Enemies of Soul Winning

by Dr. Jack Hyles

Electronic Printing 2000 by FFEP

FOREWORD
The subtle enemies that affect the soul-winning efforts of the local church have too long
gone unnoticed as well as unchallenged. Dr. Jack Hyles, Pastor of the church with the
"World's Largest Sunday School" and the worlds foremost soul-winning ministries,
contests these enemies, one by one.

These enemies must be exposed for what they are: a definite attempt, by Satan, to stop
fundamental, soul-winning churches from doing the work God has ordained them to do.

These insights given by Dr. Hyles may seem controversial, but in reality they are logical
as well as Biblical.

Enemies of Soul Winning will reveal adversaries you may have thought were your
friends!
 About the Author
Jack Hyles began preaching at the age of 19 and has pastored for 45 years. These
pastorates include churches that varied in membership from 44 to over 100,000. All of
these pastorates, other than the present one, where in the state of Texas: First, the
Marris Chapel Baptist Church of Bogata, Texas; then the Grange Hall Baptist Church in
Marshall, Texas; from there to the Southside Baptist Church of Henderson, Texas; and
then to the Miller Road Baptist Church of Garland, Texas. He pastored the Miller Road
Baptist Church for approximately 7 years and saw this church, under the Lord, grow
from a membership of 44 to over 4,000. It was from the Miller Road Baptist Church that
he was called to his present pastorate at the First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana.

Dr. Hyles has been Pastor of the First Baptist Church since August, 1959. This church
has a membership of over 100,000 and has averaged over 23,000 conversions and
8,000 baptisms per year for the past 6 years. For many years the church has been
acclaimed to have the "World's Largest Sunday School." During Dr. Hyles' ministry the
First Baptist Church has increased in property evaluation to over $50,000,000.

Besides his position as Pastor, Dr. Hyles is Founder-Chancellor of Hyles-Anderson

Schools, which enrolled approximately 4,000 students last year. The schools are
operated by the First Baptist Church and are housed in separate facilities away from the
church property. Dr. Hyles has served as President of the Baptist Bible College in
Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Hyles is the author of 41 books and pamphlets, exceeding over 12 million copies in
sales. Many of his sermons are also available on tape.

Dr. Hyles' experience covers numerous evangelistic campaigns, Bible conferences, etc.
He has preached in virtually every state of the Union and in many foreign countries. His
annual Pastors' School attracts thousands of preachers from every state and many
foreign countries.
 Chapter One

Lordship Salvation -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

Exactly what do we mean when we say, "Lordship Salvation"? We are talking about the
false doctrine that says that in order for a person to be saved, he must make Jesus the
Lord of his life. If that doctrine were true, then no one could be saved, because as long
as we are limited by these fleshly bodies, we will be unable to make Jesus totally the
Lord of our lives. This can happen only when we are like Him. I John 3:2, "Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

The Apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest Christian who ever lived, spoke of the battle he
had. He said in Romans 7:18, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no
good thing...." Inverse 19, he said, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which
I would not want, that I do." In verse 23, he talks about the warfare between the flesh
and the spirit, and in verse 24, he calls himself a "wretched man."

Of course, every believer should have a sincere desire and make a sincere effort to
make Jesus Lord of his life, but in the flesh, that is impossible, and we will not be
satisfied until we awake in His likeness. Psalm 17.15, "As for me, I will behold thy face
in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."

1. There is only one Gospel. Galatians 1:6-9, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed
from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now
again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him
be accursed."

The word "another" in verse 6, and the word "another" in verse 7 are not the same
words. The first means "another of a different kind"; the second in verse 7 means
"another of the same kind." For example, suppose you say to someone at the table,
"Pass another cookie to me." You could mean another one of the same kind you have
been eating, or you could mean another kind of cookie that is at the table. What the
Apostle is saying here is that some people were preaching another gospel; that is,
another kind. Then he reminds us that that kind is not another of the same kind.
Basically there are only two kinds of salvation: (1) Man does it; or (2) God does it.
Someone has rightly said that the two kinds of salvation are wrapped up in two small
words: do and done. Anything that we would do to save ourselves, anything that
another person would do to save us, or anything that another group of people would do
to save us is a false salvation. The true salvation is that it has already been done! Jesus
has done it all, if we by faith appropriate what He did.

2. If there is anything that we can do to save ourselves or to help save ourselves,

or if there is anything that another person or group of others can do to help save
us, salvation is not of grace. We know, however, that salvation is of grace!

Ephesians 2:8, 9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." If it is of grace, works can
have nothing to do with it, and if there is one tiny bit of works, it is not of grace! Romans
11:6, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." If we
must make Jesus Lord of our lives in order to be saved, then salvation is not all of
grace, and what is not all of grace is heresy!

3. David was saved when Jesus was not Lord of his life. All of us know the tragic story
of David and his sins. Was David saved? Yes, he was. Was Jesus Lord of his life? Of
course not. Look at Psalm 51:12a. David said, "Restore unto me the joy of my
salvation." He did not say, "Restore unto me Thy salvation." He was saved, but he was
away from God. Jesus was not Lord of his life. If Lordship salvation were true, then
David lost his salvation when he ceased to make Jesus Lord of his life.

4. Jesus was not Lord of Lot's life. II Peter 2:7, 8, 'And delivered just Lot, vexed with the
filthy conversation of the wicked. (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in
seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful
deeds;)" Was Lot saved? Verse 7 says he was "just," which means he was justified in
the sight of God, even though he was living in wicked sin. In verse 8 he is called a
"righteous man," which means that he was righteous in the sight of God, having had the
righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to him. Romans 10:1 -3, "Brethren, my heart 's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record
that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of
God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

Romans 4:5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that just ifi eth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Was Lot saved? Yes, he was. Was
Jesus Lord of his life? No, He wasn't.

Look at the awful thing Lot had done. In the first place, he had chosen to go to the well-
watered plains toward Sodom.

In the second place, he had not only gone to Sodom, but Sodom had come to him. Two
angels had come to visit Lot in Sodom. When the homosexual men heard of this, they
came to Lot's house asking for him to give them those men so they could commit their
sin with them.

Now look at Genesis 19:7, 8, "And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold
now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them
out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do
nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof" Lot called these wicked
perverts "brethren" in verse 7. Then in verse 8, he offered his two daughters to these
men if they would leave the angels alone. What a wicked thing! Later on when Lot fled
Sodom with his two daughters, both of them became pregnant by him. Each gave birth
to a son, and each son fathered a heathen race - the Moabites and the Ammonites. Was
Lot saved? Yes, he was. God says that he was. Was Jesus Lord of his life? No, He
wasn't. If Lordship salvation were true, Lot could not have been saved, because Jesus
was far from being Lord of his life at this time.

5. Noah was saved, but Jesus was not Lord of his life.

Genesis 6:8, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 9:20-24, "And
Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the
wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of
Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem
and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward,
and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they
saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his
younger son had done unto him."

Was Noah saved? Yes, Genesis 6:8 says he "found grace in the eyes of the Lord," and
we know that salvation is by grace. Was Jesus Lord of his life? In Genesis 9:2 1, we find
he got drunk and that he was naked inside his tent. In verse 22 his son saw his
nakedness. Obviously from verse 24, his younger son had

done something to him. Perhaps this was a homosexual act committed with his own
father while his father was drunk. To say the least, Noah was anything but a Christian
who had allowed Jesus to be Lord of his life. Was he saved? Yes, he was. Was Jesus
Lord of his life? No, He was not.

6. The Corinthian church members were saved, but Jesus was not Lord of their lives.
I Corinthians 3:1-4, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as
unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat:
for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet
carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not
carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of
Apollos; are ye not carnal?" Notice in verse 1 that they were "carnal," which means
"fleshly." Notice in verse 1 that they were "babes." Notice in verse 2 that they were so
immature in their Christian life that they could not take spiritual meat, but had to have
spiritual milk. In verse 3 it again says they were carnal. It also mentions that there were
envyings and strife and divisions, and they walked as men, not as Christians ought to
walk. Was Jesus Lord of their lives? No, He was not. Were they saved? Yes, they were.
Look at the last two words in verse 1- "in Christ." II Corinthians 5: 17a says, "Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." Were they saved? Yes, they were. Was
Jesus Lord of their lives? No, He wasn't.

7. Babes in Christ are saved, but Jesus is not Lord of their lives. I Peter 2:1, 2,
"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all
evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may
grow thereby." If one must make Jesus Lord of his life in order to be saved, he would
have to be a mature Christian then, but the Bible says there is such a thing as a "babe
in Christ," which means that such a person is saved, but he has a lot of growing to do.

8. The fact that the Christian must grow in grace means that a person can be
saved without Jesus being Lord of his life.

II Peter 3:18, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." The word "grow" here means that
the Christian has not yet "arrived." He is not yet mature. The words "in grace" mean that
he is saved. Is such a person saved? Yes, he is. Is Jesus Lord of his life. No, He is not.

9. A person can be righteous in the sight of God and be saved without making
Jesus Lord of his life. Romans 4:5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Here is a person who
does not work for God. All he does is believe. The Bible says his faith is counted for
righteousness. Is he saved? Yes. Is Jesus Lord of his life? Absolutely not. Jesus
commands us to work, to win souls and to serve God, but here is a man who does not
do those things; yet he is righteous. He is saved, but Jesus is not Lord of his life.

10. A person can be saved and not have his body yielded totally to Christ. Romans
12:1, 2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacnfice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Were the people to whom he was speaking saved? Yes, they were. Notice the word
"brethren" in verse 1. Was Jesus Lord of their life? No, He was not. The Apostle Paul
was beseeching them to present their bodies a living sacrifice, to be holy, and not be
conformed to the world, but be transformed in order that they might do the perfect will of
God. Were they saved? Yes, they were. Was Jesus Lord of their lives? No, He was not.

A person can be saved and even call Jesus "Lord" without the Saviour actually being
the Lord of his life. Luke 6:20, 46, 'And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said,
Blessed be ye poor :for your's is the kingdom of God. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord,
and do not the things which I say?" This entire passage was written to the disciples by
Jesus. Were they saved?
Yes, they were. Verse 20 plainly calls them His disciples. Now what did He say to His
disciples? Among other things, in verse 46 He said they were calling Him "Lord," but
doing not the things which He said. In other words, they were like the Lordship salvation
crowd today. Since none of us can totally do everything He says until we awake in His
likeness, it is foolish for us to say that Jesus is Lord of our lives. Were these people
saved? Yes, they were. They were called "disciples" in verse

20. Was Jesus Lord of their lives? No, He was not, because verse 46 tells us that they
did not the things which He said.

Yes, Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of the universe, and, of course, we believe that He is
Lord. However, to believe that in order to be saved one must make Him the Lord of his
life is just another form of salvation by works.

May God help me day by day to give Him more control of my life and yield more and
more to Him so that He can become day by day more and more the Lord of my actions,
my will and my life; but, I must realize that I am hampered by this body of clay, and that
there is a battle being raged. I must yield myself to Him constantly, making Him more
and more the Lord of my life, but I am looking forward to the day when I shall be like
Him, and He, in fact, will be the Lord of my life.
 Chapter Two

Ultra-Dispensationalism -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

I have no problem with the word "dispensation." It is a Bible word, but I do have a
problem with dispensationalism which says that salvation comes in different ways in
different dispensations. For example, the Scofield Reference Bible, page 1115, in
subpoint (2) of footnote 1 on grace, notice the words, "As a dispensation, grace begins
with the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom. 3. 24-26; 4. 24, 25)." The note continues
as follows, "The point of testing is no longer legal obedience as the condition of
salvation, but acceptance or rejection of Christ...."

Now it is certainly true that salvation in this age is by acceptance or rejection of Christ,
but Mr. Scofield is wrong when he says that before the death and resurrection of Christ
the condition of salvation was legal obedience! This is what I call "hyper-
dispensationalism." There are those who likewise erroneously believe that salvation will
be other than grace through faith during the millennium. This is also heresy! Salvation
has always been and will always be by grace through faith in Christ. From the first sin in
the garden of Eden until the last person who is saved in the millennium, every person
who goes to Heaven will go there by grace.

I take even stronger issue with the hyper-dispensationalism which says that the letters
to the seven churches in Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3 represent seven ages of
church history. For example, Mr. Scofield says that the message to the church in
Ephesus is the church at the end of the apostolic age. Where is that in the Bible? Then
he says that the letter to the church in Smyrna represents the "Period of the great
persecutions to A.D. 316." Where is that in the Bible?

Then he says that the letter to the church in Pergamos represents "The church under
imperial favour, settled in the world, A.D. 316 to the end." Where is that in the Bible?
Then he says that the letter to the church at Thyatira represents "A.D. 500-1500: the
triumph of Balaamism and Nicolaitanism; a believing remnant (vs. 24-28)." Where is that
in the Bible?

Then he says that the letter to the church in Sardis represents "The period of the
Reformations; a believing remnant (vs. 4, 5)." Where is that in the Bible? Then he says
that the letter to the church in Philadelphia represents "The true church in the professing
church." Where is that in the Bible? Then he says that the letter to the church in
Laodicea represents the final state of apostasy. Where is that in the Bible? This kind of
heresy is no where to be found in the Word of God, and the danger of it is that these
hyper-dispensationalists enjoy teaching that since this is the day of apostasy, God does
not do any great works anymore and that this is the day where we just hold out faithful
to the end. According to them, no great churches can be built, and no great revivals can
be had.

What a sad commentary! What a pitiful look at the Scripture! There is absolutely nothing
that says we cannot have revival today. We can have revival anytime God's people will
pay the price!

These seven letters to the seven churches are exactly that. There were churches
named, "the church at Ephesus," "the church at Smyrna," the church at Pergamos," "the
church at Thyatira," "the church at Sardis," "the church at Philadelphia" and "the church
at Laodicea." These churches had problems like all churches do. The Holy Spirit
inspired the Apostle John to write letters to these churches to help the churches get
straightened out. Would somebody please show me in the Bible where these letters
represent the seven ages of church history?

There Is a False Teaching Also

Concerning the Last Days
The first time the term "the last days" is mentioned in the Bible is in Isaiah 2:2, 'And it
shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all
nations shall flow unto it." Here we have something that is predicted to happen in the
last days.

Now we come concerning the last days to Joel 2:28, 29, 'And it shall come to pass
afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my
spirit."

Please note what will happen in the last days. It is talking about the power of the Holy
Spirit coming upon people. Please notice Acts 2:14-1 8, "But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not
drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which
was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy."
It is Pentecost; 3000 people are about to be saved. Peter stands up to speak. He
explains that what is happening there on Pentecost is a fulfillment of the prophecy of
Joel 2:28, 29, which he quotes. Notice also in verse 17 that he calls these the last days.

Now I'm not saying that there are no signs that must precede the second coming of
Jesus Christ to the earth. I'm fully aware of the tribulation plagues, of the end time war,
of Russia and her allies attacking Israel and the Western Confederacy defending Israel,
and of the Eastern Confederacy coming from the land of the sun rising to join Russia,
etc. Though I do believe that the rapture is an imminent event that could take place
anytime, I nevertheless do not discount that there are some signs that could point to the
soonness of the tribulation period and the second coming of Christ at the end of that
period. However, the term "the last days" describes the days from the resurrection of
Christ even until this day and until the consummation of the age.

Now turn to II Timothy 3:1-8, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall
come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. For of this sort
are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led
away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth:
men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith."

Notice there in II Timothy 3:1 the term, "the last days." Likewise notice the condition of
the last days, bearing in mind that the last days started at the resurrection of Christ, as
we learned a while ago in Acts 2:16, 17. We find such things characterizing this age as
people being lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, etc. It goes on to say, "without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, "etc. Then it mentions "having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof" Now these are not things unique to the days in which we live. People
have always been lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters. People have always
been trucebreakers, false accusers, high minded, disobedient to parents, lovers of
pleasure. People have always had a form of godliness.

However, we should notice here that whatever these last days are, in II Timothy 3:5
Paul tells Timothy, "from such turn away." He was saying, "Timothy, you turn away from
these people," showing that these were already the last days. Notice the words in verse
6, "for of this sort are they...." Notice the word "are." That word is in the present tense.
These people were there then. These people then were covetous, unthankful, unholy,
false accusers and disobedient to parents. They were alive then, for the apostle said,
"are they."

Notice also in II Timothy 2:6 it says, "and lead captive silly women laden with sins...."
Notice the present tense. They were doing it then.
Now look down to verse 8. Notice the words, "so do these also..." In other words, as
Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, there were people at that very time who did the
same thing. Paul is saying to Timothy, "In these last days, these people will do these
things, and this is the way you are supposed to respond to them."

Now turn to Hebrews 1:1, 2, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
Notice that Paul (probably the writer of Hebrews), used the present tense, "hath in these
last days," so in Hebrews 1:1 the last days were already there.

Now turn to I Peter 1:19, 20, "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you." Notice especially in verse 20 the
words, "in these last times." Once again, Peter is saying what Paul had said - that these
were the last days.

Now notice II Peter 3:3-5, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days
scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?
for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens
were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water." In verse 3 he
mentions the last days. In verse 5 he says, "for this they willingly are ignorant of...."
Notice the present tense - they "are ignorant of." In other words, these "last days" were
in existence at the time that this was written.

Now notice I John 2:18, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that
antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is
the last time." Notice the words in the first part of verse 18, "it is the last time." The word
"is" indicates present tense. John said the same thing that Peter and Paul said.

Again you find in the last part of verse 18, "it is the last time." How much more plain
could it be? Paul, John and Peter all attested to the fact that the last days were in
existence at the time they were living.

Now turn to Jude 18, 19, "How that they told you there should be mockers in the last
time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate
themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit."

In Jude 18 the term "last time" is mentioned. In verse 19, it says "these be"-notice
present tense. "They who separate themselves"-notice present tense. There Jude
joined with

Paul, Peter and John in attesting to the fact that the last days were days during which
they were living.
 God's people can do great things
for Him now!
Daniel 11:20-23, "Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the
kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And
in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the
kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with
the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea,
also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work
deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people."

Daniel 11:32, 33, 'And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by
flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And
they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the
sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days."

In verse 20-23, it is obvious that God is talking about the end time. He talks about the
antichrist and his work; he talks about the league that will be made with Israel. All Bible
teachers who hold the premillennial position would agree that these verses deal with the
end time. Now, notice the last half of verse 32, "but the people that do know their God
shall be strong, and do exploits." Then look again at verse 33, 'And they that understand
among the people shall instruct many...." It sounds to me like exploits will still be done
in the end time. The truth is, one of the greatest revivals (as far as evangelism is
concerned) that the world has ever seen will take place during the tribulation period, and
certainly God's grace is not limited to this generation.

It is a wicked thing for dusty Bible teachers with their dusty theology to
compartmentalize the Bible concerning salvation and soul winning. It doesn't bother me
for someone to talk about dispensations, and it doesn't bother me for people to divide
the Bible, as long as they do not divide it up concerning the plan of salvation,
concerning the power of God, and concerning soul winning! People can be saved today
like they were in the book of Acts! God's people can have revival just like they always
could!

I was preaching in the deep South. On Tuesday night I made a statement that startled
myself. I made the statement that if somebody would pay the price in this generation, a
church could still have 3000 people saved on one Sunday. I could not believe I said it.
Flying back to Chicago the next morning, the Lord seemed to impress that upon me. In
fact, I could almost hear Him speak and ask me if I believed what I had said the night
before. I was somewhat stunned that I had said it. Somewhat to my own surprise, I went
to my people that Wednesday night and told them that we were going to have 3000
people saved on the third Sunday of March of that year. (That date was about two
months away.)
The First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, began to work and pray as I've never
seen a church work and pray. We were asking God to give us 3000 people saved on, as
it were, another Pentecost. On that special Sunday, 5195 people walked the aisles of
the First Baptist Church of Hammond receiving Christ as Saviour! The next year we had
a second Pentecost Sunday, and over 3300 people were saved! Then the next year we
had another Pentecost Sunday, and over 4900 people were saved, as Dr. Curtis Hutson
was our guest speaker.

I'm not a great preacher. I don't profess to be a great Christian. I just profess to serve a
great God Who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and Who will give revival
when God's people pay the price!

I believe that II Chronicles 7:14 is still valid, and while the ultra-dispensationalists are
saying it cannot happen today, there are men of God all over America who are seeing it
happen! More people are being baptized today than in the history of the United States
of America. More great soul-winning churches are being built than have ever been built.

Let the dusty theologians say it can't be done, but give me a generation of young
preachers on fire for God who believe the Word of God, believe the promises of God
and claim the blessings of God, and we will prove by the grace of God that it can be
done today! I am not fighting dispensationalism; I am attacking vigorously the heresy
and false teaching that says it can't be done today. Whatever God could do, God can
do! Whatever God can do, God will do, if His people meet His conditions!
 Chapter Three

Formal Worship -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

Of course, the word "formal" comes from the word "form," which means "an outline."
From this we can believe that formal worship then would be an outline of worship - going
through the form.

II Timothy 3:5, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such
turn away.

The first mention of worship in the Bible is in Genesis 22:5, "And Abraham said unto his
young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship,
and come again to you."

This is the story of Abraham offering Isaac on Mount Moriah. Notice the words, "I and
the lad will go yonder and worship." This is a far cry from what we call worship. The
worship that Abraham was going to do was to go to a mountain, build an altar, take a
knife, kill his son and offer him for a sacrifice.

The next mention of worship in the Bible is in Genesis 24:26, 48, 52, "And the man
bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And I bowed my head, and
worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had
led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. And it came
to pass, that, when Abraham 's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD,
bowing himself to the earth." Abraham had sent his servant back to the old country to
choose a bride for his son Isaac. At each step in the accomplishing of this task, the
servant worshipped.

Neither of these two instances had anything to do with a public worship service.

