The Sinner's Prayer

Jason Schmidt

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My wife and I both have had a problem with "the sinner's prayer". It seems as though the vast majority of churches lean on this prayer (or a derivative of it) to determine who is a Christian. This kind of came to a head when my wife went on a mission trip recently.

She was instructed to have a class of children pray the sinner's prayer, and whoever did ... tada! They were saved.

I don't think this is Biblical, is it? How would *you* answer someone - Biblically speaking - how they can be saved?
 

Job3315

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My wife and I both have had a problem with "the sinner's prayer". It seems as though the vast majority of churches lean on this prayer (or a derivative of it) to determine who is a Christian. This kind of came to a head when my wife went on a mission trip recently.

She was instructed to have a class of children pray the sinner's prayer, and whoever did ... tada! They were saved.

I don't think this is Biblical, is it? How would *you* answer someone - Biblically speaking - how they can be saved?
Big no no. From my unerstanding the Lords prayer is a model on how we should pray, the Lord taught us about the simplicity of prayer.

The way I describe salvation is, it happens when a person becomes aware of what salvation is. It is an indescribable revelation, a breathtaking awareness of an inception made by the Spirit in your inner being. Nothing external like a repetition of a prayer someone asked you to pray will bring you salvation. The revelation comes from the depts of your spirit, when your soul and spirit collide creating that awareness of the meaning of the Cross and Jesus’ Sacrifice. Your wife was just planting a seed. May those seeds bring a harvest in its due time.

Update: Just realized the post said Sinners Prayer when I thought it was The Lords Prayer.. same thing, just praying that prayer won’t bring you salvation. The sinners prayer is just a manifestation in the physical realm (like water baptism) that you repented of your sins because you now understand what salvation means, but that revelation must come before.
 
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St_Worm2

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If anyone is interested, Matt Slick has an interesting article on this subject. Here is his article's:
1. opening paragraph 2. conclusion, and 3. a link to the entire article.

Is the Sinner's Prayer biblical or not?

1. Is the sinner's prayer biblical? Yes and no. It is biblical for a sinner to pray to Jesus to forgive him of his sins. It is not biblical to say someone is saved "because of reciting the Sinner's Prayer." It is biblical to confess one's sins and ask for forgiveness and put trust, hope, and faith in Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. But, again, it is not biblical to give someone assurance of salvation based on reciting a prayer - on simply saying the words. Salvation is the work of God, and the manifestation of that work is sometimes seen in people publicly confessing, even publicly praying to receive Christ as Savior.

////////////////////////////////////

2. Walking an aisle in response to the emotional and caring invitation of a pastor does not save anyone. Asking Jesus into one's heart does not save anyone. Writing the date in the back of one's Bible to commemorate the day a decision was made to follow Jesus does not save anyone. And praying a prayer does not save anyone.

But can God use even the sinner's prayer in his sovereign work of salvation? Of course. But we need to be very careful and not urge someone to recite a prayer and have them put their hope in that, so as to be saved. In that sense, the "Sinner's Prayer" has done a great disservice to Christ and the untold millions of people who, as a result of praying a prayer but never being converted, will one day hear Jesus say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness," (Matthew 7:21-23).

3. https://carm.org/sinners-prayer
Here is a complimentary article titled: Closing the Deal: An Unbiblical Component of Modern Evangelism

That article can be found here: https://carm.org/evangelism-tactics

Yours and His,
David
 
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bcbsr

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My wife and I both have had a problem with "the sinner's prayer". It seems as though the vast majority of churches lean on this prayer (or a derivative of it) to determine who is a Christian. This kind of came to a head when my wife went on a mission trip recently.

She was instructed to have a class of children pray the sinner's prayer, and whoever did ... tada! They were saved.

I don't think this is Biblical, is it? How would *you* answer someone - Biblically speaking - how they can be saved?
It's not by technique, but by faith in Christ. God is not a divine vending machine in which you push the right buttons and you're saved. Saving faith involves trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and not in ourselves, our works, our techniques.

I would preach the gospel the way the Bible does - defining the person of Christ, the problem of sin, and God's gracious solution of salvation by faith apart from works. And tell them that if they have come to believe, then they are saved. That would take technique out of the equation.
 
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Dan the deacon

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My wife and I both have had a problem with "the sinner's prayer". It seems as though the vast majority of churches lean on this prayer (or a derivative of it) to determine who is a Christian. This kind of came to a head when my wife went on a mission trip recently.

She was instructed to have a class of children pray the sinner's prayer, and whoever did ... tada! They were saved.

I don't think this is Biblical, is it? How would *you* answer someone - Biblically speaking - how they can be saved?
I have heard so many versions of a "sinners prayer" that it makes this question imposible to answer. Some seem to state the belief required and some do not. Best to ask the convert questions before telling them some lie. Most who say they are "saved" say so because a man told them so. The truth is we are being saved not that it has been completed here on earth. We become saved after we haved been judged. That does not happen on earth. What we are here is born again and (hopefully) headed for salvation.
 
