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Transcript 199E — Does One "Accept Christ"?
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Good evening, Mr. Camping. The last time I heard your program, I heard you make a comment on "accepting Christ," that this wasn't a Biblical statement. Do you recall that conversation? Could you maybe review two or three of the points that you made? I was kind of interested in it. I'll try to take the answer over the air, if I can.
HC: All right.
The question is raised concerning the phrase that is frequently used in bringing the Gospel, which is to encourage people to "accept Christ" as their Savior, as their Lord. Now as I indicated previously, this is not a Biblical statement. In fact, it has overtones, it has implications that are contrary to the Word of God.
It is somewhat compatible with the idea that is also frequently expressed, that God has done everything that He can, and now it's up to you. It's really portraying God as being somewhat impotent, somewhat unable. Some have even argued, "Well, the only reason God is impotent at this particular point is that He self- limited Himself." In other words, He decided, "Well, I'll just go so far, and I won't go any further. And now it's up to you."
It also at least carries an overtone of the idea that it is man's work that really initiates salvation for us. God over here has provided a way of escape. Here is the salvation that He's provided for all mankind. And now, man, it's up to you, by an act of your will, by your work you can be saved. There are all kinds of dangerous suggestions inherent in this phrase, "accept the Lord Jesus Christ," suggestions that are contrary to the Word of God.
The Bible teaches that we cannot work in any sense for our salvation. God is not impotent in relationship to our salvation. We read in John 6, where Christ said in verse 37, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." In other words, here is an agreement within the Godhead, where the Father said, "Look. I have given you these people. I elected them from before the foundations of the earth. And they will come to you." Why? Because it says, "No man cometh unto Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him," we read in verse 44. "They will come because I will draw them," says the Father.
And then He says in verse 39 of John 6, "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me." In other words, God is sovereign King. He's Lord of lords and King of kings, and there's no human being that is going to remain unsaved if God wants to save him. There is no suggestion in the scripture that God is limited in His ability to save a man. God has decided who He is going to save, and He will save them.
Now the Bible teaches that we are to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Again and again it emphasizes faith. And faith and believing are two sides of the same coin. We place our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now how do we do this? By a wonderful act of courage on our part? No. By recognizing the horrible truth about ourselves, that we're spiritually bankrupt, that we're dead in our sins, that there is no hope in the path we are following. We've messed it all up, and we're headed for hell. We're under the wrath of God because of our sins. And we simply abandon ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. We hang our life on Him. We trust in Him, that what the Bible says is true, even though we don't understand it and we don't know how it's all going to go together.
And then we even discover that believing on Him, or having faith in Him, is a gift of God. The whole transaction is God's.
Now I think there are at least 2 verses that encourage people to use the language of "accepting Jesus" as Lord and Savior. One of these verses is in John 1:12: "But to all who received Him, who believe in His Name, He gave power to become children of God." And this word receive is looked upon as a word that means that God has supplied the salvation over here, and you are over there. You're still miles apart. But here is the salvation. And now if you'll go over and receive what God has there, then you too can be saved.
Now that is not the Biblical meaning of that word. In John 3:27 we have a commentary on this word receive, the very same word. God declares through John the Baptist, "No one can receive anything except what is given him from Heaven." In other words, if you have a gift that you want to give to someone, and they are sitting in a chair over there, you walk over to that person, and you lay that gift in that person's lap. And he receives it because you have given it to him. You have laid it in his lap. He is a recipient of that gift. He is receiving that gift. But he is not reaching out for it. That is, he is not walking across the room to get it. He is simply the recipient of that gift.
Now notice how this ties in with verse 13 of John 1. In John 1:12 it says, "But to all who received Him [that is, to whom God had made a gift of salvation, and they received what God had given, not as an overt act on their part, but because God was drawing them to Himself], He gave power to become children of God, who were born [now notice] not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." The whole transaction was God's.
Okay. Now the other verse that is sometimes used, and in fact very frequently used in bringing the Gospel, is a verse in Revelation 3:20. There we read, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with Me." And so the picture is painted that here is Christ knocking at a man's heart's door . . . knock, knock, knock, knock. And it's completely up to that man to decide whether he wants that Gospel or not. It is completely his decision whether he's going to open that door or not. And that of course matches the kind of an idea that here is salvation that I've provided. You're over there. If you want to walk over and reach for it, then you can have it. Then if you don't it's up to you. I've done all that I can do, and now it's up to you. You see? The same kind of a picture is painted.
But there's a phrase in this verse that has to be recognized, and that phrase is, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice." "If anyone hears My voice." Ah. Who hears the voice of Christ calling? Just anyone? Is that up to man to finally, ultimately hear His voice?
Well, the Bible teaches that I'm dead. Now a corpse doesn't have very good hearing, does he? A corpse is just a decaying dead thing. And a corpse is never going to hear that voice. And there isn't an unsaved person himself who is not a dead corpse. His hearing is absolutely zero.
Now when Jesus stood outside the tomb of Lazarus, Lazarus was dead. He was a corpse. And Jesus said, "Lazarus, come forth." Did Lazarus hear His voice? You bet your life he heard His voice. He heard Christ's voice, and he came forth. "He who has ears to hear, let him open the door, and I will come in to him and eat with him." And so Lazarus heard the voice, and he obeyed. He came out of the tomb. But the only reason he heard Christ's voice is that when Jesus called to him, God also gave him ears to hear.
Now so it is when the Gospel goes forth. There will be those who will hear His voice. And anyone at all who hears His voice will come forth, because the only reason they are hearing His voice is that God the Father is drawing them. God has given them ears to hear.
The Bible repeatedly says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Only those who are chosen of God, who are born again believers, have ears to hear. And so you can see again that even in Revelation 3:20 the final decision is not man's. It is absolutely not man's. We are not born of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man. We're born of God.
Now if you're unsaved, and you're hearing all this, you can begin to ask, "Well, my. I don't know whether God has opened my ears. I don't know whether I am one of God's chosen ones. But I know this, I'm a sinner. I know this, that I'm unsaved. I know this, that I can't go on this way. And oh Lord, give me ears to hear. Oh Lord, could it be that my spiritual eyes might be opened? Oh Father, could it be that I might have the faith to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ?"
And the very fact that you would begin to pray that way would indicate that God is already drawing you. He is already giving you ears to hear.