The Motivation for Revival and Soul Winning: Understanding the Two Sides of God

By Jude Watchman Oguta

Revival and soul winning are not sustained by religious activities, church programs, or mere obligation. They are fueled by a proper understanding of God Himself. Throughout Scripture, the men and women who passionately pursued God's purposes did so because they had encountered both His incredible love and His righteous judgment.

A balanced motivation for soul winning comes from understanding these two dimensions of God's nature: His love and His wrath. When either side is ignored, our theology becomes distorted, and our passion for the lost becomes weakened.

1. The Love of God: The Heartbeat of Soul Winning

The first and greatest motivation for reaching the lost is the overwhelming love of God.

The Bible declares:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son..." (John 3:16)

God's redemptive plan was not born out of anger but out of love. Before there was a cross, there was compassion. Before there was judgment, there was mercy reaching out to mankind.

Jesus did not come because humanity deserved salvation. He came because God loved humanity despite its rebellion.

Paul writes:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Notice that Christ did not wait for us to become righteous before dying for us. He loved us while we were still sinners.

When Jesus looked at the multitudes, He was not irritated by their sins. He was moved by compassion.

"But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

Jesus saw beyond their failures. He saw their pain, confusion, bondage, and spiritual homelessness. He saw people harassed by sin and oppressed by darkness.

This is the heart of the Good Shepherd.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for one that is lost.

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine... and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" (Luke 15:4)

The value of one soul cannot be measured by human standards. Heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents because every soul matters to God.

If there had been only one sinner on earth, Christ would still have gone to the cross. Such is the depth of divine love.

The nails did not keep Jesus on the cross. Love did.

He endured betrayal, mockery, rejection, scourging, and crucifixion because He loved those He came to save.

When revival breaks out, it is often because believers begin to see people the way Jesus sees them. They stop seeing sinners as enemies and begin seeing them as souls loved by God.

A church that understands God's love cannot remain indifferent to the lost.

2. The Wrath of God: The Sobering Reality That Drives Urgency

While God's love motivates compassion, His wrath creates urgency.

Many believers are comfortable talking about God's love but uncomfortable discussing His judgment. Yet the Bible reveals both.

Paul wrote:

"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Corinthians 5:11)

Paul understood something that many modern Christians have forgotten: there is a terrible consequence for rejecting God's salvation.

God is love, but God is also holy.

God is merciful, but God is also just.

The same Bible that reveals the Cross also reveals judgment.

Hebrews declares:

"For our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:29)

Throughout Scripture, we see examples of God's wrath against sin.

The Flood

In Noah's generation, humanity became so corrupt that judgment came upon the entire earth.

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth..." (Genesis 6:5)

The flood was not a mythological story. It was a demonstration of God's holiness confronting unchecked wickedness.

Sodom and Gomorrah

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah reveals another picture of divine judgment.

"Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven." (Genesis 19:24)

The same God who rescued Lot was also the God who judged the cities.

Mercy was offered before judgment came.

The Reality of Hell

Jesus spoke more about hell than many modern preachers.

He described it as a place of separation, torment, and eternal loss.

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:46)

Hell was never created for mankind but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Yet those who reject God's provision of salvation choose separation from Him.

When we understand what eternity without Christ means, evangelism ceases to be optional.

Paul's words become our own:

"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."

The preacher who understands God's judgment cannot remain silent while people move toward eternal destruction.

The Lesson of Jonah: A Balanced Theology

Perhaps no biblical character illustrates this balance better than Jonah.

Jonah knew God's mercy.

In fact, he knew it so well that he ran from God's assignment because he suspected God would forgive Nineveh.

After Nineveh repented, Jonah complained:

"I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness..." (Jonah 4:2)

Jonah's problem was not ignorance of God's mercy. He understood mercy very well.

What he lacked was balance.

When Jonah fled from God, he encountered a glimpse of divine judgment. A storm arose, and eventually he found himself in the belly of a great fish.

For three days and nights Jonah experienced the consequences of rebellion.

Inside the fish, he gained a fresh understanding of God's holiness and authority.

After being delivered, Jonah preached to Nineveh.

However, he swung to another extreme. He became angry when God showed mercy to the people he wanted judged.

God then used the withered gourd to teach Jonah another lesson.

The book ends with God asking:

"And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city...?" (Jonah 4:11)

God was teaching Jonah what every soul winner must learn:

God is both just and merciful.

He judges sin, yet He loves sinners.

He hates wickedness, yet He longs to save the wicked.

A soul winner who understands only judgment becomes harsh.

A soul winner who understands only mercy loses urgency.

Effective evangelism requires both truths.

Revival Comes When We See Both Sides

Revival has always been born at the intersection of God's love and God's holiness.

Isaiah encountered God's holiness and cried:

"Woe is me! for I am undone." (Isaiah 6:5)

Yet after receiving mercy, he responded:

"Here am I; send me." (Isaiah 6:8)

The early church preached with both compassion and conviction.

They proclaimed God's love through Christ while warning men to flee from the wrath to come.

This balance produced extraordinary evangelistic results.

Today, many churches emphasize one side while neglecting the other.

Some preach love without judgment.

Others preach judgment without love.

The Bible presents both.

Love explains why God sent His Son.

Wrath explains why mankind desperately needs Him.

The Cross itself is where both meet.

At Calvary, we see God's love reaching sinners and God's judgment against sin being satisfied through Christ.

The Cross is the greatest revelation of both God's mercy and His holiness.

Conclusion

The motivation for revival and soul winning is strongest when it is balanced by these two realities.

We preach because God loves people.

We preach because Christ died for them.

We preach because every soul matters to God.

But we also preach because eternity is real.

We preach because judgment is certain.

We preach because those who reject God's offer of salvation face the wrath of God.

Like Jonah, we must allow God to balance our theology.

Like Paul, we must be persuaded by the terror of the Lord.

Like Jesus, we must be moved by compassion for the lost.

When the Church understands both the love of God and the holiness of God, revival becomes inevitable, and soul winning becomes a natural expression of a heart that beats in harmony with heaven.