The idea for this post came after speaking with a good friend the other day regarding his stepfather who had passed away recently. His dad was a committed life-long Catholic, and near the end, my friend asked him “Do you accept Jesus into your heart”? His positive response gave my friend confidence that he would see him again in glory one day.
Yet is that really Biblical? How is it even possible for a sinner, which we all are Romans 3:23, created that way in our mother’s womb (Psalm 51:5), to desire Christ, to ask him into our hearts? CONTEXT is everything.
Salvation, that is the redemption of our souls from eternal torment in Hell has nothing to do with us. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1-10 makes this abundantly clear. Paul writing in Romans 3:11 says that no one is righteous or seeks after God. Again Paul, in 1 Corinthians 2:14 plainly states that apart from the Holy Spirit man is dead spiritually, he can not seek righteousness. The very idea that God would allow man in his total unrepentant state to desire Him naturally leads one to assume God is also the god of chaos, universalism, and so many more unscriptural concepts.
It frightens me to think of the watered-down Gospel message that is being proliferated today resulting in the multitude standing before Christ at judgment confident having asked him into their hearts alone. Then Christ responds with Matthew 7:23, And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
In addition to the articles below on the Doctrine of Salvation, I also included a few on the Order of Salvation to help clarify God’s process in dealing with sinners.
“Do you want to be saved? Then just ask Jesus to come into your heart.” While this statement is not anti-biblical, neither is it expressly biblical. The wording generates a mental image that can easily lead to wrong impressions, especially among children, who tend to take things literally. Plus, the exhortation to “ask Jesus into your heart”—if that’s the whole message—leaves out some important things such as repentance and faith.
Visual Theology – The Order of Salvation
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