temporary methods of evangelism, said, "Nowhere in Scripture is the concept for 'decisions' found. The
He Offers a Yoke of Rest
t may surprise you to learn that Scripture never once exhorts sinners to "accept Christ."1 The familiar twenty-first-century evangelistic appeal in all its variations ("make a decision for Christ"; "ask Jesus into your heart"; "try Jesus"; "accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior"), violates both the spirit and the terminology of the biblical summons to unbelievers.2
The gospel invitation is not an entreaty for sinners to allow the Savior into their lives. It is both an appeal and a command for them to repent and follow Him. It demands not just passive acceptance of Christ but active submission to Him as well. Those unwilling to surrender to Christ cannot recruit Him to be part of a crowded life. He will not respond to the beckoning of a heart that cherishes sin. He will not enter into partnership with one who loves to fulfill the passions of the flesh. He will not heed the plea of a rebel who simply wants Him to enter and by His presence sanctify a life of continued disobedience.
The great miracle of redemption is not that we accept Christ, but that He accepts us. In fact, we would never love Him on our own (1 John 4:19). Salvation occurs when God changes the heart and the unbeliever turns from sin to Christ. God delivers the sinner from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of light (Col. 1:13). In the process Christ enters the heart by faith to dwell there (cf. Eph. 3:17). Thus conversion is not simply a sinner's decision for Christ; it is first the sovereign work of God in transforming the individual.
The portrait of Jesus in the Gospels is altogether different from the picture contemporary evangelicals typically imagine. Rather than a would-be redeemer who merely stands outside anxiously awaiting an invitation to come
1. Receiving Christ in the biblical sense is more than simply "accepting" Him or responding positively to Him. John 1:11 – 12 contrasts those who "received" Him with those who rejected Him as Messiah. Th ose who received Christ were people who embraced Him and all His claims without reservation — they "believed on His name" (v. 12 KJV; cf. Col. 2:6).
2. Dr. Winn Arn, of the Institute for American Church Growth, commenting on the failure of contemporary methods of evangelism, said, "Nowhere in Scripture is the concept for 'decisions' found. Th e bottom line was a transformed life and an active Chris tian — a disciple . . . one who becomes a follower." Quoted in Eternity, September 1987, 34.