In Parts 1 and 2 of this article, I considered what should constitute, in part, the Christian approach to the ritual or adopted tradition which is now commonly referred to as the altar call. In this, the third posting in the little series, I consider the opinion of one of the foremost and effective biblical evangelists.
In “The Way of the Master”, Ray Comfort gives tongue in cheek advice to those preachers who, by means of their own conjured traditions and motions, wish to impress gullible sinners and make of them commercial converts. Rather than preaching the simple truth of the Gospel to the congregants, they preach variations of “easy-believism”. Thereby unscrupulous preachers proffer to do what they are unable to do and that is to attempt to “make” true believers at altar calls. Continue reading →
The practice of alter calls (calling people forward to make a public “decision for Christ”, usually at the end of a sermon) has gained in prominence and popularity, more commonly in Pentecostal – type churches. Ever since Charles Finney produced his “new measures” early in the nineteenth century by conjuring up the “anxious bench”, altar calling has been regularly practiced in some adventurous denominations and so-called non-denominational churches.
While altar calls are not prescribed or described in the Bible, advocates of this ritual cite certain biblical examples in support. Often it is said that Jesus demanded outward identification with Himself on the part of those who would be His disciples by telling them “follow Me” and expecting immediate response from them. This argument fails, however, when the problem of Judas is considered. Judas also responded publicly by immediately following Jesus, but the call he responded to did not bring about his salvation.
The question remains as to whether an altar call-induced “decision” is sincere repentance and faith, or whether it is simply an emotional response to a particularly convincing speaker or a charged-up atmosphere. Continue reading →
1 John 5:13 tells us, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” God wants us to understand salvation. God wants us to have the confidence of knowing for sure that we are saved. Briefly, let’s go over the key points of salvation:
(a) We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God(Rom 3:23).
(b) Because of our sin, we deserve to be punished with eternal separation from God (Rom 6:23).
(c) Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom 5:8; 2 Cor 5:21). Jesus died in our place, taking the punishment that we deserved. His resurrection proved that Jesus’ death was sufficient to pay for our sins.
(d) God grants forgiveness and salvation to all those who place their faith in Jesus – trusting His death as the payment for our sins (John 3:16; Rom 5:1; Rom 8:1).
That is the message of salvation. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are saved! All of your sins are forgiven, and God promises to never leave you or forsake you (Rom 8:38; Matt 28:20). Remember, your salvation is secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:28-29). If you are trusting in Jesus alone as your Savior, you can have confidence that you will spend eternity with God in heaven.
However, there are some who believe differently, and that salvation is not such a simple matter of faith. They would argue that salvation is a far more detailed and on-going process of actions whereby the sinner needs to retain their possible salvation by proving his or her worth. They may also believe that salvation is not to be attained during this life and that it will be determined according to their good works, sinless life or efforts in reaching a higher standard of holiness or increased spirituality.
Some may believe that they were saved subsequent to them having responded to an altar call, where they might have been asked to pray a certain prayer, or they were prayed for by an elder or other congregants. These people may have been told to carefully note the date of this “decision for Christ” for their future referral. After these events, some might have undergone life-changing experiences and for those believers we praise the Lord for His Grace in their lives, while others might have encountered no changes in their lives at all and may have become disillusioned with Christianity as a result. It is often important to these people to know and note the exact date and circumstances surrounding their “decision”.
Some may believe that they were saved by birthright or by infant baptism. Still others hold to the belief that salvation cannot be attained or assured during this life, as good works have yet to be performed to earn their salvation; some believe that only a sinless life can lead to salvation and that ever increasing holiness is necessary for any hope of salvation. In certain circles it is also referred to as “theosis” or becoming more like God by upholding certain traditions or ancient rituals, or by performing certain acts and deeds. For these people it is impossible to note when they were saved, or even when they will be saved.
Please tell us what your position is regarding this most important matter in the poll below. Of course, not all possibilities are covered by the choices available, so if your understanding does not appear among the choices, please give us a little detail of what you believe to be important, in the comments below the poll.
May your life be blessed with His Grace and with coming to know His Truth!
This is a subject which has once again risen to the forefront of discussions between Christians and professing Christians today, particularly since the modern Charismatic Pentecostal movement has gained much international popularity. Speaking in tongues has become a powerful tool used by some televangelists and so-called preachers in mega-churches, those for whom I find the tag “rock star evangelists” particularly descriptive, to deceive those congregants who lack discernment.
I recently heard one of the charismatic preachers at the forefront of the movement in our country, accuse those in his congregation who do not speak in tongues, of being simply and willfully ignorant. Subsequently, he has instituted classes where those, who have not been able to overcome their ignorance of the spiritual gift of tongues, to learn the skill. This, of course, is an addition to the already existing and well attended schools of prophecy and healing at his church, where for a tidy sum, one can learn to channel the Holy Spirit and do the work expected by God of every devoted Christian. I suppose none of this is new or unexpected. I mention it simply to sketch part of the reason for placing this article.
