This article is prompted because of my concern over the many potentially powerful sermons that are preached in our churches wherein no true appeal is made for conversions. In too many congregations the revival sermon followed by an altar call is quite unknown. I believe that this type of appeal has been neglected, and relegated to a very obscure place. We are told that "in every discourse fervent appeals should be made to the people to forsake their sins and turn to Christ." (Evangelism, p. 280; Gospel Workers, p. 159.) This does not mean that an altar call must be made with every appeal, but surely there is a very definite place for this type of appeal.
Since our supreme purpose, in fact our only reason, for existence as a people is to call men and women out of the serfdom of sin, out of Babylon, and into the remnant church, we are, in a special sense the "called of God." Jude in his epistle addressed those who are "called." Paul tells us that it is a "holy calling" (2 Tim. 1 :9.), and makes it very clear that we "are called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28.)
As God's fishermen we must not only cast our nets but also draw them in. Too often the net is cast and never pulled in, with the result that souls who might have been added to the church are never gathered in. Is it not probable that other thousands might be added to our churches if we did not fail in our invitations ? Should we not ask ourselves, Have I failed to give the trumpet a certain sound? Have I been in dead earnest ? Have I failed to present the message as a matter of life or death—a question of eternity? Are we impressing our hearers that their eternity depends upon their decision, or do we seem to be oblivious of these facts?
We the preachers must be stirred before we may expect to stir others. The messenger of the Lord sent us this message:
'The minister should be deeply in earnest himself, feeling from the heart the words he utters, and unable to repress feelings of concern for the souls of men and women for whom Christ died. Of the Master it is said, 'The zeal of Thine house bath eaten me up.' The same earnestness should be felt by His representatives."—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 396.
"If ministers will in meekness sit at the feet of Jesus, they will soon obtain right views of God's character, and will be able to teach others also."-Ibid.
"In this age of moral darkness it will take something more than dry theory to save souls. Ministers must have a living connection with God. They must preach as though they mean what they say. Living truths falling from the lips of the man of God will cause sinners to tremble, and the converted will cry out, "Jehovah is the God; I am resolved to be wholly on the Lord's side."—Ibid., p. 447.
God's last warning message for the world is not a cold, formal, passionless message. It is warm and stirring. It is a revival and reformatory message pulsating with life. Only with such a message can we look forward to the great revival and reformation that is promised. We can then expect calls that will have pentecostal results.
Let us not fear to make an altar call, feeling that such is the work of the revivalist, the popular evangelist, or gifted speaker. It is not so. It may be carried on in a very quiet way. Success need not be the result of emotion and oratory or of psychDlogical mass persuasion. Surely the gift of appeal and persuasion should be a part of every minister's equipment. So, let us "stir up the gift of God" which is in us. (2 Tim. 1:6.) "In every congregation there are souls upon which the Spirit of the Lord is moving."—Gospel Workers, p. 154. With that assurance it should not be hard for us to make calls for surrender. There are in every audience those who are longing for the warmth of a good revival meeting. They are longing for a refreshing, and if a truly searching, appealing sermon were preached and a call made, they would respond with tears of penitence and joy.
The majority of people in all our churches are essentially the same. They have similar emotions and heart longings. They want to be saved. They long for a deeper experience in the things of God, and often this need is supplied by the altar call and the afterservice. There are many honest souls in our churches who long to see and feel more of the workings of the Holy Spirit. These good people feel a coldness and dryness in our ministers, and at times are lost to the highly emotional religions when they hear rousing revival sermons. Their soul hunger is partially satisfied by this type of service, as they reach out after God. Here they find that warmth and life for which they have longed and hungered.
Appealing sermons are sometimes preached in our churches, during which hearts are made soft and tender. Souls stand- at the door, as it were, and long to respond, but they are not invited in, for no one opens the door. Thus they go home unsatisfied. It is possible that they may never again have the same desire. The simple invitation for church membership sometimes given at the close of a sermon is not sufficient to bring most people to a decision. A stronger appeal needs to be made.
I once had an experience that was regrettable, and doubtless others have had similar experiences. It was my first or second Sabbath service in a city church. The sermon was of the altar-call type, but only a short appeal was made at the close. It was my plan to have a call in about a month. A young woman told her mother that if F had made an altar call that day she would have responded. Call after call was made later, and I visited her personally in her home, but years have passed, and this young lady is still outside the fold. Those failures haunt us. How much we need to be in such close touch with the Infinite that we may know when to make our calls.
