Asking Jesus Into My Heart

[cyberjosh]

The thing is, way too many people who have for whatever reason repeated this prayer in their heart goes out of the church, back into real life and truly begin to struggle. The problem was that they 'prayed the prayer' and thought everything was a done deal, then found out that it was more complicated. Naturally, I believe that there have been some folks, whom the Spirit had aready worked in their hearts, who have indeed been regenerated upon their heartfelt agreement with a sinner's prayer. But, I think we need to be honest with ourselves, and especially those folks who represent the harvest, that the decision to recieve that free gift of grace is a life-changing decision, and one that will require some real changes in one's life.

We are in complete agreement. So going back to your original concern, were you afraid that your Pastor was mistaken somehow in his belief? You'll have to refresh my memory on what he was asking for for baptism.

~Josh

 

[handy]

Sure thing, here's a refresher from the first post:

"At her baptism, after she had said that she wanted to be baptized because she loved God and wanted Jesus to know how much she loved him. The pastor then asked her if she had asked Jesus into her heart. She seemed a little confused by the question and repeated that she loved Jesus. The pastor then asked her mom if she (the girl) had asked Jesus into her heart, and her mom assured him that she had."

I remember it quite well, the exchange went exactly like this, as the girl and the Pastor were standing in the river:

Pastor: "****, tell everyone why you want to be baptized tonight."

Girl: "I want to be baptized because I love God. I want to show Jesus how much I love him!" (said with much emphasis and a look of complete joy on her face.)

Pastor: "Now ****, have you asked Jesus into your heart?"

Girl: (Looking a bit confused) "I...umm...I love Jesus and I want everyone to know how much I love Him."

The Pastor then looked to the girl's mom who was sitting on the riverbank. "****'s mom, has **** asked Jesus into her heart?"

The mom said that yes, she had, so the Pastor then went ahead and baptized her.

It really bothered me, and still bothers me. As I mentioned in my first post, I will be specifically talking with him about this before our son's baptism. But, I did want to discuss the whole topic here at the forum, just to get some feedback regarding this whole 'ask Jesus into my heart' verbage which seems to be becomming almost required language in the church.

BTW, the Pastor didn't call the girl's mom "****'s mom" because he doesn't know her that well and forgot her name. It's just the way he talks sometimes. He once jokingly called me "Snake-man's wife" because my husband is an amature herpatologist and will come and pick up snakes if they get into barns or garages. He actually knows their family far better than ours, and as the girl has been going to that church now for over two years, one could assume he knows the love she has for the Lord. It's a very small church, only about 30 folks all total, and besides his kids, the girl's family and our kids, there are only two other kids in the church. And, don't get me wrong, the Pastor and his wife are really lovely people and he is a kick. He's also a great preacher and really gives good teachings. We really do like the church, even if it's way more laid-back than we're used to.

 

[Toms777]

I understand you concern and might raises concerns myself in the same situation.

As I was driving home from work today I was wondering if it was possible that his intent may have been different. maybe he was trying to differentiate between children who think that Jesus is a nice person from those who have truly accepted Jesus as Saviour, and perhaps the way that he chose to ask that question was itself unclear.

I don't know the situation or the person involved, but I am just trying to look at it from another perspective also.

 

[cyberjosh]

But, I did want to discuss the whole topic here at the forum, just to get some feedback regarding this whole 'ask Jesus into my heart' verbage which seems to be becomming almost required language in the church.

Well, as I tried to explain above, it is correct to look at Jesus coming into your heart and abiding in you once you are saved. However perhaps this question is a little too confusing. The more orthodox question which I hear preachers ask more often (where I've been), which I approve of, is "Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?". I wholeheartedly agree with that question. Also where I've been the pastor will talk to the person before baptising them and explain to them what is going to take place and the significance of Baptism. But perhaps that is a convenience of pulpit baptisms where you have a back room to prepare, as opposed to outside baptism in a river. It's a good practice anyway IMO. Perhaps you can talk to the Pastor privately before the baptism (maybe a week in advance or right before it if it's coming up soon). There is no need to be disturbed by the Pastors terminology, because it seems his intention is to discern whether the person is saved or not. But if you wish him to ask something different perhaps you can speak to him about it. You could even tell him that asking if they have accepted Jesus rather than asked Jesus to come in to their heart (explicitly) would be better & less confusing.

But that's up to you. I hope these talks have helped. And may God bless Thomas and grow him up to be a man of God!

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[handy]

Thank you both. You've given me a more balance perspective on this, which is what I was looking for before speaking with the Pastor. I really appreciate it.