The Sinner’s Prayer and the Altar Call go hand in hand in our day. I define the Altar Call as an intentional act from the preacher to coerce people to come forward at the end of the service in order to make a decision for Christ. It is one thing to extend an invitation for people to come forward if they have questions, but it’s quite another to either emotionally bully, or manipulate hearers to come forward so that the “altars will be full.”
Like the Sinner’s Prayer, we don’t see Altar Calls in Scripture. Jesus didn’t issue one after the Sermon on the Mount. We don’t see the Apostles incorporating it anywhere in the Epistles, or instructing the church on how to conduct one. But this doesn’t stop people from trying to build a case for incorporating them. In discussing Altar Calls one time, I had a brother tell me: “I fail to see how an Altar Call is in itself substantially different than what happened at Pentecost.” It’s not overly surprising that someone would say this as I’ve heard prominent denominational leaders express similar opinions. Well, then, was Acts 2 an Altar Call? I don’t think one can really build such a case. Here are some very important differences:
1. No Invitation to Come Forward No one was invited or commanded to come up front. They weren’t asked to close their eyes and lift their hands. They were commanded to repent and believe the gospel. Because of our culture, I think we actually see people in Acts 2 “coming forward.” I’ve heard men preach on Acts 2 who actually seem to think that’s how it went down. This is a misunderstanding of not only the situation of Peter’s preaching but also the point of the text, as well.
2. No Music was Played There was no invitation hymn in Acts 2. There was not one more verse and there was certainly no low lighting. But for the past almost two hundred years, churches have utilized anything—music, lighting, dry ice, etc.--as a way of “setting the mood.” We see none of that in biblical days.
3. The Holy Spirit Moved on the Hearers, Not Peter’s Manipulation. This is something I’ve labored to show you. God moves first upon the hearers of the gospel. Then, in this scenario, it’s the hearers who are actually the ones who initiate the response to the sermon, not Peter. They cried out, “What must we do?” It would be simultaneously startling and amazing if someone stood up during one of my sermons and cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” Let’s just say that hasn’t happened yet. Too often during an Altar Call, people are asked to make a decision for the sake of making a decision or even driving up an evangelist’s “numbers.” But in Acts 2, no decision had to be called for. These people were convicted by the Holy Spirit.
4. No One was Asked to Recite a Prayer This is the end game of Altar Calls. Get the sinner to recite a prayer and then tell them that if they really meant it, they are saved. That’s not anywhere close to Acts 2 methodology. Peter commands his hearers to repent and believe the gospel. Furthermore, he testifies to God’s prerogative and sovereignty in salvation saying that "promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” The gospel was preached, the hearers were told what to do, and it was left to them and God. Peter simultaneously calls the hearers to repent while letting them know that it was God who called them. Again, we can’t force them to come to Christ. That’s the Lord’s work in the sinner. So, Peter didn’t have anyone repeat after him. Rather he exhorted his hearers to repent and be baptized, an evidence of true saving faith.
Acts 2 is most assuredly not a proof text for Altar Calls. However, it is an amazingly beautiful demonstration of the power of God in the gospel and His willingness to save sinners! Let us rest in that. Let us also see that Acts 2 shows us that the gospel demands an immediate response. Therefore, let’s proclaim the gospel from the rooftops and compel all men without distinction to come to Christ in repentance and faith, now. Let us extol the mercies of God in Christ. We must share both the glories of the gospel and the reality of the wrath that remains if sinners refuse to bow the knee to King Jesus.
Trust in the work of God in the hearts of sinners, not in our ability to extend an Altar Call. Again, don’t hear me saying that having an open door policy at the end of a service where people know they can come forward and speak with the pastor or other church leaders during a closing hymn is the same thing as an Altar Call. What I mean when I say “Altar Call mentality” are those who use manipulation in order to achieve results. In God’s grace, many people have been converted under such a scheme. But many have also been falsely led astray. This is why I am appealing to us to drop the Altar Call mentality from our services.
Adapted from From Death to Life: How Salvation Works by Allen Nelson IV
No comments:
Post a Comment