WHERE IS ACCEPTING THE LORD IN THE BIBLE? There is NO verse anywhere in the Bible that says the words, Accept The Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior and you shall be saved! There is NO record in the Bible of anyone practicing that plan of salvation. Where did that plan of salvation come from? Im not trying to be offensive here, but shouldnt you be able to find an actual verse that specifically states what you obeyed as a plan of salvation? Isnt it unsettling to trust your salvation to a plan/formula that is lacking even a single supporting verse in the Bible, a verse that says exactly what you were told to do to be saved? Please dont embarrass yourself by quoting verses on believing as being the basis for preaching acceptance. In no dictionary, Greek or English, are believing and accepting synonyms or interchangeable words. They dont mean the same thing in English and they are even more different in meaning in the Greek. There is absolutely NO Biblical basis for saying to a seeker, Say, I accept The Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior, and then telling them that they are now saved. Furthermore, in Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus makes it very clear that He had no knowledge of some who called Him Lord. Clearly, they had accepted Him, but He had not accepted them! In Acts 15, the early churchs conundrum was that the Gentiles had gotten saved and they did not know what to do with them. How did the Apostles know that the Gentiles were saved? Because The Lord Himself bore witness of their salvation (Acts 15:7-9). HE ACCEPTED THEM! Furthermore, the Apostle declared that there was no difference between their salvation experience and what had happened to the Gentiles. The Book of Acts is the history of the first century Church. It tells specifically what the unsaved were told to do to be saved and how they experienced salvation. Study it with an open heart. Most Christians avoid the Book of Acts because what is taught and practiced there is so different than their personal Christian experience and doctrine. Studying Acts produces too many doctrinal conflicts for them, so they simply ignore it. As a result, most of their focus is on the Gospels (written about the time BEFORE the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ and the birth of the Church) and the Epistles (written to those who are already saved and IN the Church). But Acts is the history of the birth of the Church, its practices, and its Doctrines. It is the ONLY book in the New Testament with actual recorded experiences of New Testament salvation. Jesus said that He would personally build His Church (Mt 16:18-19). Therefore, if I believe Jesus, the Book of Acts is the record of Him doing exactly that! Isnt it time to believe and practice what the Apostles (who are the foundation of the Church -Eph 2:20) taught? Jesus commanded them to teach and preach what He personally taught them (Mt 28:20). Either what the Apotsles taught in the Book of Acts is Jesus teaching on salvation OR they specifically disobeyed The Lord. If that is the case, then their disobedience would result in a complete collapse of Christianity because everything in the Bible would become unreliable. Jesus did not personally write any of the New Testament, the Apostles and other Disciples were the scribes who recorded what the Spirit of The Lord told them to write. If we cant trust their teaching and preaching in the Book of Acts, then we cannot trust ANY of the New Testament which was literally written down by them. Some say that they would rather take the words of Jesus over the words of the Apostles. But there are NO words of Jesus. EVERY record of what Jesus said was written by the very Apostles that you are rejecting. Therefore, no one can intellectually or spiritually reject the words of the Apostles without also rejecting Jesus. It really is no more complicated than that. What should you do, if, in your objectivity, you acknowledge that what you have believed and practiced is not in harmony with the teachings and practices of the Apostles? Change - regardless of the cost! Isnt it time to return to the Apostles Doctrine, which is exactly what Jesus taught them to teach? YES! (I will not debate this, there is no point in it. If you cant find a verse that specifically states your plan of salvation, then the debate is over.) Dear Friend, I have not written this to be offensive or argumentative. Many of you who have read my postings have expressed your appreciation for my direct, Bible-based approach. If you believe that I have found in the Bible all that I have previously written, then you have to accept that this posting is Bible also. I am not promoting a church or a denomination. I am only standing for what the Bible says and against what it does not say. PLEASE prayerfully consider this message! In Jesus name! Bishop Chester M Wright Antioch, The Apostolic Church Arnold, Maryland
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 13:37:08 +0000
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