Why Are So Many Christian Converts No Longer Christian

Over the 47 years of my ministry I have had many funerals, some were for close friends, some were for people I never met and some were for church members.  Every funeral I have had, the question I always ask myself is, were they ready to meet the LORD?  Those who’s  life was questionable, I would ask myself, did I push hard enough for them to make a commitment to the LORD? 

There have been funerals that there was no question the individual was ready to meet the LORD.  On the other hand, there have been many that were not ready.  This has made me question my role as a minister in regards to preparing people to meet the LORD.  I know it is not my responsibility to “save” people.  I am only required to warn them of the impending doom they face for eternity and bring them to a knowledge of Jesus Christ.

I have often wonder, if God gave me the gift of knowing who had cancer, and I was able to warn them of the physical condition before it was too late to find a treatment that would cure them, how many people would want me to tell them they were facing  a deadly disease that will take their life?  If God gave me the gift to cure them of this deadly disease, how many would want me to do so?  Yet, God has given me the gift to know who has the deadly disease of sin, and I am able to warn them of the spiritual condition before it is too late to find a cure.  The sad thing is there are very few people who want to know about their condition.  God has also given me the gift to direct them to the cure for their spiritual disease that is one day going to take their life.  Again, the sad thing is, there are very few people that want the cure for their sin that is bringing them death.  Those who do seek salvation, often wants only an emotional experience that lasts only for a short time. 

The scripture tells us there is joy over one sinner who repents and there is also great joy among the believers when they learn that someone has had their life transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.

 Recently, I was asked about giving an altar call and did not want to get into a theological discussion but after some thought I feel I should share how I feel.  An altar call is an appeal for an immediate public response to a sermon just preached. It is popularly called the invitation and as used in this context is an appeal for a public act of commitment and can involve hand raising, going to a counseling area or signing a commitment card. Most often it involves walking down the aisle to the front of a church auditorium. The altar call is tacked on to the end of a sermon and the invitation usually is to "come forward and accept Christ as your Savior." Various emotional techniques such as telling sad, tear jerking stories and playing mood-creating music in the background are employed to encourage response to the altar call.

Like many who grew up in churches which used the invitation system I was accustomed to the altar call. At the close of a sermon we sang verse after verse of invitation hymns like "Just As I Am" and we sometimes sang on for long periods of time trying to get people to come forward.  I have listen to ministers whose sermon consisted of telling sob story after sob story climaxing with the saddest one of all and then giving an invitation to come to the front and accept Christ.  Often, it was tied to a time limit, “In the next 60 seconds this altar will be closed and you may leave here and face eternity, lost forever.”

It is the duty of ministers and the church to bring the message of the saving power of Jesus Christ to those who are dying in their sin.  So the goal and emphasis of the Church has been to bring people to the point of making a decision for Christ.  Most often this is done on emotional appeal, many have heard, “The LORD could return at any moment and you are not ready, you need to accept Jesus Christ now.” Or the question has been asked, “If you were to die right now where would you spend eternity?” The problem is there is a high number of “converts” who are drawn to the LORD on these emotional appeals, but they fail to show any signs of a transformed life.  Some have estimated that less than 3 percent of those who come to Christ from an emotional appeal actually get involved in any type of spiritual growth or become involved with a local church.

This was not the case in the Book of Acts.  Peter preached a message that was not an emotional appeal and three thousands were added to the body of believers.  It was stated that they, “continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking bread and in prayers… And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house.”

As you read the Book of Acts you will notice that the vast majority of those who came to Christ continued to follow through on their decision and that their testimony added to the church.  They were zealous of good works and spread the Gospel wherever they went.  In fact it was just a short time that it was stated, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.”

In reading the Book of Acts the early converts to Christianity rejected earthly materialism and smiled in the face of ridicule and rejection.  They praised God for beatings and persecutions and “took joyfully” the spoiling of their goods.  So what made these converts different from today’s converts?

First, those who came to Christ on the Day of Pentecost were devout Jews and proselytes.  They had a knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures, and were able to understand the message of Peter when he quoted from these Scriptures.

