What does it mean to accept Jesus?

Question

I see and hear certain christians saying that they accepted Jesus, therefore Jesus took their sins with Him in the cross, but I see and hear those same christians saying that they still are sinners. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that if I say "I accept Jesus" that should be enough? Some of you will say I have to accept Him and read the Bible, follow the Scriptures, but yet I will still be a sinner, right? So if I am a sinner whatsover, what's the point on just saying "I accept Jesus"? Don't you think there is more beyond that? I believe I will only get rid of my sins through several lives. What do you think?

Answer 1

Oh, this is a great question. Let's get this first part over with becuase I was afriad people were going to tell you that the only way to be forgiven of your sins is to ask the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. To these people, humans are so flawed and corrupted as to fall deafly under GOD's standards, and which no human in history could possibly uphold expect for his son. (Which is wonderfully short-sighted).

In my opinion, to be reborn again is reinstate your identity as one with GOD, which is exactly the same thing Jesus said all along: " I and the Father are ONE." He also went on to say: "Who am I? What am I? As I am, I am NOT." It isn't hard to imagine that what what this means is: once i define who "I" am, then I am no longer the person I set out to be. Jesus doesn't even know who he him"SELF" is. I think the simplest way to answer your question is that to accept JESUS, is to realize that YOU ARE Jesus Christ. YOU ARE the ocean in which all waves eventually subside. YOU ARE all things visible and all things unspoken. YOU are the whisper in the wind, a child's cry, YOU ARE ME and I AM YOU.

All the world's greatest sage have mentioned the fact that is necessary to advance beyond the "SELF." This is written in the gospel of thomas (ahamkara = ego); as well as being a major theme in the Buddha's own work, the Dhammapada. From the Boddhiharma, to Mahatma Gandhi to the Dali Lama, EVEN ALBERT EINSTEIN had his say on this:

- A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. (Albert Einstein, 1954)

I think the main difference I am trying to point out is that you DO NOT have to go through Jesus to be 'saved.' There are people alive today that have 1,000 times as higher conciousness than Jesus or the Buddha had. Oh, but people are going to call me a blasphemor. Well, this can be thought of as enlightenment in eastern cultures. Don't believe me, than read books written by Pramanahansa Yoganda, or Maharyshi Yogi- those who have actually done it.

People who believe that Jesus is coming back to 'save' them are self-deluting themselves. Joseph wrote the revealations as a sign of the times, and as a means for jews to 'find the way out' under Roman oppression. How utterly selfish to show that one has the keys to the kingdom of heaven only to take it back and rectify someone else's belief about sin/death. Whether Jesus was divinely inspired or not is not the issue...HE came here to demostrate that something far more liberatng, gratifying and unifying is possible for all man to achieve by their own efforts, whatever they may be. Have you ever considered what it would be like to follow in the footsteps of mother terasa or what monks in India have been up to all this time?

So in short, to accept Jesus Christ is only the first step, or perhaps a metaphor for searching for who you really are. HE is only one of many sign-posts put in place to guide you on your journey of "SELF"- realization; one you had started on so very long ago.

Answer 2

I think most Christians really don't have a good grasp of the Bible.
People speak of accepting Jesus, but the real transformation comes when God accepts us, and causes us to be born again. When we are truly born of the Spirit, we receive a new nature like the nature which was in Jesus when He walked on the earth. It is a nature that is inclined towards God and His will and enables us to say, as with Jesus: "I delight to do Your will O my God, Your law is within my heart." It is then the Scripture is fulfilled which says "Wherefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation; the old things have passed away, behold, new things have come." II Corinthians 5:17
That does not mean it is impossible to sin, but the new inclination of the heart will be towards doing what is right and in accordance with faith, love and humility. I think many Christians make much of calling themselves just a sinner because they are awakened to a new consciousness of sin. Whereas they may have been sinning constantly throughout the day before their conversion and thought nothing of it, now if they so much as have an unkind thought towards someone else they immediately feel convicted and what was business as usual to them before now appears very sinful. If someone is habitually living in sin after professing to have given their life to Christ, they are either self-deluded and were never converted, or they are backslidden and in bondage and need to call upon the Lord again to save them from the power of sin.

