart of every personal worker.

They are:

 

1. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing

by THE WORD OF GOD." Romans 10:17.

 

2. "The seed is THE WORD OF GOD." Luke 8:11.

 

3. "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but

of incorruptible, by THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth

and abideth for ever." 1_Peter 1:23.

 

4. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the

sword of the Spirit, WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD."

EPHESIANS 6:17.

 

5. "Is not MY WORD LIKE AS A FIRE? said the Lord:

and LIKE A HAMMER that breaketh the rock in

pieces?" Jeremiah 23:29.

 

The personal worker who depends upon any

instrument other than the Word of God is doomed to

failure. But we must have a practical knowledge of

the Bible, that is we must know how to use it for

definite results. A great many men have a large

theoretical knowledge of the Bible, but no

practical knowledge. They do not know how to use

the Bible so as to accomplish anything definite by

its use. In an inquiry meeting one evening, I

asked one of the best Bible scholars in America to

speak to an inquirer and show her the way of life,

and he whispered in my ear, "I don't know how to

do that." A small practical knowledge of the Bible

is better in personal work than a large

theoretical knowledge. A practical knowledge of

the Bible involves four things:

 

1. A knowledge how to so use the Bible as to show

men, and make men realize, their need of a Savior.

 

2. A knowledge of how to use the Bible so as to

show men Jesus as just the Savior who meets their

need.

 

3. A knowledge of how to use the Bible so as to

show men how to make Jesus their own Savior.

 

4. A knowledge of how to use the Bible so as to

meet the difficulties that stand in the way of

their accepting Christ.

 

A large part of the following pages will be

devoted to imparting this particular kind of Bible

knowledge. {20}

 

VIII. PRAYER.

 

The eighth condition of success in personal work

is prayer. God honors prayer. In nothing does He

honor it more than in the matter of soul-winning.

The one who is to be much used of God in

soul-winning, must spend much time in prayer.

There are four things for which we must especially

pray:

 

1. We must ask God to bring to us, or us to, the

right persons. We cannot speak with every one. If

we attempt it, we will spend much time in speaking

where we can do no good, that we might have used

in speaking where we could have accomplished

something for Christ. God alone knows the one to

whom He intends us to speak, and we must ask Him

to point him out to us, and expect Him to do it.

 

"Then THE SPIRIT SAID UNTO PHILIP, Go near, and

join thyself to THIS chariot." Acts 8:29.

 

2. We should ask God to give us the right message

in each case where we do speak with any one. We

can learn much by studying what is the right

message for any given class of men, but after all

our study, we must look directly to God for the

right message in each individual case. Many cases

will baffle us, but no case will baffle God. We

need and must have the direct guidance of the Holy

Spirit in each individual case. Every experienced

worker could testify to many instances in which

God has led him to use some text of Scripture that

he would not otherwise have used, but which proved

to be just the one needed.

 

3. We must pray God to give power to that which He

has given us to say. We need not only a message

from God, but power from God to send the message

home. Most workers have to learn this lesson by

humiliating experiences. They sit down beside an

unsaved person and reason, and plead, and bring

forth texts from the Word of God, but the man does

not accept Christ. At last it dawns upon them that

they are trying to convert the man in their own

strength, and they lift a short but humble prayer

to God for His strength, and in a very little

while this "very difficult case" has settled the

matter and is rejoicing in Christ.

 

4. We must pray to God to carry on the work after

we have done everything in our power, and our work

has come to an end.  {21}  After having done that

which seems to have been our whole duty in any

given instance, whatever may have been the

apparent result of our work, whether successful or

unsuccessful, we should definitely commit the case

to God in prayer. If there is anything the average

worker in this hurrying age needs to have

impressed upon him, it is the necessity of much

prayer. By praying more, we will not work any

less, and we will accomplish vastly more.

 

IX. BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST.

 

The ninth condition of success in personal work is

the baptism with the Holy Ghost. In Acts 1:8 we

read,

 

"But ye SHALL RECEIVE POWER, after that the Holy

Ghost is come upon you."

 

The supreme condition of power in the apostolic

church was the definite baptism with the Holy

Ghost. The supreme condition of success in

soul-winning is the same today. Many in these days

are trying to prove that there is no such thing as

a special baptism with the Holy Spirit, but a

candid and careful study of the Acts of the

Apostles will show that there is. Very many in our

day also know by blessed experience that the

baptism with the Holy Spirit is a present day

reality. One ounce of believing experience along

this line is worth whole tons of unbelieving

exegesis, no matter how subtle and learned it may

be. There are thousands of men and women in this

and other lands who have been brought out of a

place of powerlessness into a place of power in

the Lord's service, through meeting the conditions

plainly laid down in the Bible for receiving the

Holy Ghost. This baptism with the Holy Spirit is

for every child of God, and the one who would be

largely used of God in personal work must get it

at any cost.

 

{22}

 

@03  CHAPTER THREE

 

WHERE TO DO PERSONAL WORK

 

I. PERSONAL WORK AFTER A GOSPEL MEETING.

 

Perhaps the easiest and most natural place to do

personal work is after a Gospel meeting. Whenever

you attend a meeting, watch for some one to deal

with after the meeting is over. Do not trust to

chance in the matter, but as the minister preaches

the sermon keep your eyes on the audience and

watch who it is that is hit and what hits them,

then you can follow up the work that the minister

has already done by his sermon. You will soon

acquire good judgment in deciding with whom it is

wisest to speak. Of course one must be on his

guard against being obtrusive in watching others.

Before you go to the meeting pray definitely to

God to give you some one at the meeting, and then

watch for an answer to your prayer. When you have

found your man, go for him, and do not let him

slip away under any consideration. It is often

well to go as quickly as possible to one of the

doors of the meeting-house, and without making

oneself too prominent, watch people as they come

out, and then gently and courteously approach some

one, and deal with him about his soul.

 

There is a great difference in Christian workers.

Some seem never to get any one at the close of a

meeting unless some one else takes them to them.

They wait around with their Bible under their arm

for some one to come to them and take them to an

inquirer; others keep their eyes open for

themselves, and almost always manage to get hold

of some one.

 

In many of the more active churches, the church is

divided into sections with an overseer over each

division of the church, and individual workers

under the overseer. This is an excellent  {23}

plan. When it is well carried out it prevents any

hopeful cases from getting out without being dealt

with personally.

 

II. IN HOMES.

 

The Apostle Paul tells us that he preached the

Gospel not only publicly, but "from house to

house" (Acts 20:20). There is far too little

Christian work done in the home. The best home to

begin with is your own. Jesus bade the demoniac of

Gadara when he was healed to return to his own

house and show how great things God had done unto

him (Luke 8:39). Every man who is converted should

begin to tell the saving power of Christ first in

his own home, to his own relatives and friends.

