What is the Biblical basis for saying the “sinner’s prayer” in order to receive salvation? We know that God hears sinners when they truly seek Him. That is apparent in the story of Cornelius (Acts 10). But what about the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that many are told to pray in order to receive salvation, where is that found? Before searching the Scriptures to answer this, I wondered how others would support “the sinner’s prayer”. So I did a Google search. The first site to come up was http://www.sinner-prayer.com. I thought that if there was “book, chapter, and verse” support for it, then this site would have it. Here is the sample prayer recommended on this site:
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
A closer look at this prayer yields an interesting contradiction. To pray the prayer you are required to know what you supposedly can’t know or understand until after you are saved. Notice what the praying sinner, the unsaved person, is required to know and understand: he or she apparently knows that God exist; the praying sinner understands he broke God’s law; the praying sinner understands repentance is necessary and possible; the praying sinner knows and comprehends exactly who Jesus is: the Son of God who died, is raised, and hears prayers; the praying sinner desires forgiveness and seeks help to avoid sin; the praying sinner gives an invitation to Jesus; the praying sinner makes request to receive the Holy Spirit; the praying sinner prays in Jesus’ name; and last but not least, according to these same people, the praying sinner is demonstrating his faith. They say this prayer is “Merely a Tool to Communicate Our Faith” (this comment is on another of their pages). No Bible verses for saying this prayer are offered. No Bible verse is given to demonstrate that this is the tool to show your faith. Does the reader recognize the inherent contradiction in this teaching?
WHICH COMES FIRST: THE PRAYER OR THE SPIRIT
These same people who says that the lost but praying person can’t do any of this without first having the Holy Spirit. One of the difficulties people have with the “sinner’s prayer” approach to salvation is that you ask to receive the Holy Spirit in the prayer. But this contradicts what they say about first needing the Holy Spirit to understand all of the things you required to understand in the prayer: which includes praying to receive the Holy Spirit. It’s a which came first question, the chicken or the egg? Which comes first here, the Spirit or the prayer? It’s impossible to tell from their writing. You are led in a circle of realizing all of the particulars of the Gospel and your sinfulness. So then you pray for the forgivness and for the Holy Spirit which you supposedly needed to say the prayer in the first place. From a related web-site comes their rendition of 1 Corinthians 2:13-15:
When we tell you this, we do not use words of human wisdom. We speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means. We who have the Spirit understand these things, but others can’t understand us at all.
This is not Scripture you have just read; rather, it is an erroneous interpretation by these folks of what Paul is saying in that 1 Corinthians 2 passage. And the interpretation contradicts the prayer they say is necessary for salvation. Do you first need the Spirit to understand anything about the Gospel and your sinfulness, or do you first need to sincerely say the “sinner’s prayer” to get the Holy Spirit? In the final analysis, the explanation and teaching is contradictory and falls on itself.
IS THE SINNER’S PRAYER THE BIBLICAL STEP TOWARD SALVATION?
I believe that the Bible gives clear instructions for how to become a Christian. Those at the sinner-prayer.com web-site think so too. I studied the web-page containing this prayer to see what Biblical justification would be offered in support for praying to receive salvation. Here is what they offer in the way of chapter and verse support:
Sin is man’s problem (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Man may think he knows the right way, but it usually ends in death (Proverbs 16:25). Reconciliation to God can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:6-15).
NO SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT IS GIVEN
What they teach next has no chapter and verse support. They continue by explaining that the “Sinner’s Prayer” is something spoken when the sinner recognizes his sinfulness and his need for salvation. No example of anyone in the Bible saying such a prayer is offered. No passage of the Bible is cited whatsoever in support of saying the prayer for salvation.
Also, after giving the “sinner’s prayer”, the site follows by saying, “if you decided to repent and receive Christ” you are in God’s family. That’s it. Simple as that. A prayer is a communication to God and therefore implies that God is listening to the prayer of the sinner. After advising the sinner that all that was necessary for salvation was to pray for it, the need for repentance is added presumably as another step for salvation. They give no Bible reference, though many passages could have been cited to show the necessity of repentance for salvation (see Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19). So why didn’t the web-site say to repent of your sins and give Biblical support for it? Why do they instead ask the sinner to say a prayer that cannot be found in the Bible?
