Proverbs 11:30. Soul Winning

A sermon (Number 850) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon.

*“He that wins souls *is* wise.”*—Proverbs 11:30.

The text does not say “he that wins sovereigns is wise,” though no doubt *he* thinks himself wise, and perhaps in a certain grovelling sense in these days of competition he must be so; but such wisdom is of the earth and ends with the earth; and there is another world where the currencies of Europe will not be accepted, nor their past possession be any sign of wealth or wisdom. Solomon in the text before us awards no crown for wisdom to crafty statesmen, or even to the ablest of rulers; he issues no diplomas even to philosophers, poets, or men of wit; he crowns with laurel only those who win souls. He does not declare that he who preaches is necessarily wise—and alas! there are multitudes who preach and gain much applause and eminence who win no souls, and who shall find it go hard with them at the last, because in all probability they have run and the Master has never sent them. He does not say that he who talks about winning souls is wise, since to lay down rules for others is a very simple thing, but to carry them out one's self is far more difficult. He who actually, really, and truly turns men from the error of their ways to God, and so is made the means of saving them from going down to hell, is a wise man; and that is true of him whatever his style of soul-winning may be. He may be a Paul, deeply logical, profound in doctrine, able to command all candid judgments; and if he thus wins souls he is wise. He may be an Apollos, grandly rhetorical, whose lofty genius soars into the very heaven of eloquence; and if he wins souls in that way he is wise, but not otherwise. Or he may be a Cephas, rough and rugged, using uncouth metaphor and stern declamation, but if he wins souls he is no less wise than his polished brother or his argumentative friend, but not else. The great wisdom of soul-winners, according to the text, is proven only by their actual success in really winning souls. To their own Master they are accountable for the ways in which they go to work, not to us. Do not let us be comparing and contrasting this minister and that. Who are you that judges another man's servants? Wisdom is justified in all her children. Only children wrangle about incidental methods: men look at sublime results. Do these workers of many sorts and diverse manners win souls? Then they are wise; and you who criticise them, being yourselves unfruitful, cannot be wise, even though you affect to be their judges. God proclaims soul-winners to be wise, dispute it who dare. This degree from the College of Heaven may surely stand them in good stead, let their fellow mortals say what they will of them.

“He that wins souls is wise,” and this can be seen very clearly. He must be a wise man in even ordinary respects who can by grace achieve so divine a marvel. Great soul-winners never have been fools. A man whom God qualifies to win souls could probably do anything else which providence might allot him. Take Martin Luther. Why, sirs, the man was not only fit to work a Reformation, but he could have ruled a nation or have commanded an army. Think of Whitfield, and remember that the thundering eloquence which stirred all England was not associated with a weak judgment, or an absence of brain-power; the man was a master-orator, and if he had addicted himself to commerce would have taken a chief place amongst the merchants, or had he been a politician, amid admiring senates would have commanded the listening ear. He that wins souls is usually a man who could have done anything else if God had called him to it. I know the Lord uses what means he wills, but he always uses means suitable to the end; and if you tell me that David slew Goliath with a sling, I answer—it was the best weapon in the world to reach so tall a giant, and the very fittest weapon that David could have used, for he had been skilled in it from his youth up. There is always an adaptation in the instruments which God uses to produce the ordained result, and though the glory is not to them, nor the excellence in them, but all is to be ascribed to God, yet is there a fitness and preparedness which God sees, even if we do not. It is assuredly true that soul-winners are by no means idiots or simpletons, but such as God makes wise for himself, though vainglorious wiseacres may dub them fools.

“He that wins souls is wise,” because he has selected a wise object. I think it was Michelangelo who once carved certain magnificent statues in snow. They are gone; the material readily compacted by the frost as readily melted in the heat. Far wiser was he when he fashioned the enduring marble, and produced works which will last all down the ages. But even marble itself is consumed and fretted by the tooth of time; and he is wise who selects for his raw material immortal souls, whose existence shall outlast the stars. If God shall bless us to the winning of souls, our work shall remain when the wood, and hay, and stubble of earth's art and science shall have gone to the dust from which they sprang. In heaven itself, the soul-winner, blessed of God, shall have memorials of his work preserved for ever in the galleries of the skies. He has selected a wise object, for what can be wiser than to glorify God, and what, next to that, can be wiser than in the highest sense to bless our fellow men; to snatch a soul from the gulf that yawns, to lift it up to the heaven that glorifies; to deliver an immortal from the thraldom of Satan, and to bring him into the liberty of Christ? What more excellent than this? I say that such an aim would commend itself to all right minds, and that angels themselves may envy us poor sons of men that we are permitted to make this our life-object, to win souls for Jesus Christ. Wisdom herself assents to the excellence of the design.

To accomplish such a work a man must be wise, for to win a soul requires infinite wisdom. God himself wins not souls without wisdom, for the eternal plan of salvation was dictated by an infallible judgment, and in every line of it infinite skill is apparent. Christ, God's great soul-winner, is “the wisdom of God,” as well as “the power of God.” There is as much wisdom to be seen in the new creation as in the old. In a sinner saved, there is as much of God to be beheld as in a universe rising out of nothing; and we then, who are to be workers together with God, proceeding side by side with him to the great work of soul-winning, must be wise too. It is a work which filled a Savior's heart—a work which moved the Eternal mind or ever the earth was. It is no child's play, nor a thing to be achieved while we are half asleep, nor to be attempted without deep consideration, nor to be carried on without gracious help from the only-wise God, our Savior. The pursuit is wise.

Mark you well, my brethren, that he who is successful in soul-winning, will prove to have been a wise man in the judgment of those who see the end as well as the beginning. Even if I were utterly selfish, and had no care for anything but my own happiness, I would choose, if I might, under God, to be a soul-winner, for never did I know perfect, overflowing, unutterable happiness of the purest and most ennobling order, till I first heard of one who had sought and found a Savior through my means. I recollect the thrill of joy which went through me! No young mother ever rejoiced so much over her first-born child—no warrior was so exultant over a hard-won victory. Oh! the joy of knowing that a sinner once at enmity has been reconciled to God by the Holy Spirit, through the words spoken by our feeble lips. Since then, by grace given to me, the thought of which prostrates me in self-abasement, I have seen and—heard of, not hundreds only, but even thousands of sinners turned from the error of their ways by the testimony of God in me. Let afflictions come, let trials be multiplied as God wills, still this joy preponderates above all others, the joy that we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in every place, and that as often as we preach the Word, hearts are unlocked, bosoms heave with a new life, eyes weep for sin, and their tears are wiped away as they see the great Substitute for sin, and live. Beyond all controversy it is a joy worth worlds to win souls, and thank God, it is a joy that does not cease with this mortal life. It must be no small bliss to hear as one wings his flight up to the eternal throne, the wings of others fluttering at one's side towards the same glory, and turning round and questioning them, to hear them say, “We are entering with you through the gates of pearl; you brought us to the Savior.” To be welcomed to the skies by those who call us father in God—father in better bonds than those of earth, father through grace and sire for immortality, it will be bliss beyond compare to meet in your eternal seats with those begotten of us in Christ Jesus, for whom we travailed in birth till Christ was formed in them, the hope of glory. This is to have many heavens—a heaven in every one won for Christ; according to the Master's promise “they that turn many to righteousness, shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.”

