Lord’s Day, Vol. 8 No. 7
Evangelism 2020 – Share a Tract
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
In a world plagued with the fear of death and the prospect of death, faced with the perpetual hankering of kingdoms against kingdoms, famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places (Matt. 24:7), believers in our generation is called to embrace the Apostle Paul’s noble aim for life – to “win Christ and be found in Him (Philippians 3:8-9). As the author Denis Gibson in his book “Go for the Life that Wins” said, Paul “had an insatiable longing to do God’s work, to share Christ with others, whatever the cost!”
Romans 1:14-16 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The work of being a witness for Christ thrives on such a spirit. And this, Gibson said well, “should be the aim of every Christian.”
First, we must know Christ as our own personal Saviour, and then we must tell others of the wonderful Saviour that found us!
Proverbs 11:30 summarizes well the Christian testimony – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of
life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
- The Godly Life (v30a)
- The Gospel Work (v30b)
(1) The Godly Life (v30a)
– The fruit of the righteous is a tree of Life…
The thriving Christian life is compared with a fruit-bearing tree, life-giving tree, growing in the grace and in the knowledge our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, being spiritually fruitful – for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost(Romans 14:17).
The righteous man’s life begins at the cross when he, with contrition of heart, finds forgiveness for his sins and restoration of life with God through faith in the atoning death and subsequent resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ from the dead the third day. God’s peace and joy abide in such a soul as the Holy Spirit’s fruit!
Such a life the psalmist profiles, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1-3).
He is careful to choose his counsel and his company. His conviction is to live according to God’s Word. He delights in God’s laws. He spends time in the meditation of God’s Word and is constantly under the influence of God’s law, moment by moment, day by day, that spiritual fruit may come to his life in its season.
The Apostle Paul articulated well this spiritual fruit when he said, Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
This is the spiritual character that equips one to win souls. There is no rebuke from God for such a fruitful life.
(2) The Gospel Work (v30b)
– …and he that winneth souls is wise.
The key word is “winneth”. In this fallen world, God’s way, His wisdom is to win sinful man to God. The word “winneth” literally means “to take”, that is, to lead men to Christ. This is the Christian’s wisest investment – to win souls!
Our Lord says to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love… 7b … To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. What is this “first love”?
It was that love of God that brought us to salvation in Christ when we experienced forgiveness of sins, becoming spiritually alive. There is a fervent love for Christ and for sharing God’s love with others. Remember at the Gate Beautiful in Acts 3 when Peter and John shared the gospel to the man who was lame from his mother’s womb? The man found salvation in Christ. With a deep sense of gratitude, he was leaping for joy, praising God and testifying for Christ – 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
The church seemed to have lost the joy of that first love that first characterized their faith. Their love for Christ has given way to other loves that crept into their hearts. Their love was not whole towards Christ as John warned in 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Jesus says to the Ephesian church “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works…” (Revelation 2:5a). The soul winner is promised Christ’s heavenly blessings – Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Our life was plagued with the misery of sin before God saved us. And having received overflowing life from Him, everlasting life that flows from an unending fountain, the Christian testimony is a life that imparts life. This is what we do when we share the gospel with someone. The use of tracts is a purposeful way of conveying the truth of God’s love by making time to prayerfully present a tract to someone God brings to you. We have reprinted “Will You Get to Heaven?” tract in both English and Mandarin with bible verses and pictorial illustration for your evangelistic work. Do take, deliberately and prayerfully use them for His glory. Amen.
“We have power with men in proportion to our power with God.” (Anonymous)
Our Lord Jesus sets for us the example – Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
As we review the life of Christ, does it not impact our lives to see how our Lord labour for lost souls? May the Lord energized us to be His witnesses for His glory. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee