Acts 2:37
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 ?
WHAT DID GOD SAY TO DO
in HIS inerrant , GOD-breathed WORD?
Then
the Apostle Peter said unto them,
“REPENT
and . . .
“Come down front and pray the Sinner’s Prayer . . . “
in
the Name of JESUS CHRIST for the Remission of Sins and you shall receive the
gift of the HOLY SPIRIT.
? ? ?
NO . . .
The Apostle Peter did NOT say that; Billy Graham did.
Well,
how about this one:
REPENT
and . . .
“RECEIVE JESUS as your personal SAVIOR” ?
for the Remission of Sins and you shall receive
the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT.
? ? ?
NO . . .
SCRIPTURE does not say that , either, although a myriad of personal evangelists, internet messages, and Salvation tracts state this erroneous message.
Yet
another modern day invention widely proclaimed WITHOUT a SHRED of SCRIPTURE to back it is this:
“Just ACCEPT JESUS in
your heart
and you will be Saved.”
From
what ? SCRIPTURE never makes that statement nor even proclaims
that concept.
How does an Un-Saved human being
REMOVE his sins ?
Let
us LOOK carefully at what happened in Acts 2:37. The men listening to the
Apostle Peter’s preaching HEARD IT; they had “ears to hear.”
First comes the preaching of The WORD, the Salvation message that JESUS CHRIST was Crucified for our sins, --- Yes, for ALL have sinned --- and HE+ rose again from the dead, and is coming again to judge both the living and the dead.
Then
falls the Conviction of the SPIRIT and the intense pricking of the heart
regarding one’s sins.
Then
comes the Question:
What must I DO to be Saved ?
The Apostle told them to DO two things:
1.
REPENT
2.
BE
BAPTIZED
Those
TWO ACTIONS are to be done BY THE ONE wanting Salvation.
If a person does those TWO things in the Name of JESUS CHRIST as Scripture tells us to do, then TWO THINGS will happen to him:
1. His SINS will be remitted ( sent away from him, not accounted to him ) in The Name of JESUS CHRIST,
AND . . .
2. He will RECEIVE the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT
There
is NO OTHER WAY in SCRIPTURE for the
Un-Saved person to rid himself of his sins.
SCRIPTURE NEVER, EVER
tells us to “RECEIVE” JESUS.
Indeed,
just the opposite is true: HE+ receives
us, when we have taken those TWO steps, in integrity and sincerity of
heart.
[ If you doubt this statement, look up EVERY SCRIPTURE that has the word "receive" in it. Do the same with "accept", "accepted" , and "acceptable." It will be an eye-opener.
You will wonder: WHAT have we been TAUGHT ?]
SCRIPTURE NEVER, EVER tells us to
“ACCEPT” CHRIST
as our personal SAVIOR+, either.
HE+ will be PERSONAL
if we faithfully
take those TWO steps.
As a
matter of fact, SCRIPTURE does indeed teach us to DO THOSE THINGS which make us
ACCEPTABLE to GOD ; it is not the other way around !
Now , keep TWO TRUTHS in mind,
as you share the Salvation message:
The Sins are NOT sent away from an Un-Saved person if he ONLY REPENTS.
The Sins are NOT sent away from an Un-Saved person if he ONLY IS BAPTIZED.
These steps to enter into the Kingdom of GOD must go together, as Scripture -- not men, not evangelists, nor teachers of this modern, weak church age --- plainly states:
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 SPIRIT.
+ + +
Glory be to The FATHER
WHO created us;
To the BELOVED SON+,
our LORD and SAVIOR+ JESUS CHRIST
WHO+ saves us;
and the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT
WHO sanctifies us.
+ + +
