Personal savior?

[KCDAD]

Being familiar with The Four Spiritual Laws according to Bill Bright, and the Campus Crusade and Billy Grahnm theology, I understand what they mean when they say accept Jesus as your personal savior... but my question is this: Personal? When did we become so self centered that we dare to consider the act of the Creator to be all about "me". Yeshua is the savior of all mankind (so in that sense, also mine) but the story of Job is clear in at least one sense that God does not create, sustain or redeem His creation for our sake, but for His.
What a selfish corruption we have made of the good news! Christianity: The Greek, self centered and mystical religion of socio/economic success.

 

[Joykins]

I think the Biblical examples of God interacting with man are intensely personal.

 

[KCDAD]

I think the Biblical examples of God interacting with man are intensely personal.

Sure they are... for the survivors. What about for the thousands slain by the jawbone of an ass, or the millions (?) destroyed by the flood... or the family of Job?

 

[MoodyBlue]

The whole "personal Jesus" (thanks Depeche Mode) thing has always confused me. Never even heard the concept until I moved to the southern US. More of an emotional kind of approach, different from the drier, intellectually-based instruction I was given. But hey, whatever works for you.

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

I always personal meant you try to have a relationship with Christ not that no one else can.

 

[the Colonel]

The fact that our purpose in life is to glorify the Father does not mitigate the fact that we may come to him personally. In fact, we are called to have an intimate relationship with God so that He becomes our all in all. Doing that (and the effect it has in our lives) does give God glory.

 

[Im_A]

Being familiar with The Four Spiritual Laws according to Bill Bright, and the Campus Crusade and Billy Grahnm theology, I understand what they mean when they say accept Jesus as your personal savior... but my question is this: Personal? When did we become so self centered that we dare to consider the act of the Creator to be all about "me". Yeshua is the savior of all mankind (so in that sense, also mine) but the story of Job is clear in at least one sense that God does not create, sustain or redeem His creation for our sake, but for His.
What a selfish corruption we have made of the good news! Christianity: The Greek, self centered and mystical religion of socio/economic success.

i agree in a lot of senses here. but i'm not going to come down on the idea of our personal savior, because we do have our own personal/individual walk with Christ. but i think if we get too focused on it, we forget about what is really important in the end.

 

[mpshiel]

Being familiar with The Four Spiritual Laws according to Bill Bright, and the Campus Crusade and Billy Grahnm theology, I understand what they mean when they say accept Jesus as your personal savior... but my question is this: Personal? When did we become so self centered that we dare to consider the act of the Creator to be all about "me". Yeshua is the savior of all mankind (so in that sense, also mine) but the story of Job is clear in at least one sense that God does not create, sustain or redeem His creation for our sake, but for His.
What a selfish corruption we have made of the good news! Christianity: The Greek, self centered and mystical religion of socio/economic success.

I dunno, Both Job and Jonah seemed to take thier interation (or "walk) with God pretty personally - I do too - I just don't think God is a giant vending machine that pours out stuff when I want it - I believe that sometimes bad things will happen to me for a use which has nothing to do with me (as in to give someone else an chance to see things differnetly).

 

[britishtankgirl]

i think personal is important, extremely! in a couple of ways. its all about us there is noone else to take responsibilty for our actions. it makes worship and prayer and soo much of the christain walk and walk with God more scary. as its about how im reacting to God not what we are doing as a church what our leaders are telling us and teaching us. i dont see anything selfish about being responsible for your own fate. i think the new era the one that happened after christ dying and the spirt coming was one of maturity. before then it was diffrent and the people werent given the responsibility of their walk with God. now thanks to jesus' work here we are now responsible. i think God has allways loved personal interaction with people and thanks to jesus we can now have it. but at the price of responsibility.

