Sermon Breakdown

1. The question of whether we should do anything to condition the meeting and condition the people for the reception of our message. The question of music comes in here. The preacher is the man who's in charge of all these things.
2. Deliberate attempts at conditioning the people are surely thoroughly dead. This attempt to condition the people, to soften them, as it were, is surely something that militates against the true preaching of the gospel.
3. The history of the altar call - came in with Charles G. Finney in the 19th century. Caused great controversy at the time. Difference between Nettleton and Finney.
4. It is wrong, surely, to put direct pressure on the will. The will should always be approached through the mind, the intellect, and then the affections. Romans 6:17 - ye have obeyed from the heart that form of sound doctrine.
5. Too much pressure on the will is dangerous. The results become not the truth itself but the personality of the evangelist or some vague fear or psychological influence. Can become drunk on music.
6. The preaching of the word and the call for decision should not be separated in our thinking. Like the sacraments should not be separated from the preaching of the word.
7. This whole process surely carries in it the implication that sinners have inherent powers of decision and of self conversion. This is something, surely, that we must reject theologically. The sinner is completely impotent.
8. There is an implication, surely here that the evangelist somehow is in a position to manipulate the Holy Spirit and his work. This activity of the evangelist is a vital element and it can make a difference to the activity of the Holy Spirit, surely a very serious position to take up, and surely an unscriptural one.
9. This method tends to produce a very superficial conviction of sin, if any at all. The reasons that people respond are often that they have got the impression that by doing this they're going to receive certain benefits. Illustration of the "star convert".
10. A sinner, I say, does not decide for Christ. The sinner flies to Christ in helplessness and in despair.
11. No sinner really ever decides for Christ. That's a very wrong and a very false term. A sinner flies to Christ in helplessness and in despair.
12. The argument of results can be answered in many ways. We should not hold the jesuitical doctrine of the end justifying the means. Examine the results and claims. What percentage are lost? If some are real, the work of the Spirit, would have happened anyway.
13. Differentiate between immediate and remote results. May get immediate results but consider the remote effect - the general result and effect upon the life of your church and churches in general. The total level of spirituality has gone down.
14. Ministers say their problems have increased rather than decreased. Can't get calls from certain churches. Criticized for not making the call. Introduced a carnality, unhealthy interest in numbers, impatience with the message.
15. The men who organize this activity are able to predict with extraordinary accuracy the number of responses and results. This is unthinkable in connection with the work of the Holy Spirit. You never know what the Holy Spirit is going to do. The wind bloweth where it listeth.