Soulwinning vs Proselytizing

[Curtis]

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

Winning souls to Christ is by two ways:

Living for Christ blamelessly and harmlessly, and having the ready answer for when any should ask you why: Jesus.

Being ready to help a sinner in time of need, to be delivered from their sins, and help restore one that is fallen that desires to repent.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Proselytizing is the secretive art of hypocrisy: putting on a show of friendship, neighborliness, and care for a person, with the sole purpose of trying to get them converted to your way of thinking.

There is nothing genuine about it, and it is only for hope of 'reward'.

The former is a winning life with a helpful hand in time of the need.

The other is a mechanism of recruitment for profit.

The wolves in sheep's clothing are the proselytizers who come with a smile on the face and a dagger in the heart:

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

One can always tell the spirit of a hypocrite. There is always a greasiness to their 'winning' ways. They just ooze care for you out their pores.

Honest and sincere people don't try to hide their true agenda for affecting you to themselves:

Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your for by faith ye stand.

And going door to door to convert people to watch tower false doctrines is not proselytizing, eh?

 

[robert derrick]

I Cor 3 is all about good ministry vs bad ministry:

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

It includes the warning about false ministry, even unto destruction of the soul that ministers sins and trespasses to the hearers: becoming a proselytizer to their own ministry, rather than a winner of souls to Christ.

It begins with divisions caused by ministry:

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

It continues with the ministry of Christ begun with the apostles to lay the foundation of Scripture for the doctrine of Christ, also called the apostles' doctrine:

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.

Every following minister is warned to minister from that foundation of Scriptures, in order to build up the saints, and not to do harm them harm instead:

But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Any man laying another foundation is preaching another accursed gospel, that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Any ministering of the saints that men do will be judged by fire before the judgment seat of Christ.

Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Since that judgement of ministry is at the appearing of the Lord, then the reward of ministry is after the first resurrection of the church: only those who minister from the foundation of Christ will have reward, all false ministering will be burned.

If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Errors in ministry will be rebuked and burned in front of the minister at the judgment seat; however, we are all warmed that we are ministering to the temple of the God, His church, so that if any man minister wickedly and lead believers into sins and trespasses, then that minister of sin has defiled the temple of God and will be destroyed along with any foolishly following him to death:

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

This is any corrupted minister, false teacher and leader, hireling rather than shepherd, wolf rather than sheep himself, who sits in the church as a head and lord over God's heritage, rather than as a pastor after God's own heart.

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

These are antichrists going into the world from the beginning of the church, who went out from the apostles' doctrine to teach their own doctrine to the believers, and are moved by the spirit of antichrist to destroy the work of God, rather than being moved by the Spirit of Christ to build up His church unto everlasting life.

Such false ministers rise up above the saints in their own high mindedness, to dominate the faith, rather than help their joy, and so rule them with a rod of iron for his own power and profit from them.

They teach loyalty to their own ministry rather than faithfulness to Jesus Christ only, so that the end of their ministry is destruction: In the end they teach leaving their ministry is leaving God, and the loyal spouses are free to depart from them that have left, and to remarry others remaining loyal: Unlawful desertion and adulterous remarriage.

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

The warning is clear: Do not minister our own rule for doctrine of Christ.

Confidence in ministry is easy: Only minister what is written, and leave the interpreting and doing of the word to each believer by his own faith.

Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your for by faith ye stand.

 

[robert derrick]

Here is how subtly we can fall into condemnation of false ministry, to proselytize others to our faith, rather than to lead others to the faith of Jesus:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

When we hear the word being preached for doctrine of Christ, we are to believe on the One sending the minister, not the ministers themselves.

When the one ministering preaches their onw rule not exactly written in the Scriptures of the apostles, then they are preaching their own word for that of Christ.

If any hear and believe it as the rule of Christ, that we are all to walk in by faith, then they are believing and obeying the minister as Christ Himself: we are receiving the minister's own word for Word of God, and so following the minister as head of the church, instead of Jesus.

Ex: Scripture says plainly that all things are clean of themselves and to be recieved with thanksgiving. Those who teach against meats are teaching their own rule of faith, and not that of Christ.

They are proselytizers to their own faith, not ministers of the truth leading souls to Christ.

They are drawing obedient servants to themselves, rather than winning obedient servants of Christ:

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

 

[robert derrick]

I see that Babylon is already built. Men have built a huge structure of doctrines to try to reach God. All that really remains is for the man of lawlessness to seize Babylon and refuse to allow anyone to buy and sell men, souls, unless they take the mark of allegiance. There will be such a famine of the word…

Sounds good. Here are some examples to prove you right:

I see that Babylon is already built.

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. They went out from us, but they were not of us.

Since the beginning of ministry of Christ, many have been going out to minister for themselves and depart from the apostles' doctrine of Christ, to carve out their own followers in the name of Christ.

Antichrist proselytizers not faithful ministers of Christ, but are the harlots of Mother Babylon the Great.

Men have built a huge structure of doctrines to try to reach God.

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.

And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

The only builder of the churches of God is Jesus Christ Himself, all other 'builders of churches' are false ministers going about to build their own churches to themselves, rather than to build up the churches by the Word of God written in Scripture.

Their are the churches of God that Paul spoke of, and there are the many churches of men, which 'huge structure' you speak of.

All that really remains is for the man of lawlessness to seize Babylon.

He is lawless, because his laws and commandments are of men, not of God in Scripture.

That would be one ministerial and organizational head, unifying and organizing all such churches built of men, into one Great Organization for himself to rule as Pastor the Great over of all churches built of men on earth:

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

This is in context of preaching the Lord's 'imminent' return: End times ministry.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

He will trouble, shake, and stir all believers to be in his World Organization as the 'true' One Church of God: Believers will be taught that only the members of his Great Organization will be blessed to have part in the first resurrection at the Lord's appearing.

Any not faithful to his ministry will be judged and condemned as heretics and apostates: those falling away from the 'true' church of God.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

His ministry will be declared as the promised last great 'world revival', with many signs and wonders to deceive them that walk by sight and not by faith. They will all sing one tune and speak with one voice that would do Nimrod proud:

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.

And refuse to allow anyone to buy and sell men, souls, unless they take the mark of allegiance.

Refusing to allow any to teach and preach openly to the people without proper ministerial license of 'God's Organization' on earth, which organization is in the merchandizing 'people business' of man, not the loving people business of the Father.

There will be such a famine of the word…

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

The famine in the organization will be ministry of the Scriptures only, sola Scriptura, without being handled deceitfully by man.

But there will be an abundance of ministry of Christ among them that obey God only and not man, who depart from Babylonish ministry to the wilderness apart from the more organized and established churches of man:

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Many ministries have already been plagued from the beginning, with infighting, politicking, and contention for success, beginning with Diotrephes the Great Pastor of his own church, being built and dominated by himself, refusing even the apostles to speak to them of Christ:

I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Nothing angers with wrath the minister of the dragon in the churches, than when some great and grand potentate among the sheep has his great and powerful ministry 'questioned' with Scripture pertaining to doctrine of Christ: all such are marked as causers of division and cast out as rebellious heathen.

But the final plagues at His appearing upon the earth will be even as written physically as preparation for landing on earth to rule:

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The LORD of LORDS preparatory bombardment just prior to the Lamb's ground assault on Jesus Day:

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?