"Accepting Jesus into your Heart" in the Bible???

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I think the concept is biblically sound, IF:
  1. We remember that conversion is daily and lifelong process and we must constantly take Jesus into our hearts.
  2. We remember that our hearts are simply muscles for pumping blood. Our brains are the seat of thought and emotion. Thus, “accepting Jesus into your heart” has more to do with fidelity to and the will to follow Him than some emotional experience where we get high and happy. It’s a beautiful metaphor, but it is nonetheless a metaphor. Lots of people who “accept Jesus into their hearts” find themselves talking to people who are also just as Christian, yet who do not and would not use that metaphor, and the former seem adament about the metaphor instead of the reality.
 
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MariaG:
I reverted to the Catholic Church so I could help Catholics become truly “saved”. I found Christians with a deeply personal prayer life and relationship with Christ.

Catholics may do more, but only because they are told they must? Really. And you wonder why sometimes you get negative reactions? Are your preconceived notions so deeply held that you cannot see how deeply insulting and bigotted that comment is? It is wrong on so many theological levels, I won’t get into it here, but truly, do you think you are speaking truth when you make comments like that?

Catholics do not do more because we are told we must, but because if one truly has faith, it will be shown by our works.

Acutally, I guess maybe you are right. We *do, *do it because we are told we must.
:bible1: James 2:14 - 17 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be wamed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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I don’t think it is bigotted I think it is reality, a sad reality at that. But 99% of the Catholics I know think you will go to hell if you don’t do everything the church tells you to. They actually seem to think they are working thier way to heaven, as if they could save themselves. Then what good is the cross?? Now I really don’t know if that’s what the church believes or not, but that is my experience. There are a few nice, really devoted people in the church who are actually looking to be good because they love God, but just from what I’ve seen they are sparse, and most people there just do things automatically.

And I’m not just picking on Catholics. It is the same in the Seventh day adventist church. I had actually hoped there would be people there who liked doing good because they knew it pleased Jesus,and I was pleased to find - about 2. And a bunch of politics and fear. One of my best friend’s is disabled and has to rely on that church a lot and they always treat her like a piece of junk even while thier helping her out materially.

I’m just saying there is a huge difference when people who believe they are saved by grace go out and do good for others, and when people who think they have to earn thier way to heaven do it because they feel they must.

But it’s still better than not doing anything! I mean if I needed something I would rather get it from a person with the wrong heart than not at all.
 
And the thing I don’t understand is how is it that people can say they are Catholic and not even be Christian? My husband works with a lady who’s “Catholic” and goes to mass all the time, she also steals, does drugs, sleeps around, and refers to protestants as “Christians” in a snide tone of voice, like being one is a bad thing and certainly she ISN’T a Christian!

How can SO many people just go through the motions of thier religion and have no relationship with God whatsoever?

I’m not saying that saying the Jesus prayer is going to change everything for them, but maybe it’d be a good start!
 
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Christian4life:
And the thing I don’t understand is how is it that people can say they are Catholic and not even be Christian? My husband works with a lady who’s “Catholic” and goes to mass all the time, she also steals, does drugs, sleeps around, and refers to protestants as “Christians” in a snide tone of voice, like being one is a bad thing and certainly she ISN’T a Christian!

How can SO many people just go through the motions of thier religion and have no relationship with God whatsoever?

I’m not saying that saying the Jesus prayer is going to change everything for them, but maybe it’d be a good start!
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You are correct. I would not consider this woman a christian either. But who are we to judge her. Going into a church makes one a christian like going into a McDonalds makes one a hamburger. It doesn’t work that way. Being Catholic is no gaurantee that a person is going to heaven. Are all Protestants going to heaven? I think not. Don’t you know any better Catholics than this woman? If not you need to look around. We are out there. I have met Protestants who have told me to my face that I am not saved. I will be in hell when I die! When did they become Jesus? Only Jesus has the right to judge me. “Judge not lest you be judged.” Does not mean we cannot judge others actions, it means we should not judge others hearts and souls. We do not have that right.
James
 
