# Sinners Prayer



## GoodTreeMinistries.com (May 1, 2013)

What are you thoughts on the sinners prayer? Does this seem to give a person false assurance? Does it seem that many people point to the sinners prayer as the object of their faith and not Jesus? Should we have a sinners prayer at the end of our gospel tracts?

Here is a link to my view on this: 
Sinners Prayer Does not Save - Good Tree Ministries (Bearing Good Fruit)

Here is a link to a good video I found on this:
The Potential Heresy of the Sinner's Prayer - YouTube


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## Jack K (May 2, 2013)

You know, the gospel calls people to repentance and faith. Prayer is such a vital part of both, that it hardly seems wrong to encourage people to pray as an intitial step of repentance and faith. For that reason, I hesitate to come down too hard on all instances of a "sinner's prayer."

The problem is that too often it has become, in essence, something akin to a witch's incantation. Say the magic words, and you can get the Spirit to do what you want for you. People place their hope in the external act of a specific prayer rather than setting their eyes on the internal work of the Spirit, through the word of the gospel.

So it's not the prayer that's the problem, but rather how it's often treated—and sometimes what's _not_ said... little real gospel, not much call to repentance, little counting the cost, etc. Still, if I was with a person who told me, credibly, that he'd just repented and turned to Jesus in faith, I too would probably suggest he begin his life of faith and repentance with prayer.


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## SeanPatrickCornell (May 2, 2013)

If I were witnessing to a person, and I felt that the person I was witnessing too was ready to make THAT KIND of step, I would never ask them to pray a formulaic SCRIPTED prayer. I would encourage them to pray what's on their heart, and recommend a few keys points to touch upon, specifically, confession, repentance, and a statement of desire to be saved.


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## Miss Marple (May 2, 2013)

If said in faith, it's effective.


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## Need 4 Creed (May 2, 2013)

I agree with much that has already been said. 

Having been involved in many interdenominational evangelistic events, I have seen the devastating effects that occur us a result of the misuse of the sinner's prayer. 

The real problem is when:

1) People are encouraged to pray it before they have even heard the gospel
2) People are praying what is not true i.e 'Dear God, I am a sinner' - inorder for this to be effective there must be a conviction of sin. Given the lack of true gospel preaching, many pray this when there is actually no conviction of sin and this leads to a false profession. 
3) It can be presented in such away that people think the prayer is the basis of salvation 

However, 

Confessing Christ is an essential part in conversion and people should be led to repent of sin and confess Jesus as lord and saviour, when they are ready.


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## irresistible_grace (May 2, 2013)

GoodTreeMinistries.com said:


> What are you thoughts on the sinners prayer?
> Does this seem to give a person false assurance?
> Does it seem that many people point to the sinners prayer as the object of their faith and not Jesus?
> Should we have a sinners prayer at the end of our gospel tracts?



I am not opposed to "sinners praying" (I pray everyday). 
However, when someone is manipulated into saying a "sinners prayer" as if it is a tool to "Get out of Hell FREE" and this "prayer" is coupled with a piece of paper that says "_________ professed faith in Christ on such in such a day," then I have a problem. Which is one of the reasons my husband left the Chaplaincy. The Chaplains were not only encourage to do just that, there was a huge binder that kept a tally of "how many people were saved each day" and "which Chaplin led them to salvation." If you got a sinner to "say 'the' prayer with you" that person had to fill out a piece of paper with all of their information, you gave them a certificate and a Bible."
Growing up in a church with "alter calls," the "sinners prayer," and credo-baptism... I said "the prayer," "walked the isle" and was re-baptized (because household baptism was far less biblical than baptism by scare tactics  ). 
That said, I did not have a false assurance... I had "no" assurance at all. And, when ever I asked a deacon about "assurance of salvation" I was encouraged to say "the prayer" again ... Therefore, I cannot say whether or not "the sinner" who says "the prayer" has a false assurance but I can say that there are many "leaders"in the "broad evangelicalism" movement that use a scripted prayer in such a way as to give some individuals a false assurance. 


All generalizations a wrong, including this one!


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## Pergamum (May 3, 2013)

The most heinous aspect of the prayer is the false assurance given. 

We should encourage people to pray and even pray in a manner somewhat similar to many of these "Sinner's Prayers," but many pastors often follow-up in a manner that gives false assurance...almost a works-righteousness....leading sinners to believe that somehow a few partially sincere words said in a moment of despair can make up for a lifetime of conscious and willing disobedience to God.


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## GoodTreeMinistries.com (May 3, 2013)

Yes, prayer is an important part of the believer’s life (1 Thessalonians 5:17); that it is as natural as breath for a believer(Romans 8:15-16), and that the will of God is accomplished through prayer (James 4:1-3). However, the teaching that salvation is gained by one’s “asking God to save” them or by their “asking Jesus into their hearts.” The notion that any particular prayer works like a sort of incantation or that there is a particular group of right words to get one saved. I believe salvation is given to men and women because of their repentant faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ upon the cross without praying a prayer (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:25; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 5:13), and that saved people consequently profess this saving faith in Christ both to God (Luke 23:42; John 9:35-39; Romans 10:9-14) and to man (Matthew 10:32-33) through baptism (Acts 2:38) and verbal witness (1 Corinthian 12:3). Although praying eventually results from true belief in the person and work of Christ, and many that are converted will, of their own initiative, express this repentance and faith in prayer, I believe that faith in prayer is still a work of man and is therefore not effective to save one’s soul. Finally, I would say it is unbiblical for tracts, websites, or people to communicate that one can be assured of salvation if a prayer is voiced sincerely. This subject is very important to me because I was a false convert for 10 years. I was trusting in the sinners prayer and walking an aisle for salvation.


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## THE W (May 22, 2013)

pastor: "how are you saved?"

church goer: "i prayed the sinner's prayer"

pastor: "...so?"

church goer: "thats how you get saved isnt it"

pastor: "no"

education on the truth ensues*


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