"Ask Jesus into your heart"/"The Sinners Prayer"

[Jordan Kurecki]

Of all the verses in the bible that describe God's requirement for man to receive salvation what percentage of them use the words "Faith", "Believe" or "Repent" as opposed to "Ask Jesus into your heart" or even praying a prayer for that matter? I'll help you out, Faith and Believe are found the most over 100 times, Repent is probably second with at least 33 times, and you could maybe argue that 3-5 particular passages describe a prayer, and ZERO times do we find man commanded to "Ask Jesus into your heart"

Now take those figures and ask yourself if those numbers accurately reflects what we most often emphasis as man's responsibility in salvation is? Maybe we need to rethink about how we are explaining the Gospel to people.

 

[Deacon]

It's simply a modern idiom

It can be argued that it's not a very good one but today's listener understands the connection.

Rob

 

[InTheLight]

It's simply a modern idiom

It can be argued that it's not a very good one but today's listener understands the connection.

Rob

Agreed.

and ZERO times do we find man commanded to "Ask Jesus into your heart"

Galatians 4:6
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

 

[Jerome]

Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 

[Jerome]

"There stands the Ever-Blessed, knocking at the door of the soul, but the hinges are rusted, the door, itself, is fast bolted and wild briars and all kinds of creeping plants running up the door prove that it has been along time since it was moved. You know what it all means—how continuance in sin makes it harder to yield to the knock of Christ and how evil habits creeping up, one after another, hold the soul so fast that it cannot open to the sacred knocking. Jesus has been knocking at some of your hearts ever since you were children—and still He knocks. I hear His blessed hand upon the door at this moment! Do you not hear it? Will you not open?" —Charles Spurgeon, "Knock" (1883)

 

[Yeshua1]

Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Refers to those already saved though!

 

[tyndale1946]

Every time anyone brings up this subject I think of these scriptures from Jeremiah and it is God that changes the heart and its all his work alone... Brother Glen

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

 

[Jerome]

Refers to those already saved though!

Here's how real 1689 Baptists understood the verse:


"O know you, Sinners, this Day, that Jesus Christ, this glorious King, and Prince of the Kings of the Earth, this mighty Saviour is come to your Doors: Behold, I stand at the Door and knock: Rev. 3.20. Will you not open the Door, nor cry to him to help you to open to him, to enable you to believe in him? What do you say, shall the Son of God stand at your Doors, and you not so much as ask, Who is there? Who is at my Door? Shall Christ be kept out of your Hearts, and stand at your Doors, whilst Sin commands the chiefest Room, and has absolute Power over you, and rules in you? How will you be able to look this Blessed Saviour in the Face another Day?" —Benjamin Keach, The Glory of God's Rich Grace Displayed


"Secondly, Open your hearts to Christ, when he knocks at the Door of your Souls, and calls you to come to him, to receive him, and let him come into your hearts, and dwell in your hearts by his holy Spirit, and sanctifying Grace, Rev. 3.20. Behold I stand at the Door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and will open the Door, . . I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. If the Sinner be willing to open the door of his heart, Christ will come in by his holy Spirit, and HE will communicate of his Grace to his Soul." —Hanserd Knollys, The World to Come

 

[Jerome]

Query answered by another Particular Baptist pastor of the 1600s:

"Obj: There is a passive receiving of Christ without a hand, when God forceth open mans spirit, and powreth in his Son in despite of the receiver.
Answ. This contradicts Christ, who saith, Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man will open to me, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me, Rev. 3.20." —Thomas Killcop, The Pathway to Justification

 

[Steven Yeadon]

Considering the astonishing rates of apostasy I have found among those I know in my own, younger generation, this is an issue that greatly worries me. Why are so many prayers of "salvation" so useless? Why still do so many I know of turn their backs on the faith but occasionally put on a Christian radio station to have a Christian moment if they aren't the churchgoing type. In essence, to turn their head towards God to listen but keeping their backs clearly turned away. People whom the Lord hates (Jeremiah 32:30-35). Or, even worse, to the Living God, why do so many who climb to ministry leadership positions, and even elder positions, turn on the Gospel and hate it with reprobate lifestyles? The radical success of the devil in seemingly obliterating so many in my generation who were usually raised in church is an all alarms fire!

