Receiving Jesus the BIBLICAL way.

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edpobre

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Receiving Jesus the BIBLICAL way.

Let's go over John 1:12 and try to understand what it is telling us. It says: "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."

Those who receive Christ do not automatically become children of God. They only acquire the right to become children of God. And like any other right, it has to be exercised in order for one to avail of that right. Other versions of the Bible say "... power to become children of God."

One who receives Jesus has in his hand the right or power to become a child of God. He could refuse to exercise that right or refuse to turn on that power and having received Jesus would not make him a child of God.

The belief of many that to receive Jesus is by inviting him to come into your heart through prayer is not the Biblical way of receiving Jesus. This is false.

When Jesus sent out his twelve apostles to preach the gospel (Matt. 10:5), among other things he told them was: "He who receives YOU receives ME, and he who receives ME receives HIM who sent me." (Matt. 10:40).

The only way to receive Jesus and acquire the right to become a child of God is to receive the messengers sent by him or by God.

Apostle Paul emphasized the need for messengers sent by God when he said: "And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things.”

Ed
 

ZoneChaos

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Lets start simple, and work our way in ;)

Those who receive Christ do not automatically become children of God.


Let me see if I am understanding what you are saying here...

Above it seems that you are saying that, recieving Christ as your Saviour is not enough to become a child of God.

However, in the verse you quote:

"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."

It says something else. Look at the last part of the verse, first. "...to those who accept his name." This refers to those who accept the name of Messiah as The Messiah that the Jews were waiting for. By accepting HIs name, they accept Him as thier Savior, profisied, as their Messiah.

"But as many recieved, to them he gave the right to become children of God. "

The "right" in question is not the right to Salvation, but the right to become a child of God, as a result of that Salvation.

Jesus died for evey soul. Every soul is offered a chance for eternal life. By accepting Him as Saviour, we are given Eternal Life. And by that, we are given the right to become Children of God.
 
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Lord Dorpaldonger

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You know... I think there are other ways of finding Jesus than reading the bible. For one thing... You have to admit the Bible is pretty darn boring. I mean why do they have to tell the story of Jesus three or four times. It's all the same thing. I'll let you guys know that I saw Jesus Christ Superstar last night and I was blown away by it. It sure is a lot more entertaining than the Bible.
 
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edpobre

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ZoneChaos,

You wrote:
Above it seems that you are saying that, recieving Christ as your Saviour is not enough to become a child of God.


I am not saying that receiving Christ as your Saviour is not enough to become a child of God. What I'm saying is receiving Christ as your saviour doesn't make you a child of God and it doesn't save you either. The Bible doesn't say that accepting Christ as saviour makes you a child ofGod or saves you. Hence, this belief is false.

You wrote:
However, in the verse you quote:

"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."

It says something else. Look at the last part of the verse, first. "...to those who accept his name." This refers to those who accept the name of Messiah as The Messiah that the Jews were waiting for. By accepting HIs name, they accept Him as thier Savior, profisied, as their Messiah.


Believing in his name or accepting the name of Messiah as the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for doesn't save you nor make you a child of God. This belief is false.

You wrote:
The "right" in question is not the right to Salvation, but the right to become a child of God, as a result of that Salvation.


If you are not a child of God, whose child are you? Can someone who is not a child of God be saved then he gets the right to become a child of God? What kind of reasoning is this?

You wrote:
Jesus died for evey soul. Every soul is offered a chance for eternal life. By accepting Him as Saviour, we are given Eternal Life. And by that, we are given the right to become Children of God.


The Bible does not support what you are saying. John 1:12 is plain and simple. Receive Jesus and you are given the right to become a child of God. After you receive Jesus, you must be redeemed by his blood for you to receive the adoption as son of God (Gal. 4:5).

As a son of God, you become an heir of God (Gal. 4:7) and co-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17) according to the promise (Gal. 3:29).

Ed
 
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edpobre

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Zamar,

You wrote:
So according to the author of this thread, Romans 10 verses 9 and 10 have no meaning?

Salvation is such an easy thing for man. Jesus did all of the work and now there is another one who wants us all to jump through his flaming hoops. Otherwise we are not saved?


Your statement that salvation is such an easy thing is false. Jesus said narrow is the gate and difficult is the way to life and very few find it (Matt. 7:14).

If Romans 10:9 is the only basis for salvation, a lot of people still would not be saved. Confessing Jesus as your Lord necessitates doing everything Jesus says (Luke 6:46) and believing that God had to raise Jesus from the grave because Jesus being a man, could not do it himself.

However, one needs to become a child of God in order to become heir to God's promises. And the only way to receive adoption as son of God is to be redeemed by the blood of Christ. Thus, only those who were redeemed by the blood of Christ can confess that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from te dead.

Ed
 
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edpobre

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LB,

You wrote:
hey..I have posted several verses that say it is faith alone..but this guy doesn't believe that.. you don't have to do "works" or anything other then truely believe..that's biblical..check galatians..


You cannot find a verse in the Bible that says one can be saved by faith only. This belief is false. The truth is apostle James wrote: "You see then that man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24).

Ed
 
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LouisBooth

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""You see then that man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24)."

You're missing a key thing here..it's called context..lets look at this book before we go on...
Lets first look at what seems to be the reason this statement (which you have miserably taken out of context) was really said..James 2:14 "what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" The answer is no because it is not true faith..This is the faith he is refering to. You have failed to take this verse in context..you ripped it out and twisted it to mean what you wanted it to. THAT IS WRONG.

Now lets look at a verse in context shall we?

If you look at Galatians 2:6 you see God doesn't judge by external apperances..he judges your "heart"

For works are what flows out of what you believe..this is why they are natural from true faith..this is what the book of James is addressing.

