Easy Believism--The Broad Road?

I have been going through my journals and reflecting on the things that took place whilst I was on Logos Hope and later in the Philippines. This was when my eyes were opened to the dangers of ‘Easy Believism’ or ‘Decisionism.’ These titles are attributed to methods of conversion which encourage an instant, on the spot decision in order to become a Christian. They usually use forms of commitment like an ‘Altar call’ and ‘The Sinner’s Prayer’ in order to lead someone to ‘accept Christ.’ They are not always a bad thing but we need to be aware of the dangers. 

Thinking back, I realise that these methods were around when I was a teenager. I would often re-commit my life to God during an emotional moment at a worship service or large Christian event. I did this every time I fell into sin, promising God that this time I would really change my life and make a new start. But this only lasted until the next sin and recommitment at the next event. What was this? It was a failure to understand that Jesus’ death had already paid the price for my sin; past, present and future. It was a belief that somehow if I had had a ‘good’ day and my good behaviour outweighed my bad, God was more pleased with me and that therefore I was more acceptable to Him. The root of this is a subtle belief in salvation by works or good deeds. If I live a good enough life, I will be saved. But if I don't I need to keep starting the Christian life again in order to reset the balance to zero. I had no assurance of salvation.

There is a tendency for us all to think like this. It's human nature to want to do something to earn our place with God. But the reality is that we can never do enough good things to get right with God. All of the things that we consider righteous God sees as filthy rags. That’s why Jesus had to die. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sin and His gift is free. My frequent re-commitments were the result of a lack of depth in my Christian understanding and a lack of understanding of God. The right response would have been to confess my sin every time I messed up and seek not to repeat the sin (repentance.)  This, not for fear of losing my faith and being condemned to hell, but out of thankfulness to God for sending Jesus, knowing that I could not measure up without Him.

Responding to ‘Altar calls’ and frequent recitations of the ‘Sinner’s prayer’ acted as a method of getting right with God for me but they didn’t change my behaviour or my heart. I hear many stories of teens, and even older people, that go through this process, especially those who have been brought up in the church. They are sometimes responding to an awareness of God ingrained in them from a young age. It can be hard for them to separate their own beliefs from those of their parents or other adults in the church. They may not yet be truly born again. 

Maybe you are thinking, so far so good; that it will take time for a person to mature in the faith and to find their feet spiritually. Maybe you're thinking that ‘Altar calls’ and the ‘Sinner’s prayer’ can be part of this process, reminding people and convicting them of their sin and the need to get right with God. Certainly this can be the case, which is why I hesitate to dismiss them completely. I know people that are clearly saved that trace their moment of new birth back to a decision made at a rally or church where these methods are frequently used. There is no doubt that an ‘Altar call’ can be used to prompt someone to make a decision that they have been hesitant to make, that it can cause them to take their commitment more seriously as they are making it public by walking to the front. The ‘Sinner’s prayer’ could be offered to someone as a guide for how they could pray to become a Christian. But why do that when we already have Jesus’ example in the Lord’s Prayer? Surely that is more significant. Why give someone words at all when God is examining the heart?

Now let’s look at the dangers. Statistics in the West show that 83% of Americans and 53% of Brits still describe themselves as Christians (despite only 10% of Brits attending church.) We can explain those statistics in terms of culture; I was born in England/America therefore I’m a Christian. But an incredible 27% of Americans actually identify as Evangelical. The numbers are lower in Britain but it’s still larger than you might think. But how many of these are actually following Christ? How many counted the cost and gave up everything to follow Him, having turned their back on their past life? How many are really trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for their salvation?

The Bible tells us that the way to hell is broad and many are on that road. But the way to heaven is narrow and there are few who will find it. It tells us that the Christian life is hard and that when we decide to follow Jesus we will face trials, persecution and struggle as we fight spiritual battles and encounter the results of the curse of original sin. How many are really experiencing this in their day to day lives? Are we telling people to expect this when we lead them to Jesus so that they are properly prepared for the Christian life? Maybe you think that’s too gloomy, but is it really fair to give a one-sided picture of what following Jesus is all about? We should obviously highlight the hope, joy and peace that are found in Jesus but what about the other things that the Bible says?

