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Written by Thomas Brooks: Thomas Brooks (1608–1680) was a Puritan pastor in London, England. He was also a Christian author of several much-appreciated books and articles. The following article is an excerpt from his collected works of six volumes published by the Banner of Truth Trust.

Christ, that only went to the price of souls, hath told us that one soul is of more worth than all the world. Christ left His Father’s bosom, and all the glory of heaven, for the good of souls; He assumed the nature of man for the happiness of the soul of man; He trode the wine-press of His Father’s wrath for souls; He wept for souls, He sweat for souls, He paid for souls, and He bled out His heartblood for souls. The soul is the breath of God, the beauty of man, the wonder of angels, and the envy of devils; it is of an angelical nature, it is a heavenly spark, a celestial plant, and of a divine offspring, it is a spiritual substance, capable of the knowledge of God, and of union with God, and of communion with God, and of an eternal fruition of God. There is nothing that can suit the soul below God, nor nothing that can satisfy the soul without God; the soul is so high and so noble a piece, that it scorns all the world in point of acceptation, justification, satisfaction, and salvation. What are all the riches of the East or West Indies? What are rocks of diamonds, or mountains of gold, or the price of Cleopatra’s draught, to the price that Christ laid down for souls? Christ made Himself an offering for sin, that souls might not be undone by sin; the Lord died that slaves may live, the Son dies that servants may live; the natural Son dies that adopted sons may live, the only begotten Son dies that bastards may live; yea, the Judge dies that malefactors may live. Ah, friends, as there was never sorrow like Christ’s sorrow, so there was never love like Christ’s love, and of all His love none to that of soul love. In a word, the spiritual enemies which daily war against the soul, the glorious angels which hourly guard the soul, and the precious ordinances which God hath appointed as means both to convert and to feed the soul, do all speak out the preciousness and excellency of the soul. There was once a great contest among some nations about Homer, an excellent poet—they severally pleaded their interest in him; and truly so it is this day about the soul of man: many lay claim to it,—sin lays claim to it, and the world lays claim to it, and Satan lays claim to it, and Christ and holiness lays claim to it, and oh that Christ and holiness might have it before all others! O sirs, there is no wisdom nor policy to that of securing our precious souls, for they are jewels of more worth than all the world! All the honours, riches, greatness, and glory of this world are but chips and pebbles to these glorious pearls; therefore, before all and above all other things, make sure work for your souls; if they are safe all is safe, but if they are lost all is lost. Other things cannot be made sure; riches cannot, for as they are lying, so they are flying vanities, they make themselves wings, and they fly away; honours cannot: Haman is feasted with the king one day, and made a feast for crows the next; Herod is one hour cried up for a god, and the next hour he is eaten of worms. Princes’ courts are very slippery: a man may quickly get a fall there, that may easily break both back and neck, as many in all ages have experienced; the applause and favour of creatures cannot, for many men’s favours are got with an apple, and lost with a nut. Judas his heart was hardly warmed with the high priest’s favour, before they shut their doors upon him, with a "What is that to us? Look thou to that" (Matthew 27:4–5). What is the favour of man but a blast, a sunshine-hour, a puff of wind, a magnum nihil, a great nothing? Who then would spend an hour’s time to secure it? Near and dear relations cannot, for the delight of Ezekiel’s eyes is taken away with a stroke (Ezekiel 24:16); and all Job’s children are snatched away in a day (Job 1:10).

O sirs, if the serious consideration of the preciousness and worth of your souls will not draw you out to study holiness, to love holiness, to prize holiness, and to press after holiness, what will? O sirs, it is only holiness that is the happiness of the soul, the safety and security of the soul, the prosperity and felicity of the soul, and the lustre and glory of the soul; and therefore why should you not labour, as for life, after this inestimable jewel, holiness? Oh, let the remembrance of the preciousness of your souls be an effectual means to draw you to hear that you may be holy, and to pray that you may be holy, and to read that you may be holy, and to mourn that you may be holy, and to sigh and groan after holiness, as after that which is the soul’s only happiness. O sirs, there is nothing below heaven so precious and noble as your souls; and therefore do not play the courtier with your souls. Now the courtier does all things late—he rises late, and dines late, and sups late, and repents late. Oh, do not poison your precious souls by gross enormities! Oh, do not starve your souls by the omission of religious duties! Oh, do not murder and damn your souls by turning your backs upon holy ordinances! I have read of a woman, who, when her house was on fire, so minded the saving of her goods, that she forgot her only child, and left it burning in the fire; at last, being minded of it, she cries out, "Oh, my child! oh, my poor child!" but all too late. So there are many men now so mad upon the world, and so bewitched with the world, that they never mind, they never regard their poor souls, till they come to fall under everlasting burnings, and then they cry out, Oh, our souls! oh, our poor souls! Oh that we had been wise for our souls! Oh that we had got holiness for our souls! Oh that we had made sure work for our souls! But all too late, all too late. The Lord make you wise to prevent soulburnings at last. If he be rather a monster than a man that feasts his slave but starves his wife, what shall we say of those that pamper their bodies but starve their souls, and that have threadbare souls under silk and satin clothes, and that please themselves with deformed souls under beautiful faces? Surely it had been good for these that they had never been born. All unholy persons will at last cry out, We have betrayed our immortal souls, we have lost a precious Father, we have lost a dear Redeemer, we have lost the company of glorious angels, we have lost the society of "the spirits of just men made perfect," and we have lost all the pleasures and joys and delights that be at the right hand of the Most High! We have lost these, we have lost all these, and we have lost them for ever and ever: surely there is no hell to this hell! For a close of this direction, remember this, that as the soul is the life and excellency of the body, so holiness is the life and excellency of the soul, and as the body without the soul is dead, so the soul without holiness is dead.

