…if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
— John 12:47-48 —
Receiving Jesus?
“How do I become a Christian?” is a vital question. So, I went searching online to find an answer and I found “Ask Jesus.net.” With a name like that, we should expect to find truth, right? Here’s what it says:
The answer is actually very easy: by choosing. It doesn’t matter if you make the choice in your head or say it out loud to yourself in the mirror. If you want, you are a Christian from now on. You don’t have to sign up anywhere or report it to a church. You can just be a Christian right now. Simply answer these two questions:
Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead?
Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to God, your Savior and Lord?
Then you are a Christian! Welcome brother or sister!
(jesus.net/how-to-become-a-christian/)
Really, that’s it? Just think or say it and you’re saved? That sounds great, but there’s a problem, a really big problem—the answer cites no Bible verses. Obviously, Ask Jesus.net forgot to ask Jesus!!
Also consider a Billy Graham e-book on “How to Receive Christ” says,
“You can receive Jesus Christ into your life right now by praying a prayer…”
(Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
But What Did Jesus Say?
That may sound good to some, but this is not what Jesus and the apostles taught either. It is a doctrine of man, not a doctrine of God. We cannot receive Jesus apart from His word. In fact, Jesus equated the one who rejected Him with the one who has rejected His word (John 12:48). The inverse is also true: the one who receives Jesus receives His word. But it is impossible to receive Jesus but reject His word.
One cannot rightly call Jesus their Lord but not heard and obey His word. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). In a parallel text, the Lord said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). A few verses later, the Lord spoke to those who thought they were His, despite not obeying His words. Hear Him: “…I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).
God’s Word, Not Man’s Word
The apostle Paul emphasized the importance of hearing God’s word:
…my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
(1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
A bit later in the same context, he wrote:
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:13)
It is important that we speak about Bible things with Bible words and concepts (1 Peter 4:11). Otherwise, it opens the door for human ideas and reasoning. Phrases like “ask Jesus into your heart,” or “accept Christ as your personal Lord” are not biblical. They are part of another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9), as evidenced by the Billy Graham and Asking Jesus.net quotes. The Bible does not tell us to think it, speak it, or pray it and we’ll be saved.
How To Become A Christian
Ask Jesus.net missed the mark entirely on how to become a Christian. So, let’s ask Jesus by going to His word. He said:
BELIEVE
“…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
REPENT
”…unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)
CONFESS
”…whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:28)
BE BAPTIZED
”He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)
There is no “sinner’s prayer,” “ask Jesus into your heart,” or “accept Him as your personal Saviour” in the Scriptures, and no one has become a Christian through any of these. To know Jesus, we need to know His word, and to know His word we need to read the Bible. And then, we need to obey what it says. Why? Because when we appear before God in judgment we will be judged by the word which He has spoken (John 12:48).
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