"Ask Jesus Into Your Heart"???

Dear jimmyjimmy. It is straightforward and must be in truth, ask and you shall receive. (Matthew7: 7-10 We ask Jesus into our hearts, and also ask of Love and Joy, to share with our brothers a and sisters in Christ. God is Love, and God wants loving boys and girls. The Bible tells us:
Give up all selfish and unloving talk and behaviour, follow Christ our Saviour back to God our Heavenly Father. Keep asking for love and joy, and keep receiving love and joy, then thank God and share all with our neighbour: all we know and all we meet. God sees our sincere hearts, and God will Bless us greatly. God wants our love and compassion, our neighbour wants our love and compassion, let us be the loving followers of our Saviour. Jesus died that we might live. Love is very catching, jimmyjimmy. Why not give it a try? GOD LOVES US, AND JEJUS DIED FOR US. What more do we want? Love God and love our neighbour. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

The first thing after proclaiming the gospel that i would ask is " did you understand " ? If he says yes , then i would ask him " if you died literally now , and Jesus himself asked you why should I let you in heaven , what would you say to him ?" If that person answer because he did good works and was good person i know that i need to preach gospel to him again or explain to him using other verse. If he answer because of Jesus Christ Blood which was shed on cross to pay once for all for my sins or something similar to that i understand that person understood gospel.

Exodus 19:8
All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do!" And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

Joshua 24:24
The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice."

In regards to the opening post...

The legacy left to us by Charles G. Finney, is still working today.

As a preacher, it is my duty to present the gospel message. That's it.

It is the Holy Spirit's job to do the rest.

God Bless

Till all are one.

Thank you for your post. I think we need to first take ourselves out of the equation and allow the Holy Spirit (Who really has done the convicting) to lead the way in what we say to the hearer of the gospel in response.

Often, I think a communal declaration by the surrounding body of believers of Christ as the Lord and savior is a powerful response that not only encourages the new believer. I do not think there is a particular prayer that should be said out of routine but rather a Spirit-led declaration of repentance and surrender to becoming a new creation in Christ and believing that Christ is the Son of God that died for our sins so we may not perish.

jimmyjimmy said:

Where does this, "ask Jesus into your heart" nonsense come from?

Click to expand...

'Look, I [Jesus) stand at the door, knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20)."

Note how Paul urges the wayward Galatians to recall the experiential confirmation of their initial reception of the Gospel:

Did you experience so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Well, then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the Law or by your believing what you heard (Galatians 3:4-5)?"

Billy Graham was incredibly effective as an evangelist, routinely winning thousands to Christ in each evangelistic campaign. Billy used to say, "Many Christians have just enough religion to inoculate them against the real thing." The real thing is a living, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, not just some dry presentation of the need to repent and believe the Gospel.

Notice the essential role of spiritual experience in Paul's preaching of the cross:
"My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)."

Evangelist D. L. Moody was once confronted by man who complained: "I don't like your method of winning souls!" Moody replied, "I'm not sure I like it either. What's your method of winning souls?" There is a reason why reformed and other mainline denominations are in decline, whereas Pentecostal churches are growing in leaps and bounds--the stress on the Gospel's experiential dimension, a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ.

Notice, too, that the validity of one's subjective experience of the indwelling Christ needs to be tested, not one's mental affirmation to Gospel talking points:

"Examine yourselves to see if you are living in the faith? Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you (2 Corinthians 13:5)?"

jimmyjimmy said:

What is the proper response to the proclamation of the gospel? What do we ask of an unbeliever when we proclaim the gospel to him?

Do we ask him to say a particular prayer, e.g., the "sinners prayer"?

Do we ask him to "invite Jesus into his heart"?

If in a church setting, do we ask him to raise his hand or come forward for prayer?

What's the very first thing you tell, or ask of, someone after you present him with the gospel?

Click to expand...

depends on the faith is the answer to the "we" part

But when it comes to myself I would ask them to repent and ask them if they are interested in being baptized.

I would also ask them after or before baptism (depending on circumstances ) if they want to receive the infilling of the HOly Ghost and pray with them that they may receive the Spirit. Or whoevers at the alter of a church of my faith would if lets say I"m not there or it's not my church.

This reminds of my dear niece's experience. When she was a young lass her parents were deeply concerned to get her saved. They kept telling her that if she asked Jesus into her heart she would go to heaven. She very bluntly told them that she certainly did not want to do that. She did not want to go to a weird place called heaven and be separated from her family and friends and be surrounded by strangers. After explaining to her that her trip to heaven would not happen (probably) for many years in the future, she readily complied with their request and she asked Jesus into her heart. Whether or not she was saved then is quite another matter, of course.

jimmyjimmy said:

The above text explains only the accepting of the facts - the news about Christ.

Nothing about accepting or personal in that text.

Click to expand...

How about rewording it a bit?

"Are you willing to let Jesus Christ be your Lord and your personal savior?"

jimmyjimmy said:

I'm not going to reword my thread. If want to start a new one, you are free to.

Click to expand...

That's not what I meant. I meant to reword what I previously suggested.

Lily of Valleys said:

"Would you like to accept Jesus Christ to be your Lord and your personal savior?"

if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

Click to expand...

Funny, I don't find asking people to "accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior" anywhere in the Bible.

DeaconDean said:

In regards to the opening post...

The legacy left to us by Charles G. Finney, is still working today.

As a preacher, it is my duty to present the gospel message. That's it.

It is the Holy Spirit's job to do the rest.

God Bless

Till all are one.

Click to expand...

Some folks have a less kindly opinion of Finney.

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: How Charles Finney's Theology Ravaged the Evangelical Movement

I would be among them.

Light of the East said:

Funny, I don't find asking people to "accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior" anywhere in the Bible.

Click to expand...

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

I will sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

My strength and my refuge is the Lord,
and he has become my savior.
This is my God, I praise him;
the God of my father, I extol him.

The Lord is a warrior,
Lord is his name!

(Exodus 15:1-3)

It is also in my post that you quoted: Romans 10:9-10

When someone comes into a belief, they will feel the need to 'do something' to signify it themselves—it's part of our nature. Baptism seems to be the approved method. The sinners prayer is similar to oath-swearing which seemed to be common from very early on as well.

The person who believes they are saved are saved, if you have doubts about it then your conscience usually knows what you need to do about it without anyone telling you.

jimmyjimmy said:

Where does this, "ask Jesus into your heart" nonsense come from?

Click to expand...

You don't believe Jesus lives inside a person's heart?

Jesus has the ability as God to live inside your heart:

But when it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me.” (Galatians 1:15-16).
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10).
“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20).
"That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:17).
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20).
"Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27).


...

So...

According to Ephesians 3:17, Jesus makes his home in our hearts.
According to Revelation 3:20, Jesus stands at the door of a person's heart and desires to come in.

Now, in the book of Exodus, the blood of a Lamb was put on the doorposts. One symbolic spiritual representation today of this is that we as believers should make sure we have the Lamb's blood on the doorposts of our hearts. Meaning, we should make sure we are confessing sin and trusting in His sacrifice and resurrection always.

Another important way we should make sure we are having the blood applied to our lives is by walking in the light as Christ is in the light (See 1 John 1:7).

This means walking in God's righteous ways and not sin.


...