‘Easy Believism’ and ‘Decisionism’ are likely responsible for those earlier statistics. There are millions of people who believe they are Christians and are heading for heaven because they signed a card, put their hand up in a meeting, said the ‘Sinner’s prayer’ with someone, or answered an ‘Altar call.’ They were probably prayed for and sent on their way in most cases never to be heard from again and with no resultant change in their life or behaviour. Some people have done all of these things and yet are still not saved. What is going wrong?

The main problem I have witnessed is the lack of follow up by churches and those that are using these methods. They proudly announce that 17 people ‘accepted Christ’ in a meeting and then move on to preparing for the next meeting with little concern about those people that they have apparently just helped to the start of the Christian journey. There is no checking a person’s understanding and little discipleship. We don’t want to embarrass someone or make them uncomfortable by asking clarification questions so we settle for a superficial understanding. We even tell them what to say to God or sometimes say it for them by using the ‘Sinner’s prayer.’ Not all churches and ministries are like this and many have good follow up programmes but there are a lot that don’t. The emphasis has become so much on soul counting and in some tragic cases competing with other churches for numbers or an over-emphasis on church growth that the individual is lost in the confusion. They have become part of another statistic of people who have been given a false assurance that they are going to heaven. That is the greatest danger.

How do we know that this is happening? I have witnessed it particularly in Asia where in some places a foreigner is seen almost as royalty. Asian culture dictates that you must agree with everything that is said to you to avoid conflict due to the potential shame. No wonder there are overstated and inaccurate conversion rates. But ask some of these people even basic questions about the Christian faith; What do they believe about Jesus? What did Jesus do for them? Who is Jesus? And they don’t know! The person who has just walked away happily adding that ‘new covert’s’ soul to their piece of paper has done serious damage to this person by telling them they are now a Christian. They have no idea what it means to be a Christian or where they can go to find out. They have been led astray. Sadly, I saw this happen far too many times in Asia and mostly it was done by Pastors and church leaders who had obviously been taught this themselves. When I asked what they had been talking to the person about I would receive a casual ‘Oh they just accepted Christ.’ This was even in reference to multiple persons, as if this was an everyday event. There was no joy or excitement or interest in the person as an individual. It was a duty well performed and then they turned their attention back to their Smartphone. This is happening everywhere.

So what should we do? We all know it’s easy to criticise. But how can we make sure that we don’t give people false assurance and that those who profess Christianity are truly following Jesus? Of course we need to examine the Bible. We need to look at God’s methods and not our own. What happened when God had already prepared someone’s heart in the Bible? They cried out ‘What must I do to be saved?’ These people were ready; they knew that they were sinners before a Holy God and that they couldn’t rest until they found peace with Him. What was the answer to their question? It was simply “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16 vs 31). And again in Romans 10 vs 9 the clear answer is, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

They were not told to recite a special prayer or sign a card or anything else. They were told to confess and believe. It was primarily a matter of the heart. If someone is ready, we can tell them that they need to get right with God by themselves through prayer. We can help them understand how to talk to God if they have never prayed before and we can explain what a Christian is and what we believe. But we really shouldn’t be putting words in their mouth or asking them to ‘repeat after me’ parrot fashion. We can also give them this free booklet ‘Ultimate Questions’ which explains the basics of Christianity, and of course we must regularly pray for them. 

http://ygod.info/ultimate-questions.pdf

We need to be involved in this person’s life ensuring that they understand the commitment they are making and that they have counted the cost. This is not about making salvation complicated. We know that the Bible teaches that children can understand. It is about being clear, both about our message and about the demands that being a Christian makes on a heart and life. Jesus Himself was clear whilst He was on earth that those who wished to follow Him must be willing to give up everything. Some who understood this rejected Him because they were unwilling. He didn’t soften His message, He let them go. They had heard the truth; the seed had been planted. God would give the increase in those He had chosen.

The Gospel is urgent and it is true that we do not know how long a person has left but God knows. Demanding or putting pressure on someone to make an instant decision without them really understanding that it will change their life will not help them persevere when trials come. They may even blame you if you didn’t explain the Gospel message properly. But most likely they will not do that. They will just quietly slip away never to be seen in church again. Another lost soul, what a waste.

Let’s be sincere and genuine telling people that the Christian life is difficult but that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. They must find Him in order to be free from their sin and to live a new life with God. It is good news!

How Important is Educational Success for a Christian?

