To be saved a lot of people think all you have to do is pray a sinner's prayer. But absolutely no-one was ever saved by simply saying a prayer. There is so much more to salvation than reciting some words.
The very act of leading someone in a prayer to receive their salvation is pointless. You will find nothing in the Bible that says a person can be led to being ‘Born Again’ by someone else. Yes they can influence them, but they cannot save them.
Of course it is true that preaching the Gospel will encourage a sinner to repent and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Yes listening to a pastor who urges you to ‘get right with God and accept His free gift of Grace’ is a good start. But you must want to be saved and cannot be coerced into being saved by another person, it is a personal choice, we chose.
To be saved God asks that we believe in our hearts that His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Saviour. We must understand and believe the consequences of being a sinner. We will have a sincere desire to repent and turn from our sin. In Christ we become a new creature, dead to our old worldly ways.
This only comes by turning our hearts toward God by what His Son Jesus Christ did for us at Calvary.
Luke 10:27
‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.’
However, most people do pray some type of prayer when they believe upon Christ. Salvation begins deep within a person; it happens when you reach out and admit that you are a wretched sinner in need of Jesus for forgiveness. A person who is saved may want to pray this kind of prayer because they have already believed in their heart.
Romans 10:9-10
‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.’
Yes salvation is of the heart and not the mouth. A sinner's prayer without genuine conviction is meaningless, nothing more than words.
Acts 16:30-31
‘What must I do to be saved? They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved’
Salvation is not a detached process, i.e. - ‘All you have to do is say these words and you’re saved.’ If the Sinner’s Prayer becomes a formula for salvation then it is a very dangerous and unbiblical doctrine that will lead many away from true salvation. Saying mere words in a prayer won’t save you, however, surrendering your life to God by faith in Jesus Christ will.
I believe you can lead a person to Christ thru example, witnessing, and if they ask you "how" then you "lead" them with an idea of the words to say, as they will probably be unfamiliar with prayer.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you can't coerce a person into it, and I also believe that a prayer alone isn't sufficient if it's not heartfelt. However I have to say there are times when the words come from a heart that is ready, rather than the heart being made pure just because of the words.
Christ alone knows our motives.
I remember seeing the altar lined with young people who wanted to give their hearts to Jesus, and other mature Christians coming forward to pray with them and "lead" them. Not through force, but by response to their genuine desire to be shown the way. Sometimes we are called to be lighthouses, and shine so brightly that we show the way to those who are lost. How amazing that would be :)
Thanks Karen. Yes I agree that we can witness and spread the good news. But the thrust of my blog is that anyone who says you simply need to recite the sinners prayer to be saved is biblically wrong. The words only have weight for those sinners who come on their knees with heavy hearts begging for forgiveness. Salvation begins in the heart, not the mouth.
DeletePrayer is a mighty tool in the hands of a believer, but I am also reminded of the words of Jesus, "Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter into heaven" and that is a warning to make us worry.
ReplyDeletePrayer in the hands of a sincere seeker will ensure salvation, but we should all beware of uttering those insincere words, "I'll pray for you", or "You are in my prayers" if they are not meant.
Thanks for making me think about our lifeline to the Father, through Jesus, prayer. I understand completely where you are coming from!
Scripture is clear. Salvation is gained through faith and trust in The Lord Jesus Christ. If we believe in our hearts that Jesus is 'the only way' then we are saved. A pastor or a friend can point us toward the light of truth but the steps to reach salvation must be our own. As I said we chose because we desperately want to be saved. Words without sincerity read parrot fashion will never save anyone, regardless of how eloquent they are.
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