The Hyles Church Manual
by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)
(Chapter 19 from Dr. Hyle's excellent book, The Hyles Church Manual)
19. A Soul-Winning Experience
Doug Hiles was won to Christ in his home in the fall of 1960 by Pastor Hyles.
The experience was relived so that others could “hear” how to win a soul.
His growth in grace is evidenced by the fact that
Brother Doug has become a deacon in the First Baptist Church of Hammond.
MRS. HILES: Hello.
PASTOR: Hello, Mrs. Hiles?
MRS. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: I am Brother Jack Hyles, pastor of the First Baptist Church of
Hammond.
MRS. HILES: How do you do.
PASTOR: Your name is spelled H-I-L-E-S, is it not?
MRS. HILES: That is right.
PASTOR: And mine is spelled H-Y-L-E-S. I wonder if maybe our great, great,
great, great, great, great, great, great grandfathers didn’t come over on the
Mayflower together. Perhaps the spelling has been changed through the years,
but I have never seen anyone in all my like outside my own family named Hyles.
It is very interesting to me that we have the same name.
MRS. HILES: It is not too common a name.
PASTOR: It is not too common. Mrs. Hiles, I understand that you were in our
service recently. Is this right? Let’s see-Sunday morning or evening?
MRS. HILES: Both services.
PASTOR: Oh, both services? Well, wonderful, and you were back again on Sunday
evening and Wednesday evening also. Was you husband with you?
MRS. HILES: Not on Wednesday. Would you like to come in and meet him?
PASTOR: Well, thank you, thank you, I will. My, it is nice to be inside. It is
a little cool outside. Who plays the guitar, Kathy?
MRS. HILES: Doug.
PASTOR: Oh, is that right?
MRS. HILES: This is Doug.
PASTOR: Hello, Doug. How are you?
MRS. HILES: How do you do.
PASTOR: I am glad to know you. I am pastor of the First Baptist Church. We are
glad that you came to see us last Sunday. Kathy tells me that you are a guitar
player. Is that right?
MR. HILES: Yes, I play a little bit.
PASTOR: Is that a fact? Where do you play, Doug?
MR. HILES: Well, I’m not playing anywhere right now.
Before we moved here I did a little work in Nevada in some of the clubs.
PASTOR: oh, did you?
MR. HILES: Yes, when I was in service, I played.
PASTOR: Well, how interesting. I admire a fellow who plays the guitar. What
kind of guitar is this, Doug?
MR. HILES: It is a Gretsch.
PASTOR: A Gretsch? It is a steel, standard or what?
MR. HILES: Well, it is a regular Spanish guitar.
PASTOR: Oh, a regular Spanish guitar. Wonderful. Are you folks new in town?
MR. HILES: Yes, we are.
PASTOR: Well, fine. From where did you come?
MR. HILES: We came from Wisconsin. I was attending school up there.
PASTOR: Where did you go to school, Doug?
MR. HILES: I went to Milwaukee Civil Engineering for awhile and then I
switched over and went to the Automation Institute-IBM school.
PASTOR: You have a varied background-Wisconsin, Nevada, guitar playing,
engineering training, etc. Well, this is tremendous. Where do you work here,
Doug? Are you employed here in our area?
MR. HILES: Yes, I am with Lever Brothers Company.
PASTOR: What do you do there?
MR. HILES: I am an IBM operator.
PASTOR: Did you learn this in Wisconsin at school?
MR. HILES: Yes, in the Automation Institute.
PASTOR: I see. How do you like it there?
MR. HILES: I like it real well.
PASTOR: I hope you will like it. We want to welcome you to our area. We are
glad that you are here and do trust you will enjoy living in the Calumet
region. I also want to say on behalf of our church that we are so glad that
you came to see us last Sunday. It is always a joy to have visitors. We are
glad that you came.
MR. HILES: It is a large church.
PASTOR: Yes, it is a very large church.
MR. HILES: We enjoyed the choir very much.
PASTOR: Wonderful. That is good. You know, I like good music. I guess you do
because you play the guitar.
I think that you will find, Kathy, that we do have a
lot of people, but I think you will find our church to have a little-type
spirit, maybe. We don’t play big. We don’t act big. Actually, we are just a
lot of little people and we love the Lord. I think that you will find after
you have been here awhile that we are like the country church back home, and
we hope you will come back to see us again. What church did you belong to,
Kathy? Do you have a church membership?
MRS. HILES: Yes, in Nevada, I was a Southern Baptist.
