SALVATION and THE PUBLIC INVITATION
By
Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
HERITAGE BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH
THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ANSWERED
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This book is lovingly dedicated to my precious wife, Marge, and the three wonderful sons God has blessed us with, Craig, Brad, and Doug.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SALVATION ..................................................................................................... 1
Works, Known as Legalism ........................................................................... 2
Works and Faith, A Form of Galatianism ......................................................... 16
Faith Alone, God's Plan of Salvation ............................................................... 25
EXAMINATION ................................................................................................. 32
Explanation: Matthew 10:32,33 .................................................................... 33
Explanation: Romans 10:9,10 ........................................................................ 39
INVITATION .................................................................................................... 50
The Procedure .......................................................................................... 50
The Person ............................................................................................... 58
The Problem ............................................................................................ 63
The Proposal ............................................................................................ 68
TERMINOLOGIES.............................................................................................. 73
Introduction ............................................................................................ 73
The Soul, Spirit and Heart Explained ............................................................. 74
Terminology Examined ............................................................................... 81
Textual Exposition .................................................................................... 84
As a lost person views the religious atmosphere today, is it any wonder he sees it as a commercial business? He observes all sorts of denominations, each claiming their interpretation of the Bible is correct.
During my boyhood affiliation with several churches, a logical question came to my mind. If all churches and ministers seek to direct us to the way of eternal life, then why do so many disagree with each other? My conclusion, as a boy, was that either God's Bible was so complicated that no one could understand it, or churches were using the Bible as a front for something which I did not understand. As a boy I attended several churches, was baptized three times, sang in the choir, and partook of the various activities they presented. When I reached the age of fifteen I had the premonition that churches were good for some people but I could never make the grade. I could not understand how preachers could expect everybody to be so good. I did not really want to be bad, but it just seemed to come naturally. After graduating from high school, I attended another denominational church for the sole purpose of playing basketball on the church team. This man's preaching corroborated what I had heard before. That is, if you are good enough and try the best you can, God may allow you entrance in Heaven some day. I cannot recall a single time when I was told that simply trusting the payment Christ made for my sins was sufficient for eternal life. I am not saying it was never stated from the pulpit, but if it was, it certainly was not emphasized enough for me to remember.
When I was twenty-four, a minister visited our home one night and, for the first time in my life that I can remember, he told me that I could know that I was going to Heaven. He said I could know this by simply trusting Jesus Christ as the One who has paid for my sins. I could not believe salvation was that simple and that I could know I had eternal life without doing something. The only thing I ever heard was a mixture of things that I had to do. One preacher would say, "Lay all on the altar," or "Step out and meet Jesus in the front." Yet I had never seen Christ once in the front of the church. Others would say, "Turn or burn." Others claimed that if I took that first step into the aisle, the Lord would be with me the rest of the way. I often wondered why the Lord would not be with me before I took the first step instead of waiting until after. Truthfully, I was not about to step out in front of all those people for anything, so hearing a man now tell me I could go to Heaven without doing anything was truly something new. I told him it sounded to good to be true, but if he could show that to me in the Bible I would believe it. He turned to Ephesians 2:8, and 9 which read:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
I trusted Christ right then without even bowing my head or praying. I just realized that God loved me enough to pay for my sins and all God wanted me to do was trust Christ as my Savior. I would be a fool not to do so. I remember asking him about confessing all of my sins and I heard something, again, for the time. He said, "You could never go to Heaven by confessing all of your sins because you cannot remember all your sins to confess." I had never thought of that before.
As I began to read the Bible things began to clear up about how simple salvation really was. Adding a few words that did not appear in the Bible changed the whole invitation. The statement that, "If I would take the first step down the aisle, Christ would save me" did not make sense after I had just heard a message that you were saved by doing nothing. Why would Christ have me do something before He would save me when he already did everything to save me before I was born? Romans 5:8 refutes this kind of invitation:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
It does not say to receive Christ by stepping out into an aisle, but rather to receive Him by FAITH.
After graduating from Bible college and pastoring in Indiana, I was visiting one day and was told by five or six people, on the same day, that they would never come to our church again. When I asked why, they said it was because they were tired of having someone trying to get them down to the front of the church. Of course, not all said the same words but every case centered around the invitation at the end of the service. I explained that it was not coming down an aisle that saves a person...but trusting Christ as Savior and they could do that anywhere. They said this was not the impression they had. I some cases, someone had leaned over and said they would go to the front with them if they would go. Some were embarrassed when people approached them to go forward. It was not until this day that I fully realized what a detriment the emphasis on coming forward had on people. When you run into several cases in one day of people that will not come to church because they have been embarrassed and made to feel that coming forward had something to do with salvation...then is it not time to realize that a tradition may be damning many people to Hell? I am afraid that we are not soon willing to realize this.
I pray the Scriptures set forth will illuminate our traditions that we practice and make us aware of the effect they may have on the lost. We are living in a time when many can be won to Christ if we will only present the Gospel the way the Bible gives it, that is...in its simplicity.
"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech." -2nd Corinthians 3:12
If the statements forthcoming are not supported by Scripture in its context, then they most surely should be discarded. Your idea, or mine, of how to do something is not really what counts when it comes to dealing with precious souls on their way to Hell. Let us now lay aside traditional practices and humanistic ideas and look solely to "Thus saith the Lord."
Max D. Younce
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SALVATION AND THE PUBLIC INVITATION
Perfect Bound (Paper-back), 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", 128 Pages, the suggested donation is $7.00. This book challenges a long held tradition of many churches. These important questions are answered. Do you have to walk to the front of a church to be saved? Is it just another tradition that has crept into the church? Is the public invitation scriptural? Is Salvation free; or, is the public invitation adding works to the Gospel? What do we mean by "Let Jesus come into your heart." Is it scriptural to tell someone this? This book will challenge you to cast aside preconceived ideas and search the Scripture for yourself.
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Heritage Baptist Bible Church
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P.O. Box 573
Walnut Grove, MN 56180
Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
HERITAGE BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH
P.O. Box 573
Walnut Grove, MN 56180
Telephone (507) 859-2519Web: www.heritagebbc.com