Worship in the Bible

Was an Individual Act
There is not one single mention of a worship service in the New Testament. There is not
one single command or even an implication to the church to have a public worship
service. Worship was a private matter.
In Genesis 22:5, Abraham and Isaac went to Mount Moriah to worship. This was an
individual act. In Genesis 24:26, 48, 52, Abraham's servant worshipped in an individual
act.

In Exodus 34:8, Moses worshipped individually upon the receipt of the second tables of
the law. "And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and
worshipped."

In Judges 7:15, in the midst of his battle against the Midianites, Gideon worshipped
individually. "And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said,
Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian."

In I Samuel 1:19, when Hannah was told that she would bear a son, she worshipped
individually. "And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD,
and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife;
and the LORD remembered her."

In I Samuel 1:28, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli, and Samuel worshipped individually.
"Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the
LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there."

In I Samuel 15:3 1, Saul worshipped individually. "So Samuel turned again after Saul;
and Saul worshipped the LORD."

In II Samuel 12:20, David arose after the death of his illegitimate child borne by Bath-
sheba, and after having repented, he worshipped individually. "Then David arose from
the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into
the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he
required, they set bread before him, and he did eat."

In II Samuel 15:32, David came to the top of the mount, and he worshipped individually.
"And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he
worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and
earth upon his head."

In Job 1:20, Job worshipped individually upon hearing of the death of his children. "Then
Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground,
and worshipped."

In Matthew 8:2, a leper came to Jesus and sought cleansing. When he came to the
Saviour, he worshipped Him saying. "And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." He worshipped individually.

In Matthew 9:18, a certain ruler came to Jesus interceding for his daughter, and he
worshipped individually. "While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a
certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come
and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live."

In Matthew 15:25, a woman seeking healing for her daughter worshipped individually.
"Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me."

In John 9:38, a blind man was healed by Jesus, and he worshipped individually. "And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him."

In Acts 16:14, Lydia by the riverside worshipped individually. "And a certain woman
named Lydia, a seller ofpurple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us:
whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of
Paul."

In Acts 18:7, Justus worshipped individually. "And he departed thence, and entered into
a certain man's house, named .Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined
hard to the synagogue."

In Hebrews 11:21, Jacob, at the time of his death, leaned upon the top of his staff and
worshipped individually. "By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of
Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff"

Worship in the New Testament

The word "worship" is mentioned 35 times in the New Testament. Not one time does it
deal with a public worship service.

In Matthew 2:2, the wise men came to worship Jesus. This was not a public service.
"Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews ?for we have seen his star in the
east, and are come to worship him."

In Matthew 2:8, Herod enquired of the wise men so he could come and worship Jesus.
Had this been done, it would not have been a public service, but an individual matter.
"And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child;
and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him
also."

In Matthew 4:9 and Luke 4:7, Satan promised to give Jesus the kingdoms of this world if
He would fall down and worship him. "And saith unto him, All these things will l give
thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." "If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall
be thine."

In Matthew 15:9 and Mark 7:7, we have the mention of vain worship. "But in vain they
do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." "Howbeit in vain do
they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
In John 4:20, 22-24, we have Jesus rebuking formal worship as He talked to the woman
at Sychar's well and explained to her that they who would worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth. He was telling her that she worshipped one place and the
Jews worshipped another place, but that worship was an individual matter and could be
done anywhere. The woman at the well said, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain;
and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus
answered her, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is
of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

In John 12:20, the Greeks came to worship at a feast. This was done by bringing
offerings. "And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the
feast."

In Acts 7:42, 43, we have the word "worship" mentioned concerning the golden calf in
the wilderness. "Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as
it is written in the book of the prophets, 0 ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain
beasts and sacnfices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the
tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to
worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

In Acts 17:23, Paul mentions on Mars' hill that the Greeks were worshipping an
unknown god. "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him
declare I unto you.

In Acts 18:13, worship contrary to the law was rebuked by some. "Saying, This fellow
persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law."

In Acts 24:11, the word "worship" is connected with Jewish worship. "Because that thou
mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for
to worship."

In Acts 24:14, the worship was done by believing the Bible. "But this I confess unto
thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers,
believing all things which were written in the law and in the prophets."

In Philippians 3:3, we have individual worship. "For we are the circumcision, which
worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ .Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh."

In Hebrews 1:6, we find the mention of angels worshipping. "And again, when he
bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God
worship him."
In Revelation 3:9, we have worship at the synagogue of Satan. "Behold, I will make
them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie;
behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have
loved thee."

In Revelation 4:10, 11, we have worship pertaining to the judgment seat; that is, worship
that will be done in the air after the rapture. "The four and twenty elders fall down before
him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their
crowns before the throne, saying. Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honour
and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were
created."

In Revelation 9:20, we have worship of idolatry in the tribulation period. "And the rest of
the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their
hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and
stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk."

In Revelation 13:8, 12, 15, we have the worship of the Antichrist during the tribulation
period. "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And he
exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them
which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he
had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should
both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed."

The consequence of those who worship the Antichrist is stated in Revelation 14:7, 9-11,
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment
is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains
of waters. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man
worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture.... And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they
have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever
receiveth the mark of his name."

In Revelation 15:4, we have the tribulation worship. "Who shall not fear thee, 0 Lord,
and glonfy thy name?for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before
thee; for thy judgments are made manifest."

In Revelation 19:10, John worshipped an angel and was rebuked for doing so. "And I
fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: lam thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
In Revelation 22:8, 9, we have the same rebuke given to John again for bowing down
and worshipping before an angel. "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And
when I had heard and seen, Ifell down to worship before the feet of the angel which
shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of
this book: worship God."

We have just covered every time the word "worship" is mentioned in the New
Testament. It mentions not one public service where they worshipped, not one formal
worship, not anything like the average formal church does on Sunday morning-no
anthems, no "Gloria Patri," no "Sevenfold Amen," no liturgy, no high-church public
service.

The Church Assembled for Things

Other Than Worship
Though worship was a private matter and not a public matter, we nevertheless are
commanded to assemble ourselves together as God's people. Hebrews 10:25, "Not
forsaking the

assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another:
and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

According to the New Testament, the public meetings were for strength for God's
people, for fellowship, for the taking of the Lord's Supper, for praying, for studying the
Bible, for praise, etc. The soul winning was to be done publicly and from house to
house. The worshipping was to be done alone, and the church assembled for the
aforementioned reasons.

When formal worship is substituted for the real purpose of the assembly, Christians do
not get strengthened, encouraged, exhorted or motivated to do the main task of the
church, and that is to carry out the Great Commission, which is soul winning. To that
end, formal worship becomes an enemy of soul winning!
 Chapter Four

Misunderstood
Repentance -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

Over and over again the question is asked me, "Is repentance necessary for salvation?"
Of course, this is of utmost importance. Anything that deals with the way a person can
escape the fires of eternal Hell and go to Heaven to live forever is of vital importance. In
this chapter, we will address this most important question.

1. First, we need to find what makes one lost. Please notice John 3:18, "He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." It is very
plain in this verse what makes a person lost. Notice the words, "he that believeth not is
condemned already." A person who does not believe is condemned, so not believing is
what makes a person lost.

Bear in mind, the word "believing" is the Greek word which means "to rely upon." When
one believes on Christ, he simply relies on Him to save him and take him to Heaven
when he dies. It is very plain here that what condemns a person is believing not. Then
notice it says, "because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God." Once again, we are told what makes a person lost - because he has not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. It is as simple as that.

Now look at John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Again, we
are trying to decide and determine what makes one lost. It is very plain here. Notice the
word believeth, "and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him." What keeps a person from seeing life? Believing not! What makes
the wrath of God abide on a person? Believing not! So, from what must a person repent
in order to be saved? He must repent of that which makes him lost. Since "believing
not" makes him lost, "believing" makes him saved. The repentance there is a turning
from the thing that keeps him from being saved to the thing that saves him. So, yes,
there is a repentance from unbelief in order to believe. It is simply a change of direction.
It means a turning around. You are going away from believing, and you decide to turn
around and believe. You change your direction; you change your mind. With your will
you believe and rely upon Christ to save you. In order to believe, you have to repent of
unbelief. That which makes a man lost must be corrected.
Now turn to John 5:40, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Oh, how
simple this is, and yet how plain! Why does a person not have life, according to this
verse? Because he will not come to Christ. So, if a person is going away from Christ, he
must turn around and come to Christ, which is a change of direction or a change of
mind. This is repentance - repenting of the thing that keeps one from being saved,
repenting from "going away" to "coming to."

Notice Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Especially notice the
words, "we have turned every one to his own way." That's what not being saved is -
turning to our own way. Now if we turn to God's way, which is putting our faith and trust
in Jesus, we turn around from going our own way to going His way, from unbelief to
belief. This is Bible repentance. Bear in mind, it is the faith that saves. The turning
around is necessary in order to put our faith in Christ. One must repent from that thing
that keeps him from being saved in order to be saved.

If a person were saved by good works, then he would have to repent of bad works, or of
not doing good works, in order to be saved. If a person were saved by quitting his
sinning, then he would have to repent of his sinning in order to be saved. A person is
saved by believing, so he repents of his unbelief or turns from his unbelief in order to be
saved.

Let us look at the verses that teach us we are saved by belief.

John 3:15, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3.18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God."

John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

Acts 16:31, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house."

There are those who say we have to repent of our sins in order to be saved. No, we
have to repent only of the thing that makes us unsaved, and that is unbelief. If a person
needs to turn from his sins in order to be saved, what sins does he turn from? Does he
turn from pride? Does he turn from selfishness? Does he turn from covetousness? The
truth is, nobody can turn from all of his sins until he is raptured and he receives a body
like the body of the Saviour. I John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him; for we shall see him as he is." According to Psalm 19:12, we do not even
know all of our sins. David said, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults." What he is talking
about here is being cleansed from faults he doesn't even know he has. A person, when
he is first saved, does not know all the things that he is doing that are wrong, and if a
person has to repent of all of his sins, where is growth in grace? Where is being a babe
in Christ? Where does the carnal Christian fit in here?

Now don't misunderstand me. I am certainly for separation and for living a godly life, but
the cleansing of our lives is not done by us any more than salvation is done by us.
Salvation is simply repenting of unbelief, and believing, and letting Christ save us. We
yield to Him to save us; He does! Immediately the Holy Spirit comes in to live. The Holy
Spirit begins His work of cleansing in our lives. He is the one Who cleanses, just as he
is the one Who saves. He is the one Who points our sins out to us after we are saved
just as He is the one Who saves us when we are saved.

This chapter is being dictated in San Antonio, Texas. I am sitting in a Holiday Inn.
Tomorrow morning early I will catch a plane for Chicago. Let's suppose I get on that
plane, and I am trusting the pilot to take me to Chicago. I do not know how to operate
the plane, nor do I know the route to Chicago by air. There is nothing I can do to get
myself to Chicago by that plane. I trust the pilot to get me there. So, we get up in the air
thousands of feet high, and let's suppose I get a knife and cut up the seat in front of me.
Now, where am I going? I'm still going to Chicago. Why? I repented of "not trusting the
plane to take me" to "trusting the plane to take me."

The stewardess comes and says, "Mr. Hyles, what are you doing back here?" I say, "I'm
just cutting up a little bit!"

Then suppose I reach up and cut off a lock of her hair. Now where am I going? I'm
going to Chicago. You see, how I behave on the flight does not determine my
destination.

So, the stewardess goes to the pilot and says, "Mr. Hyles, back in seat 14A is causing
some disturbance. Look at my hair. Go back and look at the seat." The pilot leaves the
plane in the hands of the co-pilot and comes back to seat 14A and says, "Mr. Hyles,
what are you doing back here?" He looks at the seat I've cut up, he sees the lock of hair
that I've cut off the stewardess, and I reach out and cut off his tie. Now where am I
going? I'm going to Chicago. That was all determined when I got on the airplane. Now
the truth is, I will not enjoy Chicago as much as I would have enjoyed it, nor will I go to
the part of Chicago I'd planned to, but I'm still going to Chicago.

When we put our faith and trust in Christ, and repent of unbelief, and believe, God's
Holy Spirit comes in to live and begins to straighten us out. He points out our sins, and
as we yield to Him, He cleanses us from our sins. If we misbehave on the journey, we
are still going to Heaven, because we go to Heaven by trusting Christ to take us there.
The Holy Spirit Who came in to live begins to point out things that we should and should
not do. If we do not obey Him, if we misbehave on the journey, we will still go to
Heaven; we simply will not enjoy it as much as we would have had we behaved, just as
I would not enjoy Chicago as much as I would have had I behaved.

I know a young man who recently got married. He got an apartment several months
before he got married and lived there alone until the wedding took place. What a mess
that apartment was! His pants were hung on the bedpost, his shoes were left on the
floor beside the bed, and the bed was never made. Then one day he got married. Now
how did he get married? He got married by turning from being single to being married.
He repented of not being married and got married. When he took his new bride to the
apartment, she was aghast, but immediately she began to straighten things up. She put
his shoes in the closet, took his shirt off the chair, removed his clothes off the bedpost,
and made a lovely little apartment out of the mess that he had made. Now he was not
married because he cleaned up his apartment; he was married because he

repented of that thing that kept him from being married. He repeated the vows and
accepted her as his wife. It was then that she came in; it was then that his apartment
began to get clean!

Practically every false doctrine comes from getting things out of order. God's divine
order is salvation, then change; not change and then salvation! If one has to be
changed to be saved, that's salvation by works. It is also salvation by the flesh. The
truth is, one is cleansed from the sins of the flesh just as he is saved; by yielding to the
Holy Spirit and letting Him do His work.

2. You can repent of something other than sin. Matthew 7:3, "Then Judas, which had
betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought
again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders." Notice that Judas
repented. Now what does it mean? It means he repented about keeping the money. He
had sold our Saviour for thirty pieces of silver; he changed his mind and took the silver
back. A change of mind and change of direction took place, but it had nothing to do with
salvation. He had made a bad deal; he regretted he had made that bad deal, and he
tried to correct it.

Everybody who lives in sin eventually repents, but they do not repent of unbelief. They
change their mind about sin. No one lives in sin without realizing later that it did not
bring the joy, happiness, peace and contentment that it claimed to bring. I talk to people
every week who are tired of their sins, unhappy in their sinful life or living a miserable,
wretched life because of the results of sin. What have they done? They have changed
their mind about sin, and in some cases, they even quit their sin - at least that sin which
was most predominant in their lives. You can repent of sin without repenting of unbelief.
Such was the case with Judas. No doubt he repented that he had done wrong. He
certainly repented of the bad deal he had made. He turned around, changed his mind
and brought the money back, but he did not repent of that thing from which he must
repent in order to be saved, and that is unbelief.
3. God repents. Notice Genesis 6:6, "And it repented the LORD that he had made man
on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Bear in mind, the word "repent" means
"change of mind." God made man and wished He hadn't. He was grieved because of
what man had done, and He repented that He had made man. This does not mean that
God repented from sin, because God could not sin; He simply changed His mind, which
He does often. Basically, that is what answered prayer is much of the time.

Now notice I Samuel 15:35, "And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his
death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made
Saul king over Israel." God had made Saul king over Israel. The truth is that God did not
want to do so, but Israel clamored for a king. Saul was chosen to be that king, but it
then did not turn out as it should have. So, in this verse it simply says that God repented
that He had made Saul king. He changed His mind.

What I'm saying is, there is repentance other than repentance from sin. A lady can
change her mind about the kind of perfume she wears. A man can change his mind
about the kind of food he eats or the kind of clothes he wears. He can change his
direction concerning his manners. You can repent from discourtesy to courtesy. You
can repent from stubbornness to leniency. You can repent from impatience to patience,
but those things don't save. Repenting from the thing that makes you lost is the thing
that makes you saved, and that is, repenting of your unbelief.

Now notice Exodus 32:9-14, "And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people,
and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may
wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great
nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath
wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with
great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say,
For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them
from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy
people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by
thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven,
and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and thy shall inherit it
for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."

Let me paraphrase the story. God said to Moses, "I'm sick and tired of the people and
their rebellion. Get out of the way so I can consume them." Moses came to God and
said, "Lord, don't do that. You're the One Who brought the people out of the land of
Egypt, and if You consume them, the heathen people are going to criticize You. Not
only that! You promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that you would multiply their seed
and that You would give them the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession." Moses
pleaded his case before God, reminding God what God had promised. Then verse 14
simply says, "The LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."
The word "evil" here means something that would cause them pain; it's not talking about
sin. God decided not to hurt them after all. He decided not to consume them after all. He
changed His mind, but He did not change His mind concerning a sin, because God
cannot sin.

Now turn to Jonah 3:9, 10, "Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from
his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from
their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto
them; and he did it not."

God was going to punish Nineveh. Jonah had preached in Nineveh and had warned the
people that destruction was coming. The people believed God, turned from their
unbelief to belief, and God changed His mind about punishing the people. In verse 10
the Bible says, "And God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto
them; and he did it not."

Again, God simply changed His mind and changed His direction. He was going to
punish; they believed; He decided not to punish. He changed from the direction of
punishing to the direction of not punishing. This is repentance, but not repentance from
sin, because God cannot sin.

Look at Amos 7:3, "The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord."

Amos 7:6, "The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God."

So, repentance does not always deal with salvation and sin; it is simply a change of
direction or a change of mind.

4. Now we consider repentance and salvation. Look at Acts 3:19, "Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall
come from the presence of the Lord."

Peter is preaching here. He tells the people to repent and be converted. Now we have
to go back to what saves. John 3:14-16, 18, 36, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Acts 16:31, "And they
said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

So these people had to repent from not believing and believe in order that they might be
converted. They had to change directions, change their minds.

Let me say again that I do not believe for a second that Christian people should live like
the Devil. No preacher preaches separation more than I do. I simply believe that that
separation is a work of the Holy Spirit just like regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit,
and it starts after one has repented from that which makes him lost, and that is unbelief.
When this is done, he believes, he is saved. Then the Holy Spirit comes in and begins
to tell the Christian what sins from which he should repent. The man changed his mind
about unbelief. The Holy Spirit directed him there. Now the Holy Spirit comes in to live
and begins to change his mind about other things.

Now look at Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost."

Peter is saying, "Change your mind and be baptized." Now, about what did they change
their minds? This is answered in verse 41. Look at what they did in response. They
gladly received His Word, and then they were baptized. So what was this repentance? It
was repentance from not receiving His Word to receiving His Word. That's all Peter was
saying. He was saying, "Change your mind about receiving the Word," which states that
you must believe and repent from unbelief in order to be saved.

Now turn to Acts 17:30, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now
commandeth all men every where to repent." Notice God commandeth all men every
where to repent. Repent from what? Repent from the thing that keeps them lost, and
that's unbelief. What corrects this? Look at Acts 17:34, "Howbeit certain men clave unto
him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman
named Dammaris, and others with them." Notice it said, "certain men believed." So,
when he said, "repent," he was saying "repent from unbelief and believe," because just
as in Acts 2:38 and 41 a command was given to repent, and the believing was the
obedience to that command. They changed their mind about belief. They decided to
believe instead of not believe.

Now look at Mark l:15, "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

Jesus Himself is saying repent, and notice immediately He says, "repent, and believe."
What He was saying is, "Quit unbelieving, and believe. Quit not believing, and believe."
Again, I'm not saying a Christian should live like the Devil, but I am saying that changing
your life does not save you. That's salvation by works. Faith is what saves you. You turn
from unbelief to belief; from no faith to faith, and then repentance from sins begins,
because He Who convicted you from the sin of unbelief to believing now lives in you.
How easy it is now for Him to convict you day by day of other things from which you can
repent and about which you can change your mind.

5. Repentance from sin is directed to God's people.

Revelation 2:5, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do
the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out
of his place, except thou repent.
Here is a case of a church that was a good church. It was a church that worked. It
worked hard. It hated sin. It was doctrinally sound. Revelation 2:2, "I know thy works,
and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and
thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them
liars." It was a patient church. It was a church that believed in the name of Jesus and
did not faint in their standing for that. Revelation 2:3, "And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted." However, it was
a church that had left its first love. It does not say that that church lost its first love, but
they left their first love. When you lose something, you don't know where it is. When you
leave something, you know where to find it. It does not say that this church did not love
any more. The truth

is they did love. Love is what made them faithful, what made them work, what made
them have patience, what made them hate sin, what made them stand for the name of
Jesus, what made them hate false doctrine. This was a church of people who loved
God, but they had left their first love - that first sweet love - maybe more shallow than the
love they had then.

It does not say that they loved Him less. The truth is they probably loved Him more, but
God is saying, "I want both. I want the deep, mature love that you have now and the
sweet expressive love that you used to have.

The only sin this church had committed was the sin of leaving their first love -that
"Amen!" love, that "Hallelujah!" love, that "Glory to God!" love, that sweet, expressive
love. Nevertheless, they sinned, and God told them to repent. Repent from what?
Repent from drinking? No. Repent from adultery? No. This is not the subject here. It's
repenting from not loving Christ with the first love.

This same type repentance was commanded to the church in Pergamos. Revelation
2:16, "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and willfight against them with the
sword of my mouth." The same thing was said to the church at Thyatira in Revelation
2:21, 22, "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." The church in Sardis was told likewise to
repent in Revelation 3:3, "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and
hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief,
and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." The church at Laodicea
received the same command in Revelation 3:19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

So you can see that God tells individuals to repent; He also tells groups to repent. He
tells nations to repent. Time and time again He called Israel to repentance.
Now let us review, as follows:

1. God says to the unsaved, "Repent of your unbelief."

It's very interesting that in I John the word "repentance" is never mentioned, and yet the
purpose of I John was to give people the assurance of salvation. I John 5:13, "These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Of course, repentance is certainly implied throughout the entire book, because the book
tells us that what saves is believing on Christ (or relying on Him) to save, which, of
course, implies that that person must repent of what makes him lost, which is unbelief.

