Sinner's prayer explained

The Sinner's prayer (also called the Consecration prayer and Salvation prayer) is an evangelical Baptist term referring to any prayer of repentance, prayed by individuals who feel sin in their lives and have the desire to form or renew a personal relationship. This prayer is not mandatory but, for some, functions as a way to communicate with and understand their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is a popular prayer in evangelical circles.[1] It is not intended as liturgical like a creed or a confiteor said or chanted within the Catholic Mass, but rather, is intended to be an act of conversion to Christianity. It is roughly analogous to the Catholic Act of Contrition, though the theology behind each is markedly different, due to the intrinsically different views of salvation between Catholicism and Protestantism. While some Christians see reciting the Sinner's prayer as the moment defining one's salvation, others see it as a beginning step of one's lifelong faith journey.[2] [3]

It also may be prayed as an act of "re-commitment" for those who are already believers in the faith. Often, at the end of a worship service, in what is known as an altar call, a minister or other worship leader will invite those desiring to receive Christ (thus becoming born again) to repeat with them the words of some form of a Sinner's prayer. It also is frequently found on printed gospel tracts, urging people to "repeat these words from the bottom of your heart".[4]

The Sinner's prayer takes various forms, all of which have the same general thrust.[5] Since it is considered a matter of one's personal will, it can be prayed silently, aloud, read from a suggested model, or repeated after someone modeling the prayer role. There is no formula of specific words considered essential, although it usually contains an admission of sin and a petition asking that Jesus enter into the person's heart (that is to say, the center of their life). The use of the Sinner's prayer is common within some Protestant denominations, such as Baptist Churches and Methodist Churches, as well as in movements that span several denominations, including evangelical, fundamentalist, and charismatic Christianity.[6] It has also been used, though not as widely, by some Anglicans,[7] [8] Lutherans,[9] [10] and Roman Catholics.[11] It is sometimes uttered by Christians seeking redemption or reaffirming their faith in Christ during a crisis or disaster, when death may be imminent.

Because no such prayer or conversion is found in the Bible, some have critiqued the Sinner's prayer, calling it a "cataract of nonsense" and an "apostasy".[12] David Platt has raised questions over the authenticity of the conversions of people using the Sinner's prayer based on research by George Barna.[13]

Origins

The Sinner's prayer, as popularly known today, has roots in Protestant Christianity. Some affirm that it evolved, in some form or another, during the early days of the Protestant Reformation, as a reaction against the notion of justification by means of meritorious works.[14] Others believe it originated as late as the 18th century revival movement. Paul Harrison Chitwood, in his doctoral dissertation on the history of the Sinner's prayer, argues that it originated in the early 20th century.[15]

Evangelists such as Billy Graham and evangelistic organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ brought the concept to prominence in the 20th century. Televangelists often ask viewers to pray a Sinner's prayer with them, one phrase at a time, to become a Christian. Quite commonly, such a prayer appears at the conclusion of a tract and is recited in a religious service or other public service as an invitation for congregants to affirm their faith, sometimes as part of an altar call. It is said to happen many times every day around the world—in one-to-one conversations between friends, relatives, and even strangers; in pastors' offices; via email; in online chat rooms; in addition to both small and large worship services.[16]

Typical examples

An early proponent of the sinner's prayer was the well-known American evangelist D. L. Moody.[17]

An early version of what some would consider the Sinner's prayer is found in Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, published in 1678, Ninth Stage, Chapter 18:

Various other versions of the prayer include:

Support

The Peace with God organization, and other evangelistic organizations and preachers, messengers (delegates) to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) 2012 annual meeting reaffirmed the Sinner's prayer after some debate:

Criticisms

Inauthentic conversion

David Platt, a prominent Southern Baptist pastor in Birmingham, Alabama, has said that "Many assume they are saved simply because of a prayer they prayed. It's not that praying a prayer in and of itself is bad—but the question in John 2–3 is what kind of faith are we calling people to?" Speaking at The Verge Church leaders' conference said the emphasis on the Sinner's prayer is "unbiblical and damning." He continued:

Platt says he is concerned that some people "say they believe in Jesus[...] say they have accepted Jesus[...] say that they have received Jesus, but they are not saved and will not enter the kingdom of heaven". While he affirmed that people calling out to God with repentant faith is fundamental to attaining eternal life (salvation), he said his comments about the "sinner's prayer" have been deeply motivated "by a concern for authentic conversions".

Subsequently, he has written:

Francis Chan, a well-known evangelical Christian, has made statements that contradict the Sinner's prayer and emphasizing baptism and the Holy Spirit.[18]

Possibly shallow, or insincere commitment

A second and related criticism is that many believers fail to mature as Christians after their supposed conversion using the Sinner's prayer. An article in Christianity Today claims that "mediocrity and hypocrisy characterize the lives of many avowed Christians".

