You pray “Jesus, forgive me of my sins. Come into my life and save me. I believe that You died on the cross for me and I want you to be Lord of my life. I surrender my life to you Jesus right now. I receive you. Thank you for saving me.”
If you have prayed this prayer please let us know. It’s important to find a church to go to and tell the pastor what you gave done. If you can’t, then write this prayer out and sign it and date it and save it. It’s important to follow up with water baptism as a symbol of what you’ve done.
Here’s some scripture references
Roman’s 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10, 13.
Revelation 3:20.
"The sinner's prayer is nothing more than a modern idea to construe Bible theology."
We are told to search out the truth concerning the common salvation as first delivered to the saints/apostles. (Jude 3)
Jesus gave the Apostle Peter the key(S) to the kingdom. (Matt. 16:19) And Peter shared the keys with Jews,
Gentiles, and Samaritans as instructed. (John 21:15-17) And there is no mention of a sinner's prayer. But rather, the need for believers to repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, (water) and receive the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38-41, 8:12-18, 9:17-18, 10:43-48, 19:1-6, 22:16) The following scripture reference by the Apostle Paul speaks to what occurs when a person believes and obeys the command. "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor 6:11) Those who have experienced the NT rebirth are to then work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2) Continuing to confess Jesus to others is to endure to the end of one's life. (Rom. 10, Matt. 10:22)
The sinner's prayer is nothing more than a modern idea to construe Bible theology?
"C.S. Lewis used the term “a great cataract of nonsense” to describe how people use a modern idea to construe Bible theology. One such example, perhaps the best example, is a conversion method called the Sinner’s Prayer. It is more popularly known as the Four Spiritual Laws.
Lewis used this term to describe what happens when someone looks backward at the Bible based only on what he or she has known. Instead, an evangelical should first discern conversion practices from Scriptures and then consider the topic in light of two thousand years of other thinkers. As it is, a novel technique popularized through recent revivals has replaced the biblically sound practice.
Today, hundreds of millions hold to a belief system and salvation practice that no one had ever held until relatively recently. The notions that one can pray Jesus into his or her heart and that baptism is merely an outward sign are actually late developments. The prayer itself dates to the Billy Sunday era; however, the basis for talking in prayer for salvation goes back a few hundred years.
Consider the following appeal: “Just accept Christ into your heart through prayer and he’ll receive you. It doesn’t matter what church you belong to or if you ever do good works. You’ll be born again at the moment you receive Christ. He’s at the door knocking. You don’t even have to change bad habits, just trust Christ as Savior. God loves you and forgives you unconditionally. Anyone out there can be saved if they … Accept Christ, now! Let us pray for Christ to now come into your heart.”
Sound familiar? This method of conversion has had far-reaching effects worldwide as many have claimed this as the basis for their salvation. Yet, what is the historical significance of this conversion? How did the process of rebirth, which Jesus spoke of in John 3, evolve into praying him into one’s heart? I believe it was an error germinating shortly after the Reformation, which eventually caused great ruin and dismay in Christendom. ”
Billy Graham, Bill Bright
Billy Graham and his crusades were the next step in the evolution of things. Billy Graham was converted in 1936 at a Sunday-styled crusade. By the late 1940s it was evident to many that Graham would be the champion of evangelicalism. His crusades summed up everything that had been done from the times of Charles Finney through Billy Sunday except that he added respectability that some of the others lacked. In the 1950s Graham’s crusade counselors were using a prayer that had been sporadically used for some time. It began with a prayer from his Four Steps to Peace with God. The original four-step formula came during Billy Sunday’s era in a tract called Four Things God Wants you to Know. The altar call system of Graham had been refined by a precise protocol of music, trained counselors and a speaking technique all geared to help people ‘accept Christ as Savior.’
In the late 1950s Bill Bright came up with the exact form of the currently popular Four Spiritual Laws so that the average believer could take the crusade experience into the living room of their neighbor. Of course, this method ended with the Sinner’s Prayer. Those who responded to crusades and sermons could have the crusade experience at home when they prayed, “Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
Later, in 1977 Billy Graham published a now famous work entitled,
How to Be Born Again. For all the Scripture he used, he never once uses the hallmark rebirth event in the second chapter of the book of Acts. The cataract (blind spot) kept him away from the most powerful conversion event in all Scripture. It is my guess that its emphasis on baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins was incompatible with his approach." Excerpts from
Concise Bibliography, Steve Staten – Chicago, IL, USA