It is so interesting, this question of works vrs grace. I think it brings up the broader question of motivation. There are so many people who get hung up on the notion of “going to heaven”, as though this were a goal in and of itself. In a way, perhaps it’s not. Perhaps there is something a little suspect about that.Perhaps good work comes of grace, comes of love for all who are suffering. At which point, one is not particularly obsessed with saving oneself, but with saving others.
Are we working only to save ourselves? That would contradict everything we know about grace. To really live with grace would be to experience a sort of amnesia towards our own “salvation” agenda and focus on the sufferings of others.
And isn’t that where the concept of real physical union (sacrifice) comes in? To give oneself: not philosophically, which can be so terribly smug and reserved, an excuse for looking down on someone suffering from ignorance, but literally giving one’s physical self over to whatever cause is needed. This cannot be on a to-do list, is not always convenient, is not part of one’s agenda for self-saving.
For me, the realization begin to collate around motherhood.
Forgive my rambling. I am still thinking all of this through. What is revelatory for me is probably old hat for some of you. And I am not quite certain. I only know that love for God is not motivated by self interest, but by love. Otherwise, the church would be a sort of spiritual spa.
Lil’
 
posted by Christianforlife
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I don’t think it is bigotted I think it is reality, a sad reality at that. But 99% of the Catholics I know think you will go to hell if you don’t do everything the church tells you to. They actually seem to think they are working thier way to heaven, as if they could save themselves. Then what good is the cross?? Now I really don’t know if that’s what the church believes or not, but that is my experience. There are a few nice, really devoted people in the church who are actually looking to be good because they love God, but just from what I’ve seen they are sparse, and most people there just do things automatically.
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No. The Catholic Church does not believe that a person can work their way to heaven. A person cannot save themselves through good works.

Next, you are mixing apples and oranges. Whether a Catholic Christian thinks they can “earn” their way to heaven through good works and whether or not they believe that the Catholic Church teaches truth and one must be a faithful to that truth or risk going to hell are two separate issues.

The first one, as I said above, is not the teaching of the Catholic Church. No one can earn their way to heaven. This has always been the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Your remark
"Catholics may do more, but only because they are told they must. "

First question: Who told them (and you) they “must” do good works to get to heaven?

Second, let’s replace it with a race or nationality.
African Americans may do more, but only because they are told they must.
Japanese may do more, but only because they are told they must.
Americans may do more, but only because they are told they must.

Still think it wasn’t bigoted?

The teaching of the Catholic Church is that the grace of God is a free gift that we can accept or reject and nothing we can do can earn us a spot in heaven.

I am truly sorry that 99% of the Catholics you know seem to think they can earn their way to heaven. But I also wonder if your perception is wrong. You thought, (I hope now you understand that you were wrong?) that Catholics think good works earn their way to heaven. Now that you understand(?) that this is not the teaching of the Catholic Church, maybe you can go and look with new eyes what you think you see.

And if your perception was not wrong, if the Catholics you meet do think the Catholic Church teaches that you can earn your way to heaven, you can kindly tell them that earning their way to heaven is not the teaching of the Catholic Church and possibly direct them here for more research.

It is always easier to bring the truth of Christ to a Catholic within the Catholic Church than to draw them out. Many people are culturally Catholic, even ones who go to Church every Sunday may not truly understand the teachings of the Catholic Church. If a Catholic believes they can earn their way to heaven, they do not need another Church with the “real” gospel. They need to understand the real teaching of the Catholic Church and they will hear the gospel of Christ.

God Bless,
Maria
 
Greetings Church

I was born and raised Protestant. In 1955, converted to the Catholic faith. In the Late 1960s, became Catholic Charismatic. Whata does that make me? Simply this:

I am a Born Again, Spirit Filled, Sacrament Loving, Bible thumping, hand waving, foot stomping**, tongue talken, **Trinity Praising, Washed in the Blood of the Lamb, ROMAN CATHOLIC.

