One passage in scriptures that have puzzled me is the one concerning a slave girl who was following Paul around proclaiming that Paul is proclaiming the way to be saved (some say that she actually said "a way to be saved" not "the way to be saved" and therefore not the Christian message, but notice that Paul did not immediately stop her, plus it is doubtful that the woman's message was that Paul's way of salvation is just one way among many, considering her zeal). Her message was Christian (Jesus is the only way to salvation) but the apostle Paul got annoyed, turned around, and drove out the demon from this slave girl.

     What puzzled me is that this girl seems to be a zealous follower of Paul, and therefore a follower of his message of salvation. Paul did not just tell this girl to keep quiet and stop distracting him, but he cast out a demon from her. It makes me ask the question, could there be among those who are proclaiming that Jesus saved them, those who are not really followers of Jesus? This question made me think of the altar calls that many pastors engage in, where they ask the those in the congregation to come forward if they want to pray to receive Jesus. Those who prayed the prayer, they would consider at that moment to be Christians. I have several problems with the identification of conversion with this crisis experience, where a person is brought to a point of praying to receive Jesus.

 1. When the Spirit came upon the apostles and they preached the Gospel that Jesus is the Messiah and he proved this by his resurrection, a community of believers was formed. Notice that those who believed the gospel became part of a community that proclaimed faith in Jesus and placed themselves under the apostles' teaching. They became disciples, individuals living the Christian life in community. 

2. Those who emphasize the crisis experience (many evangelicals) usually are suspicious of "Christians" in churches that don't have a focus on the crisis experience (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and mainline protestant churches). As a chaplain, I've witnessed great faith in Jesus from those who don't focus on crisis experiences, like Assyrian Catholics. Their zeal for Jesus would put some evangelicals to shame, but to their loss, many evangelicals would suspect these Assyrian Catholics to not be real Christians. This is because they may not have prayed to receive Jesus in their hearts. This is a divisive attitude, when Christians should be united, at least in spirit.

3. On the other hand, there is a benefit of the doubt given to "Christians" who have prayed the prayer that is unwarranted.  Some of these "Christians" could be going to fortunetellers or calling God the universe, which indicates an unChristian worldview. Some of these "Christians" may not have a great understanding of the grace of God. This could be indicated by their alienation from people in their lives, or their penchant for pushing people away. A "Christianity" devoid of grace is nominal Christianity. To consider a hateful person a Christian brother because he prayed the prayer gives him a false assurance.

How can we preserve God's grace towards sinners while at the same time upholding God's truth. I believe we should see the Christian life as a journey with God, beginning at birth. What I mean is that God is molding a person, using a Christian upbringing and/or through life experiences, to be fit for his presence. The crisis experience would then not be the beginning of the journey but one of several points in the journey when a person becomes aware of God as he revealed himself in Jesus. Everyone in this journey is growing in apprehending the Christian worldview and the grace of God in their lives. The Christian's journey consists of a series of repentances, where a person's heart and mind are transformed, and his affection for God in Jesus is increased while other affections decrease. That growth is manifested in the person's thinking, his attitudes, and his actions. The person who is focused on his happiness becomes more focused on other people's happiness, for example. In this journey paradigm, we may give a person who claims to be a Christian the benefit of the doubt, and challenge him to grow in the knowledge of God and his grace. This is discipleship, spreading the knowledge of God and his grace as waters cover the seas. Evangelism is a form of discipleship also for Christians.  

The end of this journey is not the person's reaching a state of perfection but the apprehension of God's face in death or in Jesus' second coming. In the end of this journey, the Christian will hear God say "Well done good and faithful servant."  Soli Deo Gloria