"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men," (Mt.15:9).
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity," (Mt.7:21-23).
"Most of all, perhaps, we need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village; the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age," (C. S. Lewis).
When people are unwilling to investigate the roots of their faith, they are likely to be deceived by the contemporary errors of worshiping God through the commandments and doctrines devised by mankind, and one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated against mankind, one of the greatest "cataracts of nonsense" being trumpeted around the globe is the method of conversion referred to as the sinner's prayer.
The origins of this doctrine can be traced back to around the time of the Reformation, or shortly thereafter, and has evolved over a few hundred years, maturing through the sequential efforts and practices of men like, Eleazar Wheelock-(1711-1779) and his "Mourner's Seat"; Charles Finney-(1792-1875) and his "Anxious Seat"; Dwight Moody-(1837-1899) with his "Inquiry Room" method; R. A. Torrey-(1856-1928) progressing with his "instantaneous on-the-street-corner-conversions," and Billy Sunday-(1862-1935) coining the Sinner's Prayer. Down through these generations this doctrine kept evolving with each successor learning how to better manipulate people into conversion through emotionalism, and this method exploded with the Billy Graham and Bill Right crusades, perfecting the altar call system by utilizing a precise blend of music and oral techniques which induce a hypnotic state over those who are sincere, but Biblically unlearned. This could very well be the reason why people who succumb to this style of emotionalistic conversion are virtually unaffected by scriptural exegesis and logic, i.e., they are still under hypnosis!
Since this doctrine has become a global phenomenon, when it is critiqued by a knowledgeable student of the Bible, the scriptural support for this doctrine must be found, for how could such a convincing emotional experience be found unscriptural? This is where the problem arises: the cataract which causes people to look at the Bible and while they read, "the white horse," they see "the black horse"! People look at John 1:12 and read, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (KJV), but the "great cataract of nonsense" causes them see, "But to all who received him, he made them children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them. All those who believe this are reborn! " (LB). This is a blatant forging of scripture into ideological conformity, a literal addition of text into the inspired word of God to support a man-made doctrine! Where in the Bible is the sinner's prayer? Did the apostles ever teach or command someone to pray the sinner's prayer, to "pray through to complete victory," "to just accept the Lord into your heart as your personal Savior"?
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works," (2 Cor.11:13-15).
"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:" (Rev.2:2).
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world," (1 Jn.4:1).
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you..." (2 Pet.2:1-3).
It is my conclusion from a thorough study of the New Testament that the alien sinner must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, repent of sin, confess faith in Christ, and be baptized for the remission of sins. If it can be successfully proven by what the Bible says that baptism is not necessary, that does not automatically prove the sinner's prayer theology to be valid. This conversion method stands or falls based on whether or not it agrees with the scriptures.
One problem plaguing the study of this conversion method of the sinner's prayer is that there are no examples to be found in the Bible from which to study. I personally have preached on radio stations and from pulpits for a number of years pleading with my listeners to provide me with the scripture(s) showing a command or example of a sinner praying Jesus into their heart and I literally have not had the first call. If you can provide me with that scripture, please click here to go to my Contact Page and send me that information and I will be truly grateful. Until then, please consider the following passages which are commonly used to support this notion.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (Jn.1:12).
This passage is used, not so much to teach the sinner's prayer, as it is merely to support it; however, when one will observe what John says here, it is obvious that this in no way teaches salvation by "faith-only," nor does it support the sinner's prayer, for it is clearly stated that those who "received" Him were given the power, or ability, or opportunity, to become the sons of God. The "faith-only/sinner's prayer" proponents insist that when the sinner, "receives Him into their heart," they are saved, i.e., they are a child of God, so then how does one become something he already is? John was merely stating in retrospect, that all who believed on the name of Christ were given the power to become the children of God, i.e., the believer's faith became the motivation which led them to obey the voice of God. The latter portion of the verse states how this was accomplished: "...even to them that believe on his name." How then does the Bible reveal that this was accomplished?
"And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized," (Acts 18:8).
"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house*. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway," (Acts 16:30-33).
*"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," (Rom.10:17).
"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him," (Mt.21:28-32).
