Winning Souls?

I think there are more man-made doctrines in the church than we realize. These are teachings that we’ve learned for years that have no basis in the Bible. They’ve just been emotionally exciting messages, but that’s all. Teachings like “Jesus went to hell to fight the devil and take his keys from him” or “Timothy and Titus were pastors” - things you can’t find in the Bible, but we’ve preached them because we can relate to them emotionally.


One of these man-made subjects is the teaching that we need to “go win souls.” It sounds good, the motivation behind it (reaching the lost for Jesus) is good, it’s led to some good results - but I think it’s also done a lot of harm.


First of all, remember what your soul is! If you haven’t read it yet - read my last post. Jesus doesn’t save your soul! Your soul isn’t born again, your spirit is! You are responsible for saving your soul through God’s Word! Remember James 1:21, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” It is your habit of reading God’s Word daily that will save your soul!


So where did the concept of “winning souls” come from? One verse - Proverbs 11:30: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” Notice the context, this isn’t talking about witnessing - it’s about doing what’s right! The Hebrew word for soul that is used here is “nephesh.” It simply means a natural type of life. It is often translated life or breath. Every living breathing animal has nephesh...it is simply the natural kind of life. Literally, it is the seat of the emotions, the place for thinking, and the activity of the will.


Keeping the phrase “wins souls” in context with “the fruit of the righteous” - we can see that it’s really talking about winning your soul! It’s moving past your natural life and normal way of thinking into the righteous way way of doing things! Do you see how this verse lines up with James 1:21?


Now, I know it sounds like I’m being overly technical and splitting hairs. But I believe that focusing on “winning souls” has been detrimental to the church! We’ve put the entire focus of the church on winning people to Jesus - but we’ve forgotten what should come next!


Jesus never called His church to win souls! Matthew 28:19-20 records the mission that Jesus gave to the church: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Do you see “winning souls” in that passage? Do you even see “witnessing” or “salvation messages” in that passage? What do you see there? Making disciples!


Don’t get me wrong, the salvation of a sinner is huge! It’s like the birth of a child...it’s necessary for life! But you don’t give birth to a baby and then say, “Congratulations kid, see you in a week!” Your goal isn’t the birth, it’s the life! You want that child to grow up, mature, make the right choices and ultimately produce and raise kids on their own! It’s the same with being born again.


We’ve missed it when we go out and lead a person to Jesus, and then leave them on their own. Our job - the commission given to us by Jesus Himself - is to disciple them. How do we do that? By “teaching them all things that I have commanded you.”


The believer’s calling is to take people from being a sinner, leading them into the new birth, and then taking them under his or her wing and discipling them. You do realize, after all, that once you lead someone to Jesus, you’re responsible to help them grow? The new birth is only the beginning of what you should be taking them through - with the ultimate goal of producing a mature believer that can repeat the process with another person!


I’m a product of this. My pastor wasn’t content that I was saved - he wanted me to mature in the faith. He took me under his wing and taught me how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. As I grew, he taught me how to do the work of ministry. And now I’m teaching other people the things he taught me!


I believe that every believer, every follower of Jesus should be becoming a disciple! They should be learning His way of doing things. They should be learning to discipline themselves to do what’s right. They should be submitted to ministers who are growing themselves. And every believer should be discipling someone else! We have too many babies in the church that aren’t growing up! It’s time for someone to come along side of them and raise them up!

The Company You Keep

How many times have you seen a believer connect with the wrong person and throw their life away? How many times have young Christian girls gotten into trouble because of the people they spent their time with? How long will it be before we recognize the value of 1 Corinthians 15:33? “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

The Bible doesn’t leave us in the dark about friendships. It is very clear concerning who should have a place in our life and who shouldn’t. Many Christians get into trouble when they don’t know what God said on this subject; others get into trouble when they ignore what they’ve been taught.

Whatever the reason is for choosing the wrong friends, God’s Word doesn’t hide the consequences: Proverbs 12:26 says, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Your friends will make you or your friends will break you.

King Reheboam fell into this trap. When he took over the kingdom from his father Solomon, he had this choice to make. He had to choose from the proven advice of his father’s counselors or the opinions of his “friends.” He chose his friends – and it cost him more than half of his kingdom.

Godly people cannot afford to have ungodly friends.

God set some simple guidelines for friendships:

#1 – Stay away from people who gossip or talk too much

“A person who talks about others tells secrets. So avoid anyone who talks too much.” Proverbs 20:19

#2 – Stay away from people who are rebels or don’t respect authority

“My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t associate with rebels.” Proverbs 24:21

#3 - Stay away from people who get angry easily

“Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go”

Proverbs 22:24   

#4 - Associate with people who have a history of making good decisions

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20

#5 - When you have a wise friend that you can trust, pay attention to their advice - even if it hurts

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:6

   Pay attention to wise advice from your friends. It may make you mad, it may hurt a little; but if it’s good advice, it will help you - if you listen! Real friends love you enough to tell you the truth. Be cautious of people who are only interested in making you feel good.

#6 - Godly friends will sharpen you, making you more effective for the Kingdom of God

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.   

Proverbs 27:17

    A real friend should be interested in God’s plan for your life. Their interest in

you goes beyond how much fun you have together. They truly want God to use you in His kingdom - so they want to help you become stronger in your faith.

#7 - Not every acquaintance in your life is going to be this type of friend

    But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

“Friend” is a powerful word. I think we use it too often in our lives. Just because we know and like someone, doesn’t make them our friend. Just because we hang out with them once in a while, doesn’t mean they should hold this kind of position in our life. A true friend is someone we share life with, someone who we trust to speak into our life, someone who is genuinely interested in God’s purpose for us. Think carefully, how many people does this apply to in your life?

Very few people have more than one or two true friends. Usually we call everyone we like “friends” - while calling the one or two “best friends.” Sadly, there are a lot of Christians who don’t have this kind of true friendship. Many more have the wrong type of person in that position, and it hurts them instead of helping them. If you have a genuine Christian as a true friend, thank God for them!

If you have that kind of friend, you have to remember that this kind of friendship is two-way. Remember what Proverbs 17:17 says to you, “A friend loves at all times.” Everything that a true friend does - building you up, speaking God’s Word into your life, staying with you no matter what - now becomes your responsibility too!

True friendship is an amazing, powerful thing. It can help both of you grow and become effective in God’s kingdom. But be careful! You will rise or fall because of the company you keep!

“If you want to know the character of a man, inspect his friends.” -Old Japanese Proverb