Maybe they think that their words are more persuasive than God’s! After all, they think that God’s words are impossible for the unconverted to understand. But they also ask you to trust them by saying a prayer which they give no Biblical support for. So the sinner they are appealing to cannot understand God if He says to them what the Gospel is and how to obey it, but the sinner will understand the contents of their prayer? That makes very little sense.
On top of that, the site adds that, besides repenting, you must “receive” Christ. They again offer no scripture in support, but on another page on the same web-site, John 1:12 is cited to show that Jesus must be “received.” It still remains to be proven that “receiving Jesus” is done through their “sinner’s prayer”. Where is the passage of text that says “receive Jesus by saying the ‘sinner’s prayer'”?
Let’s give the people who created the “sinner-prayer” web-site some credit: They are correct that knowledge of Jesus’ Gospel is essential (Rom. 1:16; Acts 16:31). And the web-site correctly says knowledge of sin is necessary for salvaiton, or else what would one be repenting of (Acts 17:30)? And though the developers of the web-site don’t give chapter and verse, repentance is also essential for being added to God’s family (Lk. 13:3). And though they don’t give chapter and verse, “receiving” Jesus is essential (John 1:12). But, the question remains: is it accurate to say that the so-called “sinner’s prayer” is part of the “basic steps to becoming a Christian”? We would disagree that this prayer is a step to salvation.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT RECEIVING JESUS?
To receive Jesus according to God’s plan must result in forgiveness of sins and the hope of salvation for eternity. And the Bible shows some “basic steps” for receiving such blessings. In Acts 2:21, Joel was quoted as saying, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Strangely enough, the Sinner-prayer web-site didn’t point to this verse, even though only a few verses later the same people were repenting and being baptized. They were not told to say the “sinner’s prayer” in Acts 2:38,41. And when Ananias came and preached Jesus to Saul, he didn’t tell Saul (later called Paul) to say a “sinner’s prayer”. Instead, Ananias said, “And now why do you delay, arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.” So it looks like the Biblical way to ask God for salvation is to be Baptized. Peter said essentially this in 1 Peter 3:21. He said that the antitype of the water Noah was brought safely through (v.20) is Baptism which “now saves you.” He explains that it is not a washing away dirt of the flesh, but it (baptism) is an appeal to God (i.e. a prayer of sorts) for a clean conscience; it (baptism) saves you through the resurrection of Jesus.
And there is more. In Acts 8, when Philip “preached Jesus” to the Ethiopian Eunuch, the next verse says that the Eunuch asked to be baptized! Why? Could it be that when Jesus was accurately preached, that the sinner understood that God’s grace is first received in the waters of baptism? Why else was there the urgency to baptize the Jailer in Acts 16? Verse 25 says that it was already past midnight when Paul “spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.” Then right after that, Paul was out baptizing the jailer in the middle of the night!
THE REAL APPEAL FOR SALVATION
Acts 2:21 in conjunction with Acts 2:38, and Acts 22:16, and this passage in 1 Peter seems to give pretty strong evidence that God’s salvation is received at baptism. Baptism is how and when a person calls on God to be saved. Many other verses can be cited to show that when faith and adult baptism converge, then the gift of salvation is the result (see Galatians 3:26,27 and Colossians 2:12). This is further supported by passages like Romans 6:3-5 where “walking in newness of life” follows being buried with Christ in baptism. That the blessing of salvation occurs at the point of baptism explains why Jesus commanded the disciples be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). And Mark records that “he that believes and is baptized shall be saved, and he that does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). This is why we can say with a great deal of confidence that baptism is an important step of salvation, but the so-called “sinner’s prayer” is not.
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EXAMPLE OF THE ERROR – NOTE THERE’S NO SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
God hears prayer for salvation
Praying to be Saved – not the “Sinner’s Prayer”
Repentance is real change beyond believing only
Legalism is not the strict adherence to God’s word
A Conquering Faith 
John 9:31 says, “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him”. Anonymous, what does that mean to you?
