MY PLEA TO
THE
This is something that has been on my heart to say for a
while, and I know that if anyone ends up reading this, I'll probably attract
more negative comments than positive. But I can live with that if it means that
someone might get something out of this.
We are in great danger.
Not from any outside person or force, but from ourselves. We have watered down
the message of the Messiah, and we have compromised the truthfulness and
integrity of the Gospel that millions have desperately kept alive for the past
two millennia of Christendom.
This is my plea to the Body of Christ in the Western world. Test EVERYTHING!
Critically examine all things taught to you, in case we end up falling victim
to another Gospel or another Jesus. The Apostle Paul warned the followers of
the Way when he noticed them doing exactly this. "For if someone comes to
you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a
different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one
you accepted, you put up with it easily enough" (1 Corinthians 11:4). To
the Galatians, he wrote "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting
the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different
gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing
you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ"
(Galatians 1:6-7).
This is what has brought this whole issue to my attention. I went to Youth
Alive the other night to hear Reggie Dabbs speak. Now, I love Reggie. Really,
he's an awesome guy, an awesome speaker, and he has this fire and love for God
that is absolutely imaginable. But, he's human, and like many other Evangelical
preachers I have heard, while their intentions are good, the temptation to want
to tell people what's easy to listen to has prevailed over preaching the
entirety of the Gospel given to us in Scripture.
Everything that Reggie said that night, I loved. Absolutely 100%. My problem,
though, was what Reggie didn't say. I will never deny the lives that
have been changed through what he's done for people, but something is very
wrong.
We are told that Jesus came and died for us, and that we can come into a
relationship with God through him and be saved. But there are thousands of kids
who don't even know what it means to be saved! I have heard that there
is a God-shaped hole in my heart, I have heard that Jesus came and died for me,
and that Jesus is wanting us to accept that. But why did he need to die for us
in the first place?
For all the sermons I've heard, all the speeches I've witnessed, I have never
heard the cross being preached, nor that of sin. I don't think I have ever been
told that it was me who put him on that cross. I don't think I've ever heard at
a youth rally than my sins have separated me from God, and that the reason that
Jesus had to die for me was to take the eternal separation meant for me and
suffer it on the cross in my place. To leave that out is to trample on the sacrifice
he made for every single one of us. I have, on the other hand, always heard
that if I let Jesus into my life, I'll experience peace, and joy, and love, and
hope, and all kinds of happiness. But the truth is, Jesus Christ is not a lucky
charm. If you make him your Lord and your God, that is what he is, and you
cannot make him into anything else. When you lay your life at his feet, it's
not a guarantee that everything will be fine and that all your problems will go
away. That's wishful thinking. Yes, God does offer that to us, but to come to
him for earthly wishes is just going to leave us, and the lost, sorely
disappointed.
An analogy I like to use is this:
A man is on a plane, and a steward comes over to him with a parachute.
"Sir," the steward says, "If you wear this parachute, you are
going to have peace, and security and nothing will ever be wrong again."
So the man puts on the parachute and expects all these things to happen.
Instead, all of the other passengers on the plane look at how ridiculous he
looks and point and laugh at him. Disillusioned, he rips off the parachute,
throws it aside, and tells himself to forget about it.
On another plane, another steward comes up to another man with a parachute and
says "Sir, any minute now you are jumping off this plane, and this
parachute is the only thing that is going to stop you from falling to your
death." The man straps on the parachute, and even though the other
passengers think he looks stupid, and point and laugh at him, he holds on tightly
to it and will never let him go, because he knows it's the only thing between
him and a violent end on the ground 30,000 feet below.
In the same way, when we put Jesus on as something to improve our life, we
won't be happy when our car keys still go missing, or that people might still
make life hard for you (maybe even more so if you're a professing Chrstian).
The amount of people who backslide because what was promised to them didn't
come in the way they wanted it to is unbelievable, with only something like 5%
of people who go forward at altar calls being found in fellowship a year later.
If you know, however, that the blood of Jesus Christ is the only thing stopping
you from spending eternity without God, it will not matter to you what the
people around you say or do, you will hold onto him like nothing else.