I have said enough brethren, I trust, to make some of you desire to occupy the position of soul-winners: but before I further address myself to my text I should like to remind you, that the honor does not belong to ministers only; they may take their full share of it, but it belongs to every one of you who have devoted yourselves to Christ: such honor have all the saints. Every man here, every woman here, every child here, whose heart is right with God, may be a soul-winner. There is no man placed by God's providence where he cannot do some good. There is not a glowworm under a hedge but gives a needed light; and there is not a laboring man, a suffering woman, a servant-girl, a chimney-sweeper, or a crossing-sweeper, but what has opportunities for serving God; and what I have said of soul-winners belongs not to the learned doctor of divinity, or to the eloquent preacher alone, but to you all who are in Christ Jesus. You can, each of you, if grace enable you, be thus wise, and win the happiness of turning souls to Christ through the Holy Spirit.

I am about to dwell upon my text in this way—“He that wins souls is wise;” I shall first make that fact stand out a little clearer by explaining the metaphor used in the text—winning souls; and then secondly by giving you some lessons in the matter of soul-winning, through which I trust the conviction will be forced upon each believing mind that the work needs the highest wisdom.

I. First *let us consider the metaphor used in the text*—“He that wins souls is wise.”

We use the word “win” in many ways. It is sometimes found in very bad company, in those games of chance, juggling tricks and sleight-of-hand, or thimble-rigging (to use a plain word), which sharpers are so fond of winning by. I am sorry to say that much of legerdemain and trickery are to be met with in the religious world. Why, there are those who pretend to save souls by curious tricks, intricate maneuvers, and dexterous posture making. A basin of water, half-a-dozen drops, certain syllables—heigh, presto!—the infant is a child of grace, and becomes a member of Christ and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. This aqueous regeneration surpasses my belief; it is a trick which I do not understand: the initiated only can perform the beautiful piece of magic, which excels anything ever attempted by the Wizard of the North. There is a way, too, of winning souls by laying hands upon heads, only the elbows of aforesaid hands must be encased in lawn, and then the machinery acts, and there is grace conferred by blessed fingers! I must confess I do not understand the occult science, but at this I need not wonder, for the profession of saving souls by such juggling can only be carried out by certain favored persons who have received apostolical succession direct from Judas Iscariot. This episcopal confirmation, when men pretend that it confers grace, is an infamous piece of juggling. The whole thing is an abomination. Only to think that in this nineteenth century there should be men who preach up salvation by sacraments, and salvation by themselves forsooth! Why, sirs, it is surely too late in the day to come to us with this drivel! Priestcraft, let us hope, is an anachronism, and the sacramental theory out of date. These things might have done for those who could not read and for the days when books were scarce, but ever since the day when the glorious Luther was helped by God to proclaim with thunder-claps the emancipating truth, “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,” there has been too much light for these Popish owls. Let them go back to their ivy-mantled towers and complain to the moon of those who spoiled of old their kingdom of darkness. Let shaven crowns go to Bedlam, and scarlet hats to the scarlet harlot, but let not Englishmen yield them respect. Modern Tractarianism is a bastard Popery, too mean, too shifty, too double-dealing to delude men of honest minds. If we win souls it shall be by other arts than Jesuits and shavelings can teach us. Trust not in any man who pretends to priesthood. Priests are liars by trade and deceivers by profession. We cannot save souls in their theatrical way, and do not want to do so, for we know that with such jugglery as that Satan will hold the best hand, and laugh at priests as he turns the cards against them at the last.

How do we win souls then? Why, the word “win” has a better meaning far. It is used *in warfare.* Warriors win cities and provinces. Now, to win a soul is a much more difficult thing than to win a city. Observe the earnest soul-winner at his work; how cautiously he seeks his great Captain's directions to know when to hang out the white flag to invite the heart to surrender to the sweet love of a dying Savior; when, at the proper time, to hang out the black flag of threatening, showing that if grace be not received judgment will surely follow; and when to unfurl, with dread reluctance, the red flag of the terrors of God against stubborn, impenitent souls. The soul-winner has to sit down before a soul as a great captain before a walled town; to draw his lines of circumvallation, to cast up his entrenchments and fix his batteries. He must not advance too fast—he may overdo the fighting; he must not move too slowly, for he may seem not to be in earnest, and may do mischief. Then he must know which gate to attack—how to plant his guns at Ear-gate, and how to discharge them; how, sometimes, to keep the batteries going day and night with red-hot shot, if perhaps he may make a breach in the walls; at other times to lay by and cease, and then on a sudden to open all the batteries with terrific violence, if peradventure he may take the soul by surprise or cast in a truth when it was not expected, to burst like a shell in the soul and do damage to the dominions of sin. The Christian soldier must know how to advance by little and little—to sap that prejudice, to undermine that old enmity, to blow into the air that lust, and at the last, to storm the citadel. It is his to throw the scaling ladder up and to have his ears gladdened as he hears a clicking on the wall of the heart, telling that the scaling ladder has grasped and has gained firm hold; and then, with his saber between his teeth, to climb up and spring on the man and slay his unbelief in the name of God, and capture the city, and run up the blood-red flag of the cross of Christ and say, “The heart is won, won for Christ at last.” This needs a warrior well trained—a master in his art. After many days' attack, many weeks of waiting, many an hour of storming by prayer and battering by entreaty, to carry the Malakoff of depravity, this is the work, this the difficulty. It takes no fool to do this. God's grace must make a man wise thus to capture Mansoul, to lead its captivity captive, and open wide the heart's gates that the Prince Immanuel may come in. This is winning a soul.

The word “win” was commonly used among the ancients, *to signify winning in the wrestling match*. When the Greek sought to win the laurel, or the ivy crown, he was compelled a long time before to put himself through a course of training, and when he came forth at last stripped for the encounter, he had no sooner exercised himself in the first few efforts than you saw how every muscle and every nerve had been developed in him. He had a stern opponent, and he knew it, and therefore left none of his energy unused. While the wrestling was going on you could see the man's eye, how he watched every motion, every feint of his antagonist, and how his hand, his foot, and his whole body were thrown into the encounter. He feared to meet with a fall: he hoped to give one to his foe. Now, a true soul-winner has often to come to close quarters with the devil within men. He has to struggle with their prejudice, with their love of sin, with their unbelief, with their pride, and then again, all of a sudden, to grapple with their despair; at one moment he strives with their self-righteousness, at the next moment with their unbelief in God. Ten thousand arts are used to prevent the soul-winner from being conqueror in the encounter, but if God has sent him he will never renounce his hold of the soul he seeks till he has given a throw to the power of sin, and won another soul for Christ.