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To DM The blind man states in John 9:31 – “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him” (all Scripture ESV). During the sermon, a few things were established with the help of a few other passages of Scripture:
1) Many verses in Scripture indicate that God does not listen to a sinner’s prayer in the same way that He listens to the prayer of a believer.
2) “Listen” is another way of saying, “Hearing and responding favorably.”
3) There are some passages in Scripture that do show God listening and responding to the prayer of a sinner.
The purpose of this post is to examine in more detail a few biblical examples that support each of these points (especially points #1 and 3).
The first point is that there are many verses in Scripture that indicate God doesn’t listen to a sinner’s prayer in the same way He listens to the prayer of a believer. A number of passages can be provided to illustrate this:
Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 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.
Proverbs 21:13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
Proverbs 28:9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
It is admittedly difficult to determine in some of these passages whether the one in sin whose prayers go unheard is genuinely a believer or not. What is clear is that sin hinders the effectiveness of our prayer life. Or, to put it in the opposite terms, righteousness can boost the effectiveness of our prayer life (James 5:16).
All of these passages (as well as many others in Scripture) illustrate the effect sin has on prayer’s effectiveness. If sin is cherished in one’s heart, God won’t listen to prayer (Ps 66:18). The violence of the people causes God not to listen in Isaiah 1:15. Isaiah makes the point later on that it’s not that God can’t save or hear, but that sin puts a separation between the sinner and God. James says that doubting God’s ability to answer prayer will also stop that person from receiving an answer.
The two passages from Proverbs illustrate something similar. Both involve “turning” or “closing” the ear (i.e., not listening): one ignoring the poor, the other ignoring God’s Word. The effect is that God does not listen to his prayer. Helping the poor is a command of Scripture; therefore the two passages are really getting at the same thing: ignore God, and He will ignore you.
So it is clear that in some sense, God answers the prayers of the righteous much more effectively than the prayers of those in sin. But this point must be balanced with the third: there are passages in Scripture that show God answering a sinner’s prayer.
I mentioned Cornelius in Acts 10 during the sermon. There, we see that Cornelius is a devout man, God-fearing, who prays regularly. But the point must be emphasized that Cornelius has not heard the Gospel. He is not saved. But God answers his prayers by sending Peter to him, who proceeds to share the Gospel. If God does not hear the sinner in an absolute sense, then how can it be that Cornelius’ prayers were then answered?
In 1 Kings 21, Elijah meets the wicked king Ahab to tell him that disaster is about to come to him and his entire household, cutting off the royal line entirely (21:17-24). Ahab responds by humbly mourning and fasting (which implies prayer), to which the Lord responds by relenting from the impending disaster upon Ahab’s family. Certainly no one would describe Ahab as a godly character, and there is plenty of evidence even in the very next chapter that Ahab is far from a true worshiper of Yahweh. Yet God hears and responds to his prayers.
Jonah 3 tells the story of the wicked Ninevites. Jonah prophesied disaster upon them, yet when they call upon God, He relents and does not destroy them. This could be the case of a people group coming to salvation, but either way the point is the same: God hears the prayers of sinners and answers.
Some say that God does not hear the prayer of the sinner until repentance. This seems to fit with the examples above, with the exception of Cornelius. Because God only answers prayers in accordance with His will (John 14:13, 1 John 5:14-15), we might say that He answered Cornelius’ prayer because God desired for Cornelius to come to salvation. We should also notice that many of the above passages indicate that sin hinders prayer’s effectiveness even for believers.
Instead of saying, “God doesn’t hear the prayers of unbelievers,” we should say, “God doesn’t positively respond to prayers outside His will.” This would fit for both believer and unbeliever, as well as the blind man’s statement in John 9:31. In that context, the blind man is making the point that Jesus could not have used God’s power to heal him if Jesus was a sinner. In other words, if Jesus hadn’t been acting according to God’s will, God the Father would not have answered Jesus’ prayer to heal the man.
At the very least, this brief study encourages us to check our hearts and come to God with clean hands, a clean spirit and good motives. The more righteous we are, the more effective our prayers will be, since they will be in accord with God’s will.