Many a mother with her family of children regrets

that she has not a wider field of labor for

Christ, but she will find one of the grandest of

all fields in her own home.

 

But we should not limit our personal work to our

own homes; we should do it in the homes where we

visit. In this way those who make us partakers of

their hospitality will entertain angels unawares

(Hebrews 13:2). A godly man who once visited in

the home of Spurgeon's parents, by a few words to

the little boy, made an impression upon that boy

that went far toward making him the mighty

minister of the Gospel that he became in after

years.

 

Then we should do personal work in the houses that

we enter in our house-to-house visitation. That

man or woman is a poor church visitor who simply

makes a pleasant call or talks upon religious

generalities. The true visitor will find frequent

opportunities for doing effective personal work

with some of the inhabitants of the home, or with

strangers they may find calling upon them.

 

III. ON THE STREETS.

 

Here again we have the Apostle Paul for an

example. Not only did he reason "in the synagogue

with the Jews and the devout persons," but also

"in the market place every day with them that met

with him." (Acts 17:17 RV) As you walk the

streets, be listening for the voice of God to say

"Go and speak to that man." Very often as one

walks the street of a crowded city or the lonely

roads of the country, if he is walking with God,

the leading will come to speak to some one that he

meets by the way, and countless are the souls that

have been led out of darkness into light in  {24}

this way. As you look upon the surging crowd, ask

God if there is some one in this crowd with whom

He desires you to speak. Sometimes it is well to

stand to one side and watch  the people as they

pass. Soon there will come a face that interests

you, a face it may be that tells a story of sin,

or sorrow and need. You can quietly follow this

person and watch for an opportunity to engage him

in conversation, and then point him to the one who

says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are

heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

 

IV. IN THE PARKS AND OTHER RESORTS.

 

The parks are often full of people who have plenty

of leisure and are willing to talk upon almost any

subject. Go through the park and find your man,

engage him in a conversation, and as quickly as

you can, lead him up to the great subject that is

burning in your own heart. Oftentimes it is well

to begin to talk about matters of passing

interest, the burning questions of the day, then

lead by the shortest possible route to the great

question. Sometimes show the one with whom you are

talking a tract, and ask his opinion of it, and

this will lead easily to the matter uppermost in

your mind. Not infrequently if you sit down in a

park some one will come and sit down beside you

and begin to talk to you, then of course it is

very easy to lead him into a conversation about

his own soul's need.

 

V. ON A WALK OR RIDE.

 

In this we have our Savior's own example. He made

the hearts of the two disciples burn within them

while He spoke to them in the way, and opened to

them the Scriptures (Luke 24:32). We also have the

example of Philip the evangelist. The Spirit bade

him go and join himself to the chariot of Queen

Candace's treasurer. The treasurer invited him up

into the chariot to ride with him, and the

memorable conversation and personal dealing that

followed led to the conversion and baptism of the

treasurer, and the carrying of the Gospel into

Ethiopia (Acts 8:29-38). There are few more

favorable places to do personal work than on a

walk or ride with a friend or even with a

stranger. {25}

 

VI. AT THE PLACE OF BUSINESS.

 

Here again we have the Savior's example. "As he

passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting

at the receipt of custom, and said unto him,

Follow me. And he arose and followed him." (Mark

2:14) Of course we ought not to interrupt men and

hinder their proper performance of their business

duties. Many a workman has rare opportunities to

speak with his fellow workmen, sometimes during

work hours, sometimes during the noon rest. One of

the most earnest Christian ministers I ever know

had been a godless employee in a factory, but the

man who worked next to him was a Christian, took

an interest in his fellow employee's soul, and was

instrumental under God in leading him to Christ. I

have met a good many from one of  the largest

business institutions in our city who have been

led to Christ by one consecrated young man in the

establishment. This young man has since gone as a

foreign missionary, but he was used of God to lead

many of his fellow employees to Christ before he

went. It is well, wherever possible, to go into

stores and factories and other places of business

for the deliberate purpose of leading those who

work there to Christ. Of course, as already said,

it will not do to interrupt a man at his business,

neither will it do generally to deal with him when

others are around and listening, nor should he be

taken at an hour when he is in a bad temper; but

one who has that discretion that God is so ready

to give (James 1:5) will find many opportunities

for doing the Master's work. It is quite possible

oftentimes to drop a word, or even to have a

little talk, when there is not a great pressure of

business, with the clerk who sells us goods, or

with the barker who shaves us, or with the boy who

blacks our shoes. There are five marks of a good

opportunity; when one is alone, unoccupied, in

good humor, communicative and in a serious mood.

 

VII. ON CARS AND BOATS.

 

Traveling on a train affords a very rare

opportunity for personal work. Travelers usually

have much time that hangs heavily upon their

hands, and are glad to get into conversation with

any one, but if one is a real Christian, there is

one subject always uppermost in his mind, one

subject that he would rather talk about than any

other, and that is Jesus Christ. When you get

{26} into a train, get as good a seat for yourself

as you can, put your coat and grip out of the way,

move away over to the farther side of the seat,

and make the vacant space beside you look as

inviting as possible. If the car is at all

crowded, you will soon have a fellow passenger,

and the desired opportunity for personal work.

Sometimes it is well to keep your coat and grip in

the seat beside you until you see the man or woman

that you want coming, and then remove them and

move along in a way of silent invitation.

 

It is well to talk with the trainmen and porters.

They are usually willing to talk, and many of them

have been led to Christ by Spirit-filled workers

who were traveling with them.

 

Many Christian workers go through trains and give

tracts to every one on the train. I am not sure

that this is the wisest thing to do, but I know

that great blessing has come from it in many

cases. Certainly it is well to carry a good supply

of religious literature with you when you travel.

Some of the books of the Bible Institute

Colportage Association are excellent for this

purpose, such, e.g., as "Probably Sons." People

are willing to read almost anything on a train,

and these books without any comment oftentimes

will lead the reader to Christ, and when they do

not do this, they pave the way for a conversation.

 

Street cars are not as favorable a place for

personal work as trains. One does not have the

time or opportunity that he has on a train, and

yet good work can be done on a street car, both

with the passengers and with the motorman and

conductor. A minister once said to me, "I was

greatly ashamed last night going down on the

street car. I was sitting inside the car talking

on unimportant matters with friends, and as I

looked to the front end of the car, I saw one

member of my church talking with the driver about

his soul, and when I looked to the other end of

the car I saw another member of my church talking

to the conductor, and there I, the pastor of the

church, was doing nothing but wasting my time."

