Asking Jesus into your heart?

May 20, 2022 • Bible Teachings

7 min read

We live in the era of the altar call, where many preachers use phrases like, "Asking Jesus into your heart" or "Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior". Are these phrases biblical? Are they found in the Bible? It's surprising to find out that most Christian clichés actually have little to do with the Bible.

Knocking at the door

Many church leaders say that they have derived such phrases from Revelation 3:20. Is this true?

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Revelation 3:20

This verse has been used in countless messages and sermons to portray Jesus knocking on the door of the sinner's heart. However, this type of teaching takes the actual verse of Revelation 3:20 out of context.

In this verse, the door does not represent the hearts of all people. If we look at the context in which this verse is found, we learn that Jesus was knocking on the door of the Laodicean church. Jesus was standing outside of this apostate church that swerved away from the faith.

Jesus was outside knocking because he wanted to enter but could not. Jesus could only enter if the people in the church repented. Jesus urged this church to repent and to have fellowship with Him before judgment would come upon them.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is not out there in the world, knocking on the homes of unbelievers and asking them to repent. Instead, Jesus is at the door of churches who have closed the door to him in self-sufficient independence and disobedience. Jesus comes to them to ask them to repent.

He can kick the door down

Jesus is not shut out in the cold by people who reject Him or close their hearts to him. He is the creator and sustainer of the entire universe. If he wants to kick the door down, he will kick it down. He can do what he pleases and he cannot be stopped.

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Acts 9:3-5

Before he was apostle Paul, he was named Saul, and he was killing the followers of Jesus for a living. Saul had no intention of "asking Jesus into his heart". He hated Jesus and his followers. However, one day Jesus showed up and kicked the arrogant door of his heart down. Saul responded by recognizing Jesus' authority and called him Lord.

Compulsion, not an invitation

Jesus does not wait outside, helplessly begging for us to receive him. He is not waiting at the doorstep of our soul. Jesus is not waiting for us to offer him an invitation, or to accept His invitation.

The Bible never uses this type of language. Instead, the Bible uses a language of compulsion, urging us to repent, to turn from our old ways of thinking and doing, and to believe that Jesus is who he said he is.

God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.

Acts 17:30

When the apostles preached the gospel, their messages ended with strong commands to repent and believe, not to open their heart-door to a desperate Jesus who was locked out. The desperation was to come from us who need Jesus, not from Jesus needing us.

On the day of judgment, we will need Jesus' acceptance. He will not need our acceptance. Modern-day Christianity has become too focused on the individual when the focus should be on Jesus. To say that we have to accept Christ makes the ridiculous assumption that we are the ones on the judgment seat and Christ stands on trial. The exact opposite is true.

Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness."

Matthew 7:21-23

The ones who will enter the kingdom of heaven are not those who accept Jesus or who invite him into their hearts. Our speech and our Christian sayings will not be enough to make Jesus accept us into his kingdom. It is the ones who do the will of God (the ones who aim to follow what the Bible says) that are accepted by Jesus into his kingdom.

Learning from the thief

There is an eternal difference between us accepting Christ and Christ accepting us. The thief on the cross had no trouble recognizing who needed who's acceptance. The thief knew he was utterly dependent upon the acceptance of Jesus. That is why he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:42)

Most preachers wrongfully tell us to "accept Jesus". Rather than us accepting Jesus, we need to be seeking Jesus' acceptance. Many preachers also wrongfully tell us to "make Jesus Lord of our life". Rather than making Jesus Lord of our life, we need to recognize that Jesus is already Lord and King of the entire universe, and then respond by obeying him.

Jesus is Lord and Savior even before we make him our Lord and Savior. His lordship does not depend on us. Jesus is Lord whether we receive him as Lord or not. Our receiving or rejecting of Jesus cannot change who he is. His lordship has never depended on anyone's willingness to grant Him that title. Having made the universe and all that is in it, Jesus is Lord of all.

Every knee will bow

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:8–11

We do not need to make Jesus the Lord of our life, as preachers say. We simply need to demonstrate that we recognize Jesus as the Lord and King that he already is by submitting to him in repentance, faith, and obedience.

Every knee ever created will end up bowing to King Jesus one day. We can choose to bow our knee to the King today, receive his acceptance, and be saved. Or, we can choose not to, but an eternity in a hellfire of regret will await us. Either way, we will end up bowing to him.