HeartCry 74 - Missions

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4 E A R T C R Y M A G A Z I N E V O L 7 4

THE MISUSE OF THE TEXT

This passage has rightly becomeone of the most popular andmost employed among modern

day evangelists and all who seek toshare their faith with others. However,what does it truly mean, and what isits proper application in evangelism?Have these biblical requirements ofbelieving and confessing been fulfilledmerely because someone has made adecision for Christ, prayed the sinnersprayer, or confessed Christ before a

congregation of affirming believers?To answer these questions, we mustconsider Pauls words in their propercontext, and determine the precisemeaning of his language. We must bewary of assuming that a text means acertain thing or that it should be used ina certain way merely because it is theprevalent interpretation and applica-tion of the text by our contemporaries.

We often assume that we understand atext simply because it is the interpreta-tion we received without question fromthose who received it without questionfrom others. In the same way, we of-ten use or apply a text simply becauseit is the modus operandi6 of all thosearound us. However, this nave chain ofunquestioned trust is often broken the

moment someone actually studies thetext to see whether these things areso.7 Having said this, we would do wellto ask ourselves the following question:Did the apostle Paul write this text withthe purpose of giving us a model for thesinners prayer or did he have an en-tirely different purpose in mind?

In contemporary evangelicalism,the sinners prayer has become theforemost means of inviting men toChrist and granting them assurance ofsalvation. It is found on the back of mostevangelistic tracts and heard at the endof most evangelistic sermons. It usuallyincludes the following: The seeker is ledto confess that he is a sinner and to ac-knowledge his inability to save himself.

He is then directed to confess that Jesus

6 Lat n: A manner of operat ng or work ng; ad st nct pattern or method of procedure (Web-ster).7 Acts 17:11

died for his sins and rose again from thedead. Subsequently, he is encouragedto asked Jesus to come into his heartand to be his Savior. Afterward, he ispromised that, if he prayed this prayer

sincerely, he is now saved. Finally, he isdirected that if he ever doubts his salva-tion he should stand upon this one mo-ment in time when he prayed the sin-

ners prayer and confessed Christ.Although there is somc truth in

these various elements, there are sev-eral serious objections that should beraised to this methodology of invitingsinners to Christ: First, it has no bibli-cal precedent. It was not employed byChrist, the apostles or the early Chris-

tians. Secondly, it was unknown to thegreater part of the church throughouthistory. That is, it is a recent inven-tion. Thirdly, it has the danger of turn-ing the Gospel into a credal statement.Countless individuals who show nobiblical evidence of conversion believethemselves saved simply because onetime in their lives they made a decsion

for Christ and repeated the prayer. Al-though this is not the intention of thosesincere Christians who use the sinnersprayer in evangelism, it has been theoverwhelming result of this methodol-ogy. Forthly, it has almost entirely re-placed the biblical invitataion of repen-tance and faith. It is astounding thatthe biblical examples of inviting men to

Christ are virtually ignored in favor of amodern-day construct. Fifthly, it has be-come the primary, and oftentimes, theonly basis of assurance. That is, count-less individuals, who bear little or no ev-

Believe and Confess ontinue ...

Have these biblical requirementsof "believing and confessing"

been fulfilled merely becausesomeone has made a decisionfor Christ, prayed the sinner's

prayer, or confessed Christ beforea congregation of affirming

believers?


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Jesus was the Son of the Most HighGod.16 From these examples, it wouldnot seem beyond the bounds of Scrip-ture to suggest that Satan and demonshave an acute knowledge of the person

and work of Jesus Christ, and that theyaccept them as absolute realities. Theyknow He is the Son of God, that He diedon Calvary for the sins of His people,and that He rose again on the thirdday. However, all their knowledge andrecognition of the realities of Christ donot lead to their salvation. They are notsaved by what they know to be true, but

rather they are condemned by it. Thissame malady is found among men!

Any honest evaluation of contem-porary evangelicalism will prove thatthere are countless individuals walkingthe streets and sitting in pews that havereceived a faith of the same kind17 asdemons. They know something of theperson and work of Christ, and they will

make something of a confession whenit is convenient. However, there is littleevidence of an ongoing reality of thesaving work of Christ in their life. Theirhope of eternal salvation is foundedupon the sincerity of a decision theymade long ago to accept Christ bymeans of a simple prayer. Their hopewas confirmed by ministers of the Gos-

pel who should have known better. Likedemons they are lost. Yet, unlike de-mons they do not know it!

