In recent years I've become cautious making sweeping statements about the times we now live in comparison to the “good old days”. I believe every generation of Christians has spiritual battles to fight defending the truth given by God in His holy word. It's easy to point back to yesteryear because its possible they weren't fighting the same battle we are so their grass looks greener. With further study of history we find they were fighting battles themselves; just not on the area of lawn we examined. Regardless, we must fight for truth in our own generation where we see it attacked.
Nearly 500 years ago we protestants denied that works contribute to the justification of man before God in protest of the false teaching presented by Romanism. Man's justification was only by grace through faith in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, taught by the authority of Scripture alone. This radical belief in dependence upon Christ to be our propitiation and righteousness before God brought about a violent reaction from the Romish dictatorship. They taught that acceptance into the Roman “church” by adhering to a set of sacraments brought about a progressive justification. The reformers shook the earth with a resounding “no!” to this blasphemous false gospel and many paid with their lives.
I posit that we protestants have partially embraced this sacramental system that our forefathers worked so hard to destroy. We have invented works that produce a false assurance of salvation to many who biblically should have none. These works are proclaimed by many who sincerely believe in salvation by grace through faith alone! These works do nothing to inhibit God's elect from coming to faith but certainly do assure people of salvation either before they have it, or although they never have it. It has filled the churches with unbelievers and therefore populated hell with church goers. We should desist from using these methods purely because they are not scriptural whether or not there is any “practical” reasons we can think of to persuade us to stop. I will address 3 observed works of the modern day that we have placed in the path of sinners who should only hear the pure gospel exhortation.
“Ask Jesus into your heart.”
This commonly used phrase is touted as gospel by many evangelists. This phrase is found nowhere in scripture. Not only is the phrase found nowhere, but nothing in concept is found like it in scripture in reference to the call of the gospel. It is a work! To tell someone that they can be saved by asking Jesus to come into their heart is allowing them to think that the action of asking Him to come in will make it happen. Scripture NEVER says this. A person can ask, beg and plead for Jesus to come into their heart and that will get them nowhere.
“Praying a prayer”
This is very similar to asking Jesus into your heart though the person leading the prayer may not use that phrase at all. Many times the sinner is asked to repeat a prayer after someone leading them. Again, this is a work. The sinner is convinced that the action of repeating the prayer will save them; it won't. Many times the words of the prayer may even be correct. The one leading it may say the right things that if believed would mean true salvation, but the fact is the person repeating the prayer is placing confidence in the prayer to save them.
“Walking down the Isle”
Many are told to walk down to the front during an invitation time to receive Christ. This, like the other two already discussed is a work. The sinner believes God will save them if they do what the pastor says and go down. This action will cause God to act on their behalf. No action causes God to save; salvation is by faith alone. I am not saying that an invitation is always bad. It can be used to help those who want counsel. It can be useful for those who want to join the local church or need to be baptized. I'm saying it is not a biblical way to salvation and we must stop confusing people into thinking it has anything to do with whether they are saved by God's grace or not.
All of these mentioned are works that give people false confidence in salvation. The scripture is clear that faith is the only way a person is to be saved. That means a person is saved when they place their trust and dependence on Christ alone to make them right with God. Christ lived the perfect life in obedience to God's holy law. He took our iniquities upon Himself and suffered under God's wrath. We deserved to be cursed and yet he was cursed in our place. When we realize our wickedness and see that we deserve to be under God's judgment we can only be saved by depending on Christ. He paid for sins and He lived a holy life. His righteousness is placed to our account and my sin was placed to His. We must believe, trust and depend on Him alone! It is not an invitation, prayer, or walk down an isle that can save me but only a desperate dependence on Christ alone that is evidenced by an open confession and repentance. Soli Deo Gloria.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3, ESV)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2, ESV)
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2, ESV)
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