There was never a time when someone said to me "Do you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?", and I am thankful for that. I was a church goer when I was young. In the army and college, I tried to find a church to go to. In 1981 I had read two powerful apologetics against the reason and soundness of what I know now as the gospel. The books were The Denial of Death, a Pulitzer Prize winner by Ernst Becker and The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. God seemed to place these books before me before he regenerated me and then called me to believe through His Spirit.
I did not know how it worked at the time. I thought that I had chosen Christ. My first few years as a Christian were typically passionate proselytizing. I believed that faith preceded regeneration. I used anything that I could to encourage people to be a Christian, prophesy, Biblical archeology etc.. At work, I led eight men in the Sinner's Prayer. Today, seven of those men have the same beliefs they had at first, one is a Christian and he had come to me after returning from drug rehabilitation treatment. There are certainly many who were saved the night of a crusade, or the morning of an altar call.
My point is that they are merely methods that may or may not coincide with God's timing. Problems can and do arise. Personality comes into the equation. A person may respond to the emotion of a crusade, enter a church and then go on to be a deacon or an elder or even a minister. This and other influences have given us a church today that has paganism, gnosticism, liberal theology and other "man made" religious doctrines. A second person may be at that crusade, and hear for instance, a strong gospel message by Billy Graham, but he does not go forward even though God has regenerated him. My proselytizing did not dampen after my theology changed. In fact, it increased, only now I want to proclaim Christ. I'll talk about anything but I want to lay before a listener, sinners forgiven and redemption accomplished. I want to explain a doctrine to the best that I know it, and I don't ever really desire to have someone say that I led them to Christ. I just want them there, with the rest of us undeserving sinners.
I did not know how it worked at the time. I thought that I had chosen Christ. My first few years as a Christian were typically passionate proselytizing. I believed that faith preceded regeneration. I used anything that I could to encourage people to be a Christian, prophesy, Biblical archeology etc.. At work, I led eight men in the Sinner's Prayer. Today, seven of those men have the same beliefs they had at first, one is a Christian and he had come to me after returning from drug rehabilitation treatment. There are certainly many who were saved the night of a crusade, or the morning of an altar call.
My point is that they are merely methods that may or may not coincide with God's timing. Problems can and do arise. Personality comes into the equation. A person may respond to the emotion of a crusade, enter a church and then go on to be a deacon or an elder or even a minister. This and other influences have given us a church today that has paganism, gnosticism, liberal theology and other "man made" religious doctrines. A second person may be at that crusade, and hear for instance, a strong gospel message by Billy Graham, but he does not go forward even though God has regenerated him. My proselytizing did not dampen after my theology changed. In fact, it increased, only now I want to proclaim Christ. I'll talk about anything but I want to lay before a listener, sinners forgiven and redemption accomplished. I want to explain a doctrine to the best that I know it, and I don't ever really desire to have someone say that I led them to Christ. I just want them there, with the rest of us undeserving sinners.
