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The Sinner’s Prayer and Discipleship: Some Connections
Posted by Tony Sisk in Uncategorized
It is the tendency among evangelical Christians, notably Baptists, to reduce a practice to the lowest common denominator for ease of use and accessibility. Our natures cause us to oversimplify and often this causes detriment to Scriptural practices, not the least of which is discipleship. If the church is failing in any one particular area, it is manufacturing true, genuine disciples, those willing to take up the cross daily.
When I came to Christ as a teenager, I prayed a prayer similar to what you find in most Gospel tracts:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am sinful and I need your forgiveness. I believe that You died to pay the penalty for my sin. I want to turn from my sin nature and follow You instead. I invite You to come into my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” Steps to Peace with God, Billy Graham
There are countless others that have prayed this prayer to initiate a life with Christ. On the surface, the prayer seems theological enough–there is acknowledgment of need, confession of sin, repentance, and the substitutionary, vicarious nature of Christ’s death; all biblically necessary for receiving salvation.
However, is there anywhere in the Bible that someone prays to receive salvation? It cannot be said that an apparently Scriptural practice, if it is not chapter and verse, is immediately unbiblical. There are a lot of modern constructs used in Christian life and practice that though they do not have a biblical precedent it does not make the usage of them sinful. Nevertheless, there is no notion of a sinner’s prayer in the Scriptures.
God has outlined the plan of salvation clearly in the Scriptures. And from that plan, there is no mention of prayer being a prerequisite. The plan goes like this:
- Hear the Gospel message (John 5:24, Acts 15:7, Romans 10:14).
- Believe in Jesus as the resurrected Son of God (John 3:16-18, 11:25-26, Romans 10:9).
- Repent of sin (Matthew 3:2, Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30).
- Confess Christ before others (Mark 8:38, Romans 10:9).
- Be baptized as an outward testimony and as an act of obedience (Matthew 3:13-15, Acts 9:18, 16:33).
- Live faithfully and steadfast as a Christian (Matthew 10:22, Hebrews 3:6, 14).
Of all the conversions recorded in the New Testament, there is no witness to any kind of prayer to receive salvation. There are nine conversions in the book of Acts alone and all follow this plan.
- 3,000 on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41)
- Simon and the Samaritans (Acts 8:9-12)
- The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-39)
- Saul/Paul (Acts 9:1-19 & Acts 22:3-16)
- Cornelius’ Household (Acts 10:44-48)
- Lydia (Acts 16:11-15)
- The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:16-34)
- The Corinthians (Acts 18:1-8)
- The Ephesians (Acts 19:1-7)
There are also the conversions recorded in the Gospels (for example, Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the Gadarene demoniac, and Zaccheus) where similar patterns are evident, though they do not follow exactly the pattern from the book of Acts.
The point is not to impose a rigid rule upon the salvation experience, for each person’s experience coming to Christ is different. However, it seems that a pattern can be discerned from Scripture that is noticeably devoid of prayer of any kind. Prayer as a matter of course does not have to be precluded from the initial saving process, but the concern this raises is what the usage of the sinner’s prayer has done to discipleship. Has the usage of the prayer been overemphasized to the degree that it has the opposite effect on maturity?
The prayer seems to truncate the primary Christian discipline of discipleship as well as the most noticeable indicator of salvation; that one continues in the faith. I have served in church long enough to garner enough empirical evidence to see that those who have prayed the sinner’s prayer, if it is not solidified with discipleship, the prayer then becomes an end unto itself. The sinner has then staked his eternal soul not on the merit of Christ, but a tenuous prayer.
There then is no grounding in Christian orthodoxy, the fundamentals of the faith, or any kind of catechetical teaching, all simply because “Our dear brother or sister has prayed the prayer and it is now up to him and the Holy Spirit.”
