The Soul-Winner's Reward
Charles Spurgeon · The Soul-Winner; or, How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour
ADDRESS AT A TABERNACLE PRAYER-MEETING.
THE SOUL-WINNER'S REWARD.
On my way to this meeting- I observed upon the
notice-board of the police station a striking placard,
offering' a large
REWARD
to anyone who can discover and bring to justice the
perpetrators of a great crime. No doubt our legisla-
tors know that the hope of a huge reward is the only
motive which will have power with the comrades of
assassins. The common informer earns so much scorn
and hate that few can be induced to stand in his place,
even when piles of gold are offered. It is a poor busi-
ness at best.
It is far more pleasant to remember that there is a
reward for bringing men to mercy, and that it is of a
higher order than the premium for bringing men to
justice; it is, moreover, much more within our reach,
and that is a practical point worthy of our notice. We
cannot all hunt down criminals, but we may all rescue
the perishing. God be thanked that assassins and bur-
glars are comparatively few, but sinners who need to
be sought and saved swarm around us in every place.
Here is scope for you all ; and none need think himself
shut out from the rewards which love bestows on all
who do her service.
At the mention of the word REWARD, some will
192 THE SOUL-WINNER.
prick up their ears, and mutter 'legality." Yet the
reward we speak of is not of debt, but of grace; and
it is enjoyed, not with the proud conceit of merit, but
with the grateful delight of humility.
Other friends will whisper, "Is not this a low and
mercenary motive?" We reply that it is as mercenary
as the spirit of Moses, who "had respect unto the recom-
pense of the reward." In this matter, all depends upon
what the reward is; and if that happens to be the joy
of doing good, the comfort of having glorified God,
and the bliss of pleasing the Lord Jesus — then the as-
piration to be allowed to endeavour to save our fellow-
men from going down into the pit is in itself a grace
from the Lord ; and if we did not succeed in it, yet the
Lord would say of it, as He did of David's intent to
build a temple, "It was well that it was in thine heart."
Even if the souls we seek should all persist in unbelief,
if they all despise and reject and ridicule us, yet still
it will be a divine work to have at least made the at-
tempt. If there comes no rain out of the cloud, yet it
has screened of¥ the fierce heat of the sun; all is not
lost even if the greater design be not accomplished.
What if we only learn how to join the Saviour in His
tears, and cry, "How often would I have gathered you,
but ye would not!" It is sublimity itself to be allowed
to stand on the same platform with Jesus, and weep
with him. We are the better for such sorrows, if no
others are.
But, thank God, our labours are not in vain in the
Lord. I believe that the most of you, who have really
tried, in the power of the Holy Spirit, by Scriptural
teaching and by prayer, to bring others to Jesus, have
been successful. I may be speaking to a few who have
not succeeded; if so, I would recommend them to look
steadily over their motive, their spirit, their work, and
THE SOUL-WINNER'S REWARD. 193
their prayer, and then begin again. Perhaps they may
get to work more wisely, more behevingly, more hum-
bly, and more in the power of the Holy Spirit. They
must act as farmers do who, after a p<:»or harvest, plough
again in hope. They ought not to be dispirited, but
they ought to be aroused. We should be anxious to
find out the reason of failure, if there be any, and we
should be ready to learn from all our fellow-labourers;
but we must steadfastly set our faces, if by any means
we may save some, resolving that whatever happens
we will leave no stone unturned to effect the salva-
tion of those around us. How can we bear to go out
of the world without sheaves to bear with us rejoicing-
ly? I believe that the most of us who are now assem-
bled to pray have been successful beyond our expecta-
tions. God has blessed us, not beyond our desires, but
yet beyond our hopes.
I have often been surprised at the mercy of God to
myself. Poor sermons of mine, that I could cry over
when I get home, have led scores to the cross; and,
more wonderful still, words that I have spoken in
ordinary conversation, mere chance sentences, as men
call them, have nevertheless been as winged arrows
from God, and have pierced men's hearts, and laid them
wounded at Jesus' feet. I have often lifted up my hands
in astonishment, and said, "How can God bless such a
feeble instnmientality?" This is the feeling of most
who addict themselves to the blessed craft of fishing
for men, and the desire of such success furnishes as
pure a motive as could move an angel's heart, as pure,
indeed, as that which swayed the Saviour when, for the
joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross,
despising the shame. "Doth Job serve God for
nought?" said Satan. If he could have answered
the question in the af^rmative, if it could have
194 THE SOUL-WINNER.
been proved that the perfect and upright man
found no reward in his holy Hving, then Satan
would have cavilled at the justice- of God, and
urged men to renounce a service so unprofitable.
