Category Archives: The Gospel

Together 2016 – Reversing the Reformation?

Posted by Dan C. on

If you haven’t already heard, an event called ‘Together 2016’will be held on July 16 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It’s advertised as a call for unity in the church – a stand against division.

Division is everywhere.

Race. Class. Politics. Social media. Religion. The millennial generation is the most cause-driven in history—but our causes put us at odds and we create enemies of each other. The Church is paying a price. Young people associate faith with arguing and politicking. The message that Jesus loves us and offers a reset is getting lost in the noise.

Jesus directly challenged a culture of division. He prayed we would be one—one family, one body. And He told us to love our enemies. Everyone loves their friends; it’s when we love those who aren’t like us that the world takes note. It’s time to come together around Jesus in a counter-cultural moment of unity and love for each other. 

The need for hope is too great to be pointing fingers at each other instead of pointing to Jesus together.

Source

Roman Catholic Pope Francis is even scheduled to make a video appearance. Main organizer, Nick Hall  had this to say about the Pope’s appearance:

“We are humbled and honored by his involvement and are eager to share his message with the crowd that gathers at Together 2016,” Hall said in a statement to The Christian Post, reacting to the announcement that the pope has added his name to the list of speakers. “That His Holiness would choose to speak into this historic day is a testament to the urgency and the need for followers of Jesus to unite in prayer for our nation and our world.”

I hate to say it, but Nick Hall & Company will probably be an inspiration to a huge flock of young people. You see, Nick Hall is the founder of PULSE, which is primarily a ministry to college age ‘next generation’ youth. He seems to be HUGE, if you believe the ads about him, but I wouldn’t know because I am not a follower of the various youth directed ‘movements’ that seem to be more like rock concerts than genuine spiritual revival. They are ‘spiritual’ all right, but what ‘spirit’? Just asking. . .

You see, by having the leader of a religion that preaches a false gospel of ‘faith plus works’ as a headliner at a ‘Christian’ event should concern genuine Bible believing Christians. I don’t necessarily blame the million or so young people that will be drawn to this event. Many, if not most of them have probably never read their own Bibles. Although there have been attempts in the past to bring Protestants and Catholics together, or make it seem that we are, the Council of Trent clearly states that it is faith in God plus works that save a man. You can read for yourself the specific Canons from Trent speaking to adding works to faith here.

The movement toward Catholic & Protestant reconciliation is nothing new.

“March 29, 1994 saw a development that some have touted as the most significant development in Protestant-Catholic relations since the dawn of the Reformation. A document titled “Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium” was published with a list of more than thirty signatories—including well-known evangelicals Pat Robertson, J. I. Packer, Os Guinness, and Bill Bright. They were joined by leading Catholics such as John Cardinal O’Connor, Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla, and Catholic scholar Peter Kreeft.” Source

“The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) is a document created, and agreed to, by the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999, as a result of extensive ecumenical dialogue. It states that the churches now share “a common understanding of our justification by God’s grace through faith in Christ.” To the parties involved, this essentially resolves the five hundred year old conflict over the nature of justification which was at the root of the Protestant Reformation.” Source

In 2017 Lutherans and Catholics will jointly celebration the 1517 Reformation. In a section of a detailed explanation of the 2017 initiatives we have these words:

“The first imperative: Catholics and Lutherans should always begin from the perspective of unity and not from the point of view of division in order to strengthen what is held in common even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced.” Source

I would add that the segment of Lutheranism represented in this ecumenical dialogue does not represent the conservative segments of Lutheran Church, such as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).

Here’s the point in all this in the words of the Apostle Paul:

Ephesians 2:8-9English Standard Version (ESV)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8-9, ESV)

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1:8, ESV)

Need I say more? I certainly hope not.

What we can do:

1. Educate our believing friends concerning the danger of mixing the genuine gospel with false gospel messages, and pray that evangelical churches sponsoring and planning to attend this abominable event will see the light and choose truth over false unity.

2. Pray that God will open the hearts of young people (the primary target audience for this abomination), and that He will send his messengers to speak to those open hearts.

May this Lord’s Day find you blessed and prospering in His Word!

