"How and when does a person receive the Holy Spirit and become Saved?" The reason I ask this is because of what the Scriptures say.
Romans 8:9 “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”
Many people claim to be Christians; such as Mormons, Jehovah’s witnesses, Catholics, Protestants etc. But the above Scripture makes it clear that if a person does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, they do not belong to Christ and therefore are not saved. So it is imperative that a person get this particular doctrine correct.
Where error regarding a vital doctrine is in question, we as Christians cannot afford to be unconcerned about it. Rather, we must search the Scriptures diligently until we have unearthed enough evidence to expose the error! If for instance we were to examine the false Christian religions of this world, we would soon discover that they are all in error with respect to vital doctrines of the Scriptures. The reason for this stems mostly from error regarding the Holy Spirit. Genuine Christianity is impossible without the aid and ministry of the Holy Spirit; for without Him, it is impossible to have a right understanding of the Scriptures.
1Cor 2:14 "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned".
The outcome of this is obvious; Without the Holy Spirit it is easy to fall prey to the devil’s schemes, lies, and deceptions, and be open to all kinds of false doctrine and heresy. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is therefore indispensable to the Christian life! If we run into error regarding this single doctrine; we will very likely run into error regarding other vital doctrines.
But for us whom the Holy Spirit has indwelt, we have the following promise of our wonderful Savior to trust in.
John 16:13 "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
So what is the truth of the matter in question? How does one receive the Holy Spirit and be saved. Two Scripture texts that give us the answer, in a nutshell, are John 7: 38-39 and 1 Cor. 15: 1-4
John 7:38-39 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. "
By this, He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
1 Cor. 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”
These Scriptures tell us that when a person believes the True Gospel and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He accomplished, he receives the Holy Spirit and is saved. The Scriptures also inform us as to when this happens. It happens after one has heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation. Therefore, someone must share the biblical message of salvation with sinners before they can believe it. Then, if they believe, they will be sealed with the Holy Spirit and be saved. Thus they are sealed with the Holy Spirit (which is synonymous with receiving the Holy Spirit) after they hear and believe the word of truth, the Gospel of their salvation. This interpretation is easily verified from Scripture.
Eph 1:13 "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,"
Gal 3:2 "I would like to learn just one thing from you; did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?"
The obvious answer to the question being asked here is that these Galatians received the Holy Spirit by believing what they heard, not by observing the Law.
SHOULD WE ASK JESUS INTO OUR HEART OR LIFE
This is a teaching that has seemingly gained wide acceptance amongst “Christians” in our day. I have heard it being used many times from Pulpits, from Elders, and from ordinary Christians. I have even read it in Christian books and heard it on T.V. and Christian tapes.
The question is whether it is Scriptural or not. It may sound Scriptural, and may even appear to be Scriptural, but is it Scriptural? Is it found in God’s Word? In short, the answer is no. There is no mention of it anywhere in the Scriptures.
So what is the problem with this teaching? First, that it is not found in the Scriptures is enough. But it is also a teaching that can be harmful. I would like to begin by making a simple assertion. Asking Jesus into one’s life and Believing the True Gospel is not one and the same thing. The Scriptures tell us that it is possible to honor God with our lips but have hearts that are far from Him.
Matt 15:8-9 "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’"
These Scriptures show us that Asking and Believing is not the same. It is possible to simply ask Jesus into one’s life while at the same time have hearts that are far from God. This is useless in that it does not guarantee that such a person will receive the Holy Spirit. If however a person truly believes the True Gospel and truly trusts in the true Jesus, without asking Him into their life, they will receive the Holy Spirit and be saved. If nothing else, surely this shows that it is not necessary to ask Jesus into one’s life in order to be saved.
One of the most harmful consequences of this teaching is that it can place as members in our fellowships, those without the Holy Spirit; who do not belong to Christ.
Jude 1: 17-19 "But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit."
