Minimalistic View of Conversion

What is the least we have to do to be saved? That seems to be the question that people seem to want to know without actually saying it out loud. After all, we have boiled down salvation to saying a prayer and saying we believe that Jesus died for our sins. It does not matter that we do not care about holiness and glorifying God in all we do. I have yet to read in the Bible where it says that we must pray to accept Jesus into our heart. The closest I can get is Romans 10:9 where it says “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Yet this is talking to early Christians who were being sent to the lions if they publicly confessed Jesus as Lord. That is a far cry from a simple prayer of acceptance. No wonder there is so little evidence of regeneration in the lives of so-called Christians today.

The following is a quote by Ravi Zacharias. See the rest of his article click here.

"Therefore, as Christians, we ought to take time to reflect seriously upon the question, “Has God truly wrought a miracle in my life? Is my own heart proof of the supernatural intervention of God?” In the West we go through these seasons of new-fangled theologies. The whole question of “lordship” plagued our debates for some time as we asked, is there such a thing as a minimalist view of conversion? “We said the prayer and that’s it.” Yet how can there be a minimalist view of conversion when conversion itself is a maximal work of God’s grace? “Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV).

If you were proposing marriage to someone, what would the one receiving the proposal say if you said, “I want you to know this proposal changes nothing about my allegiances, my behavior, and my daily life; however, I do want you to know that should you accept my proposal, we shall theoretically be considered married. There will be no other changes in me on your behalf.” In a strange way we have minimized every sacred commitment and made it the lowest common denominator. What does my new birth mean to me? That is a question we seldom ask. Who was I before God’s work in me, and who am I now?"

Do I simply want heaven and nothing else? Do I want to have the ability to do whatever I want, without Christ interfering in my fun? Do I want to be able to watch whatever garbage there is on TV and in the theater without my conscience convicting me of my sin? People often ask “What Would Jesus Do?’, but since that is a standard so above our ability, we simple say that we are just being human. That is true, but if we are abiding in Christ shouldn’t the work of the Holy Spirit be at least somewhat visible in our life? A better question, is what would the apostle Paul or Peter do? Would they spend their time in worldly entertainment, or would they be trying to spread the Gospel wherever they go? Do I love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates?

Jerry Bridges says, “I think one of the common misunderstandings of the grace of God is, “God’s cutting me some slack. Grace is God’s letting me get away with a few things.” That’s the furthest thought from the grace of God. The grace of God comes to us through Jesus Christ as a result of his sinless life and sin-bearing death for us, but that grace is more than just God’s kindness and benevolent feeling toward us. The grace of God is dynamic. The grace of God is God in action for our good. And so when the apostle Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am,” he was speaking about the empowering of the Holy Spirit that God in his grace supplies to each of us as we seek to live for Him.”

Try Jesus?

On Hannity and Colmes, Pastor Rick Warren made a comment to "try Jesus for sixty days". Now I am not trying to tear down Pastor Warren, but I think think that idea has basically infiltrated the modern church. Try Jesus to see if He works for you, if not, then try something else.

I do a fair amount of evangelism on the streets as well as working with teenagers in our church youth group. The biggest challenge I have is people and kids who say that they have tried Jesus and He does not work. But it is not about us and our happiness. Jesus never promised us happiness - He said to take up our cross and follow Him. He said that we will have trials and tribulations. Most of the apostles and many of the early Christians died for their faith.

I did not repent and believe the Gospel because of what it would give me. I put my trust in Christ because of what He did for me on that cross and because He is worthy to be praised regardless of what happens to me. It was not just the physical agony of dying on that cross, but the fact that He exchanged His righteousness for my sin. He bore the wrath of God that I deserved and I received His righteousness in exchange when I repented and put my trust in Him.

It is so hard to see teenagers who prayed some prayer to accept Jesus, but never trusted in Him as their Lord and Savior. They have been told that if they try Jesus, He will give them happiness and peace. Then when trials come, they get disillusioned and reject Him. They have never been shown their sinfulness in view of the Ten Commandments, and they have not been told about the judgment that is to come. Therefore, the sacrifice that Jesus made makes no sense. For more information, listen to "Hell's Best Kept Secret".