Besides that, there is another meaning to the word “win” upon which I cannot expatiate here. We use the word, you know, in a softer sense than these which have been mentioned, *when we come to deal with hearts*. There are secret and mysterious ways by which those who love win the object of their affection, which are wise in their fitness to the purpose. I cannot tell you how the lover wins his fond one, but experience has probably taught you. The weapon of this warfare is not always the same, yet where that victory is won the wisdom of the means becomes clear to every eye. The weapon of love is sometimes a look, or a soft word whispered and eagerly listened to; sometimes it is a tear; but this I know, that we have, most of us in our turn, cast around another heart a chain which that other would not care to break, and which has linked us twain in a blessed captivity which has cheered our life. Yes, and that is very nearly the way in which we have to save souls. That illustration is nearer the mark than any of the others. Love is the true way of soul-winning, for when I spoke of storming the walls, and when I spoke of wrestling, those were but metaphors, but this is near the fact. We win by love. We win hearts for Jesus by love, by sympathy with their sorrow, by anxiety lest they should perish, by pleading with God for them with all our hearts that they should not be left to die unsaved, by pleading with them for God that, for their own sake, they would seek mercy and find grace. Yes sirs, there is a spiritual wooing and winning of hearts for the Lord Jesus; and if you would learn the way, you must ask God to give you a tender heart and a sympathizing soul. I believe that much of the secret of soul-winning lies in having bowels of compassion, in having spirits that can be touched with the feeling of human infirmities. Carve a preacher out of granite, and even if you give him an angel's tongue he will convert nobody. Put him into the most fashionable pulpit, make his elocution faultless, and his matter profoundly orthodox, but so long as he bears within his bosom a hard heart he can never win a soul. Soul-saving requires a heart that beats hard against the ribs. It requires a soul full of the milk of human kindness; this is the *sine qua non* of success. This is the chief natural qualification for a soul-winner, which under God and blessed of him will accomplish wonders.

I have not looked at the Hebrew of the text, but I find—and you will find who have margins to your Bibles—that it is, “He that *taketh* souls is wise,” which word refers to fishing, or to bird-catching. Every Sunday when I leave my house, I cannot help seeing as I come along, men with their little cages and their stuffed birds, trying all around the common and in the fields, to catch poor little warblers. They understand the method of alluring and entrapping their little victims. Soul-winners might learn much from them. We must have our lures for souls adapted to attract, to fascinate, to grasp. We must go forth with our bird-lime, our decoys, our nets, our baits, so that we may but catch the souls of men. Their enemy is a fowler possessed of the basest and most astounding cunning; we must outwit him with the guile of honesty, the craft of grace. But the art is to be learned only by divine teaching, and herein we must be wise and willing to learn. The man who takes fish must also have some art in him. Washington Irving, I think it is, tells us of some three gentlemen who had read in Izaak Walton all about the delights of fishing. So they must needs enter upon the same amusement, and accordingly they became disciples of the gentle art. They went into New York and bought the best rods and lines that could be purchased, and they found out the exact fly for the particular day or month, so that the fish might bite at once, and as it were, fly into the basket with alacrity. They fished, and fished, and fished the live-long day, but the basket was empty. They were getting disgusted with a sport that had no sport in it, when a ragged boy came down from the hills without shoes or stockings, and humiliated them to the last degree. He had a bit of a bough pulled from off a tree, and a piece of string, and a bent pin; he put a worm on it, threw it in, and out came a fish directly, as if it were a needle drawn to a magnet. In again went the line, and out came another fish, and so on, till his basket was quite full. They asked him how he did it. Ah! he said, he could not tell them that, but it was easy enough when you had the way of it. Much the same is it in fishing for men. Some preachers who have silk lines and fine rods, preach very eloquently and exceedingly gracefully, but they never win souls. I know not how it is, but another man comes, with very simple language, but with a warm heart, and straightway men are converted to God. Surely there must be a sympathy between the minister and the souls he would win. God gives to those whom he makes soul-winners a natural love to their work, and a spiritual fitness for it. There is a sympathy between those who are to be blessed and those who are to be the means of blessing, and very much by this sympathy, under God, souls are taken; but it is as clear as noonday that to be a fisher of men a man must be wise. “He that winneth souls is wise.”

2. And now brethren and sisters, you who are engaged in the Lord's work from week to week, and who seek to win men's souls to Christ, I am, in the second place, to illustrate this *by telling you of some of the ways by which souls are won*.

The preacher himself wins souls best, I believe, when he believes in the reality of his work, when he believes in instantaneous conversions. How can he expect God to do what he does not believe God will do? He succeeds best who expects conversion every time he preaches. According to his faith so shall it be done unto him. To be content without conversions is the surest way never to have them: to drive with a single aim entirely at the saving of souls is the surest method of usefulness. If we sigh and cry till men are saved, saved they will be.

He will succeed best *who keeps closest to soul-saving truth*. Now, all truth is not soul-saving, though all truth may be edifying. He that keeps to the simple story of the cross, tells men over and over again that whosoever believes in Christ is not condemned, that to be saved nothing is wanted but a simple trust in the crucified Redeemer; he whose ministry is much made up of the glorious story of the cross, the sufferings of the dying Lamb, the mercy of God, the willingness of the great Father to receive returning prodigals; he who cries, in fact, from day to day, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,” he is likely to be a soul-winner, especially if he adds to this much prayer for souls, much anxious desire that men may be brought to Jesus, and then in his private life seeks as much as in his public ministry to be telling out to others of the love of the dear Savior of men.

But I am not talking to ministers, but to you who sit in the pew, and therefore to you let me turn myself more directly. Brothers and sisters, you have different gifts. I hope you use them all. Perhaps some of you, though members of the church, think you have none; but every believer has his gift and his portion of work. What can you do to win souls? Let me recommend to those who think they can do nothing *the bringing of others to hear the word*. That is a duty much neglected. I can hardly ask you to bring anybody here, but many of you attend other places which are not perhaps half filled. Fill them. Do not grumble at the small congregation, but make it larger. Take somebody with you to the very next sermon, and at once the congregation will be increased. Go up with the prayer that your minister's sermon may be blessed, and if you cannot preach yourselves, yet by bringing others under the sound of the word you may be doing what is next best. This is a very common-place and simple remark, but let me press it upon you, for it is of great practical value. Many churches and chapels which are almost empty might soon have large audiences if those who profit by the word would tell others about the profit they have received, and induce them to attend the same ministry. Especially in this London of ours, where so many will not go up to the house of God—persuade your neighbors to come forth to the place of worship; look after them; make them feel that it is a wrong thing to stop at home on the Sunday from morning till night. I do not say upbraid them, that does little good; but I do say entice them, persuade them. Let them have your tickets for the Tabernacle for instance sometimes, or stand in the aisles yourself, and let them have your seat. Get them under the word, and who knows what may be the result? Oh, what a blessing it would be to you if you heard that what you could not do, for you could scarcely speak for Christ, was done by your pastor by the power of the Holy Spirit, through your inducing one to come within gunshot of the gospel!

