Originally posted on Saturday, July 14, 2007.  All rights reserved.  Text may not be copied or quoted in any way.

 

Rev. 3:20 ~ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

All right, who thinks this is an evangelistic verse? Who has a picture of Jesus standing at a door alone, knocking, just waiting for someone to open the door and let him in? Who has told someone that the way to be saved is to open the door and let Jesus in?

Well, sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but this verse isn’t applicable as an evangelistic verse. It was written to the church in Laodicea, which was a group of believers that had become “lukewarm” in their deeds. Despite being believers in Jesus Christ (Christians), they had broken fellowship by essentially being self-sufficient. They had an inflated view of their own goodness as opposed to recognizing their needs. It was as if they had everything and thus did not need fellowship with Christ. Did they do as He commanded? Or did they just piously shun people and focus only on themselves? Did they reach out to the needy with the love of Christ (realizing that apart from His grace they were just the same) or did they look the other way?

Jesus wanted fellowship with them! While their salvation was not in question, they were not living as Jesus would have them live — and in doing so, they left Him out of their church! Perhaps they thought that they were on the right track and were certain that His blessing was on them… or perhaps for the sake of their own fellowship they left “the least of these” out on the street. Whatever the cause was, the church was so self-fulfilled that they had no need for Jesus, His grace, and fellowship with Him. And Jesus wanted to be in close fellowship with them once again.

What are the dangers of using this as a salvation verse? First, it’s a misapplication that comes from taking the verse out of context. Second, it is a wrong salvation message. The message is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”, not “ask Jesus into your heart.” Nowhere in Scripture do we find an invitation to “ask Jesus into our hearts” and then be saved. This is a false teaching that is propagated like wildfire in modern evangelism! Third, if this is a salvation message, then it is promoting salvation by works. The context refers to the deeds of the Laodicean church. It also has a call to action — open the door. If this refers to salvation, then it teaches that an action is necessary as a prerequisite to salvation. It implies that Jesus helplessly stands by waiting for someone to choose to open the door and let him in. What could be farther from the truth?!

What about those who have responded to the Holy Spirit’s call after of hearing this verse? Well, God is not limited by our shortcomings. Even if we completely distort the Gospel, the Holy Spirit can still work. We may have blown it, but God still used it for good. But at the same time, there may be many who think that all they have to do is mystically open the door and ask Jesus in and then they are saved. They can go on living in sin but still think they’re going to heaven because they “said the magic words” and asked Him in. Of course, if these people are to be saved, then God will still bring it about… but as we do what we are commanded to do — fulfill the Great Commission — we still have a responsibility to clearly present the truth.

The works-based, holiness-driven, “ask Jesus in” theology of Pelagius was condemned as a heresy in the 4th century A.D., yet has continued as a small faction throughout the years. However, not until Charles Finney and the Second Great Awakening has Pelagian teaching become so prominent. Starting in the 19th century, propagated by nearly all of the “great” evangelists and revival teachers, Pelagian theology has again risen to prominence in American evangelicalism. It’s time for the church to stop spreading this distorted version of the Gospel and return to teaching salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for the glory of God alone by the authority of Scripture alone.