2. God says to the saved people, "Repent of sin." This is done by the Holy Spirit as
He comes in to live to remind us to take the clothes off the bedpost, the shirt off the
chair, put the shoes into the closet, etc.

3. If a person must repent of his sins to be saved, of what sins must he repent?
Can he repent of all of them? Isn't that sinless perfection or holiness? Isn't that
salvation by works? Of what sin must one repent? He must repent of the sin that
makes him lost, and that's the sin of unbelief.

4. If turning from sins would get you saved, then turning back to sins would get
you lost. In Acts 16:30 the very simple question is asked, "What must I do to be
saved?" This is the one time in the Bible where this question is asked. Now the
answer to this question must be what saves a person. Acts 16:31, "And they said,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." There's the
answer-belief. There is nothing about repentance here, except, yes, there is something
about repentance, because you can't believe without repenting from unbelief.

5. If a person has to clean up his own life before he gets saved, we are back to
Arminianism or salvation by works.

6. We cannot do what the Holy Spirit can do. The Holy

Spirit first convicts us of our sin of unbelief to bring us to Christ. Once He brings us to
Christ, He comes in us to live. Romans 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spint of Christ,
he is none of his." I Corinthians 6:19, 20, "What? know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's."

Then when the Holy Spirit is in us, He begins to convict us of things in our lives that
should be changed. Then the Christian life becomes a constant repenting until we wake
in the likeness of Christ.
 Chapter Five

False Bibles -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

In order to live as a child of God, I must have a perfect Bible. Matthew 4:41, "But he
answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Notice the words, "every word."

If I have my prayers answered, I must have a perfect Bible. John 15:7, "If ye abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
That means that somewhere in the world, there has to be a perfect Bible.

God has told us that His words are pure. Psalm 12:6, "The words of the LORD are pure
words: as silver tried in afurnace of earth, punfied seven times."

God has told us that these pure words would be preserved forever. Psalm 12:7,
"Thou shalt keep them, 0 LORD, thou shalt preserve them for this generation forever."
Since today is a part of forever, somewhere in the world there must be pure words of
God. Hence, it does not satisfy me for someone to say that only in the original do we
have the pure words of God. Since there are no original manuscripts today, or for that
matter, there are no manuscripts even near the original manuscripts as far as time is
concerned, then what these people are saying is that we do not have anywhere today
any book that contains the pure words of God. Yet, I am commanded to preach the
Word.

II Timothy 4:2, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

Now since the words of God are pure, and since all of the so-called Bibles do not have
the same words, only one can be the real Bible that contains the very words of God, the
pure words of God, and the preserved words of God. The purpose of this chapter is not
to enter into a discussion about the Textus Receptus or Westcott-Hort; it is simply to say
that if God commanded me to preach His Word, He would have to give me His Word to
preach, and certainly His Word is pure, because the words of God are pure according to
the aforementioned Scriptures and will be preserved forever. This preacher believes
that those preserved words are in the Bible that I hold in my right hand at this very
moment-the King James Bible!

I have more respect for the person who says that one of the false Bibles contains the
very words of God than for a person who says only the original contains the very words
of God. At least he believes, though wrongly, that we still have the words of God which
are pure. For many, many reasons I believe that the King James Bible has been
preserved in the English language word-for-word. I have to believe that. I must have the
words of God, if I live, if I preach and if I get my prayers answered.

1. There are some things that are incorruptible. The word "incorruptible" means
"perfect," "cannot change," "cannot be improved." If you change something, it must go
to perfection or from perfection, so if something can be changed, it must have been
imperfect and been made perfect, or it must have been perfect and made imperfect. Let
us notice some things that are incorruptible.

(1) God. Romans 1:23, "And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and foutfooted beasts, and creeping things."
This means God is perfect. He cannot be improved; He cannot change. He cannot be
taken from imperfection to perfection or from perfection to imperfection.

(2) Our future crown. I Corinthians 9:25, "And every man that striveth for the mastery
is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible." Once the crown is received, it cannot be improved; it cannot change. It
will be perfect.

(3) Our glorified bodies. I Corinthians 15:52, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed." I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him; for we shall see him as he is." Notice that our glorified body will be like His,
and it will be incorruptible. His glorified body is incorruptible. You cannot improve it; you
cannot change it. Then, my glorified body will be incorruptible. It cannot be improved; it
cannot be changed.

(4) Our inheritance. I Peter 1:4, "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." Our inheritance will be perfect. It
cannot be improved; it cannot be changed.

(5) The Word of God. I Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." Psalm 126:6, "He
that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Luke 8:11, "Now the parable is this: The seed
is the word of God." You will notice the seed from which we are born again is
incorruptible. It is the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Consequently, you
cannot improve it; you cannot change it. If you do, you must go from imperfection or
to imperfection. Notice in

I Peter 1:23 it is called "incorruptible." Just as God is incorruptible, just as our

crown is incorruptible, just as our glorified body will be incorruptible, just as Jesus' body
is incorruptible, just as our inheritance is incorruptible; likewise, the Word of God is
incorruptible.

Notice in Psalm 126:6, it is "precious seed." This implies that there is some seed which
is not precious. Luke 8:11 teaches us that this seed is the Word of God. It is perfect; it
cannot be changed; it cannot be improved.

2. The words of God are the genes of regeneration. Titus 3:5, "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Actually the word
"regeneration" means "to be re-gened." Just as the genes of my parents brought my old
nature into existence, even so the genes of God brought my new nature into existence.
Your old nature is sinful because there was sin in the genes, but the genes of the Word
of God are incorruptible, meaning that which is born of God; that is, the new nature,
cannot sin.

Now if the very words of God must be pure, and if in fact the King James Bible contains
the preserved words of God, then any other words are not the words of God. This
means that the Revised Version is not precious seed because it is not incorruptible.
This means that the Good News for Modern Man is not precious seed, because it is not
incorruptible. This means that the Living Bible is not precious seed because it is not
incorruptible. This means that the Reader's Digest Bible is not precious seed, because it
is not incorruptible. This means that the New King James Bible is not precious seed
because it is not incorruptible. This means that the New Scofield Bible is not precious
seed, because it is not incorruptible. This means that the New International Version
(NIV) is not precious seed, and it is not incorruptible. This means that the American
Standard Version is not precious seed because it is not incorruptible. If the versions do
not agree, then all of them cannot be the very words of God that have been preserved
for us.

3. The genes of the new birth must be incorruptible. I Peter 1:23, "Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
for ever." These words were penned in the first century, but it says that the incorruptible
seed "liveth and abideth for ever." Since today is a part of "for ever," we must have the
incorruptible seed in order to be re-gened, or regenerated, or born again.

4. Suppose corruptible seed is used. Can a person then be born again from it? You
answer that question. According to I Peter 1:23 we read, "Being born again, not of
corruptible seed...." Then, if corruptible seed is used, one cannot be born again. I have
a conviction as deep as my soul that every English-speaking person who has ever been
born again was born of incorruptible seed; that is, the King James Bible. Does that
mean that if someone goes soul winning and takes a false Bible that the person who
receives Christ is not saved? I believe with all of my soul that the incorruptible seed
must have been used somewhere in that person's life. If all a person has ever read is
the Revised Standard Version, he cannot be born again, because corruptible seed is
used, and I Peter 1:23 is very plain to tell us that a person cannot be born again of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, and it explains that that incorruptible seed is
the Word of God, and it explains that it liveth and abideth forever.

This is also borne out in Psalm 19:7, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the
soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." Notice the words, "the
law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." It is the law of the Lord that converts. It
is the Word of God that regenerates. The Word is the seed, and the seed must be
incorruptible.

7. The perfect Word of God must be used if a person grows in grace. 1 Peter 2:2,
"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."
Notice that it is the "sincere" Word of God by which we grow in grace. So, to grow in
grace, we must have the sincere (pure) Word of God.

This same thing is taught in Deuteronomy 4:10, 36, "Specially the day that thou
stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me
the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me
all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon
earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the
fire."

Notice the words of God are what teach us, and from the words of God we are to be
instructed. If they are in fact words of God, they must be pure, because a pure God
could not give impure words, and an incorruptible God could not give corruptible words.

8. These words of God are perfect. There are several things in the Bible that are
called perfect.

(1) His work is perfect. Deuteronomy 32:4, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all
his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

(2) His way is perfect. Psalm 18:30, "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the
Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him."

(3) The Heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as
your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

(4) The glorified body will be perfect. I Corinthians 13:10, "But when that which is
perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

(5) The law of the Lord is perfect. Psalm 19:7, "The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." So we
must have an incorruptible, perfect Word of God. To say that this could be found only in
the original manuscripts is to say we have no words of God today that are perfect, which
means we have no perfect Book to preach, we have no perfect Book to read, we have
no perfect Book by which to grow, and we have no perfect Seed by which we can be
born again or re-gened or regenerated.

9. There are several ways that the words of God are made into impure words by
translators and theologians (selfstyled).

(1) They add to the Word of God. Proverbs 30:5, 6, "Every word of God is pure; he is
a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he
reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Notice several things in these verses. First,
every word of God is pure. Psalm 119:140, "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant
loveth it." Psalm 12:6, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a
furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 19:8, "The statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes."
Second, in Proverbs 30:6, we are told not to add to these words. Third, in verse 6 the
Bible says that He reproves those who do add to His words.

Then in verse 6 also, the Bible says that those who do add to His words are liars.

Now notice Deuteronomy 4:2a, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command
you...." We are commanded not to add to His Word.

(2) They take away from the words of God.

Deuteronomy 4:2, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall
ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God
which I command you." God plainly commands that we not diminish His Word.

Now notice Revelation 22:19, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the
book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the
holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" A stern rebuke and warning
is given to anyone who takes away from the words of God. This means that God's
judgment will rest upon those who try to give us a condensed Bible.

(3) They will try to change the Word of God. Jeremiah 26:2, "Thus saith the Lord; Stand
in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to
worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them;
diminish not a word." Here we have a command not to diminish one word. It is not
talking here necessarily about taking words away but changing a word or diminishing a
word. Let the translators of the many versions take heed and take warning.

In conclusion, one may ask, "What does this have to do with soul winning?" Beloved, it
has everything to do with soul winning. If the words of God are the incorruptible seed,
and if seed must be incorruptible, if someone is born again, then the soul winner must
have a perfect Bible. Thank God, we do!
 Chapter Six

Church Leaders (Nobles)

Not Soul Winners -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

Nehemiah 3:1-5, "Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and
they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the
tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded
the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But the fish gate
did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors
thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof And next unto them repaired Meremoth
the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of
Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of
Baana. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to
the work of their Lord."

My ministry has spanned two generations. I have preached in the great churches of
both generations. I have preached in the great fundamental colleges and Bible institutes
of both generations. I have watched the deterioration of churches and colleges and
Bible institutes. I have wondered what caused it. I have studied the cause, and in this
chapter I present at least one thing that has aided the deterioration of our churches and
schools.

When I became Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Hammond over 33 years ago, I
inherited an unusual situation for an old-fashioned, hellfire-and-brimstone preacher such
as I. I inherited a church with 22 committees. It seemed to take five people seven days
to put flowers on the communion table, and it seemed to take seven people seven days
to plan the music for Sunday.

I inherited a church where my predecessor preached in formal attire with striped pants
and a scissor-tail coat. The church would not allow the piano to be played on Sunday
morning. They allowed only a pipe organ for accompaniment. They would not allow a
congregational song leader on Sunday morning. Sunday morning was the formal
worship service. Sunday night was an informal service, attended by a handful.

When I went to the First Baptist Church as Pastor, my Associate Pastor, now Evangelist
Jim Lyons, went with me. Shortly after we arrived, Brother Lyons went to his office on
Sunday morning to find a picture taken from his wall. This picture was one of his wife
and children. A note was placed beside the picture from one of the trustees saying that
he could not hang a picture on his wall without permission from the Board of Trustees.

In the church there was a constitution committee. Every adult Sunday school class was
required to have a constitution. Each constitution was submitted to the constitution
committee for approval.

Shortly after I arrived we had a missions conference. Dr. John R. Rice and Dr. Walter
Wilson were scheduled to preach. The missions committee came to me and said, "You
can't have the missions conference without permission from the missions committee."
(They soon found out that they were wrong on this!)

At the first service of the missions conference we took an offering, whereupon I was
advised by the finance committee that I could not take an offering without permission
form the finance committee. (They soon found out that I could take an offering without
permission from the finance committee!)

It wasn't long until we had a deacons' meeting, whereupon the deacon chairman asked,
"Pastor, do you have any speaking engagements that you want us to approve? The
deacons must vote to approve where you speak." (They soon found out that this would
not work either!)

Soon the deacon chairman said, "We would like to have a list of all the organizations
where you serve as a board member so we can approve them." (Of course, I would not
submit to this either.)

There are many other things that would simply enlarge upon the situation that I inherited
which are unnecessary to be mentioned. What I'm saying is that this church, at that time
a member of the American Baptist Convention, had become what so many other
churches are now becoming. Now this wasn't the way the church was first organized.
Nobody starts a new church with this kind of super-organization and unnecessary
baggage. What caused this deterioration? What is causing a similar deterioration in
many of our churches today? Such deterioration has brought formal worship services, a
paralyzed pulpit, weak pastoral leadership, an over abundance of unnecessary
committees and a de-emphasis on soul winning.

When a church is started, it is an exciting time. Especially is this true of an independent,

fundamental Baptist church. These churches are started on street corners, in vacant
lots, in storefront buildings, in basements, in tents and in many other places. When a
church is started, there is a fervor of soul winning; people are getting saved. No one
ever thinks about a music committee, educational committee, a missions committee, a
flower committee or a finance committee! They are simply interested in getting people
saved and down the aisle and building an old-fashioned, New Testament Baptist
church. Notice the step-by-step deterioration of a convert in a young church.
1. The period of spiritual infancy. During this time there is usually a period of adjustment
while learning the songs, some Bible, and the Christian vocabulary and manner of life.

2. The period of enthusiastic work at the church. The people become excited about the
work. Though awkward, they attempt to win souls; they are zealous. This period
continues for some time.

3. The period when the work becomes a ritual. After a while, some get adjusted to the
work. They keep on teaching a class but are not too excited about it. They keep on
working on the buses but have lost much of their enthusiasm. However, during this time,
they become known in the church. They come to a place of great respect. Perhaps at
one time they had the biggest bus route or fastest-growing Sunday school class. This
made them highly visible in the church. Everybody knows them, and they are becoming,
to an extent, church leaders.

4. The period of becoming noblemen. Now one is a deacon, a trustee, church clerk or
church treasurer. He can be called a "nobleman" in the church. Perhaps he is Sunday
school superintendent or treasurer. Then he becomes so busy in the organization and
business of the church and in his place of leadership that his Sunday school class is
neglected. His bus route is low on his list of priorities, and his soul winning has
diminished. After a while, he quits his soul winning, resigns his bus route, and makes
only a token effort in his Sunday school class. He has too much to do as a deacon or a
trustee or as a church officer, until finally he resigns his Sunday school class.

While he does this, there is another group of people who have not been saved for long.
They are building the church while he is running the church. The new, zealous
Christians are

doing the work, so we have a cast system that has developed. The older, seasoned
Christian has traded the building of the church for the running of the church. The
younger, less-experienced Christian is building the church. This will eventually lead to
its destruction. One group builds the church and another group runs the church; the
commoner does the work while "their nobles put not their necks to the work of their
Lord."

Every deacon ought to be a soul winner. Everyone who sings a special ought to be a
soul winner. Every church officer should be a soul winner. The same people who lead in
the church should build the church. There are hundreds of churches in America who
have a group of nobles whom the people respect and follow while a bunch of
commoners are doing the work! After a while, the church is controlled by the non-
builders, and those who are building the church have no part in the running of the
church. The builders become second-class citizens. No bus worker or soul winner is a
second-class citizen! There should be no division between the work of the church.
Every person should be a soul winner. No one has a right to lead the church who is not
taking part in building the church, winning folks to Christ, building bus routes and
building Sunday school classes.
Sometimes the nobles even get involved in some other project outside the church -
perhaps some interdenominational organization which is a parasite off the New
Testament churches. The greatest child evangelism in the world should be in the local
church. The greatest youth for Christ program should be in the local church. All across
this nation there are men who once built the church who have become nobles and
stopped doing what they once did in soul winning, Sunday school building, passing out
tracts, street preaching, etc. They have become nobles who run the church while
another group builds the church.

The same thing happens in colleges. While in college, the student is a soul winner. He
brings folks down the aisles, he passes out tracts, he witnesses on the street corner. He
may even preach on the streets. Perhaps he builds a bus route. When he graduates, he
has impressed the administration, and he is hired on the faculty. Far too many times, he
thinks he no longer has to be a soul winner. He has graduated from the production end.
He is now on the faculty. He is now a nobleman. Certainly you wouldn't expect a
nobleman to do the work of soul winning! So, the result in many colleges, seminaries
and Bible institutes is that the students do the work and the noblemen teach the
classes. This, of course, will lead to the spiritual destruction of a college. When the
students obey the Great Commission, and the administration and faculty do not, the
wrong people are doing the teaching!

This same thing happens in our day schools. Many of our Christian high schools, junior
high schools and elementary schools literally ignore the local church. Every teacher in
every Christian school in America should be actively involved in the local church, and
more than that, each one of them should be involved in the production part of the local
church. 'Tis sad but true, many Christian school teachers feel they are doing their job for
God in the school and that their work for God ends there. Nothing is farther from the
truth! The church is many times more important than the school, and no one is qualified
or deserving to teach in a Christian school unless he is doing the work of producing,
soul winning, church building in the local church.

Once again, we have arrived at the place where we do not think the nobles have to put
their necks to the work of the Lord. The faculty is supposed to win souls just like the
students. The administration is supposed to win souls just like the faculty and students.
The staff is supposed to win souls just like the laymen. The deacons are supposed to
win souls just like the custodian. The Ph.D. is supposed to win souls just like the
illiterate. The old folks are supposed to win souls just like the young people. Nobody has
a right to be a nobleman in a church unless he is participating in the carrying out and
obeying of the Great Commission. Now how can we avoid this dreadful situation of the
nobles who put not their necks to the work of the Lord?

1. The noble should keep working. This should be kept before the church constantly. I
preached this sermon vigorously at First Baptist Church of Hammond, and the
statements that have been made in this chapter have been made many times from my
pulpit. No one has a right to be a deacon at First Baptist Church who is not helping to
build the church and win souls to Christ. No one has a right to teach at Hyles-Anderson
College who is not active in the soul-winning program. No one has a right to teach or be
on the administration of our Christian schools unless he is winning folks to Christ,
building bus routes, passing out tracts, witnessing on the street corner. Let the most
zealous people in the church be the noblemen. Let the greatest soul winners in the
church be the noblemen. Let the bus captains be the noblemen. The simple truth is, in
the sight of God, these who are obeying the Great Commission are the noblemen!

Some nobleman is reading this chapter. You know who you are. There was a day when
you were active in production. There was a day when you built a great Sunday school
class. There was a day when you went soul winning. There was a day when you built a
bus route. There was a day when you were bringing folks down the aisle receiving
Christ as Saviour, but, you have become a big shot, affluent and "high brow." You have
no right to remain a nobleman unless you remain in the ministry of obeying the Great
Commission!

Our churches are filled with committee members who feel that is their job as a member
of the church. We are incumbered by unnecessary, superfluous committees such as
flower committees, Christian education committees, pulpit committees, music
committees, youth committees, library committees, literature committees, etc. who do
nothing to obey the Great Commission and are using these committees as shields
behind which to hide, deceiving others and trying to deceive themselves into believing
they can totally disobey and disregard

the Great Commission! Because they put petunias on the communion table once a
week; or because they belong to the missions committee, the finance committee, the
budget committee, the roof committee, the ceiling committee, the wall committee, the
floor committee, the picture committee, the painting committee, the mashed potatoes
committee, the "bother the preacher" committee, the "run the pulpit" committee or the
"pester the pastor" committee, they think they are immune from obeying the Great
Commission!

God pity these churches that are organized for everything but soul winning. Why not
organize a tract committee, a jail-preaching committee, a street-preaching committee,
bus committee, soul-winning committee, rescue mission committee, and obey the Great
Commission instead of having a group of professors in some college who have never
built a church, never had an altar call, never seen a mourner's bench, never preached a
tent revival, never felt the breath of the Holy Ghost upon their lives but sit in their halls of
ivy behind the shields of their desks training our young people and killing our churches
as they fill our pulpits with their own clones!

2. Make the builders the most famous. This is why we at Hyles-Anderson College have
no inter-collegiate athletics. The most popular person on the campus of our college is
not the fellow who puts the ball through the hoop the most times. The most popular
person on the campus of Hyles-Anderson College is not the fellow who makes the
touchdown runs. The most popular fellow in Hyles-Anderson College is the one who has
the biggest bus route, the one who wins the most people to Christ.
Let us make the soul winners the famous people in the church. Instead of boasting
about "Mr. Big Bucks" because he gives a big offering, brag on the fellow who has the
biggest bus route. So many of our Christian colleges have gotten to the place where we
recruit athletes and give athletic scholarships and music scholarships, speech
scholarships. Brother, why don't we give soul-winning scholarships and bus route
scholarships and magnify those who do what God says to do!

