Do We Invite Jesus into our Hearts?

Is asking someone to ‘invite Jesus into their heart’ in order to be saved a correct form of evangelism? A mum once shared with me that her young son had asked how can someone as big as Jesus fit into his heart? What a great question!!

So what should we say to someone who may have been asked to ‘invite Jesus in their heart? Let’s consider the following:

The Heart is Wicked

The Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9).   Even King David asked God to create in him a clean heart (Psalm 51:10).  

Repentance and Faith

If we have deliberate wickedness in our hearts, then God will not hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18). In order for our heart, mind and spirit to be cleansed from sin, there first needs to be repentance and faith.  But this is not our work (we don’t invite Jesus into our heart and we’re automatically saved), it is a work only God can do.

See the Gospel tab at the top of this page for more details

Where is Jesus?

Here is a clear example of why we need to read and understand the Scriptures accurately. Those who like to claim that Jesus lives in our hearts are forgetting that He is currently in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father and interceding for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 10:12).  Just before his death, Stephen had the privilege to see Jesus standing at the right hand of God in heaven (Acts 7:55-56).

The Holy Spirit

Before Jesus ascended to heaven He promised us another helper. This helper is the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Ephesians 3:17 is often misused to allow people to believe that Jesus can live in our hearts.  But if you read Ephesians 3:16 you will see that Paul is actually referring to the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit who enables our faith in Jesus to grow.

Re-align with God’s Word

Whilst asking someone to invite Jesus into their heart sounds honourable and good, if we don’t follow this up with a clear gospel message, we risk allowing someone to assume they’re saved when they’re not.

But, by being genuinely saved (through faith and repentance) and acknowledging Jesus as Lord, we are inviting Christ through the Holy Spirit to change our hearts (see Ezekiel 36:26).  Our newly cleansed heart and spirit enables us to live a life in which we want to honourably and truthfully serve Christ.  We are also given the added assurance that Jesus hears our prayers as He intercedes for us in heaven.