The sinner’s prayer is used as a substitute for the dirty work of discipleship. It can even be prayed again if one does not “feel” saved, purely contrary to the Scriptural teaching on salvation (not to mention that it has become more and more common to re-baptize). Moreover, the prayer also seems to set the tone for the new Christian’s walk with Christ. Salvation, having been distilled to a few pat sentences, logically then, sanctification must also be that simple. The Bible teaches clearly that it is not, that we must work out or own salvation, with fear and trembling. Having oversimplified coming to Christ, continuing with Christ is also oversimplified.
Dr. Bill Bennett, then Visiting Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, claimed about eight years ago that the greatest heresy among Southern Baptists is that of easy believism. These are very true words, and as such, has allowed for the infiltration of prosperity teachings that have subtly fill this void. An undue emphasis on the sinner’s prayer may be a partial culprit.
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Tony I couldn’t agree more. So many have noted the probability that half our SBC Sunday morning attenders are lost, but no one seems to be asking how that came about. In so many ways salvation has been portrayed as thing itself that you get from God when you give Him your faith, rather than a surrendered submission to God as God and Christ as Savior/Lord. So many trace their assurance to a prayer rather than the work of God in their lives (as 1 John declares is the real evidence of faith and life). I’m afraid it makes Baptists of all stripes guilty of spiritual deception in regard to the state of the souls of people. Keep shining the light on this brother.
Tony,
You have made an excellent point here. I think a lot of it has to do with people being unsure of themselves too. I do not know if you are familiar with Spurgeon’s conversion story. From what I read he wanted to be saved, but he had no idea “how to be.” Then one day in the middle of a snow storm (or something) he found his way into a local church building. There a preacher told him “how to be saved.” If I remember correctly it included one of these cut-out prayers.
I wonder, if Spurgeon wasn’t already saved, but just was not being discipled into understanding that he had been saved already.
Great post and great topic,
Lew
The Pursuit Online Store
romans 10:9-10
romans 10:13
david
Scotty,
I don’t know if this is the first time you have commented here at Impact, but if so, welcome! I am glad that someone else has noticed this trend as well. I know it is stepping somewhat off the grid, but we need practical answers to the problem you pose, that half the people in the pews are lost. The revivalism of the 19th century was certainly historic and valuable but has had some unintended consequences.
Lew,
Thanks for dropping back in. Yes, I am familiar with Spurgeon’s conversion, but thanks for relating it. It does illustrate many Christians who, upon struggling with the weight of salvation, rather than stake their salvation upon their belief, would rather stake it on something they have done, i.e., the prayer.
David (volfan007),
I know those verses very well. I am not sure I follow your point in posting that. If your point is that I may be undermining the simplicity of receiving salvation, I have not. Perhaps you could elaborate?
This lends itself to a great theological debate about whether conversion is instantaneous or procedural, in some ways.
You’ve hit some things that I strongly agree with. Discipleship is indeed the hard work. There are those Reformed people who basically insist it is inseparable from salvation. Southern Baptists typically don’t want to pursue that because it causes problems with Free Grace.
Having gone through a life changing time of “salvation confirmation” and re-baptism within the past six months, these discussions are near and dear to me. Even with that, I’m still often very torn about whether I was “saved” before July 5, 2007. “True belief” and “true repentance” are matters of the heart; what we SPEAK may mean nothing at all. I had professed Christ many years earlier and I don’t want to deny His work in my life for those 20+ years; but was I truly living in faith in Him and His resurrection? I simply could not come to terms with it; but I know that, as of July 5, I have placed my faith fully in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I still don’t always feel saved, but the work of the Spirit is to me very evident since that time.
Without my YEARS of time in church – kind of a “pre-conversion discipleship”, in a way, I’m quite sure that I would be a very confused man about where to go from here.
Discipleship is indeed dirty and hard. It’s also a required work of the church.
What about “counting the cost”? So many enter into this prayer without the full understanding that, even though Salvation is free, it will cost them everything.
I’m not sure if it’s wrong to pray the prayer. I do agree that praying the prayer isn’t what saves you, but praying the prayer may be an initial response to saving faith.
