How to Deal With Those Who Realize Their Need of a Savior and Really Desire to Be Saved

We come now to the question of how to deal with

individual cases. We begin with those who realize

their need of a Savior, and really desire to be

saved. We begin with these because they are the

easiest class to deal with.

I. SHOW THEM JESUS AS A SIN-BEARER.

The first thing to show one who realizes his need

of a Savior is that Jesus has borne his sins in

His own body on the cross. A good verse for this

purpose is 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."

Get the inquirer to read the verse himself, then

say to him, "The first half of this verse shows

you your need of salvation, the second half shows

you the provision that God has made for your

salvation. Read again the first half of the verse.

Is this true of you? Have you gone astray like a

sheep? Have you turned to your own way?" "Yes."

"Then what are you?" Get the inquirer to say, "I

am lost." "We will now look at the provision God

has made for your salvation; read the last half of

the verse. Who is the one in this verse upon whom

our iniquity has been laid?" "Christ." "What then

has God done with your sin?" "Laid it on Christ."

"Is it then on you any longer?" Go over it again

and again until he sees that his sin is not on

him, but that it is on Christ, and has been

settled forever. I often use a simple illustration

in making the meaning of the verse plain. I let my

right hand represent the inquirer, my left hand

{33} represent Christ, and my Bible represent the

inquirer's sin. I first lay the Bible on my right

hand and say, "Now where is your sin?" The

inquirer replies of course, "On me." I then repeat

the last half of the verse, "the Lord hath LAID ON

HIM the iniquity of us all," and transfer the

Bible from my right hand to my left, and ask,

"Where is your sin now?" The inquirer replies, "On

Him, of course." I then ask, "Is it on you any

longer?" and he says, "No, on Christ." Very many

people have been led out into light and joy by

this simple illustration.

I sometimes put it in this way, in using this

verse, "There are two things which a man needs to

know, and one thing he needs to do in order to be

saved. What he needs to know is, first, that he is

a lost sinner, and this verse tells him that, and

second, that Christ is an all-sufficient Savior,

and this verse tells him that. What he needs to do

is to accept this all-sufficient Savior whom God

has provided. Now will you accept Him right here

and now?"

Another excellent verse to show Jesus as a

sin-bearer, is Galatians 3:13:

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the

law, BEING MADE A CURSE FOR US: for it is written,

Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."

The inquirer should be given the verse to read for

himself. When he has read it, you may question him

something like this: "What does this verse tell us

that Christ has redeemed us from?" "Whom has He

redeemed?" "How has He redeemed us from the curse

of the law?" "Do you believe that Christ has

redeemed you from the curse of the law by being

made a curse in your place?" "Will you read it

then in the singular instead of in the plural?"

Make it clear what you mean, until the inquirer

reads the verse in this way: "Christ has redeemed

me from the curse of the law, being made a curse

for me; for it is written, cursed is every one

that hangeth on a tree."

Another good verse for this purpose is

2_Corinthians 5:21:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew

no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of

God in him."

Have him read the verse, and then ask questions

somewhat as follows: "Who is it that hath been

made sin for us?" "For whom has Christ been made

sin?" "For what purpose is it that Christ has been

made sin for us?" "Can you put this verse in the

singular and {35} read it this way: 'For he hath

made him to be sin for me, who knew no sin; that I

might be made the righteousness of God in him'?"

Sometimes it will be well to use all three of

these passages, but as a rule the first is

sufficient; so far as my own experience goes, it

is more effective than either of the other

passages -- in fact, I deal with very few men with

whom I do not use Isaiah 53:6 sooner or later.

II. SHOW THEM JESUS AS A RISEN SAVIOR, ABLE TO

SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST.

It is not enough to show them Jesus as a

sin-bearer, for through believing in Jesus as a

sin-bearer one merely gets pardon from sin, but

there is something else that the sinner needs,

that is deliverance from sin's power. In order to

get this, they need to see Jesus as a risen

Savior, able to save to the uttermost. By

believing in Christ crucified, we get pardon, but

by believing in Christ risen, we get deliverance

from sin's power. One of the best verses to use

for this purpose is Hebrews 7:25:

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the

uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he

ever liveth to make intercession for them."

When the inquirer has read the passage, ask him

who it is that is able to save, and to what extent

He is able to save. Explain to the inquirer what

"to the uttermost" means. Many read this passage

as though it taught that Jesus was able to save

from the uttermost. This is true, but it is not

the truth of this text, it is save TO the

uttermost. Then ask the inquirer why it is that

Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Dwell upon

this thought, that JESUS EVER LIVETH, that He is

not only a Savior who once died and made atonement

for sin, but that He is a Savior who lives today,

and is able to keep from sin's power. Then ask the

inquirer if he is willing to trust Jesus as a

living Savior, one to whom he can look day by day

for victory over sin.

