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The
“Sinner’s Prayer” – Is It Biblical?
by
Wayne Jackson
The
following article is a re-print from the Christian Courier at http://www.christiancourier.com/
The
so-called “sinner’s prayer” is a popular phenomenon in
Protestant circles. It is employed at the conclusion of various
denominational “revival” services in appeals to convince
sincere people to “get saved.” It frequently is found as the
ending in “gospel” tracts, urging folks to “repeat these
words from the bottom of your heart.”
The
“Sinner’s Prayer” takes various forms, all of which have
the same general thrust. Here is one form of it:
“Heavenly
Father, I know that I am a sinner and that I deserve to go to
hell. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins.
I do now receive him as my Lord and personal Savior. I promise
to serve you to the best of my ability. Please save me. In
Jesus’ name, Amen.”
The
following observations concerning this “prayer” should be
carefully considered.
Is the “Sinner’s
Prayer” in the New Testament?
The
sentiments of this prayer are found nowhere in the literature of
the New Testament that pertains to the sinner’s responsibility
under the law of Christ. A careful study of the cases of
conversion in the book of Acts will reveal that in not a single
instance is the sinner instructed or encouraged to “pray”
for his or her salvation. Rather, those honest souls who longed
for redemption were admonished to “believe” on the Lord
(Acts 16:31), “repent . . . and be immersed . . . for the
forgiveness of [their] sins” (Acts 2:38; cf. 22:16), in order
to enjoy a relationship with Christ (Gal. 3:27), and enter his
spiritual body (1 Cor. 12:13).
What about Acts 2:21?
The
claim that Acts 2:21 provides authority for the “sinner’s
prayer” is baseless. The “call” contemplated in this
passage was fulfilled when penitent sinners surrendered to the
terms of the gospel plan of redemption, explicitly announced
later on the same occasion. The “forgiveness of sins” (38)
is the equivalent of “saved” (21). Accordingly, the
“call” of verse 21 is obviously a generic term which
embraces the “repent . . . and be immersed” which was
commanded of believers in verse 38.
Moreover,
this calling/obedience connection is further established in Acts
22:16. Note that the very act of submitting to the Lord’s
command to be immersed is the manifestation of “calling” on
his name.
Saying “Lord,
Lord” is not enough
Scripture
elsewhere makes it very clear that the mere act of “calling”
out the Lord’s name, in an attempt to access divine mercy, in
the absence of obedience, in an exercise in futility.
“Not
everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he who does [present tense –
persistently does] the will of my Father who is in heaven”
(Mt. 7:21).
Again,
the Savior pointedly inquired:
“And why do
you call me, Lord, Lord, and do
not the things that I say?” (Lk. 6:46).
Prayer
is for the child of GodPrayer is an avenue of communication
between a “child of God” and his heavenly Father. The model
prayer begins: “Our Father in heaven . . .” (Mt. 6:9). One
becomes a child of the Father by means of the “born-again”
process (Jn. 3:3-5), not by praying.
Saul’s prayers did
not save him
Saul
of Tarsus prayed for three days after arriving in the city of
Damascus, yet his sins were not “washed away” until he was
immersed in water in obedience to the divine command (Acts 9:11;
22:16). If there ever was a case of the “sinner’s prayer”
being exercised, surely this was it; yet it was for naught.
Where did the
“Sinner’s Prayer” originate?
The
“sinner’s prayer” probably evolved, in some form or
another, in the early days of the Protestant Reformation
movement, as a misguided reaction against the Roman Catholic
dogma of justification by means of meritorious works.
For
example, Jacobus Faber (c. 1450-1536), who has been called
“the father of the French reformation” (though he never
formally left the Catholic Church), wrote a commentary on the
epistles of Paul in 1512. (This was five years before Luther’s
break with the Roman Church in Germany.) In this volume Faber
argued that justification is obtained through faith without
works (see McClintock & Strong, Cyclopedia,
Grand Rapids: Baker, 1969, Vol. III, p. 441).
Later,
rebelling against the “merit works” system of Romanism,
Luther would contend that salvation is on the basis of “faith
alone.” According to one biographer, Luther exclaimed:
“I, Doctor
Martin Luther, unworthy herald of the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, confess this article, that faith alone without works
justifies before God” (J.H. Merle D’Aubigne, Life
and Times of Martin Luther, Chicago: Moody, 1955, p. 56).
So
convinced was Luther of this proposition that, when producing
his own translation of the New Testament, he altered the text of
Romans 3:28 to read: “. . . a man is justified by faith only.”
The word “only” is not in any Greek manuscript available.
Luther even rejected the divine origin of the book of James
because of its emphasis on “works,” in addition to faith.
To
believe, therefore, that one may be justified from sin, by
simply praying the “sinner’s prayer” as a substitute for
obedience to the plan of salvation, is to labor under a delusion
that is void of biblical support. Undoubtedly, many who offer
the “sinner’s prayer” are exceedingly sincere. Sincerity
alone, however, is unavailing (Prov. 14:12; Acts 23:1; 26:9).
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