I know that some who oppose the prayer would also say that baptism should be the initial response to saving faith. I believe that baptism should be one of the first acts of obedience to the Lord, our first testimony. However, some who argue against the prayer also argue against quick baptism. They would require baptismal education before baptism, a new believers’ class, etc.
Thousands came to Jesus during His life and essentially prayed prayers asking for healing, teaching, deliverance and help. When those people were talking to Jesus, they were “praying.” Yet those thousands were conspicuously absent at the cross. Not using the prayer will not keep that from happening today.
I understand the fear of using a prayer to assure someone of salvation. I just think the answer may not be to oppose the prayer, but to include discipleship. And still, there are many who have been discipled for years and have walked away. Charles Templeton prayed the prayer and was well-discipled, preached the gospel to thousands, and then walked away and spent his life justifying his lack of faith.
Bernard,
You are correct, this topic can open up an intense theological debate. You hit on the main point of this post, that as a church, as the people of God, we are neglecting that which we should not; discipleship. Thank you for that testimony of how God has worked in your life and brought you to where you are now.
Marie,
Also, that is one of the big points of this post. I think we have emphasized the simplicity of coming to Christ that we have unintentionally neglected continuing in Christ. As Dietrich Boenhoffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Do we really count the cost?
Cyle,
To be fair, I never said it was wrong to pray a sinner’s prayer. The prayer, when used appropriately, can indeed be an able assurance in the life of a new believer. My point is the undue emphasis we place on the prayer and our nature to distill practices down to the bare minimum.
I think this was the desire of the lawyer in Matthew 22:34-40. He asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was and expecting Christ to boil the faith down for him to a simple act, Jesus actually turned the question on its head, and His distillation called for a greater work of righteousness and obedience then the lawyer would have ever expected. In the distillation of salvation to the sinner’s prayer (and understand, I know not everyone has done this) some, not all, are neglecting genuine discipleship.
Timing of baptism is ultimately up to each individual church and their practice. I opt for quick baptisms, to solidify that first act of obedience as a result of saving faith.
Nor am I saying that getting rid of the sinner’s prayer altogether is the answer to a greater level of discipleship. My point is that as pastors/preachers/evangelists/etc. not to allow the prayer to become an end unto itself.
And prayerfully, men like Charles Templeton will be the exception, rather than the rule.
tony,
the verses i gave to you and your readers seems to indicate very clearly that if we will “call” on the Lord with our mouths that the Lord will save us. if we will call out to the Lord with our mouths while believing in our hearts, then the Lord will certainly save us. right then….at that moment in time. amen?
david
Amen, David, I agree. I even referenced those verses in the post. I am in no way disparaging the simplicity of the message of salvation but that is beside the main point, that an overt emphasis on the sinner’s prayer can be detrimental to discipleship and that the prayer must be used appropriately.
But let me ask you this…does the ‘call’ of Romans 10:13 necessarily mean a prayer such as what I referenced in the tract written by Billy Graham? Or can it mean simply, “God, please save me”, with eyes open, lifted toward heaven? Could it mean an arduous night, grappling with this matter of the soul, earnest travail, resulting in a sweet relief, graciously granted by the Holy Spirit after realizing that indeed one has been born again?
That really is my point. I’m not trivializing the simplicity of the Gospel at all; just that we all stand guilty of distilling the essence of the Gospel to a few rote sentences.
Good post. I’m wondering what your perspective is on the application of your post.
What would you have us change? Are you proposing that we not use the “sinner’s prayer” at all? Or do you seek something else in the way of change?
Thanks for your coming reply.
Les
i believe that we should always emphasize to the one praying that it must be sincere, and that it’s a calling out to God in faith…that just saying words wont save anyone.
also, of course there’s no one set formula….there’s no certain words that you have to say. it’s a person surrendering thier heart to Jesus in faith that’s important. however they say it.
david
david
Hello everyone. Tony–very thought provoking post. Must say I’ve considered the impact of the micro-wave prayer myself at times when I’ve heard tele-evangelists recite it without one idea of how the discipleship of the individual at home will be carried out.
