Is There a Christian-Muslim Divide?

September 20, 2007 by Ildefonso Rubrico
Filed under Scriptural study

Harmonizing the Gospel Accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection

September 16, 2007 by Ildefonso Rubrico
Filed under Scriptural study

Harmonizing the Gospel Accounts of the Resurrection

Hi! Care for some "resurrection puzzle?"

This is just an exercise on how well we - readers of the Bible - are able to harmonize the various (and, seemingly) contradicting accounts of some important incidents in the Bible, as written by several authors.

One of them is the gospel account of Christ's rising from His tomb that glorious Easter Sunday. There are 4 gospel versions - two versions of which were written by two apostles (namely, John and Matthew)and the other two versions by later disciples (Mark, the companion of Peter and Barnabbas; and, Luke, the companion of Paul). It is important to note that John and Matthew both claimed to be EYEWITNESSES to the Resurrected Christ, while Mark and Luke - though not eyewitnesses themselves - based their versions on the eyewitness accounts of Peter and Paul (who claimed a separate encounter with the Risen Lord).

The harmonized account is my own, in response to Dan Barker’s Challenge, and may not necessarily be THE CORRECT version, so the reader is encouraged to explore the verses more
assidously and come up with his own, too.

Lastly, no need to consult the Bible. The 4 gospel accounts are already reproduced in the attachment (NIV version).

HAPPY EASTER, everyone!!

-nr

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Harmonizing the Four Gospel Accounts of Christ’s Resurrection

———————————————————————

Event(s)

Gospel Verse(s)

Remarks

1

Mk. 16:1

Aftr Sabbath, women buy/prep. spices

2

Lk. 23:56

Aftr. preparing spices, women restd.

3

Matt. 28:2, 3

Violent earthquake; angel fr. heaven rolls back stone & waits for women

4

Matt. 28: 4

Guards see the angel and pass out like dead men.

4

Jn. 20:1

Mary Mag goes to tomb alone whl. still dark; finds stone rolled back but fails to notice passed-out guards.

5

Mk. 16:2; Lk. 24:1; Matt. 28:1

At daybreak, a separate grp of women go to tomb(Mary, Salome, others) bringing spices

6

[Jn. 20:2]; [Mk.16:3]

Mary Mag runs to tell Peter & John that Jesus’ body is missing ; women approach tomb wondering who will roll the stone.

7

[Jn. 20:3]; [Mk. 16:4; Lk. 24:2]

Peter & John starts to run to tomb; meanwhile, Mary’s party of women arrive at tomb & find stone rolled away

8

Lk. 24:3

Women enter tomb, looking for Jesus’ body, and wondering.

9

Mk. 16:5; Lk. 24: 4

Upon entering, women notice man/2 men in gleaming clothes standing/sitting beside them & they were frightened.

[Matt. 28: 5, 6, 7]

[Mk.16: 6, 7]

[Lk. 24: 5,6,7 ,8]

The angel(s) asks who they were looking for; calms them, declares Jesus is risen as He promised; as they remember His words, angel(s) tells them to go inform the disciples to meet Him in Galilee.

10

Matt. 28: 8; Mk. 16:8

Afraid yet overjoyed, the women run to tell the disciples what they were told by the angel(s). At this point, the women must have dispersed in different directions to contact the disciples, telling no one what they had just witnessed, but not before they encountered the Risen Lord and touched and worshipped Him; see Matt. 28:9.

11

[Jn. 20: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

[Lk. 24:12]

John outruns Peter to the tomb but does not enter. Peter arrives and enters tomb where he sees the scattered burial stripes and head cloth neatly folded. John enters tomb, and seeing, partially believes, but Peter is skeptical, for as yet, they could not fully understand the Scripture regarding Jesus’ resurrection.

12

[Jn. 20: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17]

[Mk. 16: 9]

Peter & John go home, leaving Mary Mag weeping; she peeks into the tomb and sees two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had lain. Angels ask why she was weeping and she replies bec. someone took away and hid Jesus’ body. Meanwhile, the risen Jesus appears at her side and asks her the same question. Thinking He was the gardener who took Jesus’ body, she asks where it was. At this point, Jesus calls her name and she immediately recognized His voice, and crying “Teacher,” makes a move to touch Him. Jesus admonishes her not to touch Him bec. He has not yet returned to the Father/God; when He does, to tell the disciples. Thus the risen Lord first appeared to Mary Magdalene.

13

Matt. 28: 9, 10

The second appearance of Jesus occurs when He suddenly meets the women who had just come from the tomb. The “women” referred to here are the “other Mary” (who is identified as ‘Mary the mother of James’[and therefore Jesus' mother, since He and James are brothers]and Salome and possibly, others;see Mk.16:1. Mary Magdalene could not have gone with them to the tomb as she went alone earlier; see J.20:1.

Jesus greets the women (incl. His mother, Mary) and allows them to clasp His feet and worship Him. He then instructs them to tell His “brothers” (disciples) to go to Galilee where they will meet with Him.

14

[Jn. 20:18]

[Mk.16: 10,11]

[Lk. 24: 9, 10, 11]

At this point, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Salome, Joanna & the other women could have separately converged at the house of Peter where the other apostles were also gathered bec. of the amazing news about Jesus’ resurrection as told by the women. However, they refused to believe the women, bec. in those days, the testimonies of women were considered weak and unreliable. It was believed then that women were not credible witnesses.

15

Matt. 28: 11

Meantime, the guards at the tomb revive and report the matter to the chief priests.

16

Matt. 28: 12, 13, 14, 15

The chief priests devise a plan to cover-up Jesus’ rising from the dead by bribing the guards to say Jesus’ body was stolen by His disciples while they slept. They will then also bribe the governor (Pontius Pilate) to keep silent about the matter. Their plan succeeds and thus, this is the story that “widely circulates among the Jews to this very day.”

Prepared by Nene Rubrico as basis for class discussion. UP-Church of the Risen Lord.

08 April 2006

Harmonizing the Gospel Accounts of the Resurrection http://www.coppit.org/god/gospels.php43

I put this page together to compare the four Gospel accounts of the Resurrection, in order to take a look at Dan Barker’s Challenge. I reproduce it here:

The conditions of the challenge are simple and reasonable. In each of the four Gospels, begin at Easter morning and read to the end of the book: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20-21. Also read Acts 1:3-12 and Paul’s tiny version of the story in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. These 165 verses can be read in a few moments. Then, without omitting a single detail from these separate accounts, write a simple, chronological narrative of the events between the resurrection and the ascension: what happened first, second, and so on; who said what, when; and where these things happened.

Since the gospels do not always give precise times of day, it is permissible to make educated guesses. The narrative does not have to pretend to present a perfect picture–it only needs to give at least one plausible account of all of the facts. Additional explanation of the narrative may be set apart in parentheses. The important condition to the challenge, however, is that not one single biblical detail be omitted.

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Matthew 28

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,

telling them, “You are to say, `His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Mark 16

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb

and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.

When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Luke 23

Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Luke 24

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”

Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

John 20

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,

as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

0Then the disciples went back to their homes,

but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb

and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Vespers Sunday School. UP-Church of the Risen Lord. Prepared as a basis for class discussion. (Nene Rubrico-08 April 2006).