PASTOR: Oh, is that a fact? Then you have been saved, have you?
MRS. HILES: Yes, I have.
PASTOR: Do you know, Kathy, that if you died today that you would go to
Heaven?
MRS. HILES: I certainly do.
PASTOR: Well, wonderful. When were you saved?
MRS. HILES: When I was about thirteen.
PASTOR: Well, that is good. I am so glad. Doug are you a Baptist too?
MR. HILES: No, I was raised Methodist. We have been looking around in the area
for a church. We have been investigating the Catholic religion.
PASTOR: Oh, I see. Then you were reared a Methodist, were you?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: My mother was reared a Methodist. She becomes a Baptist after I
started going to a Baptist church. You are not attending the Catholic church,
are you?
MR. HILES: Well, we attended some in Wisconsin. We just have gone to a few
around here. We are looking for a church.
PASTOR: Oh, I see. You are interested in the
Catholic religion?
MR. HILES: Yes, we have been looking into it.
PASTOR: Well, that is very interesting. We have almost an ecumenical movement
right here, don’t we? I am a Baptist and Kathy is a Southern Baptist. You are
a Methodist and you are thinking of attending the Catholic church. You know
the wonderful thing about it, Doug and Kathy, is that you don’t have to belong
to a church to go to Heaven. It does not matter what church you belong to. If
you do know Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour, you can go to Heaven
regardless of the church.
I always say that the church is like a bus station. It doesn’t take you to your destination; it is simply a good place to meet the bus that will. So the transportation to Heaven is Jesus Christ. A lot of people meet Him at the church, but you can flag the bus down on the highway too and catch it. So you can be saved in your home as well as you could at church.
Let’s forget for a few moments, Doug, that I am a Baptist and that you are considering Catholicism, and let’s just think about one thing. I know in our Baptist churches oftentimes people come to me and say, “Pastor, though I have been a Baptist for many years, I really do not know that I am going to Heaven.” I am sure that in the Catholic church, or even the Methodist church, there may be numbers of people that may belong to the church but, as some Baptists, they do not really know that if they died they would go to Heaven.
Let me ask you, Doug, do you know that if you died
tonight that you would go to Heaven?
MR. HILES: I don’t think anyone can really know until they die.
PASTOR: I see. Then you feel that a person cannot
know he is saved until he dies. Is that true?
MRS. HILES: I am sure that Doug is a Christian. He reads his Bible a lot.
PASTOR: I see. Well, that is admirable. I am sure that the fact that you have
been in the Baptist church, the Methodist church and are now looking into the
Catholic religion, means that you are sincere and that you do want to know the
truth. I am sure of that. You strike me, Doug, that you are a very sincere
man. Let me ask you this, Doug. Suppose that I could show you in the Bible how
you could know that if you died, you would go to Heaven, and you could see
that a person could know. If you could see it and see what to do, would you do
it?
MR. HILES: Yes, I believe that I would if I could agree with you on that
point.
PASTOR: In other words, if you could agree that the Bible does teach that you
can know, you would do it?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: Of course, I John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you
that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life....” I want to go a little further into it. Then if you could see
what to do, and if you could agree with me on what the Bible teaches, you
would do it?
MR. HILES: Yes, if I knew what to do.
PASTOR: There are only four things that you have to know to go to Heaven. The
Bible says that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You
are right. A person should investigate the Word of God to learn what he should
do in order to be a Christian.
The first thing that you have to know is that you
are a sinner. Let me show you here in the Bible, Doug. In Romans, chapter 3
and verse 10, I want you to notice the first thing I mention is that we must
know that we are sinners if we go to Heaven. Do you see right there? Romans
3:10, “As it is written, there is none....”
MR. HILES: “...righteous....”
PASTOR: “...righteous....” That is right. “...no, not one.” Do you see that?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: Now, this entire third chapter of Romans tells us the condition of the
heart of man. Look at the last part of verse 12. We find “...there is none
that doeth....”
MR. HILES: ‘...good....”
PASTOR: “...good....” Right. “...none that doeth good, no, not one.” In verse
23, it sums up the entire chapter by saying that we all what?”
MR. HILES: “All have sinned....”
PASTOR: “All have sinned and come short....” Of what?
MR. HILES: “...glory of God.”
PASTOR: “...glory of God.” Now what this teaches is that all of us are, by
nature, sinners. If there is none righteous, that means that I am not
righteous, doesn’t it?”
