No More Gospeless Alter Calls...PLEASE!!

Terrence · 10-01-2006, 10:59 PM

The following is a qoute from one of Andrew Wommack's website. It is a prayer in which you pray to invite Jesus into your heart.

"Father, I recognize that I am totally dependent on You to save me. I accept Jesus' sacrifice as payment for my sins and make Him the Lord of my life. I believe that Jesus is alive from the dead and now living in me. I am saved! Praise God! I am saved!"

Question: Who is in control here, the sinner praying, or God? How is it that people would have to audacity to "accept" Jesus and assume that we are saved? Saved from what? I wonder how many of us have said a prayer like this (even more than twice) and have never changed inasmuch as to walk in holiness and live as we ought? Is this what the bible teaches...to accept Jesus and we'll be saved? In a short word: No! The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is God and does not need our acceptance. Rather, we need His. The Bible teaches that if we repent of our sins and trust in the sacrifice that God provides for us (Jesus) we will be saved.

What is sin you ask? Sin is "transgrettion of God's Laws." No one has kept God's Laws (Ten Commandments) and all are guilty by the Law. The wages of breaking the Laws are death and hell. We are all born and grow under condemnation of the Law. However, God being full of Love and Mercy has done somethings amazing. These things are two-fold:

1. He has satisified His Righteous Wrath by executing Justice on His Son, Jesus. On the cross, the full wrath of God was bought upon Jesus and He suffered infinite agony. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness against sin because He had passed over so many sins that was previously commited (Romans 3:25).

2. God displayed His Love and Mercy by Saving mankind who deserved his wrath. Jesus fillfilled the law by never sinning and His death paid the price of sin. Now, all those who would repent and trust in Jesus alone, can be made right because they would have their fine paid. We broke the law and Jesus paid the fine, its as simple as that. Now, we can go to heaven, not because we're good, but because we're bad people who have had been their debt paid for and are now seen forgiven. Moreover, we can have Jesus' righteousness imputed to us.

Saying a mantra of a pray will not save you. I dont care how much times you say "I am a sinner. Sorry God. Please forgive me. I trust Jesus and accept Him as my savior," you will not be saved. God sees your heart and knows your motives. If you are not broken over your sins; not because of the consequences of your sins, but rather because you've sinned against God, you will not be saved. God's law is a school master to lead sinners to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Look at yourself in light of God's laws and judge yourself by what He says Good is. If you see yourself in true light - namely, a law breaker who is guilty, worthy of God's wrath, and is incapable of doing anything to save yourself, look to the cross. There you will see the expression of God's love and mercy expressed and finally the good news (gospel) will make sense to you.

It will no longer be foolish or a stumbling block, but finally the power of God to save you. On the cross you will see the man who suffered and died as a sacrifice to extinguise God's Just wrath. Oh, if you would just see a glimpse of that, you will pray from your heart and say to God "Be merciful to me a sinner." You will cry out in sorrow and travil in your heart from being undone. If you would ever do that, you will be saved. Get rid of the mantra"sinner's prayer" and look at yourself through God's Law.

Mr. Wommack, and all those like you, please clean up your acts. Give the gospel that sinners may know exactly why they need Jesus. Dont give them an alter call, say a magic prayer, and then declear them God's children. Thats not only wrong but dangerous. All this will do is create bitter back slidders who thought they gave the "Jesus thing" a try, only to find out that it didnt work for them. They never came for the right reasons and thus was never saved. The fall away from the faith, reavealing that they were never of the faith in the first place. Futhermore, their latter end becomes worse than the first. Pastors, you have a great responsiblity to the sheep. Please clean up your acts and present the gospel correctly.

-Sincere

Faithfulservant · 10-02-2006, 04:18 AM

Amen

Dor · 10-02-2006, 04:31 AM

*cheers*:d

Dondi · 10-02-2006, 02:03 PM

Wow, Terrence, you've spoke volumes about a conviction I have developed over the last several years in regards to salvation. If there is to be any merit to "the sinner's prayer'", it is that it is a starting point to a life long obedience to God. I'm convinced that the purpose of God is not that we become "saved", but to be conformed into the image of His Son. Nowadays, it seems as if obedience is an option, that as long as you are "saved', you needn't worry about anythings else. But salvation is a means to an end, not the end itself.

Being born again isn't about "accepting" Jesus, but recognizing that in our fallen human condition, we are hopeless in trying to please God and we are bound to fail to live perfectly on our own accord. Rather the Life of God, that is the Spirit of God must dwell within us if we are to have the hope to live according to the will of God. We must be born of the Spirit. Adam and Eve was given a choice, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (which amounted really to the knowledge or experience of sin) or the Tree of Life (which I beleive represents the Spirit of God). Since the former choice was made, God withdrew His Spirit for a time untill Christ was able to remove the stigma of sin that beset Man and allow the Spirit to dwell within Man once again.

You see, while Christ's sacrifice removed the sin from us, people stop short there without realizing that there is another side of the coin. And all too many fall away because they do not recognize that the purpose of Christ's sacrifice is to make us prepared to receive God's Spirit (New wine in new wineskins) so that we will have the means and the strength to obey God as we abide in Him.

Great post!