Charge: Calvinists oppose the “Alter Call”
Arminian Complaint: Calvinists oppose the “Alter Call”
Catholicism had something to say about the means of grace, and the availability of grace. The means of grace was the sacraments, and the availability of grace was through the priests, who conferred salvation through the sacraments.
The Protestant Reformation asserted that the means of grace was faith in Christ (i.e. Justification by Faith), and the availability of grace was directly through Christ, without having to go through a priest, Mary, the Saints or the angels. In the Protestant Reformation, anybody, anywhere, could now call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
Mac Brunson states: “Aren’t you glad that you can come to Jesus and get grace? Amen? If you need grace tonight, let me tell you something. You don’t have to go through me. I’ve got to come to the cross just like you. And if you go to the cross, He gives you all the grace you’ll ever need.” (Church History: The Dark Ages)
Calvinist, James White, writes: “Jesus does not seek to ‘woo’ them to a ‘freewill decision,’ nor does He strike up a lengthy invitation hymn and try to overcome their stubborn rejection of truth through an emotional appeal.” (Debating Calvinism, pp.121-122, emphasis mine)
The reason why most Calvinists oppose what is referred to as the Alter Call or Gospel Invitation, is because they feel that it equates to Decisional Regeneration. In other words, a Calvinist does not believe that a person can simply decide to receive Christ and be made Born Again, as Calvinist D. James Kennedy apparently does feel that you can and must do:
Calvinist, D. James Kennedy, writes: “Our faith and our repentance are the work of God’s grace in our hearts. Our contribution is simply the sin for which Jesus Christ suffered and died. Would you be born anew? There has never been a person who sought for that who did not find it. Even the seeking is created by the Spirit of God. Would you know that new life? Are you tired of the emptiness and purposelessness of your life? Are you tired of the filthy rags of your own righteousness? Would you trust in someone else other than yourself? Then look to the cross of Christ. Place your trust in him. Ask him to come in and be born in you today. For Jesus came into the world from glory to give us second birth because we must--we MUST--be born again.” (Why I Believe, p.140, emphasis mine)
According to Calvinism, no one can make a positive “decision for Christ” without already being Born Again, and as a result, Calvinists feel that many who make decisions for Christ, are either not elect, or haven’t been chosen to become saved yet, and therefore are left with a “false sense of security.”
One Calvinist explains: “I do not like alter calls because I understand them to be an emotional appeal which pressures people to do something that the Bible does not necessitate.” (Cobb: Alter Call, emphasis mine)
However, in terms of emotion and pressure, Calvinist, Charles Spurgeon, states: “I further believe, although certain persons deny it, that the influence of fear is to be exercised over the minds of men, and that it ought to operate upon the mind of the preacher himself.” (How to Win Souls for Christ, emphasis mine)
While I’m not saying that Spurgeon supported Alter Calls, what I am saying is that Spurgeon agrees that pressure and emotion should be applied to coerce the lost in evangelism, and Spurgeon definitely supported Invitations, to the dismay of some of his Calvinist peers:
Spurgeon adds: “Some of my Brethren are greatly scandalized by the general invitations which I am in the habit of giving to sinners, as sinners. Some of them go the length of asserting that there are no universal invitations in the Word of God.” (The Silver Trumpet, 3/24/1861, emphasis mine)
Spurgeon concludes: “I know the Lord has blessed my appeals to all sorts of sinners and none shall stop me in giving free invitations as long as I find them in this Book. And I do cry with Peter this morning to this vast assembly, ‘Repent and he baptized, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus. For the promise is unto you and to your children, even to as many as the Lord our God shall call.’” (The Silver Trumpet, 3/24/1861, emphasis mine)
Another Calvinist explains: “An extreme view of this doctrine is what some call ‘hyper-Calvinism’ which is the philosophy that it doesn’t matter if we ‘spread the Gospel’ because God will save who He will save with or without us. This is NOT Christianity and, I’m afraid, most of those who hold this type of belief will have missed the boat, so to speak. True Christianity, as I see it, is ‘spreading the Gospel’ as we’re commanded to do (Mat. 28 & Rom. 10) with both our mouths and our lives. But I’ve recently begun to understand a difference between ‘living out Christ’ - which is the ‘spreading the Gospel with my mouth and life’ - and evangelizing. I see evangelism as more of a proselytizing thing now than before. And, I’ve become convinced that it is not my responsibility to help God save those whom He has elected to save. Salvation is God’s responsibility - period. My responsibility, I’ve come to understand, is to: love God with all my heart strength, mind, and soul.” (Evangelism - My responsibility?, emphasis mine)
But isn’t this conclusion indistinguishable with what had initially been defined as “missing the boat”?
