Ten Reasons To Not Ask Jesus Into Your Heart By Todd Friel

"Ten Reasons To Not Ask Jesus Into Your Heart
By Todd Friel

The music weeps, the preacher pleads, "Give your heart to Jesus. You have a God shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it." Dozens, hundreds or thousands of people who want to get their spiritual life on track make their way to the altar. They ask Jesus into their heart.
Cut to three months later. Nobody has seen our new convert in church. The follow up committee calls him and encourages him to attend a Bible study, but to no avail. We label him a backslider and get ready for the next outreach event.

Our beloved child lies in her snuggly warm bed and says, "Yes, Daddy. I want to ask Jesus into my heart." You lead her in "the prayer" and hope that it sticks. You spend the next ten years questioning if she really, really meant it. Puberty hits and the answer reveals itself. She backslides. We spend the next ten years praying that she will come to her senses.
Telling someone to ask Jesus into their hearts has a very typical result, backsliding. the Bible says that a person who is soundly saved puts his hand to the plow and does not look back because he is fit for service. In other words, a true convert cannot backslide. If a person backslides, he never slid forward in the first place. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation." (II Cor.5) No backsliding there.

Brace yourself for this one: with very few if any exceptions, anyone who asked Jesus into their hearts to be saved…is not. If you asked Jesus into your heart because you were told that is what you have to do to become a Christian, you were mis-informed.

If you have ever told someone to ask Jesus into their heart (like I have), you produced a false convert. Here is why.

1. It is not in the Bible.

There is not a single verse that even hints we should say a prayer inviting Jesus into our hearts. Some use Rev. 3:20. To tell us that Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts begging to come in.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." There are two reasons that interpretation is wrong.

The context tells us that the door Jesus is knocking on is the door of the church, not the human heart. Jesus is not knocking to enter someone’s heart but to have fellowship with His church.
Even if the context didn’t tell us this, we would be forcing a meaning into the text (eisegesis). How do we know it is our heart he is knocking at? Why not our car door? How do we know he isn’t knocking on our foot? To suggest that he is knocking on the door of our heart is superimposing a meaning on the text that simply does not exist.

The Bible does not instruct us to ask Jesus into our heart. This alone should resolve the issue, nevertheless, here are nine more reasons.

2. Asking Jesus into your heart is a saying that makes no sense.

What does it mean to ask Jesus into your heart? If I say the right incantation will He somehow enter my heart? Is it literal? Does He reside in the upper or lower ventricle? Is this a metaphysical experience? Is it figurative? If it is, what exactly does it mean? While I am certain that most adults cannot articulate its meaning, I am certain that no child can explain it. Pastor Dennis Rokser reminds us that little children think literally and can easily be confused (or frightened) at the prospect of asking Jesus into their heart.

3. In order to be saved, a man must repent (Acts 2:38). Asking Jesus into your heart leaves out the requirement of repentance.

4. In order to be saved, a man must trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
Asking Jesus into your heart leaves out the requirement of faith.

5. The person who wrongly believes they are saved will have a false sense of security. Millions of people who sincerely, but wrongly, asked Jesus into their hearts think they are saved but struggle to feel secure. They live in doubt and fear because they do not have the Holy Spirit giving them assurance of salvation.

6. The person who asks Jesus into his heart will likely end up inoculated, bitter and backslidden. Because he did not get saved by reciting a formulaic prayer, he will grow disillusioned with Jesus, the Bible, church and fellow believers. His latter end will be worse than the first.

7. It presents God as a beggar just hoping you will let Him into your busy life. This presentation of God robs Him of His sovereignty.

8. The cause of Christ is ridiculed. Visit an atheist web-site and read the pagans who scoff, "How dare those Christians tell us how to live when they get divorced more than we do? Who are they to say homosexuals shouldn’t adopt kids when tens of thousands of orphans don’t get adopted by Christians?" Born again believers adopt kids and don’t get divorced.

People who ask Jesus into their hearts do. Jesus gets mocked when false converts give Him a bad name.

9. The cause of evangelism is hindered. While it is certainly easier to get church members by telling them to ask Jesus into their hearts, try pleading with someone to make today the day of their salvation. Get ready for a painful response. "Why should I become a Christian when I have seen so called Christians act worse than a pagan?" People who ask Jesus into their hearts give pagans an excuse for not repenting.

