Throughout the Gospels in the New Testament, Christ displayed a passion for souls. The ultimate purpose of Christ’s incarnation is found in Philippians 2:7,8 which says, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Although the sacrifice on the cross was the purpose, Christ had an impactful ministry of soul winning. Jesus Christ is the greatest example of how to conduct our spiritual lives. Although His ministry was brief, there are great lessons to learn from Christ’s approach of soul winning. In Luke 5, there were scribes and Pharisees complaining about Jesus as He was eating and drinking with sinners and publicans. Christ’s answer was very pointed towards His reasoning. In verses 31 and 32, Christ said, “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” His answer was a great summary for being on earth. Although the purpose was not to call the righteous, Christ had a reason for calling disciples.
In the beginning of Christ’s ministry, the first year is known as the year of obscurity. Few knew about Christ, but God used John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord. One day, Christ was walking by John and his disciples. John proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Two of John’s disciples followed Christ. The Gospels give great accounts of Christ seeking and finding men to follow him. He called Phillip, Matthew, and more commonly known Andrew and Peter in Matthew 4. Verses 18-20 read, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” Christ’s first soul winning approach was to teach others to be fishers of men. This was a promise to Peter and Andrew which still applies to us. If we follow Christ, He will make us fishers of men. We should learn by Christ’s example of reaching the lost. To be a soul winner, we must follow Christ.
(By Matt Shold)