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Doing the Math on the Divinity of Jesus

September 15, 2007 by Ildefonso Rubrico
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Dr. Alban Douglas, the author of the best-seller “One Hundred Bible Lessons” (Manila:OMFLit.,1966), devotes 17 chapters of his book on God the Son, Jesus Christ. One chapter discusses Jesus’ deity , and here Dr. Douglas offers “fifteen proofs of the deity of Christ,” namely:

1. Jesus Christ is referred to as Lord – Ps.110:1; Matt.22:41-46;Mk.12:35-36;Lk.20:39-44; Acts 2:34

2. The Virgin Birth would be God coming to live with men – Is.7:14;Matt.1:23

3. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, was given divine names in prophecy -Is.9:6,7;Lk.18:19;Ps.16:7;Jn.10:30

4. The Christ who was prophesied to come was to be from “Everlasting.” – Mi.5:2

5. God and Christ both gave their personal names as “I AM.” – Ex.3:14;Jn.8:58

6. Jesus Christ forgave sins.- Mk.2:5,7

7. Jesus claimed equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit.- Matt.28:19;2Cor.13:14

8. Jesus claimed omnipresence.- Matt.18:20

9. Jesus claimed omniscience. – Mk.11:2-6; Matt.12:40,24:3-31

10. Jesus claimed omnipotence.- Matt.28:18

11. Jesus had creative power. -Jn.1:1-3;Heb.1:3

12. Jesus had power over nature.- Lk.8:24;Mk.4:39;Matt.14:25,26

13. Jesus Christ received worship due only to God.- Jn.9:38;Lk.4:8

14. Jesus accepted the testimony of Thomas.- Jn.20:28

15. The fact of Jesus’ resurrection.- Rom.1:4;Rom.6:4

In addition, Jesus is God because He possesses the 10 exclusive attributes of God: eternal (Rev.1:8); unchangeable (Heb.13:8);omnipotent (Matt.28:18); omnipresent (Jn.1:48); omniscient (Lk.5:22,Jn.2:24,Mk.11:2-6);holy (Mk.1:24,1Pet.2:22); just (Jn.2:14-17); loving (Jn.15:13); merciful (Ti.3:5); and, faithful (2Tim.2:13).

For the mathematically-inclined, here’s some interesting piece of statistics on the topic:

———————
Doing the Math on the Divinity of Jesus

Read more of it on “Jesus Christ: The Real Story” at:

http://www.gnmagazi ne.org/booklets/ JC/JC.pdf, or

http://www.gnmagazi ne.org/booklets/ JC/index. htm
============ =

Fulfilled prophecies in the Gospels

Those Jews who believed that Jesus fulfilled the
messianic prophecies were in the minority. The Gospel
writers, however, are relentless in their quotations
from the Scriptures to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled
in detail the many messianic prophecies.

The apostle Matthew, for example, appears to have
specifically written his Gospel to a first-century
Jewish audience. Through a series of Old Testament
quotations, Matthew documents Jesus Christ’s claim to
be the Messiah. Jesus’ genealogy, baptism, messages
and miracles all point to the same inescapable
conclusion: He is the prophesied Messiah.

Matthew’s Gospel cites 21 prophecies that were
fulfilled in circumstances surrounding the life and
death of Christ. Eleven passages point out these
fulfillments using such introductions as “that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophet
…” or “then was fulfilled what was spoken by the
prophet …”

Accidental fulfillment of prophecies?

The New Testament writers cite messianic prophecies
from the Old Testament more than 130 times. By some
estimates the Old Testament contains 300 prophetic
passages that describe who the Messiah is and what He
will do. Of these, 60 are major prophecies. What are
the chances of these prophecies being fulfilled in one
person?

Of course, as Dr. Geisler points out, God makes no
mistakes. It is virtually inconceivable that God would
allow either a total deception in His name or an
accidental fulfillment in the life of the wrong
person. Such things rule out a chance fulfillment (p.
343).

One might argue there is still that
“possibility” however remote. But the mathematical
odds that all of these prophecies could have converged
by chance in the events of the life of Jesus are
staggeringly “minuteâ” to the point of eliminating any
such possibility.

Astronomer and mathematician Peter Stoner, in his book
Science Speaks, offers a mathematical analysis showing
that it is impossible that the precise statements
about the One to come could be fulfilled in a single
person by mere coincidence.

The chance of only eight of these dozens of prophecies
being fulfilled in the life of one man has been
estimated at 1 in 10 to the 17th power. That would be
1 chance in 100,000,000, 000,000,000.

How can we put this in terms we can comprehend? Dr.
Stoner illustrates the odds with this scenario:
“…Take 10 to the power of 17 silver dollars and lay them on the face
of Texas [with its approximate land area of 262,000
square miles]. They will cover all of the state two
feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and
stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state.
Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far
as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar
and say that this is the right one.

“What chance would he have of getting the right one?
Just the same chance that the prophets would have had
of writing these eight prophecies and having them all
come true in any one man …”

But that is only eight of the dozens of prophecies of
the Messiah. Using the science of probability, the
chance of as many as 48 of these prophecies coming to
pass in one person is 1 in 10 to the 157th power, or 1
followed by 157 zeros (1963, pp. 100-109).

One or two fulfillments in Jesus’ life could be
dismissed as coincidental. But when the instances of
fulfilled prophecies are counted up, the law of
probability quickly reaches the point where mere
probability becomes CERTAINTY. This is one of the
proofs Jesus was the promised Messiah – the messianic
prophecies were accurately and precisely fulfilled in Him.

————–

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” – Prov.29:18 (KJV)

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Why does Christiniaty “Work?”

September 15, 2007 by Ildefonso Rubrico
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Question: “Why is it that Christianity works for Christians and does not for non-Christians?”

Actually, this is like asking why a Christian is a Christian while others are not. Author Christian Smith below provides one answer: “[T]he belief content of the Christian faith gives rise to certain practices and experiences—particularly emotional ones—that many people find highly engaging, compelling, persuasive, and convincing.”

In other words, Christianity moves people EMOTIONALLY.

But, that’s not all, Smith says. People can also be moved by the Christian faith INTELLECTUALLY and SPIRITUALLY but powerful emotional forces play a big role.

So really, one is a Christian for emotional, intellectual or spiritual reasons in varying degrees of importance.

What do you think?

-nr
================================

Christian Smith on Why Christianity ‘Works’

Hunter Baker | posted 9/13/2007 08:31AM

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/septemberweb-only/137-42.0.html

Journal Watch: Sociology of Religion

Peter Berger once imagined that the end of the 20th century would witness believers huddled together in small sects as they tried to survive a worldwide secular culture. He’s now a critic of the theory that humankind is slowly outgrowing religious faith, but the question persists: Why isn’t the world more secular? And why are there still so many Christians?
Related articles and links

Sociologists have many answers, as Christian Smith notes in the summer 2007 issue of Sociology of Religion:

The moral and emotional uncertainties of the transition from communist order to now-emerging market societies, for example, might be thought to explain the growth of Christianity in China and Russia. The social dislocation resulting from the mass migration of Latin Americans from rural to urban areas is believed to explain the powerful appeal of Pentecostal faith in that region. The competition and “product” richness of America’s de-regulated religious economy are theorized as explaining its high rates of theism and churchgoing.

