A certain preacher said about my preaching against sin, "That man knows nothing about grace at all." I know something about grace, but I tell you that one way I know about grace is that I know what an awful Hell-bound, Hell-deserving sinner I was and am. I know how God saved me from the torments of the damned in Hell. There is no grace unless there is first sin. There is no room for grace, no use preaching grace, unless first men know that they are awful sinners, wicked, Hell-bound sinners. Only the grace of God can save, but grace saves only convicted, confessed sinners. - John R. Rice [The Soul Winners Fire, pg. 77]
O preacher-brethren, what we need is power, power with God and power with men! Any theology, however orthodox otherwise, that leaves out the need for a holy enduement of the Spirit's power as manifested in the soul winning of the New Testament, is a barren desert with rainless clouds, a dry waterhole and a broken cistern! It is wicked presumption, modernism of the heart, infidelity in practice! - John R. Rice [The Soul Winners Fire, pg. 89]
A certain preacher said about my preaching against sin, "That man knows nothing about grace at all." I know something about grace, but I tell you that one way I know about grace is that I know what an awful Hell-bound, Hell-deserving sinner I was and am. I know how God saved me from the torments of the damned in Hell. There is no grace unless there is first sin. There is no room for grace, no use preaching grace, unless first men know that they are awful sinners, wicked, Hell-bound sinners. Only the grace of God can save, but grace saves only convicted, confessed sinners. - John R. Rice [The Soul Winners Fire, pg. 77]
It is well enough to enclose tracts in letters. Every way to get out the gospel is good, but some people will never be reached without the clasp of a warm hand, and the earnest, searching gaze and the quiet word, and sometimes the tear of one whose trudging feet have carried the gospel in person. Strangely enough, the gospel goes better by retail than by wholesale. I believe in mass evangelism, but do not misunderstand mass evangelism. The great revivals are made up principally on the human side by thousands of details, steps taken, planning, inviting, advertising, sweating, crying and praying; and then the public preaching and singing often get all the credit! - John R. Rice [The Soul Winners Fire, pg. 96]
Preachers have usually accepted the Roman Catholic teaching that He was crucified on Friday and have never investigated what the Bible teaches on that subject. All Bible evidence proves that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, buried that night, and arose from the dead some time Saturday night, before sunrise Sunday morning. Remember that the Jewish day began at sundown and the night was counted a part of the following day.
Matthew 12:40 plainly says that Jesus would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, or the grave, like Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly. If Jesus were crucified Friday and raised Saturday night, or before sunrise Sunday morning, He would have been in the grave one day and part of two nights. Certainly that would not fulfill His plain promise.
Many people have supposed that John 19:31 was evidence that Jesus was crucified on Friday since the Jews wished to take His body down before the Sabbath. Notice, however, that "that Sabbath day was an high day." It was not an ordinary weekly Sabbath, but an annual Sabbath, the one mentioned in Exodus 12:16. It was a day of rest, the first of seven days of eating of unleavened bread, the day on which the Passover lamb was eaten.
So Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, was taken down from the cross before sunset Wednesday (John 19:31)... Jesus stayed in the grave fully seventy-two hours, three days and three nights, and arose then some time Saturday night, that is, part of Sunday, the first day of the week which began at sundown. - John R. Rice [Dr, Rice, Here is My Question, question 55]
So if you want to win souls, put your shoes on your feet every day. That means to store your mind and heart with Bible verses that you can take to those whom you seek to win. That means to plan your work. Depend upon the Holy Spirit to direct where you should go, whom you should see, and what you should say. Watch for the "breaks" in the game. Many a football game has been decided because an alert player blocked a punt, or fell on the ball, or snatched a pass not intended for him. I have known preachers who were unprepared when suddenly called upon to preach, and I have always thought it was shocking and wicked that any preacher should not have bait on his hook and his gun loaded all the time. The Christian's mind should be so set on soul winning, and his heart so prepared for soul winning, and his will so surrendered to the Spirit's leadership, that he can win souls at every opportunity. - John R. Rice [The Soul Winners Fire, pg. 96]
O my dear Christian, take time to get ready every day for soul winning! Study your Bible, ask God to cleanse your heart, seek divine wisdom in your plans. Secure the right tracts to give out, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the right words to say. - John R. Rice [The Soul Winners Fire, pg. 98]
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