as pastors we can say to the responded sinners: repeat after me.... and after the prayer we say, you are saved because you've confessed Jesus as your lord with your mouth (Rom10). but the nxt day that person is back drinking beer again. we have to ask ourselves these questions because ignorance is a awful thing. we can be filling our churches with shallow conversions and in the end they can even become opponents of the work because the natural man doesn't understand the spiritual things. I think even some of the church leaders are not yet born again. im not saying the sinners prayer is wrong but I think we need to apply it at the right moment. 2cor7:10. if there is no faith in the heart yet you can confess all you want but there will not be any change. whats your opinion?
In having worked in a Prison Ministry and having spent 14 years, seeking to minister to and for the sake of the Lost, I have seen somewhere north of 600 Confessions of Faith and I, honestly believe one or two of them were real. I learned, early on, that we must never worry about the numbers, that is our LORD's province and we need to leave it in His hands.
I have grave concerns about the state of the Church today and based on a survey taken in the mid-eighties by the Barna Group, I understand why my soul is so troubled about our Churches. They surveyed all denominations and the survey was double blind that the answers might be as honest as one might get. The questions I was told were all basic and along the line of, "Do you believe in the Virgin Birth, Do you believe Jesus died for your sins to be covered, Do you believe Jesus is returning to take you to heaven?"
The survey was taken by, only, the faithful, as defined by their attendance at meetings no less than three times a week. My experience, since January 1990, my conversion, is that these are, largely the churches workers and according to what I read, composed from 10 to 15 percent of the membership. Of small group less than 10% believed the basic tenants of the faith, according to the answers on the papers. Because I know folks, I will suggest that even though the survey was never to be seen by the Pastors and there were no names or ID markings on the paperwork, some of them lied. If I translate this out into the membership I have been convinced that, perhaps, less than two percent of the Church Membership are saved.
I once heard a teacher say that if the rapture were to occur on Saturday Night, at Midnight, Sunday Morning there would not be enough difference for most people to notice with only one or two teachers missing. that, of course, must include the Pastoral Staff.
But the thing is, they
are in the right place.