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I truly believe that God doesn’t do a bait and switch. John 3:16-17 says it all. And I believe with all of my heart that He died for all of my sins. And I don’t have to feel scared to go before God and He says you are going to hell when I have done something wrong. To some the cross represents redemption and hope (Jeremiah 29.11) and to some it can represent guilt and condemnation which one more time the trick of the enemy (and that dirtdevil bag uses christians who don’t even know they’re being used to do his dirty work for him. And the devil knows scripture. he tried to have it out with Jesus in the desert. The joke was on the devil, Jesus rose again, so now that old dirt devil bag, he isn’t working on sinners anymore, he already has them, so what he is targeting is christians to either wear them down into doubt, taking a pretext out of scripture and making it into a context, gets you in trouble everytime, judging a person’s salvation when God has the final say because I know one thing that makes Him the Judge. Dont think that God is going to give mankind the glory in anything that Is rightfully His since He is the Creator of all things. Yes even sin. Yes even hell. Yes even death. God will not allow unbelievers in heaven as He said it is the most unforgivable sin. But all other sins under the blood through repentance and forgiveness the Lord sees us through the blood of Jesus. Get a load of the color of blood is the life course for every human being on this earth. And Jesus shed his blood but also water at the same time. Could that have been the Holy Spirit gushing out too. Holy Spirit is mentioned as water several times in scripture. So what I am seeing is this that if Jesus shed His blood for our sins because remember He was even made sin. Love, because of what Jesus did, but horror, because of what Jesus became: He became sin. This is the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:21. … God made Him to be sin. Jesus was despised, rejected, and loathed (Isa 53:2-6). And water means sanctification which Scripture clearly indicates that believers are indwelled with the Holy Spirit—that is, the Holy Spirit moves into their hearts—at the moment of conversion. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). All believers have the same spirit—the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 is more specific about the exact moment we receive the Holy Spirit: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” To me that clarifys the shedding of the blood and the water for the clean.
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You are absolutely right! Well done article!
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hi keon, have you considered this verse from Mt 28:19?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
If you look into history as well you'll see that all Christians for centuries used this format for baptism. something to think about. God Bless!
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hi keon, I admire your conviction, however, have you considered Mt 28:19?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..”
I think also it's very compelling to look into history and see that for centuries all Christians used this format for baptism. God Bless!
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I thank God I don't have to make the final call. I leave the final judgement to God. That is not my job. My job is to teach the truth of salvation with the examples and the commandments given to us in the word of God.
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Baptism is SYMBOLIC ! just as circumcision was to the Jews when they were under the Old Covenant! Baptism does not SAVE…Jesus Christ is the propitiation and He paid our sin debt ALONE! Thru His death burial and Resurrection we are imputed His Righteousness onto us…Go learn about and study the mannerisms and laws/instructions in which the Jews bathed and washed..ie, ceremonial hand washing…so much energy wasted on poor interpretations…circumcision vs baptism … two symbols for two different covenants, are one in the same but applied by God in HIS Covenants…Also, Jesus was Baptized by John so where do u get this theory that the thief was not baptized and was not required to be baptized and how it coincides with the death of Jesus..it is irrelevant? Lazarus died and Jesus/God raised him back to life, Lazarus was not baptized yet He was saved …You are arrogantly suggesting that God cannot save a person on his death bed..with God anything is possible, but with Man, nothing is possible…Eph 2:8
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BAPTISM is symbolic, agreed, just as Paul shows in Romans 6:3-5; and Colossians 2:11-13. But it is acting out the death, burial and resurrection where God says He washes away the person’s sins.
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Clarity
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In my first post I used scripture to explain why I believe the things I do, and that my stance, belief, opinion, is formed by what I observed in scripture.
All the scripture references I posted where discarded immediately, that opponents may hold to their traditions delivered by men.
Also frustrating is the inability of “believers” to meditate on scripture. (selah)
It is hard to convey truth to people who are not interested in truth or even have meaningful dialogue.
In my earlier post I revealed what God revealed to me. The apostles and deacons (Paul, Peter Philip, and (Ananias, who was commissioned personally by Jesus)) preached Baptism.
It was the norm in the early church to mention baptism in the initial message, the first sermon to unbelievers.