Faith is a necessary component of salvation.  Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  The need for a lasting decision must be based on a clear understanding of the Word of God.  So in order to come to a lasting decision one must first hear the Word.  The Word that is needed is the LAW.  Paul tells us it was the LAW that brings conviction of sin. “I had not known sin, but by the LAW: for I had not known lust except the law said, Thou shall not covet.”

This is the problem with today’s message of the Gospel.  We are spending our time preaching the light of the Gospel- the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ without the use of the LAW to awaken the hearers.  Paul told us the LAW was a schoolmaster that brings us to Christ.  We have allowed our message to the non-believer to be based on a happier life, a life filled with love, without the consequences of their sin.  The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to produce conviction in the hearts of the unbeliever.  This conviction is found in brokenness and is accomplished when the person comes face to face with the LAW of God.  The LAW is a mirror into the soul and spirit of man that he may see what he is the sight of God.  The sinner must be brought to the knowledge of sin, of his own guilt, deserving of just punishment, the need of a Savior, the necessity of being transformed from a life of sin to a life of righteousness.  He needs to understand his mind is dark and his heart is hard.  He must be stripped of his self-dependence and self-righteousness; he must come to the understanding that he is condemned and dead to all hope.  In short, he must see that his views of Christ and salvation are superficial.

When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost his message was to show them the LAW and the prophets pointed to Jesus as the anointed One of God, “Whom they took and had by wicked hands crucified and slain.”  When they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and asked, what shall we do?  They called on the LORD.  “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.”  Here is an example of God writing the LAW in their hearts.  In Romans 2:15 we see how the LAW works.  They show that in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, the same as the law commands, and their consciences agree. Sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done wrong, and this makes them guilty. And sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done right, and this makes them not guilty.  What is important to note is they had a knowledge of the LAW.

Appealing to the mind or intellect seems to be the logical means of bringing people to Christ.  It may even seem logical to appeal to the emotions of the individual and force them on an intellect level to accept Christ.  The problem with this approach is the “natural man does not understand the things that are of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to them: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

Here is the problem with the emotional appeal.  Individuals can be moved to make decisions based on emotions.  Hearing an invitation or altar call song can result in a decision to accept Christ. However, when the emotions change, the decision may also change.  This appeal is often temporary.

When the Holy Spirit appeals to the conscience the person is brought to a personal responsibility for their own actions.  Peter’s message cut to the heart of what they had done, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

It is this same message today, every person in the world is responsible for the death of Jesus because he was “wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his strips we are healed.”  So the message of Peter on the Day of Pentecost still applies to us today.

Most often an individual is told pray to receive Christ as their Savior.  Yet, the Scriptures tell us to call on the name of the LORD.  Paul emphasized the same point as Peter when he stated in Romans 10:12-15.   There is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is the Lord of all people. This is the WHOSOEVER from the Gospel of John. And he richly blesses everyone who calls to him for help.  Yes, “everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.” But before people can call to the Lord for help, they must believe in him. This is where faith is important.  And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him.  This is why knowledge is part of the plan of salvation.   And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. This is why we are His witnesses, to tell the lost who Jesus Christ really is and why they need Him as their Savior. And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent.  Christ has given to all believers, the commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

Could it be that today we have placed a greater emphasis on the emotional acceptance of Jesus Christ and not upon an appeal to the conscience which brings conviction and leads to a transformed life? Have we been trying to make people feel good about themselves to the point we are creating self-righteous converts and not through the righteousness of Jesus Christ?  Has our message of emotional acceptance of Christ been the reason so few follow Him today?

I believe we need to stop asking for decisions for Christ and preach a message that will expose the depravity of the sinner and move them to the point they call upon God because they have come face to face with who they are in the sight of God, and need their lives to be transformed by the power of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

Knowing an individual has made their peace with the Lord, makes it much easier for the minister to carry out the task of committing the soul and spirit to the LORD when they have completed their life here on earth.  Maybe as ministers we do need to be more diligent in giving a message of salvation that appeals to the conscience and not the emotions of individuals, so there is no question about their relationship with the LORD.