Two Familiar Verses

There are two verses in the Bible that are commonly quoted in Pentecostal pulpits. Usually, they are discussed separately. However, in the Bible, they are side by side. So, I'd like to look at them that way - together. These verses are II. Peter 3:9, 10.

First, let us look at II. Peter 3:9 - "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This verse reveals God's willingness to save absolutely anyone. He is not willing that any should perish. This willingness is revealed throughout the scriptures - in the shepherd that crosses valleys and hills to find the lost sheep; in the woman who lost a coin and swept every room until she found it; in the father who stands on the portals looking for his prodigal before the prodigal looked for him. It is evident that people are lost, not because the Father refuses to save, but because they refuse to be saved. The Lord is not slack, but is longsuffering, not willing that any die lost, but that ALL be saved.

The next verse, another familiar verse, II. Peter 3:10, reads this way - "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." The first part of this verse, the more familiar part, says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night." The words I wish to focus on - "The day of the Lord WILL COME." In the previous verse, Peter just finished exhorting us concerning the willingness of the Lord to save the lost, at any cost. He goes to great length to explain that the Lord wants to save ALL. But the next verse takes a twist. "The day of the Lord WILL COME." The Lord does not want anyone to die lost. But, as much as He wishes to save, people being lost will not stop Him from coming. I have heard it sung, "Wait a little longer, please Jesus." I like the song, because the writer has a burden to get souls saved before He comes. But there is a day appointed, known only to the Father, when Jesus Christ will come to judge the quick and the dead. Your lost loved ones or mine won't stop Him. He is coming soon, and we must work while it is day, for night cometh, when no man can work.

The Lord's Prayer Requests

Sitting in many services I attend, there is often a part of the service dedicated to "taking up prayer requests." This is where people state their needs to the congregation for prayer. In most cases, churches spend fifteen minutes taking up prayer requests and a minute and a half praying for them. Nonetheless, I have often wondered, if Jesus were physically sitting in a pew in one of these services, what requests would He ask us to pray about? The answer is found in the Word of God. There are several things the Lord asks us to pray for in His Word:

1) Psalm 122:6 - "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
2) Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2 - "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." Pray for the salvation of the lost and labourers to reach them.
3) James 5:16 - "Pray one for another." Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
4) Hebrews 13:7 - "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God." Pray for our pastors.
5) Hebrews 13:3 - "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them." Pray for Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, as well as for the salvation of their persecutors.
6) Hebrews 13:18 - "Pray for us." Paul is requesting prayer for himself and those who were labouring with him. Pray for missionaries and those working in the ministry in whatever capacity.
7) I Timothy 2:2 - "For kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." Pray for our leaders and our nation.
8) Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28 - "Pray for them which despitefully use you."
9) Matthew 26:41; Luke 22:40 - "Pray that ye enter not into temptation."
10)Luke 21:36 - "Pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

The Soul-Winner's Message - Salvation

If we are going to win souls, we must have the right message. Our message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. We preach Christ crucified. We preach that man is sinful, Christ is sinless, and that He lived and died to save sinners. We preach that salvation is for ALL who will come.

What about salvation? There are characteristics of salvation that must be realized. First, allow me to define what salvation IS NOT. It is not by grace alone. The Bible says in Titus 2:11 - "For the grace of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared unto ALL men." If grace is all that is necessary to be saved, then the entire world will be saved, for His grace has appeared to ALL. Although some teach it, the Bible does not teach that the whole world will be saved.

Furthermore, salvation is not by works alone. Titus 3:5 states, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." Man cannot be saved by his own works. No works that we can do will be sufficient to save us on the great Day of Judgment.

In addition to this, salvation is not by grace and works together. Notice Romans 11:6 - "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." Very clearly, salvation has to be either by grace, or by works, but it cannot be by both. Some teach that salvation is by grace at the altar and by works when you get up. It cannot be this way. If works cannot get you saved, how can works keep you saved? One may say, "Oh, but the Bible says 'work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.'" There are a couple things about that. First, I can't work out a cabbage patch if I don't have one! God has to give me salvation before I can "work it out." Secondly, one must understand that "work out your salvation" is different than "work for your salvation." When I "work out" my salvation, I am simply putting to work what I have already received. I am not working in order to receive. Salvation is not by works, but salvation works.

