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Is it OK to ask Jesus into your heart?
May 16 | Pastor J.D. | 4 Comments |I’m finishing up the manuscript for a new book I have coming out early next year called Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know For Sure You are Saved. But because of the recent controversy stirred up by my friends David Platt and Steve Gaines, I thought I’d put my .02 in now (for more on that controversy, read here). For the record, the book will cost more than .02. But that’s just because it’s hardback. The content value probably remains about .02.
This is from a section at the beginning called, “A Couple of Things I’m Not Saying.”
“Asking Jesus Into Your Heart Is Heretical”
When I say “stop asking Jesus into your heart,” I do not mean to imply that “asking Jesus into your heart” is an entirely inappropriate way to express repentance and faith. When you get saved, Jesus “comes into your heart” (Romans 8:9–11; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:27–28; Galatians 2:20). My concern is that quite often reducing salvation to this phrase obscures the primary instruments of salvation, repentance and faith.
There are lots of things that happen at the moment of salvation: we are washed in Jesus’ blood, sealed by His Spirit, guaranteed a home in heaven, grafted into the vine, our names are written in the book of life, Satan’s claims against us are nullified, and Jesus comes into our hearts… just to name a few. Asking Jesus to do any one of these for us is not inappropriate, but we run the risk of obscuring the fact that the only necessary instruments for laying hold of salvation are repentance and faith.
For example, if we were to go around telling people that if they want to be saved they should ask Jesus to “begin construction on their home in heaven,” that would not be wrong, per se (John 14:1–3), but it could be misleading. People with no remorse for their sin might still be excited about Jesus providing them with an eternal vacation home. Focusing on what Jesus promised to do after we are saved might obscure the one thing He said we must do if we are to be saved: repent and believe the gospel. Salvation is indeed a request for forgiveness of sins and for union with Jesus and with many other wonderful things, but the request is obtained not so much by the expression of a request but by faith in Christ’s finished work.
My concern in this book is not on what words we might use to express our faith, but that we understand saving faith and how we can gain assurance that we have it. Many Christians see salvation as a transaction one conducts with Jesus (signified by “inviting Jesus into your heart” or some equivalent) rather than the beginning of a posture they take toward the finished work of Christ.
“Pressing for a Decision When We Present the Gospel Distorts It”
Finally, I do not want (in any way) to discourage pressing for a decision when the gospel is preached. Preachers of old invited sinners to come forward and ask Jesus into their hearts if they want to be saved. While I do not care for the terminology they employed, the gospel is indeed an invitation and must be personally received (John 1:12; Matthew 11:28; Revelation 22:17). Every time we preach we should extend that invitation. In fact, if we do not urge the hearer to respond personally to God’s offer in Christ, we have not fully preached the gospel.
I am calling on people to “stop asking Jesus into their hearts” because God has settled their salvation in Christ and wants them to rest upon that fact in repentance and faith. Conversion is not so much a one-time ceremony you go through and that you’d better get right or else be eternally lost. It is a posture toward Christ that you begin at a point and maintain for the rest of your life.
Religion changes by command, the gospel changes by sight
May 15 | Pastor J.D. | No Comments |Here is part 2 of our series through Hebrews: Christ is Better. I had forgotten just how incredible this book is.
The author of Hebrews wrote to a group of people who, for a variety of reasons, were struggling to follow through on their faith. They hadn’t turned against Jesus, but their faith had started to cool. Following Jesus was getting difficult.
Many of us can relate. Perhaps you have questions you can’t answer. Or temptations you can’t keep under control. Or you’re lonely or in pain, and–I don’t care what anyone says–it’s hard to feel close to God when you’re lonely and in pain. When you first came to Jesus all was excitement and joy, but now following Him feels like a strain.
In chapter 2 of Hebrews, the author fleshes out the central theme of the entire book, one he will repeat again and again and again: Look to Jesus. He shows us four glorious pictures of Jesus. He was a) a King who got involved; b) a Champion who saves; c) a Brother who is not ashamed; and d) a Priest who can help.
The author does not tell us to look at what is wrong with us and then order a stern command to go and fix things ourselves. He tells us to look at Christ and what He has already done on our behalf.
That’s the difference between religion and the gospel. Religion tells you what is wrong and how you should fix it; the gospel tells you what Jesus has done and tells you to live in response. Religion changes by command; the gospel changes by sight.
What are you struggling with? Do you lack courage? Are you overwhelmed with despair? Are you lonely? Are you discouraged at the lack of victory over your sin? What you need is not new willpower, a new command, or a new motivation. What you need is a Savior in whom to trust and find refuge. Look to Jesus.
Throughout our life we’ve been told we need to “know” ourselves; to find the strength and beauty within. The Bible says, “Don’t look within. Get to know Jesus.” Knowing Jesus even a little will do more for a distressed heart than knowing yourself perfectly. Many churches say, “Discover your potential. Discover the champion in you.” Scripture tells you to discover the Champion in Scripture. Resting in His victory is more important than discovering your potential.
