Soli Deo Gloria » False Conversion

Disciples, not Decisions

Jay Wingard — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:36:05 +0000

“The practice of leading someone in a sinner’s prayer for their salvation has produced many tares or false converts in churches over the last 100 years (Matt. 13:25-40). This “evangelical tradition” cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. Those who desire to evangelize God’s way will follow the instructions given by the Lord of the Harvest. He commissioned us to go and make disciples, not decisions (Matt. 28:18).” - Mike Gendron

Absolutely Stunning

Jay Wingard — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:56:26 +0000

The Sinner’s Prayer

Jay Wingard — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:21:20 +0000

As a false convert for over 20 years of my life I know the dangers first hand of the “sinner’s prayer” and the hellish teachings of “carnal Christianity” and the unBiblical phrases like “ask Jesus into your heart”. I too was told by many that since I repeated a prayer and was “in the club” that no matter how I lived my life I was still heaven bound. Salvation is not only from the penalty of sin but from the power of sin! Salvation is the product of being born again – being a new creation with a new heart and new desires and a God-given hatred for sin.

Friends of this blog, if you don’t watch a single video I have posted I urge you to watch this video. This man’s testimony is spot on. This will cause many to shudder and my prayer is that if you have trusted in a prayer, walking an isle and profess to be a Christian yet live a life of sin and love the world you need to examine yourself and cast yourself on the Savior Jesus Christ. If you are a pastor, teacher of evangelist who has watered down the gospel and holds to the hellish teaching of carnal Christianity I urge you to examine the Scriptures and repent.

Saved from the Sinner’s Prayer from I’ll Be Honest on Vimeo.

Religious Affections

Jay Wingard — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:29:28 +0000

“One reason why people with holy affections are given to holy practice is because what they seek is God Himself, solely for the excellency of who He is, and not whatever good uses or ends the knowledge of God might bring them. If a person seeks God only for the benefits He brings us, once those benefits disappear or fail to materialize, one’s hunger for God likewise diminishes. This is why gracious affections will enable men to persevere in the pursuit of godliness even when it is painful to do so. If the pursuit of godliness comes at great cost to a person’s comfort and private interests, the unregenerate will abandon the former for the sake of the latter. But he who loves God for God’s own sake will be so impelled by the beauty and excellency of His divine nature that no degree of trial or loss will impede him.”

- Signs of the Spirit, An Interpretation of Edward’s Religious Affections by Sam Storms

War on the Sinner’s Prayer

Jay Wingard — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:58:33 +0000

He Saved Me

Jay Wingard — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 01:48:05 +0000

Are you trusting in yourself, in going to church, in good deeds or in giving to charity as a means to merit salvation before God? If you are, did you know that Scripture says that these deeds are like filthy rags to God? (Isa. 64:6) God requires absolute perfection to enter heaven and only His righteousness will do. Do you have His righteousness? Please take a moment to listen to this outstanding video testimony of a young woman who was lost in the Roman Catholic teachings and then was saved by God through the full Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Soli Deo Gloria!

He Saved Me from I’ll Be Honest.

Put No Confidence in the Flesh

Jay Wingard — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:39:53 +0000

Romans 9:26
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ’sons of the living God.’”

Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

A Warning to Professing Believers

Jay Wingard — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:44:55 +0000

In an age where the evangelical church today focuses more on humanism than the true Gospel, Paul Washer’s brief message below is a stark warning to all professing believers. May we truly come to an understanding of just what “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” truly means. (Rom. 3:23)

awarning.mp3

To learn more about Paul Washer and his ministry, visit Heartcry Missionary Society

We Know Not the Gospel

Jay Wingard — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:59:00 +0000

Please watch… this is so true, and so heartbreaking knowing that this is the problem of American Christianity today….

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_xadsMVwbg

13 Evangelistic Phrases That Produce False Conversions

Jay Wingard — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 04:05:34 +0000

Churches divide over carpet color, building additions and budgets. In the meantime, our fellow church members are going to hell by the boat load.

A.W. Tozer said, “It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions, have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.”

D. James Kennedy said, “The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians. I say that without the slightest contradiction. I base it on empirical evidence of twenty-four years of examining thousands of people.”

Friend, we argue over so many petty things. May I suggest we have lost sight of the most important debate of all, “What is salvation?” My theology teaches that salvation happens when a man repents and places his trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

I would like to present thirteen ways that we have re-defined how a person becomes a true convert. Have we done this intentionally? Certainly not. We have simply created lingo that has a grain of truth in Scripture, but it is so open to interpretation that the un-converted understand it in ways that lead to false conversions.

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.

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.

3. “Just believe in Jesus.” The demons believe and they tremble. We must repent and trust.

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.

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.

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.

7. “It is easy to believe.” While the formula of repentance and faith sounds simple, a complete surrendering of self in repentance is anything but easy. It’s hard.

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.

9. “Come to Jesus just as you are.” We should come to Jesus just as the sinners we are, but He also expects a broken heart and contrite spirit demonstrated in repentance and faith.

10. “Come to Jesus and you will receive forgiveness of sins and ________________ (fill in the blank with money, health, a healed marriage).” Jesus didn’t promise healed marriages; in fact He promised broken homes because we would divide when one member repents and trusts.

11. “Come to Jesus and experience love, joy, peace.” Do we get the fruit of the Spirit upon conversion? Yes. But if we come seeking the gifts and not the giver, we will receive neither. Instead, we must repent and trust.

12. “Jesus is the missing piece.” Um, no, the God of the universe is not the missing piece, He demands that He is the center of our lives when we repent and trust.

13. “Jesus is better than fame and fortune.” That is an understatement, and frankly, it is insulting. Saying Jesus is better than money is like saying that a steak dinner is better than eating a dung hill. He defies comparison and we trivialize the Son of God. Instead, we should be pleading with all men everywhere to repent and trust.

If I showed up at your door with a can of grapefruit juice and a roll of paper towels and offered to change your oil, you would say, “No thanks.” If we wouldn’t let someone mess with our car using the wrong method, why do we allow the Gospel to be presented so ambiguously?

Would you let a doctor operate on your child who was “sort of” accurate? The salvation of men is far more important than an appendix.

I beg you to consider how you share the Gospel. You and I know what we are talking about when we use these phrases, but do the unregenerate? Is it possible that we have so many backsliders today because they never slid forward in the first place? Is it because they were never told that they must repent and trust?

If we are willing to debate shag verse plush in the fellowship hall, shouldn’t we be more concerned about an issue that has eternal consequences?

Author: Todd Friel