This subject seems to have cropped up time and again in recent months and my views have significantly altered over the years. It is an area subject to increasing debate in Christian circles where people tend to take a firm stance one way or the other. As with all of these things it is important, ultimately, to come back to what the Bible has to say. Scripture obviously doesn’t state “You should/shouldn’t have an education” at least not in the same way that it tells us to be patient, although I was informed by my six-year-old nephew recently that he didn’t have to possess that particular fruit of the spirit as it wasn’t in the ten commandments and he hadn’t read it yet! But there are patterns of behaviour and principles for us to follow that speak directly to this issue. 

I thought back to when I was studying both at high school and later at sixth form college. It was presumed that I would head to University, indeed the vast majority of students with average or above average grades were channelled in that direction, regardless of the debt they might incur or other things they might want to do with their lives. I had always wanted to become a police officer but became temporarily distracted by the idea of being a lawyer and so headed to University to begin a degree in Law and Criminology. This seemed to be the expected course for me from an educational point of view and the argument was that I could always join the police on finishing my degree. What wasn’t highlighted was that I didn’t actually need a degree to join the police so I was effectively studying for the sake of it, or for achievement purposes. Some years later, I lost all of my exam certificates and wondered whether God was teaching me that they were superfluous or dealing with my pride, but maybe that’s reading too much into the situation…..

In my case, things worked out well as six weeks after starting my University course I realised that I was sick to the back teeth of studying and wanted to get on and work, so I dropped out and joined the police. I was blessed to have supportive parents, who despite the money that had been invested for the first term and the student loan that had been taken out, helped me to change direction. I have never regretted that decision, although for the first few weeks afterwards I felt like a failure. I wonder if things would’ve been different if someone, at my school, had really thought about whether it was the right thing for me to go to university in the first place bearing in mind my career choice. Now it seems that more people are considering the non-degree route as vocational courses become available and people are more concerned about being saddled with debt. My general advice on this issue is that people should only go to University if they have to have a specific degree to get the job that they want to do, otherwise what’s the point!

But everything so far has been pretty general and not about the specific issue of Christians and their education. I recently conversed with a young professing Christian in Asia who was so upset by the amount of pressure they were being placed under to hit a certain deadline that they were contemplating suicide if they could not hit the mark. This person was repeating their studies having failed them once already due to a nervous breakdown triggered by exam stress. They asked me why God allowed them to fail their exams and to buckle under the pressure.  I found myself asking whether someone in that situation should be encouraged to continue their studies, as this person’s parents were advising. In Asia there is a huge amount of pressure exerted on children to succeed regardless the consequence, with never-ending school hours and reams of homework. The statistics show that these countries are now leading the world in terms of educational success, but at what cost? Is educational success the ultimate goal for a Christian? Is it even important in God’s economy?

This leads on to the issue of formal education for those who believe that God has called them into positions of leadership either in a Church or on the Mission field. Most churches and mission agencies require applicants to have spent time at either Bible school or Seminary. But is this Biblical? And is it necessary to prepare someone for a life of Christian service? This is where my views have probably changed. Like everyone else I would previously have said that of course a prospective Pastor/Preacher/Missionary should go to Bible school, where else would they learn what they needed to prepare them to teach others. 

But a few years ago, my home church appointed a new Pastor that had not been away to Bible school. Instead he had been a trainee leader in a large church and had spent several years being mentored/discipled by a senior Pastor in that church whilst also studying the Bible/other books in his own time. He described this as a Paul/Timothy type of relationship where the younger learned from the older and was enabled to practice what he was being taught in the local church context. He was able to develop relationships with the people in the church immediately rather than being sent away to study then returning and having to begin that process as a virtual stranger.  This made me think as I could see the definite advantages to this method of learning which seemed to have been lifted straight from the Bible.

On being called into mission work myself it was suggested that I also should go to Bible school or pursue further training but I believed that God would have me go at once and having spent two years on-board Logos Hope (missionary ship) I believed that that experience was adequate training for the field as an independent. A few years down the line, having made many mistakes and struggled through many difficulties, I still believe that it was the right decision to go although maybe I was a little hasty in terms of the exact departure date. I have learned many things that have better prepared me for future service. And God was always with me even at my lowest points.

