Archive for February, 2009
The Heart of the Matter, Part 2
What does it mean to ask Jesus into your heart? A couple weeks ago I dealt with a young man about his soul. I asked if he knew where he would spend eternity, to which he replied, “I hope heaven.” I asked him a few questions to determine what he believed in regards to salvation. He became exasperated as he tried to explain why he would most likely spend eternity in heaven, finally it seemed he stumbled upon a phrase he once heard from his childhood. He searched my face for approval as he rehearsed the incantation from his youth, “I asked Jesus into my heart.” I asked one more question to determine if he was thoughtlessly trusting in this verbal charm or if he actually had understanding in regards to the way of salvation, “What does it mean to ask Jesus into your heart?” He had no idea.
If you Google the phrase, “ask Jesus into your heart” you will find two extreme views. On one end of the spectrum are those that hold that if you use the phrase “I asked Jesus into my heart” then you were never really saved because that phrase is not found one time in scripture. On the other end of the spectrum are those, like the young man above, who use the phrase as a ritualistic formula without any idea as to what it actually means. The rigid dogmatism of the former leaves little room for the Spirit whereas the loose theology of the latter requires no understanding of the gospel.
So what does it mean to ask Jesus into your heart? It is true that the phrase is not found in the Bible and to be honest I have difficulty explaining it scripturally. The closest thing I can find is a passage in Revelation chapter 3 that records Jesus Christ saying, “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” (vs. 20). Now I agree this makes for a nice illustration regarding the Saviour seeking the lost, however, the context is Jesus knocking on the door of the church for fellowship with “any man” that hears his voice, not His knocking on the human heart for salvation. I certainly wouldn’t call a man a heretic for using the phrase but I do believe it lends itself to confusion.
A clear understanding and presentation of the gospel is crucial and as ambassadors for Christ we should strive to speak plainly and accurately when reasoning with souls about their eternal destination. In my humble opinion, the phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” is not the best way to describe salvation. The danger lies in those that use the phrase as part of a magical formula without requiring any understanding of the gospel on the part of the lost person. (The same can be said about other labels we use to describe salvation without a proper explanation). I fear there are many people (especially as children) who have parroted words and have repeated a prayer but have had little to no understanding of what the Bible actually says about salvation, and therefore remain unconverted.
Asking Jesus into your heart confuses the means of salvation with the result of salvation. The means of salvation is heart belief. The result of salvation is Christ dwelling within the believer. In the Bible, heart belief refers to three faculties of the soul all working together in agreement: the intellect, the emotions and the will. Has the sinner consented intellectually to the facts of the gospel? Does the sinner know who the Jesus of the Bible is? When the emotions kick in and the sinner grieves for having offended a holy God and becomes afraid of going to hell the lost person has gone beyond the realm of factual belief and intellect. A sinner can know what he should do (intellect) and he can feel certain that he should do it (emotion), but if he is not willing (volition) he will die and go to hell.
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness” (Rom. 10:10). How can you tell that you believe with your heart? You can tell you believe with your heart when you rely on a thing: you trust it, you lean on it. The question is “what are you relying on to keep you out of hell?” Heart belief is when you go beyond the bare facts of the gospel and make them yours personally so that you are totally relying on what Jesus Christ did for you to get to heaven.
Generally speaking, when a man believes in his heart and receives Christ as his Saviour, it will come out of his mouth in prayer as he calls upon the name of the Lord (Rom. 10:10,13). The heart and mouth, spiritually, are connected for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). There is no set formula for calling upon the name of the Lord for salvation. I wouldn’t try to talk someone out of their salvation because they didn’t express themselves exactly as I would. I certainly wouldn’t try to convince someone they trusted Christ the wrong way because they used the expression “I asked Jesus into my heart”; even though I don’t think it is an accurate description of the means of salvation. The key is that the sinner has a clear understanding in his heart and has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection and is not merely trusting in a vain repetition of words. For our part, we should be as unambiguous as possible as we reason with men regarding the eternal destination of their soul.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” – Romans 10:9
The Heart of the Matter, Part 1
There are many symbols associated with Valentine’s Day and with the expression of love but the primary one is the heart. Amble around any shopping center during this time of year and you will find heart-shaped jewelry, heart-shaped chocolates, and of course hearts decorating valentine cards. But the heart is certainly much more than just a symbol to express love.