When you see Him for who He really is, then your life will truly change. When you gaze on His glory, you also will be transformed from one degree of glory to another. Hold fast to Jesus. Once you have glimpsed any part of the glory of Jesus, it is impossible to point people back to themselves.
The Bible has one antidote to every spiritual ill: Look to Jesus.
Christ is Better – God’s Final Word
May 11 | Pastor J.D. | 1 Comment |This weekend we began a sermon series on the book of Hebrews, entitled “Christ is Better.” Looking specifically at Hebrews 1, we saw that Christ is superior to all prophets, all angels, all other spiritual authorities. How is Christ superior? There are two basic ways:
1. That to which the prophets pointed faultily, Jesus embodied perfectly.
As the author of Hebrews says, in times past prophets and angels brought us words from God. Jesus, however, was the word of God. Not just the New Testament, but the entire Bible points to Him. Every story, every proverb, every psalm—everything!—provides us with sketches and pictures and shadows that Jesus would embody in fullness.
This dramatically changes how we view the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Many of us look at the Bible as a collection of hero stories that we should emulate: “Defeat your giants like David!” “Follow God like Abraham!” “Be a leader like Nehemiah!” And this is fine to an extent, but even the greatest heroes were tragically flawed. David committed adultery and murdered to cover it up; Abraham had a habit of lying in tough situations (at his wife’s expense); Nehemiah once got so mad he went Jack Bauer on everybody, tearing their clothes off and ripping their beards out.
God didn’t preserve their stories so we could have good people to emulate. He gave us the prophets to point to a Savior that we are to hope in and adore.
2. Jesus offers a totally different kind of salvation.
Most religious prophets come with instructions about what we must do to find peace with God. But Jesus offered Himself once for all as the perfect sacrifice for sins, and then he sat down, because there was nothing left to do. Jesus’ message was fundamentally different than every other prophet from every other religion. Where other religions command obedience first and promise acceptance second, Jesus offers acceptance first, knowing that genuine obedience would flow out of it.
This produces a totally unique disposition towards God. If God’s acceptance of you is contingent on your obedience, then you will always be locked into either fear and guilt (if you feel like you haven’t done enough) or self-righteousness and arrogance (if you feel like you have done enough). But if you are accepted freely by God’s grace, the result will be assurance, humility, and generosity.
The gospel of God’s free grace in Christ offers a transformation borne of gratitude, not obligation. Rest in this gospel. As you grow to understand the love of God for you, genuine love for God will grow in you.
Three Lessons I Learned (or Re-Learned) Through This Amendment Process
May 10 | Pastor J.D. | No Comments |Jesus’ glory was that He was full of grace and truth. The Apostle John said (John 1:14) that “we beheld God’s glory in Christ, full of grace and truth.” Some of us are prone to give grace without truth; others to give truth without grace. God’s glory is when both are present. Speaking this way is one of the hardest things to do, especially when your positions are twisted and vilified by those who oppose you, or take little time to understand what you are saying and why. When you need motivation, look to Jesus who endured such hostility against Himself yet without returning the slightest trace of evil for evil. His words, while clear, never had the bite of rancor or malice (Heb 12:1-5). When we accused Him of the vilest crimes, He extended to us an invitation to join Him in Paradise.
Sincere Christians can disagree over policy matters and still remain united in the gospel. I said, and continue to say, that godly people can disagree over the merits of this or that amendment and remain united in Christ. I heard very mature, godly and intelligent people explain why they approached this amendment differently than I did. I respect that. We can disagree, tell one another we disagree, and still remain united in Christ. Maturity is not simply knowing what to believe, but how much weight to place on particular aspects of what we believe.
Politics is not, and never will be, anywhere close to our focus as a church. As I told you, whether to say anything at all about this amendment was a real struggle for me. On the one hand, I want our church to be salt and light to our community and I want to help our church learn to think biblically and Christianly about issues. Thus, there is an urge to speak. On the other hand, because godly people can disagree over these things, and because our statements about certain issues can place obstacles in the way of the gospel for the people who most need to hear it, I felt a strong desire to abstain. Part of me wanted simply to urge you to study your Bible and the issues and vote your conscience. At the end of the day, we as an elder team felt that God was leading us on this issue to provide direction and resources.
The gospel, however, remains our message and our mission. It is weighty, important and controversial enough to make it our “main thing.” It is not that other things are not important, just that the gospel is the issue of “first importance” (1 Cor 15:3-4). I might be wrong on my views toward various governmental policies; I’m not wrong about the gospel. I don’t want my thoughts on the former to keep people from hearing me on the latter.
Anyway, the video I posted below really brought me to the glories of God revealed in marriage. I’d encourage you to watch it.