We are instructed to "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded" (James 4:8).

The great duty required of us here primarily entails our returning to God from our wandering away from Him. In Zechariah 1:3, the Lord declared unto Israel, "Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts." Again, the Lord said in Malachi 3:7, "Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts."

He calls us to draw near to Him. Though He knows that we have turned away from Him, how lovingly and tenderly He calls us to stay near Him! Oh, the graciousness of this invitation! He is calling us to return to Him from our backsliding, cold indifference and meaningless formalism. He counsels us to live in His presence with ardent prayers and cheerful devotedness to Him, for "glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place" (1 Chronicles 16:27).

We must draw nigh to God with a firm resolution to seek Him. We must draw nigh unto Him with sincerity of heart to serve Him. We must desire close communion with our God that we may grow in our faith and knowledge of His goodness and His perfect will. We must stand by Him in obedience to do all His good pleasure.

If there is no close communion between God and you, it is your fault and not His. He is calling you to draw nigh unto Him. "Come," He says. So, as Hebrews 10:22 says, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

God gives you great encouragement to draw near unto Him, by assuring you that "he will draw nigh to you". You are not asked to draw near to a God who is disinterested in you. He is most willing to have you and hold you close to Him. He will make you know His presence, His grace and His greatness. Turn to Him; He will meet you there. Call on Him in repentance and faith; He will answer you. He promises you that He will draw nigh unto you. If you seek Him, He will be found of you. As Hosea 6:1-2 says, "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." So, arise and return to the loving presence of your God. Say now, like the prodigal son, "I will arise and go to my father" (Luke 15:18).

It was also advised, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." Have you noticed that here James calls his readers "sinners" and "double minded"? Who are they?

Among those who are gathered in the churches of Jesus Christ, there are those who continue to entangle themselves with sin. Sinners are those who transgress the righteous laws of God, and conduct themselves in a manner that is displeasing to God. The word "double minded" refers to those who are fickle-minded and unstable in their faith and devotion to God. The double-minded are those who vacillate between God and the world. Here James calls them all to repentance.

He tells them to "cleanse your hands" and "purify your hearts". Both "cleanse "and "purify" are verbs that refer to ceremonial cleansing, a figure that spoke eloquently to Jewish as well as Gentile converts. Those words remind them of the need to put away their sins before they approach God, who is pure and holy. The words "hands" and "hearts" point them to their actions and affections. It is an indispensable requisite that we cease from our sinful actions and passions when we draw nigh unto God.

So David said, "I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, O LORD" (Psalm 26:6). The apostle Paul directs us in 1 Timothy 2:8, "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." We must cease from everything unjust or cruel, and be free from the defilement of sin. He who serves the Lord cannot be a servant of sin. The worshippers of God must be pure-hearted, i.e. sincere and single-minded to please God. They must cease from everything worldly, carnal and displeasing to God.

It is hypocrisy to come to God with hands and hearts that are impure. Jesus cited Isaiah in Matthew 15:8-9, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me". In Matthew 23, Jesus repeatedly condemned the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. He did not mince His words: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" He then rebuked them sharply, "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Matthew 23:26). Let us serve Him in sincerity and holiness.

A church’s God-given mission on earth is to preach the Gospel of Christ, that sinners may be saved and brought to the church for their spiritual growth. A church that is not committed to doing the Gospel-work has no right to exist, and it shall soon weaken and die off.

Preaching Christ is particularly important to the church that seeks true biblical growth. All its members must engage in soul-winning ministry, because it is the work that the Head of the church, the Lord Jesus, has given them to do. Jesus defined His work thus: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Then, He told His disciples that "as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (John 20:21b). Hence every faithful church member, who goes about doing the will of his Saviour and Lord, must be mindful to do the work of soul-winning, which Christ has given to us to fulfil.

