How Evangelicals Get People Saved without Preaching the Gospel

In regards to the sinner's prayer, saying a sinner's prayer will not accomplish anything on its own. I must have prayed the sinner's prayer 20 different times with Pat Robertson while watching the 700 Club when I was a teenager, yet nothing happened. Why? Because there was no repentance and faith. Such a prayer needs to include what a person knows, understands, and believes about their sinfulness and need for salvation, followed by repentance/faith. People need to hear the gospel. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

For a person who comes to the realization that he is lost and in need of Jesus Christ to save him, (Romans 3:23; 6:23) he may obtain salvation only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). One needs to understand that Jesus Christ, God in human form, took his sins and paid the penalty for his sins by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, was buried, and rose again the third day, and he needs to make a genuine and willful decision to totally trust in Jesus Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of his salvation.

Now if subsequent to such a decision, the person would like to pray what some call a "sinner’s prayer," (calling on the name of the Lord to save him) he may do so, as long as he understands that it was his decision to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation that apprehends his salvation and not simply reciting a prayer in of itself. Reciting a prayer, in of itself does not save, as if it's a magical formula to recite a set of words, but prayer may be used to sincerely call upon the name of the Lord. (Romans 10:13)

i suggest you re-read what i wrote. i didn't call anything a fairy tale.

After years in the mission field I have come to the conclusion that most people already know a lot about Christ's sacrifice and what is expected of them to get saved. But we never assume. I usually closed my services with an alter call for prayer. When they came up they would be asked what they wanted prayer for. If salvation is what was sought, that is what we prayed for. If healing, then for that.

We don't have to make sure when preaching to cover all the points of Christ's sacrifice, the blood atonement and putting on the new man. That stuff will be covered when they ask for prayer for salvation. The Holy Spirit will lead us into saying what needs to be said.

Church meetings are for the edification of the church.

Paul does mention the fact that unlearned person or unbeliever may come in and fall on his face and say that God is truly among you after the secrets of his heart are made manifest through prophesying. I am not opposed to trying to win visiting sinners but I do not see where winning visiting sinners must be the purpose of our meeting. The apostles preached to unbelievers in the temple, synagogues, marketplace and other locations where unbelievers gathered.

The Bible does not teach the idea of repeating a prayer to be saved. Presumably the practice was developed as a way of confessing faith that Jedus is Lord and in His death, burial, and resurrection-after preaching these doctrines. That is what Billy Graham, who popularized the sinner'sprayer did. But it seems some preachers and lay peoplethink the prayer saves, relying on the recent ritual rather than the purpose for which it was intended.

I heard on preacher say if you have not prayed that prayer, you are not a Christian. That would be bad for the apostles and Christians before the early 1900s.

Now there are preachers who do not tell people Jesus rose from the dead and declare them saved. Some do not mention thecross.