Posted on 04/24/2008 11:40:33 AM PDT by Gamecock
The invitation system is a modern evangelism innovation…
1. …without scriptural warrant.
2. …that is faulty and dangerous.
3. …that has created a new, unbiblical vocabulary (i.e., “repentance and faith” have been replaced with “decide for Christ,” “ask Jesus into your heart,” “Give your heart to Jesus,” “first-time decisions,” etc.)
4. …not practiced by the church until about 150 years ago.
* It was begun by Charles Finney who believed conversion was a psychological event and used this “anxious seat” to replace the purpose of baptism.
* It was popularized by Dwight L. Moody.
* It was standardized by Billy Graham.
5. …that has contributed to filling our churches with unregenerate church members.
6. …leading easily to abuse and manipulation of the method, especially towards children and teenagers.
7. …established upon psychological premises.
8. …mistakenly equated often with the new birth and/or conversion.
9. …involving a high rate of apostatizing (90+% according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association).
10. …that is unnecessary for the Holy Spirit to do His regenerating, saving work.
11. …that is used to attempt to quantify soul-winning results.
12. …that is not the biblical mark of whether a church is committed to evangelism or not.
13. …where often the appeal to “come forward” supersedes or replaces any explanation of sin, repentance, or faith.
14. …that implies (or sometimes states explicitly) that those sinners who do not “come forward” are disobeying a divine command.
15. …climaxing with the recitation of a sinner’s prayer that is equated with conversion.
16. …that some respond to in their attempt through human effort to earn their standing before God.
17. …calling for the sinner’s instant performance rather than his careful contemplation of his sinfulness and the One whom he has offended.
18. …that adds a condition for salvation (”come forward”) that Christ never gave.
19. …that confuses the unregenerate man as to the specific obligations of his duty.
20. …that morphs the task of the evangelist to the duty of “drawing the net” by coaxing people to come down the aisle.
21. …seeking to give men relief from God’s conviction before He has made them fully humble and miserable over their sin.
I believe that the altar call has become the modern evangelical equivalent of Roman Catholicism’s penance. Ask a Catholic how he knows he is right with God, and he will tell you that he did his penance (x number of Hail Mary’s, etc.). Ask someone in a modern evangelical church how they know they are right with God, and he will likely tell you that he “came forward” during a public altar call. Both are woefully inadequate and unbiblical evidences of the new birth.
That one there seems carry a lot of weight, IMHO.
the whole list of 21 is moot since, according to Calvinism, man has no choice in anything. These things are done because God predestined them, right?
1. …without scriptural warrant.-Also without scriptual condemnation.
2. …that is faulty and dangerous.- Opinion, blanket judgment on something that is a personal issue between the person and God
3. …that has created a new, unbiblical vocabulary (i.e., “repentance and faith” have been replaced with “decide for Christ,” “ask Jesus into your heart,” “Give your heart to Jesus,” “first-time decisions,” etc.) - Vocabulary changes, that doesn't mean the person's heart intention doesn't
4. …not practiced by the church until about 150 years ago. - TV wasn't used by churches until the past 50 years, the printing press, 400 years, grape juice communion (not sure the time frame on that)..etc, etc, etc.. Doesn't mean any of those are scripturally wrong.
This is a case between a man and God. If a man want's to accept God in his pew or at home, or if he wants to accept him based on an alter call, that is his business. Condemning other churches for practices like this seem worse than the accusations against the 'alter call'.
Speaking as someone who "came forward", it is not the coming forward that is the deciding factor. It is what you do when you do come forward (or in your home, car, on a beach, etc.). It is all about beginning the relationship with Jesus and repenting of your sins.
God regenerates you and you profess faith. That’s what Scripture teaches. Taht’s also what Calvin affirms.
Taht’s=That’s
Repentance and faith are Scriptural terms. The others aren't.
Doesn't mean any of those are scripturally wrong.
Doesn't mean they are right either.
This seems a pointless discussion. People have found salvation in jail, hotel rooms, cars, hospitals. None of which existed in the first century.
To me the altar call is about corporate worship which is called for in scripture. Is it necessary for a change of heart and the oncoming of the Holy Spirit of course not. Have there been great Christians who have received the Holy Spirit at the altar? Of course. So what is the point?
A simple “God help me” is all that is required.
God doesn’t make too hard of terms for those who seek him. That’s my experience.
I remember a couple of people answering the call one Sunday morning. One was a woman on crutches and the other, a young man with a very bad speech impediment, a lisp.
They walked/hobbled up the aisle and the preacher put them (their names, Cecily Sussman and Douglas Miller, I think)—behind a screen.
He called out for Cecily to throw her right crutch over the screen, and she did. Then he called for her to throw her left crutch over the screen, which she did.
Then a thump.
The preacher said, “Douglas, no need to be shy any longer—speak to the congregation!”
So he did:
“Thethely Thutthman juth fell on her atth.”
As a Lutheran, I answered an altar call the first time I took the Sacrament of Holy Communion and have reaffirmed it every time since.
Agreed.
Repentance and faith are English words to describe scriptural terms. The word used isn't as important as the meaning to the person accepting Christ. For example, Faith (as found in Matthew 9:22)is the Greek word pistis. Pistis could mean all the following:
conviction of the truth
conviction that God exists
strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah
the general religious beliefs of Christians
predominate idea of trust (or confidence)
fidelity or faithfulness
the character of one who can be relied on...
Some people think that if it wasn’t explicitly mentioned in the bible then it never existed and therefore cannot exist today.
Great summation!
This cannot be said enough.
“that has contributed to filling our churches with unregenerate church members.”
My mother was an Altar Call convert at a Billy Graham Crusade. She never set foot in a church after that until my kids were baptized and she hasn’t gone since.
A shame because they miss all of God’s creation that was there from the beginning.
I like the Methodist/Calvinist concept that you must “die Saved”.
If Decisionism is enough, Heaven will be full of atheists who walked the aisle when they were kids.
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