Another good verse to use for this purpose is Jude

24:

"Now unto him that is ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM

FALLING, and to present you faultless before the

presence of his glory with exceeding joy."

When the inquirer has read the verse, ask him what

this verse says Jesus is able to do, emphasize "to

keep you from falling." Explain why it is that

Jesus is able to keep from falling; because He is

a {36} risen, living Savior today, and get the

inquirer to see plainly that he is to look to the

risen Christ to keep him from falling.

Matthew 28:18 is a good verse to use to bring out

the extent of Christ's power:

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All

power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

A young convert needs to realize that he is to

stand, not in his own strength, but in the

strength of Christ, and it is a great help for him

to see that the one in whom he is to trust has all

power in heaven and in earth.

One can also use to advantage 1_Peter 1:5:

"Who are kept by the power of God through faith

unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last

time."

and 1_Corinthians 15:1-4. The latter passage

brings out clearly the thought that the doctrine

that Christ died for our sins, as blessed as it

is, is not the whole Gospel, but only half of it;

that the rest of the Gospel is that He was buried

and that He rose again. Always get an inquirer to

believe not only in Christ crucified, but in

Christ risen as well. A man once came to me in

deep distress of soul. He was a perfect stranger

to me, but told me that he had come quite a

distance to tell me his story. He said, "When I

was a boy seven years of age, I started to read

the Bible through. I had not gotten through

Deuteronomy before I found that if one kept the

whole law of God for one hundred years, and then

broke it at one point, he was under the curse of a

broken law. Was that right?" "Yes," I replied,

"that is substantially the teaching of the law."

He then continued, that he was in deep distress of

soul for about a year, but as a boy of eight, he

read John 3:16 and saw how Jesus Christ had died

in his place, and borne the curse of the broken

law for him, and he added, "My burden rolled away,

and I had great joy. Was I converted?" I replied

that that sounded very much like an evangelical

conversion. "Well," he said, "let me tell you the

rest of my story. Years passed by; I came to

Chicago to live; I worked in the stockyards and

lived in the stockyards region among many godless

men; I fell into drink and I cannot break away;

every little while this sin gets the mastery of

me, and what I have come to ask you is, is there

any way in which I can get the victory over sin?"

I {37} replied, "There is. I am glad you have

come to me; let me show you the way." I opened my

Bible to 1_Corinthians 15:1-4, and had him read:

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel

which I preached unto you, which also ye have

received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye

are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached

unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I

delivered unto you first of all that which I also

received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

according to the Scriptures; and that he was

buried, AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN the third day

according to the Scriptures."

Then I said to him, "What is the Gospel that Paul

preached?" He answered, "That Christ died for our

sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and

rose again." "That is right," I said. Then I

said, "Now you have believed the first part of

this Gospel, that Christ died for your sins."

"Yes." "Through believing that you have found

peace." "Yes." "Well," I continued, "this is only

half the Gospel. If you will really believe the

other half from your heart, you will get victory

over your sin. Do you believe that Jesus rose

again?" "Yes, I believe everything in the Bible."

"Do you believe that Jesus is today in the place

of power at the right hand of God?" "I do." "Do

you believe that He has all power in heaven and on

earth?" "I do." "Do you believe that this risen

Christ with all power in heaven and on earth has

power to set you free from the power of your sin?"

"Yes," he said slowly, "I do." "Will you ask Him

to do it, and trust Him to do it right now?" "I

will." We knelt in prayer. I prayed and then he

followed. He asked the risen Christ to set him

free from the power of sin. I asked him if he

really believed He had power to do it. "Yes." "Do

you believe He will do it?" "Yes, I do." We rose

and parted. Some time after, I received a very

joyous letter from him, telling me how glad he was

that he had come to see me, and how the message he

had heard was just the one that he needed. There

are thousands of professing Christians today who

know Jesus as crucified Savior, and have found

pardon and peace through believing in Him, but

they have never been brought to a definite, clear

faith in Jesus as a risen Savior who can save from

the power of sin.

III. SHOW THEM JESUS AS LORD.

It is not enough to know Jesus as a Savior; we

must know Him as Lord also. A good verse for this

purpose is Acts 2:36: {38}

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know

assuredly, that GOD HATH MADE THAT SAME JESUS,

whom ye have crucified, BOTH LORD AND CHRIST."

