EASY PRAYERISM - PART 1

By David W. Cloud
Copyright 1995

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There is an evangelistic methodology in Christian circles today 
which is a plague to sound gospel preaching. Some call this 
"easy believism," but I don't like that term. Belief is exactly 
what God requires for salvation. "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" (Eph. 2:8-9). 
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16). Salvation is received by 
believing. Further, God has made it easy to do. A child can 
trust Christ and be saved; a weak-minded person can trust 
Christ and be saved. Salvation is not difficult, except in 
the sense that the sinner has to humble himself and repent. 

I believe a better term for this problem is "easy prayerism." 
It is a methodology which focuses on getting people to say a 
prayer. 

Don't get me wrong. I believe that "whosoever shall call upon 
the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13). I believe 
that those who pray to God in repentance and ask to be saved 
WILL be saved. I am not against prayers for salvation.

What I am against is making this the focus of our evangelistic 
activity. Repeating a prayer is not necessarily salvation, and 
we must not confuse it with such. Just because 50 people pray 
a prayer, or raise their hands in a gospel meeting, or some 
other thing like this, is no evidence whatsoever that those 
people have been saved. It is one thing to show some interest 
in salvation; it is quite another thing to be saved. 

Some might argue, "Well, I know that just praying a prayer is 
not salvation." Why then, I might ask, do so many say that a 
certain number of people "got saved today" when all they did 
was pray a prayer? Especially is this true when most of those 
people don't even want to come to church. Is that not an 
unhealthy focus on a prayer? I call this "easy prayerism."

Please understand that I am not criticizing soul winning. I 
realize that this type of thing usually is done by those who 
at least are trying to win people to Christ. I am not trying 
to dampen anyone's enthusiasm for lost souls. What I am trying 
to do is focus attention on a methodology which I believe is 
unscriptural and unhealthy to the churches. To identify a prayer 
with salvation is to bring confusion into the gospel. 

But let's turn to the Bible and see what kind of approach the 
apostles had in dealing with the lost. This is the way to get 
a right methodology of evangelism. In Acts 17 we see the Apostle 
Paul dealing with a group of unbelievers in the city of Athens. 
Here we see the difference between "easy prayerism" and Bible 
evangelism.

THE APPROACH AND EMPHASIS IS DIFFERENT

"Easy prayerism," in its approach, emphasizes heaven and blessing 
and God's love. Bible evangelism, in its approach, emphasizes 
God's holiness and just demands upon mankind; it emphasizes the 
necessity of repentance. 

The sermon Paul preached on Mars Hill is recorded in verses 22-31. 
It is interesting that he did not say, "Hey, Athenians, God loves 
you and heaven is wonderful; don't you want to go to heaven when 
you die?" Yet this is the approach used by "easy prayerism." The 
Four Spiritual Laws of Campus Crusade illustrates this. It 
approaches the unsaved thusly: "God loves you and has a wonderful 
plan for your life." 

Bill Bright, the author of the Four Spiritual Laws, admits that 
he wrestled with his conscience when he changed his approach to 
a positive one, and even one of his own daughters at that time
told him she felt he was on the wrong track. When Bright first 
wrote his gospel pamphlet in 1958, it began with man's sin and 
separation from God. But when the pamphlet was revised a few of 
years later, in the early '60s, he changed this so it would be 
more positive. We will let him tell this in his own words:

"Originally our first law emphasized man's sin, but the Lord 
impressed me to emphasize God's love. This change was made just 
before we went to press. I had done my final editing and had 
left Vonette and the girls to finish the typing. As I had been 
traveling a great deal and it was quite late, I had gone upstairs 
to bed. In fact, I was in bed just at the point of going to sleep, 
when suddenly there came clear as a bell to my conscious mind the 
fact that there was something wrong about starting the Four Laws 
on the negative note of man's sinfulness. ... I felt that few 
people would say `No' to Christ if they truly understood how 
much He loves them and how great is His concern for them. 