 

VIII. PRISONS, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER PUBLIC

INSTITUTIONS.

 

A fine place to do personal work is in public

institutions, such as prisons and hospitals, where

many people are gathered together and are at

leisure from morning till night. Every Sunday, all

over this land, devoted men and women are going

into prisons, jails and {27}  hospitals, carrying

the glad tidings of salvation, and thousands are

being converted to God through their faithful

personal work. Many of the best Christians that I

know today were brought to Christ in prison, not

so much through the public preaching, as through

the personal work of some devoted child of God who

went from cell to cell and talked to the men about

Christ. But while so much is being done already in

this direction, there are many prisons and jails

and hospitals where little or nothing is done.

 

Nurses in hospitals have a rare opportunity of

doing personal work in the institutions where they

are employed. Fortunately a very large proportion

of trained nurses are devoted Christian women, and

yet many of them do not realize the opportunities

that God has put within their reach. A very

unusual opportunity is also open to the Christian

physician. Indeed a true Christian physician will

oftentimes find opportunities for doing personal

work that even the minister of the Gospel cannot

find. Sometimes it will be with the patient whom

he is treating, sometimes with the relatives and

friends of the patient who are in deep anxiety as

to the outcome of the sickness.

 

What has been said does not of course cover all

the places where personal work can be done, but it

will suggest rich fields of opportunity. To put it

in a word, personal work should be done

everywhere. We read of the early disciples that

"they that were scattered abroad went EVERYWHERE

preaching the Word" (Acts 8:4), that is talking to

individuals about Jesus, showing them the word of

truth as it is found in the Bible, and leading

them to accept it. Every child of God should be at

all times on the lookout for opportunities to

speak personally to some man or woman about

Christ.

 

{28}

 

@04  CHAPTER FOUR

 

HOW TO BEGIN

 

One of the most difficult points in personal work

is beginning. It is comparatively easy to go on

after one has got an opening.

 

I. FIND THE ONE TO DEAL WITH.

 

The first thing is to find the one to deal with.

As has already been said, we should pray God to

lead us to some one, or some one to us. When we go

to church, or when we walk the street, when we are

in the park, or on the train, or calling; in a

word, whenever we have time that is not demanded

by other duties we should look up to God and

definitely ask Him to lead us to the one with whom

we are to speak, if it is His will that we employ

that time in work for Him. Further than this, we

should be on the lookout for opportunities. A

fisherman cultivates a keen eye for opportunities

to catch fish; and a soul-winner should cultivate

a keen eye for opportunities for soul-winning.

Whenever we are thrown into the company of a man

or woman, the great probability is that it is a

providential opening, and we should be ready to

meet it as such. It is said of one of the most

distinguished Sunday school workers in this

country that he makes it a point whenever he is

alone with any individual to speak to him about

his soul. The story is told of Uncle John Vassar,

that being left alone in a hotel parlor with a

strange lady, he at once approached her and began

to speak to her about her soul. After he had gone,

the woman's husband returned, and she told him

what had happened. The husband was an a great

rage, and said, "If I had been here, I would have

sent him about his business." His wife replied,

"If you had been here, you would have thought he

was about his business." We ought to make

soul-winning our business, and improve every

possible opportunity.  {29}

 

II. CONVERSATION.

 

Having found your man, begin a conversation. How

shall that be done? In the inquiry room, by asking

at once a few leading questions to find out just

where the man stands, for example: "Are you a

Christian?"  "Are you saved?" "Have you been born

again?"  "Upon what do you base your hope of

eternal life?" "Are you confessing Christ openly

before the world?"  "Have you surrendered all you

have and are to Christ?" Sometimes it is well to

begin in this direct way even when you meet some

one casually. The question "Are you saved?" is as

a general rule a better one to ask than "Are you a

Christian?" It is more likely to set one to

thinking. It is more definite and pointed. Many

will take the asking of such a question as an

impertinence, but that will not prove that the

question has not done good. Not a few people who

have become angry at a stranger putting a question

like this to them have afterward been converted in

consequence of it. There are many other questions

that one may ask that will0 set men to thinking

and open the way for further conversation. For

example, you can ask a man, "Do you think that

life is worth living?" and after you have engaged

him in conversation on this point you can lead him

on and tell of the life that really is worth

living. Or you can ask an utter stranger, "How do

you think a man can get the most real satisfaction

out of life, that is, of course, by accepting

Jesus Christ as a Savior."  Or you can say to a

man, "I have learned the great secret of

happiness," and when he asks you what it is, you

can tell him. Of course these are offered only as

suggestions of ways in which to begin a

conversation.

 

A good way to begin is by handing the person with

whom you wish to deal, a well-chosen tract to

read. When he has finished the tract, you can ask

him what he thinks about it, and thus the way is

opened to a conversation on the great subject. It

is often well to begin by engaging the person in a

general conversation, perhaps on subjects quite

remote from religion, and gradually working around

to the point. It was thus that Christ engaged the

woman of Samaria, making a very simple request of

her, that she would give Him a drink (John 4:7),

but before long, He was telling her of the living

water. If the person with whom you wish to deal is

{30}  older than yourself, you might begin by

saying, "There is a subject in which I am deeply

interested, and I am trying to get all the light

upon it that I can; you are much older than I, and

perhaps you can help me; the subject is 'How to Be

Saved.'"

 

Showing people little kindnesses very often opens

the way for a conversation on the great subject.

For example, in a crowded car one can move along

and invite some one who is standing to a seat by

his side. It is the most natural thing in the

world then to get into conversation, and the favor

of the person who has been standing is gained. and

it will be very easy to lead on to the great

subject. When one is riding, and sees some one

else walking, an invitation to the walker to ride

will afford a splendid opportunity for approaching

him on the subject of his soul's salvation. Mr.

Moody made a constant practice of inviting those

with whom he wished to deal to go riding with him.

As he drew near to some quiet spot, he would speak

to them of what was upon his heart, and then stop

the horse and have a season of prayer. No one can

tell how many were thus led to Christ. Sometimes

it is well to show the people that you would lead

to Christ kindness for days and weeks, and even

years, waiting for your opportunity to say a word.

A devoted missionary to China who had made great

sacrifices to go to that land was received by the

people with bitterest hatred, but he simply gave

himself up to live among them and live for them.

One by one opportunities came of showing them

kindnesses, and after years of self-sacrificing

living, he had so won their confidence that it was

an easy matter for him to lead them to Christ. But

he had to begin by showing them the most ordinary,

everyday kindnesses, far away, apparently, from

the subject that was closest to his heart.

 

Sometimes a person's face will tell the story of

discontent, unhappiness or unrest. In such a case

it is easy to ask the person if he is happy, and

when he says no, tell him you can tell him of One

who can make him happy if only he will take Him.

