Does the Bible say I am to have a personal relationship with Jesus?

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I constantly hear Protestants and even Catholic talk about a relationship. Where does the Bible talk about this?

Here is my view: Christ is my Lord. I am a member of His body - that is, the Church. I (try) follow his teachings and wisdom in imitation of Him. The Church teaches that we should also approach Him through prayer and through the sacraments. Prayer includes petition, adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. The sacraments include the Eucharist, confession, etc. These are things I find in the Bible.

But what does the Protestant mean by a personal relationship, and how do they accomplish that, truly, without the Eucharist? And, for that matter, what do other Catholics think about having a relationship with Jesus? What does the Bible/Tradition/Magisterium teach?
 
First of all I suggest you ask Protestants who use the term and hear from them what it means.

Secondly, I think we should not use their argument (that everything should be found in the Bible) to prove a point, even though it is very tempting to do so. Mature and confident Catholics do not have to stoop to someone level especially ones we do not agree with.

Thirdly it may be just semantic.

I would say this is personal –
Christ is my Lord. I am a member of His body - that is, the Church. I (try) follow his teachings and wisdom in imitation of Him. The Church teaches that we should also approach Him through prayer and through the sacraments. Prayer includes petition, adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. The sacraments include the Eucharist, confession, etc. These are things I find in the Bible.

These are also personal that I can figure from the top of my head right now:
  • My sheep know my voice and I know them.
  • We must be one with the vine in order to bear much fruit.
  • You are my Lord and my God.
  • Come and follow me.
  • Why don’t you keep watch with me for an hour?
They are all being paraphrased but nevertheless Biblical.

Most importantly it is how we use the language and understood them and that they do not contradict our belief.

I remember this very well. After a prayer meeting, we asked an old priest who was a good friend too to adjourn for a fellowship. And he said, “I am not too sure. Fellowship is a Protestant word”.

I am just making a point. Too often we shy away from something just because the other side uses them more often. And this goes both ways. There is that thread about Protestants hostility to Mary.

I agree that we have the highest form of personal relationship with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. And if anybody who can brag about personal relationship with the Lord, they are surely Catholics, not Protestants.
 
Well, I think it’s almost a mantra with some people, lacking in true meaning. It’s almost like “abracadabra.”

You can’t have a more meaningful relationship with Jesus than receiving His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity on your tongue and down your tummy. And from what I’ve seen it’s more of a “Well, YOU don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, but WE do.” Nanny, nanny, boo booo!
 
I agree that one should not get too caught up in trying “disprove” the idea of having a “personal relationship” with Jesus. I can think of two things from the Gospels that point to being more than just “servants” and “subjects”.
One is in the Beatitudes where Jesus says, "Blessed are teh Peacemakers for they shall be called “sons of God” (therefore brothers of Christ).
The other is even more direct where He calls the Apostles “friends” (John 15:15).

In addition to the above, I would say that, for a Catholic, Claiming Mary as our Spiritual Mother also puts us into a familial relationship with our Lord, and brother Jesus. So yes we should seek to foster a deep and very personal relationship with Christ.

Now - Where I would differ iwth a non-catholic on this would be if this “personal relationship” excludes the “community”…It the person has the attitude they don’t need “Church” (ekklesia - community). If they beleive they can get along just fine with just themselves and the Bible, and maybe attend this or that church that agrees with their beliefs. Such an attitude is not biblical, for Paul, in 1 Timothy, calls "the Church the pillar and bulwark of Truth, and Jesus, in Mt 18, tells us to take disagreements to The Church for resolution, and to abide by the decision of The Church, in other words, the community…
So those who believe in “He and Me and the KJV” are already on the wrong track…

Peace
James
 
I’ve heard it said many times that, "If you had been the only person on earth who needed to be saved, Jesus Christ still would have been willing to die for you. God loves you that much! "

It has been surprising to some to discover the origin of this saying is none other than Billy Graham . I think more than any stipulation or formula , it speaks volumes about how personally God loves us. A similar example is found in the parable of the prodigal son .

Another way to bypass the details and still gain access to a a personal relationship with Jesus is through a little shortcut ; something I heard Father Michael Scanlan say at a FIRE rally held here somewhere close to the year 2000.

He said, " Talking to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament , in Holy Communion , is the most natural thing a Catholic can do."
 
It sometimes seems to me to be an “Either/Or” when it should be “Both/And”

In the blessed Sacrament it is a Very real and Very personal relationship that we as individuals have with our Saviour, but we are also called to be a Community.

When asked if I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ my Lord, I always answer YES–in the Blessed Sacrament, but am also quick to point out that we are also called to be a faith COMMUNITY as well. You cannot have one without the other.👍
 
Windfish said:
But what does the Protestant mean by a personal relationship,
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private relationship or intimate relationship
and how do they accomplish that, truly, without the Eucharist?
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They use prayer and worship. You can worship Jesus in private and in a group.
And, for that matter, what do other Catholics think about having a relationship with Jesus? What does the Bible/Tradition/Magisterium teach?
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vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm
Catechism 1257 but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
 
I have heard this numerous times also. The main one I hear is to just prey.

Well I preyed… and… Nothing.

So either God has respect of person wich the bible blatantly says otherwise or they are liars or they have a personal relationship with a false Christ.

As far as the bible is concerned the only instance of anybody “knowing Christ” is on the day of the resurection and it is after they have recieved and consumed communion directly from the hand of the most wonderful Christ.

Interestingly enough I can remember recieving communion as a child expecting to know Christ and … again… nothing. As an adult I have studied my bible And I now know that communion was prophesied to be not only taken away but also substituted with a counterfit.

