Gospel/Evangelism
A WORD IN SEASON
FOR SEEKING SOULS
By Homer Duncan
Missionary Crusader
If your heart is at rest, you do not need these words. If your mind is closed to the truth, you will never find Him who is the Truth (John 14:6). If you are willingly bound by any religious system, you will never know Him who came to make men free (John 8:32).
These words are written for people with a hungry heart. Do you have a heart that thirsts for God? God is found by those who seek Him. Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). You will not find peace and rest until you find it in Him. There is a Void in every heart that can be filled only by God Himself.
God made us for Himself. He desires to manifest His life to and through us. God is love; He, therefore, desires our love and fellowship. Love not only gives but also seeks. God wants us to love Him with all of our hearts (Matthew 22:37). Love springs from the heart. It is a product of the will.
The most powerful dictator or potentate in all the world cannot force anyone to love him. He can demand submission and obedience, but he never can make any of his subjects love him. It is for this reason that God made us free moral agents. He wants us to love Him of our own will and accord.
What Man Is
If finite man is to comprehend something of his relationship to the infinite God, he first must discover something about his own nature. This knowledge comes not from introspection but from divine revelation. It is only when man accepts what the Bible says about him that he can fully know himself.
By nature, man is a materialist. He lives primarily to satisfy his physical desires. The Bible tells us that the body is merely the house that man lives in (2 Corinthians 5:1). Animals and trees, as well as men, have bodies. Animals not only have bodies but they also have minds, emotions, and wills.
Man is different from animals in that he has a soul and a spirit ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23). “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The soul of man has three parts: mind, emotions, and will.
Stated simply, the mind is man’s calculator. It is that with which he thinks and reasons. Man’s mind, like a calculating machine, must be given the right information if it is to arrive at the correct answers. Many people are filled with doubts, fears, and confusion because their minds have been filled with the wrong information.
Man has emotions such as love, joy, hate, and fear. Even though these emotions are not tangible, they are nonetheless real. Let us think of the mind and emotions as being the vice-presidents of the corporation of the soul. The will is the president. Or we can think of the emotions and mind as being halfbacks on a football team, and the will as being the quarterback. It is the will that makes the decisions. It is the will that calls the signals.
Man also has a human spirit. God formed the spirit of man within him (Zechariah 12:1). The spirit of man is the candle (or lamp) of the Lord (Proverbs 20:27). When God made man, His Very life was in him. God’s life burned in man just as the flame burns in a candle or lamp. Thus, man was spiritually alive. He not only had physical life but he also had spiritual life. This life was the very life of God.
This sketch illustrates what man was when God made him.
How long man remained in this condition, we do not know. We do know that Satan appeared on the scene in the form of a serpent. God had said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die” (Genesis 2:16, 17).
How Sin Came Into the World
Satan insidiously whispered then as he does now, “Hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1). His first attack then as it is now is on the integrity of God and His Word. God said that if Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit they would die. Satan said, “Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Would Adam and Eve believe God or the Devil? When they saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes, and that it was a tree to be desired to make one wise, they ate of it. This act of unbelief and disobedience was rebellion against God. They chose of their own will and accord to believe the Devil’s lie rather than to believe the truth of God. Instead of choosing to love and obey God, they chose to yield to Satan. They fell into sin through unbelief and disobedience.
The Results of Sin
Let us illustrate man’s fallen condition in this way:
When man sinned, three things happened to him. First, he died spiritually. God said, “ln the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). By an act of his will, through believing Satan rather than God, man committed spiritual suicide. His spirit was still the lamp or candle of the Lord, but the light went out when he sinned. His spirit was dead. Second, in sinning, man yielded a territory within his soul to Satan that the Bible calls the flesh. When used in a theological sense, flesh does not mean the meat on our bones, for that kind of flesh is not evil. The flesh refers to our old or Adamic nature. It is the natural man. Third, in the moment that man sinned, death began to work in his physical body, resulting in his physical death 930 years later.
Although man has physical life, death is working in his body. He has no spiritual life, for his spirit died when he sinned. His humanity has been yielded to and is now controlled by Satan. He is, by nature, a child of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). This not only describes Adam as an individual but it is also true of all his descendants. Every man that is born comes into the world in this condition. The Bible describes him as lost, fallen, condemned, dead and alienated from God. In this condition, he is worthless to God. His life is completely devoid of that which is pleasing to God, or of that which is acceptable in the sight of God. Therefore, in this fallen condition, man is condemned by God (John 3:18). This condemnation will result in his being cast into hell, the lake of fire (Luke 16:22, 23; Mark 9:43, 44; Revelation 21:8). The mind of the natural man revolts against such teaching. Man does not accept what the Bible says about his condemnation because he rejects what the Bible teaches about his depravity. The fact that men do not believe what the Bible says in no way changes the truth of God.
In modern theological circles, it is out of date to believe in hell, in the doctrine of original sin, or in the depravity of man; but regardless of what present-day theology teaches, we must base our convictions on the Word of the Living God. Each of us inherited our sin nature from our parents as they inherited their sin nature from their parents and so on back to Adam.
