Listen to today's typical gospel presentation. You will hear sinners entreated with such phrases as "accept Jesus as personal savior"; "ask Jesus into your heart"; "invite Christ into your life"; or "make a decision for Christ" You may be accustomed to hearing those phrases that it will surprise you to learn that none of them is based on biblical terminology. They are the products of a diluted, watered down gospel. It is not the Gospel according to Jesus.
The Gospel Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow Him in submissive obedience, not just a plea to make a decision or pray a prayer.
Must a person make Christ Lord as a condition for salvation?
Scriptures never speak of anyone "making" Christ Lord except God Himself, who has made Him both Lord and Christ" Acts 2:36. He "IS" Lord over all, Rom 14:9; Phil 2:11 and the bible mandate is not to "make" Christ Lord but rather bow to His lordship. Those that reject His lordship or give mere lip service to His sovereignty are not saved, 1 Cor 12:3; Luke 6:46-49.
All who believe the Word of God will agree that Jesus is LORD. He is ever and always LORD, whether or not anyone acknowledges His lordship or surrenders to His authority.
I recently read through the OT and really noticed this time around it was always God doing the accepting of man's repentance, man's sacrifice, etc. God never asked or waited for any man to accept Him. So why do people say "accepting Jesus" is how we are saved? My bible says, repent, trust and believe.
Could it be that the idea of "accepting Jesus" is part of the altar call prorocol? It seems to me that the altar call looks a lot like communion in the Catholic Church. By that I mean a person has to go to the front and receive of accept the body and blood of Jesus. It seems to follow that that's where the altar call and accepting or receiving Jesus came from. Yeah, and since He IS Lord it's a little rough for me to make Him Lord. "You will be LORD!!!". Maybe if I yell it He'll catch on.
You're right. These are non-biblical teachings that really make little sense anyway. Yes, God came to His people. They weren't looking for Him? All of the patriarchs, the prophets, the poets and the disciples were sought out by Him.
I was not saved by saying a prayer or accepting Jesus as my personal savior. I was saved because He came to me when I did not expect Him and took me into Himself.
I was not saved by saying a prayer or accepting Jesus as my personal savior. I was saved because He came to me when I did not expect Him and took me into Himself.
I can relate! I didn't ask Him into my heart either.
Oh how I hate the alter calls! We have the heretic Charles Finney to thank for the alter call, he only wanted to see the fruit of his labor after whipping a crowd into an emotional frenzy.
Funny how we still see this today, a pastor will put on a performance running back and forth, jump up and down pound on the pulpit and expect to see people to come to the alter all while he is encouraging them forward to get things right.
It's kind of amazing how so many people are misunderstanding what the sinner's prayer and others like it are -- it is an acknowledgement of Jesus as savior and lord. Folks, it doesn't get any easier than that! No-one is saying, oh, we have the power to appoint Jesus as Lord. No-one is saying that the prayer itself saves! Why do you think pastors say "accept Jesus as..." -- it's because it's incumbent upon us to REALIZE who he is! No matter if you're the strictest Calvinist alive, you can't remove the necessity of man to yielding to God. The Bible clearly says believe and confess with your mouth, doesn't it?
The Bible clearly says believe and confess with your mouth, doesn't it?
YES it does! Nothin wrong saying that? But I have a question: Define believe the way it was understood in the first century? And what does it mean to confess?
SilverFire
What's the reason for complicating the obvious?
That is exactly my question. By telling people to "accept Jesus" can confuse the obvious, when we should be telling people to count the cost, to confess, to repent, to trust and believe, these are biblical terms and are God's Words. Why do we want to use our own word when there is "saving power" in God's Words? The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul... Psalm 19:7
Just because you and I understand and know what we mean when we hear "accept Jesus" does not mean an unregenerate sinner will understand. Trust me I know the damage it can do, I heard these phrases used my whole life and became a victim of this powerless teaching. I know if we sat down and laid out what salvation is we would be in total agreement, it is in the presentation that the power is lost because we do not follow the biblical outline.
