Redeeming the time: In the early days of manufacturing, each worker started with raw materials and went through all the steps necessary to create a finished product. The assembly line, introduced by Henry Ford for the manufacture of cars, greatly increased worker productivity. The gains were so dramatic that other industries followed his lead. Greater efficiency soon became a competitive necessity throughout the world of business and industry. Many companies hired so-called time-study experts to discover and eliminate wasteful procedures.

What would happen if a time-study expert assessed our lives? If his aim was to determine our efficiency as workers for God, what would he find? He would observe that in a normal week, besides the time we give to rest, eating, and self-maintenance, we devote maybe forty hours to work, another six or seven to travel, several more to shopping, and about five to church (if we are faithful). But what about the remaining hours out of the 168 at our disposal during a week? Do we give more than a few minutes to any spiritually profitable exercise—to prayer, Bible reading, singing hymns, witnessing, visiting, providing assistance, or preparing gifts? How many of these exercises do we neglect altogether? But by comparison, how much time do we spend in pleasing ourselves? How many hours do we waste before the TV or on the phone? Would a thorough review of our use of time and other personal resources show that we are living in obedience to Ephesians 5:16?

What the Bible commands: The Lord commanded us to carry the gospel to the whole world (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). Yet the wording of the Great Commission in its various forms makes it clear that no individual can fulfill it. No single Christian can take the gospel everywhere, even to the uttermost parts of the earth. We must conclude that the Great Commission is addressed to the whole church. Evangelizing the world is a corporate, not an individual, responsibility.

Does Scripture command individual believers to engage in personal soulwinning? Never explicitly. We could read the Bible from cover to cover and not find such a requirement. Yet it would be wrong to think that no such requirement exists. What Scripture says about soulwinning rests on two considerations.

1. Not everyone can do personal soulwinning. A bedridden person with Christian care-givers may never have a chance to share the gospel with an unconverted person. We could imagine a multitude of other circumstances, whether in our day or in days past, that could prevent a Christian from being a witness for Christ. Since the Bible never gives a command to individuals that everyone cannot keep, it omits any command to do soulwinning.
2. The New Testament is reticent to command any specific form of work for Christ. The reason is simple. God prefers that we serve Him gladly by choice rather than out of compulsion (Psa. 100:2).

What the Bible commends: Although the Bible raises no stick to make us do soulwinning, it encourages us to do it by offering incentives.

1. According to Proverbs 11:30, it is wise to win souls. Why? The answer is not stated, but merely implied. It is wise because it earns rewards.
2. According to Daniel 12:3, rewards await any believer who is zealous in the business of bringing others to the truth. The one stated reward is a greater measure of eternal glory. The firmament (that is, the sky) shines with the scattered light of a star, our sun. The direct light of a star is far brighter.
3. The symbolism in Luke 19:12-27 is not difficult to decipher. The nobleman is obviously Christ. The far country is heaven. His going there to receive a kingdom is His ascension, and His coming back from that country is His return to the earth. The servants are believers during the Church Age. Their work of investing and multiplying the master's wealth (pounds are a kind of money) represents the believer's work of advancing the cause of Christ.

How do we advance His cause? Chiefly by extending His rule over the hearts of men. That is, chiefly by bringing more people into His kingdom. We conclude that multiplying pounds refers primarily to soulwinning. Secondarily, it refers to anything we do that promotes the ministries of the church or brings glory to the name of Christ. The parable states that diligent work for the master brings great rewards. The servant who worked hardest is promoted to the position of highest authority, over ten cities. He also receives the ten pounds he had gained through wise dealing, plus other pounds as well. The servant who did nothing is severely rebuked and chastened. He is called a "wicked servant" and he loses the only pound in his possession. In other words, he loses his reward.

When properly understood, this parable is a strong incentive to get busy for Christ, and the work with surest reward is the winning of souls.

Two kinds of witness: We witness for Christ in two ways, through our lives and through verbal testimony. Some advocates of so-called lifestyle evangelism argue that our only duty in the world is to live a virtuous life that others can see. Simply acting and looking like a Christian are enough to make those around us curious as to why we are different. When they come with questions, we can answer with the gospel. Evangelism of this sort certainly takes place and is very effective. But lifestyle evangelism is not sufficient. We must also go out and seek the lost and press the claims of the gospel upon them. Christ says we should "compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23). To compel means that we must start conversations for the purpose of witness. We must pass out tracts. We must use every means we can to bring the gospel to people who would never find it just through curiosity.