Having given this warning regard-ing the dangers of a heartless faith, weare now ready to examine a true faithof the heart: A faith that not only recog-nizes what is true about the person andwork of Christ, but relies upon these

realities and is transformed by them. Inthe Scriptures, the heart refers to thevery core or essence of a person. It isthe seat of ones intellect, will, and emo-tions. In one sense, we may say that itis the control center of all that we are.What happens there affects everythingelse about us. Therefore it is absurd tothink that a man could believe some-

thing in or with the heart without it

16 Mark 5:717 Th s phrase s borrowed from 2 Peter 1:1,where the genu ne Chr st ans are referred to asthose who have rece ved a fa th of the samek nd as ours [ .e. the apost es].

also having a dramatic or even drasticeffect upon the totality of his person.

To believe in our heart that Godraised Jesus from the dead is to believewith our innermost being that every-

thing Jesus said about Himself is true.This may not sound too radical until weconsider some of the things that He ac-tually said:

He is the eternal God and the Creatorof the universe.18

He is the Life and Light of all men.19

He is mankinds only Savior.20

He is the absolute Sovereign of theuniverse.21

He will determine the eternal destinyof all men.22

He is more valuable than the com-bined wealth of the world.23

The promotion of His will and agendais the purpose of the universe and ofevery individuals life.24

He is to be loved above all other per-sons and things.25

He is to be radically followed andobeyed no matter the cost.226

He will judge His peoples service toHim and reward them accordingly.27

These radical claims of Christ donot leave much room for a nonchalantresponse. Nor can they be believedwith the very core or center of our intel-lect, will, and emotions without havinga radical, drastic, or even devastating

effect upon our lives. It is impossiblefor a rational creature to embrace thesetruths and not be noticeably changedby them. The very nature of the claimsthemselves demands a cataclysmicchange in the character of ones person

18 John 1:1-2; 8:58-5919 John 1:4; 6:35; 8:12; 11:25

20 John 8:24; 14:6; Acts 4:1221 Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:3622 Matthew 16:27; 25:31-4623 Matthew 16:2624 Luke 6:46; 12:4725 Luke 14:2626 Matthew 16:24-25; Luke 14:27-3327 Matthew 16:27; II Cor nth ans 5:10



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A man becomes righteous, perfectlyrighteous, through believing Godsrecord concerning His Son. But theevidence that this faith is genuine is

found in the open confession of theLord with the mouth in everything inwhich His will is known. Confession ofChrist is as necessary as faith in Him,but necessary for a different purpose.Faith is necessary to obtain the gift ofrighteousness. Confession is neces-sary to prove that this gift is received.If a man does not confess Christ at

that hazard of life, character, prop-erty, liberty, and everything dear tohim, he has not the faith of Christ. Insaying, then, that confession is madeunto salvation, the Apostle does notmean that it is the cause of salvation,or that without it the title to salvationis incomplete. When a man believesin his heart, he is justified. But con-

fession of Christ is the effect of faith,and will be evidence of it at the lastday. Faith which interests the sinnerin the righteousness of Christ is mani-fested by the confession of His namein the midst of enemies, or in the faceof danger.37

CONFESSION IN ITS

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

In order for us to understand whatPaul meant when he wrote of the ne-cessity of confessing Jesus as Lord,

it is helpful to consider what it meantto the Christians of the early church. Inthe following is a portion of a letter writ-ten by Pliny the Younger, governor ofBithynia to the Roman Emperor Trajan

who reigned from A.D. 98 to A.D. 117. Itbriefly describes how those accused ofbeing Christian were interrogated andhow the charge against them was eitherproven or dismissed:

An anonymous information waslaid before me, containing a chargeagainst several persons, who upon

examination denied they were Chris-tians or had ever been so. They re-

37 Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans,p.508; Robert Ha dane (February 17, 1764 -December 18, 1842).