How God Deals with Sin
It was sin that got man into this terrible condition; therefore, if man is to be restored to fellowship with God, sin must be dealt with. It will not do for us to ignore sin. It is sheer folly for us to refuse to recognize that all the pain, sorrow, suffering and death in the world today are the result of sin.
We cannot know or understand the grace of God until we see the sinfulness of sin. There is no need for a Saviour unless there is something to be saved from. God dealt with sin in the person of His Son on the cross. “He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (I Peter 3:18). Therefore, God can be just (holy and righteous) and yet at the same time be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
As Jesus hung upon the cross, he cried “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Had God forsaken His Son? He not only forsook His Son but also poured out his wrath on Him, for in those awful hours on the cross Christ was made sin for you and for me. He was paying the penalty for our sin. He was suffering in our place and stead.
What is the Gospel?
The Cross of Christ is the basis for our reconciliation to God. God cannot and will not make Christ pay for our sins and make us pay for them, too. Since Christ has died for our sins, we will not have to die for them. By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (in Adam). Therefore, as by the offense of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one (Christ) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. By one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous (Romans 5:12-19).
Where Do You Stand?
My dear friend, when you are willing to believe what the Bible says about your lost condition, when you realize that you are condemned, and on the road to hell; you are in the place where God can save you. If you have not come to this place or if you do not believe what the Bible says, you see no need for a Saviour. You are thus committing the same identical sin that Adam committed when he rebelled against God. But if you realize that you are lost and want to be saved, you can be saved this moment by believing that Christ died for your sins and that He rose again for your justification ( Romans 4:25). The moment you receive the living Christ into your heart, you are made a child of God (John 1:12). You are born again (John 3:1-18). Your sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43); they are buried in the deepest sea (Micah 7:19); they are cast behind the back of God (Isaiah 38:17); they are blotted out like a thick cloud (Isaiah 44:22).
You are justified by faith and have peace with God (Romans 5:1). You are reconciled to God (Romans 5:10). The Holy Spirit is renewed in your spirit (Titus 3:5). (Your candle starts burning again!) You have everlasting life (John 6:47). Your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Philippians 4:3). You are a child of God, an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17).
These are just some of the more than thirty-three stupendous transactions that take place when you become a child of God. As a babe in Christ, you will not be able to comprehend all of this at once, but as you grow in Grace and the knowledge of Christ, you will never cease to be amazed at the wonder of this glorious salvation. It is indeed a great salvation. It is the greatest and most wonderful salvation that an infinite, holy, loving God could conceive. Let us illustrate your regenerate condition in this way:
Your body is much the same as it was before you were saved. It is still subject to physical death. It is subject to sickness, pain, and suffering. As you enter more fully into God’s purpose of redemption for you, there will be a change in your body. For one thing, you will be relieved from tension and strain, which in turn will free you from a multitude of evils.
The Lord Jesus Christ now dwells in your heart in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It is not merely the will of God that you should be born of the Spirit and indwelt by the Spirit, but it is also the will of God that the Holy Spirit should influence the area of your soul, controlling your mind, your emotions and your will. This will inevitably affect the actions of your body. Since your thoughts are different, your conduct will be different; your words will be different; your attitudes will be different. Instead of walking in self-will, you will now delight to do His will. Your entire life will be changed. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This does not mean that you will be perfect. Nor does it mean that you will not have any more problems. You will likely have many trials. You will be chastened of the Lord, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). If you profess to be a Christian and continue to live in sin, and yet are not chastened of the Lord, it proves that you are not a child of God (Hebrews 12:8).
You will notice in the series of circles, illustrating man’s regenerate condition, that the flesh is represented as a circle within the soul. We find this to be true theologically and experimentally. Jesus Christ not only died for our sins, he also died for us for all that we are by nature. We are not to continue to live in sin. We are to have Victory over sin.
The Lord Jesus not only wants to be your Saviour from sin but He also wants to be the Lord of your life. “He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). One day every knee shall bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11). Every Christian should now let Jesus Christ reign day by day as the Lord of his life. We do not experience the power of His resurrected life until we let Him live in us as Lord.
Two Ways
What is the alternative to this? There are but two ways: The way of life and the way of death. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13,14).
I exhort you to come to Christ now, to surrender all to Christ, to receive Him by faith as your Saviour and Lord. The very moment that you do, you will be born again, your sins will be forgiven, you will have everlasting life, your name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). Indeed, we shall not escape! Let not the temporal things of this world rob you of the eternal blessings of God. Let not sensual pleasure keep you from Him who alone can satisfy the longings of your soul. Be done with Satan and all the host of hell. Tarry no longer on the broad road that leads to destruction.
Come to Christ! Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Do not wait until tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1) Harden not your heart for “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1).
This is not an effort to get you to join some church or society. Our sole purpose is to present God’s way of salvation so that, YOU may be saved, that His name may be honored, that His will may be done in your heart and life.