Jude, the Lord's brother, is here warning the Church of a problem that will occur in the last times. The thing he is warning us about is division in the Church. He also tells us that the people responsible for this will be those who; "do not have the Spirit." They themselves may be deceived into thinking that they are "Christians", and the believers in the Church may think so, but they will be mistaken. These people will, in fact, be unbelievers. Our enemy the Devil will oppose the truth at every opportunity. He is hostile to it and will use everything in his power to hinder or cloud our presentation of it. But he won’t use lies and errors that stick out like a sore thumb. Instead, he will use cunning deceptions that are extremely difficult to notice. Does he not lead the whole world astray? Did he not lead our first parents astray? How did he do it? He used deception! In the Church, one of the principal means he uses to accomplish his evil purpose is to cause division and one of the ways he brings this about is by spreading some tares amongst the wheat; by placing unsaved people, including deceived preachers and teachers, into Christian fellowship. Now while it may be impossible for us to keep our fellowships completely free of unbelieving members, we can and should do all we can to keep it to an absolute minimum. We can only accomplish this by holding steadfastly to the truth of the Scriptures at all times. By doing this we not only uphold the truth; we also defy or refute attempts to alter or reject sound doctrine. In Paul’s Epistle to Timothy, we are counseled by God the Holy Spirit to watch our lives and doctrine closely. In other words, biblical doctrine is to be guarded closely!
2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, ...."
This brings us to the teaching in question. Can those who merely ask Jesus into their lives be saved? In reply, I would state some would say absolutely not! The Scriptural way to be saved is to believe in True Gospel, ie in the Lord. Now some would also say that both are in fact the same thing. So are they the same? If I ask Jesus into my life does it mean that I actually believe the True Gospel or in the True Jesus? I don’t think so. To ask or believe something are not the same. We are saved by believing not asking and we must believe correctly.
The Scriptures make it very clear that sin and its consequences are man’s greatest problem. We are all sinners who continually fall short of the glory of God. We that are lost need to be saved. This is why it was essential for Jesus to come into the world!
1 Tim. 1:15 “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance; that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”.
Matt 19:10 "For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."
Because we cannot do anything to save ourselves, we desperately need a Savior. Therefore, everyone who believes in the True Gospel and the True Jesus receives the Holy Spirit and is eternally saved.
If we teach or accept that merely asking Jesus into ones life can save sinners; are we being faithful to the truth of the Scripture? What Scripture are we proclaiming? How and when a person receives the Holy Spirit and is saved is a vitally important aspect of the Gospel message. The Holy Spirit considered it necessary to inspire holy men of God to write about this Savior, so that sinners might believe the Good News and be saved; receiving the Holy Spirit in the process. God inspired the Apostle John to write:
John 20:31 "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."
As well as inspiring Paul to write:
1 Cor 15 1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”
We are in fact opening the door of membership to those without the Spirit. This in turn can lead to the situation referred to in Jude 19, which, as we have heard, can cause harmful divisions amongst us. Do we have divisions in the Church today? Sadly yes. How do they arise? They arise mostly when it comes to upholding sound doctrine. (Such as how and when a person receives the Holy Spirit and is saved) The principal reason for this can be that we have as preachers, teachers and members those who are without the Holy Spirit, who do not accept or understand the things that come from the Spirit of God.
Matt 13:25 "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."
What is a tare? Is it not someone who is still a child of the evil one? Is it not the person who is deceived into thinking that they are saved, or who deceives others into accepting them as being saved? In other words, it is the man or woman without the Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:14 "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
I see in this teaching, amongst other things, an extremely subtle attack on the biblical requirement for sinners to hear and believe the Good News of Jesus. I have personally witnessed fellow believers who have met unsaved people for the first time, and without ever sharing the True Good News of Jesus with them, encouraging them to ask Jesus into their life; promising them that they will be saved if they do so. It is sadly a teaching that is frequently taught. God's sovereign grace through the direct work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart is a method of salvation that will reach the infant, the infidel, the heathen and the Old Testament Jew.