Did I accept Jesus into my heart? Every Catholic should, we call it “Conversion”, Metanoia…
Catholics and Protestants tend to get hung up on vernacular.

Catholics even do among themselves. Sometimes it is good to stop and just think.
 
carol marie:
Rev 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door *(of your heart) *and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…

That’s the verse I’ve most often heard to support asking Jesus into your heart. I just looked it up in my Bible though so I could copy it correctly and get this - when used in this way, the verse always ends there but now as I’m reading it in my Bible I see that’s not the end! It continues…

… I will come in AND EAT WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME.

Hmm… eating. That hardly sounds like "symbolically coming into your heart? :confused:
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very intersting point, I have never noticed this before! good job!
 
My thoughts get jumbled when I think of this topic. I remember the first time someone gave me a “have you been saved” pamplet, and I was so confused. It said I could be saved right here and now, and all I had to do was invite the Lord into my Heart by saying a sinner’s prayer!

I had the knowledge that if God ceased to think about me for one moment that I would no longer exist…Jesus told me to love my brother as myself, and I had been working to do just that, and it is hard. I have to forgive people who truly hurt me, and I’m not rich, but I understand that I have to give money to help others, I talk to everyone and say hello, I try to brighten days for my brothers and sisters, I truly do. My prayer life is ongoing throughout the day…saying good morning God, I love you…Thank you Jesus when my children smile…

And here is someone handing me a book telling me to have Jesus in my heart.

DUH…
He has been there for a long, long time Brother…
 
carol marie:
Rev 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door *(of your heart) *and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…

That’s the verse I’ve most often heard to support asking Jesus into your heart. I just looked it up in my Bible though so I could copy it correctly and get this - when used in this way, the verse always ends there but now as I’m reading it in my Bible I see that’s not the end! It continues…

… I will come in AND EAT WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME.

Hmm… eating. That hardly sounds like "symbolically coming into your heart? :confused:
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Ok, I had to reply to this. I do use this verse, the whole verse, to support my belief that it is important to ask Christ into your heart. The first part of the verse is very clear, Jesus knocks on our heart’s door desiring to come in, but it is up to us whether or not we will let Him in. The second part of the verse is symbolic. What do you do when a friend comes into your house? You might serve him dinner and eat with him. Jesus desires to be our friend. Why use the term “let Him into your heart?” Because the heart is symbolically where our emotions come from. We love someone “with all of our heart”. Some use the term “follow your heart”. Jesus is speaking symbolically here. By the way, what do you think this verse symbolizes? Or do you take it to literally mean that Christ comes into our actual heart to eat with us?
I just looked this verse up in my Bible and I would like to quote the commentary in the footnotes because I think it further describes my beliefs…
“Jesus knocks at the door of our heart because he wants to save us and have fellowhsip with us. He is patient and persistent in trying to get through to us - not breaking and entering, but knocking. He allows us to decide whether or not to open our life to him. Do you intentionally keep his life-changing presence and power on the other side of the door?”
I thought that was interesting and worth quoting.
 
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amanda_nicole82:
By the way, what do you think this verse symbolizes? Or do you take it to literally mean that Christ comes into our actual heart to eat with us?
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Rev. 3:20 - as Priest and Paschal Lamb, our Lord shares the Eucharistic meal with us to seal His New Covenant. Through the covenant of his body and blood, we are restored to the Father and become partakers of the divine nature.
 
Mickey said:
Rev. 3:20 - as Priest and Paschal Lamb, our Lord shares the Eucharistic meal with us to seal His New Covenant. Through the covenant of his body and blood, we are restored to the Father and become partakers of the divine nature.
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So putting it all into context, are you saying this verse means that one takes the Eucharist after accepting Christ into their heart?
 