The apostle Paul is a fine example to all of us in the work of the Gospel. While writing to Timothy, he wrote how he had dedicated himself to be a soul-winner for the Lord – "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). He then urged Timothy, "But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5).

Evangelism must be the primary purpose of the local church, and is one of the major reasons for which it exists. God’s work in this day and age centres in the local church, and God’s concern has always been to reach out in love to a lost and dying world with the good news of eternal life. Evangelism should be at the top of the list of our church’s ministries. All our leaders and members must be involved in evangelism. Evangelism is not an option for the local church; it is a command. Jesus said, "…ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8)!

Evangelism is not a system or a programme, but a personal involvement in the lives of people to help them know the things they need to know and believe on Christ in order to be saved. Evangelism involves the message, as well as the presence and conduct of the messenger. "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27a). Scripture insists "that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life…" (Philippians 2:15-16a).

As the saying goes, many people talk a lot about evangelism, but not many are doing it. Much time and effort are put into many different plans and programmes, but it seems that evangelism is still one of our neglected areas of ministry. There are two basic principles that should give us a starting point for an understanding of evangelism. First, the local church is central to God’s plan for ministry in this age. This means that biblical evangelism centres in the local church, and the ministry of the local church must focus on evangelism. Second, it is the responsibility of all leaders to be involved in training others in ministry and leadership. This would place great emphasis on the responsibility of the church and its leaders to train and equip its members to do the work of the ministry (cf. Ephesians 4).

In Gethsemane, let all of us make special efforts to be ready to do the work of evangelism. I urge you in the Lord, dear reader, to dedicate yourself with all your heart, that you may be a joyful soul-winner for our glorious Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A church that is dedicated to the work of evangelism will bring unbounded joy to its leaders and Christians everywhere. As a result, an evangelistic church will bring glory to the Lord. "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; … For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing" (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, 8).

Beloved, our initial enthusiasm to spread the Gospel should not die off. We should always be committed to do the work of evangelism. Let us not allow difficulties or lethargy hinder our involvement in this God-given duty. How wonderful it will be if our church receives from the Lord a similar commendation as the church in Thessalonica had received from the apostle Paul!

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! …So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:13-17).

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundational principle of a genuine and triumphant spiritual life. No spiritual realities promised in the Bible – holiness, knowledge, power, courage, fruitfulness, etc. – can ever be experienced without an abiding faith in Christ. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

Jesus denounced those who refused to put their faith in Him, even though He had taught them the divine truths and done many miracles that proved His divinity. He chided them, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?..." (Matthew 17:17). He disapprovingly asked His disciples (being frightened by a great storm of wind, where the waves beat into the ship), "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" (Mark 4:40).

While Jesus reprimanded people who lacked faith or had little faith, He commended those who expressed extraordinary faith. He told the centurion who exhibited extraordinary faith in His power to heal his servant who was sick with palsy, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (Matthew 8:10). When a woman, "which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment" (Matthew 9:20) for healing, Jesus said to her, "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole" (Matthew 9:22). To the two blind men who "followed him, crying, and saying, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us" (Matthew 9:27), He responded with the words: "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:29). That’s not all. Hear the words of Jesus to the woman of Canaan, who sought deliverance for her daughter who was "grievously vexed with a devil" (Matthew 15:22): "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt" (Matthew 15:28). Whoever came to Jesus with a prayer of faith received not only answers to his / her prayer, but also His commendation.

Like the apostles who said unto the Lord, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5), we too must pray that our faith will steadfastly grow. An increase of faith is greatly to be desired by all Christians. We enjoy "boldness and access" to God "with confidence by the faith of him" (Ephesians 3:12). Paul reminds all Christians that it is "by faith ye stand" (2 Corinthians 1:24b). Daily spiritual joy and hope are gained as "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). Victories in spiritual battles belong to those who take "the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Ephesians 6:16). Indeed, "this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4b). Thus, we can be sure of a life that is steadfast and sanctified, successful and safeguarded for the glory of God – "the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him" (Hebrews 10:38).

Scripture tells us that the ancient spiritual heroes "through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens" (Hebrews 11:33-34). The stories of the valiant deeds of God’s servants who exercised their faith in God’s Word are strewn all over the pages of the Scriptures.

Consider a few examples of the valiant men of God who gained great victories through faith:

• "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" (Hebrews 11:4).
• "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death…. for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Hebrews 11:5).
• "By faith Noah…prepared an ark to the saving of his house… and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Hebrews 11:7).
• "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and… by faith he sojourned in the land of promise… for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:8-10).
• "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age…" (Hebrews 11:11).

So also, by faith, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Samuel, David and many more did great things in their generations.
My beloved brethren, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2a). "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" (Hebrews 10:23).