So, salvation is not by grace alone. Nor is it by works alone. Nor is it by grace and works together. It is not grace first then works. I am not saved by grace then kept by works. So, what are the characteristics of salvation? Ephesians 2:8 and 9 defines it perfectly - "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Salvation is by grace, through faith. The act of God showing grace to me is not enough. I must have faith. Faith is simply believing. It is not merely believing in God's existence. Devils believe this way, and they tremble. It is not just believing that Jesus died on the cross. It is believing to the saving of the soul. It is TRUSTING Jesus with my soul. I rest in what He did on the cross for my salvation. I trust His blood to cleanse me from sin, and I lean on nothing else. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness."

Many verses in the New Testament tell us that believing, or placing faith in Christ, is ALL that is necessary to be saved. A few of these verses are John 1:12; John 3:15-18; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:35, 40, 47; John 7:38; John 8:24; John 11:25; John 12:46; John 20:31; Acts 8:36, 37; Acts 10:43; Acts 13:39; Acts 16:30, 31; Romans 1:16; Romans 3:22, 26; Romans 4:5; Romans 10:4. That's 26 New Testament verses that state clearly that believing brings life to the one who is dead in trespasses and sins.

Now, what about other verses that speak of "repentance?" In Luke 13:3 and Luke 13:5 Jesus said, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Repentance is, by definition, a change of mind. A person changes his mind and heart when he repents. Some preach repentance as changing one's lifestyle. But it is not a lifestyle change. I can quit smoking, drinking, cursing, and everything other evil thing I do and be just as lost as anyone. Repentance is a change from resisting God to believing God. When I truly repent, I change my mind about Christ. Rather than just respecting Him, I determine to follow Him. Rather than resist Him, I believe Him. Repentance is a change toward BELIEVING. Believing is at the heart of repentance. This is why Jesus preached in Mark 1:15, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel."

Now, what about Romans 10:13? This verse states, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "See," you may say, "believing is not enough. One must pray." Calling upon the name of the Lord only works under one condition. The next verse, Romans 10:14, states, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not BELIEVED?" There it is. If I do not believe, I can call on the Lord all day and be lost. Salvation hinges on FAITH TOWARD GOD. It is believing, not saying words. This is why there is no "sinner's prayer" in the Bible. When the publican in the temple was justified, he prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner." When the thief on the cross was justified, he prayed, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." When Saul of Tarsus was justified, he prayed, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" These prayers are very short, and different from each other in terms of their wording. This is because salvation does not hinge on what comes out of my mouth, but what is taking place in my heart. "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED, AND THY HOUSE!"

Salvation is simple once we get this straight. Soul-winning is easier once we understand how to be saved exactly.

Looking Back at 2009 - Did You Win Any Souls?

Soul-winning is the single most prominent theme of the gospel. Beating rapidly, it is the heartbeat of God the Father, the mission of His Son Jesus Christ, and the divine purpose of the Holy Ghost. When a church is in step with the Godhead, she will cry with the Spirit, "COME!" Shamefully but truthfully speaking, soul-winning is not a priority in many churches that refer to themselves as "fundamental" or "evangelical." It seems that churches are more interested today in banquets, fellowships, youth retreats, ladies' retreats, men's advances, ministers' vacations, and everything else to win souls.

Everything that the Spirit of God has bestowed upon the church has been given for the purpose of first, winning the lost, and second, edifying the body of Christ. The church should strive, contend for, and covet earnestly the best gifts, not so we can boast of our spirituality, but that the lost might be saved. We need divine healing in the churches, not so we can feel better, but that the lost would see the power of God and repent of their sins and come to Jesus. I challenge every reader, in the coming year, to make a conscious effort to win souls. Plan on winning souls.