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: And if there is none righteous, that means Kathy is not righteous. Of
course, you know that she is not righteous. That means there is none
righteous. That means that Jack Hyles has sinned. That means that Kathy Hiles
has sinned, and Doug Hiles has sinned, for all of us have sinned. Do you
understand that?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: So the first thing we know is that every person is by nature a sinner
and there is none righteous.
The second thing you have to know, Doug, to become a
Christian is that God has placed a price on sin. All of us are sinners and
there is a price that must be paid. That price is found in Chapter 5 and verse
12, where it says, notice, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world...” and what by sin, Doug?
MR. HILES: “...death...”
PASTOR: “...death by sin....” And so what?
MR. HILES: “...death....”
PASTOR: “...death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” About the
same thing is said in chapter 6 and verse 23. “For the wages of sin is....”
MR. HILES: “...death....”
PASTOR: “...death....” Right. All right, we find then that all of us are
sinners, and we find that God has placed a price not his sin. This price is
death. here is what it means: God made a man and a woman. He put them in the
Garden of Eden and said, “You can eat of every tree in this garden but one and
that is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve, you cannot
eat of this tree. If you do, you are going to die.” They did eat of the tree.
You remember that. The Catholics believe that, the Methodist believe that, and
the Baptist believe that. So they did eat of this tree. When they did, they
died. They did not drop dead physically. It was first a spiritual death,
though the course of physical death did come upon man. Immediately he ran from
God and was separated from God which means that he died spiritually. If man
lives without God, he has to die without God, he has to live in eternity
without God-this is called Hell. It means, Doug, in the final analysis, sin
takes us to Hell.
The first thing we notice is a person is a sinner.
The second thing is there is a price on sin and that price is death, which
ultimately will take the person to Hell. Do you understand that? That is the
second thing.
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: Now, so far in our story, I am a sinner and you are a sinner. Is that
true?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: And so far in our story. I am going to Hell and you are going to Hell.
Is this not true?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: The third thing, Doug, that you have to know is found in Romans,
chapter 5 and verse 8, and that is that God has paid that price for us
already. Look at chapter 5 and verse 8: “But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ....” What?
MR. HILES: “...died for us.”
PASTOR: “...died for us.” Now what are the wages of sin?”
MR. HILES: Death.
PASTOR: Death. What did Christ do for us?
MR. HILES: Died for us.
PASTOR: Right. That means that whatever sin cost. Jesus paid. Does it not?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: All right. Then we are sinners, and the wages of sin is death and
separation from God. Jesus died for us, which means that Jesus has paid the
price for our sins. God sent His only begotten son into the world. He was God
in the flesh. He was born of a virgin. He lived a perfect life. He Himself
never sinned. So he Himself did not have to go to Hell, did he? But when He
had been here for thirty-three years, He went to the cross. On that cross He
said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” This means that He was
paying the price for your sins. He was your substitute, your sacrifice, paying
your price for sin. So do you understand that now?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: Now, Doug, the fourth thing you have to know
is that if we would put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, God will wee
that faith, and count it for righteousness, transferring all of our sins to
Jesus and imputing His righteousness to us. This means the moment that you put
your faith in Jesus Christ, God sees Jesus with your sins and sees you with
His goodness. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing today to know that every sin
was forgiven?
MR. HILES: Yes, it would. But faith is a big word. I mean it takes in quite a
scope. You have to live according to the Old Testament and the Ten
Commandments and things like this and live a good life. too.
PASTOR: Well, I think that it is admirable that you ought to live a good life.
But the thing that happens when you are saved is that God gives you His Holy
Spirit, and the holy Spirit comes in you to live. He lives through you in your
Christian life. He is the “Baby Sitter” who takes care of you.
Now, we cannot keep the commandments or even live a good life unless we have God’s help. A person must be first born again, receiving comes in us to live. then He lives through us, works through us, and lets us live the kind of life we ought to live. But it is the faith that makes us God’s children.
Now, Doug, let me ask you this: Romans 10:9 and 10
says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness [that is the way
you do righteous-believing]; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.” Did you see that?
MR. HILES: Yes.
PASTOR: Doug, let me ask you a question. Do you realize today that you are a
sinner?
MR. HILES: Yes, I do.
PASTOR: Do you realize that because we are sinners there is a price on sin
which means that if you died tonight, you would go to Hell? Do you realize
this?
MR. HILES: Yes, I do.
