Sermons to the Natural Man by William G.T. Shedd

As of the posting of this post, this Kindle e-book is FREE for download from Amazon.com: Sermons to the Natural Man by William G.T. Shedd.

What I Require in a Gospel Tract in Order to Buy and Distribute It

1. It must be attractive, good design, visually pleasing

"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" (Phillipians 1:27)

2. It must give a clear exposition of the gospel, including a discussion of SIN.

All who would be Christians need to hear the bad news before we can be grateful for the good news.

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." (Romans 3:19)

"The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."(Matthew 11:5)

"And [Jesus was] saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15)

3. It must quote directly from the Bible. No paraphrase "bibles" (The Message, New Living Translation).

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

"What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." (Deuteronomy 12:32)

4. It must be God-honoring, portraying God as His word does: as sovereign, good, holy, mighty, faithful, merciful, just and as Creator, Savior, Lord and Judge of all men.

In the modern "church," there is an almost blasphemous portrayal of God as a buddy, someone we are equal terms with. He is portrayed as being made in our image. This is evil, and I would never buy or give out a "gospel tract" that portrayed God that way.

We must be reverent, worshipful, humble and grateful before God, and we must never lie about Who He Is! It is only because of the gracious condescension, mercy and love of God that He allows us to have a relationship with Him in Christ.

God does not fit our (sinful) idea of love and friendship, rather He teaches us what true love and friendship is. He is the Judge of us; we are not the judges of Him!

"I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." (Proverbs 30:3-5)

"Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." (Job 40:1-5)

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

These things I command you, that ye love one another." (John 15:12-17)

5. It must not say "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," tell the reader to insert their name into John 3:16, or some similar gimmick.

How do you know? How do you know that if they hear the true gospel, they will believe? It's presumptuous at best and a falsehood at worst.

"For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).

6. It must not tell the person how special they are, and that's why God loves them and offers them salvation, or a similar false "self-esteem gospel."

While it's true that every person is made in the image of God and is therefore valuable beyond measure, it's also true that each person is also a depraved, despicable sinner (since the fall, except for Jesus Christ), who is in desperate need of the way the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

"They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalm 14:3)

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinithians 5:21)

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

7. It must not emphasize the person "choosing" or "deciding" to believe in Jesus or "commit his life" to Jesus. Or "choosing" to go to heaven instead of hell.

Faith is neither an intellectual decision nor existential (of an act of the will in the flesh to “create” a reality).

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

8. It must not lead the reader in a "sinner's prayer."

We have enough lost people who think they are Christians because they were: led in a prayer, prayed for, walked down an aisle, baptized, raised in a church, raised in a Christian family, raised in the "Bible Belt," sent to Vacation Bible School (VBS), and all the other ways people are not saved.

"Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." (2 Timothy 2:10)

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

What a Gospel Tract Can (and Can't) Do

Tracts do not disciple or build a relationship with another person. They simply get the gospel and the word of God out. I personally believe tracts are vital to evangelism. But they are not the whole picture or even the major picture.

People need to be properly taught and discipled in a local Bible-believing church to grow in the faith, receive proper training in the doctrine of the Word, and grow a strong-rooted faith. If you are discipling someone in the faith, teaching the Bible, answering their questions, building trust and relationship with them, and they ask to pray with you for their salvation, by all means, pray!

But tracts don't do all that. Tracts are just a small beginning. They call the lost, proclaim the gospel, and may even convict of sin, but they can't disciple a soul.

For Some the Only Way

The article I quote below could have been written for me. God used a Bible left by a dumpster to begin to work in my heart, until He brought me to a state where I signed up for a class about Christianity at a local church. I was born-again in that Bible-based class, and I was saved through the gift of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary atonement on the cross for my sin. And He is faithful, keeping me in faith.

How did you come to Christ? Was it primarily through hearing the word of God, or by reading the word of God first?

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17, KJV)

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25, KJV)

From:
Moments With The Book: "For Some, the Only Way"

It's a wonderful thing that the story of the grace of God can be compressed into a few hundred words and printed on a piece of paper. It's even more wonderful when you consider that masses of people will not listen to a Christian broadcast on radio or TV. Neither will they enter a church or discuss spiritual things with a Christian.

You've probably heard the common reply, "I don't believe in discussing politics or religion."

Did you know that millions of people have this attitude? Multitudes cannot be reached by any other method than gospel tracts. Why? They have closed their hearts and minds to all public gospel approaches. Only the private door is open.

A person sitting in an airport will read the tract they find on their seat, yet they would stubbornly refuse to discuss the same truths with a witnessing Christian. Or a person may find a tract in a hotel lobby or a restaurant booth. In that secret moment the Holy Spirit can deal with them about Christ.

A whole segment of humanity cannot be reached in any other way. This means that the tract ministry is as vital as any form of evangelism. These people can be reached in a private moment with a tract that tells the message of Jesus Christ.

Many people have been deceived into thinking that tract ministry is not that important. Without realizing it, many Christians are despising one of the choicest ministries for our day of hit-and-run living. Once a believer begins to use gospel tracts, he finds how tracts reach people that he will never even meet face to face. Leave one in a public place, and the Holy Spirit will have someone ready who needs this approach--a person you'll never see until we reach Heaven. There is no substitute for the "hidden treasure" concept of Matthew 13:44. Some people just have to find Christ by themselves.

Arm yourself with these silent evangelists, and you'll contact souls beyond the reach of any public evangelist. For some it's the only way.

--C. S. Lovett

(Also, please do read all the other wonderful tract articles linked on that page.)