Disciples not Decisions

In modern Christianity, there is a trend where a Christian may tell someone they are sharing the gospel with that it is "easy"—that you just need to accept Jesus into your heart. They might say, "If you want, you can accept Him right now; you just need to ask Him into your heart." The person shrugs, agrees, and does it, then goes back to whatever they were doing with no noticeable difference at all. The Christian is convinced they have just saved someone from hell, but this doesn't seem to match what the Bible says or examples from Jesus or the Acts of how the gospel of the kingdom was shared and received by others.

Firstly, nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to accept Jesus as if He is just waiting hat in hand for us to finally accept Him. Nor does it say anywhere that we just need to accept Him into our hearts. Someone might point to a verse like John 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." While this verse mentions receiving Jesus, the Greek word for "received" (λαμβάνω, lambanō) is not passive but active. It indicates that to receive Jesus is an active decision, not done passively or without any other consideration. The person is to actively receive Him, making a decision that should then be demonstrated by a changed life as seen in Scripture.

How do we actively receive Jesus? It first must start with repentance. Repentance is a fundamental aspect of the gospel message and an essential sign of true conversion. Jesus Himself began His ministry with a call to repentance, declaring, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). This call to repentance was echoed by the apostles, including Peter, who on the day of Pentecost preached to the crowd, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The apostle Paul also emphasized repentance, stating in Acts 26:20 that he preached "that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance." Repentance involves a heartfelt turning away from sin and a turning toward God, marked by a change in behavior and attitude. This transformation is a clear sign of a truly converted person, demonstrating that they have genuinely received Jesus and are walking in newness of life.

Is it possible that someone can receive or accept the God of the universe into their life and not be changed? 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." This transformative change is a hallmark of truly receiving Christ.

Should the results of our oversimplified and non-biblical presentation of the gospel cause us to reconsider and reexamine how we are representing and presenting Jesus to others? What about the passages where Jesus challenges one man to forsake all? In Luke 14:33, Jesus states, "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." He also says in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." This hyperbolic language underscores the necessity of placing Jesus above all else.

Moreover, becoming a disciple means we are now actually slaves to God. Romans 6:22 says, "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life." You have given up your rights and your will for His.

Luke 13:24-27 gives a sobering warning: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from, then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'"

God help me if I were to lead someone in a false conversion down this road, thinking that since they just said a prayer to "simply" accept Jesus, that is enough. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for making converts like themselves but actually deceiving them, making them "twice as much a son of hell" as they were. In Matthew 23:15, He said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." This warning from Jesus should give us pause in how and what we are sharing. The enemy is subtle and good at taking truth and twisting it just enough or taking it out of context to turn truth into a lie, as he did with Jesus in the wilderness.

May we, as Paul exhorts in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified." Let us ensure we are presenting the faith correctly, not looking to make decisions but disciples for Jesus, as He commanded in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.