Snarkie,
You have a lot to learn, old chap.
>I have found a similar pattern among Evangelicals: the "catch" message is, "accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and you will be saved / born again"; but if someone says "I accepted Jesus but I felt nothing particular," the prepared answer is: "trust the Scriptures: you are saved / born again because they say so, even though you may have felt nothing particular."
It is not (usually) about feelings at all (being saved). It is a reasoned approach to the message of the New Testament. It is also a simple formula that practically anyone can understand.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."
That is the gospel but there is more:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3) Believe you are a sinner and in need of salvation.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Why He came to die.
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom. 10:9-12) A promise from God: believe; confess; and profess belief in Christ Jesus.
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (1 Cor. 5:15) The evidence that you are a believer.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10) You are not saved by ANY good works, including baptism. You are saved by grace and for the purpose of doing good works. Don't get the cart ahead of the horse. Sure, we cannot completely separate feelings from reasoning. You first understand the gospel message, then it is up to you to accept or reject it. You don't believe that? I saw my questions answered in an unmistakable way and the realization was at the moment that I finally realized that Jesus claimed to be (and is) God: early Christians worshipped Him: and the Jews expected a God! I set out to disprove the trinity teaching and instead I found the deity of Christ. After that the Holy Spirit made Himself known to me and I embraced the solid doctrines of orthodoxy.
What we receive is peace with God and the peace of God. As a Christian develops into maturity he/she grows in knowledge, faith and attitude. The prayer life becomes more focused and fruitful. The testimony is easier to relay to people who see the evidence of that peace of God. We are the body of Christ: He still works and ministers on Earth, through those who have genuine faith. The inner light is what I refer to: "I am the light of the world" as our Lord said in John 9:5.
Rex
