CHURCHES AND PERSONS SHOULD FISH THE UNSAVED NOT TO PRIORITIZE SAVED FROM OTHER CHURCHES...
TEACH PEOPLE TO FISH AND THE CHURCHES WILL SURVIVE A LIFETIME!
SOUL-WINNING:
By Example
Lesson Text: Acts 4:13
Devotional Reading: Won by Behavior of Wives, 1 Peter 3:1-6.
Aim: To show how the lost may be won by a Christian’s godly example
Home Readings
Monday: “Let Your Light so Shine,” Matthew 5:13-16
Tuesday: When They Behold Your Good Works, 1 Peter 2:9-15.
Wednesday: Influence of Naomi’s Example, Ruth 1:16-18; 2:11-12.
Thursday: Power of Believer’s Example, 1 Timothy 4:12-16.
Friday: “No Evil Thing to Say of You,” Titus 2:7-15.
Saturday: Living Epistles, 2 Corinthians 3:1-5.
Sunday: Noted They’d Been with Jesus, Acts 4:13-18.
1. The Tragedy of a Wrong Example.
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13). Powerless salt is worthless. It is good for nothing, but to be cast out. The analogy is clear. When believers fail to live right, fail to witness, and fail to promote the cause of Christ, they are worthless (1 Timothy 3:7).
This is a tragedy to a believer, because he has the potential of being a personal worker for Christ. It is also a tragedy to the lost person, because he needs to see a godly example to encourage him to receive Christ. God commands His followers to avoid setting a wrong example by laying aside sin. “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,” (1 Peter 2:1). “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” (1 Peter 2:11).
Without genuine spirituality those who profess to belong to Christ will be trodden under the feet of men. The lost will ridicule the unspiritual believer. The world will scorn the worldly believer. Unbelievers have nothing but contempt for those who do not back up their profession of faith with a godly life.
Salt was a precious commodity in the ancient world; therefore Christ’s reference to his followers as “the salt of the earth” was a compliment. Believers are in the world to witness against sin and to set an example of righteousness. Such are a precious commodity to the Lord. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” 2 Corinthians 6:17).
2. The Glory of a Right Example.
Behind the testimony of the early disciple was the example of godly living which testified to what Christ had done and will do for a sinner. “…and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13). That is what the world needs to know. There was evidence in the lives of Peter and John which evidenced their association with Christ. Unshaken loyalty, unfaltering love, and untiring patience will always impress the unsaved.
A believer’s life is vital to the work of God; therefore his life should have a testimony which shines brightly in this crooked and perverse world (Philippians 2:14-18). “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” (Matthew 5:15). A secret discipleship leads no one to Christ. An obscure discipleship confuses the lost. The one who really shines his testimony for Christ is the one who lives consistently for Christ.
The candlestick on which one should put his testimony is a New Testament church. “…and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:20).There is no better place on earth for one’s testimony than a true church.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). “Let your light so shine before men,” is the command of Christ for His people to set a right example. By nature light draws attention to its source. When a believer sets a right example, he draws attention to the Source of his life, not to himself. This is the example John set. “The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.” (John 1:7). This enables the lost to take knowledge of the fact one has been with Jesus in fellowship, in Bible Study, in prayer, and in salvation.
3. The Glory of Good Works.
“That they may see your good works” indicates a believer’s light should radiate to the lost. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” (Ephesians 5:8). “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10). God has set a direction for the believer to walk and it is in “good work.” A believer’s life is to be regulated by “good works.” This pleases God, because He receives glory in “good works” and lost souls can see those “good works.”
Four this cause a believer’s life should be a testimony to God; otherwise that life is wasted. Those who really respect and revere God will do this by their good works. They will manifest the fruit of the Spirit before the world.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
“ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
“And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25).
One may claim to have faith in the Lord, but if his works do not reflect such the unbeliever will never believe it. Therefore, each believer should have good works which manifest an inner faith. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” (James 2:18).
4. The Glory to God.
“and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Is the aim of one’s good work. “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” (John 15:8). “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11). “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
A pious look will not glorify God and is not the example to show the lost their need for Christ. Using words like “praise the Lord” all the time will not accomplish this. Wearing “clerical” garb will not accomplish this. One’s natural talents do not necessarily accomplish this. Beholding one’s example in good works will lead the lost to glorify God. In this light, each believer should consider what effect his life has on others. “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”(1 Peter 2:12).
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22). The life which does not manifest itself in deeds of truth brings no glory to God. God’s Word is for the believer’s nurture and admonition. It grooms and tutors him to glorify God. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:9). Christ can truly project Himself into such a life (Galatians 2:20).
