Growing up my mother and step father used to take me to a church called Harvest. I grew accustomed to what the preacher, Greg Laurie, would say at the end of every service. If you are like me and have spent some time in an interdenominational church like Harvest you have probably heard something very similar to Greg Laurie’s words in this video…
In services I would see many people hold up their hands while saying this prayer to show the minister that they were one of those who were “accepting Christ.” I have seen thousands of people go forward after saying this prayer to be recognized as being part of the body of Christ, forgiven of their sins, and on their way to heaven. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I started to question what was being taught at Harvest and other churches that I attended. It was when I was older that I started to compare the practices of many assemblies to that of the teachings found in the Bible.
The New Testament does not teach that someone who is outside of the body of Christ and in their sins can be saved through the avenue of prayer. A perfect example of this plain truth can be seen in the conversion of Saul (later known as Paul the Apostle). Saul was a persecutor of the church and strived to put an end to the church of Christ (Acts 22:4-5). While he was on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus Christ appeared to him (Acts 22:6).
When Saul was met by Jesus he was faced with the reality that the church he had been persecuting and the gospel he was seeking to put an end to was from God. He realized that the zeal he had to stop the church of Christ was indeed an effort against the authority of God (Acts 22:7-10). Humbled, Saul made his way into Damascus were he spent three days praying and fasting (Acts 9:9, 11).
Saul saw Jesus, recognized Him as Lord, and realized that He was the Messiah. It was with these truths in mind that Saul prayed for three days (Acts 9:9, 11). But it wasn’t those prayers offered up to God that brought Saul into a right relationship with God and freed him from his sin. Saul was saved and had his sins forgiven when he responded to the words spoken by Ananias…
“Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. ‘For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 22:14-16
Ananias commanded Saul to be baptized and wash his sins away. It was through immersion in water that Ananias told Saul that his sins would be washed away, not through saying a prayer. Through observation of Saul’s conversion we can see that salvation wasn’t obtained through prayer but rather through baptism (Acts 22:16; Mark 16:15-16). If forgiveness and salvation is obtained through immersion than surely this should be a constant thread we would see throughout the New Testament.
When we open up our Bible’s to Acts chapter two we see this same doctrine of salvation through immersion. When the Jew’s recognized and believed that they had played a part in crucifying the Lord they asked Peter and the rest of the Apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter and the Apostles did not respond by having them recite a certain prayer but rather Peter commanded them to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
The Sinner’s Prayer that is so frequently taught by many churches today is a doctrine that is foreign to the Bible. The New Testament does not teach that someone who is outside of the body of Christ and in their sins can be saved through the avenue of prayer (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27). What the Sinner Prayer has done is provide a man made door to be saved, to become a Christian, and to enter into the body of Christ (2Timothy 4:3). This man made door has given many a false sense of security and has led many to believe that they are putting their faith in God when really all they are doing is putting their faith in the doctrines of men (Romans 10:17).
As a young man growing up I said the Sinner’s Prayer. Like my mother, step-father, and hundreds around me, I thought I was free from sin, a Christian, and in the body of Christ. It was shocking and unnerving to find out that what I and many others had put their faith in was merely a tradition and doctrine of men. With the New Testament and its inspired word in hand we can put our faith in God and His word and know that we are saved. Let us obtain salvation the only way and the same way that they did in the first century, that is by dying to your sinful lifestyle, burring that body in that watery grave of baptism, having your sins forgiven, and being raised up to live a new life devoted to God (Romans 6:3-7; Colossians 2:11-13).
Andrew: I am about to follow you on Twitter. That’s how I found this site – through your page there. I was glad to find this message because I have said these same things myself at various times and I am always looking for additional arguments in this vein. This is a good one. Thanks. Jesse Mullins
I think you omitted the most important part to have Christ live in you. You MUST be baptized and proclaim Jesus as the son of God. I figure you have seen other letters like this one so I won’t quote verses here as you know what I’m saying here. If you truly want to help save lost souls I suggest that you forget your man made redemtion act and obey the scriptures.
Hi Rick,
I just got through reading your comment and to be honest I walked away a little perplexed. You wrote…
”You MUST be baptized and proclaim Jesus as the son of God.”
and
“If you truly want to help save lost souls I suggest that you forget your man made redemtion act and obey the scriptures.”
I agree that person must be baptized to become a Christian. I agree that as a Christian we are called to fulfill the great commission and preach the gospel to the lost. Can you elaborate on what you believe to be my “man made redemption act?” What act are you referring to that is man made? I look forward to your reading your response.
Andrew – and anyone reading this – I still agree with you. I don’t see where “man-made redemption” fits into the arguments anywhere. If any redemption is “man-made,” it is that redemption that supposedly comes about without baptism. I’ll go so far as to say that baptism alone isn’t enough – there must also be faith after baptism. Jesus said, “Be ye obedient unto death, and I will give you a crown of righteousness.” But salvation without baptism – that would be man-made. And a salvation achieved by the sinner’s prayer – that is to say, without baptism – is to me that man-made salvation.
