TEXT: Luke 16:27-31; Luke 15:1-7, 10; Mark 5:18-20
TITLE: SOUL WINNING
Luke 16:27-31 – The greatest concern of hell
Luke 15:1-7, 10 – The greatest joy of heaven
Mark 5:18-20 – The greatest responsibility of earth
These three things are really one and the same. The greatest concern of hell is soul winning; the greatest joy of heaven is soul winning; the greatest responsibility of Christians on earth beyond our personal relationship before God and our families is soul winning.
The Greatest Concern of hell
The rich man in hell had 2 concerns: (1) That maybe someway he might be relieved of his awful suffering. Abraham of course assured him that there was no way that he could ever be released. That tells us, that once a man dies, his character is fixed forever. When a man dies there is no second chance, there is no parole there is no reprieve, there is no appeal. His character is fixed forever. This man did not love God on earth; he didn’t love God in hell. He didn’t repent on earth, he couldn’t repent in hell. As a man dies, so he remains for all eternity. (2) This second concern overpowered the first. Since I cannot get out then I want you to make sure that somebody wins my 5 brothers so that they don’t come here. This man loved his 5 brothers on earth and he still loved them in hell.
Some have foolishly made the statement, “If I go to hell I will have plenty of company.” The truth is that people in hell don’t want anymore company. They don’t want anybody else to come and especially members of their own family. So he said I want you to do something to see that my 5 brothers get saved so that they don’t come where I am. What kind of place is hell if the people who are there don’t want to see anyone else come to that terrible place?
So we must conclude that the greatest concern of hell is for Christians on earth to win sinners so that they don’t go to that terrible place. The greatest concern of hell is soul winning.
Why is it that he now has such an interest in his brother’s salvation when he didn’t have that concern when he was on earth? It is obvious, he is now finally convinced that there is a judgment to face. He now knows from personal experience that there is a burning hell for men to spend eternity in. That knowledge made him want to see his brothers saved above everything else. Obviously he did not fully believe that there was a judgment to face when he was on earth or he would have been concerned about his brother’s salvation on earth.
I have a question to ask you now. Why is it that a majority of Christians especially in the U.S. are really not interested in winning people to Jesus Christ on a personal basis? The answer has to be that we have reached the time that we are no longer really convinced that there is a judgment to face and a place where people will spend eternity in hell. We know it as a doctrine, we accept it in theory. We say we believe it because the articles of faith teach us that we are supposed to believe it. But in reality, if I believe that a man is going to spend eternity in a burning hell I cannot meet him day after day and not do anything to try to keep him from going to hell. If every Christian could go to hell for 5 minutes and then come back we would evangelize the world in 5 months because then we would be convinced that there is a judgment and a place called hell.
There has been a shift, we are more concerned about the present than we are about eternity. We tell people how to live on earth today instead of how to live for eternity. We are more concerned about getting people to see what God can do for them now than what He can do for them in eternity. Don’t misunderstand me, God is interested in His people today. God does want you to make it through. But God is far more interested in where you are going to live in eternity. The main interest of Scripture is not on today but eternity.
The Bible says 10 times as much about hell as it does about heaven. There is a reason for that, because God wants to keep us reminded that there is a burning hell and that we will be soul winners if we are convinced of it.
Until you are convinced that men are lost and going to hell you will never be a soul winner.
If the greatest concern of hell is to keep men out of hell, then surely our greatest concern ought to be to win men from hell to keep them from going there.
The Greatest Joy of Heaven
Luke 15 gives us 3 great parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost boy. They all teach the unending love of God for all sinners. He is willing to save any sinner no matter who they are or where you find them. We see the great joy of heaven over the salvation of one sinner on earth. There is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 99 who don’t.
In all 3 cases when that which was lost was found there was great joy. All heaven rejoices when any sinner gets saved.
I believe in casting out devils, but I don’t ever read where heaven rejoices when we cast out devils.
I believe in divine healing, and I can testify that it works but I don’t ever read in the Bible where all heaven rejoices when somebody gets healed of cancer.
I like to preach good sermons, every preacher wants to feel he is accepted and that he has done a good job when it’s over. But I don’t ever read where heaven rejoices and says he did a good job because he preached a good sermon.
The things we shout about are good and important to us but God never says we have to shout over it. The only thing I read in the word of God that heaven ever rejoices over is the salvation of a sinner.
You may not be able to cast out devils, you may not be able to heal the sick, you may not be able to preach a good sermon, but there is one thing you can do that is greater than all that and will cause all of heaven to rejoice, if you go out from here and win one sinner to Jesus Christ. You can do something that pleases God more than anything else that we may do. That should get us excited.
The greatest joy of heaven is soul winning on earth. If we want heaven to rejoice we need to win souls.
The Greatest Responsibility on Earth
Remember the story of Mark 5, the demoniac of Gederah. There is one thing I want to zero in on. When Jesus saved the man and delivered him from the graveyard and from running around naked and he set him free he did what all new converts want to do, “Lord I want to stay with you.” He wanted to stay around church all the time. Remember when you first got saved, if you didn’t have church at your church you wanted to find someone who did. You wanted to get everybody saved, you were so happy you thought everybody wanted to be happy. Do you remember that? What happens to us? Where did the excitement go?
Jesus said, “I know you mean well and you can come back to church but right now I want you to leave. You can do more for me out yonder than you can do for me here.
Jesus told him: “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you” (Mark 5:19).
I don’t read one place in the Bible where God looks out at the sinner and says, “You see that beautiful church over there with the stained glass windows and the padded pews, I want you to go to church.” Everywhere I read in the Bible, the Bible says the church ought to go to the sinner.
The Bible says that this man immediately in obedience to the Master departed and went to Decapolis his own home town, to his own family, to his own friends, to people he knew and begin to publish how great things the Lord had done for him.
If the greatest concern of hell is soul winning and the greatest joy of heaven is soul winning then the greatest responsibility of earth must be soul winning.
Beyond you responsibilities as a father or mother or your family, there is no duty that looms over you so heavily from God as the duty of winning the lost for Jesus for whom our savior died. Jesus Christ came into the world for one reason, to save sinners.
You say you believe that, then where should you start. Exactly where Jesus said, go home and start with your friends. It’s all right to win people you don’t know but if you can’t win people you do know then you can’t win people you don’t know.
Of all the churches across the land 6 to 8% just walk in off the streets; 2–3% come in from the churches programs; 8-12% the pastor attracted them; 3-4% came out of special need; 1-2% were visited by church members; 3-4% came through a Sunday School class; 70-90% came because they were witnessed to by relatives or friends.
If you would write down the names, addresses and phone number of every person you know in your family or acquaintance anywhere in the community or the outer area that you do not believe is a Christian then we will be busy for a long time trying to reach them.
Go home and start where Jesus said to start.
The call of the master is for us to go home and tell our friends what great things He has done for us.
Many times people will come and say, “pastor I want you to go see my brother, sister, son or a friend that God has laid on my heart.” Well if God has laid them on your heart you are the one that needs to go see them. You will have a better chance of winning your family & friends than I will. If you can’t win your close friends and family then how can you win people you don’t even know? Go home to your friends and tell then what He has done for you.
All you have to do is share your testimony of the transforming power of Jesus in your life.
