I want to take a look at some biblical presentations of the gospel and the requested responses, and then from there consider if asking people to walk an aisle, raise a hand or pray a prayer in response to the gospel is necessary, OK/neutral or possibly detrimental?
Here are a couple of different settings in the Scriptures where we see similarities and differences in how people are told to respond to the gospel: (Underlining added for emphasis)
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 3:18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.
These passages from Acts have desired responses to the gospel which include repentance. Even though the last one is not a formal invitation to the gospel message, it does show a necessary connection between the forgiveness of sins in Christ and repentance. Acts 2:37, 39 and 5:31-32 also make a good case for the Holy Spirit being the one who "cuts to the heart"/convicts some in response to the gospel and gives/empowers the required repentance.
Other passages leave out the term repentance and simply suggest the need to believe:
Acts 16:27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Initially we see in this passage that the jailer was told he need only believe, but afterwards the apostles still took the time to teach the Word of God to him in more detail (v. 32). It may well be that he was told in that further instruction that repentance was necessary or maybe only "believing" was discussed. Either way, do verses like this go against the concept of repentance as a necessity for salvation?
Repentance is defined by Strong’s Concordance as - a change of mind, change in the inner man, and has generally been understood to be more than simply agreeing with certain facts. It is not just a change of mind, but a change of heart and must therefore affect desires and actions or it is not true repentance.
John the Baptist gives us a clear picture of how repentance was understood in first century Jewish culture:
Luke 3:7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Some would like to take modern ideas of belief and redefine repentance to nothing more than at one moment agreeing with the fact about Jesus, rather than defining belief, as the first century writers surely did, as only valid if repentance is present.
Jesus certainly taught that we need only believe:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
He also defined saving belief in many places:
John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Luke 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
It seems abundantly clear that all those who are truly saved must have a belief that results in the fruit of following/obeying Jesus according to His Word…could that be repentance? This makes perfect sense if salvation is God using His Word and the Holy Spirit to bring our change of mind/heart, such that we then freely believe the gospel.
Consider the implications of this -
I might be able to take folks who are somewhat indifferent to the gospel and create an atmosphere where they might respond in some way. I can appeal to their emotions by suggesting they may die on the way home or be separated from their loved ones who are already in heaven (I claim anyway) so they better respond now. I might also increase responses by making the gospel very simple to receive, so that it just makes sense to raise that hand, walk that aisle or pray that prayer in order to cover the bases and escape hell, in case it is true!
However, if I believe salvation is a work of God through the power of His Word and Spirit, my emphasis would be on teaching the Word of God as carefully and thoroughly as possible and calling folks to repent in response. Based on Jesus' definition of saving belief, I would want to tell them to read and obey the Word of God and tell them they will find assurance from God of their salvation there alone.
So, is the invitation necessary, OK/neutral or a possible detriment in the worship service? It all depends on what you mean by invitation. If, by an invitation, I mean asking someone to raise their hand, walk an aisle or even pray a prayer in order to be saved, I say don't do it! None of these things necessarily save and to give the idea they do can only add confusion and false hope.
If, as stated above in John 8:31-32, Jesus told those who "believed" that they are His true disciples only if they hold to His teaching, dare I tell anyone that if they just walked the aisle, raised their hand or prayed a prayer that they are surely saved? May it never be, and may God forgive me for ever suggesting to someone that they should see that outward act as the source for their assurance!
However, if by an invitation, I mean calling folks to repent and follow Jesus according to His Word, then I say we must do so. That is what the Scripture actually teaches...those who are truly saved…repent.
"Scripture taken from
the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used
by permission. All rights reserved."
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