The Psychological Manipulation of the "Invitation"
The following is a quote from a book by Dave Hunt, entitled, "Beyond Seduction".
The 'invitation' as it is now called, was invented by evangelist Charles G. Finney in the mid-1800s. It was a new 'measure' designed to produce 'results'. Finney did not believe that regeneration was the work of the Holy Spirit, but that man had the ability within himself to change his own heart. He wrote, 'Religion is the work of man. It is something for man to do.' The 'invitation' was a means of persuading the sinner to 'make his decision for Christ'. It was the first of many man-made methods that have since been invented to help God save souls. >The 'invitation' has become so much a part of evangelical tradition that to question it is considered heresy. Yet it is a practice that is completely without scriptural support. There is not one instance in the entire Bible of an apostle or anyone else giving an 'invitation' in the modern sense of that term. The gospel was preached, the Holy Spirit convicted of sin, and those who believed were saved. It was God's work, not man's. >Today the 'invitation' has become a sacred cow that must not be touched. It is the climax of the evangelistic meeting, the moment of decision for which the entire service has been building. The sermon is not so much a proclamation of the gospel as it is a conditioning of the audience for the 'invitation' that follows. The music, the lighting, the emotional stories, the pleading of the evangelist, are all part of a carefully orchestrated psychological manipulation designed to produce a response. >The result is a vast army of 'converts' who have been persuaded to 'make a decision' but have never been truly born again. They have been inoculated with a mild dose of Christianity that has made them immune to the real thing. They are the 'stony ground' hearers who receive the word with joy, but have no root in themselves. They are the 'tares' among the wheat, the false professors who are the greatest hindrance to the work of God. >The 'invitation' system is a denial of the sovereignty of God in salvation. It is a man-centered, man-made system that has produced a generation of shallow, carnal Christians who are a disgrace to the name of Christ. It is a system that is based on the false premise that man can save himself. It is a system that has filled the churches with unregenerate members who are a constant source of trouble and division. >It is time to return to the biblical pattern of evangelism. It is time to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God. It is time to stop manipulating people and start trusting God to do His own work. It is time to get rid of the 'invitation' and all the other man-made gimmicks that have been substituted for the power of God. >Let the Word of God be preached with boldness and clarity. Let the Holy Spirit do His work of conviction and regeneration. And let God receive all the glory for the salvation of souls.