Are Altar Calls Biblical?

There are some - perhaps many - in the Christian world today who do not think the practice of the altar call is either biblical or wise. There are also many pastors or preachers who may agree with the idea of the altar call, yet never actually make such an invitation.
I believe the altar call is both biblical and important, and I believe that a majority of pastors and preachers should give their listeners a clear invitation for faith more than they do. I hope to make several brief posts here on calvarychapel.com looking at the theme from several angles.
A good place to begin is to be clear with what we mean by the term "altar call." I don't know that there is a universal definition, so here's one: An altar call is a deliberate invitation to profess faith in Jesus Christ as one's Savior and Lord; it is a call to decide for Jesus given by a preacher or teacher.
We commonly call this an "altar call" because of the practice of asking those who make such a decision to come forward to what is sometimes called the "altar" of a church meeting room, an area between the front seats and the speaker's platform. This area is called an altar because in a spiritual sense it is a place of surrender and sacrifice, just as a literal altar was for Old Testament sacrifices.
However (at least in my thinking), the call to decision doesn't necessarily have to call people to a particular part of the room. It might be good and appropriate to do it in one case, and not in another. The important aspect of the altar call is the pointed call to decide, and to express that decision in some way.
At its core, the question of the altar call comes to this: Is it proper for the preacher to call his listeners to decide regarding Jesus Christ? From a New Testament perspective, the answer is an overwhelming yes - it is proper to call for decision.
Jesus called men to decide. In the longest example of Jesus' own preaching (the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7), Jesus ended with a dramatic call to decide: will you build your house on the sand, or on the rock? (Matthew 7:21-27). When Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me" (Matthew 12:30), He spoke to the need of men and women to decide regarding who He is and what He did for fallen humanity.
Peter called men to decide. In his famous sermon on Pentecost, we read "and with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation'" (Acts 2:40). Some mistakenly think that Peter gave no invitation in his preaching on Pentecost because those who listened asked Peter and the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) It's a wonderful thing that the people posed this question, and it was evidence of a great move of the Holy Spirit. Yet that doesn't mean that Peter did not also seek to persuade and call for decision, as Acts 2:40 tells us.
Paul called men to decide. There are many examples from Paul's preaching work, but one that stands out is his preaching to King Agrippa in Acts 26:27, when Paul said to him: "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe." Paul directly called upon Agrippa to not only decide for Jesus, but to do so with an open response. Paul's preaching work could be called persuasion (Acts 17:4; 18:4; 19:8; 19:26; and 28:23-24), and he described it that way himself in 2 Corinthians 5:11.
There is much more to say about the idea of calling people to decision, and I hope to say some of it in coming posts. For now, we can be confident in a simple principle: The New Testament pattern shows us that it is good, honorable, and necessary to call people to decision for Jesus Christ in our work as Bible teachers and preachers.
I hope to keep an eye on the comments and to interact as I'm able - but if a comment or question will be directly addressed in an upcoming post, I'll let you know in my response. - David Guzik
 
I think I'll just line up with Spurgeon. Monday in the Pastor's study worked just fine.
 
Altar calls are impossible. There are no altars in churches today. The altar was in the tabernacle/temple and was for the Jewish ceremonial offerings. Christ did away with those ceremonial offerings, and thus the altar they were offered on.

Can't have an "altar call" without an altar, now, can you? 
 
"We commonly call this an "altar call" because of the practice of asking those who make such a decision to come forward to what is sometimes called the "altar" of a church meeting room, an area between the front seats and the speaker's platform. This area is called an altar because in a spiritual sense it is a place of surrender and sacrifice, just as a literal altar was for Old Testament sacrifices." - David Guzik
 
The problem with this article is that he is defending altar calls by arguing for "invitations to Christ" or making a "decision". But one can give an "invitation" without having an altar call. They are not the same thing in my opinion.
 
From the third link:

I ask them to come forward, ready to pray with others as they normally do. Once the team is up front, I ask those who have put their faith in Jesus (and who desire to repent) to stand, come down an aisle, and meet with someone on the prayer team. This is a good way to call people to make a definite declaration of their faith, while at the same time connecting them with someone who can give individual attention to their new faith and spiritual needs. . . .

Responding to the altar call can be a demonstration of that faith. . . .

That's why Jesus said, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). It's good to remind our listeners of just how important their decision is.
Click to expand...

