Evangelicals will explain justification by saying that you only need to "believe" or "have faith" to be saved because they cling to this unbiblical belief. Faith alone or Sola Fide, they will explain, is all you need to be justified and go to Heaven. Sola Fide is one of the two pillars of the Reformation. Common questions that an Evangelical or "born-again" Christian asks might be, "Are you born-again?" or "Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?" or "Have you accepted Jesus Christ into your heart?"
1) Here is an example of a possible conversation between an Evangelical Protestant and a Catholic.
P) Are you born again?
C) Yes, I'm Catholic. I'm born again the Bible way.
P) What do you mean? (Huh?? Explain)
C) Well, you asked me the question first, so why don't you tell me what you mean by born-again?
P) Well, in John 3:3 Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
C) So how do you get born again?
P) You must accept Jesus Christ as your Savior to be born again; you need to ask Him into your heart. Eternal life is given to the person who believes in the name of Jesus Christ. (They might throw in John 3:16)
C) Well, I have a dilemma.
I have to decide whether I'm going to believe what the Bible says or what you say about being born again.
I have to decide whether I believe your definition or Jesus’ definition of being born again.
Let’s read a bit more in John.
John 3:4 Nicodemus asked Jesus the same question about HOW we can be born again,
John 3:5 Jesus tells us, “Unless a man is born of water and the spirit, he will never see the kingdom of God.”
So, Jesus tells me that I must be born again of water and the spirit . . . . you are telling me I should ask Jesus into my heart.
If we search in the whole Bible for, "ask Jesus into your heart" or "ask Jesus in your heart" We will find it is not there.
If we search for "personal Lord and Savior" . . . . not there.
These two phrases are not biblical; they are the tradition of man. They're not found in the Bible.
The apostles didn't use those words.
Jesus didn't use those words.
What Jesus actually said was that you get born again by water and Spirit. That's Baptism.
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2) Here is a KWO of the conversation.
P) R U born again?
C) Yes / Catholic / Bible way
P) Huh?? Explain
C) Turn Q around - what U mean "born-again"
P) John 3:3
C) How?
P) ask JC into <3
C) dilemma! Believe Bible or U?
John 3:4 Nicodemus same Q . . . . HOW?
John 3:5 Jesus says water and the spirit
U say ask JC into <3
C) Yes / Catholic / Bible way
P) Huh?? Explain
C) Turn Q around - what U mean "born-again"
P) John 3:3
C) How?
P) ask JC into <3
C) dilemma! Believe Bible or U?
John 3:4 Nicodemus same Q . . . . HOW?
John 3:5 Jesus says water and the spirit
U say ask JC into <3
- search Bible --> not there.
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3) Here are lots of details and explanations pertaining to the conversation.
Red = Shortcut reminder of the basic idea (what's happening in the sentenceBlue = Protestant
Bolded Blue = Key words to help you remember the sentence.
Black = Catholic
Bolded Black = Key words to help you remember the sentence.
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P) Are you born again?
C) Yes, I'm Catholic. I'm born again the Bible way.
P) What do you mean?
(Huh?? Explain)
C) Well, you asked me the question first, so why don't you tell me what you mean by born-again?
P) Well, in John 3:3 Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
C) So how do you get born again?
(Accept Bible, of course, and dig deeper. How?)
P) You must accept Jesus Christ as your Savior to be born again; you need to ask Him into your heart. Eternal life is given to the person who believes in the name of Jesus Christ. (They might throw in John 3:16)
C) Well, I have a dilemma.
I have to decide whether I'm going to believe what the Bible says or what you say about being born again.
I have to decide whether I believe your definition or Jesus’ definition of being born again.
Let’s read a bit more in John.
John 3:4 Nicodemus asked Jesus the same question about HOW can we be born again,
John 3:5 Jesus tells us, “Unless a man is born of water and the spirit, he will never see the kingdom of God.”
So, Jesus tells me that I must be born again of water and the spirit . . . . you are telling me I should ask Jesus into my heart.
(Or, have a personal relationship with Jesus or accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour)
- If we search in the whole Bible for, "ask Jesus into your heart" or "ask Jesus in your heart" We will find it is not there.
- If we search for "personal Lord and Savior" . . . . not there.
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Extra Notes:
- Those phrases ("ask Jesus into your heart" or "ask Jesus in your heart" or "personal Lord and Savior") are protestant tradition and are not found in the Bible. They seem to have their roots in "The Great Awakening" of the 1700s and a misuse of Revelation 3:14-20. Consider how lecturer, John Webb misused this passage in the mid 1700s in order to evangelize non-Christians. < http://www.bible.ca/g-sinners-prayer.htm >
- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2012/07/ask-jesus-into-your-heart-a-history-of-the-sinners-prayer/
- Except for the disparaging and incorrect remarks about infant baptism, this is a fairly good article. Good info on the evolution of the "sinner's prayer." http://www.bible.ca/g-sinners-prayer.htm
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