Statistics prove that 90% of the people who “make a decision” for Christ, are still lost a year later. Churches are bragging that they have brought 10,000 people to Christ in a year. But how many of them are still in the church a year later. And if they are still in the church, what is their faith really like? The problem with using these methods and dressing up the Truth is that it does not convict people of their sin. In fact, the very subject of sin is not even addressed half the time. But how can you deal with salvation and invite someone to come to Christ, if they do not know what it is they are being saved from? You cannot deal with the one side without dealing with the other.
Here is a perfect example from an experience I had last year:
My wife and I attended a concert by one of the big international praise and worship bands at a church that prides itself on being up-to-date in its methods. To be honest, I did not feel comfortable in that place, and the Truth was not evident – at least not to either of us. When they did the announcements, they were displayed on the big screen, and if you wanted more information about a particular item, you had to just SMS a key word to their number, and the info would be SMS'd back to you. Through the whole thing I was expecting them to say, “and that's not all. SMS now and we will also give you...” like you hear on the telesales ads on TV.
Then when that church's band performed as the “opening act”, you could not hear the words they were singing, and it looked more like a music video on the screen where the words appeared for you to sing along. When the “main act” came onto stage, their ministry was great, but the church's on-screen footage was quite distracting and you ended up watching that instead of being involved in the worship itself. Forty-five minutes later when the church's senior pastor came on stage to do the altar call, there was no real teaching on salvation. In the three minutes he was on stage, all he really said was, “whoever wants to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, put up your hand and we will pray for you”. They were invited to the front (of which probably only about two-thirds of them went to the front), prayed for again, and then lead off to a separate room for individual counselling. At least half of those returned to their seats without going to the other room. There was nothing about what it means to have a True relationship with Christ. No message of salvation and the need to be saved. Nothing was even mentioned of Christ's death on the cross.
This is a perfect example of what I am talking about where the Gospel is dressed up to suit the masses. How many of those people at that church left that night really knowing Christ? (this is one of the churches that boasts 10,000 decisions a year for Christ) True, the angels rejoice over just one person who is saved, but I cannot help but wonder, what is the true motive of this church? Is it to bring people to a True relationship with Christ, or to be able to boast the number of “decisions made” in a year?
Here are a couple of quotes from two men who experienced great revivals during their lives that clearly highlight what I am saying:
"Lower the Law, and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt. This is a very serious loss to the sinner, rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion ... I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ ... they will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore the Law serves a most necessary and blessed purpose and it must not be removed from its place." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon (square brackets mine)
And:
"If you have an unconverted sinner, convict him. If you have a convicted sinner, convert him." - Charles Finney.
What both of these men are trying to say here is that without the law, you cannot have true conviction of sin, and without true conviction, you cannot have true conversion. This is a very biblical standpoint, check out the following verses:
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin" - Romans 3:19,20.
"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet"." - Romans 7:7
"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" - Galatians 3:24
What then is the law that Spurgeon and Paul is talking? Quite simply; the Ten Commandments, among many others that appear in Scripture. Here is a challenge, how many of you can quote the Ten Commandments from memory? And how many of them have you broken? Be honest! Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen something - no matter how small and insignificant? Have you ever committed adultery? You may not think you have, but as Jesus said, if a man looks at a women lustfully he has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). I am sure most of us (sorry, all of us) have done each 1 of the 3 mentioned, and there are still 7 commandments to go. That makes us all lying, adulterous theives at heart. It also means that we are all going to hell. But there is a way out, Jesus. By being convicted of our sin, we are now ready to come to him in faith and receive his gift of grace for us, and that is what the men above are trying to tell us.
The fact of the matter is, if you are unsaved, coming to Christ in the hope that you are going to experience a better life is futile. Trust me, 1 or 2 years down the line, chances are good that you will no longer be a Christian, and if you have left the church, will more than likely never want to be one again. But if you come to Christ, having been convicted of your sin, kneeling before the cross in true repentance, ready to accept the gift of grace freely given by God, chances are you will still be a Christian in 1, 2 even 50 years time.
Here are the Ten Commandments that God gave us. How well do you measure up?
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.
- You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
- Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
- Honour your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false testimony against your neighbour.
- You shall not covet the possessions of others.
I will leave you with this thought taken from Hebrews 4:12-13: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Looking forward to your comments.
Baruch atem b’Shem Yeshua! (Blessings in the name of Jesus!)
GW
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