In contrast, Adrian Rogers comments: “You have been called to minister. You have been called to bring souls bound in the golden chains of the Gospel and lay them at Jesus’ feet. Don’t you boast about your salvation; don’t you boast about your piety; don’t you boast about your spirit-fullness, don’t you tell me about your spiritual gifts if you are not endeavoring to bring souls to Jesus Christ. What right do you have to call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ if your business is not His business? And what is His business? The Son of God has come to seek and to save that which is lost. ...Would you pray, oh pray it, mean it, mean it, don’t just say it, ‘Lord, lay some soul upon my heart, and win that soul through me.’ If you can’t win an adult, win a child. If you can’t win your neighbor, win somebody else’s neighbor. If you can’t win somebody in your family, win somebody in somebody else’s family. If you can’t bring a soul to Jesus, help somebody else to bring a soul to Jesus.” (Saved To Serve: Romans 15-16, emphasis mine)
Adrian Rogers points out that unless you are endeavoring to win souls for Christ, you are not right with God, and are guilty of “High Treason against Heaven’s King.” (Saved To Serve: Romans 15-16)
Besides the fact that an Alter Call or Gospel Invitation invites someone to receive Christ in their heart, it also serves as a public profession of faith. Consider what Jesus states about public affirmations: “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33)
Jesus states: “The tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33) In considering that the fruit of Calvinism is opposition to the Alter Call and Gospel Invitation, what kind of tree does that make Calvinism?
One member of The Society of Evangelical Arminians explains: “As a preacher and Bible teacher, I want people to be in a place of decision (i.e. they have heard the Word and now must choose about what they are going to do in response). The Bible faithfully preached and taught, ALWAYS DOES THAT. So if you have given a Biblical message, then people are always put in a place of decision. To then invite them to pray about it, talk about it, etc. is merely an attempt to deal with the actual reality that is taking place. To see people go into this place of decision, ignore it or try to act as if it is not there, is just lazy and negligent. Again, one of the main reasons that I am in this group is because Calvinism is not just another mistaken belief; it speaks to evangelism, the Gospel and God’s plan of salvation. When you mess these things up, as Calvinism does, the fruit that results is really going to be rotten.” (SEA)
Here is a link to a Blog Discussion on this subject.
Here is an additional Blog Discussion.
Question: Where is the desire for “Alter Calls” and “Gospel Invitations” born?
Answer: It’s born out of the heart of concern for the lost in a desire to see the lost saved?
Question: So where does apathy toward “Alter Calls” and “Gospel Invitations” come from?
Answer: It’s born out of the heart of casual indifference concerning the salvation of the lost.
Question: If a person makes a decision to receive Christ, and truly means it in their heart, what does the Bible promise that God will do?
Answer: “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord, except to pray to Him? Therefore, in addition to presenting the Gospel, an evangelist will invite the lost to receive Christ, and when they do, according to Romans 10:13, they become “saved.” However, to a Calvinist, they are not saved, because they simply cannot truly mean it, unless they are already Born Again, and thus would have to have some worldly motive for wanting to receive Christ.
Question: Why even give a Presentation of the Gospel if you are unwilling to give an Invitation to receive the Gospel, and allow the Holy Spirit to work?
Answer: It’s born out of the heart of concern for the lost in a desire to see the lost saved? However, the answer to the Calvinist is if they are “elect,” they will come regardless, having been monergistically saved, and therefore there is no need for an Invitation or an Alter Call because they will be irresistibly compelled to come. In other words, if they are “elect,” they will come to you, rather than you having to come to them. (In my opinion, anyone who opposes an Alter Call or Gospel Invitation might as well have “666” emblazoned across their forehead.)
Question: So what is the “Alter Call” and why do Calvinists so vehemently oppose it?
Answer: It is not the idea that a Pastor is conferring salvation, nor is it mandatory for salvation. It is simply an invitation to a lost person to come and pray with a Christian to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Are they necessary? No, of course not. But if you want to pray with someone to receive Christ, come. Now why is that so abhorrent to a Calvinist? The answer has to do with something that Calvinists term: “Decisional Regeneration.”