Next to that, soul-winners, the preacher may have missed the mark—you need not miss it; or the preacher may have struck the mark and you can help to make the impression deeper by a kind word. I recollect several persons joining the church who traced their conversion to the ministry in the Surrey Music Hall, but who said it was not that alone but another agency cooperating therewith. They were fresh from the country, and some good man, I knew him well, I think he is in heaven now, met two of them at the gate, spoke to them, said he hoped they had enjoyed what they had heard; heard their answer; asked them if they were coming in the evening; said he would be glad if they would drop into his house to tea; they did, and he had a word with them about the Master. The next Sunday it was the same, and at last those whom the sermons had not much impressed were brought to hear with other ears, till by-and-by through the good old man's persuasive words, and the good Lord's gracious work, they were converted to God. There is a fine hunting-ground here, and indeed in every large congregation for you who really want to do good. How many come into this house every morning and evening with no thought about receiving Christ. Oh! If you would all help me, you who love the Master, if you would all help me by speaking to your neighbors who sit near to you, how much might be accomplished! Never let anybody say, “I came to the Tabernacle three months and nobody spoke to me;” but do, by a sweet familiarity which ought always to be allowable in the house of God, seek with your whole heart to impress upon your friends the truth which I can only put into the ear, but which God may help you to put into the heart.

Further, let me commend to you dear friends, *the art of button-holing acquaintances and relatives*. If you cannot preach to a hundred, preach to one. Get a hold of the man alone, and in love, quietly and prayerfully, talk to him; “One!” say you. Well, is not one enough? I know your ambition young man: you want to preach here to these thousands; be content and begin with the ones. Your Master was not ashamed to sit on the well and preach to one, and when he had finished his sermon he had really done good to all the city of Samaria, for that one woman became a missionary to her friends. Timidity often prevents our being useful in this direction, but we must not give way to it; it must not be tolerated that Christ should be unknown through our silence, and sinners unwarned through our negligence. We must school and train ourselves to deal personally with the unconverted. We must not excuse ourselves, but force ourselves to the irksome task till it becomes easy. This is one of the most honorable modes of soul-winning, and if it requires more than ordinary zeal and courage, so much the more reason for our resolving to master it. Beloved, we must win souls, we cannot live and see men damned; we must have them brought to Jesus. Oh! then, be up and doing, and let none around you die unwarned, unwept, uncared for. A tract is a useful thing, but a living word is better. Your eye, and face, and voice will all help. Do not be so cowardly as to give a piece of paper where your own speech would be so much better. I charge you, attend to this, for Jesus' sake.

*Some of you could write letters for your Lord and Master*. To far-off friends a few loving lines may be most influential for good. Be like the men of Issachar, who handled the pen. Paper and ink are never better used than in soul-winning. Much has been done by this method. Could you not do it? Will you not try? Some of you, at any rate, if you could not speak or write much, *could live much*. That is a fine way of reaching, that of preaching with your feet, I mean preaching by your life, and conduct, and conversation. That loving wife who weeps in secret over an infidel husband, but is always so kind to him; that dear child whose heart is broken with a father's blasphemy, but is so much more obedient than he used to be before conversion; that servant whom the master swears at, but whom he could trust with his purse and the gold uncounted in it; that man in trade who is sneered at as a Presbyterian, but who nevertheless is straight as a line, and would not be compelled to do a dirty action, no, not for all the mint; these are the men and women who preach the best sermons; these are your practical preachers. Give us your holy living, and with your holy living as the leverage we will move the world. Under God's blessing we will find tongues, if we can, but we need greatly the lives of our people to illustrate what our tongues have to say. The gospel is something like an illustrated paper. The preacher's words are the letterpress, but the pictures are the living men and women who form our [*magazine(?). Apparently there is/are missing word(s) that should go here*]. (*W*) When people take up such a newspaper, they very often do not read the letterpress, but they always look at the pictures—so in a church, outsiders may not come to hear the preacher, but they always consider, observe, and criticise the lives of the members. If you would be soul-winners then, dear brethren and sisters, see that you live the gospel. I have no greater joy than this, that my children walk in the truth.

One thing more, *the soul-winner must be a master of the art of prayer.* You cannot bring souls to God if you do not go to God yourself. You must get your battle-axe and your weapons of war from the armoury of sacred communion with Christ. If you are much alone with Jesus you will catch his Spirit; you will be fired with the flame that burned in his breast and consumed his life. You will weep with the tears that fell upon Jerusalem when he saw it perishing, and if you cannot speak so eloquently as he did, yet shall there be about what you say somewhat of the same power which in him thrilled the hearts and awoke the consciences of men. My dear hearers, specially you members of the church, I am always so anxious lest any of you should begin to lie upon your oars, and take things easy in the matters of God's kingdom. There are some of you—I bless you, and I bless God at the remembrance of you—who are in earnest for winning souls, in season, and out of season, and you are the truly wise: but I fear there are others whose hands are slack, who are satisfied to let me preach, but do not preach themselves; who take these seats and occupy these pews and hope the cause goes well, but that is all they do. Oh, do let me see you all in earnest! A great host of four thousand members—for that is now as nearly as possible the accurate counting of our numbers—what ought we not to do if we are all alive, and all in earnest! But such a host, without the spirit of enthusiasm, becomes a mere mob, an unwieldy mass out of which mischief grows and no good results arise. If you were all firebrands for Christ you might set the nation on a blaze. If you were all wells of living water, how many thirsty souls might drink and be refreshed! One thing more you can do. If some of you feel you cannot do much personally, *you can always help the College,* and there it is that we find tongues for the dumb. Our young men are called out by God to preach; we give them some little education and training, and then away they go to Australia, to Canada, to the islands of the sea, to Scotland, to Wales, and throughout England, preaching the Word; and it is often, it must be often, a consolation to some of you, to think that if you have not spoken with your own tongues as you could desire you have at least spoken by the tongues of others, so that through you the word of God has been sounded abroad throughout all this region.