Galatians 2:15-16 "We wh are Jes by birt and not 'gentile sinners' know that a man is NOT justifed by observing the law (ie works) but by FAITH in Jesus christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we many be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

It is by faith alone that we are saved...now when you give me verses give me context as well for even Satan himself used scipture against Jesus in the desert..but without context. Yes, its that important.
 
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LouisBooth

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"The Bible doesn't say that accepting Christ as saviour makes you a child ofGod or saves you. Hence, this belief is false."

Umm..yeah it does :lol: let me break it down for you..justification to the law=salvation because that is what is keeping us from "getting" to God. Galatians Chapter 2 and 3 are a direct answer to that :lol: You need to check your bible again before saying statements like that. It is by faith alone we are saved.
 
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LouisBooth

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Eps 2:8-10 "For is is by farace you have been saved, THOURGH FAITH, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works (ie baptism, good deeds, cirumsision) so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, cretaed in christ Jesus to do good forks, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

See that faith alone part ;)
 
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Josephus

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As far as I understand it, we are asked to do two things in our life:

1. Recieve Jesus as our Savior from sin and death.

2. Make Jesus Lord of our lives.

Ed, may I ask why you are posting? There usually is an etiquitte to posting, and most posts usually include points or questions to be answered by others. Comming in here and looking like a know-it-all sometimes doesn't help the witness of the Christians that are here. Please be considerate (though I am not saying that you aren't - I would just like to know where you are going with your posts.)

-the guy who owns this board
 
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Josephus

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There is: There are several good books that put the bible in novel form. There are also movies that cover Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joseph, David, Jesus, the gospels, the acts, even Revelation.

The Matthew series on DVD is the whole book of Matthew verse by verse. You just have to know where to look and how to look.

But the bible isn't boring when you've got the right translation. A King James bible is the worst for anyone to begin with. The Message bible is the best for someone to get started, though I recommend the Spirit Filled bible for someone to have both the old and new testaments. Heck, I've got 11 bibles. I'd be happy to send one to you.
 
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ZoneChaos

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John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"

This verse above, says that those that recived Him, and believe in HIs name have already been given the power (Salvation and redemption from sin) to become a Child of God.

After you receive Jesus, you must be redeemed by his blood for you to receive the adoption as son of God (Gal. 4:5).


The redemption is instantaneous. You do not have to eartn it, or do anything after accpeting Jesus for who He says He is. Once you accpet Him, you are redeemed.

Lets look at Galations 4:4-5

4:4 "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,"

Here God send Jesus to earth to die for us...

4:5 "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

Here He redeems us as a result of that act. Once He did this, the option to recieve the adoption was available. Notice the verse says "might". Some will not recive the adoption, becasue they will reject the truth. But those that accept the truth, will recive the adoption and be made Sons of God.

Somewhere you have mis-understood this, and came to the conclusion that accepting Christ as your Savior does not save you. The thing is, that is salvation. Accepting the truth as truth.. believe the truth as truth is Salvation. And, with Salvation comes all the perks, like being adopted by God as a Child of God.
 
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edpobre

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LouisBooth,

Ed: "You see then that man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24)."

LLB:You're missing a key thing here..it's called context..lets look at this book before we go on...
Lets first look at what seems to be the reason this statement (which you have miserably taken out of context) was really said..James 2:14 "what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" The answer is no because it is not true faith..This is the faith he is refering to. You have failed to take this verse in context..you ripped it out and twisted it to mean what you wanted it to. THAT IS WRONG.


It is clear from these verses that faith only (without deeds or works) is not true faith and no one is justified by faith only. You have been saying all along that salvation is by "faith only". Now you are saying that I ripped it out of context and twisted it when I was only quoting the verse word for word.

As you said earlier after going through "context", faith alone is not true faith. If you read Galatians 2:15-16 you will notice that "...by observing the LAW no one will be justified" Paul was referring to the observance of the law as the WORKS that justifies no one.

Eph. 2:8-9 is about "true faith" which by apostle James' definition means "faith PLUS deeds".

Heb. 11:6 gives us a Biblical illustration of what "true faith" is. It says: "But withoutfauth it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

This verse could be twisted to mean that "faith" means believing that God exists and will reward everyone who believes. "Faith alone" is needed to receive a reward from
God. This is a flalse interpretation of the verse.

The true interpretation is "faith (believing God exists PLUS diligently seeking Him) EQUALS reward. Hence, one who believes in God but does not diligently seek Him does not plese God and will not receive any reward.

Ed
 
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edpobre

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LouisBooth,

Ed: "The Bible doesn't say that accepting Christ as saviour makes you a child ofGod or saves you. Hence, this belief is false."

LB:Umm..yeah it does let me break it down for you..justification to the law=salvation because that is what is keeping us from "getting" to God. Galatians Chapter 2 and 3 are a direct answer to that You need to check your bible again before saying statements like that. It is by faith alone we are saved.[/quote

As you pointed out earlier, "faith alone" is not true faith. And nowhere in Galatians does it say tht accepting Christ as savior makes anyone a child of God. Paul was talking to people who have not only acquired the right but have actually become children of God.

You wrote:Eps 2:8-10 "For is is by farace you have been saved, THOURGH FAITH, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works (ie baptism, good deeds, cirumsision) so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, cretaed in christ Jesus to do good forks, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

See that faith alone part


I don't see the word "ALONE" in the verse. God does not allow anyone to ADD to nor SUBTRACT from His word. As apostle James said, "faith only" does not justifiy a man. It must be faith accompanied by deeds. Paul was referring to "works of law" (Galatians chapters 2 and 3).

Ed
 
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