And while I agree that some pastors in some churches in some denominations abuse the idea of the sinner’s prayer, I think it is helpful for a person to have a moment when they have professed their faith in the One True God.
I first went forward in church at the tender age of 7. I knew exactly what it meant–Jesus was going to come into my heart and make it clean. I knew this because I’d seen others do it and I knew that is what you did when you wanted Jesus to come into your heart. I’ll never forget telling my stepmother that I knew exactly what I was doing when I was about to be baptized. “I am showing everybody that Jesus came into my heart and made it clean. And now I have to be good.” I remember those words so clearly, yet as I grew up I did not follow true to those words. Yet, I believe the Lord held onto me in the innocence of my ignorant faith till I was old enough to comprehend Who He really was and what He really expected of me as a disciple 21 years later.
I never doubted God existed from the time I was a child. but I constantly doubted that He cared. That was cleared up when I understood the sacrifice He made on the cross.
I never said a sinner’s prayer at the altar. I told the preachers (both times) that I wanted Jesus and I wanted Him to live in me. Whatever was prayed was not prayed by me.
Now, not to dispute the Billy Graham prayers, I did a bit of internet surfing and discovered the sinner’s prayer went back further than those days although Billy did make it more significant through his ministry. Anyone wishing to see A bit of history on the sinner’s prayer can visit
http://www.bible.ca/g-sinners-prayer.htm
While I have not researched all that this person has to say on the matter, it may be a great source of info to begin a search for anyone interested.
My question, Tony, is similar to Les’s. I wonder what we could do to make a difference in how one comes to the Lord and confesses with his mouth. I heard the most wonderful radio broadcast one time in which a pastor of (I have no idea what faith) a church was about to baptize a young 12 year-old girl. He had her tell the congregation what had brought her to the place in which she stood. In a very childlike innocent way began to share how she knew she was a sinner and why. Then she shared how she knew Jesus came to die in her place. Then she shared how she wanted to live for Him and tell others about Him and so she wanted to be baptized because He said to be baptized and then she could be a follower.
Wonder what would happen if at our altars we let the person speak for themselves at the point in which they come to the front. Now I know some folks don’t see any reason for altar calls either, much less prayers from a four-spiritual-laws booklet. But my question is, in about 100 years what tradition will ministers be disagreeing with at that point? Where did the Bible say we needed response cards?
(p.s. I’m not saying your post is saying this) Just wondering what others think. selahV
What would you have us change? Are you proposing that we not use the “sinner’s prayer” at all? Or do you seek something else in the way of change? Fair questions.
I am in no way advocating abandonment of the sinner’s prayer. I’m not really looking for change. What I am simply pointing out is the nature of pastors/preachers/evangelists/etc. to distill some essentials down to the bare minimum; the sinner’s prayer is one example. In response to that, a reclamation of a robust and intentional program of discipleship.
Selah,
Very thought-provoking return comment, thanks! I also appreciate your testimony and the leg-work running down some additional information on the sinner’s prayer.
I really like the idea of testimony times such as what you describe. It confuses me to say that a prayer, particularly the sinner’s prayer, is a public confession of faith, when the sinner’s prayer seems by default is to be between the sinner and God.
Again, I don’t know that any real change needs to be made, just a greater awareness that the sinner’s prayer can often be used as a cop-out for walking with a new believer in their new found faith in discipleship, as the post indicated.
Discipleship is meant to be intentional, not passive.
Tony: I appreciate the post for what you hope to convey–a warning as such to us all not to over-emphasize the sinner’s prayer as what saves us. Jesus saves us…in fact He already saved us at Calvary. What our responsibility is, as disciples, is to ensure those we introduce to Christ are as clear about their response to Him and what His actions mean to them for all eternity. I see the prayer as a means to communicate with the Lord and to be honest this is how I’ve led people to pray at times.
