But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. [John 1:12-13].
Some common terms we use in the Christian community are not Biblical and rob God of His glory. Are you guilty? I know I have been. . .
A popular Christian term is, “I accepted Jesus in my heart.” This phrase is improperly used because the Bible speaks nothing of accepting Christ. He does not need our acceptance. Even this verse, speaking of receiving Christ, does not say “receiving into their hearts.” We don’t put Him into our heart or lives. He comes; He draws us; He regenerates us; and we are born again. It is God’s work.
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia … The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. [Act 16:14].
We do not “open our hearts” to the Lord. He opens our hearts so we can hear, understand and receive. This is all of God. Along this same line, we do not “make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives.” He already is Lord. The Bible says God commands everyone everywhere to repent (Act 17:30). We don’t “make Him Lord” by receiving Him and repenting. He is Lord already.
The idea behind accepting Jesus, opening our hearts and making Him Lord is that we own and control our lives; we are sovereign and God is holding back His sovereignty until we are willing to release ours. This is NOT Biblical.
Furthermore, we do not “make a decision for Christ.” Verse twelve says we receive Him but verse thirteen says we receive Him through God’s will, God’s decision. We had nothing to do with this decision.
Ephesians 1:4 says God chose us in Christ Jesus before the creation of the world. He made the decision; we had nothing to do with it.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved by grace through faith which is the gift of God. This means God’s grace and our faith – our ability to believe – are gifts from God. They are not our own doing. This means our salvation, God’s grace and our faith are not the result of our own efforts; God did not give these gifts for anything we did. This is not the result of works, lest any man should boast. This means our salvation is not the result of anything we have done; we are not saved by our obedient life – our obedient life is the result of this salvation. Furthermore, this means our salvation is not the result of any decision we make; not the result of any opening of our hearts we think we can do; not the result of making Jesus Lord of our lives; not the result of accepting Him. LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST.
All these claims, which are common Christian vernacular, are boasting. We have accepted these terms but these terms are not Biblical. They come from false doctrine and have been used to motivate man to come to Christ. But Jesus said no one comes to Him unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). To motivate man to come to Christ is the work of the Spirit (John 3:8).
Are we splitting hairs? or is this an important issue? It is important because our view on these claims tell us whether we believe God is sovereign or we are sovereign. If God chose me before the creation of the world, He is sovereign; I am not. Why does Ephesians 2:8-9 end with “lest any man should boast”? It says so because it is God who is glorified in our salvation; when we claim we are saved because of something we did, we rob God of His glory. God says, “I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other.” [Isa 42:8].
[E]veryone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made. [Isa 43:7].
God has no desire to share His glory with us. All praise goes to Him, alone; we earn not even a little slice of this praise. So, when we say, “I accepted Jesus” or “I opened my heart to Him” or “I made Christ Lord of my life” or “I made a decision for Christ” or any such thing, we are boasting; we are robbing God of His glory and taking praise upon ourselves for something accomplished by God.
Remember, Jesus does not need our acceptance; it is God who opens our hearts; Christ is already Lord of everyone, everywhere; and God made the decision to save us.
You may say, “Yeah, but this passage says we need to believe; this is something we do.” The Bible is clear, God chooses but we are responsible. Those who do not believe cannot become children of God and will rot in Hell for eternity. But the fact we believe is something to praise God for. We can take no praise for it. Ephesians 2:8-9 says our faith, our ability to believe, is a gift from God.
The Bible says I come to Christ, I receive Him and I believe in Him, but it also says all this is of God. Our salvation is the work of God, alone. All praise and glory belong to Him. Let us be careful not to rob even a little piece of this glory for ourselves.
