Nov 17 2005
Do You Accept Christ or Do You Follow Him?
Tom at Soul Gardeners isn’t happy with modern – or postmodern, as the case may be - Christianity. He’s concerned that we have grown slack in our understanding of the Christian walk and sloppy in the way we describe it. I can’t say that I disagree much.
He particularly doesn’t like the phrase “accepting Jesus” to describe the salvation experience:
What does that mean? For most people it was a prayer they prayed to ensure their salvation i.e. not going to hell. After the prayer was said, the person goes back to his ‘real life’ having been assured of eternal life. Now that the person has accepted Jesus they basically ignore all that Jesus did and said. When the ‘here after’ kicks in he’ll give God his full attention; but now they’re just too busy.
I tend to agree. I can accept the fact some people will be damned for all time, but if I don’t act on that acceptance it’s a meaningless understanding. Likewise, if my “acceptance” of Christ as savior doesn’t produce outward evidence of a changed life, what good is it? As Tom says, Christ never said that we should accept Him, but instead he commanded us to follow Him. In fact, Christ went on to say that if we don’t take up our crosses to follow Him, we are not worthy of being called His.
Ouch.
In my own life I can see that I too often accept and too seldom follow.
