13 Evangelistic Phrases That Produce False Conversions By Todd Friel Source-Symphony of Scripture

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?

The Fourfold Attack of Sin

To find empirical evidence of sin we need go no further than our own heart. For sin is defined as "transgression of the law" and there is no law apart from God. For those who have ears to hear, the evidence of sin from within us is fourfold: pleasure, legacy, ownership and envy.

The basest part of our carnal existence is pleasure. O man do you not seek to please yourself? Yet we were created to please the Most High, thus our self pursuit of pleasure is the first evidence of spiritual conflict. As Cain, the first born of man, found conflict with God as he sought to please himself, so wilt thou be in conflict with God when you ignore him and seek to please yourself.

Secondly, we are called to seek the Kingdom of God…that is we are to be personally involved in building the Church of Jesus Christ. But fleshly man disregards the kingdom of the spiritual and seeks an earthly kingdom, which by its very nature is doomed to destruction. In vain many who bear the name of Christ seek to build cathedrals, castles, titles and even their own progeny and posterity. These things should not be brethren, for your calling is to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, not in self-pursuit of empty riches, fame and fortune.

The third manifestation of sin in our lives involves ownership. The child of God is not his own, for he has been bought with a price, which is the blood of Jesus Christ. Why wilt thou O man declare self-ownership? Dost thou think that you created and redeemed yourself? Wilt thou make markings upon your flesh as the heathen do? Wilt thou seek out a harlot because you conclude that you can use your body as you please? Repent O sinner, for the deceiver seeks your soul! No man owns himself, for what do you have that you have not received?

Fourthly, sin is clearly manifest in our pursuit, yet lack of contentment. Be not deceived, we are an envious people! Dost thou complain? Dost thou criticize? If so then recognize the root of envy in your fleshly soul. Circumstances do not produce joy, for joy is a product of the endurance of trials in our lives. Contentment only exists in Christ! If thou be a son of man, then you were made in the image of God. Deny this not, for there is no contentment outside of God and no communion with the Father without the Son.

Recognize your short comings and flee from the wrath to come O sinner, for thy time is short! Are you not spiritually poor and needy? Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.