“Such sociological accounts are valid as far as they go,” Smith writes. “They often can illuminate the social processes influencing the extent and shape of religious practices. But in the end, such sociological accounts possess limited abilities to explain the persistence over millennia and into the modern world of religion generally and—for my purposes here—Christianity in particular.”

What sociologists sometimes miss, Smith writes, is that there’s something in Christianity itself that may explain its persistence.

“[T]he belief content of the Christian faith gives rise to certain practices and experiences—particularly emotional ones—that many people find highly engaging, compelling, persuasive, and convincing,” he says. “[T]he very internal logic of doing Christianity persistently produces events, interactions, and feelings in and among people compelling enough to keep the tradition flourishing despite many countervailing forces.”

This explanation, he writes, is “entirely compatible with the perspectives of Christian believers and unbelievers alike. [It] is explanatory both if God exists and Christianity is true and if God does not exist and Christianity is not true. In other words, [my] argument itself—although it presents experience from a Christian point of view—does not take a side about the actual validity of Christian truth-claims.” I followed up with Smith in a brief interview.

CT: So what does make Christianity work?

Smith: According to my argument in this article, Christianity “works” from a sociological perspective because it is able to successfully address a whole set of basic human needs and desires, particularly offering an emotionally as well as cognitively satisfying experience for ordinary believers. Whether or not various philosophers and scientists raise objections to Christianity, the fact seems to be that in believers’ phenomenological experience, there is tremendous power in living in a theistic universe, having a way to deal with moral failure, believing one is loved and cared for by God, having communities of worship and belonging to be a part of, and so on. For many millions of people, that is much more compelling than arguments Freud or Darwin might have made.

CT: You explain the health of Christianity in terms of the questions it answers and the communities it creates and sustains. That explanation belies the usual approaches which emphasize structural factors like religious markets, social dislocations, government arrangements, etc. What are the merits of dealing with the faith on its own terms rather than looking for external forces to explain its fortunes in a society?

Smith: A full understanding of human life has to account both for social structural forces at work, as well as personal experience and action. Structural and institutional analyses are good and important, but to understand the fullness of how and why life works the way it does, I believe we also need an account of human actors who engage the world with particular kinds of personal capacities, needs, and interests and who perceive, evaluate, make choices, and live in relationships for reasons that are meaningful to them. People are not mere pawns shoved around by “social forces.” They are participants in the making of their own lives, even though they do not have absolute control over or perspective on that. So if we want to understand religion, we have to work to see how it is experienced by the people actually involved in it; otherwise we miss a crucial dimension. Of course, this is not only true of religion but of any human social reality.

CT: In explaining how Christianity works for and in the lives of believers, you mention the apparently failed prophecies of the church’s demise by Voltaire, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. You say flatly that Christianity is not likely to die anytime soon. Is this a message the scholarly community needs to hear? If so, why?

Smith: This is a message worth continuing to say. It is becoming more commonly accepted in the academy that religion is not going away anytime soon, although more than a few, I think, still view religion as irrational and destined to be displaced by science, reason, etc. In the sociology of religion as a field, secularization theory is far from dead, it is still a live debate. My piece is an attempt to contribute to the debate from a different-than-usual angle.

CT: There’s one thing I can’t leave behind after our interview and reading the article. You explain why Christianity works, but I keep thinking the explanation would simply satisfy the person who says, “See, religion is a mental crutch!” I want to respond that I’m not a Christian because it accomplishes x, y, and z in my life. I’m a Christian because I believe Christ really did rise from the dead. You leave that point unaddressed. Isn’t it the case that many Christians embrace the faith, not for its effects but for what they believe is its truthfulness?

Smith: Sure. But those are not mutually exclusive things. Both can be true. In most cases people really do believe it. But believing it may also have certain often-positive effects for people emotionally. Why can’t it be both? To call religion a “crutch” is a negative way of saying people rely on it. But people do rely on it. So what? That’s fine. Everyone relies on lots of things. This can be interpreted from a believing perspective or a non-believing perspective, as I say in the article. But nothing in the article per se needs to undermine faith.

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The Altar Call: Still Relevant?

September 10, 2007 by Ildefonso Rubrico
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The Altar Call – Pls. give Me your Views

Greetings in the Lord, brother Khristi! It’s good to see u post. My ministry is undergoing some difficult challenges right now, but as we learned at HI, weeping precedes rejoicing. Certainly, Jesus shed quite a few tears too. I do need your prayers too.

Regarding altar calls, we of course respect the views of our other brothers -particularly Pieter, Pam and Phillip: we do admit that public declarations of faith of the thousands who have responded must certainly have stopped Satan in his tracks at one time or the other (Ja. 4:7). We’ve all experienced the great emotional surge of many a charismatic revival meeting where the Holy Spirit was palpably present and personally felt by us and others.

Scriptural or not, altar calls do work – for some. But I believe that is not the issue here, as I can glean from your posting. Rather, the issue is: what relevance (if any) does the modern invitation have in our walk with the Lord?

HIstorically, we are told, the altar call was introduced into the U.S. in the 1820s and popularized by Charles Finney,Oral Roberts,and, of course, Billy Graham. In the Philippines, the rise of Pentecostalism in the 1970s and the Charismatic Movement witnessed the emergence of a powerful Filipino spirituality and evangelism. Today there is hardly any country in the world that does not have Filipiino missionaries in or outside of foreign mission organizations. This national experience is also being duplicated in many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

What’s the point? Arguably, once upon a time, the altar call was an effective evangelical tool (it still is, in many churches). But judging from the comments of our evangelical fundamentalist brethren themselves (see sample below), its effectiveness has been lessened to a degree where its use is no longer relevant to asking for a commitment to Christ. Let me cite any example:

I recently attended the 20th anniversary celebration of the Blessed Hope Christian Ministries International, my brother-in-law’ s founded church, at a school auditorium. The guest preacher from the U.K., Rev. Whitehall, passionately preached for more than an hour and ended his sermon with a ‘call for a verdict.” Did he invite people to come forward? (The auditorium was big). NO. He simply asked people TO STAY WHERE THEY ARE and commit their lives once more to God’s mission. It was as simple as that and yet people felt empowered.

Among the many churches I have attended, even those that have been “spiritually awakened,” the altar call has generally been supplanted by an announcement by the worship leader, at the closing hymn, for those who would want to “kneel down” at the altar pews provided for the purpose, for their “special concerns” — birthdays, anniversaries, thanksgiving, healing, passing the govt. exams, a visa to the U.S., etc. Under this set-up, there never was pressure for the pastor or the congregation for the “required altar call.”

This is my own take on the matter. I realize it may not be another’s “cup of tea,” so I yield to the better wisdom of others who say it’s called for. Personally, I can relate to my Lord in other, more personal, ways.