This one word 'believe' represents all a regenerated sinner can do and must do to be saved. The Bible supports this simple truth repeatedly in over 100 verses in the New Testament.
Now some say that all one has to do is call upon the name of the Lord and they will be saved. By this, they mean that merely asking Jesus into one's life is the same as calling upon the Lord.
Romans 10:13-15 "For "everyone" who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
But the fact is, if anyone is going to call upon the name of the Lord, they must first hear the True Gospel. When this occurs they must first receive the Free Gift of the Faith of Jesus in order to believe the True Gospel and will at the same instant receive the Holy Spirit, it results in them receiving the gift of faith. It is after all, by Grace, through faith that we are saved. This is not a blind faith, but a faith based on the truth; a faith which is a gift from God.
Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
I Cor. 2:14 "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
The gift of faith also gives the individual the ability to believe, or "ears to hear"
Pro. 20:12 "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both."
Mt. 11:15 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Therefore, it takes a miracle in the hearts of sinners to bring about the necessary change that enables them to come to Christ. In other words, God the Holy Spirit must do a work of regeneration in the individual’s life and supply the faith needed to believe the Good News. The prerogative in all of this belongs totally to our Sovereign God, the author of our salvation! He must begin a good work in the sinners' life before there will be any inclination toward Jesus for salvation. That this is plainly taught in the Scriptures and is easily verified.
John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 15:16 "You did not choose me, but I chose you."
Asking Jesus into one’s life is to all intents and purposes, a denial of the necessity for sinners to hear and believe the Gospel of their salvation. Those who hold to this teaching do not always see the need to preach the Good News of Jesus to their hearers. Instead, they encourage them to simply ask Jesus into their hearts, telling them that they will be saved by doing so. The Apostle Peter shows the folly of such teaching by the following: "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever." That word is the Good News, which was preached to you."
For over 40 years I have heard people using the expression of asking Jesus into one's life.
*Asking Jesus into one's life is found nowhere in the Bible.
*In and of itself, it is useless as a means of salvation.
*It can give sinners a false hope of salvation.
*It can place tares into fellowships.
*It is a completely incorrect teaching.
Are we not aware that we have in existence, God-given guidelines with regard to Evangelism? The clear teaching of God’s Word is that sinners must hear and believe the Good News of the Lord Jesus if they are to receive the Holy Spirit and be saved. Some would have us believe that God can use anything to save people. This is simply not true. God has revealed the means He has chosen by which He saves sinners!
1 Cor. 1:18-21 "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
So why is this false teaching still being taught? Why not get rid of it? The answer I believe is that some may be deceived into thinking that it played a necessary role in their conversion, and to reject it now might seem to call their standing before God into question. It would also mean accepting that they had embraced an erroneous teaching. I have no doubt that the vast majority of those who have adopted this teaching would agree that the only way a man can be justified is by Grace thru faith alone in Jesus Christ. And faith in Jesus is something that happens after we hear the Good News. Therefore, it is not fitting or Scriptural to encourage anyone to ask Jesus into their life before they have heard the Good News of Jesus. Nor is it necessary afterward!
Although every Christian is instructed to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that they have, it does not mean that every Christian has the gift of Evangelism. (Eph 4:11) And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers." It is the Evangelist’s responsibility, therefore, to preach the Good News of Jesus, and to do it in accordance with the teachings of the Scriptures.
John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for the wrath of God abides on him."
If, having heard the Good News they believe it and/or call upon the name of the Lord, they will receive the Holy Spirit and be truly saved!
It is not my intention to offend anyone but to encourage believers to uphold the truth of God’s Word in this matter. It is my desire to see the Good News of Jesus being faithfully preached among the lost; that we would steadfastly hold to the trustworthy message as it has been taught. For it is we who are ambassadors for Christ, as though God was making His appeal through us. We are to implore sinners to be reconciled to God, explaining to them how God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Eph 1: 13-14 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory".
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Disciple Bob
WHEAT AND TARES
MATTHEW 13:25 "but while men slept,
his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went his way".