5:55:38 PM EDT
13 Evangelistic Phrases That Produce False Conversions
Todd Friel
Churches divide over carpet color, building additions and budgets. In the meantime, our fellow church members are going to hell by the boat load.
A.W. Tozer said, “It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions, have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.”
D. James Kennedy said, “The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians. I say that without the slightest contradiction. I base it on empirical evidence of twenty-four years of examining thousands of people.”
Friend, we argue over so many petty things. May I suggest we have lost sight of the most important debate of all, “What is salvation?” My theology teaches that salvation happens when a man repents and places his trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
I would like to present thirteen ways that we have re-defined how a person becomes a true convert. Have we done this intentionally? Certainly not. We have simply created lingo that has a grain of truth in Scripture, but it is so open to interpretation that the un-converted understand it in ways that lead to false conversions.
1. Make Jesus your Lord and Savior. We cannot make Jesus our Lord and Savior, He is our Lord and Savior. We are living in rebellion to Him and He commands us to repent and trust Him.
2. Ask Jesus into your heart. Does Jesus come into our hearts? Yes He does. The question is, “How does He get in there?” It is not by simply asking Him in; it is by repentance and faith.
3. Just believe in Jesus. The demons believe and they tremble. We must repent and trust.
4. You have a God-shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it. We have far more than a hole that needs to be filled so we can feel complete; we have awretched, deceitful, sinful heart that needs cleansing. Repentance and faith applies the blood of the lamb for that cleansing.
5. Accept Jesus. Whoa. We need to accept Jesus? This is entirely backward. We need Jesus to accept us–and He will, if we repent and trust.
6. Make a decision for Jesus. Decisional regeneration puts man in the driver’s seat of salvation. When we repent and trust, Jesus decides to save us. That puts Him in the driver’s seat…where He demands to be.
7. It is easy to believe. While the formula of repentance and faith sounds simple, a complete surrendering of self in repentance is anything but easy. It’s hard.
8. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The only promises for the convert are trials, temptation and persecution. If that is how you define a wonderful life, fine. Otherwise we must command all men everywhere to repent and trust.
9. Come to Jesus just as you are. We should come to Jesus just as the sinners we are, but He also expects a broken heart and contrite spirit demonstrated in repentance and faith.
10. Come to Jesus and you will receive forgiveness of sins and ________________ (fill in the blank with money, health, a healed marriage). Jesus didn’t promise healed marriages; in fact He promised broken homes because we would divide when one member repents and trusts.
11. Come to Jesus and experience love, joy, peace. Do we get the fruit of the Spirit upon conversion? Yes. But if we come seeking the gifts and not the giver, we will receive neither. Instead, we must repent and trust.
12. Jesus is the missing piece. Um, no, the God of the universe is not the missing piece, He demands that He is the center of our lives when we repent and trust.
13. Jesus is better than fame and fortune. That is an understatement, and frankly, it is insulting. Saying Jesus is better than money is like saying that a steak dinner is better than eating a dung hill. He defies comparison and we trivialize the Son of God. Instead, we should be pleading with all men everywhere to repent and trust.
If I showed up at your door with a can of grapefruit juice and a roll of paper towels and offered to change your oil, you would say, “No thanks.” If we wouldn’t let someone mess with our car using the wrong method, why do we allow the Gospel to be presented so ambiguously?
Would you let a doctor operate on your child who was “sort of” accurate? The salvation of men is far more important than an appendix.
I beg you to consider how you share the Gospel. You and I know what we are talking about when we use these phrases, but do the unregenerate? Is it possible that we have so many backsliders today because they never slid forward in the first place? Is it because they were never told that they must repent and trust?
If we are willing to debate shag verse plush in the fellowship hall, shouldn’t we be more concerned about an issue that has eternal consequences?
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
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7:23:23 PM EDT
Introduction to the Emergent Church
Emergent-See
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, the will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
2 Timothy 4:3
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10:40:33 PM EDT
There is One God
Quick, tell me how many gods do the good folks who practice Hindu worship? How many millions?
Sit back and prepare to have your mouth thrown open in disbelief.
And he claims to be a 'Christian' pastor. Guys, Jesus made it abundantly clear: I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. ~ John 14:6
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9:01:54 PM EDT
What Will They Think of Next?
Hey guys, check this out!
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3:40:30 PM EDT
Hearing Gotta Love Your Worship Team!
Smells Like a False Teaching
I know you two think I dog the music industry a bit more than I used to. I admit I never wanted y’all to listen to AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” but that was really just self-explantory.
The purpose of this little letter to you is to wake you up to how secular the church has become. And when I hear Nirvana‘s, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” taking front and center in a worship service, I feel like throwing up.
They aren’t teaching biblical truths through this music. They aren’t sharing the message of Christ, they’re running from it. They’re doing what the people want as opposed to doing what Jesus commanded.
Here’s what Ravenhill said: Today's church wants to be raptured from responsibility.
Your job BG, is to study a little about Nirvana and it’s late front man Kurt Cobain (He committed suicide).
As you do, ask yourself, “Does this message glorify God or does it promote selfishness or something worse?”
And you thought you had no homework this weekend.
Watch the video, read the lyrics and test the spirit of that church:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
~1 John 4:1
Load up on guns
Bring your friends
Its fun to lose
And to pretend
Shes overboard
Myself assured
I know I know
A dirty word
Hello (x 16)
With the lights out its less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
Yea
Im worse at what I do best
And for this gift I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
Hello (x 16)
With the lights out its less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
Yea
And I forget
Just what it takes
And yet I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard
Its hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind
Hello (x 16)
With the lights out its less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
Yea
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10:47:01 PM EDT
Feeling Mischievous
Busted
You guys turned this book around at the store so that it was facing the wall and not potential readers who might purchase it and be deceived?
I can't for the life of me imagine who on earth would have taught you to do that.
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10:34:08 PM EDT
Hearing I guess that sums it up.
It's a WHAT Thing?
I told you guys there was some crazy stuff out there. Do you believe me now?
Note to Butter: Quit playing this video over and over; it makes the dogs bark.
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