R. A. Torrey

“ The one who would have real success in bringing others to Christ must have a LOVE FOR SOULS, i. e. a longing for the salvation of the lost. If we have no love for souls, our efforts will be mechanical and powerless. We may know how to approach men and what to say to them, but there will be no power in what we say and it will not touch the heart. But if like Paul we have “great heaviness and unceasing pain in our hearts” for the unsaved, there will be an earnestness in our tone and manner that will impress the most careless. ”

“ It is the instrument God uses to convict of sin, to reveal Christ and to regenerate men. If we would work together with God, the Bible is the instrument upon which we must rely and which we must use in bringing men to Christ. We must know how to use the Bible so as (1) to show men their need of a Saviour, (2) to show them Jesus as the Saviour they need, (3) to show them how to make this Saviour their own Saviour, (4) to meet the difficulties that stand in the way of their accepting Christ. A large part of the following pages will be devoted to imparting this knowledge. ”

“ These passages show that God looks at the heart. Hold the inquirer right to that point. Every man when brought face to face with that, must tremble because he knows that whatever his outward life may be, his heart will not stand the scrutiny of God’s eye. No matter how selfrighteous a man is, we need not be discouraged for somewhere in the depths of every man’s heart is the consciousness of sin and all we have to do is to work away until we touch that point. Every man’s conscience is on our side. ”

“ The Baptism of the Holy Spirit has no direct reference to cleansing from sin. This is an important point to bear in mind for many reasons. There is a line of teaching on this subject that leads men to expect that if they receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the old carnal nature will be eradicated. There is not a line of scripture to support this position. As said above, and as any one can learn for himself if he will examine all the passages in which the baptism of the Holy Spirit is mentioned, it is always connected with testimony and service. ”

“ DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE ANXIOUS TO BE SAVED BUT DO NOT KNOW HOW There is a very large class of persons who are anxious to be saved but simply do not know how. It is not difficult to lead this class of persons to Christ. Perhaps no other passage in the Bible is more used for this purpose than Isaiah liii. 6. It makes the way of salvation very plain. Read the first part of the verse to the inquirer, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way.” ”

“ A third class of those who entertain false hopes, are those who say “I am trying to be a Christian.” John i. 12, will show them that it is not “trying” to be a Christian or “trying” to live a better life or “trying” to do anything that God asks of us, but simply to receive Jesus Christ, who did it all, and you can ask the inquirer, “will you now stop your trying and simply receive Jesus as Saviour?” Acts xvi. 31, shows that God does not ask us to try what we can do but trust Jesus and what He has done and will do. ”

“ Many will from pride defend themselves in a false position when several are present, who would fully admit their error or sin or need, if they were alone with you. As a rule it is far better for a single worker to deal with a single unconverted person, than for several workers to deal with a single inquirer or for a single worker to deal with several inquirers at once. ”

“ I remember talking with a young woman, in an inquiry room, for perhaps two hours and making no apparent headway; but, when at last we knelt in prayer, in less than five minutes she was rejoicing in her Saviour.
14. Whenever you seem to fail in any given case go home and pray over it and study it to see why you failed. If you have been at a loss as to what scripture to use, study that portion of this book that describes the different classes we meet and how to deal with them and see where this case belongs and how you ought to have treated it. ”

“ One should be always looking to the Holy Spirit for his guidance as to whom to approach, and He may lead us to one of the opposite sex, but unless there is clear guidance in the matter, it is quite commonly agreed among those who have had large experience in Christian work that men do, on the whole, most satisfactory work with men, and women with women. Especially is this true of the young. Many unfortunate complications oftentimes arise when young men try to lead young women to Christ or vice versa. ”

“ Sometimes the best thing to do with a man who says the Bible is full of contradictions, is to hand him your Bible and ask him to show you one. In most cases he will not attempt to do it; as people who complain about the Bible, as a rule know nothing about its contents. One day a man was brought to me to deal with and when I asked him why he was not a Christian he replied, “The Bible is full of contradictions.” ”

“ If any saved person will dwell long enough upon the peril and wretchedness of any man out of Christ and the worth of his soul in God’s sight as seen in the death of God’s Son to save him, a feeling of intense desire 10for that man’s salvation is almost certain to follow. In the fourth place, reflection upon our own ruined and unhappy condition without Christ and the great sacrifice that Christ made to save us, is sure to fill our hearts with a desire to bring others to the Saviour we have found. ”

“ There is a large class of men and women in our day who are really desirous of knowing the truth but who are in an utter fog of skepticism. John vii. 17 is a very helpful passage in dealing with such. It shows the way out of skepticism to faith. Get the skeptic to act along the line of that verse. Put to him the question, “Will you surrender your will to God and promise to search honestly and earnestly to find out what God’s will is that you may do it, to ask God to show you whether you need a Saviour and whether Jesus is a Divine Saviour, the Son of God ”

