What is all the commotion over the Sinner’s Prayer?

Jesus said that one must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What does it mean to be born-again and what does one do to be born-again? Most evangelicals would answer by claiming that you need to say the sinner's prayer. Many churches even close by asking one to repeat a simple model prayer and say that anyone who has said this prayer is born-again and has eternal salvation. A number of prolific preachers have started to speak against the church's reliance upon the sinner's prayer, which seems counterintuitive to what most evangelicals have been taught.

My first encounter with the Gospel was as a young child and followed this typical approach in that I was told we are all sinners going to hell and the only way to avoid this eternal torment is to say a prayer and ask Jesus to save us. Looking back, I remember feeling frustrated that I was having to make such a choice, though I decided to say the prayer as I didn’t want to go to hell. Suddenly I found myself wearing the label of being born-again and would follow through with what I was taught at my Christian school and at church. I’ve seen many similar cases amongst my peers and later when I became a Sunday School teacher. So many children are being raised with a mentality that all they need to do is say this one time prayer, yet many have little to no idea of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus and have an indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Who wouldn’t choose life over death when given the two choices? This doesn’t mean the person is willing to do what is necessary for salvation. Look at the example of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus replied by telling him to give away his possessions to the poor and follow Him. This made him very sad as he was unwilling to let go of his wealth. Many of us say a prayer with the intention of being saved, but not with the willingness of letting go of the things of this world. We want a savior; however we do not want a Lord. We place our reliance on prayer and not on Christ.

As I got older I began to reflect upon my salvation, which caused a great deal of anxiety as something within my heart was telling me that I was not right with God. I had said a sinner's prayer hundreds of times, though I had yet to see any real change in my life as I was unwilling to surrender. It wasn’t until college when I realized that it was about having a relationship with Christ and that through knowing Jesus and having an indwelling of the Holy Spirit one is transformed.

It is not about what we do as salvation is by faith alone. Nowhere in the Bible does it mention that we need to say one simple prayer and that we are forever saved. The closest passage to this is Romans 10:9 which says if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe it in our heart then we will be saved. It is one thing to say a prayer and truly another to fully believe as fully believing and trust Jesus as Lord. In the book of James it says it is not enough to believe as even the demons believe, as faith without works is useless. It is not faith plus works that equals salvation, rather is faith in Christ alone that brings about salvation and works. As Voddie Baucham says “Being born-again isn’t about changing what you want to do, it’s about Christ changing your wants”. We focus so much emphasis on what we can do to be saved, the sad truth is there is nothing we can do, except call upon the cross and turn to Christ as Lord and savior.

This emphasis on saying a sinner’s prayer to ensure salvation gives one a false sense of security. It places focus on a single act done by us and too often people lack true understanding of what it means to be truly born-again and transformed by a living Christ. Instead we need to challenge ourselves and determine if we are bearing good fruits or bad fruits. We must ask ourselves are we walking in darkness as so no one can walk in darkness and it says 1 John they are in the light. If we are living as a Christian should live and showing no change then we must not rely on the fact that we once said a prayer, but instead draw upon the Lord and seek Him and repent of our ways.

We live in a world that is at enmity with God. Many of us who call ourselves Christians fail to make God a regular and consistent part of our lives let alone the central part. We may even go through the motions of going to church and living in a generally moral way, but too many fail to hunger and thirst to know more about Christ. The point of this article is not to scare anyone into thinking they are not saved, rather it is to challenge all of us to think more critically when it comes to salvation and spiritual issues as the stakes couldn’t get any higher. Let us not rely on what we once heard or our own feelings and instincts, instead we must search the scriptures and seek first the Kingdom of God. We are saved by grace through faith and not by our own efforts. The evidence of our salvation is not from saying a prayer; however the evidence of our salvation comes in the form of producing good fruit and a desire to live like and pursue Christ.

References

Matthew 7:17-19 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 19:16-30 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,[a] when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold[b] and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Ephesians 2: 1-9 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

James 2:14-26 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

1 John 1: 5-9 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.