"So I got out of bed, went to the head of the stairs and called 
down to Vonette and the girls to revise the presentation so that 
the first law would be, `God loves you and has a wonderful plan 
for your life,' instead of `You are a sinner and separated from 
God.' ... Thus the Four Spiritual Laws started with the positive 
note of God's love and plan.

"Some time later, one of the girls said to me, `I was so distressed 
over your change in the presentation that I wept that night. I was 
afraid that you were beginning to dilute the gospel and that you were 
no longer faithful to the Lord, because you placed such a strong emphasis 
on the love of God rather than on man's sin. Now in retrospect, I realize 
of course that this is one of the greatest things that has ever happened 
to the Campus Crusade ministry'" (Bill Bright, Come Help Change the 
World, Here's Life Publishers, 1985, pgs. 28,29). 

We believe Bill Bright's staff workers was right when she wept 
and feared that he had diluted the gospel. He has adapted the 
gospel to the philosophy of the world. He has removed much of 
the reproach of the cross. He has created an evangelistic tool 
that can be used successfully by the entire world of apostate 
ecumenism. His type of gospel presentation is used by modernist 
World Council of Churches denominations. It is so generic that 
it is used even by Catholics. The voice which spoke "clear as 
a bell" to Bright about changing the approach of the Gospel 
was not the Lord.

Three decades later, this positive, psychological, man-centered 
approach has swept through most Christian circles. It is the 
approach used for the most part by the evangelicals, by the 
charismatics, even by most fundamentalists. While fundamentalists 
eschew Campus Crusade's worldly, new-evangelical approach to 
Christianity, all too often the soul winning plan used in 
fundamentalist circles is almost identical to the Four Spiritual 
Laws.

We don't mean to belittle the fact of God's love for sinners 
and we don't mean to say it is wrong to tell the unsaved of 
that love. God does love sinners, and that is what the Gospel 
is all about. But when approaching the unsaved, the apostles 
emphasized God's holiness and His just demands on a sinful 
mankind. They emphasized man's lost condition and the necessity 
of repentance. This is the right way to approach the unsaved. 
It is not very positive and does not fit in with the popular 
philosophy of the hour, and might not result in as many 
"decisions," but it is Bible.

The Bible does not start with God's love. It starts with God's 
character and with man's fall. In fact, the entire first two 
thirds of the Bible deals with this before we even get to the 
New Testament presentation of Christ. Why is this? Who would 
deny that the Old Testament is overwhelmingly negative? And 
why is this? Are we to ignore the fact that God lays a 
foundation of law for the presentation of the Gospel? 
Evangelists and revivalists of old certainly followed the 
Bible's pattern in this. The apostles certainly did. Who 
are we to change this? 

Why the negative approach? Why not just focus on God's love 
and on Heaven, and let sin take care of itself. Because 
unsaved man does not understand nor appreciate the love 
of God until he understands the holiness and justice of 
God. When Paul preached the gospel in the book of Romans, 
he did not even mention the love of God until chapter 5. 
He began with God, with God's claims on man, with the 
law, with man's wretched condition. God uses the law 
to create in man the understanding he needs of God 
and sin in order to get saved. The law is the schoolmaster 
to bring sinners to Christ (Gal. 3:24).

At an evangelistic meeting overseas I once preached a 
message patterned on Acts 17. I was told by the local 
leaders after the close of the meeting that this type 
of preaching was "too negative" and I should be more 
positive in presenting the Gospel. One missionary 
told me that Paul was probably in the flesh when 
he preached that message on Mars Hill, thus we should 
not follow his example! This, of course, is foolishness. 
If preaching the Bible and warning the unsaved of God's 
holy demands and requiring repentance of them is too 
negative, then so be it. 

THE REQUIREMENT IS DIFFERENT 

"Easy prayerism" emphasizes faith and prayer. "Just believe. 
Don't worry about giving up things; that will come in time. 
Just pray this prayer." Bible evangelism, rather, emphasizes 
repentance. 