10. Here is the scary one. People who ask Jesus into their hearts are not saved and they will perish on the Day of Judgment. How tragic that millions of people think they are right with God when they are not. How many people who will cry out, "Lord, Lord" on judgment day will be "Christians" who asked Jesus into their hearts?

So, what must one do to be saved? Repent and trust. (Heb.6:1) The Bible makes it clear that all men must repent and place their trust in Jesus Christ. Every man does have a "God shaped hole in their hearts," but that hole is not contentment, fulfillment and peace. Every man’s heart problem is righteousness. Instead of preaching that Jesus fulfills, we must preach that God judges and Jesus satisfies God’s judgment…if a man will repent and place his trust in Him.

If you are reading this and you asked Jesus into your heart, chances are good you had a spiritual buzz for a while, but now you struggle to read your Bible, tithe, attend church and pray. Perhaps you were told you would have contentment, purpose and a better life if you just ask Jesus into your heart. I am sorry, that was a lie."

I think Todd is wrong and bit of a nit picker. To come out and blatantly say that just because their formulae wasn't exactly the way Peter described on the day of Pentecost that these people are not saved. Poppycock!!

People like the early Jews didn't know what to do when they were convicted, they said to Peter, "What must we do?".

Today we here preachers say, "Give your heart to Jesus, accept Him into your heart". What is wrong with that?

When the LORD came to me I was weeping, I had no idea what was going on, I had no idea what to do, I had no idea what to say. But I remember someone had said to accept Him into your heart. I stumbled through the words, but the words really didn't matter, the holy Ghost was doing something on the inside of me that I could not understand or comprehend. And there was no "buzz", no "feel good" stuff, just weeping and a cry for change.

If you are reading this and you asked Jesus into your heart, chances are good you had a spiritual buzz for a while, but now you struggle to read your Bible, tithe, attend church and pray. Perhaps you were told you would have contentment, purpose and a better life if you just ask Jesus into your heart. I am sorry, that was a lie."

You know, God loved us and sent Jesus to us and died for us WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, HOW MUCH MORE NOW we are His children. I mean think about it. God raised the bar quite high in that He has stooped low enough to love fallen humanity. And now that He has placed me in heavenly places with Christ and I should sin or do something that is unchristian that He is just going to push me over the edge of heaven and say, "Sorry, but you didn't get the formula right, and because you stopped praying and reading the bible, that proves that you never were a believer"

[b]HELLO[/b]??

God forbid if any one of us is stripped of our bibles and put in solitary confinement and unable to tithe and go to Church, that would mean that you were never saved.

And the LORD told me that I would have a better life with Him, and I have a better life and contentment which is by the way a godly thing and great gain. And He told me that I would have a purpose for living when I thought that my life was not worth living.

Todd Friel, your out to lunch, or smoking something.

Dear Brother Brian, this is not directed at you at all. Not in the very least, so please know that before reading my "heart" in this.

If you have an e-sword or any concordance - see that in the KJV N.T. that "heart" is in 99 Verses and mentined 106 times and SEE HOW it is used easily interchangably with our inward man or spirit and that again is just the N.T..

These sudden flood of anti-heart articles are breaking my heart.

I asked Jesus into my heart 33 yr.s ago and it was like a tsunami came in the first day and transformed a total Chief of sinners into something thought impossible by my family, friends and mostly me.

It does break my heart to see these so-called critiques and feel they've done nothing whatsoever but confuse Many.

I wish I could word this all better, but when it's an emotional subject, words are not coming easy for me to express.

A concordance could express it all much better.

LORD Bless you and yours Brother.

