Christians can't dodge this: we're commanded to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15) and make disciples (Matt 28:18–20). Jesus sent His people to be His witnesses to the world (Acts 1:7–8). And so we say, "You need to accept Jesus to be saved."
But the Bible never tells anyone, "Accept Jesus." The phrase isn't there. Scripture's language is different: it says we must receive Him (John 1:12). That's not just a synonym swap—it shapes how we think about salvation. So, do we mean the same thing when we say accept that the Bible means when it says receive?
"Accept Jesus" became popular in the modern revival era—especially in decision-focused evangelism tied to the Second Great Awakening (think Charles Finney) and later revivalism. The emphasis was: make the choice. Scripture's emphasis is: welcome the gift. John 1:12 says we "receive" Him—take what's offered, welcome what's given. If someone uses accept to mean receive, fine. The trouble is, that's not how we usually use the word.
In ordinary speech, accept sounds like evaluation: I weigh it, approve it, then allow it in. The accepter sits above the thing accepted. Receive is the opposite posture. It's open hands. It's not, "I accept this on my terms," but "I welcome what God gives on His terms."
That's why accept can quietly smuggle in the wrong idea: "I'm the judge. I decide. I authorize." But the gospel runs the other direction. God initiates. God gives. We come empty-handed and receive (John 6:44; John 15:16; Eph 2:8–9). One word can sound like autonomy; the other sounds like dependence. One can drift toward consumer talk; the other pulls us back to grace.
So use the Bible's verbs. We are called to receive (John 1:12), believe (John 3:16), repent (Acts 2:38), come (Matt 11:28), call upon (Rom 10:13), turn (Acts 26:18), and trust (Eph 1:13). And we must not miss the point: we don't cause salvation—"lest any man should boast." Yes, we respond to the Spirit. Yes, we receive Christ. But we don't initiate it (Eph 1:4; John 6:44–45), we don't produce it (John 3:3–8), and we don't finish it (Gal 3:1–4). We receive.
One of many seemingly small changes that lead to major consequences. Our gut reaction is going to be, "Of course I accepted Jesus." We made the decision. And to a degree is true, but we can only accept the truth of Christ after receiving a new heart that allows us to see the beauty and truth of Christ. It may sound pedantic, but when it comes to theology, pedantic is important and useful.
ReplyDeleteYou have written about this particular theme many times over the years, and personally, I consider the repetition needful (and helpful, as each post presented the biblical view from slightly different angles, with today’s post being no exception). It might seem to some that distinguishing between “receive” and “accept” in this case is “just semantics” or even “tilting at windmills” (as I saw it characterized just recently), but I would agree that the use of “accept Christ” rather than “receive Christ” by many people reflects their (mis)understanding of the conversion process and our part (if any) in that experience. Those with a Reformed viewpoint of Soteriology would naturally tend to understand this differently from holders of a divergent perspective, who might believe that personal salvation is obtained by praying the “Sinner’s Prayer,” marking a card, raising your hand or walking down the aisle in response to an “altar call,” “making a decision for Christ,” “asking Jesus into your heart,” etc.--i.e. a physical action taken by a person to indicate their decision to “accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.” As made clear by the numerous Scripture references you included today, the Bible clearly teaches about God’s process of conversion (which doesn’t require any of those actions); our evangelistic efforts should draw upon biblical truths, rather than employ manmade methods (which often produces false converts).
ReplyDeleteI have commented in the past that my own understanding of this issue has evolved over the past fifty years, as I have replaced a “decisional regeneration” understanding with a more Reformed one. I believe equally in both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, however, so I am not exactly sure where I fall doctrinally on the Reformed/Nonreformed (or Reformed/Deformed--my little joke :) spectrum. I have been influenced in the past by anti-Calvinistic teachers and authors (unbeknownst to me at the time) and am now better able to recognize those with unbiblical doctrine, as I see it.
I especially liked this summary of yours: “So use the Bible's verbs. We are called to receive (John 1:12), believe (John 3:16), repent (Acts 2:38), come (Matt 11:28), call upon (Rom 10:13), turn (Acts 26:18), and trust (Eph 1:13)” [emphasis added]. A study looking more closely at these action words in response to the gospel strikes me as an interesting one. I can tell immediately that more than “just a synonym swap” would be indicated.
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