If you have been around Southern Baptist Churches as long as I have, you probably noticed there is a popular saying among most Bible-believing pastors when it comes time during the invitation. They would ask people in the congregation if they are ready to accept Jesus into their heart. What this implies is that Jesus is ready to come live in your heart. Here is a question consider: Does Jesus actually live in a believer's heart?
No where in the New Testament you will find the words "accept Jesus into your heart" because God did not inspire the Biblical writers to jot it down for God's people. The Bible does mentions that one member of the Trinity does reside in our hearts, The Holy Spirit:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God (Galatians 4:4-7).
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian church that the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts when we receive Jesus and become adopted into the family of God. The Spirit lives inside us testifying that we are children of God (Romans 8:16) and our bodies are His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul also wrote that God placed his Spirit as a seal and guarantee in our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:22, see also Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Bible tells us that Jesus ascended to the Father and is seated on God's right hand making intercession for the saints and being our advocate when we sin. The Spirit is the One who is in our hearts guiding a directing us as long as we are still on this earth until we die or when Jesus returns.
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