My decision to "accept Christ" and "get saved" on March 13, 1981. What did it mean?
Attend any Bible-believing, evangelical and/or fundamentalist church and you will hear people talking about "getting saved." You'll also hear things like "ask Jesus into your heart" and terms like "atonement," "remission of sins," and "grace." What does this "religious speak" mean - and what does God think about or have to say about all this?
The basic teachings on salvation stem from a few core verses in the New Testament. Among the most popular...
"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 3:23)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith. In that, not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
The mainstream evangelical understanding of these verses is that a person needs the grace of God to have an intimate relationship with God in this life and spend eternity in Heaven with Him in the next. The only way to receive God's grace is to "believe" in Jesus Christ and make him your Lord and Savior. Thus, Jesus Christ is the doorway to heaven. In fact, he refers to himself as the "Door" in John 10.
March 13, 1981 was an important moment for me in my own spiritual journey. It was on that date that I made a decision to trust Christ as my Savior and ask him into my heart. Though I had doubts since then, and had to deal with them accordingly, that date was a turning point for me. It was a moment when I made an individual decision to give my heart to Jesus. I was young, but very much aware of what I was doing. It was my decision - one I made for myself. I made the Christian faith my own, not simply that of my parents.
What about those who don't hear about Jesus or refuse to accept Jesus? I can only point to the words of Jesus himself found in John 14:6. Further, I must ask: "Who else but Jesus is qualified to take upon himself the penalty of our sins?"
I am aware that not everyone who reads these words has the same theological understanding of the Bible or the same perspective on obtaining a relationship with God. But if the Bible is clear on one thing, it's that we cannot (of our own efforts) earn God's favor. The prophet Isaiah says that all our righteous deeds are as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). We are saved only by God's grace and that must be received on His terms - not ours.