My only hope… “blessed are them that believe but do not know”
 
agent_grey said:
My only hope… “blessed are them that believe but do not know”
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You’re doing fine. You don’t need a sign to believe.

Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
 
ron77nyc said:
private relationship or intimate relationship
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As a man, and a man who likes sports and the outdoors, the constant talk of “intimacy” and “intimate, personal, loving relationship with my Jesus” have always freaked me out bigtime. I know what some of them mean by personal relationship (which, in answer to the OP, is most certainly NOT said in the Bible)…but a touchy-feely, effeminate, emasculated Christ and Christianity are not what we find in Scripture and Tradition!
 
The_Sentry said:
As a man, and a man who likes sports and the outdoors, the constant talk of “intimacy” and “intimate, personal, loving relationship with my Jesus” have always freaked me out bigtime. I know what some of them mean by personal relationship (which, in answer to the OP, is most certainly NOT said in the Bible)…but a touchy-feely, effeminate, emasculated Christ and Christianity are not what we find in Scripture and Tradition!
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I think you are mistakingly associating personal and intimate with femininity. Men can be that way without being feminine. The apostles had a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. An intimate relationship develops over a period of time. That means one gets to know the other.

As far as being in the bible:
John 14:23 “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
 
For me I take personal relationship with Jesus to be a good and healthy prayer life, reading of the Scriptures and the Eucharist.

I believe Protestants use it to mean the same thing minus the Eucharist.
 
agent_grey said:
I have heard this numerous times also. The main one I hear is to just prey.

Well I preyed… and… Nothing.

So either God has respect of person wich the bible blatantly says otherwise or they are liars or they have a personal relationship with a false Christ.

As far as the bible is concerned the only instance of anybody “knowing Christ” is on the day of the resurection and it is after they have recieved and consumed communion directly from the hand of the most wonderful Christ.

Interestingly enough I can remember recieving communion as a child expecting to know Christ and … again… nothing. As an adult I have studied my bible And I now know that communion was prophesied to be not only taken away but also substituted with a counterfit.

My only hope… “blessed are them that believe but do not know”
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Not everybody is going to have the same experience. It doesn’t mean that you are inadequate - but it also doesn’t mean that they are lying.

People can mean different things by this. In many cases I think what they mean is that they come to a place where they find their relationship with God seems like more than an abstraction to them, more than something they believe on an intellectual level. Everyone knows what this is like in some area - it is the difference between reading about unrequited love, and experiencing it, or seeing a drunk person and being drunk oneself. Either over time, or all at once, the person has a concrete experience of God, whereas before he was an abstraction.

It is important to remember too that the pagan world did not see God as personal, at all. They might have personifications of God, maybe even a lot of them, but God in himself was something that was abstract, and not at all like a person. He was an it or a thing. He was not loving, he did not even have an awareness of creation, he did not care for the birds, the lilies, or number the hairs on heads. He was not something you could have anything like a personal relationship with.

THe God of Jews and Christians is clearly unlike that. He is a person, and as such it is possible to have a relationship with him. That can take many forms, depending on the people involved, but it is always a relationship between persons.

There are many instances in Scripture of God having relationships with people apart from the Eucharist - I am surprised you would think that he couldn’t, or doesn’t. God’s grace is not limited to the Sacraments. Even looking at the lives of saints, many had few opportunities to communicate, and many spoke of having a close relationship with God through prayer, and work.

Relationships take time, and a prayer life takes time - and some people never feel close to God. But that doesn’t mean you should denigrate those who do.
 
Windfish said:
I constantly hear Protestants and even Catholic talk about a relationship. Where does the Bible talk about this?

Here is my view: Christ is my Lord. I am a member of His body - that is, the Church. I (try) follow his teachings and wisdom in imitation of Him. The Church teaches that we should also approach Him through prayer and through the sacraments. Prayer includes petition, adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. The sacraments include the Eucharist, confession, etc. These are things I find in the Bible.

But what does the Protestant mean by a personal relationship, and how do they accomplish that, truly, without the Eucharist? And, for that matter, what do other Catholics think about having a relationship with Jesus? What does the Bible/Tradition/Magisterium teach?
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After years of learning and praying, I feel I have a better understanding of who Jesus is. His love for me is still sometimes difficult to grasp, so I still don’t walk around with a warm fuzzy, unaffected by life.

He’s the boss, I’m not. That’s honestly about as “personal” as He is for me right now.

But in ten years? Who knows?
 
Windfish said:
I constantly hear Protestants and even Catholic talk about a relationship. Where does the Bible talk about this?

Here is my view: Christ is my Lord. I am a member of His body - that is, the Church. I (try) follow his teachings and wisdom in imitation of Him. The Church teaches that we should also approach Him through prayer and through the sacraments. Prayer includes petition, adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. The sacraments include the Eucharist, confession, etc. These are things I find in the Bible.

But what does the Protestant mean by a personal relationship, and how do they accomplish that, truly, without the Eucharist? And, for that matter, what do other Catholics think about having a relationship with Jesus? What does the Bible/Tradition/Magisterium teach?
Click to expand...
You want to hear the “How to” in establishing a personal realtionship with JESUS, then go to Father Larry Richards web site www.thereasonforourhope.com and purchase his CD TRUTH and Father Richards will walk you through how to establish such a relationship. Now, want to read it in the bible, then go to the Book of Genesis and read how Adam would “…walk with GOD in the garden in the cool of the evening…” paraphrase. That is how we were suppose to be, but lost due to “the” original sin. And that is how we are struggling to recover - to get back to walking with GOD in the garden in the cool of the evening. You cannot get a more personal relationship with GOD, than that.
 
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