Gospel Tracts, Part 2

“Nothing surpasses a tract for sowing the seed of the Good News.”

BILLY GRAHAM

Kirk Cameron’s Comment

A woman I know wants to give her unsaved friends a tract, but can’t find one she feels fits her personality. So she’s going to collect her thoughts and write her own. You might want to do the same.

Questions & Objections

Lesson

I find it hard to understand why every Christian doesn’t carry gospel tracts. Joey Hancock of the American Tract Society said, “Fifty-three percent of all who come to Christ worldwide come through the use of printed gospel literature.” If we really care about the eternal salvation of those around us, how could we not carry tracts everywhere we go?

Look at these words from Charles Spurgeon on the use of tracts:

I well remember distributing them in a town in England where tracts had never been distributed before, and going from house to house, and telling in humble language the things of the kingdom of God. I might have done nothing, if I had not been encouraged by finding myself able to do something ... [Tracts are] adapted to those persons who have but little power and little ability, but nevertheless, wish to do something for Christ. They may not have the tongue of the eloquent, but they may have the hand of the diligent. They cannot stand and preach, but they can stand and distribute here and there these silent preachers ... They may buy their thousand tracts, and these they can distribute broadcast.

I look upon the giving away of a religious tract as only the first step for action not to be compared with many another deed done for Christ; but were it not for the first step we might never reach to the second, but that first attained, we are encouraged to take another, and so at the last ... There is a real service of Christ in the distribution of the gospel in its printed form, a service the result of which heaven alone shall disclose, and the judgment day alone discover. How many thousands have been carried to heaven instrumentally upon the wings of these tracts, none can tell.

I might say, if it were right to quote such a Scripture, “The leaves were for the healing of the nations”—verily they are so. Scattered where the whole tree could scarcely be carried, the very leaves have had a medicinal and a healing virtue in them and the real word of truth, the simple statement of a Savior crucified and of a sinner who shall be saved by simply trusting in the Savior, has been greatly blessed, and many thousand souls have been led into the kingdom of heaven by this simple means. Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of tracts is the first thing.

If you are wondering where you could leave tracts, here are several suggestions:

At pay phones

In shopping carts

In clothes pockets in stores

In letters to loved ones

With a generous tip

On seats in restaurant lobbies

With fast-food employees, cashiers, and gas station workers

In restrooms

At rest areas

On ATM machines and bank counters

In envelopes with bill payments

In elevators

On hotel dressers for the maid

On ice machines

On newspaper racks

In waiting rooms of doctors’ offices and hospitals

On seats at airports, subways, and bus stations

With flight attendants and cab drivers

In plane seat pockets

Inside magazines

In cabs

In laundromats

Many Christians also give gospel tracts and candy to children who knock on their door during Halloween. What other day do scores of young people come to your door for gospel tracts?

To take advantage of another great opportunity to sow seeds for the gospel, you may want to use our unique “Court Tract.” Over the past four years we have given out more than 40,000 tracts outside the courthouse, about 60 feet from our office. This tract is designed especially for those who line up outside the courtrooms each morning to pay misdemeanor fines. The front, back, and first pages explain courtroom etiquette (the do’s and don’ts when in court); then when the tract is unfolded, the inside explains the gospel (that each of us will face a Judge on Judgment Day). As you go along the line and hand out tracts, you may like to tell people, “Make sure all cell phones and pagers are turned off.” This is true, so you are doing both them and the courts a favor.

Perhaps you might like to consider preaching the gospel outside the court buildings in your area. I did this recently with the forty to sixty people waiting to enter the courthouse. I began by saying, “You are here because you have allegedly violated civil law. The Bible says that each of us have violated God’s Law, the Ten Commandments. I would like to put you on the stand and examine you for a moment to see if you are guilty.”

I went through the Law and the reality of hell, then preached the cross, repentance, and faith. They all seemed to be listening, and no one was offended. It’s an incredible opportunity. The line is made up of different people every day, from all walks of life. As they are waiting to go to court they are no doubt praying for mercy ... and they can’t get out of line because they will lose their place.

Another tract that is easy to give away is our “Giant Money tract.” When you go to pay in a store or restaurant, ask if the cashier can “break a large bill” as you hand the person this tract. People who have tried this have been practically swarmed by others wanting to have one. One individual said, “These tracts almost give themselves away and they put a smile on the face of the person receiving them!”

If, in Spurgeon’s words, you feel you “have but little power and little ability, but nevertheless, wish to do something for Christ,” then begin today to give out tracts. May God give you the zeal of Mark Cahill, our all-time biggest tract customer (6’6"). Just since January 2001, he has ordered 368,500 tracts. You can likewise “distribute here and there these silent preachers.”

If you have Internet access: Please go to the address below and listen to a brief message entitled “Just One Person: George Street.” This incredible true story of how God worked in a little place called George Street will show what “just one person” can do. This nine-minute testimony will be a real blessing: www.livingwaters.com/listenwatch/georgestreet.m3u

Feathers for Arrows

Although the prophet Jeremiah was assured that God formed him, knew him, sanctified and ordained him, he still was paralyzed by the fear of man (Jeremiah 1:5, 6). When fear of man seeks to paralyze us, we must stop saying, “I cannot speak,” and instead say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). This verse obliterates our every excuse for not preaching the gospel to every creature. It counters the fear of man, the fear of rejection, the fear of public speaking, and the fear of offering a stranger a gospel tract. Remember the words of Hudson Taylor: “All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they believed that God would be with them.”

Questions

1. According to the American Tract Society, what percentage of conversions to Jesus Christ comes through the use of printed gospel literature?
2. For what kind of people did Charles Spurgeon say tracts were adapted?
3. What did Spurgeon call gospel tracts?
4. What are some of the places where you will commit today to begin giving out tracts?
5. What encouragement did you receive from the “George Street” message?

Answers to these review questions are provided in the back of the printed book / source PDF.

Memory Verse

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.”

Proverbs 11:30

Last Words

Jean Claude (1619–1687) was among the Protestants driven out of France during the reign of Louis XIV. As leader of the French Protestants he vigorously defended the tenets of the faith. Stricken with a fatal illness, Claude gathered his family around his bed. To his wife kneeling at his side, he said: “I have always tenderly loved you. Be not afflicted at my death. The death of the saints is precious in the sight of God. In you I perceive a sincere piety; I bless God for it. Be constant in serving Him with all your heart, and He will bless you.”

Jean Claude