A personal relationship.

[B-A-C]

John McArthur recently stated that personal relationship with Jesus is not required for salvation.

I am curious. How many people really believe that?
In John 10:4-5 Jesus says the sheep know His voice (also John 10:27; )
John 5:40-43; Jesus says he knows some people, and they won't receive me.
In John 17:3; Jesus says knowing God is eternal life.
Galatians 4:8-9; talk about those who know God.
1 Thes 4:5; and 2 Thes 1:8; talk about those who don't know God.
Titus 1:16; talks about who say they know God, but...
1 Jn 4:8; talks about something that is required in order to know God.

Is knowing God/Jesus simply knowing about Him, or is it really experiencing Him?
I may know about a certain celebrity, I may know what he looks like, where he lives, his wife and children's names, where he grew up and went to school.
But if I have never met him and spent time with him, do I really know Him?

Even the demons know who Jesus is. (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; )
But is simply knowing who He is enough?

How many of us have been in relationships. With a girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancé', husband, wife, best friend, or even our children.
I wonder how those relationship would be if we never spent time with those people, talking to them, listening to them, hurting with them, rejoicing with them.
Crying with them, confiding in them, trusting them, ... and yes... loving them. Can you really love someone without really knowing them? ( 1 Jn 4:20; )
Oh we say we love sports teams, and certain kinds of cars, we might even say we love a celebrity. But do we love them like we love the people we really know?
Do you love them as much as your spouse or children? Do you love them in the same way?
One of the greatest commandments God gave us was...

Deut 6:5; "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deut 10:12; "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deut 11:13; "It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul,
( Deut 30:6; Jos 22:5; Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; )

Can you love Him if you don't know Him? Do you really know Him on a personal level, or do you just know 'about' Him?
What do we do for those we love? We spend time with them, get to know them better, understand them, hear what they say, and we try to do things for them, things that please them.
Are you listening to God? Are you doing what He says? Are you trying to please Him? Do you spend time with Him everyday?

I wonder if your girlfriend or husband would think you loved them if you never talked to them or spent time with them? Would they think you loved them
if you spent a few minutes a week with them? If you never listened to what they had to say?

Knowing and loving someone isn't just knowing about them. It's experiencing them. There are hundreds of Bible studies that tell us 'about' God.
But that's not the same as really knowing Him. Knowing His character, His will in your life, His purpose for you. Is God moving in your life?
Can you see Him in the things you do?

 

[grandmamary1219]

I would be very interested in knowing exactly where your information concerning John MacArthur's "statement" comes from? A statement such as this needs corroboration IMVHO. Thanks in advance for your verification of this statement.

 

[B-A-C]

I would be very interested in knowing exactly where your information concerning John MacArthur's "statement" comes from? A statement such as this needs corroboration IMVHO. Thanks in advance for your verification of this statement.

Sent you private email, as I cannot post links in the forum.

 

[grandmamary1219]

Thank you BAC.

I do understand certain criticisms of John MacArthur, (namely he is a Calvinist and the father of Lordship Salvation) and clearly John MacArthur does not need me to hold anyone accountable for their various and multitudinous criticisms of him!

I appreciate you supplying the source for your comment, which is a select sentence out of his book "SLAVE".

 

[james1523]

Of course, salvation is always personal - each person must have a personal encounter with Christ.
Yet I have to agree with the view that a personal relationship is not required, even Jesus died for the whole world in an impersonal way (alone, rejected, misunderstood, relatively unknown).

The thief on the cross did not have a personal relationship with Jesus yet was saved.
Jesus healed many people who did not have a personal relationship with Him. A number did not know who healed them.

A personal relationship is not required for salvation. That is, salvation is not dependent upon how well you know Christ, or how many years you have spent hearing His voice or knowing Him.
Salvation only depends upon Jesus entering your heart and forgiving your sins.
A personal relationship is more for sanctification and growing in the Lord. This is a type of salvation (e.g. you were saved from your anger problem through knowing Christ's love in a personal way over a period of 2 years) but it is not the salvation of justification and redemption which is by faith in Christ's blood alone.

 

[grandmamary1219]

Knowing and loving someone isn't just knowing about them. It's experiencing them. There are hundreds of Bible studies that tell us 'about' God.
But that's not the same as really knowing Him. Knowing His character, His will in your life, His purpose for you. Is God moving in your life?
Can you see Him in the things you do?

I agree with James1523 that we don't have to have an intimate relationship with Jesus prior to realizing we are sinners in need of a Savior. We can repent of our sin and turn to God just as we are at the time we become aware of our need for Him to save us. Jesus seals us at that moment with his Holy Spirit and we are fully justified and sanctified positionally in Christ, covered in His perfection before the Father.

The Holy Spirit then begins to work in us to progressively sanctify us in our walk with Jesus, little by little. Progressive sanctification is a lifelong process as we cannot possibly reach perfection in this mortal life. But He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it! We will be completely perfected only in His presence, whether we get there by death or by rapture.

I think I understand what you are saying about knowing Him, loving Him, and there being evidence of that in our walk with Him. And there will be fruit, but not any fruit that we can take credit for! We are a work in progress and it is the Holy Spirit who moves within us to conquer new territory little by little. All the glory for our salvation and sanctification goes to Jesus alone. We cannot brag!

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 Philippians 1:4-6