The Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three in One. Our God is One.
Creation
One Command
Disobedience, Sin, and Death (all sin is against God, and carries a sentence of death)
God’s plan of Redemption is already in motion. (Even before the Fall of Adam)
The Law is given. To graphically show mankind is incapable of the perfection God requires for redemption and acceptance into His Holy presence.
Prophecy given of the Messiah, the Christ who will perfectly satisfy God’s requirements for mankind’s redemption.
Prophecy fulfilled in Bethlehem as a virgin gives birth to Emanuel.
Jesus, fully man, and fully God lives among us. At the age of 30 is baptized by his cousin John the Baptist (the herald of God). As he came out of the water, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit blessed and anointed him for the ministry he was about to undertake.
His perfectly sinless life, three years of ministry and proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven is the linchpin of all history.
His trial, his humiliation, his beating, scourging and finally crucifixion were part of God’s plan of redemption. On the Cross Jesus’ work was finished. Does that not move you? The magnitude of those words Jesus cried from the Cross, “IT IS FINISHED!”
He was buried in a borrowed tomb that man tried to seal in order to prevent God’s prophecy from being fulfilled… but on that third morning, the stone was moved and the grave was found empty! He is Risen!!!
And because He is risen and is alive we, who are his, shall be resurrected to everlasting life with him where he has prepared a place for us. In him we are sons and daughters of the Most High God.
His plan His life His work God the Father is satisfied His Mercy extended His gift given His Love in us His life in us
Do you see what He has done? Are you his? Are you in Christ? Where is your hope? If not in Christ, then in whom, in what?
John 14:1-6 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The one I most constantly battle is The Flesh and its three agents:
Me
Myself
I
Try as I might, I am weak in the flesh.
Rom 7: (KJV)
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Romans 8:1-39 ESV — There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What a promise!
God is Faithful! Even when we aren’t.
We sing about it:
🎶Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be
Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me🎶
We talk about the faithfulness of God. But do we grasp it, and understand it and trust in Him as we ought? I’m guilty of forgetting and turning away from what I know of God’s nature. I too often look inward instead of remembering it is he that holds me, and not me who holds him. I have no power in myself to hold on… The Lord has all power (And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”)
Lamentations 3:21-24
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
God is faithful when we are not.
Christian, God gave his only son in order to fulfill the Father’s perfect requirements for the redemption from sin in order that by his Grace we who are being saved can be called sons and daughters, in Christ Jesus.
Every day I need to be reminded of this.
The Gospel is not just a means to an end, it’s not merely the means of salvation, but it is the very essence of life in Christ. It is the foundation of life in Christ Jesus, and there is no life without it.
We need to remind ourselves and one another of this truth daily, and worship El ’emunah, the Holy one who is Faithful.
I’ve lived long enough to realize that we have seasons in our lives. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Not just physical seasons but spiritual seasons as well. And recently I’ve began thawing out from a long hard, cold winter in my soul. I was too long alone in the wastelands of my frozen, ice hardened heart. I’ve been dark, cold and miserable.
Recently a Spring breeze has been warming my soul, awakening my stoney, cold heart. And a still small voice on that wind has been speaking “life” to my darkened mind. Remaining me whose I am. That I have been chosen by the Father and given to his Only Begotten Son. It’s all of Grace!
My soul is being revived! The love of God is crushing this heart of stone and replacing it with a heart that is tuning into Christ. His love and patience is breaking into the darkest corners of my mind with light, life, and truth. He is restoring my soul!! All I want right now is to be with him. To walk with him. I understand what Paul was saying now… to live is Christ! “In Christ” I get it now! To be in Christ as He is in The Father… my sin is blotted out because of what Jesus the Christ did on the cross in obedience to the plan of redemption he and the Father prepared before he ever created the first thing. That is the Sovereignty of the one who created everything that was ever created. He is the Sovereign God over all the Universe, over all Creation! And I am his! I am in Christ. His will, his plan, his workmanship!