Thank you Jesus for dying for me in my place on the cross for my sins. Thank you for redeeming my soul because nothing I do or can do will ever make it possible for me to live in heaven with You. You and You alone are my Salvation and today I want to commit myself to you to live as You want me to and to follow You all the days of my life. Amen.
selahV
Gentlemen,
Within the parameters discussed here, I probably agree with all of you in some way. But there is a greater problem with the sinner’s prayer than is part of the normal arguments for or against it.
There was a structure and chronology of the introduction of God to man. First He created man, then He gave him a choice that proved to be a bad one. Then He went about setting the rules and creating a history of His very own people in their roller coaster ride with those rules across thousands of years.
None of that happened by accident. The manner in which God introduced himself to man, established the rules, the penalty for breaking those rules and the blood sacrifice of animals that brought about repentance and forgiveness is not an insignicant sequence. He took several thousand years to do all of that before Jesus came and in sequence.
And who did Jesus come to, people who had a basis to believe that God was God, that his rules were the rules, that there was a price to pay for breaking those rules, and a sacrifice made for restoring the relationship. And a long history of demonstrating all of that was true among the Hebrews.
What I contend as much as I agree with all of you who decry and rightfully so the lack of discipling and instructing that we should do, is that we ask people to pray the sinner’s prayer as the first step in their introduction to God. We do it all the time. We tell folks that Jesus is the answer to their problem when we have failed to establish the most basic of prequisites. People who do not believe that God is God, do not believe there are absolute rules, do not believe that there is sin and that a price a big one must be paid for those sins, are not prepared to pray the sinners prayer and many of them will say those words expecting some mystical event to happen. It doesn’t. Without the recognition of our own helplessness and the acknowledgement of our need for something far greater than ourselves, and the need to have someone who can forgive us of the things of which we cannot forgive ourselves, and the ultimate conclusion in that process that there is a God and we have broken his rules, there will be no conviction of sin and predictably a pallid and temporary response to the sinner’s prayer.
A hundred years ago we had a society in this country which accepted the fact there was a God even believed they were sinners. When they came through our doors they had at least some basic understanding of who God was and what He was about. We have educated all of that out of our entire population with everything about our lives neatly packed away through the explanations from scientists, secular anthropologists, biological ethicists, atheistic historians in our classrooms and in our living rooms.
The problem with the sinner’s prayer isn’t that it is wrong. It is that it is not the first step towards God, it’s the third or fourth. Without those prior steps being taken, the sinner’s prayer is little more than the words people scoff at them to be.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy spirit were introduced to us in that order. I don’t think that’s a mistake but rather the greatest exercise of logical progression that exists. And for me the creator of logic, wasn’t some pointy headed philosopher, it was God the Father Himself.
In the right sequence and with the right prerequisites, there is nothing wrong with the sinner’s prayer. Outside those prerequisites,it is more often than not the repeated words of empty rote they are so often accused of being.
Though I am not a Calvinist, we would all do very well with a strong dose, a very strong dose of their emphasis on the Sovereignty of God.
Jerry Grace
Jerry GRACE! I love you! You have pulled together exactly how I feel and added tremendous logic and understanding to the subject of coming to salvation in Christ.
Absolutely a nugget is the order of introduction: “God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.
And what has happened in our world as disrepect toward the El Elyon, God Most High, is paramount to why we have people so apathetic towards the gospel message. They sneer instead of cheer and question instead of trust. Thank you for you most thoughtful comment. selahV
To Jerry Grace…
Excellent thoughts. Your pattern, at first, seems to me to run into a little bit of trouble in Acts 8:27-40. However, then I read vs. 35 carefully, and find that Philip “preached unto him Jesus”, which is what you seem to imply should correctly happen before “the sinners prayer”.
I think this discussion is straying a bit from discipleship into “salvation matters”, but here’s my personal concern – I think we’ve gotten to this point because of a very unscriptural approach to “witnessing”. We want to hand somebody a tract, have them turn to the last page, ask them if they want to accept Christ, and three minutes later walk away with “a new convert, a soul saved from damnation” so that we can make a report to the Visitation Committee and feel really good about ourselves for a week. Never once in this process were we really concerned about the soul of the individual, just whether or not they pray the prayer that the tract requires.
