Featured The sinners prayer

Have you submitted to the Lordship of Christ?

Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

The Bible says to owe no man any thing. Don't you owe people thousands of dollars? Why are you buying books when you could be sending that to the folks you owe money to?

Can you honestly say you have submitted to the Lordship of Christ when you are not obeying this command?

See how that works when you are a fruit inspector? Other folks can judge you just like you judge them.

 

You are the one who constantly attacks others and speaks of others as being carnal Christians, implying constantly that they are lost because they do not meet your standard of holiness.

I don't start threads criticizing my pastor, I don't send him books telling him how to preach. You do.

 

He is not attacking, but rather bringing forth a pertinent point.

 

In soul-winning class at church years ago, I was taught the Roman Road, followed by the Sinner's Prayer. What I liked about it was that it was an easily-remembered, organized way to present the gospel to a lost person, and guide them toward a profession of faith. The Sinner's Prayer was characterized as "closing the sale."

I firmly believe that God used that method to bring many to salvation. That said, I believe the problem is not so much its use as its misuse. When the "Prayer" becomes "say these magic words and you'll be saved," or, as I've heard it characterized, "One, two, three, repeat after me," then it becomes quite manipulative and is basically a misrepresentation of the way one comes into a right relationship with the Lord Jesus.

This was brought home to me by a young lady whom I asked to give me her testimony. Her answer was "well, I said the prayer." Can you say cold chills?

Then, I recalled the day the Lord saved me. I remember coming under deep conviction during an invitation, and down the aisle I went.

My pastor asked why I had come down. "I want to be saved."
"Do you understand that you are a sinner? Do you know what that means?"
"Yes."
"Do you understand the consequences of your sins?"
"Yes."
"Do you repent of your sins and do you trust Christ and Christ alone for your salvation?"
"Yes."
"Sit down right over there."

That was it. No Roman Road. No Sinner's Prayer. Just an expression of repentance and faith. And I expressed it to my pastor, not to the Lord.

The Sinner's Prayer, of course, is an expression of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus, spoken TO the Lord Jesus.

So, which is it? Does God save those who pray TO God, or express faith to someone else. Will either do the trick?

When Paul wrote the Roman church (chapter 10) to "confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe that He rose from the dead," does that mean that one must say some words out loud?

When he said "whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved," how does that work? What does it mean to call on the NAME of the Lord? Does that involve speaking some words? What are those words that we must speak?

I read a story about a missionary who was preaching Christ to some natives around a village campfire. Suddenly he was interrupted by a man who held up his hand and said, "Stop. I've heard enough. I believe." Was that enough?

What about the publican in Luke 18? He prayed "God be merciful to me, a sinner."
Jesus said the publican went away justified. Hmm. That's it?

Then there's the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) who wanted to be baptized after Philip explained the Isaiah passages to him. Philip said "okay, if you believe with all your heart." The eunuch said simply, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Hmmm. That's it? It was enough for Philip, obviously.

And, in Acts 16, Paul had one simple answer to the Phillippian jailer: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved." The jailer was not asked to say any words at all.

So, what's the point of all this? I guess it's this question: If someone asks you how to be saved, what do you tell them? Which of the scenarios mentioned above do you use? Or do you give a different answer?

Release the hounds.

 

I understand what everyone is saying, but there is actual evidence for the sinner's prayer in the Bible, and not just the publican who prayed "God be merciful to me a sinner". Psalm 116 is a model of the sinner's prayer;

Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Compare this scripture with Romans 10. Romans 10 says "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". Verse 4 is absolutely an example of the sinners's prayer.

But then Paul asks, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?"

You are not going to call on Jesus unless you first believe he is the Son of God who died for your sins and rose from the dead. No man calls upon a dead person.

So, the calling is evidence of the faith that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose from the dead. This conforms exactly to Psa 116:10 where scripture says, "I believed, therefore have I spoken"

If you truly believe in Jesus, you will evidence that by confessing him publicly to others.

The fact is, many people have prayed and asked Jesus to save them and were truly saved. I asked Jesus to save me 50 years ago, and I still believe. Many thousands of Christians give this testimony.

I do agree that a person who goes out and tries to get folks to say a prayer is all wrong. But you can't judge all persons who call on Jesus by this person's example.

 

And there is most likely some of that going on. But the way it gets characterized by some is just down right dishonest.

 

No doubt. That's why I have been careful not to categorically condemn its use. God knows the heart, even though our human methods may not be perfect. Nor is he boxed in by our imperfect methods.