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now 
commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30). 
That is what Paul required of his listeners, and that is 
exactly what we must require. Repentance was not just 
something preached by John the Baptist. Repentance was 
preached by Christ (Matt. 3:1,2; Lk 5:32; 13:1-5). He said, 
"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 
Christ's goal in dealing with men was to bring them to 
repentance. Repentance was also preached by the Apostles 
(Acts 2:38; 5:31; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). The Bible says that 
God is "longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). 
Repentance is God's goal in dealing with sinners.

And repentance means a change of mind which results in a change 
of life. It means to turn to God from sin. It means to bow before 
Jesus Christ as the God of one's life. Bible examples of repentance 
show a clear change in people's behavior. The change does not save 
us from sin, but IT IS the clear fruit of Bible salvation. 

Consider Zacchaeus. He repented, and the evidence of this is that 
he gave half his goods to the poor and restored five-fold that 
which he had stolen through his tax collecting business 
(Lk. 19:1-10). Consider the idolators at Thessalonica. 
They repented, and the evidence of this was that they "turned 
to God from idols to serve the living and true God" 
(1 Thess. 1:9- 10). Consider the Jews in Acts 2 who heard 
the sermon Peter preached at Pentecost. They repented, and 
the evidence of this is that they gladly received his word, 
were baptized, and joined themselves with the hated Christians. 
We could go on and on. There is no Bible example of people 
being saved who did not evidence a drastic change in their 
lives. Repentance is a change of mind which results in a 
change of life.

And the Bible approach to the sinner is to demand that he 
repent and turn to God. The Apostle Paul reviewed his ministry 
before King Agrippa, and noted that he went about preaching 
to Jews and Gentiles both "that they should repent and turn 
to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:20). This 
is exactly the message which we are to preach today.

To preach repentance means to deal plainly with sin. There 
is a sense in which we can say that the word "repentance" 
encompasses all of the Gospel's requirements for salvation. 
It is a change of mind and a faith in God which results in 
a change of life, and that is what God requires of the 
sinner. Bible translator William Tyndale gives the 
following definition:

"Concerning this word REPENTANCE ... the very sense and 
signification both of the Hebrew and also of the Greek 
word is, "to be converted and to turn to God with all 
the heart, to know his will, and to live according to 
his laws; and to be cured of our corrupt nature with 
the oil of his Spirit, and wine of obedience to his 
doctrine." Which conversion or turning, if it be 
unfeigned, these four do accompany it and are included 
therein: CONFESSION, not in the priest's ear, for that 
is but man's invention, but to God in the heart, and 
before all the congregation of God; how that we be sinners 
and sinful, and that our whole nature is corrupt, and 
inclined to sin and all unrighteousness, and therefore evil, 
wicked, and damnable; and his Law holy and just, by which our 
sinful nature is rebuked: and also to our neighbours, if we 
have offended any person particularly. Then CONTRITION, 
sorrowfulness that we be such damnable sinners, and not 
only have sinned, but are wholly inclined to sin still. 
Thirdly, FAITH (of which our old doctors have made no 
mention at all in the description of their penance), 
that God for Christ's sake doth forgive us, and receive 
us to mercy, and is at one with us, and will heal our 
corrupt nature. And fourthly, SATISFACTION, or amends-making, 
not to God with holy works, but to my neighbour whom I have 
hurt, and to the congregation of God, whom I have offended, 
(if any open crime be found in me); and submitting of a man's 
self unto the congregation or church of Christ, and to the 
officers of the same, to have his life corrected and governed 
henceforth of them." (William Tyndale, "To The Reader," 1534)

Note that this man of God wraps confession, contrition, faith, 
and satisfaction into the term repentance. There is no easy 
prayism here. The sinner who would be saved must repent, 
which repentance will always result in a changed life. 