May God richly bless you in your own mission.

neneR
———— ——— –
Some Comments about altar calls:

A. 7 Comments on “The Altar Call: A Fundamentalist Sacrament”

http://timmybrister .com/2007/ 02/11/the- altar-call- a-fundamentalist -sacrament/

Renee Says:
February 12th, 2007 at 4:22 pm

So, we have this Interim Pasor, who will remain nameless, but I really really like him. Ilike that he is preaching the gospel by preaching God’s word with expositional teaching. He is so refreshing after the last pastor and his “feel good” preaching. While we wait for God’s man to fill the pulpit, this Interim is truly a blessing. But there is one thing that bothers me. The altar call at every single service, including Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. Yesterday he tells this story about a guy he knew who pretended to be a christian to please his wife,,,,went to church every Sunday, was a nice guy,,,nice enough that the church asked him to be a deacon and he got ordained, but he whole time the guy knew he was living a lie. The altar call had obviously not worked for this person, but our lovable Interim Pastor proceeds to give an invitation to give people the chance to make sure that they knew about their eternal salvation, the chance to “nail it down” as you put it. Prays the sinners prayer at the end of every single service. It’s like he doesn’t know how to wrap up a message with out that ritual. The Interim Pastor is extremely (and I mean EXTREMELY) intelligent, so I don’t want to question his ability to understand that most people just don’t really get saved by walking the aisle on Sunday morning. So I’m left questioning his motives. What is up with that?

Mark Says:
February 12th, 2007 at 6:40 pm

Renee,
A possibility. He may not have bad motives or be unintelligent. He may be evangelistic and feel that every time he preaches he should invite and urge sinners to come to Christ. He also may realize that many people are saved when the gospel is preached and people are called to repent and believe. I’m not saying there are no problems with the invitation system in many churches. Just that I don’t necessarily think it is bad for a man to invite people to receive Christ and publicly profess it each time he preaches the gospel.

By the way. I was saved on a night I had gone down an aisle at an invitation. That was seven years after I had “gotten saved” at my house, with no pressure. It does happen. A big thing is to do the invitation clearly, and take people out for good counseling, not do a rush job during the 4th stanza of a song at the front of the church.

Mark Says:
February 12th, 2007 at 8:23 pm

Tim,
A topic of the moment…this recently came up at my church when one Sunday the pastor did not offer an altar call which upset the seasoned citizens. I addressed it similarly to your blog comments while teaching my S.S. class. I found the article at the link below to be a good resource for historical perspective and thought you might enjoy it as well.

http://www.biblical studies.com/ bstudy/ecclesiol ogy/altar. htm

Adam Winters Says:
February 12th, 2007 at 11:45 pm

That was a great piece of writing on Carpenter’s part.

I agree that the altar call has been elevated to a near cultural sacrament. Far too many place in assurance of salvation in the fact they have “come forward” to “pray the prayer.” Assurance is about so much more than a one time event; for one thing, it is about how our life has changed because of what Christ has done and continues to do in our hearts.

I fear, however, that many well meaning preachers of superior biblical/theologica l/historical education might be tempted to abandon the invitation system (for lack of a better term) cold turkey. For many American evangelicals, the abandonment of the altar call is equivalent that one is not interested in evangelism. I don’t believe fighting for or against the traditional altar call is a hill on which ministers should choose to die. I do, however, agree most heartily with your desire to “promote a doctrine-centered evangelism which expresses the heart of Christ with the truths of His Word.” Let’s get our people to understand that the Spirit works in more ways and at more times than just the post-sermon invitation.

johnMark Says:
February 13th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

Timmy,

Thanks for this post. I recently made one similar. I wish I could understand more why pastors feel the need. My wife thinks that when visiting preachers go to churches that they do it so they or atleast the event will be remembered. That’s her observation.

If you like, my post is here: http://hereiblog. wordpress. com/2007/ 02/05/the- altar-question- southern- baptists- and-others/

Thanks,
Mark

michael mcminn Says:
February 14th, 2007 at 7:37 pm

Timmy,

Rightly stated that “contemporary fundamentalists are so antagonistic about their brethren who either do not stress the importance of altar calls or have done away with it altogether.” I served on staff at a church plant in Colorado for three years where we say healthy church growth through the addition of truly regenerate people as result of Christ centered gospel preaching and evangelism. We saw God add to our numbers weekly but yet we came under attack by the other baptist churches in our community simply because we did not have an altar call. No one was willing to look at their own plateaued and declining congregatioins and ask tough questions like “why are we seeing none saved?” or even “why is noone new setting foot on our property?” We were an easy target for jealousy (which is simply ridiculous for those in the Kingdom to engage in) and eventually even slander simply because we did not have an altar call.

The altar call and all that comes with it have created an unhealthy and uneducated religious culture in the south that has seperated regeneration from church membership and in my opinion led to a works based religion. I currently and back in the south ( North Texas ) in what I would consider the heart of the bible belt yet many in church have no understanding of the gospel, true salvation, regeneration and transformation, justification or sanctification. In my years of student ministry in the Bible Belt 92-02 and o4 to present I come across student quite regularly that have been “saved” and/or baptized multiple times. Most commonly two and three times, but sometimes upwards of 4, 5, 6, or more times. Salvation has been minimized to simply a physical act of walking down an aisle, repeating the “sinners prayer,” filling out a card/checking a box, or commiting to and being baptized.

I appreciate this article and bringing to light a problem that exists not only as a practice or methodology but ultimately as a theological problem that betrays a fundamentaly (no pun intended) flawed view of soteriology.

Michael

David McAfee Says:
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:40 pm

As a former SBC pastor, I conducted altar calls at most of my preaching services. I am currently attending a Bible Church that does not do altar calls. When I first started attending the church, I found it refreshing that there was no pressure to succomb to emotional pleas or charismatic speaking skills of the pastor. Now, I’m realizing that an altar call every now and then would not be such a bad thing. When I think of II Cor 5:20, I am reminded that God does have emotions and that he does plead for sinners to repent and He is grieved when we don’t. If the Lord allows me to pastor again, I will conduct altar calls and when the Spirit moves, I will emotionally and enthusiastically “plea” for sinners to repent, but I will stay committed to expository preaching and let the Word of God do the rest.

============ =====

B. Charles Finney and The Altar Call

http://fundyreforme d.wordpress. com/2006/ 08/30/finney- and-altar- call/

Today, the altar call continues to be used prominently. And it continues to present inherent problems. I came across another blog post by Tim Irvin from a blog named “If Error is Harmless…Then Truth is Useless” (HT: Thirsty Theologian) which highlights how exactly the altar call can be harmful. Let me provide an excerpt from a quote Timgives by Jim Ehrhard which gets to the crux of the issue.