Pseudo-Christianity

Posted by Dan C. on

I recently listened to a sermon with the above title by Dr. Curt Daniel, of Faith Bible Church in Springfield Illinois, courtesy of Sermon Audio. It was part of a series presented at the Contending for the Faith conference, at Dr. Daniel’s church.

Dr. Daniel presented 4 basic tendencies of pseudo, or false Christianity and drew comparisons between false Judaism of Jesus’ day and the false Christianity of our day:

1. Adding to the Gospel

2. Subtracting from the Gospel

3. Substituting other doctrines for the true Gospel

4. Watering down the Gospel while maintaining some truth

Adding to the Gospel

In Jesus’ day the primary Jewish religious group that added something to God’s requirement for faith were the Pharisees, who added works (strict law keeping) to faith in order to be right with God. According to Dr. Daniel the prime example of adding works to faith in the world of Christianity is the Roman Catholic Church, by far the largest ‘Christian’ religion on the planet. In Roman Catholicism, salvation is eventually earned by observing certain sacraments, having faith, and performing works (with a side trip to Purgatory on the way to Heaven for most Roman Catholics. In the religious system of the Pharisees and within Roman Catholicism ultimate truth is found in scripture and in religious/church tradition.

Subtracting from the Gospel

The best example of subtracting from true faith in Jesus’ time was the other main sect with Judaism, the Sadducees, who denied both the resurrection and the doctrine of hell, or eternal punishment. The Sadducees of old can be compared to the liberal Christianity of today, which denies one of more of the following:

· Substitutionary atonement

· The inerrancy and infallibity of Scripture

· The exclusivity of Christ as the only way to God

· The doctrine of Hell

Substitution of Other Doctrines

In Jesus’ day there were Jewish groups or sects that were neither Pharisees nor Sadducees, but instead had their own doctrines which they claimed to be TRUE doctrine. They can be compared to any number of ‘Christian cults’ today such as the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and others.

Watered Down Religion

In Jesus’ day as well as in our day there are those who claim to adhere to or follow a religion, but really don’t know what they believe or why they believe it. Ask then about their religion and they become really vague really quickly. Dr. Daniel termed today’s brand of this sort of religion as ‘pseudo-evangelicalism’. It is characterized by downplaying the need for repentance of sin (if not omitting it altogether), downplaying the holiness of God and requirements for holiness/sanctification of the believer, and what can be called ‘easy believism’. Rather than using the example of Jesus and the Apostles and keeping the gospel of salvation a matter of repentance from sin and believing in Christ’s substitutionary atonement, salvation is obtained by asking Jesus into one’s heart, opening one’s heart to Jesus, saying a special prayer, going forward in a meeting, or signing a card, NONE of which can be found in Scripture. It was quite interesting to note that when Billy Graham was once asked how many of those who came forward at one of his evangelistic meetings remained steadfast Christians, Rev. Graham’s answer was ‘around 4%’.

The second earmark of today’s pseudo-Christianity is the idea that a sinner can accept Jesus as Savior but NOT as Lord. One can be a Christian bound for Heaven and yet never experience a truly changed life in which sinful tendencies and behaviors give way to the indwelling Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification. In simple terms, you can be a ‘carnal’ Christian, a concept a cursory reading of Romans, Chapter 8 should dispel rather resoundingly.

What does all of this mean in terms of “Contending for the Faith’? Dr. Daniel urges us to

  • KNOW the true Gospel
  • DEFEND the true Gospel
  • DON’T  add to it, subtract from it, substitute other doctrines, or water it down

Great advice, don’t you think?

__________

Again, if you are interested in listening to the entire series of messages, go HERE.

Sharing Jesus

Posted by Dan C. on

If you’re interested in personal evangelism, there’s a short series over at thegreatprivilege that you might find useful:

Sharing Jesus Part 1 – Starting a Conversation

Sharing Jesus Part 2 – The Sin Problem

Sharing Jesus Part 3: The Sin Problem – How Bad Is It?