When the inquirer has read the verse, ask him what

God hath made Jesus, and hold him to it until he

replies, "Both Lord and Christ." Then say to him,

"Are you willing to accept Him as your Divine

Lord, the one to whom you will surrender your

heart, your every thought, and word, and act?"

Another good verse for this purpose is Romans

10:9:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth THE

LORD Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that

God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be

saved."

When the inquirer has read the verse, ask him what

we are to confess Jesus as. He should reply,

"Lord." If he does not so reply, ask him other

questions until he does answer in this way. Then

ask him, "Do you really believe that Jesus is

Lord, that He is Lord of all, that He is

rightfully the absolute Lord and Master of your

life and person?" Perhaps it will be well to use

Acts 10:36 as throwing additional light upon this

point:

"The word which God sent unto the children of

Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (HE IS

LORD OF ALL)."

IV. SHOW THEM HOW TO MAKE JESUS THEIR OWN.

It is not enough to see that Jesus is a

sin-bearer, and that Jesus is a risen Savior, and

that Jesus is Lord; one must also see how to make

this Jesus their own sin-bearer, their own risen

Savior, and their own Lord. There is perhaps no

better verse to use for this purpose than John

1:12:

"But AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he

power to become the sons of God, even to them that

believe on his name."

When one has read the verse, you can ask to whom

it is Jesus gave power to become the sons of God.

"As many as received Him." "Received Him as

what?" then make it clear from what you have

already said under the preceding points, that it

is to receive Him as sin-bearer, to receive Him as

a risen Savior, to receive Him as our Lord and

Master. "Will you just take Him as your sin-bearer

now, as your risen Savior, as your Lord and

Master? Will you take Him to be whatever He offers

Himself to you to be?" "I will." "Then {38}

what does this verse show you that you have a

right to call yourself?" "A son of God." "Are

you a son of God?" Oftentimes the inquirer will

hesitate, but go over it again and again until it

is as clear as day to him.

Another excellent passage to use for this purpose

is John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM

should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Ask the inquirer who it is that receives eternal

life. "Whosoever believes in Him." "Do you

believe in Him as your sin-bearer?" "Do you

believe in Him as your risen Savior?" "Do you

believe in Him as your Lord?" "Well, then, what

have you?"

Another good passage to use is Acts 10:43:

"To him give all the prophets witness, that

through his name WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM shall

receive remission of sins."

Still another is Acts 13:39:

"And by him ALL THAT BELIEVE are justified from

all things, from which ye could not be justified

by the law of Moses."

V. SHOW THE NEED OF CONFESSING CHRIST WITH THE

MOUTH.

No conversion is clear and satisfactory until one

has been led to confess Christ with the mouth

before men. Perhaps the best passage to show the

need of such open confession with the mouth is

Romans 10:9-10:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the

Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that

God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be

saved. For with the heart man believeth unto

righteousness; and with the mouth confession is

made unto salvation."

When the inquirer has read it, ask him what is the

first thing this verse tells us that we must do if

we are to be saved. "Confess with thy mouth the

Lord Jesus." "Well, will you confess Jesus as

your Lord with the mouth now?" Wherever possible,

it is good to get the persons dealt with to make a

public confession of Jesus just as soon as

possible. If you are dealing with them in an

after-meeting, have them make this confession

right then and there; if somewhere else, bring

them to a prayer-meeting, or some other service

where they can make the confession, as soon as

possible. {40}

VI. LEAD INTO ASSURANCE.

It is not enough that one should be saved, one

ought to have the assurance that he is saved. He

ought to be brought to a place where he can say

confidently and joyously, "I KNOW I am saved, I

KNOW I have everlasting life." After an inquirer

has been led to the acceptance and confession of

Christ, an excellent passage to use for this

purpose is John 3:36:

"He that believeth on the Son HATH EVERLASTING

LIFE: and he that believeth not the Son shall not

see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

When the inquirer has read the passage you can

say, "Now this passage tells us that there is some

one who has everlasting life; who is it?" "He

that believeth on the Son." "What does God say in

this passage that every one who believes on the

Son has?" "Everlasting life." "Is it absolutely

sure that every one who believes on the Son has

everlasting life?" "It is; God says so." "Well,

do you believe on the Son?" "Yes." "What have you

then?" "Everlasting life." "Are you absolutely

sure that you have everlasting life?" "Yes." "Why

are you sure?" "Because God says so here." In

many cases, probably in the majority of cases, it

will be necessary to go over this again, and

again, before the inquirer says that he is

absolutely sure that he has everlasting life

because he believes on the Son, but do not let him

go until he is thus absolutely sure.