Witness by Our Manner of Life

Life-centered witness is of three kinds.

1. Good works (Matt. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:12, 15). The New Testament strongly urges all believers to make their Christian faith visible through good works. Indeed, down through history, Christians have been outstanding for bringing assistance to people with every kind of need. In the early centuries of the church, Christians started the first real hospitals. Even today, in most communities with a historic Christian presence, many hospitals bear the name of a Christian denomination. In the Middle Ages, Christians founded the first universities. In America, they began the first schools and colleges. Other kinds of charitable institutions, such as orphanages and asylums for the mentally ill, originated in the efforts of Christians. Democratic forms of government, protecting the common man from the outrages of tyranny, first appeared in nations where the gospel was deeply rooted. All the worthwhile movements for social justice that have emerged in the last three centuries—the crusades to abolish slavery and child labor, for example—have been spearheaded by Christians. As they have always been, so Christians are prominent today in every effort to fight hunger, famine, and disease and to alleviate the effects of war and natural disaster.

No one objects to receiving a kindness. Good works are therefore extremely useful for creating witness opportunities. The basis of medical missions is that people gladly seek medical attention even from Christian doctors and nurses who are outspoken about their faith.

2. Good character (Rom. 12:17). One night over a year ago, my family and I ate supper at a local Perkins restaurant, and I paid the bill with my credit card. I expected the bill to appear on my next statement, but it was missing. Several months went by, and the restaurant had still failed to charge my account. Eventually, it became clear that they had never recorded the transaction. What to do? My wife called the local headquarters of Perkins and asked where we could send payment. Their representative seemed surprised, but readily gave her the address we were seeking. Soon after I sent them a check with a tract enclosed, a letter came back, thanking me profusely for being honest. Inside the letter was a gift certificate for a greater amount than I had paid.

Here was an ideal chance for witness. Just as no one objects to receiving a kindness, likewise no one objects to receiving money, even if the gospel comes with it.

3. Enduring persecution (1 Pet. 3:15). This verse is often quoted as the Biblical grounds for a ministry of apologetics. Apologetics certainly has an important role to play in the outreach of the church. But the context (v. 14) establishes the true meaning of the verse. It is talking not about defending Christian faith from the attacks of skeptics. Rather, it is talking about the questions that arise when a Christian exposes himself to persecution. In Peter's day, it was dangerous to be a Christian. Many believers suffered horrible deaths at the hands of vicious men. Yet even in a society steeped in pagan wickedness, there were many unbelievers who could not remain untouched and unmoved by pity as they watched Christians suffer. Naturally, they would ask questions. "What kind of faith would drive you to a martyr's death?" Such a question would give an opportunity for witness—an opportunity Peter urged believers to take with "meekness and fear." These terms suggest that Peter was aiming his advice especially at any Christian who faced interrogation by the authorities. He was saying, "If you wish your answers to be effective, do not be arrogant. Behave with humility and reverence."

Witness by Verbal Testimony

There is a right way and wrong way to speak for Christ.

Hit-and-run soulwinning: Suppose I go up to a stranger on the street and say, "Look, if you will give me a minute of your time, I can show you how to be sure that you will spend eternity in heaven, not in hell. All you need do is ask Jesus into your heart, and you can do that just by saying a brief prayer with me. Will you pray the prayer that will save you from eternity in hell? It takes only about ten seconds." Suppose your appeal succeeds, and the stranger follows you in saying the ten-second prayer. Then you say, "You need never doubt your eternal destiny. The Bible says that you are now entitled to absolute assurance of your salvation. It has been good talking to you. I will pray that your Christian life goes well. Good-bye, my new brother in Christ."

Is this legitimate soulwinning? Certainly not. Many lost people will respond to such an appeal, but although they respond exactly as required, they will probably not get saved. Why? Because salvation requires true repentance and true faith. The hit-and-run method of soulwinning produces neither. If anyone gets saved by this method, they do so in spite of it, rather than because of it.