Paul preached baptism to the Philippian Jailer. Who was baptized the same hour he heard the message. (Conclusion Paul preached baptism when preaching the word of the Lord)
Paul preached baptism to Lydia. she obeyed his message and was baptized.
(Conclusion Paul preached baptism when preaching to Lydia)
Let us reflect here.
These are first, initial, opening, messages they instruct the hearers to be baptized.
This is fact and can only be denied by ignorant men.
The early preachers minds and sermons are not clouded by traditions, theology some made up convenient formula, some idea gleaned from a bible commentary.
They had the pure gospel, understood the need to be born again. And they understood the reason for baptism.
Let's continue.
The day of Pentecost Peter preached the need to be baptized in his initial sermon, 3000 responded by obeying the gospel. The same day! The same day! The same day! They where baptized when ______________? Nobody is baptized the same day, anymore! Why? because the need to be baptized is not preached. (the sinners prayer is more convenient and less offensive)
Let's see what the bible says.
Read the account of Lydia's baptism. Acts16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia,…….which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. 15 And when she was baptized,….
So much is said in these verses, Lydia HEARD the message, the Lord OPENED her heart, and she obeyed Paul's message and she was baptized
Ananias was sent personally by Jesus, to Paul and subsequently told him to arise and be baptized and wash away his sins.
My point is the pure Gospel message has been corrupted, manipulated and diluted so we end up with the convenient sinners prayer. The proponents of the sinners prayer are the opponents of the true Gospel.
Without baptism men are still in their sins.
Why?
Because we are baptized into His death. We partake of His sacrifice in Baptism the apostles knew this.
Without baptism we are still under the Law.
Why?
Because in baptism we become dead to the Law by the body of Christ.
Therefore we conclude we are dead form Sin! Read Rom. Chapter 6 and 7.
What name are we baptized into?
Jesus.
Why?
Because we are baptized into HIS (Jesus') death. He (Jesus) died for our sins. We are baptized calling on the Name of the Lord.
Paul knew which name !
1Cor 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Reflect on the above scripture You must be baptized in the name of the who was crucified, because we are baptized into HIS death.
Baptism is into a death, a sacrifice, the Lamb of God, when we do so we are dead to sin and the Law and alive unto God. Amen
To those who teach thre sinners prayer and reject baptism Jesus sums up this mindset.
Mrk 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
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Hi Mike
You sadly make the mistake by the majority of “christians” you glean your understanding from church history.
I find many cannot grasp baptizing in Jesus' name because they do not understand the biblical concept, reason, and purpose of baptism.
If you understand, I again emphasize biblical implications of baptism you will understand why baptism is in the name of the one who was crucified.
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I find it interesting how much legalism and arguing go on within the Christian community. I myself am a Theologian with a masters degree in Theology. I have heard the arguments on both sides about baptism. There are examples of both sides. The fact that not all were baptized and yet still received the Lord shows it is not necessary but only for an individual, meaning that some need to and some do not depending on their own heart. If you have truly received the Lord then you should want to be baptized as an outward expression of faith but it not necessary for everyone. What we have to remember more then anything is the two commandments that Jesus Taught. Love God, Love our neighbors. We have this tendency to not do well with that among the Christian community. We have a tendency to argue everything and think we have God all figured out, that our way is the only way. Let's focus on the two commandants that Christ Himself gave us and stop the arguing. No wonder non-Christians want no part of us. The Bible teaches one core message and one core message only—-LOVE. Focus on that and you can't lose.
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Mark 16:16, “(mentions that) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Could water baptism save a person? Let’s meditate Acts 19:2-6. Acts 19:2-6, “He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.” From the above event, did they receive the Holy Spirit after John or water baptism (Acts 19:3)? No, they did not receive it since they only received it at Acts 19:6. Did they receive the Holy Spirit when Acts 19:5, “they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”? No, they did not receive the Holy Spirit even though they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They only received the Holy Spirit Acts 19:6, “…when Paul had laid his hands upon them, (since it mentions that after he laid hands upon them), the Holy Ghost came on them…” As the Holy Spirit did not come upon them after John’s or water baptism (Acts 19:3) or baptism (Acts 19:5), it proves that water baptism could not save a person. There is no scriptural verse to support that God would grant the Holy Spirit at the time of laying hands except Acts 19:6. What If laying hands might not necessarily be accompanied with the receipt of the Holy Spirit & that only Acts 19:6 is the exception due to other reason, those people, who rely on laying hands to receive the Holy Spirit, might not be saved as a result of the Spirit does not come to them. Thus, the only source to receive the Holy Spirit & to have confidence with their salvation could only be through asking God to grant them the Holy Spirit by sinner’s prayer. We must not presume ourselves to have the Holy Spirit. Or else, we could regret eternally when Jesus would tell us He never knows us in Matthew 7:23.