So, basically, by being a definite, public confesion of their faith, the altar call replaces baptism, or at least renders it redundant.
 
Ransom said:
From the third link:

I ask them to come forward, ready to pray with others as they normally do. Once the team is up front, I ask those who have put their faith in Jesus (and who desire to repent) to stand, come down an aisle, and meet with someone on the prayer team. This is a good way to call people to make a definite declaration of their faith, while at the same time connecting them with someone who can give individual attention to their new faith and spiritual needs. . . .

Responding to the altar call can be a demonstration of that faith. . . .

That's why Jesus said, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). It's good to remind our listeners of just how important their decision is.
Click to expand...

So, basically, by being a definite, public confesion of their faith, the altar call replaces baptism, or at least renders it redundant.
Click to expand...
At FBCH, we actually had "public profession" listed separately from "baptism", on a decision slip form filled out by "altar" attendees.

I remember frustratedly saying " I thought that baptism WAS our public profession!?!

We had such a hodgepodge mess of doctrine.
 
I also had the same thoughts when I read that altar calls can be a demonstration of faith. That's what water baptism is all about. The altar call is like the third sacrament in many churches. I appreciate your comments. Anyone care to copy and paste these articles and interact with it? Simply by inserting your comments in the articles with a different color.
 
I tend to agree with "JRock" that the author is re-defining "altar call" to mean "invite people to come to Christ". That is FAR from what I'm used to seeing as an "altar call".

A more real-to-usage meaning of "altar call" is a plea, given after the message, for people affected by the message to come to the front of the church.  For needs such as salvation or baptism, they will be dealt with by church members. Church members are also encouraged to come forward to "make things right" with God.

The above is a far more realistic definition of "altar call", as used by fundamentalists from all over.

Unfortunately, many pastors and evangelists use the number of people that they can talk into coming forward as an indicator of how good their message was, and this is just wrong.
 
First recorded "invitation", initiated by the hearers, not the preacher:

Act 2:37
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
 
prophet said:
Ransom said:
From the third link:

I ask them to come forward, ready to pray with others as they normally do. Once the team is up front, I ask those who have put their faith in Jesus (and who desire to repent) to stand, come down an aisle, and meet with someone on the prayer team. This is a good way to call people to make a definite declaration of their faith, while at the same time connecting them with someone who can give individual attention to their new faith and spiritual needs. . . .

Responding to the altar call can be a demonstration of that faith. . . .

That's why Jesus said, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). It's good to remind our listeners of just how important their decision is.
Click to expand...

So, basically, by being a definite, public confesion of their faith, the altar call replaces baptism, or at least renders it redundant.
Click to expand...
At FBCH, we actually had "public profession" listed separately from "baptism", on a decision slip form filled out by "altar" attendees.

I remember frustratedly saying " I thought that baptism WAS our public profession!?!

We had such a hodgepodge mess of doctrine.
Click to expand...
At FBCH, the public profession was for someone saved during the week to "make it known." Then an assistant pastor came over, shook their hand and simply pointed them to the baptistery door. The baptism box was checked for those kids of FBCH members who were saved at home.

Of course this is a bit tongue in cheek, but also very true.
 
Jesus says “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47 (KJV 1900). So people who believe enough to heed an altar call are already saved before they get there. But the Altar Call deceives them into thinking they saved themselves by doing so. It's best to offer baptism to those who believe (whenever possible) and their baptism will verify their faith.
Altar calls are essentially a Baptist version of Catholic salvation sacraments.
 
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1689Dave said:
Jesus says “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47 (KJV 1900). So people who believe enough to heed an altar call are already saved before they get there. But the Altar Call deceives them into thinking they saved themselves by doing so. It's best to offer baptism to those who believe (whenever possible) and their baptism will verify their faith.
Altar calls are essentially a Baptist version of Catholic salvation sacraments.
Click to expand...
I answered an altar call at a non-denominational church in 1988. I prayed the prayer. It was some time later that I realized that my response to the altar call was, in effect, a reaction due to what had already occurred by the grace of God in my heart while I heard the preaching and was setting in the pew that day. Having said that, I never thought, at that moment in time nor anytime later, that the recital of those words was in any way an action that saved me, any more than I thought that getting into those baptistry waters save me when I did that 10 years later. As is often the case in these kinds of discussions, people are far too simplistic in their theological presuppositions and biases. Is it true that some people will think that an altar call and the prayer of the invitation is the action that saved them rather than trust in Christ? Sure, could be the case. It's also true that there'll be people who trust propositional truths and systems of biblical theology for their salvation and not actually trust in the person and work of Christ.