One issue involved here may be that the faith we gain from the little prayer and the experiences of an altar call or similar just don't create a sufficiently strong faith. The bible, in the verse that made me come to Jesus, in Romans 10:9 tells us that confessing Jesus as our Lord is but one half the problem. Because if we have faith enough to declare Jesus our Lord among those who already do, but lack heartfelt faith, which is the lowest domain where we make judgments and is the seat of the will, then they are damned. This, given the parable of the sower of all basic things! (Matthew 13:1-23) (Mark 4:1-20) (Luke 8:1-15)

I myself did not have any real, substantive faith as defined in Hebrews 11:1 until years after my "little prayer." Until then, I just had faith that evaporated without a trace, except for the guilt and shame I felt for doing the wrong thing, whenever I was in a bad time in my life or in a lot of pain. It was only a year ago when I tried to understand that I needed faith down to my heart that I changed forever, and stopped losing faith just because of my circumstances.

I must also add, that it seems to me that faith is evident the most when we are on the ropes. Faith in Jesus, even in these times, is difficult and takes the willingness to not only declare Jesus Lord around those who do, but also among those who will murder you for it.

 

[Felipe Rios]

Of all the verses in the bible that describe God's requirement for man to receive salvation what percentage of them use the words "Faith", "Believe" or "Repent" as opposed to "Ask Jesus into your heart" or even praying a prayer for that matter? I'll help you out, Faith and Believe are found the most over 100 times, Repent is probably second with at least 33 times, and you could maybe argue that 3-5 particular passages describe a prayer, and ZERO times do we find man commanded to "Ask Jesus into your heart"

Now take those figures and ask yourself if those numbers accurately reflects what we most often emphasis as man's responsibility in salvation is? Maybe we need to rethink about how we are explaining the Gospel to people.

You are correct, we ask him for salvation, which in return He literally comes into our life (heart). The gospel has been watered down since the 50s by asking people to ask Jesus into their hearts which is not necessarily the same as repenting and believing.
The question is can people be saved by asking Jesus into their heart? YES!!! As long as they repent and believe.
So it is not a simple prayer that saves people, it is repentance and faith that saves people.

 

[Jordan Kurecki]

Agreed.



Galatians 4:6
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:6 describes the result of salvation, it does not command or describe a prayer that we are to pray asking Jesus to come into our heart.

 

[Jordan Kurecki]

The History of How Evangelism Was Corrupted Among Independent Baptists

 

[Yeshua1]

Considering the astonishing rates of apostasy I have found among those I know in my own, younger generation, this is an issue that greatly worries me. Why are so many prayers of "salvation" so useless? Why still do so many I know of turn their backs on the faith but occasionally put on a Christian radio station to have a Christian moment if they aren't the churchgoing type. In essence, to turn their head towards God to listen but keeping their backs clearly turned away. People whom the Lord hates (Jeremiah 32:30-35). Or, even worse, to the Living God, why do so many who climb to ministry leadership positions, and even elder positions, turn on the Gospel and hate it with reprobate lifestyles? The radical success of the devil in seemingly obliterating so many in my generation who were usually raised in church is an all alarms fire!

One issue involved here may be that the faith we gain from the little prayer and the experiences of an altar call or similar just don't create a sufficiently strong faith. The bible, in the verse that made me come to Jesus, in Romans 10:9 tells us that confessing Jesus as our Lord is but one half the problem. Because if we have faith enough to declare Jesus our Lord among those who already do, but lack heartfelt faith, which is the lowest domain where we make judgments and is the seat of the will, then they are damned. This, given the parable of the sower of all basic things! (Matthew 13:1-23) (Mark 4:1-20) (Luke 8:1-15)

I myself did not have any real, substantive faith as defined in Hebrews 11:1 until years after my "little prayer." Until then, I just had faith that evaporated without a trace, except for the guilt and shame I felt for doing the wrong thing, whenever I was in a bad time in my life or in a lot of pain. It was only a year ago when I tried to understand that I needed faith down to my heart that I changed forever, and stopped losing faith just because of my circumstances.

I must also add, that it seems to me that faith is evident the most when we are on the ropes. Faith in Jesus, even in these times, is difficult and takes the willingness to not only declare Jesus Lord around those who do, but also among those who will murder you for it.

I like what Luther said happened every time Satan said that Martin was no longer holding unto Christ and thus satan could have now his soul, as he would state that its not him holding Jesus, but Jesus holding and keeping him!