1 Corinthians 12:3, “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God called Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” Could we use this verse to support that those people who call Jesus to be their Lord could have received eternal lives? No, it is not true since Matthew 7:22-23, “(mention that) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” As Jesus would mention to them who have called Jesus to be their Lord Matthew 7:23, “I never knew you”, it implies that they do not belong to God. Romans 8:9, “(gives the possible reason why they could not belong to God is they do not have the Spirit of Christ in them since It is mentioned that) …if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The phrase, by the Holy Ghost, in 1 Corinthians 12:3 might possibly be interpreted as the Holy Spirit is outside their bodies to stimulate them to call Jesus as Lord instead of being interpreted as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to cause them to acknowledge Jesus to be their Lord. If that is so, it is irrational to use 1 Corinthians 12:3 to conclude that all the people who proclaim Jesus to be the Lord must be God’s saints.
Is it true that those Charismatic people who could perform miracles in Jesus’ name belong to God? Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? & in thy name have cast out devils? & in thy name done many wonderful works? & then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” As the phrase, in thy name done many wonderful works, is mentioned in Matthew 7:22-23 with the phrase, I never knew you, it implies that Charismatic people could not proclaim to belong to God as a result of their miraculous work performed in Jesus’ name.
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Should Romans 10:13, “(be used to support that anybody who calls the name of the Lord could be saved since it mentions that) …whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”? How about Acts 2:21, “…that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We must not use these verses to conclude it without reading other verses in the scripture since Matthew 7:21, “(mentions that) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” As the phrase, Not every one…saith unto me Lord, is mentioned in Matthew 7:21 with the phrase, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, it implies that calling the name of the Lord might not be saved.
Luke 6:46 & Matthew 7:21 demand all the people who call Jesus to be their Lord to obey His commandments. The following are the extracts: Luke 6:46, “…why call ye me, Lord, Lord, & do not the things which I say?”; Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, & shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised from him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Could this verse be used to support a person could be saved through believing in Jesus’ resurrection? No, we must not isolate ourselves to this verse without reading other verses to conclude he could be saved through believing in Jesus’ resurrection without repentance of sin. This is by virtue of 1 John 2:4, “(mentions that) He that saith I know him, & keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, & the truth is not in him.” As the phrase, keepeth not his commandments, is mentioned in 1 John 2:4 with the phrase, the truth is not in him, it implies that a person, who would confess his mouth Jesus & believe His resurrection, does not have the truth to be in him if he refuses to keep God’s commandments. As the truth is not in him as a result of his rejection of God’s commandment, his salvation is in query. What if he refuses to confess his sin before God, could he be saved when 1 John 1:10 mentions that God’s word is not in him if he says that he has not sinned? 1 John 1:10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, & his word is not in us.” Sinner’s prayer provides a way out for a person to confess his sin before God & to seek God’s forgiveness of sin.