 

Tact in beginning will come with experience, but

it is better to begin awkwardly than not to begin

at all. I do not think that any one could begin

more awkwardly in this work than I did with the

first person I led to Christ. I felt that God

wanted me to speak to this young man and I called

on him for that purpose, but  {31} when I met him

I had not the slightest idea what to say. I talked

on and on waiting for an opportunity, and at last

blundered out awkwardly what I had come for. God

blessed the awkward but honest effort, and the

young man was saved, and has become a very active

and efficient worker for Christ.

 

The best way to learn how to do personal work is

by doing it, gaining wisdom from your mistakes.

 

III. FIND OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WHERE THE PERSON

WITH WHOM YOU ARE DEALING STANDS.

 

Having begun the conversation, find out as soon as

possible where the person with whom you are

dealing stands. In order to treat a case

intelligently, you need just as much as a

physician to know just where the man is at

present. But how can we find out to what class any

person belongs?

 

1. First of all, BY ASKING HIM QUESTIONS, such

questions as "Are you saved?"  "Have you eternal

life?" "Have you been born again?"  "Do you know

that you are a great sinner before God?"  "Do you

know that your sins are forgiven?" Or you can ask

a person directly, "Where do you stand, what do

you believe?" He may answer these questions

untruthfully, either from ignorance or a desire to

mislead you; nevertheless the answers and his

manner of giving them will show you a great deal

about his real state.

 

2. BY WATCHING THE INQUIRER'S FACE. A man's face

will often reveal that which his words try to

conceal. Any one who cultivates a study of the

faces of those with whom he deals, will soon be

able to tell in many instances their exact state

irrespective of anything they may say.

 

3. BY OBSERVING HIS TONE AND MANNER. A man's tone

or his manner often tells more than his words. A

man who is not saved will very likely tell you

that he is, but his tone and manner will reveal

plainly that he is not. If one gets angry at you

for asking these questions, that of itself reveals

an uneasy conscience.

 

4. BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit, if we look

to Him to do it, will often flash into our minds a

view of the man's position, and just the Scripture

that he needs.  {32}

 

IV. LEAD HIM AS DIRECTLY AS YOU CAN TO ACCEPT

JESUS CHRIST AS A PERSONAL SAVIOR, AND TO

SURRENDER TO HIM AS LORD AN MASTER.

 

When we have learned where the person with whom we

are dealing stands, the next thing to do is to

lead him as directly as we can to accept Jesus

Christ as a personal Savior, and to surrender to

Him as his Lord and Master. We must always bear in

mind that the primary purpose of our work is not

to get people to join the church, or to give up

their bad habits, or to do anything else than

this, to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, the

one who bore their sins in His own body on the

tree, and the one through whom they can have

immediate and entire forgiveness, and as their

Master to whom they surrender absolutely the

guidance of their thoughts, purposes, feelings and

actions.

 

V. SHOW HIM FROM GOD'S WORD THAT HE HAS

FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND ETERNAL LIFE.

 

Having led any one to thus accept Christ, the next

step will be to show him from God's Word that he

has forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Acts

10:43; 13:39; John 3:36; 5:24 will answer for this

purpose.

 

VI. SHOW HIM HOW TO MAKE A SUCCESS OF THE

CHRISTIAN LIFE UPON WHICH HE HAS ENTERED.

 

The next step will be to show him how to make a

success of the Christian life upon which he has

entered.

 

{32}

 

@05  CHAPTER FIVE

 

HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE WHO REALIZE THEIR NEED OF A

SAVIOR AND REALLY DESIRE TO BE SAVED

 

We come now to the question of how to deal with

individual cases. We begin with those who realize

their need of a Savior, and really desire to be

saved. We begin with these because they are the

easiest class to deal with.

 

I. SHOW THEM JESUS AS A SIN-BEARER.

 

The first thing to show one who realizes his need

of a Savior is that Jesus has borne his sins in

His own body on the cross. A good verse for this

purpose is Isaiah 53:6:

 

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have

turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath

laid on him the iniquity of us all."

 

Get the inquirer to read the verse himself, then

say to him, "The first half of this verse shows

you your need of salvation, the second half shows

you the provision that God has made for your

salvation. Read again the first half of the verse.

Is this true of you? Have you gone astray like a

sheep? Have you turned to your own way?"  "Yes."

"Then what are you?" Get the inquirer to say, "I

am lost."  "We will now look at the provision God

has made for your salvation; read the last half of

the verse. Who is the one in this verse upon whom

our iniquity has been laid?" "Christ."  "What then

has God done with your sin?"  "Laid it on Christ."

"Is it then on you any longer?" Go over it again

and again until he sees that his sin is not on

him, but that it is on Christ, and has been

settled forever. I often use a simple illustration

in making the meaning of the verse plain. I let my

right hand represent the inquirer, my left hand

{33}  represent Christ, and my Bible represent the

inquirer's sin. I first lay the Bible on my right

hand and say, "Now where is your sin?" The

inquirer replies of course, "On me." I then repeat

the last half of the verse, "the Lord hath LAID ON

HIM the iniquity of us all," and transfer the

Bible from my right hand to my left, and ask,

"Where is your sin now?" The inquirer replies, "On

Him, of course." I then ask, "Is it on you any

longer?" and he says, "No, on Christ." Very many

people have been led out into light and joy by

this simple illustration.

 

I sometimes put it in this way, in using this

verse, "There are two things which a man needs to

know, and one thing he needs to do in order to be

saved. What he needs to know is, first, that he is

a lost sinner, and this verse tells him that, and

second, that Christ is an all-sufficient Savior,

and this verse tells him that. What he needs to do

is to accept this all-sufficient Savior whom God

has provided. Now will you accept Him right here

and now?"

 

Another excellent verse to show Jesus as a

sin-bearer, is Galatians 3:13:

 

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the

law, BEING MADE A CURSE FOR US: for it is written,

Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."

 

The inquirer should be given the verse to read for

himself. When he has read it, you may question him

something like this: "What does this verse tell us

that Christ has redeemed us from?"  "Whom has He

redeemed?"  "How has He redeemed us from the curse

of the law?"  "Do you believe that Christ has

redeemed you from the curse of the law by being

made a curse in your place?"  "Will you read it

then in the singular instead of in the plural?"

Make it clear what you mean, until the inquirer

reads the verse in this way: "Christ has redeemed

me from the curse of the law, being made a curse

for me; for it is written, cursed is every one

that hangeth on a tree."

 

Another good verse for this purpose is

2_Corinthians 5:21:

 

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew

no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of

God in him."