Preparation for the Altar Call
In the preparation and delivery of our sermons our hearts must be touched with the pathos of the cross, if we would touch others. We must be impressed with the seriousness and gravity of our message if we are to impress others. We fast and pray and search our hearts when we are called upon to pray for the sick. Then why should we not make very careful preparation when we are planning to stand before a congregation where there are many who face eternal death, and their eternity depends upon our sermon and appeal?
There are times when we may be impressed to make a call, though we had not planned it. And we may have success, too, but that should not be the rule. There should be previous careful, prayerful thought given to every feature of our program for that day. The sermon subject and the special music should be the type that will make hearts soft, warm, and tender, not that which will prepare them for cold storage. As to music, there is no place for the lilting or syncopated airs; neither must it be that which appeals only to the highly developed musical sense, but songs that are filled with love and forgiveness and the spirit of the message. We must appeal to souls that are hungering and thirsting for salvation, and draw them to Christ. Our announcements should be brief. Time is precious. Our sermon must begin and end on time. It should be concluded at least ten minutes before the close of the hour. Very able and eloquent men, have preached powerful sermons and then failed in their altar calls because they preached past the hour before beginning their appeal.
In choosing our sermon material and topic we realize that some subjects lend themselves to this kind of service more than others. We are told that "every discourse should be given under the sense of the awful judgments soon to fall on the world."—Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 37. Many of the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation may be molded into excellent and forceful revival sermons. So also the second coming of Christ. In fact, our whole message is so full of Christ and definite appeal that it is very much left with the minister to select that which fits into his manner and approach. All must center on the cross. In that excellent book Evangelism, page kgo, we read:
"The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, and grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption—the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers."
"The cross of Christ is the central pillar on which hangs the 'far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' "—Acts of the Apostles, p. 560.
We are to exalt Christ, not self. The purpose of the altar call is not to glorify a man. Self must be lost sight of, and Christ alone exalted if we are to have enduring success. It is because of exhibitions full of show and ostentation that the altar call has been criticized. This is the minister's opportunity to preach Christ, and Him crucified. He is not depending on eloquence or psychology. We have been admonished in the Spirit of Prophecy:
"It is not flowery discourses that are needed, not a flood of words without meaning. Our ministers are to preach in a way that will help people to grasp vital truth. My brethren, do not soar where the common people 'cannot follow you, and if they could, would be neither benefited nor blest. Teach the simple lessons given by Christ. Tell the story of His life of self-denial and sacrifice, His humiliation and death, His resurrection and ascension,. His intercession for sinners in the courts above. In every congregation there are souls upon whom the Spirit of the Lord is moving. Help them to understand what is truth; break the bread of life to them; call their attention to vital questions."—Gospel Workers, I). 154.
In this work where so much is involved it is necessary that we as ministers be completely hidden in Christ, and that our message be definite. Read again this inspired statement :
"Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ ascended into the heavens, Christ coming again, should so soften, gladden, and fill the mind of the minister that be will present these truths to the people in love and deep earnestness. The minister will then be lost sight of, and Jesus will be made manifest."—Ibid., p. 159. Let us say with Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The scenes from the last supper to the cross, as related in the Gospels, suggest topics for many revival sermons, as does also Isaiah 53. Let us ever bear in mind that "the mighty argument of the cross will convict of sin" (Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 375), and that "everything noble and generous in man will respond to the contemplation of Christ upon the cross" (Ibid. p. 374). So it would seem that of all the most effective sermons will be those that center in the last eighteen hours of the Saviour's life.
We need to dwell on the scenes of the cross ; for it is Christ crucified that appeals to the hearts of men and women weakened and enslaved by sin. Our doctrines and time prophecies appeal to the intellect, but if the heart is not touched and moved until the will is surrendered to God, it will avail nothing. Souls lost in sin must be led to understand how the cross has reconciled them to God, and how that heart that was broken for them on Calvary opened the way to the heart of God, and that same tender, compassionate heart beats in loving sympathy with their hearts today. They need assurance that His ear is always open to the woes of humanity. Hearts will be touched by the profound pathos of the cross. These souls will see God in a new light—the light of love. It is that yearning, ineffable tenderness of the love of God that melts their stubborn hearts. It is a love that is hard to resist. We need to put more of it into our altar-call sermons.
(To be concluded in September)
