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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | The Sinners Prayer! | Luke 18:13 | Morant61 | 79316 | ||
Greetings All! There has been much discussion on the forum lately about the question, 'What must I do to be saved?'. Awhile back, someone basically ridiculed the whole notion of a 'sinner's prayer'. Surely, salvation cannot be that 'easy'! Yet, Luke 18:9-14 shows us that it is that 'easy'. This is a Biblical example of a 'sinner's prayer'. The tax collector cries out in v. 13, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner!' What was the result of this prayer? Verse 14 tells us that he went home 'justified' before God. Peter expands upon this topic in Acts 13:38: "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." Salvation, forgiveness of sins, justification, are not provided by our efforts or acts of obedience. They are provided through or in response to our faith, not by works (not even by works of faith). My prayer for those reading this post is simply this: May you have complete assurance of your salvation, realizing that you cannot (nor are you required to) do anything to earn it. Jesus did all the work. He paid all the price. He offers us salvation as a gift. Now, if I offered you a gift, but then said: "Wait, first you must do this. Then you must do that. Then, you must continue to do such and such for the rest of your life...." Would I really be giving you a gift? Or, would it be a wage? Now, go proclaim this 'good news'! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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2 | The Sinners Prayer! | Luke 18:13 | Reformer Joe | 79319 | ||
Tim: While I am definitely a "sola fide" kind of guy, I have my own qualms with the universal application of a sinner's prayer. It is faith in Christ through which we are justified, which may or may not be expressed in a prayer directed toward God. We see many conversions in Acts without a prayer being mentioned at all. I guess my main beef is the idea that the prayer itself is the turning point, an idea almost universally embraced by modern evangelicalism. If someone prays a sinner's prayer sincerely, I don't see anything wrong with it. However, if the prayer is indeed sincere, the faith is already present prior to uttering a single syllable. And I am sure that you, like I, have come across a great number of people who have doubts of their salvation, not because of a lack of belief in Christ's atoning work on their behalf, but rather because they can't pinpoint a single moment in which they "prayed to receive Jesus Christ." While I disagree with baptismal regeneration, I must agree with our theological opponent here that the sinner's prayer has largely replaced baptism as the sign and seal of God's regenerative grace. --Joe! |
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