editing to add just one of the 99 that speak to my heart -

Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The reason i think todd friel's articles is right because it is biblical, you never ask jesus into your heart in the Bible it is always repnt and believe the gospel or believe the gospel, believe on the lord jesus, call on the name of the lord jesus and though shall be saved. Most likely if you were saved it was not because you asked him into your heart but it was because it was the desire of your to be saved and the lord saved you. Paul washer has great sermons on these but i many don't like his sermons because he is calvinistic and teaches exactly what todd friel teaches and preaches against it, with the sinners prayer or asking jesus into your heart, he makes it clear paul washer that you were not saved because some magical formula or because you asked him into your heart but that you repented of your sins and believed the gospel, you say it was the prayer god says it was your repentance in your heart and you believed the gospel in your heart. I understand that many our saying that they were saved because they asked jesus into your heart but the bible says you must have a repentant heart, a surrender of yourselves before God and a belief of the gospel and then remember God also saves in his own time. He might save you right their, but you might have to wait upon the Lord. Brothers and sisters i understand you were saved when you said the prayer into your heart, but wasn't because you had repentance and believed jesus too. You know what maybe Christ does save people when they do this ask him into their hearts but you must have wanted the lord jesus with your whole life, full surrender. But i don't think Todd friel is wrong though for this final thing it is unbiblical teaching and also that has only been taught for less than 100 years to do that, the bible doesn't teach this, you most likely heard this from a tract, some preacher or some other christian but not in the bible or for the first 1900 years of christianity, so you can't say he is wrong, i know the bible says believe with your heart but never ask him into your heart, so todd is not wrong their but he could be wrong on this fact, that some have prayed this prayer and have been saved and we can't really say they haven't. But anyways kudos Todd friel, if this was preached more than 50 years ago their would be more positive comments. Brothers check out Paul washers sermons that i posted on here called repent and believe, and what is the gospel on articles and sermons, he talks about this.

Pro 8:5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

How can a "heart" be appealed to, to "understand" or be the determining factor of whether "the seed" / "The Word of GOD" [which is Jesus' Name as well] takes root or not and how can it "Believe"? Rom 10:8-10

The "heart" is mentioned 727 times in the O.T. as well.

Brother, I don't truly care what any modern day teacher or preacher has to say and I'm not trying to be rude or hurtful by saying that. We're living in the Apostasy - the great falling away, and these that are on the scene now do nothing to change that at all, from all that we've seen so far, so I haven't the time nor leading nor desire to listen to any of these that are just coming up, making names for themselves since this Apostasy began a few decades ago. I have Not Seen Any Fruit from their ministries anywhere on the internet - just their "followings" - many of which don't even know if they're saved or not and loads of legalism, as Paul warned in 1 Tim 4 and as a bunch of "Angry Watchmen" shouting at the sheep or sounding like they're on opium - and their followers quoting more from them than searching The Word for answers to everyone's questions - so unlike how we should be taught, to test all teachings as Bereans, by studying the Word [which if we had - there wouldn't be such an apostasy or famine of the 'knowing' of The Word of God].
Any person can come up with ANY teaching by picking and choosing a few verses here and there, just to be "unique" to gain a following and cause Another Division in the Body of Christ.

If someone wants to preach Against "Easy Believism" or OSAS, believe me - I'm All Ears.

[b]But if men of old like Albert Barnes and Adam Clarke and many other pre-apostasy-era men refer to "the heart" in their commentaries on Rev 3:20 - than that will stand good enough for me[/b] and again, no offense intended to you at all and I do know, my opinion is just that - 'my opinion' but I know GOD puts much emphasis on our heart's condition, before we make Him LORD and right up until we see Him Face to face.

Editing to add -

Brace yourself for this one: with very few if any exceptions, anyone who asked Jesus into their hearts to be saved…is not.

This takes more audacity then I've heard in quite a while.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." There are two reasons that interpretation is wrong.

The context tells us that the door Jesus is knocking on is the door of the church, not the human heart. Jesus is not knocking to enter someone’s heart but to have fellowship with His church.

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

Playing on the same Scriptural Ignorance that these men thrive on and produce in young Christians.

How do we know it is our heart he is knocking at? Why not our car door? How do we know he isn’t knocking on our foot? To suggest that he is knocking on the door of our heart is superimposing a meaning on the text that simply does not exist.

And this is called Hermeneutics? How dare he belittle people's intelligence.

No, his use of Scripture means nothing - but the confusion this will cause many is abominable.

He claims we'll backslide and not want to read our Bibles, etc. if we've asked Jesus to come into our lives in this fashion - Well Todd, 33 yrs later, I haven't backslid, lost my zeal nor been involved in any counterfeit movements and have studied apologetics all of these yrs - imagine that - I'm still saved.

Sorry for this addition, but I just now Fully read his article and am a bit amazed at his reasonings which he even went so far as to number.

More harm than good is all I see and it's very very sad.

how do you guys feel about paul washer sermons, just wondering

Most likely if you were saved it was not because you asked him into your heart but it was because it was the desire of your to be saved and the lord saved you

And what happened to John 6:44 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up on the last day."

