If I simply accept Jesus
"I will be saved"
If you have entered this page from Thunder Ministries Feature Movie "The Life of Jesus", the end of the movie closes with a five minute explanation on how to accept Jesus into your life, and how to be saved. The closing makes the overall statement that "If you simply pray a prayer of Faith, and Accept Jesus into your heart, you will be saved".
Many people are told, by means of television, radio or by word of mouth that if I simply accept Jesus into my heart, and if I believe he died for me on the cross then I will be saved.
Friend, that statement has led millions down the wrong road from the very beginning. That statement is only the first step of what and how one must begin the path toward salvation. It goes far beyond just an "I accept you Jesus" statement or prayer. Lets look at what the Bible says concerning the issue of salvation:
Acts 2:37-39: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Now we have observed that the Bible says we must first Repent and then be Baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It also says we shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Friend this is an actual feeling experience. It's not just some verbal acceptance you speak and then you have received the spirit of Christ. You will know just as those did on the day of Pentecost. Don't be deceived by anyone telling you that you don't have to have the Holy Spirit to be saved. There will be a super natural experience when you are Holy Ghost filled. Let's see what the Word of God has to say about the Holy Spirit.
John 3:5-8: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
These verses quoted by Jesus himself tell us that we must be born again of the water and the spirit. That means baptism into his name and receiving his spirit. We will discuss Jesus name baptism and his Holy Spirit. When, we fully repent, are baptized in the name of Jesus according to Acts 2:38 it is a promise that we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
All of the SIGNS, of the Holy Ghost, follow the church, but every sign does not follow every believer. All of these signs follow the church. (Mark 16:17 KJV) And these SIGNS shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (Mark 16:18 KJV) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Jesus said that the true believers would receive power after the Holy Ghost had come upon them. The Holy Ghost will give you power to grow in knowledge, and to bring forth the fruit of the spirit. The Holy Ghost will give you boldness to witness for Jesus Messiah. (Acts 4:31 KJV) And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. You must seek for the Holy Ghost to give you the best gifts needed to build the Kingdom of God.
Acts 2:1-5 (Acts 2:1 KJV) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Acts 2:2 KJV) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:3 KJV) And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. (Acts 2:4 KJV) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:5 KJV) And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
All that spoke in tongues prophesied to the men that came from all nations. This happened to fulfill the prophesy that the gospel would go into all of the world. Prophesy is always the most important gift of the Holy Ghost. Joel stated your SONS and YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY. On the day of Pentecost they PROPHESIED through OTHER TONGUES. Joel and Peter placed the emphasis on prophesy, not on OTHER TONGUES.
Acts 10:45-47: And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
When the Jews understood that it fell on the gentiles the same way that it did them, on the day of Pentecost. Peter stated, "Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"
Acts:19:6: And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with TONGUES, and PROPHESIED. Prophesy through other tongues is exactly what happened at Pentecost. Here we see the Holy Ghost come to these believers in the same manner.
Mt:24:24: For there shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (2 Th 2:9 KJV) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan WITH ALL POWER and SIGNS and LYING WONDERS. The false church talks in tongues, performs wonders, and has power to perform all signs.
Jerusalem, at that time in history, was a place where many devout Jews from all over the world would come as this was the Capitol of the Jewish Nation. These Jewish people spoke in many different languages according to the language of their own land. So, when the disciples prophesied in other tongues these men from the other nations were amazed. These 120 Galileans spoke the wonders of God in their native tongues. Now the word of God would be carried back to all of the nations of the earth. Peter confirmed and reminded all of them about the prophecy of Joel. This prophesy had been written about many centuries earlier. Let's observe what Peter said to them:
Acts: 2:5-18: And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them SPEAK IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day (9:00 am). But THIS IS THAT which was SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET JOEL. This was the prophesy that Joel foretold of. On the day of Pentecost they prophesied to men from all nations.
Joel: 2:28-29 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they SHALL PROPHESY:
As we can observe the prophecy of Joel came true to the 120 in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, because all prophesied as foretold by him. It has also come true for many others who have believed in Jesus from that day on. These 120 had already repented and had been baptized in the name of Jesus. The scripture promises the GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST to those who FULLY REPENT and are baptized in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. The GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST is to be FILLED with the ONE SPIRIT of God.
Acts:2:38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts:8:16: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Acts:10:48: And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
Acts:19:5: When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts:22:16: And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Why was there such a spread of revival in that day? The answer is in the Holy Spirit of God. The experience of receiving the Holy Ghost was and still is so exhilarating, that the word of God's Grace and Mercy spread like wildfire. The Romans and many other civilizations, for their unmoving faith in Jesus Christ, tortured many Christians of the early church to death. The Christians held fast to their faith unto the death. This same Roman civilization later adopted Christianity into their society because the more they tortured the Christians the more the church grew. We will discuss this issue later in the topic link "The Council of Nicea".
The Church of Rome is the Roman Catholic Church. It embodies more souls than any other religious body on earth, yet it has laid aside the original method of immersion baptism in Jesus name. Acts 2:38-39.
Seasons, friends, men, women, times, opinions, technologies and civilizations change, but the word of God never changes. His word, as it is written, is sound, unmovable and eternal. We are the ones who create doctrines and laws to comfort ourselves. Think about what I have just said. If we don't like the way something effects our individual comfort zones, we go to extremes to make it to our liking and benefit. Let me say this, God is a righteous judge, and he will impute judgment upon the world according to his word as it is written. If I or anyone else choose not want to walk in his word, as it is written, then it shall be our own responsibility to pay the debt that will be owed on the day of judgment. If we will not walk in the words of grace that God provided, through his manifestation as Christ, unto salvation for all men, then we shall be the losers in the end.
How many of us today would stand fast to faith in Jesus unto death on just the mere "accept Jesus and your saved" statement? There are Christians today in many parts of the Globe that are still martyred because of their faith in Christ. One of the main reasons the people at the beginning church age held to their faith unto death was because they had experienced the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost, and they knew where the written promise of God would take them when they left this world. They didn't just say I believe and leave it at that. These people prayed without ceasing until they received the Holy Ghost. They were baptized (totally immersed under water) in Jesus name. They knew that they had received the seal of God upon their souls, unto redemption. They knew that the blood Jesus gave on the cross would atone for the multitude of their sins because they had obeyed his commandments as written. They had walked in those commandments daily.
If you have read this far, you may be asking yourself questions like, "What about the mode of baptism spoken of earlier (total emersion, Jesus name)"? "What about the Roman Catholic church"? "Are you belittling my church"? "Are you saying I'm in the wrong church"? "What church are you saying I am supposed to be in"?
Let the word of God be true and all others be a liar. God' word judges all denominations and untruths. You are to follow the written word and to love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, soul, and mind.
Rom:3:4: God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
There are more links for you to follow, which will cover these items of concern. However let me leave you with these scriptures as food for thought concerning the questions I just quoted:
Hosea: 4:6: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
2Timothy: 4:3: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.