 

Have him read the verse, and then ask questions

somewhat as follows: "Who is it that hath been

made sin for us?" "For whom has Christ been made

sin?" "For what purpose is it that Christ has been

made sin for us?"  "Can you put this verse in the

singular and  {35} read it this way: 'For he hath

made him to be sin for me, who knew no sin; that I

might be made the righteousness of God in him'?"

 

Sometimes it will be well to use all three of

these passages, but as a rule the first is

sufficient; so far as my own experience goes, it

is more effective than either of the other

passages -- in fact, I deal with very few men with

whom I do not use Isaiah 53:6 sooner or later.

 

II. SHOW THEM JESUS AS A RISEN SAVIOR, ABLE TO

SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST.

 

It is not enough to show them Jesus as a

sin-bearer, for through believing in Jesus as a

sin-bearer one merely gets pardon from sin, but

there is something else that the sinner needs,

that is deliverance from sin's power. In order to

get this, they need to see Jesus as a risen

Savior, able to save to the uttermost. By

believing in Christ crucified, we get pardon, but

by believing in Christ risen, we get deliverance

from sin's power. One of the best verses to use

for this purpose is Hebrews 7:25:

 

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the

uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he

ever liveth to make intercession for them."

 

When the inquirer has read the passage, ask him

who it is that is able to save, and to what extent

He is able to save. Explain to the inquirer what

"to the uttermost" means. Many read this passage

as though it taught that Jesus was able to save

from the uttermost. This is true, but it is not

the truth of this text, it is save TO the

uttermost. Then ask the inquirer why it is that

Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Dwell upon

this thought, that JESUS EVER LIVETH, that He is

not only a Savior who once died and made atonement

for sin, but that He is a Savior who lives today,

and is able to keep from sin's power. Then ask the

inquirer if he is willing to trust Jesus as a

living Savior, one to whom he can look day by day

for victory over sin.

 

Another good verse to use for this purpose is Jude

24:

 

"Now unto him that is ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM

FALLING, and to present you faultless before the

presence of his glory with exceeding joy."

 

When the inquirer has read the verse, ask him what

this verse says Jesus is able to do, emphasize "to

keep you from falling." Explain why it is that

Jesus is able to keep from falling; because He is

a  {36}  risen, living Savior today, and get the

inquirer to see plainly that he is to look to the

risen Christ to keep him from falling.

 

Matthew 28:18 is a good verse to use to bring out

the extent of Christ's power:

 

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All

power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

 

A young convert needs to realize that he is to

stand, not in his own strength, but in the

strength of Christ, and it is a great help for him

to see that the one in whom he is to trust has all

power in heaven and in earth.

 

One can also use to advantage 1_Peter 1:5:

 

"Who are kept by the power of God through faith

unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last

time."

 

and 1_Corinthians 15:1-4. The latter passage

brings out clearly the thought that the doctrine

that Christ died for our sins, as blessed as it

is, is not the whole Gospel, but only half of it;

that the rest of the Gospel is that He was buried

and that He rose again. Always get an inquirer to

believe not only in Christ crucified, but in

Christ risen as well. A man once came to me in

deep distress of soul. He was a perfect stranger

to me, but told me that he had come quite a

distance to tell me his story. He said, "When I

was a boy seven years of age, I started to read

the Bible through. I had not gotten through

Deuteronomy before I found that if one kept the

whole law of God for one hundred years, and then

broke it at one point, he was under the curse of a

broken law. Was that right?"  "Yes," I replied,

"that is substantially the teaching of the law."

He then continued, that he was in deep distress of

soul for about a year, but as a boy of eight, he

read John 3:16 and saw how Jesus Christ had died

in his place, and borne the curse of the broken

law for him, and he added, "My burden rolled away,

and I had great joy. Was I converted?" I replied

that that sounded very much like an evangelical

conversion. "Well," he said, "let me tell you the

rest of my story. Years passed by; I came to

Chicago to live; I worked in the stockyards and

lived in the stockyards region among many godless

men; I fell into drink and I cannot break away;

every little while this sin gets the mastery of

me, and what I have come to ask you is, is there

any way in which I can get the victory over sin?"

I  {37}  replied, "There is. I am glad you have

come to me; let me show you the way." I opened my

Bible to 1_Corinthians 15:1-4, and had him read:

 

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel

which I preached unto you, which also ye have

received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye

are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached

unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I

delivered unto you first of all that which I also

received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

according to the Scriptures; and that he was

buried, AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN the third day

according to the Scriptures."

 

Then I said to him, "What is the Gospel that Paul

preached?" He answered, "That Christ died for our

sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and

rose again."  "That is right," I said. Then I

said, "Now you have believed the first part of

this Gospel, that Christ died for your sins."

"Yes."  "Through believing that you have found

peace." "Yes."  "Well," I continued, "this is only

half the Gospel. If you will really believe the

other half from your heart, you will get victory

over your sin. Do you believe that Jesus rose

again?" "Yes, I believe everything in the Bible."

"Do you believe that Jesus is today in the place

of power at the right hand of God?"  "I do."  "Do

you believe that He has all power in heaven and on

earth?"  "I do."  "Do you believe that this risen

Christ with all power in heaven and on earth has

power to set you free from the power of your sin?"

"Yes,"  he said slowly, "I do."  "Will you ask Him

to do it, and trust Him to do it right now?"  "I

will." We knelt in prayer. I prayed and then he

followed. He asked the risen Christ to set him

free from the power of sin. I asked him if he

really believed He had power to do it. "Yes."  "Do

you believe He will do it?"  "Yes, I do." We rose

and parted. Some time after, I received a very

joyous letter from him, telling me how glad he was

that he had come to see me, and how the message he

had heard was just the one that he needed. There

are thousands of professing Christians today who

know Jesus as crucified Savior, and have found

pardon and peace through believing in Him, but

they have never been brought to a definite, clear

faith in Jesus as a risen Savior who can save from

the power of sin.

 

III. SHOW THEM JESUS AS LORD.

 

It is not enough to know Jesus as a Savior; we

must know Him as Lord also. A good verse for this

purpose is Acts 2:36:    {38}

 

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know

assuredly, that GOD HATH MADE THAT SAME JESUS,

whom ye have crucified, BOTH LORD AND CHRIST."

 

When the inquirer has read the verse, ask him what

God hath made Jesus, and hold him to it until he

replies, "Both Lord and Christ." Then say to him,

"Are you willing to accept Him as your Divine

Lord, the one to whom you will surrender your

heart, your every thought, and word, and act?"

 

Another good verse for this purpose is Romans

10:9:

 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth THE

LORD Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that

God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be

saved."

