Should Unsaved Be Told To "Ask Jesus Into Your Heart?"

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illinoisguy

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This missionary says "no" -

rootedthinking.com

Do You Speak “Churchese”? Ask Jesus Into Your Heart

What does this mean to ask Jesus into your heart? What do those who hear us say it think we mean by this? Where do we get this phrase?
rootedthinking.com rootedthinking.com

“'Ask Jesus into your heart.' You’ve heard it said. Maybe you’ve said it yourself. Often, it’s what we say to children as we encourage them to become Christians. I’ve heard it in the U.S., the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. 'Ask Jesus into your heart' has become standard verbiage in leading someone to Christ. . . .

"Encouraging someone to 'ask Jesus into their heart' is similar to telling them they must only ask Jesus to let them into heaven and they will be saved. Neither asking Jesus in to you nor asking Jesus to let you into heaven is the prerequisite for salvation. Like union with Christ, entering heaven is a blessed result of salvation, not the way to be saved. When the jailer at Philippi asked, 'What must I do to be saved?' Paul did not reply, 'Ask Jesus into your heart '. . . .

"The phrase 'ask Jesus into your heart' is unnecessary and unclear. Those hearing it for the first time may ask themselves 'How does Jesus get into your heart? Is this metaphorical? Why do I want Him there?' Let’s use the terms the Bible uses to describe the way of salvation–words like repentance, faith, and grace. . . .

"Speak truth–not 'churchese.'”
 
I can totally relate. I remember hearing the let Jesus into your heart thing when I was 6-7. I literally looked inside my shirt at my chest wondering how Jesus can fit inside me.

Another thing I don't like is when describing the Gospel, people say, "A plan so simple, a child can understand it." This child didn't. I didn't understand until the Holy Spirit opened my eyes.
 
Can you show me anywhere in the Gospels where Jesus conducted an "Altar Call" and asked "Now who here would like to ask me into your hearts? I SEE THAT HAND OVER THERE! Anyone else?"

Nope, didn't think so.

We need to preach the Gospel biblically and with clarity!

We get these quippy "Ask Jesus into your heart" catch phrases when we try to rationalize and dumb things down to human emotionalism and our attempt to get a mechanized response, praying the "sinner's prayer, filling out a decision card and getting them "dunked." Such may be used as metrics for ministry success and so forth.

We do not have to overly complicate things. The preaching of the cross is FOOLISHNESS to them that perish but to us who are saved, it is the POWER OF GOD. We need to ditch any notion that we can repackage the "foolishness" into something that is more appealing to an unregenerate person whereby they may give "mental assent" but remains dead in their sin.

We should therefore focus our efforts on exposing man's totally depraved sinful nature, that they are dead in sin and without hope. It is only when they come to the realization that they are sinners and that the wages of sin is death, may they understand that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Preach the plain truth and if people get upset with you, so be it and actually, this would be a GOOD THING that I would choose over their indifference. God is sovereign over whom he saves but there is nothing wrong with a preacher pleading with someone to come to Christ in repentance and faith.
 
More, from "Grace To You" web site:

Grace to You

www.gty.org www.gty.org

"Too many people assume their entrance into God’s family is a function of their own earnest desire. Phrases like 'Asking Jesus into my heart' or 'Accepting Jesus as my personal Savior' are emblematic of a mentality that carelessly reverses the roles in salvation. And that mentality is widespread in the church—today those phrases are some of the most common Christian clichés, ushering in what you might call the era of the altar call. . . .

"When you stop to think about it, asking Jesus into your heart goes against the nature of the gospel, and begins one’s new spiritual life with a poor understanding of what has just occurred. . . .

"There is nothing wrong with evangelism that impresses upon the sinner the urgency to repent and believe. But formulaic altar calls have spawned all sorts of reckless Christianese and faulty views of salvation. They are the tragic legacy of Charles Finney, a nineteenth-century evangelist who denied the sovereignty of God in calling and regenerating sinners. . . .

"Rather than asking sinners to accept Christ we should call them to plead for His acceptance. Rather than telling sinners to 'make Jesus Lord' we should call them to submit to His lordship. And instead of calling sinners to a saving altar, we should entrust them to a sovereign Savior."
 
More, from Paul Washer:

sermonscript.com

Paul Washer - Regeneration vs The Idolatry of Decisional Evangelism | SermonScript

When we look at Romans 1:16, we understand that the Apostle Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.”
sermonscript.com sermonscript.com

"I want us to look at the basic invitation for men to come to Christ that is most prominent in America today. A standard contemporary invitation: 'God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Do you know you are a sinner? Do you want to go to heaven? Do you want to pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart? Did He come in when you prayed? Were you sincere? You are now a Christian. Welcome to the family of God.' This is such a sacred calf, a golden calf in the evangelical community today that I am more attacked for this than anything else. But I assure you, this is not Biblical language and it is not found in the greater part of Christian history. . . .

