Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | John 1:12 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, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 1:12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name-- [Is 56:5] |
Subject: Are we presenting the gospel scripturaly |
Bible Note: Hi John, I have not come to a conclusion, I asked you a question. I feel it's fair to ask you this question before addressing your post, because I perceived you asked a question to which you have a strong opinion of the answer, which a lot of us have wrong, and though you've asked, you actually wish to correct us. "A cherished tradition"?? Cherished by whom? Am I truly just acting on an impulse to "challenge it's detractors"? If you had asked me, I would tell you that I am acting in the interest of finding the heart of this matter. In calling yourself a "detractor", you have verified that you were not actually asking for the purpose of obtaining insight, but rather were asking with an agenda, again, to correct us. Please forgive my bluntness. In spite of the fact that you have not answered my question, I will tell you why I asked, my answer, and why it is relevent. If you believe that salvation is a regenerative work of God done in a person's life before that person has made any move in thought or will towards God, and that any desire to know God or to repent of sin comes only after regeneration, than there is no type of invitation made by man towards God that is relevent. Not "Come into my heart", not "Forgive my sins", or anything else. If you believe, as I do, that God saves the person who says "yes, I want to be saved", regenerating them after they have agreed with God, then what does it really matter what words are said to God (outside of the ridiculous, of course!), whether "come into my heart", or "please forgive me", or something else. I asked you if you think that whether or not we want Jesus to save us has anything to do with our salvation. Your answer to this question would tell me if its the words you object to, or the very thought that a person would be using any words at all. The answer seemed certain, although I try not to make assumptions about people's beliefs. You wrote "A small, but signiicant point is: When one person invites another into one's home, it is the "inviter" who is due the thanks." This seems to be saying that you consider that if we "ask Jesus in", then we get the credit, but if Donald Trump shows up at your door, offering to cover your living room floor with 1000 dollar bills 2 feet deep, would you invite him in? When you were deposting the money in the bank, or your mattress, or wherever you would put it, would you be thinking to yourself that you were responsible for fact that you were now rich? I wouldn't be! I don't think its a correct analogy. But like I said, I wanted to get to the heart of the matter. In John 1:12, we read "but as many as receive Him". "Received" is in the active voice. It is an action done by those numbered in the "many", the one who received Him. It is an action that you and I have done. To them, the ones who have done this action, to them God gave the right be become children of God. So how do we receive Him? What words do we use? Do we use words at all? Jesus spoke of Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit being in us. He said "if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in". Granted, we need to confess (agree, say the same) Jesus' lordship (which contains repentence from sin, and commitment to serve - If He is Lord, we do these things), believe God raised Him from the dead (which is faith, a gift from God). But is there a problem if we pray a "sinner's prayer"? I don't know of anyone that uses this who thinks that the words save any more than that baptizing a non-believer saves them. Now, mind you, I am not putting a "sinner's prayer" on par with baptism. An for the record, I personally do not use the "sinners prayer" in evangelizing. Its the change of heart that matters, and God sees that. I am more interested in getting someone started in their relationship with God than the specifics of how they do it, so long as it contains the heart of what the Bible teaches. But I don't think that someone needs to understand a lot of advanced theology to be saved, either. If saying a pray helps someone to frame their thoughts, if saying "I receive You, Jesus, please come into my heart," is a touch-point for their faith, well, these are not words that are foreign to Scripture, they come from Scripture. If I say "I am a sinner - please forgive me Jesus!", well, Luke tells us of the tas collector who said "God be merciful to me a sinner." (18:13) Jesus gave us a commentary on this man's action, his "sinner's prayer". He said, "this man went home justified." Well, I've said enough, and I imagine some might say I've said too much, so I will close. I do not anticipate having anthing else to add to this subject than what I have already said, so I will leave this to others to be debated and discussed. God bless! Love in Christ, Mark |