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"This may seem odd, but I believe I have always had Jesus in my heart. I continually ask Him to save me, and forgive my sins. I often tell God I belong to Him, and that I love Him. I just don't recall a special time when I was "saved." As long as I remember I've been a Christian, and my faith gets stronger every day."

About your comment on this being odd? No I don't believe it's an odd feeling, but that doesn't mean it's right either. I believe humans, who have come to the realization of their need to be saved from their own sins, desire to believe some kind of thought like the one you mentioned.

I used to think the same thing, well, not exactly the same thing, but close enough. What I have come to realize is that it's not that I always "had Jesus in my heart", but I can look back on my life in retrospect now objectively, and see that His hand was definitely on my life, protecting me from certain things, and leading me to the point where I would finally accept Him in my heart on His terms, and not my own.

We as humans deceive ourselves into thinking this because we don't want to come to him on His terms. We want to give him lip service and keep our heart far from Him. We humans are greatly deceived into thinking that "we've made it" because we prayed a sinners prayer (which isn't in the bible), or we were baptized as babies (which really isn't in the bible), or because we do good out of a kindness of our heart (which the bible says in Isaiah 64:6 - "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.")

I realized that until I came to Him on His terms, I was never saved, Jesus was never in my heart, and I deceived myself into believing this because the root of it all was that I wanted to live my life the way I wanted. Trust me, those years that I thought I had Jesus in my heart were sinful, and I wouldn't want anyone to think I was a Christian because the way I lived was completely inappropriate for a Christian. I wasn't a Christian and Jesus would not have led me to sin, as I did, if I were a Christian. The fruits of having received Jesus in my heart by His Spirit were not there. You judge something if it be of God by its fruit.

The other reason that I didn't come to Him on His terms was sheer ignorance. No one in those Christian schools I went to really preached to me the gospel of Jesus or the gospel of the kingdom. It was a very watered down version that talked about Jesus life, death, and resurrection, but then asked you to pray the infamous "sinner's prayer", which as I said before was never required by Jesus or any of the apostles who preached the gospel. It's not in His Word as a valid response to the gospel.

Concerning your statement quoted above, I say to you, be a Berean. What's a Berean?

Acts 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Bereans would not take Paul at his word, but would search the scriptures to see if what he spoke was true. A man named Jack Deere said,

quote:

"Over the years, I have observed that the majority of what 'Christians' believe is not derived from their own patient and careful study of the scriptures."

We must seek the truth on our own. In this day, we can't expect well-meaning individuals to give us the truth. We must seek it on our own. Find out if what they are saying is true. I must admit, that there is no doubt in my mind that well meaning individuals came up with the "sinners prayer." Yet this is not found in the Bible.

2000 years ago, in Acts chapter 2, people asked Peter "What do we do?" in regards to salvation and rectifying the fact that they crucified the Lord of glory. If Peter answered something specifically, then why don't we give everyone else the same answer? Was Peter wrong? I think not. There isn't any reason why we should feel privileged enough to change the gospel message and expectation. We all crucified the Lord of glory because we all sinned.

Psalm 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

For all of us to be saved, we must all have fallen somewhere at sometime in our life. None of us were born with Jesus in our hearts. Scripture doesn't teach us that. We all were sinners, so that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ would be given to those that believe.

Some people think that believe is simply the modern day definition of a mental assent or acknowledgement that something or someone is true. Like many people believe there was a man named Jesus that called Himself the Son of God and supposedly died, was buried, and rose again. But that is not saving belief or saving faith. Saving biblical faith or belief, from the Greek word used, was to adhere to, trust, to have faith in, to rely on.

In Vine's Expository Dictionary, he says this word faith or believe is made up of three primary elements: 1) a firm conviction 2) a personal surrender to Him 3) a conduct inspired by such surrender. So the word, believe, that we use today, is not similar at all, to the meaning of the word used in the Greek in the first century.

An author named William Evans said that faith has 3 key components: 1) knowledge - mental understanding 2) assent - mental acceptance 3) appropriation - practical application of the truth.

The third part is incredibly important because the only way we will know that someone believes in Jesus is because they accept and follow His word. A person must come to the point where they obey the gospel of Jesus. Many think the gospel is just a good news message. However, inherent in the gospel is a command that must be obeyed. Or else why would it say, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel.": Romans 10:16, II Thessalonians 1:8, I Peter 4:17 (read them in your bible).

I had not obeyed the gospel in 6th grade or 7th grade and so on, until I was about 21-22 years old. That was the time that I obeyed the gospel. I truly repented. I desired, willed, and sought to change my ways and follow after Jesus. I was baptized in Jesus name so that my sins would be forgiven and I would die with Him, appropriating His death as my own. And lastly, I received Jesus in my heart by the baptism in His Holy Spirit.

This experience is what Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about in John 3:1-8. A man cannot see or enter into the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Jesus said to be born again you must be born of the water and of the Spirit. To be born of water is to be baptized in Jesus name in the water. To be born of the Spirit is to be baptized in the Spirit. That is the born again experience, not just one or the other, but both comprise the born again experience.

All who come to Jesus in faith are led to repent. They are led to be baptized in water in Jesus name. They are led to receive Him, by His Spirit. Receiving His Spirit is His stamp of approval on your life that you have come to Him on His terms. Thereafter, you are now able to walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, in the power of the Spirit. You can now walk the life He requires.

It says in Ezekiel 36:25-28 - I purify you: and I give you a new heart and a new spirit I give within you: and I turn aside the stony heart from your flesh and I give you an heart of flesh: and I give my Spirit within you so that you work to walk in my statutes and guard my judgments and work them and I settle you in the land I gave your fathers: and you become my people and I become your God:

This was the New Covenant prophesied in the Old. This is how you know that you have started this faithwalk of salvation in Jesus. 

• WOW! That took a lot of time, deep thought and great effort on your part. All you sid was pretty much true. I believe I over simplified my statement. Well I know I did. I appreciate your kind thoughts and response. Again what you said is really what I meant. I need to think up a decent long reply to yours which I will do. I wasn't taking that cavalier of attitude (not that you said I was). I will write Monday. Thank you again, and God's Blessings.
  

• hungryfish (*****)

His name ***** for reasons of privacy.

Ended as of June 23, 2001.

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Last Edited: 11/02/2010