The word, believe, as mentioned in Acts 10:43, Acts 16:31, Acts 15:11, Romans 1:16, Romans 9:33, Romans 10:10-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:14, Ephesians 1:13, 1 John 5:13, 1 John 5:10 & 1 John 5:1 must be accompanied with repentance & confession of sin as spelt out in John 12:46, “(that)…whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” The word, whosoever, in John 12:46 refers to anybody whether he or she has just first started to proclaim with his or her mouth to believe in Jesus. As the phrase, should not abide in darkness, is mentioned in John 12:46 with the word, whosoever, it implies that a person who has the hope to be born again must not abide in darkness before his or her conversion. The same is in 2 Thessalonians 2:12, “(that) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” A person needs to repent from sin in order not to live in darkness. He also needs to receive God’s cleansing of sin in order to have his sin to be wiped out so that he could be pure without darkness of sin in him. Forgiveness of sin is available through confession of sin before God as in 1 John 1:9, “(that) If we confess our sins, he is faithful & just to forgive us our sins, & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
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God is the one that does not tolerate sin. Isaiah 1:15-16, “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil:’ As the phrase, ye make many prayers I will not hear, is mentioned in Isaiah 1:15 with the phrase, your hands are full of blood, it implies that our God will not answer our prayer if we continue in sin without repentant heart. The same is in Micah 3:2, “(that) Who hate the good, & love the evil; …”, Micah 3:4, “Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.” As God would hide His face from those people who love evil (Micah 3:2 & 3:4), do you think those people who proclaim in their mouth to believe in Jesus & yet continue in sinning without repentant heart could be saved?
Jesus is the only source to salvation as spelt out in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, & shall go in & out & find pasture.” Salvation could only be activated through the receipt of the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). Other than the receipt of the Spirit of Christ, there is no way that a person could be saved. Praying sinner’s prayer provides a way out for people to ask to receive Jesus to be their personal saviour.
Could Christians’ children be granted with salvation automatically? Ezekiel 14:20, “Though Noah, Daniel, & Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God , they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.”; Ezekiel 14:18, “Though these men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.”; Ezekiel 14:14, “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord.”
Could a child commit sin? Psalms 58:3, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
What is our attitude to those people have been misled by false teaching? James 5:19-20, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, & one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from err of his way shall save a soul from death, & shall hide a multitude of sins.”
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This is for the article here WHERE IN THE BIBLE IS THE “SINNER’S PRAYER”?
BY DISCIPLERAMI on NOVEMBER 18, 2005
Picture Jesus dying on the cross and I won’t go into graphics. However, He was hung between two thieves. Here is the scripture Luke 23:39-43:
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[a] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Now tell me, anywhere did Jesus tell this thief he had to get off the cross the best way he knew how and to do all these things as you have stated and if he didn’t he couldn’t join Him in paradise that day. I read this scripture different. If you think that thief if, I am just saying, if you could of. come off that cross and live under a rule of condemnation if he didn’t with all the rules you took pretext out of made into a context. You really think that thief was going to do that. The cross was real. He really believed he was nailed there. He knew he couldn’t come off that cross. So with the faith or some kind of “I believe, help my unbelief” kind of faith, he was willing to risk it with Jesus. What were the others going to do, the thief was dying. And just that one sentence just acknowledging Jesus and you know what Jesus response was? Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. So Jesus knew He had to make good His promise because of who He said He was. And He knew how much faith if any at all to help his unbelief. The Lord knows our thoughts. Without saying anything Jesus knew what was going through this theive’s mind. Think he was going to stick around for all that action by coming down off that cross or even try to? And even if he made it to the ground. You think that he the only one could battle the crowd set before him? Do you think if he did make it and got away, think he would do like what Jesus said and they were words. There was no tangibility about to what Jesus was said. They were a dying man’s words to him and that theif would of high tailed out of there and he was not looking back and would be saying “bye, don’t to be you.” No that thief would never of made and he hadn’t nothing to lose but hope that just maybe that this guy Jesus just may be telling the truth by witnesses who believed in the miracles, teaching and John 10. The reason why I didn;t mention all the scriptures, is I don’t you to take my word for it but look up God’s word for pertaing to what i have said. May take some digging but you have to plough the ground first. I just planted the seed.
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I made an error in my posting. I meant to click the “dislike” button as I did not like this article at all and disagree (therefore this will all be deleted, though I see some who disagree too. So maybe not.
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Thank you for the reply. But your response supposes I believe Jesus wasn’t going to keep his word to the thief and save him. The thief didn’t need to come down because all he needed for salvation was complete in him. He believes, confessed, repented. BAPTISM for remission of sins wasn’t commanded until after the resurrection, Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38.
Today we don’t tell people to say the sinner’s prayer but instead tell them to do what Jesus said to do: repent and be baptized to have their sins washed away, Acts 22:16.
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