John Edward Cooper’s Notes

Lesson No. 8.

THE SOULWINNER’S EXAMPLE

 Every soulwinner should study the Master Soulwinner, the Lord Jesus Christ. How He dealt with lost souls is an object lesson for all personal workers. There are certain lessons we must learn regarding Christ and His dealings with sinners. If we are going to be successful in this work we must make a study of the following points:

NOTICE:

1. THE PURPOSE OF HIS COMING INTO THE WORLD
 The main purpose for Jesus coming into the world was not merely to teach a code of law or perform miracles and to meet the bodily needs, although these things were necessary. He came to save sinners from the error of their way. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). This was His mission and it must be ours. He was always seeking and finding the lost. Notice the following scriptures, “Jesus… FINDETH Philip” (John 1:43) and of the man who had an infirmity for 38 years the Bible says, “Jesus FINDETH him in the temple” (John 5:14). We read of the man who was born blind in John 9:35, “When He had FOUND him.” These scriptures suggest that Jesus sought for these souls. You will notice in the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15, Jesus says, “What man of you having an hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost UNTIL HE FIND IT.” Christ lived to save souls and He died to save souls. When He was born the angel said, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. This was the main purpose of the Trinity in sending Christ “that the world through Him might be SAVED.” We must get this important truth firmly planted in the soul if we are going to be successful soulwinners.

2. HE EMPHASISED PERSONAL WORK
 The Lord Jesus was a great believer in personal work. Seven of the apostles were won through personal work, and the others probably were. All through His ministry the Lord Jesus went out of His way and even left the crowds to talk to the individual. Notice some of the people Jesus spoke to individually—Peter, Philip, Nathanael, James, John, Zaccheus, Matthew, Bartimæus, a scribe, the woman of Samaria, the thief on the Cross. The soulwinner should make a study of these. It is recorded that Jesus spoke to 28 individuals and preached only 4 sermons to crowds. Personal evangelism is what Christ wanted the Church to take up. He emphasised the point by doing it Himself. H. C. Mabie said: “There is no substitute for the one-by-one way: to save many we must save one. This is proved when we study the Woman of Samaria; she was the means of bringing the city to Christ. Also, Andrew won Peter and he, in turn, was the means of bringing thousands to Christ. D. L. Moody was won by Edward Kimball, and it is recorded that Moody personally prayed with 750,000 souls in his meetings.
 Why do you think Jesus emphasised personal work? Because He knew that all believers could do this kind of work. All cannot preach sermons to a congregation but all can give their testimony to another individual of the saving grace of God. Because personal workers can reach people who would not attend a church. These kind of people are in offices, trains, in their own homes. All classes can be reached in this way. Because one can have a heart-to-heart chat and deal with the problems at hand. This, no doubt, was why Jesus dealt so much with individuals. He loved to talk to them personally. We cannot fail to see the wisdom of Christ in magnifying this kind of evangelism. Torrey says, “There is no comparison whatever between what will be effected by good preaching and what will be effected by constant personal work. A church of many members, with the most powerful preaching possible that depends on the minister alone to win men to Christ by his preaching, would not accomplish anything like what would be accomplished by a church with a comparatively poor preacher, when the membership generally were personal workers.”

3. HE EMPHASISED HIS DIVINITY OR DEITY
 One of the outstanding features of His ministry to those outside the fold was the way He put Himself forward as The Gospel. Jesus did not say, “I have come to show you the way or teach you the truth, or to lead you into life”, but He did say, “I am the Way; I am the Truth; I am the Life.” Yes, Jesus IS The Gospel. We must never forget this. There is a danger lest we talk about the Gospel and say nice things about it and the church or personalities in it. We must get people to see Jesus only, Jesus as Lord. If they are not linked with Him they are lost. His divinity and deity are mentioned over and over again in the Bible. Compare John 10:30, 38; John 12:45; John 14:7; John 17:10; Col. 1:16; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3. This, to many, is the most difficult part of the Gospel message but Christ emphasised it. Note the significant I AM’s. “I am the Door”, “I am the Bread of Life”, “I am the Good Shepherd”, “I am the resurrection”, “I am the Light of the World”, etc. Jesus never called people to a Church or a system but He did say, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). This is what the world needs—rest. They are weary, weighed down by sin and the burdens of life. It is our duty to tell them that He can meet their need, save them from sin and give them hope of Eternal Life.
 Remember, JESUS IS THE GOSPEL

Jesus only is our message
Jesus only will we see
We will lift up Jesus ever,
Jesus all in all to me.

