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In this age of fast food, 15 second sound bites, and instant everything, preachers in the
religious industry are proclaiming a so-called "new and improved" salvation through what
they term "The Sinners’ Prayer." What most people don’t know is that neither the term,
"Sinners’ Prayer" nor an example of it can be found in the Bible. It’s a fabrication of
denominational preachers which deludes people into thinking they are saved the moment they
utter such a prayer. The question then arises, "For what can a sinner pray?"
He cannot pray for God to love him because John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Can the sinner then pray for God’s grace? No, because Titus 2:11 says "the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men." What about conversion, then? Should a sinner pray for God to convert him? Again, the answer is, "no," for Psalms 19:7 says one is converted by the word of God. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Some people believe they should pray for faith, but the Scripture says in Romans 10:17 that "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Nor is salvation received through prayer. Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16) and Peter said baptism is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). The so-called "sinners’ prayer" is an outgrowth of the old Calvinistic doctrine of mourners’ bench salvation in which man was urged to pray and beg God to save him. But God is not willing that anyone on earth should be lost in their sins. Peter said, "The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). It’s obvious then that sinner need not pray at all. The Bible teaches that it isn’t prayer which saves a man, but obedience to the will of God. Christ is the author of eternal salvation unto all them that "obey him" (Hebrews 5:9). The things that God requires of the sinner does not include prayer. The sinner who would be saved from his sins and enter into Christ must believe that "God is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). And Jesus said of Himself, "Except ye believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). Having come to a belief in God and His Son Jesus Christ, one must then repent of his sins, for Jesus said, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3) and Peter told his hearers on Pentecost to "repent and be baptized for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Then, having done those things, one must be baptized into Christ. Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). This is probably the plainest passage in the New Testament on the subject of baptism, but men ignore it, twist it and pervert it to get around the Lord’s plain declaration that baptism is necessary in order to be saved. The sinner’s prayer is a concoction of men and has no bearing whatsoever on salvation, according to the word of God. In order to be saved, God never required anyone to pray, but to obey (Matthew 7:21). |