Since we have started Hope Baptist Mission last April we
have talked to many people. Every door
in Elmwood has been knocked on at least four times. We have spent many hours
walking up and down the streets catching people out on their porches or just
sitting around. The people by in large
have been nice. There are all types of people in Elmwood. There are Blacks,
Whites, Mexicans, Bi Racial, Homeless, drunks, prostitutes, heroin addicts, crack
addicts, people who work hard, those who have heard the gospel, those who have
not heard the gospel, saved and live godly lives, those who try to live right, etc.
Though there are many types of people they seem to fall into
4 categories.
The first category is people
who are unprepared for the gospel; we see an example of them in Acts 17
where Paul preached to the people on Mars Hill. When Paul preached to them he
did not start with the gospel but instead he started by introducing God the
creator. Acts 17:24 “God that
made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;” Just
as the people in Athens had to have their hearts prepared we now see a
generation in America that knows not God and must have their hearts prepared. At
our mission we began in Genesis 1 and taught through the life of Isaac. When
teaching on the account of Cain and Abel and the importance of the blood
sacrifice vs. the works of mans hands we asked the people which sacrifice God
accepted. A lady who had been coming to the mission faithfully and had not
known a lot about the Word of God answered the question. (While she had been coming to the mission she
had learned about God the creator, where sin came from, the penalty of sin,
that God came seeking man after sin and found them clothed by the work of their
hands. He then clothed them with animal
skins causing the blood to be shed.) She
answered “the blood sacrifice,” she then said again with a look of
understanding “it is the blood.” Now that she knew of God the creator, what sin
was and what the penalty for sin was, her heart was prepared for the gospel.
That afternoon she walked forward during the invitation and believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ to be her Saviour. She is
still there and is a great witness on the streets of Elmwood.
The second category is those whose hearts have been prepared yet choose to procrastinate
when they hear the gospel. We liken them unto King Agrippa in Acts 26. As Paul
was speaking before Festus and Agrippa, Festus leaned forward and said
“Paul, thou art beside
thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” Paul answered him calmly and quickly “I am not mad, most noble
Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.” Paul continued by
referring to Agrippa and maybe looking for corroboration saying “For the king
knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded
that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a
corner.” Paul then brings Agrippa to the point of decision “King
Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.” and then we
hear the sad words “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” There are
many people that we meet knocking doors and that come to our mission who, like
Agrippa, are almost persuaded. But
knowing that “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to
repentance.” II Peter 3:9. We continue
in our soul winning endeavors.
The third category
is people whose hearts have been wearied. These are people who are saved and are no
longer attending church. Sometimes
because they were supposedly hurt at a church, sometimes because the cares of
this life overtook them, sometimes they just became backslidden. When we see
them we are reminded of King David in Psalm 51 and seek to see them have the
joy of their salvation restored unto them as King David did.
The fourth category of people is those whose hearts have been deceived. This is the hardest group to
minister to. They have it set in their
minds that they are going to heaven. They continue on in their addictions,
prostitution, drunkenness and willful disobedience to the Word of God. The unprepared heart can be taught, the prepared
heart can be preached to, the wearied heart can be strengthened but the
deceived heart is set in its sin and they are convinced that they are on their
way to heaven. They had someone come by
their door from a church and asked them if they wanted to go to heaven. Of
course, they said yes, they were then told to tell God (who they didn't know)
that they were sorry they sinned (they didn’t know what sin was or the results
of sin) and ask Him to come into their heart and take them to heaven when they die.
They were then showed I John 5:13 and told that because they said that prayer no
matter what happens in their lives they are saved eternally. The deceived heart is trusting in a prayer
they said and not in a Saviour who died for them. Many times these soul-winners are well
meaning people who have a love for souls and a sincere desire to see people get
saved. They just do not realize that not everyone knows the God of the
Bible. There was a day in our country
when every one knew about God the Creator.
There was a time when even people who were non-Christian believed the Bible
to be the Word of God. Most everyone could say the Ten Commandments and knew
that Jesus was God the Son who died on the cross for them and rose the third
day. We must be very careful not to make
salvation a work but at the same time we must strive to make sure the sinner understands
about salvation. When Philip met the
Ethiopian Eunuch and heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah, Philip asked
him “Understandest thou what thou readest? Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same
scripture and preached unto him Jesus.”
In I Corinthians 15:1,2 we see the gospel is heard and received. “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.”
