Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

Let me ask you this..................... Did Jesus win EVERY soul he came in contact with?

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

Or let me rephrase it... did everyone who met Jesus, believe that He was? Did every single soul who came in contact with Jesus receive a life changing experience? Think of the Galalians who when Jesus cast out the devils into the pigs, they begged Him to leave.

Not everyone is going to be saved. Not everyone wants to carry a cross through this life down here on earth....

Don't beat yourself up about this... cause that is just the effect these preachers are trying to do... they are busy building a kingdom of look-alike cookie cutter Christians, and it is not really about "saving" them, but it is more about how many are in their church on Sunday morning!

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

We are commanded to "Go and make disciples..." We are commanded to do a lot of things. And we always fall short of the command. God's demand is perfection and none of us obey any of His commands perfectly. But any saved child of God will desire to people come to Jesus. It first starts with a viable, active and healthy relationship with Christ. He will give us a love for people, He will speak through us even when we aren't aware of it. Jesus will order our steps and we will cross paths with people who are ripe for the harvest. We walk by faith, and we walk in the Spirit and the ministry of reconciliation becomes a natural byproduct of our relationship with Him. All we can do is plant seeds of faith, love and truth or we can water what has already been planted with prayer, kindness and genuine compassion---but it's God who brings new life and fruit.

Your salvation doesn't hinge on your soul-winning quota...

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

AMEN! :highfive

The spirit of Jesus within you will naturally reach out to everyone you see because of the gospel being lived in your life. Some will respond... some won't. Your job is to allow the spirit to so reign in your life, and be so in tune with the voice of God speaking to you... and he will indeed use you to speak to other hungry people, whom you normally would pass right on by or look at with disgust, but if you are listening to the spirit life of Jesus living in you, you will be reaching out to those lost and hurting. It is just part of the fruit that will be produced in you.

So concentrate on listening to the leading of the spirit in your life, and it will take you places you never thought you'd go, and do things you thought you'd never do, because the power of Christ living in us is indeed alive, and it will quicken us to the needs of others around us.

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

I think the whole purpose of heaven is to have a place to go that we may continue to have relationship with Christ, not simply some where else to be other than hell for all of eternity. Relationships are built and maintained by the ability to relate to one another, thus the purpose of infilling of the Spirit of God. He gives us the power to over come things that would put a wedge between us, He gives us a higher law to live by and an ability to relate to Him. We know that Christs purpose in coming to this mortal plain was to seek and save that which is lost (win souls) to the extent that He would not indulge His flesh, suffer torture, die and raise up again to save the very people who put Him to death. If we cant somehow see how important souls are to Him and try to relate to His agenda, I think one must seriously evaluate his or her relationship with Christ. Will the lack of soul winning send you to hell? I don't know, but I choose to relate to Christ in as many ways as possible.

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

The law of sowing and reaping comes into play here

John 4:37-38 "And herein is that saying true, one soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours."

Some sow.... some reap.... as long as you are following the leading of the spirit in your life, and sharing the gospel with those whom the spirit prompts you to... you may not reap from your efforts, but as long as you're busy sowing... the reaping will take place.

Some are witnesses for Christ (sowing) and some make disciples for Christ (reaping).

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

I once was angrily told by a pastor that I wasn't called to 'preach' (witness from the bible). I was called to bring them to the church so that he could preach. :wacko

As a young saint, I felt he effectively tied my hands to witnessing because I was to *obey* the pastor.:foottap

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

Lemon, that's the type of preaching I've heard most of my life. The topics change but the message is the same - we need more effort.

And the mindset is very similar to that of the Catholics.

Walk up stairs littered with broken glass.

Say so many Hail Mary's.

Pray the rosary.

The emphasis is on "being a good Catholic" instead of relationship with Christ.

This is no different.

Be a good Apostolic.

Win souls.

Pay tithes.

Wear the right clothes.

Reject some behaviors and accept others.

Effort, effort, effort.

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

:thumbsup

Re: Win souls or go to hell....
 

I agree with most of this post. Im very aware of the mindset of those always looking for the letter of the law rather than seeking the Spirit of the law and if they cant find the letter in scripture they will make it up. I grew up hearing this kind of preaching too. In my relationships, I do have to put forth effort but its an effort driven by love not driven by the fear of breaking a deal. Soul winning whether its through harvesting, discipleship or any other effort towards the saving of the soul ought to be an effort driven by a love for Christ and humanity. Soul winning should not be viewed as an effort to keep a deal with God.