Regeneration and 'accepting Christ'

The standard evangelical edition of salvation is 'accepting Christ'. All through my 35 years of growing up (I wonder if I really did!) in an evangelical tradition which emphasized evangelism and the power of the Holy Spirit, I was brain-washed, as others were, that the Standard Operating Procedure for evangelism, and for 'getting people saved', was to get people to hear a simple message about how Jesus Christ came to bring them peace and a wonderful life (usually associated with John 10:10's 'abundant life'), if they would only 'accept Him'. This was standard fare in every evangelistic meeting, and as mentioned before, Standard Operating Procedure for every Evangelist, Pastor and Preacher in appealing to non-believers to 'become' Christians.

And I was one of those who 'accepted Christ' at the tender age of 14, and then, had to endure THIRTY-FOUR years of wandering and wondering how being a Christian is so much like being a 'yo-yo' in life. This position was further reinforced by the 52 sermons I heard in a year (sometimes more when I attended prayer meetings, special night meetings, conferences and seminars), which all had as their basic premise, that now that one was a Christian from 'accepting Christ', one was to work with all the will one could muster, to live the 'divine life'.

How am I doing so far to describe your own pilgrimage as one who 'accepted Christ'?

And then I heard the Gospel. And I mean I really, really heard the authentic Gospel message preached by a bald-headed preacher from New York, for over a period of 6 months. A bald-headed, intellectual, with a passion for a true and lasting desire to see the Gospel message cause transformation in hearts of men and women of all ages, nationalities, ethnicities and classes.

And you know what? Romans 10:17 flew right off the page and become existentially R E A L!!! I finally found what my thirsty, restless, conniving, manipulative, hypocritical, lazy, sin-ridden heart was all the while desperately searching for...and amazingly, what I was searching for, was actually searching for me, constantly, relentlessly, and He found me with His G R A C E !!!

Finally!!! It clicked. It made sense. The jigsaw pieces fitted together. And you know what? It was exactly as the apostle Paul had said in Acts 1726-28. Even though God is not far from us, in fact, He is as near as the word at our mouths, He had arranged it such that as He searched for us, we would search for Him. And I was found. And what a work of grace has been wrought in my heart. As I learned from great men from the past such as Luther, Owen, Calvin, Stibbes, Chalmers, Scougal, Bunyan, as well as from present time men of God such as Keller, Alexander, Patton, Ferguson, Mahaney, Dever, Borgman, the message of the Gospel become clearer and clearer, and the joy and amazement grew greater and greater.

And to think that the majestic Gospel message of the glorious Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the doctrines of regeneration, conversion, repentance, faith, justification, sanctification, and glorification, could be reduced into the phrase 'accepting Christ', is such an indictment that the assembly of those who go by the name Christians have grossly fallen from pure and sincere doctrine.

Now my greatest desire is to share the precious Gospel of the Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whenever I have an opportunity to do so.

And so I am thankful, and so grateful to the Father that He has opened a door for me to do just that in Full Gospel Assembly, Selayang, every Sunday for Bible Class. And in fact, He has also opened a door to do just that in City Harvest Church, Sunway, once a month.

What a joy and pleasure to preach and teach the precious life of Christ, His death and resurrection, as the anti-dote to the poison of sin in man's hearts. As well as to recognize its divine nutrition for true, genuine, blood-bought, word and Spirit birthed believers!