Do you understand? Do you see?
What a savior!
He is my Lord, my redeemer, my God!
Ephesians 2:4-10 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
How can I be quiet any longer!? How can I not witness what He has done for me? I am a Child of Love, I’ve been adopted and am in Jesus Christ, God the Father’s accepted, saved by His Amazing Grace!!
I know whose I am but I often do not live like it. Take for instance, Life.
What is life? Is it just the living, the breathing, and being conscious? Yes, those are necessary in order to sustain life.
But what is life?
Is life what we do?
Is life who we are?
What is life?
When I was a younger man I didn’t think of these things. I took them for granted. I was… therefore I was alive. And if alive then I had life. I never questioned what life actually was/is. So what is life?
Genesis 1:26-27
¶Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
¶So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:7
…then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
So…
All these years I have misunderstood what life was. I was under the delusion that life is about me. It’s actually about God. Just as I have misunderstood the Bible. It’s not the story of man but of God. Man is secondary. Man is the result of the will of God. Life is the result of the will of God.
John 1:1-4
¶In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Are you beginning to see as I see?
Life is a gift of God. When one speaks of the sanctity of life this is what they are talking about. Life is not man’s to give and therefore it is not man’s to take unless according to God’s Law.
Obviously I have much to learn about life.
At this point I see my learning is sorely lacking as to what life is and how I should regard it. I have only seen life as a series of circumstances and how they affect me personally. My life has been based on my reactions to the events of life and I haven’t stopped to think on what life is, and where life comes from. Right now I see through a cloudy, dimly lit, out of focus glass. I pray I will grow, mature and begin to see with more, and more clarity.
Yesterday at church, Pastor Kyle mentioned that when we are in distress and need clarity (at least this is what I got from what he said) we should give thanks in everything, and for everything be thankful. That caused me to think of the most basic thing of all,”Life.”
Now as scripture says, “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” we see life is literally, God breathed.
Later, in the Garden of Eden, man disobeyed God’s one command and became spiritually dead, becoming separated from Adonai through his sin. Thus Death entered the world.
And so death reigns from then until now on the physical body. But God had, before creation, prepared for us a sacrificial lamb, without spot to take away our sin and restore us to himself: his son, Jesus, the Christ.
John 14: 6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the LIFE*. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
(*Emphasis mine)
All of John 14 is Jesus’ witness to the Truth, of himself, and of the Father.
Our restored life is in Jesus Christ, who is in the Father.
Again, “life” is a gift from God.
Yet how lightly we esteem it. How flippantly we care for it… how often we neglect and abuse it as if it were our own.
Anyone else with me?
Do you see what I see?
Do you understand what I’m trying to say?
God has to deal with me in degrees, as with an infant. I have to learn to crawl, and then walk before I can run. In this case I have a small taste of the truth and small understanding about life now.
So here is something I was given earlier as I was thinking about all of this. How do I start my morning? What is the first thing I do when I wake up?
I reach for my phone.
I check in on the world before I recognize the very one I claim is Sovereign Lord over all Creation, Adonai.
What if I change that?
What if instead of reaching for my phone I would recognize Adonai first and as Kyle said, give thanks. What if a prayer of Thanksgiving was the first thing I do every morning?? How would that affect my day? How would that change my life? My approach to life?
I found this Prayer
Morning Prayer
I give thanks unto You, Adonai, that, in mercy, You have restored my soul within me. Endless is Your compassion; great is Your faithfulness. I thank You, Adonai, for the rest You have given me through the night and for the breath that renews my body and spirit. May I renew my soul with faith in You, Source of all Healing. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who renews daily the work of creation.
Maybe seeing life as less about me, I will appreciate the life I have more… because I will see it for what it really is a gift from God.