This lazy witnessing approach – highly touted by MANY independent fundamental pre-millenial Baptist churches in my area – leads, in my humble opinion, to many incomplete conversions because those supposed “converts” are never discipled in any way. In fact, they may be FURTHER isolated from God than they were before because of wrong expectations, as Jerry mentions.
It’s also, in my opinion, one of the dangers of improperly counseling very young children who are feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit.
Bernard Shuford,
I thank you for pointing out perhaps a lack of clarity on my part. To be clear what I may have implied should have been specifically stated.
Thank you very much
What a great subject to discuss here…discipleship. I’m not sure how I got here but am glad that I did as this topic is near and dear to my heart. I think all of us who are commenting here need to ask ourselves “What are we doing to teach just one other person how to walk with Jesus?” I came from a church that used to practice one-on-one discipleship and I have to say that the “process” changed my life. However, it is indeed a lost art.
The church I “grew up” in spiritually no longer emphasizes discipleship but instead small group ministry (which I am not saying is bad at all) where baby Christians teach “bible studies” from books rather than from the bible. The attention to “felt needs” draws people into this church, they learn about salvation & pray the prayer, but go relatively nowhere from there. But I digress…
Somehow, we grounded Christians need to get the fire back and start teaching/discipling again in spite of what the trends in our churches are. We can change this trend, one person at a time as we instill a love for God’s word into people. It all starts with us.
Hi Janna!
I am not sure how you made it here either, but I am glad you did!
Your question is a pertinent one. What are we doing as individual Christians to help them walk with Jesus? That really was the heart of my post; how to get back to personal discipleship. Though I sincerely believe there is nothing wrong with using the Sinner’s Prayer as a tool, it is a means to an end and not the end in and of itself.
Many of us think that once a person has ‘prayed the prayer’ that our duty to that person has come to an end. Actually it has just started! I am convinced that where the modern American church has dropped the ball is in cultivating authentic disciples an we cannot do that without personal involvement.
You are so correct, that we can change that trend, and as that great theologian (insert tongue in cheek here) Michael Jackson said, “I’m starting with the man in the mirror.”
Thanks again for dropping in, Janna. I hope you come back to see us again.
[...] Tony Sisk at SBC Impact! warns us of the dangers of separating the Sinners’ Prayer from discipleship. [...]
What an excellent post, and some nice comments as well. Myself and some members of my SS class have been discussing this very issue of late. It began with a discussion of the “eternal life” tract and the sad use of tracts such as these to replace our duty to “go” and “make disciples.” One guy places them on the back of every toilet he can find, another flushes them. lol So the dilemma led to over a month of friendly debate between us. TO make a long story short, I have reassessed my view of the “sinner’s prayer.” I cannot find where its use is biblical. Nor is it at all a change agent of the heart. I do believe in prayer, and I do think that a “sinner’s prayer” of sorts can be said by a convert, but only to acknowledge one’s Savior and Lord. I grew in a Landmarkist tradition where if part of the hair was not “submerged” the baptism was not Scriptural. Or, if all the “parts” to the “sinner’s prayer” were not included, the salvation was not authentic. BUNK I say! When we disciple a “lost person” they will come to a saving knowledge if the Holy Spirit open’s their heart. And if He does, their conversion will be evident. Then it is time for Baptism. THEN, we should receive them into the local body (not as a result of their Baptism specifically–imo).
It is also my opinion that the state of average local evangelical churches, with all their unregenerate members, is a result of the “sinner’s prayer” and the typical Baptist alter call. (Though the latter is rarely a problem anymore).
We must learn discipleship and evangelism. It seems to me that more conversions need to happen outside the church than within it. But we invite folks to church because we have no clue how to invite them to Christ. (Tracts not included).
kmichael
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