“Jesus offered freedom but everywhere Christians are in chains.
It is because they were falsely led to believe that by adding Jesus to their lives by saying the “sinner’s prayer,” or “accepting Jesus as their savior,” or “becoming born again,” etc… that life would be complete. This is magical thinking. Jesus never said that he would save or free anyone. He did not say, “I will set you free.” His exact words were, “When you know the truth, the truth will set you free.” What sets you free? THE TRUTH.
Jesus never caused anyone to be saved. First off, you don’t need to be saved – not from God, not from yourself, not from sin. You do, however, need to cast aside your spiritual ignorance. But even this Jesus cannot do for you. It’s not something anyone can do for anyone else.
The idea of conversion transformation is yet another example of magical thinking that is pinned on Jesus. The idea is that if you “accept Jesus as your savior,” “get saved,” or become “born again,” then everything will instantly be fixed in your life. Jesus never said this. You couldn’t get any closer to Jesus than his first disciples and they were clueless half the time. Why? Because they would not accept, embrace, or walk in the reality of the truth Jesus taught and demonstrated. It’s the same then as it is now – you must embrace the truth in order to be free. There is no substitute for that – not even the nice-sounding Christian formulas.”
- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge
