Will
the Real Nitpicker Please Stand Up?
I approach this editorial with trepidation, not wanting to be seen as a Grinch during the Christmas Holiday Season. However, I feel compelled to respond to Todd Friel's ungenerous diatribe against those who don't dot the i's and cross the T's the way he does, when it comes to sharing the good news. I feel that the title to his letter is partly accurate (We're nitpicking while Christians are going to Hell), in that Friel himself is unfairly nitpicking the gospel preaching efforts of other Christians. Over and again, Friel tears down Straw men, by twisting the intent and meaning of statements that Christians make in the context of evangelism.
For example, Friel states:
1) "Make Jesus your Lord and Savior. We cannot make Jesus our Lord and Savior, he is our Lord and Savior. We are living in rebellion to him and he commands us to repent and trust him."
The confusion lies in the word "make." Surely Friel knows that those who use such language are not implying that the convert is forcing Jesus into something. In fact, they are preaching the very same thing as Friel, in that converts must submit themselves to Christ's lordship, that is, they must end their rebellion and recognize Christ's authority over their lives.
If we say to a person, "you must make God the most important part of your life," we are saying that the person must decide that God is their highest priority. In the same way, when we say that to be saved one needs to make Christ their Lord, we are saying that they must decide to turn from selves to Christ.
Friel's second criticism is thus:
2) "Ask Jesus into your heart. Does Jesus come into our hearts? Yes, he does. The question is, "How does he get in there?" It is not by simply asking him in; it is by repentance and faith."
Again, this is extreme nitpicking. Those who say we must "ask Jesus into our hearts" are not suggesting that you do not have to be sincere in your faith to be saved. Indeed, converts ask Jesus into their hearts because they have repented.
Friel then states:
3) "Just believe in Jesus. The demons believe and they tremble. We must repent and trust." Here again Friel uses a straw-man argument, for surely when we say to a convert that they should "just believe in Jesus" we are not suggesting that they need not be sincere. The apostle Paul when asked by the Philippian Jailer how to be saved said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). If Friel had been there, we can imagine that he would correct the apostle, "Sorry, Paul, but the demons believe and they tremble. Tell the Jailer that he must repent and trust."
Next, Friel states:
4) "You have a God-shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it. We have far more than a hole that needs to be filled so we can feel complete; we have a wretched, deceitful, sinful heart that needs cleansing. Repentance and faith applies the blood of the lamb for that cleansing".
A well-known quotation from Blaise Pascal captures well the theme that Friel is criticizing:
"There is a God shaped Vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the creator, made known through Jesus" (Blaise Pascal).
Pascal was not denying that the unsaved are hopelessly lost in sin. He was merely pointing out that one aspect of man's fallen condition is alienation from God. We can never know true peace and happiness until we find salvation in Christ.
Then Friel states:
5) "Accept Jesus. Whoa. We need to accept Jesus? This is entirely backward. We need Jesus to accept us - and he will, if we repent and trust."
When we say that the lost need to accept Jesus, we are saying that they need to accept God's provision of salvation in Christ Jesus. John said, "as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God." Yes, God has offered us a gift of eternal life, but we must accept it, by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.
Next Friel states:
6) "Make a decision for Jesus. Decisional regeneration puts man in the driver's seat of salvation. When we repent and trust, Jesus decides to save us. That puts him in the driver's seat … where he demands."
Do not all people have to decide whether to follow God or not? "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). Some who Jesus called decided to follow him (Mark 1:17-18), while others decided not to (Matthew 19:21-22). In Acts 3:19, Peter calls on the assembled crowd to "Repent, therefore and be converted" and those who heard the call had to decide whether to heed the call or ignore it.
This biblical truth is captured in many of our great hymns such as "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." Simply because God offers us the gift of salvation, and gives us a choice whether to receive it, does not put us in "the driver seat of salvation." All the work of salvation is done by God. But God leaves us the choice of receiving it by faith or rejecting it.
Friel also stated:
8) "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The only promises for the convert are trials, temptation and persecution. If that is how you define a wonderful life, fine. Otherwise we must command all men everywhere to repent and trust."
If a man is proposing marriage to a young lady, he might say something like, "Please marry me. I know we will have a wonderful life together." The young lady does not think that he is promising that there will never be any difficulties in their lives. Rather, she understands that he is saying that they can have a wonderful marriage in their journey through life, despite life's many obstacles.
In the same way, when we say to someone that God has a wonderful plan for their lives, we are not suggesting that they will not face any more difficulties. Rather, we are saying that generally speaking, your life in Christ will be wonderful, abundant, and blessed (John 10:10). Indeed, no matter what we may face in life, it is truly wonderful to walk with Christ!
Steve Lagoon
Woodbury Pastor of Faith Community Church of Independence
Director of Christian Apologetics Ministries (www.caministries.org)
2005