The title of this article may seem like an overstatement but it is not.  Some may object, “But surely the sinner’s prayer has worked for some people. Even if many have fallen away after praying to receive Christ, not all have.”  I happily concede the point that there are many Christians who continue to walk with the Lord and grow in their faith many years after having said the sinner’s prayer.  But what I question is this, “Was it really the sinner’s prayer that converted them?”  19th century revival preacher Charles Finney, who is largely responsible for popularizing the use of the altar call and the sinner’s prayer, would probably have said yes.

In Finney’s theology, God’s grace only brought people to a point of moral neutrality.  God did not push anyone in one direction or the other but only made it possible for them to decide. Whether they would accept or reject God’s salvation was up to them.  People sinned but human nature was not inherently evil (contra many Scripture verses such as Rom. 3:10, Rom. 3:23, Jer. 17:9, Eph 2:1, Gen. 6:5, & Psalm 51:5 among others).  Finney taught that a person’s will, including their decision making power, was not held captive by sin but only hardened by continual habitual sin that they had fallen into.  Therefore, as Finney saw it, it was the the evangelist’s job to convince his listeners to change their mind.  God had done all he could (or would) and now the eternal destiny of people’s souls lay upon the shoulders of the preacher.  Therefore it was a preacher’s duty to use any means necessary to convince a person to decide to become a Christian.  This included whatever sort of psychological or emotional manipulation that was necessary to get people to make a decision.  If the preacher could persuade people  to exercise their free will and turn to Christ (as expressed in saying the sinner’s prayer), then they would be saved.  Finney told people that if preachers were to adopt his “new methods” (i.e. the altar call and the sinner’s prayer), then worldwide global revival that would hasten the return of Christ within a generation was certain to follow.

But Finney had his theology backwards.  Becoming a Christian is not something that you do but it is something that is done to you.  There is no true Christian who has said the sinner’s prayer who did not have saving faith in their heart before they prayed “the prayer”.  For those who turn out to be truly converted and mark the beginning of their Christian life as saying the sinner’s prayer, it is a mistake to think that saying the sinner’s prayer is what made them into a Christian.  That prayer was merely an expression of the faith that they already had.  Before they ever opened their mouth, God had regenerated them and worked saving faith in their heart.  When Nicodemus asked Jesus how a man can be born again, Jesus did not give him a list of five things that you need to do in order to be born again.  Jesus said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).  His point is that the Holy Spirit causes people to be born again and we don’t know when, where, or how He does it.  There may be secondary causes for conversion that we can point to, such as a crisis in our lives or a particularly convincing Gospel message that we heard.  But there are many people who have a crisis or hear the Gospel and never believe.  So what is it that causes some people to become Christians, while others don’t?  It is God changing a person’s heart.  Previously they didn’t want God, but now they do.  Why the change of heart?  Again, we can point to secondary causes but ultimately there is no other answer other than, “God did it.  I don’t know how I came to see things differently but it is clear now and I know that God is true.”  The reason why anyone becomes a Christian is mysterious.  God just does it and we don’t know how or why other than the fact that he wanted to out of His abundant grace (Eph. 1:7) and for His own glory (Eph. 1:6, Is. 43:7)

In his own way and his own time, God convinces people of Himself - that He is true and the Gospel is true.  This was certainly true for Nan Inta, the first Christian convert in Chiang Mai in 1868.  After recounting some peculiar circumstances that led up to Nan Inta’s conversion, Daniel McGilvary, pioneer missionary to Northern Thailand, writes that “[w]hile the truth dawned gradually on his mind, the full vision seemed to be sudden.  His own account was that afterwards, when walking in the fields and pondering the subject, it all became very plain to him.  His doubts all vanished.  Henceforth for him to live was Christ; and he counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Him.” (McGilvary, Daniel, “A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lao”, Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, 1912, p.98).  The sinner’s prayer never came into the equation.  God convinced him of the truth and no additional step of “praying the prayer” was necessary.  He was later baptized and went on to become a leader in the church in Northern Thailand.

Unfortunately, our historical memory is really short and many Christians and churches are unaware that there is any other way for people to become Christians besides getting them to say the sinner’s prayer.  Finney’s new methods have prevailed throughout most of evangelicalism but newer is not always better.  The old Biblical way of relying upon God to convert people in his own time and in his own way is much preferable to taking matters into our own hands and using a man-made ceremony to help move people along towards salvation, as if it were really possible to do it ourselves.  And when we try to do it ourselves, we may unwittingly help people deceive themselves into thinking they are a Christian when they are really not.

