Why The Sinner's Prayer Is Unbiblical
by Tony Miano
What I’m Not Saying About the Sinner’s Prayer
Many Christians, myself included, have a prayer of repentance and faith as part of their conversion testimony. The night I came to repentance and faith in Christ, I cried out to God, alone in my bedroom, with words I cannot exactly remember. I prayed asking God to come into my life, forgive me, and save me.
I know there are genuine, Christ-loving, born-again followers of Jesus Christ who will forever testify that someone shared the gospel with them and asked them to repeat a prayer, which they did. This article should in no way be interpreted or construed as an effort to bring into immediate question one’s salvation because they “prayed a prayer.” Again, I “prayed a prayer.” My wife “prayed a prayer.” And I know many beloved Christian brethren who have done the same.
'Like' The Poached Egg on Facebook! Follow @ThePoachedEgg That being said, no one is saved because they “prayed a prayer.” Those whom God sovereignly chooses to save (1 Peter 1:3) and draw to Himself (John 6:44) may pray a prayer—on their own or at someone else’s urging—as part of the first fruits of their salvation.
While there are many Christians who will testify, to the glory of God, that they prayed a “Sinner’s Prayer” the day God saved them, there are far more people in the world today who, as a result of being led in a “Sinner’s Prayer,” are now apostate (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-31). They have turned their back on Christ and have left the faith they thought they had, because they had never really come to genuine repentance and faith in Christ…
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Sinners Prayer | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING:
Got Questions? Answers to the Questions People Are Really Asking
The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector's Edition
The big problem I'm having with this article and the article that followed up with it was that Tony never answers the question that must follow "how then is a person saved?" For example, Tony says in the follow up that he asks a person if there is any reason that a person cannot turn from their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior right now. If you believe in total depravity, a person does not have the ability to turn from their sins. Repentance is a change of heart and mind. A person begins -with the help and conviction of the Holy Spirit - to see thier sins differently then they did before. The sinner's prayer so called is simply a person praying to God because they have realized they are a sinner in need of a savior and that they believe in Christ, in His finished work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
Surely, if someone thinks they were saved by a prayer, then they have definitely missed the point but maybe that is because we put our focus on the prayer rather than the object of the prayer. But, I have always been suspicious of heresy hunters and people who spend their time finding "false" Christians who most of the time turn out to be hurting people who have trusted their emotions rather than the truth and need apologetics all the more than most. We then end up confusing them and never really helping them find the true assurance of their salvation that resides in the truth and knowing the truth.
Posted by: Robert | 02/19/2013 at 01:40 PM