The Invitation

            Iain Murray, a British author, theologian and church historian, has written a provocative little booklet called The Invitation System.  In it he asserts that the invitation system of the modern evangelistic meeting of calling people to come forward was unknown to the ministry of Christ and the Apostles.

            We’ve come a long way since the days of Charles Finney and his use of the so-called “anxious bench.”  At least he used it to have people come forward and think about their sins for a while.

            Since that time, the invitation has become a staple of the modern evangelistic meeting.  People are urged to come forward to receive Christ, where the coming forward itself is nearly tantamount to receiving salvation.  The greater the numbers, the more successful the campaign.   The problem is, are the numbers a true indicator of the results? 

            Before continuing this discussion, let me insert a caveat here.  You and I know people who testify to the fact that their lives were dramatically changed after having heard an evangelist preach and then going forward in response to an altar call.      Conversely, you and I know people who have gone forward and presumably made a sincere profession of faith, only to see little effect in their lives after a period of time. 

            Some years back I was in a meeting, the invitation was given and across the auditorium I spotted a man going forward whom I happened to know.  They took him into a side room where someone prayed with him.  I don’t know what transpired in the prayer room but I do know that he continued to live the life of not supporting his wife and children in spite of the fact that he was a very capable tradesman. 

            Well, he needed to be  followed up, or, someone needs to disciple him, comes the oft repeated refrain.  In this case, his going forward was after having been followed up in another ministry.  Perhaps some people are casting about for some evangelical elixir in the hopes that the next religious experience will ignite the spiritual engine in their life. 

            I suppose someone could rebut Murray’s thesis that giving an invitation would have been tactically inappropriate given the hostile environment in which Jesus and the Apostles preached, as is the case with many on the mission field but it has proven to be effective in these modern times.   It’s rather dodging the issue in my opinion.  Let me repeat, that the Gospel is to be proclaimed and that a response is called for is not in dispute.  What is being questioned here is how much emphasis do we place on people praying the (Sinner’s?) prayer? 

            What does it mean to come to Christ, or, to receive Christ?  I remember asking someone during street evangelism, have you ever received Christ?  “Oh sure,” came the response, “I receive Him every week in the mass.”   What do you say then?  Oh, c’mon Bob, you know what to say.  That man is depending on the mass for his salvation.  He believes in salvation by works!  So he does.   But, what is the difference between that and someone trusting in a decision they made, or a prayer they uttered, five, ten or twenty years ago? 

            We deal with this all the time.  “I’m saved but I’m not sanctified,” and variations on the theme.  Someone can point to an experience in the past, going forward, signing a card, kneeling down at one’s bedside, etc., but when it comes to believing the Gospel in the present, well now, that’s another story.  Here’s a typical scenario: I know I’m saved [meaning, I made a decision sometime in the past] but I’m just not living the way I should right now but God is a merciful God and I know that Jesus loves me.   What is that?

            Murray is right.  The invitation system has changed the way we present the Gospel.  What he means is that the emphasis has reverted to getting an affirmative response as opposed to explaining what it means, Biblically, to come to Christ. 

            To come to Christ means that one is necessarily going away from something.  This is called repentance.  To come to Christ is to be convinced of our guilt before a holy God and to find our only hope in the blood of Christ.  This is called faith. 

            To come to Christ is to be teachable in the ways of holy living.  To come to Christ for some means to trust Him in the moment of crisis instead of retreating into the comfort zone of drugs or alcohol, for others it might mean stop lying to welfare, for still others start supporting those children you fathered or  be reconciled to a husband or wife.  These highly spiritual traits which we call repentance and faith are tethered to very

real life situations.  Zacchaeus, after meeting with Jesus, determined to make restitution to those he had cheated.  He had truly come to Christ. 

            Dare I say it?  It remains to be seen whether the decisions to believe in Christ that we have seen this past year, result in a life that is believing in Christ (continuous action in the Greek). Such a person truly has been born of God (past action with present effect in the Greek), I John 5:1.  

            So what do we do?  We bring them into the interactive, caring-sharing community of believers–the church.  By God’s grace we will come alongside to encourage and exhort to love, faith and good works.  We will look for the rustling leaves–evidence of the invisible wind. 

            Those committed to believing the Gospel every day of their lives will be the ones who have  responded to the invitation not from us but from God’s effectual call. 

                                                                                Bob Hall

                                                               Household Words

By the time you receive this, windows will be installed in our building and a base coat of

 stucco will be applied.  Granted, this isn’t very stimulating news from your perspective but for us every step in the process of construction is an extraordinary blessing from the Lord.  Please pray that our fund will continue to grow so that we can continue to build.   Thus far we are not in debt for which we are grateful to the Lord.

            One of the ministries we are seriously praying about for the new building is a school for at risk kids.  We have already identified a number of them who have come through our club ministries.

            As a step toward that goal an after-school tutoring program has begun under the leadership of Emilia Febres and Valorie Delp.  Emilia has come through the ranks

of our youth ministries and is now a public school teacher.  She has just completed her master’s degree. Valorie, a busy home school mother of five, is equally committed to this effort.   For both there is a lot of behind the scenes work.  The point to be made here is that we’re not waiting for our building to start new ministries especially one that coincides with our vision for the future.

            Meanwhile our regular club ministries continue and we are very proud of, and grateful for, our volunteer workers.

            Do you get the Alliance Defense Fund’s news letter, ADF Briefing?  In the recent issue (2008, vol.15, no.1), there is a time-line that gives an excellent overview of our court case with the City of New York that goes from 1994 to the present.  Has it been that long?  We will try to post it to our website.  The next move is up to the U.S. Court of Appeals.  As my third grade teacher used to say, “I’m waiting.”

            Please pray for four men who are preparing for baptism and church membership that the Holy Spirit would confirm and affirm their profession of faith as the work of Christ in their lives.

            As always, we are grateful to the Lord for your love, encouragement, prayers and support.

City Lights is a publication of The Bronx Household of  Faith, an urban church committed to bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets of New York.

     Co-pastors: Bob Hall, Jack Roberts,

     Phone: (718) 220-3652,

     Email: roberthall@bhof.org

                  jackleroyroberts@juno.com

Web: www.bhof.org