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The Seven Fold Sin of Not Winning Souls
John R. Rice

John R. Rice (1895–1980). Born on December 11, 1895, in Cooke County, Texas, John R. Rice was an American fundamentalist Baptist evangelist, pastor, and publisher. Raised in a devout family, he earned degrees from Decatur Baptist College and Baylor University, later studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago. Converted at 12, he began preaching in 1920, pastoring churches in Dallas and Fort Worth, including First Baptist Church of Dallas as interim pastor. In 1934, he founded The Sword of the Lord, a biweekly periodical promoting revival and soul-winning, which grew into a publishing house with his books like Prayer: Asking and Receiving and The Home: Courtship, Marriage and Children. Known for his fiery evangelistic campaigns, he preached to thousands across the U.S., emphasizing personal salvation and biblical inerrancy. Rice mentored figures like Jack Hyles and Curtis Hutson but faced criticism for his strict fundamentalism. Married to Lloys Cooke in 1921, he had six daughters and died on December 29, 1980, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He said, “The only way to have a revival is to get back to the Book—the Bible.”
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In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of the Great Commission given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20. He states that every Christian is commanded to win souls and spread the gospel to all nations. The preacher highlights that this command is the main business that Jesus left for his disciples to do and should be the main focus of every Christian. He also emphasizes that not fulfilling this command is a sin of disobedience and lack of love. The preacher concludes by emphasizing the need to abide in Christ in order to bear fruit and effectively win souls.
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I want to talk to you about the very serious subject, the sevenfold sin of those who do not Yes, you understood me. The 19 and 20 plainly says that in this scripture Jesus said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye baptizing them in the name of the Father. And he told them, when you get somebody, So everybody that was saved, you do what Jesus did. In fact, that's the main thing. No commission, no plan, no work he ever commanded us to do could be more important than this. And we're to win souls. Jesus repeated that command when he met John. Jesus said, and let him that hear it say that day, I remember, if you don't take the gospel in the way of preaching, you're in disobedience. Let me say then, you will obey him. This is the reason, you know, that the scripture, you know, he commanded us to follow him. He said, let this mind be in you, which is all. Remember that in John chapter, you're to abide, you're the branch. You can't do it without Jesus. Somebody says, Jesus just set up in him. Not being filled, not being wholly surrendered to him, not being. You're not of Jesus Christ. And here's a claim, you have missed the way. You're out of the will of God. You're not winning souls because, you know, when there's the blossom, if you abide in him. But there it is. I'll prove it to you again. In Romans 15, you remember, don't you want to pay it? You're crooked. If you don't pay your, listen, not me, not you alone, but the billions over. You remember that, uh, the synonyms, and they to be wise, they to be wise. Oh, the foolish. When I lived in Daniel, in two weeks time, we have not warned them. Two, because it really makes.
The Seven Fold Sin of Not Winning Souls
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John R. Rice (1895–1980). Born on December 11, 1895, in Cooke County, Texas, John R. Rice was an American fundamentalist Baptist evangelist, pastor, and publisher. Raised in a devout family, he earned degrees from Decatur Baptist College and Baylor University, later studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago. Converted at 12, he began preaching in 1920, pastoring churches in Dallas and Fort Worth, including First Baptist Church of Dallas as interim pastor. In 1934, he founded The Sword of the Lord, a biweekly periodical promoting revival and soul-winning, which grew into a publishing house with his books like Prayer: Asking and Receiving and The Home: Courtship, Marriage and Children. Known for his fiery evangelistic campaigns, he preached to thousands across the U.S., emphasizing personal salvation and biblical inerrancy. Rice mentored figures like Jack Hyles and Curtis Hutson but faced criticism for his strict fundamentalism. Married to Lloys Cooke in 1921, he had six daughters and died on December 29, 1980, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He said, “The only way to have a revival is to get back to the Book—the Bible.”