“ Those who lack assurance because of ignorance. 1 John v. 13, will show all such that we may know that we have eternal life. Often times when you ask people if they know they are saved, or if they know their sins are forgiven, or if they know they have eternal life, they will reply, “Why no one knows that.” You can say to them, “Yes the Bible says that all who believe may know it,” and then show them 1 John v. 13. John i. 12 shows that Christ gives to as many as receive Him, power to become the Sons of God. A good way to use this verse is to ask the inquirer questions regarding it. ”

“ Whenever it is possible, get the person with whom you are dealing alone. No one likes to open his heart freely to another on this most personal and sacred of all subjects when there are others present. ”

“ He will soon answer that the violation of the first and greatest of the commandments 22must be the greatest sin. Ask him if he has kept that commandment and when he confesses, as sooner or later he must, that he has not, ask him of what he is guilty in the sight of God, and hold him to that point until he admits that he is guilty of committing the greatest sin that a man can commit. An illustration from life may help to make the use of this verse clear. I was dealing with a very bright young man who evidently had no deep sense of sin nor of his need of a Saviour. ”

“ The application of this principle to the numerous questions that come up in the life of every young Christian as to whether he should do this or that, each individual can settle for himself if Christ’s honor and not his own pleasure is upper–most in his mind and if he looks honestly to God to guide him. ”

“ If there is anything the average worker in this hurrying age needs to have impressed upon him, it is the necessity of more prayer. By praying more we will not work any less and we will accomplish vastly more. ”

“ If we would bring others to Christ we must turn away from all sin, and worldliness and selfishness with our whole heart, yielding to Jesus the absolute lordship over our thoughts, purposes and 8actions. If there is any direction in which we are seeking to have our own way and not letting Him have His own way in our lives, our power will be crippled and men lost that we might have saved. ”

“ Those who complain of God’s way of Salvation.
A great many men will say, “I do not see why God could not save men in some other way than by the death of His son.” Is. lv. 8, 9, Romans xi. 33 are useful in dealing with such. I have used Romans ix. 20 with effect with men of this sort. A young student said to me one night, when I asked why he was not a Christian, that he did not see why it was necessary for Christ to die for him; why God did not save him in some other way. I opened my Bible and read to him Romans ix. ”

“ The good work done by the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor is in no other direction so evident as in the many thousands of young people in this land who to–day are on fire with a desire to win souls. But while they desire to do this work, many do not know how. This little book aims to tell them. There are several well–known and valuable manuals of texts to be used with inquirers, but this book is intended not only to point out passages to be used but to show how to use them, illustrating this use by cases from 4actual experience. ”

“ A new filling is needed and should be sought for each new emergency of Christian service. There are many who once knew experimentally what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit meant who are trying to work to–day in the power of that old experience and are working without God. They need and must have a new Baptism before God can use them. ”

“ Workers are so anxious to have inquirers come out clearly that they urge them on to assurance when they have no right to have assurance of salvation as they have not really accepted Christ.
John i. 12, and 2 Tim. i. 12, make very clear what believing is—receiving Jesus or committing to Jesus. Romans x. 10, will serve a similar purpose by showing that it “is with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.”
2. Those who lack assurance because of sin. The trouble with those who lack assurance is, often, that there is some sin or questionable practice which they ought to confess and give up. ”

“ If you have several to deal with take them one by one. Workers often find that when they have made no headway while talking to several at once, by taking individuals off by themselves they soon succeed in leading them one by one to Christ.
3. Let your reliance be wholly in the Spirit of God and the Word of God.
4. Do not content yourself with merely reading passages from the Bible—much less in merely quoting them, but have the one with 96whom you are dealing read them himself that the truth may find entrance into the heart through the eye as well as the ear. ”

“ A great many Jews to–day are inquiring into the claims of Jesus of Nazareth, and are open to approach upon this subject. The great difficulty in the way of the Jew coming out as a Christian is the terrific persecution which he must endure if he does. This difficulty can be met by the passages already given under the head of “Those Who are Afraid of Persecution.” ”

“ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” I made no comment upon the verses whatever, but the Spirit of God carried them home and tears began to roll down the cheeks of the young woman. She did not come out as a Christian that night but did shortly afterward. It is well in using these verses, whenever it is possible, to get the inquirer to change the pronoun from the plural to the singular. ”

“ After all our study of the passages to be used in dealing with the various classes of men, we shall need God’s guidance in each specific case. Every experienced worker will testify to the many instances in which God has led them to use some text of Scripture that they would not otherwise have used but which proved to be just the one needed. ”

“ There is another way to arouse a man from his indifference, and that is by showing what Jesus has done for him. I have found Isaiah liii. 5‒6 more effectual for this purpose than any other passage in the Bible. An incident from life will illustrate its use. A lady had asked prayers for her daughter, a young woman about twenty years of age. At the close of the services I stepped up to the daughter and asked her if she would not accept Jesus Christ as her Saviour at once. ”