 

When the inquirer has read the verse, ask him what

we are to confess Jesus as. He should reply,

"Lord." If he does not so reply, ask him other

questions until he does answer in this way. Then

ask him, "Do you really believe that Jesus is

Lord, that He is Lord of all, that He is

rightfully the absolute Lord and Master of your

life and person?" Perhaps it will be well to use

Acts 10:36 as throwing additional light upon this

point:

 

"The word which God sent unto the children of

Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (HE IS

LORD OF ALL)."

 

IV. SHOW THEM HOW TO MAKE JESUS THEIR OWN.

 

It is not enough to see that Jesus is a

sin-bearer, and that Jesus is a risen Savior, and

that Jesus is Lord; one must also see how to make

this Jesus their own sin-bearer, their own risen

Savior, and their own Lord. There is perhaps no

better verse to use for this purpose than John

1:12:

 

"But AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he

power to become the sons of God, even to them that

believe on his name."

 

When one has read the verse, you can ask to whom

it is Jesus gave power to become the sons of God.

"As many as received Him."  "Received Him as

what?" then make it clear from what you have

already said under the preceding points, that it

is to receive Him as sin-bearer, to receive Him as

a risen Savior, to receive Him as our Lord and

Master. "Will you just take Him as your sin-bearer

now, as your risen Savior, as your Lord and

Master? Will you take Him to be whatever He offers

Himself to you to be?"  "I will." "Then  {38}

what does this verse show you that you have a

right to call yourself?"  "A son of God."  "Are

you a son of God?"  Oftentimes the inquirer will

hesitate, but go over it again and again until it

is as clear as day to him.

 

Another excellent passage to use for this purpose

is John 3:16:

 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM

should not perish, but have everlasting life."

 

Ask the inquirer who it is that receives eternal

life. "Whosoever believes in Him."  "Do you

believe in Him as your sin-bearer?"  "Do you

believe in Him as your risen Savior?"  "Do you

believe in Him as your Lord?"  "Well, then, what

have you?"

 

Another good passage to use is Acts 10:43:

 

"To him give all the prophets witness, that

through his name WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM shall

receive remission of sins."

 

Still another is Acts 13:39:

 

"And by him ALL THAT BELIEVE are justified from

all things, from which ye could not be justified

by the law of Moses."

 

V. SHOW THE NEED OF CONFESSING CHRIST WITH THE

MOUTH.

 

No conversion is clear and satisfactory until one

has been led to confess Christ with the mouth

before men. Perhaps the best passage to show the

need of such open confession with the mouth is

Romans 10:9-10:

 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the

Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that

God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be

saved. For with the heart man believeth unto

righteousness; and with the mouth confession is

made unto salvation."

 

When the inquirer has read it, ask him what is the

first thing this verse tells us that we must do if

we are to be saved. "Confess with thy mouth the

Lord Jesus."  "Well, will you confess Jesus as

your Lord with the mouth now?" Wherever possible,

it is good to get the persons dealt with to make a

public confession of Jesus just as soon as

possible. If you are dealing with them in an

after-meeting, have them make this confession

right then and there; if somewhere else, bring

them to a prayer-meeting, or some other service

where they can make the confession, as soon as

possible.  {40}

 

VI. LEAD INTO ASSURANCE.

 

It is not enough that one should be saved, one

ought to have the assurance that he is saved. He

ought to be brought to a place where he can say

confidently and joyously, "I KNOW I am saved, I

KNOW I have everlasting life."  After an inquirer

has been led to the acceptance and confession of

Christ, an excellent passage to use for this

purpose is John 3:36:

 

"He that believeth on the Son HATH EVERLASTING

LIFE: and he that believeth not the Son shall not

see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

 

When the inquirer has read the passage you can

say, "Now this passage tells us that there is some

one who has everlasting life; who is it?"  "He

that believeth on the Son."  "What does God say in

this passage that every one who believes on the

Son has?"  "Everlasting life."  "Is it absolutely

sure that every one who believes on the Son has

everlasting life?"  "It is; God says so."  "Well,

do you believe on the Son?" "Yes."  "What have you

then?" "Everlasting life."  "Are you absolutely

sure that you have everlasting life?" "Yes."  "Why

are you sure?"  "Because God says so here."  In

many cases, probably in the majority of cases, it

will be necessary to go over this again, and

again, before the inquirer says that he is

absolutely sure that he has everlasting life

because he believes on the Son, but do not let him

go until he is thus absolutely sure.

 

VII. GIVE DIRECTIONS AS TO HOW TO LIVE THE

CHRISTIAN LIFE.

 

It is not enough that a person be led to accept

Christ, that is only the beginning of the

Christian life, and if one is not shown how to

lead the Christian life which he has thus begun,

his life is likely to be largely one of failure.

The reason so many Christian lives are comparative

failures is because of a lack of definite and full

instruction to the young convert as to how to lead

the life which he has begun. The following

instructions should be given to every one who has

been dealt with as described above; and not only

to them, but to every other class of inquirers

that may be led to the acceptance of Christ by the

methods described in the following pages or in any

other way. You will speak to the inquirer somewhat

as follows: "You have just begun the Christian

life; now you wish to make a success of it. There

are six very  {41}  simple things to do, and it is

absolutely sure that any one who does these six

things will make a success of the Christian life."

 

1. "You will find the first of these in Matthew

10:32. Please read it very carefully:

 

"Whosoever therefore shall CONFESS ME BEFORE MEN,

him will I confess also before my Father which is

in heaven."

 

This verse tells us that Christ confesses before

the Father those who confess Him before men. You

will make a success of the Christian life only if

Christ confesses you before the Father, so if you

wish to succeed in this life that you have begun,

YOU MUST MAKE A CONSTANT PRACTICE OF CONFESSING

CHRIST BEFORE MEN. Improve every opportunity that

you get of showing your colors, and stating that

you are upon Christ's side, and of telling what

the Lord hath done for your soul."

 

2. "STUDY THE WORD OF GOD REGULARLY, AND HIDE IT

IN YOUR HEART." To make this point clear, use the

following passages:

 

"THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MINE HEART, that I might

not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11.

 

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the

word, that ye may grow thereby."  1_Peter 2:2.

 

One of the most frequent causes of failure in the

Christian life is neglect of the Word of God. One

can no more thrive spiritually without regular

spiritual food than he can thrive physically

without regular and proper physical nourishment.

 

3. "PRAYER WITHOUT CEASING." To make this point

clear, use

 

"Pray without ceasing." 1_Thessalonians 5:17.

 

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew

their strength; they shall mount up with wings as

eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they

shall walk, and not faith."  Isaiah 40;31.

 

Have the young convert read these verses again and

again and mark them in his Bible.