3. Do not put the church or the school in the hands of the non-working nobles or
intellectuals. Do you know what's happening to our schools? The churches are building
schools that are not like the church! Our people go to church on Sunday and hear one
kind of music and then go to school on Monday and hear another kind of music. Praise
God, at Hyles-Anderson College, if we have a piano concert, we don't have a great deal
of classical music. Let the high-brow schools do that. Let the old-fashioned,
independent, fundamental schools use "Blessed Assurance," "At Calvary," "There's a
New Name Written Down in Glory," "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood" and
"Amazing Grace" at their piano recitals! Our churches are dying because noblemen
have taken over the churches. Our schools are being destroyed because noblemen are
taking over the schools. Church music is deteriorating because noblemen have taken
over the church music and the training of our church musicians in our Christian
colleges!

One of my deacons, who is a multi-millionaire, came to me one day and said, "Pastor,
I'm resigning from the deacon board. I think you are the greatest preacher alive, but I do
not agree with you on business. If I stay on the board, I'll get upset with you and leave
the church. I don't want to do that. I want to come to this church. I want to hear you
preach. I want to see people saved. I'm resigning the deacon board because I do not
agree with you on business, and I do not want to cause you trouble." What he was
saying was that he was afraid if he stayed on the deacon board he would become a
nobleman and not keep on obeying the Great Commission. Praise God for a man like
that!

All across America our churches are stocking deacon boards with the wealthy people
and the businessmen, and the big shots are running the church while the soul winners
are being run by the big shots. Now I'm not opposed to wealthy men being on the
deacon board, but I think the deacon board and the

leadership of the church should be representative of the entire church. On our deacon
board at First Baptist Church of Hammond we have professional men, we have
businessmen, we have Ph.D.'s, but we also have men who are illiterate and can't write
their names. We have deaf men on our deacon board because we have deaf men in our
church. We have a blind man on our deacon board because we have blind men in our
church. We have poor men on our deacon board because we have poor people in our
church. We have businessmen on our deacon board because we have businessmen in
our church, but because a man has money or formal training does not give him any
more votes or influence than the fellow who can't write his own name.
When I came to the First Baptist Church of Hammond, one of the wealthiest men in
town invited Mrs. Hyles and me to his house to eat. The food we ate was flown in from
Europe. The house was a castle. The spoons and forks and knives were lined up like
soldiers in pursuit. We sat down to eat, and in the midst of the meal, the wife of this
wealthy man asked me if I were going to join the ministerial association. I tried to avoid
the question, but she wouldn't let me. Finally, her wealthy husband said, "Pastor,
answer my wife! Are you or are you not going to join the ministerial association?"

I put my silverware down, looked him in the eye and said, "Sir, you run a business in
this town. If you ever need my advice about how to run your business, you ask me and
I'll give it to you. I'm Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond. If I ever need your
advice about whether I join a ministerial association or howl preach, I will ask you, but
until I ask you, you keep your nose out of my business!"

God give us sense again. God give us some reasoning power again.

There is not a week passes but that I get a call from some pastor who is having trouble.
As soon as he tells me he is having trouble, I can take it from there. Some influential
people in the church want to run the pastor. Some fellow who is president of the
corporation, president of the local civic club, chairman of the board, and whose wife
presides at the local flower club, is so accustomed to running things, he wants to run the
preacher. It's typical. It happens all the time, and the poor preacher who is faithful in his
preaching the Gospel has his hands tied by some man who doesn't know any more
about preaching than the preacher does about the man's business.

Sure, wealthy people in the church should be represented on the board. The middle-
class people in the church should be represented on the board. The poor people in the
church should be represented on the board. The highly, formally educated people
should be represented on the board, and those who have little or no formal education
should be represented on the board. No one class of people should be allowed to run a
church, and, by the way, no one class of people is better than another class of people
because of financial standing, prestige, political power or formal training!

I know a big church that was almost destroyed because when the pastor who had been
there over 40 years resigned, the choosing of a new pastor was basically placed in the
hands of seven well-to-do, wealthy men, and these men called a pastor that, in my
opinion, practically destroyed the church. What a pity!

We have businessmen in our church; we have doctors in our church; we have lawyers
in our church, but they sit side by side with everyone else. The poorest man in our
church is as welcome as the richest, the least formally-trained person is as welcome as
the most formally trained, the illiterate is as welcome as the Ph.D., and all are equally
represented in places of leadership. The doctors, lawyers, the college-trained and the
businessmen are humble, godly people who realize that whatever they have is by the
grace of God, and they happily sit side by side with those who have less money, less
formal training and less opportunity.
The vice president of a bank in downtown Hammond was on our deacon board.
(Though he is now in Heaven, we remember him with gratitude.) One night I
recommended something that he thought was unwise, but as a deacon he stood and
said, "I'm the vice president of a bank, and what the Preacher suggested doesn't make
sense to me, but I make a motion we do it because the Preacher wants to do it, and I
think he knows best in this case." God pity the nobles who are trying to run their
preachers, and God pity the preachers who let them do it.

When I first came to Hammond, the deacon chairman came to me and said, "Pastor,
some of the deacons are concerned about your preaching. We want to have a meeting
to discuss your preaching. Is that okay?" I said, "Why, of course it is." He said, "How
about tomorrow night (Monday night) in the Frances Classroom?" I said, "That will be
fine." He said, "Would 7:00 be all right?" I said, "Seven o'clock is fine." He said, "All
right, then, we will have a meeting tomorrow night at 7:00 in the Frances Classroom to
discuss your preaching." I said, "That's good." About 7:30 the next night he called me
and said, "Where are you?" I said, "I'm at home. Where did you call?" He said, "I
thought you said we could have a meeting in the Frances Classroom at 7:00 tonight to
discuss your preaching." I said, "You can, but don't expect me to be there, because my
preaching is none of your business." I told them they could have a meeting every
Monday night at 7:00 in the Frances Classroom if they wanted to, but I was not going to
be there.

Years ago at a deacons' meeting at First Baptist Church, a deacon was discussing a
little problem that had arisen. He was a good man, and this meeting did not keep him
from continuing to serve on the deacon board, but he mistakenly stood and said,
"Pastor, if you hadn't said something in your sermons recently about a certain thing, we
wouldn't have this problem." I left the front of the room, walked to the back row of the
deacons where he was sitting, and in front of all the deacon board I said, "Sir, when we
paint these walls, you get one vote. When we build a building, you get one vote. When
we borrow money, you get one vote, but when I walk in the pulpit, you don't get a vote!"

I am not in any way trying to cast reflection on the highly trained or highly successful,
but I like what the old fellow said when he said, "The only difference in the educated and
uneducated is that they are ignorant on different subjects." I am not fighting for
diminishing the importance of the educated and wealthy; I am for putting everybody on
the same level.

In another generation, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes was moving his
membership to a Baptist church in Washington, D.C. Numbers of people joined the
church that Sunday. Charles Evans Hughes was on one end of the line, and a very,
very poor person of another race was on the other end of the line. When the pastor read
the names of those who had come for membership, he started with Charles Evans
Hughes, whereupon Justice Hughes said, "Pastor, start at the other end of the line. The
ground is level at the foot of the cross." He was right!
Several years ago a very wealthy couple visited First Baptist Church of Hammond. She
was sitting there with her furs and diamonds, and he was sitting there with the best of
apparel. Across the aisle from them was a little Mexican boy who had a hole in his
pants. He reached down and with embarrassment put his hand over the hole in his
pants. The very wealthy lady looked at her husband and with a tear in her eye said,
"Honey, do you know what makes this church great?" He said, "What?" She replied,
"That little Mexican boy over there covering up the hole in his pants is just as welcome
here as we are." She was right. It could also be said that she was just as welcome as
that little poor boy was. Praise God, the ground is level at the foot of the cross!

4. Nobles and common men should share the leading of the church. At this writing, we
have seven doctors and three lawyers in our church. We have numbers of
businessmen. I doubt if there is a church in America who has more college graduates
than the First Baptist Church of Hammond. Praise God, I also doubt if there is a church
in America that has as many poor little bus kids as the First Baptist Church of
Hammond, and there is not a church that has as many Spanish-speaking people as we
have in the First Baptist Church of Hammond, and there is not a church in America that
has as many deaf people as we have in the First Baptist Church of Hammond, and
there is not a church in America that has as many poor people as we have in the First
Baptist Church of Hammond, but here is one church where the ground is level! No one
is better than anybody else because of the house in which he lives, the car that he
drives, the ring on his finger, the clothes on his back or the degrees hanging on the
walls of his office. Together every class financially, every class educationally, every
class socially should have representation in the leadership of the church; that is, if all
are participating in the obeying of the Great Commission.

5. The pastor should preach these truths sternly and lovingly to his people. God has a
way of protecting such a pastor. When I took my stand in the early days at Hammond,
we lost over 400 people. Some people threatened to take the buildings away from us,
but how God has blessed through these years! Put a guard around your church. Walk
guard around it yourself. Watch for every little place that you can see a danger point.
Keep the church in the hands of the soul winners, the street preachers, the bus
captains. Don't even check to see what the balance is in their bank accounts. I have no
doubt in my mind but that American Baptist Churches started their decline when they
put the building of the church in the hands of the common people and the leadership of
the church in the hands of the noblemen. The same could be said about thousands of
Southern Baptist churches, Baptist Bible Fellowship churches, Southwide Baptist
Fellowship churches and strictly independent churches.

Practically all of these churches were started by workers. That's why the churches grew,
but over the passing of the years, the inevitable happened. Hard-working people
become successful people. When they become successful, they often cease to become
a part of those who build the churches.

Such was the case in our text. The people were rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem
after the 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah had returned to help with the
rebuilding of this wall. People were working hard, but sad to say, "their nobles put not
their necks to the work of their Lord." Let this not happen in your church and mine. Let
us love everybody equally and give everybody equal opportunity! Do not look down on
somebody because he is poor or because he is rich. Do not look down on somebody
because he is unlearned or learned, educated or uneducated. Let the ground stay level
at the foot of the cross!
 Chapter Seven

Opposition to Pastoral
Leadership -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

One of the great battlegrounds in New Testament churches is that of pastoral
leadership. It is the opinion of this preacher that far too many pastors have allowed their
hands to be tied, and far too many people have tried to tie the pastor's hands. Now I do
not think for a minute that the pastor should be a dictator. I simply think he should be a
leader. For the next few pages, we will discuss the Scriptural position of the place of the
pastor in the leadership of the church.

1. In business matters, the church should be a pure democracy. Of course, it would be

unwise for the pastor to be allowed to borrow money on behalf of the church or to build
a building without church approval. The business of the First Baptist Church of
Hammond, Indiana, is in the hands of the people, not the pastor.

I know a pastor who said to his people that he would leave if they did not build. I think
this is poor leadership, and I also think it is unwise leadership. God may call the pastor
to another church, or He may call him to Heaven, and the people would be saddled with
a debt that he incurred. When it comes to the borrowing of money, the church is a
democracy. When it comes to the church budget, the church is a democracy. When it
comes to church business, the church is a democracy.

Just as ridiculous as the pastor being the business dictator of the church is the
unscriptural practice that the deacons are supposed to be the business dictators of the
church. There is no Scripture whatsoever to substantiate this. At the First Baptist
Church of Hammond, the deacons are an advisory board. The pastor recommends the
budget to the deacons; the deacons work on the budget and then present it to the
church. The final authority is in the hands of the church. The pastor cannot spend a
dime of the church budget on his own. The only money that he can disburse at his own
discretion is money that is given him with that instruction. Quite often people give a
check made out to the church and they say, "Pastor, use this in any ministry you feel
wise." This is exactly what I do, but unless the money is designated for such, I have no
power whatsoever to disburse the money, except as is dictated in the budget, which is
approved by the church.
Let me also say that there is not one Scriptural reference of trustees or a board of
trustees in the church. Philippians 1:1, "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons." Here you have the simplicity of the organization of the New Testament
church - pastor, deacons, people. At our church, we have five trustees elected from the
deacon board. However, they do not form a board of trustees; they simply form the
official signature of our church. So, when the church votes to take action in business
matters and loan matters, the trustees sign the papers. There are hundreds of deacon
boards in America and boards of trustees in America who rebel against pastoral
dictatorship, and then in turn wrestle the power of business in the church for
themselves, making the church a bureaucracy which is just as unscriptural as a
dictatorship.

2. The spiritual program of the church should be under the leadership of the pastor, and
the people should follow. If I were to lead the First Baptist Church into borrowing money
that the church did not want to borrow, and God called me Home to Heaven, I would
have done the church an injustice. However, if I lead the church to have a Bible
conference, and I choose the speakers, which I would, this does not leave the church
with any responsibilities in the case of my death.

When I became Pastor of First Baptist Church, there was an evangelism committee to
try to tell me when to have evangelistic meetings. There was a missions committee to
try to tell me when to have missions conferences. There was a finance committee to try
to tell me when to take an offering. There was a pulpit committee to try to tell me whom
to have preach when I was gone and to approve where I could preach. Of course, I
could not live under this situation, and I would not, and I did not. If I'm not going to be
the spiritual leader of the church, then I'll move on and get a soap box and a vacant lot
and preach on a street corner somewhere.

A typical example of the average church battle concerning this subject is the story of
Moses and Aaron.

1. While Moses was busy, he received a call from God.

Exodus 3:1, "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his fat her in law, the priest of Midian:
and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God,
even to Horeb." Notice that Moses was busy keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-
law. He was seeking no place of leadership whatsoever. This is usually the way it is.
God calls a man who is busy somewhere else. I know of no place in the Bible where
God called someone who was seeking a position. He calls someone who is busy doing
the job where he is. I have been pastoring for 45 years. I have never sought a church,
nor have I ever wanted to leave a church where I was pastoring. I have tried to stay
busy and work hard. I tell God my phone number and my address (He probably already
knew it!) and tell Him to contact me when He wants me to move. Until then, I will not
seek to move, nor will I desire to move.
I was busily serving as Pastor of Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas. One day
I received a letter from First Baptist Church of Hammond. I had never heard of the
church, nor had the church, for that matter, ever heard of me. One of the deacons, Mr.
George Huisenga, owned a little gift shop in downtown Hammond. He sold enough
Christian books to receive a catalogue from Zondervan Publishers. Zondervan had
published a little book for me, and that little book was advertised in the catalogue. In this
advertisement were some statistics about the growth of the Miller Road Baptist Church
in Garland, Texas. The little advertisement couldn't have been over 1 1/2" square. Mr.
Huisenga saw it, tore it out of the catalogue, went to the pulpit committee, tossed it on
the chairman's desk and said, "This is the fellow you ought to consider calling." Nobody
had recommended me, I had not sought the position, and for that matter, I did not want
the position. They sent me an application form. I replied that I was not interested.

They continued seeking me and pursuing me. Finally when I was speaking in the
Chicago area, two members of the pulpit committee came to hear me speak. They took
me out to eat and introduced me to the rest of the pulpit committee. I told the committee
that I had no interest, that I would be flying back to Texas the next day, and that I did
not want to leave my church in Garland, Texas. Mr. Huisenga looked at me and said,
"Well, we did buy you a meal. Would you at least pray this prayer at least one time
sometime soon: 'Dear God, do You want me to visit First Baptist Church in Hammond,
Indiana? Amen.' - would you pray that prayer?" I said, "Yes, I'll do that."

I went back to Texas, and to be quite frank, I forgot the promise I made. Weeks passed.
One night I was driving from Oklahoma City to Dallas. I left Oklahoma City after
preaching in a Baptist church there and drove through the night to get home. In the wee
hours of the morning, I came to the little town of Denton, Texas. Just before I got to that
town, I remembered the promise I had made to Mr. Huisenga, and so I simply began to
pray while driving, "Dear Lord, do You want me to visit Hammond, Indiana? Amen."
Within five seconds after I prayed that prayer, I was stunned as I looked to the right of
the highway and saw a neon sign that said three words: HAMMOND WELCOMES
YOU. I could not believe it! I stopped the car, walked over and put my hand on the sign
to be sure it wasn't a mirage. It was the Hammond Service Station in Denton, Texas,
and painted on the sign were such things as "cheap gas," "mechanic on duty," etc., but
there in neon it simply said, HAMMOND WELCOMES YOU. I was stunned. I trembled
as I drove the rest of the way to my home in Garland, Texas. That was on a
Wednesday.

After the service Wednesday night, I was to drive to Lake Louise, Tacoa, Georgia, to
speak in a Sword of the Lord Conference. I asked my deacon chairman to drive with me
so we could share the driving responsibilities, as I had not slept the night before, and I
was afraid that two nights in a row driving all night would make me so sleepy I would be
injured in an accident. I couldn't forget that sign the night before, so I thought I had
better pray some. My deacon chairman drove from Dallas to Little Rock, and from Little
Rock to Memphis, I drove.
As I was driving, I got to thinking about the sign I had seen the night before. It simply
said in neon lights, HAMMOND WELCOMES YOU. I began to pray as I was driving
between Little Rock and Memphis. Something like this was my prayer:

"Dear Lord, did You mean anything by that sign last night? Should I visit Hammond?
Make it plain to me."

I fell asleep at the wheel while praying! When I woke up, I was just a few inches from
the back of a big six-wheel truck. I jammed on the brakes, skidded the tires, burned
some rubber and stopped, after barely tipping the truck in the back, doing no damage to
the truck or my car. I was scared to death! I looked up! Would you like to know what
was on the back of that truck? Two words-HAMMOND, INDIANA. I said, "Dear God, if
You will get me to Tacoa Falls safely, and if that church ever calls me again, I'll go
preach up there."

When I drove into the conference grounds at Tacoa Falls, Georgia, before I got out of
the car, somebody came out of the office and said, "Is Dr. Jack Hyles here yet?" I said,
"Yes, here I am." They said, "There is a call for you." I said, "It's from Hammond,
Indiana, isn't it?" They said, "Yes. How did you know?" I said, "I saw some signs along
the way!" I picked up the phone and told the caller that I would come to visit Hammond,
Indiana.

What I am saying is that I had no desire to go anywhere. I was busy where I was. God
literally had to grab me and shake me to get me to consider going to Hammond. Now I
praise His name that He called me here to Hammond.

Exodus 3:2-4, "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the
midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush
was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why
the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called
unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I."
Notice that Moses was surprised when God called him to a place of leadership, but
notice that he did say, "Here am I."

Now look at Exodus 3:10, "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that
thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." God called this
unsuspecting, unseeking man to lead His people out of Egypt. No real leader wants to
be a leader. A man who wants to lead is not qualified to lead. In my opinion, that's
what's wrong with our presidential system in America. The way we choose a president
will never offer us a real leader. We choose from men who seek the job. We should
seek the man who is qualified for the job. Notice

Exodus 3:11, "And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Especially notice the words,
"Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?" Moses did not feel worthy to do the job. Ah,
it sounds to me like this fellow is going to be a leader.
Moses even argued with God somewhat in Exodus 4:1, "And Moses answered and
said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say,
The LORD hath not appeared unto thee." He had some reluctance, feeling that he could
not do the job, and God had to convince him that he would not have to do the job alone.

Now notice Exodus 4:10-12, "And Moses said unto the Lord, 0 my Lord, I am not
eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but lam slow
of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's
mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the
LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt
say." Moses argued on the basis that he was not a good speaker. He was not eloquent;
he was slow of speech. Maybe he had some impediment of speech.

What I'm saying here is that Moses did not seek the job, Moses did not want the job,
Moses did not put himself up for the job, and at no place did he exalt himself.

Now notice that Aaron did not seek the job of the high priesthood. Exodus 40:1, 12-15,
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And
thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he
may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe
them with coats: And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they
may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an
everlasting priest hood throughout their generations." Aaron was God's choice. Aaron
did not apply for the job of being the high priest. He did not seek it. He did not
necessarily want it, but he was chosen by God.

So we have two men. One was the leader of Israel; another was the high priest of
Israel. Both were chosen by God; neither seeking the job, or for that matter wanting the
job, or for that matter feeling qualified for the job, but they were called of God.

2. People often challenge God's leaders. Numbers 16:1-4, "Now Korah, the son of
Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and
On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with
certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in
the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against
Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all
the congregation are holy, even one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore
then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? And when Moses heard
it, he fell upon his face." Let us notice several things about this rebellion of Korah.

(1) This is the same Korah that is mentioned in Jude 11. "Woe to them! for they have
gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and
perished in the gainsaying of Core." So, according to the Word of God, we know Korah
made a serious mistake.
(2) He was of the family of Kohath, a son of Levi. Now the three sons of Levi were
Kohath, Gershon and Merari. So we have these three families-the Kohathites, the
Gershonites and the Merarites. Each was given a task to perform concerning the
tabernacle. The Gershonites were responsible mainly for the tent of meeting; that is, the
tabernacle itself. The Merarites were responsible for the boards and bars of the
tabernacle. The Kohathites were responsible for the transporting of the furniture of the
tabernacle. Ah, it's a wonderful thing to have a part in the work of God. It is also a
wonderful thing to be satisfied with the part that God has given to you.

(3) There were others in the rebellion. Dathan and Abiram, men of the tribe of Reuben,
the firstborn of Jacob, no doubt felt they should have been chosen to do the job that
Moses and Aaron had been chosen to do.

(4) They rebelled against Moses. Numbers 16:12. Notice, there were 250 princes; that
is, bosses, men of rank. Notice also they were famous in the congregation, men of
renown, men who were accustomed to being in charge and well-known people.

This is the same old story. You would think that this was a Baptist church split. The
Devil has no new methods. He operates the same way, and he has always operated the
same way.

(5) They gathered themselves against Moses and Aaron. Notice in Numbers 16:3, "Ye
take too much upon you." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Neither Moses nor
Aaron took the job upon them. They did not want their jobs. They did not seek their jobs.
It was God Who called them, just as God calls men today to pastor churches. Moses
tried every way he could to avoid the job that God called him to do. He did not feel
qualified; he did not want the position.

I know how he felt. I do not like to lead. I certainly do not like to be a boss. If I had my
way, I would never boss anybody. Time and time again after I have had to be a boss or
a strong leader, I've gone to my office and wept. Such is the case with any real man of
God.