Even so, that does not release us from the obligation to try to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

 

Yea I think those few may mean well they just may be a little lazy about how they present it. But I believe there are some cals who just do not like it at all because of their view of regeneration vs. salvation =election paradigm

 

You seem to believe that preaching somehow affects whether one truly gets saved or is a false convert. I do not understand how a Calvinist/Reformed person like yourself can believe this. What does your preaching have to do with whether a person truly gets saved or not?

Your view doesn't make sense. If God has decided to regenerate someone, then that person will be regenerated no matter what you preach. Does God's power depend on your message?

And if God has decided to pass a person by (in your view), it doesn't matter how well you preach on sin and the commandments, that person is going to be passed by.

Once again, Calvinists talk out of both sides of their mouth. They say only God can regenerate a person, but then they complain about preaching as though that has an effect on whether a person "truly" gets saved or is a false convert.

It would be laughable if it were not so tragic.

You probably do not even realize how inconsistent your own view is with Calvinism.

 

:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

 

:thumbs:

:thumbs:

 

Indeed. ............

 

I agree with you that some Calvinists don't like it on those grounds, but I also know professing Calvinists who promote the use of a sinner's prayer.

I am not a Calvinist or Arminian, as I see both having the same erroneous bottom line, just packaged differently.

My objection to a sinner's prayer comes from scripture and my own experience. First, scripture declares that God does not listen to sinners.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. - Isaiah 59:1-2

This was the reference when Jesus healed the blind man and was reviled by the officials. The man replied:

We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. - John 9:31

The Lord is far from the wicked,
But He hears the prayer of the righteous. - Proverbs 15:29

He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination. - Proverbs 28:9

If God does not hear sinners, how can a sinner say a prayer that God will hear? It's simply a false teaching, and a cancerous plague within the church.


It is taught that Romans 10:13, et al, is advocating a sinner's prayer. However, I have not met any of these advocates who are willing to keep reading to verse 20:

And Isaiah is very bold and says,
“I was found by those who did not seek Me,
I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” - Romans 10:20

If Romans 10:13 teaches that we must ask for Him, why does He say 7 verses later that He was made manifest to those who did NOT ask for Him?


Then, there is my own experience of being suckered into this self-righteous attempt to bring myself into good standing with God. For 20 years I was hindered, not ever hearing the gospel. But I could say that prayer. Yeah, I completely abhor that prayer, as it was nothing more or less than an act of self-righteousness that gave me a false hope for a short time

I'm not saying that everyone who has said this meaningless prayer is condemned, not saying that at all. I believe there are plenty of people who thought they accessed God's grace through this act of self-righteousness, then later had a shift of faith, from this prayer to Christ Himself.

It's no different than someone thinking they access grace through baptism, then later have a shift to faith in Christ. Are there people in the Church of Christ, or Roman Catholic Church, who are under the impression that they accessed grace through a self-righteous work, only to later have this shift in faith? Probably plenty of them. Who knows but God alone?

But just because they can later have a shift of faith, that does not mean they will. Why set them on the wrong road and then hope their faith will shift to Christ Himself?

This prayer is a manifestation of pride in those who are anxious to see some outward sign that someone believed their message.

Not content leaving the results to God, they feel the need to prod the potential convert into some sort of outward act, as if that validates what God is doing inside.

How many farmers plant a seed and then expect to see something pop out of the ground instantly?

God alone makes the seed grow.

 

Absurd and something you cannot know about others. It is your assumption alone. Add to that you do not know that they are anxious to see anything. We are to confess that much is clear. You, like many cals, have a distorted view of the sovereignty of God. And it does not line up with scripture.

 

I am not a Calvinist, and I reject their warped notion of God's sovereignty. I also reject their warped idea that regeneration precedes faith.

Romans 4:5 says clearly that God justifies the UNgodly on account of faith. The Calvinist view of election preceding faith rejects this scripture, teaching that God first changes the heart of a man (in other words making man godly) before he is justified.


I also reject every point of TULIP - beginning with the false notion of depravity, which is based on the near-heretical doctrine of original sin

 

Well you have expressed the same incorrect view of the sovereignty of God and used that to demonize those with whom you disagree with.

 

WE, the just, are to confess.

There isn't one scripture which calls upon an unbeliever to confess anything. You've got a mixed up case of "compilation theology" whereby you're compiling all the verses using the word "saved" and jumbling them together in what you try to perceive as the position holding the least amount of friction.

Then you're trying to apply this compilation theology to unbelievers, which is scripturally unwarranted.

But when you don't see any distinctions between various aspects of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life, or the contexts in which the words are used, you're going to be denying scripture all over the place.

 

????
explain thyself, please