“What we need” says Norman Vincent Peale “is people who know how to lift up Jesus as the One who can meet the need of people.” Christ is ready to do so if they will meet His conditions.

4. HE EMPHASISED REPENTANCE
 The call to the weary, the lost, the sinful, was, first of all a call, not to rest, peace and refuge, but to “REPENTANCE”. This must always be so before the benefits of salvation are received. Let us notice how Jesus emphasised the doctrine. In Luke 5:32 the Lord says, “I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Also Matt. 4:17, “From that time forth Jesus began to preach, and say REPENT, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Compare Matt. 12:41.) Note Matt. 11:20, “Then began He to upbraid the cities, wherein most of his mighty works were done because they REPENTED not.” Then again, notice the strong words in Luke 13:3–5 “…except ye REPENT, ye shall all likewise perish.” Christ always sought to bring people to repentance and to do this He explained the perilous position of any man who lives a selfish, proud, stubborn life because of sin. The evil in man will destroy him. It will lead him into a hell on earth as well as a hell hereafter. The evil in the heart of man stops him from having fellowship with God, from living a life that will glorify God and therefore so live to dishonour God. Jesus sought to show the enormity of sin and then preach REPENTANCE as the way to forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Those who make “Decisions for Christ” must do so on the ground of REPENTANCE and not because they want to be happy or because they want to take up the challenge of the Christian life or because the Gospel is better than any other religious message. To experience a real change of heart sinners need to see that, in their present state of heart, they are grieving God as well as knowing that they are going to Hell as a result. REPENTANCE then, is a vital message that the soulwinner must grasp if he is to lead souls into deliverance.

5. HE MANIFESTED GREAT LOVE TOWARD THE SINNER
 Jesus was kind and sympathetic towards the fallen. He never criticised or rebuked them but tried to win them by love and tenderness. It is important to study how the Lord dealt with outcasts and those who had fallen into sin. Compare Matthew the tax-gatherer (Matt. 9:9–12); Zaccheus (Luke 19:1–10); also the three sinful women, the woman of Samaria (John 4); the sinful woman of Luke 7; and the adulterous woman of John 8. There was no harsh condemnation but a gentle leading of the penitent to confession of sin and to a forgiveness of sin, charging them not to sin any more. His tact, patience, love and wisdom in dealing with the individual were amazing. It will be observed how the Lord dealt in love even to the proud young man of Mark 10 who told the Lord he had kept all the commandments. Verse 21 particularly reveals the tenderness of Christ, “Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said unto him…” This must be the driving force of all soulwinning efforts. The love of Christ must drive us on to love the proud, the vile, the opposer, and the unconcerned, for they are all lost. It is our job to lift men out of the pit not to push them further into it. How prone are we all to judge sinners and condemn them when we see them doing those things that are in opposition to the Gospel of Christ. We are apt to act like the Sons of Thunder and want to call down fire upon them, but this attitude called forth the rebuke of Jesus, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55). Let us be sure that we have the right spirit—the spirit of LOVE. We should make a study of the scriptures on love. Here are one or two: We are exhorted to “abide in His love” (John 15:19), “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2), and “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).

