Author Archives: MzEllen

•

He misses home.  I told him that I miss him a lot.

He's short on cash and I told him that I'll help as much as I can, which is not very much.

His financial aid still is not done because they lost my tax information (I can fax it tomorrow).  He has a $500 bill that needs to be paid.

But classes are going well.

It was really, really good to tell him I love him.  That his whole family is proud of him.  That he's doing good.

And that - he told me that he doesn't like to ask for money - that he should let others be blessed by blessing him.

•

16 - define "sin"

"sin" is that which defies the Law of God.  From our first father (Adam) on, we have all been born into a state of sin.

17 - how important is "denomination"?

I believe it is most important when looking for a new church - If you know what you believe, it is the denominational standards that will tell you if a particular church has the same general beliefs that you do.

18 - what are the advantages of being in a particular denomination?  disadvantages?

The advantages are that there is additional oversight - if something goes wrong in a church, there is somebody higher up that you can go to.

The disadvantages are that the more structure there is, the slower the process goes.

•

Here is one example:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

Most often (in my experience) the invitation to pray this prayer is in response to a sermon in which the Gospel is presented.

Honesty, the points of salvation are in there.

  • Admission of sin
  • repentance
  • forgive me
  • I believe that Jesus died for my sins
  • please become Lord of my life.

If a person believes this and prays this...I believe they are saved.

And I believe they are babes.  It is the fault of the church who does not feed them milk after they are born and leaves them to founder that is the shame of the church, not that babes are led in this prayer.

• 3 Comments

•

the more I get into it, the less I'm sure it matters how we say it.

Gospel:  Good News.  The power of salvation for those who believe.

(update 1)

I found this: “Ten reasons NOT to ask Jesus into your heart”.

I would submit that it's not the "asking Jesus into your heart" that's the problem.  It's the leading an unbelieving person in "the formula" for the sake of following the formula.

The writer says that people who pray this prayer backslide.

I would reply...people who don't pray that prayer may backslide also.  You would have a hard time convincing me that it was the prayer that did it, not the idea that perhaps (whatever they said at the time of their "conversion") it was the person that was at fault.

The formula, "I'm sorry for my sins, please forgive me and be my Savior" is just as much a "formula".  And it can fail just as badly.

Reason number 10: People who ask Jesus into their hearts are not saved and they will perish on the Day of Judgment.

The writer says that is "scary" to him.  To me, scary is judging the salvation of another person based on the specific words they used on the day they turned to Jesus and not what is in their hearts.

There are a few things that I remember from my childhood...one of them is telling my mom that I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart.  She asked, "Why?".  I was able to articulate that I was sorry for my sins and I wanted Jesus to save me.

And she led me in that "sinner's prayer".

Does that mean that I am not saved and I will perish on the Day of Judgment?  Of course not and that's why I think it's important to look at the behavior, beliefs and reasoning of the person...not the formula that they're using.

~~~

Is it important to teach belief and repentance?  YES!  it is vital.

But to bluntly state that those who pray the sinner's prayer are lost...that smacks so much of 'everybody who doesn't do it just like I do are heathens' that it makes me very uncomfortable.