It is important for the Christian to determine the truth regarding this matter, particularly those who do not necessarily consult Scripture to test what is being fed to them from the Charismatic pulpit. Often, for those who are being deceived by the over-dressed, eloquent and financially successful businessmen who moonlight as Charismatic preachers, it is unthinkable that what is being taught as Biblical truth by their heroes, can be perceived as a lie or not from God. Continue reading →
There are three major origin-of-life worldviews, atheistic evolution (also commonly known as Darwinian evolution and naturalistic evolution), theistic evolution and special creation.
Atheistic evolution says that there is no God and that life can and did emerge naturally from preexisting, non-living building blocks under the influence of natural laws (like gravity, etc), although the origin of those natural laws is not explained. Special creation says that God created life directly, either from nothing or from preexisting materials.
Theistic evolution says one of two things. The first option is that there is a God, but He was not directly involved in the origin of life. He may have created the building blocks, He may have created the natural laws, He may even have created these things with the eventual emergence of life in mind, but at some point early on He stepped back and let His creation take over. He let it do what it does, whatever that is, and life eventually emerged from non-living material. This view is similar to atheistic evolution in that it presumes a naturalistic origin of life.
The second alternative of theistic evolution is that God did not perform just one or two miracles to bring about the origin of life as we know it. His miracles were constant. He led life step by step down a path that took it from primeval simplicity to contemporary complexity, similar to Darwin’s evolutionary tree of life (fish begot amphibians who begot reptiles who begot birds and mammals, etc). Where life was not able to evolve naturally (how does a reptile’s limb evolve into a bird’s wing naturally?), God stepped in. This view is similar to special creation in that it presumes that God acted supernaturally in some way to bring about life as we know it.
Special creation says that God created life directly, either from nothing or from preexisting materials, exactly according to the Genesis account over a literal six day period.
Share with us your views on which of these three is true of how, what we see today in the universe, came to be. Please feel free to leave us a comment on the subject, in support your view.
This is a question which I posed to adult members of my family on many an occasion while growing up. More often than not, the answer which they gave me was based rather on that which they knew I wanted to hear, than on specific Scriptures.
It is also a question to which, when the verses pertaining to animals in the Bible are pondered on, the answer does not immediately seem that clear. Animals are so very dear to the hearts of so many people, as they are to mine, that the mere suggestion that their beloved pets might not go to heaven, would be met with fierce opposition. Would that opposition be warranted?
Please tell us what you think in the light of the Scriptures such as: (Gen 1:25) And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Also (Isa 11:6) The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
I always enjoy polls on just about any subject ranging from politics to food, religion to sport, but I admit that such polls are rarely indicative of international opinion. Rather, they tend to represent the opinion of a select group of like-minded people who happen to frequent certain publications.
For example, the game of cricket would certainly not top a poll concerning the most popular sport in Los Angeles. Polls published in right-wing orientated newspapers will generally deliver results more representative of the right-wing or more conservative populace. Polls in more liberal publications will, more often than not, deliver liberal results. The results from a poll in the Tehran Times in Iran, concerning the most popular religions, would certainly not have Christianity topping the votes.
But nevertheless, polls remain popular and are generally fun and quick to answer. Results are generally immediately available, and those who like to be on the winning side at all times, can view the current result before voting for the most popular answer! I hope we get more honest opinion in our little polls, in the hope of learning more about how true believers think.
This particular poll about English Bible versions has more than the usual three or four choices. Most future polls should have fewer choices to enjoy clicking on. Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to complete them, I hope they are of use to the reader and are enjoyable and relevant.
Please check back soon for the next poll.
My apologies for the background picture (skulls!!), I noticed it too late after voting had begun!
I have always had a huge appreciation for well written, well told or clever jokes. There have been times when I have literally laughed so much and deeply from the heart, that were it not for my partially overwhelmed sensibilities, I could have caused myself some “seriously hysterical” injury. Sheepishly I admit that this does happen at times, and fortunately there are those who understand these things. I must emphasize most clearly, that at those times I was nowhere near Toronto, and the laughter certainly wasn’t their kind of (un)holy laughter, either.
Now, before I get to the gist of that which I wish to share in this article, I must bring just a little biblical perspective to the subjects of humour and laughter. While we must be thankful, wholehearted and honest in our utilization of these gifts and abilities to enjoy refreshing humour in our lives, we must also constantly keep in perspective our instruction to “soberness” of Christian character. The book of Titus and Chapter 2 explains clearly what we should strive for in our Continue reading →
There have been many articles written on this subject, one which never ceases to provide for spirited debate and much controversial commentary. Unnecessarily so, if the Word of God was accepted by all professing Christians as the complete and only authority on the subject. But alas, that is not to be and is an unrealistic scenario.
Apart from the fact that I find it quite incredible that any true Christian believer will deny the Doctrines of Grace as being Biblical, similarly I fail to understand why any person would wish to deny that they are elect of God.
Here is a bit of childish logic, I just had to: For what good reason would one want to be seen as non-elect, unless they truly are? Furthermore, if they realized that they were not elect, and they wished to be, would that not make them elect, anyway? Is a longing for God not of God? Continue reading →
For the Love of His Truth 