Oh, one more thing. I’m sure some of you have noticed that I have not left previous posts on this open for comments. That’s simply because past experience shows that issues like this bring out the worst in people, and we don’t want our blogs or website to become a place for people to be intemperate or uncivil. You can use facebook for that (smile). But I know some of you have had things you’ve wanted to say to me about this, so comments are open on this one. Because of other responsibilities, I won’t be able to respond to them, but I will read them, I promise. And I’m also not looking to let this blog turn into a public debate forum, so I likely will not even post most of them. P.S. If you just spew hate, on either side, I’ll likely not make it all the way through your comment.
Beautiful
May 10 | Pastor J.D. | 1 Comment |Wow.
Now That Amendment One Has Passed
May 09 | Pastor J.D. | No Comments |I know that many of you are ready to put this behind you, but I think there are a couple of absolutely crucial things to consider as we go forward. Others of you are greatly upset at the passage of this amendment, and feel that the real work has just begun. I tend to agree.
Our job now that the amendment has passed is to work to make sure the deleterious effects alleged by amendment opponents do not actually happen. Bad and harmful laws are always a possibility, and were so (as some of the articles I pointed to noted) before the passage of this amendment. The elders of our church and I were convinced that the Court’s record on extending protections and benefits in other states is much better than its record of honoring marriage laws not protected by a Constitution, and so for that reason, this seemed a worthy, and necessary step. (Historically, I think that is hard to dispute–though, we continue to believe the merits of this particular amendment are something godly people can disagree over and need not to be a cause for division in the church.)
But now we are to fight to preserve justice, equality, and freedom for all. We are to lead in being good neighbors to all in our community, especially our gay community. They are made in the image of God like we are, and ought to be loved as such. They deserve equal rights and protections. They do not deserve to be ostracized. Any time we find ourselves in a position of strength, we must use it to serve the weak, not prosper ourselves. This is what Christ did for us when He had strength. Thus, when someone is being mistreated or bullied, we must be the first ones to come to their defense. The absolute first. The gay members of our society are welcome here and we are committed to being good neighbors to them.
What this actually looks like in action we must learn. Patiently, humbly, and with “towel in hand.”
I know that many, both within and without the church, wish we would just keep our mouth shut about all this stuff and “mind our own business.” Fair enough. I know the church does not have a stellar track record as it relates to societal initiatives, and we have much to repent of before God. Many more times, however, the church has provided the leading, if not lone, voice calling out for justice and compassion. The former does not negate our duty to the latter.
Jesus commanded us to be salt and light to our communities. That means we should help establish paths of justice and blessing in business, government, education, etc. We celebrate those believers who, during some pivotal time of history, knew when it was time to step up and get involved. To be salt and light means that the community should be better for our being there. A ghettoed, quarantined church cannot be salt and light. Lights kept in closets and salt kept in saltshakers do no good for anyone.
Those who say that governments should not use any biblical or “natural law” reasoning in establishing societal codes overlook that God has established multiple “spheres of authority” on the earth (E.g. Romans 13; Genesis 9; et al). The concept of human government was established by God and serves a purpose, even though those purposes are very different than those given to the church. The church is God’s primary institution and to whom He gave “special,” detailed revelation, i.e. the Bible, and the conduit through which He is conducting His mission on earth (though an argument could be made ‘the home’ is itself the primary ‘creation’ institution). Governments are never to take upon themselves the roles of the church, or visa versa. When either foray into the realm of the other, disaster is the result. Thus, the government never should force worship or particularly Christian (or any other) viewpoints on society. From the founding of our Country, however, our leaders have recognized that they need to take their cues for setting up society from the Created Order. This, they saw, was the foundation of freedom. The church can (and must) be a light to them in this.
Adopting God’s designs in laws and marriage does not equal an enthronement of the Bible as the rulebook for the state. No one, including us, perhaps especially us, wants that. But laws have to have a basis, and our Constitution is built upon a Judeo-Christian one. That has built the healthiest, freest people ever to walk the face of the earth. It’s not perfect, and we have a lot of work still to do to make it just and free for everyone, but we are grateful for it. Much of it we take for granted. Sometimes you don’t realize how much until you get outside of it and see what it’s like when that viewpoint is absent.
Also, please be clear: we don’t worship our state. The US government is not our hope. The United States is not our eternal kingdom, and not, contrary to both Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, our “shining city on a hill.” Jesus is. Jesus’ glory is in the church. His eternal institution is the church. Seeing the presence of Jesus manifest in the church is thus the primary focus of our mission and efforts. Our goal is not to “change the world” or “restore America.” We are to call out a people to repent toward God and worship Jesus Christ. We are to build the church.
Influencing our government to be more fair, moral, and just in its laws is one of the things we believe Jesus meant by being salt and light. In so doing, we are obeying His command. You cannot separate your discipleship from engagement in your community. But again, governmental laws are not, by a long shot, our primary domain. We, the church, are a new community, a separate one, “called out” to be “strangers and aliens,” the Apostle Peter says, to showcase the kingdom of God in our midst. Thus our primary mission is to serve our community, to “wash their feet,” to lay down our lives for them, and to preach Jesus to all.
That is our real mission, and we need to get to it.
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