Beloved, there is one question I will ask and I have done, and that is, *are your own souls won?* You cannot win others otherwise. Are you yourselves saved? My hearers, every one of you under that gallery there, and you behind here, are you yourselves saved? What if this night you should have to answer that question to another and greater than I am? What if the bony finger of the last great orator should be uplifted instead of mine? What if his unconquerable eloquence should turn those bones to stone, and glaze those eyes, and make the blood chill in your veins? Could you hope in your last extremity that you were saved? If not saved, how will you ever be? When will you be saved if not now? Will any time be better than now? The way to be saved is simply to trust in what the Son of man did when he became man, and suffered the punishment for all those who trust him. For all his people Christ was a substitute. His people are those who trust him. If you trust him, he was punished for your sins and you cannot be punished for them; for God cannot punish sin twice, first in Christ and then in you. If you trust Jesus who now lives at the right hand of God, you are this moment pardoned, and you shall forever be saved. O that you would trust him now! Perhaps it may be now or never with you. May it be now, even now, and then, trusting in Jesus, dear friends, you will have no need to hesitate when the question is asked, “Are you saved?” for you can answer, “Yes, that I am, for it is written, ‘He that believeth in him is not condemned.’ Trust him then, trust him now, and then God help you to be a soul-winner, and you shall be wise, and God shall be glorified.

*Portion of Scripture read before sermon*—Psalm 51.

A sermon (Number 850) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon.

"He that wins souls is wise." — Proverbs 11:30.

The text does not say "he that wins money is wise," though no doubt such a person thinks himself wise, and in a narrow sense, in these competitive days, perhaps he is. But that kind of wisdom belongs to this world and ends with it. There is another world where the currencies of Europe will not be accepted, and past wealth will be no sign of wisdom. Solomon awards no crown for wisdom to crafty statesmen or even the ablest rulers. He issues no diplomas to philosophers, poets, or clever men. He crowns with laurel only those who win souls. He does not say that everyone who preaches is necessarily wise — and sadly, there are many who preach, gain great applause and recognition, yet win no souls. It will go hard with them in the end, because in all likelihood they ran without ever being sent by the Master. He does not say that the person who talks about winning souls is wise, since laying down rules for others is easy enough, but carrying them out oneself is far more difficult. The person who actually, truly, and genuinely turns people from the error of their ways to God — and is thus made the means of saving them from going down to destruction — is a wise person. That is true regardless of his particular style of soul-winning. He may be a Paul, deeply logical, profound in doctrine, able to command every honest judgment; if he wins souls that way, he is wise. He may be an Apollos, grandly eloquent, whose gifted mind soars to the heights of oratory; if he wins souls that way, he is wise — but not otherwise. Or he may be a Cephas, rough and direct, using plain speech and stern preaching, but if he wins souls he is no less wise than his polished brother or his argumentative friend — but not otherwise. The great wisdom of soul-winners, according to the text, is proven only by their actual success in genuinely winning souls. They are accountable to their own Master for how they go about their work — not to us. Let us not spend our time comparing and contrasting this minister and that. Who are you to judge another person's servant? Wisdom is shown to be right by all her children. Only children quarrel over minor methods; mature people look at great results. Do these workers of many kinds and varied approaches win souls? Then they are wise. And you who criticize them, while being yourselves unfruitful, cannot be wise — even if you act as their judges. God declares soul-winners to be wise — let anyone who dares dispute it. This degree from the college of heaven may surely stand them in good stead, whatever their fellow mortals may say about them.

"He that wins souls is wise" — and this can be seen very clearly. Even in ordinary terms, the person who by grace achieves so divine a wonder must be wise. Great soul-winners have never been fools. A person whom God equips to win souls could probably have succeeded at whatever else providence had given him to do. Take Martin Luther. The man was not only fit to lead a Reformation — he could have governed a nation or commanded an army. Think of Whitefield, and remember that the thundering eloquence which stirred all of England was not paired with weak judgment or a lack of intellectual power. He was a master orator. Had he gone into business, he would have risen to the top among merchants. Had he been a politician, he would have held the attention of admiring assemblies. The person who wins souls is typically someone who could have excelled at anything else if God had called him to it. I know the Lord uses whatever means He chooses, but He always uses means suited to the end. If you tell me that David slew Goliath with a sling, I answer — it was the best weapon in the world for reaching so tall a giant, and the very most fitting weapon David could have used, since he had been skilled with it from his youth. There is always a fitness between the instruments God uses and the result He has ordained. Though the glory belongs to God and not the instrument, there is still a readiness and preparation that God sees, even when we do not. Soul-winners are by no means fools or simpletons — they are people whom God has made wise for His own purposes, even if arrogant critics call them fools.

"He that wins souls is wise" because he has chosen a wise purpose. I believe it was Michelangelo who once carved magnificent statues in snow. They are gone — the material that was easily shaped by the frost melted just as easily in the heat. Far wiser was he when he worked in lasting marble, producing works that will endure through the ages. But even marble is worn away by the slow tooth of time. The person who chooses immortal souls as his material is wiser still, for souls will outlast the stars. If God blesses us in the winning of souls, our work will remain when the wood, hay, and stubble of earthly art and science have crumbled to dust. In heaven itself, the soul-winner blessed by God will have memorials of his work preserved forever in the halls of the sky. He has chosen a wise aim — for what can be wiser than to glorify God? And what, next to that, can be wiser than to truly bless our fellow human beings: to snatch a soul from the edge of destruction, to lift it to the heaven that glorifies, to free an immortal from the grip of Satan, and to bring that person into the freedom of Christ? What could be more excellent than this? Such an aim would commend itself to every right-thinking mind. Even angels may envy us poor sons of earth that we are permitted to make this our life's goal — to win souls for Jesus Christ. Wisdom herself agrees that the purpose is excellent.

To accomplish this work, a person must be wise, because winning a soul requires infinite wisdom. God Himself does not win souls without wisdom — the eternal plan of salvation was shaped by an infallible judgment, and infinite skill is evident in every part of it. Christ, God's great soul-winner, is "the wisdom of God" as well as "the power of God." There is as much wisdom visible in the new creation as in the old. In a sinner who is saved, there is as much of God to be seen as in a universe rising out of nothing. We who are workers together with God, moving alongside Him in the great work of soul-winning, must be wise as well. This is work that filled a Savior's heart — work that moved the eternal mind before the earth was made. It is no child's game, nor something to be carried out half-heartedly, nor to be attempted without deep reflection, nor to be continued without gracious help from the only-wise God, our Savior. The pursuit is wise.

