God, be merciful to me a sinner! -Luke 18:13
This month I heard a young preacher say to a student group, “You’re not saved by a prayer. A prayer won’t save you.” This seems to be a popular view among some on the internet. Somewhat related, Anglican Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori called an individual salvation formula “heresy.” I disagree.
Are we saved by a prayer? According to the Bible, yes. Prayer is simply talking to God; calling to God. Must we do something to be saved? Again, according to the Bible, yes.
“If you confess with your mouth,” “believe in your heart,” you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Romans 10:13; see Joel 2:32). The “Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him” (Romans 10:12).
The tax collector prayed what has come to be known as the Sinner‘s Prayer, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Did that prayer save him? Well, Jesus Himself said, “This man went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:13-14).
The thief on the cross prayed, “Lord, remember me.” Did this prayer save him? Yes, we have Jesus’ word on it, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). Jesus saved him, but a prayer saved the thief in the sense that he had to pray, believe, ask.
The Gospel (Good News) is that Jesus, God the Son, died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus has done the work of our salvation. He made the once for all, perfect sacrifice by shedding His blood for us (1 Peter 1:18-19; Hebrews 7:27; 9:12). But we are not automatically saved; we must repent, receive, believe, ask God to save us.
We are to “receive / accept” Jesus. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
We are to “believe” in Jesus for salvation (John 1:12b; 3:16, 36; 5:24; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 4:3; 1 Timothy 4:10). “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).
We are to “ask.” Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10).
We are to “repent,” turn from our sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:37-38; 3:19; 26:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Peter 3:9).
How are we saved, regenerated? “For by grace you have been saved through faith..” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are saved by the grace of God. But wait, it also says we are saved through faith (also Luke 7:50; Romans 3:28; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 3:17). James 1:21 says we are saved by the implanted word. The point is that a whole lot of things happen simultaneously at regeneration. We are saved by grace; but on the other hand we are saved though faith, by the word, by calling on the name of the Lord. You do not enhance the grace of God by denying the necessity of believing and calling on the name of God. You do not detract from Jesus’ blood atonement by pointing out the role of repentance and faith.
“Dear Lord, I know that I’m a sinner, that I’ve done things that are wrong in Your eyes. I believe You love me and died on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose again and are living today. I ask You right now to forgive me of all my sins and to come into my heart and save me. Help me to make You the Lord, the Boss, of my life. Help me to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Will someone be saved if they pray this or a similar prayer? If they pray it and mean it, of course they will be saved. You have God’s Word on it.
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, September 28, AD 2009.
Related Articles:
The Roman Road of Salvation
Also see Gulf Coast Pastor Articles in lower right hand margin.
We are to “believe” in Jesus for salvation (John 1:12b; 3:16, 36; 5:24; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 4:3; 1 Timothy 4:10). “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).
We are to “ask.” Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10).
We are to “repent,” turn from our sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:37-38; 3:19; 26:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Peter 3:9).
How are we saved, regenerated? “For by grace you have been saved through faith..” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are saved by the grace of God. But wait, it also says we are saved through faith (also Luke 7:50; Romans 3:28; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 3:17). James 1:21 says we are saved by the implanted word. The point is that a whole lot of things happen simultaneously at regeneration. We are saved by grace; but on the other hand we are saved though faith, by the word, by calling on the name of the Lord. You do not enhance the grace of God by denying the necessity of believing and calling on the name of God. You do not detract from Jesus’ blood atonement by pointing out the role of repentance and faith.
“Dear Lord, I know that I’m a sinner, that I’ve done things that are wrong in Your eyes. I believe You love me and died on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose again and are living today. I ask You right now to forgive me of all my sins and to come into my heart and save me. Help me to make You the Lord, the Boss, of my life. Help me to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Will someone be saved if they pray this or a similar prayer? If they pray it and mean it, of course they will be saved. You have God’s Word on it.
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, September 28, AD 2009.
