I believe this passage of Scripture speaks of the imputed righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”
Dear reader, the measure of our success as a Christian won't be how many people show up to say goodbye at our funeral; but rather, how many people are waiting to greet us when we get to Heaven. That is, how many people we lead to the Lord Jesus Christ in our lifetime.
The Apostle Paul made this remarkable statement, writing under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit:
1st Corinthians 9:16, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”
Do you think that “woe” only applies to an apostle if he fails to preach the Gospel? Every child of God is commanded by God to share the Gospel, as set forth in The Great Commission:
Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
God intended for the Gospel to perpetuate from one generation to the next. For example: I lead you to Christ, and then teach you the things of Christ so that you can go soulwinning and lead lost sinners to Christ, and then those converts learn the ways of Christ and they go preach the Gospel to win more sinners to Jesus, and so forth. This is The Great Commission.
Are you soul-conscious dear reader? Are you a born again Christian? There is nothing in this life more important than knowing that your name is written in Heaven in the Lamb's Book of Life (Luke 10:20).
I keep this Gospel tract by Army chaplain David Rutkin with me everywhere I go. I have a rubber band around my phone that holds a dozen tracts. I wear my phone around my neck on a chain. I used this pad to prevent the chain from irritating my neck. The tract is titled, “Nothing But The Truth.” I pass them out to people. By doing so, I am planting a seed at a minimum. At best, they might even get saved by believing the Gospel. It is not our job to save anybody; but rather, to just give them a clear Gospel presentation. God saves sinners (1st Corinthians 3:6). Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
Having Everything And Yet Nothing
Today, I was reading about Hollywood actors who were fired for being greedy. It sickens me with all the tens of millions of dollars that Hollywood actors already have, they want more, more, more! Albeit, I think in some instances it is more a matter of principle than the money.
For the 2014 movie sequel “Expendables 3,” The Hollywood Reporter said that Bruce Willis' exit from the franchise was due to a huge paycheck demand. According to The Hollywood Reporter's source, “Willis was offered $3 million for four days of consecutive work,” but he demanded a pay bump to $4 million. Can you imagine? Bruce Willis wasn't content with $750,000 per day of work! It takes the average hard working American 10 to 15 years to earn that amount of money!!! Unreal.
In fairness to Bruce Willis, that single movie grossed $209,500,000 in profits, so he probably loathed the greedy of the studio. Hollywood studios exploit the actors' fame to boost their film sales. Willis fully knew that, which is why I think he refused the role unless they paid him more. It wasn't about the money, it's the principle of the matter.
Just as a side note of trivia, Jason Statham earned a massive $25 million just for his role in the 2023 “Expendables 4” film. Wowza! For Statham's role in all four films in The Expendables franchise he was paid $52 million total. His net worth is $120 million.
While I was researching the outrageous salaries of Hollywood actors today, I noticed that Robert DeNiro has a staggering net worth of $500,000,000. Sadly, DeNiro is an atheist. Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Most rich people have everything they already need on earth, so they don't think they need God, provisions or Heaven. But the poor, imprisoned and broken people of this world are desperate for a better life.
1st Corinthians 1:17-18, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
I also read about Hollywood actor Jack Black this week, who is an avowed atheist. His net worth is $50 million. I could mention the names of thousands of Hollywood actors and famous people who have a shocking net worth, and yet they are oh so poor without Jesus Christ. They are some of the most selfish people on planet earth. It breaks my heart whenever I read about a famous person who has everything they could want in this life, except Jesus.
Brian Johnson of the hard rock band AC/DC is an atheist. He denies that Jesus is God. To deny the deity of Jesus (the truth that He is almighty God) makes one effectively an atheist.
“Well I don't believe in religion, let's put it that way,” Johnson said. “I believe all religions are bad. I think they're a waste of time. Jesus was a clever man. He wasn't the son of God. We all know that he was a very clever, wonderful man and he said, 'Church is in here, meaning you are your own church.'” [emphasis added] SOURCEWhat saith the Scripture? 1st John 2:22-23, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” Kindly said, woe unto Brian Johnson when he enters the afterlife.
At age 78 in 2026, Brian Johnson has a net worth of $90 million. What good is all that money, since they cannot take one penny with them into eternity. 1st Timothy 6:7, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
The Only Happy Life is Living For Souls
It was Pastor Dwight Lyman Moody in Chicago who rightly said:
“It is the only happy life to live for the salvation of souls.” —Pastor D. L. Moody (1837-1899)
When this life is over and we are in God's hands someday, all that will matter then is if we died in the Lord (Revelation 13:14), and what we did for Christ with our life (Ecclesiastes 12:13). The true measure of our success as a Christian won't be how many people show up to say goodbye at our funeral; but rather, how many people are waiting to greet us when we get to Heaven.
God calls the feet of the soulwinner “beautiful.” Notice that the Bible doesn't say that our mouth or lips are beautiful, but our feet. ...
Romans 10:15-16, “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! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”
The reason why is obvious, because even the most eloquent words of wisdom are worthless if our feet are too lazy to carry those needful words to lost sinners. 2nd Corinthians 4:3, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.” Winning lost sinners to Jesus is so important to the heavenly Father that I have dedicated an entire website just to soulwinning...
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