Here we have one of the greatest dangers of the invitation system. Even those employing it go to great pains to make clear that “going down the aisle” does not save anyone….Billy Graham, for example, says:
”There’s nothing about the mechanics of coming forward that saves anybody’s soul. Coming forward is an open acknowledgment and a testimony of an inward experience that you have had with Christ. But this inward experience with Christ, this encounter, is the most important thing.”
But examination of the invitation used by Graham shows just how confusing the system is. Keep in mind that Graham has already noted that the coming forward is a “testimony of an inward experience that you have had with Christ.” When is the person converted? Why are they coming?
”I’m going to ask you to come forward. Up there – down there – I want you to come. You come right now – quickly. If you are here with friends or relatives, they will wait for you. Don’t let distance keep you from Christ. It’s a long way, but Christ went all the way to the cross because He loved you. Certainly you can come these few steps and give your life to Him….”
At the “altar,” the confusion continues as he addresses those who have come: “You have come tonight to Jesus Christ, you have come to receive Him into your heart….” Which is it? Have they already come to Jesus, or are they coming now to receive Him? Graham continues: “He receives you; He died for you; He says, ‘Thy sins are forgiven.’ You accept that. The past is forgiven, God forgets…. He cannot even see your sins.”…Then he leads them to repeat a prayer known as “the sinner’s prayer.” The question again is obvious: have they been forgiven, or will they be when they pray the prayer?
To make matters worse, many often add so many things to the invitation that one cannot be certain what he is being asked to do. This was especially true in the invitations of Billy Sunday who often exhorted people to “Come on down and take my hand against booze, for Jesus Christ, for your flag.”[7]

From the above quote you can see that the danger of the altar call is its propensity to confuse the responders. Putting people on the spot might very well result in half-converts, or more precisely, converts that aren’t. In Finney’s case the vast majority wilted as the years passed, and I think it is safe to say that such is the case today. Of the numbers that have responded in Graham crusades or in the evangelistic meetings and general preaching of fundamentalists, how many have truly remained? Could the use of the altar call have been a factor in at least some of these cases? I think so. Perhaps even the ritual of the sinner’s prayer (many times it has devolved into a ritual) is to blame. See my post exploring that question here.

In many respects evangelicals and fundamentalists in particular, have become hand-cuffed to this methodology. Can you imagine how else an evangelist could close an evangelistic appeal to Christ? What can one do other than lead people in a prayer or ask them to come forward? Before 1820 no one ever had utilized either of those methods in preaching the gospel. Paul certainly didn’t. Even Charles Spurgeon did not employ this method. He did have an inquiry room, where awakened sinners could go for personal counseling. Yet even he was wary on depending on that scheme too much. He said: “Sometimes shut up that enquiry-room. I have my fears about that institution if it be used in permanence, and as an inevitable part of the services…. If you should ever see that a notion is fashioning itself that there is something to be got in the private room which is not to be had at once in the assembly, or that God is more at that penitent form than elsewhere, aim a blow at that notion at once.”[8]

In closing, I would like to briefly offer Asahel Nettleton as an alternative. He was the last in a long line of well known Calvinist evangelists, and was a contemporary of Finney’s. Ministering in a much smaller geographical region, with fewer people than the large population centers Finney preached in, Asahel still saw thousands of converts. His numbers do not match Finney’s in sheer magnitude, but they tower above Finney’s in another respect. Nettleton’s converts almost never apostasized. He had 95% or better “perseverance rates”.[9] And you know what? He did not use the altar call. I wonder if this is a lesson for us?

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Footnotes & Resources for Further Research

[1] Charles Finney, Systematic Theology( Minneapolis : Bethany ), 372-73; quoted from “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: How Charles Finney’s Theology Ravaged the Evangelical Movement” by Phillip R. Johnson, an online article accessible here.

[2] Rick Nelson, “How Does Doctrine Affect Evangelism? The Divergent Paths of Asahel Nettleton and Charles Finney” Founder’s JournalSummer 1998 Issue 33–available online here; quote is from paragraph just before the “Applications for Contemporary Evangelism” section (HT: Captain Headknowledge).

[3] Tom Browning, “Charles G. Finney: The Architect of Modern Evangelism”, available online here or in a blog post here.

[4] Albert Dod (in his review of Finney’s Lectures on Revival), quoted by Massimo Lorenzini, “The Modern Invitation System Examined”, available online here; quote taken from this blog post by Tim Irvin.

[5] Rick Nelson, Ibid.

[6] Rick Nelson, Ibid, see text where footnotes 19-22 appear.

[7] Jim Ehrhard, “The Dangers of the Invitation System”, available online here; quote taken from this blog post by Tim Irvin.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Rick Nelson, Ibid, see text where footnote 31 appears. Also, Massimo Lorenzini, ibid (see above #4 for bibliographic info).

CM Khristi co.in> wrote: Dear Bro.Nene,
Greetings in Jesus’ Name ! Hope you are all fine.
I come across the above subject. Give me your views.
Regards,
CM Khristi
RPF-GUJARAT

Why We Don’t Use The Altar Call
By Laurence A. Justice

———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——-

An altar call is an appeal for an immediate public
response to a sermon just preached. It is popularly
called the invitation and as used in this context is
an appeal for a public act of commitment and can
involve hand raising, going to a counseling area or
signing a commitment card. Most often it involves
walking down the aisle to the front of a church
auditorium. The altar call is tacked on to the end of
a sermon and the invitation usually is to “come
forward and accept Christ as your Savior.” Various
emotional techniques such as telling sad, tear jerking
stories and playing mood-creating music in the
background are employed to encourage response to the
altar call.

Like many of you I grew up in churches which used the
invitation system and in the early years of my
ministry I used it myself before finally seeing its
implications and its inconsistency with God’s grace.
In those years we sang verse after verse of invitation
hymns like “Just As I Am” and we sometimes sang on for
an hour or more trying to get people to come forward.
I once had an evangelist in a church where I pastored
and his entire program consisted of night after night
telling sob story after sob story climaxing with the
saddest one of all and then giving an invitation to
come to the front and accept Christ.

So firmly entrenched has the altar call become in our
modern churches that I have had people ask me on
several occasions, How can people be saved if you
don’t give an invitation? Preachers who do not give
altar calls are often criticized as not being
evangelistic.

We do not have an altar call in the services of our
church! We do not extend an invitation at the close of
our services for people to make some kind of physical
demonstration that they are trusting Christ. What I
shall do in this sermon is explain just why we don’t!
First of all we do not do it

Because God’s Word Does Not Teach the Altar Call

It is vitally important in this practice as in all
others that we look closely at the scriptures to find
what they teach about this practice. As we do we find
that the invitation is never commanded in God’s word.
Search the scriptures as you will, there is no command
in any scripture for us to use this method. Not only
this, there is no precedent in scripture for using the
altar call. The Lord Jesus never in his earthly
ministry gave an invitation. The apostles of our Lord
never in all their ministries used the altar call.

In Acts 2:36-37 we are told that at Pentecost 3,000
people were saved but no altar call was used. The
saving of those 3,000 was the work of the Holy Spirit
of God and not of clever emotional appeals to come to
the front of the meeting place. Whatever reasons one
may give for using the altar call, it is a fact that
it cannot be supported from the word of God.

As we have already pointed out, some people believe
and teach that if one does not give an invitation in
connection with his sermon he is not evangelistic. But
we cannot be more evangelistic than the New Testament
and the altar call or invitation system is not to be
found in the pages of the New Testament. Actually
having an altar call is a departure from scriptural
requirements and practice.

In the New Testament and in Christian history up until
the year 1820 AD sinners were invited to Christ, not
to decide at the end of a sermon whether to perform
some physical action. You will search Christian
history in vain for an altar call or invitation before
about 1820. George Whitefield, the greatest evangelist
perhaps of all time never used the altar call. Charles
Spurgeon under whose preaching more people were saved
than perhaps any other pastor over the centuries never
gave an invitation.

