Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
One of the most effective forms of evangelism is Gospel tracts. Of course,
nothing can replace one-on-one soulwinning, but Gospel tracts do get read
and do plant seeds in the hearts of unbelievers to come to Christ. It's
important that the Gospel tracts we distribute contain much Scripture, as
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is alive and powerful. Let God's
Word do It's work. We read in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Amen!
It is not our eloquent words or carefully planned speeches that will win lost souls to Jesus Christ; It is the Word of God, the Gospel of Christ Jesus, Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
So many Gospel tracts nowadays are poorly written, adding requirements to salvation that God does not. Chick tracts are a prime example. Mr. Chick requires people to first “Admit you are a sinner,” and then secondly, “Be willing to turn from sin (repent).” This is unscriptural. Jack Chick is correct that a person must acknowledge their guilty condition to be saved (which is Biblical repentance), but he perverts the Gospel when he requires people to be willing to TURN FROM SIN. Since Mr. Chick has separated admitting one's sinfulness from forsaking sin itself, he clearly expects sinners to cease from their sinful living as a prerequisite to salvation.
If this is not the case, then Mr. Chick needs to rewrite has tracts better because a lot of people are refusing to get saved, thinking they must give up their sins to be saved. Who can give up their sins? Mr. Chick is placing the cart before the horse, requiring the change that salvation brings as a prerequisite to salvation. A changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentance, and not a part of saving-faith. Romans 4:5 makes this clear, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." It is Christ's imputed righteousness by which we are saved, and not by our own self-righteousness or turning away from sin.
Soulwinning tracts ought to be saturated with Scripture, that those who hear may believe. 1st Peter 1:23 states, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." The Bible, God's Word, is the Seed by which we are born-again. Thus, the Gospel tracts we distribute need to have the Word of God in them.
Here are some soul-winning Scriptures:
Romans 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9, "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."
Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
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."
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."
Acts 10:43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
1st Peter 1:18,19, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
Colossians 1:14, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
Proverb 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” The Hebrew word for “winneth” is laaqach meaning “to take,” i.e., to fetch. Someone once made the critical remark that ther Bible doesn't teach the term Soul-Sinner or Soul-Winning. Their argument was that only God can save souls, so believers aren't actually winning anybody. However, as with most foolish debates these days, the skeptics can quickly be defeated with the Word of God. The Hebrew meaning of the word winneth means “to fetch.” He that fetches souls for Christ is wise. Amen!
Jesus expounded further on the meaning of winning souls in Luke 14 23, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” The King commissioned His servants to GO OUT into the highways and hedges, wherever the needy and suffering could be found, and compel them to come in. This parable speaks concerning Heaven. God wants His disciples to GO OUT into this wicked world, and do what it takes to fetch lost sinners to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They won't come to us. Prison inmates cannot come to us. The maimed cannot come to us. The deaf, blind, and poor cannot come to us; thus, God wants us to reach out to them, doing our part to help who we can.
“All these people talking about tolerance mean: Christians are supposed to tolerate everything, but the wicked don't have to tolerate anything they don't agree with. All these people who talk about hypocrites in the church are the biggest hypocrites in the world.”
—Pastor Danny Castle, a quote from the needful sermon, Procrastination: The Devil's Best Trick
