accepting Jesus

[RandyPNW]

I was raised with the Lutheran truth that we can be saved, as Christians, through grace, and not have to perform in any way to qualify for this salvation. There is no law we have to meet, and no endurance record, nor litmus test, to qualify us for getting through the pearly gates.

And I do think Luther was a prince of this concept of grace, just as Paul was. We can never satisfy the requirements of the Law of Moses to get into heaven. We are all flawed people.

But many raised in the Protestant churches today have missed what being born again means. I believe in his doctrine of grace Luther taught the need to be reborn. I believe he himself experienced a profound personal transformation, the same time that he learned about grace.

Today, many just think "accepting Jesus as Messiah" fulfills the requirement of accepting grace. But it doesn't. True grace comes when we accept Jesus' righteousness into our lives.

We can't earn that righteousness, but we can certainly abandon our old ways for a new way of life in Jesus' righteousness. This is the transformation required to get into heaven.

Accept grace by accepting Jesus' righteousness, and learn to put it into action. We need not be perfect, but we need to know what Jesus' love is, and to practice it, as evidence that we have truly received it.

[Fenris]

Christian dogma:

James 2: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

[Abednego+2]

An illustration of the meaning “to be born again” is found in the Epistle of John (Chapter 3).  A Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, and a very learned man asked this question of Jesus.  Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nonetheless, even Nicodemus who was a brilliant scholar of the Jewish law said unto Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”  Jesus answered Nicodemus thusly, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus was talking about physical birth, however, Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about a spiritual birth.

Many who claim to be a Christian have not had a second birthday (spiritual birth), the one that Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about?

[RandyPNW]

Absolutely--a 2nd Birth! God is spirit, and if we would be like Him we have to be like Him *spiritually.*

I'm not referring to excessive mystical qualities, but real spiritual qualities that emanate from God and enter into us when we obey God's word. When we acquiesce to what He wants from us, He enables us to carry out those commands and to emulate His character.

My point is that this is not just mental ascent to a doctrine, which of course is also needed. But more, it is a spiritual transformation--a choice for God's way of life and against an ungodly way of life. It is all God and against any independence from God in our lives. We die to our wish to do things our way, and give in to letting God have His way without begrudging it.

The point is that this Word from God, enabling us to please God, comes freely by grace. But accepting it is by grace in no way replaces the need to actually *do it,* as Fenris said (even though he is not a Christian). He is entirely accurate about that.

And it's actually quite simple, though it's amazing to me that growing up a Lutheran we actually made a bigger point of the *belief* than in the *doing.* It was thought that faith that saves us must remain purely *knowledge,* as opposed to doing, or what we called "works."

[Pablo]

I was raised with the Lutheran truth that we can be saved, as Christians, through grace, and not have to perform in any way to qualify for this salvation. There is no law we have to meet, and no endurance record, nor litmus test, to qualify us for getting through the pearly gates.

And I do think Luther was a prince of this concept of grace, just as Paul was. We can never satisfy the requirements of the Law of Moses to get into heaven. We are all flawed people.

But many raised in the Protestant churches today have missed what being born again means. I believe in his doctrine of grace Luther taught the need to be reborn. I believe he himself experienced a profound personal transformation, the same time that he learned about grace.

Today, many just think "accepting Jesus as Messiah" fulfills the requirement of accepting grace. But it doesn't. True grace comes when we accept Jesus' righteousness into our lives.

We can't earn that righteousness, but we can certainly abandon our old ways for a new way of life in Jesus' righteousness. This is the transformation required to get into heaven.

Accept grace by accepting Jesus' righteousness, and learn to put it into action. We need not be perfect, but we need to know what Jesus' love is, and to practice it, as evidence that we have truly received it.

You omitted one important thing, which of course might have been an oversight.
The Holy Spirit is instrumental in your conversion.
The Holy Spirit is key to everything, as He is the Spirit of God.

[RandyPNW]

You omitted one important thing, which of course might have been an oversight.
The Holy Spirit is instrumental in your conversion.
The Holy Spirit is key to everything, as He is the Spirit of God.

Absolutely, the Holy Spirit is the way by which righteousness is activated into our lives. The world may hear God in their consciences, and actually participate with God unwittingly in doing good. But when we choose to follow Christ always, we receive the Holy Spirit as a permanent resident, always informing us of the way of God's love. Thanks!