Some Clarifications
Aaron, Thank you for taking the time to write such a lengthy comment on my blog. I appreciate the time that must have gone into that. About asking Jesus into your heart… I am uncomfortable with the phrase "ask Jesus into your heart" because 1) it is never used in scripture to describe what is necessary to be saved and 2) it does not accurately represent what scripture declares is necessary to be saved and 3) I asked Jesus into my heart sincerely when I was 7 and was not saved. About "accepting" Christ... I am uncomfortable with the phrase "accept Christ" (though it's better than the above phrase because John talks about the need to receive Christ in his gospel and "accept" and "receive" can mean very close to the same thing. I still am uncomfortable with it, however, for the same reasons as above; it is undescriptive. Perhaps if the Christian community labored a bit (a lot?) more to explain what it meant specifically, then it would not be so devoid of meaning. Right now as I see it, it is simply a catch phrase used to summarize the call to the proper response to the gospel, yet few people really know what is being communicated when it's used. I know this because (many) people don't know the proper response to the gospel, so they can't possibly be inferring it from "accept Christ." About my general concern with phrases like these… I find it utterly refreshing to hear people say things like "I repented of my sin and trusted Christ for salvation when I was…" as part of their testimony, rather than "I accepted Christ at such and such an age." It is still quick and reasonable, but at least it describes the two necessary aspects of a saving response to the gospel, unlike many other phrases used. Again, I think that if we did a better job striving to make the meaning of the phrases we use clear, it wouldn't be such an issue. Along those lines, being explicit about what the phrases don't mean is important too, because different teachers may say they mean different things, and the people listening might not pick up on the contradiction unless the teacher explicitly states what he does not believe. About the prayer… I don't mean to be nitpicky, but God does not need our prayers to have a clear understanding of the change in our hearts. Here's how I would say what I think you're trying to say. Someone who has repented and put their trust in Christ will pray to God and confess their sin and express their faith in this tangible, visible way. If they do not, that could be a red flag that heart change hasn't actually takes place. Is this condition possibly what you mean by "we need to?" Correct me if I'm wrong. I definitely think having people repeat the prayer as a kind of rite of passage into Christianity is unbiblical and probably dangerous. Emotional sincerity at the time of the prayer is not a measure of the effectuality of that prayer, so a the caveat "only if you're sincere" is not really a sufficient caveat. It led me astray when I was 7. The only authoritative lexicon we have is the Scriptures, and the "prayer" is neither modeled, mandated, nor mentioned there. About rededication… Struggling through the faith (against indwelling sin) is a necessary and inherent aspect of becoming like Jesus. If you don't struggle against your sin, if you're not fighting it, you should be hard pressed to claim to follow Christ, because each of us is desperately wicked and were forgiven much and are children of light and flee from darkness. The author if Hebrews assumes we struggle (Heb 12:4). Paul struggled (Rom 7). Christians fight their sin, and sin is not beaten this side of eternity. Therefore, they will always fight. Sometimes the turmoil is totally inward and we don't see the struggle, and therefore we cannot ultimately decide whether someone is a Christian. However, some may act like it's wrong to ever be unsure or question someone's salvation. That seems to me to be perfectly legitimate. Why should I act like I'm sure of someone's salvation when their life doesn't line up with how the Bible describes. Why should I be assured of my own salvation if my life doesn't line up with how the Bible describes Christians? Those are my thoughts. I hope it helps.