The heart is the central organ in the body and is obviously critical to physical life. By an easy transition the word came to stand for man’s entire inner life of mental, emotional and moral activity. In other words, the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life – the real man. And so, the word “heart” has found itself used symbolically in such expressions as heart-warming, big-hearted, hard-hearted, and phrases like, “I love you with all my heart.”
The word “heart” is found in the Bible over 800 times. Obviously, there are times when it is used to speak of the bodily organ but it is also used in regards to the inner man. In this sense, the word “heart” in the Bible refers to three faculties of the soul: the intellect (Lk. 1:51; 2:35; 5:22; Jn. 12:40; Ex. 28:3), the emotions (Lk. 21:26; 24:32; Jn. 16:22; Rom. 9:2; 2 Cor. 2:4) and the will (Acts 11:23; Rom. 6:17; 10:1; Eph. 6:6; Ex. 35:5).
God knows the hearts of men (Jer. 17:10), searches the hearts of men (1 Chron. 28:9), discerns the motives of the hearts of men (Ps. 44:21) and holds the love of the hearts of men to be of so great importance that the “first and greatest commandment” is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart” (Matt. 22:37). It should be noted that the word “heart” is absent from the Second Commandment. That is, if God is first in the heart, loving your neighbor takes care of itself (Matt. 22:39).
The sinner must believe in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 10:9), he must obey from the heart that form of doctrine delivered to him (Rom. 6:17), and Christ is to dwell in his heart by faith (Eph. 3:17).
A sound heart is not merely a heart where the valves and ventricles function properly but a heart that loves God (Mk. 12:30) and loves His word (Ps. 119:140) and His people (Jn. 13:35) and that is purified by faith (Acts 15:9) and has its affections set on things above (Col. 3:1-3).
Heart trouble in the Bible is not merely fat around the heart (Ps. 119:70) or heart failure (Lk. 21:26) or a weak heart (Gen. 45:26), but hardening of the heart (Heb. 3:15) and corruption of the heart (Ps. 14:1).
What a man enjoys thinking about in his deepest nature, in his heart, defines who that man really is (Prov. 23:7). The imagination found in man’s heart (Gen. 6:5) is that inner life which every fallen son of Adam has; it is not what man thinks about when he is making an effort to write or think. Thoughts of the heart are those thoughts which occur in daydreaming, wishful thinking, plotting and planning, magnifying self by imaginary situations, conjuring up tragic situations in which self is the victim, just to name a few.
The hearts of men are the next thing to hell and destruction (Prov. 15:11); God watches all three of them simultaneously since they have a lot in common. Since a man speaks out of the abundance of his heart (Matt. 12:34,35), many hearts spew forth the fires of hell (Jam. 3:6). The cursing and bitterness that characterizes much American speech is indicative of a heart that is more acquainted with garbage, filth, pornography, a vile imagination, a seared conscience, and a defiled mind than the items listed in Philippians 4:8. Our speech mirrors the condition of our heart.
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool” (Prov. 28:26). The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). One’s heart can erroneously approve of that which is wrong while condemning that which is right. The imaginations of the heart can be evil continually (Gen 8:21). Thirteen abominations proceed from the heart and defile the man (Mk. 7:21,22). The heart is far from God (Mk. 7:6). Backsliding begins in the heart (Prov. 14:14).
The natural heart is no good; a new one is needed (Eze. 36:26). The heart is cleansed by God (Ps. 51:10), needs to be fixed on God (Ps. 112:7), and should always fear God (Deut. 5:29). A “pure heart” (Matt. 5:8; 1 Pet. 1:22) is unobtainable without the new birth (1 Pet. 1:23; Jn. 3:3).
The heart is of such a nature that only by extreme humiliations and disappointments does it seem to get better (Ecc. 7:3). God pleads for the heart of the saint (Prov. 23:26), not his head. If a man loves anything more than he loves God, then he is an idolater. Profession without heart devotion means nothing at all.
The heart is the chief organ of physical life because it pumps blood throughout the body, and “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). Just as critical to man’s spiritual life is the heart, the inner man. God demands our whole heart – intellect, emotions, and will – and He has given man the great responsibility of keeping it in the right condition.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” – Proverbs 4:23
Mount Abarim Field Conference
Mount Abarim Baptist Mission International is an international missionary endeavor that provides vital services to missionaries and their local church sponsors worldwide. One of the reasons I prayerfully chose Mount Abarim was because they believe the local church is to be the sending agency; and Mount Abarim serves rather than sends missionaries while serving under the authority of the local church.