BTW I am not a Calvinist, I'm a Christian. If John Calvin happens to agree with some of my prayerful studies & understanding of the bible, good for him. I have never read anything Calvin wrote so I really can't be called a Calvinist or say I follow his teachings cause I don't know what his teachings are. Maybe he follows mine???
For me personally, things worked out with me and Jesus after I said the sinner's prayer. I think to say the sinner's prayer is the first step to help us having Christ way of thinking. If we havent said it we would find it real hard to understand the Bible since we do not have the Holy Spirit helping us to understand the Bible. It would be very dangerous for men to interpret God's words just by their own brain and understanding.
I believe you have given some advice that a lot of Men tell people,do not use your mind when reading and studying the Word of YHWH.
That is one reason why the Body of Christ is the way that it is,people do not want to think.
This is what the Word of YHWH says about thinking and his Word.
1Ti 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1Ti 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Psa 119:78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Please do not let anyone decieve you into believing that we are not to be using our minds when,reading,studying,meditating or proclaiming the Word of YHWH..
One of the greatest things Yeshua did was to get the people to be thinking.
Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Agape' and Charis:
St.George
ps:
I have been reading and studying the Word of YHWH for awile and I could not locate the Sinners Prayer.
Could you please show me where the sinners prayer is in the Scriptures.
For the Sriptures that I read say:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Gal 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
If there is anything that I have to do in order to be saved,then Yeshua died in vain!
Please stop listening so much to men,and start listening to YWHW,Yehsua,and the Holy Spirit.
@ Silverfire, the acknowledgment of Jesus as savior and lord is not in the sinner's prayer but rather in the worshipful and obedient life of the Christian.
1Jo 2:3 And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commands.
1Jo 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, know that everyone doing righteousness has been generated from Him.
1Jo 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers. The one not loving the brother remains in death.
1Jo 3:24 And the one keeping His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He gave to us.
I don't think the Bible has ever said that saying a prayer of any kind is acknowledgment of anything regarding the Lordship of Jesus. In fact even the verse regarding confessing that He is Lord is not about just making a statement of faith but also believing it in our hearts. Believing literally means to hold to something as if your life depended on it. Do you actually think there are that many people who confess with their mouths and also believe with their hearts? I really don't believe it happens as often as you might believe it does. Many Christians fail to understand the gravity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but willingly accept the fluff of the Gospel of the Pulpit.
Yes,exactly right young man,Are we trusting Yeshua to save us from the judgement of GOD,or are we trusting prayers,obedience to ordinances,'going to church',good works,etc..
All of theses are either the results of being saved,or these are what i trust as to having a relationship in Yeshua.
Either Yeshua saves or He does not.
I repent and confess Yeshua,having been saved;not to being saved..
Mant have this and many other teachings of Yeshua wrong.
They follow the teachings of men,not the Holy Spirit,leading and guiding into all truth,righteousness,and understanding,making the Word of YHWH real,and alive.
Sinner prayer is taken from Rome10:9-10, I see that the verse was slightly mentioned before. Then we have to believe with our heart AND confess with our mouth, so we could be saved. How else we could be saved rather than what it is written there in Rome10:9? See the AND written there on the verse, not one following another in order. Believe first then would admit Jesus as Lord (not officially but like just simply call Jesus in our prayer), or admit by our mouth that Jesus is Lord (as being led by the preachers) then we believe with our heart. Like all people in the NT, for example Luke23:42, he did say the sinner prayer implicitly, the rest of the disciples called Jesus as Lord and believe what Jesus said. The sinner prayer doesnt have to be spoken in a template, yet the essence should be there. I believe the reason of those preachers were using the same template since its the shortest version that could be taught under two hour service. If u find another simpler way to say that Rome10:9 in simpler way, go and email them lol this last one applies to all people who read this :-)
@Thunder, How did u get saved? Did you first believe that Jesus was Lord then u started to call Jesus as Lord?
@MrRow: not all people who believe the Words will agree that Jesus is Lord, name it, the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in Gods Words, but they were so blind of interpreting God's Words by their own mind so they had no idea of who the Real God was. They did not let God to show them what the true meaning of His own words. Even when He was standing in front of them, they failed to see the real Messiah. They studied it everyday yet they had no idea who God really was.
