He That Winneth Souls - Part 2 of 3 — John R. Rice

Abiding in Christ to Bear Fruit in Soul Winning

You can't do it without Jesus. Somebody says, I tried to win souls. I intended to, but I can't. I can't get anybody saved. I invited people to church and they won't come. I talked to my children, they won't listen to me.

I can't get anybody saved. Somebody says, I know, I know why. Jesus just said you can't do it except you abide in me. And he said, I am the vine, you're the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit.

Not just a few, you can win lots of people if you really abide in him. That's what he said. So let's face what Jesus said now. Your sin, if you do not win souls, is the sin of not abiding in Christ. Not being wrapped up in him.

Not being filled with his word. Not walking in his steps. Not being wholly surrendered to him. Not being absorbed with him. You're not abiding in Christ or you'll be a soul winner. Jesus Christ said it, I didn't say it.

And here's a plain command that you have disobeyed. You have missed the way. You're out of the will of God. You're not winning souls because you don't abide in Christ. So says the word of God. If you're a soul winner and bringing forth much fruit, it's because you abide in Christ.

But if you're not a soul winner, it's because you are in this sin of not abiding in him and his fullness and his word and his power. Not abiding in you. You know, when a branch of a vine bears fruit, it's because the sap from the vine flows right on through into the branch.

And there's the power. There's the food. There's the blossom. And then the fruit because the branch has all the power of the vine. And a Christian can have all the power of Christ, our vine, if you abide in him.

And if you don't, it's because of this sin. It's a sin of not winning souls. That's sin number four. I come now to sin number five. Everybody who doesn't win souls is guilty of dishonesty in a sacred trust.

That's a very sharp word, isn't it? That's a serious charge, isn't it? That's a terrible sin, isn't it? But there it is. I'll prove it to you again. In Romans, the first chapter, Paul writes to the people of Rome, and he says in verse 14 and verse 15, I'm debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.

So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Paul said, you know why? I'm trying to come to Rome. I don't care if I get in jail. I don't care if I'm there with a chain on my hand in two years.

I don't care if I get my head chopped off. I'm bound to come to Rome. What's the matter, Paul? Paul says, I have a debt to pay, and I'm an honest man. I've got to do it. I must pay my debt. What is your debt, Paul?

You remember, don't you, one time Paul said, woe is me if I preach not the gospel. Paul said, if I preach it willingly, then I receive a reward. If I don't preach it willingly, I must preach it. A dispensation of the gospel is committed to me.

I have a debt to pay. You know, it took the blood of Jesus Christ to keep me out of hell. I'm not my own man. You're not your own. It took as much of the blood of Christ to keep you out of hell as it did me or as it did any preacher as it did the apostle Paul.

And you have a debt to pay. If you don't pay it, you're crooked. If you don't pay your honest debt and care the gospel to those to whom you owe it, you're guilty, you're disobedient, you're crooked, you're dishonest in a sacred trust.

I'm thinking of a man who died and left his estate to be administered by his partner in business. It was understood that the widow should be cared for and the children would have money laid by so they could go to college.

But when the time came the children should go to college, the money was all wasted and gone. It was administered falsely. And the administrator had used the funds of the man who died entrusting him with it.

The man had used it for his own purposes and the money was squandered and gone. How wicked. It was dishonesty in a sacred trust. And Jesus died and he gave you a plain command. He gave you a command and you're to pass it on the gospel to others.

Christ's Atonement and the Gospel's Universal Mission

Did you think that Jesus died for you alone? Sometimes we use John 3 .16 like this. For God so loved John Rice or Bill Brown or Jane Smith. God so loved you that he gave his only begotten Son that you, or me, or that John Rice, believing in him, should not perish but have everlasting life.

Listen, John 3 .16 is more than that. Not one, not me, not you alone, but the billions, over two billion living now, he died for them. And for the billion to live before, he died for them. And for the billions that may be born yet, Jesus died for them.

God so loved the whole world. How wicked it is to take all the blessing from myself and say, I'm so glad I'm saved. I knew a woman one time, rise up in revival service and say, I think we ought to close this meeting.

My boy was saved. Everybody else's boy had the same chance to be saved as mine. And now if they're not saved, it's their fault. I think we ought to close this campaign. What a wicked, selfish, thoughtless way for a Christian to feel.

You see, if you don't win souls, you're guilty of the terrible sin, the sin of dishonesty in a sacred trust. Do you remember that Jesus told the parable of the talents and the parable of the pounds? And he ended them with these words about that wicked, soulful servant.

Faithfulness in the Parables of the Talents and Pounds

Thou wicked and soulful servant, why did you take my own then and give it to the bank that I'd have interest on my money when I returned? Wicked and soulful, that's the way the Lord Jesus feels about anybody who takes this sacred trust and uses it for your own joy, your own comfort, your own peace, and doesn't pass on the gospel to others.

Oh God, give us grace to be obedient in soul winning and not be crooked and dishonest. The gospel isn't just meant for us to enjoy. I'm glad I'm saved, but oh, I'd hate to be saved alone and not take anybody with me to heaven.

How the Savior would look at me with reproach, how I'd feel guilty, and for a million years in heaven, how ashamed I'd be that I was dishonest, that I took only for myself that which the Lord Jesus gave to all who would have it.

Let's take the gospel to others. You have a debt to pay. You're dishonest and crooked if you don't pay it, if you don't carry the gospel to others. That's sin number five. And now let's have sin number six.

The sin number six of a Christian who does not win souls is the folly of a short-sighted fool. Now listen to the Bible language before you condemn me, before you're displeased, before you stop to quibble now.

In Proverbs 11, 30, the scripture says, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that wineth souls is wise. Every Christian ought to be the kind of a tree that brings forth fruit and brings forth fruit and brings forth fruit, and he that wineth souls is wise.

And in Daniel 12, 3, the scripture says,. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn men into righteousness as the stars forever and ever. You know who's a wise man?