Notice in this passage that Jesus illustrates to the chief priests and elders that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God because they believed John. The Greek verb proagō rendered "go" is in the present tense, meaning, "the publicans and harlots are going into the kingdom..." Now, notice how it is stated that they believed John: "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John." They "believed" John and their faith motivated them to obey John's message, i.e., they were baptized for the remission of sins (Mk.1:4), thereby "justifying God," and for contrast, notice the response of these chief rulers to John's message: "But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him," (Lk.7:29-30).
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue," (Jn.12:42). If the assertion of the "faith-only/sinner's prayer" proponents is accurate, then consistency demands that these chief rulers were saved, even though they refused to confess Christ. Jesus plainly said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven," (Mt.10:32-33). This is one of many fatal flaws of this "great cataract of nonsense"!
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted," (Lk.18:10-14).
This is a passage that to the scripturally unlearned appears to be the veritable crème da la crème of proof texts to support the sinner's prayer, however, let's remove the "great cataract of nonsense" and observe some simple contextual facts in this passage.
1) This is plainly stated as being a parable spoken to a certain group of people, who not only trusted in themselves for their righteousness, they also despised others. The fact that it was spoken to a certain group of people clearly indicates that this is not the universal plan of salvation! But is it an example of this belief system?
2) Both the Pharisee and this publican were Jews, which is proven by the fact that the contextual setting of this scene takes place under the law of Moses, and places this publican in the temple where no Gentiles were allowed. One of the accusations laid against Paul was that he had defiled the temple by bringing Gentiles into it: "And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place," (Acts 21:27-28). Even though this publican, expressing his humility, addressed himself as a sinner, he was a Jew which means he was an erring child of God rather than an alien sinner. Let the proponents of this doctrine produce a passage which demonstrates that during the Mosaic age, a Gentile prayed through to become a Jew, without being circumcised and observing the baptisms required by the law, and they'll have an argument!!
3) Matthew was a publican (Mt.10:3) as was Zacchaeus (Lk.19:2-9) who was specified to be "...a son of Abraham," and because Jesus said the publicans and harlots were entering the kingdom of God, coupled with the fact that Jesus was preaching only to, "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," (Mt.15:24) provides corroborating evidence that this prayer of a sinner was not to become a child of God, but rather this was the prayer of an erring child of God for forgiveness of sins. This is and always has been a privilege granted to His children, i.e., if a child of God will repent and ask for forgiveness, God answers their prayer. For this prayer of the publican to support the modern day sinner's prayer method of conversion, the situation would necessitate him being a Gentile who became a Jewish proselyte through prayer and faith only!
"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world," (Eph.2:11-12). Under the law of Moses, the Gentile who desired to become a Jew and observe the Passover didn't achieve that status through prayer and faith-only, he was required to be circumcised (Exo.12:48) which is a parallel to baptism under Christ's law: "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him...In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses," (Col.2:6-13). Notice here that Paul explains how the Colossians had received Christ, i.e., "In whom..." (Christ) they were circumcised, through being "buried with Him in baptism." They did not pray Jesus into their hearts by faith, rather it was through their obedience to the command of baptism for the remission of sins and their faith in God's operation during baptism which cut them loose (circumcised) from sin.
4) The setting in which this parable takes place is during the lifetime of Christ, i.e., under the law of Moses, and before Christ's law came into force. The law of Christ, which requires repentance and baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), did not begin until after His death, resurrection and ascension back into heaven. "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth," (Heb.9:16-17). Jesus plainly stated that His new covenant would have its beginning in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost: "And he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem," (Lk.24:46-47). This transpired as recorded in Acts chapter 2.
"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee," (Acts 8:22). This verse is called upon periodically by the those who wish to vindicate the sinner's prayer theology, however when their myopic vision is corrected, it allows one to see a critical fact which has been artfully obscured: "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done," (Acts 8:5-13).