It is high time to do away with the additional step of having people pray the sinner’s prayer.  When someone believes, we should go straight to baptism for adult converts from a non-Christian background (or for those who were never baptized previously).  For those who were baptized as infants in a Christian church, an affirmation of faith before the congregation and admission into church membership (and therefore communion) should certainly be sufficient.  Before the sinner’s prayer was introduced, this is more or less how evangelical Protestant churches integrated into the church community those who professed faith in Christ.  The altar call and the sinner’s prayer are now considered “traditional” methods of evangelism even though they were developed only two hundred years ago.  If the church can renew it’s historical memory of how evangelism and church membership used to be done and renew its faith in God’s sovereign work in people’s lives, then churches and Christians everywhere can confidently abandon the sinner’s prayer with no negative impact upon evangelism and church growth.  Our churches will be much healthier and much more Biblical because of it.

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Another viewpoint...

Hi Karl, I like your posting. Very thougtful. It kinda reminds me of all the debates between the Calvinism (focusing on God's sovereingty) and Arminianism (focusing on Human responsibility).

Like you said, we should not claim that people have been saved by the sinner's prayer. It is apparently wrong because people are saved by God's grace, not by human efforts.

But, would it be totally wrong to say that like in Eph. 2, we are saved by God's grace and through faith that is possibly expressed in and somewhat helped by the sinner's prayer in some cases?

I know that Paul Washer once said that if they were saved, they were saved not because of the sinner's prayer but in spite of it. I understand his point. I understand the reason why he said that. But don't you think that was a little too much?

I heard about an evangelist in Africa named Reinhard Bonkke who asks people at the end of each crusade to fill out a dedication card or something if they decide to live as real Christians in response to the Gospel. In terms of counting dedicated people as saved men, I think it is not much different from using the sinner's prayer. Aside from counting people as saved men, do you still think that those kinds of aids for the people to be able to express their faith in Christ are wrong all together?

I agree with you that the sinner's prayer has been used by many Christian workers in a way that recklessly proclaim someone's salvation or conversion too easily and thereafter causes him/her to live like a nonchristian bearing no fruit in the long run.

But, on the other hand, what if God is sovereignly using those aids including the sinner's prayer or altar call or dedication card through His faithful and wise servants around the world in order to open the door of nonbelievers' wounded hearts and hardened minds and give them a gracious opportunity to take the first step of having a relationship with Christ after repenting their sins sincerely, neither necessarily considering them to be "converted or saved" nor proclaiming recklessly "if you repeated that prayer, you're born again today"? Just to give them an opening shot into the world of Christianity. Is it still wrong all together?

The reason why I ask you this is because I think that when dealing with evangelistic approaches such as the sinner's prayer it is not that easy for us to reject them with full conviction unless we are fully assured by or heard from God that it is totally worthless or has nothing to do with the saving work of God. Otherwise, we should be very careful to say that it is to be rejected. Just a thought..

May God bless your 2010 richly!

Gustin , January 07, 2010

After much thought... Yes, get rid of sinner's prayer totally

Gustin, thank you for your comments. I agree, of course, that there must be an outward expression and first steps in following Christ when someone believes. However, the sinner’s prayer almost always is understood (both in the mind of the evangelist and the new convert) as the point of conversion. Maybe not 100% of the time but 99.5% is a safe estimate. The use of the sinner’s prayer confuses the nature of saving faith. It establishes conversion as something we do instead of what God does.

It is completely possible to give people an “opening shot” into the world of Christianity without the sinner’s prayer. Someone says, “I believe” and we say “That’s wonderful, let’s get together and learn more about God from the Bible.” If the person wants to, you could pray a prayer of thanksgiving, “Lord, thank you that so-and-so wants to trust you as Lord and Savior. Please help them to trust in your promise of grace and forgiveness and change their lives. Produce the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of repentance in their lives so they can be confident that you are working in their lives.” Just because we don’t have someone pray the sinner’s prayer with us, it doesn’t mean that the front door to the Christian faith is closed. It just means that we don’t prematurely declare that they have entered it. We walk with them together to look for God’s work in their lives as they attend church, study the Bible and grow in their faith. If God has regenerated them, it will be obvious over time. And if God has not regenerated them yet, then that will become obvious too. The sinner’s prayer just confuses the whole process of discerning God’s work in a life by prematurely declaring a certain prayer as evidence of salvation (and it is almost always used like this).

