Friday, July 23, 2010

Preaching Myths In Modern Pulpits (Part 9)

Myth 9. Accept Jesus into your heart and make Him Lord of your life.

This has been normal evangelical language for a long time now. And it is ridiculous. Try and find it in the Bible. Jesus does not need our acceptance – we need His, and what He accepts is brokenness, humility, submission and repentance. We don’t make Jesus Lord – He is Lord. Whether we bow our knee in repentance before Him, or have our kneecaps busted by His rod of iron. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

Truth 9. We need the acceptance of Jesus Christ. He is Lord whether we bow before Him in repentance and faith, or suffer for all eternity under His just wrath.



Go On To Part 10
Go Back To Part 8
Go Back To Part 1

4 comments:

Randy said...

I love your blog but I am totally confused by your point here. As I read over Acts 16:30-34 I cannot find what you are talking about. It sounds dangerously like a works based salvation. If you complete steps A, B, C and D, then Jesus accepts you. Our faith in Christ saves us. Faith in his life, death and resurrection and all it represents. That faith is "sanctifying the Lord God in your heart" (see 1 Peter 3:15) and acknowledging him as "Lord of Lords" and "King of Kings." I just don't see how this "myth" fits in with your others or how it is any sort of "myth" at all.

Cameron Buettel said...

Randy, this is nothing at all like works based salvation. It is not about completing any steps. It is about, as Luther said, that the tree makes the fruit not the fruit making the tree. Salvation is entirely a work of God wrought by the Holy Spirit - something so transforming that fruit is inevitable. If we are not bearing fruit then it is cause to examine the authenticity of our conversion.

Randy said...

Well, my brother in Christ, I'll have to respectfully agree to disagree with you on this myth. I bet we'd find our disagreement falls along the lines of how we feel about Calvinism. I do appreciate your blog and your faith. Keep up the good work and may the Lord Jesus Christ bless you richly in your endeavors. Maybe we'll talk again soon.

Anonymous said...

Washer does realise that Jesus was in Heaven before He came to Earth, doesn't he?