"Accepting" Jesus

At first glance, this post may shock my Christian friends.

But here goes.... You DO NOT need to "accept" Jesus to go to heaven.

Now before you freak out thinking I'm a heretic let me clarify what I mean.

The word commonly used by evangelical Christians is the word "accept." As in the often asked question of evangelists, "have you accepted Jesus?"

However the word "accept" creates a problem. For example - if in my business I "accept" Visa or Mastercard, this means that I have decided to find them suitable forms of payment. I am the judge deciding if I shall "accept" them or not. It makes the "acceptor" the person in authority.

The word "accept" misrepresents our true relationship to Christ when He comes to offer His life in exchange for ours.

The reality is that we "surrender" to God and He "accepts" us.
We yield. We lay down our weapons. We cease our rebellion. We trust his will. We lay down our life and take up His. We step down from the throne of our lives and give him the throne.


I can think of nowhere in scripture where we are invited to "accept" Him (as if He needed our acceptance).

The Biblical invitation is more akin to "surrender." And there is a BIG difference between "accept" and "surrender." When I "accept" something, I'm still in charge. When I "surrender" to something or someone, that something or someone is in charge. Acceptance costs us nothing. Surrender costs us everything.

Jesus is not the frosting on the cake of your life. If He is anything to you - He IS your life.

Paradoxically when you "surrender" to Jesus, you have everything. There isn't anything else of worth remaining for you to obtain.

Here's the bottom line - Jesus does not need your "acceptance," you need His.
To my evangelist friends. Please stop inviting people to accept Jesus. It's not an honest assessment of the situation and it misrepresents their relationship to the one who spoke the universe into being. Instead, ask them to lay down their arms, to cease their rebellion, and unconditionally surrender themselves. It's not a popular message - but it is reality.