This means that we cannot have the attitude that we will only 
deal with specific sin after the person receives Christ. That 
is the philosophy of many. If the sinner brings up his love 
for liquor, or his love for immoral relationships, or his 
love for gambling, some think it best to delay dealing with 
such things until after that one has come to Christ. And 
sometimes this is the best policy, but only if the sinner 
is clearly under the conviction of the Holy Spirit in 
regard to his sin and is clearly ready to turn to Christ. 
On the other hand, if the sinner is obviously still wanting 
to hold onto his sin, the personal worker must deal with 
the fact that he must turn from it.

When my wife and I first began our work in the land of Nepal 
in 1979, our landlord began coming to our house to have Bible 
studies. He was a wealthy middle-aged Hindu and had a concubine 
that he spent most of his time with, though he was married and 
had grown children. After we went through the gospel a few times, 
he told me he was interested in receiving Christ, but he needed 
to know what he would have to do about two specific things in his 
life--his shady business practices, and his illicit relationship 
with his concubine. I could have said, "Don't worry about those 
things. Just pray to receive Christ and those things will work 
out later." But I don't believe that is Bible council. I don't 
believe he could receive Christ and be saved unless he was 
willing to repent of his immorality and his dishonesty.

During our work in South Asia, we could have gotten half the 
people in Nepal to pray a prayer if we had wanted to do that. 
If we would have approached them by asking them if they wanted 
to go to heaven if they died, and if so would they pray a sinner's 
prayer, 90% of them would have muttered a prayer. They were 
accustomed to mantras, and chants, and mysterious utterings 
and would have seen the sinner's prayer in the same light. 
If we would have urged them only to believe without dealing 
with them about repentance, we would have had a multitude of 
unrepentant, "believing" Hindus on our hands--but believing 
in what? They eagerly believed that Jesus was a god, that he 
was good, that he loved them. But they commonly wanted to add 
him to their other gods, not receive Him exclusively as God.

During our gospel meetings there, if we would have asked for 
a show of hands of those who wanted to be saved, most of the 
hands would have gone up. But we knew that most of these Hindus 
were not ready to turn to Christ FROM THEIR IDOLS and to bear 
the heavy reproach and persecution of their government and 
neighbors. In other words, they were not ready to be saved. 
Without repentance there is no salvation. "I tell you, Nay: 
but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Lk. 13:5). 
It is imperative to deal with people about their sin and about
repentance.

Someone might say, "Yes, but that is in Nepal where people 
have never heard the gospel. Things are different here." 
Sure things are different here, but the fact is that the 
average person in North America today is almost as gospel 
ignorant as someone in India. The average person we meet 
in many parts of North America has no knowledge of the 
Bible's teaching, not even of its stories and basic content. 
His mind is filled with the myths of evolution and modernism. 
Someone who has been educated in the North American public 
school system and who has had no sound Bible training is 
actually more prejudiced against believing that the Bible 
is the Word of God than a Hindu in darkest Asia. The same 
is true for England and Europe.

The Bible principles of dealing with people are the same 
no matter where those people are found. The Bible requires 
repentance.

When the Lord Jesus dealt with the rich young ruler who 
inquired about salvation, He did not tell him just to pray 
a prayer, just to believe. He dealt with him plainly about 
his love for riches, his covetousness and pride. The young 
man had to repent of that deep sin of his live before he 
could be saved. He went away sad, the Bible says, because 
of his great riches. Consider Christ's dealings with the 
woman at the well. He faced her squarely with the immorality 
which had controlled her life and required repentance of her 
in that matter. This is the way God always deals with people, 
and it is the way we must deal with them, too, if we want to 
follow the Bible in our gospel work. To preach repentance 
means to deal with specific sins which people are holding 
onto, and to tell them in no uncertain terms that they must 
repent of those sins before they can be saved.

This is not "Lordship salvation." This is not some kind of 
Puritan methodology. It is simple Bible evangelism.

[The previous is part one of a two-part article entitled 
EASY PRAYERISM OR BIBLE EVANGELISM by David W. Cloud, Way 
of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, 
fbns@wayoflife.org]