6. HE RARELY QUOTED THE BIBLE IN HIS SOULWINNING ACTIVITIES
 In His approach to the sinner Jesus did not quote scripture unless the scripture was of prominent interest to the person to whom He was talking. If there was some other interest more prominent in the lives of those to whom He was speaking, that interest was given first place. Notice, for instance, Peter, Zaccheus, and the Woman by the well. His opening conversation with all three did not contain any reference to scripture. We must note this point carefully. What is the use of quoting Bible texts to people who have no interest in or know nothing at all about the Bible? What is the use of talking to people if they do not know what you are talking about? It would be of no use to me for a scientist to talk to me in technical terms to convey a point. He would have to speak in plain, simple language at the commencement. This was the procedure Jesus adopted. He spoke in language that they would understand. We can talk to the sinner without aiming a series of Bible texts at him. We should talk in a natural way about the sinner’s needs, his fears and his beliefs and tell him what God has done for us through Christ, and what Christ can do for him if he will surrender. We will soon discover whether a sinner is ready or ripe for salvation. He will reveal a hunger for God and a desire to get right with God. It is then that he can be taught the way of life from the Scriptures. It is a fact, of course, that many Christians in the Church today will testify that they were “born again” without any Scriptures being read to them. The power of the Holy Ghost came upon them after genuine repentance of heart. God works oftentimes in a mysterious way. This, however, does not give us excuse to ignore the Scripture which says that “all men should be saved and brought to a knowledge of the truth.” The thought to be kept in mind is that, at the outset, Jesus talked to lost souls about those things that interested them, whatever that interest was and then, from that, He gradually led them on to salvation. We should emulate Christ in these matters.
 No study on soulwinning can be complete however without taking into account the sufferings of Christ.
 We will never fully comprehend what it cost the Saviour to bring about our salvation but we must never forget the fact of His sufferings. He reminded the disciples about what He was to endure for their sakes (Mark 8:31) “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must SUFFER MANY THINGS, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed, and, after three days rise again.” Notice what Isaiah says of Christ (Isaiah 50:6) “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from their spitting.” And the writer of the Hebrews 2:10—“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through SUFFERINGS.” And now Peter (1 Peter 3:18) “For Christ also hath once SUFFERED for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” There are certain words we ought to study and mark regarding the terrible sufferings of Christ, if we are going to have some idea of what the Saviour endured to bring about our salvation. The cost to Him was tremendous. Let us then consider a few of them. The scriptures tell us that He was

IN AGONY
 This is found in Luke 22:44. Moffatt’s translation of this is, “He fell into an agony and prayed with greater intensity, His sweat dropping to the ground like great clots of blood.” Weymouth’s translation says “While He … an agony of distress having come upon Him, prayed all the more with intense earnestness.” His agony was spiritual, physical and mental. It was not that He was shrinking from death but because of the tremendous burden of the world’s guilt. It was the shrinking of a sinless being from the depths of Satanic hate and horror through which He was to pass. Barnes says, “The word ‘agony’ is taken from the anxiety, effort and strong emotion of the wrestlers in the Greek games, about to engage in a mighty struggle”. And referring to the sweating of “great drops of blood” he says, “The blood was mingled with His sweat; that it fell profusely—falling masses of gore; that is, was pressed out by His inward anguish.” We see, then, Christ was prepared to go to any extreme to bring about the salvation of precious souls. Is it possible for any Christian in the light of this, to sit back and do nothing about the plight of the sinner, when the Saviour has done so much for us? Are we not prepared to spend and be spent in the same cause and not waste our time on things of little importance?

STRONG CRYING AND TEARS
 Here again we get an insight into the awful conflict which the Son of God was engaged upon. A painful, agonising conflict. Hebrews 5:7—“Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears.” One translation of this verse describes the Saviour as being in an “agony of tears” or with “bitter cries and tears” and another, “crying aloud and weeping.” The words “strong crying” here mean “wailing and lamentation.” It is the cry from one who is deeply distressed and is in great need of help. It undoubtedly refers to the earnest petition of the Saviour when in agony in Gethsemane or on Calvary. It is the intensity of the voice that is referred to when it is raised by an agony of suffering. This cry was accompanied by tears! Oh, how the Son of God must have wept, sighed, groaned and travailed to accomplish our redemption. We will never understand the full import of these experiences of the Christ of God. We look upon the scene with amazement, wonder and awe. May we all say with the hymnist:

When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

We cannot fully understand or explain Calvary but all Christians have felt the impact of Calvary in their lives. We know that, through His sufferings, we have benefited. We know that His Gospel works! He has not suffered in vain. “He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied.” There is a sense in which we also are called in some measure to suffer with Him (1 Peter 2:21). “Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in His steps.” In identifying ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, we should never shrink back from any trial that comes our way as a result. Indeed we should rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer with Him, like Moses of whom it is written, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt” (Heb. 11:25, 26). This should not just be the Christian’s duty, but privilege. Notice further, He was:

FORSAKEN OF GOD
 Matthew 27:46—“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ this is, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’” Jesus had passed through every stage of His sufferings except the last , but the last was the great and dreadful stage, the most terrifying part of His trial. Can we conceive what it must have been like to the Saviour to have passed through an experience of being God-forsaken? Here He was drinking the bitter cup of God’s wrath to the last dregs. He experienced what souls in hell will experience—being God forsaken. He knew what it was to be without hope. The Amplified Version of this text is: “Why have you abandoned me, leaving me helpless, forsaking and failing me in my hour of need?” If we want to know what hell is like, we must study Calvary. Here we see Jesus Christ taking the place of every hell-deserving sinner and suffering in his stead. He paid the price in full that we might escape. There is now no need for any soul to be left helpless and hopeless and God-forsaken because of sin and disobedience. He paid the penalty and God will forgive every sinner through His Son. “For Christ also hath suffered once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

CRUCIFIED
 What a soul-chilling, satanic word is this that describes the sufferings of Christ … “and they CRUCIFIED HIM” (Matt. 27:35). Death by crucifixion was denounced by one of the Roman orators as a “most foul and brutal punishment.” This form of death was only used for men who were slaves or upon people who were scarcely looked upon as men. Even the Jewish law said, “Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.” The pains of crucifixion were the most terrible form of punishment that could possibly be inflicted upon anyone, and the most shameful. See what they did. They spat upon Him. They plucked out the beard. They smote Him with the palms of their hands. They punched and pummelled Him until He was marred more than any man. They crowned Him with thorns who said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” They stripped Him who said, “If thine enemy take thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.” He who preached this great sermon, lived it in His hour of extreme suffering. They CRUCIFIED Him who never harmed a single thing. He, the greatest benefactor, the kindest who ever walked on earthly soil. The gentlest, mildest, the most compassionate among the sons of men, whose only crime was that “He went about doing good.” The Saviour was subjected by evil men to the most brutal of deaths—CRUCIFIXION! All the hatred, evil and malice of sin was hurled upon Him. If we want to see a picture of human depravity, and how low, how evil and base sinners can get, we have to look at the Cross! But love triumphed over evil. He did not overcome evil with evil but He overcame evil with good. In His dying hour He cried, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
 In making a study of the Master Soulwinner, we must not miss the main point of this lesson. That is, He suffered and died for souls. He searched for them, prayed for them, dealt in love with them, was always compassionate to them. All this many soulwinners of the past have done, but we must remember that there was and can only be one Redeemer. He it was who SUFFERED the pangs of hell. He it was who was scourged, smitten, afflicted and endured such agonies which are beyond human understanding. It is through His sufferings, and His alone that He has brought “many sons to glory”. He then, has done more than anyone to bring lost souls into the kingdom. In the light of this, no sacrifice should be too great for Christians to bear. We should be able to say, like Paul, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” When this happens, a harvest of souls will undoubtedly be reaped.

QUESTIONS

1. On what subjects did Jesus put special EMPHASIS?
2. What is it about personal work that makes it so important?
3. In our approach to the sinner, what is it we should especially look for?
4. What should be the driving force of the soulwinner as he goes after the lost?

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WITNESSING IS VITALLY IMPORTANT. STICK AT IT!
  WITNESS TO THREE PEOPLE.