Most churchgoers have heard this truth before, and even though the message of salvation through Jesus Christ is popular, there are many in the church that do not understand this doctrine and therefore cannot share the true message of salvation with others. And because of the failure of our churches to teach the pure message of salvation to their members, a counterfeit message of salvation has crept into the church. There is a fast-growing message of comfort that promises salvation but denies the power of Christ to be free from the power and practice of sin. Instead, people are being deceived into believing that belief in Jesus Christ is all that is required, and that obedience to the Word of God is no longer relevant. This teaching is the same message told to Adam, and its source is the devil himself.
How, then, did the church come to reduce belief in Christ to little more than a profession of faith? The idea of salvation through “repeat these words after me” rather than “Repent and believe” did not appear overnight. Over time, methods were developed that sought to bring men and women to a decision for Christ, often emphasizing an immediate response while giving less attention to repentance, surrender, and discipleship.
Charles G. Finney was a popular evangelist in the early 1800s. During his ministry he introduced controversial “New Measures” that helped shape the practice that eventually developed into today’s altar call. Finney would invite those who were anxious about their salvation to come forward and take a seat at the bench known as the “anxious bench” or the “mourner's bench.” Others would surround the individual and earnestly pray for their salvation. This process was highly emotional and coercive in that it caused the individual to make an immediate “decision for Christ” with other congregants, or the preacher, surrounding the individual and praying for their salvation.
In the twentieth century, Billy Graham modeled Finney's method of invitation and brought it to a new audience. Thousands would respond at each invitation given by the evangelist and would be proclaimed “saved” after a response and a prayer to invite Jesus into your heart. As we will discuss further in this chapter, the proper pattern of salvation found in Scripture is believing, repenting, and confessing.
Lifeway Research reported that approximately 2.2 million people responded to invitations to become Christians at Billy Graham crusades alone. (LifeWay Research, “Billy Graham’s Life, Ministry by the Numbers,” February 21, 2018) God is sovereign, and we are not saying that all who responded in this manner were not genuine; most assuredly many were. But when you add the same incalculable figures from other evangelists, Vacation Bible Schools, concerts, and other gatherings, there is no way to know exactly how many victims of the altar call there have been.
Even Billy Graham acknowledged this reality: “There are thousands of people who have had some form of emotional experience that they refer to as conversion, but who have never been truly converted to Christ.” (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Canada, “Quotes and Guidance from Billy Graham”)