Originally posted by Faith alone:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Plain Old Bill:
I think there is a benefit to "The Sinners Prayer".That benefit would be to solidify in the newly regenerated persons heart and mind what has already taken place.
It is my firm conviction that we who know something about Bible doctrine and theology spend way to much time trying to make salvation much more complicated than the Bible does.
Amen to both points. IMO we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ alone.
Amen! I see you have understanding also. This post may not enlighten you further, but perhaps in your enlightenment, I may be able to show from where the “light” comes, to others”.
The sinner's prayer developed over the centuries... not sure when it first became a part of evangelistic efforts, or the "invitation" as well. But I think it's within the past 200 - 300 years at most. (During the Great Awakening in the 1740s I wonder what they did.)
I don’t believe today this salvation of pleading for mercy from God the Father should have be “awakened” by any evangelistic effort. It only complicates the “simple” message of salvation to the “innocents”, and confuses the not so “innocents”.
The point is that the invitation and the sinner's prayer is tradition. But that does not mean it is wrong to use them. The key is to ask ourselves if we are compromising any clear biblical principles.
Well spoken, as this is of the “tradition” of men, and when it is we know it places into motion “compromises”. If we believe the message of Paul then we cannot believe the tradition of men. In Galatians 1:14-17 Paul was above most of His equals in the tradition of the Jews, but God in His grace called Paul to reveal the Son of God to us (me a heathen not before preached to). Paul didn’t go to Peter, John or James. God told Paul to get away from his people, and from the heathen (into the desert) so He could teach and hone him in the “grace commission”. This is the same thing God told Abraham; get away from your people, the heathen idol worshippers, for I will make a great nation of you, and I will bless all nations in you Abraham.
I see we (me) heathen Gentiles are blessed in Abraham, but who is it that tells how this was made possible, and explains it to us. Is it not Christ Jesus from Heaven? Was it Moses, David, John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, John, James or anyone other than our (my) Apostle to whom Christ chose to give this “dispensational gospel" (Ephesians 3)?
Dear God, I cannot not see how this plain Word of God is ignored by those we view as the smartest and brightest among us today. Romans 11:13,
”For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office”
In the Godhead, who is the Administrator, the one to give an “office” to preach His dispensational gospel to the whole world of “reconciliation”? Christ Jesus is this “Administrator” and He appointed Paul the “head of that office” here on earth. Did anyone question Christ on this matter? You bet. But Christ said, this is something you don’t understand Ananias, so go your way for I personally have chose him to “bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel”. Faithful Ananias went his way without further question, obeying the Word of God. This is faith by Ananias, without understanding. Do we understand it all. I don’t believe so, but this I do know, by the grace of God my Father, I come to Him through the faith of my Lord Jesus Christ. I find this in only One Gospel, and that is from the “office of Paul”, that “office furnished and given” by Christ from heaven.”
According to my profs in my church history classes baptism quickly became something that was used to initiate people into the local body. For security reasons, as persecution became intense, they began to delay baptism for as long as 6 months until they were sure the conversion was genuine and not some spy. So I don't think we can take too much from what we get out of history here.
Again agree, and I see nothing wrong with “water baptism” to separate us from the rest of the world, but it only complicates, and for some, believe salvation after all does save for it must be done only in the right mode (complete immersion) with just the right wording (In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost/Spirit) – Hello out there all of you evangelical “World Council of Churches” advocates of the Baptist belief. Of what use is the “Baptist way of water baptism” if we are accepting all other “modes and forms of Water Baptism” to be correct? Does this not put us in the position of joining in with all other beliefs, some of which teach “water baptism” is to be included in process of our salvation, using infant baptism as a form of “bloodless circumcistion”? Wasn’t our original intent to show a “complete separation”? If not then what was the purpose of “water baptism” to join a Baptist church?
By the 3rd century many local bodies were baptizing infants, and most saw some spiritual significance to it. But what does God's Word say?
Bottom line, if we lead someone in a "sinner's prayer," we need to be careful to get it right. Today there are so many expressions used just because of tradition. We need to ask ourselves, "What does the Word say?"
FA </font>[/QUOTE]You by Faith alone have answered correctly - “What does the Word say?” If you will allow, I would like to add “What does the Word say to us today”? Christian faith, ituttut
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