Oh sure they told us to repent. But haven't you asked the LORD to come into your heart and still repent and cry out to the LORD??

Peter told the first believers to repent and be baptized and they would receive the Holy Spirit. That was the formula it seemed until Peter met Cornilius when the Holy Ghost came upon them WHILE THEY HEARD THE WORD PREACHED. And it didn't say anything there that they repented or called out to God to save them, and they were baptized in water AFTER their conversion, so the formula was changed.

This is not a good thing your doing. I don't care who Todd Friel is, he is wrong and needs to get his act together, because the same measure he is meting out, the same judgement is going to come back at him if he should offend any of these little ones that didn't know any better when all they had was a hem of truth come their way and they asked the LORD to come into their heart. No one knows the state of any man's heart and what God does in peoples lives. "Who are we to judge a another man's servant?"

Nay, Todd Friel errs and is in deep trouble.

I edited my last post but this is part of it -

Todd said:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." There are two reasons that interpretation is wrong.

The context tells us that the door Jesus is knocking on is the door of the church, not the human heart. Jesus is not knocking to enter someone’s heart but to have fellowship with His church.

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

If men of old like Albert Barnes and Adam Clarke and many other pre-apostasy-era men refer to "the heart" in their commentaries on Rev 3:20 - than that will stand good enough for me.

Have an e-sword, check these "men of old" on Rev 3:20.

Paul washer preaches totally against the sinners prayer and asking jesus into your heart, he actually in one of his sermons says he is at war against it. I actually noticed on here many have not listened to more of his sermons, i wonder why. He speaks truth but biblical truth, todd friel is saying what is according to the Bible, so he has the right to say something. The Bibles to believe the gospel with our hearts, repent and believe the gospel, it does not have any verses on asking christ to come into our hearts, but it says believe with your hearts on the lord jesus. Maybe you were saved after you said you asked him into your heart but wasn't that you had a heart that was repentant and wanted to be saved and you believed on the lord jesus for salvation, i think God looks at our hearts intentions, and we must have had a repentant heart and believed on the lord jesus. As much as you want to justify this it is unbiblical and this would have never been known but from someone making this up, it is not in the Bible and that is where todd friel is right. Yes you might have been saved by that, but truly it had to be because you had a repentant heart and believed on jesus, that is what saved you.Deepthinker i agree with you, salvation is a work of God, for that person to believe and repent is by the power of God, salvation is by the power of God, my reason for standing for this is that todd friel is right in his assesment that it is unbiblical, but we have no clue how some truuly got saved. My friend has been seeking God but i would never tell him to ask jesus into his heart, i have explained to him Gods holiness, Gods law, how we broke that law, how we fell, how we our god hating sinners and we need to be saved and repent, i have told of the grace of god through jesus christ but i will not tell him to say this prayer or ask him into his heart. God will open his eyes and he will repent and believe on his own accord when God does that.I think the church is wrong in teaching that doctrine.

here listen to this paul washer sermon, he brings this up in it.

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=13924&commentView=postComment

repent and believe by paul washer

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?commentView=itemComments&lid=13922

what is the gospel by paul washer

o.k

father i ask you to forgive me if i have been wrong at all on my view of this article, i don't how you save all the time so forgive me for being foolish in my words at times and preassuming things when i don't know all things, humble my heart, for i am a wicked man, i have a heart for the complete truth and sometimes i can come on too strong forgive me if i was wrong in anyway in jesus name.

To clarify:

Someone I know asked me to post Todd's letter to get a point of view from SI.

I did that because I was asked, but also because I have been torn lately.

With my limited understanding, this is what I have been experiencing...

I like Poonen, John Mac, and a lot of the past preaching Saints compiled by Greg, however, I have been challenged by a particular person who is in favor of calvin, along with the WOTM preaching methods and style. This somewhat opposes Poonen and his (what I am gathering) arminian beliefs.

See...I care little for calvinism or arminianism (the people may have been likeable...but their follows are like splinters off of a chicken bone).

I just want the truth. I see both sides and how both sides are led, but at the moment I feel as though I am in the middle of traffic.

Throw the scriptures at me and tell me that Jesus is the only way...I know. But we all obviously listen to sermons and these sermons are contradicting.

Thus, the tear...the rip and the pain.

Sorry if I caused tension by posting this article.

Blessings,
Brian