Well, where did the altar call come from if God’s word
doesn’t teach it? The answer is that the altar call is
a human invention that is less than 200 years old.

It is generally recognized that the altar call was
invented by a Presbyterian evangelist named Charles G.
Finney who lived from 1792-1875. Finney referred to
the altar call as coming to the anxious seat or to the
inquiry room and began using it in his evangelistic
services in about 1820. Did the churches do it all
wrong in the matter of evangelism until Finney came
along in 1820 with his new system? How were people
saved during the 1800 years of Christian history
before the advent of Charles G. Finney? Evangelist
D.L. Moody took Finney’s altar call and refined it and
in turn it was passed on to its modern champion, Billy
Graham.

In a paper he wrote called “The Christian,” Billy
Graham defends his use of the invitation system by
resorting, not to the scriptures but to psychology
when he says concerning the invitation, “Many
psychologists would say it is psychologically sound.”
Biblical practices do not need the endorsement of
psychology! There is absolutely no biblical authority
for this practice! Yet today virtually all evangelists
and pastors and churches use the altar call or
invitation system.

Second, our church does not use the altar call or
invitation system

Because the Altar Call Contradicts the Great Doctrines
of God’s Grace

1. It contradicts the Bible doctrine of the depravity
or the inability of man.

God’s word teaches that because of the fall of Adam
into sin man is by nature spiritually dead. As Paul
states it in Ephesians 2:1 man is “dead in trespasses
and sins.” A man who is spiritually dead can do
nothing spiritual. He can’t even will to repent of sin
and trust in Christ. He is dead!

God’s word teaches that because of their depravity men
are helpless to save or help save themselves. This
means that there is absolutely nothing a sinner can do
to save himself or prepare himself for salvation.
Spiritually dead sinners can never come to Christ
until God calls them with a special, powerful,
effectual call. This is what the Lord Jesus is talking
about in John 6:44 when He says, “No man can come to
me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…”
or literally, No man is able or has the power to come
to me except the Father draw him.”

Charles Finney, the inventor of the altar call, was a
Pelagian in theology. Pelagianism is a damnable heresy
which teaches that the fall of man in sin did not
actually make him dead in sin. It is true man was
damaged by the fall but he was not ruined by it this
heresy says. Finney’s idea was that man is just sick
in sin but he still has within him the ability to obey
God and be pleasing to Him.

In his book “Systematic Theology” Finney says that man
can do anything God requires of him and that all he
needs to do so is to be induced to do so. Thus
according to Finney man has a free will and has within
him the ability to repent and to believe. This
thinking of course squarely contradicts the Bible
doctrine of man’s inability.

2. Secondly the altar call contradicts the biblical
order of salvation.

The whole question of the altar call or invitation can
be reduced to the order of salvation. The word of God
teaches that in the order of salvation, regeneration
precedes conversion. In John 3:3 for example the Lord
Jesus says that only those who are born again can see
or comprehend or understand or appreciate the kingdom
of God or spiritual things. “Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God.” God’s word makes clear that the
Holy Spirit in the new birth enables a sinner to trust
in Christ.

Arminians on the other hand say that one must believe
or be converted in order to be regenerated. In his
great booklet “The Invitation System” Iain Murray
quotes Billy Graham as saying that we are “made alive
by trust in Christ.” This of course is just the
opposite of what God’s word teaches about the order of
salvation being regeneration and then faith and
conversion.

In the same booklet Murray quotes Graham concerning
Graham’s own conversion. “They were singing the last
verse of the song when I went forward. That first step
was the hardest I ever took in my life. But when I
took it, God did the rest” and “the rest” in Graham’s
thinking is the new birth! In this way of thinking
poor God can’t do anything for a sinner until the
sinner takes the first step!

If, as God’s word clearly teaches, regeneration must
come before conversion in the order of salvation then
the invitation system must be given up as
contradictory to God’s word!

3. Thirdly, the altar call contradicts the gospel way
of salvation by coming to Christ.

The gospel is not, do something physical and if you
will, you will be saved! The gospel is, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!” The duty
of sinners is not to come to the front of the building
but to believe in Christ! To be saved sinners must
come to Christ which means believe in Christ.

The Lord Jesus Himself says in Matthew 11:28, “Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.” Think about it! No one can now
come to Christ with his feet because Christ is no
longer physically present on this earth. Christ is not
down here at the front of this church auditorium
anymore than he is back there in the pew or outside in
the parking lot or out on your back porch. As someone
else has said, the fountain of life is not in front of
the pulpit in some church building. The fountain of
life is Christ Himself!

We don’t have to move a muscle to totally commit
ourselves to the safe keeping of Christ the Savior for
salvation. The altar call implies at least and it is
often specifically stated that by coming to the front
of a church building or some other auditorium at some
preacher’s invitation, the one who comes becomes a
Christian.

To those who practice the altar call salvation is
equated with getting people to occupy a certain piece
of geography at the front of a building. In doing this
they effectively limit the sphere of God’s saving
activity to a few square feet at the front of some
building. My friend John Hunter of Anniston, Alabama
calls this locational salvation because it makes the
front of the church auditorium the location where
people must go to be saved.

At Billy Graham’s first London Crusade he said one
night in giving the invitation, “Don’t let distance
keep you from Christ. It’s a long way but Christ went
all the way to the cross because he loved you.
Certainly you can come these few steps and give your
life to Him.” God’s word however does not teach that
one is saved by changing his location but by believing
in his heart!

4. Fourthly, the altar call contradicts the Bible
doctrine of salvation by grace without works.

Biblical salvation is not of works. It is not by doing
something, anything at all. Instead it is by grace
through faith according to Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast.” Faith itself is the gift of God
and not the accomplishment or contribution of man to
salvation. Colossians 2:12 calls faith “the operation
of God” and Philippians 1:29 calls it a gift given.
“For unto you it is given…to believe on him…”

Under the invitation system the idea constantly
presented by the preacher is that the step forward is
of great spiritual importance. Faith is presented as
something a

man does in order to be saved. Believing in Christ is
identified with coming to the front of the church
building in response to the preacher’s appeal. But
making an outward response the same thing as receiving
Christ adds a condition of salvation that Christ Jesus
never appointed. Works is the necessary evidence of
salvation, not the prior condition of it. The altar
call satisfies man’s natural desire to do something to
save or help save himself.

5. Fifth, it contradicts the Bible doctrine of Sola
Scriptura.

Sola Scriptura means the scriptures only and it
recognizes that God’s written word gives us everything
we need for all matters of faith and practice. There
is nothing God wants us to know or to do that is not
found in His written word. According to II Timothy
3:16-17 God’s word is sufficient or completely
adequate for all our spiritual needs. The altar call
is a way of promoting religious experience by other
means than those clearly appointed in God’s word so it
is a denial of Sola Scriptura and of the sufficiency
of God’s word.

