Methodist evangelistic camp meetings of the early nineteenth century issued public invitations for people to come forward to trust in Christ. Revivalist Charles Finney popularized the practice; D. L. Moody and Billy Graham used what came to be known as the “altar call” in their evangelistic meetings as well.
There is nothing inherently wrong with making public our faith in this way, of course. The Bible calls us to acknowledge Christ “before men” (Matthew 10:32) as we “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9). However, as I’m certain Revs. Finney, Moody, and Graham would agree, “deciding for Christ” is not enough.
Oswald Chambers put it this way: “[Jesus] never asks us to decide for him, but to yield to him, a very different thing.”
Jesus called us to “take my yoke upon you,” which means to submit our lives to his authority (Matthew 11:28). We are to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), to be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), to take up our cross and follow Christ “daily” (Luke 9:23). The reason is simple: Jesus can change only what he can touch. He can transform our lives to the degree that he is Lord of our lives. – Dr. Jim Denison
Leave a Reply