Faith shall make us a people of great spiritual conquests and accomplishments. Jesus said, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matthew 17:20). The "mountain-moving" faith is not faith in oneself, much less faith in faith, but faith in God. It is not faith itself – no matter how great – that moves mountains, but the God in whom the faith is grounded. Faith has only as much power as its object. If we persist in prayer with faith, we will receive God’s promised forgiveness, peace, joy, freedom, guidance, fruitfulness, protection, wisdom, victory over sin and trials, and countless other blessings.

What does Paul mean by the statement in 1 Corinthians 6:19 - "ye are not your own"?

It is instructive to note that even those who claim that "I am my own" are bound by circumstances, relationships, etc. No one is entirely free. Hence, none is fully independent in his decisions, speech and actions. One may differ from certain people, but others will influence or affect him.

The principle that the apostle Paul emphasises here is that every Christian belongs entirely to God. His soul and body are not his own, but God’s. This is one of the most elementary principles of Christian thought and life. The essence of Christianity is a voluntary surrender of will and life to Christ. No Christian should claim that he is the master of his own life, even though everyone naturally wants to think that he is his own master.

Christians are not their own. Christians are the Lord’s purchased possession. "For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:20). The divine possession of every Christian is a real, permanent, and blessed truth. If we could only realise it more!

To be mindful that we are not ours, but the Lord’s is not some dangerous fanaticism. It is a calm and dignified assurance within our souls that strengthens us to live consciously with holy and glorious aspirations. What strength and beauty it would give to our life!

When Christians appreciates this truth, they yield their hearts to Christ! Then their thoughts are not their own, but are subject to the Lord who redeemed them for Himself. Their abilities, time and resources are not theirs, but are to be consecrated to Him who is their Saviour and Lord.

Christianity is violated and demeaned when those who claim to be Christians refuse to yield their souls and bodies entirely to their Saviour and Lord. The Apostle asked, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). As Christians, our bodies are not our own to use in any way that would defy or displease the Lord who owns them entirely.

Paul emphasises that Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who has made their body His residence. So Paul called them to abstain from sexual sins, that their body be kept sanctified as the temple of the Holy Spirit who indwells them. Committing fornication is as disgusting as committing sexual sins in a worship sanctuary. Whenever sexual immorality is committed by believers, abomination is committed within God’s sanctuary. Every sin committed in a Christian’s body is a defiling act within the temple of God. Christians’ bodies are God’s temple, reserved for His praise and purposes. Our bodies, therefore, have one supreme purpose: to glorify God. "Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body" (1 Corinthians 6:13b).

The sense of Divine ownership, rather than self-ownership, is the inspiration of all Christian virtues, aspirations, motivations, dignity and strength. Imagine the sanctity of the temple of old, about which it is said that "the glory of the Lord had filled the house" (1 Kg 8:11). Are we not also blessed with such a higher sanctity in our bodies because of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit? Shall not "Holiness unto the Lord" also be our motto because we are His?

Online Pastors’ Conference

An Email from Pr Sujith Samuel

Dear Pastor,

I thank God for His special help and strength upon you in preaching five sermons on the theme, "Shepherding in the Spirit", during the Online Pastors’ Conference (June 25-26, 2020). I also praise God for bringing many participants from India, China and Southeast Asian countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, etc.), including the preachers of our church from Singapore and the missionaries from the Philippines.

Most of the pastors who attended the last Pastors’ meeting (in June 2019) here in Vizag, India, were not able to make it for this meeting. They live and serve beyond the bounds of the city. The network coverage is not good in those areas. So, they could not get into the online meeting.

However, there were many new participants from other areas of India in last week’s Online Pastors’ Conference. From their feedback that I’ve received, I would like you to know that they were much blessed from the five teaching sessions that you have conducted. The "Question & Answer" session was beneficial to them to clarify their doubts on the topic of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in and through His servants. Some participants have requested for the recordings of all those sessions. I would like to thank you for your plans to make them available; for those recordings will undoubtedly benefit them, especially those who could not hear them.

I thank God for the help offered by Bro Lijoy George, Bro Cornelius Koshy, Bro Mathew Peh, Bro Norefel Resuma, etc. for all the efforts they have put in to ensure that the online meetings were smoothly conducted. May the Lord bless all those who helped in organising this conference.

Please continue to pray for the work here in Vizag and its surroundings. Students are preparing to come back and resume their studies in GBI. We are still not sure whether students from far will be able to return to GBI for the new semester. Meanwhile, some renovation works are being done in our rented premises to enlarge the meeting area to receive more students and also to ensure social distancing. If the Lord permits, the renovation will be completed soon, and the premises will be ready for worship service, classes, etc.

I am delighted to know that the church in Singapore had been given permission to conduct Holy Communion service in Gethsemane Media Centre. May the Lord, in His good time, open the doors of His house for regular worship, prayer, fellowship meetings, etc.

Remembering all of you in my prayers,
Sujith