First we must settle this question: Is it the will of God for us to be soul winners? The answer is "yes," and it can be found in Proverbs 11:30: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."

How can we win souls? By proclaiming the Word of God, as First Corinthians 1:21 expresses it, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."

In Acts 2, we find that on the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood outside the Upper Room, "lifted up his voice," and began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people who had gathered there. This is part of what he said that day:

Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose....

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?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Acts 2:14,21-24,38)

Notice in verse 37 that when these Jews heard the truth, "they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter...what shall we do?"

What Preaching Accomplishes
How did these people become converted or convinced that they needed to make a choice? By hearing the Word of God preached or proclaimed. This goes back to the question: "How does faith come?"

Romans 10:17 answers, "...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

When Peter lifted his voice, he proclaimed the Word of these people. They received the Word into their minds (intellects), they reasoned (or thought, meditated) on what they heard, and it went down into their hearts - for we read that they had been "pricked in their heart."

Obviously, they were convinced in their will to be saved, because in verse 37 they asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Do about what? Do to be saved!

On the other hand, the proclamation and ministry of the Word doesn't necessarily convince people's minds (intellects, or emotions), because First Corinthians 2:14 states, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Spiritual things must be understood with out heart or spirit. When we receive enlightenment about something from the Word of God, our will must be convinced to choose to agree with the truth that has enlightened our spirit and the knowledge our mind has gathered.

For example, if the people Peter preached to had chosen not to accept the gift of salvation, they would have remained lost and they would have become more difficult to reach with the Gospel.

Why? Because salvation is an act of your will - you choose to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior (See Rom. 10:9-10).

They Gladly Received
Let's continue reading Peter's message in Acts 2:

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
(Acts 2:39-41)

What really happens when we present the Word of God to someone and win their soul to Jesus?

First, we preach, proclaim, or minister the Word of God to them about salvation. They hear the Word and faith comes. Then they receive the Word into their intellect, and then to their heart, or spirit.

Their heart "receives" (vs. 41) the Word that is preached. They understood that they are lost in their sins and need the Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The Moment of New Birth
They choose by an act of their will to confess Jesus and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead so they can now live. When they do this, their spirit is translated instantaneously from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13).

Now they are what we call "born again" because, by an act of their will, they chose to accept and act on God's Word received into their heart. And we can be termed a "soul winner."


Source: The Power of Choice - The Choice Is Yours by Todd Baily
Excerpt permission granted by Todd Bailey Ministries