What is one thing the first-century churches didn't do, that we often think is necessary? I can think of several things, but, for now, let me ask: Where did our invitation system come from? Keep in mind, I'm not talking about the drawing power of the Holy Spirit. I'm talking about the mechanics of the "altar call." I believe that we too often rely upon our invitation system as an attempt to force God to move. I suspect that many people reading this are fearing that I'm venturing into the playground of heresy, now that I've questioned a beloved institution of modern Christianity, but hear me out. Did you know that the invitation system wasn't brought about until the 19th century? If this invitation system was of God, then for the previous 18 centuries orthodox Christians were clueless of a vital movement of God. The reason I think this subject is important is because I think we get ourselves into serious trouble when we trust man-made tradition that God might move in our midst.

This worries me because of a story found in 2 Samuel 6. King David was ready to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, but David didn't follow God's instruction on the handling of the Ark. He put it on a new cart to bring it into the city. David was placing too much trust in a man-made method to carry the sacred thing of God. God's plan was for men to carry the Ark on poles, by hand and on foot, but David was in a hurry. We read on and find that the oxen stumbled, the Ark shifted, and a man named Uzzah put out his hand to stabilize it. God struck him dead because it had been commanded that no man was to touch the Ark and live. I believe that we have put God on a cart because we're in too much of a hurry, and when God starts to move in our midst, we make the same fatal mistake Uzzah made. We give an "altar call" and mishandle the holy thing of God. We are a part of God's plan, in how He works in people's lives, but we have the tendency to go too far. When the Spirit of God moves, He doesn't need for us to stabilize the situation. Previous to this occasion, in 1 Samuel 5, the Ark had been stolen, and subsequently returned to Israel. Do you know how that happened? God used two cows to carry it back. Don't go thinking that people won't get saved if you don't help out. Do your part: preach the Word, and then leave the movement to God. Emotional manipulation, hand-raising, formula prayers, and assurance-giving have become our ways of trying to stabilize the Ark and hurry conversions.

Maybe you're wondering: "Heath, why are you 'anti-invitation'?" I'm not completely against the invitation system. Many sound converts have resulted from "altar calls," but many false conversions have also taken place. At the age of 8, I was mishandled at the "altar." I came not knowing what I was doing, and instead of being helped to understand, I was led in a prayer, which falsely convinced me I was saved. Five years passed before I realized that I had not repented and trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins. Had I died in that span of time, I'd have went straight to Hell. Sometimes men don't understand what they may be doing when they perform "altar calls" and lead others in formula prayers, and sometimes men are more concerned about adding souls to the tally of those they have "led to Christ" than trusting God to add souls to the Kingdom.

Many will defend the "altar call" by referencing the well-known story of Billy Sunday and the Chicago fire. Billy was having a revival, and he did something that was, for him, out of the ordinary. He decided not to give an "altar call." That night, after the large congregation dismissed, the famed Chicago fire swept the town—the large congregation, never to reassemble in full number, as it had the night before. Billy was remorseful, and he swore never to end a service again without an "altar call." I think Billy missed something. Despite the fire, those people still deserved Hell (as we all do)—people don't go to Hell because they've not be preach to enough, they go to Hell because they're sinners. Despite the fire, those people still had plenty of opportunity to repent. And despite the fire, those people were still in God's hands. In fact, that fire may very well have been God's invitation to hundreds of people who would have never been saved after walking an aisle. Instead of leaving the results up to God, Billy blamed himself for not giving an "altar call," even though he had faithfully preached the Word, and he made a promise that only indicated he was trusting man's invitation more than God's—man's way of the carrying the Ark, more than God's.

So I ask you: "Who is salvation of?" Of course, its of the LORD. When God is calling the lost to be saved, when God is convicting them of sin, and when God is moving in our midst, we dare not touch the holy thing of God. If God can use two cows to bring His holy Ark back, surely He can lead a sinner to repentance. We preach the Gospel as faithfully as we can, and we charge them with their personal responsibility to respond to God, and then we step back in faith that God will do the rest. An "altar call" is man's attempt to gauge God's movement, and when God begins to move, we stick out our hand to catch the glory, but we often find that the results are very bitter.

How did people respond to the Message of God through the preaching of Paul, Peter, Stephen, the prophets, and Christ? Did they lead in a "prayer of salvation," or did they charge their listeners with the personal responsibility to repent? An "altar call" is not necessarily a bad thing to do, I just believe that it's not something that needs to be done every service. It needs to be led of the Holy Spirit, not man, and we're fooling ourselves if we think that it is a necessary element of our church meetings. I say we need more preaching the repentance of sin and less pleading the repetition of prayers.

If you want more information on this issue, you will find a link to the article "The 'Altar' Call, Helpful or Harmful?" in the right-hand column of this page. I'm sure it will help shed further light on the history of the modern invitational system. I hope this post has stretched your thinking and given you new clarity in how you view your role in God's redemptive plan.

