Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Those hearing the gospel must make their own voluntary choice of free will. Perhaps this is why Billy Graham's more anonymous "altar calls" were more effective. Being singled out in an LC meeting creates enormous pressure within just to comply, with or without genuine faith, resulting in man-pleasing performances, rather than salvation's spiritual birth.
My former in-law was one such story. He later told his wife that he never believed or repented, rather merely succumbed to pressure, repeating the words to everyone's delight. But this was not a new experience in the LC, as I'm sure many Christians in other churches have faced this same quandary. Everyone needs to hear the Gospel, but the hearers must believe on their own.
This is why Apostle Paul said "believe in your heart and confess with your mouth." Words alone mean nothing without faith. "Calling on the Lord" is just that. Calling. On. The. Lord. It is not merely repeating words, or shouting words, even good spiritual words from the Bible. If one's heart is not turned in faith and repentance towards the Lord, seeking Him, then all is vain, even sinful, since "thou shall not take the Lord's name in vain."
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Ohio,
I appreciate your testimony about the fact that a lot of times, it’s pressure based “salvation”. There is really no preaching, no conviction of the Holy Spirit, but just pure emotional and group onslaught that breaks the will of people, and gives them nothing but handicapped spirituality. You ever wonder why after so many years people leave? People get frustrated and just can’t continue any further? The answer is most likely if they are as honest as you relative was, that it was “human effort type of salvation”, which I think is more dangerous than no salvation in my opinion. There is expectation from these people, to grow spiritually, but they were never born to even start the process. Very sad but true.
I know someone will claim somehow it’s Gods sovereignty, when it’s total failure of men to not let a person exercise their will, rather than be force into it by some magic “irresistible grace”, and or “let’s play another song here on the piano, and while it’s playing, please consider what could happen to you when you leave this house of worship”. Then again, “call on the name, until you are blue in the face comes to mind as a freshly run over Skunk on the road, smell of which will be there for a while after you left the place of the accident”. All human efforts. As one man from LC said to me one time, “we need to save our kids”, to which I should have replied, “you have been trying to save them for decades, I don’t see them in the church or anywhere near it. Maybe it’s time to let God do the saving and focus on preaching the real Gospel, which maybe God can use to save them”.