Soul winning cannot be done on our own. We must have the help of the Holy Ghost, and for this purpose He was given. First, we need a vision and burden of the lost who are perishing. This will only come by fervent prayer. Before we do anything, we need to build an altar and ask God to open our eyes, allowing us to see the fields that are white already to harvest. Secondly, we need boldness. Some men have a burden, but they are afraid to open their mouth. We need boldness to cry out against the sin of our day, and to reach for the lost. Thirdly, after we have attained boldness, we need wisdom. It is not enough just to be willing to speak, but we need to speak the right thing. This, too, only comes by seeking the face of God. No matter how educated you are, there is always someone more educated than you. We must not depend on our own wisdom; we need the wisdom that comes from above. Last, we need to pray for the Holy Ghost to convict the sinner as we witness to them. All of our efforts are in vain if the Lord does not work on the other end.

By soul-winning, I do not mean merely "dropping a word in about the Lord." I mean confronting the sinner with the condition of his lost soul. I mean presenting a clear gospel message to them, and offering to pray with them on the spot, asking them to repent of their sins right there. Soul-winning is not just the pastor's job. It is not contained only in the evangelist that preaches revivals in churches. It is for every believer. It is sad that there are many church members who have been saved for years, and they have not won their first soul to Jesus Christ. It is even sadder that some have had the Holy Ghost for years, and are not responsible for the first soul being saved. I pray that God's people would wake up, and see our responsibility to win souls.

Arrogance? You May Have More Than You Think!

One key characteristic of God's grace is the fact that He gives when we do not deserve it. In my own walk with the Lord, I have noticed significantly that the Lord does far more in spite of me than he does because of me. This is a portrait of God's amazing grace. In the book of I. Peter chapter 5, verses 5 and 6 have some phrases for us to ponder. One such phrase is, "Be clothed with humility." Another is, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." A third is, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God." Truly humility is essential in anyone getting anywhere with God Almighty. The Lord will overlook a lot of shortcomings and help us anyway. Nonetheless, I am convinced that God will not overlook pride. The sinner MUST humble himself to be saved. The saint MUST humble himself for his prayer to be heard. Solomon stated, "These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A PROUD LOOK..." God hates arrogance. We must humble ourselves to get anywhere with God.

"I have no arrogance in me," you may boast. There are four ways in which arrogance shows its ugly head. First, if a person has heard the gospel and rejects it, he is very arrogant, and needs to come down a notch or two. When I tell you how to be saved, and you say, "I'm as good as anyone in that church," you are arrogant. When the gospel is presented to you and you reply to the knocking Saviour, "I do not need what you have to offer," you certainly are very proud.

Sinners are not the only arrogant ones; Christians, if we are not careful, may have arrogance in our hearts to some degree. A second way that arrogance shows its ugly head is by complaining. Yes, complaining is arrogance. The spirit behind one who complains says, "How dare something go wrong in my life today?!!!" If we understood how many blessings with which we are richly blessed, the only words that would proceed out of our mouth would be those of thanksgiving, and not words of complaint.

A third way in which arrogance reveals itself is by a person attempting to "make a deal with God." Christians go to the altar and say to the Lord, "If you'll...then I'll..." LIKE WE'VE REALLY GOT SOMETHING TO OFFER GOD! Like He'd better jump on it or He'll miss a deal! We need to understand that we do not need to make a deal with the Lord; we need to ask Him to give us what we need out of His grace. Then, we'll just live for Him because we love Him, and not because we're trying to pay off His blessings.

Fourthly, UNFORGIVENESS is arrogance. If, after you have been wronged, you refuse to forgive, you are arrogant. The spirit behind the unforgiving one says, "I can't forgive; they wronged me!" Well, with all due respect, who do you think you are? There is someone who is higher than you, and His name is Jesus. He was treated more wrongfully than either you or me. And, at the very hour of His crucifixion, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" If, after Christ forgave you, you refuse to forgive others, you are very highminded! No wonder Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."