The same thing goes for altar calls. Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort's website Way
of the Master outlines the main problems in their article "How to
Botch an Altar Call".
(A few keys for those who don't want people saved in their altar calls)
1. Present an unbalanced message. Only let them see the heart-warming
part of God's character. Preach God's love but leave out His holiness and
justice. That way they'll think He'll let them into heaven no matter what.
2. Don't mention repentance until they're repeating a "sinner's
prayer." Just get them to say, "I repent of all my sins"
while they're echoing you. They won't know what they're saying and they won't
count the cost.
3. Above all else, be dignified. Don't get heart to heart with the
people. They would get something out of what you said.
4. Skim over the gospel and push the prayer. Pretend the lost naturally
understand what Christ has done for them.
5. Preach Jesus as a life enhancer not a life rescuer. Tell them how
Jesus can improve their life but don't show them Jesus as the only One who can
save them from Hell. People will think if they reject Him they're only losing
out on a spiritual high.
6. Try to please the people instead of convert them. Tell them what they
want to hear instead of what they need to hear.
7. Compromise the message to speed up the process. The Christians who
have heard it a hundred times before will be pleased with that. The quicker
they get out the quicker they can get to the restaurant.
8. Give them the impression that God is so good He won't send anyone to
hell. Don't present the whole counsel of God or they might realize He is so
good that He'll see to it that justice is served and that all unrepentant
sinners will be punished in the fire that is not quenched.
9. Speak to sinners as though they were saints. They'll think they're
God's children instead of the enemies of God they've made themselves into
because of their sin. You'll give them false assurance and mislead them.
10. Don't mention sin or man's guilt. Resist the urge to explain what
Christ came to deliver us from. Don't show them their need for the Savior.
Otherwise it may all make sense.
11. Don't look to the Bible for the substance of your altar call. Only
mimic other preachers with large congregations.
12. Tell the lost not to feel bad about their sins. That way you will
work against the Holy Spirit who's convicting them
13. Whatever you do, never mention Judgment Day. Your audience might
take spiritual matters seriously.
14. Tell them Jesus is the only way to heaven but don't explain why.
They may think it's nothing more than fear tactics and leave offended instead
of enlightened.
15. Confuse the call.This is a great way to botch up an altar call.
Don't let people know you're asking them to commit their life to Christ. Be
vague and general in what you're saying. Neglect to mention following Christ in
your evangelistic altar calls and say things like, "If you don't feel
you're as close to God as possible raise your hand," "If you feel
lonely come to the front for prayer," "If you want more of God this
is your time," and, "If you have struggles and need the answer come
down." Just get them to raise a hand. That way no one will be able to
count the cost and you'll even get saints to respond to salvation altar calls,
making the results look more successful.
16. Only give them half the story. Tell them Jesus died to forgive
everyone but overlook the fact that they must personally receive Him to partake
of that forgiveness.
17. Present the truth as though it isn't. Be so funny when you share
Christ that you belittle the seriousness of the matter.
18. Preach forgiveness without repentance. That way no one will know how
to be forgiven.
19. Be unbiblical. Present repentance and faith as an offer instead of
how God does as a command (Acts
20. Let them think next Sunday is the day of salvation. Don't make them
feel it's urgent to respond today.
21. Never warn of hell. Dangle heaven in front of their nose but rarely
mention hell, certainly not as much as Jesus did.
22. Only do altar calls inside the church. Never take the gospel where
sinners congregate. The lost might get saved.
23. Use churchy terms. Use words like, "saved,"
"repent," and "born again," without any explanation. That way
your hearers won't comprehend what you're saying. If they can't understand it,
it's probable they won't be changed by it.
24. Give false assurance of salvation to unsaved Christians. Assure
church folk that they are saved even if they bear no fruit. So that you don't
offend the unsaved pew warmers never quote 2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." You could lose some
financial supporters and have to depend on God.
25. Never mention the wrath of God. If you mention it, people might be
awakened to flee to Jesus who "saves us from the wrath to come." ( 1
Thess.
