He That Winneth Souls Is Wise No. 11

Many of the symbols have become so popular that the moment we see their logo we recognize their company without even having to see the name of the company. We Christians today likewise have a symbol that represents our faith. That symbol is the cross. The moment we see this symbol we automatically think of Christianity. This symbol is fitting because the Bible says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins," and that blood was shed upon the cross. However, the cross has not always been the symbol of the Christian faith. In the early days of the church the symbol was that of a fish.

Illus: If you visit the catacombs in Rome, where the early Christians used to hide to escape their persecutors, you will find the fish symbol carved there.

The Greek word for "fish" is "ichthus." This symbol became a secret password for Christians because they were not allowed to worship publicly. This symbol came from the teachings of Christ, particularly from His saying, "Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

Illus: When the Lord started His Church, He chose to start it with men who fished for a living.

• They knew what it was to spend every day of their lives catching fish.

• They knew they did not catch fish by wishing for them, but by going where they were, casting in the net, and drawing the fish in to them.

Many of the men of that day were fishermen. It was not by accident that God chose those fishermen. He chose them because they best REPRESENTED what the Christian was to be. To all who come to know Jesus as their Savior, God said, Luke 5:10b, "...Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." Now, what did the Lord mean, "...from henceforth thou shalt catch men." He simply meant that as in the past they had caught fish, in the future they would be catching men for Him. The word "catch" comes from the Greek word, "ZOGREO," which means: "To catch ALIVE or CAPTURE for life."

Illus: Charles Trumbull, in his book, "Taking Men Alive," gets his title from "Zogreo." He points out in his book that the word "zogreo," only appears in the New Testament scriptures twice.

• In Luke 5:10, Jesus said to the disciples, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt CATCH men."

• In II Timothy 2:26, "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken CAPTIVE by him at his will."

Notice, the New Testament words CATCH and CAPTIVE are used to describe alike what God and Satan seek to do. They both desire to have the souls of mankind. Don't forget the word Zogreo means: "To TAKE MEN ALIVE! God wants to take men alive and save them from sin so that they, in turn, can win lost souls to Christ. If we, as Christians, do not get out and win the lost to Christ, we can rest assured that Satan will win them. Wouldn't it be a marvelous thing if God's people were as aggressive with their lives reaching people for Christ as Satan's crowds are as they are out trying to snare men into sin.

Illus: For example:

• We see prostitutes out walking the streets in every major city, trying to LURE men into sin and become unfaithful to their wives. How? They use their bodies!

• We see teens using their bodies to cause other teens to defile their bodies with sex. How? They are using their bodies.

• We have legislators who are supposed to represent the good of the people. Some of these have recognized that their office gives them a wonderful opportunity, given by God, to use their bodies to help people, but it is sad when we see reports on the news so often that these men and women, behind closed doors steal from the American people. How? They are using their bodies.

• We have doctors today who have used their God-given talents to help mankind. But it is going to be rough on many doctors who have used the talents God has placed in them to take advantage of the sick and dying people. How do they gain such mass wealth? They use their bodies to OVER-CHARGE sick patients. Some charge for services they never administered.

• We have also have lawyers across this country who find people in serious trouble and they drain every nickle out of them that they can drain. How? They use their bodies!

One thing we can say for lost people is, that they are all active using their bodies to:

1. Gain wealth for themselves.

2. Lure others into sin.

They ADVERTISE, they PROMOTE, they light the city up in NEON LIGHTS trying to attract mankind into sin. Wouldn't it be marvelous if God's people were even half as aggressive as the devil's people. We see many who sit back while their loved ones and friends are lost, doomed to a Christless eternity, and never even open their mouths TO WARN THEM...