Now notice the words in Numbers 16:3c, "... wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above
the congregation of the Lord?" This is the typical lie that rebels use. Moses did not lift up
himself; Aaron did not lift up himself; God lifted them up! God called them!

Every organization must have a leader. A country must have a king or a president. A
state must have a governor. A city must have a mayor. A team must have a coach. A
school must

have a principal. A home must have a father. A church must have a pastor.

Now notice the words in verse 3, "seeing all the congregation are holy." Somehow these
people could not accept the fact that what they were doing was holy. God had given the
Kohathites the responsibility of transporting the furniture; He had given the Gershonites
the responsibility of transporting the tent; He had given the Merarites the responsibility
of transporting the boards and the bars, and bless your heart, that was as holy as the
jobs that Moses and Aaron had.

There is no unholy job for God; every job is important. If God has given you the
responsibility of pastoring a church, realize that it is holy and sacred, and give it your
best. If God has given you the responsibility of being the church custodian, realize it is
holy and of God, and give it your best. If God has given you the responsibility of being a
church secretary, choir director, Sunday school teacher or deacon, you have been
called of God just as much as the pastor has. Give it your best, but let each be satisfied
with the will of God for his own life. There are no big shots or little shots in the New
Testament church.

No real pastor wants to lead, but he has to; he has been called of God to do so. Every
real God-called pastor would rather follow than lead, but somebody has to lead, and
there is nobody to lead but human beings.

3. The first committee ever appointed made a tragic mistake! Deuteronomy 1:19-22, 26,
"And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible
wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our
God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. And I said unto you, Ye are
come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.
Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the
LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. And ye
came near unto me even one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they
shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and
into what cities we shall come. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against
the commandment of the Lord your God."

(1) The Israelites were at the door of the Promised Land. They came to Kadesh-barnea,
and God told them that He had given them the land. In Deuteronomy 1 :20b, notice the
words, "which the LORD our God doth give unto us." In verse 21, notice the words, "go
up up andpossess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee." It was God's
command for them to go possess the land.

(2) They wanted to appoint a committee. Look at verse 22. God had led the Israelites all
the way from Egypt, as He led Moses, and Moses led them. God told Moses and Moses
told the people concerning the passover. God told Moses, and Moses told the people
concerning the crossing of the Red Sea. God told Moses, and Moses told the people
concerning the journey across the wilderness. Then they came to the very door of the
Promised Land - their goal. Again God led Moses, and Moses led the people. It was time
to enter into the Promised Land. Couldn't they go in the same way they got to the door
of the Promised Land? Yes, but, sad to say, the people wanted to appoint a committee!
Someone has said that a committee is a group of the unprepared who are unqualified to
do the unnecessary and who read the minutes and waste the hours. Somebody else
has said that a camel is a horse put together by a Baptist committee.

(3) The committee came back and recommended not to go. The Israelites took the
advice of the committee and refused to go into the Promised Land. How tragic! For 40
years they then needlessly wandered in the wilderness all because they had changed
their method of following the will of God as a people. Sure, God allowed them to have
the committee, but that was not His first choice.

His first choice was for the people to follow Moses as Moses followed God.

Our churches are "committeed" to death!

4. God expects His people to follow His chosen pastors.

Hebrews 13:7, 'Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto
you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation."

(1) Notice the word "remember." It means, "don't forget," "Keep this before you."

(2) Notice the word "rule." The word "rule" is the word "guide" or "lead."

(3) Notice the words, "who have spoken unto you the word of God." Here we have the
spiritual leaders whom God chooses. They are our guides or leaders - again, not in
matters of business that would cumber the church with a great debt, but in spiritual
matters.

(4) Notice the words, "whose faith follow." Wow, what a statement!

Now look at Hebrews 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit
yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may
do it with joy, and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you." Here you have the same
word "rule," and then you have the word "submit," which means "to yield." Then it tells
us to whom we are to yield - to those who watch over our souls. Then we are reminded
that they must give an account to God for what they do. We are not talking here about
moral matters. We are not talking here about business matters; we are talking about
spiritual leadership.

Now when does this unscriptural practice of a muzzled pastor start? So often it starts
with the choosing of a new pastor. A man of God serves faithfully for many years. His
people follow him; they trust him; they love him. He leads them well, and they follow
well, and there is a wonderful relationship.

Then, the pastor resigns or passes away. The people must choose another man of God.
Between pastors, people who are capable have to assume some of the responsibilities
that the pastor had fulfilled. Oftentimes, these are places of leadership. These men who
are capable of leadership fulfill these responsibilities, and, of course, they are often men
of renown, famous men in the congregation, as we noticed in Numbers 16:1. These
men enjoy this leadership, but now it's time to call a new pastor. The church calls a new
pastor, and the pastor assumes the responsibilities Now these men who have led in the
interim period have enjoyed their place of leadership and hate to relinquish it to the
pastor.

Then the people do not know the new pastor and do not trust him as much as they did
the old pastor. This is normal and a natural thing. However, the people are supposed to
follow the new pastor, not because they know him well, but because he is God's man!
Soon his hands are tied. He does not have the liberty the other pastor had. A few men
in the congregation who are famous and well-known do not want to relinquish the
powers that they had to assume during the interim period.

In conclusion, let it be said that this pastor does not enjoy leading, nor is he advocating
men who want to usurp authority and power. He is simply saying that when God calls a
man to a place, that man is usually busy somewhere else and does not seek the place.
No pulpit committee or no church should seek a man who is seeking them. Let God lead
the committee to the man, as was the case in the First Baptist Church of Hammond a
third of a century ago, and let that man be fully persuaded in his own mind that he is the
man, and let the church be fully persuaded. Then let that man lead with love and the
people follow with love. Let the business of the church be a democracy, and let the
spiritual program of the church be placed in the hands of God's chosen man. What a
wonderful relationship can exist when God's people follow God's man and when God's
man, not wanting to lead, accepts the call of God and does lead!
 Chapter Eight

The Universal Church -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

(For a detailed study on the doctrine of the church, consult the author's book on this
subject.)

I could not believe my ears! I was listening to a preacher on the radio. He announced
that it was time to take communion. He suggested that each listener get a cracker or a
piece of bread and some juice and sit beside the radio and take communion with his
other listeners. He then said, "If you do not have any bread, a banana would be all right.
If you don't have any juice, any kind of liquid, even a glass of water, will do as long as
you do it in memory of the broken body and shed blood of Christ." What a tragedy! What
a travesty! What a total lack of knowledge concerning the Lord's Supper being an
ordinance of the New Testament church!

I was reading a national publication. It told of an international youth organization having

communion at its annual convention. What a shame to miss totally the purpose of the
Lord's Supper and bypass the institution to whom it was given!

Over and over again I hear and read the term, "electronic church." Of course, there is
no such thing as the electronic church, but it is just as scriptural as the term "invisible
church" or "universal church."

The word "church" in the New Testament is a "called out assembly," and it is to have
pastors, deacons and members. This called-out assembly has been given a
commission found in Matthew 28:19, 20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
even creature."

The local church has been given two ordinances: baptism and the Lord's Supper. The
church is the unit by which the work of God is carried on.

The following sentences are certainly an oversimplification and at best are a summary.
The New Testament knows nothing about "a church" or "the church," except as it is
given a location. All believers cannot and do not form a church because all believers
have not yet become a called-out assembly. This chapter is being dictated on an
airplane. I am flying from Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina. It is Monday afternoon.
Yesterday, a called-out assembly met in an auditorium on the corner of Oakley Street
and Sibley Street in Hammond, Indiana. This called-out assembly is named the First
Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. This is all that Jesus had in mind when He started
the New Testament church, and it seems that for some time the Christian world used
the term "church" only as it relates to a local, called-out assembly.

Shortly after the beginning of the fourth century, Emperor Constantine supposedly was
converted. He had a desire for all to do likewise, and it has been recorded by some that
he commanded baptism. From this endeavor came the Catholic denomination. It was
named the "universal church," the name "Catholic" meaning "universal."

Here the battle started. We then had New Testament Baptist people (though often
called by other names such as Anabaptists, etc.) believing in the Scriptural doctrine of
the local, New Testament church, and we had the Catholic denomination advocating a
universal church. Hence, the battle started concerning this doctrine, and it wages until
this day. Historically, the Anabaptists and Catholics strongly differed on the doctrine of
the church.

With the passing of the centuries came the Protestant Reformation from which came
our Protestant denominations of today. Of course, the Reformation began as a battle
between Martin Luther and the Catholic denomination over justification by faith; and
though Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and other reformers are to be greatly admired, they,
nevertheless, continued the Catholic originated doctrine of the universal church; that is,
that all believers form the church. The term "invisible church" is often associated with
this doctrine.

As far as this doctrine is concerned, the battle that once was Catholics versus Baptists
now becomes Catholics plus Protestants versus Baptists.

With the passing of the centuries something happened that I often call the "second
reformation." As the Protestant denominations became more liberal, especially on the
doctrine of salvation, many churches and pastors and members became disenchanted
with the mainline Protestant denominations. From this group came what we call "inter-
denominationalists." Basically, they are fundamental Protestants, and much of their
discontent with the mainline Protestant denominations was caused by the same thing
that caused the first reformation - the doctrine of justification by faith. However, just as
their forefathers protested on that doctrine, they did not protest on the doctrine of the
church and continued teaching the doctrine of the universal or invisible church.

So the first battle concerning this doctrine was waged between the Catholics and the
Baptists. Upon the first reformation, the Protestants joined in this malay, and at the
second reformation the interdenominationalists were added to those advocating the
universal or invisible church, making it now a battle between the Catholics, Protestants
and interdenominationalists versus Baptists. Sad to say, because so many Baptist
preachers have been trained in inter-denominational institutions, the doctrine of the
universal or invisible church has infiltrated even Baptist movements and Baptist
churches. The usually reliable Scofield Bible has added fuel to the flame until it has now
become in many Baptist circles unpopular for one to advocate and believe the historic
Baptist doctrine that Jesus started only the called-out assembly, or the local New
Testament church, and that that is the only church in existence and will be until the
rapture.

As we investigate this doctrine of the church, it must be remembered that we are always
talking about a called-out assembly.

1. There are now New Testament churches. Much has been said about when New
Testament churches started. The Scofield Bible erroneously teaches that the "church"
was started at Pentecost. Of course, we can not accept the fact that there is such a
thing as "the church." There are churches, and the first New Testament church was
started during the personal ministry of Jesus Christ. Since it is a "called-out assembly,"
it appears that the first church was started in Matthew 10:1, "And when he had called
unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." The word "called"
here comes from the same root word from which the word "church" comes. Here Jesus
called out the apostles. Matthew 10:2-4, "Now the names of the twelve apostles are
these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the
publican; James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus;
Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him."

Now turn to I Corinthians 12:28, "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues." Notice that in the church were first apostles. It was
in Matthew 10 when Jesus called out the apostles. Though I would not make an issue of
this, it seems plain to me that this was the beginning of the first called-out assembly or
the first church. I would make an issue, however, that the church was not started on
Pentecost, and that it was started sometime during the public ministry of Jesus.

Notice please Matthew 18:17, "And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the
church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man
and a publican." Here we have a mention of a local called-out assembly. Mr. Scofield in
his Bible says that this is "discipline in the future church," but there is nothing that says,
"tell it to the future church"; it simply says, "tell it to the church." The church was
certainly in existence by Matthew 18:17.

Read Acts 2:41, 47, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the
same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Praising God, and
having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should
be saved." Notice the words "added to." It is impossible to add to something that is not
already in existence. It is obvious that these verses are talking about people being
added to the local New Testament church assembly. Consequently, there must have
been an assembly. You cannot add to something that is not already in existence.
(Again, study my book, The Church for a more detailed explanation.)

2. Though the New Testament church was started during the earthly ministry of Jesus,
there were such assemblies in the Old Testament. God never changes His
philosophies. If Christians in the New Testament age need the fellowship of God's
people and compose a unit for that fellowship, for the propagation of the Gospel, and for
the edification of believers, then there would certainly be a need in every age for a
similar assembly. Again, let it be stated that we are not talking about a New Testament
church. However, wouldn't the Old Testament Christians need to get together? Wouldn't
there be a need for edification, for Bible study?

Notice Acts 7:3 7, 38, "This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him
shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which
spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to
give unto us." The Israelites were called "a church in the wilderness." Now this does not
mean they were a New Testament church. It does mean that they were a called-out
assembly. They had been in Egypt, through the passover lamb and the Red Sea
miracle; they were called out of Egypt, and they assembled in the wilderness. So, this
was a called-out assembly - not a New Testament church, but, nevertheless, God had
called out His people and had them assembled. Again let me emphasize that God never
changes His philosophies. If His people in one age need to assemble, His people in all
ages need to assemble.

3. There will be a church in the air. Hebrews 12:23, "To the general assembly and
church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to
the spirits of just men made perfect." In conjunction with this, read I Thessalonians 4:14-
1 8, ' 'For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we
which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one
another with these words."

Here we have what is commonly called the rapture or the calling away or the calling out
of God's people. This will take place at the first resurrection when all the saved people
are called out of the world to an assembly in the air where we will enjoy the Marriage of
the Lamb, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the Judgment Seat of Christ. Then for
the first time, all of God's people will be assembled. Because they will be called out, and
because they will be assembled, then and only then will all Christians become a church,
for then and only then will all Christians become a called-out assembly!
I make a big issue of this because of the error that many make of bypassing local
congregations because they feel they belong to "the church" simply because they are
saved. These are they who advocate the doctrine of the invisible church, such as all
believers are called in the Scofield Bible.

The very nature of their work, however, contradicts their doctrinal position, for those
who advocate the doctrine of the invisible church always go to the visible church when
they need money, and, gullible as we are, we in the visible churches support our
invisible church friends, as they bypass us but feed off of us!

It is also interesting to note that colleges and Bible institutes that teach the invisible
church seem to get most of their students from the visible churches. Often, however,
these same invisible church adherents neglect and sometimes ignore the local church.
Mr. Scofield even calls the invisible church the "true church," which would imply to me
that the local church is not the true church.

In one interdenominational institution that has many Baptist students, the students are
not allowed to go to a church on Sunday morning. They have what they call the
"campus church." (There are as many Scriptures for the electronic church as there are
for the campus church!) It might be interesting to visit that campus on a Sunday evening
and a Wednesday evening to see what emphasis it gives to the very institutions who
have made it what it is. They are sending out preachers to pastor the very institutions
that they neglect and overlook. One of its graduates told me recently that she attended
that institution for four years and never one time went to a Baptist church.

4. There will be some kind of an "assembly" in the tribulation and in the millennium. God
will not change His mind about the needs of His people. We are told that there will be
multitudes of people saved in the tribulation period. It seems to me that these people
would need more than ever a place of refuge, of strength, of edification, of
encouragement, of Bible teaching, like a church. Though there will not be "New
Testament churches," nevertheless, there will be assemblies of Christian people who
will need such an institution.

Preachers often erroneously call this "the church age." It should be called the "New
Testament church age." There is no doubt that the New Testament assembly (church) is
a unique one, and there has never been nor ever will be one exactly like it. Bearing in
mind that God does not change His philosophies, nor will the needs of Christian people
change, there must be some unit of assembly for the Christians in the tribulation and in
the millennium.

The Great Commission will likewise be given to these assemblies or, better still, it will
apply to them. Matthew 28:19, 20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Notice the words, "even unto
the end of the world." When will the world end? Read Revelation 20:11, "And I saw a
great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them." Revelation 21:1, "And I saw a new
heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and
there was no more sea." This is at the end of the millennium, after which we will abide in
the New Jerusalem. Until that time, there will always be saved people who will live on
earth, and an unchanging God will have some form of assembly for them, so it is
interesting that the Great Commission is until the end of the world, which means that
there will be soul winning in the tribulation and in the millennium, and there will be
baptisms in the tribulation and in the millennium. These are church ordinances or
assembly ordinances.

Now turn to Matthew 26:29, "But Isay unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." You will
notice here that our Saviour promised us that He will one day take communion with us.
So we see that communion will be given and taken during the millennium. Since this
supper is a church ordinance (or an assembly ordinance), it leads us to believe that
there will be some kind of an assembly of Christians until the end of the millennium.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that these assemblies will not be New Testament
churches. New Testament churches were started by Jesus Himself probably in Matthew
10:1, and certainly during the public ministry of Jesus, and will end when all believers of
this New Testament church age are raptured, thereby forming the church in the air.

During this New Testament church age, we are to be faithful in attending our churches
just as a soldier is faithful and supportive of his own unit of battle. Suppose I meet a
soldier on the street, and I ask him, "What battalion are you in?" and he replies, "Oh, I
don't belong to a local battalion; I belong to the invisible army or the universal army.
Occasionally I visit a local squad or platoon or company or battalion, and I think they are
all right, but I belong to the great battalion composed of all soldiers everywhere." My
dear reader, such soldiers would build an army that would never win a battle. There
must be the individual fighting unit, and there must be leaders in that unit. So God has
given us the individual fighting unit called the local church. Without it we will be as
ineffective as an army would be without squads or companies or battalions; and the
invisible, universal church is as unscriptural as the universal, invisible army is unlawful!
 Chapter Nine

The Modern Tongues

Movement -

An Enemy of Soul Winning

Matthew 28:19,20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, Jam with you alway, even unto the end of
the world. Amen."

Luke 24:47, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name
among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature."

Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth."

John 20:21, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath
sent me, even so send I you."

All of the aforementioned Scriptures deal with the cornmission that our Lord has given
us to take the Gospel to the entire world and to every creature. Upon the resurrection of
our Lord, the church in Jerusalem had a wonderful ingathering of souls. However, a
problem arose. There were people there out of every nation under Heaven. Acts 2:5, 9,
lO, 11a. "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation
under heaven. Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia,
and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt,
and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Cretes and Arabians...."

Now, what could be done? People from all over the world were there in Jerusalem.
Peter stood up to preach. The Gospel was being delivered, but the people could not
understand what Peter was saying.
Suddenly, a miracle took place. God gave the ability to the soul winners there to speak
in other languages. Acts 2:4, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." The word "tongues" here
is the word "glossa," in the Greek, which means either the physical tongue or a
language.

Now then, every man from all the countries heard the Word of God in his own language.
Acts 2:6, 8, "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were
confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And how
hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" It is very interesting
here that the word "language" in verse 6 and the word "tongue" in verse 8 are used
interchangeably. Then in verse 11, we have the word "tongues" mentioned again.
"Cretes andArabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God." This was given in order that people might be saved.

1. This wonderful miracle was perverted by some immature Christians. I Corinthians

3:1-4, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal,
even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: or hitherto ye
were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas
there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as
men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not
carnal?"

Paul wrote many letters as inspired by the Holy Spirit. He wrote to the churches in
Corinth, Rome, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse and Thessalonica. The only church
to which he mentioned tongues was the church at Corinth. These were the "tongue-
talkers." Now let's see if they had something that the other churches did not have. Let's
see if they were more spiritual than the other churches. Notice several things in the first
four verses of I Corinthians 3.

(1) They were carnal, which means "fleshly." (Verse 1) It is obvious that they lived in the
flesh. You will find this same thing in verse 4 when Paul asks the question, "Are ye not
carnal?"

(2) They were babes in Christ. (Verse 1)

(3) They were not mature enough to eat spiritual meat. (Verse 2) He had to feed them
with milk.

(4) They were a church tilled with envying, strife and division. (Verse 3) Notice, they are
called carnal twice more.

(5) They walked as men. (Verses 3 and 4)

So here we have a church of fleshly people who are babes in Christ; who could not bear
to eat spiritual meat, but had to be fed with milk; who were filled with envy, strife and
divisions; and who were followers of men.

So this is the church that was filled with the tongue-talkers. Did they have something the
other churches didn't have? They absolutely did! They had carnality, envying, strife,
divisions and were spiritual babes. It doesn't sound like they had some kind of a second
blessing or a sanctification that others didn't have. Certainly they were not to be envied,
but rather to be pitied.

2. This gift of speaking in other languages in order for people to be saved who could not
understand the language commonly used was the least important of all the spiritual
gifts. I Corinthians 12:4-10, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And
there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of
wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the
same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of
miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of
tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues." I Corinthians 12:28-31, "And God
hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after
that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all
apostles? are allprophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the
gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best
gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."

Now notice several things:

(1) All were not given the same gifts. I Corinthians 12:8 and 9 say that one was given
the word of wisdom, another the word of knowledge, another faith, another the gifts of
healing, etc. The modern tongues movement claims that this gift of tongues is available
to all. Absolutely not! God does give gifts to each of us, but does not give all of us every
gift.

(2) This gift of tongues was the least important of all. Notice the list in I Corinthians 12:8-
10. The last one mentioned is the gift of tongues. Now notice the list in I Corinthians
12:28. Once again, the last gift mentioned is the gift of tongues. Notice the word
"secondarily" in verse 28.

Also notice the word "thirdly" in that verse. These are adverbs which modify the verb
"set," which means that these gifts are given in order of their importance. The apostles
were more important than the prophets, the prophets more important than the teachers,
the teachers more important than the miracles, the miracles more important than the
healings, etc. The last in importance is the gift of tongues. This gift was last in
importance because it was least needed.
(3) This gift was not earned. The fact that it is called a gift teaches us that it is not
earned.

3. There is no record that Jesus, our example and pattern, ever had to use this gift. All
Christians would agree that our goal should be to be like Jesus. I John 4:17, "Herein is
our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as
he is, so are we in this world." Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus." John

14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall
he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

There is not one record in all the ministry of Jesus when He spoke in tongues, meaning
He had no occasion to do so. His entire earthly life was limited to one little country of
just a few square miles. It was not necessary for Him to speak in tongues. Now if He did
not speak in tongues, is a person less spiritual because he does not have that gift or
because his calling does not necessitate such a gift?