The writer encourages believers to go beyond a Sinner's prayer and "embark on a life fully devoted to the love of God, the love of neighbor, the moral practice of God's will, and radical, costly discipleship". "Love of God" and "Love of neighbor" are the Great Commandments (see also Disciple (Christianity)).

Lack of biblical presence

Another criticism of the Sinner's prayer is that passages used to support it actually are not about the lost repeating a prayer in order to become Christians. The Sinner's prayer is often employed in conjunction with Revelation 3:20[19] and Romans 10:9–10, 13.[20] Revelation 3:20 is employed to teach that Christ is knocking at the door of one's heart, and when a lost person asks him to come inside, Jesus comes into the sinner's heart. Romans 10:9–10, 13 are employed to affirm that one must confess with their mouth—say, the Sinner's prayer—in order to become a Christian. However, the Baptist Greek professor Thomas Ross argues that Revelation 3:20 is about members of a church turning to the Lord, not about Christ entering into the heart of the lost. He provides 14 reasons that Revelation 3:20 is not about the lost asking Jesus into their hearts to become saved.[21] He similarly argues that Romans 10:9–14 refers to Christians confessing Christ publicly before men and manifesting a life of prayer, rather than to the lost becoming saved by a one-time repetition of the Sinner's prayer.[22]

Another form of this criticism of the Sinner's prayer states that simply praying the Sinner's prayer does not actually grant salvation to the one praying. One essay on the topic from the "Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry" asserts that "The 'Sinner's Prayer' is, today, an effective tool of Satan to dupe people into believing they are saved when they are not":

Absence of the Sinner's prayer in historic Christianity

Other opponents of the Sinner's prayer point out that no classic Christian confession of faith from any evangelical denomination in Christendom affirms that one must say the Sinner's prayer to be saved; on the contrary, Baptist, Presbyterian and other Reformed, and other evangelical groups unanimously teach justification by faith alone. They argue that the Sinner's prayer is a modern deviation from orthodox evangelicalism and a deviation from classic evangelical methods of evangelism. The Sinner's prayer was not practiced before the 1700s. Therefore, to say that it is the way to be saved is to say that prior to the 1700s no-one was saved.[23]

Doctrine of baptismal regeneration

Baptismal regenerationalists—those Christians who believe that when one is baptized in water is the actual moment that an individual receives salvation—include Roman Catholics, Lutherans, some Anglicans, the Churches of Christ, International Churches of Christ, and Christian churches and churches of Christ. This is based on passages in the New Testament that some interpret to require water baptism for salvation.

In what is termed the Great Commission of Jesus just prior to his Ascension in Matthew 28:18–20,[24] he instructed his followers to go, make disciples, teach them, and baptize them, as Jesus was baptized in water by John the Baptist. His disciples baptized converts, though John 4:1 states that "Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples" did. Opponents of baptismal regeneration understand baptism to be a means of identifying with Christ, and that when performed by immersion it is symbolic of his death, burial and resurrection. Some dispensationalists believe the baptism that saves a person is the Baptism with the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives, and not water baptism (1 Peter 3:21).[25] Many other evangelicals and fundamentalists recognize that texts such as Mark 16:16, John 3:5, and Acts 2:38 refer to baptism in water, but argue that such verses, interpreted in their context, provide no support whatsoever for baptismal regeneration. Historic or Landmark Baptists affirm that the baptism with the Holy Spirit was a completed event that took place in the first century and is not for today, arguing that texts employed to support baptismal regeneration are actually totally consistent with justification by faith alone (James 2:18–26).[26]

Roman Catholics, Lutherans,[27] and Orthodox churches also teach that forgiveness is received in baptism (although they practice this in the "Christening" with water of infants or adult converts). A leading Roman Catholic authority defines "baptism" in the following fashion:

Evidence presented to advocate baptism being necessary for salvation includes the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (the Apostle Paul). After Christ had told Saul to enter Damascus where Saul would be told what he "must" do,[28] Saul was blind for three days and was praying during this time.[29] Ananias arrived, cured Paul of his blindness and baptized Saul.[30] [31]

Others see it as an example of apparently instantaneous salvation coming through repentance without water baptism or any kind of work, citing the assurance Jesus gave to the penitent thief on a cross next to him during the crucifixion.[32] [33]

An opposing position here is that the penitent thief was dying under the older Mosaic law which did not require baptism (cf. Mikveh) and that before Christ's death he had authority and did forgive many without any of the salvation requirements found after his death, burial and Resurrection found in the rest of the New Testament.[34] Additionally, it is unknown whether the thief had been baptized at a stage in life before being crucified. John the Baptist and Jesus' disciples already had baptized many individuals.[35]

