My Master offers a beautiful illustration to the Christians of Laodicea. They were guilty of not having the kind of zeal that Christ demands of His followers. After rebuking them, He offers them an invitation…

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Revelation 3:19-21

Yesterday we looked at this verse and noticed how Jesus was inviting unmotivated Christians to come back to Him and be “on fire” for Him again.

From this text, however, a false teaching has sprung up. There is a phrase that is commonly used with regards to salvation:

“Ask Jesus to come into your heart.”

You will find no such phrase anywhere in the Bible. The closest you can get to it, is the invitation of Jesus here in this text. But notice that Jesus is speaking to Christians. Do not take this text and try and apply it to the lost person in need of Christ’s blood. Apply it to the brother or sister in Christ who has lost his zeal for the Lord.

If you are a lost person in need of His blood , do not ask Jesus to come into your heart!

Again: If you’re not a Christian, Jesus doesn’t want your heart! If you’re not a Christian, your heart is black and marred by sin. Jesus doesn’t want to be in your sinful heart! He wants to take your heart soul and mind and remake it into a holy heart and a sanctified soul. But He doesn’t do that by coming into you heart.

He does that by washing your sins away.

The next time you sing “Just as I am” remember that He wants to save you, no matter how sinful you may be. Just as you are, He’ll save you. But “Just as I am” is only half of it. He’ll take you just as you are, but He won’t let you stay just as you are! He’ll make you something new.

And it starts with Him washing your sins away. Once those sins are cleansed, then Jesus will dwell with you and you with Him.

So what about you? Are your sins washed in His blood? He shed His blood so that you can obtain remission of sins (Matthew 26:28). Why not repent of your sins and be baptized. Why?

So that you can obtain remission of sins (Acts 2:38) and wash your sins away (Acts 22:16)!