Verily there is a reward to the righteous, and
in the lofty pursuits of grace there are recompenses
of infinite value. When we endeavour to lead men to
God, we pursue a business far more profitable than the
pearl-fisher's diving or the diamond-hunter's searching.
No pursuit of mortal men is to be compared with that
of soul-winning. I know what I say when I bid you
think of it as men think of entering the cabinet of the
nation, or occupying a throne; it is a royal business,
and they are true kings who follow it successfully.
The harvest of godly service is not yet: ''we do
with patience wait for it;" but we have earnests of
our wage, refreshing pledges of that which is laid up
in heaven for us. Partly, this reward lies in the work
itself. Men go hunting and shooting for mere love of
the sport; surely, in an infinitely higher sphere, we
may hunt for men's souls for the pleasing indulgence
of our benevolence. To some of us, it would be an
unendurable misery to see men sink to hell, and to be
making no efifort for their salvation. It is a reward
to us to have a vent for our inward fires. It is woe and
weariness to us to be shut up from those sacred activi-
ties which aim at plucking fire-brands from the flame.
We are in deep sympathy with our fellows, and feel
that, in a measure, their sin is our sin, their peril our
peril.
If another lose the way,
My feet also go astray;
If another downward go.
In my heart is also woe.
It IS therefore a relief to set forth the gospel, that we
THE SOUL-WINNER'S REWARD. 195
may save ourselves from that sympathetic misery which
echoes in our hearts the crash of soul-ruin.
Soul- winning /s a scn'/cc wliicJi brings great benefit
to the indiviiiuat who consecrates himself to it. Tho
man who has watched for a soul, prayed for it, laid
his plans for it, spoken with much trembling, and en-
deavoured to make an impression, has been educating
himself by the effort. Having been disappointed, he
has cried to God more earnestly, has tried again, has
looked up the promise to meet the case of the con-
victed one, has turned to that point of the divine char-
acter which seems most likely to encourage trembling-
faith — he has in every step been benefiting himself.
When he has gone over the old, old story of the cross
to the weeping penitent, and has at last gripped the
hand of one who could say: ''I do believe, I will be-
lieve, that Jesus died for me"; I say, he has had a re-
ward in the process through which his own mind has
gone.
It has reminded him of his own lost estate; it has
shown him the struggles that the Spirit had in bring-
ing him to repentance; it has reminded him of that
precious moment when he first looked to Jesus; and
it has strengthened him in his firm confidence that
Christ will save men. When we see Jesus save an-
other, and see that marvellous transfiguration which
passes over the face of the saved one, our own faith is
greatly confirmed. Sceptics and modern-thought men
have little to do with converts: those who labour for
conversions believe in conversions; those who behold
the processes of regeneration see a miracle wrought, and
are certain that "this is the finger of God." It is the
most blessed exercise for a soul, it is the divinest en-
nobling of the heart, to spend yourself in seeking to
bring: another to the dear Redeemer's feet. If it ended
196 THE SOUL-WINNER.
there, you might thank God that ever He called you to
a service so comforting, so strengthening, so elevating,
so confirming, as that of converting others from their
evil ways.
