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.
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!
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