THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 6, MARCH10, 2002

INVITATIONS  

            Is the practice of extending an invitation a biblical practice, or is it simply a matter of the “traditions of man”?  If it is a biblical practice, is there a pattern given as to “HOW” it should be done, either explicitly or implicitly?  If it is not a biblical practice, should we be doing it at all?  I would like to address these questions in this issue of The Northern Kentucky Searcher.  

            First, whenever God’s Word is presented, it always carries with it an implicit call for a response, for a reaction.  In John 6:45, Jesus said, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God.  Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.”  When the Lord preached, He did so with a purpose.  His preaching was designed to move people to action, to cause them to respond.  In the same way, whenever we see the gospel being presented in the book of Acts, it was done to cause people to respond to it.  The preaching of the gospel was never done as entertainment or as a mere intellectual exercise.   It never served a purely didactic purpose, a “for your information” reason.  It always, either explicitly or implicitly, demanded a response.  Consider James 1:21 – 25.  This clearly shows that God wants people to react to His word.  It says, “Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.  But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”  

            In the Old Testament, time after time a response was called for by those who were presenting the Word of the Lord.  Think of Elijah on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18:21 , “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”   That was an invitation.  It was a call to action.   Just one example of Moses calling for a response is found in Exodus 32:26, where Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!”  He was calling for a response.  

            How about Joshua in Joshua 24:15, where he said, “And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  Remember Ezra in Ezra 10:10 & 11, when he stood before those who had returned from captivity and said, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel .  Now, therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the foreign wives.”  Again, it was a call that demanded a response.  The preaching of the word of God was a call for action.  

            It was no different in the New Testament, where the same kind of pattern is seen.  When God’s word is presented, a response is called for, either explicitly or implicitly.  As a matter of fact, that is why God’s word is presented in the first place – to cause people to response in obedient faith.  Just think of the book of Acts, and if there is a place where the gospel was presented without a call to action, to respond, I don’t know where it would be.   Acts 2:38 , is a classic example.  It says, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”   But this is just the tip of the ice-berg, so to speak.  Similar calls are found in chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and so on.   

            Sometimes the invitations, the call to respond, were clearly for the sake of conversion.  Acts 2:38 is one case out of many.   Consider Acts 18:8, where the process is clear.  It says, “And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.”  There were other times when the invitation was clearly for the purpose of restoration, by that I mean correcting sinful behavior on the part of a Christian.   Do you remember Peter’s words to Simon in Acts 8:20 – 23?  He said, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!  You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.  Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.”  

            Now brethren, a call to respond, which is what an invitation is and is according to the biblical pattern, necessarily includes a clear statement of what that response must be.  It is extremely difficult for a person to respond in a biblical fashion if they do not know what that response entails.   An invitation, in true biblical fashion, is not just a talk presented to fill some time or because it is traditionally done – it is a call to action.  The people on Pentecost were told what they needed to do.  Simon the Sorcerer was told what he needed to do.  Everyone was told what they needed to do.  If we are going to follow the pattern, when we give an invitation, we will tell the people what to do.

                                                            Greg Litmer