Related Articles:
The Roman Road of Salvation
Also see Gulf Coast Pastor Articles in lower right hand margin.
David: I agree with you and the reason is the verse you gave above along with the thief's statement to Christ on the cross. The most important thing is that the person believes in Jesus Christ and all that entails for salvation, which is usually followed by some kind of a prayer.
ReplyDeleteWe also cannot say that a person is genuinely saved because they pray a certain prayer. This is my objection to using prayer as a sign. The fruit later on is the real sign of a person's true regeneration. Not that they prayed a prayer or came forward.
You can count me as one of the people who teaches frequently that people are not saved by a prayer. I do not mean that prayer is not involved in salvation. What I mean is that one can recite a sinners prayer and still be lost.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, the Bible's teachings on assurance nowhere ask us to "think of a time when you accepted Jesus into your heart," even though it does teach that such a time really does happen. Biblical assurance is not based on any prayer or past religious experience. Throughout the book of 1 John, it is based on three things: 1) ongoing faith in Jesus, 2) changed behavior, and 3) love for the saints.
Personally, I did pray a sinners prayer at the time of my conversion. But I know that my memories and feelings can be deceptive, so I don't base my assurance on the sincerity of that prayer. I base my assurance on the God who is currently giving me grace and continually working faith in me.
DOES THE BOOK OF ACTS SUPPORT THAT BELIEVING IN JESUS ATTRACTS IMMEDIATE RECEIPT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
ReplyDelete2} Let’s meditate Acts 8:14-17 below:
Acts 8:14-17, “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, PRAYED FOR THEM,, THAT THEY MIGHT RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”
Nothing is mentioned in Acts 8:14-17 that the Samaria had believed the word of God except the phrase, had received. It is erroneous to use these verses to support that salvation could come about simply by receiving the word of God instead of believing. Thus, the absence of certain factors, such as, repentance of sin; confession of sin; and the requesting for the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:14-17, do not give any strong proof that they did not exercise prior to their conversion to Christianity. The phrase, had received, in Acts 8:14 implies that Samaria should have believed in Jesus at that time. Did they receive the Holy Spirit immediately after believing? No, they did not receive the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:14 until Acts 8:17, “(that mentions that)…laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.” As there is an obvious gap between Acts 8:14 and Acts 8:17 in which they believed and yet the Holy Spirit was not with them, it implies that believing does not attract the immediate receipt of the Holy Spirit. As the phrase, prayed for them, is mentioned in Acts 8:15 with the phrase, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, it implies that requesting for the receipt of the Holy Spirit is acceptable from the Scriptural point of view. As praying with the receipt of the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:15 should be associated with baptism, it implies baptism in the past should be accompanied with also praying with the receipt of the Holy Spirit in addition to sin cleansing as mentioned in Acts 22:10.
4} Let’s examine Acts 8:26-37 below to determine whether these verses do support sinner’s prayer:
Acts 8:26-27, “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise…And he arose, and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians…had come to Jerusalem for to worship…” Acts 8:37-38, “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and he eunuch; and he baptized him.”
7} Acts 19:2, “…HAVE YE RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST SINCE YE BELIEVED?…”
To compare your Calvinist brethren to liberals like the apostate ECUSA "bishop" Katherine Schori is unchristian and unacceptable. It is also absurd.
ReplyDeleteCalvinists believe that a man is saved the moment he truly accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour and is simultaneously regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Since men can make false professions, however, you cannot say that every man who recites the "sinner's prayer" is saved, unless you hold to Zane Hodges theology, which is unbiblical.
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteApparently you agree with the similarity, since I did not even refer to Calvinists in the first paragraph. Could you be the one comparing Calvinists to this view?
You should be aware there is a wide diversity of views among Calvinists. Some believe in regenertion before faith, etc., etc.
As I've said previously, if a man prays the Sinner's Prayer and means it, he is saved. Period. We have God's Word on it.
David R. Brumbelow