We have all seen invitations to come to faith in Christ on Christian television and at local churches similar to the one that follows here. A pastor says something along these lines, Everyone close your eyes and if anyone wants to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior raise their hands and repeat this prayer after me, "Lord Jesus please forgive me for my sins, I surrender my life to you, please come into my life and be my Lord and Savior, I promise from this day forward to follow you for the rest of my life, Amen!" On the surface this sounds fine, right? But what is missing from an invitation to come to faith such as this?
An invitation to come to faith
- Thread starter kentappel
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K
I was saveded in my bedroom, No preacher, no singers. Then I went to church and put my pint on the altar, I reached and took the pint back and then put it back on the altar. Then I felt hands touching me and they were praying for me in a strange language. Then it was like liquid love drenched me and I began to speak in a tongue.
Been free from alcohol ever since and loving and praising God to this day.
Yes ther is a method for asking for those who wish to be saved and if the word is preached in truth, there will be people to come forward.
The reason for asking that every head be bowed and eyes closed. Is because people may be embarrassed or shy and if for a moment they think no one is looking they will accept. But guess what, after that the preacher ask's that those who rose their hands come to the front and open acceptance of Christ. so what's the beef?
Been free from alcohol ever since and loving and praising God to this day.
Yes ther is a method for asking for those who wish to be saved and if the word is preached in truth, there will be people to come forward.
The reason for asking that every head be bowed and eyes closed. Is because people may be embarrassed or shy and if for a moment they think no one is looking they will accept. But guess what, after that the preacher ask's that those who rose their hands come to the front and open acceptance of Christ. so what's the beef?
F
i might not see whats missing but I do have some things to say about this method. the issue i have is anyone can use this particular method and many do and plenty of ppl raise their hands. But I have been to many Churches and I have seen this method used many times but forgive me if I am wrong but i felt a lack of the holy spirit almost a sort of fakeness in it.
even after ppl raised their handsa lot of them never built a relationship with Jesus, The love of God was scarce. I dont know maybe its just me i hope i didnt ruin your thread i just felt i had to say it
even after ppl raised their handsa lot of them never built a relationship with Jesus, The love of God was scarce. I dont know maybe its just me i hope i didnt ruin your thread i just felt i had to say it
Jesus' saving works on the cross, what saves us in the first place, and His rising again from the dead is missing from any invitation to faith that merely asks people to confess the Lord Jesus and while I do believe that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, I don't know why any pastor would not specifically say what Jesus did to save us.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15 that the gospel is Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day. Also, from Romans 10, we are to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, not just confess Him with our mouths. So any invitation to come to faith that doesn't say what Jesus did to save us is missing something very important.
[h=1]1 Corinthians 15:1-4[/h]New King James Version (NKJV)
[SUP]1[/SUP] Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached
to you, which also you received and in which you stand, [SUP]2 [/SUP]by which
also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless
you believed in vain.[SUP]3 [/SUP]For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures
[h=1]Romans 10:9-13[/h][h=1]New King James Version (NKJV)[SUP]
9 [/SUP]that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [SUP]10 [/SUP]For with
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. [SUP]11 [/SUP]For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” [SUP]12 [/SUP]For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich to all who call upon Him. [SUP]13 [/SUP]For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[/h]
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15 that the gospel is Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day. Also, from Romans 10, we are to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, not just confess Him with our mouths. So any invitation to come to faith that doesn't say what Jesus did to save us is missing something very important.
[h=1]1 Corinthians 15:1-4[/h]New King James Version (NKJV)
[SUP]1[/SUP] Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached
to you, which also you received and in which you stand, [SUP]2 [/SUP]by which
also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless
you believed in vain.[SUP]3 [/SUP]For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures
[h=1]Romans 10:9-13[/h][h=1]New King James Version (NKJV)[SUP]
9 [/SUP]that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [SUP]10 [/SUP]For with
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. [SUP]11 [/SUP]For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” [SUP]12 [/SUP]For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich to all who call upon Him. [SUP]13 [/SUP]For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[/h]
I have been to services where nothing was mentioned about Jesus' saving works so, really, why assume that people know what He did to save us? And nothing was said about it either at the invitation to faith as well.
