JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT WE MUST ACCEPT HIM AS OUR PERSONAL SAVIOUR

I suppose that the most common expression that is used today of someone becoming a Christian (and even that idea is not Biblical), is that he has “accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour”. I’m sure you’ve heard that one as well! However, I have yet to find any place where it is used in Scripture.

Is it wrong, and if so, why? I understand that people use it to describe what happened to them and what changes it made in their lives, but it does not fit the reality of what the Bible has to say about this experience. What did Jesus say we must do?

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29

The Bible presents life as a journey, symbolised by Israel’s migration from Egypt to the Promised Land. Their’s was an unknown way through the wilderness where there were dangers all around them and where it was easy to get lost and perish in the desert if they did not stay on the path and follow the landmarks. There are many references in Scripture to a path or way which would take them to their appointed destination. For the Israelites, it was the Promised Land, symbolised by the city of God – Jerusalem, which was often called “Zion” – the highest point in the city and the place where God had established His name.

God gave them His torah, His directions for the journey, i.e. His “law” which was summarised in the Ten Commandments. If they followed His way, it would light their path and show them the way to their destination. The “landmarks” they were to follow were the opportunities to treat their fellow Israelites and the strangers among them with kindness and generosity, prescribed in God’s Torah or teachings. If they followed His way, they would become like Him, i.e., they would move towards “Zion” where He had placed His name – His character.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. (Psa. 119: 105)

Sin, or going their own way, caused them to leave God’s way and take a way that would lead them to destruction. There was no food or protection for the journey away from God’s path. Those who went their own way were lost and in danger of perishing. He continually called them, through the prophets, to repent, shuv and return to God’s way.

Jesus came to restore the wayward hearts of His people that were bent on going their own way despite God’s warnings and the judgment that fell on them because of their disobedience. Through His death and resurrection, He dealt with and removed the barrier of sin which animal sacrifices could not do. He calls His wayward sons and daughters to shuv, to return to the path we were on before Adam chose to go his own way and took humanity with Him.

John the Baptist’s message to Israel was “Repent (shuv) – return to God’s way, for the kingdom of God is near.” Jesus echoed John’s words with the invitation, “Repent (shuv), for the kingdom of God is here.” He came to restore God’s rule of torah, teaching His way of doing life by being merciful, compassionate, and generous to all people, in the hearts of those who would follow Him. It was never His intention to do away with the “law” – His directions for following His “landmarks”, but to show us how to fulfil what God required, not by observing rules, but by loving God and people from the heart according to the greatest commandment.

If our lives are expressed by the idea that we have “accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour”, we have completely missed the point since, Jesus calls us, not to accept Him but submit to His rule in their hearts. The Holy Spirit responds to repentance and faith in Jesus by the supernatural work of raising our dead spirits to live, transferring us into the kingdom of God and beginning the process of transforming us into the image of God’s Son.   

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

Being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is not about “accepting Him as our personal Saviour”. It’s about obeying the gospel by repenting (returning to God’s way) and submitting to Jesus as Lord – our supreme authority.

Through him we received grace …. to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. Romans 1:5