Horton on Altar Calls and Rededication

Last night I couldn't sleep. I'd finished all my novels and Warriors for God so I turned to "Putting Amazing Back into Grace" by Michael Horton. I found several of his comments quite insightful.

"'The altar call?,' I responded. 'We were supposed to have gotten rid of altars in the Reformation, substituting the Lord's Table, since Christ was crucified once and for all at Calvary!' . . . Rededication became for many, including myself, the equivalent of the Mass, sacrificing Christ again and again, hoping each time that I now had the amount of grace I needed to make it. . .Then too, one can almost wonder whether the Roman Catholic 'altar call' is at least more biblical. After all, it grew out of the scriptural sacrament of Holy Communion, whereas, our altar call is little more than a century old."

The altar call has become common place in evangelical churches. Typically, at the end of a service, the Pastor will ask if anyone wants Christ and, if so, to pray and prayer and come forward. To begin, Horton makes a very valid point. Christians don't have altars anymore. We no longer require a sacrifice, for we have Christ. The nomenclature is almost heretical.

Most importantly, one must wonder what the altar call signifies. It is not found in Scripture. Never the less, evangelicals rely on this as a means of grace. Need saving faith? Come forward. Need more grace to cover your rowdy Saturday night? Come forward. The idea of finding grace outside of where Christ has promised it to be found is little more than Catholicism. They admit to having seven sacraments, I wonder if Baptists realize they have invented a third.

Christians speak of being born again but then also undergoing a second experience where "it really became personal" or "then I started to take it seriously." These second experiences usually happen at a rededication ceremony- at a summer camp, at a youth group retreat. The little Baptist admits to leading a life of sin but seeks more grace and favor from God to turn from this life. The poor Dispie needs extra grace-- more grace than he or she already has. Interestingly enough, the Bible does not speak to Christians requiring additional grace. Christ is sufficient. All sins-- past, present, future-- are covered by His blood. We don't need a rededication. We already have Christ! The rededication ceremony implies Christ is somehow lacking. By running to the altar, one essentially attempts to sacrifice Christ again, to squeeze a little extra forgiveness out of Him. This, once again, is almost heresy.

The Bible does speak to a ceremony where grace is provided to the believer: Communion. Oddly enough, the churches that emphasize rededication almost always use it as a substitute for a weekly communion service. There is often time for emotionalism and man-made trickery, but rarely is there time for what the Bible commadns. It is at the Lord's Table where we find a fountain of grace, predestined as a means to ensure confidence that we are fully forgiven. The message of the Lord's Table is all those rowdy things we did on Saturday night, all the sins we commit, are ALREADY forgiven. We passive receive it as the officer of the church hand out the bread and wine. This message is fundamentally different from the rededication or the altar call. They speak "Do something and receive grace." The Table speaks "I already have forgiven you, Beloved. See my broken body and flowing blood. Sit back and rest."

If you are in Christ, your are a new creation. Your sins are forgiven. Pleading with God is not necessary. Do not run to the altar, run to Christ.