peated after me an invocation to thegods, and offered religious rites withwine and incense before your statue,and even reviled the name of ChristI thought it proper, therefore, to dis-

charge them.38

Pliny writes of several persons whowere obviously falsely accused of beingfollowers of Christ. In proof of their in-nocence they called upon the Romangods, offered worship to the emperor,and reviled the Name of Jesus. Accord-ing to our text, they did the very oppo-

site of what a Christian would do.Although the content of Plinys let-

ter provides us with only a negative ex-ample, it does give us a solid foundationfor supposing how the scenario wouldhave turned out differently if the ac-cused had truly been Christian. Imaginethat a small house church is discoveredand brought before the Roman official.

In order to prove or disprove the accu-sation against them, they are led to asmall altar where they are commandedto perform a few simple rituals. First theymust call upon the Roman gods. Sec-ondly, they must participate in a form ofemperor worship to prove their loyaltyto Caesar. Finally, they are told to revileChrist, either to deny His lordship or to

declare Him accursed.39

To the horrorof the small fellowship, two of their ownpromptly take their place before the al-tar and do as they are commanded. Asthey are discharged, another is forcedto his feet and commanded to obey.Though full of fear and trembling, henot only refuses to venerate the Romangods and Caesar, but he replies Krios

Iesous40

or Jesus is Lord! He is takenaway by force to await either exile orexecution. One by one, the rest of thefellowship makes the same faithful con-fession and their fate is sealed. Thoughthe scenario is scripted, the archives ofChristian history prove that a countlessmultitude of believers have faced suchtesting and prevailed at the cost of their

own lives. Their testing proved that theybelieved in their heart unto salvation,

38 New Testament Tmes, Merr C. Tenney,p.329-330.39 1 Cor nth ans 12:340 Jesus s Lord.



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23T H A T G O D S N A M E B E G R E A T A M O N G T H E N A T I O N S

complained to the director, who repri-manded me for it. I complied, but myattitude did not change. Providentially,

God had arranged a Jew who believedthat Jesus was Messiah to be my room-mate at the kibbutz. For some reason,he never spoke to me about his faithduring my first stay in Israel. God wasto use him later.

After a few months in England,I returned to Israel to live in anotherkibbutz. There I met a girl I knew in

Manchester, and she told me there wasa Christian on the kibbutz whose namewas Charley. She said, Be careful,because he might try to convert you.I replied, Not me; Im not interested.God had other plans, however. Myroommate, it turned out, had a terribleproblem with snoring and agreed tomove out. While I looked for volunteers

to change rooms with him, my formerroommate from the first kibbutz cameto visit. When I learned that he was abeliever, I introduced him to Charley.God used this acquaintance to moveCharley into my room.

We started discussing prophe-cy and the Scriptures together. Throughthis time, I had not read the Bible apart

from the book of Esther. Charley did nottell me about Jesus until one day he re-ferred to a chapter which read like this:My God, my God, why hast thou for-saken me? I am poured out like wa-

ter, and all my bones are out of joint: my

heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst

of my bowels. My strength is dried up

like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth

to my jaws; and thou hast brought meinto the dust of death they pierced

my hands and feet all they that go

down to the dust shall bow before Him:

and none can keep alive his own soul

They shall come and shall declare his

righteousness unto a people that shall

be born, that he hath done this. Afterhearing this I said, I am Jewish; I dont

want to know about Jesus. I shockedto find out that this passage was not inthe New Testament, but was written byDavid 1,000 years before Jesus came(Psalm 22:1, 14-16, 29). These andother prophecies such as Zechariah12:10, Isaiah 53, and Isaiah 7:14 ledme to believe that Jesus was the Mes-siah.

I got so excited about thesenew discoveries that in my exuber-ance I went around the streets tellingeverybody. I also went to see a Rabbiin a place called Kfar Habad to discussDaniel 9:24, 27, that the Messiah need-ed to come and die before the SecondTemple was destroyed. This Rabbi toldme that it was King Agrippa that had ful-

filled this prophecy. His answers from acommentary were so absurd that I wasconvinced even more that Jesus wasthe Messiah. Yet I did not believe inHim at this time. I only knew about Him.Another believer at the Kibbutz named

ISRAEL


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