4. Jesus rebuked the Corinthian people because of their perversion of this gift. Notice
the following study of I Corinthians 14.

Verse 1, "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may
prophesy." The best spiritual gift, and the one to be most desired, was to prophesy,
which means "to teach, to reveal truth," etc.

Verse 2, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto
God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." These
people who were speaking in tongues when no unsaved people were present and who
were causing confusion in the church were understood only by God and not by man. Of
course, God understands all languages, but the people couldn't understand, so the
"tongue-talkers" were rebuked for using this gift in the church.

Verse 3, "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation,
and comfort." Those who were perverting this gift were not edifying. Notice that they
could not comfort, exhort or edify God's people with this gift.

Verse 4, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edified himself; but he that
prophesieth edifieth the church." Notice the selfishness of those who spoke needlessly
in other languages, and the unselfishness of those who taught so they could edify the
church.

Verse 5, "I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for
greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret,
that the church may receive edifying." Paul wished for every Christian that he would
have the opportunity someday to witness to a person in another language so that
person could hear the Gospel in his own language and be saved, but he plainly says
that the one who teaches the Bible is a greater person than he that talks in another
language.

Verse 9, "So likewise ye. except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood,
how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air." Notice he says
that someone who talks in other languages, unless there is someone there who can
understand that language who is not saved, is speaking into the air. He is wasting his
time.

Verse 12, "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may
excel to the edifying of the church." Notice Paul says that since you are wanting spiritual
gifts, you should seek the most important one; that is, edifying the church, or of being
understood so you can help people.

Verse 14, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding
is unfruitful." Paul rebukes the heresy of praying in tongues. Listen, it is a waste of time.
God knows English, and the gift of tongues was given so that people of other races
might be saved.

Verse 15, "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the
understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."
Paul teaches here that to be spiritual is to pray or sing so one can be understood. The
modern "tongue-talkers" would lead us to believe that to be extra spiritual is to talk in
tongues. Paul says to be extra spiritual is to be understood.

Verse 16, "Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the
room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not
what thou sayest?" It has always been the common practice of New Testament, soul-
winning Baptist churches to say "Amen" in church. Paul wonders how one could say
"Amen" if he cannot understand what is being said.

Verse 18, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all." Paul told the people
that he spoke with tongues more than all of them did. Of course, this was necessary.
Paul traveled from country to country, and God enabled him to speak in other
languages so that the people of different nations could understand the Gospel.

Verse 19, "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that
by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."
Paul said that when you go to church, it's 2000 times better to speak and be understood
than to speak and not be understood.

Verse 22, "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that
believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which
believe." Ah, here is the clincher. It plainly says that tongues are for those "that believe
not." In other words, it is a tool for soul winning. The modern tongues movement-I
suppose I should not say "modern," for it is not modern; it was used in the baby, un-
spiritual, carnal church in Corinth - confuses the unsaved, and in some cases even
frightens them away from the Gospel.

Verse 26, "How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a
psalm, hath a doctrines hath a tongue. hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all
things be done unto edifying." Paul is saying here that in church everything should be
done to edify. This totally eliminates the talking in tongues in church unless there are
unsaved people there who cannot understand the language being used.

Verse 33, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the
saints." Paul explains to us that the tongues movement being used at the church at
Corinth (which was not a Bible tongues movement at all) was confusion, and God was
not the author of that!

Verse 34, "Let your women keep silence in the churches:

for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under
obedience, as also saith the law." Along with the perversion of tongues and other
perversions by the church at Corinth, the ladies were speaking in these languages. Paul
told them to be quiet in church. Notice also verse 35, "And if they will learn any thing, let
them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."

Verse 39, "Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with
tongues." Here is the conclusion of the matter. Paul says that teaching is the best gift,
but we should not disbelieve the gift of tongues. This gift was begun on Pentecost.
Sometimes it is necessary.

The First Baptist Church of Hammond is located in the metropolitan Chicago area.
People from many parts of the world have settled in Chicago. It is not unusual for
people to come to our services who cannot understand English, but speak other
languages. For example, we have a special ministry to the Spanish-speaking people. In
our Spanish-speaking department alone, it is not unusual for us to have over 2000
people to come to hear the Gospel preached in Spanish. There is no need for anyone to
have the gift of tongues concerning the Spanish people, because we have people who
can teach them in their own language.

We also have a ministry to the Vietnamese and Cambodians, so it is not necessary for
one to have the gift of tongues to reach them.

It is quite common for Romanian people to be saved in our church. Fortunately, we

have a businessman and his wife who speak fluent Romanian, and often during the
invitation time, we call upon them to come and win Romanian people to Christ.

On occasion we have had people to come to the altar who can understand only Arabic.
Again, fortunately, we have a doctor and his wife in our church who speak Arabic.
The same thing could be said concerning German people and others.

However, one Sunday morning one of our young businessmen came to the altar and
said, "Pastor, I have a Chinese lady on the back row of the lower section of the
auditorium who is weeping and obviously wants to be saved, but she cannot understand
English. I have tried to witness to her, but she speaks only the Chinese language.
Please ask if anyone in the auditorium can speak Chinese." I did ask for someone to
come to translate the Gospel into the Chinese language. There was no one. This young
man was so disappointed. He went back to his seat, and I forgot about the Chinese lady
because of the busy time during the invitation.

After the service this same young businessman came forward. His face was as pale as
a ghost. He said, "Pastor, something happened back there a while ago that I could not
believe."

He continued to talk, stuttering as he did, but this is what he said. "Pastor, I went back
to the back row, and I told this Chinese lady in English that I could not find anyone to tell
her how to be saved, but that I was going to tell her in English, even if she could not
understand. Immediately when I started presenting the plan of salvation, a startled look
of understanding came on her face. She pointed to her ears, shook her head up and
down as she was understanding what I said. I tested her. I asked her to stand up; she
did. I asked her to sit down; she did. I asked her to raise her hand; she did. She was
understanding my English, though she could not speak or understand the English
language. I told her how to be saved. She received Christ as her Saviour, and
immediately after she prayed and received Christ, she pointed to her ears, shook her
head from side to side as if she could not understand me anymore. Pastor, I don't know
what that is."

Now I did not say it; I'm just telling you what the man said. It has never happened to me;
I have never had an occasion to have such a need, but this young businessman, not
expecting it, not seeking it or even desiring it, told me that story. You can make your
own judgment, but whatever happened in this instance, it is exactly what happened on
the day of Pentecost, and it is exactly what the gift of tongues was to the New
Testament church in the book of Acts.
 Chapter Ten

Where Are the Nine?

Recently an article appeared in a leading conservative publication which I feel must be
answered. I am a novice at this; to my knowledge I have never done this before, that is,
publish an answer to someone else's article. It had the same title as does this answer,
and it appeared to me to be directed toward my good friend, Dr. Bob Gray of Longview,
Texas, whom I love and admire dearly. I feel I must rise in his defense and in defense of
all of those who feel somewhat under attack by the aforementioned article, many of
whom pastor some of the greatest soul-winning churches in America. That article dealt
with churches who are baptizing multitudes but are seeing little or no church growth,
and I feel it hit the jugular vein of soul-winning churches, and it must be addressed.

First, let me say that I consider myself a friend to the author of the article. I love him,
respect him, and admire him very much. I have no plan to attack him. I think he is a
good, sincere, honest child of God. He is one to whom our country owes a debt. He is a
great preacher, and I have some feeling that my dear brother did not mean for his article
to come across exactly as it did.

I do not think my brother is a compromiser. If I understand the meaning of the word

"compromise," it describes someone who goes against what he believes for his own
personal gain, whether it be popularity, money or success. I do not think that my dear
brother is a compromiser. I think he is consistent with his pen and in the pulpit with what
he believes, and I do not think he is "selling out" for anybody.

There are many things in his article with which I agree. I agree with him concerning
revival and the need for real revival in America. I agree with him that Christians across
America should heed II Chronicles 7:14. I believe that God's people in our country need
to repent. I also agree with him that soul winners should always present the plan of
salvation thoroughly and carefully. This is not in defense of shallowness. I agree with
him that numbers are not important for numbers themselves. I agree that our soul
winning should not be for numbers but to keep every person out of Hell that we possibly
can.

I have no desire to publicize my personal differences or convictions or standards with

my beloved brother or to air in public the dirty linen of fundamentalists, but someone
needs to rise in defense of the great soul-winning churches and the great soul-winning
pastors who felt the brunt of this article.

1. Soul winning is not a method of church building. It is a command from our

Commanding General. Occasionally someone will come to the Pastors' School at First
Baptist Church of Hammond, spend a week hearing and seeing the soul-winning
emphasis here, and go home to win souls and see his church grow. This growth may
continue for several years, and then it may level off. Often this same pastor will then go
to someone else's pastors' school to find other methods by which he can build his
attendance. Soul winning is not a method; it is a command. We are supposed to go soul
winning and do soul winning if our churches grow or if our churches decrease in
attendance. An increase in church attendance is simply a delightful product of soul
winning; but if such an increase does not occur, the command of the Great Commission
is no less valid.

We are likewise commanded to baptize people upon their acceptance of Jesus Christ. If
the church grows or not, the Great Commission is still valid. We are to win souls,
baptize our converts, and train our converts to win souls.

2. Our command is not to build churches. I know of no place in the Bible where we are
commanded to build churches. Matthew 16:18 tells us that it is Jesus' place to build the
church. It is our job to obey His command. I am not in the church-building business; I
am in the soul-winning business, and I'm doing my best to conserve the results and to
build a spiritual hospital for the healing of wounded Christians and a dining hall for the
feeding of God's people. It is easy for us in obeying the Great Commission to ofttimes
enjoy church growth. Then our motives become wrong, as we decide to build churches
rather than win souls. The motto of my ministry is, "I will not use my people to build my
work; I will use my work to build my people."

3. Where are the converts? In Luke 17:12-19 we have the story of the cleansing of ten
lepers. Only one returned to express gratitude, and our Saviour asked the question,
"Where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17) The answer is found in the same verse, "Were there
not ten cleansed?" Regardless of where the nine are, they were cleansed. This is the
big thing. It was nice for the one to return to express gratitude; it would have been nicer
for all ten to have returned, but the main thing about this story is that all of them were
cleansed. Now, I'm not saying that all the people who walk the aisles in our churches to
receive Christ are sincere; but I do believe that the percentage of people who are
genuinely saved who walk the aisles in the churches under attack by our dear brother is
just as great as the percentage of the churches who have lesser numbers profess faith
in Christ.

Now let us discuss where the nine are and where many of the converts go who are
saved in these churches. Since these churches are not primarily concerned about
building churches but keeping people out of Hell, they reach into many areas of society
whose people can do nothing for the church. Many of these are transient. For example,
at our church we reach thousands of bus people a year who live too far to attend First
Baptist Church regularly. Many of them are children and teenagers whose parents will
not let them return to First Baptist Church.

Every Sunday we have sailors walking the aisle professing faith in Christ. These men
are stationed at a naval base about 80 miles from First Baptist Church. These are not
men who are going to attend our church regularly. They come and go; but, thank God,
they are cleansed, if they are sincerely receiving Christ.
We operate a rescue mission. Scores of these mission men are baptized every year.
Most of them are men whose lives have been ruined and wasted, and they come from
all over the country as transients. They get saved and go back to their families or go to
the next city. They cannot be added to the attendance of our church; but, thank God, if
they sincerely trusted Christ, they are cleansed.

The churches under attack by our dear brother are churches that preach on the streets
and reach street people. These people are transients. They are reached, they are
brought to church, they are baptized according to the Great Commission, but they do
not live in our city. They go their way. We try to do what we can to contact people in
other cities to help them; but if they are never seen again, they were cleansed if they
were sincere in their profession of faith in Christ.

Churches of our persuasion go to rest homes and take the Gospel of Christ. When
these people receive Christ, many are allowed to come to church for one Sunday just to
profess faith in Christ and be baptized. We have baptized scores of people from rest
homes this year who cannot regularly attend our church and most of whom will never
come to our church again; but if they were sincere, they were cleansed.

Scores of our converts each year are shut-ins. Our church and others like ours go to the
highways and hedges, go to the maimed, the halt, and the blind, and we do all we can
to get people saved. Our job is not to get them to help us build a church; our job is to
get them cleansed. After a person who is a shut-in is saved, we believe he should get
baptized. We make special arrangements for such people to come to church on at least
one occasion so they can be baptized. They do not increase our church attendance; but
if they were sincere, they were cleansed.

We have a ministry to the truck drivers. Many of our people go to truck stops to do soul
winning. Every Sunday we will have from half-a-dozen to twenty (sometimes even
more) truck drivers who sit together on my right on the front. These men love our
services. Many of them receive Christ as Saviour. In obedience to the command given
in the Great Commission, we baptize them. They go back to their truck stops, get in
their trucks, and go on their way. They will not be shown on our future attendance
records; but if they were sincere, they were cleansed.

Our people bring their relatives to our church, especially when they come to visit at
vacation time. Hundreds of these people are saved every year. They are baptized while
they are here and then return to their own homes. They do not help us increase our
attendance on a regular basis; but if they were sincere, they were cleansed.

Hundreds of people have come from the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and
Wisconsin to visit our services because they have heard of our church. When they
come, they bring their lost loved ones with them because they know that we will do our
best to get them saved. Many of these unsaved loved ones receive Christ or at least
say they do. Then they return to their homes; they live too far to help us increase our
church attendance; but, thank God, if they were sincere, they were cleansed.
Every week we send many of our men to jails across the area. We have an active
prison ministry. Hundreds of these prisoners are won to Christ each year. When they
are discharged from prison, many come to our church to get baptized before they return
to their homes in other cities and states. This does not help us in our attendance; but if
they were sincere, they were cleansed.

In Luke 14:16-24 we find the parable of the great supper. There are several places
mentioned where we are to go to invite folks to come. These places are the streets and
lanes of the city. We are told to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind.
Then in verse 23 we are told to go to the highways and hedges. Now most of the people
you will find in these places and under these conditions are not people who are going to
build your church, but we are to reach them. Then we are commanded when we reach
them to baptize them; and, praise God, if they were sincere, they are cleansed.

Add to this the educable slow or retarded people (we reach hundreds of these), the
migrant workers, and many other groups such as the Vietnamese, the Cambodians and
the Chinese, and you will find that a real soul-winning church that obeys the Great
Commission will reach multitudes of people that will never help their attendance; but,
thank God, if they are sincere, they are cleansed.

I sincerely believe that this is the heart of the Saviour; and when He looks down and
sees an unselfish group of people who are obeying the Great Commission and are
willing to reach multitudes who cannot boost the attendance or boost the offering, I think
the Saviour then says, "I'm going to build that church. That church is a tool being used
to obey My commission, so I'm going to build it, keep it in good shape, send it new
members, and send it converts from nearby who are stable families."

So in answer to the question, "Where are the nine?" the answer is, they are cleansed.
That's the big thing-not if they count in the attendance report. It is for this reason that the
soul-winning churches are the growing churches in most cases. However, I rise in
defense of a church that is not growing but is busy obeying the Great Commission.

I pastored country churches as a young man. In one place we had only seven prospects
that we found in a church census. So, we would go down to the next town 25 miles
away on Saturday and win everybody we could to Christ. Then we baptized them. They
could not help our church attendance; but if they were sincere, they were cleansed.

When I was a boy growing up in Dallas, Texas, a church was started one block from the
high school I attended. It was called the Galilean Baptist Church. I will never forget the
soul winning that church did. They preached on street corners; they passed out tracts in
shopping areas. I can remember that on Sunday afternoon the pastor would go down to
the zoo and stand by the monkey cages where the crowds gathered and preach to the
people. This church reached thousands for the Lord, but it never became a giant
church. It was average-sized at best and was only a fraction of the size of a church just
a block away. They won thousands to Christ. They did not keep them all or most of
them; but all of those who were sincere were cleansed.
It is hard for people whose main desire is to build a church to understand those whose
main desire is to obey the Great Commission and keep people out of Hell. We obey the
Great Commission. Jesus builds the church by sending us enough local people to keep
the tool in good shape so it can do the job for God in reaching others and in obeying the
Great Commission.

4. In a sense, the church that doesn't grow or that decreases in attendance is growing.
When a ministry first begins, there is not much attrition, especially in the case of a new
church. Most of the growth in the first few months or years is net gain. However, as a
church grows older, she begins to lose people in certain ways. It is much like a lavatory
in a bathroom. There is a drain at the bottom, and there is a drain at the top. When one
wants to fill the lavatory, he plugs the drain at the bottom, and all the water that comes
from the faucet is net gain. There comes a time, however, when water begins to reach
the

top and flows out through the upper drain. A church is like this. There comes a time in
the life of a church when it begins to lose people for various reasons. When such
natural losses come, the church must be reaching many people to take the place of the
losses. The membership and attendance must be replenished, so a church is actually
growing when it isn't growing. Death takes some; college takes others. Marriage takes
some; others move out of the area. Yes, sad to say, some become disgruntled and
leave; others become shut-ins; and others choose to go to smaller churches nearby.

For example, when I became Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond 33 years ago,
you could hardly find a fundamental church in our area within driving distance. Now
there are 40 churches within driving distance of my house that are soul-winning
fundamental churches. Most of these are pastored by people who at one time went to
First Baptist Church, and some are even our converts. Most, if not all, of these churches
have members who were saved at First Baptist Church of Hammond.

At one time there were six song leaders in churches in our area who were saved at First
Baptist Church. I remember one time finding that there were three deacon board
chairmen in our area who were saved at First Baptist Church.

I was in the airport at O'Hare Field in Chicago. My name was paged because an agent
wanted to see me. A young married lady who heard my name came up to me and told
me how glad she was to see me. She wanted me to know that she was saved at First
Baptist Church and that she was now going to another church in the area. Recently I
was at a police department in a suburb of Hammond. I was told that the captain there
was saved at First Baptist Church and was going to a church in the suburbs. A few
years ago I spoke at a Sunday school convention on the north side of Chicago; I
counted 27 of our converts who were teaching Sunday school in other churches within
an hour and a half' s drive of the First Baptist Church of Hammond.

The converts of soul-winning churches migrate over the entire country. There are
hundreds of preachers from First Baptist Church who are pastoring churches around
America. Add to that hundreds of church secretaries, assistant pastors, Christian school
administrators, Christian school teachers, etc., and you have a great host of people,
many of whom were saved here, who are scattered across the country.

Then there are those who have been saved at First Baptist who have moved to other
parts of the country. Often in San Diego or Norfolk or Jacksonville or some other area
near a naval base, I meet sailors who were saved at First Baptist and who are serving in
other churches.

The other day I was in San Antonio, Texas. I met a Mexican lady who was saved at
First Baptist Church. A few years ago I was in Denver. A pastor came to visit the
services to tell me that one of our converts was a faithful member of his church. Almost
everywhere I speak, laymen come to me and say, "I was saved at First Baptist Church,
and I'm serving God here." I was on the airplane the other day. A stewardess told me
she was saved at First Baptist Church of Hammond.

Soul-winning churches have converts all over the world. A missionary in the back
country jungles of Mexico found a little group of people who had never heard the
Gospel. Very carefully this missionary explained the Gospel. One little Mexican boy
began to smile and shake his head up and down. The missionary inquired as to why he
was smiling and nodding. He said, "I know all about that. I used to live in Chicago, and I
went out to the First Baptist Church of Hammond and got saved." Some preacher
friends of mine were in Korea. They went to an army base to eat a bite. The guard at
the guardhouse checked their identity. One of the preachers witnessed to the guard,
whereupon the guard replied, "I was saved in Hammond, Indiana, several years ago."

Preachers all over America tell me that while they are out soul winning they meet our
converts. Likewise, I meet the converts of other fundamental soul-winning churches
while I'm out soul winning.

I was preaching in Longview, Texas. I had to drive well over a hundred miles to get to
the Dallas airport. I was in a rented car. I got behind an accident, and for almost an hour
I couldn't move. When the roads were cleared, I found myself driving over the speed
limit in order to make my plane so I could get to my church in time for the service that
night. I was pulled over by a state trooper. He looked at my driver's license and began
to cry. He said, "You won me to Christ seventeen years ago."

You see, soul-winning churches have converts everywhere. They are not attending our
churches; they give no money to our churches; but if they were sincere, they are
cleansed.

5. There is a deadly accusation against us that we believe "easy-believism." (Of course,

I must confess that I don't know what "hard-believism" is.) I simply believe in
"believism." Perhaps the folks who were bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness
and were saved from death by simply looking at the brazen serpent lifted on a pole were
accused of believing an "easy-lookism." I would imagine that somebody accused the
Ethiopian eunuch of practicing "easy-believism," and the same thing would be true of
the Philippian jailor or the woman at Sychar's well. Each of them was saved during one
conversation in the matter of a few minutes. I feel the term "easy-believism"is a term
used by those who are spasmodic in soul winning for those who are faithful in soul
winning. It may even be an excuse for their lack of soul-winning effort.

6. Was Jesus a failure after having spent 33 years on this earth after doing so many
things that the Bible says the world could not contain the books that would be written if
all He did was placed in print? He came to the cross. At the time of His death, His
follow-up program was seemingly a failure. His board chairman was denying he
belonged to the church or the faith of the Lord. His treasurer was committing suicide.
One of his board members was doubting. The rest forsook Him and fled, and only a few
ladies gathered around the cross. Where were those that He had cleansed? I don't
know where they were, but I know one thing: They were cleansed!

Now I believe in a follow-up program. I would compare our follow-up program at First
Baptist Church of Hammond with any follow-up program in America, but I'm afraid that
too many churches are following up on converts they are not having. I've often said that
I would rather conserve two out of a hundred than one out of one.

