MYTH #25-Jesus requires all to say the sinner's prayer!
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Since the 1950's most of evangelical
Christianity has nearly totally embraced a
theological concept that has come to be known
as the "Sinner's Prayer." There are so many
varieties of what this prayer is, but
basically it is a prayer event where a person
acknowledges he/she is a sinner and needs the
Savior. Many believe Jesus requires that
everyone must pray such a prayer in order to
have salvation. That simply is not true. It's
a myth!
One of the first questions that must be asked
is, "Where is the sinner's prayer in
Scripture?" It's just not there. There are
two that have become most popular. One is the
scene in Luke 18:9-14. It's where Jesus tells
a parable where two men are observed
praying-one a sinner and the other a
religious Pharisee. Let's look at it: And
He also told this parable to some people who
trusted in themselves that they were
righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one
a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
"The Pharisee stood and was praying this to
himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like
other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers,
or even like this tax collector. 'I fast
twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I
get.' "But the tax collector, standing some
distance away, was even unwilling to lift up
his eyes to heaven, but was beating his
breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the
sinner!' "I tell you, this man went to his
house justified rather than the other; for
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
This is a great comparison between a humble
sinner and a prideful Pharisee, but it is not
a universal special prayer that somehow must
be prayed for salvation. Jesus just doesn't
mean it for that reason.
The second common passage used to illustrate
what a sinner's prayer might look like is in
Revelation 3:20: 'Behold, I stand at the
door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and
will dine with him, and he with Me.'
Although this has a great imagery to it, the
context for this verse has to do with those
who are already believers, but they are not
fellowshipping with Jesus-maybe not walking
with Him as He would like.
The damage of believing there is some sort of
magical happening or prayer that one prays
that will automatically bring about salvation
is to miss what salvation is all about. You
might call it "accepting Christ" or "meeting
Christ" or "receiving Jesus as your personal
Savior", but this just isn't what Jesus taught.