Answer 3

I think there is a rather simple answer to your question. Your new life with Jesus is a struggle against sin, but that does not mean that you're not a sinner! Those that don't believe, don't care. You do, because of the Holy Spirit who now works within you.

Answer 4

Some will say that this whole discussion over the divinity of Jesus is unnecessary. They say, the important thing is to accept Jesus as your personal savior. On the contrary, the Bible’s writers stressed that, in order to be saved, it is necessary to understand who exactly is God. Failure to understand this would be to violate the first and greatest of all the commandments in the Bible. This commandment was emphasized by Jesus, on whom be peace, when a teacher of the Law of Moses asked him: “‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:28-30).

Notice that Jesus was quoting the first commandment from the book of Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Jesus confirmed not only that this commandment is still valid, but also that it is the most important of all the commandments. If Jesus thought that he himself is God, why did not he say so? Instead, he stressed that God is one. The man who questioned Jesus understood this, and what the man says next makes it clear that God is not Jesus, for he said to Jesus: “‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.’” (Mark 12:32).

Now if Jesus was God, he would have told the man so. Instead, he let the man refer to God as someone other than Jesus, and he even saw that the man had spoken wisely: “When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 12:34). If Jesus knew that God is a trinity, why did not he say so? Why did not he say that God is one in three, or three in one? Instead, he declared that God is one. True imitators of Jesus will imitate him also in this declaration of God’s oneness. They will not add the word three where Jesus never said it.

Does salvation depend on this commandment? Yes, says the Bible! Jesus made this clear when another man approached Jesus to learn from him (see Mark 10:17-29). The man fell on his knees and said to Jesus: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied: “Why do you call me good? No one is good — except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18).

Answer 5

it means bend over and take what he wants you to receive.

Answer 6

The sin of our first parents (Adam and Eve) brought about the fallen state of mankind. Humans are sinful because of their iniquity, sins bring curses and both iniquity and curses pass down the generations if they are not cleansed by the blood of Christ. Children are born with defects and suffer unfortunate circumstances because of curses due to their ancestors’ unrepented sins. Hereditary illness is an example of a curse. In the future, God will make a new Heaven and earth, and there will be no more suffering, sickness, sin, evil, old age or death. God’s people (those who accept His Son Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord) will joyfully and peacefully live in this new and perfect earth, with the Lord Jesus Christ as their King forever. See chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation.

Almighty God was, is and will always be triune (one God in three persons, not three gods). God is comprised of the Father, the Son (Lord Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Triune Godhead has a different role. There is only one God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6,8; 45:21-22; 46:9; John 17:3; 1 John 5:20-21). The Father is God (1 Peter 1:2; Philippians 2:11), the Lord Jesus Christ is God (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 20:28; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:7-8; 2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; Acts 28:25-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

Without God, man’s spirit is unilluminated. This illumination happens at the time one’s spirit is united to the Holy Spirit (which happens only after one has accepted Christ as their Saviour). The Light went out of the spirit after the fall of man. Man had lost communion with God. Christ, the second person of the Triune Godhead made the sacrifice for our sins so the Light could be lit in the spirits of all. There is no redemption or unity to God apart from receiving Christ as one’s Saviour and Lord. The infilling of the Holy Spirit was possible only after Christ’s sacrifice. Before the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit only fell on persons who worshiped and served the true God (Judges 15:14; Ezekiel 11:5). Hebrews 9:6-8 (KJV) tells us that unity to God “the way into the Holiest of all” was also possible only after Christ’s sacrifice which brought an end to the Old Covenant. Christ made the sacrifice for our sins as the spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:9) and took the place of the Jewish high priest and became our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). The Book of Hebrews explains how the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant.

The blood of Christ was shed so our sins could be paid for and we could have direct unity to God. The Holy Spirit leads us to remain focused on God so we can grow spiritually. God the Father lives within believers (John 14:23), God the Holy Spirit lives within believers (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and God the Son also lives within believers (2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20). Because Christ lives in us, we are a new being, having our old self with its evil practices stripped off, and we are being renewed and remoulded after the image of God, in order to bring us to a full knowledge of Himself (Colossians 3:9-10). Because He lives in us, we have His peace (John 16:33), we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), we have His strength to do all things (Philippians 4:13) and we are a chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation and God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God (Peter 2:9). As Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ is always interceding for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25), He is preparing a place for us in heaven (John 14:1–3) and He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11).