The third reason our church does not use the altar
call is

Because It Does Great Damage to the Cause of Christ

What have been the results of 200 years of using this
unbiblical method called the altar call or the
invitation? I submit to you that the results of the
use of the altar call have been disastrous! There are
at least three things that the invitation system does
that cause great damage to the cause of Christ:

1. It produces great numbers of obviously false
professions of Christ.

I say obviously false because so many converts of this
system refuse to do the very first thing that Christ
the Lord demands of his people and that is submit to
scriptural baptism. There is a vast difference in the
number claiming to be saved and the number actually
baptized in this type of evangelism.

The other day I came across some statistics put out by
Jim Elliff, a professor at Southern Baptists’
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary here in Kansas
City. By their own statistics Elliff says that among
Southern Baptists out of every 100 professions of
faith only 30 are later baptized and out of that 30
only 10 will show up at church on a given Sunday
morning and of that 30 only 4 will show up on a given
Sunday evening.

One well known altar call evangelist held a revival
meeting in Oklahoma City in which 47 people professed
to have been saved. A few weeks after that meeting I
called the pastor of that church and asked him how
many of those 47 he had baptized and he said, Three!

2. A second thing the altar call does which causes
great damage to Christ’s cause is it fatally deceives
many who respond to it.

Walking the aisle and giving the pastor one’s hand
often gives people doing so a false hope of salvation.
These people believe that they are spiritually right
with God simply because they have made the required
step down the aisle though they have never truly come
to Christ in faith trusting in Him as Lord and Savior.
On any number of occasions I have asked people, when
were you saved? only to have them respond, I went
forward when I was 18 or when I was a child or at some
other time.

Large numbers of those who have come into the churches
with such counterfeit conversions have stayed there as
formal, dead and deceived professors. I have known
some such persons who have been awakened after years
of such deception to realize that in their trips to
the altar they did not come to Christ! How many people
are in hell today because of this deception?

3. Thirdly, the altar call causes much damage to the
cause of Christ because it produces skepticism and
bitterness in many who respond to it.

Many people who have sincerely and honestly gone
through the invitation system have recognized that
nothing actually happened to them. They tried it and
it didn’t work and they know it is not real. They may
also think that others who have tried it know that it
doesn’t work and that they just don’t have the honesty
to admit it to themselves. If their own experience is
not real it is just natural for them to conclude that
the experiences of others are false also.

Many converts of the invitation system feel that they
have been tricked by the evangelist and their
Christian friends into making such a move down the
aisle. Ultimately this has produced skepticism and
hostility toward the gospel and because of this
realization many have fallen away from Christianity
altogether.

In another city where I was pastor our church decided
to knock on every door in our neighborhood and ask
people if they were Christians. I was amazed to find
that virtually all people responded that they were or
used to be Christians but either were no longer so or
did not now go to church. They all claimed to have
been saved in some crusade or revival service.

Such results of the altar call can be seen in the two
Southern Baptist churches I pastored in Oklahoma City.
One had over 600 members, 300 of whom we could not
find. The other had over 900 members, 750 of whom we
could not find.

In his day Charles Spurgeon commented on the damage
done to the cause of Christ by the use of the altar
call. Iain Murray in his book “The Forgotten Spurgeon”
quotes Spurgeon as saying, “I should like to go to the
inquiry room. I dare say you would, but we are not
willing to pander to popular superstition. We fear
that in those rooms men are warmed into a fictitious
confidence. Very few of the supposed converts of
inquiry rooms turn out well. Go to your God at once,
even where you are now. Cast yourself on Christ, at
once, ere you stir an inch!”

Conclusion

Why do the churches keep on using this unscriptural
practice of giving an altar call?

1. For one reason they fail to measure all things by
God’s word. All of us have a tendency to accept things
as being right without comparing them with God’s word
to find out if they really are.

2. Another reason is the desire on the parts of many
pastors and churches to report numbers because they
see numbers as equal to success in the church.
Counting large numbers of converts is irresistible to
these pragmatists. Some of them don’t care if the
invitation cannot be found in God’s word. It works and
they say that is what is important in God’s work.

3. Thirdly the use of the altar call in a church
indicates a failure to trust God to do His work in
this world. These people do not really believe that
God can do His saving work in this world without the
wisdom and methods of man to help.

But how are people to be saved if we do not “give an
invitation” at the close of the sermon? Christ’s
invitation is found in Matthew 11:28 where he says to
sinners, not, Come to the front of the church but
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest.”

If we are to be true to God’s word we must direct
sinners to Christ and not to the aisles in the church
building. The messages of God’s preachers are filled
with invitations for all men everywhere to come to
Christ and be saved. We must be careful not to give
the impression that a sinner’s eternal destiny hangs
on the movement of his feet. Let us determine to stay
with biblical methods of evangelism and plant, water
and trust God for the increase in seeking the
salvation of souls.

Recommended Reading

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Synthetic?

