Missing "Converts"

Hundreds of "converts" are missing. False conversions are so often produced in many churches which use repetitious mantra music, pumped up promises and exciting persuasive speakers to get people to walk forward during a so called "altar call". They then make false professions of faith in which there is no repentance of the heart. I call it "the magic words syndrome".

I can't help but wonder how many young people are walking around today thinking they are born-again because they prayed the "magic words" at a fleshly man centered church service one day.

Yet the continuing ungodly, worldly and fleshly lifestyles of these people more often than not seem to deny any true conversion. Where there is no conviction about habitual sin, there is usually no conversion of the heart.

Ray Comfort states that the attrition rate with new converts is 80-90 percent; often within the first year after the supposed conversion. One denomination claimed 294,000 converts within one year. However by the next year, there were only 14,000 of those converts in church. Where are the other 280,000 converts to Christianity?

Ray Comfort says modern evangelism has forsaken the law of God and its pronouncement of coming judgment to drive sinners to Christ. Modern evangelism has degenerated the gospel into life enhancement. Jesus Christ is now peace, love, joy, fulfillment and lasting happiness.

They come lacking repentance without which a person can't be saved. Too many ministers today want people so much to respond to the gospel, that they preach a man centered gospel. Many people, especially youth, give Jesus a go to see if they get a buzz out of Him like they did other things.

And too often these professing young Christians become drop-outs when they realize they don't get the "high" they expected with Jesus Christ. Professing Christians still are desiring to get so much from Jesus instead of desiring to give themselves to Him.

We preachers should be tired of creating false converts. Preachers are preaching the cure without convincing men of the disease. Many so called converts are not fleeing from the wrath to come because preachers are not telling them about the coming judgment.

God's Gospel is an offense; it is foolishness to the wise and the unsaved. True godly sorrow works repentance. Sinners are not broken in contrition because they have not been told about their sin or what real sin against God is.

Too many people see sin as something done against man, but not against God. How can a man repent unless he knows what sin against God is! A.B. Earle said, "I have found by long experience that the severest threatenings of the law of God have a prominent place in leading men to Christ. They must see themselves lost before they will cry for mercy. They will not escape danger until they see it."

May God give more of us preachers the courage to use the Word of God to break the hard hearts of a proud people. People do not want to hear the harsh truth of God's coming judgment, but if we fear God more than man and really love people, we will tell people the truth regardless of how much they don't want to hear it. We are producing counterfeit Christians!

By Pastor Ron Onks