Part three in a series on evangelism.
In Hungry for Souls, I shared the story of Edward Studd — his conversion and resulting passion to see souls saved. Now, I’m excited to share the story of how three of his sons came to Christ.
Mr. Studd’s three oldest boys were away at college, when he was converted. When he invited them to meet him in town for the day, “they thought he was going to take them to a theatre or some other show. They got a shock when they discovered it was, “God Talk!” He took them to hear D.L. Moody.
“Before that time,” C.T. Studd said later, “I used to think religion was a Sunday thing, like one’s Sunday clothes, to be put away on Monday morning. We boys were brought up to go to church regularly, but, although we had a kind of religion, it didn’t amount to much. It was just like having a toothache. We were always sorry to have Sunday come and glad when it was Monday morning. The Sabbath was the dullest day of the whole week, just because we had got hold of the wrong end of religion. Then all at once I had the good fortune to meet a real, live, play-the-game Christian. It was my own father. But it did make one’s hair stand on end. Everyone in the house had a dog’s life of it until they were converted. I was not altogether pleased with him. He used to come into my room at night and ask if I was converted. After a time, I used to sham sleep when I saw the door open, and in the day, I crept round the other side of the house when I saw him coming.”
C.T. Studd had no interest in the gospel message. Despite his father’s dogged pursuit of his soul, he simply didn’t care to have any more “religion”. He was safe, in his own opinion, and couldn’t be persuaded to consider the danger that still threatened – or so it seemed. In the two-year period between Edward Studd’s own conversion and his untimely death, all of his three, oldest sons discovered for themselves what it meant to be born again. Mr. Studd had sowed seeds in their hearts, but it was not he who reaped that harvest.
The “Milksop” Preacher
Every weekend, Mr. Studd invited men down to his house to preach the gospel. He went through the countryside himself, inviting people to attend the meeting and crowds poured in.
On one particular weekend, when all three of his sons were home, two preachers were staying at the house. One they liked quite well, the other they deemed a “milksop” and the three determined to be rather rotten to him. On a sunny afternoon, they took this preacher, Mr.W, riding. It was plain to see that he didn’t have a very sure seat and so they seized the opportunity, agreeing to make the ride as miserable as possible for the poor man.
The next afternoon, Mr.W got them back – in a way. Charles Studd recounted the event as follows:
“As I was going out to play cricket, he (Mr.W) caught me unawares and asked,
“Are you a Christian?”
“I am not what you call a Christian.” I said. “I have believed on Jesus Christ since I was knee high. Of course, I believe in the Church too.”
I thought, by answering him pretty close, I would get rid of him; but he stuck as tight as wax and said, “Look here, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” You believe Jesus Christ died?”
“Yes.”
“You believe He died for you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe the other half of the verse – “shall have everlasting life?””
“No,” I said “I don’t believe that.”
“Now don’t you see that your statement contradicts God? Either God or you is not speaking truth, for you contradict one another. Which is it? Do you think that God is a liar?”
“No.”
“Well, then, aren’t you inconsistent, believing one half of the verse and not the other half?”
“I suppose I am.”
“Well, are you always going to be inconsistent?”
“No,” I said, “I suppose not always.”
“Will you be consistent now?” I saw I was cornered and I began thinking, if I go out of this room inconsistent I wont carry very much self – respect. So, I said,
“Yes, I will be consistent.”
“Well, don’t you see that eternal life is a gift? When someone gives you a present at Christmas, what do you do?”
“I take it and say “thank you.””
“Will you thank God for this gift?” Then I got down on my knees and I did say “thank you” to God. Right then and there, joy and peace came into my soul. I knew then what it was to be “born again” and the Bible, which had been so dry to me before, became everything.”
It was not until the boys got back to college that they realized Mr.W had brought, not just one, but all three of them to the Lord in a single afternoon! The man, though not a very skilled rider, proved excellent at the task of winning souls.
Could The Same Be Said Of Us?
As Christians, we all share in this calling. Christ’s commission to “Go therefore and make disciples of all men” (Matthew xxviii.19, NKJV) was to you and I as well as Mr.W. Yet many of us feel unequipped to carry out this task; unskilled in the art of saving souls.
The good news is we are not required to save souls – that is the work of our Lord Himself. We are required, however, to preach this gospel, in action and in word. Thankfully the ability to do this job well is not reserved for those with a gift for preaching. 2 Peter i.3 tells us God’s “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” (NKJV)
We can safely assume, therefore, that He has provided all that is necessary to do the work He asks of us.
Paul’s Two Requests
In letters, Paul asked the believers of the early church to pray for him as he preached the gospel. He wanted them to pray God would open a door for the word and give him the right words that he might declare the gospel boldly and with clarity.
“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians iv. 4)
“and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians vi. 19 – 20)
Mr.W and even the apostle Paul needed God to equip them to share this message. Paul’s two prayers were answered and ours can be as well!
Although there are many things to be learned about the effectual deliverance of the gospel, there are two things in particular that characterized the words of these men: They spoke with clarity and they spoke with boldness.
1. Clarity
To make the gospel clear we must begin by identifying our audience. When we preach the gospel, we are teaching people what God has done to save them, how, and why. Thus, we play the role of a teacher.