Sharing Jesus, Part 4: The Solution to the Sin Problem

Sharing Jesus Part 5 – The Response

“Christianity On The Downgrade”

Posted by Dan C. on

“Doth that man love his Lord who would be willing to see Jesus wearing a crown of thorns, while for himself he craves a chaplet of laurel? Shall Jesus ascend to his throne by the cross, and do we expect to be carried there on the shoulders of applauding crowds? Be not so vain in your imagination. Count you the cost, and if you are not willing to bear Christ’s cross, go away to your farm and your merchandise, and make the most of them; only let me whisper in your ear. “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON (1888)

The title of this post is also the title of the first chapter of Dr. John MacArthur’s book Ashamed Of The Gospel. It was first published in 1993, and again in 2010, with minor updates. I have both on my bookshelf. The term “The Downgrade” refers to what Spurgeon observed in the church in England in his day, and can also be seen in our day. Rather than provide a critique or review of the book here, I will only recommend it to all who read this post – and recommend highly!

Ashamed Of the Gospel can be found at Amazon.com and at Christianbook.com.

If you are reading this and have already read it, by all means leave a comment!

TODAY’S FALSE GOSPEL…READ IT AND WEEP…

Posted by Dan C. on

Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NASB)

Can You Hear The Voice of The Spirit?

Apprising Ministries is pleased to bring you the following godly and prophetic insight from James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. Herein we see the full on embrace by evangelicalism of the rotten root of the new reformation of man-centered (semi-pelagian) theology once prophesied by Robert Schuller.

You need to understand that this emerging rebellion against the Word of God is really not far from apostate Roman Catholicism. And so this reversal of the Reformation has now flowered as typified in the new postevangelical religion of Rick Warren and blossomed for the postmodern set in the warped and toxic teachings of Rob Bell, a leading spokesman for the cult of the new (post) liberal theology the Emergent Church.

All of which makes these words from Boice and Ryken so dead on target for the time of growing spiritual blindness we live in right now:

Sadly, this is not the church’s finest hour. We live in an age of weak theology and casual Christian conduct. Our knowledge is insufficient, our worship is irreverent, and our lives are immoral. Even the evangelical church has succumbed to the spirit of this age…

Perhaps the simplest way to say this is that evangelicalism has become worldly. This can be demonstrated by comparing it with yesterday’s liberalism. What was once said of liberal churches must now be said of evangelical churches: they seek the world’s wisdom, believe the world’s theology; follow the world’s agenda, and adopt the world’s methods. According to the standard’s of worldly wisdom, the Bible is unable to meet the demands of life in these postmodern times.

By itself, God’s Word is insufficient to win people to Christ, promote spiritual growth, provide practical guidance, or transform society. So churches supplement the plain teaching of Scripture with entertainment with entertainment, group therapy, political activism, signs and wonders—anything that promises to appeal to religious consumers. According to the theology, sin is merely a dysfunction and salvation means having better self-esteem. When this theology comes to church, it replaces difficult but essential doctrines like the propitiation of God’s wrath with practical techniques for self-improvement.

The world’s agenda is personal happiness, so the gospel is presented as a plan for individual fulfillment rather than a pathway of costly discipleship. The world’s methods for accomplishing this self-centered agenda are necessarily pragmatic, so evangelical leaders are willing to try whatever seems like it might work. This worldliness has produced the “new pragmatism” of evangelicalism.
(The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering The Evangelical Gospel, 20,21)

Recognizing a “different” gospel – a practical exercise. . .

Posted by Dan C. on

In a  In a previous post  we suggested using a “3 S” model for recognizing a “different”, or false, gospel.

1. What is the teaching’s SOURCE of truth?

2. What about the SAVIOR?

3. What are the requirements for SALVATION?

While some false gospels recognize the Bible as the ultimate source of truth and acknowledge Jesus as the Savior, they present the requirements for salvation (what one must believe) in attractive but sometimes incomplete manner.

Using the words of Jesus and Paul, followed by those of a very popular west coast Pastor, we offer you a challenge. Examine them both and put on your spiritual thinking cap.