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amanda_nicole82:
So putting it all into context, are you saying this verse means that one takes the Eucharist after accepting Christ into their heart?
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There is a book available by Dr Scott Hahn called, “The Lamb’s Supper”. It talks in-depth about the Eucharistic Liturgy and how it relates to the book of Revelation. It is a very good read!

The following is a quote from Dr Scott Hahn:

**…near the end of the seventh letter, come the words I’ve heard Billy Graham preach so many times: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in” (Rev. 3:20). I noticed that Billy Graham had always stopped right there. I’ll come in—what, to your heart? If you keep reading, Jesus says, “I will come in—and sup with him and he with me.” Just what supper is he talking about? That’s when it became obvious to me as I moved into chapters four and five of Revelation: Christ is talking about the Communion supper.

I realized that in the Mass I was really seeing on earth what was taking place in the heavenly liturgy that John describes in the Apocalypse. And then, on the pages of the Book of Revelation, I realized just how significant, how dramatic—how world-changing—the sacrificial worship of the Church on earth is. We are alongside the angels and the saints, singing the same songs, offering the same prayers, and watching God step into history and intervene decisively to deliver his people, or to bring down judgment, or to do whatever’s necessary to advance the kingdom** **of Jesus Christ.
**
 
I guess I would have thought it was from Rom 10:9:

For 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.

Believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead is accepting who Jesus is…

Phil
 
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amanda_nicole82:
So putting it all into context, are you saying this verse means that one takes the Eucharist after accepting Christ into their heart?
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It means that part of “accepting Christ” is accepting:
  • Not only His Real Presence in the Eucharist, but also
  • His Church and it’s authority:
    • To Baptize
    • To Bind and Loose Sins
    • To be the “pillar and foundation of truth” …
    Phil
 
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Mickey:
There is a book available by Dr Scott Hahn called, “The Lamb’s Supper”. It talks in-depth about the Eucharistic Liturgy and how it relates to the book of Revelation. It is a very good read!

The following is a quote from Dr Scott Hahn:

**…near the end of the seventh letter, come the words I’ve heard Billy Graham preach so many times: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in” (Rev. 3:20). I noticed that Billy Graham had always stopped right there. I’ll come in—what, to your heart? If you keep reading, Jesus says, “I will come in—and sup with him and he with me.” Just what supper is he talking about? That’s when it became obvious to me as I moved into chapters four and five of Revelation: Christ is talking about the Communion supper.

I realized that in the Mass I was really seeing on earth what was taking place in the heavenly liturgy that John describes in the Apocalypse. And then, on the pages of the Book of Revelation, I realized just how significant, how dramatic—how world-changing—the sacrificial worship of the Church on earth is. We are alongside the angels and the saints, singing the same songs, offering the same prayers, and watching God step into history and intervene decisively to deliver his people, or to bring down judgment, or to do whatever’s necessary to advance the kingdom** **of Jesus Christ.
**
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Thanks for the info, it’s all very good. However you didn’t really answer my question. BTW, the whole verse is proof to me that it is important to recieve Christ into one’s heart as I explained before. Reverend Graham was most likely emphasizing the part of the verse that went along with the particular sermon he was preaching.
That’s a verse to quote for this topic Phil, and further proof for me of the importance of recieving Christ into your heart.
So Mickey, you don’t have to answer the question I asked earlier if you don’t want to.
In Christ,
Amanda
 
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amanda_nicole82:
Thanks for the info, it’s all very good. However you didn’t really answer my question. BTW, the whole verse is proof to me that it is important to recieve Christ into one’s heart as I explained before. Reverend Graham was most likely emphasizing the part of the verse that went along with the particular sermon he was preaching.
That’s a verse to quote for this topic Phil, and further proof for me of the importance of recieving Christ into your heart.
So Mickey, you don’t have to answer the question I asked earlier if you don’t want to.
In Christ,
Amanda
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Forgive me Amanda, I was all set to answer in my own words, when I read Phil’s post # 57. I had to delete mine because I answered it very similar. Thanks Phil! 😃

God bless you Amanda,
Mickey
 
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