Baptismal regenerationists refer to water baptism as the "washing of regeneration", (1 Corinthians 6:11/John 3:5) believing it to be part of the "born again" conversion experience in the Bible. The passage states, "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord".[30] Opponents of baptismal regeneration argue that vast numbers of texts in the Gospel of John, the only specifically evangelistic book of the New Testament (John 20:31), promise eternal life to every single believer (John 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:47, etc.) and so demonstrate that eternal life is received by faith alone before baptism. Similarly, while texts affirm that those who do not repent and believe are damned (Luke 13:3; John 3:18, 36), The Bible also shows that the unbaptized are damned, according to baptismal regenerationists. (Mark 16:16/Revelation 22:14). Advocates of the Sinner's prayer also believe verses such as Romans 10:13 show that people are saved before baptism when they pray and ask to be saved, while evangelical and fundamentalist opponents of the Sinner's prayer believe that a defense of the Sinner's prayer gives opponents of justification by faith alone security by enshrining a human tradition over the Biblical mandate to repent and believe to receive eternal life (Mark 1:15). Moreover, opponents of the Sinner's prayer reference Romans 6:3–5 to assert that the audience of the book of Romans was already baptized, and, therefore, were being instructed to call on the name of the Lord after they had heard and believed the message being preached (Acts 10:14–17). Other verses such as Acts 22:16 suggest that baptism and "calling on His name" are complementary actions required for forgiveness of sins.[36]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Olsen . Ted . 2012-06-20 . Southern Baptists Debate the Sinner's Prayer . 2024-04-18 . ChristianityToday.com . en.
  2. Web site: Burton-Edwards . Taylor . Is the concept "saved, born-again" unique to evangelicals or Baptists? Does it apply to Methodists? . 10 March 2016 . umc.org . The United Methodist Church . We declare that good news with the expectation that it will lead persons to an experience of conversion, of "entirely turning over" their lives to God by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we expect that all disciples of Jesus Christ are transforming the culture in which they find themselves, individually and collectively, as they bear witness to and become agents of the work of God's kingdom in the world. We are evangelical! Where we may be different from some other evangelicals (including some, but not all Baptists) is that we understand conversion to be a lifelong process, a continual turning of our lives and wills over to God for God's use and purposes. And to begin that lifelong process, we must, as the scriptures teach and John Wesley reminds us, be "born again.".
  3. Web site: Fortson . Nina . God's gift of Salvation . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20181011171304/http://www.asburyumcfmd.org/resources/salvation . October 11, 2018 . 10 March 2016 . Asbury United Methodist Church . en . You have to personally make the decision to follow Jesus on your own. Once you have decided to follow Jesus, you must admit that you are a sinner and repent (turn away from) of your sins and invite Jesus to come into your life as your personal Savior. ...Know that this is an exciting new journey of a brand new life through Jesus Christ. Equip yourself with the Word of God, get into a believing bible-based church and surround yourself around other Christian believers..
  4. Howard, Robert Glenn. "A Theory of Vernacular Rhetoric: The Case of the 'Sinner's Prayer' Online". Folklore 116.2 (2005): 175-91
  5. Web site: Jackson . Wayne . April 17, 2024 . The Sinner's Prayer - Is It Biblical? ChristianCourier.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20230717000457/https://christiancourier.com/articles/the-sinners-prayer-is-it-biblical . July 17, 2023 . 2024-04-18 . Christian Courier.
  6. Web site: Message For You! - Message with Salvation Prayer in 100+ languages . Message-For-You.net. 5 June 2014 .
  7. Web site: 2015 . Knowing Jesus - and making Him known - is the heart of our mission . 10 March 2016 . . en . If you would like to have a relationship with God and you are ready to say these three things, then here is a very simple prayer that you can pray and which will be the start of that relationship: Lord Jesus Christ, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life (take a few moments to ask His forgiveness for anything particular that is on your conscience). Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank You that You died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank You that You offer me forgiveness and the gift of Your Spirit. I now receive that gift. Please come into my life by Your Holy Spirit to be with me forever. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen..
