1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Alters and Prayers

Discussion in 'Other Christian Denominations' started by Revmitchell, Jan 18, 2013.

  1. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist
    With regards to salvation neither alters or prayers are the problem. People really need to think things through instead of just trying to search for the next thing to be against.


    How the gospel is presented is the problem. The message presentation and just what salvation is tied to. If you got rid of sinners prayers and alters there would still be failures in gospel presentations and you would then have to search for something new to be against.
     
  2. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist

    A very good understanding and I agree.
     
  3. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist

    A very sophomoric response and a strawman.


    (Note* spell check is your friend)
     
  4. mont974x4

    mont974x4 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2012
    Messages:
    2,565
    Likes Received:
    1
    Agreed, except in order to correct the error in how the Gospel is presented we will likely have to address the altar and sinner's prayer issues directly. The reason I say that is because they have become such a huge crutch and part of the Church's folk theology. In other words, there needs to be a clear sacrifice of those two sacred cows, IMO.

    The way the Gospel is presented in the West has more issues though. Far too often the sin issue is ignored. We have salvation being reduced to fire insurance (if you don't want to go to Hell but do want to go to Heaven then pray with me.....). We also have salvation being presented where God is a cosmic santa clause who grants your wishes if you are saved.
     
  5. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist
    There is no doubt they need to be addressed. My intent was not to communicate otherwise. My concern is deeming them as directly being the problem and calling for doing away with them altogether as a result. That is neither necessary nor appropriate. At my church the alter is more than about salvation. And the sinners prayer is just a fulfillment of Romans 10:10.

    I hold that salvation and its realization and acceptance is to be a public confession and it is to be to the Lord. Not that it cannot happen privately but that it at some time needs to be made a public confession. This is also to be done through baptism as well. I do not believe in private baptisms and will not take part in them. Our Christians walk is to be a public thing, a light on a hill, and a candle in the candle stick. But I am getting into other things.
     
  6. Yeshua1

    Yeshua1 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2012
    Messages:
    52,624
    Likes Received:
    2,742
    Faith:
    Baptist
    We also seem to be missing something in the Gospel message, for if you look at the Biblcal examples, the people were moved to come to ask the Apsotles :what mustwe do to be saved?"
     
  7. mont974x4

    mont974x4 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2012
    Messages:
    2,565
    Likes Received:
    1
    I'm not sure what you're point is. Are you saying that we should be waiting for people to come asking? If so, how can you support that in light of the Great Commission, Jesus' example of going to and calling the 12, and Paul and others going out and preaching the Gospel to all who would listen (even though not all heard)?
     
  8. Yeshua1

    Yeshua1 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2012
    Messages:
    52,624
    Likes Received:
    2,742
    Faith:
    Baptist
    No, more in the line of when the Apsotles and others gave jesus to inners, there seemed to be 'something; going on, as people got both saved and more hardened at same time, but people knew the church was in their midst, as it was a big influencing agent for their culture/society!

    we as baptists should expect and have an influence in the areas God plants us in more than we seem to have, right?
     
  9. mont974x4

    mont974x4 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2012
    Messages:
    2,565
    Likes Received:
    1
    I see. The Bible does tell us that no one comes unless God calls them first. Jesus explained the reason he spoke in parables was so that some would not understand the truth. Paul writes that the Gospel is offensive and a stumbling block.

    Are you suggesting that this needs to be included in our presenting of the Gospel? It seems to me that this would be an unnecessary step. The doctrines of election etc can, and should, be addressed as a matter of discipleship/teaching/preaching for the Church.
     
  10. Yeshua1

    Yeshua1 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2012
    Messages:
    52,624
    Likes Received:
    2,742
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Not that we go back to parables teaching, as we are not back in Isreal times...


    just saying that the early church seemed to have a much bigger influence/higher converion rate than we do in modern america in our churches!
     
  11. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Which Jesus said would happen because of the hardening of the hearts.
     
Loading...