Predestination And Free-Will

Getting Decisions For Christ?

 
In the interest of seeing people saved, we can invent methods of evangelism that give us the results we are looking for – tangible evidence that our efforts are bearing fruit. The problem with this approach is that “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9) and so only God can give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7). Any attempt on our part to give the increase will yield false fruit – people who think they are saved and yet have not been converted by God. True biblical evangelism is not a numbers game where we can use psychology or other techniques to coax a ‘decision’ out of people. God is the one making the decision as to when and whom HE is going to convert.
 
In addition, we are not doing God a favor by accepting Him.
 

When did Jesus ever tell people to bow their heads and close their eyes, so that lost, Hell-deserving sinners would not be afraid or embarrassed about raising their hands to ‘accept’ Him?

 
In fact, did not Jesus say:
 

Mark 8:38 – “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

 
Did He not also preach repeatedly and strongly about repentance and Hell, saying:
 

Luke 13:3 – “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

 
His message is not a gospel molded to fit the comfort zone of the sinner. His Gospel is an ultimatum: “EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH”, albeit an ultimatum that we cannot comply with until He enables us to. The modern methods put man in the driver’s seat, believing that he can choose God anytime he wishes, just by raising his hand in church or by reciting a “sinner’s prayer”. Man is not the sovereign Lord of the universe nor is he even master of his own fate. God alone is Supreme, and anything that happens in this world of His is by His own choosing for His own glory.
 
Rather than asking people to raise their hands while nobody is looking, to ‘accept’ Christ as their Saviour in secret, as it were, would it not be more scriptural to just warn the lost as fervently as possible, to flee the terrible fury of the wrath of God. We cannot fail if we generously and prayerfully give out God’s Word, avoiding words of men’s wisdom. God’s Word is powerful and will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). We should always urge people to talk to us or to elders or other Christians about any concerns they may have regarding the condition of their soul and regarding the only way to escape the coming judgment. In this way, people who have questions can be more thoroughly instructed in the doctrine of salvation so that they do not get the impression that they are saved when they are not.
 
Summary: This article is a section of a much larger article on the Bible doctrines of Election and Predestination called “Who accepts Whom?“. You are urged to check out that larger article for many other thought provoking questions pertaining these “Doctrines of Grace”. — RM Kane
 

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