PERSONAL WORK AS A MEANS OF SAVING SOULS—By O. B. Proctor
PERSONAL WORK AS A MEANS OF SAVING SOULS---By O. B. Proctor PANEL DISCUSSION: “Personal Work in the Church”
PERSONAL WORK AS A MEANS OF SAVING SOULS
0. B. Proctor “He that is wise winneth souls” (Proverbs 11:30 b).
Here we learn that souls can be won. We should remember that they can only be won.
There are many ways of reaching souls, of teaching the truth which makes men free from the bondage of sin (John 8:32). From the pulpit thousands hear the gospel every year, and multitudes hear the story of the cross in their homes by the way of radio. We have a great number of good tracts available through which many have learned the truth. We have good books written by faithful men of God in which we may learn the truth about the church, true worship, how to become a Christian and live a life well pleasing to the Lord. Also we have a number of good papers published by members of the body of Christ setting forth the gospel of Christ. Many souls are reached every year by these means. But one of the most effective means of saving souls is by personal work. By personal work we mean direct contact by the members of the Lord’s body with those who need to be taught. This is a work every member of the church can take part in; in fact, it is included in the great commission. The commission is not addressed just to the evangelists, elders and teachers of the Bible school classes but to every member of the church of our Lord. The Lord said, ‘‘Go teach,” and this is the personal responsibility of every member of the church. God holds us responsible to the extent of our ability. You can no more hire someone to do your teaching for you than you can pay someone to observe the Lord’s supper for you, or to do your praying. In Acts 5:14 we learn that “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” Why this marvelous growth? Human nature is the same today as it was then. We have the same gospel. There were as many hindrances of an external nature in the way then as there are today. One major reason for the great growth of the church then was that each member was a worker for the Lord. Andrew was a personal worker; he brought Peter to the Lord (John 1:40-42). Philip was also a personal worker for he brought Nathanael to Jesus. Jesus recognized the value of personal work. He spent most of his time talking to individuals; for example, see John 3, 4 and many other passages in the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Suppose you were the only Christian in the world, would you feel a great responsibility for teaching someone the truth before you died? Well, your responsibility is just as great as if you were the only Christian in the world. Suppose there are one hundred in the congregation of which you are a member and each member would teach just one person the truth in a twelve month period, what would be the result? In just one year the congregation would double in size.
I remember seeing this slogan in a church paper, “Each one win one.” Brethren, it can be done.
Personal work is one of the most effective means about problems that pertain to the individual. It is possible to preach many years from the pulpit and never touch the problems that bother individuals. Personal work is effective because by it you save your own soul and the souls of others. Remember, there is someone whom you can teach that no one else can teach, or no one else may have the opportunity. There is no joy equal to the joy of teaching someone the truth that will save the soul than seeing them believe, love and obey the truth and then watching them grow in grace and knowledge.