Since baptism wasn’t mentioned on Mr. Lemus You tube video all he is offering in the video is prayer and God does not hear prayers from non Christians. Mr. Lemus is stating that to be a Christian we should just recite his “man made” prayer. Also, yes I agree we must do other things, ie not forsake the assembly and that wasn’t mentioned either. We could go on and on but the video speaks for itself. Leave out baptism and you lose out period. The video is 4 minutes and the word baptism isn’t mentioned. Why ?
Hi Rick,
I guess that in our day and age with our technological advances it might be hard for some to understand what Christian bloggers are trying to accomplish and what methods can be used to teach the truth. In the above article I use a youtube video to convey a current teaching that is very prevalent in interdenominational churches, talk about my history with such a teaching, and show how it is false. I imagine that if a person just watches the video without reading the context that it is in, it might seem like the author (me) is promoting the video and what is taught in it.
Please understand Rick that I do not agree with the sinners prayer. If you read the article you would easily discern this. You would also understand what I believe in regards to how a person becomes a Christian. I guess it might have been too much optimism on my part that caused me think that I can post such a video with the expectation that the article would also be read.
Thanks Rick for showing me how such an article can be misunderstood.
I would encourage you to take some time to read the article in which the video was placed.
In Him,
Andrew
I did read the article and yes you stated baptism in it but why leave the most important thing out in the video ? Please also understand that the reason I wrote in the first place was after the “sinners prayer” article I just thought that not everyone that watches the video would read the article. So my question was and is why leave baptism out ? Someone that might want to try to find God deserves the vital fact of baptism but it isn’t there. You insist that ppl read the article to hear you out fully and in even 4 minutes you state to become a Christian say this prayer and presto but as I stated before after watching the video and not finding baptism how do you expect anyone to read the article as the video seems to sum it all up to to the new want to be Christian. “Just say this prayer”. On Jesse’s post it’s stated that you must have faith after baptism and that’s true but isn’t it also true that if one wants a true baptism one must have faith before being baptised ?
Rick,
Thanks again Rick for showing how it might be easy for someone to walk away from this article with the wrong impression.
Personally I can’t understand how someone could read the article, watch the video and walk away thinking that I (the author, Andrew Lemus) believe that the sinners prayer is ok and right. But you obviously did. It is my hope that you (Rick) are one unique reader that has missed the message of the article.
Just for clarification Rick.
I did not create the video, did not say anything in the video, nor do I endorse it. I used the video (Created by Harvest church) to show others what I was talking about when I referenced the teaching of “the sinner’s prayer.”
Yes, the Harvest church (video) and many other churches teach the sinners prayer. They teach that forgiveness/salvation is obtained through prayer. That is exactly what I show to be untrue and false in the article.
Rick, I apologize for the confusion and I hope that I have helped clear things up for you a little.
In Him,
Andrew
Ok, my bad. I thought the video was you and so I’m glad you cleared that up.
I must say that if I had just read the first paragraph instead of just watching the video we would not have had this back and forth. I am clear as to where you are coming from now. Keep up the goog work !
Rick
Rick,
I went ahead and changed the wording in the sentence before the video to include Greg Laurie.
“If you are like me and have spent some time in an interdenominational church like Harvest you have probably heard something very similar to Greg Laurie’s words in this video…”
This should help future readers to understand that I am not the one speaking in the video. Thanks again for sharing your concerns.
In Him,
Andrew
Yes I have had the experience as you with interdenominationalism, but as a child. Like you I have seen the Sinners Prayer thing too and we are now on the same page. Thanks for editing the piece to clear things up for folks like me that just click onto the video without reading first. I will not be guilty of that error again. Again, keep up the good work !
In Christ,
Rick
Thanks for the article, Andrew! To me, this pernicious teaching of the “sinner’s prayer” is one of the most tragic doctrines out there. Its followers are led right up to the door of salvation… and left there, standing in darkness, yet believing they are safe. It’s a tragic thought.
Hi all:
Just catching up, but I was glad to see that both of you (Andrew and Rick) stayed with the thread and, as it turns out, all three of us were on the same page, as far as doctrine is concerned. What’s interesting to me is that this whole issue obviously matters to all three of us. I see people advocating for “sinner’s prayers” and stuff like that from time to time, but I do not see them trying to make a case for it using scripture. It’s sort of a hit-and-run thing. Put your idea out there and move on to other targets – don’t stay and defend it against people who really care what the Bible says. Anyway, good going, both of ya.
My best, Jesse
Andrew, thanks for your post and sorry for the misunderstanding I had. Erynn is so right in that many families are duped at a trying time with the Sinners Prayer thing. I put it in the catagory with once saved always saved. I look forward to seeing more of your posts.
Rick