The issue of the sinner's/salvation prayer doesn't lie with the prayer itself, but the idea of what it is.
Many of us reach the lost in the streets with an incomplete Gospel and try to close the deal with the sinner's prayer, thinking that the prayer is the key to get people born again.
In fact, we define salvation (conversion) as one who prayed the sinner's prayer. We share testimonies of salvation when someone prayed the sinner's prayer. I was guilty of doing this in the past.
Nothing is further from the truth.
Jesus never did that. Peter never did that. Paul never did that. No one in the early church ever did that.
An incomplete Gospel will not get anyone born again, no matter how many times he prays the sinner's prayer. It is no different from chanting any religious prayer if there is no truth to believe in.
If I share about Mother god, how good she is, how loving she is, and I get someone to pray the standard sinner's prayer after that, he doesn't get born again! You get my point.
Without the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom, not only does one not get born again, the end is also not going to come.
And this 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matt 24:14
While the context is about the desecration of the Temple and the end of the Old Covenant era, bible prophecy can have double fulfilment.
Could it be that we have been preaching an incomplete Gospel that doesn't accord to what Jesus said in Matt 24:14? The end comes when the 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 is preached to the whole world. An incomplete Gospel doesn't bring the end.
Paul, at the end of his ministry, shared that he didn't shrink back declaring the whole message.
...solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. - Acts 20:20
Whether it's Jews or Gentiles, repentance and faith in Christ were preached by Paul, resulting in true conversion.
And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all people. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. - Acts 20:25-27
Because Paul had been preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, he knew that he was innocent of the blood of all people ----- those who believed the Gospel and those who rejected the Gospel.
We are only guilty of the blood of people if we preach an incomplete Gospel during street / lifestyle evangelism and try to close the deal with the sinner's prayer. Because they don't get a chance to believe the Gospel. They only chant a prayer that they don't really understand.
We are talking about souls, not business transactions. You cannot close a soul deal with the sinner's prayer. Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit. The person must believe and come to the place of repentance on his own.
Peter preached the Gospel of the Kingdom (Acts 2; Acts 10) and people got born again without any sinner's prayer. Because he preached a complete message.
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Follow me and say this prayer." - The modern church edition
Read Acts 2 and see what Peter told them.
We don't have to close the deal if the person is not ready to believe the Gospel of the Kingdom. We are sowing seeds and trusting the Holy Spirit to complete the work through others.
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