Chapter 1 A Consecrated Life - Far Eastern Bible College

Now, we should not get the idea from this passage that when we
share the gospel, we will always get the same response: that people will
be ready and willing to receive Christ. But this is not the case. The
Apostle Paul was stoned when he preached at Lystra, and when he went
to Athens, he was ridiculed by the Athenians for mentioning the
resurrection from the dead. So when we attempt to bring men and
women to Christ, we need not be disappointed, when they are not won
to Christ in the end. We should not put the blame on ourselves.
Our responsibility is to be busy sowing the seed. The rest is left to
God. He will cause it to germinate and grow. Sometimes the seed will
live and grow, and sometimes it will not. Christ mentioned this in His
parable of the sower. Sometimes the seed takes a longer time than
expected to germinate. Many people hear the gospel but do not respond
to it until many years later, when they encounter a crisis and call upon
Christ to save them. But the timing of salvation and the results of our
preaching are best left to the mysterious work in the heart by the Holy
Spirit, which we cannot see. It is not for us to worry what the outcome
will be. Our success is measured not by the number of souls we win to
Christ, but by how well we have used the opportunities given to us to
share the gospel with people around us.
Sometimes some of those who appear to respond to the gospel
prove themselves to be false disciples, whose profession of faith is not
genuine. The conversion of Simon the Sorcerer was like this. Philip the
evangelist must have been quite thrilled when he saw this well-known
witch-doctor giving up his witchcraft to come to Christ. But he must
also have heard the disappointing news later on, that this same sorcerer
had never really been converted at all. How should we respond when we
hear news like that concerning those we have brought to Christ? We feel
sad for them, but at the same time, we should not blame ourselves for
what has happened, since we have already done our part for them.
And while we should not blame ourselves for any negative results
of our efforts, we should also not pride ourselves either in any good or
tremendous results from them. All the glory goes to God alone. If men
and women do indeed come to know Christ through our preaching or
sharing, we should never think that we are great because we did it, and
38 A Consecrated Life