The largest class of men and women are those who
have little or no concern about their salvation.
There are some who contend that there is no use
dealing with such, but there is. It is our
business when a man has no concern about his
salvation to go to work to produce that concern.
How shall we do it?
I. SHOW HIM THAT HE IS A GREAT SINNER BEFORE GOD.
There is no better verse for this purpose than
Matthew 22:37-38:
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind. THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREAT
COMMANDMENT."
Before the one with whom you are dealing reads
these verses, you can say to him, "Do you know
that you are a great sinner before God?" Very
likely he will reply, "I suppose I am a sinner,
but I do not know that I am such a great sinner."
"Do you know that you have committed the greatest
sin that a man can possibly commit?" "No, I
certainly have not." "What do you think is the
greatest sin that a man can commit?" Probably he
will answer, "Murder." "You are greatly mistaken.
Let us see what God says about it." Then have him
read the passage. When he has read it, ask him,
"What is the first and great commandment?" "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
"Which commandment is this?" "The first and great
commandment." "If this is the first and great
commandment, what is the first and great sin?"
"Not to keep this commandment." "Have {45} you
kept it? Have you put God first in everything,
first in your affections, first in your thoughts,
first in your pleasures, first in your business,
first in everything?" "No, I have not." "What
commandment, then, have you broken?" "The first
and great commandment."
Some time ago a young man came into our inquiry
meeting. I asked him if he was a Christian, and he
replied that he was not. I asked him if he would
like to be, and he said he would. I said, "Why,
then, do you not become a Christian tonight?" He
replied, "I have no special interest in the
matter." I said, "Do you mean that you have no
conviction of sin?" "Yes," he said, "I have no
conviction of sin, and am not much concerned about
the whole matter." I said, "I hold in my hand a
book which God has given us for the purpose of
producing conviction of sin; would you like to
have me use it upon you?" Half laughing, he
replied, "Yes." When he had taken a seat, I had
him read Matthew 22:37-38. When he had read the
passage I said to him, "What is the first and
great commandment?" He read it from the Bible. I
said, "If this is the first and great commandment,
what is the first and great sin?" He replied, 'Not
to keep this commandment." I asked, "Have you kept
it?" "I have not." "What have you done then?"
Said he, "I have broken the first and greatest of
God's commandments," and broken down with a sense
of sin, then and there he went down before God and
asked Him for mercy, and accepted Christ as his
Savior.
Another excellent passage to use to produce
conviction of sin is Romans 14:12:
"So then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God."
The great object in using this passage is to bring
the careless man face to face with God, and make
him realize that he must give account to God. When
he has read it, ask him, "Who has to give
account?" "Every one of us." "Whom does that
take in?" "Me." "Who then is to give account?"
"I am." "To whom are you to give account?" "To
God." "Of what are you to give account?" "Of
myself." "Read it that way." "I shall give
account of myself to God." "Now just let that
thought sink into your heart. Say it over to
yourself again and again, 'I am to give account of
myself to God. I am to give account of myself to
God.' Are you ready to do it?"
Amos 4:12 can be used in much the same way: {46}
"Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and
because I will do this unto thee, PREPARE TO MEET
THY GOD, O Israel."
Another very effective passage with many a
careless man is Romans 2:16:
"In the day when GOD SHALL JUDGE THE SECRETS of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
When the one with whom you are dealing has read
the verse, say, "What is God going to do in some
coming day?" "Judge the secrets of men." "Judge
what?" "The secrets of men." "Who is it that is
going to judge the secrets of men?" "It is God."
"Are you ready to have the secret hidden things of
your life judged by a holy God?"
II. SHOW HIM THE AWFUL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.
A very effective passage for this purpose is
Romans 6:23:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
When he has read the passage, ask him, "What is
the wages of sin?" "Death." Explain to him the
meaning of death, literal death, spiritual death,
eternal death. Now say, "This is the wages of sin;
have you earned these wages?" "Are you willing to
take them?" "No." "Well, there is one
alternative; read the remainder of the verse."
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." "Now you have your choice
between the two, the wages that you have earned by
sin, and the gift of God; which will you choose?"
Another very useful passage along this line is
Isaiah 57:21:
"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
Another verse declaring the fearful consequences
of sin, is John 8:34:
"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Whosoever commiteth sin is the servant of
sin."
Have the one with whom you are dealing read the
passage, then ask him what every one who commits
sin is. "The servant of sin." "What kind of a
service is that?" Bring it out that it is very
degrading. Ask the inquirer if he appreciates that
this is true of him, that {47} he is the servant
of sin, and then ask him if he does not want to be
set free from this awful bondage.
There is another passage that one can use in much
the same way, Romans 6:16:
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness?"
III. SHOW HIM THE AWFULNESS OF UNBELIEF IN JESUS
CHRIST.
Very few out of Christ realize that unbelief in
Jesus Christ is anything very bad. Of course they
know it is not just right, but that it is
something awful and appalling they do not dream
for a moment. They should be shown that there is
nothing more appalling than unbelief in Jesus
Christ. A good passage for this purpose is John
3:18-19:
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he
that believeth not is condemned already, because
he that not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
that light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil."
When the passage has been read, say, "Now this
verse tells us of some one who is condemned
already; who is it?" "He that believeth not."
"Believeth not on whom?" "On Jesus." "How many
that believe not on Jesus are condemned already?"
"Every one." "Why is every one that believeth not
on Jesus condemned already?" "Because he has not
believed on the name of the only begotten Son of
God." "Why is this such an awful thing in the
sight of God?" "Because light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light
because their deeds are evil." "In whom did the
light come into the world?" "In Jesus." "Jesus,
then, is the incarnation of light, God's fullest
revelation to man: to reject Jesus, then, is the
deliberate rejection of what?" "Light." "The
choice of what?" "Darkness." "In rejecting Jesus,
what are you rejecting?" "Light." "And what are
you choosing?" "Darkness rather than light." Ask
all the questions that are necessary to impress
this truth upon the mind of the unbeliever, that
he is deliberately rejecting the light of God, and
choosing darkness rather than light.
Another very useful passage for the same purpose
is Acts 2:36-37: {48}
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the
apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
When the passage is read, say, "Now here were
certain men under deep conviction of sin, crying
out, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' What
was the sin that they committed that produced such
deep conviction?" "They had crucified Jesus."
"What had God done with Jesus?" "He had made Him
both Lord and Christ." "These men had rejected One
whom God hath made both Lord and Christ. Is that a
serious sin?" "Yes." "And are you not guilty of
that very sin today? You are rejecting Jesus, and
this Jesus whom you are rejecting is the very one
whom God hath made both Lord and Christ. Is it not
an awful sin to deliberately reject one whom God
hath thus exalted?"
Another good passage to use is John 16:8-9:
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of
sin, because they believe not on me."
When the passage has been read, ask the one with
whom you are dealing, "Of what sin is it that the
Holy Ghost, who knows the mind of God, especially
convicts men?" "Of the sin of unbelief." "What,
then, is the crowning sin in God's sight?"
"Unbelief in Jesus CHrist." "Why is unbelief in
Jesus Christ the crowning sin in God's sight?"
Then bring out that it is because it reveals most
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HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE WHO HAVE LITTLE OR NO CONCERN ABOUT THEIR SOULS
By R.A. Torrey