 

4. "SURRENDER YOUR WILL ABSOLUTELY TO GOD, AND

OBEY HIM IN ALL THINGS."  To make this plain use

Acts 5:32:

 

"And we are his witnesses of these things; and so

is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given TO

THEM THAT OBEY HIM."  {42}  Show that obedience is

a matter of the will more than of the outward

life, and that God gives His Holy Spirit to them

that obey Him, or surrender their will absolutely

to Him. Insist upon the need of this absolute

surrender of the  will to God.

 

5. "BE A CONSTANT AND GENEROUS GIVER." To make the

necessity of this plain to the convert, use

2_Corinthians 9:6-8:

 

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall

reap also sparingly; and he which soweth

bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man

according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him

give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God

loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make

all grace abound toward you; that ye, always

having all sufficiency in all things, may abound

to every good work."

 

It is well sometimes to use Malachi 3:10 as a side

light:

 

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that

there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now

herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not

open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a

blessing, that there shall not be room enough to

receive it."

 

Go over and over it again and again until it is

fixed in the young convert's mind that if he is to

enjoy the fullness of God's blessing, if God is to

make all grace abound toward him, he must give to

the Lord's work as the Lord prospers him, that he

must be a constant and generous giver. Many young

Christians make little headway in the Christian

life because they are not plainly instructed on

the necessity of regular, systematic and generous

giving to the Lord.

 

6. "GO TO WORK FOR CHRIST AND KEEP WORKING FOR

CHRIST." To show the necessity of this, use

Matthew 25:14-30, explaining the teaching of the

parable, that it is the one who uses what he has

who gets more, but the one who neglects to use

what he has, loses even that.

 

Go over these six points again and again; write

them down with the texts, and give them to the

young convert to take with him. The directions

given above may seem to be very full, and it may

occur to the reader that it will take a long time

to follow them out. This is true, and oftentimes

it will not be necessary to use all the texts, but

at the same time it is best to be sure that you do

thorough work. There is a great deal of the

superficial and shoddy work done in soul-winning

today, and this kind of work does not  {43}

stand. It is better to spend an hour, or two

hours, on one person, and get him really rooted

and grounded in the truth, than it is to get a

dozen or more to say that they accept Christ, when

the do not really understand what they are doing.

One of the most common and greatest of faults in

Christian work today is superficial dealing with

souls.

 

{44}

 

@06  CHAPTER SIX

 

HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE WHO HAVE LITTLE OR NO

CONCERN ABOUT THEIR SOULS

 

The largest class of men and women are those who

have little or no concern about their salvation.

There are some who contend that there is no use

dealing with such, but there is.  It is our

business when a man has no concern about his

salvation to go to work to produce that concern.

How shall we do it?

 

I. SHOW HIM THAT HE IS A GREAT SINNER BEFORE GOD.

 

There is no better verse for this purpose than

Matthew 22:37-38:

 

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy

God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and

with all thy mind. THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREAT

COMMANDMENT."

 

Before the one with whom you are dealing reads

these verses, you can say to him, "Do you know

that you are a great sinner before God?" Very

likely he will reply, "I suppose I am a sinner,

but I do not know that I am such a great sinner."

"Do you know that you have committed the greatest

sin that a man can possibly commit?"  "No, I

certainly have not." "What do you think is the

greatest sin that a man can commit?" Probably he

will answer, "Murder."  "You are greatly mistaken.

Let us see what God says about it."  Then have him

read the passage. When he has read it, ask him,

"What is the first and great commandment?"  "Thou

shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,

and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

"Which commandment is this?"  "The first and great

commandment."  "If this is the first and great

commandment, what is the first and great sin?"

"Not to keep this commandment."  "Have  {45}  you

kept it? Have you put God first in everything,

first in your affections, first in your thoughts,

first in your pleasures, first in your business,

first in everything?" "No, I have not."  "What

commandment, then, have you broken?"  "The first

and great commandment."

 

Some time ago a young man came into our inquiry

meeting. I asked him if he was a Christian, and he

replied that he was not. I asked him if he would

like to be, and he said he would. I said, "Why,

then, do you not become a Christian tonight?" He

replied, "I have no special interest in the

matter." I said, "Do you mean that you have no

conviction of sin?"  "Yes," he said, "I have no

conviction of sin, and am not much concerned about

the whole matter." I said, "I hold in my hand a

book which God has given us for the purpose of

producing conviction of sin; would you like to

have me use it upon you?" Half laughing, he

replied, "Yes." When he had taken a seat, I had

him read Matthew 22:37-38. When he had read the

passage I said to him, "What is the first and

great commandment?" He read it from the Bible. I

said, "If this is the first and great commandment,

what is the first and great sin?" He replied, 'Not

to keep this commandment." I asked, "Have you kept

it?"  "I have not."  "What have you done then?"

Said he, "I have broken the first and greatest of

God's commandments," and broken down with a sense

of sin, then and there he went down before God and

asked Him for mercy, and accepted Christ as his

Savior.

 

Another excellent passage to use to produce

conviction of sin is Romans 14:12:

 

"So then every one of us shall give account of

himself to God."

 

The great object in using this passage is to bring

the careless man face to face with God, and make

him realize that he must give account to God. When

he has read it, ask him, "Who has to give

account?"  "Every one of us."  "Whom does that

take in?"  "Me."  "Who then is to give account?"

"I am."  "To whom are you to give account?"  "To

God."  "Of what are you to give account?"  "Of

myself."  "Read it that way."  "I shall give

account of myself to God."  "Now just let that

thought sink into your heart. Say it over to

yourself again and again, 'I am to give account of

myself to God. I am to give account of myself to

God.' Are you ready to do it?"

 

Amos 4:12 can be used in much the same way:  {46}

 

"Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and

because I will do this unto thee, PREPARE TO MEET

THY GOD, O Israel."

 

Another very effective passage with many a

careless man is Romans 2:16:

 

"In the day when GOD SHALL JUDGE THE SECRETS of

men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

 

When the one with whom you are dealing has read

the verse, say, "What is God going to do in some

coming day?" "Judge the secrets of men."  "Judge

what?" "The secrets of men."  "Who is it that is

going to judge the secrets of men?"  "It is God."

"Are you ready to have the secret hidden things of

your life judged by a holy God?"

 

II. SHOW HIM THE AWFUL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.

 

A very effective passage for this purpose is

Romans 6:23:

 

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of

God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our

Lord."

 

When he has read the passage, ask him, "What is

the wages of sin?"  "Death." Explain to him the

meaning of death, literal death, spiritual death,

eternal death. Now say, "This is the wages of sin;

have you earned these wages?"  "Are you willing to

take them?"  "No." "Well, there is one

alternative; read the remainder of the verse."

