Nowhere in the New Testament will you find that salvation is about "accepting" Jesus. - Voddie Baucham

This was posted by a FB friend.

Transcript: Nowhere in the New Testament will you find that salvation is about "accepting" Jesus. Nowhere are you called to "accept Jesus" Nowhere in the New Testament will you find that salvation is about "asking Jesus into your heart'. Nowhere in the New Testament are you told to "ask Jesus into your heart". Nowhere, nowhere, nowhere. It's not there. What you are told again and again is to repent and believe.

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It seems Mr. Baucham is against the use of certain words regarding how to get saved. And he is adamant. Emphatic, even.

This kind of moral certainty causes us to wonder what the motive is. What is Mr. Baucham reacting against? Perhaps he is against the easy-believism that seems to be permeating certain areas of Christendom. We don't know, but we can take his statements at face value and examine them.

Let's see what the Bible says about them.

Accept

So, is it really true that nowhere in the Bible are we told to accept Jesus? Let's review a few Scriptures:

Mk. 4:20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop — thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

"Accept" is παραδέχομαι (paradechomai), to admit i. e. not to reject, to accept, receive...

Jn. 12:48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

"Accept" is λαμβάνω (lambanó) to believe the testimony... 

Jn. 13:20 ... and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.

"Accept" again is λαμβάνω (lambanó) in this case, to receive what is offered; not to refuse or reject... 

Ac. 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

"Accept" is ἀποδέχομαι (apodechomai), to believe... 

Ac. 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

Ac. 22:17-18 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking. `Quick!’ he said to me. `Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

1Co. 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1Ti. 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.

Ja. 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

And why not use a different word that conveys the same concept:

Col. 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him...

So when we actually read the Bible and do not simply take Mr. Baucham at his word, we discover we are commanded to accept the Holy Spirit, accept the testimony of Jesus, accept the Word of God, and to accept and receive Jesus Himself.

Heart

The heart is representative of the spiritual nature of men. Hard-heartedness is equated with disobedience, lack of faith, and deadness. Those who are alive in Christ have Him living in their hearts.

These are not controversial assertions, and the Bible backs them up:

Ac. 16:14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

Ac. 28:27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ [Isaiah 6:9,10]

Ro. 10:9-10 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. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Ga. 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Ep. 3:16-17 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Col. 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts

1Pe. 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

So Mr. Baucham is wrong about what the Bible says. Yet he is right that we need to repent and believe. This why it is a false choice. To accept Jesus is to repent. One cannot accept something unless one also rejects something else. To ask Him into your heart means the heart must yield to Him.

Why, then, does Mr. Baucham put up such a stink about this? Most likely he's rightly alarmed at the compromised Gospel that seems to be arising in so many churches, and is reacting to what he considers a watered-down gospel message.

With this we agree.