7. If one must criticize, why not be critical of the churches who are not growing and not
winning souls instead of the churches who are not growing and yet obeying the Great
Commission? If you must criticize, why not criticize the churches who are baptizing ten
and have less in attendance than those who are baptizing 6,000 and have the same
attendance?

Why not reward the hard-working bus workers instead of criticizing their churches? Why
not reward and honor the folks who preach on the streets and go to the jails, the rest
homes, the streets and lanes and highways and hedges to get the maimed, the halt, the
blind and bring them to Christ instead of criticizing their churches? Why not reward and
honor those who preach and reach the forgotten who cannot come to church regularly
but nevertheless have been cleansed? Why not honor and reward the pastors and
churches who reach so many who can in turn offer nothing to the church?

I commend my brother for these many years of preaching the Gospel. I commend him
for overcoming obstacles. I admire him and love him deeply, and I cannot help but
believe that he is more in agreement with the churches that were the object of his article
than he is with those churches who spend less time obeying the Great Commission and
reaching those who can give us nothing in return. I honor him, I respect him, I admire
him, and I appreciate his ministry.

Now let him and me both join in appreciating the ministry of pastors and people who go
day and night obeying the Great Commission. It is sad that those who are called
fanatics and who are fought by city councils, police departments, newspapers, false
teachers, ministerial associations, businesses, atheists, and others because of their
soul-winning zeal, are also fought by a faithful servant of God who perhaps lapsed into
a moment of judging motives.

May God bless him for his years of service; and may God bless those embarrassed by
his article who preach the same Gospel, exalt the same Saviour, and believe the same
Book.
 Chapter Eleven

Let's Be Baptists!
Matthew 16:16-1 8, "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-
jona:for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

The word "church" here is the Greek word which means "called-out assembly," which, of
course, refers to the local church, which is the only church in this age. There is a so-
called church called the "invisible church" or the "universal church," which supposedly is
composed of all believers, but all believers cannot yet be a church and will not be until
the rapture because all believers have not yet become a called-out assembly. At the
rapture all believers will become a church. Hebrews 12:23, "To the general assembly
and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all,
and to the spirits of just men made perfect."

The doctrine of the universal church originated with the Catholic denomination - the word
"catholic" meaning "universal." Throughout history there has been a battle between our
Baptist forefathers and the Catholic church concerning the heresy of the universal
church or invisible church. I make an issue of this because the church (local, that is) is
the unit of battle in the warfare against evil and for God and good. To bypass this unit of
battle or make light of this unit of battle is to lessen our effectiveness in the warfare.

Now notice Hebrews 12:22 23, "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to
God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." The general assembly
will be all the host of Heaven, and the church will be the called-out assembly of God's
people. Consequently, there is only one church on the face of the earth today, and that
is the local body of New Testament believers, like the First Baptist Church of Hammond
and churches of like faith.

Before we enter into this study or discussion, let me say that I have the kindest feeling
toward all believers, and I have no desire to be offensive, though I have no doubt that
this study will offend some, perhaps many. However, if we reach the people we should
reach for Christ, we will have to revive the emphasis on the local churches! Because of
that, the eternal destiny of men, women, boys and girls will rest in our ability to
emphasize the institution that Jesus started for the perpetuation of the Gospel and for
the war against evil.
1. All believers do not form the bride of Christ. Many have been influenced by the inter-
denominational teaching that has infiltrated our Baptist churches that all believers form
the bride of Christ. The simple truth is, there is no bride of Christ today, nor will there be
until the rapture.

The word "bride" is mentioned only five times in the New Testament. First is John 3:29,
"He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which
standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom 's voice: this my
joy therefore is fulfilled." Even a casual reading of this verse shows that it has nothing to
do with all Christians forming at this present time a bride. This is the only time the word
"bride" is mentioned in the Bible until Revelation 18:23, "And the light of a candle shall
shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be
heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by
thy sorceries were all nations deceived." It is also mentioned in Revelation 21:2 "And I
John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband." It is mentioned again in Revelation 21:9, "And
there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven
last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the
Lamb 's wife." Then, it is mentioned again in Revelation 22:17, "And the Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Now follow me carefully. The only time the word "bride" is mentioned before Revelation
18 is in John 3:29 which has nothing at all to do with the church. In Revelation 18, the
rapture has already taken place. We have already been called unto the marriage of the
Lamb. No one is a bride until she gets married, and so we are not a bride now, and all
the verses except John 3:29, which even mention the word "bride" in the New
Testament, are mentioned after the rapture while we are in the air at the marriage of the
Lamb. An engaged lady is not a bride. She must be married; then she becomes a bride,
so all believers are not a bride until after the wedding. The wedding takes place in the
air after the rapture, so all believers will not become the bride of Christ until the wedding
takes place.

Again I make an issue of this because Baptists are being led astray by inter-
denominational people concerning the doctrine of the local church. So, just as all
believers will not become a church until we become a called-out assembly, all believers
will not become a bride until this called-out assembly.

2. All believers do not form the body of Christ. The local church is the body of Christ, as
I am going to show you. Notice Colossians 1:18, "And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
have the preeminence." Notice the words, "he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the
church...." Now the word "church" is the called-out assembly. Since all Christians have
not been called out to assemble, then He is talking about the only church in existence
now, which is the local church. And since He is the head of the body, and the body and
the church are synonymous, then the body of Christ is the local church. He is the head
of the called-out assembly.

Now in what way is He the head? He is the head in the sense that He owns it - like the
president of a bank is the head of the bank. Christ owns the church; He is to run the
church, and the church is His body in the sense of ownership of an institution. The word
"body" is used in many ways, but it is often used concerning a group of people. This
called-out assembly called the New Testament church is a group of people. They are a
body of people. He is the head of that body. The word "head" means that He is the
"Boss-man" of the church; He is to run the church; He is the King of the church.

Notice Colossians 2:10, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power." It says here that He is the head of all principality and power. Now what is
that principality and power? It deals with government. Paul said that we wrestle not
against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Jesus is the head of all
principalities and powers, and the word "head" is the same word that is used in
Colossians 1:18 where it mentions that He is the head of the church.

So God is teaching us here that Jesus controls the affairs and destinies of the world. He
puts up kings and sets down kings. He is the One Who is going to end up as King of the
entire world. Now in the same way that He is the head of principalities and powers, He
is the head of the church, as is told us in Colossians 1:18. That means He runs the
church; He is the Boss of the church; He is to be the ruler of the church.

The church is His body like someone would say, "That's my coat. This is my tie. This is
my pulpit. This is your microphone. This is your building. That's my home. This is my
car. These are my shoes." In the same way, the church is His church, His body,
because He owns it. It is a body of people who are owned by Him; it belongs to Him and
He is the head.

3. There are three basic groups of fundamentalists today. Group one is what I call
"American Baptist fundamentalists." These are they who came out of the American
Baptist Convention; that is, the old Northern Baptist Convention. These fundamentalists
are basically your Conservative Baptists and General Association of Regular Baptists.
Both of these groups came out of the American Baptist Convention.

Group two I call "Protestant fundamentalists." These people came out of the Protestant
denominations. They came from the Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Episcopalians,
etc. Basically they are the interdenominational people today. They have started many
Bible institutes, Bible colleges, etc. These are not bad people; they are fine people. I'm
not trying to criticize them; I'm trying to identify them and name fundamentalism.

Group three is what I call "Southern Baptist fundamentalists." These are they which
came out of the Southern Baptist convention or were influenced by someone who did. In
this group we have the Baptist Bible Fellowship, the World Baptist Fellowship, those
who were influenced by Dr. J. Frank Norris, Dr. Lee Roberson, and in latter years Dr.
Bob Gray, myself and others who were Southern Baptists who left the convention.

These are the main groups of fundamentalists during this and the past generation.

4. Notice the identification of each of these three groups. Group number one came out
of the American Baptist Convention basically because of the Bible. They got tired of the
liberalism of the American Baptist Convention and withdrew. This is true basically with
both the Conservative Baptist Association and the General Association of Regular
Baptists. This is certainly to be admired. They did not, however, pull out because of
formalism. They retained their formalism to a great extent. Likewise, they did not pull out
because of church organization. Therefore, they, to a large degree, retained the same
type of church organization as the American Baptists.

Group number two likewise pulled out because of the Bible, because of the liberalism in
the mainline Protestant denominations and not because of church organization or
formal worship.

Group number three withdrew from the Southern Baptist Convention not necessarily
because of the Bible. Thirty, forty and fifty years ago when group number three
withdrew from the Southern Baptist Convention, most Southern Baptists believed the
Bible to be the Word of God. We withdrew because we could not put up with the
worldliness, the formalism and the high church organization of the Southern Baptist
Convention. We pulled out because of differences on standards, pulpit leadership,
prophecy, worldliness and formalism!

This means that groups number one and two have more in common today with each
other than either does with group number three. Group number three is the old-
fashioned preaching crowd, the hellfire-and-brimstone group. Because of this, the action
in fundamentalism has been basically in group number three. The emphasis on soul
winning, evangelistic preaching, standards, separation from the world and informal
worship services have come largely from group number three. Group three would agree
with groups one and two on the Bible, but would not agree on type of worship,
standards, separation, etc.

Since one of the main things that separated groups one and two from group three is
evangelism and soul winning, most of our growing churches have come from group
number three, because, whatever errors the Southern Baptist Convention had, they, at
least, in years passed, preached the Gospel; they did not have the high church
organization; and they had, to some degree, evangelism and soul winning.

Though there are many admirable things about groups one and two, they, nevertheless,
have not had the emphasis on the old-time Gospel preaching, the old-time religion,
informal services and strong evangelism and soul winning as has group number three.
Again, this does not mean we should not love them or even like them, but it is far better
that group number three works within its own boundaries and circumference, loving and
appreciating groups one and two and thanking God for them, but basically training its
own preachers and doing its own work.

5. Group three built few schools in which to train their preachers. Because of that, we
sent our students to group number two to go to college and to be trained for the
ministry. They came back with a belief in the Bible, but with formalism, different music
on Sunday morning from that on Sunday night, error concerning the universal church
and with influence from group number two. Because of this, an interdenominational
influence has crept into our Baptist churches. We got the people saved, got them called
to preach, sent them to schools in group number two only to see them come back, in
many cases, to criticize our informality, our type of music and our soul winning and
evangelistic zeal! Group number three has helped to populate the schools of group
number two.

However, in the last few years, group number three has been building colleges. It is now
possible for group number three to train its own preachers, and while we should have a
high regard and a sincere love for those in groups one and two, we should,
nevertheless, train our own, thereby avoiding the influence of interdenominationalism,
formalism and oftentimes weak standards coming from the group one and two schools.

6. Group number three has failed to publish enough books and literature. I was in a
church recently pastored by a fundamental preacher. He has one of the fine churches in
America. I looked at his library. I picked out 15 books. To my surprise, 13 of his books
were written by group number two. Two of his books that I picked at random were
written by one man in group three, and I am that man. We have sent our preacher boys
to group one and two schools to be trained. They have come back and diluted our
Baptist heritage. They have come back mixed up on the doctrine of the church. They
have come back having been taught a certain form of church organization that we
believe not to be scriptural. They have been taught that churches should be operated by
committees, and in some cases, they have been taught to wear a gown while preaching
on Sunday morning.

Let me emphasize that I am certainly not angry, nor do I feel negative toward
fundamentalists in group one and fundamentalists in group two, but there are
philosophical differences that should cause each group to educate and train its own
preachers and likewise to write its own literature.

I came home from this church where the pastor had 13 of the 15 books that I picked
written by group two. I was shocked! So at random I picked 15 books from my library.
To my amazement, all 15 were written by group two! Consequently, I have encouraged
our group three brethren to write books and literature.

It's a natural thing that preachers in group three do not write. Most of us are busy
winning souls and building churches, so we have left the non-aggressive people to write
the books that train the aggressive people to be non-aggressive.
I'm suggesting that we coexist, but let each group stay within its own group as far as
training is concerned. Let us fellowship with each other, but not organize together! Let
us keep peace from a distance rather than up close.

Let me illustrate. One of the largest churches in America became pastorless. The
former pastor had served for over 40 years and had built one of the great soul-winning
churches in America. He was one of the founders of group three, having pulled out of
the Southern Baptist Convention and having led many others to do the same. The
church sought another pastor. They chose a pastor from group one. He was not a bad
man. He believed the Bible, but his beliefs about church organization, red-hot
evangelism, etc. were different from his predecessor, and the church was harmed
greatly because of his ministry. The church certainly should have had a warm feeling
toward this pastor, though he was a member of group one, but they would have been
very wise to have called a member of group three to be their pastor.

We must fill our next generation with independent, New Testament Baptist churches
that are informal in their services, evangelistic in their fervor, soul winning in their
practice, and independent in their spirit.

At this writing I am 66 years of age. I have pastored the same church for over a third of
a century. I realize that before many years I must step down. I constantly keep before
my people the importance, not only to call their next pastor from the ranks of a Bible-
believing group, but also from the ranks of a group that agrees with the First Baptist
Church on types of public services, the King James Bible, separation, standards, soul
winning, evangelism, the old-time religion and old fashioned preaching.

This church is a perfect example. First Baptist Church of Hammond thirty-five years ago
was a member of group one. It was a church that had been influenced by the American
Baptists and later by the Conservative Baptist Association. These were good people;
my predecessor was a fine man who believed the Bible, but he preached in tails and
striped pants. The church services were ultra formal. There were 22 committees. The
church was highly organized, far beyond the New Testament pattern. I was not their
type of preacher. They contacted me. I felt led to come, but bedlam broke loose. I was
group three; they were group one. Because they loved me and believed in me, the great
majority of the people went with me, though not totally understanding my position or
philosophies. Now through the years we have had a strong group three church, but it
took a war to make it so.

When I was a young man in Texas, we were proudly Baptists. We loved the
interdenominational people but did not run with them. We loved American Baptists but
did not run with them. We loved the General Association of Regular Baptists and the
Conservative Baptist Association, but did not run with them. We loved the fundamental
Methodists but did not run with them. We thanked God that they preached the Gospel,
but the doctrine of the local, New Testament church meant something to us back in
those days, and the doctrines of informality and separation and standards meant
something to us. We thanked God that they preached the Gospel and rejoiced at every
soul they won, but organizationally, we kept to ourselves.

7. This influence from groups one and two is basically and historically a Catholic
influence. In about 313 A.D. the Catholic church was started, basically by Constantine.
In the years following 1530, there was what we call the Reformation. The Protestants
came out of the Catholic church. These Protestants included what we now call
Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, etc. However, Baptists never came from
the Catholic church. Baptists came from Jesus Himself, Who founded Baptist churches,
or should I say He founded the first Baptist church!

Though the Reformation was led by some great men such as Calvin, Luther,
Savonarola and others, these great men were not a part of our Baptist crowd. In fact,
they persecuted our crowd. In some cases, our Baptist brethren were martyred, and in
some cases they were martyred by Protestants. I teach our Hyles-Anderson College
preacher boys to read the lives and biographies of the reformers but not to read the
sermons of the reformers. Find their work ethic; study their character; ready their
biographies, but not their doctrine. Read the doctrines of Baptist preachers!

As I understand Revelation 17 and 18, the Roman Catholic church is the mother of
harlots mentioned there. Now if you are a mother, you have to have children. So, the
Catholic church gave birth to some children. Who are they? The Protestants. Now with
the passing of the centuries, the Protestants had some babies. Who are they? The
interdenominationalists or what I called previously the Protestant Fundamentalists. Now
just as the Protestants pulled out from the mother on the doctrine of justification by faith,
they did not pull out from the mother in many other areas. They still favor their mother.

Now from these children of Catholicism were born other children. These are the
interdenominational churches, and though they certainly are to be admired because of
their stand and their withdrawal from protestantism as it became liberal, they,
nevertheless, still favor mama, and in some cases, they favor grandmother!

So today we have the Baptists who have been here since Jesus started the first Baptist
church. We have the Catholics, the mother of harlots; and we have the Protestants, her
children; and we have the interdenominationals, the children of the Protestants and the
grandchildren of Catholicism. So, as the interdenominational schools and literature have
influenced our Baptist churches concerning formalism, the doctrine of the church,
church organization, etc., so did the Protestant churches influence the
interdenominational churches, and likewise did the Catholic church influence the
protestant churches. So our formalism comes from the Catholics by way of the
Protestants and the interdenominationalists.

Again let me say that we should feel no animosity toward these our brethren in Christ,
and we should realize that we are brothers and sisters. We should love each other, but
as far as our church affiliation and church relationship is concerned, we should stay with
the churches patterned after the church that Jesus started.
There are members of Baptist churches who are at this very moment upset with me,
even as you read this chapter, and I'm not surprised. You have not been trained to be a
Baptist, and you are living proof of what I am teaching in this chapter.

We live in a nice neighborhood. We have good neighbors. We speak to our neighbors.

We are kind to our neighbors. We love our neighbors, but we don't eat with our
neighbors, live with our neighbors, or sleep in the same house with our neighbors. Does
that mean we don't love them? Of course, it doesn't. In no way am I suggesting that we
not love and thank God for other Christians who are members of groups one and two, or
for that matter, another denomination, but we should be proud that we are Baptists, just
like we are proud of our families.

8. Churches should start schools; schools should not start churches. The only institution
that has been promised divine perpetuity is the New Testament church. No school has
been made that promise, so if a school controls a church, there is no promise that that
school can have divine perpetuity. If the church controls the school, the school is under
the canopy of that promise. Christ is head of the church, not the school; so
consequently, if the church has a school, that school does not have to die. It may
choose to die, but it does not have to die. If a school starts on its own, it has to die. It
may live for a while and serve for a while, but it does not have the promise of divine
perpetuity.

Suppose a group of churches starts a school. Again, it is outside the promise. The local
church should start the school, not only so it may live but because it may stay stronger.
If ten churches start a school, the school will be just as strong as the weakest link. Now
I'm not criticizing the school if it lives for just a while, but it does not have the promise of
divine perpetuity.

9. A fundamentalist is one who believes in the faith and practice of the original purposes
and doctrines of an institution. To put it another way, a fundamentalist is one who
returns to the original faith and practice of any organization. You can have a
fundamentalist Mason, a man who is a Masonic lodge member who returns to the
original faith and practice of the Masonic lodge. You can have a fundamentalist member
of the Parent-Teacher Association. You have fundamentalists in Iran.

If you are a Catholic, you go back to Constantine in 313 A.D. If you follow the faith and
practice of the original intents of the Catholic church, you are a fundamentalist Catholic
and go back to 313. If you are a Lutheran, you can be a fundamentalist Lutheran and go
back to 1530 and the original intent of Martin Luther and the Lutheran church. If you are
an Episcopalian, you can go back to the original faith and practice of the Episcopalians
in 1531 and be a fundamentalist Episcopalian.

If you are a Presbyterian, you can go back to the original faith and practice of the
Presbyterians when they were founded in 1540 and be a fundamentalist Presbyterian. If
you are a Congregationalist, you can go back to the faith and practice of the
Congregationalists when they were founded in 1603 and be a fundamentalist
Congregationalist. If you are a Methodist, you can go back to the faith and practice of
the Methodist church as it was founded in 1765 and be a fundamentalist Methodist.

If you are a member of the Disciples of Christ denomination, you can go back to 1812 to
the original faith and practice of the Disciples of Christ denomination and be a
fundamentalist Disciple of Christ.

So, if you are a Disciple of Christ, you go back to 1812 to be a fundamentalist. If you are
a Methodist, you go back to 1765. If you are a Congregationalist, you go back to 1603.
If you are a Presbyterian, you go back to 1541. If you are an Episcopalian, you go back
to 1531. If you are a Lutheran, you go back to 1530. If you are a Catholic, you go back
to 313. I am a Baptist fundamentalist, so I go back to the faith and practice of Baptist
churches as founded by Jesus during His earthly ministry!

10. The perpetuity of Baptist churches does not follow the bloodline of Baptist
denominations; it follows the bloodline of fundamental Baptists. The perpetuity of Baptist
churches is not in the American Baptist Convention. It may have been at one time, but
when the denomination grew liberal, the fundamentalists could no longer endorse its
faith and practice, so the ones who left carried the bloodline of independent,
fundamental Baptist churches. To be quite frank, that means that the bloodline is in the
split and not in the main body that has deteriorated and often even died.

I am simply saying the hope for America is in independent, fundamental Baptist

churches that preach Heaven like it is, preach Hell like it is, fight sin, go soul winning,
and take a stand for what is right and against what is wrong. That is the hope!

When I was a young man in east Texas, I pastored the Grange Hall Baptist Church in
the country outside Marshall, Texas. Down the road from me was the Grange Hall
Methodist Church. The pastor of that church was a fine young man whose name was
Edmund Robb. Ed Robb was a fundamental Methodist, not a fundamentalist as I am, for
I am a fundamental Baptist who, as I see it, goes back to the time of Christ, but Ed
Robb was a good fundamental Methodist. He believed in salvation by grace. He did not
believe you could lose salvation. He had revival meetings. He believed in separation.
He and I were good buddies. We spent some time together. We fellowshipped together.
We prayed for each other. I liked him; he liked me, but he never preached for me, and I
never preached for him. Our church did our best to follow what we thought the Bible
taught; his church did the best to do what they thought the Bible taught. We loved each
other, we prayed for each other, but we did not organize together!

I am not asking group one to become a member of group three. I'm not asking group
two to become a member of group three. I am asking for us to love each other. I'm
asking for us to love all believers and, for that matter, love the souls of all men. I am
asking, and using all the influence I have, that each group train its own preachers, stick
with its own literature, maintain its own purity, train its own preachers, and study its own
literature, while loving others who disagree. Let's be loving toward all believers, but let's
be Baptists!
 Chapter Twelve

Lifestyle Evangelism -
An Enemy of Soul Winning
Acts 5:28, "Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this
name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this
man's blood upon us." Acts 5:42, "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Acts 20:20, "And how I kept back nothing
that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and
from house to house."

