The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-09-19
On Altar Appeals.
(Dr. Buckley in N. Y. Advocate.)

On Altar Appeals.
(Dr. Buckley in N. Y. Advocate)
Question 4. Where In Scripture or
theology is it taught that sinner, in
order to be saved. must rise for prayer
or come farward to the communion
rail ? and where ia the authority in
Scripture for the officiating minister to
declare that those persons who fai! to
comply with these directions grieve
Gods Spirit, reject Christ, and peru
their hope of salvation
Answer. There is no authority in
the Scriptures for the declaration that
a sinner, in order to be saved, must
rise for prayers, or come forword to the
communion rail. There was no COM
munion rail in Scripture times.
No minister has authority to declare
that a person who refuses to rise for
PRAYERS or come forward to the com.
munion rail grieves Gods Spirit, re-
jects Christ, or perils his hope of saliva
tion. Many expressions that fall from
the lips of some ministers and some
eyaneelists are little short Of bias
phemy, such as this scene Ia minister
standing with watch in his hand >
1--WE shall close this meeting in one
minute in which to give your heart to
God, one minute in which to reject
Him. Then, failing to secure the
rising Of any, as he turned away, he
uttered these wores: "Without doubt
some have lost their last chance Of SAL
vation." >,
But every minister has authority to
declare that "Whosoever shall be
ashamed of Me and Of Ny words, OF
him shall the Son Of man be ashamed,
when He shall come In His own glory,
and in His Father'e, and of the holy
angels And again: "With the
heart man believeth unto righteous
ness: and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation"
Different churches and different
ministers adopt different methods to
make the act Of committal as easy "a
possible without destroying its signific-
ance, many carrying it too far:
Prior to about 1879 such thing as
inviting persons forward to the altar
was unk nown in Methodism. All It's
early triumphs took place without IT..
A wise minister will have no uniform
method: and especially should he
never be guilty of the unpardonabie
conceit Of threatening persons with
dam nation for refusing his invita-
tions, or not being led to Christ by his,
possibly imperfect, presentations OF
the Gospel. We have known preachers
that might have harangued Us until
thew or we dropped dead, and they
could not have led us to Christ.
The writer thought he was Gospel
hardened bt,cause these men could not
move him, but in one case he subse-
ouently discovered that he had spirit
ual insight, even In an unregenerate
condition, to discern the sounding
brass and tinkling cymbal character OF
the performance, or to feel 1t If he did
not see 1t. Though man be sincere
and pure, it does not follow from Gods
word or from human reason that he IL
qualified to manifest Christ with
equal clearness to everyone.
The only thing a minister can say
with the authority Of Gods word is ID
substance this: While the Gospel is
being presented to you. while the spirit
ia plainly striving with the people,
while the devout, are praying Tor
YOU and for your conversion ;-if at
suoh q time YOU who have voluntarily
come here to this meeting, and placed
Yourselves under these appeals, resist
these spiritual influences, you take an
awful responsibility you are harden
mo vour heart. Even indecision In
such case Is decision. If on the other
hand YOU have no feeling, and your
heart Is uumoved, as though you were
hearing q lecture upon some ordinary
theme. this should alarm you into
feeling, for you are listening to Gods
trnth' Your course here may soop
make you past feeling:
These things can be said ana I'M
piled. The sinner is grieving the
Spirit and periling his hope OF saliva,
ton every day he remains estrangeo
from God but whether In any parti-
cular case Of refusal to rise he is doing
80 ia q matter that no preacher can De
sure of, and therefore no preacher can
affirm without irreverence.
Having distinguished this point, ac-
cording to the light given unto us,. we
wish to add that the man who refuses
capriciously to comply with any earn
eat minister's efforts to save him takes
a responsibility of serious nature,
and the one who says, ~ will not do
what you propose''-unless what Is
proposed ia in his conscientious opinion
wrong-will find 1t impossible to be-
come Christian until he becomes
willing to do that thing for an es-
sentiai element of finding God is the
subordination of self, a prerequisite to
tha EXERCISE of saving faith.