"Children evangelism. I would not let my child attend 98% of the Sunday school classes [or] Vacation Bible Schools in this country. . . . "

" . . . then they’re asked, do you want to pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart? We’ve all done it. Does it bother anyone that this formula or language is not found in the New Testament? We don’t have Mark chapter 1; Jesus coming to Israel and saying, the time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand, now who would like to accept me into their heart? We don’t see on the day of Pentecost; Ok, I see that hand, I see that hand, how many of you would like to come forward now? Get them all forward, everyone sees you, you can’t go back to your seat. Now pray this prayer with me. . . .

"Let’s look at the language. Would you like to receive Jesus in your heart? What does that mean? Have you ever thought about that? Believe in your heart, but we’ve change it to, would you like to ask Him to come into your heart. Believe in your heart means to believe with the very core or the very essence of who you are. It doesn’t mean you open up some secret chamber and ask Him to come in."
 
The Call to Repentance (David Guzik)

The call to repentance is important and must not be neglected. It is entirely accurate to say that it is the first word of the gospel.

* Repent was the first word of John the Baptist’s gospel.
Matt 3:1,2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

* Repent was the first word of Jesus’ gospel.
Matt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mark 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

* Repent was the first word in the preaching ministry of the twelve disciples.
Mark 6:12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.

* Repent was the first word in the preaching instructions Jesus gave to His disciples after His resurrection.
Luke 24:46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
Luke 24:47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

* Repent was the first word of exhortation in the first Christian sermon.
Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

* Repent was the first word in the mouth of the apostle Paul through his ministry.
Act 26:19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
Act 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.

Heaven does not rejoice over those who make “decisions.” It reserves its rejoicing for sinners who repent.
Luke 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
 
Many don't get it. When they hear "Just ask Jesus into your heart", they usually think why should I? Not realizing that their heart is desperately wicked and it's in need of a true transformation. What is usually missing is law preaching, bringing them to see that they are undone sinners in need of a Savior.
 
Scoot said:
Many don't get it. When they hear "Just ask Jesus into your heart", they usually think why should I? Not realizing that their heart is desperately wicked and it's in need of a true transformation. What is usually missing is law preaching, bringing them to see that they are undone sinners in need of a Savior.
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The first use of [the Law], without question, is to convince the world of sin. By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is ‘wretched and poor and miserable, blind and naked.’ The Law flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His ‘mouth is stopped’ and he stands ‘guilty before God.’” John Wesley
 
If I had a choice I would tell someone to ask Christ into your life. Or better follow the NT, God be merciful to me a sinner as a prayer.
 
4everfsu said:
If I had a choice I would tell someone to ask Christ into your life. Or better follow the NT, God be merciful to me a sinner as a prayer.
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If someone who is living the lifestyle of a gangster, defrauding others, going from one sex partner to another, being employed as a stripper, openly practicing a homosexual lifestyle, and you can name a hundred other things; asking Jesus to come into their lives without them seeing their guilt before God and wanting to turn from those things God condemns would only make them religious sinners. One can’t come to God crying out “God be merciful to me a sinner” unless they can see themselves as sinners. Those who come to God to enhance their lifestyles will eventually fall away (1 John 2:19).

“I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortable state of atheism. I have come to think that religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the beginning of time.” Larry Flynt (publisher of Hustler magazine, in his autobiography An Unseemly Man)
 
biscuit1953 said:
“I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortable state of atheism. I have come to think that religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the beginning of time.” Larry Flynt (publisher of Hustler magazine, in his autobiography An Unseemly Man)
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To say nothing of the devastated lives his magazine empire has left in its wake.

He's a believer now.
 
biscuit1953 said:
The first use of [the Law], without question, is to convince the world of sin. By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is ‘wretched and poor and miserable, blind and naked.’ The Law flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His ‘mouth is stopped’ and he stands ‘guilty before God.’” John Wesley
Click to expand...
John 16:8 NKJV
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:...-Jesus
 
Scoot said:
John 16:8 NKJV
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:...-Jesus
Click to expand...
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

“The trouble with people who are not seeking for a Savior, and for salvation, is that they do not understand the nature of sin. It is the peculiar function of the Law to bring such an understanding of man’s mind and conscience. That is why evangelical preachers 300 years ago in the time of the Puritans, and 200 years ago in the time or Whitefield and others, always engaged in what they called a preliminary ‘Law work.’” Martin-Lloyd- Jones
 
biscuit1953 said:
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

“The trouble with people who are not seeking for a Savior, and for salvation, is that they do not understand the nature of sin. It is the peculiar function of the Law to bring such an understanding of man’s mind and conscience. That is why evangelical preachers 300 years ago in the time of the Puritans, and 200 years ago in the time or Whitefield and others, always engaged in what they called a preliminary ‘Law work.’” Martin-Lloyd- Jones
Click to expand...
Correct, that's why law preaching is needed, so people see themselves as sinners desperately in need of a Savior instead of 'just asking Jesus into their heart'.
 
As a Bible teacher I listen to frequently says, "The Gospel is the good news, but first, you need to come to terms with the bad news."
 
This is the results of a generation of preachers telling people to "ask Jesus into their lives" with no call for repentance. Christians may struggle with particular sins but someone who is truly born again will not justify and defend what God condemns. This video explains the current condition of Christianity in America.
 
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