All are sinners and need to be saved.
Getting people to admit they are lost, sinful and alienated from God without hope in this world is not always an easy task.
Ephesians 3:12 "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Psalms 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies."
You do not have to teach a child to lie, but you do have to teach him/her to tell the truth.
You do not have to teach a child to be bad, but you do have to teach him/her to do good.
Romans 3:19 "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."
Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
Man brought to a guilty state
As man hears the gospel, this brings him to a state of guilt before his Maker. We should always take time to explain
to the unsaved person that attends our services what it means to be born again. It is not a fact of feeling a little
better but actually worse and worse until the Holy Spirit has done His work in the life of a penitent sinner.
At this point and place, this becomes a very crucial time. You can lead a sinner up to a point, the door, which is
Christ, but he (the sinner) must do the praying, repenting and believing. If and when the burden is lifted, the sinner
knows before anyone else; therefore, he (the sinner) is the one to do the confession.
Observances: I am afraid in the area of "easy believism" mass evangelism is misleading in many ways. Notice how
Christ Himself dealt with the matter:
Matthew 16:13-17 "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?"
14) "And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one
of the prophets."
15) "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?"
16) "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God."
17) "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
The new birth is a supernatural birth from heaven. A transformation takes place in the heart of an individual.
He knows it first and for sure, because his Father in heaven has given him this witness within. How could a dead
man be made alive and not know about it?
Flesh and blood (man) had nothing more to do with the conversion but to present or preach the gospel to him.
At times, someone could be over anxious, desiring for and interested in the person being saved and could hinder
the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a seeking sinner.
Flesh and blood (man) could say you have prayed enough. Flesh and blood (man) could say just repeat a prayer after me.
Flesh and blood (man) could even say you look like a Christian, or you have come forward and repeated scriptures, etc.
We must remember it is the sinner's prayer, the sinner's believing and the sinner's confession and should not be prompted
by another.
Doesn't it make good sense that if the Holy Spirit convicts (without conviction there can be no conversion) it is reasonable that He
not the case with Peter? Matthew 16:17 "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. "
How can I know for sure that I am saved?
The common answer is, "the Word says I'm saved." This can be true, but we need some explanation about the assurance of salvation.
We agree in order for a person to be saved, he must hear the gospel. This gospel brings about conviction
(conviction of sin), and at some point, the sinner is brought by the power of the Holy Spirit to repentance
("I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:3). At this point, a sincere
seeker turns to God through his sorrowful heart and places his belief and trust in Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul.
The Holy Spirit that convicted and made him to feel sorry for his sin, must likewise reveal to him he is saved.
In order to exist in this life, one must be begotten by an earthly father, conceived of an earthly mother and born into
the family of Brown, Smith or Jones, etc. In order for us to be born again, we must be begotten by the Word of God,
conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born into the family of God. There is no other way of entrance.
Christ told Peter, "for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17b)."
When a personal worker, teacher, or minister has to pry, pull, coax, and lead into
(as a car salesman would a perspective car buyer), friend, this is pure flesh and blood, and God has nothing to do with it!
The Holy Spirit must be the agent In this matter.
What evidence does the penitent sinner receive?
First and foremost, when a person has completely surrendered his life to the Lord, he is birthed into the family of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.
To our sad regret, mass evangelism is telling the world today when you get saved there is no feeling in it.
You just take it by faith, This is sad and unwise counsel. How can a dead person be made alive and not know it?
Or how can you be transformed from the powers of darkness into the kingdom of His dear son and not realize there has
been a great change in your soul? (Colossians 1:12-13 "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son") They usually try to associate the new birth with the feeling of our
physical senses. Sure, our bodies may feel good today and blue tomorrow, but this is a supernatural birth, by a supernatural
God which effects man's soul and not his body. This supernatural birth cannot be explained with anything tangible
(or our five senses). When Christ explained this birth to Nicodemus, He used the invisible wind.
(John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh,
and whither it goeth: so it every one that is born of the Spirit.) You cannot see the wind, but you can feel it and
see its effects not from whence it comes.
Because of our own peculiarity or make up, our nature is different, so salvation effects us in various ways.
However, it is real for sure, and you can feel it! Some may just arise from an altar of prayer with a smile.
Another may arise and even cry for joy, others may shout, and still others arise with a relief of a burden.
Every person must experience the lifting of the burdened heart. At conversion, this burdened heart is gone, or
a convicted heart is no longer. If you have ever been brought into a relationship with God, you had a convicted
and burdened heart. The person who arose with just a feeling of relief got as much salvation as the one who
may have shouted. You can most definitely feel a relief from this burden, and that is a feeling, dear friend!
Those who may scorn or criticize us who know there is most definitely a feeling to salvation are saying by their
very admittance that they never had an experience of "feeling saved." It is pretty good evidence that they may
never have been saved. It would be most pathetic to go through life and come to the end without having an assurance
of salvation in your heart.
For Further Help Contact: By: Bro. Eugene Brown
Words of Ministry
P.O. Box 78333
Nashville, Tennessee 37207
USA