Take note, my brothers and sisters: the person who succeeds in winning souls will prove to have been wise in the judgment of those who see both the beginning and the end. Even if I were completely selfish and cared for nothing but my own happiness, I would choose — if I could — under God, to be a soul-winner. I have never known a perfect, overflowing, and inexpressible happiness of the purest and most uplifting kind until I first heard that someone had sought and found a Savior through my efforts. I remember the thrill of joy that passed through me! No young mother ever rejoiced so much over her firstborn child; no soldier was ever so elated over a hard-won victory. What joy it is to know that a sinner once at enmity with God has been reconciled to Him by the Holy Spirit through words spoken by our feeble lips. Since then, by grace given to me — a thought that humbles me in self-abasement — I have seen and heard of not hundreds only, but even thousands of sinners turned from the error of their ways by the testimony of God through me. Let afflictions come; let trials multiply as God wills. Still this joy outweighs all others: the joy of being to God a sweet fragrance of Christ in every place, and of knowing that as often as we preach the Word, hearts are unlocked, souls awaken to new life, eyes weep for sin, and those tears are wiped away as people behold the great Substitute for sin and live. Beyond all question, it is a joy worth more than worlds to win souls. And thank God, it is a joy that does not end with this mortal life. What a blessing it will be, as one wings his way to the eternal throne, to hear the wings of others fluttering alongside toward the same glory — and turning to them, to hear them say, "We are entering with you through the gates of pearl; you brought us to the Savior." To be welcomed to the skies by those who call us their father in God — father in bonds stronger than those of earth, father through grace and parent for eternity — it will be a joy beyond compare to meet in your eternal home those born to God through you, those for whom you labored until Christ was formed in them, the hope of glory. This is to have many heavens — a heaven in every soul won for Christ — according to the Master's promise: "They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever."

I trust I have said enough, brothers and sisters, to make some of you desire the place of soul-winners. But before I go further with my text, I want to remind you that this honor does not belong to ministers alone. Ministers may take their full share of it, but it belongs to every one of you who has devoted yourself to Christ. Such honor belongs to all the saints. Every man here, every woman here, every child here whose heart is right with God can be a soul-winner. There is no one placed by God's providence in a situation where he cannot do some good. There is not a glowworm under a hedge that does not give a needed light. There is not a laboring man, a suffering woman, a servant girl, a chimney sweep, or a crossing sweep who does not have opportunities to serve God. What I have said about soul-winners applies not only to the learned theologian or the eloquent preacher, but to all of you who are in Christ Jesus. Each of you, if grace enables you, can be this kind of wise person and know the happiness of turning souls to Christ through the Holy Spirit.

I am going to develop my text this way: "He that wins souls is wise." First, I will make that truth stand out more clearly by explaining the metaphor used in the text — winning souls. Then, second, I will give you some lessons in soul-winning, through which I trust the conviction will be driven home to every believing mind that this work requires the highest wisdom.

First, let us consider the metaphor used in the text: "He that wins souls is wise."

We use the word "win" in many ways. It is sometimes found in bad company — in those games of chance, juggling tricks, and sleight of hand that swindlers are so fond of. Sadly, much trickery and deception can be found in the religious world as well. There are those who pretend to save souls through curious tricks, elaborate ceremonies, and theatrical gestures. A basin of water, a few drops, certain words — and presto! — the infant is declared a child of grace, a member of Christ, and an heir of heaven. This so-called water regeneration is beyond my belief. It is a trick I do not understand, one that only the initiated can perform — a piece of supposed magic that surpasses anything ever attempted by a stage illusionist. There is also a way of "winning souls" by laying hands on heads, provided the elbows of those hands are draped in fine linen — and then, supposedly, grace is conferred by blessed fingers. I confess I do not understand this hidden science, but perhaps I should not be surprised, since the profession of saving souls by such methods can only be carried out by certain favored individuals who claim to have received direct apostolic succession. When men pretend that this kind of episcopal confirmation confers grace, it is a shameful deception. The whole thing is an abomination. To think that in this modern era there are still men who preach salvation by sacraments and by themselves — it is surely far too late in the day for such nonsense. This kind of priestcraft is out of date, and the sacramental theory has passed its time. Such things might have worked in an age when people could not read and books were scarce. But ever since the glorious Luther, helped by God, proclaimed with great force the liberating truth — "By grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" — there has been too much light for those who love the darkness. Let them go back to their secluded towers and complain to the moon about those who dismantled their kingdom of darkness long ago. But let no honest person yield them respect. Modern Tractarianism is a watered-down version of Rome — too petty, too evasive, too dishonest to deceive people of integrity. If we win souls, it will be by entirely different means than those taught by Jesuits and their kind. Do not trust any man who claims a special priestly authority over your soul. We cannot save souls in their theatrical manner, and we have no desire to, for we know that in that kind of game, the devil holds the best hand and will laugh at priests as he turns the cards against them in the end.

How do we win souls, then? The word "win" has a far better meaning. It is used in warfare. Warriors win cities and provinces. But winning a soul is a far more difficult thing than winning a city. Watch the earnest soul-winner at his work. He carefully seeks his great Captain's directions — knowing when to raise the white flag, inviting the heart to surrender to the sweet love of a dying Savior; when, at the right time, to raise the black flag of warning, showing that if grace is not received, judgment will surely follow; and when, with great reluctance, to unfurl the red flag of God's terrors against stubborn, unrepentant souls. The soul-winner must sit down before a soul as a great commander before a walled city — drawing his lines, positioning his forces, and setting his artillery. He must not advance too quickly, or he may overwhelm; he must not move too slowly, or he may seem unserious and cause harm. He must know which approach to take — how to direct his words to the ear, how to keep the pressure steady with persistent effort, and then sometimes to pause and be quiet, only to suddenly open all his effort with full force, hoping to catch the soul off guard or plant a truth when least expected, like a charge bursting inside the heart to do damage to the rule of sin. The Christian soldier must know how to advance inch by inch — to wear down that prejudice, to undermine that old hostility, to break the power of that sin, and finally to storm the stronghold. It is his work to throw the scaling ladder up, and to rejoice when he hears it catch hold — and then to climb with every ounce of energy, spring upon the enemy, and slay unbelief in the name of God, capture the city, and raise the banner of the cross of Christ, saying, "The heart is won — won for Christ at last." This requires a well-trained soldier, a master of the craft. After many days of attack, many weeks of waiting, and many hours of storming in prayer and battering through persuasion — to finally take the stronghold of depravity — this is the work, this is the difficulty. No fool can do this. God's grace must make a person wise enough to capture a soul, lead its captivity captive, and throw open the heart's gates so that the Prince Immanuel may enter. This is winning a soul.

Among the ancients, the word "win" was commonly used to describe winning in a wrestling match. When a Greek athlete sought to win the laurel or ivy crown, he was required to spend a long time in rigorous training beforehand. When he came out at last, stripped and ready for the contest, you could see from the very first efforts how every muscle and nerve had been developed. He faced a tough opponent and he knew it, so he held nothing back. As the wrestling went on, you could watch his eyes tracking every movement and every feint of his opponent, and see how his hands, feet, and entire body were thrown into the contest. He dreaded being thrown; he hoped to throw his rival. A true soul-winner often has to come to close quarters with the devil working inside people. He must wrestle with their prejudice, their love of sin, their unbelief, their pride — and then all of a sudden grapple with their despair. At one moment he contends with their self-righteousness; at the next, with their loss of faith in God. A thousand obstacles are thrown in the way to stop the soul-winner from winning, but if God has sent him, he will never release his hold on the soul he is pursuing until he has broken the power of sin and won another soul for Christ.

