Question 7

Most of us have read or heard that in order to become a child of God we need simply pray, "Lord Jesus, I am a
sinner. Please forgive me. I accept you into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior." This is commonly
referred to as "the Sinner's Prayer." In Protestant denominations it is the popular response to the question,
"what must I do to be saved?"

The fact that it is popular, however, does not imply that the Sinner's Prayer is scriptural. On the contrary, it is
without any sort of biblical foundation. Not once did Jesus, his apostles, or any inspired New Testament writer
ever tell a person to pray the Sinner's Prayer in order to become a child of God. The very phrase, "accept Jesus
as your personal Savior," is foreign to the bible.

We are not left to wonder how to answer the question, "what must I do?" In Acts 2:38, Peter responded with,
"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 Spirit." Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house (Acts 16:31)." In those two passages we learn that belief on Jesus Christ, repentance, and
baptism are essential to salvation.

Prayer is a privilege reserved for those who are already children of God. Those who have already come to
Christ in faith, repentance, and baptism may pray in order to have post-conversion sins forgiven (Acts 8:22; 1
Jn. 1:8-10). But, never was an unconverted person told to just "pray and accept Jesus as your Savior" in order
to be saved. Be like the Bereans; search the scriptures, and see whether the things we have said here are so
(Acts 17:11).