I am sure that God has used evangelists like Billy Graham (and perhaps Reinhard Bonnke) because enough of the Gospel is there in their messages for God to save people. But it will be in spite of their use of the altar call and the sinner’s prayer. In the final tally, evangelists who’ve used the sinner’s prayer will be responsible for many more false conversions than real ones.

Karl Dahlfred , January 08, 2010 | url

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How could a non-Christian be born again?

Should a person use only one verse to conclude messages that God intends for us? Let’s meditate Matthew 5:9 as follows: Matthew 5:9, “Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”. As the word, peacemakers, is mentioned in Matthew 5:9 with the phrase, the children of God, a false message could come about that as long as a person, whether he is a believer or not, declares peace in this world, he or she could be considered as a child of God or a Christian. Thus, using a verse to conclude God’s message is erroneous.

Examples to prove that not all the people, that proclaim to believe in Jesus, will automatically be granted with the Holy Spirit:
1) Acts 19:1-2, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, HAVE YE RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST SINCE YE BELIEVED? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.” The phrase, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed, in Acts 19:1-2 implies that not all the people, that believe in Jesus, would automatically be granted with the Holy Spirit or else it would not justifiable for Acts 19:1-2 to enquire whether these people had received the Holy Spirit at the time of their believes with the assumption that the Holy Spirit would automatically be granted at the time when they began to believe.
2) Acts 8:14-17, “…Samaria HAD RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD,….when they were come down, PRAYED FOR THEM, THAT THEY MIGHT RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.). Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” As the phrase, received the word of God, is mentioned in Acts 8:14-17 with the phrase, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, it implies that believing in Jesus does not imply a person would receive the Holy Spirit automatically unless requesting it.

jonathan chm , June 15, 2010

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1 Corinthians 3:12-15, “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. IF ANY MAN’S WORK SHALL BE BURNED, HE SHALL SUFFER LOSS: BUT HE HIMSELF SHALL BE SAVED; yet so as by fire.”
As proved above that Matthew 7:21 should not be applicable to backsliders since Christians would never lose their salvation, the only possible reason to think of and that is those people that are mentioned in Matthew 7:21 that proclaim Jesus to be Lord are not Christians at all.
The same is supported in Luke 13:24-25 that many believe in Jesus and yet not many are saved. The following is the extract:
Luke 13:24-25, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: FOR MANY, I say unto you, WILL SEEK TO ENTER IN, AND SHALL NOT BE ABLE. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I KNOW YOU NOT WHENCE YE ARE:” The same is mentioned in Matthew 22:14, “(that) For many are called, but few [are] chosen.”
Some Christians might use the two criminals that hung on the cross as an excuse for not requesting the receipt of the Holy Spirit. They have to bear in mind that Jesus had not resurrected yet at that time and the criminals did confess that they were sinners too. Besides, one of the criminals did not reject when Jesus called him to follow Him to be with Him in the paradise. Do you find this to be his acceptance of Jesus for his confession when he agreed to be with the Lord to be in the paradise without opposing Him?

Should a Christian declare that faith alone could save a person without accompanying with any action? James 2:21-24, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. YE SEE THEN HOW THAT BY WORKS A MAN IS JUSTIFIED, AND NOT BY FAITH ONLY.” The same is mentioned in James 2:18-19, “(that) Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: SHEW ME THY FAITH WITHOUT THY WORKS, AND I WILL SHEW THEE MY FAITH BY WORKS. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

Should a non-Christian repent for their sins or should he or she declare to believe in Jesus and yet worship Buddha simultaneously? John the Baptist went before Jesus to declare repentance and this shows that repentance is significant for Christianity’s conversion. James 1:21, “(even mentions that) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” As the phrase, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, is mentioned in James 1:21 prior to the phrase, receive…the engrafted word, it implies the significance of repentance prior to receiving Jesus as his or her Personal Saviour.

jonathan chm , June 15, 2010

how could a non-christian be born again?

