Extending the Invitation

The term invitation refers to “the act of inviting,” which means, “to request the presence or participation of; to request formally; to urge politely.” These definitions are applicable to extending the invitation when the church gathers for worship and/or Bible study. At Richwood, we extend this invitation every time the church meets. Every time. What is this invitation, and why do we offer it?

In most churches of Christ, the invitation is as much a part of worship as the “opening” and “closing” prayers or the Lord’s Supper. Yet, while those acts of worship are scripturally mandated along with giving, preaching, and singing, the invitation is not commanded and is not considered an “act” of worship all by itself. For one thing, the invitation is offered by only one man—usually, but not always, the preacher. Some congregations have a man other than the preacher offer the invitation during what is known as the devotional on Wednesday evenings. However, the main objective of the devotional is to extend the invitation. Since the invitation is not commanded, it falls into the category of tradition. While tradition cannot and should not be bound upon brethren, some traditions are very worthwhile. The invitation is one such tradition.

Furthermore, even though the invitation is not commanded (and is thereby a tradition), it is a tradition that is rooted in Scripture. On the Day of Pentecost after Jesus ascended back to Heaven, Peter preached the gospel of Jesus to the crowd that was assembled in Jerusalem for the feast. Peter preached that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah that had been “crucified and slain” “by wicked hands” (Acts 2:23). He continued to preach that Jesus’ resurrection was the fulfillment of a prophecy, particularly that of David. Some of those in the audience were deeply moved by this troubling revelation, as indicated by their response: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter responded:

Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (v. 38—all quotes are from the KJV).

This was the first post-ascension invitation. Yet, even in extending it, Peter was only following the example of his Master, whom he had once heard say:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matt 11:28-30).

Today we continue to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus and the apostle Peter in extending such an invitation. For those who have yet to obey the gospel through faith, repentance, confession, and baptism, it is an invitation to do just that. Unless one has obeyed the gospel he cannot and will not be saved. However, even those who have obeyed the gospel and received salvation may stumble and fall or go astray. The invitation is likewise extended to them.

Once again, we turn to an incident involving the apostle Peter, who with his fellow apostle, John, had gone down to Samaria to lay hands upon the newly baptized Christians there in order that they might receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). A man known as Simon the sorcerer had heard the preaching of Philip and was baptized along with many of the other Samaritans. Yet when Simon saw the power that Peter and John was able to impart upon these new Christians, he wanted to buy this ability from them (vs. 18-19). Peter severely rebuked Simon for this selfish desire, referring to it as “wickedness” and commanded him to repent and to pray if he wanted to receive forgiveness (vs. 20-23). To Simon's credit, he immediately recognized his error and begged Peter to likewise pray for him. While not stated, we may presume that Peter, having a love for Simon's soul, agreed to pray for him, but that did not absolve Simon from the responsibility to pray for himself as Peter had commanded him to do.

These are the two basic reasons for one to respond to the invitation. We offer the invitation because souls are at stake. We want to invite non-Christians to become Christians and for Christians who either through overt sin or neglect have fallen out of favor with God.

There may be other reasons why someone would respond to the invitation. He may be burdened and feel in need of the prayers of the brethren to overcome that burden. This is certainly appropriate to do. The New Testament speaks often of the need for us to pray for one another (Col. 4:3; 1 Thess. 5:25; Jam. 5:16).

Some brethren have used this opportunity to make their desire to identify with a local congregation known at this time. Rather than tell the elders—or one or two of the members, thus letting the information circulate throughout the congregation, they may respond to the invitation where everyone can hear the news at the same time. We must point out that people need not, nor should they, wait to respond to the Lord’s invitation until the Sunday or Wednesday assemblies if they recognize their need and have the desire to do so. The Philippian jailer was baptized in the middle of the night (Acts 16:33).

We have perhaps taken for granted extending the invitation over the years. For many, it has never occurred to them that the invitation would not be offered or that anyone would ever question whether or not it should be done. Furthermore, we have never considered whether it should be offered in a different way than what we are accustomed. Some have questioned the necessity of the invitation. As previously mentioned, we have no Biblical directive or a Scriptural example of this being done in the manner that we do it; therefore we have no right to bind this on brethren who, for whatever reason, choose not to do so. We do however, have the right to question the wisdom of those who do not offer it or offer it in such an ambiguous way that people do not even know to what they may be responding.

Some invitations are rather ambiguous, such as, “If you want to come to Jesus, come as we stand and sing.” Invitations should be specific. What are those listening to the message inviting people to do? In the two examples cited from Peter, he offered very specific invitations. “Repent and be baptized,” and, “Repent and pray.” It is hard to overlook the significance of repentance in either of these invitations.

The Lord Jesus likewise stressed the importance of repentance, stating, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). He then repeated these instructions verbatim just two verses later (v.5). Furthermore, in His letters to the seven churches of Asia, the prevailing theme was repentance, urging five of the seven congregations to “repent” (Rev. 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 19).

Your affable author has also heard invitations that sound more like an invitation to therapy than an entreaty to obey the gospel or to be restored to the family of God. Dubious statements such as, “If you have anything in your life that you want to share with us,” are proffered as “invitations.” God invites all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), and while He is concerned with our well-being, both physical and psychological, He is much more concerned that we obey His commandments in order to receive salvation and that we remain in a saved condition. Extending the invitation each time the church meets is a noble and worthy practice. Let no member or visitor say he did not have the opportunity to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20).

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the March 5th, 2023 issue of The Richwood Reaper. A few minor edits were made.]