May God bless you in this new year, and may you grow in wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as you endeavor to serve Him.

I want to thank Dave Gregg who helped me put this together. He's a great writer, and I appreciate him. I only wrote down the thought. He did the rest. So I cannot take full credit for this post.

Iron sharpening iron,
Heath Loftis & Dave Gregg

Labels: evangelism, First-Century Thinking

Again I apologize for not being regular with the posts. My laptop was stolen, and I was privileged to preach for the last 3 weeks. No excuse, right? Anyways, here something for you guys to munch on. I was working on Project 1 Generation the other day, and I thought I would give some of you a taste of what that looks like. This is a rough draft by the way. So here is a day on your testimony.

Webster's dictionary defines a testimony to be a declaration of truth or fact, as that given before a court. A testimony bears the record of a before and after. It will always bear an element of change. So when you repented (to have a change of mind) of your sins and put your trust in Christ, there was a change (if there wasn't read 1 John and evaluate yourself). Christ began a change in you. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

Your testimony is of great importance because you bear the testimony of what Christ has done, is doing, and will do in you. Your testimony is and will be that of God making and fashioning your life so that it can bring Him more honor and glory. Your testimony is comparable to that of a piece of pottery (Jeremiah 18:6). It is a work of majestic art. When you called out to God, He took you from that miry clay. You were without shape and form, and God took you and began to fashion you into a wonderful piece of art.

If you are still breathing, God isn't finished working on you. In fact, if you have ever dealt with pottery, you know that if the vessel you have formed has any impurities or lumps in it, and you put in the oven it will explode. God knows of the fiery temptations that lay ahead of us, so He does what every potter does when they feel an impurity in the vessel, He removes it so that the vessel will be able to withstand the fiery tests that lay ahead of it. So, if there are any impurities, God will remove it to save the vessel.

If a piece of pottery does end up breaking under the heat, it is not a lost cause. The shattered pot is crushed into powder to be reused. So when you stumble, you must come before your creator broken, and just like that powder, He will add water and start over again until He is able to present you as the beautiful work of art that will bring Him much honor and glory.

Every piece of art bears the fingerprint of the one who made it. Everyone may stare in awe over the piece of art, but who is it that receives the glory from that art? Certainly not the artwork, but it is the one who worked the art that receives the glory. The artwork reflects the majesty and ability of the one who created it.

A testimony of what Christ has done in a person's life is one of the most beautiful things that you will ever see or hear. It it the idea of God working and shaping our lives so that we are positioned to give him honor and glory. Every piece of art is a reflection of its creator, so we too are to be reflections of Christ. This is why your testimony is so important. When you were saved, your life became a reflection of the One you gave it to. You are an image bearer. You have become a banner to the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. When a banner flies, we know that whoever bears that banner is owned by that name or cause, and when people look at our lives, they should be able to tell of whom we belong.

Thought for the day: How can a God who is Holy be represented by people who are not?

Labels: evangelism, testimony

I apologize for those who were anticipating a post last week. I was away and was unable to post anything, but while I was away I chewed on a concept. I know it may seem seasonal that I talk to you about thanksgiving or being thankful, but I stumbled on a truth that I simply must share with you.

I was sitting in my house thinking of all the passages that had to do with being thankful, and God called to my mind a passage of scripture, and (not saying this out of pride) I’m willing to bet not one preacher in the whole of the United States used this text when it comes to being thankful. The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14) was where God took me.

What is Grace? The seminary answer would be “undeserved favor with God.” I want you to notice how each man in this text approached the Grace (undeserved favor with God).

Luke 18:11-12 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

Let me ask you something, and this is the question I have been gnawing on: Would you thank someone for something that you deserved? Of course not!! You deserved it. You take pride in the fact that you deserve it. The only person you have to thank is yourself.

Here is a man who approached the undeserved favor of God as though he deserved it. So was he truly thankful? No, he felt that he deserved it. It was like he was sending in a resume of why God should consider him eligible for His Grace. I think many “Christians” approach God in this manner. They think that God should give them His favor because they deserve it. This is the result of pride. What does pride do? It takes God off His throne and places you there, and instead of you bowing before the throne of God saying HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, you are in essence saying, “God you are to bow to me.” Gee that reminds me of someone. Wasn’t that what Satan was saying when he was tempting Jesus (Matthew 4:9)? By the way this would be the definition of Humanism (which I will cover in a later blog). It becomes the antonym of grace, which is arrogance.

Now let’s look at the publican.