VII. GIVE DIRECTIONS AS TO HOW TO LIVE THE

CHRISTIAN LIFE.

It is not enough that a person be led to accept

Christ, that is only the beginning of the

Christian life, and if one is not shown how to

lead the Christian life which he has thus begun,

his life is likely to be largely one of failure.

The reason so many Christian lives are comparative

failures is because of a lack of definite and full

instruction to the young convert as to how to lead

the life which he has begun. The following

instructions should be given to every one who has

been dealt with as described above; and not only

to them, but to every other class of inquirers

that may be led to the acceptance of Christ by the

methods described in the following pages or in any

other way. You will speak to the inquirer somewhat

as follows: "You have just begun the Christian

life; now you wish to make a success of it. There

are six very {41} simple things to do, and it is

absolutely sure that any one who does these six

things will make a success of the Christian life."

1. "You will find the first of these in Matthew

10:32. Please read it very carefully:

"Whosoever therefore shall CONFESS ME BEFORE MEN,

him will I confess also before my Father which is

in heaven."

This verse tells us that Christ confesses before

the Father those who confess Him before men. You

will make a success of the Christian life only if

Christ confesses you before the Father, so if you

wish to succeed in this life that you have begun,

YOU MUST MAKE A CONSTANT PRACTICE OF CONFESSING

CHRIST BEFORE MEN. Improve every opportunity that

you get of showing your colors, and stating that

you are upon Christ's side, and of telling what

the Lord hath done for your soul."

2. "STUDY THE WORD OF GOD REGULARLY, AND HIDE IT

IN YOUR HEART." To make this point clear, use the

following passages:

"THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MINE HEART, that I might

not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11.

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the

word, that ye may grow thereby." 1_Peter 2:2.

One of the most frequent causes of failure in the

Christian life is neglect of the Word of God. One

can no more thrive spiritually without regular

spiritual food than he can thrive physically

without regular and proper physical nourishment.

3. "PRAYER WITHOUT CEASING." To make this point

clear, use

"Pray without ceasing." 1_Thessalonians 5:17.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew

their strength; they shall mount up with wings as

eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they

shall walk, and not faith." Isaiah 40;31.

Have the young convert read these verses again and

again and mark them in his Bible.

4. "SURRENDER YOUR WILL ABSOLUTELY TO GOD, AND

OBEY HIM IN ALL THINGS." To make this plain use

Acts 5:32:

"And we are his witnesses of these things; and so

is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given TO

THEM THAT OBEY HIM." {42} Show that obedience is

a matter of the will more than of the outward

life, and that God gives His Holy Spirit to them

that obey Him, or surrender their will absolutely

to Him. Insist upon the need of this absolute

surrender of the will to God.

5. "BE A CONSTANT AND GENEROUS GIVER." To make the

necessity of this plain to the convert, use

2_Corinthians 9:6-8:

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall

reap also sparingly; and he which soweth

bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man

according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him

give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God

loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make

all grace abound toward you; that ye, always

having all sufficiency in all things, may abound

to every good work."

It is well sometimes to use Malachi 3:10 as a side

light:

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that

there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now

herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not

open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a

blessing, that there shall not be room enough to

receive it."

Go over and over it again and again until it is

fixed in the young convert's mind that if he is to

enjoy the fullness of God's blessing, if God is to

make all grace abound toward him, he must give to

the Lord's work as the Lord prospers him, that he

must be a constant and generous giver. Many young

Christians make little headway in the Christian

life because they are not plainly instructed on

the necessity of regular, systematic and generous

giving to the Lord.

6. "GO TO WORK FOR CHRIST AND KEEP WORKING FOR

CHRIST." To show the necessity of this, use

Matthew 25:14-30, explaining the teaching of the

parable, that it is the one who uses what he has

who gets more, but the one who neglects to use

what he has, loses even that.

Go over these six points again and again; write

them down with the texts, and give them to the

young convert to take with him. The directions

given above may seem to be very full, and it may

occur to the reader that it will take a long time

to follow them out. This is true, and oftentimes

it will not be necessary to use all the texts, but

at the same time it is best to be sure that you do

thorough work. There is a great deal of the

superficial and shoddy work done in soul-winning

today, and this kind of work does not {43}

stand. It is better to spend an hour, or two

hours, on one person, and get him really rooted

and grounded in the truth, than it is to get a

dozen or more to say that they accept Christ, when

the do not really understand what they are doing.

One of the most common and greatest of faults in

Christian work today is superficial dealing with

souls.