Nobody Has A Personal Savior

I totally ripped this post off from Laura LaRocque's cousin, who is a pastor in Massachusetts. I couldn't find his name on the post or I would have put it at the end. I didn't write this, but I think it is right on... Amen bro.

I often hear this in my circles, “have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord & Savior?” I know the intent – “do you have an intimate relationship with Jesus?” Or maybe, “have you yourself made the decision to become a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ?” These are both good questions. So why don’t we ask it that way? I would be interested to know when the terminology “personal” entered the equation. While I think it has been helpful to use “personal Lord & Savior” to emphasize the fact that one must take personal responsibility to be right with God, I also think that over the years it has actually hurt the American church.

We use the phrase so much that when we pray with people to become dedicated followers of Jesus Christ, we unintentionally (or intentionally) tell them that their salvation is all about “me, myself and I.” Most Christians I know think their faith walk is only a personal matter, a private matter, and most damaging of all, a preventative matter (meaning, “well at least I’m saved and I’m not going to hell.”)

Salvation that is presented as merely ”fire insurance” or “a means to ease one’s conscience” is not real, vintage, or I would argue, Biblical salvation. We cannot let salvation simply be a way for individuals to get to heaven. This promotes selfish, lazy and “consumer christianity.” It’s no wonder churches have such a difficult time getting volunteers. Why bother volunteering if one’s salvation is “personal?” After all, I’m not obligated to actively live out my faith if all my faith is about is ME getting to heaven.

But is that all it’s about? I would say – NO! We have often heard it said, “If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died for you.” But the fact is that you are NOT the only person on earth and Jesus did not just die for you. He died for everybody and He is Savior of the world and the Lord of all of creation. His church is not a collection of individuals, it’s a body. Instead of ushering people into a “personal faith,” we should be directing people towards a “community-orientated faith. “

As a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, you are expected to contribute your resources to the Body of Christ. You are expected to serve, worship, pray and get along with fellow believers. You are joining a “great cloud of witnesses,” not running a “one man show.” Jesus is my Savior, but He’s your savior too. As such, we are connected spiritually. That’s why the bIble says that “when one part of the body hurts, we all hurt.” This makes no sense at all when we all have a “personal” Savior.

So, maybe we all need to re-think what our salvation is all about. If we’re to make an impact on our community, our salvation MUST be more than a “get out of hell free card.”

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