07/17/2023
Today I am thinking back to the moment when I confessed Jesus as my savior, and the events that brought me to that place. I am considering the strength of the gospel that I heard and comparing it to all the preaching I have heard since then. What made the message of my youth germinate in me? What have I heard since?
Paul was a highly educated man and his ability to speak powerfully, and convince people of one thing or the other was obviously an something he possessed, but not one he used in his preaching. He recounted to the Corinthians how he preached the message of the gospel for what it was... not by using his great ability as an orator; or his intellect to debate. Let's listen to his words...
“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV
It was summer, and I was nine years old. I rode my bicycle to Vacation Bible School (VBS) each morning and listened to stories of Jesus that told me the gospel story. As the week progressed I thought a great deal about His life, death, and resurrection, and learned childhood songs such as "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder." The seed was planted, and over the next few weeks the Holy Spirit moved within me as I read my bible, until finally I knew that there was no way that I could go another day without accepting Jesus as my personal savior. So one morning after church, I jumped on my bicycle again and rode to the house of Colonel and Mrs. Ira Palm, my VBS teachers, and in their living room I prayed the prayer of a sinner for forgiveness, and asked Jesus to come into my heart, and to take control of my life.
No flowery speech, no cajoling, just the gospel message, and the move of the Holy Spirit had brought me to this moment. I am now in my 70s, and have looked back on those weeks fondly every day since. The experience was powerful, and the Holy Spirit has remained alive within me.
Since then, I have listened to preachers as they delivered their messages, and then the altar call. I have heard the good and the bad, and have listened to many forms of delivery, but there is one thing that sticks out in my mind as truth... only the simple message of the gospel of Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit in one’s life, saves them for a lifetime. All else is of man, and often surfaces as trickery, emotional manipulation, or the work of a slick, smooth talker. When someone comes to the altar as a result of these, it is usually followed a short time later with an awakening to the fact that they were caught up in the moment, or just plain conned into a confession of belief... and in this dark revelation the Holy Spirit begins to fight an uphill battle within them as he works to bring them into true belief, and to bring them to that honest moment of transformation when they begin to worship God in Spirit and truth.
Paul spoke in Rome about what it takes to be saved, and it is simple in execution, but requires that our hearts be circumcised by the Holy Spirit in preparation. Listen....
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Romans 10:9-10 ESV
Jesus also told us of this simplicity when He spoke of His second coming and being lifted up; it didn't involve a sales job, or some form of emotional convincing. Listen to these two simple verses as they tell us the story...
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.”
John 12:32, 36 ESV
An altar full of people who have been brought there by flowery speech, enticing words, and the oration of a preacher who is leaning upon his own ability to convince them, is overshadowed entirely by one soul that actually hears the gospel of Jesus; who is led by the Holy Spirit, and receives Jesus Christ in solemn affirmation. In this person the roots of faith will grow deep, and the oak tree of his belief will rise up; strong and without fail. We aren't born Christians, nor are we tricked, or aroused emotionally into our faith... we are brought there by the Word of God, the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the revealing movement of the Holy Spirit.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 14:26 ESV
This doesn't mean that those who were brought to the altar by smooth talk, emotional pleas, or by hook or crook, are lost... it just means that they should now turn to the simple straightforward gospel of Jesus Christ, and listen to the Holy Spirit while leaning on the power of God as the good news of His Son leads them to a true and deep faith. In this way they will put down a tap root and stand firm in the Word of God, and on the life, death, and resurrection, of Jesus. If this is done then a life of faith and righteousness is their promise, and eternal life their reward.
The message is a simple one, and the working of the Holy Spirit leads us to it. This is our call to Christ, and this is the seed that falls on good ground and takes root. This is the moment our faith begins to grow into a mighty oak.
“And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."”
Mark 4:8-9 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and the gospel I heard those many years ago. I thank you for the Holy Spirit that led me to my confession of belief, and started me down the road of faith that has brought me to this place. I pray this morning for all those who were brought to the altar through a manipulation of their guilt, emotion, or by smooth words... send your Holy Spirit to them Lord, and take what started as trickery and turn it into a true confession of belief in Christ. Instill in them a lasting faith. Let the simple message of Jesus Christ be the seed that is nurtured by your Spirit in each one of us who receives it, and let every seed take to the water and care you provide that it will grow mightily in you. Lord Jesus, you alone are enough, and the gospel message of your life is all that is required for the Spirit as it begins to work in us. No man can add to or detract from the truth that is in you... come to each of us, young and old alike, and let our hearts be opened as we hear the call that leads us to eternity in the presence of our Abba, our Holy Father, and our God.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17
Rich Forbes