The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30)
There are several references to being wise in the book of Proverbs (controlling your tongue {10:19}, listening to counsel {12:15}, working instead of being lazy {6:6-11} and not being deceived by alcohol {20:1} to name a few). Here in Proverbs 11, a person is called wise if he “wins souls.” The soul is more than just the body, so to what is the passage referring? Here are a few connections to understand better this passage:
- Jesus told His disciples in Luke 5:10, “from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
- James 5:20 talks about converting “the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death.”
- Five times Paul told the Corinthian Christians that he made himself a servant in many ways to “gain them” and concluded by saying that “that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)
- Later Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 10:33, “I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
When a person enters into this world, he is dead in his trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1), and is a child of the devil (John 8:44). All mankind is a creature of God, but he does not become a child of God until his faith is placed in Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches us that a child of God is an ambassador, a witness, and salt and light to this Christ-less world. Every child of God has been given the command and authority by God to go un-blind those that have been blinded by the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4). We, as the church, have been given the keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19) and as we open our mouths to share the Gospel, the Holy Spirit can do the work and someone can become a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). When a sinner repents, there is great joy in Heaven (Luke 15:7,10) and when a child of God proclaims that news, he is fulfilling the command given by God. So, we conclude that when a child of God decides to “win souls,” he is not only doing his responsibility, he is also wise! May we be obedient and wise as we fulfill God’s command!
Here to Serve,
Jeffrey Bush