This context actually stands in stark contrast to the sinner's prayer ideology in that it specifically states that Simon heard the gospel, believed and was baptized, which is exactly what Jesus commanded His apostles: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned," (Mk.16:15-16). Simon, who now had become a child of God through the new birth (Jn.3:3-5), committed sin by desiring to purchase the ability to impart miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, and he, a Christian, was told to repent and pray for forgiveness. Simon was never told at anytime to, "accept the Lord as your personal Savior," nor was he told to, "pray this little prayer and Jesus will come into your heart and save your soul." When the "great blind spot of ignorance" is removed, this text doesn't even remotely favor the sinner's prayer concept. With all the conflagration the sinner's prayer/faith-only champions can muster, the word of God will forever read, "Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized..." When this text is looked at through the lenses of common sense, rather than the redacted and reconstructed version the Faith Onlyists cite, Simon, being told to, repent...and pray, is exactly backwards from their doctrine, in that this is a specific and unequivocal example of the Christian being the one who is to "repent and pray," and is a direct parallel to the publican discussed above, who was a child of God under the law, who humbly prayed for forgiveness of his sins. These contextual facts prove that under both the Mosaic covenant, and the Messianic covenant, only people who were already in covenant relationship with Jehovah had the priviledge of praying for the forgiveness of sin.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," (Rom.10:13). This verse is probably the most used verse which the sinner's prayer advocates cite to support their theory. It is demanded that "call" of necessity means "prayer;" however, when we will consider other passages where this statement is used, some interesting observations can be made. On the day of Pentecost, Peter prefaced his sermon by pointing out that the commotion encountered there was not caused by drunkenness, but rather, was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, and Peter quotes to them this prophecy: "For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved," (Acts 2:15-21).
What is of particular interest is that Peter and the other apostles preached an effective sermon that day, for Luke records that, "...when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" A more perfect time, nor glorious opportunity in the history of the human race could ever have presented itself for the introduction of the sinner's prayer, than here! The gospel of Jesus Christ has just been preached for the first time in the name of a crucified, buried, and resurrected Lord; Christ's New Testament has just been inaugurated and the people who were guilty of crucifying the Messiah—sinners in the strictest sense of the word—are pleading with the apostles for the remedy for their error! WHY did Peter not seize this opportunity and tell them to pray the sinner's prayer? WHY did the apostles not tell these sinners to just accept the Lord as their personal Savior? WHY did Peter not tell them that baptism is not essential? WHY didn't the apostles say, "Just call upon the name of the Lord and He'll save you"? I would suggest that what the Holy Spirit was inspiring Peter to say is not the local ignorance which is pouring from the microphones across the world's stage! WHY did the Comforter not remind Peter to even give a whisper of the sinner's prayer? The reason WHY Peter didn't mention the sinner's prayer is incontrovertible, i.e., it is not God's plan, it is man's plan! Peter told those people to, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," (v.38). All who did what the apostles commanded were referred to as "the saved" and were added by the Lord to His church, (Acts 2:47). A clear-eyed view of this text reveals that to call on the name of the Lord is synonymous with obeying the gospel by hearing, believing, and being baptized for the remission of sins.
The predictability of the those who endorse the sinner's prayer/faith-only theology is somewhat amusing at times, for the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is mentioned in three places, two of which mention that he was baptized, and you guessed it, when referring to Saul's conversion, they always ignore the first two texts which mention his baptism, and cite the third text which omits that detail. The texts are, Acts 9:1-18; 22:1-16; 26:1-18, and I encourage you to look at your Bible as we consider some obvious facts in this case which the biased eye studiously avoids and attempts to cloak.
1) Though the Lord appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, that did not save Saul.
2) Even though Saul spoke directly to the Lord (prayer), and asked specifically, "...Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" that did not save him because instead of the Lord telling Saul that he was saved, He said, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do," (9:6).
3) Saul, being blinded by the light, was led into the city by those who accompanied him. Harmonizing chapter 9, verses 9 and 11 shows us that Saul fasted and prayed for 3 days, however, this did not save him.
4) Ananias did not address Saul as "brother" because he was already saved, as we shall see; this was a customary greeting of fellow Jews, "brethren," or "countrymen," as Paul does many times.
5) When Ananias came to Saul, he was still down praying. Notice in the words of Saul himself: "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him," (Acts 22:12-13). Saul could not have looked UP to see Ananias had he not been down which indicates that he was down on bended knee praying the prayer of a sinner's plea, but, this did not save him, nor does it save anyone today!
6) Recall that Jesus told Saul to go into the city and it would be told him what he "must do" (Acts 9:6), and Ananias came to Saul, at the Lord's behest, to reveal that to him. Notice what Saul was told to do, a sinner, whom the Lord had appeared to, a sinner who had asked the Lord directly what to do, a sinner on his knees fasting and praying for 3 days: Ananias told Saul to, "arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord," (Acts 22:16).
