Sinner's Prayer

There is no where in the Bible that anyone ever prayed a "sinner's prayer", was ever told to pray a "sinner's pray" or ever used a "sinner's prayer" to be saved. Many people think that they are saved because someone told them that they had to pray a "sinner's prayer" to ask Jesus to come into their heart, but there is no such instruction anywhere in the Bible concerning salvation.

From ancient times, the Scriptures instructed men everywhere to seek God earnestly in order to find Him. Men were told to be broken for their sins and to come to the Lord in humility and to seek Him in repentance and brokenness, in order to find Him and be saved. This practice was followed by most all gospel preachers until the late 1800s. Before that time, men who preached the gospel normally never told a seeker that he was saved but told the seeker to earnestly seek God until he was reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit. Before that time, it was usually understood that the salvation process could take some time. It could be rather quick or may take hours, days or even weeks for men to seek God, count the cost of giving up one's life, come to repentance, be broken and completely surrender to God. But in the early 1900s, Billy Sunday changed all this and reduced this very important time of repentance and seeking God into "just come forward and shake his hand". He then told whoever did this that they were born again. Billy Sunday had a referral card with a printed commitment that was to be signed by the "new convert" and sent to a pastor for follow up. This printed commitment on the referral card was later taken and made into the first "sinner's prayer." So, after this when people came forward to receive Jesus, they were often taken into a room for counseling to see if they were really sincere. If the counselor decided that they were really sincere, he would lead them in a simple "sinner's prayer" and told them that they were now saved and born again. Other ministers began to use this method more and more during the early 1900s, because it shortened the "salvation process" from seeking God with repentance in order to find Him, into a quick and easy "salvation method" that saved preachers a lot of time and effort, so they could now make "instant" converts. In the 1950s, the most popular American evangelist of all time continued with this method and had people come forward to receive Jesus. He then would have them go into rooms with counselors and be led in a "sinner's prayer." But as the crowds grew in greater numbers, this well-known evangelist eliminated the counseling process altogether, gathered the huge crowds up front, and then he himself prayed the "sinner's prayer" for the masses and then told them that they all were saved and that they all had eternal life. As a result of this, there was no longer any counseling, nor follow up, nor discipling of the "new converts." It has been reported that most all of those "converts", from those huge meetings, fell away and never amounted to anything. Yet most of them probably thought they were going to heaven, since this well-known and very popular evangelist told them they were saved and had eternal life because of the "sinner's prayer", even though virtually none of the biblical requirements to be saved were met.

Today we are told by most preachers and Bible teachers that Jesus has done everything for you and that you don't have to do anything to be saved except "just believe in and accept Jesus". And they go on to say that if you do believe that you should pray the "sinner's prayer" asking Jesus in your heart and then you are born again. But I ask you, is that what the Bible says?

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord (just praying words),' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will (obedience) of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (Matt. 7:21) "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:27) And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Luke 13:23,24)

It is very sad that in the end many will seek to enter heaven but will not be able to, because they trusted in the "sinner's prayer" which was invented by man. The will of God was never about praying a so-called "sinner's prayer", but about repentance from sin, totally devoting oneself to the Lord with a whole heart and enduring to the end. Without being born again and living a life of obedience to God, no one will ever see heaven. The "sinner's prayer" has misled countless people to believe that they have done ALL they need to do to be saved. If you have fallen into this trap, I hope that you seek God, repent of your sins and serve the Lord with a whole heart before it is too late.

Don Britton

Christianmyths.org@gmail.com

www.Christianmyths.org

Comment by JULIE WEST on Tuesday, October 26, 2021...

Comment by DON BRITTON on Friday, February 18, 2022...

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