The truth about Jesus Christ can be found only in the word of God which is the Holy Bible. Three days after the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, He resurrected from the dead (Luke 24:1-8; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4) and 40 days later, He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:3; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11).

1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Jesus Christ is Lord over all:

Philippians 2:9-11
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

False doctrines claim that there are several paths to God. The word of God tells us that THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO GOD AND THIS IS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS ONE’S LORD AND SAVIOUR.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him

Shortly after physical death, humans pass into either Heaven or Hell. Before Christ’s sacrifice, access into Heaven was not possible for human souls. The souls of those who loved and served the true God were kept in the paradise part of a spiritual place within the earth called Sheol, and the other part of Sheol was a prison of torment where the souls of those who rejected God ended up (Luke 16:19-31). There was a spiritual gulf fixed between these two parts so no soul from one side could cross over to the next (Luke 16:26). Access into Heaven was made possible for humans by Christ’s sacrifice and right after He died on the cross He went into the paradise part of Sheol, told the good souls (who were there for thousands of years) what He did and took them up to Heaven (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:8–10; 1 Peter 3:18–20). The paradise part of Sheol no longer exists but the prison part of Sheol still does. This part of torment is called Hades or Hell. Those who reject God by not receiving Christ or any one of the Triune Godhead (Jeremiah 15:6; Matthew 12:311; Chronicles 28:9; 1 John 2:23) end up there and then go into the Lake of Fire after the Millennium (Revelation 20:15). Earthly fire, Godly fire (the type Jesus baptizes with) and the tormenting fire of the Lake of Fire are three different types of fire. There is also demonic fire which demons can produce.

Reincarnation is a false teaching (Hebrews 9:27). The Lord Jesus said that the human being’s afterlife state whether torment or paradise, will be eternal (Matthew 25:46). In the original text, the Greek word for eternal, aiōnion is used. He didn’t say that we would be born again and again until we got it right and received liberation. He would not have made that huge sacrifice for us if we could have had unity to God another way, and if there was another way, He would have taught that. The Lord said he could have employed legions of angels to prevent His crucifixion (Matthew 26:53), but because of His great and perfect love for humanity, He chose to endure a very painful death so we could be redeemed and united to God.

Salvation, redemption, reception of the Holy Spirit and adoption as God’s own children happen the instant a human being has faith in Christ as their Saviour and Lord and not at some future time in the believer’s life.

People who have not accepted Christ can become better individuals, but only to a certain extent. The Holy Spirit calls out to everyone but only those who have let the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Triune Godhead) into them by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are the ones who are transformed and experience abundant and constant spiritual growth.

Iniquities (tendencies that cause one to sin) pass down the generation line (Numbers 14:18). After one accepts Lord Jesus as their Saviour, God forgives their sins as they truly repent and removes their iniquities (evil tendencies) in the transformation process which makes one more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 9:12-14). After genuinely accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, ALL sinners (alcoholics, liars, drug addicts, fornicators etc.) will be saved and transformed. Each believer is cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and receives the infilling of the Holy Spirit who renews them.

REDEMPTION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Because mankind is incapable of meeting God’s standard of perfection necessary to abide in God’s presence (Romans 3:19-20,23), God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the total debt for the believer’s sins and mercifully credits to his account Christ’s righteousness (Romans 3:21-28,5:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Jesus’ gracious act of atonement was complete and covers all sin (Colossians 2:13-14; 1 John 1:9). Salvation is not based on good deeds but according to the mercy of God (Titus 3:4-5). Believers are justified by faith; it is a gift by God’s grace (Romans 4:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9). A true, living faith will result in a desire to live a holy, loving life of good works (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-26), but failure to be absolutely successful at righteous living does not negate the believer’s justified status.

If you sincerely say this prayer, your sins will be washed away, you will be redeemed to God, be saved from eternal torment and inherit the Kingdom of God:

"Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me and save me by your shed blood. Come into my heart. I want to receive you as my own personal Lord and Savior. Amen"


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