7) If God saves people through the sinner's prayer, then why was Saul, who became the apostle Paul, not saved in this manner? That would seem to suggest that God is in fact a respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34; Rom 2:11; Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; 1Pe 1:17).
8) It is in baptism that sins are washed away, and the fact that he was told to wash his sins away proves beyond question that he was not saved prior to baptism, nor through a sinner's prayer.
9) "Calling on the name of the Lord" is specifically defined, and demonstrated as being baptized to wash away sins, which harmonizes with the conversion of the some 3000 souls on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
10) "Wash" inherently indicates water, and baptism is the only act in the entire system of Christianity that makes use of water.
Later, Luke would write, "And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day," (Acts 23:1); " And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men," (Acts 24:16); "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience..." (2 Tim.1:3).
11) These passages penned by the inspired writers prove that a person can be honest, sincere and devoutly religious..., but wrong! The level of sincerity, zeal, nor a person's feelings will justify a practice which is wrong.
12) Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul, later wrote to Timothy and said that God had set forth his conversion as a pattern for all time, notice: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting," (1 Tim.1:15-16). Saul's conversion by "being baptized and washing away his sins," thus, "calling on the name of the Lord," is specifically exemplified in this passage as, "believing on Him" [Christ], which is the same thing Paul said to the jailer in Acts 16:31.
"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." (Acts 16:31).
This is one of the favorite snippets of text which the sinner's prayer/faith-only propagators extract out of its context from the latter half of Acts 16, and though nothing is said here of either, yet, like forcing a square peg through a round hole, this statement is forged into a belief-system which defies logic, common sense and the very fundamentals of hermeneutics. Many reason that because faith is the only thing mentioned in this partial quotation, they deduce that man is saved by faith alone; however, the exact same logic would be considered insane if I applied it to 1 Pet.3:21: "baptism doeth also now save us..." or, "buried with him in baptism..." (Col.2:12), or, "for as many of you as have been baptized into Jesus Christ have put on Christ..." (Gal.3:27). I would not be permitted to use this logic to teach baptism-only, or repentance-only, or hope-only, etc., and it is an excellent example of handling the word of God deceitfully when applied to the aspect of faith.
If you will simply consider the remainder of this partial statement, which includes all of 3 words, there is an immediate problem with the sinner's prayer/faith-only position: the rest of the statement is, "...and thy house"; so, IF "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." truly means the jailer was saved by faith-only, then the jailer's family was saved solely on "his" faith, because they were not present when Paul made this statement. IF, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ..." means, "you're saved by faith-only, just pray the sinner's prayer," what is the jailer to believe, for he hasn't heard the gospel yet by which faith comes, and how is he to know what to pray, for there's no hint of a sinner's prayer mentioned in this text. Let's remove the denominational cataract of nonsense and consider some facts which become obvious from this text:
It is the most basic principle in the Bible that faith comes by hearing: "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me," (Jn.6:45); "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," (Rom.10:17).
1) That the jailer could not be saved prior to hearing the gospel preached is incontrovertible;
2) Paul and Silas left the prison with the jailer and went to his house and preached the gospel to him and his household: "And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house," (Acts 16:32);
3) When the gospel was preached, the immediate response was baptism: "And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway [immediately]," (Acts 16:33);
4) The jailer and his family were not said to be "believing in God" until after baptism: "And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house," (Acts 16:34);
5) There arises an insurmountable problem with the sinner's prayer/faith-only doctrine when you consider that the text simply says that Paul and Silas, "spake unto them the word of the Lord..." and their immediate response, the only response was baptism, the same hour of the night!
6) IF baptism is not essential to salvation and the remission of sins, the promptness of baptism would not have been necessary.
7) The fact that this text specifies immediate baptism while being deathly silent regarding the sinner's prayer proves at least that denominational bias "wrests" (2 Pet.3:16) this conversion of the jailer.
Another passage often relied upon heavily to authenticate the conversion method of the sinner's prayer is Acts 10:31, for of a truth the angel told Cornelius, "...thy prayer is heard," therefore, this must be solid proof of a sinner's prayer, mustn't it? There is no confusion about the fact that Cornelius was praying, nor is there any question about his prayer being heard. The thesis which must be validated is that this prayer of Cornelius was the prototype of the sinner's prayer; however, it comes as no surprise that when we remove the denominational blind spot, a number of problems arise. The greatest obstacle to this serving as a pattern for the sinner's prayer is that Cornelius was not asking Jesus to come into his heart. The prayer in question is not even remotely similar to the 'sinner's prayer' in which we are accustomed, but rather, this was the fabric of his character which was expressed in his alms-giving to the people, his devout fear of God and continual attitude of prayer. It must also be considered that the scripture says, "...Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God," (Acts 10:4). This includes the alms equally with the prayers so it's obvious that it was his devout manner of life, being a Gentile, which came up before God as a memorial, and is egregiously opposed to the theology of the sinner's prayer.
