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An Article by David Wells Long Time Pastor In Cincinnati Area <<== Pastor David Wells and Pat |
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An Article by David Wells Long Time Pastor In Cincinnati Area <<== Pastor David Wells and Pat |
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"Yes." "Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to take away
those sins?" "Yes." "Then will you bow your head with me, repeat a short prayer,
and ask Jesus to come into your heart?" "Yes." (This is done.) "Now, you are saved!" "I am?" "Yes, the Bible says you are saved. Don’t you believe
the Bible?" "Well, of course I do." "Then you are saved, right?" "Right." At first look, the method and message of the above illustration might seem beyond criticism. As a vast throng of "personal soul winners" canvasses our land from door to door using the above method, it becomes very difficult to downgrade their zeal and enthusiasm. To their credit, it must be stated that they are certainly on the job. The enthusiasm, earnestness, and persuasiveness which this well-trained group of so-called "fundamentalists" exhibits is certainly admirable, to say the least. However, is this zealousness and persuasiveness mis-directed? Is the method which is being used a scriptural method? Are the folks who are following the step by step instructions of the "soul winner" being genuinely saved? This is a very delicate yet crucial problem today in the world of Biblical
Christianity as we know it. Several thought provoking questions and intricate situations
are being brought to the attention of God's people everywhere. Certainly, a few of these
conversions are genuine. It is the opinion of this writer, however, that the majority of
these "decisions" for Christ do not pan out and are not genuine.
Where are all the converts? Where is all the fruit? As the hundreds and
thousands of souls which are being saved are counted and recorded, where are they all going?
Why is our land not in the midst of a great spiritual awakening and revival, rather than
being in a downhill slide into sin and depravity? Could it be that instead of being born
again, people are being stillborn as a result of slick salesmanship techniques?
A closer study of the method of "easy-believism" certainly reveals to any rational
believer that today's gospel has been watered down and grossly over-simplified. What Is Missing? What Is Incorrect? First of all, the Easy-believism type of evangelism usually does
not emphasize genuine repentance toward God. No one can be save without a recognition of
sin toward God, and a repentance of turning away from that sin. It is quite obvious that when
someone is asked if they have ever done anything wrong, they are going to say, "Yes". However,
to agree lightheartedly that you have erred, and to experience the convicting influence and
power of the Holy Spirit are two completely different things! Until a person has experienced
the Spirit relayed consciousness that he is a totally depraved sinner, he can never exercise
a saving faith in Christ. It is absolute folly to tell an unconvicted sinner to merely believe
in Jesus and expect him to be saved. Before a person can be saved, he has to realize that
he is lost.
This conviction comes from the Holy Spirit. To sweeten the gospel for
the sake of numbers by de-emphasizing the sinfulness of man is unscriptural and ungodly!
For man to realize that he is exceedingly sinful, he must first be shown the exceeding
sinfulness of sin. That conviction does not come, however, through a planned program of
quick responses by way of rehearsed questions.
Conviction of sin comes when God's people preach and teach the power of
repentance through the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, people are saved.
My father used to tell me: "Son, a sinner can feel it in his head, and not believe it in
his heart." His words are true yet today. A mental assent of sin is far different than a
heart belief of conviction and sorrow toward that sin. A second emphasis which is missing in the easy-believism, door-to-door
method of soul winning is an acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ. To coax someone into
lightheartedly admitting that Jesus is Saviour is missing the target entirely. Jesus is first
and foremost Lord, and then Saviour! As one falls at the feet of Christ, experiencing the
conviction of the Holy Spirit and realizing the all encompassing Lordship of Christ, he is
then in a position to accept Christ as Saviour. Easy believism leaves this out entirely. The
sovereign Lordship of Christ is omitted and skipped completely, while the message of "only
believe" is placed easily within one's grasp. Consequently, shallow and frivolous decisions
are made, and the very crux of the gospel is left unsaid. Thirdly, while the joy and wonderfulness of salvation is over
emphasized, the easy-believism method totally ignores the terms of true discipleship. When
one gets saved, life does not suddenly become one big joy ride into Heaven. The cost must
be counted! The cross as well as the crown must be preached and taught. Genuine salvation
does not produce a constant bed of roses. People should not be conned into thinking that it
does, just in order to get them to make some sort of decision. Let it be said that a life of
service for Christ will result in joy, peace, contentment, hope and purpose. Along with this,
however, comes sacrifice, tears, anguish, persecution, and oftentimes death. Certainly, the
genuine soul winner should make the potential convert aware of this fact. Not as a condition
for salvation, but rather as a result of following Christ. What is the result of all of this? People all across our land are believing,
but they do not know what they are believing! The seed has not been sown properly,
the doctrinal watering has not taken place, and God has not given the increase. Shallow
decisions to "repeat the sinner's prayer" are being substituted for heart felt belief in
the regenerating power of God. Listen: a slick smile, a hearty handshake, a manufactured
speech, and a quick command for someone to bow their head and ask Jesus to come into their
heart is not New Testament evangelism! People in the New Testament were never
pressured into salvation. I challenge anyone to show me where they were! In all instances,
the heart of the individual was prepared by the Holy Spirit through the teaching of God's
Word, and a soul winner was then led to that person. Of course, today's high powered soul winner hides behind the feeble
excuse that if only one conversion in twenty is genuine, then we should rejoice in the fact
that the one genuine convert is saved and on his way to Heaven. Are people actually that
naive? If this reasoning is logical, then is it not logical to also say, "Okay, let's have
twenty people line up against a wall. We'll take a gun and shoot at all twenty of them.
However, if only one escapes with his life, we will rejoice in the fact that the one is
alive, even though the other nineteen people may be dead!"
To take the unscripturally loaded gun of easy-believism and aim it at
twenty people with the hope that maybe one will actually get saved is basically the same
type of logic. What about the other nineteen? They have been deceived, are oftentimes bitter,
have been given a false hope, and are usually on their way to hell by means of a false
profession. They have been shot and killed by the gun of easy-believism. It is time for many of us to re-evaluate our methods of soul winning.
Time needs to be set aside to patiently teach people the gospel. The necessity for true
repentance and faith in Christ needs to be the very foundation of our message. We then
need to wait on and pray for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. We then need to
prayerfully and honestly lead them to the Lord. After a person gets saved, strong Baptist
doctrine from God's Word needs to be taught and rooted into the life of the new child of
God. Certainly, scriptural baptism needs to be taught and administered, and the new convert
should be brought up as A new babe in Christ, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Of course, by doing it this way, we may not have as many "decisions" for
the Lord. It is my belief, however, that the majority of those who do believe will be
genuine, and that New Testament evangelism will be more accurately followed and practiced.
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