Another precious recompense is found in the grati-
tude and affection of those you bri?ig to Christ. This
is a choice boon — the blessedness of joying in another's
joy, the bliss of hearing that you have led a soul to
Jesus. Measure the sweetness of this recompense by
the bitterness of its opposite. Men of God have brought
many to Jesus, and all things have gone well in the
church till declining years or change of fashions have
thrown the good man into the shade, and then the
minister's own spiritual children have been eager to
turn him out of doors. The unkindest cut of all has
come from those who owed their souls to him. His
heart was broken while he has sighed, 'T could have
borne it, had not the persons that I brought to the
Saviour have turned against me." The pang is not
unknown to me. I can never forget a certain house-
hold, in which the Lord gave me the great joy to
bring four employers and several persons engaged by
them to Jesus' feet. Snatched from the utmost care-
lessness of worldliness, these who had previously known
nothing of the grace of God were joyful confessors of
the faith. After a while, they imbibed certain opin-
ions differing from ours, and from that moment some
of them had nothing but hard words for me and my
preaching. I had done my best to teach them all the
truth I knew, and if they had found out more than I
had discovered, they might at least have remembered
where they learned the elements of the faith. It is years
ago now, and I have never said as much as this before;
but I feel the wound much. I only mention these
THE SOUL-WINNER'S REWARD, 11,7
sharp pricks to show how very sweet it is to have those
about you whom you have brought to the Saviour.
A mother feels great delight in her children, for an
intense love comes with natural relationships; but
there is a still deeper love connected with spiritual
kinship, a love which lasts through life, and will con-
tinue in eternity, for even in heaven each servant of the
Lord shall say, "Here am I, and the children whom
Thou hast given me." They neither marry nor are
given in marriage in the city of our God, but father-
hood and brotherhood in Christ shall still survive.
Those sweet and blessed bonds which grace has formed
continue for ever, and spiritual relationships are rather
developed than dissolved by translation to the better
land. If you are eager for real joy, such as you may
think over and sleep upon, I am persuaded that no
joy of growing wealthy, no joy of increasing knowl-
edge, no joy of influence over your fellow-creatures,
no joy of any other sort, can ever be compared with
the rapture of saving a soul from death, and helping
to restore our lost brethren to our great Father's house.
Talk of ten thousand pounds reward! It is nothing
at all, one might easily spend that amount; but one
cannot exhaust the unutterable delights which come
from the gratitude of souls converted from the error
of their ways.
But the richest reward lies in p/easing God, and
causing the Redeemer to see of the travail of His soul.
That Jesus should have His reward, is worthy of the
Eternal Father; but it is marvellous that we should
be employed by the Father to give to Christ the pur-
chase of His agonies. This is a wonder of wonders!
O my soul, this is an honour too great for thee! A
bliss too deep for words! Listen, dear friends, and an-
swer me. What would you give to cause a thrill of
198 THE SOUL-WINNER.
pleasure in the heart of the Well-beloved? Recollect
the grief you cost Him, and the pangs that shot through
Him that He might deliver you from your sin and its
consequences; do you not long to make Him glad?
When you bring others to His feet, you give him joy,
and no small joy either. Is not that a wonderful text:
'There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner that repenteth?" What does that mean?
Does it mean that the angels have joy? We generally
read it so, but it is not the intent of the verse. It says,
''There is joy in the presence of the angels of God" —
that is, joy in the heart of God, around whose throne
the angels stand. It is a joy which angels delight to be-
hold,— what is it? Is the blessed God capable of greater
joy than His own boundless happiness? Wondrous
language this! The infinite bliss of God is more emi-
nently displayed, if it cannot be increased. Can we be
the instruments of this? Can we do anything which
will make the Ever-blessed glad? Yes, for we are told
that the great Father rejoices above measure when His
prodigal son that was dead is alive again, and the lost
one is found.
If I could say this as I ought to say it, it would
make every Christian cry out, "Then I will labour to
bring souls to the Saviour;" and it would make those
of us who have brought many to Jesus instant, in
season and out of season, to bring more to Him. It
is a great pleasure to be doing a kindness to an
earthly friend, but to be doing something distinctly
for Jesus, something which will be of all things in the
world most pleasing to Him, is a great delight! It is
a good work to build a meeting house, and give it
outright to the cause of God, if it is done with a right
and proper motive; but one living stone, built upon
the sure foundation by our instrumentality, will give
THE SOUL-WINNERS REWARD. 199
the Alaster mure pleasure than if vvc erected a vast
pile of natural stones, whieli might only cumber the
ground. Then go, dear friends, and seek to bring your
children and your neighbours, your friends and your
kinsfolk, to the Saviour's feet, for nothing will give him
so much pleasure as to see them turn unto Him and
live. By your love to Jesus, I beseech you, become fish-
ers of men.