Have you ever really read the words to the hymns you sing? Read with meditation the words Robert Robinson penned in 1758. 263 years ago, yet still as powerful as the day they were written.(truth is like that you know)
“Come Thou Fount”
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit, Till released from flesh and sin, Yet from what I do inherit, Here Thy praises I’ll begin; Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood; How His kindness yet pursues me Mortal tongue can never tell, Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face; Clothèd then in blood washed linen How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace; Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransomed soul away; Send thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day.
The altar Call is an outward show of how the pastor can emotionally manipulate his followers to do what he says through guilt and other pressure tactics. It is a power play so that there is visible evidence of a successful sermon. The (so-called) “Altar Call” is the pastor’s way of “proving that he is worth his paycheck.” It is part and parcel of the Man-centered Gospel of the Church Growth Movement in Modern Churchianity.
The church lecture series is all about the man in the pulpit no matter how much he claims to the contrary. The Cult of Personality is the glue that really holds the congregation together. Take away the charisma in the pulpit and the so called church that meets in the temple they have built for themselves will dwindle down and die. The sheeple will find themselves another proxy god to put in the pulpit. They must have their very own idol to listen to and to worship.
“Not a god,” you say? Really? Pastors are the gods over their congregations. His is the only voice allowed to speak during the lecture and he cannot be questioned about anything he says from behind the so called sacred desk. He is infallible and not to be questioned. He demands loyalty and obedience. His word is law. The sheeple are conditioned to passively, and unconditionally accept what the man in the pulpit is saying no matter what he says. The pastor is in fact speaking “ex cathedra” as he is the head of his church no matter who he gives lip-service to.
“I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” -Lord Acton expressed this opinion in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887
_________________________
My premise is that any man who is given authority over others will, if left unchecked, make full use of that authority for both personal gain and personal power. The amount of corruption by this person will ultimately be decided by the amount of power that is available. As Lord Acton says, “Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority.”
In modern Christianity most church congregations are based on a simple design. The authority is vested in the persons of the (so called) clergy, usually at the consent of, or at least the tacit agreement of the (so called) laity. This Catholic Idea of Clergy/Laity came from the teachings of Ignatius, Irenaeus, Cyprias, and Augustine who created and promoted the whole “Christian” class/ caste system. While not addressing the theological issues of this problem Lord Acton actually does a marvelous job of attacking just such a system, “There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” As true today as when Acton said it.
The “Altar Call” is nothing more than a way for the Pastor to practice his manipulation tactics while stroking his own ego. I dare say that what most people claim to be a movement of the Holy Spirit is at best ginned up emotionalism brought on through guilt and spiritual/emotional manipulation. Why would I say such a thing? Because the “feeling” is generally gone by the time you reach the parking lot, that’s why.
Finally, and most importantly, the Altar Call promotes a man-centered humanistic approach to religion and “salvation.” It portrays a weak frail god who can only work in “his building” following the pastor’s sermon. I have heard testimonies from folks who sweated bullets all week long until they could get to the Altar Call part of the service so they could get saved. That screams of a god in a box who is so weak and so inept that that he has to have the work of the Man of god (little “g” on purpose) in order to save someone. I have also heard of so called soul winners who got people to say the sinners prayer on visitation coaching them to come to church on Sunday and come down during the altar call in order to make their decision official with the preacher. *groan* No, no I don’t have all the answers. I’m just now asking the right questions. I just know that this Kabuki theatre that is being called “Church” these days is a sham and a shame.
Why Did You Leave? Would You Go Back?
For those of you who have left Fundamentalism, and I think that’s probably most of you who post here, why did you leave? Was it the theology, or was it the culture? If it was the theology, what specifically about the theology drove you away? If it was the culture, what specifically about the culture drove you away?
Why did I leave? Why didn’t I stay and fight?
