By Gerald
Cowan
A certain preacher was charged with not
being a “gospel preacher” and some wanted to fire him because he did not always
issue a “formal invitation” at the close of each sermon, Bible class period, or
devotional exercise. An invitation to or for what? An invitation complete with
a review of the various points (the “five steps” so called) in the “plan of
salvation,” just in case anybody needed to be baptized. Of course it must also
emphasize the need to be faithful in living and serving the Lord, in case anybody
needed to be “restored.” Apparently a formal recitation of “the plan of
salvation” is an expected part – some might say a required part of our identity
as “the church of Christ.”
Questions: Is it formal, form, or mere
formality? Is it a convenience or a
convention? Is it a tradition? Is there
a scripture command, example, or inference to justify or necessitate such a
formal “invitation” or “appeal” at any or every assembly? Is it a necessity or an identifying ritual?
Does adding a formal invitation make it “a gospel sermon”? Is it the ritual and
the words that save, or is it obedience from the heart by one who has been
properly taught what to do and why he should do it? (Rom. 6:17).
Not all ritual acts are true necessities
and many have no Biblical foundation. Like “crossing oneself” or “making the
sign of the cross.” Like holding up a hand over the head of a baptismal
candidate and saying, “By the authority invested in me as a minister...” Who
gave ministers any authority? If one does not say, “Upon your confession that
Jesus is the Son of God I now baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins,” or other words to that
effect, is the person not properly baptized? There are some “sacred traditions”
that many are not willing to question – certainly not to abandon. The “formal
invitation” to “obey the gospel” may be one of them.
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