Regardless of the subject, a good teacher prepares to teach by learning about their student. They seek to discover what the student does or doesn’t know, what they may have misconceptions about, and even how they learn best. This gives them the information they need to help each student learn. Likewise, when sharing the gospel, our fist step should be to understand the person we are sharing it with.
In the parable of the sower (Matthew xiii. 1 -23, Mark iv. 1 -20, or Luke viii. 4 -15), Jesus explained that people’s hearts are in different states. Some are ready, some are distracted, some are hardened, some are not prepared to suffer. Because of this, the seed of the gospel will not always be received in the same way.
The gospel needs to be spoken into each of these circumstances, regardless of where the person is at, but how we present it should be adapted to serve them. Jesus did not explain the gospel in the same way to the rich young ruler as he did to the Samaritan woman he met by the well. He knew the people and answered them according to where they were at.
“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. ” (Colossians iv. 5- 6)
It takes humility to listen before you speak. To be patiently learn when we feel ready to teach. In some cases we don’t want to take the time, in others we’re afraid to ask about someone’s beliefs because we don’t know how to properly speak to them. We don’t want to get started on a different belief system and be unable to find our way back to the gospel. In either case, we cannot abandon listening because it is a very important first step. How can we hope to change a person’s belief if we refuse to hear what it is they believe?
C.T. Studd grew up going to church, he knew what God’s word said and yet he was neglecting to believe in the gift of eternal life. If Mr.W had not taken the time to ask Charles questions he would have merely repeated the same story C.T. had heard so many times already and done nothing to alter the state of the young man’s soul.
There are two sermons in the book of Acts which serve to further demonstrate this point. The first is found in Acts ii. when Peter preaches to the crowds in Jerusalem after Pentecost. In his message, Peter makes several references to scripture, he speaks of Jesus as someone they knew and of God without specifically identifying who he is.
He was able to do this because of who his audience was. They were Jews who worshiped the one, true God – the God of whom Peter spoke. They had known Jesus and when Peter quoted God’s word they knew what he was referencing and they believed in the authority of those scriptures. Because Peter knew his audience, what they already believed and what they had yet to understand, he was able to go straight to the work of Jesus and His perfect fulfillment of the prophecies.
However, when Paul spoke in Acts xvii, he spoke to Gentiles who did not have this previous understanding. They were idol worshippers and were unaware as yet of the ministry of Christ. If they were going to understand the gospel, Paul needed to start at the very beginning and establish who and what he was talking about.
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ” (Acts xvii. 22 – 23, NKJV)
Paul started his explanation, not from scripture, but from the context of their beliefs. Making use of the opportunity God had given in an alter to an unknown God. From this point, he was able to teach them about the God they did not know.
Earlier in Acts xvii. we are told that the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who first talked to Paul did not understand his preaching of Jesus and the resurrection. Without altering the life-saving message of the gospel, Paul adapted it so his audience might better understand.
Both Peter and Paul spoke with an understanding of where their audiences were coming from. In Paul’s case this took some learning. He had to observe the beliefs of the people of Athens and we may have to listen to the beliefs of others as well. Yet this effort allowed him and will allow us to speak the message of salvation in a way which will be helpful to the hearers.
2. Boldness
The Miriam Webster dictionary gives two definitions for boldness that can be applied to the task of witnessing:
The first is “to be fearless before danger.”
This harkens back to the lesson we learned in A Faithful Witness: Fear is a great deterrent in witnessing. It can have many causes, but all share the same solution – perfect love casts out all fear. God’s love toward us is perfect and unwavering even in the midst of trials. It enables us say as the Psalmist did, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm cxviii. 6).
In addition to this, God can impart to us a selfless love for others. A love which “does not seek it’s own” (1 Corinthians xiii.5) but instead causes us to be concerned with the eternal fate of those who do not belong to the Lord. In 2 Timothy i.7, Paul encourages Timothy saying, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
The second definition of being bold is to “overstep the boundaries of propriety (socially acceptable conduct or speech).”
At first glance this may not seem like a form of boldness which would be beneficial for us to apply. But in a society, like ours, which has deemed it unacceptable to speak of God’s gift of salvation in a public setting or to care enough for the soul of another to ask them to reconsider their views the boundaries need to be overstepped.
“They called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts iv.18 – 20, NKJV)
When the culture tells us not to do that which God has told us to do, we obey God.
Yet even against severe opposition we must remember that this kind of boldness also requires God’s love to be effective. Our boldness must come only from a humble desire to win souls.
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy ii. 24-26)
In Conclusion
Boldness and clarity are two characteristics which should be present in each of us as ministers of the gospel. They are both gifts of God for which we can ask him and according to his perfect design, they work together to temper each other and aid us as fishers of men. However, they find their proper function only when motivated by the love God has for us and by the love which He has given us for lost souls. I pray God will grant you the ability to both make the gospel clear and declare it boldly!
In Christ
Quiana
*Scripture references in ESV unless otherwise noted.
*Quotes and excepts were taken from Norman Grubb’s book, C.T. Studd Cricketer and Pioneer
If you want to learn more about C.T. Studd and his family, I can help!
Search C.T. Studd to find related posts.