Beyond that, there is another meaning to the word "win" that I cannot fully explore here. We also use the word in a gentler sense — when we speak of winning hearts. There are quiet and mysterious ways in which those who love draw out the affection of another person — ways that prove wise in how perfectly suited they are to their purpose. I cannot tell you exactly how one person wins another's heart, but experience has likely taught you something about it. The means used in that kind of victory are not always the same, yet when it is won, the wisdom of those means becomes clear to every observer. Sometimes the weapon of love is a glance, or a quiet word whispered and eagerly received; sometimes it is a tear. But most of us, at some point, have cast around another heart a chain that person would never want to break — a bond that has linked two people together in a joyful closeness that has enriched their lives. And that is very nearly how souls are saved. That illustration comes closer to the truth than any of the others. Love is the true way of soul-winning. When I spoke of storming walls and wrestling, those were metaphors. This is near the actual reality. We win by love. We win hearts for Jesus through love — through sympathy with people's sorrow, through deep concern that they might perish, through pleading with God for them with our whole hearts that they would not be left to die unsaved, and through pleading with them for God's sake that, for their own good, they would seek mercy and find grace. There is a spiritual wooing and winning of hearts for the Lord Jesus. If you want to learn how it is done, you must ask God to give you a tender heart and a compassionate soul. Much of the secret of soul-winning lies in having a heart of compassion — in having a spirit that can be touched by human weakness and suffering. Carve a preacher out of granite, and even if you give him an angel's voice, he will convert no one. Put him in the finest pulpit, make his delivery flawless and his teaching deeply orthodox — but as long as he carries a hard heart in his chest, he can never win a soul. Soul-saving requires a heart that beats with passion. It requires a soul full of genuine human kindness. This is the essential requirement for success. This is the chief natural qualification for a soul-winner — which, under God and blessed by Him, will accomplish wonders.

I have not checked the Hebrew of the text myself, but those who have margins in their Bibles will find that it reads, "He that takes souls is wise" — a word that refers to fishing or bird-catching. Every Sunday when I leave my house, I pass men with small cages and stuffed decoy birds, trying all around the common and in the fields to catch little songbirds. They understand the method of attracting and trapping their small targets. Soul-winners could learn much from them. We must have our lures for souls — designed to attract, to draw in, to capture. We must go out with our nets, our baits, and our decoys, so that we might catch the souls of men. The enemy of souls is a hunter of the most cunning and depraved kind. We must outwit him with the honest craft of grace. But this art can only be learned through divine teaching, and in this we must be wise and willing to learn. The person who catches fish must also have some skill. Washington Irving, I believe, tells us of three gentlemen who had read Izaak Walton's accounts of the pleasures of fishing and decided they must try it themselves. They went to New York, bought the finest rods and lines available, and found out the exact fly suited to that particular day or season, so that the fish might practically leap into the basket. They fished and fished all the long day, but the basket stayed empty. They were growing disgusted with a sport that had no sport in it, when a ragged boy came down from the hills, barefoot, and humiliated them completely. He had a stick pulled from a tree, a piece of string, and a bent pin. He put a worm on it, threw it in, and out came a fish immediately, as if drawn by a magnet. In went the line again, out came another fish, and so on, until his basket was completely full. They asked him how he did it. He said he couldn't quite explain, but it was easy enough once you had the knack of it. Fishing for people is much the same. Some preachers with fine equipment preach very eloquently and gracefully, but they never win souls. I cannot fully explain it, but another man comes with very plain words and a warm heart, and people are straightway converted to God. There must be a sympathy between the minister and the souls he would win. God gives to those He makes soul-winners a natural love for their work and a spiritual fitness for it. There is a sympathy between those who are to be blessed and those who are to be the instruments of blessing. It is through this sympathy, under God, that souls are taken. But it is as clear as day that to be a fisher of people, a person must be wise. "He that wins souls is wise."

Now, brothers and sisters — you who are engaged in the Lord's work from week to week and who seek to win people's souls to Christ — I will, in the second part, illustrate this truth by telling you about some of the ways in which souls are won.

The preacher wins souls best when he genuinely believes in the reality of his work — when he believes in immediate, present conversions. How can he expect God to do what he does not believe God will do? He succeeds best who expects a conversion every time he preaches. According to his faith, so shall it be done to him. To be content without conversions is the surest way to never have them. To drive with a single aim entirely toward the saving of souls is the surest path to usefulness. If we press on in prayer and preaching until people are saved, saved they will be.

He will succeed best who stays closest to soul-saving truth. Not all truth is soul-saving, though all truth may be instructive. The person who keeps to the simple story of the cross — who tells people again and again that whoever believes in Christ is not condemned, that nothing is needed for salvation but a simple trust in the crucified Redeemer — whose ministry is largely made up of the glorious story of the cross, the sufferings of the dying Lamb, the mercy of God, the eagerness of the great Father to receive returning prodigals — who cries, day after day, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" — that person is likely to be a soul-winner. This is especially true if he adds to this much prayer for souls, a deep longing that people would be brought to Jesus, and a private life that reflects what his public ministry declares — always telling others about the love of the dear Savior of mankind.

But I am not speaking to ministers right now — I am speaking to those of you who sit in the pews, and so let me turn to you more directly. Brothers and sisters, you have different gifts. I hope you are using all of them. Perhaps some of you, though you are church members, think you have none. But every believer has his gift and his portion of work. What can you do to win souls? Let me recommend to those who feel they can do nothing the practice of bringing others to hear the Word. This is a duty that is much neglected. Many of you attend churches that are not even half full. Fill them. Do not complain about the small congregation — make it larger. Bring someone with you to the very next sermon, and the congregation will grow at once. Go with the prayer that your minister's sermon may be blessed. If you cannot preach yourself, you may do the next best thing by bringing others under the sound of the Word. This is a simple and ordinary suggestion, but I urge it on you, because it has great practical value. Many churches that are nearly empty could soon have large gatherings if those who benefit from the Word would tell others about what they have received and invite them to attend the same ministry. Especially here in London, where so many people refuse to go to God's house — persuade your neighbors to come out to worship. Look after them. Help them see that it is wrong to stay home all day Sunday. I do not say rebuke them — that does little good. Attract them, persuade them. Give them your tickets to the Tabernacle sometimes, or stand in the aisle yourself and let them have your seat. Get them within reach of the gospel, and who knows what the result may be? What a blessing it would be to you if you heard that what you yourself could not do — for you could hardly speak for Christ — was accomplished by your pastor through the power of the Holy Spirit, because you brought someone within range of the gospel.

