September, 1938
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
288
God's remedy for every soul is found in His Word. The Holy Spirit Himself enables the soul-winner to find the exact "medicine” for each heart need.
You Be the Doctor By WALTER LEWIS W ILSON , M.D. Kansas City, Missouri Illustrations by Ransom D. M arvin
and inconsistencies in the Bible, you might ask him whether the presence of these is keeping him from becoming a Christian and is preventing him from receiving the for giveness of sins that is available in the Lord Jesus. Ask him whether he would like very much to be saved and to be for given. Inquire whether his desire for for giveness is unfulfilled because he is hindered by these errors in that which is supposed to be a perfect Book. All too frequently he soon will tell you that he is not interested in forgiveness at all. He does not w ait to come to Jesus Christ. If this is the case, then you may say to him, “Since you don’t want to know the Lord at all, it will be of little importance whether the Bible contra dicts itself or does not, and whether the Bible is true or false.” W hy bother to explain apparent incon sistencies to one who has no sincere heart interest in the statements of that precious Book? Hard though it is, you must learn to turn away from some people and leave them in their darkness and unbelief. You are God's messenger to do whatever He wishes to have done. Sometimes you are to carry a message of pardon, and some times you will carry a message of condem nation. Remember that it is not your busi ness to win souls, but to deliver God’s mes sage. Usually it will be a message of de liverance and of comfort and of peace. Only occasionally is it a message of judg ment. It is best always to ascertain whether the friend has a hungry heart and a desire for something that he does not have. If the hunger is there, your part will be more or less easy. If there is no hunger, you will have a difficult time in your dealing with this party. The gospel may be presented in many ways. Sometimes it is the thought of for giveness that is needed, but at other times the thought of eternal life. Again, certain persons seem to need emphasis upon the truth of the new birth, while still others will need a message about the righteousness of God in His dealings with men. Some will say to you, “I cannot under stand the Bible at all; and I cannot get in terested in Christian things. I am alert to other opportunities, but Christianity does not appeal to me.” Your answer to this friend will be that he needs the gift of a new life as expressed in John 3:16: “For
in the life as you may have would be at home in God’s presence?” or, “Do you think that God would be righteous in shutting you out of
heaven and sending you away to be pun ished?” Putting the truth in question form oftentimes makes it more palatable than it is in the didactic form. There are cases, of course, in which you must speak out bluntly, plainly, and with out reserve, as Paul, "filled with the Holy Ghost,” did to Elytnas the sorcerer in Acts 13:9, 10. These instances are rare, how ever, and are not the rule. You will win more souls by kindness than you will by rough, stem, solemn assertions. It is not wise to present a hard, unyielding, didactic attitude toward those whose hearts you are seeking to win. You are to be as a lover of their souls and not a hard, dry teacher of their minds. O f course, teaching is neces sary, and we are to “teach all nations,” but this teaching is to be given in such a man ner as the mother teaches the baby to walk or teaches the wee daughter to use the spoon at the table. It is to be a kind as well as thorough teaching. Meeting the Real, Need Just what remedy you are to give will be determined by what you have learned in your diagnosis. If the principal question in the mind of your friend is the inspiration of the Bible, then you should be prepared to answer that question logically and sen sibly. There are plenty of unanswerable proofs of the divine inspiration of the Bible, and you should know them, else you are not prepared to handle the case. Give very simple reasons. The more simple you make them, the more easily your friend will grasp them. It may be well to ask him, “W ill you kneel as a suppliant for mercy at the feet of the Lord Jesus and let Him become the Lord of your life and the Saviour of your soul if I prove to you that the Bible is really true and is really God’s Word?” This question will turn the mind of your friend away from the mere fact of the in spiration of the Bible and to the application of that fact to the heart. That is really what you want. I have found this approach to be most effective in winning some who apparently were hard and bitter and hostile. If you find that the mind of your friend is occupied with apparent contradictions
PART II P resenting the S pecific R emedy [In the June issue o f T he K ing ’ s B usi ness . Dr. W ilson, under the caption o f “M aking the D iagnosis," suggested lines o f approach and questioning whereby the soul-winner m ay discover in general his hearer’s heart need, in order that the right portions o f the W ord o f G od may be used to win that heart for the L ord Jesus Christ. This present installment in a series o f three articles continues the figure o f the physi cian and his m ode o f work. T he K ing ' s B usiness readers o f Dr. W ilso n s articles will be glad to learn further from this expe rienced soul-winner the m ethods which G od has blessed in the salvation o f scores o f men and women. In a latter issue, still an other m essage will deal with the manner in which God's rem edy—salvation in Christ — can be presented to those who are unwill ing to ackn ow ledge their need .— E ditor .] W E SHOULD be very wise in our manner of presenting the gospel to those whom we would seek to win for our blessed Lord. The doctor gives sweet medicines to a child, although the same medicine given to the parent might be bitter. The parent knows how to take bit ter drugs, while the child is occupied only with the taste of the dose. Various kinds of syrups are used as the vehicle to carry the quinine or the quassia or other bitter remedies which the child may need. Some times the tablet or the pill is placed in a preserved strawberry or is covered up with jelly or jam in order to make it go down easily. The conscientious doctor makes no compromise regarding the rem edy itself, but he seeks to offer it in such a way that the patient will accept it. Let us be wise and do the same thing as we present truths which may not be at all pleasant. Instead of saying to the friend, whom you would win to the Saviour, “You are a terrible sinner and are going straight to hell,” you will find that the truth will be more easily received if you should say, "Do you think that one with as many sins
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