By the way, I see that was your first post, welcome to The Forum, and help yourself to venture out of the Calvinism side of the waters and into the main fighting forum for some general conversation.
 
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ALAYMAN said:
I answered an altar call at a non-denominational church in 1988. I prayed the prayer. It was some time later that I realized that my response to the altar call was, in effect, a reaction due to what had already occurred by the grace of God in my heart while I heard the preaching and was setting in the pew that day. Having said that, I never thought, at the time nor anytime later, that the recital of those words was in any way an action that saved me, any more than I thought that getting into those baptistry waters save me when I did that 10 years later. As is often the case in these kinds of discussions, people are far too simplistic in there theological presuppositions and biases. Is it true that some people will think that an altar call and the prayer of the invitation is the action that save them rather than trust in christ? Sure, could be the case. It's also true that there'll be people who trust propositional truths and systems of biblical theology for their salvation and not actually trust in the person and work of Christ.

By the way, I see that was your first post, welcome to The Forum, and help yourself to venture out of the Calvinism side of the waters and into the main fighting forum for some general conversation.
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Scripture does not mention an altar call. The next in the salvation sequence is repentance and Baptism. After my conversion, it took months to find a church to baptize me. So it need not be immediate.
 
1689Dave said:
Scripture does not mention an altar call. The next in the salvation sequence is repentance and Baptism. After my conversion, it took months to find a church to baptize me. So it need not be immediate.
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Scripture does not mention the Trinity, at least not in the overly simplistic and stilted way in which you appear to be categorizing and over-generalizing all altar calls. An altar call, of which I am not exactly a friend, is a tool of invitation to come to Christ. In the sense that Calvinists are often against it (and occasionally justifiably so) their arguments often have a ring of the Carey rebuke "Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do without your aid or mine!"
 
ALAYMAN said:
Scripture does not mention the Trinity, at least not in the overly simplistic and stilted way in which you appear to be categorizing and over-generalizing all altar calls. An altar call, of which I am not exactly a friend, is a tool of invitation to come to Christ. In the sense that Calvinists are often against it (and occasionally justifiably so) their arguments often have a ring of the Carey rebuke "Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do without your aid or mine!"
Click to expand...
Scripture does mention the trinity. You can keep and use this if you like. Trinity in scripture

The corresponding word in Greek is "Τριάς" (Trias), meaning "a set of three" or "the number three." https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity

Found in:

“For there are three [Τριάς] that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7 (KJV 1900)

Some might object the Johannine Comma is not in the older manuscripts. But Cyprian quoted it between 200 -258.

CYPRIAN 200-258 AD. Treatises (I 5:423). "and again it Is written of the Father, and of the Son. and of the Holy Spirit, ‘And these three are one' "

The Lord says, “I and the Father are one;”4 and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, “And these three are one.”5

Cyprian of Carthage. (1886). On the Unity of the Church. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), R. E. Wallis (Trans.), Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix (Vol. 5, p. 423). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.
 
1689Dave said:
Scripture does mention the trinity. You can keep and use this if you like. Trinity in scripture

The corresponding word in Greek is "Τριάς" (Trias), meaning "a set of three" or "the number three." https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity

Found in:

“For there are three [Τριάς] that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7 (KJV 1900)

Some might object the Johannine Comma is not in the older manuscripts. But Cyprian quoted it between 200 -258.

CYPRIAN 200-258 AD. Treatises (I 5:423). "and again it Is written of the Father, and of the Son. and of the Holy Spirit, ‘And these three are one' "

The Lord says, “I and the Father are one;”4 and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, “And these three are one.”5

Cyprian of Carthage. (1886). On the Unity of the Church. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), R. E. Wallis (Trans.), Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix (Vol. 5, p. 423). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.
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I'm not arguing against the usage nor the concept of the trinity. I am arguing that the concept of an invitation, a call to a response, resembling what is sometimes done via the altar call, is in Scripture.
 
ALAYMAN said:
I'm not arguing against the usage nor the concept of the trinity. I am arguing that the concept of an invitation, a call to a response, resembling what is sometimes done via the altar call, is in Scripture.
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I know not where....
 
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