If you prayed a “Sinner’s Prayer” at some point in your
journey toward a walk with Christ, you need to examine yourself to see if
you’re still in the faith---or better yet, to see if you ever were in the
faith---and to make your calling and election sure (2 Cor. 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10).
This is one of the pivotal thoughts I had as I interacted
this week with the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) “Affirmation of A‘Sinner’s Prayer’ as A Biblical Expression of Repentance and Faith.”
In June of this year, the delegates of the SBC, in response
to a number of theological issues being debated within the denomination, passed
the resolution in support of the continued use of this common yet not
well-defined “conversion moment act.”
In the water at the time of the resolution’s passing was a
firestorm of controversy concerning the influence of Calvinism in the SBC,
supplemented by a sermon given by David Platt, and a resolution drafted by
several other key leaders concerning a “traditional” understanding of Southern Baptist soteriology.
Among other things, Platt is known as an influential,
Calvinist-leaning leader within the SBC. In the sermon, Platt was critical of
what he believed to be a dangerous, ongoing use of the so-called “Sinner’s
Prayer” in evangelism, leading to what he feared are significant percentages of
false conversions.
As Platt rightly points out, to be falsely converted is to
not be converted at all. To be falsely converted is to remain dead in your
trespasses and sins, and under the wrath of God (Eph. 2:1; John 3:36). To be
falsely converted is to find a basis for perceived righteousness and
justification in anything other than the Gospel.
There is indeed a danger of eternal proportions to be
avoided here.
If you prayed such a prayer, and are beginning to think that
I’m singling you out as a potential apostate, know this---every follower of
Christ does well to make a habit of preaching the Gospel to themselves at all
times, and to always evaluate their standing with Christ through the Gospel’s grid
of repentance and faith (Mark 1:15).
I’m reminded of a conversation I once had with a co-worker
who spoke of their brother’s conversion. My friend lamented the current
trajectory of their brother’s life, how there was no fruit in the man’s life in
keeping with repentance (Matt. 3:8). Still, my friend was certain of their
brother’s conversion---they were there when it happened.
This man, said my friend, prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer.”
This is the essence, I believe, of Platt’s concern, and not,
as some suggested, a plot to extend the treacherous reach of Calvinism within
the halls of the SBC.
In the example cited above, I was faced with the potential
reality of a false conversion, precipitated by the idea that because a series of words were spoken, as if an incantation of sorts, that salvation had
come to this man’s house. I was also faced with the reality of my friend’s
confusion concerning their loved one’s life, and the difficulty of lovingly
attempting to bring some biblical correction to the dialogue.
It’s never an easy thing to communicate to someone that
perhaps they’ve been deceived, and that either they or someone they love may be
in danger of entering an eternity separated from God (Rev. 20:15). But, if we
say we have love for others, then there is no other message for us to give, for
in this message we extend to them the hope of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16).
Put another way, it is the antithesis of love, an expression
of hate and disobedience even, to withhold the Gospel from our neighbor on
account of such things as pride or fear of rejection (Matt. 5:11). Faith
without works is certainly dead, and there are few works that we might perform
as Christians that are greater than obedience to the Great Commission---and few
sins of omission greater than disobedience in this regard.
Can you see it now?
Whether or not you prayed anything that might fit the
framework of a “Sinner’s Prayer” during a televised revival is not the germane
issue so far as salvation is concerned. The biblical foundations for conversion
from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of God remain forever grounded in
genuine repentance and faith in the Gospel---both precipitating gifts of God
rather than acts of man’s intellect or will (James 1:17).
Repentance and faith may be evidenced in a moment through a
crying out to God for mercy in the form of a prayer (and this is a good thing),
but they are more certainly evidenced by the fruit of a changed life (Lk 18:13; Gal. 5:22-24). As missionaries, this is our heartbeat---that the lost
would taste and see that the Lord is good, and begin walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6).
The merits of a “Sinner’s Prayer” not withstanding, our
mission as followers of Christ is to make disciples who make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:2), and not to coerce people into merely “repeating after
us.”
Having said all of this, and along with Platt, I affirm the
SBC’s resolution.
But, like him, I remain as concerned for the proper,
biblical application of prayer in conversion, rather than an application of prayer for conversion.
Questions for your walk:
1) Did your own conversion experience involve a “Sinner’s
Prayer”?
2) If yes, have you ever had any reservations about the
authenticity of that event?
3) How would you present the role of prayer in conversion to an unbeliever?
