Lost Gospel of Evangelicalism

Has anyone else noticed this?

Has anyone else noticed this-- there are a number of pastors of churches and preachers on TV who do not preach about the cross, the atonement, or the resurrection of Christ, then tag a little schpeel on the end of their sermon that religion is a bad thing and we need a relationship, and declare people saved for repeating a prayer.

The prayer may involve people 'asking Jesus into your heart' without any explanation of Who Jesus is or what He did prior.

There is also this idea that 'receiving Christ' means to repeat a prayer after a preacher?

From what I have studied, the practice of confessing faith by means of a prayer either goes back to Billy Graham or wasn't widely practiced before his crusades. I have heard the assertion that if someone has not done this, he is not saved.

I recall decades ago, prayers based on Romans 10:9-10 where people would confess Jesus is Lord and their faith that God raised Him from the dead. Now a lot of these sinner's prayer rituals and the sermons that precede them often seem to be missing the Gospel message.

Sometimes the preacher tells the audience those that repeat the prayer that they are saved without telling them that Christ died for their sins or that He rose from the dead.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I certainly have, for I was one of them. I live in an assisted living facility. One of my tablemates told me she couldn't understand why we made such a fuss over Jesus giving His life for us when many soldiers do the same and such a fuss wasn't made over them. I did not explain it to her, and now it is too late, she has passed on.

It wasn't only me who let her down, she was raised in the Catholic church.

I don't watch religious TV. It is apparently common practice in many denominational church councils and the pulpits they control. When women and sodomites are ordained to pastor churches it is impossible to have a genuine gospel declared from the pulpit.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

I like things told straight forward - told as they are. There is also the matter of God's omnipotence. He once used a donkey to prophesy.

Has anyone else noticed this-- there are a number of pastors of churches and preachers on TV who do not preach about the cross, the atonement, or the resurrection of Christ, then tag a little schpeel on the end of their sermon that religion is a bad thing and we need a relationship, and declare people saved for repeating a prayer.

The donkey spoke. It does not say it prophesied. Do you think the donkey was asking Balaam why he hit God?

What is your definition of prophesy?

I don't watch religious TV. It is apparently common practice in many denominational church councils and the pulpits they control. When women and sodomites are ordained to pastor churches it is impossible to have a genuine gospel declared from the pulpit.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

From what I have studied, the practice of confessing faith by means of a prayer either goes back to Billy Graham or wasn't widely practiced before his crusades.

A prophet speaks as God leads

Why don'y you go back to the Bible itself for a precedent? And let's have the true and full Gospel presented (as understood by you).

1 Corinthians 14:3. "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort."

I was on your side with your truthful posting. But since you would prefer a debate, do you not think that Balaam's ass "spoke" to "exhortation"? Was not it a "comfort" that the donkey was not only loyal to his master but saved his life?

What is your definition of prophesy?

It is sick that you conflate an inadequately-presented message with "women and sodomites", as though straight men are incapable of presenting an inadequate message. That you even bring it up is a testimony to your confusion regarding the nature of biblical truth.

Further, despite your closed-minded sexism, women are fully capable of presenting the whole gospel.

According to the scriptures, a person's conversion needs three steps.

1. The Holy Spirit must work inside them to convince them of "sin and judgment" (Jn.16:8)
2. When the realization of their sins and impending judgment have worked, somebody has to tell of the way out (Rom.10:13-14)
3. When they believe, they must also confess what is in their heart (Rom.10:10-13)

The Holy Spirit convicts, and gives faith. The way out is told by a Christian. The person themself must believe and confess. If just ONE of these three are missing, there is no conversion (this time). Blik's table-mate seems to me not to be convicted. Whether you told or not, I judge that you would not have made a difference. This does not excuse a Christian from preaching the gospel, but an obviously aggressive, dismissive and/or abusive person is unlikely to have been convicted, and less likely to confess.

I meant no offense, just to discuss.

Prophesying speaks to comfort, edification and exhortation but not all words of comfort, edification and exhortation are prophesying. That verse tells what prophesying does not what prophesying is.

Peter described prophesyin as 'spake as moved by the Holy Ghost'.

If she hadn't listened to me, it would be her who rejected it, I feel it was sinful of me to be given the oportunity to tell her the facts of life and fail to do it. In her 75 years of living, she had never really heard these facts. It points to the need to get this information our there in the world, even our churches are not making it clear.

Bless our Savior for forgiving me, I'll not let that happe again.

And you don't think that the donkey was moved by the Holy Spirit? See your posting # 6.