Guarding His Flock Ministries

Twelve Questions.

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Paul, Galatians 2:16, KJV

In America over the last two centuries, no event has become more associated with the evangelical-fundamentalist movement than the altar call. In evangelistic campaigns, revival crusades, and many church services, the altar call is synonymous with winning souls to Jesus Christ, or calling backslidden believers to repent and return to the Lord.

Typically, at the end of an evangelistic or church service, the invitation is extended for those in the audience to physically rise up out of their seat, step out into the aisle, and walk forward to a "metaphorical altar" located at the front of a church or stadium. As one altar call was stated:

Don't let distance keep you from Christ. Christ went to the Cross because he loved you. Certainly you can come these few steps. Come right now.[1]

At a metaphorical altar located at the front of the meeting place, people supposedly become saved. Other reasons for extending the altar call include that persons might rededicate their lives to Jesus after having backslidden into sin, seek certain spiritual gifts or blessings, or perhaps, dedicate their lives to vocational Christian ministry. Because of the publicity that altar calls receive via televised evangelistic crusades, and their use in many local churches, no public rite of passage to salvation, or rededication, is viewed as important as the altar call.

But the greater question surrounding this rite of passage is whether, or not, it accords with the nature of faith as the New Testament defines it. We need to examine "the altar call" in light of the Bible's description of faith, and what it means to be justified by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Does the altar call help someone to get saved? Or possibly, could this rite of Christian passage actually hinder the salvation of many?

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The impossibility of spiritual life apart from God's work: a meditation on Ephesians 2:1-10.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB 

Many Christians think that salvation is not so much a gift to be received, as a destiny to be earned. Their concept of salvation is that God will pay them in eternity for what they accomplished in time. To them, salvation is achieved, not received. The tragedy of it is that salvation will never come to them by such an arrangement. As the Apostle wrote, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace" (Romans 11:6). Charles Spurgeon summarized the issue well when he said, "One might better try to sail the Atlantic in a paper boat than to get to heaven in good works."

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A Case Study of Rahab the Harlot.

Just believe! Such faith, exhibited by many within the pan-evangelical church of, runs a severe risk of being misplaced. For many, faith has become “faith in feelings.” As a friend of mine used to say, Christians these days get all excited over excitements. But if individual and inner emotions become the standard of faith, then such faith finds its origin within one’s feelings, and that is a miserable place for faith to reside. In such a place, faith may be “personal,” but it's no more than that. Theologians call this fideism, or faith in faith apart from any rational or vilitional considerations. Excess emphasis on emotionalism reduces faith to romanticism, and as such, enhancement of personal faith could be stimulated by reading feel-good books, watching feel-good movies, or listening to feel-good songs. All of this and more can extol the magic of believing.

Have you ever listened to the song, "I Believe!"? The lyrics read: “I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.” [1] While the lyrics sound upbeat and positive--words that ooze with a message of positivity and possibility--they are essentially false. One drop of rain does not produce an equivalent flower. Flower lovers may wish it to be were so, but it's not. This is one example of romantic but vacuous faith. Ultimately, faith will rise no higher than the object into which it is placed. If it originates and resides within one's soul experiences, then that's where it will remain until disillusionment might extinguish it. But biblical faith demands a subject who believes within, and an object who is believed without. For example, we turn to Rahab the Harlot.

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"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past . . ."  Romans 3:23-25a

The church, as dictated by the culture's prevailing mood, tends to ignore what theologians have labeled, “the dark side of God.” Jonathan Edward's sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God probably would not fly amongst contemporary Christians, who, in their ignorance, connect their concept of God only to the yellow circle of God’s smiling face. Because God is always happy, or so it is presumed, His greatest desire is for us to be happy too! Thus any contemplation about God's dark side has been dismissed from the collective psyche of many modern Christians.

Scripture records persons hiding from God's wrath (Revelation 6:16-17). Hiding from wrath is instinctive to us. After all, who of us relished a spanking when we were kids? Yet the ominous personal side of God’s wrath life remains, for it has been observed that Scripture has more to say about God's anger than it does about His love. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,” wrote the Apostle Paul (Romans 1:18).

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"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 

Many Christians think that salvation is not so much a gift to be received, as it is a state to be deserved. Their concept of God is that He will pay them in eternity for what they accomplished in time. To them, salvation is achieved, not received. The tragedy of it is that salvation will never come to them by such an arrangement. As the Apostle wrote, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace" (Romans 11:6). Charles Spurgeon summarized the issue well when he said, "One might better try to sail the Atlantic in a paper boat than to get to heaven in good works."

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"What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?"  Romans 9:22 

Hyper-Calvinism asserts that God predestined the non-elect to go to hell. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion John Calvin called it reprobation and wrote that, "there could be no election without its opposite, reprobation." He then continued: "Those, therefore, whom God passes by He reprobates . . . because He is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which He predestines to his children."[1]

Double-predestination as it is also known, claims to find support in Romans chapter 9, especially verse 22 which reads: "What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?" (Romans 9:22, NASB).

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