Leading People to the Lord Jesus Christ-Part Six
Summary
We discussed a variety of issues in this
series of nuggets. Here is a recap:
Leading
someone to Jesus is different than them receiving Jesus Christ
Sharing Jesus in itself does not bring salvation
to someone. A person repeating a ‘prayer’ that is not from
the heart will not bring salvation. Asking Jesus to be your Savior, but
not wanting Him to be your Lord will not lead to eternal life. A person led to
Christ through coercion is not going to willfully submit their life to Christ
and be a committed believer.
Presenting a false gospel to get people to
receive salvation
At times individuals give false promises to
people so that they will receive Jesus into their life. Or individuals give a
false understanding of heaven. We should not try to make the gospel “easy to
swallow” by giving false promises. The main reason a person should come to
Jesus is because they understand they are a sinner and they need a Savior.
Numbers versus True Conversions
It is more important that individuals have a
true conversion than seeing many people come to Jesus under false pretensions. Instead
of being concerned about how many are lead to Jesus, we should be desirous of
seeing people truly converted.
Success
in Ministry
Success in the Kingdom of God is not measured by numbers. It is measured by faithfulness and obedience. Our success is based upon how faithful we have been to witness to those who the Holy Spirit has brought to our attention. A ministry dedicated to drug addicts is not going to see much success in the natural realm. A ministry to millionaires is not going to see much success in the natural realm. However, if these ministries do all that God has called them to do, they are successful. Ultimately they will see success in the natural realm also.
Discipleship
In reality we are called to do more than lead people to Jesus. According to
the Great Commission, we led people to Jesus and make disciples. Until the
person we have led to Christ is leading others to Christ, we have not fulfilled
the Great Commission.
Mercy
God is merciful. It is His desire to see all saved. He will bring salvation
to people even if we do it all wrong. Which means He is also
merciful to us. So go out and lead someone to Jesus. Risk it and experience
the joy of seeing someone born again. And experience the joy of being a “grandparent”
by helping that person lead someone else to Jesus.
Copyright © 2003 Richard D. Dover. All rights reserved.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NASB).