Jesus taught a parable about the seed and the sower. He talks about those who hear the Word but are like seed that fell by the wayside. He said they hear the Word, “Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12, NASB).
It should be no surprise that the devil does not want unbelievers to become believers. He is our adversary. He believes in the power of the Word more than some people do. His fear is that if unbelievers believe the Word, they will become saved. He does not want that to happen. He uses any means necessary to steal the Word so it won’t take root in an unbeliever’s heart.
So, let’s talk about the invitation to salvation that we extend during our public worship gatherings. The invitation must be front and center. Everything we do throughout the service should be leading up to that opportunity for sinners to accept Christ as their Savior. But considering the two paragraphs above, it should be clear that much spiritual opposition exists during the invitation to salvation. An unbeliever’s response to that moment is a matter of eternal consequences.
The enemy will exploit anything he can to marginalize the invitation to salvation. We must deny him every opportunity to do so that we can. We can sing and get as happy as we want to as the choir or praise team leads us into a time of singing and praising God. But we must demand order during the ministry of the Word. Babies and little children should not be running around in the sanctuary at this time. No distractions should be allowed.
Becoming a Participant of the Invitation to Salvation
It can be so easy for believers to dismiss the spiritual battle unbelievers encounter during the invitation to salvation. For those of us who are already followers of Christ, it may be hard to understand that unbelievers struggle with making that all-important decision. But we don’t walk in their shoes.
Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). But that is not true about unbelievers. They are subject to works of the devil.
Every church member can and should become a part of his or her church’s invitation to salvation. Remember, the devil has a mission. It is diametrically opposed to the mission of the church. We need to pray against the works of the enemy.
What a difference it would make if every church member undergirded the morning worship gathering with prayer for unbelievers before leaving home to come to church. We also need to be quietly prayerful during the time the preacher makes the appeal for unbelievers to accept Christ. Doing so will create an environment conducive to the saving power of the Lord.
We can’t see the devil at work during the ministry of the Word. But based on Jesus’ parable, we know that he is. The local church must do all she can to help unbelievers say yes to Jesus.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.