Prayer of Salvation: Expressway to Hell?

I am not aiming for a pure shock value title that will irritate/anger people's belief systems, if it does have such an effect maybe you might want to re-evaluate what it means to be a Christian. As it stands I think this is half a rant and half serious thoughts, let me know.

I have never been a fan of tracts, be it a quick tract with the Romans Road, or a simple way to argue against relativism, or even the simple layout that as sinners we are forever separated from God and the path to Salvation are steps A-D. You name it I am sure we've all seen at least one of each. I don't contest the content of the information, usually; it is the matter in which it is presented most of the time. It might be an effective method to spread Christian literature (if you'll give it that much credit) to mass numbers of people for pure exposure purposes. It might even be the first time people have ever heard of Jesus, but is this the way we ought to be striving to add to the family? There are many things that "better than nothing" are a sufficient answer to justify corny methods but are sharing the most important message one of those things we want to group into that category?

There are two main reasons I oppose such distribution/methods of advertising for God. First, I think it cheapens the message. Sure the Romans Road is handy to remember the scripture passages to show someone the very basics: where we are, what our condition is, and what we ought to do about it. Is that seriously the way we want to invite people into a relationship with Christ? Whenever presented with an opportunity that one is seriously considering what the Christian faith is and if they want to join I am weary about people that will say a prayer at a moment of emotional high. I question how many people have actually attempted to understand what the Romans Road actually states. I have heard too many times "say this prayer and you're in" or something to that effect. Along the same lines, I have known too many people that said that prayer but I see them from time to time and see no sign of Christ living in them. I think many evangelists need to reexamine how we handle the Gospel. Does a 10 page tract come close to describing our true situation and what Christianity is? At the same time we do need to start somewhere…

The military ministry is filled with such quick ways to God. I can look at the normal bulletins at this moment and see no less than 3 versions of how to get to God. Is this in case someone has a quick visit and the only thing they retained was the chapel bulletin? Are there not enough knowledgeable or prepared Christians that we want to refer people to a tract than talk to them like they matter? Why is the Christian religion so proliferated with such a cheap method to advertise our tenets? I recall the way the Jews were instructed to approach God, when the curtain was still up. I agree it is a wonderful thing that we can approach God directly, however are we walking into the Holy of Holies with a cup of coffee in hand and cell phone in an ear? Perhaps not physically but do we do it with that mentality?

I have seen people on street corners pass out New Testaments, flyers to a bible study, Christian tracts and everything in between. At first thought I see the people I get a similar sense as seeing a door to door salesman. I try to avoid eye contact, if convenient avoid contact altogether, if I absolutely must I will take what is being passed out and look through it. Examining the nearby garbage receptacles and one can gather how much of an impact the material is making. Then it usually hits me, we are on the same side... aren't we? When I agree with the reason that person is there giving their time and effort why don't I support them? I think the most logical answer to that question, do I really agree with what they are doing? Do we?

My second reason against such form of evangelism and more rooted to the title of this I think it is misleading. Find someone that has not heard a sermon about making Jesus their Savior and I will wonder if they have ever been to a church. Find a church that preaches “make Jesus your savior” and show me where it is in the Bible. Somewhere in the cheapening of the Gospel to make it more marketable I find the vast majority of my experiences teach a God that is not consistent with scripture. One of the forms that such weak teaching has manifested I consider the popular belief system termed "Moralist Theistic Deism". If we did an unofficial survey of our friends how many do you think would answer one of the following:

(A) I am a Christian because I go to church - Were the Pharisees Christians then?

(B) I am a Christian because I believe in God - Demons do that too (James 2:18-25)

(C) I am a Christian because I am an American - I am a Christian first (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

I don't know if such common beliefs represent that people aren't listening to the message of the Church or if the Church is presenting the message so poorly that these ideas still prevail.

When the Gospel, the core of the Christian Faith, can be clipped down to a couple paragraphs and is often preached in that form is it a wonder that many people are confused about the theology, philosophy or mere moralistic implications that are consistent with Christ. I have never read in scripture that Jesus offers himself to be a Savior, I have seen that there are 37 instances in the Gospels that Jesus said "follow me"*. While "follow me" sounds perfectly logical for the role which Jesus offers himself to us, Lord; as comparable to the Lords and serfs of the feudal era, the Jesus I hear about from most people sounds more like a cosmic teddy bear than God.

As long as ministries focus on the Prayer of Salvation, I think we will only continue to produce confused people. Consider this, a person has not attended church nor come in contact with an active Christian. They come across a Gideon's bible in a hotel and start reading. At a certain point in their journey they come across the Prayer of Salvation, and pray it. They might leave the hotel with a new sense of freshness, a new lease on life. To say that the Holy Spirit entered them at that moment of prayer I do not know. What I do realistically believe is that they at most will be confused if they are indeed a Christian. I tend to personally wonder how much legalism is contained in Romans 10:5-13. According to Romans 6, at that moment they have the opportunity to be free from sin, knowing how to actually do so takes far more than reading several verses and saying a prayer.

While I know many of the tracts also contain a contact number, church address that people can get follow up upon their epiphany or further guidance but isn't that backwards from what Jesus said? Luke 24:44-50 describes that Jesus said "go" not "leave a contact so they can come". Where does this leave me then? Do I advocate getting rid of all pamphlets, tracts and other easily to distribute Christian literature? Not quiet, I think tracts can be useful for certain purposes, such as showing the logical failure of relativism, which could be done in a couple pages, or at least get it started enough that conversation would be initiated. I think that is the goal that we ought to attempt towards should be to engage people by whatever consistently Christian means possible.

It does concern me that Christ's message is delivered accurately, the main idea that has been encouraging me to write this is to ensure people know what they are getting themselves into when they want to become a Christian. A person thinking they are right with God is just has hazardous as a person that denies God. When the Christian life is attempted to be explained incompletely people don't know what they are signing on to and or don't live the life that speaks of Jesus. I know of the deceit that is used to enlist soldiers, if it was comparable to that of some salvation plans I have seen it would be like this

Consider Luke 14:25-25 that doesn't sound as simple as many try to advertise Christ to be. Ever see a tract with that passage in it?

*Note that Luke 1:3 is not Jesus speaking

Epilogue: As I reviewed this I found throughout the piece I discounted the ability of the Holy Spirit to lead someone to an authentic faith. I have heard numerous testimonies by missionaries confirming such miracles. At the same time, these reports have been reports of the miraculous, not the norm. It was necessary that I recognized the importance of the Holy Spirit throughout the process of faith and salvation. I would hope this process would be through an ongoing relationship with a Christian, not in the manner that I would describe as a Gospel Drive-By.