I believe that there is nothing worth salvaging in the IFB movement. I believe it is a religious cult movement that should die a very public, and very convincing death. The heart and core of IFB error is Theological Error. The error lies in how the IFB presents and views God in relation to both the individual and the “Ministry” of the Local, sanctified, separated, sold-out, sanctimonious sect of believing believers. According to IFB dogma the “Local church” is superior to all other things Christian. In theory and in words they say they worship a sovereign God… but in practice God’s sovereignty ends with the
preeminence of the individual’s free-will. In a nutshell, God is viewed as a reactive deity who frets around his heaven wringing his hands hoping that there will be someone to stand in the gap, make up the hedge, and come up with a masterful formula for winning souls to Christ. Because we know that Church in the IFB is all about the numbers.
Numbers and power actually.
I am more convinced than ever that, Most churches today have a “pastor” who oversees the entire operation, and there may be a deacon board that is either working with the pastor or against him… either way it is doubtful that either “office” is operating biblically. With the advent of the Professional Clergy there has been a rise in the cult of personality as well. The Professional is seen in a light that is clearly not biblical and we see that whether by “influence” or by acquired “authority” these men rise to prominence. Even the small rural churches are patterned after this and the pastor is looked on as a man of authority over the congregation. And there is the rub. Even the meanest paid rural “pastor” would not willingly give up “his power” over even the smallest group of people. It is not about the money, heaven knows many, if not most, small congregations pay at or below the poverty level. No, it is about power to influence and control a group of people and mold their worldviews.(This is the danger of the passive approach to worship where a one-way conversation takes place. The only view allowed in these meetings is the pastor’s. This affords almost total control by the speaker to inject his own views as ‘god breathed’. Whatever the “anointed”, “man of god” says while behind the “sacred desk” will be seen as, and accepted as, the “word of God”.) That is an especially strong allure for men of lesser character who are drawn to such positions. I have no doubt that there are good men who are trying to do what is right in these positions and I commend them and pray for them but the position itself is the enabler, the seductress; and even the best of men will, sooner or later, succumb to the temptation of power. We see a picture of this in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings Trillogy”. As a Ring Bearer, Frodo Baggins had an awful burden to carry yet, even he failed in the end and succumbed to the power of the ring; unable to destroy it he claimed it for himself. The thread through-out the tale is about power, the use and the abuse of it. Many who would have taken the ring would have done so out of a noble purpose but would have been corrupted by it’s power and their corruption would (like Sauron) only be limited by the (unlimited) power of the ring.
Would I go back?
No, not even if my life depended on it.
I truly do not believe that the IFB movement is worth saving, and I truly believe that it is a cult. A very seductive powerful cult that relies more on the abilities of man and less on the power of the god it claims to serve. That may sound harsh and it may be. I know that God does work in the midst of even the very worst of these bunkers. But I do believe that the error and the man made traditionalism and the King James only idolatry that is practiced in these dens of sanctimonious piety is deadly poison to sanctam ecclesiam catholicam; sanctorum communionem. (the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints)
Where am I at spiritually now?
That is the hardest thing about leaving the IFB bassinet, one has to start thinking for oneself. I was fortunate in that about the time I left the enfolding tentacles of the IFB, I broke my ankle. How was that fortunate? I was able to spend almost 6 months examining my worldview. I was able to take a long hard look at who I was in Christ, what I actually believed, why I believed it and I wrestled with several items that I had to abandon because there was no reason other than man-made traditionalism that I was holding to them. It’s much tougher than having someone spoon-feed you how you should act and think. But the realization that you are no longer performing according to someone else’s standards is very spiritually refreshing! Yes, there are often doubts and you find you might be out on a limb that you would not have climbed before… but the learning experience is so worth it.
In conclusion, I know that there are brothers and sisters in Christ who have a death grip on their comfortable religion and practices in the IFB bunkers which they live and breathe. But I have found so much fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ outside the bunker system that I could never go back into the cave to stay.
One of the most famous statements by Jesus is this: “You must be born again.” This passage explains what He meant, and why being “born again” is so important.