I have also been involved in a church that had a Bible school attached to it. You might think that this is the ideal scenario; a man can be officially trained whilst also putting things into practice within the local church. This may have been the case but many of the men being trained were not in fact members of that church as they travelled from a fair distance away to enrol in school during the week and then returned to their families/churches at the weekend. Of the limited number who were in the church and in the Bible school, at least one expressed concern that he wouldn’t be ready to be a Pastor on graduation because he didn’t feel adequately prepared for the practical side. He was considering getting further formal education in another country. I said to this person that the important thing for him to prepare himself was to develop his own relationship with God and to spend time studying the Bible himself as this would prepare him better than spending a lot of money on further formal education. This wasn’t said because I had an especially well developed view on this subject but more because it seemed logical; God would equip His servants for the ministry He had called them to.

I attended some of the above church’s Bible school classes as I thought they might be useful for me as a missionary but after numerous weeks on the different types of baptism, as I struggled to grasp the detail, I found myself wondering how I could ever apply that in my work. I also wondered whether it would even be useful for a prospective Pastor to know that level of detail. But I can’t comment beyond that on the topics/content of any Bible schools/Seminaries as I have no direct experience of them.  I was concerned that some graduates that I knew seemed to have automatically adopted the views of their teachers or the particular school they had attended. They hadn’t always developed these views after a prayerful study of Scripture but often just because they had been taught it and it seemed to make sense. This is one of the dangers if students aren’t willing to keep up their own personal study whilst enrolled at these institutions.

Then I met a man who had been a missionary for 17 years. He had been expected to go to university but felt God clearly calling him to missionary service. He had joined a slightly older male missionary on the field and had used his personal study time, the reading of good Christian literature and the things he learned from his co-worker to prepare him to serve God as a Pastor/Preacher on the field. He had no formal education beyond high school. He had written a book called “The Hidden Altar” (see review) which amongst other things explains why a formal education may not be necessary, particularly for those who hear God calling them to “Go and make disciples.”

 Shortly after this I was serving in a book warehouse in Florence, South Carolina and I stumbled upon another book; “Pagan Christianity.”  (see review)I didn’t agree with some of the things the author wrote and I have already reviewed this extensively, but I saw again that heading off to Bible school/Seminary may not be the most effective route for everyone. Although one person took the opportunity to explain at the bottom of my review why a formal education was necessary for all prospective ministers, his rationale seemed to be largely based on Church tradition/cultural best practice. I began to consider what the Bible says about this.

I then read; “Father of Faith Missions; The Life and Times of Anthony Norris Groves.” (see review) and discovered that he too had not been formally educated or ordained for his Pastoral role. Indeed, many of his contemporaries didn’t have the required formal stamp on their ministry and this had caused much controversy. Groves’ goal was to stick as closely as possible to the New Testament pattern of the Apostles in his life and ministry. You might think that Groves and other missionaries of past generations were lazy; not wanting to study or devote themselves fully to God’s work. But actually quite the opposite was true, these were men who gave their all to God. They were disciplined in devotional practices and through reading and studying they learned everything they needed to know to teach God’s Word to others.

So what can we conclude from this, and how important is educational success for a Christian? In terms of general education, the Bible tells us in Colossians 3 vs 23; 

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (ESV)

So for those who are studying and who were thinking I was about to advise that it would be okay to abandon their education; if you are studying then do it with all your heart for God! Be disciplined and seek to serve Him through exercising diligence. But remember that God knows our hearts and our individual abilities and He is far more concerned about how faithfully we serve Him than how successful we are educationally. If (as in the case of the student I mentioned earlier) your studies are making you ill or stressed out of your mind, then there is a case for asking whether God would have you continue or whether you should pray about what else He might have you do.

In relation to Seminary/Bible school; the Apostles were uneducated fishermen who learned from their Master. Paul had been educated as a non-believer but later taught Timothy directly as they worked closely together. I have given more contemporary examples of how some Christian men have followed the New Testament pattern by learning from spiritually mature Christians and studying the Bible directly.

Biblically, educational success should not be the goal for a Christian. Their goal should be to seek God’s will for their lives. God knows best how to prepare a person for adequate personal spiritual growth and for their calling. Not having been to Seminary/Bible school should not bar a Christian from being in leadership as it is not a Scriptural requirement for leadership. Educational success is something that the world says is vitally important, and sadly in most cases the church seems to have adopted this view and added it as a requirement for their leaders. But a Christian leader can learn to be an effective minister of God’s Word through the example of his peers and through diligence in personal study.