 

[FollowTheWay]

Here's how real 1689 Baptists understood the verse:


"O know you, Sinners, this Day, that Jesus Christ, this glorious King, and Prince of the Kings of the Earth, this mighty Saviour is come to your Doors: Behold, I stand at the Door and knock: Rev. 3.20. Will you not open the Door, nor cry to him to help you to open to him, to enable you to believe in him? What do you say, shall the Son of God stand at your Doors, and you not so much as ask, Who is there? Who is at my Door? Shall Christ be kept out of your Hearts, and stand at your Doors, whilst Sin commands the chiefest Room, and has absolute Power over you, and rules in you? How will you be able to look this Blessed Saviour in the Face another Day?" —Benjamin Keach, The Glory of God's Rich Grace Displayed


"Secondly, Open your hearts to Christ, when he knocks at the Door of your Souls, and calls you to come to him, to receive him, and let him come into your hearts, and dwell in your hearts by his holy Spirit, and sanctifying Grace, Rev. 3.20. Behold I stand at the Door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and will open the Door, . . I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. If the Sinner be willing to open the door of his heart, Christ will come in by his holy Spirit, and HE will communicate of his Grace to his Soul." —Hanserd Knollys, The World to Come

I use the 1833 New Hampshire Confession
One important aspect of that is the need to persevere until the end.

"Of the Perseverance of Saints We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end (58); that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors (59); that a special Providence watches over their welfare (60); and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (61)."

This statement was in the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message but removed from subsequent statements (1963 and 2000). My belief is this represents a dangerous turn towards "easy believerism."

 

[Yeshua1]

I use the 1833 New Hampshire Confession
One important aspect of that is the need to persevere until the end.

"Of the Perseverance of Saints We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end (58); that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors (59); that a special Providence watches over their welfare (60); and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (61)."

This statement was in the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message but removed from subsequent statements (1963 and 2000). My belief is this represents a dangerous turn towards "easy believerism."

That we can agree with! What would be the main difference between that Confession and the 1689 one then?

 

[FollowTheWay]

That we can agree with! What would be the main difference between that Confession and the 1689 one then?

Actually, the think the 1689 Confession and the 1683 Confession is one of perspective and not so much of substance. There were two groups in early Baptist life: the atonement—that Christ died only for an elect—and were strongly Calvinist (following the Reformation teachings of John Calvin) in orientation; the General Baptists held to the doctrine of a general atonement—that Christ died for all people and not only for an elect—and represented the more moderate Calvinism of Jacobus Arminius, a 17th-century Dutch theologian. The two currents were also distinguished by a difference in churchmanship related to their respective points of origin. The General Baptists had emerged from the English Separatists, whereas the Particular Baptists had their roots in non-Separatist independency.. Both groups emigrated to America. The 1689 Confession had a Calvinist bent while the 1683 one did not. I used to be an ardent anti-Calvinist but personally now believe that both camps are right. I totally agree with the Calvinists on perseverance of the saints but can't accept limited atonement. It really comes down to foreknowledge of God (Arminians) versus predestination (election) as argued by the Calvinists. I consider this to be a mystery we can't understand on this side of Heaven and consider that the proper emphasis must be placed on Grace and Perseverance.

Here's a very interesting history of both groups. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ts.ppt&usg=AFQjCNEce7GKnYSMAfMGPxz3AIEij6rlKA

The first Baptists, led by John Smyth and Thomas Helwys in the late 16th and early 17th century, were General Baptists. Under Helwys' leadership, this group established the first Baptist church in England at Spitalfields outside London.

This site gives a good history of both groups:
Baptist | Protestantism

 

[Jordan Kurecki]

Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

OK... show me where it says you "open the door by asking Jesus into your heart"..

The issue here is how does one "open the door"?

I would contend that it is done by repentance and faith in the Gospel.

 

[Jordan Kurecki]

It's simply a modern idiom

It can be argued that it's not a very good one but today's listener understands the connection.

Rob

a modern idiom that is not really accurate.

I mean really, a Catholic, Mormon, or Jehovah's Witness could "Ask Jesus into their heart" but that does not mean they are saved because these groups deny the Gospel.

My point is, that it is Faith in the Gospel whereby we receive salvation, the word of God puts the emphasis on faith in the Gospel, while many today put emphasis more on praying a prayer.

 

[Yeshua1]

a modern idiom that is not really accurate.

I mean really, a Catholic, Mormon, or Jehovah's Witness could "Ask Jesus into their heart" but that does not mean they are saved because these groups deny the Gospel.

My point is, that it is Faith in the Gospel whereby we receive salvation, the word of God puts the emphasis on faith in the Gospel, while many today put emphasis more on praying a prayer.

What is all important is justto whom the faith is being placed into to save us, the false Jesus of the Cults, or one of the Bible?