Search

Living Theologically

theology and the Christian life

Open Search
Tag

Gospel

Is Jesus in my Heart?

I used to go to a Christian camp every summer when I was a kid. Almost every year I would be encouraged to “let Jesus into my heart.” I was already a Christian, so this invitation confused me. I know others who always felt pressured and guilty that maybe they sent the invitation to the wrong place or forgot the stamp? Maybe Jesus only visited their heart last year, and this year they hope he chooses to stay. It’s a confusing invitation: letting Jesus into your heart.

What’s that even mean, really? Is it a one-time invitation, and then we’re set for life? Or is it a habitual invitation that we need to keep on issueing so he doesn’t leave?

key with heart
What Does the Bible Mean by “The Heart”
Loving Jesus with your heart isn’t about having warm fuzzies about Jesus. In the Ancient Near East (Egypt, Israel, and the general Mesopotamia region), the heart was treated as the center of a person’s identity. If you want to understand what it means to have God in your heart, you need to know what the Bible means when it talks about your heart.

The heart was the center of people’s mind and thoughts.

“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)

“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

“Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.” (Proverbs 14:33)

The heart drove their desires, decision-making and how they lived their lives (the will). 

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.” (Exodus 25:2)

It also directed people’s feelings and emotions.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)

“Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17)

“You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.” (Song of Songs 4:9)

To summarize: the heart is way more than butterflies in your stomach. To love Jesus with your heart is to love him with your whole being – with your mind, your desires, your feelings, and with your decisions. Feelings and emotions are not bad, but there’s a problem when they are in the driver’s seat of faith.

Whom Are You Inviting: Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
“Letting Jesus into your heart” would be a really strange idea to the apostles. Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity in human flesh. He is fully God, but since he’s also fully human, he could only be in one place at one time… that’s what Scripture means when it says he “humbled” himself and “emptied” himself in Philippians 2:6-8. How could Jesus enter someone’s heart!?

When a person places their faith in Jesus and prays for God to rescue him from sin and guide him into godliness it is not Jesus who “moves in” to the heart. God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to moves in when the heart places its faith in Jesus.

“And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:27)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever”(John 14:15–16)

“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:14)

“In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22)

How We Should Use This Phrase (if you choose to use it at all)
When talking with nonChristians, inviting them to “let Jesus into their heart” is really confusing. It even sounds a bit creepy if you think about it. If you do use this phrase, please remember how the Bible talks about “the heart,” and resist the temptation to make this a sentimental and mushy invitation to become a Christian.

Christianity shouldn’t be built on an emotional high where we cry, pray a “sinner’s prayer,” invite Jesus into our heart, and then we move on like nothing happened. Unfortunately, that’s what often happens when people use this phrase as an explanation of what it means to be a Christian.

Instead, consider the biblical teaching about the heart, described above. Invite nonbelievers to know and experience the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ our Savior. Receiving that grace drives us to love the Lord with all our heart, because living for the glory of God changes us. Encourage new believers (and those who are considering faith, but not yet believers) to remember the call to faith is more than a call to respond to emotional moments.

When we love Jesus we will do what he says, and he will give us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us so we’re able to carry out his teachings (John 14:15-16, quoted above). We are not left on our own to figure out our faith. When we place our faith in Christ we discover that not only does God move in, he gives us a new heart!

It is not Jesus who indwells the believer, but the Holy Spirit. May we all be strengthened to remember the authority and glory of the Holy Spirit, who is active at work in the life of the Christian. May we all resist the emotionalism that sometimes comes with this phrase, and instead, embrace the incredible reality that God is actively working out his plan of salvation from the inside-out in the lives of his people.

(note: this article first appeared on my former blog in January, 2016. This version has been slightly edited to better fit here at Living Theologically.)

0

The Gospel and the Pursuit of Racial Unity

Talking about race and ethnicity is dangerous. You’ll probably say something wrong and hurtful along the way. But if you’re courageous and willing to walk the long road together then real progress can be made.

In the Church it’s essential for us to keep the gospel central in all things, including how we talk about and pursue racial harmony. The following is a simple attempt to clarify how the gospel drives the pursuit of racial unity.

Skyscrapers

Worshipping Christ Together
The gospel is the “good news” of salvation and new life. It is the announcement that our sin has been forgiven through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because we are now “in Christ” through faith, “we are a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The gospel is not only for one ethnic group, but for “all peoples” of the earth (Matthew 28:20, Acts 1:17). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:18).

We are united by faith with brothers and sisters of all skin color, language, and cultures. We worship Christ together and are adopted into one Christian family as children of God (John 1:12).

Racism divides. The gospel unites. When we kneel before the Lord, may our worship here on earth reflect our worship in glory where we will be surrounded by all tribes, nations, and languages. If your church is filled with people who look the same then you’re missing out on a foretaste of heavenly worship.

This isn’t only a critique of White-churches, but of Black-churches, Asian-churches, Hispanic-churches, etc. Your ethnicity and culture matters. Embrace that. But seek opportunities to partner with brothers and sisters of faith who are different than you as a reminder that the Church is bigger and more diverse than your local congregation. Worship the Lord Jesus together.

Loving One Another Starts With Listening
The Great Commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). The gospel is the pathwway to loving God the way we ought. We love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19), and how he loved us was through the message of the gospel.

But we cannot love our neighbor as ourselves if we won’t listen to our neighbor. As we consider the events of the past week and all the racial tension in our country, may our hearts be broken for one another. Black lives matter. Police lives matter. All lives matter because we’ve been created in the image of God.

