Why Do I Forget about Soulwinning?

Why do we so easily forget about soulwinning?

We want people to get saved and we often pray for salvation. But when it comes time for us to do something about it, we simply … forget. How can we be so concerned about the salvation of the lost in theory but take such little action in practice?

Three reasons are especially true for me. But before discussing them (and the biblical answers), please know that these are my reasons; I’m not pointing the finger at anybody but me. Also, I’m only exploring why I forget to evangelize, not why I refuse to evangelize. If you’re anything like me, perhaps this article can be helpful to you.

Hell is an Unsettling Thought

I would prefer not to ponder God’s eternal condemnation of the unsaved to a literal place called “the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20:15). New Testament authors think differently. Jesus mentions “hell” 13 times in the book of Matthew alone. John makes the staggering claim that “whoever does not believe is condemned already” (John 3:18) and, later, “whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). And, although Paul does not use the word “hell” specifically, he somehow makes eternal life without Christ even more terrifying: “you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed … but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:5-8).

Furthermore, Christianity’s most influential voices have been “singed by the fires of hell.”¹ Jonathan Edwards, for example, pictures God as dangling sinners like spiders “by a slender thread” over Gehenna.² Throughout Richard Baxter’s, The Reformed Pastor, he seems to be running from hell: “take heed to yourselves, for you have a heaven to win or lose, and souls that must be happy or miserable forever …. How many [preachers], who are now in hell, and warned them to escape from it! How many have preached of the wrath of God against sinners, who are now enduring it!”³ Or, when John Bunyan introduces us to the Pilgrim’s Progress, Evangelist has pointed advice for Christian: “Fly from the wrath to come!”

The Bible unapologetically defines people by their eternal destiny. They’re either saved or unsaved, living or dead, in light or in darkness, etc. And until I learn to categorize people in this eternally focused way, urgency may never take root.

Modern Life is Strangely Disconnected

On the one hand, I’m oddly disconnected from the world around me. I can hop inside a sound-proof steel box with four wheels and drive it to a super-center where I shop for the entire week. While there, it’s unusual to speak to … anyone. I encounter noise-cancelling ear buds, self-checkout lanes, faces buried in phones, and person after person who have been conditioned not to make eye contact. I do all my banking online (or through my phone), I put physical mail in my mailbox, and the Amazon delivery guy doesn’t even bother to knock. All that to say, it takes a surprising amount of commitment to have a real conversation with someone outside my immediate family.

On the other hand, connecting to people evangelistically has never been easier. I have no fear of physical harm (a luxury I too often forget). I have history’s most powerful communication platforms to dispense the gospel message. And, by God’s grace, I have a whole network of people who engage with me spiritually. I need to remind myself that a simple text message is a modern marvel that can have a profound effect.

Ministry is Busy

Busyness is endemic. And when I’m neck-deep in whatever life has thrown at me, which seems to be most of the time, I need to expand my definition of personal evangelism to match Paul’s. In Romans 1, Paul addresses his audience by calling them, “those … loved by God and called to be saints” (v. 7). A few verses later, he tells those very same Christians, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (v. 15). For Paul, personal evangelism has both believers and unbelievers as an audience. And it’s a consistent pattern. When instructing Timothy, for example, Paul commands “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5) by preaching the word to his Ephesian congregation both in season and out (2 Timothy 4:1-4). In fact, Paul says the chief role of pastors and teachers is to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12), which must include personal evangelism.

It’s helpful, therefore, to remind myself that whether raising my children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), reminding believers of their position in Christ (Romans 6:1-11), or shining the light of the gospel into an unbeliever’s heart (2 Corinthians 4:16), it’s personal evangelism. The Kingdom of God grows when believers are strengthened for God’s future work and when the seed is sown into the soil of an unbelieving heart.

Concluding Thoughts

As I’ve reflected on my personal evangelism, I’m reminded of how easy it can be in one sense. It simply takes thought. In fact, I’m going to go now so I can text a few friends I haven’t heard from in a while. I’m going to tell them I’m thinking of them and offer a lunch. By God’s grace, a gospel conversation will result.