26. Study how the apostles preached and witnessed and do the opposite.
Don't explain Jesus' suffering death on the cross. Otherwise they may think of
running to Him for forgiveness. Don't speak of His burial or resurrection or
they might realize He is God. Refrain from commenting about the hundreds of
eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. That way they can go on
thinking He's a fairy tale. Overlook talk of the messianic prophecies Jesus
fulfilled or they might realize that the Bible is true. If they see it's the
truth they may see that following Christ is the logical decision. And whatever
you do, avoid what the apostles did when it came time to call people to obey
the gospel. Don't tell them to trust Christ and live for Him. That is too
accurate. If they know how to get saved your altar call will be a success.
27. Put more emphasis on the "sinner's prayer" then on repentance
and faith. Satan will smile over your departure from Biblical instruction.
We are never taught to use a 'sinner's prayer' throughout the entire Bible. If
you decide to use it and put more emphasis on the technique than on what we're
commanded to preach: faith and repentance you'll certainly botch things up. A
'sinner's prayer' doesn't equal salvation, only faith in Christ and repentance
toward God do.
28. Let Christians think you're the only one who can do it right. Always
leave the impression that they should only invite friends to church and never
actually witness themselves. It will keep you in business and the lost unsaved.
29. Don't let the lost know they are. Disregard subjects like Judgment
Day, God's holiness, man's sinfulness and justice. That way the lost can continue
to think they're "good enough" to get into heaven.
30. Rely upon psychological techniques to manipulate people into responding
to the altar call. Don't rely upon the Holy Spirit or they may actually get
saved.
31. Make sure you're the main attraction. Remember the goal in botching
up an altar call is for people to leave and say, "What a wonderful
preacher," instead of, "What a wonderful Savior." Draw all
possible attention to how great a speaker and person you are. Otherwise people
might see Christ in your preaching and get saved.
32. Don't focus upon Jesus. Finally, the best way to botch up an altar
call is not to preach the gospel. Just get people to lift up a hand and pray a
prayer with you. Resist the urge to speak of the only One who could save them.
Sometimes the best way to get a point across is to put it in a different
light. You now know a few ways to botch up an altar call. Please do not employ
them. Do the opposite. You may already do some of them. Don't let pride keep
you from changing and doing things in a Biblical fashion. The bottom line is
how true we are to Christ and His word. Effectively reaching the lost is our
purpose. Let nothing hold you back from that agenda. May God bless you as you
seek to win people to Christ in Bible clubs, churches, conferences, on the
street witnessing encounters, at your school, and at your workplace.
Yes, Jesus died for us to give us a life with God, to give us a life of
service, a life of praise and freedom. But WHY did he have to die for us?
Romans
This MUST form the basis for every evangelistic effort made. Yes, we do need to
tell people of the awesome love and mercy God has made clear to us, but his
justice and holiness must be made known too for us to fully know just how crazy
and impossible that love seems.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever church you go to, we need to have
it established that doctrine is not just useless head knowledge. It is the
entire basis of our faith. And wherever you are in life, we must preach the
Gospel in its fullness and not compromise anything for the sake of gaining more
converts with the feel-good approach.
But Tom, times have changed, we don't need to hear all that stuff about sin
anymore! All that will do will turn people off!
No, times haven't changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever. The message of his Name must be told the way he commanded us to. We
are to preach the Gospel and make disciples of every nation, and that doesn't
mean telling people what they want to hear.
But they can learn all the other stuff later!
Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Not tomorrow, not next
Sunday, not any time other than now. The Gospel is not to be danced around, it
needs to be out there for all people to hear now. Explain it in terms that the
targeted audience can understand, but not at the expense of Scriptural
revelation. I'm not saying that we're to accuse everyone of being baaaaaad.
We are all in the same boat. We are ALL in need of a Saviour. Yes, say it in a
way that people can relate to, but don't say it in a way that makes people that
they might not actually need Jesus after all.
I'm not sure what else to say right now, but I'll probably add more later. But
please, just take what I've said on board and think about it. Please don't
hesitate to comment or ask me anything about what I've written tonight.
In His love,
Tom.
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