At the time of its founding, Mount Abarim served missionary families in Mexico. Each year a field conference was held in Mexico where supporting churches could attend and hear reports of how the Lord was blessing the works in Mexico as well as hear of their needs. The Lord has since allowed Mount Abarim to see its ministries expand around the world to over twenty countries. The field conference continues to be held annually in Mexico where updates from around the world are shared with pastors who attend. This year’s conference was held in the city of Acapulco.
It was a busy week. I was challenged by great preaching from the visiting pastors as well as missionary testimonies from Spain, Equitorial Guinea, Mexico, and Ghana. I had the privilege of sharing my burden to reach Italian souls for Christ on Tuesday. I was able to network with the pastors in attendance and book meetings for the upcoming year. I enjoyed the fellowship with my Uncle Roger and Aunt Brenda, as well as others in attendance at the conference. I also enjoyed passing out several hundred gospel tracts written in Spanish throughout the week. However, the pinnacle of the conference for me was Wednesday when a group of us traveled to the children’s homes in Tlapa.
We left Acapulco at 5:00 in the morning for a six hour drive up and down the winding mountainous roads to Tlapa. The Bethesda Children’s Homes care for boys and girls from the mountain villages of the Sierra Madre in southern Mexico. At the homes the children receive shelter, clothing, food, an education, and medical care. They are cared for by a loving staff who tend to their spiritual needs as well as their physical needs. They learn of God’s plan of salvation and attend church and daily Bible classes. Scripture memorization and Bible study are an important part of home life. Since the homes began in 1969, thousands of boys and girls have received Jesus Christ as their Saviour. These young people have been trained and returned to their villages as new creatures in Christ, carrying the gospel message with them to their families and friends.
When we arrived at the boy’s home I noticed five young boys staggered along the steps watching me. They were close to Isaiah’s age. I walked up to them and they began to giggle. I said, “What’s your name?” One little character parroted me, “What’s your name?” They all giggled again. I said, “My name is Stetson.” The same little boy parroted back, “My name is Stetson.” They giggled some more. Many of these children come from homes that were ravaged by idolatry, alcoholism, poverty, illiteracy, and abuse. As I went from room to room I couldn’t help but notice the 12-inch square box under each of their beds that contained all of their life’s possessions. I think what struck me most was the smiles of the children. They were genuinely happy – it is a testimony to the power of love and prayer that has been showered on the children from those involved in this ministry. As I considered Isaiah and our little Pearl, I’m reminded once again that the greatest thing Sandy and I can provide them is not the “things” that clutter up our lives, nor would it be the contents of a 12-inch square box under their beds if they were stripped of all other life’s possessions, but rather the greatest thing we can give our children is a love of God and His Book and a love for others.
Another highlight of the Tlapa trip was the ride; certainly not because of the winding roads but rather because I was able to sit next to Lyle McCoy the entire trip. Lyle McCoy has been a missionary to the indigenous people of Mexico for 41 years (the Tlapaneco, Mixteco, and Nahuatl peoples). Bro. Lyle heard a missionary to the Indians of Brazil speak at his dad’s church in Lubbock when he was eleven and he knew the Lord was calling him to be a missionary. After he graduated from Tennessee Temple he began helping his father (Ralph McCoy, founder of Mount Abarim) with the work he had started in Cuernavaca, Mexico. While in Cuernavaca, Bro. Lyle grew acquainted with a Tlapaneco Indian who kept begging him to bring the gospel to his people. Bro. Lyle saw a tremendous need among the indigenous people of Mexico and he told me, “God filled my heart with a love for those people and I haven’t gotten over it yet.” Bro. Lyle also felt the crushing weight that if he did not take the gospel to them they would all perish and go to hell. I was greatly impressed with the fervent love of Bro. Lyle for the Indian people of Mexico and his brokenness over their spiritual need. I realize that if we are to accomplish anything for Christ in Italy it will be because God fills our hearts with a love for the Italian people that nothing can ever quench and His Spirit never lets us escape their utter hopelessness without a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive.” – Jeremiah 13:16,17