Comments on: “Should We Stop Asking Jesus Into Our Hearts?” // Christianity Today

By: Eric Ramseur

Eric Ramseur — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 18:48:29 +0000

I must say that asking Jesus into your heart without obedience will do much good as asking a car to accelerate with no engine. I disagree with statement that belief and repentance are the only prescribed means of obtaining salvation. Acts 2:38 does not say for those Jewish men to believeand repent for the forgiveness of sins. Without forgiveness of sin there is no salvation. Immersion into water through obedience to God and repentance from the old way of life will get rid of sin according to Peter. It was a flowery notion to believe God was fine with however I wanted to come into a covenant relationship with him, but it wouldn’t have worked. We have to come to God on His terms. Much like the Levites, in order to serve Him we must be sprinkled with the blood and have our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-23.

By: Bobby Harrington

Bobby Harrington — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:53:02 +0000

I am so disappointed in this approach. A careful review of the book of Acts, as well as numerous places in the New Testament (1 Peter 3:20-11; Colossians 2:12-14; Galatians 3:27-27; Romans 6:3-4) make it clear that baptism, not the sinner’s prayer, was the means of entrusting your faith in Jesus and receiving his forgiveness, and assurance. This is also the uniform testimony of the church after the Bible was written and the Nicene-Constantinople Creed (386AD). You disregard this because you say it is a work, but it was never seen that way in the Bible, early church, or early Creeds. Unfortunately, a prior commitment to Calvinism clouds your sight, causing you to distort what the Bible actually teaches.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:22:32 +0000

Thanks Pastor J.D for the excellent article. You have a lot of wisdom regarding what many people growing up in the church experience (including me)

I’m curious what your views are now on getting “re-baptized” if someone has doubts about the sincerity of their previous proffesion of faith and baptism. It’s a question that haunts me at times. Thanks again for your timely article.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:05:53 +0000

Thanks Pastor J.D for the excellent article. You have a lot of wisdom regarding what many people growing up in the church experience (including me)

Thanks again for your timely article.

By: Pastor J.D.

Pastor J.D. — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:46:51 +0000

Larry, I would be curious as to how to better phrase this.

To say that resting your hand on Jesus is faith in faith does not compute to me. I said nothing about the quality of that faith. At any given point, your hand should be resting on Jesus, not on itself. How is that faith in faith? Do you have a better metaphor than that one?

By: Butch Dean

Butch Dean — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 03:02:59 +0000

Once His, forever His.

By: Dan Campbell

Dan Campbell — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:13:02 +0000

The essence of the gospel is accepting Jesus’ death on the cross as the payment for my sins. Shorthand yes, asking Jesus into my heart, no.

By: Amber

Amber — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 12:56:11 +0000

Agreed! Preach it!

By: Yohan John Kunnenkeril

Yohan John Kunnenkeril — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 04:35:05 +0000

“Should we stop asking…..” is an important article, and I saw it first in Christianity Today, and intend to point others to it.
A thought that maybe you will address
‘When we ask the Lord to have mercy, (whether it is Spurgeon “God be merciful to me a sinner” ) saying it or anyone else, what are we really saying ? Is it possible for God to be any more merciful than He has already been (through the Cross etc.) ? Or is this kind of an earnest plea suggesting that He will be merciful depending on on how earnestly we pray words like these ” God be merciful to me a sinner”. I agree that the quality of repentance is important, not that He will be more merciful because of it but we enjoy Salvation that much more fully. I am suggesting that we learn to “claim/accept/appropriate” the mercy/grace already shown and thank Him earnestly repenting and growing in faith and belief in Him and what He did for us on the Cross. ” God be merciful to me …” may give the wrong impression to others learning from Spurgeon, and may even be hurting the Lord. I may be wrong, but this is my take at this point of time. YJK

By: Dave Votaw

Dave Votaw — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 22:53:30 +0000

I was really excited to read this article in CT, and I linked to this blog from there. I’m working on a course discussing this very topic. (I teach various courses to adult groups at our church.) So I wish that your book were available now for me to consult.

I am fascinated to see how frequently Jesus is quoted in the gospels referring to various people essentially losing their chance at salvation. Terms like “cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” and “branches are gathered to be burned” and “Gehenna” which was the perpetually burning trash pit.

Obviously we are talking about a crucial issue here. In the gospels, people get Heaven’s door slammed in their faces for a wide variety of reasons. They weren’t prepared, they weren’t good stewards, they didn’t minister to people’s needs, they didn’t produce fruit, and other reasons as well. It would be easy to construct a works-based requirement for salvation if one read only the gospels.

So I think you are right on in your concern. And I appreciate the balance between those who are OCD/paranoid about getting it right and those who believe that they have a fire insurance policy and that’s all they need.

I was disappointed, though, at the end of the article where you said we need to have the right “posture.” A good metaphor, I suppose, based in existential reality instead of simple affirmations – but devoid of meaning for me. I’m not sure how to know whether I have the right posture. I need something a little less metaphorical and more explanatory.

Is that coming in your book?