Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Warren Wiersbe
God Gives the Increase
If we truly understood that God alone does the saving, we’d probably be bolder in our witness for Christ. The Bible says that the early church grew as they were “attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:46-47a), but “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47b). Since God is the One Who gives the increase in the church, we should be faithful witnesses and leave the results up to Him.
God Does the Saving
Never does the Bible insinuate that we are the ones who save the lost, but it is as Isaiah wrote, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2), which is why “the LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.’” (Isaiah 62:11). It is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).
Not Dependent Upon Humans
God declares that “it does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Rom. 9:16) because God told Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Rom. 9:15). If we understood that God is the One Who saves, I believe we would take the Great Commission more seriously. It is an imperative command to go and make disciples of all nations and teach them what Christ has commanded us (Matt. 28:19-20), but we are never commanded to do the saving. The power is in the Gospel itself (Rom. 1:16) and not in us.
Conclusion
Witnessing is a matter of trust, so we must let God be the Judge. Our job today is to be a witness and understand that God gives the increase in His church and that God does the saving; it never depends upon us. It is not our responsibility to save anyone. It is their response to His ability, but it is still our responsibility to tell them.
