Its been a while since I've written a note about theology I got to get back at it for His glory and namesake. This one is going to be short in sweet by God's grace.
In evangelical Christendom a very non-biblical term is prominent in the pulpits today. This term, or phrase i should say, is the most widely used and yet the most deceitful message to ever come out of the pulpit, conference, or wherever "christians" gather. This dreadful and extremely deceitful phrase is, "Ask Jesus into your heart," or from the person who "received" Jesus they would say, "I asked Jesus into my heart, therefore im saved." Now I need to make a clear disclaimer here. There are people who are truly saved and hate their sin and love God and his righteousness that have done this at some point in their life. BUT that prayer to, "ask Jesus into their heart," did not, i repeat DID NOT, save them at all. Christ saves by His blood on the cross (1 Peter 2:24) and the Holy Spirit applies the finished work of Jesus to all those Jesus died for (John 3:8). This is all possible by God's grace to His glory alone (Ephesians 1:3-15).
Now this portion is going to be from a theological and logical standpoint. First we shall address this issue from a logical standpoint. Jesus is God, yes completely, but He is also a man. When he resurrected He was still a man. Now how can a 6 foot man dwell in a sinners heart? How can a physical man dwell in a spiritual heart? Doesnt make sense, Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God reigning in HEAVEN (Colossians 3:1) not on earth. The Holy Spirit is on the Earth in which God the Father sent down from heaven and He dwells in believers, but that Holy Spirit is God and He changes the person to live in holiness and makes that male/female BORN AGAIN (John 3:3). Im sorry brothers and sisters, but Revelation 3:20 is not talking about asking Jesus into your heart. In verse 19 Jesus calls for repentance and He is talking to a church in the 1st century that were being wretched hypocrites. Romans 10:9 is not talking about "asking Jesus into your heart" either. (Check my previous three part note titled Romans 10:9 for further clarification). Salvation from the wrath of God and into eternal life is solely a supernatural work of God (John 6:29) and that supernatural work of God is to the glory of God, not to man's thinking that he can save himself and ask Jesus into his heart. God doesnt get the glory out of that at all. If you can ask Jesus into your heart at one point in your life, you can also DECLINE Jesus FROM your heart right? Makes sense to me, if you can do the good work of achieving your own salvation, you can do the bad work of not maintaining that salvation. But we know that losing your salvation is utterly impossible because it is GOD starting the work of salvation in a believers life and He will finish what He started (John 10:26, Philipians 1:6). Reality check my brothers and sisters, WE ARE NOT SAVED BY A MAN MADE SINNERS PRAYER of asking a Holy God into our hearts. Which now leads me into the theological standpoint.
We have pastors or speakers preach a non-biblical message about God or blessing or whatever, and at the end of the feel good message (not a biblical message about God and His glory) the pastor does the altar call. The gospel is not proclaimed, but yet there are people coming up and the pastor/teacher gives the charge, "I dont know what is going on in your life, your cat died, your hair is a mess, your bills arent paid but here is one thing that will satisfy all of that ASK JESUS INTO YOUR HEART". When the speaker does that there is big emotionalism going on, people are weeping and appear to be sorrowful, but what are they sorrowful about. Not sinning against a holy God. Not our complete unrighteousness, not the cross, not godly sorrow that leads to REPENTANCE. No, it is worldly sorrow that leads to death. First of all, if a person who has never heard of Jesus- actually, even if a person has heard of a Jesus- and he hears a message that is not gospel centered, how in the world are they going ask Jesus in their heart? WHO IS JESUS? Is he just a man, is he God, is He a paperboy? Tell me something please! The message that says, ask Jesus into your heart and you shall be saved...um where is that in the Holy Scriptures? Paul, Jesus and John the Baptist said REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL. The gospel of His perfect life, substitutionary death, His three day burial and His Resurrection vindicating that He was God. God calls all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), not ask Jesus into their heart.
Did Jesus die so people could ask Him into their heart and still live in a lifestyle of unrepentant sin? No that is erroneous, Jesus died for sinners to make them free from sins so they can live in holiness and righteousness (Romans 6...the whole chapter). God hates sin AND the SINNER (Psalm 5:5), Jesus does not dwell in a wicked sinners heart. Most importantly if you are not saved and you pray a prayer to God HE DOES NOT HEAR THAT PRAYER (John 9:31). Knowing this fact, how can a person who isn't saved freely ask Jesus into their wicked, evil heart? It's impossible, the prayers of the wicked are an abomination to God (Proverbs 28:9). Jesus makes it very clear that no one can even see the kingdom of God UNLESS he be BORN AGAIN. So a person that isn't saved is blind and the only way they can see is if God literally makes them born again. The flesh profits nothing. Only the Spirit and God gets the glory. All of our good works are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6) so doing the "good work" of asking Jesus into an evil man's heart is like a woman's menstrual pad to God because that man is wicked and unholy (Jeremiah 17:9) unlike our God who is three times Holy (Isaiah 6:2).
I could write all day on this subject but my point is to, by God's grace alone, give wisdom and truth to those who have possibly been deceived by this false doctrine of "Just ask Jesus into your heart, and you will be forgiven" without preaching the whole counsel of God, the true Gospel. PLEASE do not trust in a "decision for Christ" or "asking Jesus into your heart" or any of those man made traditions. They do much more damage than good, believe me. So many people think they are saved because they prayed a silly little prayer but show NO FRUIT OF REPENTANCE OR OF THE SPIRIT. Jesus said you WILL know them by their fruits, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree CANNOT bear good fruit. If you are saved by God you increase in holiness and will hate sin and love the things of God. PLEASE DO NOT TRUST IN A ONE TIME DECISION FOR AN IDOL. God is not down with sin. He is too pure to look at evil and not destroy it (Habbukuk 1:13). So if you believe in a god that is cool with you living in sin and loving it with no repentance, that is not the God of the Scriptures but an idol you have made in your own heart. Trust in the TRUE GOD by clinging on what Jesus Himself, the Righteous One, did on the cross and rely only on Him alone. Dont trust in man made decisionism that arose in the middle 19th century by a man name Charles Finney who, eventually near the end of his life, denied the true faith of his own "converts" that prayed the tragic sinners prayer, but lived in wickedness the rest of their days.
I pray that all those who teach this way of salvation repent of this falseness and go back to historic, true Christianity and preach Christ crucified. Otherwise a lot of rewards will be lost or they themselves will be condemned, because they trust in a decision themselves and not Christ alone for salvation.
I guess this dissertation wasn't as short as I thought it was going to be, but I give glory to God for giving me the grace to explain thoroughly these truths. Nevertheless, it will be a sad, tragic BUT YET GLORIOUS judgement day because of this evil deception...For many will say Jesus on that final day..."I asked you into my heart" and He will say "Depart"
Posted By: Shantia Blackmon
Sunday, April 26th 2009 at 9:27PM
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