 

[goofy1]

Being familiar with The Four Spiritual Laws according to Bill Bright, and the Campus Crusade and Billy Grahnm theology, I understand what they mean when they say accept Jesus as your personal savior... but my question is this: Personal? When did we become so self centered that we dare to consider the act of the Creator to be all about "me". Yeshua is the savior of all mankind (so in that sense, also mine) but the story of Job is clear in at least one sense that God does not create, sustain or redeem His creation for our sake, but for His.
What a selfish corruption we have made of the good news! Christianity: The Greek, self centered and mystical religion of socio/economic success.

You have a good point. I think we have many fuzzy church lingos and this is one of them.

 

[chokmah]

Being familiar with The Four Spiritual Laws according to Bill Bright, and the Campus Crusade and Billy Grahnm theology, I understand what they mean when they say accept Jesus as your personal savior... but my question is this: Personal? When did we become so self centered that we dare to consider the act of the Creator to be all about "me". Yeshua is the savior of all mankind (so in that sense, also mine) but the story of Job is clear in at least one sense that God does not create, sustain or redeem His creation for our sake, but for His.
What a selfish corruption we have made of the good news! Christianity: The Greek, self centered and mystical religion of socio/economic success.

I understand your point, but I think it goes much deeper. The things attributed to Jesus are, for the most part, ideals that were never conceived in the Jewish mind to be attributed to the Jewish Messiah. The Jewish Messiah is not going to be a super-human world-wide saviour. It just has no basis in the Tanakh. But that's another discussion for another thread.

 

[KCDAD]

I always personal meant you try to have a relationship with Christ not that no one else can.

What does theat mean? What kind of relationship can I have that no one else can?

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

What does theat mean? What kind of relationship can I have that no one else can?

The person was complaining about the word personal being selfish. I stated personal simply means everyone can have their own walk without excluding others walks. I would think we each have a different relationship with Christ and God as we are individuals.

 

[KCDAD]

The person was complaining about the word personal being selfish. I stated personal simply means everyone can have their own walk without excluding others walks. I would think we each have a different relationship with Christ and God as we are individuals.

Ok, I can dig that

 

[bloved]

To me, Jesus is deeply personal. And yet, He is an enigma.

When I was in my teens, I would talk to Him continuously as I walked through the woods around my home. But I also had grave disappointments that He never spoke back, at least not as audibly as I spoke to Him. This caused me, in one sense, to wonder just how personal He really was. After all, the Bible is replete with stories of encounters where God spoke to people in the OT and of Christ talking with people in the NT. Even the apostle Paul had these "revelations" where God spoke to him. All these personal encounters seemed so glorious to my humdrum life where I was continually trying to get God to talk to me just like He did with others in Bible days. I would have even settled for a brick upside my head.

Yet, as I look back over my life, He has been there. He has spoken. But it hasn't often been in the big, loud "thus saith the Lord" events. It's been more in the still whispers, even in the silences. It been more of an abiding presence than a two-way conversation that could be dictated.

And I'm coming to see that, in being the Savior of the world and the Savior of all people, it is persons that God cares about, all persons. Some aspects of what we call salvation, I think God accomplished and accomplishes in an all encompassing manner (such as redemption, the forgiveness of sins, etc.). God and mankind. But other aspects of salvation seem to be accomplished, or at least exerienced, on a very personal level. God and me.

Some Christians seem to see themselves as holy Lone-Rangers. What God did and what God does is confined to them alone or to others who are just like them. I'm starting to see the bigger picture. God does save me personally. But He doesn't do so for the sole end of saving just me. He does so so that I can be a blessing to others.

God chose Abraham personally. But He did so so that He might bless all nations through him and his seed. God raised Christ from the dead personally. But, in doing so, the Bible assures us that Jesus is the first-fruits, the first of many more to come.

I think we become introverted and stunted in our growth when we view our personal salvation as an exclusive club that God has put us into, instead of seeing it as a means of bringing salvation to others.

Just my 2c.

bloved

 

[billwald]

Then because my socialization is faulty - I barely have a personal relationship with The Wife - I am destined to Hell?

 

[KCDAD]

Then because my socialization is faulty - I barely have a personal relationship with The Wife - I am destined to Hell?

Sounds like you are already in it. Sorry, the Smart Ass bug just bit me.