  8. Web site: Prayer of Salvation. St. Stephen's Anglican Church. en. 10 March 2016. Lowell, MA. The "prayer of salvation" is the most important prayer we'll ever pray. When we're ready to become a Christian, we're ready to have our first real conversation with God, and these are its components: We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve. We confess our past life of sin – living for ourselves and not obeying God. We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us. ...Welcome to the family of God! We encourage you now to find a local church where you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160310133141/http://www.ststephenslowell.com/salvation.asp. 10 March 2016.
  9. Web site: Invite Jesus In. 2007. Bethel Lutheran Church (ELCA). en. 10 March 2016. Do you believe in Jesus and that he died for your sins? If you would like to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior, pray to him and tell him now. Prayer is just talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so much concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. So, the prayer does not have to have fancy religious-sounding words. It can be in your own words and as simple as: Lord, I believe in You. I believe you died for my sins. I am a sinner. I confess all my sins. Please forgive me. Come into my heart now and be Lord of my life. In Your Name I pray. Amen.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160310140545/http://www.betheltoledo.org/index.php?p=1_4_Invite-Jesus-In. 10 March 2016.
  10. Web site: Steps to Peace with God. St. Mark's Lutheran Church. 10 March 2016.
  11. Web site: 2014. Prayer of Consecration. 10 March 2016. St. Paul Street Evangelization. en. Since we do not usually have immediate recourse to the Sacraments if we meet someone who is not a believer we can invite them, right then, to pray with us and invite Jesus Christ into their life.[...] Catholics would say that someone who prays sincerely to be forgiven their sins and resolves to enter the Church and receive the Sacraments may very well be saved even before baptism (if they were killed) by the 'baptism of desire' or for certain reasons 'baptism by blood'. Baptism is necessary for salvation (it is when God washes away our sins and we die & rise with Christ), however prayer is a great place to start. It is never too soon to ask God to forgive us our sins and seek to be members of the Kingdom of God through the Catholic Church..
  12. Web site: Steven Francis Staten . The Sinner's Prayer . The Interactive Bible . 3 December 2007.
  13. Web site: Barna Study of Religious Change Since 1991 Shows Significant Changes by Faith Group . 2024-04-18 . Barna Group . en-US.
  14. Jackson, Wayne. "The 'Sinner's Prayer' — Is It Biblical?" Christian Courier. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/368-the-sinners-prayer-is-it-biblical Accessed 2 May 2013
  15. Web site: Thomas Ross . The Sinner's Prayer: A Historical and Theological Analysis, Paul Harrison Chitwood. (Ph. D. Diss, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2001) . Faithsaves.net . 2014-10-13. 2019-08-05.
  16. Miano, Tony. "Why The Sinner's Prayer Is Unbiblical". Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM). http://carm.org/sinners-prayer 18 Mar 2013
  17. [Frank Viola (author)|Viola, F.]
  18. Francis Chan - baptism . Feb 21, 2011 . Chan . Francis . Video.
  19. 3:20
  20. 10:9–10 , 10:13
  21. Web site: Thomas Ross . Will I Be Saved if I Ask Jesus to Come into my Heart or Repeat the Sinners Prayer? . Faithsaves.net . 2014-10-06. 2019-08-05.
  22. Web site: Thomas Ross . Is the "Sinner's Prayer" in Romans 10:9-10 or Romans 10:13? An Exegesis and Application of Romans 10:9-14 for Soulwinning Churches and Christians, by Thomas Ross . Faithsaves.net . 2013-10-20. 2019-08-05.
  23. Web site: Christ’s suit to the sinner, while he stands and knocks at the door. [microform] : A sermon preach’d in a time of great awakening, at the Tuesday-evening lecture in Brattle-Street, Boston, October 13. 1741. / By John Webb, M.A. Pastor of a church of Christ in Boston. ]. https://web.archive.org/web/20200714063816/http://pacscl.exlibrisgroup.com:48992/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000171590 . 2020-07-14 . pacscl.exlibrisgroup.com.
  24. 28:18–20
  25. Olson, Norman A. "Did Jesus Ever Baptize Anyone?" Baptist Bulletin. Web site: Did Jesus Ever Baptize Anyone? – Baptist Bulletin . 2013-03-20 . dead . https://archive.today/20130414085242/http://baptistbulletin.org/?p=1792 . 2013-04-14 . . Accessed 19 Mar 2013
  26. Web site: Thomas Ross . Spirit Baptism: A Completed Historical Event; An Exposition and Defense of the Historic Baptist View of Spirit Baptism . Faithsaves.net . 2013-12-12. 2019-08-05.
  27. Book: Walther, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm. Sermons and prayers for Reformation and Luther commemorations. 2008. Joel Baseley. 9780982252321. 27. Furthermore, the Lutheran Church also thoroughly teaches that we are cleansed of our sins and born again and renewed in Holy Baptism by the Holy Ghost..
  28. 9:6
  29. 9:9–11
  30. 22:16
  31. Web site: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Regeneration . 2024-04-18 . www.newadvent.org.
  32. 23:39–43
  33. Staten, Steven Francis. The Sinner's Prayer:' Modern apostasy and false teaching that prevents men from being saved". http://www.bible.ca/g-sinners-prayer.htm Accessed 3 May 2013
  34. 9:15–17
  35. Web site: Jackson . Wayne . What about the thief on the cross? . Christiancourier.com . 2019-08-05.
  36. Compare the discussion at: http://faithsaves.net/baptismal-regeneration/