When we look at the entirety of this conversion, another serious problem arises by attempting to force this text to conform to the sinner's prayer creed. We note that in Acts 10:5-6, the angel instructs Cornelius to, "send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do." When we harmonize this verse with Peter's rehearsal of this incident in Acts 11:13-14, we find that the angel told Cornelius to, "...Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." This also harmonizes with Peter's reference to this conversion at the Jerusalem conference in Acts 15:7-9 where, "...Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." Cornelius, along with his household, had to hear words whereby they could be saved, i.e., Peter had to come and preach the gospel to them which is how faith in Christ is produced (Rom.10:17), and Peter said, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord..." Is it any wonder that Peter would write, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ," (1 Pet.3:21).
Some make the assumption that because the Holy Spirit was poured out on Cornelius and family prior to baptism, they must have been saved without water baptism, but if this could be successfully proven, this line of reasoning does nothing to advance the tenets of the sinner's prayer, and in reality creates another colossal problem. Recall that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom.10:17), and that the angel told Cornelius that Peter would come and tell him words whereby he could be saved. Now consider Peter's chronological rehearsal of the events of this conversion: "But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them...And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them..." (Acts 11:4-15). IF 1) Cornelius and family were saved because the Holy Ghost was given to them, or 2) the Holy Ghost was given to them as evidence that they were already saved, then they were saved before and without faith, because Peter plainly, distinctly and specifically states that as he began to speak, i.e., they had not yet heard those words whereby they could be saved when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. The simple explanation for this unique, one-time stand-alone event is that since this was the first conversion of a Gentile family to Christianity, it would require some spectacular event to convince the Jews that God was extending salvation to all nations as per His promise to Abraham, and what better way than a public display in the presence of Peter and the six Jewish brethren with him than to pour out the Holy Spirit upon them, fulfilling Joel's prophecy quoted on the day of Pentecost by Peter, and for them to be eyewitnesses of these Gentiles miraculously magnifying God through speaking in tongues (languages)?! The purpose of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a huge success, for when Peter rehearsed the events of this conversion before the brethren at Jerusalem, we read, "Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life," (Acts 11:17-18). This conversion had no equal and was never repeated, however, the one thing it had in common with all other cases of conversion was that after hearing the gospel, they were baptized in water, following the Great Commission given by Jesus, and the command of Peter. This demonstrates that "baptism in the name of the Lord," is both a commandment, and, that the baptism of the Great Commission, to be administered by men, was water baptism.
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father," (Gal.4:6). This verse is sometimes used to suggest that the sinner is to cry out to God to be saved, ergo the sinner's prayer, but that is simply blind denominational eisegesis! This verse states that they cry out to God because they are sons, not to become sons! Denominational logic inverts this verse and has the sinner praying to his Father before the sinner is even a child of God! This is a huge cataract of nonsense!
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (1 Jn.1:9). This verse says nothing of prayer, of any kind, but it is abused as well by the defenders of the sinner's prayer/faith-only theory, who obviously ignore what John says with the next stroke of his inspired pen: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not..." (1 Jn.2:1). John is writing this letter to, "My little children..." i.e., Christians, and encouraging them to not sin, but if they do, to confess those sins and be cleansed from unrighteousness.
"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," (Jas.5:16).
Where is the sinner's prayer found in the Bible? This is the question I have yet to find the answer to; but yet, it is so popular and so widely accepted as sound Biblical truth. Satan's ministers (2 Cor.11:13-15) are masters of deceit, and are able to blind people to what the Bible says, by appealing to their emotions. People must lay aside this great cataract of nonsense and accept what the Bible plainly says, contextually.
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them," (Mt.13:15).
"Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth," (Jn.9:31).
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil," (1 Pet.3:12; Psa 34:15).
You cannot become a child of God through prayer, because you must first become a child of God so that God will hear your prayer.