I am in my 50s and when I was 12 years old my brother's friends led me in a prayer to ask Jesus to come into my heart but it was years later that I learned that He died for my sins and rose again on the third day, the true meaning of Easter. Was I saved all of those years? I don't know as I never really went to church much after this and I, at times, sure didn't live it.
It is too much to ask that the gospel be presented? After all, it would take only a few moments to talk about what He did to save us. At the church I now attend the pastor is always pointed out and pointing to the cross and we as Christians should expect nothing less.
I am in my 50s and when I was 12 years old my brother's friends led me in a prayer to ask Jesus to come into my heart but it was years later that I learned that He died for my sins and rose again on the third day, the true meaning of Easter. Was I saved all of those years? I don't know as I never really went to church much after this and I, at times, sure didn't live it.
It is too much to ask that the gospel be presented? After all, it would take only a few moments to talk about what He did to save us. At the church I now attend the pastor is always pointed out and pointing to the cross and we as Christians should expect nothing less.
K
Brother, right now. go to a place where you are alone. Then ask Jesus to save you ask Him to be the Lord of your life and forgive you of your sins. If you do that then you are saved.
Then let the Lord lead to a church that will become family.
[email protected].
Then let the Lord lead to a church that will become family.
[email protected].
Of course the Gospel message must be presented...
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(Rom 1:16-17)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(Rom 1:16-17)
I am saved, I know now because Jesus is Lord and I am not and I believe Jesus died on the cross to save me, a sinner who cannot ever save myself, and that He rose again on the third day so I will live forever in the presence of God. But it wasn't until I knew what He did to save me and I believed it in my heart that I really knew that I was saved. My faith is in Him and what He did, His works, and not my own works which count for nothing towards my salvation.
I was just saying that asking Jesus to be my Lord and to come into my heart years ago without any knowledge of the gospel of His dying on the cross and His resurrection probably did nothing. I am just glad that I found that out. The people who tried to lead me to the Lord over 40 years ago, Jesus people, ex hippies who had turned to the Lord, meant well but they really didn't clearly present the gospel
I had the gospel presented to me over and over about 35 years ago, by a bunch of hippies. It was the whole gospel. It moved me to start reading the Bible, which I did not understand.
Then my future husband told me I needed to repent of my sins. I was saved by God at that moment, and the Bible made sense because I had met the author. It has been 34 years and still walking with The Lord Jesus Christ!
Then my future husband told me I needed to repent of my sins. I was saved by God at that moment, and the Bible made sense because I had met the author. It has been 34 years and still walking with The Lord Jesus Christ!
I think the problem was, and still is with some churches, is that the focus is on what we do, have we made Him the Lord of our life, have we accepted Him as our Savior, have we made a decisiion for Christ, have we asked Him to come into our hearts or into our lives, instead of on what Jesus did to save us. Realize the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12 "that no one can say Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit" so unless the Holy Spirit gives us conviction in our hearts that we are sinners who need a Savior in the first place, we cannot make a decision for Christ. I was not raised in any church so I had no idea, for example, that it is a sin to have sex with someone while not being married, fornicatiion, as I thought it was OK as long as I was in Love. I had some concept of stealing being wrong, etc, but I had no idea that without a Savior that candy bar I may have stolen when I was 11 years old was enough to keep me out of heaven if it depended on my performance, my works as, from James 2, if we stumble at one point in the law we are guilty of the whole law. I was not really a bad kid overall so it took the Holy Spirit pointing out things I have done over the years would have kept me out of heaven if it despended on what I do to show me I am a sinner. Thank God I found that out and that Jesus died for all of those sins to take them away so that God sees them no more so I will go to heaven. Faith comes from hearing the word, from Romans 10, so people need to hear specfically that Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day, which is the gospel, there is no other gospel and, again, we can't assume people have heard what it is. That is the best thing about the church I attend that they focus on the cross at all times above everything else.