What altar?
the bazen altar, of course, or do you mean the carpeted steps?:cool:
Some of the best gospel preaching i have heard over the years were not followed by an invitation.
As you mention, Peter and Paul preached the gospel and based on the content -- some believed.
I think that we will all disagree on some of the specific ways that people are asked to make a decision and we could go back and look at many different types of meetings where there were conversions and false professions, regardless of how it was presented.
Do not get me wrong here, we should do our best to present a clear message, an invitation to act on that message and an environment that is not one that singles someone out to the point of embarrasment. But at the same time we should be on the witness stand and not the judgement stand when it comes to what way is most effective in seeing people respond.
We could go as far to say that there are false professions because the Gospel was not clearly understood as well. A person could say a prayer at the end of a service based on a poorly presented version of the gospel message which would have nothing to do with the type of "invitation" given.
Some people will resopnd negatively no matter how they are asked and we cannot control that aspect.
I would hope that if we see someone do it differently and people truly get saved that we would not look down on the way that it happened but Praise God for them truly being saved.
I am not criticizing anyone, but this is the kind of statements that bother me about invitations.
There is no "effective" way to do an invitation.
We are called to present the gospel and God does the rest.
No amount of persuasive inviting by man will bring someone to Christ.
That is done by God alone.
The emphasis on the right kind of invitation puts man in the position of either taking credit for the person's positive response, or accepting failure in bringing someone to Christ.
If we present the gospel clearly, we have done our part.
The rest is in God's hands.
What if the Holy Spirit lays it upon your heart to persuasively invite them? I recall Paul doing this very thing. Remember King Agrippa who was "almost persuaded" to become a follower of Christ by Paul in Acts 26 after Paul "begged" him (v. 3)?
26The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."
28Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" 29Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."
Then the Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of giving you the right words to say and the right things to do.
It's when man steps in and come up with "10 effective ways to present the Gospel" that troubles people like me.
It doesn't matter how well or how poorly we "sell" the Gospel.
It isn't our doing that makes it work.
I would assume it's all man because there is no such thing as 10 effective ways to present the Gospel.
Hearing comes by the word of God, not by our means of presenting it.
It is possible that, by coincidence, the Holy Spirit could use all 10 ways at one time or another.
But evangelism is not a cookbook.
"would assume it's all man because there is no such thing as 10 effective ways to present the Gospel. Hearing comes by the word of God, not by our means of presenting it. It is possible that, by coincidence, the Holy Spirit could use all 10 ways at one time or another.'
Whatever.
It's clear that it's impossible for you to be wrong about anything, even if what you say is contradicted in the Bible (chosen to salvation).
So I'm not going to bother.
Why can't you just debate without the need to attack?
That's a sign of weakness.
You were just given Scripture that soundly refutes what you stated...and then resort to calling out my character, and bringing up another topic from last week...all together having nothing to do with this one.
Grow up.