Accepting Christ

By Jerry Reynolds (Bowling Green, Kentucky)

The catch phrases most popularized by the movement of D. L. Moody and other protestant mass evangelists are "accept Christ" or "accept Christ as my personal Savior." We understand that all must "accept Christ" as the only hope of salvation in route to their new birth experience, but it is never by this action that victory is secured. One cannot "accept Christ as his personal Savior", because Christ does not become our personal Savior by our acceptance of Him, but rather by His acceptance of our repentance and faith.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find such terminology among Baptists prior to the very late 1800's when mass evangelism was already beginning to influence our preachers. One of the earliest I have found is in a booklet by J. M. Carroll on eternal security, in which he may have used "accept Christ" twice. I have no reason to doubt Brother Carroll's soundness, but I believe this innovation in terminology was simply opening the door for a dangerous innovation in practice.

The American revival from 1720 - 1790 re-established the new birth to its proper understanding as being a supernatural spiritual experience with God when He creates a new spirit in the converted. It re-established faith as "evidence of unseen (and eternal) things" instead of blind acceptance of dogma or presumption of truth. Revealed religion became as real to the American revival as it was to Peter in Matthew 16:16-18. This revealed and experimental knowledge was the "rock" upon which Jesus promised He would always build His church. The great 1700's revival split every evangelical protestant denomination on this very issue. Each had two warring factions: those who believed that salvation was an experience with God which left the convert knowing God experimentally, and those who rejected this as supernatural nonsense or at least unnecessary. There was only one denomination not divided by the heaven-sent revival - Baptists! They were actually united by it. Why? Because this was one of their fundamental doctrines and maintained practices before the revival ever began. Many truly converted Protestants crossed over and united with the Baptists. Soon Baptists were the dominant religion in the new country, and for many years, until Moody's influence subverted them, they all maintained this peculiar insistence upon such a "know-so" conversion. Today, scattered and diminished remnants still do. Along with a few other basic fundamentals, this practice defines who are the Old-time Missionary Baptists. A rule of thumb that I have learned to apply worldwide to all "Landmark Missionary Baptist Churches" is this: if they practice heart-felt conversion and require a convincing testimony of such before baptism and church membership, they are almost always sound in all other points of doctrine and practice.

There still exist SOUND churches, who have adopted the terminology of "accepting Christ." They believe the truth regarding conversion, while expressing it in the same terms which Billy Graham and others use to deceive souls. Let us learn patience and understanding in not judging too quickly, but rather ask all who thus express themselves to define their terms. May all who believe the truth soon discard this unfortunate expression.

I asked a dear preacher friend (when I first met him), "What do you mean by 'accept Christ'?" He proceeded to tell me of his salvation experience. He was heavy laden with conviction when he was led through a "Roman road" type conversion process by some misguided preachers and then assured by them that he was saved. A short time later he knelt in private by a couch and poured his prayer out to God, who finally removed his burden and trouble and gave him inner peace. By that "peace with God" he knew intuitively that it was well with his soul. God had witnessed His acceptance of my friend's repentance and faith. Still he urged people to "accept Christ" and the church to which he regularly preached spoke the same way. I asked him why he did not use some other terminology instead of "accept Christ." He wondered why WE had such an aversion to that phrase. I explained to him that to most people this term means an unspiritual and feelingless assent to the gospel without prior Holy Spirit conviction or subsequent conscious evidence of profound inner change wrought in the heart by grace. Such is the "accept Christ" of Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, John Rice, Theodore Epp, and most other modern evangelists, leaving converts deceived and hell-bound, just as Moody and Sunday did before them. This IS NOT historically Baptist. Deep inner conversion which the convert KNOWS occurred, and can tell the time and place with accompanying thoughts and feelings which surround it, is the kind of conversion Baptists have historically required and which the Bible definitely teaches.

As published in The Baptist Waymark, Vol. III, No. 5, September-October 1995, p. 1

Testimony of Joel Hume

TESTIMONY OF JOEL HUME (a Regular Baptist Elder)

The following Christian experience was related by Joel Hume (Regular Baptist) during a debate with Benoni Stinson (General Baptist) on the atonement. The debate was held in 1863 in the state of Indiana. The remarks were occasioned by Hume misunderstanding Stinson’s position on the Christian experience. Stinson later stated that the misunderstanding had brought forth a wonderful testimony, and that he had no disagreement with Hume on the experience of salvation. Whatever differences Regular and General Baptists had in 1863, they both held that salvation was a definite heartfelt experience with God.

