“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13 NASB1995)
There are many people in today’s world who use this passage of Scripture out of context to teach that all we have to do is to make some verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ, to receive him into our lives, or to invite him into our hearts, and now all our sins are forgiven and heaven is guaranteed us when we die, and no works are required of us by God. And so they may go through life convinced that they are Christians, and that they will end up in heaven one day, but while they do not honor God, in truth.
They live their lives not much different from those who have never made confessions of faith in Jesus Christ, for they live worldly lives, focused on being entertained and on gratifying their own fleshly desires. And some of them may be good people who do good to others and who do not willfully do what they know is harmful to others, but still their lives remain under the control of the flesh, for they have not died with Christ to sin, and they are not walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice.
So, what we need to realize here is that words have meanings. And we need to know what they mean so that we can correctly interpret them. Plus context is critical to correct biblical interpretation of passages of Scripture. And so it would be good to read the whole of the book of John to get the correct biblical context. And read some of Paul’s writings, too. But read the Scriptures prayerfully, seeking the Lord for truth, and don’t go by something you have always been taught, which may be wrong, if truth be told.
This word “receive” means to "’actively lay hold of to take or receive,’ see NAS dictionary) – properly, to lay hold by aggressively (actively) accepting what is available (offered)” (source: Bible Hub Interlinear). It also means to accept, to take, to have, to welcome. And what is it that is being offered? Jesus Christ is being offered, yes. And who is Jesus? He is God, the Word, our creator God, and the Light which shines in the darkness. He is truth, righteousness, moral purity and all that is God and that aligns with God.
And what does it mean to believe in him? The verb tense is “believing” which has to do with active ongoing faith. And belief is faith, which means to be persuaded, in this case to be persuaded of God. And God persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with him to sin and to walk in obedience to his commands in daily practice, as believing faith which saves. For by faith in Jesus, we are born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
So, when we receive Jesus, we accept him, which has to do with consent, agreement, and approval. But he is not just a name. He is God. He is holy. He is righteous, morally pure, truthful, and faithful. And he gave his life up for us on that cross so that we will, by faith in him, die with him to sin and walk in obedience to his commands. So by receiving him into our lives we are accepting all of who he is and what he did for us on that cross into our lives so that we are now being conformed by God to his likeness.
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
This is kind of like accepting a job. When we accept a job, we are not just collecting a paycheck while we do absolutely nothing. The person we work for has assignments and job responsibilities they expect us to fulfill as part of our agreement, i.e. as part of us receiving their employment. And belief in Jesus comes with assignments from God which we must fulfill in order for us to receive the pay check, the reward at the end of the day. But if we refuse to do what he requires of us, we will not receive eternal rewards at the end.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2]
My Sheep
Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they follow me.
The False Light Darkens
An Original Work / August 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