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Greg J.

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My wife and I both have had a problem with "the sinner's prayer". It seems as though the vast majority of churches lean on this prayer (or a derivative of it) to determine who is a Christian. This kind of came to a head when my wife went on a mission trip recently.

She was instructed to have a class of children pray the sinner's prayer, and whoever did ... tada! They were saved.

I don't think this is Biblical, is it? How would *you* answer someone - Biblically speaking - how they can be saved?
Jason, you may find the post I wrote in response to another of your threads contains information about this. Additionally, I would say that whether someone prays the prayer or not is not what determines whether they are saved, it is what is in their heart. For some people the path to being saved is to start being obedient to god regardless of whether they are saved or not (or believe they are saved or not). IMO, this necessitates reading the Bible yourself, otherwise you are learning "what God said" through a layer of human understanding. People, particularly Biblical Christian elders, are given to us to help us know God directly, not to be placeholders for God. It's a whole lot different, when your faith is challenged, to say "because my pastor said so" vs. "because God said so." It's also a much more direct path to our ultimate calling—to know God himself.
 
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Bible Highlighter

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My wife and I both have had a problem with "the sinner's prayer". It seems as though the vast majority of churches lean on this prayer (or a derivative of it) to determine who is a Christian. This kind of came to a head when my wife went on a mission trip recently.

She was instructed to have a class of children pray the sinner's prayer, and whoever did ... tada! They were saved.

I don't think this is Biblical, is it? How would *you* answer someone - Biblically speaking - how they can be saved?

Hopefully, my following words (including Scripture) will help you to see what the Bible says on this matter.

My Biblical Case For Repentance:

At the heart, "repentance" means, "Asking God for forgiveness"
(Which of course naturally then leads to the "fruits of repentance", i.e. obedience to the Lord):

Important Note: While I may believe "Repentance" does involve to a certain degree a "change of mind" (like a person changing their mind about their old life of sin), I do not think "Repentance" exclusively means a “change of mind.”

Anyways, here are my ten points using Scripture showing that "repentance" means "asking God for forgiveness of sin." (i.e. the Sinner's Prayer).

#1. Acts 2:38,
The New Living Translation says in Acts 2:38 to "repent of your sins."
Douay Reheims says in Acts 2:38 to "Do penance."
New Life Version says in Acts 2:38 to "Be sorry for your sins"

#2. Luke 17:3 says, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." This doesn't make any sense if "repent" means believe in Jesus (as some teach) or to have a change of mind about sin (as others teach) or to exclusively forsake sin. Yes, we are to forsake sin as a part of repentance but that comes later after repentance (Which is to ask God for forgiveness of our sin). For how can we reconcile with a brother if we do not say we are sorry vs. just going on about life as if we did nothing wrong?

#3. Jesus said in Matthew 12:41 that the Ninevites will rise up in Judgment against this generation because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. If you were to turn to Jonah chapter 3, you would be able to see in Jonah 3:6-10 that the King of the Ninevites had told his people to:

(a) Cry out to God (i.e. Repentance) (See Jonah 3:8).
(b) Turn from their sins or evil ways (i.e. The Natural Fruits of Repentance).

#4. Matthew 3:6 (which then lines up with Matthew 3:8). Also, in Mark 1:4-5, it says John preached the "baptism of repentance" for the remission of sins (verse 4), and it then defines this "baptism of repentance" by saying they confessed their sins when they were baptized (verse 5).

#5. We see in Acts of the Apostles 8:22 a clear example of Peter telling Simon to "repent" of his wickedness in trying to pay for the Holy Spirit. Peter is telling Simon to make a prayer towards God. For Peter says that he should pray that God might forgive him. In other words, Peter is telling Simon to repent of a one time event of wickedness by way of prayer to GOD. This only makes sense if "repent" means to "ask for forgiveness."

#6. Ezekiel 14:6 says,
"Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols;" Repent makes the most sense here if a person is asking God for forgiveness by way of prayer instead of a person just believing in God. Naturally a person believes in God as their Savior if they are planning on forsaking their idols.

#7. We see repentance is the topic of discussion in Luke 15 (Luke 15:6) (Luke 15:10); This is then followed up by the "Parable of the Prodigal Son" with the son desiring to be reconciled with his father. We learn the WAY the Prodigal Son desired to be reconciled with his father when he said,

"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." (Luke 15:18-19).

In other words, the Prodigal Son was seeking forgiveness. This ties into the point of repentance in Luke 15:6 and Luke 15:10.