"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus

Christ our Lord."  "Now you have your choice

between the two, the wages that you have earned by

sin, and the gift of God; which will you choose?"

 

Another very useful passage along this line is

Isaiah 57:21:

 

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

 

Another verse declaring the fearful consequences

of sin, is John 8:34:

 

"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto

you, Whosoever commiteth sin is the servant of

sin."

 

Have the one with whom you are dealing read the

passage, then ask him what every one who commits

sin is. "The servant of sin."  "What kind of a

service is that?" Bring it out that it is very

degrading. Ask the inquirer if he appreciates that

this is true of him, that  {47}  he is the servant

of sin, and then ask him if he does not want to be

set free from this awful bondage.

 

There is another passage that one can use in much

the same way, Romans 6:16:

 

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves

servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye

obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience

unto righteousness?"

 

III. SHOW HIM THE AWFULNESS OF UNBELIEF IN JESUS

CHRIST.

 

Very few out of Christ realize that unbelief in

Jesus Christ is anything very bad. Of course they

know it is not just right, but that it is

something awful and appalling they do not dream

for a moment. They should be shown that there is

nothing more appalling than unbelief in Jesus

Christ. A good passage for this purpose is John

3:18-19:

 

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he

that believeth not is condemned already, because

he that not believed in the name of the only

begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,

that light is come into the world, and men loved

darkness rather than light, because their deeds

were evil."

 

When the passage has been read, say, "Now this

verse tells us of some one who is condemned

already; who is it?"  "He that believeth not."

"Believeth not on whom?"  "On Jesus."  "How many

that believe not on Jesus are condemned already?"

"Every one."  "Why is every one that believeth not

on Jesus condemned already?"  "Because he has not

believed on the name of the only begotten Son of

God."  "Why is this such an awful thing in the

sight of God?" "Because light is come into the

world, and men loved darkness rather than light

because their deeds are evil."  "In whom did the

light come into the world?"  "In Jesus."  "Jesus,

then, is the incarnation of light, God's fullest

revelation to man: to reject Jesus, then, is the

deliberate rejection of what?"  "Light."  "The

choice of what?" "Darkness."  "In rejecting Jesus,

what are you rejecting?"  "Light."  "And what are

you choosing?"  "Darkness rather than light."  Ask

all the questions that are necessary to impress

this truth upon the mind of the unbeliever, that

he is deliberately rejecting the light of God, and

choosing darkness rather than light.

 

Another very useful passage for the same purpose

is Acts 2:36-37:  {48}

 

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know

assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,

whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now

when they heard this, they were pricked in their

heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the

apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

 

When the passage is read, say, "Now here were

certain men under deep conviction of sin, crying

out, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' What

was the sin that they committed that produced such

deep conviction?"  "They had crucified Jesus."

"What had God done with Jesus?" "He had made Him

both Lord and Christ." "These men had rejected One

whom God hath made both Lord and Christ. Is that a

serious sin?"  "Yes."  "And are you not guilty of

that very sin today? You are rejecting Jesus, and

this Jesus whom you are rejecting is the very one

whom God hath made both Lord and Christ. Is it not

an awful sin to deliberately reject one whom God

hath thus exalted?"

 

Another good passage to use is John 16:8-9:

 

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of

sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of

sin, because they believe not on me."

 

When the passage has been read, ask the one with

whom you are dealing, "Of what sin is it that the

Holy Ghost, who knows the mind of God, especially

convicts men?"  "Of the sin of unbelief."  "What,

then, is the crowning sin in God's sight?"

"Unbelief in Jesus CHrist." "Why is unbelief in

Jesus Christ the crowning sin in God's sight?"

Then bring out that it is because it reveals most

clearly the heart's deliberate choice of sin

rather than righteousness, of darkness rather than

light, of hatred to God rather than love to God.

 

In some cases it is well to use Hebrews 10;28-29:

 

"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy

under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer

punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought

worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of

God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,

wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and

hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

 

When the passage has been read, ask the inquirer,

"How serious an offense was it in God's sight to

despise Moses' law?" "The one who did it died

without mercy." "Is there any offense more serious

in God's sight than despising the law of Moses?"

"Yes, treading under foot the Son of God."  "Does

not every one who rejects Jesus  {49}  Christ

practically tread under foot the Son of God, and

count the blood of the covenant wherewith He was

sanctified an unholy thing?"  "Yes, I suppose he

does."  "Are you not committing this very sin?"

 

IV. SHOW HIM THE AWFUL CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF.

 

For this purpose begin by using Hebrews 11:6, the

first of the verse:

 

"But without faith it is impossible to please

him."

 

"Now this verse tells you that there is one thing

that God absolutely requires if we are to please

Him: what is it?" "Faith."  "And no matter what

else we do, if we have not faith, what is

impossible for us?"  "To please Him."

 

Follow this up by John 8:24:

 

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in

your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye

shall die in your sins."

 

"What does this verse tell us will happen to you

if you do not believe in Jesus?"  "I shall die in

my sins."  Then have the inquirer read verse 21,

 

"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and

ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins:

whither I go, ye cannot come."

 

That will show the result of once dying in his

sins.

 

Further follow this up by 2_Thessalonians 1:7-9:

 

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when

the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with

his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking

vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey

not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall

be punished with everlasting destruction from the

presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his

power."

 

Say to the inquirer, "This verse tells us of a

coming day in which Jesus is to take vengeance

upon a certain class of people, and they are to be

punished with everlasting destruction from the

presence of the Lord and the glory of His power.

Who is it that are to be thus punished?"  "They

that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of

our Lord Jesus Christ."  "Are you obeying the

Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."  "No." "If,

then, Christ should come now  {50} what would be

your destiny?"  "I should be punished with

everlasting destruction from the presence of the

Lord, and the glory of His power."

 

Then turn to Revelation 21:8. This verse needs no

comment, it tells its own story:

 

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the

abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and

sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall

have their part in the lake which burneth with

fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

 

Revelation 20:15 may also be used:

 

"And whosoever was not found written in the book

of life was cast into the lake of fire."

 

V. SHOW HIM THAT ALL ONE HAS TO DO TO BE LOST IS

SIMPLY TO NEGLECT THE SALVATION THAT IS OFFERED IN

CHRIST.

 

A verse which will serve for this purpose is

Hebrews 2:3:

 

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great

salvation; which at the first began to be spoken

by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them

that heard him?"

 

When the verse has been read, ask, "What does this

verse tell us is all that is necessary to be done

in order to be lost?"  "Simply neglect the great

salvation."  "That is the very thing that you are

doing today; you are already lost. God has