Scripture Reference: 1 Timothy 4:1
**Receiving Christ the Bible Way**
Why are millions of confessing Christians today still callingthemselves born again Christians as they live in and commit sin againstGod? Why is there no spiritual change in them whatsoever? Why? Simplybecause Christ has not truly come into their heart to make that changein them. Since there is no spiritual change in them, even as theyconfess that Jesus Christ is their personal Lord and Savior, then it'sclearly evident that they are totally void of the fact that when Christtruly comes into the heart their will definitely be a change in theirheart. Let Jeremiah the prophet tell us about the heart of man beforethere is a change made of it. In Jeremiah 17:9 we find these wordssaying, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Theheart of a person is filled with all manner of evil and wickednessbefore their heart takes on a spiritual change. Listen to what theheart contains before it is purified by faith as Acts 15:9 states.Jesus tells us these very words in Mark 7:18-23 that says, "Andhe saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye notperceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, itcannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into thebelly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said,That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For fromwithin, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
All theseevil things come from within, and defile the man. If your hearthas not undergone a spiritual change and you confess to be saved asmillions do, then your heart has deceived you as the scripture ofJeremiah 17:9 states. If Christ has truly come into your heart, thenall the evil and wickedness that Jesus mentioned in Mark 7:18-23 hasbeen miraculously cleansed or purified from your heart. But if Christhas not truly come into your heart and you confess to be saved, thenyou have definitely been deceived and there has been no spiritualchange in you whatsoever; you are still dead in your sins and you arestill a servant of sin and not a servant of righteousness.
The reason why millions of people are claiming to be saved or bornagain and still live in and commit sin is simply because they havebelieved a devilish doctrine that has caused them to speak lies inhypocrisy. This doctrine was taught by the many false prophets that hascome on the scene as Jesus warned us about in his teachings. In Matthew24:11 we find Jesus saying these words that says, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Thesemany false prophets have already come and left the scene, but theirfalse teachings are still alive and active and Satan's many ministersare proclaiming them today as well as in times past. These falseteachings are teaching the millions of people in Christianity that toreceive Christ as Lord and Savior of their life is done by merelyasking or inviting him to come into their heart. There is a certainpreacher that has a TV program that teaches the people to repeat aprayer after him, and then he tells them they were born again if theyrepeated that prayer. This preacher's name is Joel Osteen that has aneighteen or nineteen thousand member Church in Huston, Texas. Justbefore he closes his broadcast he tells the viewers to repeat a prayerafter him, and when they do he tells them they were born again, whichalso means they were saved. This is a common teaching found throughChristianity today that is totally deceiving the masses away from thetruth of the matter as Gods word teaches it. Just saying you receiveChrist as Lord and Savior of your life or to repeat what is called "the sinners prayer" willdo absolutely nothing spiritually for you whatsoever, but will leaveyour heart filled with all the evil and wickedness that it contains.This is exactly why the millions of confessing Christians today stilllive in and commit sin daily in their lives, and also is why theycontinue to call themselves sinners. The problem with Christianitytoday is that they have a serious heart problem that only God can cure.Heart problem in either the natural or the spiritual realm of life canbe very serious and lead to both physical and spiritual death. WhatChristianity needs is a "heart transplant"and I am not talking about the heart that pumps the blood through yoursystem to keep you alive physically. I am talking about the heart of ahuman being that is their most inner being that they must love Godwith. Listen to what Jesus tells us about the many who only worship Godin the flesh and not in the spirit as we must. We cannot truly worshipGod in the flesh, but rather we must worship him in spirit and intruth. Jesus said these words in John 4:24 saying, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
Listen also to what Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9 that says, "Thispeople draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me withtheir lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worshipme, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." These "doctrines and commandments of men"are the many false doctrines that the many false prophets has broughtto the scene that is deceiving the masses by the millions. Notice whereJesus said that many will draw nigh to him with their mouth, and honorhim with their lips, but their "hearts are far from him." Thereason why their hearts are far from him is simply because they do notpossess Christ in their heart, but are only worshipping God in vain inthe flesh. And Paul tells us these words stated in Romans 8:8 thatsays, "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Christis not in the hearts of the millions of confessing Christians todaysimply because they don't know biblically how to truly receive him intheir hearts that will make a spiritual change in them. Let me by thegrace of God show you how you can truly receive Christ into your heartthat will definitely make a spiritual change in your heart. Listen towhat Jesus tells us in Revelation 3:20 that says, "Behold,I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open thedoor, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."Now what has this to do with you saying you receive Christ as your Lordand Savior or repeating some prayer thinking you were saved? Noticethat Jesus said that he was the one that was standing at the door andknocking. What door is Jesus referring to here? It's the door of yourheart; does he not come into the heart when he is received? But noticehe said we have to hear his voice and open the door and then he willcome in and he will sup with us and we will sup with him. What then ishis voice that we must hear? Is the voice of the false prophet hisvoice or is it a voice that's contrary to his word? To hear Christ'svoice means to hear the word of God revealed in the gospel or theteachings of Christ. So what is it that we must hear and open ourhearts door so that Christ can truly come into our heart? Listen towhat the apostle Peter said in Acts 2:36-38 that says, "Thereforelet all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the sameJesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when theyheard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter andto the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? ThenPeter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in thename of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receivethe gift of the Holy Ghost." The receiving of the Holy Ghost isreceiving the Spirit of Christ, but before God will impart his Spiritto us we must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, whichis for the remission of sins. Have you obeyed this command or are youof the many that believes that Peter was in error here? The falseprophets doctrine will tell you to be baptized in water according towhat Matthew 28:19 says, but this scripture is not referring to waterbaptism, but to the Spirit's baptism into Christ.
If a person fails to do exactly what Acts 2:38 states, then they cannever receive Christ in their heart. Right here is where salvationbegins, because it was the apostle Peter that Christ gave the keys ofthe kingdom to. Notice in Acts 2:41 it says, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Thesebelievers received Christ and became members of the body of Christ,because if we look at what Peter said later in Acts 3:19-20 that says, "Repentye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, whenthe times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Andhe shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you" provingthat to receive the Holy Ghost is to receive the Spirit of Christ.There is but one Spirit, which is the Spirit of God, the Spirit ofTruth, the Comforter, the Spirit of Christ, which is all the self sameSpirit of God. So you can only receive Christ into your heart that willpurify all the evil and wickedness it contains by hearing what was saidthrough the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost and obey that commandin order to receive Christ into your heart and life. The commonteaching today in Christianity is just to say you accept Christ intoyour heart as Lord and Savior, but what has this to do with hearing hisvoice, which is his word? This is why there is absolutely no change atall in today's many confessing Christians that still live in and commitsin. Their heart being deceitful above all things and desperatelywicked has deceived them into accepting the false teaching that says toreceive Christ is dome by merely accepting him into your heart, butagain this does absolutely nothing toward changing your heartwhatsoever. This teaching is one of the many doctrines of devils that'sbeing proclaimed throughout the world today and you will never know thereality of experiencing the change that will be made in your heartuntil you begin to believe and obey exactly what Gods word says. "he that has an ear to hear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches" amen and amen