Jesus, at the beginning of his earthly ministry said:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

The Apostle defined the gospel message quite clearly:

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor 15:1-4)

In the video that accompanies the “40 Days of Purpose”, the popular west coast Pastor (Rick Warren) leads his listeners in prayer at the end of the first session. The prayer goes like this:

“Dear God, I want to know your purpose for my life. I don’t want to base the rest of my life on wrong things. I want to take the first step in preparing for eternity by getting to know you. Jesus Christ, I don’t understand how but as much as I know how I want to open up my life to you. Make yourself real to me. And use this series in my life to help me know what you made me for.”

Warren goes on to say:

“Now if you’ve just prayed that prayer for the very first time I want to congratulate you. You’ve just become a part of the family of God.”

On page 58 of “The Purpose Driven Life” Warren gives perhaps his most complete gospel presentation. He states,

“Right now, God is inviting you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made you for . . . all you need to do is receive and believe….

First, believe God loves you and made you for his purposes. Believe you are not an accident. Believer you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you.

Second, receive. Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. Receive his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose.”

Again, he offers a sample prayer,

“I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity, “Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.” He promises, “If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God! You are now ready to discover and start living God’s purpose for your life.”

Based on what you have just read, do you think that Rick Warren presents a complete gospel message, a “different” gospel, or something in between? You can keep your thoughts to yourself, or you can share them here. Perhaps we can have a good discussion!

No Other Gospel

Posted by Dan C. on

“6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV)

In the above passage, the Apostle Paul is speaking to four local churches he had planted during his first missionary Journey in the Galatian cities of Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Not long after he had planted those churches, false teachers arose in Galatia asserting that in order to really be a Christian, one had to also follow Mosiac Law. Paul was astonished that believers in Galatia had departed from the gospel of faith alone that he had preached to them and had turned to ‘another’ gospel that was really not the gospel. In fact, Paul accused those believers of turning away from Christ himself, not just the message of justification by faith.

Paul also had some very harsh words for those who would preach ‘another’ gospel. He first says in verse 8 that if he (Paul) or his companions preached a different gospel that they should be ‘accursed’. In verse 9 he broadens the group of those that should be ‘accursed’ to include anyone who would preach a different or false gospel.

The word ‘accursed’ literally means ‘devoted to destruction’. The term was used in the Old testament in connection with the fall of Jericho. It was a term used for the city of Jericho itself and for one Achan, who had stolen an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly garment during Jericho’s demise. When Paul states that those who preach a ‘different’ gospel should be ‘accursed’ he is pronouncing that they are deserving of condemnation.

Since preachers of false gospels deserve condemnation, we need to be able to spot a ‘different’ gospel and avoid it, along with its purveyors, like the plague. First, let us define the true gospel according to Jesus and Paul.

Jesus, at the beginning of his earthly ministry said:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

The Apostle defined the gospel message quite clearly:

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor 15:1-4)

So what are the marks of a false gospel?

Well, the list could be quite long, and would become even longer if we named some of today’s false teachers, many of whom appear regularly on ‘Christian’ TV. Rather than get into the weeds however, allow me to suggest three questions that can be asked of any teaching that you might come across.

1. What is the teaching’s SOURCE of truth?

2. What about the SAVIOR?

3. What are the requirements for SALVATION?

If you can remember three key words, SOURCE, SAVIOR, & SALVATION and what they mean, you will be well on your way to being able to spot (discern) just about any ‘different’ gospel on the street

What is the teaching’s SOURCE of truth?

Is the ultimate source of truth for the teaching you are listening to the Bible or something else, such as the teachings of Ellen G. White for Seventh Day Adventists, the Book of Mormon, or a human institution outside of the Bible. If the Bible is not the ultimate source of truth there’s a problem.

What about the SAVIOR?

Another way to ask this question is “Who is Jesus according to this teaching/teacher?” Is the Jesus of this teaching the Jesus of the Bible? Is he the eternal Son of God and equal member of the trinity, or is he just a good man, great teacher, a man who somehow attained ‘godhood’? Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was ‘a god’, not God. Mormonism teaches that Jesus is the creator and savior of mankind, but that he is one of many gods, a created being and elder brother of Lucifer.

What are the requirements for SALVATION?