#8. Luke 10:13 says,
"Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes." This rules out the theory that repentance is exclusively forsaking sin. Granted, forsaking sin always follow true repentance (Asking God for forgiveness of one's sins) but forsaking sin is not repentance. The word "repented" here is describing a one time event because they "repented", sitting in sackcloth and ashes. In Jonah 3:6 we learn that the King of Nineveh sat in sackcloth and ashes. In Jonah 3:8, the King of Nineveh tells people to put on sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God (i.e. repentance): and then turn from their evil way (i.e. the fruits of repentance).

#9. John the Baptist says we are to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8). Fruits are deeds (or obedience to God). How can repentance be the same thing as the fruit? Is the fruit the same thing as the tree?

#10. Jeremiah 8:6 says, "I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle." Here we see the word "repented of wickedness" tied with the words, "What have I done?" This is an acknowledgement of one's sin to God as a part of asking His forgiveness.​


Notable Additional Verses that Deal with Repentance
(But They Do Not Use The Word "Repent" or "Repentance"):

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13).

13 "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:13-14).

Proverbs 28:13 says whosoever confesses and forsakes sin shall have mercy.
 
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Greg J.

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Praying the sinner's prayer is a part of working the truth into the person's heart.

If a person thinks to himself the prayer, that means he did not say it to God. Both he and God will know this.

If a person prays the prayer to God without speaking it, then if he hasn't accepted that God can "read his mind," he won't know, or at least won't be sure, if he prayed it to God or not. Both he and God will know this. It is not much of a commitment.

On the other hand, if he prays it out loud (or is convinced in his own mind that God will hear his silent prayer), then he will probably believe God heard the prayer, and he will know that he has made a commitment to God and is accountable for it. Both he and God will know this. This means that the person will recognize that he has prayed the prayer. In the future when his memory is hazy, he will not wonder if what he did "counted." He will remember he prayed it out loud.

However, one cannot pray the prayer without meaning it and expect it to be accepted by God. This is why I wrote:
I would say that whether someone prays the prayer or not is not what determines whether they are saved, it is what is in their heart.
However, as I explain above, praying the prayer believing God heard it is very important, and truly necessary for some people. But God doesn't open the book of life to see what they said, he looks at whether they genuinely had decided to submit to God (such as his authority to judge/forgive sins).

I will add an illuminating passage to @Jason0047's list:

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21:28-32, 1984 NIV)

If you really meant the prayer in the first place, but then run into trouble keeping it, that doesn't mean you weren't saved or lost your salvation. But if you didn't mean the prayer (genuinely yielding to God), then whatever you may do after is superficial and not done for God, no matter how good or religious it seems.

See Matthew 7:17-23 for an illustration that deeds must be done with faith in God and not because of the goodness of the deeds. (Also see Hebrews 11:6.)
 
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Greg J.

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What comes out of someone's mouth does not make him clean. They are just sound vibrations in the air. What comes out of someone's heart reveals whether they are clean or not.

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ”
(Mark 7:18-23, 1984 NIV)

(Also in Matthew 15:17-20.)
 
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Dan the deacon

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I think the good of the prayer publically is not to show God anything more than,"I am not ashamed of my belief in Christ"
It is for the Church rather than for God. So we might accept them into the Church as a believer.
God knows the moment we believe before we pray. He knows all things. Forgiveness is there before we believe or pray. All we do is accept that truth as the truth.
Oh how we so often like to make God a magician rather than our Lord and creator.
The reason our belief is made public is for the public. God already knows.
So I say no. The sinners prayer does not save anyone. It affirms what we believe to those of the Church. So I don't really consider it a prayer but an expression of faith before man.
 
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Dan the deacon

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What comes out of someone's mouth does not make him clean. They are just sound vibrations in the air. What comes out of someone's heart reveals whether they are clean or not.

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ”
(Mark 7:18-23, 1984 NIV)

(Also in Matthew 15:17-20.)
What makes one clean is the blood of Jesus. Nothing from ourselves. Even our belief comes from God.
 
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Greg J.

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What makes one clean is the blood of Jesus. Nothing from ourselves. Even our belief comes from God.
In the passage I quoted above (Mark 7:18-23, heart emphasized), Jesus is making a reference to how what is visible as an indicator of what is someone's heart (see v. 15). If you aren't saved, nothing clean can come out of your heart.

Praying the prayer out loud, especially in public, has a spiritual effect that is called "completing [one's] faith" (James 2:22, also IMO referenced by Jesus in Romans 10:10b below). It also has a psycho-emotional effect of "completed" and a tension "release" that some will perceive within themselves. Everyone should do it, but it is not what saves a person.

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10, 1984 NIV)
 
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Ron Gurley

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Romans 10 (NASB)
8 But what does it say?
“The "word" is near you, in your MOUTH and in your HEART”
—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be (CERTAIN TO BE) saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says,
“Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
 
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