The Altar Call

[Scott Bushey]

Altar calls all too frequently depict the Lord Jesus as somehow “needy” or lonely, standing outside “the door of your heart” longing to be allowed in.
-Robin

Exactly; Like a homeless guy at the turnpike exit hitchhiking........ridiculous.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

An excerpt from an exhortation I once delivered here:

...Experienced fishermen are on the sea when a sudden storm descends upon that valley and makes the sea so violent that they fear for death. They wake Jesus up and He rebukes the waves. If you notice in the account, they are only afraid of the waves but after Jesus stills the waters by the power of His authority, they are very much afraid. Afraid of what? Afraid of HIM. That's what Holiness strikes in man: fear. This is but one of many examples where Christ's Holiness frightens men. When Peter is first called He tells Jesus to depart from him because Peter has just seen the power of God and realizes he is a sinner.

If any of you are hearing about Jesus' holiness scaring people for the first time then let me really surprise you with something. Turning to John 12:37-41 we read:

John 12:37-41

37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

"Lord, who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

39For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40"He has blinded their eyes

and deadened their hearts,

so they can neither see with their eyes,

nor understand with their hearts,

nor turn-and I would heal them."

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

John is quoting Isaiah right after the passage we're looking at in Isaiah 6. Remember, we have Isaiah groveling on the ground, stunned into cursing himself. Who is it that He sees high and lifted up? Whose train fills the temple? Who is it that is Holy, Holy, Holy?

It is Jesus! It is the Son of God before He had taken on flesh. That is who Isaiah sees.

Do you understand why I have a problem with the picture of Jesus knocking on the door of sinner's hearts pleading to come in? THIS is the Biblical picture of the Son of God's power and majesty. The thought of Him pitiful and weak outside the door of a man's heart is unbiblical and dishonors God.

I delivered this to a congregation that hears this idea pretty regularly. Some people were visibly moved by an encounter with the Holy God of Isaiah 6 compared with the idol they have been fed by revival theology.

 

[ReformedWretch]

"If you're already saved and need to, why don't you come down and do business at the 'old-time altar'..."

I don't know if you've heard this before, but I've heard it quite often in the past. Each time I hear it I wonder why the front of the church sanctuary is referred to as an altar. An 'old-time altar? Its a trivia(l) question, but I was just wondering if anybody knew why they call it an altar, who first called it an altar, and why? Does it have anything to do with the OT altar?

Here are the lyrics to a song MANY churches who use alter calls are very fond of.

(first verse)

the service is nearing an end
the choir is singing just as i am
and now as the old song is played
people at the alter are kneeling down to pray
some are finding mercy, forgivness for their sin
some are fighting battles and struglling to win
the time has come to give in to the Lord
thats what this alter is for
(repeat intro)

(second verse)

a father is praying with his son
a mother kneels beside them, thanking God thay've come
an old man is standing there in tears
giving up a part of him that he's held back for years
hearts are being broken lives are being changed
those who call upon Him well, they will never be the same
the time has come to give it to the Lord
that's what this alters for

(chorus)

thats what this alter is for
you don't have to carry those burdens anymore
theres a light in the darkness theres a love thats true
and Jesus is waiting, He's waiting there for you
go quickly now before they close the door
that's what this alter is for
thats what this alter is for
you don't have to carry those burdens anymore
theres a light in the darkness theres a love thats true
and Jesus is waiting, He's waiting there for you
(slower and softer)

go quickly now before they close the door
and you can give your burdens to the Lord
thats what this alter is for

 

[blhowes]

This started in the 1840's, I believe, with Phoebe Palmer, who also re-invented Wesleyanism - from a teaching that perfection is possible in this life after a process to her teaching that perfection is obtained in a crisis of offering oneself entirely to God. To encourage this, she started using an "altar," which is a long, low platform at which one can kneel. She said "The altar sanctifies the gift.", and encouraged people to come to these altars and seek the "second blessing". Before that, in Finney's time, it was called a 'mourners' bench".

Meg,
Thanks.

A woman Methodist preacher?? If this is true (and I don't doubt it is), I wonder how many preachers who call people to come to the altar are aware of this?

 

[turmeric]

Some of them are woman methodist preachers!

You can find this info by googling Phoebe Palmer - there's an article about her from Christianity Today magazine.

 

[blhowes]

Some of them are woman methodist preachers!

You can find this info by googling Phoebe Palmer - there's an article about her from Christianity Today magazine.

<just kidding>
If the biblical arguments don't change their minds, this might!
</just kidding>

 

[caddy]

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Puritan%20Evangelism/JIPackerPuritanEvangelism.htm

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/gracealone.html

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

Just a notation.

None of the Early Church Father enacted "an altar call."

None of the Reformers enacted "an altar call."

None of the Puritans.

Even further back, there are no Scriptures to demonstrate any kind of "altar" + "call" pertaining to the Gospel.

Who came up with it?

A Pelagian.

His name was Charles Finney and it began with "walking the sawdust trail" to come to the "altar" and sit at the "seat of decision" so that you, a person who has "been awakened by a sound argument", can rectify your life and lift yourself out of the pit of despair. If the Holy Spirit helps, well, that's all well and good. Maybe He won't. But that is OK too, because grace is not necessary. "Men can be transformed by a sound argument." (Finney, Systematic Theology, Section on the Holy Spirit and Regeneration).

Finney was a master manipulator. He should have been a magician.

Pick a card anyone?

 

[Timothy William]

Never thought I would read "Finney" and "sound argument" in the same sentence. I knew that most of that stuff about free will and the like was rubbish by logic before I was even a believer. (Ever been an unbeliever who knows you cannot believe but for the gracious work of God and have people tell you you could repent and believe if you just tried hard enough? Any idea how annoying (to put it mildly) such people are?)

 

[turmeric]

Never thought I would read "Finney" and "sound argument" in the same sentence. I knew that most of that stuff about free will and the like was rubbish by logic before I was even a believer. (Ever been an unbeliever who knows you cannot believe but for the gracious work of God and have people tell you you could repent and believe if you just tried hard enough? Any idea how annoying (to put it mildly) such people are?)

Yes, I grew up with them. They also told me I was a "carnal Christian". I jumped through the hoops and nothing happened so many times...