Luke 18:13 “Ane the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

This is where true thanksgiving comes in. The publican realized that he didn’t deserve the mercy of God. So how did he approach? He approached broken; He approached contrite; He approached humbled. Pride doesn’t bring thankfulness. It brings arrogance. It is only with a spirit of humility does true thanksgiving comes forth. The publican approached, knowing that he wasn’t worthy of grace, but because he approached knowing he was unworthy, which makes him eligible for grace. Why? Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”


I know Thanksgiving is over, but that doesn’t mean you stop giving thanks. I want to challenge you to sit down and realize how unworthy you are for all that God has given you, and from that spirit of brokenness, give God thanks for all that He has given you.

God bless you, and I’ll talk to you all again (God willing) next week, so until then keep your nose clean and don’t blow it.

May the Lamb Receive the Reward of His Suffering,
Heath Loftis

Labels: gratitude, humility and pride

For those who don't know me that well, I get a little giddy when I stumble on a truth in the scriptures, but in order for you to understand this truth, I need to explain some things. I was doing a study on the prayer shawl or "tallit", and what roll it played in the scriptures. In the book of Numbers chapter 15 verses 38 - 41, we read of the tallit. Here God commands the children of Israel to put fringes (tsiytsith), or tassels in the borders (kanaph) of their garments. Why? It was to be for them a reminder of all the commandments of God and to do them.

Now I turn your attention to 1 Samuel 24:3-22. Saul was seeking after David to kill him. Saul goes into a cave (where David is hiding) to "cover his feet". At this time David is presented with an opportunity to kill the man that is hunting him, and then, he would in turn be king. David couldn't bring himself to kill Saul, and so David cuts the border (kanaph) of this garment. Saul leaves the cave and David follows behind smitten in his heart of what he has done to the Lord's anointed. Now get this, David was saying a lot more than Saul I could have had you when he held up Saul’s kanaph. He was saying Saul you have forgotten God, you have forgotten His commandments, and you have failed to do His commandments.

You know I could apply this to many different things. I could say this about our political system or our nation, and everyone would say amen. But I believe that goes without saying. I could even get it down on a more personal level and ask you where in your life is there a void of God, what are the areas of your life where you are telling God, "Forget you God, I don't need your standards, your holiness in this area of my life." But I'll save that for another day. What I want to relate this to is a gospel presentation that is void of the commandments of God. Can I be like David today and hold the rent kanaph of today's Gospel and say, "we have forgotten the commandments of God" I believe I can say this without contradiction we have forgotten the commandments of God when it comes to our witnessing and the presenting of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The Law in evangelism is vital to the gospel presentation because if I don't first realize I'm a sinner who has the wrath of God abiding on me, then I will never flee from my sins and cling to the Savior. That is what is meant in 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." Why is it foolishness? It doesn't make sense. If I walked up to you and said, Jesus loves you so much that He died for your sins on a cross was buried and rose from the grave. If you weren't saved, you would say that is foolishness. Why? You didn't see a need for Jesus to die for you. As far as you are concerned everything is still A okay, and on top of that it becomes offensive. Why? Because I'm telling you that you are a sinner when you feel you have done nothing wrong that was worthy of death. That is why Paul said in Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet." So unless you point to a person the laws that they have broken and the penalty of such rebellion against God, the cross is robbed of its meaning and becomes powerless in the ears of those that hear the Gospel (good news) without hearing how they have broken the laws of God (bad news).

A Gospel that doesn’t contain why a person is deserving of the wrath of God is powerless. It is a rent kanaph. It is like unplugging something from its power source. Many of you are probably thinking why use the Ten Commandments when witnessing, doesn’t the Bible tell us that we are not under the law, but under grace. Amen, you are so right. We which are saved are not under the law but under grace, but those who are not saved are still under the law. Romans 3:19 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” If you were a police officer and you arrested someone without telling him or her what he or she is charged with, you would be a corrupt officer. God is not going to send anyone to Hell without first telling them what they did wrong. I believe He will point to the law that was written on their heart (Romans 2:15), and show why they are so deserving of His holy wrath. We must warn everyone we know of the wrath that is to come, and how they can escape that wrath.

Next week I will explain who or what did Jesus save us from. This is some very controversial stuff so I'll see you next week.

Oh and please forgive me for my grammatical errors. I didn’t have time to really proof read.

Till His Nets are Full,
Heath Loftis

Labels: Commandments, evangelism, Law

Hello my name is Heath Loftis, and I am 22 years old. I am married to my beautiful bride Ashley. I am currently on staff at Rowland Road Baptist Church where I serve as the Evangelism Pastor, College Pastor, and one of the writers of Project 1 Generation. Once a week I will be posting material that I hope will convict, convince, and change your life. My goal is to give you treasures in the Word of God that you may have never found before, and show you how you can apply it to your life. We will mostly be covering why you should you use the Law in evangelism, but this blog is not exclusive to that. So until next week, keep your nose clean and don't blow it!

Some of you will get that here in a minute...

Till His Nets are Full,
Heath Loftis