This question gets to the heart of Paul’s argument in the book of Galatians. If anything is added to Christ’s death for OUR sins (substitutionary sacrifice), there is a ‘different’ (false) gospel. In the case of the Galatians, it was adding the keeping of the Mosaic law. For Mormons and JW’s salvation is based on believing the ‘right’ things according to their respective doctrinal statements and having achieved a certain level the ‘right’ works.

Sinners are in fact justified (declared righteous) before a holy God by works, just not human works, but the perfect work of Christ on our behalf.

If you are reading this, by now you are probably thinking about other religions or even Christian denominations that might be categorized as teaching a ‘different’ gospel. If you are, I encourage you to apply the three “S” questions. If you still have honest questions, leave a comment and perhaps we can shed more light or point you in the right direction for a satisfactory answer.

“The King James Bible is the Truth!”

Posted by Dan C. on

So states the title of a blog I stumbled upon as result of clicking the name of a commenter on a blog I occasionally visit.

The KJV Only author, in addition to inviting anyone who subscribed to any of the devil’s ‘PERversions’ to immediately leave his blog and never return, offered the following as the basis for his KJV position:

1. Only the King James Bible is the truth without error.

2. Only the King James Bible has been providentially preserved for hundreds of years.

3. Only the King James Bible has the power to convict souls and persuade people to be saved according to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (His death, burial and resurrection, 1Corinthians 15:3, 4 KJB).

4. All other versions are MAN-MADE, adding and/or subtracting from the KJB, which God strictly PROHIBITS in Revelation 22:18 and 19.

5. All other versions are COPYRIGHTED, meaning that they are printed to make money and no one else can use that copyright. Only the KJB has no copyright because GOD is the Author, and He wants us to share it freely with all men.

6. The Devil is the author of all these foul versions.

Noticeable in the above is a total lack of substantiation for any of the claims made concerning the KJV, a possible indicator that the blog author might be one of the rare possessors of a ‘mind like a steel trap’ (rusted shut).

There is nothing new in the above ‘KJV only’ assertions. Scholarly books and articles have been written soundly refuting them, most notable among them written by Dr. James White and Dan Wallace. I draw your attention to only two of them here.

Reason #4, that “All other versions are MAN-MADE. . .” claims ‘divine’ inspiration / authorship of the KJV, as divine as the original manuscripts penned by the authors of the Bible themselves. All KJVonly-ists do not subscribe to that notion. That the KJV was as ‘breathed out by God’ as the original manuscripts should seem to be a rather silly notion to any thinking adult, not to mention a lot of literate teenagers.

Reason #3 was new to me, although I am certain not one newly invented by a ‘steel trap mind” (Mr. STM) parroting what others have already postulated. Not only was it new to me, I find it more grievous than the rest.

Here’s the claim again:

“Only the King James Bible has the power to convict souls and persuade people to be saved according to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (His death, burial and resurrection, 1Corinthians 15:3, 4 KJB)”

To be fair, the definition of the gospel is correctly cited from 1 Corinthians 3-4:

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. (KJV)

A quick search of those verses will show that just about every other translation defines the gospel exactly the same way! Think for a moment what that means Mr. STM is telling us. Assuming that STM agrees that the original manuscripts (which we do not have) were ‘breathed out by God’ (the KJV says so), STM would have us believe that a lost sinner could only be saved by reading, or having read to him the definition of the gospel from a 1611 KJV Bible! That, my friends, is beyond stupid!

The Apostle Paul provided the above definition of the gospel to Christians at Corinth. He also addressed the following to believers in Rome:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16 (KJV) (emphasis mine – I hope I don’t go to Hell for that)

This is where STM gets a little silly. Paul said he was not ashamed of the “gospel”, defined it as the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and said that the “gospel” is the power of God (to convict of sin and persuade people) unto salvation. In other words, the “power” is in the message, NOT in a particular English translation of the Bible. And again, we have numerous other English translations that define the gospel message exactly as does the KJV!

So according to STM, we can have the same message (the power for salvation), in the very same words, in multiple English translations, but nobody’s getting saved except when it’s read in/from the KJV!!!!!!!????????