PASTOR: Doug, that is a very serious matter. Kathy
is a Christian, and you are not a Christian. If your apartment were to burn
tonight and both of you would go out into eternity, Kathy would go to Heaven
and you would go to Hell. You would never see her again. That scares me, Doug.
Do you believe, Doug, that Jesus Christ took your sins and died for you on the
cross that you might have eternal life?
MR. HILES: Yes, I do.
PASTOR: Do you believe that if you would be willing tonight to bow your head
and say, “God, the best I know how, I am trusting Christ in faith as my
Saviour and this moment I receive Him,” do you believe that God would take you
to Heaven if you would mean that?
MR. HILES: Well, I think He would.
PASTOR: He surely would. Doug, let’s bow our heads and have a prayer and let
me pray that you would do it tonight. Let us just bow our heads and close our
eyes. Our Heavenly Father, I am so grateful that Doug has heard the Gospel.
Here is a young couple starting out together. They have all of their lives
ahead of them, but more than that, all of eternity stretches out before them.
here is Kathy. She is a Christian. She is going to Heaven. here is Doug. He
needs to be a Christian. I pray tonight that he will say yes to Jesus Christ.
Doug, while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, I am going to ask you to do something that God would have you to do. I am going to ask you to talk to God in your own words and ask God to forgive you and tell Him tonight you are receiving Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Go ahead and do it, Doug. God will help you. Go ahead, out loud. I hope you will.
Well, Doug, maybe it is a little hard for you to
pray. Maybe you can’t think of the words. I am going to ask you then to repeat
after me this prayer. If you mean it with all of your heart and you do tonight
want to receive the Saviour, I am going to ask you to say to God from your
heart now, “Dear Lord, Forgive my sins.”
MR. HILES: Dear Lord, forgive my sins.
PASTOR: And save my soul...
MR. HILES: And save my soul...
PASTOR: Be merciful to me a sinner.
MR. HILES: Be merciful to me a sinner.
PASTOR: I do now receive Jesus Christ as my Saviour...
MR. HILES: I do now receive Jesus Christ as my Saviour...
PASTOR: And I trust Him to take me to Heaven when I die.
MR. HILES: And I trust Him to take me to Heaven when I die.
PASTOR: Doug, while our heads are bowed, if you meant that prayer and you did receive Christ as your Saviour, making this the hour of hours of your life, I am going to ask you, as a token of it, to take my hand. Amen. God bless you.
Our Heavenly Father, I am so glad that Doug has received Christ tonight. I am glad that he by faith has turned to the Saviour. I pray now that you will help him to realize that if he is sincere that his faith has been counted for righteousness and he is your child. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God bless you, Doug.
Now let me ask you a question, Doug. Over here in
the Gospel of John, in the third chapter (one of the greatest chapters in all
of the Bible) I want you to see this verse: “He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life.” Doug, are you believing on the Son of God tonight?
MR. HILES: Yes, I am.
PASTOR: According to the verse, where would you go if you were to die tonight?
MR. HILES: Well, I would go to Heaven.
PASTOR: Right. Because the Bible says it, that is your hope for Heaven. Doug,
turn to Kathy and say, “Kathy, I have just become a Christian.
MR. HILES: I just became a Christian.
PASTOR: Isn’t that wonderful? That’s wonderful. God bless you, Doug.
Doug, now that you have received Christ as your
Saviour, the next thing you ought to do is come to the services and let me
tell the people that you received Him. This doesn’t mean, necessarily, that
you are joining the church but simply means that you are telling the whole
world that you are a Christian. Would you be willing to come Sunday to the
services and when the invitation is given at the closing of the service, would
you be willing to come forward and let me tell the people what has happened in
your home today?
MR. HILES: I believe we could do that.
PASTOR: Well, would you promise God that?
MR. HILES: Well, yes, yes, I will.
PASTOR: Let us bow our heads and would you just say this prayer: Dear Lord...
MR. HILES: Dear Lord...
PASTOR: I do promise...
MR. HILES: I do promise...
PASTOR: That I will come forward...
MR. HILES: That I will come forward...
PASTOR: At the First Baptist Church in Hammond...
MR. HILES: At the First Baptist Church in Hammond...
PASTOR: Next Sunday morning.
MR. HILES: Next Sunday morning.
PASTOR: Amen.
MR. HILES: Amen.
PASTOR: God bless you, Doug. I will be going. I have a deacons’ meeting. I am
a little late. I hope that they don’t vote to fire me before I get there. So
nice to have met you. Kathy, it was such a joy to meet you. God bless you and
I will see Sunday morning. Good-bye.
