{"id":1732,"date":"2010-09-09T22:32:04","date_gmt":"2010-09-10T06:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/2010\/09\/09\/decisions-decisions\/"},"modified":"2010-09-09T22:32:04","modified_gmt":"2010-09-10T06:32:04","slug":"decisions-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/2010\/09\/09\/decisions-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"decisions, decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

What if you don\u2019t recall the hour of your \u201cdecision for Christ\u201d? Or, as this old article<\/a> at Christianity Today asks, \u201cHow can I know I’m a Christian if I can’t remember when I first responded to the gospel?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question reveals, I think a faulty view of salvation and assurance of salvation. In light of our recent discussion of revivalism here, I thought the article asked an interesting question.<\/p>\n

The whole idea of a \u201cdecision for Christ\u201d is largely a revivalistic phenomenon. As the article says:<\/p>\n

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Much of American Protestantism has been influenced by revivalism, which places great emphasis on "making a decision for Christ" in a public, definitive way. These "moments of decision" often become the crucial evidence that one is saved. Other Protestant traditions, less influenced by revivalism (including some Reformed and Lutheran churches), may be content to leave the conversion experience unclearly identified, putting the focus on identification with the church. Both of these traditions have benefits, as well as potential problems.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In a recent comment<\/a>, our e-friend Tracy makes a good point, I believe:<\/p>\n

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If I\u2019m preaching to lost folks, I preach Christ crucified and call for them to close with Christ immediately and publicly. Before I close, I tell them if they have any questions, either they can come to the front at the invitation time or they can see me after the service. I always stress that Christ desires their immediate salvation. So I declare the gospel, spell out its terms, and call them to close with it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I agree with that. We need to call folks to decisions.<\/p>\n

But what about some who can\u2019t remember the specifics of their decision? (Perhaps it was a long time ago, perhaps it was when they were very young, perhaps they remember bits, or perhaps they remember nothing at all.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sometimes we have the phenomenon of people (often young children) doubting their salvation \u2018decision\u2019. Did I really trust Christ then? Am I really saved? This can lead to multiple decisions \u2013 where someone suggests that there is nothing wrong with making sure of one\u2019s salvation right now, so a new prayer is prayed and a new hope of assurance is formed based on a new decision. Or it can lead to someone assuring the concerned based on a past decision: Don\u2019t you remember that prayer you prayed? Did you mean it then? Did God hear your prayer?<\/p>\n

Both of these approaches, though well meaning, may lead to other problems. Some believers become very confused over multiple decisions and fail to progress because of a very unsettled mental state about their salvation. Others rely on their prayer as if it is almost a magic formula. As long as they \u2018said the right words to God\u2019, they are good to go.<\/p>\n

The CT article concludes this way:<\/p>\n

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For those who question their salvation, the best evidence is not the memory of having raised a hand or prayed a prayer. Nor is it having been baptized or christened. The true test of the authentic work of God in one’s life is growth in Christ-like character, increased love for God and other people, and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25; James 2:18). A memorable conversion experience may serve as an important referent to God’s saving work in one’s life. But the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in making a person more like Jesus is the clearest indicator that one has been made a new creation in Christ.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is reasonably good advice, but I think more should be said. One searching question to ask is this: What are you relying on in order to have salvation? To put it another way, \u201cIf you were to stand before God right now and he were to ask you, \u2018why should I let you into my heaven\u2019, what would you say?\u201d (To coin a phrase!!)<\/p>\n

Why is this question relevant?<\/p>\n

It is relevant because if one\u2019s assurance is based on his works \u2013 his character, his visible love for God, his love for the brethren \u2013 is he relying on Christ or on his own works?<\/p>\n

Or if one\u2019s assurance is based on the prayer he prayed (the decision, or the memory of a decision), is he relying on the fact of having said the right words to God (a work) or is he relying on Christ?<\/p>\n

For myself, I remember praying for salvation from sin on a certain occasion. My father told me that it came after weeks of spiritual turmoil and an inability on my part to understand that I was a sinner and needed to be saved, just like anybody else. (I wasn\u2019t old enough to be that<\/em> bad, or so I must have thought.) But at some point, I came to understand that I, even I, was a sinner and had no right to stand before God. I understood that I needed the work of Christ alone to save me from my sin, so I prayed to receive it.<\/p>\n

Following that decision, I at times doubted my salvation. This usually came at points where I found myself under conviction for the presence of ongoing sin or under the periodic depressions associated with growing up.<\/p>\n

Personally, I found assurance of salvation in two sources. First<\/strong>, in the promises of God in the Bible. The Bible says, \u201cFor whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.\u201d Did I call? Yes. Then God\u2019s promise is salvation. I depend on God\u2019s word, not my own experience. Second<\/strong>, in answer to the question posed above, I would say I am trusting in the finished work of Christ alone, nothing else for my salvation. My answer to God\u2019s hypothetical entrance examination is, \u201cJesus died for me.\u201d I have no assurance based on my own experience. I have seen too many failures in my life and others to have much confidence in that route.<\/p>\n

To answer the question of the CT article, \u201cHow can I know I’m a Christian if I can’t remember when I first responded to the gospel?\u201d my answer is: Jesus Christ and the promises of God. Are you trusting in Jesus Christ alone to save you from sins? Then rest assured. The promises of God say you have eternal life.<\/p>\n

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What if you don\u2019t recall the hour of your \u201cdecision for Christ\u201d? Or, as this old article at Christianity Today asks, \u201cHow can I know I’m a Christian if I can’t remember when I first responded to the gospel?\u201d The question reveals, I think a faulty view of salvation and assurance of salvation. In light […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[92,108,52,41,70,69],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2fYWj-rW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}