"If I know anything about Christian experience, I will say that there was a time when I cared no more about my own soul than if I had had none. I had no desire to go to church, nor to read the Bible; I had no desire to hear any talk on that subject. I was not seeking the Saviour: I was running away from God—sinning against Him with a high hand and an outstretched arm; but I shall never forget, while I am allowed a place upon God’s footstool, the first serious thought that crossed my mind upon the subject of Christianity. I have heard men talk about agencies and instrumentalities in this grand work, but if there was any agency In my awakening to my condition as a sinner, it was the abominable practice of blaspheming the name of God. At that time I was working as a hand upon a steamboat. There I heard the most blasphemous oaths that ever disgraced humanity, and the thought occurred to my mind, what an awful wicked set of beings you are; and the next thought was, you are as bad as they. These men pour out all that is in them. while you conceal it up as filth. I ask you, friends, was I choosing—was I desiring? Surely not. But from that hour till the day I trusted in God, I was unable to see how God could be just and save sinners. I chose holiness and despised sin, and never shall I forget the last afternoon of the deep agony of my soul; it was in a paw-paw thicket, in the east end of this state. My soul feels deep interested when think upon that dark and gloomy evening. I left the spot with this conviction: hell is my portion; I am doomed and there is no mercy for such a rebel as you. I went to the little cabin in which I was living, and leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. O, Christian friends! if my tongue had been taken out by the roots, every breath would have gone up to God in prayer. Till then I was not seeking Christ, but he sought me and found me. Christ revealed Himself to me. I would say to every sinner, I care not what your names, if you live as Christians, have not these been some of your exercises?"

As printed in The Baptist Waymark, Vol. IV, No. 2, Mar-Apr 1996, p. 3 (Originally found in A Debate on the Doctrine of Atonement, Between Rev. Joel Hume...and Rev. Benoni Stinson, Cincinnati, OH: E. Morgan and Co., 1863, pp. 139-141)

O wretched man

"O wretched man that I am!" Romans 7:24

"...seeing the soul conflict which the Apostle passed through, and feeling a measure of the same in our own bosom, it encourages, supports, and leads the soul on to believe that this is the way in which the saints are called to travel, however rough, rugged, and perplexing it may be to them. Be assured, then, if you have never cried out from the depths of your soul, "O wretched man that I am!" you are dead in sin, or dead in a profession. If internal guilt, misery, and condemnation never forced that cry from your bosom, depend upon it, the life and power of God is not in your soul." -- J. C. Philpot

Tis my desire

Tis my desire with God to walk,
And with His children pray and talk;
Although I persecuted be
Yet Jesus suffered so for me.

Tis my desire above the rest
To lean my head on Jesus' breast;
To be baptized, like Christ, my King
And yield to Him in everything.

Tis my desire, around the board
To meet Thy saints, my dearest Lord;
In union with Thy saints to be,
And oft commune with them and Thee.

Tis my desire His saints to meet,
To wash the dear disciples' feet;
And serve them, as my dearest Lord
Has taught me in His blessed Word.

From A New and Choice Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the Use of the Regular Baptist church, and all lovers of song, 17th edition by Elder E(rasmus) D. Thomas, pastor of the Regular Baptist Church, Danville, Ind. No. 546 (pp. 498-499)

The first two lines were used by B. F. White in his tune Desire for Piety (No. 76b The Sacred Harp, all editions). He credited the source as Baptist Harmony, p. 479. Perhaps this is The Baptist Harmony, being a Selection of Choice Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Social Worship, by Staunton S. Burdett, Pleasant Hill, SC, 1834.

The giver of every good gift

Lamb of God, we fall before Thee,
Humbly trusting in Thy cross.
That alone be all our glory;
All things else are only dross.

Thee we own a perfect Savior,
Only source of all that's good.
Every grace and every favor
Comes to us through Jesus' blood.

Jesus gives us true repentance
By His Spirit sent from Heav'n;
Whispers this transporting sentence,
"Son, thy sins are all forgiv'n."

Faith He grants us to believe it,
Grateful hearts His love to prize;
Want we wisdom? He must give it,
Hearing ears and seeing eyes.

Jesus gives us pure affections,
Wills to do what He requires,
Makes us follow His directions,
And what He commands, inspires.

All our prayers and all our praises,
Rightly offered in His Name-
He that dictates them is Jesus;
He that answers is the same.

Joseph Hart (1712-1768)
First published in 1759.