The section on “spiritual marriage” is short, but chock full of gospel excellence.

Growing up in American Evangelicalism, I knew how to “close” an evangelistic encounter. Having sufficiently stirred with the target’s emotions and guilt, you led them in the (sacrament of the?) Sinner’s Prayer™ (© 1954), and both parties left (often never seeing each other again) satisfied that eternal security had been purchased [/sarcasm]. But upon stumbling into the doctrines of grace, how do you actually lead someone into saving faith? Sure, your TULIP and covenant theology come into sharper focus, but how do you appeal to a spiritually dead will for conversion?

I submit that Evangelista’s interaction with Neophytus serves as an excellent example of how to press the Gospel message home. Evangelista’s question: “But tell me truly, are you resolved to put forth all your power to believe, and so to take Christ?” is a fantastic picture – not of subverting the emotions and the will – but of testing in a ministerial manner whether or not God has brought life out of death (Ephesians 2:1-10). Continue reading at TheMarrow.Org…