Persifler's Weblog 
The Heresy of the “Altar Call.”
Posted in Americanized Religiosity, Charles Finney, Church?, doctrines of grace, God, Gospel, IFB, Just Thinking, Livable philosophy, Manipulation, Obedience, Orthodoxy, Questions, Reformation, Religion, Religiosity, Revival, Revivalism, Semi-Pelagian, Social commentary, Sovereignty of God, Thinking, Toxic Faith, Traditions of Men, Worldviews, tagged BELIEF AND BEHAVIOUR, Control and Power, cult of personality, DANGEROUS CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY, Fundamentalism, Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult, Religion, Sloppy Preaching, Sovereignty of God, Toxic Faith on Sunday, December 29, 2013| 3 Comments »
The altar Call is an outward show of how the pastor can emotionally manipulate his followers to do what he says through guilt and other pressure tactics. It is a power play so that there is visible evidence of a successful sermon. The (so-called) “Altar Call” is the pastor’s way of “proving that he is worth his paycheck.” It is part and parcel of the Man-centered Gospel of the Church Growth Movement in Modern Churchianity.
The church lecture series is all about the man in the pulpit no matter how much he claims to the contrary. The Cult of Personality is the glue that really holds the congregation together. Take away the charisma in the pulpit and the so called church that meets in the temple they have built for themselves will dwindle down and die. The sheeple will find themselves another proxy god to put in the pulpit. They must have their very own idol to listen to and to worship.
“Not a god,” you say? Really? Pastors are the gods over their congregations. His is the only voice allowed to speak during the lecture and he cannot be questioned about anything he says from behind the so called sacred desk. He is infallible and not to be questioned. He demands loyalty and obedience. His word is law. The sheeple are conditioned to passively, and unconditionally accept what the man in the pulpit is saying no matter what he says. The pastor is in fact speaking “ex cathedra” as he is the head of his church no matter who he gives lip-service to.
“I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” -Lord Acton expressed this opinion in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887
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My premise is that any man who is given authority over others will, if left unchecked, make full use of that authority for both personal gain and personal power. The amount of corruption by this person will ultimately be decided by the amount of power that is available. As Lord Acton says, “Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority.”
In modern Christianity most church congregations are based on a simple design. The authority is vested in the persons of the (so called) clergy, usually at the consent of, or at least the tacit agreement of the (so called) laity. This Catholic Idea of Clergy/Laity came from the teachings of Ignatius, Irenaeus, Cyprias, and Augustine who created and promoted the whole “Christian” class/ caste system. While not addressing the theological issues of this problem Lord Acton actually does a marvelous job of attacking just such a system, “There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” As true today as when Acton said it.
-excerpted from my blog: https://persifler.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/corruption-is-directly-proportional-to-the-level-of-control-that-is-available/
The “Altar Call” is nothing more than a way for the Pastor to practice his manipulation tactics while stroking his own ego. I dare say that what most people claim to be a movement of the Holy Spirit is at best ginned up emotionalism brought on through guilt and spiritual/emotional manipulation. Why would I say such a thing? Because the “feeling” is generally gone by the time you reach the parking lot, that’s why.
Finally, and most importantly, the Altar Call promotes a man-centered humanistic approach to religion and “salvation.” It portrays a weak frail god who can only work in “his building” following the pastor’s sermon. I have heard testimonies from folks who sweated bullets all week long until they could get to the Altar Call part of the service so they could get saved. That screams of a god in a box who is so weak and so inept that that he has to have the work of the Man of god (little “g” on purpose) in order to save someone. I have also heard of so called soul winners who got people to say the sinners prayer on visitation coaching them to come to church on Sunday and come down during the altar call in order to make their decision official with the preacher. *groan* No, no I don’t have all the answers. I’m just now asking the right questions. I just know that this Kabuki theatre that is being called “Church” these days is a sham and a shame.
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