1. The method does not elicit true repentance. It plays upon someone's desire to escape sin's penalty, but fails to draw out any desire to escape sin itself. It fails to use the Spirit's power to bring conviction of sin and sorrow for sin.
2. The method does not elicit true faith. It presents Jesus as only a name appearing in a magical formula. It does not introduce the needy soul to the real person of Jesus, or encourage him to view Jesus as the real Lord Jesus Christ.
3. The method merely offers an attractive bargain. It offers huge protection at a price next to nothing. That is, it gives assurance of heaven forever in return for a ten-second prayer. Even someone who thought that the claims of the soulwinner were almost certainly false could not rationally refuse his offer, so long as these claims had any probability whatsoever of being true. The method gets easy results by calling for some empty words rather than for real belief in the gospel.

Correctives: Legitimate soulwinning takes the following measures to avoid false conversions:

1. The soulwinner puts the emphasis on meaning rather than on ritual. He avoids giving the impression that salvation comes by saying a prayer.
2. The soulwinner does not lead anyone in a prayer for salvation until he is satisfied that the needy soul meets the conditions of true repentance and faith. That is, the needy soul is sorry for his sins and acknowledges Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
3. Since the soulwinner cannot judge the heart of anyone who outwardly appears to accept Jesus, he avoids saying that the new convert is henceforth entitled to absolute assurance of salvation.
4. The soulwinner never leaves a new convert to his own devices. He does follow-up. He makes himself available for discipling or directs the new convert to someone else who will do it. Moreover, he attempts to put the new convert in contact with a good church, and he informs the new convert of his obligation to be baptized.

Jesus' soulwinning practice: In John 3 and 4, we see how Jesus Himself brought men to the truth. John 3 shows His dealings with the man Nicodemus, a religious leader of the Jewish people. The person Jesus reaches in John 4 is diametrically opposite. She is a woman, a Samaritan, and a great sinner. The encounters recorded in these two chapters had very different beginnings. Whereas Nicodemus approached Jesus with the intent of learning spiritual truth, Jesus came as a stranger to the woman and initiated conversation with her. The second encounter gives us an authoritative example of how to do the hardest kind of soulwinning. Jesus used the five-step method:

1. He started a conversation by building on the immediate situation. They had both come to a well for water. Jesus started talking with the woman by simply asking her for something to drink (v. 7). It was a natural, nonthreatening question.
2. As quickly as possible, He found a bridge to spiritual matters. After the woman responded to His question, He shifted the subject by offering her living water (v. 10). He used the concept of water to create a transition from mundane matters to spiritual matters.
3. He offered the hope of the gospel first. Like all sinners, the woman already sensed the despair at the heart of life apart from God. Any method of dealing with her that aroused further despair before it offered hope might have turned her away. So, Jesus did not begin by attacking her life and character, or by pointing out her eternal peril. Rather, He told her that she could live forever (v. 14). He gave her hope.
4. He brought her to confess that she was a sinner. No one can be saved just by choosing eternal life through Jesus. It is necessary to embrace Him as the Savior from sin. Jesus brought the woman to a conviction of sin by very gently probing her past (v. 16). Again, He refrained from attacking her, lest she be antagonized. Instead, He merely inquired about her husband. With the Holy Spirit at work in her heart, this simple question was enough to remind her of her confused marital situation and to evoke shame. She responded by telling the truth about herself, that she had no husband (v. 17). Jesus commended her for being honest and, to her astonishment, filled in all the details (v. 17-8). Again, she responded correctly. She was not angry or defensive. Rather, by declaring Him to be a prophet, she confessed that God was in Jesus (v. 19).
5. He presented Himself as the Savior. The woman was now ready for some instruction. Before presenting Himself as the Savior, Jesus cleared away some of the woman's religious notions based on Samaritan traditions. He affirmed that "salvation is of the Jews" (v. 22). Again, she was receptive to what He said, for she positioned herself with the Jews in their hope for the Messiah (v. 25). Finally, the time having arrived for Jesus to speak plainly, He revealed who He was. He let her know that He was the Messiah—the man "of the Jews" who provides salvation (v. 26). The woman believed and was saved (v. 29).

We are wise to pattern our soulwinning after Jesus' example. In our conversations with the lost, we should look for ways of bridging from the natural to the spiritual. We should be positive and loving rather than threatening and accusing. As shrewd fisherman, we should use hope as our bait. We should not neglect to deal with sin, but neither should we impose conviction from the outside, when the Spirit can arouse it from the inside. Finally, we should never stop short of giving Christ as the remedy for sin.