Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Decision Theology Dangers

Who does the work of salvation, man or God?  
The answer makes a significant difference.

I recently perused the end of Lee Strobel's A Case for Christ and read these statements:
  • “Yes, I had to take a step of faith, as we do in every decision we make in life. But here’s the crucial distinction: I was no longer trying to swim upstream against the strong current of evidence; instead I was choosing to go in the same direction that the torrent of the facts was flowing” (363)
  • “Looking back nearly two decades, I can see with clarity that the day I personally made a decision in the case for Christ was nothing less than the pivotal event of my entire life” (365).
  •  “In other words, if my conclusion in the case for Christ is correct, your future and eternity hinge on how you respond to Christ” (366).
God's Word clearly reveals the error of decision theology: Romans 9:16  “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

Maybe decision theology doesn't matter.  Maybe it's good that we make decisions about our faith.  Maybe it's good that when my daughter tells me the '98 Civic's brakes aren't working correctly, that I have a look under the hood...or wherever those brake thingys are...and give 'em a fixin' up.  Maybe it really doesn't matter who does the work...of brake fixing or of salvation.  Maybe it's good to let man, in all his sinful failings, be given the responsibility of saving himself, while a passive Christ hangs on the cross waiting for man to decide. 

Maybe not. 
Listen to Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller discuss the dangers of decision theology on an Issues Etc. broadcast.

Not in a listening mood?  Read an article Rev. Wolfmueller crafted.

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