In the beginning, let me make it plain that I am for lifestyle evangelism, but I am
unalterably against ONLY lifestyle evangelism! There are those who have attacked
personal soul winning. They love to use such terms as "confrontational evangelism" as
they make light of and often even ridicule those who pass out tracts, witness from house
to house, preach on street corners, etc. These are enemies to the salvation of men, and
certainly, they are hindrances to the obeying of the Great Commission.

I have said before that I believe in lifestyle evangelism, if it is accompanied by what we

call confrontational evangelism; that is, personal soul winning. Matthew 5:16, "Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glonfy your Father
which is in heaven." It is plain that we are to live in such a way that people will want
what we have and that they may glorify God because of our good works. There are
examples of this in the Bible. The best was our Saviour Himself. John 3:1, 2, "There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to
Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from
God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
Nicodemus, an unsaved man, inquired of Jesus concerning his salvation, for he could
tell that He was a teacher come from God. How could he tell this? By the miracles that
Jesus did. In other words, we have an example of lifestyle evangelism. On the other
hand, our Saviour did not limit His soul winning to His life, but He also was a
confrontational soul winner, such as is found in the very next chapter of John, when in a
public place He won a woman to Himself.

I was in southern California preaching. The pastor was driving me to the morning
service. On the freeway, it was obvious that a lady in a car behind us was following us.
If we would change lanes, she would change lanes. She made no attempt to pass us
when we slowed down. We turned onto a busy street from the freeway; she turned on
that same street and stayed right behind us. We again turned onto a little neighborhood
street; she likewise turned and continued to follow us. Soon she motioned for us to stop.
The pastor did so, got out of the car, thinking that perhaps something was wrong with
our car. The lady wanted to talk to us about her relationship with God. The pastor asked
her how she knew that we could help her. She said, "I saw a Bible on the dash of your
car. I thought perhaps you could help me." The very placing of that Bible on the
dashboard of the car was lifestyle evangelism.

I was eating in a restaurant in Illinois recently. As I was paying my bill, the lady cashier
said, "You're a reverend, aren't you?"

I said, "Yes, ma'am. I'm a pastor. How did you know?"

She said, "I feel the Spirit."

On occasion people do notice our lives and seek us out. I was in Garland, Texas,
pastoring. One day I was driving north on Garland Road. I noticed a policeman following
me. I turned right onto Miller Road. As I traveled east, I noticed the policeman was still
following me. I turned left on Fifth Street. To my surprise and disappointment, that
policeman was still following me. I turned left on a little neighborhood street. If I
remember, it was a dead-end street. The policeman turned left. I finally decided once
and for all that I was going to find if he were really following me. I turned right up a little
alley; he turned right up a little alley! I stopped, got out of the car, wondering what I had
done to warrant such apprehension. He got out of his car and said, "I want to get right
with God; can you help me?" That man got right with God and today is pastoring a
Baptist church.

Many years ago when I was in college I worked at J. C. Penney Company. I worked
hard; in fact, I led the entire men's department in sales, though I was only a part-time
worker. I tried to be nice, honest and courteous. Soon I was called to pastor a little
church out in the country. Within a matter of a few weeks, the secretary in the office was
saved, her mother was saved, her father was saved, her sister was saved, her sister's
husband was saved, the assistant manager of the men's department was saved, his
wife was saved, a salesman in the men's department was saved, his wife was saved,
the manager of the shoe department was saved, his wife was saved, a lady who worked
in the hosiery department was saved, and her son was saved. If I remember correctly,
and I think I do, 16 people were saved who worked in that one store. I trust that my life
before them had something to do with it.

Therefore, I have no axes to grind with those who believe that we should live right and
make folks want what we have. The axe I do have to grind is that it is not the only way,
and that you can't have one without the other! If you don't love them enough to live it,
you won't love them enough to tell it. If you don't love them enough to tell it, you won't
love them enough to live it. If you live it, you can't help but tell it. Romans 10:11, "For
the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Acts 4:20, "For
we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." These verses tell us
that if we believe, we will not be ashamed, and that we cannot help but speak what God
has done for us.
Let us address the issue of lifestyle evangelism by answering the many errors
connected with this enemy of soul winning.

1. The error of saying we should witness only when the Holy Spirit leads. What is
meant by this is that the Holy Spirit will direct us in some mysterious kind of way to
know to whom we are to speak. The truth is the Holy Spirit does lead us, but not in the
way that the lifestyle evangelism folks would tell us. Notice Matthew 28:19, 20, "Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
This is a command for us to go soul winning, to witness to all nations. Notice Mark
16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature." Here we are told to preach the Gospel to every creature.

Now read John 6:63, "ft is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profit eth nothing: the
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Notice that the Word of
God is Spirit, so when God tells us to get the Gospel to every creature, this is the Holy
Spirit leading us. This lifestyle evangelism heresy that says God will give you special
direction when He wants you to speak a word for Him is foolishness. It is very close to
the fallacious "word of knowledge" that people claim to have. Brother, the "word of
knowledge" is the Word of God, and when God says something in His Word, this is the
Holy Spirit leading, because the Holy Spirit is the One Who gave us the Word.

Oh, yes, I believe that God opens doors for us. Just yesterday I walked into a gift shop
at the hotel where I was staying. There were several newspapers lined up in front of me.
I wanted to buy a paper and did not know which was the best, so I kindly asked the little
lady in the gift shop, "Which one of these papers is the one that has the good news in
it?"

She replied, "I haven't read it." Then she said, "I don't know any good news, do you?"

Well, praise the Lord, it so happened that I did know some good news, and it was not
long until I explained the plan of salvation to her and she prayed the sinner's prayer.

2. The error that "just the Bible is enough." These advocates tell us that the Bible is
all that is necessary, as they criticize those of us who practice personal soul winning,
obey the Great Commission, and, yes, even practice confrontational evangelism, as
they call it.

Look at Acts 8:30, 31, "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet
Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I,
except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and
sit with him." Notice especially the words, "except some man should guide me." The
Ethiopian was asked by Philip if he understood what he was reading. He replied that he
could not understand unless some man should guide him. The Word of God was not
enough. This man was reading the best part of the Bible that was available then to deal
with salvation. He was reading the clearest book of that Bible concerning salvation. He
was reading the clearest chapter of that book concerning salvation. He was reading the
clearest part of that chapter concerning salvation, and yet he needed somebody to
guide him.

Now read Psalm 126:6, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Notice the first
word is "he." Following that it says he should "go." Then it says we should weep and
bear precious seed. Notice what the enemy has done; he first takes off the "he." In other
words, "Let the Bible do its work." The deterioration starts when soul winning stops, so it
is not surprising that once we have taken away the "he," we have taken away the
"weepeth." When you stop your confrontational evangelism or soul winning, it will not be
long until the burden is gone. Now the next line is "bearing precious seed." They first
take away the "he," then take away the "weepeth," then they take away the "precious
seed." What is the precious seed? The King James Bible, of course. The New
International Version is not precious seed. The New Scofield Bible is not precious seed.
The New King James Bible is not precious seed. Good News for Modern Man is not
precious seed. The Reader's Digest Bible is not precious seed. The American Standard
Version is not precious seed. The Westcott and Hort manuscripts are not precious seed.
The precious seed is the King James Bible, preserved for us word-for-word, but, don't
be surprised when they give us seed that is not precious.

So, they first took away the "he," then they took away the "weepeth," then they took
away the "precious seed" and substituted for it seed that is not precious.

There are organizations that specialize in placing Bibles in public places. Certainly I am
not opposed to this, but it is not enough. The Bible itself will not do its work without a
soul winner. Oh, yes, there are people who have been saved in motel rooms just
reading the Bible, but somewhere back yonder there was a human instrument who
planted the seed. As I travel across the country, I find in some places and in some motel
rooms the Precious Seed. Then there are times I find seed that is not precious, but, it is
not surprising. When you take away the sower, you will eventually substitute for the
precious seed.

3. The error of those who say, "If you live right, people will initiate the
conversation." How foolish! Look at John 4:7, "There cometh a woman of Samaria to
draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." Here is the dialogue between Jesus
and the fallen woman at Sychar's well. Notice that Jesus initiated the conversation in
verse 7 when He said, "Give me to drink."

Now look at Luke 19:5, "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw
him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide
at thy house." Here is the story of the conversion of Zaccheus when Jesus won
Zacckeus to Himself. In verse 5 the first words that were spoken were spoken by Jesus.
"Zaccheus, make haste, and come down." Jesus initiated the conversation. He was the
soul winner and started the dialogue.
Now notice John 5:6, "When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long
time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?" The Saviour was at the
pool of Bethesda. He was going to heal a man and win him to Himself. Notice who
initiated the conversation. In verse 6 Jesus said, "Wilt thou be made whole?"

Now look at Acts 8:30, "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet
Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" Here we have the story of
Philip, the soul winner, winning the Ethiopian eunuch to Jesus. Notice who initiated the
conversation. In verse 30 the soul winner, Philip, asked, "Understandest thou what thou
readest?"

Notice Acts 16:28, "But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we
are all here." The jailor was about to be saved. Notice, the soul winner spoke first. The
Apostle Paul initiated the conversation by saying, "Do thyself no harm."

As mentioned before, there are isolated instances when the conversation is initiated by
the sinner, but for every one case like that, there are thousands where the conversation
is initiated by the soul winner.

I was in the Dallas airport. It was near midnight. I was catching a late-night flight to
Chicago. I went to the gift shop to buy a newspaper. The gift shop was just closing. One
of the clerks was a young lady speaking to another clerk. She said, "I'm so tired I could
just die." She did not know I was there. I was bent over picking up a newspaper. I said,
"Then what?"

She said, "What are you talking about?"

I said, "Then what?"

She said, "What do you mean?"

I said, "You just said you were so tired you could die. I asked you, 'Then what?"' In a
few moments she was saved.

I was in the Charlotte, North Carolina, airport. I stopped to buy a newspaper at a little
newsstand that was in the hallway. I was singing and whistling. The lady selling me the
newspaper said, "You sound like you are happy."

I said, "You never sold a newspaper to a happier man than the one you're talking with
now."

She said, "You must have a good boss."

I said, "The best!"

She said, "Who is your boss?"

Well, praise God, in a few moments, my Boss was her Boss!

I was walking down the concourse toward my gate to catch a plane at O'Hare Field in
Chicago. A man almost bumped into me coming the opposite direction. Suddenly he
said, "Oh, my lord."

Instinctively I said, "You must know Him, too."

He said, "Who?"

I said, "You just talked about my Lord." He had forgotten something on the airplane. I
walked with him to the gate and led him to Christ.

I have been winning souls for many, many years. I could count on the fingers of my
hands the numbers of times that people have initiated the conversation, but thousands
and thousands of times I have initiated the conversation.

4. The error that says soul winning is just for the preacher in the pulpit. They love
to use Mark 16:15, "And he

said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." The
word "preach" simply means "evangelize," and what they should do is read the entire
verse where it says every creature," which means that most of the people who are
saved are won to Christ by individual, personal soul winning. It is with the tongue that
people are saved as the soul winner tells them the story of Christ.

Matthew 28:19, 20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world. Amen." The word "teach" implies that it is the use of the tongue.

Notice again Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature." You have the word "preach" which necessitates the use
of the tongue.

Luke 24:47, 48, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things."
You have the word "preached" and the word "witnesses." Both these require the use of
the tongue.

Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth." You have the word "witnesses," which again
means the use of the tongue.
We are supposed to tell people how to be saved. It is not enough to live a sweet,
Christian life and expect people to flock to us asking for what we have.

Apply the same thing to other truths. Suppose the average pastor taught tithing by
lifestyle tithing. In other words, he says nothing about tithing, preaches nothing about
tithing, teaches nothing about tithing, but gets in front of his people with a collection
plate and drops his tithe into the collection plate, hoping that someone will get the idea
and follow suit. Of course, this is absurd.

Try the same thing about separation. Suppose a preacher does not preach against the
Hollywood movies. He just goes to a movie house and stands outside. As people see
him not going in, they will not go in. This also is absurd. It is foolishness. We are
supposed to speak the things we have seen and heard.

Something wonderful has happened in our generation. The New Testament church in
the book of Acts was a soul-winning church. Through the years we transferred the soul
winning to evangelism, and for these many centuries, there has been an emphasis on
the evangelistic church.

Now what is the difference between the soul-winning church and the evangelistic
church? In the evangelistic church, the pastor stands behind the pulpit and preaches the
Gospel to the unsaved people whom the folks have brought to church. In the soul-
winning church, the people leave the church and go out into the highways and hedges,
win them to Christ, bring them to church to walk the aisle and make public their
profession of salvation. In our generation, we have seen the better churches turn from
evangelistic churches to soul-winning churches. This enables people to be saved more
than one day a week - every day of the week! It enables hundreds of people to preach
the Gospel, rather than just one man on Sunday. It also enables the man of God to
preach to the Christian people on the Lord's Day, realizing that they will be going into
the highways and hedges and bringing folks to Christ.

5. The error of saying, "Just be Christlike." Yes, we are to be Christlike. I John 4:17,
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
because as he is, so are we in this world." Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus." John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and gre ater works than these
shall he do; because Igo unto my Father." Psalm 1 7:15, "As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."

However, one cannot be totally Christlike unless he is a soul winner. Jesus was a soul
winner. Oh, yes, He did some wonderful works. John 21:25, "And there are also many
other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose
that even the worid itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."
However, He did more than just wonderful works. He also spoke the message. He
sought sinners. He did not wait for them to seek Him out; He sought them out.
Notice Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was
lost." He came not only to save the lost; He came to seek the lost. He sought them out
and won them to Himself.

Let's read I Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" He came into the
world to save sinners. If we are like Him, we will have to do more than just be sweet,
kind and forgiving, though those things are a part also. We will likewise have to speak
the words of salvation.

Let's read again John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto my Father." It does not say here that we should just live the life that He lived, love
as He loved, though the Bible does say that. It does not say here that we are to forgive
as He forgave, though the Bible does say that. It says we are supposed to do the works
that He did.

What works did He do? He came to seek and to save that which was lost, so we cannot
be completely Christlike until we do likewise.

Notice in this passage who it is that is supposed to do the works that He did. "He that
believeth on me," said the Saviour. That means that every single believer is supposed
to be a soul winner.

6. The error that says we should not win souls in public places and from house to
house. We are to win souls in public places and from house to house! Acts 20:20, "And
how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have
taught you publickly, and from house to house." Then the street preacher is right! The
person who goes from house to house knocking on doors is right! The one who passes
out tracts in public is right! The one who practices confrontational soul winning is right!

Notice Acts 5:42 "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach
and preach Jesus Christ." There are those who teach that this means we are supposed
to preach salvation in the pulpit and then go to every house and preach salvation. Now I
have no problem with that, though when he is talking about the temple there, he is not
talking about a place where they went for preaching. The temple was a place that was
used several times a year, and was a place of activity, a public place, if you please.
These people were simply doing the same thing that the people were doing in Acts
20:20 - they were witnessing in public places and also in the homes.

7. The error that we should not persuade people to be saved. One verse will take
care of this heresy: II Corinthians 5:11, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we
persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest
in your consciences. ' The word "persuade" means "to prevail upon." We are supposed
to prevail upon people to be saved.
Now turn to Luke 14:16-24, "Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great
supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were
bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to
make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must
needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five
yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I
have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed
his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go
out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the
maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast
commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I
say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."

First, notice where we are to go. Verse 21 says we are to go to the streets and the
lanes. It says to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind. In verse 23 we are
to go to the highways and hedges.

Then notice that we are to compel them to come in. The word for "compel" is a very
strong word which means, "to constrain by threat, force or persuasion." At the least it
means we are to plead with men to come to Christ.

Yes, we are to be a testimony through the way we live, but that is not enough, and I
believe it is impossible to do only that. As was said before, if you don't love them
enough to live it, you won't love them enough to tell it; and if you don't love them enough
to tell it, you won't love them enough to live it; and if you live it, you can't help but tell it!

8. The error of those who call personal soul winning "easy-believism." Those who
are too lazy, too indifferent or too embarrassed to go into the streets and tell about
Christ and to go from house to house knocking on doors telling about Christ have
coined a wicked term and attributed it to those who are soul winners. This term is "easy-
believism." (I always wonder what "hard-believism" is!) These are often legalists who
add things to belief and faith for salvation. Often they are people who disobey the
command to baptize Christians as soon as they are saved.

When I came to Hammond in 1959, here at the First Baptist Church before a person
could be baptized, he had to appear before a committee. The committee met at 6:00 on
a Sunday night, right before the evening service. At this meeting they questioned all the
converts who wanted to come into the church. Each convert had to give his testimony
(in other words, he had to be a public speaker) so the committee could decide whether
or not he was saved and ready for baptism. (Be reminded that on Pentecost they were
saved and baptized at the same time. The eunuch in Acts 8 was saved and baptized at
the same time. Over and over again in the Bible, baptism immediately followed
salvation!)
The first month that I was pastor of the church, I did nothing to change this. Then it
came time for the monthly meeting. (We had 92 people that month who wanted to join
the church because they had been saved!) The committee met in my office, and in
poured 92 people! (Twenty people could fill my office.) The converts were lined up
outside the door, down the hallway and even out onto the sidewalk. The chairman of the
committee rushed up to me and said, "We won't have time to do this! What can we do?"
I said, "The best thing to do is obey the command of God and follow the plan of the New
Testament church and baptize them when they are saved!" That is exactly what we did
from that time on.

You see, this kind of a lackadaisical, half-hearted attempt to get people saved along
with this committee system just will not work when God's people are obeying the Great
Commission and going everywhere preaching the Gospel!

I was in Jamaica preaching. We had a question-answer session. A Jamaican stood up,

and with perfect diction and ministerial deliverance, he asked me about my plan
concerning baptizing converts. I knew what he was hoping to hear, so I gave him what
he wanted to hear. I said, "My plan is that when a person gets saved, we wait for about
6 months, check him out, have him approved before a committee, and then once we
feel he is sincere, we will baptize him."

Oh, the Jamaican liked that! He smiled and said, "That's exactly my plan."

Then I said, "But since my plan and God's plan differ, I decided to use God's plan
instead of mine, so we baptize them as soon as they profess faith in Christ."

To be quite frank, I do not know what "easy-believism" means, but I do believe in

"believism." Look at some of the Bible conversions; for example, the conversion of the
Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts 8:36, the eunuch asked, "What doth hinder me to be
baptized?" In verse 37, Philip said, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest."
Later on in verse 37, the eunuch said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." In
verse 38 he was baptized. This, my friend, is believism-the only way a person can be
saved.

Now notice the conversion of the Philippian jailor in Acts

16. In verse 30, the question is plainly asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" In
verse 31, it is answered plainly, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved, and thy house." This, my friend, is believism.

Now read Acts 4:4 where 5,000 men were saved by believing. "Howbeit many of them
which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand."
This, my friend, is believism.

Look down to Acts 4:32, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and
of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was
his own; but they had all things common." Notice that those who were saved were those
who believed. This, my friend, is believism.

Now noticeActs 8:13, "Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized,
he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were
done." Simon believed and was baptized. This, my friend, is believism.

Now turn to Acts 10:45, "And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished,
as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift
of the Holy Ghost." These Jews believed and were saved. This, my friend, is believism.

Now readActs 11:17, "Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us,
who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was, I that I could withstand God?" Notice
the words, "who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ." This, my friend, is believism.

Now turn to Acts 11:21, "And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number
believed, and turned unto the Lord." It says a great number believed and turned to the
Lord. This, my friend, is believism.

Now read Acts 18:8, "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the
Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were
baptized." Crispus was saved by believing, and many of the Corinthians were saved by
believing, and they were immediately baptized. This, my friend, is believism.

Now turn to the following passages in John 3. John 3:15, "That whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16, "For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish,
but have everlasting life." John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him." All of these, my friend, are believism.

The word "believe" is the Greek word which means "to depend upon" or "to roll up on." It
means faith. What it means is trust. As this chapter is being dictated, I am on a 737 jet,
flying to Chicago; in fact, we are close to making our approach at this time. I am totally
relying on this airplane to get me to Chicago. That is believism. I believe it will get me
there, and I am trusting it to do so. I am sitting in a seat on that airplane. All of my
weight is now on this seat. I have just lifted my feet from the floor. I am trusting this seat
to hold me up. When a person realizes he is a sinner, realizes he is lost, realizes Jesus
has paid the price for his sins and was raised from the dead after three days and three
nights, and relies upon that Saviour because of what He did to save him, he is saved!
That, my friend, is believism.

It is sad to say that you will find these enemies of soul winning (confrontational
evangelism) in every fundamental movement on earth, but there are several things that
are normally associated with them - formal worship services, a church controlled by
committees, an enslaved pulpit, etc. There is more to it than a fervent soul winner
criticizing fervent soul winners; it is a group of what I call "white gloves" Christians who
don't want to get soiled by old-fashioned personal soul winning, building bus routes, etc.

Dr. John R. Rice used to say, "Everybody wants to be in the army of the Lord, but
everybody wants to be in the quartermaster corps; nobody wants to be in the infantry."

These enemies of soul winning love to cast reflection upon those who are obeying the
Great Commission, and they have many little cliches to try to put us in a bad light. It
seems to me that if they were going to fight someone, they would fight the liberals. The
truth of the matter is, these pacifist Christians seem to hate fundamental soul winners
far more than they hate the liberals, but, thank God, there are hundreds and hundreds
of great soul-winning churches in America who are obeying God's command to take the
Gospel to every creature - the halt, the maimed, the blind - to the highways, the hedges,
streets and the lanes of the city, etc. May their tribe increase, and may they not be
thwarted or hindered by those who like to coin phrases to be used as a shield for their
indifference.