What does it take to be saved? How does it happen? I've recently spent some time thinking about this since I've posted some comments on another blog. The topic of discussion was 'The Sinner's prayer". The writer and several readers all take a very hard stand against the prayer, saying it gives false assurance and leads people to hell. One poster went so far as to say the sinner's prayer is damnable heresy.
I must say when I see someone take such a hard stance without any mention of grace, mercy or love, it catches my attention. I begin to look for their agenda or why they push so hard on one area of Christianity. At this point (if any of them read this) they are screaming at their computers that it is not small because it is leading people to hell. Some have logged off, calling me heretical; others are writing a response without reading on; hopefully the reasonable will hear me out.
For my benefit and maybe some of yours, lets figure out what the sinners prayer is. Here is the example Wikipedia gives stating that it was the typical prayer used by Billy Graham and Campus Crusade.
Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against you and that my sins separate me from you. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and turn to you for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
What is wrong with that prayer? It contains admission to being a sinner, repentance, asking forgiveness, faith in the shed blood, the divine nature of Christ and new way of life. When someone like Billy Graham preached a message offering the gospel to a group of people he would give an invitation. People were asked if they would like to have their sins forgiven and take the Lord as their savior. When they made their way down to the front, they were led in a prayer like the one above.
Here is the question? Were all that responded saved? No, obviously not. Billy Graham knew that. If the brothers (I guess they still consider me a brother?) from the website where I was debating were there they would take these people through the law. They would show them they were not a good person and according to God's perfect law, they deserved to go to hell. Then they would give them the gospel message. They would tell them to repent and trust in Christ and be sent on their way.
So, if a hundred people came forward at Billy Graham's conference and only 3 were soundly saved as defined and judged by the Lord, is the prayer good or bad? At least three would say it was pretty awesome and life changing. If my brothers gave the law and gospel to the same hundred would there be more saved? I don't think so. Only the elect can be saved. It is the message of the gospel taking root and the Holy Spirit working in their life that saves them. It is not the method used.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast
Romans 8:28-30
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
1Thessalonians 1:2-5
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
The elect are the elect. It doesn't matter if we agree with God or understand. I believe you could preach a hundred messages, each with a different method and you would still only find the elect soundly saved. Now the next day, you might find that some of the others become the elect to be saved the next day, or a year from now. Only God knows.
The argument of the anti-Sinner's prayer group is that the other 97 have a false assurance because they went forward and repeated the prayer that Billy Graham said to them. Therefore when they walk away they will think they are saved. I'm not sure how the follow-up was done on all the conferences Billy did. I do know that when the Franklin Graham came through here the preparation started months before for those to counsel and disciple people who came forward seeking salvation.
I have heard some use a similar prayer and then proclaim anyone who repeated it was now going to heaven. No one can make that proclamation and in doing so they are sending people away with a false assurance. There is no argument that this is wrong and will lead people to a false assurance. But it's wrong because you gave someone a false judgment of the heart. We can't judge the heart, only God can. In the end, the only question that matters is 'Can the elect be deceived by man?'
What if the wrap up or follow up to the prayer went something like this?
Only God can change your heart. If you sincerely repented and put your trust in the Him then He will change your heart and it will be evidenced in your life. You will have the assurance of salvation when you see the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Some of the changes you might experience is when you no longer enjoy the sins that were once at the center of your life, you desire to feed on the word of God and you have an active prayer life. Each should become a part of the fellowship of believers and be discipled.
I think people have been falsely assured by all kinds of religion. Millions of people will go to church tomorrow and hear a message from a pastor, they hear the gospel, read a verse or two from their bibles, and sing some hymns and praise songs. For many years I've seen people that go to church thinking they are saved but there is no evidence in their life of it. I was one for quite a while. My false assurance, like so many others, was because of my pride and self righteousness. I wasn't saved by an evangelist, a sinner's prayer, or a preacher. I was saved by the grace of God through His word.
Whether an unbeliever has false assurance from a prayer, a song, a friend, a book, a false religion, a false gospel, a bad preacher, or anything else doesn't really matter. The list is long. So my point from the beginning, how can you pick one item from the list and rail endlessly about it? When this happens, you will soon find that your ministry is one of attack and destroy. You will find yourself beating the sheep so you can save a goat. When you look back at the one hundred some odd blogs on this sight, I hope you see a mix of humor, holiness, gospel, theology, doctrine, grace, peace, mercy, compassion, prayer, fellowship and most of all love. I believe we all need to have balance in our life. The center of the balance is reverence and awe for the Lord Jesus.
John 3:14-17 - The most famous verse in the bible.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
We proclaim the gospel because Jesus told us to. Our life as it is lived, our moods, demeanor, all we write and all we say testify to our God. We preach and teach to proclaim Him in a lost and dying world. We preach it to all because we don't know who the elect are. Our words and methods proclaim and testify but in the end we can't save anyone. And if we can't save anyone can our method keep someone from being saved. What if I stumble over my words and I say something wrong when I witness? Is that a damnable heresy? No, my words have no power to save or convict. My words should line up with scripture and be Christ like but all the rules about methods belong to man. To think God is limited by man's methods portrays a weak God. I've not seen any evidence of that in all my bible study.
So with all that said, let me close with Paul's declaration of the gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:1
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
Just Thinking
Doug
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