Let’s put aside the anger and put on love for one another. I understand that’s easier for me to say since I’m neither African American nor a police officer. But we cannot move forward towards healing and unity if we allow ourselves to be filled with anything other than love.

I am convinced that in the pursuit of racial unity, love begins with open eyes and open ears.

3

Every Christian Has Baggage

In fact, not only does every Christian have baggage… every Christian NEEDS baggage! You simply cannot be a Christian if you are unaware of the skeletons in your closet. Maybe your baggage isn’t severe, you’ve never been to jail… but every Christian need to be aware of their own sin and great need for God.

Some people say that Christianity is only for the weak. They’re right! If you think you have your act together and that you don’t need to be forgiven, you don’t need mercy or grace, and you don’t need God’s strength to make you strong… then you may call yourself what you want, but you cannot truly be a Christian.

Continue reading “Every Christian Has Baggage” →

0

Milk, Meat, or Soda?

Which best describes your teaching… Milk, Meat, or Soda?

As youth pastors. We are often tasked with feeding our “sheep” milk. We often minister to nonChristian teens, to students who are new believers, and to those who are doubting their faith (whether they admit it to us or not). These are not people who need spiritual meat, they need milk.

Continue reading “Milk, Meat, or Soda?” →

0

Suffering Will Harden or Humble You

I found out last night that one of my neighbors has cancer. He’s going through Chemo-therapy and it sounds like the doctors are hopeful, but your prayers for him are appreciated. I’d rather not share his name, but if you pray for Pastor Mike’s neighbor then I’m pretty sure God will know who you’re talking about 🙂

That conversation made me think about how suffering can either harden your heart or humble you. The great lie, especially for a man who’s still “in his prime,” is that we are in control. Suffering pulls the mask off our weakness so that our weakness is clearly visible to everyone, ourselves included.

What do you do when confronted with the reality of your weakness and lack-of-control? 

Do you shake your fist at God and say “How dare you!” Do you look through your tears and say “Why me?” I’m guessing it’s probably some combination of the two.

But in the midst of the hard questions that you may never have answered, are you able to say, “God, I don’t understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing this, but I trust you and I need you to be my strength?”

Ultimately, Christian suffering finds its hope and meaning through the cross of Jesus Christ. 

He who was innocent (Jesus) suffered for those who were guilty (you and me). We have hope because Jesus not only died, but conquered death.

If Jesus suffered, why do we think we won’t? Do we think a life of comfort is more appealing than a life spent following Christ?

The Christian trusts God’s control, not his own.

We don’t know all the answers. We know some… and we have partial answers to others. But we simply cannot explain why God does some of the things he does. What we do know is that he is good and we can trust him.

The humble heart does not cry out for God to follow our rules, as if God owes us something.

Lament, mourn, and cry out to God with your hard questions. God is not afraid of being challenged by you. He is not intimidated by your shaking fists. You are allowed to question him.

But remember your place. I recently read through the book of Job, where God finally responds to Job’s pleads for an explanation over his suffering (Job 40:7-14):

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:

7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

8 “Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12 look at all who are proud and humble them,
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.

Here is my prayer for my neighbor:

Heavenly Father,
     In the midst of my friend’s suffering, be his strength and hope. Make yourself known to him and his family. In this time where death is so near, use this season of weakness and uncertainty to give them eternal life through Jesus Christ. Heal and restore him to health. Guide and bless the doctors and nurses who are caring for him and give them great wisdom and skill as they do their life-sustaining, life-healing work.
Give my friend and his family humble hearts, ones that lean into you when they see their weakness. Give them courage and honesty to give voice to their doubts and their questions, and guide them to your Scriptures as the fountain of Truth. And open for me a door through which I may be of service.
AMEN

0

What Do You Need to Know to be Saved?

Man in Church

This is an important question, because it directly affects how you present the Gospel to an unbeliever.

 

Minimalist & Heavy-Handed Examples
For instance, if you take a minimalist approach then you’ll probably share the “Gospel” like this:

God loves you and wants more for you than you’re experiencing. You need to receive his love and choose to love him back!

But where’s the actual Gospel in there? There’s no Jesus, no cross, no resurrection, and no confession of sin or repentance. There’s very little “knowledge” in there, and I’m afraid that many Christians today share the Gospel far more like the above example than they realize. Continue reading “What Do You Need to Know to be Saved?” →

1

Costly Grace

I don’t want to comment on this other than to say this paragraph is perhaps the most life-shaping paragraph that isn’t Scripture I’ve ever read. Read it slowly, and often…

“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

0

The Most Important Thing I Know

Three of the hardest words for me to say are these: “I don’t know.”

I hate saying it, and yet I know how much I don’t know… I just don’t want YOU to know how much I don’t know!

One of my professors in seminary (Dr. Garth Rossell) once said, “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of ignorance.” I’ve always remembered that, because it’s so true. The more you learn, the more you discover you have no idea. I think that’s why I like education and reading so much, because there’s always another question to ask and another perspective to discover.

But, ultimately, we weren’t created to know everything. We were made to know it all. That’s why it’s so humbling to confess “I don’t know” – it’s a recognition that I’m not God, I’m not omniscient, and I have very limited knowledge. Ever since Eden we’ve wanted God’s place, and we’ve been tempted to think we know more than we really do.

Tomorrow is my defense for my doctoral thesis, and tonight I’m reminded that the most important thing I know is this…

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.(John 3:16-17)

2

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