Editor's notation: This piece originally ran on CoreyFarr.com. It was republished here with permission.

"All you have to do is inquire Jesus into your eye." I'm certain you've heard information technology earlier. It'southward the classic evangelism tagline, and information technology makes me think of those ads on Facebook: Learning guitar doesn't take to exist complicated anymore! Acquire how to play amazing solos in only 15 minutes with my new method! Here'southward how I learned to make a million dollars a month working 10 hours a calendar week! Learn how to attain mindfulness and live an integrated life in three lessons!

Or for my personal favorite, cheque out this jewel that popped up in my newsfeed yesterday:

At present, please, don't get me wrong. I do not believe that making a determination to follow Christ has whatsoever prerequisites, every bit though yous had to qualify for it like taking out a mortgage or a car loan. Just I recall there are a few very problematic things with this worn-out cliché.

Jesus doesn't live in your heart

Jesus still has a human body, and that body has ascended as King to be seated "at the right hand of the Father." And whatever that metaphorical linguistic communication means (since the Father is not human being and does not accept a physical body, as far as we know), at the very least it means Jesus is still living and breathing, not setting upwardly a army camp in your pulmonary valve. This isn't some weird spin-off serial of the Magic School Jitney, where he shrinks himself downwardly to motion into your arteries.

Now, Paul does say that we are filled with the "Spirit of Christ," and many times over we hear that we are filled with the third person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself promised that he would be "with united states ever," only he said this in the context of proverb that the Father would ship the Holy Spirit to fill up united states and piece of work through us.

I don't want to divide hairs, hither. I don't think anyone in their right mind thinks that whatever of my caricatures above are true. People who talk about asking Jesus into their hearts would pretty much all agree (I hope) that being filled with the "Spirit of Christ" or the Holy Spirit is what they're actually talking near—and I don't have a trouble with that. But when nosotros employ that language, it can be tempting to forget one of the most crucial, radical, surprising, and utterly unprecedented doctrines: that God became human and is however human in the body of Jesus of Nazareth.

God-in-Jesus stooped from his place of "otherness" to become completely united with humanity, and in so doing he paved the way for all of humanity to be re-united with God. There is already one human in the throne-room of God, and every bit the "new Adam" he opened the door for the rest of usa. As Athanasius wrote, "He became what nosotros are that we might get what he is." And nosotros would exercise well to call up advisedly about our apply of language, lest we forget or diminish that marvelous truth.

Jesus didn't enquire the states to ask him into our hearts

Nosotros take plenty of examples of Jesus himself calling people to exist disciples, and he never used the Sinner's Prayer or the "just enquire me into your heart" lingo. He said things like follow me, take up your cantankerous, and leave everything behind. I don't recall I need to explicate how pregnant the difference is between these two on-ramps into a life of discipleship.

The thought of "salvation" (some other thing Jesus described with totally unlike language than we do) being reduced to a simple ask is pitiful. This isn't considering I think we need to try to make people do more than to "get saved." Information technology'due south because I think we are betraying the very middle of the Kingdom of God when nosotros reduce "salvation" to a couple cookie-cutter sentences.

I'k non advocating that nosotros need to earn God's forgiveness and acceptance. It'south that I call back we need to offer people more and call them to more if nosotros want "salvation" to have whatsoever real meaning at all. In my heed, the offer/call to pledge my allegiance to the Kingdom of God is compelling, whereas "just ask Jesus into your heart and get your sins forgiven" feels similar talking to a Cutco knife salesman or a guy in a trench coat selling me a knockoff Rolodex.

What does it even mean anyway?

When we utilise language as vague equally "enquire Jesus into your heart," we take to play a whole lot of catchup subsequently the bait and switch. To me, information technology doesn't seem fair to sell someone a production and only later explain what they're buying. This doesn't mean we need to lay out the entire story of Scripture, all the teachings of Christ, and all the theology of the Kingdom of God before someone can get a Jesus-follower (although, incidentally, the early church did exactly that past requiring at least two years of attendance and learning before allowing people to exist baptized). Merely we also tin can't make all of this stuff into a "terms of service" that we don't explain—and nobody reads—before we ask them to check the box and install the product, and then to speak. There has to exist a happy middle ground here.

Every bit I say in every postal service in this series: I don't think that every person who uses one of these platitude phrases is falling into all of the negative side effects that I point out. But as always, I retrieve it'southward important to critically consider the language we are using, considering our language shapes our understanding of reality. Grace and peace, everyone.