The seventh way to catch people is according to the redemption of Christ. This is not the same as salvation; we must differentiate redemption from salvation. If we confuse these two, our preaching will not be prevailing. To confuse them is like selling one product but talking about another. We should concentrate on one matter. Redemption includes the cross of Christ, the blood of Christ, and the substitutionary death of Christ. In every place there are people who are conscious that they are sinful, and they are struggling and seeking a way to be saved. For people in this condition, we should preach in the way of redemption. We should lead them carefully and prove to them, even convince them, that nothing can save them but the redemption of Christ’s cross through the shedding of His blood.
The eighth way is the way of life. The way of Christ and the way of life are the two highest ways. It is very easy for Christians to preach the gospel in the way of sin and hell, but not many people are able to preach the gospel in the way of Christ or the way of life.
In the human community there are a number of thoughtful persons. Recently some brothers were invited to a sister’s home for dinner. Her husband was a very thoughtful person. The brothers had a long talk with him concerning the Lord, but they were all defeated. He said that every man must do good, and he boasted much about his good deeds. I did not speak; rather, I watched and listened for his weak point. I did not argue with him about doing good. I simply told him, “It is wonderful to be such a person that does good,” and then I pointed out to him that his life has a limitation. He can only do so much good; he cannot go further. His own life is a small tree that can bring forth only small fruit, so he needs a higher life. This point convinced him in the way of life.
The ninth way is the way of repentance by faith. We must help people to repent to God and believe in the Lord Jesus. Many Christians do not have the assurance of salvation. We need to help them to know real repentance and exercise faith to take hold of the Word of God that they may have the assurance of salvation.
About forty years ago, almost no Christian in China had the assurance of salvation. The first battle that we fought in China was for this matter. Wherever we went, the first question we asked was, “Do you know that you have been saved?”, and we always received a negative answer. Even the pastors would argue with us. At that time we were in our twenties. Some pastors said, “Young men, you are too proud. I have been a pastor for many years, but I don’t know if I have been saved. This matter is in the Lord’s hand. We must go on until one day we see Him. Let Him make the decision whether or not we are saved.”
In 1933 I was invited to preach the gospel at a Presbyterian hospital near Shanghai. As I spoke about the assurance of salvation, I had to fight the battle because the pastor who sat in the rear kept shaking his head to disagree with me. This was a real battle in the early years in China, but after about ten years of fighting, the Christians there began to realize that once we believe in Christ according to the Word of God, we have the assurance of salvation. We still need this kind of preaching today.
The tenth way to catch people is by the way of salvation. This way is not easy to take. We should take this way mostly by giving people a testimony about how certain persons were saved. This will help them to come to their own salvation.
Here I have given ten ways in a good order to catch people, but now you must do the “homework” to develop them. Concerning the technique, the secret of contacting people is never to argue with them. Rather, we should go along with them. Some brothers like to argue. When one person said that he had done many good things to help others, a brother replied that whatever we do means nothing; it can never be acceptable to God. This is an aspect of the truth, but we should not talk to people in this way. To speak to people in this way causes them to be in their mind. The best way is to reply, “That is right; we have to do good for others, and I am happy to hear that you do good for others. However, how much can we do? We can do only so much because we are limited by our capacity and ability. Our life is below the standard.” This will convince a person and open his eyes to see the higher life.
We should not argue with people even about God. If someone says there is no God, we may say, “Perhaps you are right. If there were no God, that would save us from a lot of trouble; then we could do whatever we like. But suppose there is a God. What shall you do?” The secret of going along with people in this way is a small matter, but it is very effective. Sometimes a big machine without a little screw does not work; when we add the little screw, it works again. If we do not argue with people but go along with them, they will be caught.