Beyond that, soul-winners, the preacher may have missed the mark — but you need not miss it. Or the preacher may have struck the mark, and you can deepen the impression with a kind word. I recall several people joining the church who traced their conversion to the ministry at the Surrey Music Hall, but who said it was not that alone — there was another influence working alongside it. They were newly arrived from the country, and a good man — I knew him well, and I believe he is in heaven now — met two of them at the gate. He spoke to them, asked if they had enjoyed what they heard, listened to their answer, and asked if they were coming back in the evening. He said he would be glad if they would stop by his house for tea. They did, and he spoke a word with them about the Master. The next Sunday it was the same. At last, those whom the sermons had not greatly moved were brought to listen with different ears. Through the good old man's persuasive words and the Lord's gracious work, they were converted to God. There is a rich opportunity here — and indeed in every large congregation — for those who truly want to do good. How many come into this building every morning and evening with no thought of receiving Christ. If all of you who love the Master would help me — if you would speak to the neighbors sitting near you — how much might be accomplished! Never let anyone say, "I came to the Tabernacle for three months and no one ever spoke to me." With a warm and natural friendliness that should always be welcome in the house of God, seek with your whole heart to press upon your neighbors the truth that I can only put into the ear, but which God may help you to put into the heart.

Let me also urge on you, dear friends, the practice of drawing aside acquaintances and family members for a personal conversation. If you cannot preach to a hundred, preach to one. Get a person alone and, in love, speak to them quietly and prayerfully. "Only one?" you say. Well, is one not enough? I know your ambition, young person — you want to preach here to thousands. Be content and begin with individuals. Your Master was not too proud to sit at a well and speak to one woman. When He finished that conversation, He had effectively reached the whole city of Samaria, because that one woman became a messenger to her community. Timidity often keeps us from being useful in this way, but we must not give in to it. We must not allow Christ to remain unknown because of our silence, or sinners to go unwarned because of our neglect. We must train ourselves to deal personally with those who are not yet converted. We must not make excuses, but push ourselves to do what feels uncomfortable until it becomes natural. This is one of the most honorable ways of winning souls. If it requires more than ordinary courage and zeal, that is all the more reason to commit to mastering it. Beloved, we must win souls. We cannot live at ease while people perish around us. We must bring them to Jesus. Be up and active — let no one around you die unwarned, unwept for, and uncared for. A tract is a useful thing, but a living spoken word is better. Your eyes, your face, and your voice all carry weight. Do not be so timid as to hand someone a piece of paper when your own personal word would be far more powerful. I urge you — attend to this, for Jesus' sake.

Some of you could write letters for your Lord and Master. A few loving lines to a distant friend can be powerfully influential for good. Be like the men of Issachar, who handled the pen. Paper and ink are never better used than in winning souls. Much has been accomplished this way. Could you not do it? Will you not try? Some of you, even if you could not speak or write much, could live much. There is a powerful way of preaching with your feet — that is, preaching through your life, your conduct, and your daily conversation. That loving wife who weeps in private over an unbelieving husband, but is always so kind to him; that dear child whose heart is broken by a father's blasphemy, but who has become far more obedient since his own conversion; that servant whom the master swears at, but whom he would trust with his purse and uncounted gold; that person in business who is mocked as overly religious, but who is straight as a line and could not be made to do a dishonest thing for anything in the world — these are the people who preach the best sermons. These are your practical preachers. Give us your holy living, and with your holy living as the lever, we will move the world. Under God's blessing we will find words, but we desperately need the lives of our people to illustrate what our words are saying. The gospel is something like an illustrated publication. The preacher's words are the text, but the pictures are the living men and women who make up the congregation. When people pick up such a publication, they often skip the text and go straight to the pictures. In the same way, outsiders may not come to hear the preacher, but they always observe, consider, and evaluate the lives of the members. If you want to be soul-winners, dear brothers and sisters, see that you live the gospel. I have no greater joy than this — that my children walk in the truth.

One thing more: the soul-winner must be a master of the art of prayer. You cannot bring souls to God if you do not go to God yourself. You must draw your strength and your weapons from the armory of sacred communion with Christ. If you spend much time alone with Jesus, you will catch His Spirit. You will be lit with the flame that burned in His heart and consumed His life. You will weep with the tears He shed over Jerusalem when He saw it perishing. And even if you cannot speak as eloquently as He did, there will be something in what you say that carries the same power — the power that in Him thrilled hearts and awakened consciences. My dear hearers — especially you who are members of this church — I am always concerned that some of you might begin to coast and take things easy in the work of God's kingdom. There are some of you — and I bless you and thank God for you — who are earnest in winning souls, in season and out of season. You are the truly wise. But I fear there are others whose hands are slack, who are content to let me preach but do not preach themselves — who fill these seats and occupy these pews and hope the work goes well, but that is all they do. Oh, let me see you all in earnest! A great host of four thousand members — for that is now nearly the exact count of our church — what ought we not to accomplish if we are all alive and all in earnest! But such a host, without the spirit of enthusiasm, becomes merely a crowd — an unwieldy mass from which mischief grows and no good comes. If you were all burning torches for Christ, you could set the nation ablaze. If you were all wells of living water, how many thirsty souls might drink and be refreshed! One more thing you can do. If some of you feel you cannot do much personally, you can always support the College — and it is there that we find voices for those who cannot speak. Our young men are called by God to preach. We give them some education and training, and then they go out to Australia, to Canada, to the islands of the sea, to Scotland, to Wales, and throughout England, preaching the Word. It must often be a comfort to some of you to think that, even if you have not spoken as much as you wished with your own voice, you have at least spoken through the voices of others — so that through you, the Word of God has been sounded out across this entire region.

Beloved, I will close with one question: are your own souls won? You cannot win others if they are not. Are you yourselves saved? Every one of you here today — are you saved? What if tonight you had to answer that question before a greater judge than I am? What if death itself stood before you — that final, unconquerable reality — turning flesh to stone and chilling the blood in your veins? Could you hope in your last moment that you are saved? If not saved, how will you ever be? When will you be saved, if not now? Will any time be better than now? The way to be saved is simply to trust in what the Son of Man did when He became a man and suffered the punishment for all who trust in Him. For all His people, Christ was a substitute. His people are those who trust Him. If you trust Him, He was punished for your sins, and you cannot be punished for them — because God cannot punish the same sin twice, first in Christ and then in you. If you trust Jesus, who now lives at the right hand of God, you are at this very moment pardoned, and you will forever be saved. How I long that you would trust Him now! Perhaps for you it is now or never. May it be now — even now. And then, trusting in Jesus, you will have no need to hesitate when asked, "Are you saved?" You can answer, "Yes, I am — for it is written, 'He that believes in Him is not condemned.'" Trust Him then. Trust Him now. And then God help you to be a soul-winner — and you shall be wise, and God shall be glorified.

Portion of Scripture read before the sermon: Psalm 51.