Sinner's Prayer and the PC Movement

No........

 

Good point...never made a connection like that before, but it makes sense. I never liked the sinners prayer to begin with, but this helps give some more reason why.

 

I have always lead someone in prayer at the moment of conversion. I have never heard anyone, not those who taught me directly, nor men like Hudson, Hyles, etc ever suggest that the prayer is what saves you. It just has never been taught by sound and grounded Christians.

The prayer is used to solidify in the minds of the new convert the seriousness and the reality. The use of the prayer misrepresented and mischaracterized. No one believes the prayer or the words in the prayer make it happen. And such a misrepresentation appears to come from the reformed camp as an disengenuous criticism because of the disagreement with the role one plays on salvation.

The word of faith folks have a comepletely different agenda that is unrelated.

 

Most of the pastors I've know would say no, actually saying the prayer is not what saves (even though they would insist on the prayer beig said anyway). But I did have one pastor that insisted that the person MUST actually SAY the prayer to be saved. Maybe in that case it would be a similar philosophy.

 

I don't see the connection. The "word of faith" movement is much more material/worldly based. The goal is to gain "things" in this life....wealth, health, better jobs, etc.

The "sinners prayer" (which I am not a fan of) is a sincere attempt by "believers" to get "unbelievers" to believe and confess "right" doctrine in such a way that both can have assurance that the unbeliever has been genuinely saved.

I don't see a connnection.

peace to youraying:

 

It shouldn't be empty words, but rather a sincere and contrite attitude and recognition of Christ that brings a person to God. Otherwise, it may as well be, "Abbracadabra, you are now saved!"

 

It's the same kind of deal as the idea that baptism, rather than faith in Christ, saves. We simply traded one physical act for another.

 

I beg to differ. I know of many who say that they know they will be in heaven because they 'prayed' or they 'asked Jesus into their heart' or they asked Jesus to save them.'

I almost got thrown out of a place because I said that people don't have to pray when they get saved. Who in the Bible prayed to get saved?

Believe it or not, there are preachers who believe that you cannot be saved unless you pray a 'sinner's prayer' (which, incidentally, is not in the Bible anywhere...).

 

Yea I hear such but have never met any.

 

Hey neither should we go ye into all the world. The Holy Ghost will bring them in when He wants them.

 

Look HERE; and a majority of places that use the old tract 'the Romans' Road to Heaven' will use the same wording...

They start with 'good works can't save you', and end with 'do this...'

 

I am not going to be a part of derailing this thread on what consititutes works. I suspect that very argument is the basis for the characterizations of the sinners prayer.

 

Don't try to avoid anything, good Rev. No derailing necessary: work=physical activity. I have good friends and ex-freinds who live in doubt day by day because they were told to pray to get saved, while this is nowhere in the Bible.

The fact is that many hold to the fact that they prayed as proof that they will be in heaven. They are told to pray 'faith-filled' words.

Now, I am not opposed to praying at the point of conversion. I am opposed to leading somone to pray as a final step. There is no precedent for this in scripture and little (if any) in history. This is saying 'do something, then you will be saved.'

I also believe that not all will mis-understand it; ie, some will trust the gospel while praying. But many trust the fact that they prayed.

 

Neither Christ nor any other 'soul-winner' in scripture ever led anyone to say anything at salvation. The focus always was and always should be what Jesus did on the cross and what that means for the subject's condemned condition.

 

I feel that the concept of a sinner's prayer has become a substitution for heartfelt confession and repentence. Our church has had the joy of watching several children accept the Lord over the past 3 years. I started asking the child to simply tell God what they were feeling and it has been amazing to the extent that is what I ask the adults to do now. Two examples stand out. 1. A 9 year old girl at Vacation Bible School came to me and said she wanted to know Jesus, I asked her why. Her reply was "I don't want to be lonely anymore". When she prayed the innocence of her prayer to our Lord was incredible. 2. A 12 year old boy came to me and stated that "He wanted to have Jesus in his heart" when he prayed he asked the Lord to come into his life and take over, then he said "I need some help down here Father". I truly believe adult or child when experiencing the conviction needed for salvation has the words God wants to hear. I too have seen to many adults look to the magic of some prayer instead of the sarifice of our Lord.

 

God justifies the wicked when they place their faith in Christ alone. Not pray a prayer, any prayer for that matter, imo. Who among us can tell when someone puts their faith in Christ?