Dabney, Robert L. An Exposition Of I Corinthians
3:10-15

Murray, Iain The Invitation System

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Term	Christianity	Islam
Afterlife	Christians will be with the Lord in heaven (Phil. 1:21-24), in our resurrected bodies (1 Cor. 15:50-58). Non-Christians will be cast into hell forever (Matt. 25:46).	There is an afterlife (75:12) experienced as either an ideal life of Paradise (29:64), for faithful Muslims or Hell for those who are not.
Angels	Created beings, non-human, some of which, fell into sin and became evil. They are very powerful. The unfallen angels carry out the will of God.	Created beings without free will that serve God. Angels were created from light.
Atonement	The sacrifice of Christ on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) whereby His blood becomes the sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God (1 John 2:2) from the sinner when the sinner receives (John 1:12), by faith (Rom. 5:1), the work of Christ on the cross.	There is no atonement work in Islam other than a sincere confession of sin and repentance by the sinner.
Bible	The inspired and inerrant word of God in the original manuscripts (2 Tim. 3:16).	Respected word of the prophets but the Bible has been corrupted through the centuries and is only correct in so far as it agrees with the Koran.
Crucifixion	The place where Jesus atoned for the sins of the world. It is only through this sacrifice that anyone can be saved from the wrath of God (1 Pet. 2:24).	Jesus did not die on the cross. Instead, God allowed Judas to look like Jesus and he was crucified instead.
Devil	A fallen Angel who opposes God in all ways. He also seeks to destroy humanity (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:13-15).	Iblis, a fallen jinn. Jinn are not angels nor men, but created beings with free wills. Jinn were created from fire, (2:268; 114:1-6).
God	God is a trinity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not three gods in one god, nor is it one person who took three forms. Trinitarianism is strictly monotheistic. There is no other God in existence.	God is known as Allah. Allah is one person, a strict unity. There is no other God in existence. He is the creator of the universe (3:191), sovereign over all (6:61-62).
Heaven (Paradise)	The place where God dwells. Heaven is the eventual home of the Christians who are saved by God's grace. It is heaven because it is where God is and Christians will enjoy eternal Fellowship with Him.	Paradise to Muslims, a place of unimaginable bliss (32:17), a garden with trees and food (13:35;15:45-48) where the desires of faithful Muslims are met, (3:133; 9:38; 13:35; 39:34; 43:71; 53:13-15).
Hell	A place of torment in fire out of the presence of God. There is no escape from Hell (Matt. 25:46).	Hell is a place of eternal punishment and torment (14:17; 25:65; 39:26), in fire (104:6-7) for those who are not Muslims (3:131) as well as those who were and whose works and faith were not sufficient (14:17; 25:65; 104:6-7).
Holy Spirit	Third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is fully God in nature.	The arch-angel Gabriel who delivered the words of the Koran to Muhammad.
Jesus	Second person of the Trinity. He is the word who became flesh (John 1:1, 14). He is both God and man (Col. 2:9).	A very great prophet, second only to Muhammad. Jesus is not the son of God (9:30) and certainly is not divine (5:17, 75)) and he was not crucified (4:157).
Judgment Day	Occurs on the day of resurrection (John 12;48) where God will judge all people. Christians go to heaven. All others to hell (Matt. 25:46).	Occurs on the day of resurrection where God will judge all people. Muslims go to paradise (3:142, 183-185, 198). All others to hell (3:196-197). Judgment is based on a person's deeds (5:9; 42:26; 8:29).
Koran, The	The work of Muhammad. It is not inspired, nor is it scripture. There is no verification for its accurate transmission from the originals.	The final revelation of God to all of mankind given through the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad over a 23 year period. It is without error and guarded from error by Allah.
Man	Made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). This does not mean that God has a body, but that man is made like God in abilities (reason, faith, love, etc.).	Not made in the image of God (42:11). Man is made out of the dust of the earth (23:12) and Allah breathed life into man (32:9; 15:29).
Muhammad	A non-inspired man born in 570 in Mecca who started the Islamic religion.	The last and greatest of all prophets of Allah whose Qur'an is the greatest of all inspired books.
Original Sin	This is a term used to describe the effect of Adam's sin on his descendants (Rom. 5:12-23). Specifically, it is our inheritance of a sinful nature from Adam. The sinful nature originated with Adam and is passed down from parent to child. We are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3).	There is no original sin. All people are sinless until they rebel against God. They do not have sinful natures.
Resurrection	Bodily resurrection of all people, non-Christians to damnation and Christians are resurrected to eternal life (1 Cor. 15:50-58).	Bodily resurrection, some to heaven, some to hell (3:77; 15:25;75:36-40; 22:6).
Salvation	A free gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9) to the person who trusts in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. He is our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). No works are sufficient in any way to merit salvation since our works are all unacceptable to God (Isaiah 64:6).	Forgiveness of sins is obtained by Allah's grace without a mediator. The Muslim must believe Allah exists, believe in the fundamental doctrines of Islam, believe that Muhammad is his prophet, and follow the commands of Allah given in the Koran.
Son of God	A term used to designate that Jesus is divine though he is not the literal son of God in a physical sense (John 5:18).	A literal son of God. Therefore, Jesus cannot be the son of Allah.
Word, The	"In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God...and the word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:1, 14).	Allah's command of existence which resulted in Jesus being formed in the womb of Mary.

Event(s)	Gospel Verse(s)	Remarks
1	Mk. 16:1	Aftr Sabbath, women buy/prep. spices
2	Lk. 23:56	Aftr. preparing spices, women restd.
3	Matt. 28:2, 3	Violent earthquake; angel fr. heaven rolls back stone & waits for women
4	Matt. 28: 4	Guards see the angel and pass out like dead men.
4	Jn. 20:1	Mary Mag goes to tomb alone whl. still dark; finds stone rolled back but fails to notice passed-out guards.
5	Mk. 16:2; Lk. 24:1; Matt. 28:1	At daybreak, a separate grp of women go to tomb(Mary, Salome, others) bringing spices
6	[Jn. 20:2]; [Mk.16:3]	Mary Mag runs to tell Peter & John that Jesus’ body is missing ; women approach tomb wondering who will roll the stone.
7	[Jn. 20:3]; [Mk. 16:4; Lk. 24:2]	Peter & John starts to run to tomb; meanwhile, Mary’s party of women arrive at tomb & find stone rolled away
8	Lk. 24:3	Women enter tomb, looking for Jesus’ body, and wondering.
9	Mk. 16:5; Lk. 24: 4	Upon entering, women notice man/2 men in gleaming clothes standing/sitting beside them & they were frightened.
	[Matt. 28: 5, 6, 7] [Mk.16: 6, 7] [Lk. 24: 5,6,7 ,8]	The angel(s) asks who they were looking for; calms them, declares Jesus is risen as He promised; as they remember His words, angel(s) tells them to go inform the disciples to meet Him in Galilee.
10	Matt. 28: 8; Mk. 16:8	Afraid yet overjoyed, the women run to tell the disciples what they were told by the angel(s). At this point, the women must have dispersed in different directions to contact the disciples, telling no one what they had just witnessed, but not before they encountered the Risen Lord and touched and worshipped Him; see Matt. 28:9.
11	[Jn. 20: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] [Lk. 24:12]	John outruns Peter to the tomb but does not enter. Peter arrives and enters tomb where he sees the scattered burial stripes and head cloth neatly folded. John enters tomb, and seeing, partially believes, but Peter is skeptical, for as yet, they could not fully understand the Scripture regarding Jesus’ resurrection.
12	[Jn. 20: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17] [Mk. 16: 9]	Peter & John go home, leaving Mary Mag weeping; she peeks into the tomb and sees two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had lain. Angels ask why she was weeping and she replies bec. someone took away and hid Jesus’ body. Meanwhile, the risen Jesus appears at her side and asks her the same question. Thinking He was the gardener who took Jesus’ body, she asks where it was. At this point, Jesus calls her name and she immediately recognized His voice, and crying “Teacher,” makes a move to touch Him. Jesus admonishes her not to touch Him bec. He has not yet returned to the Father/God; when He does, to tell the disciples. Thus the risen Lord first appeared to Mary Magdalene.
13	Matt. 28: 9, 10	The second appearance of Jesus occurs when He suddenly meets the women who had just come from the tomb. The “women” referred to here are the “other Mary” (who is identified as ‘Mary the mother of James’[and therefore Jesus' mother, since He and James are brothers]and Salome and possibly, others;see Mk.16:1. Mary Magdalene could not have gone with them to the tomb as she went alone earlier; see J.20:1. Jesus greets the women (incl. His mother, Mary) and allows them to clasp His feet and worship Him. He then instructs them to tell His “brothers” (disciples) to go to Galilee where they will meet with Him.
14	[Jn. 20:18] [Mk.16: 10,11] [Lk. 24: 9, 10, 11]	At this point, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Salome, Joanna & the other women could have separately converged at the house of Peter where the other apostles were also gathered bec. of the amazing news about Jesus’ resurrection as told by the women. However, they refused to believe the women, bec. in those days, the testimonies of women were considered weak and unreliable. It was believed then that women were not credible witnesses.
15	Matt. 28: 11	Meantime, the guards at the tomb revive and report the matter to the chief priests.
16	Matt. 28: 12, 13, 14, 15	The chief priests devise a plan to cover-up Jesus’ rising from the dead by bribing the guards to say Jesus’ body was stolen by His disciples while they slept. They will then also bribe the governor (Pontius Pilate) to keep silent about the matter. Their plan succeeds and thus, this is the story that “widely circulates among the Jews to this very day.”