Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.
The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life. Jesus said, “He is the life.” Life is what God is always trying to give us. Rev. 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Everything that God gives us and does for us is to bring life to our hearts and souls, that we may be at peace with our God here and throughout eternity.
God is also working to equip us with a mandate of winning souls for His glory and purposes. 2 Pet. 3:9b But God is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The key is to recognise that God invites everyone to come to know Himself by His provision of salvation through Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Some will say, surely there are other ways to God. Within man’s realm of ideas there are, but within God’s choice of righteous sacrifice, there is only Jesus. We read in Gen. 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree of knowledge of good and evil is what man ate from. The problem with this tree is that good and evil are of the same tree.
That is why no matter how much good you do, it cannot equal God’s righteousness. We must eat from the other tree that was in the garden and that is the tree of life. A different tree entirely. A tree of righteousness. Shall we all stop doing good? God forbid! However, trusting in the good that we do will lead to erroneous beliefs.
The Apostle Paul wrestled with this as he learnt to understand the grace that overcame our desire to trust in our own goodness. Rom. 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. When we accept Christ as Lord, the good that we do is for Christ Himself because we have His righteousness within us. I am not saved by the good that I do, but rather I am saved to do Him good. Col. 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
That is why no matter how much good you do, it cannot equal God’s righteousness. We must eat from the other tree that was in the garden and that is the tree of life. A different tree entirely. A tree of righteousness. Shall we all stop doing good? God forbid! However, trusting in the good that we do will lead to erroneous beliefs.
The Apostle Paul wrestled with this as he learnt to understand the grace that overcame our desire to trust in our own goodness. Rom. 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. When we accept Christ as Lord, the good that we do is for Christ Himself because we have His righteousness within us. I am not saved by the good that I do, but rather I am saved to do Him good. Col. 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Now that I have Jesus as Lord in my life, I am ready to be equipped to win souls. 1 Pet. 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
There are many books and instructions on how to win souls for Christ, but when I fell in love with my wife I did not need a manual for me to express my heart’s love to her. The expression of love that came out of me was evident to all my friends and family. They knew that there had been a change in me and I had been smitten.
I like to think that sharing Christ will come from a similar heart. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” In another place, he said, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”
There are many books and instructions on how to win souls for Christ, but when I fell in love with my wife I did not need a manual for me to express my heart’s love to her. The expression of love that came out of me was evident to all my friends and family. They knew that there had been a change in me and I had been smitten.
I like to think that sharing Christ will come from a similar heart. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” In another place, he said, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”
The marching orders that Christ gave us should not be feared. Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. The Lord will not ask us to do what we cannot do without His help. Matt. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The Lord will teach us how to win souls within our own personality that He created. We do not have to fear messing up a technique, or a rehearsed spiel that is supposed to compel men to accept Christ. No! He will guide you through His voice from within. John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 16:13a Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.
We are admonished to be wise in Him, and through Christ introduce everyone we meet to the only holy and loving God who truly loves us all. If God’s plan for mankind is to redeem us for Himself, will He not lead us into this endeavor with His direction in order to accomplish His dream? Hush, listen! He is saying this to you. Isa. 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
The Lord will teach us how to win souls within our own personality that He created. We do not have to fear messing up a technique, or a rehearsed spiel that is supposed to compel men to accept Christ. No! He will guide you through His voice from within. John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 16:13a Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.
We are admonished to be wise in Him, and through Christ introduce everyone we meet to the only holy and loving God who truly loves us all. If God’s plan for mankind is to redeem us for Himself, will He not lead us into this endeavor with His direction in order to accomplish His dream? Hush, listen! He is saying this to you. Isa. 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Thank you miss Toni
You're Awesome yourself
I really enjoyed this one Sir Norm. I like the idea of preaching the Gospel how God designed our personalities to share it. I also thought it a great analogy when speaking about falling in love with your wife. Yes, that's how it should be with Jesus, that people notice how smitten and in awe I am of Him!!!
You're Awesome…Bless you.
Toni
Thank you Les Oiseaux
Good point.
God's word is what convicts people to embrace righteousness.
Presenting God in our image never works, neither does dumbing-down the word of God.
Just preach the word and allow God to be Lord of the harvest.