How God saves spiritually and the means by which He does so, is something many church goers are completely confused and flat out wrong about. Most believe it's a manipulation of emotions that is accompanied with salvation, rather than the sole conviction of God regenerating them. I recall talking to someone just recently about a community project the local church was doing. The person said, "maybe someone will hear a sad story and be saved" (paraphrased). Of course, being aware of that church's theology I knew exactly what method she was speaking of. I'm sure that the woman would agree that testimonial videos do not save a person, but seems to think that them being sad will emotionally entice them and move them to be saved, as if it is the church's job to stir up emotion within the lost.
I guess what I'm really trying to say is that music, sad stories, life change testimonies, social services and soft words do not in any way lead someone to repentance. Controlling someone's emotions by these means is not how you save anyone. In fact, we as humans do not save anyone at all. God may use you as an instrument and He may save someone through an invitation, but the extent to which churches have gone by planning to have someone within the pews to come down to the altar, just to make everyone more feel comfortable, then playing "Just As I Am" 13 times and other methods, just go to show how confused they are about how salvation and repentance work.
Bob did not get saved because "sister Mary sang that certain song" after the screaming preaching, which probably included "God loves you and wants everyone to be saved, but you have to choose him!". Five people are not saved because "someone obeys the lord during the invitation and goes to the altar, and then that moves everyone else". All these things are traditions, void of Scripture; rampant within Arminian camps.
What does this all stem from? Free will theology seems to be the culprit here. The most offensive concept that I find is that man is able to create conditions that would lead the lost to repentance, yet god is not and fails to do so continually because of our free will. Man can win over man's free will; god cannot. Man wins souls; god does not. It is a spit in the face of God to believe this is how it really works. If God is all knowing and all wise, then why is it that He is not able to create the required conditions for repentance, yet almighty man is? The Arminian god is impotent, a helpless beggar pleading, even trying to save those who He knows will not accept Him but will be in hell for all eternity. Not only is this a contradiction soteriologically, but it is a sick kind of love for those who He casts into hell. He loves them, yet is going to burn them forever while having no power to change it.
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