“Pastor, I noticed that some of the souls I won to Christ have gone back to the world. What could have gone wrong?”
You probably expect me to say that some people are not destined for salvation; unfortunately, that’s not what the bible says. According to Romans 10:13, anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Emphasis on the word, “Anyone”.
Having said that, I think it’s time we realized that saving a soul is quite different from winning a soul. Ofcourse saving a soul starts the process of winning a soul, but while saving a soul only requires that a person confesses Jesus as Lord and Saviour, winning a soul requires a process of transformation from the old ways of that individual to the new ways of Christ. Let me show you a few scriptures that would help you understand.
SCRIPTURE 1:
2 Corinthians 5:
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
So once a person receives Jesus as Lord and Saviour, he ceases from being the old man. He becomes a new creature, a hybrid man. Which literally mean a man that has divine potentials.
Although the new man has great divine potentials, but he’s probably never going to walk in them except he engages in a process of transformation. The new man should be able to do everything Christ could do, but those potentials would not be unlocked until he subscribes to transformation.
Now you’d understand Romans 12:2. It says, “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”. The hybrid man isn’t expected to approach life the same way he did while he was an ordinary man, he has to follow the principles of the new nature.
At the point of salvation, a new believer probably only knows how to call the name of Jesus. There’s so much more he needs to be taught about his new nature so that he would no longer conform to this world. If he’s not taught, he won’t know, and that means he’d continue to engage the old way. And that’s a bad thing because you can’t pour new wine in a old wine skin, it will destroy both the wine and the wine skin.
SCRIPTURE 2:
Galatians 4:
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you
20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
Apostle Paul gives a clear example of how souls are won here. He continuous to travail until Christ is formed in them. He knew that just because Christ has entered them doesn’t mean Christ is formed in them. He even made his doubts clear in verse 20. He continued praying for them and sending them letters, until Christ is formed in them.
That’s what you should do with those souls that you saved. Schedule bible study and prayer meetings with them. Send them to a bible school if necessary. And during your prayer time, never cease to pray for their establishment in the faith and in church. You have to continue doing that until you’re convinced that Christ has been formed in them.
SCRIPTURE 3:
Colossians 4:
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.
Notice how Apostle Paul testifies of Epaphras. He didn’t say Epaphras continues to go out for evangelism, rather he’s always laboring in prayer so that those who are already saved will stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
SCRIPTURE 4:
Acts 15:
36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.
After you saved those souls, did you ever go back to their houses to know how they were doing? It was Jacob who said “I and the children the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders”. Every soul you save becomes your child in the realm of the spirit, it’s therefore your assignment to nurture and checkup on them till they become signs and wonders in this world.
As I conclude, souls get saved everyday, but because less attention is paid to the transformation process, not many of them are truly won out of the kingdom of darkness. So, the next time you head out for evangelism or “soul saving”, ensure you don’t leave those saved souls until they’ve been won to Christ. It’s possible to be saved yet not be won. And the danger of not being won is that a saved soul can easily go back to the world. Once saved is not always saved.
I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.
Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!
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