How Conversion has been “Altar-ed” by the Modern Church
By Pastor Kevin Smead
Ok, so it is clear that “altered” is misspelled in the above title. This was intentional on my part. The title is meant to point out that many leaders in the modern church have made conversion about “going to an altar” at the front of the church instead of it being a major miracle performed by God. In my opinion this has destroyed people’s view of conversion, and constitutes at its core another gospel.
What is true conversion? To answer that question in part we have only to refer to the way it is described in the Bible. In the Word of God, which is our source book for knowledge of the things of God, it is described as being “born-again” (John 3:5,7), becoming a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17), or being spiritually raised from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19; 2:1-4). Other ways that conversion is described in the word of God includes: becoming like a little child, having the heart of stone removed, having a heart of flesh implanted, having the blinded eyes opened, being given a new spirit, being made a partaker of the divine nature, being turned from darkness to light, being translated out of the kingdom of God and into the kingdom of His dear Son, and being regenerated. That is just a few of the ways that conversion is described in the Bible. From this brief list it is clear that conversion is a radical thing that leads to radical results. It is the standing miracle of the church and one for which we are completely dependent upon God to receive. We are also completely obligated to glorify the God of heaven for conversion when it takes place for it is His work.[1]
My basic point is this: true conversion is the result of God’s amazing power and it involves genuine faith and repentance. In true conversion a person has their eyes opened to see the excellency of God and the loveliness of Christ. As a result of this spiritual sight the sinner is filled with dismay to think that they have a sinned against such an infinitely glorious being. They are filled with trembling and a holy horror at the sight of their sin. They no longer justify their sin, and they no longer view it merely as something that is harmful to them, or even to others. In conversion a person sees their sin as dishonoring to the Holy One of Israel and they literally take sides with God against themselves, acknowledging the justice of God in their condemnation. This leads to true brokenness of heart and repentance of sin. They sorrow, not just that “God is displeased with them, but that God is displeased by them” (John Bunyan). Moreover, conversion means that the sinner’s eyes have been opened to see the sufficiency of Christ as Savior. They acknowledge that because of His person and work, His dignity and His obedient suffering, He is in every way fit and qualified to cleanse from their sins and to justify them in the presence of a Holy God. While in themselves dismayed, they run out of themselves and rely upon Christ alone for their salvation. Furthermore, they do not desire only to be cleansed from the penalty of sin, but from the power and corruption of sin as well. They receive Christ not only as the one who justifies them and makes them legally right with God, but also as the One who gives them the grace of the Spirit to make them morally right before God by progressively cleansing their nature and renewing their mind. Again, please keep in mind that when a person has their eyes opened by God to see the ugliness of sin and the loveliness of Christ, and have their disposition altered to appreciate such things, they will come to Him (John 6:44-45). This is why grace is irresistible. It is not that someone can’t resist it, but that they will no longer desire to.
What I have described above is radical (from the Latin radix which means – “to the root”). This kind of conversion makes Christians that endure, Christians that honor and fear God, and Christians who change the world. This is radically different from the kind of conversions that make shallow church members who run back to the world at the first opportunity they get or the first disappointment they receive. These true conversions only come from God as a result of His powerful operation (Colossians 2:12), and they are the kind of conversions that we desperately need in this day and time. While these conversions only come from the Spirit of God, we must understand that the Spirit uses means like the preaching of the Word. That means that we can only expect more genuine conversions when preachers preach the excellency of the divine character, the spirituality of the law, the heinousness of sin, the sufficiency of Christ, and the absolute necessity of New Birth.
The problem today, as noted in the title, is that we have “altar-ed” the conversion process. Rather than leaving a sinner in the hands of God, and relying upon the power of God, and expecting truly God wrought conversions, we have “canned” salvation and made it into a one, two, three process. Everyone out there in the church who pays attention will see the truth of what I am saying. Why has this been done? Well, of course, there is the ego of the sinner which must be considered. Modern preachers don’t want to hurt the old adamic ego and make the sinner feel helpless and depraved. Many people do not want to be completely dependent upon God for conversion. The old proud nature of sinners does not delight in giving all the glory to God, so we have made it into something that man can do in his own innate power. This has resulted in the modern phenomenon of “decisional regeneration” which is wrought by the persuasion of the preacher and the timely dimming of lights and playing of soft music. Instead of sinners being instructed about the true nature of sin and the necessity of repentance, they are told that if they want to see their loved ones again they need to walk down the aisle and pray the prayer. Rather than seeing themselves stripped of all righteousness, standing in the presence of the Holy Consuming fire God of the Bible, one is simply told that if they will walk down the aisle to the “altar” and take the preachers hand, everything will be ok. Not only will they be saved, but to even question such salvation in the future would be sin. This kind of teaching suits the sinner’s carnal nature as it leaves him or her in control. In addition, it spares them the trouble of having to think about spiritual things (always boring to the natural man – 1 Corinthians 2;14). The superficial repentance that many have experienced is really nothing more than selfish fear. This means that instead of turning to God, they have really turned to themselves, and instead of being humbled in the dust as a depraved sinner, they can go proudly to heaven in their own strength, congratulating themselves all the way on their good decision. In addition to all this, preachers can now pride themselves on their ability to “get decisions,” build churches, and really become “somebody” in the denomination.
In today’s church it is clear that we have a reductionistic view of conversion. That simply means that we have reduced it to something that man can do in his own power. I began to really come to terms with how dire the situation in the modern church was after a conversation I had several years ago with a man who attended the church where I was preaching. I had preached a sermon on the natural inability of the sinner to come to Christ, and this gentleman took issue with my comments and called me the following day. He said, “How can you say that a sinner cannot come to Christ?” The question itself was concerning since Scripture clearly says that sinners cannot come to Christ unless it is given to them by God (John 6:65). But it was his next words that really startled me most. He said, “Many years ago I walked down that aisle and went to the altar. How can you tell me that a person cannot walk down that aisle on their own?” At this point I realized how drastically conversion had been reduced in his mind. This man, who had been in the church for many years, had reduced conversion to a simple walking of the aisle and repeating a form of sound words. Rather than viewing conversion as a radical thing in which a man is fundamentally changed, he viewed it as a human movement from one location to the other, and as an exercise of the vocal cords. Sadly, he did not have to come up with this view on his own, but had likely gathered it from the decisional teaching that is coming out of most modern pulpits.
How sobering it is to realize that many people today who are members in good standings of local churches, and who fill offices and love to work with children, are under the condemning wrath of almighty God, having never genuinely repented of their sin and trusted Christ alone for salvation. “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready” (Psalm 7:11-12). Man has indeed “altar-ed” conversion, and it has been to the great detriment of human souls. May God have mercy on the modern church!
[1] This note is for the theologians out there. I understand that there is technically a difference between what we call the new birth or regeneration, and conversion. In regeneration the sinner is passive, while in conversion the sinner’s will is involved as he believes and repent. But since regeneration or the new birth is the cause of conversion and always results in conversion; and since conversion always and immediately follows regeneration I have described them above as one event.
Before the Foundation 
Right on
Good stuff