Is that the absolute epitome of ignorance, audacity and arrogance? Don’t answer. I would have really liked to ask a few questions at STM’s blog post but comments were closed and he attitude toward anyone who would question his KJV idolatry wasn’t very kind. Yes, I said IDOLATRY.

The Old Gospel and the New Gospel

Posted by Dan C. on

1. The old gospel was about an offended God, the new gospel is about wounded us.

2. The old gospel was about sin, the new gospel is about felt needs.

3. The old gospel was about our need for righteousness, the new gospel is about our need for fulfillment.

4. The old gospel was offensive to the perishing, the new gospel is attractive.

HT: Gary Gilley, Pastor, Southern View Chapel, Springfield Illinois

The Gospel Mandate

Posted by Dan C. on

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”” – Mark 1:14-15 (Emphasis mine)

According to any good dictionary the word ‘mandate’ is defined as an official order or commission to do something. We are told in the Gospel of Mark that after Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, and after John was arrested, Jesus entered Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God. We are even given the words of Jesus’ initial proclamation:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Here we have Jesus saying at the beginning of his earthly ministry “repent and believe in the gospel”. Since Jesus said it, let’s agree that it’s ‘official’. Since Jesus is telling listeners to ‘do’ something, let’s agree that what we have is an ‘order.  Therefore, the gospel mandate is simply to repent and believe it. That’s it.

Interestingly, and perhaps sadly, most of today’s evangelism no longer follows Jesus’ simple mandate, but we have substituted all sorts of other ‘methods’. We have hand raisings (with all eyes closed of course) an altar calls. Have you ever wondered why everyone is asked to close their eyes but everyone is watching and applauding folks heading toward the altar?

To spark their interest in Jesus we tell people that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for them. Cool! Well, I love me to and have a wonderful plan too! God and I are on the same page!

Since God has such wonderful plans for folks, we ask them if they wouldn’t like to ‘ask Jesus into their heart’ or we ask them to just ‘give their heart to Jesus’. Those two seem to get great results at any Christian kids’ camp or VBS.  For older types who might be more thoughtful about the whole thing, we tell them that Jesus is ‘knocking at the door of their heart”, pleading to get in and the only doorknob is on their side, Never mind that the passage in question has Jesus knocking on the door of the church.

We might even pull out our little cards or Bibles and walk them through the Romans Road, ask for a simple ‘decision’ (and perhaps a signature in the little Bible), and pronounce them ‘saved’ when a decision is made and a dated signature properly inserted.

No matter what method we use, and we use them all, we hardly ever use the simple ‘mandate’ that Jesus used. We never begin where Jesus began. Why do you think that is? Is it because the word ‘repent’ is outdated and politically incorrect? After all, it might make someone feel bad. Are we hesitant about telling people to ‘believe the gospel’ because we are uncomfortable explaining it, or because we ourselves don’t know or aren’t sure what it is?  ,

Whatever the reason(s), we needn’t be afraid of just proclaiming what Jesus proclaimed. After all aren’t we fond of the expression “What would Jesus do?” Although I can think of occasions when WWJD becomes rather cliché, this isn’t one of them. At the same time, we need only remember that God saves his sheep and we can’t/don’t ‘help’ God save anyone. Remember Jonah and what he proclaimed after having been tossed into the sea, after being swallowed by a great fish and being barfed onto the beach?

“…with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”  – Jonah 2:9 (Emphasis mine)

Our mission isn’t to obtain ‘decisions for Jesus’, it’s to be faithful in prayerfully presenting the gospel. Our prayer is that God will open hearts to hear and the gospel is that Christ died for our sins. There is great encouragement in knowing that all I have to do is be able to discuss what it means to repent and believe. And if I have faced my own sin head on and believed in the One who took my place on Calvary, it’s not a hard thing to do.

A wise man once said:

“Long ago I ceased to count heads. Truth is usually in the minority in this evil world. I have faith in the Lord Jesus for myself, a faith burned into me as a hot iron. I thank God, what I believe I shall believe, even if I believe it alone.” C.H Spurgeon, October 16th, 1887