WHAT IT MEANS TO ACCEPT CHRIST
Some Thoughts by
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
Before anyone can
accept Christ as their personal Savior, they need to know why they need
to be saved, what they need to be saved from, and what Christ did to
save them.
The law of God,
shows us why we need to be saved by revealing to us the many ways in
which we sin, and by telling us that, “all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Since the sentence for sin is
death, that is the first thing that we need to be saved from. However,
the Bible also makes it clear that without the forgiveness, suffering
will not end at death. On the contrary, for those who go into eternity
without forgiveness it will only get worse (Isaiah 66:24).
The good news is
that God has provided forgiveness and salvation for us through the
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Nevertheless, what Christ
did for us should never be taken lightly! Our forgiveness is not just a
matter of overlooking sin. On the contrary, because God will not
overlook any sin, we were all destined for hell. And, we all would have
spent eternity in hell, if Christ had not loved us enough to die in our
place. Because He died for our sins, God’s promise, “whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,” and, “everlasting
life” belongs to all who believe it (Acts 10:43, John 3:16).
[Note: the Bible tells us that,
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust” //
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities,” // and His blood “cleanses us from all sin” (1Peter 3:18,
Isaiah 53:5, 1John 1:7). Faith is simply believing what the Bible says
about forgiveness in Christ, and trusting in what He did to get you
into heaven. 2Corinthians 5:18, Hebrews 9:28, Romans 10:4, Psalm 13:5]
THE
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Even though our
salvation is totally the work of God, and Christ has done everything
that needs to be done; without God’s help no one would ever know about
it, or place their faith in His finished work of redemption. Therefore,
in order to make certain that Christ’s death would not be in vain, God
caused the Bible to be written, and works through the preaching of His
Word to convict the lost of sin, and bring them to faith in Christ.
At the same time,
God does not force us to believe, nor does He override our natural
mental processes. Instead He works through the ministry of His Word to
convict us of sin and assure us of free forgiveness in Christ (Romans
10:17, 1Corinthians 12:3). Moreover, He does not stop working once we
come to faith, instead He continues to work through His Word to
strengthen our faith and keep us in faith — and gospel is the power of
God by which we are kept (1Peter 1:5, 1Corinthians 1:18, Romans 1:16).
Therefore, baptism,
church attendance, and participation in the Lord’s Supper are not
something that we do for God, but something that He uses to strengthen
our faith by reminding us of our sin and assuring us of His grace. Yet,
because of the blindness of sin, most people have it turned around
backward in their mind.
BAPTISM
When Peter stood
before the multitude on the day of Pentecost, and told them that they
had crucified the messiah, the Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin.
That is why the Bible says that they were “pricked in their heart”
(Acts 2:37). However, when they cried out “Men and brethren, what shall
we do?” instead of pointing them to works, or giving them time to
rationalize away their guilt, Peter called on them to, “Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins” (Acts 2:38).
Now, I want to make
it perfectly clear that when Peter spoke those words, he was not giving
them a work to do. On the contrary, he was telling them that they had
to come to Christ for forgiveness, and let Him wash away their sins.
Furthermore, the Jews to whom he was speaking knew exactly what he was
saying. It was obvious to them, that to be baptized “in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” was to accept Christ as the
messiah, and thus, as the source of forgiveness (Acts 2:38). Therefore,
even though Peter used baptism to give them the promise of forgiveness
in Christ, it was through believing that God had forgiven their sins
for Christ’s sake, that they received what was promised (Galatians
3:6,22, Romans 5:2).
PREACHING
Although God uses
preaching to bring people to faith in Christ, it is a relatively
ineffective way to influence behavior or convey knowledge (1Corinthians
1:18). Therefore, those preachers who constantly seek to make people
righteous through the law are wasting their time (Romans 3:19-20). God
wants preachers to point people to Christ for righteousness, not works
(Romans 10:4). Of course He wants them to condemn sin! He wants them to
condemn all sin. And, He wants them to make it clear that we all need
forgiveness. However, He wants them to point people to Christ for
forgiveness, and to make it clear that it is the forgiveness Christ won
for us (not what we do) that makes us righteous in His sight (Romans
3:28).
For that reason,
Biblical preaching never tries to motivate people by telling them that
works bring God’s favor, nor does it consist of nagging and badgering
them to do what is right. If those who have been saved are exhorted to
show kindness, help the poor, or love others it should be made clear
that we do those things because God loves us for Christ’s sake, not as
a way of gaining His love.
Because the law
cannot make us righteous, God never intended for it to make us
righteous (Romans 3:19-20). Instead the purpose of the law is to show
us our need for the forgiveness that Christ won for us. Therefore, true
repentance consists of acknowledging that need and turning to Christ
for mercy. However, true repentance does not stop when we come to faith
in Christ. On the contrary, our life is to be a life of repentance. By
that I mean that we need to stop excusing sin, start admitting our
faults, and have a tender conscience toward God while looking to Christ
for mercy whenever we fall short.
THE
LORD’S SUPPER
Christ instituted
Communion as a way of continually reminding us that He died for our
sins. Therefore, just as He uses baptism to give His promise of
forgiveness to those who come, He uses the Lord’s Supper to give us His
word of forgiveness on a regular basis. Therefore, when He instituted
Communion He was not giving us a work to do. On the contrary, through
the ceremony we receive a free gift. Furthermore, the purpose of the
ceremony is to remind us that forgiveness is ours through what Christ
did, not through what we do. The ceremony reminds us that His body was
given for us, and His blood was shed for us. All who come believing
that forgiveness is offered to them through what He did on the cross,
receive His sacrifice (His body and blood) as the atonement of their
sin (Galatians 3:22).
Even though Christ
uses the ceremony to promise us that we have forgiveness through His
death in our stead, it is only through believing that we have
forgiveness through His death in our stead, that we receive what is
promised (Romans 5:2, Galatians 3:6). At the same time, those who
partake without faith receive only condemnation (Hebrews 11:6).
[1Corinthians 11:24, 25, Luke 22:19, 20, Mark 14:24, Matthew 26:28.]
God’s Word warns us
of the danger of taking the Lord’s Supper to our own condemnation, as a
way of reminding us that we need to condemn our sins (judge ourselves)
instead of excusing them, or refusing to admit them (1Corinthians
11:27-31). For, it is not works that make us worthy to receive Christ’s
sacrifice, but a repentant heart that comes looking for mercy and
forgiveness (Titus 3:5). Therefore, those who think that they are
worthy because of their works are unworthy. While, those who
acknowledge their own unworthiness receive God’s promise of forgiveness
in Christ.
CONCLUSION
The Bible makes it
clear that we are saved by what Christ did, not by what we do. He lived
a sinless life, He died in our place, and He won the victory over
death. Therefore, accepting Him as your savior is just a matter
believing that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (John 3:16).
While it may look
to us like we are making a choice when we decide to accept Christ, the
Bible makes it clear that without God’s help we would never make the
right choice (1Corinthians 12:3). Therefore, strictly speaking, we do not accept Christ, instead He chooses us, and even our faith is a gift
of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:17).