Why should a non-Christian confess sin? 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” As the phrase, we say that we have no sin, is mentioned in 1 John 1:8 with the phrase, the truth is not in us, it implies that non-Christians would not have God’s truth with them if they declare that they are not sinners. As God’s truth is not with non-Christians if they do not confess that they are sinners before God, there is a query whether God would dwell within their bodies at the absence of biblical truth in them. Thus, it is a must for non-Christians to declare before God to be sinners to seek His forgiveness. The absolute promise of God for those who confess their sins before Him and that is: 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Repentance and confession are significant to non-Christians for their receipts of the Holy Spirit since John 9:31, “(mentions that)…God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” The phrase, God heareth not sinners, in John 9:31 implies God’s rejection of those non-Christians that insist not to repent and continuing in worshipping Buddha and the insisting that they are not sinners before God. These people would have their prayers to be in vain even if they declare to believe Jesus Christ and Buddha at the same time. The phrase, God heareth not sinners, in John 9:31 implies purity is significant for non-Christians’ conversions and prior to the receipt of the Holy Spirit and that is why it demands non-Christians to repent and to confess their sins before God to have their sins to be cleansed for purity. Thus, it is significant for all the people that declare to believe in Jesus Christ to have their sins to confess before God especially Psalms 5:4, “(mentions that) For thou [art] not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.” Psalms 5:4 seems to highlight to us that God would not dwell among non-Christians if sins are with them. For this reason, it is advisable for all the people that declare to believe in Jesus Christ to confess their sins before God so as to have their sins to be cleansed with purity for God’s dwelling.

Did the Gospel highlight to us to request for the Holy Spirit? The following are the extracted verses to prove that Jesus and even His disciples did request for the receipt of the Holy Spirit:
1) John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; THOU WOULDEST HAVE ASKED OF HIM, and he would have given thee living water.” The phrase, have asked of him, in John 4:10 has stressed the significance of the request for the Holy Spirit.
2) John 6:32-34, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. THEN SAID THEY UNTO HIM, LORD EVERMORE GIVE US THIS BREAD.” The phrase, Then said they unto him Lord evermore give us this bread, in John 6:34 is another proof that Jesus’ disciples did request for the receipt of the Holy Spirit. However, their requests could only be fulfilled until after Jesus’ resurrection in the Calvary.
3) Luke 11:13, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
From the above extracts, these give an absolute certainty that a person could receive the Holy Spirit through requesting for the receipt of it.
Bear in mind that Romans 8:9, “(mentions that)…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” As the phrase, any man have not the Spirit of Christ, is mentioned in Romans 8:9 with the phrase, he is none of his, it implies that those people, that do not have the Holy Spirit/Jesus Christ with them, are not considered to be Christians at all.
Assurance from God that we will receive the Holy Spirit when we ask from Him: Luke 11:10, “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” The same is supported in Mark 11:24, “(that) Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].”

Romans 10:9, “(mentions) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” This verse implies that our faith should be grounded upon the resurrection of Jesus. Muslims too believe in Jesus, but they reject the resurrection of Jesus. However, Romans 10:9 demands not only to confess Jesus but also to believe He has been resurrected.

jonathan chm , June 15, 2010

...

How could a non-Christian be born again?

Should a person use only one verse to conclude messages that God intends for us? Let’s meditate Matthew 5:9 as follows: Matthew 5:9, “Blessed [are] the peacemakers: Sinner’s prayer has met the requisition of the confession since it demands non-Christians to confess themselves before God of their believes in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. It demands also the non-Christians to acknowledge the resurrection of Jesus and that meets the requirement of Romans 10:9. Not only that, it requires non-Christians to confess their sins before God for purification and also to express their needs for Jesus Christ to be their Personal Saviour. One should bear in mind that God will deny those people that believe in Jesus and yet refuse to proclaim the name of Jesus. The following are the extracts:
1) Luke 9:26, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father’s, and of the holy angels.”
2) Luke 12:8-9, “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.”
3) Matthew 10:32, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”

There should not be any worry if a person does not have confidence whether he has received the Holy Spirit before, he should not hesitate but to ask for the receipt of the Holy Spirit since spiritual baptism only takes effect once. Once a person has received the Holy Spirit, he would not receive any more in the future since Ephesians 4:5, “(mentions that) One Lord, one faith, one baptism”. The phrase, one baptism, in Ephesians 4:5 implies one spiritual baptism instead of more than once.

Now, let’s meditate Matthew 5:9 again: Matthew 5:9, “Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”. As we know once a person receives Jesus Christ to be His Personal Saviour, his spiritual fruits will grow and these include peace in God and that is why Jesus mentions Matthew 5:9 to be appropriate since Christians would have their spiritual fruits to grow and these include peace, one of the spiritual fruits (John 15:5).

jonathan chm , June 15, 2010

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