Without question, the greatest and most powerful prayer that you can have in your arsenal is the Sinner’s Prayer (sometimes also called the Consecration Prayer or Salvation Prayer).
The Sinner’s Prayer is the type of prayer that you will use to lead someone who is not saved into eternal salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
It is the type of prayer that you will use to get someone saved and born again.

The term “Sinner’s Prayer” comes from those of a more charismatic type background.
The reason they have labeled it the Sinner’s Prayer is because the Bible tells us that we are all dead in our sins and trespasses until we get saved and born again by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior – hence the word “sinner’s” prayer.
This is the type of prayer you will see used when pastors and evangelists like Billy Graham make an altar call at the end of their services, calling all of those up who would like to get saved and born again by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
This is the same type of prayer that you will see TV preachers use when they are trying to get people saved right over their TV sets.
Many people have been saved as a result of sitting on their couches, and then all of sudden the Holy Spirit moves in on them as they are hearing a preacher teach about the basics of salvation through Jesus Christ.
However, one of the things that you will notice when watching all of this take place is that no one really words the Sinner’s Prayer in the exact same way.
Everyone uses a little bit of different wording when saying this prayer out loud – instructing those to repeat after them the exact wording of the prayer in order to get them saved.
This type of prayer is very basic, short, simple, and straight-to-the-point, so there is no real harm if there is some minor variation in how the prayer is actually worded.
For those of you who would really like to be used by the Lord to get others saved and born again, but are afraid that you might get a bit tongue tied at the moment of truth in leading a sinner to the Lord, I thought I would draw this article up just for you.
In this article, I will give you a very nice, simple, basic, straight-to-the-point Sinner’s Prayer that you can use to lead someone to the Lord when they are ready to take this step.
I will also give you the appropriate verses from Scripture to show you exactly why this prayer is worded in the way that it is, and exactly what goes on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm when the Lord makes a move on someone to get them saved.
You may also want to consider having this Sinner’s Prayer typed out on an index card so that you can always have it handy and by your side in the event that the Lord decides He ever wants to personally use you to get someone else saved.
Now here is a good, basic, simple, and straight-to-the-point Sinner’s Prayer that you can use to lead someone into the greatest gift and event of all – eternal salvation with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
The Sinner’s Prayer
Say the following prayer out loud, believe it from your heart, and you will become saved and born again.
Dear Father,
I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.
Lord Jesus,
I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.
Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.
Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.
So that you can fully understand why this prayer is worded in the way that it is, and exactly what is going on in the spiritual realm when God starts to move in on someone to get them saved – I will give you all of the appropriate verses from the Bible to explain all of this to you in the captions below.
These verses will give you very good insight as to what is really going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm when the Holy Spirit starts to move in on someone to get them saved.
God the Father Will Draw the Sinner to Jesus Through the Holy Spirit
The very first thing you will need to realize is that you will not be alone when you step out to witness to someone in order to try and get them saved. As you will see in the first 4 verses I will list below, God the Father is the One who will actually be “drawing” the sinner to Jesus. And how does God actually “draw” this sinner to Jesus?
He does it by and through the Holy Spirit.
As you will see in the way these verses are worded, they will specifically tell us that no one can come to Jesus to receive His gift of eternal salvation unless God the Father first starts to draw that person to Him.
And then it says that no one can say that Jesus is Lord unless it is done “by” the Holy Spirit.
When you put these first two verses together side by side like you would two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle – the revelation comes through loud and clear.
It is God the Father, operating through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, that will draw the sinner to Jesus in order for them to be able to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
What this now tells you is that you will not be alone when you try and witness to someone.
You will literally have the power of the Holy Spirit Himself operating through you to be able to effectively witness to others.
You will have the anointing of God Almighty Himself on you to be able to do this.
This is why each and every Christian should always keep their spiritual radars up, as you never know when God will move to want to use you to witness to another person.
Here are the first 4 verses, all showing you exactly what is occurring behind the scenes when God starts to move in on someone in an effort to try and get them saved.
- “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44)
- “… and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
- “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit FELL UPON all those who heard the word.” (Acts 10:44)
- “The Lord OPENED HER HEART to heed the things spoken by Paul.” (Acts 16:14)
The first two verses are telling you that God the Father is drawing the unsaved sinner to His Son Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
The third verse is a very good verse showing you that the Holy Spirit can then “fall upon” those in a room that you may be witnessing to.
The last verse then shows you that once the Holy Spirit falls upon someone as you are delivering the Word – He will then open up this person’s heart so the words you are speaking to this person will enter in.
And once those words enter into this person’s mind, heart, and spirit – then the Holy Spirit can start to move in to illuminate and enlighten this person as to what the real meaning of God’s gift of eternal salvation through His Son and His death on the cross is really all about.
These first four verses are very powerful pieces of revelation being given to us by God the Father as to what is really going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm when God makes a move on someone in an effort to try and get them saved.
These four verses should give all Christians total confidence and faith in the Lord that His power will by their side if they are willing to step out of their boats to witness to others.
Once God the Father starts to make a move on someone in an effort to try and get them saved through the power of the Holy Spirit, something very interesting will then start to happen – which will now lead us right into the next section.
True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation
Once the Holy Spirit starts to move in on someone in an effort to try and get them to accept Jesus, something very profound will start to happen next.
The Bible tells us that one of the main jobs of the Holy Spirit is to bring “conviction” to the sinner. Bottom line – Jesus Christ came to our earth in the flesh to die on a cross for all of our sins.
What this means is that you cannot begin to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior unless you can see and realize that you are truly a sinner in need of a Savior.
If you cannot see and admit that you are truly a sinner, then you will see no need to accept what Jesus did for you when He died on the cross for you.
This is why the Bible is telling us that God the Father has to work through the Holy Spirit in order to bring a sinner into a true, conversion experience.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to open up that person’s mind and heart. Once that person’s mind and heart has been properly opened up – then the Holy Spirit can start to work with them to show them that they are truly a sinner, and that there is no saving grace for them in the natural sinful state in which they were born into this world with.
As you will see in some of the Scripture verses I will list below, the Bible is emphatically clear that every single one of us, with no exceptions, has been born into this world in sin and in iniquity.
In other words, we have all been born into this world from our mother’s womb with a sin nature ingrained in us.
The minute we are born into this world, the Bible tells us that we all appear as an “unclean thing” before the eyes of God the Father.
As a result, the Bible says that all men and all women have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of our God.
It says that there is none of us that are truly righteous before the eyes of God the Father – and with what little righteousness we think we may have, this righteousness appears as nothing but as filthy rags before God the Father.
As a result of this sinful state and nature that we have all been born into this world with, it now becomes the job of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to illuminate us, and to show us the real truth of the matter.
- The Holy Spirit will now start to convict the sinner. He will show the person what a sinner they have been all of their life.
- He will show and point out certain sins of their past and how these sins and behaviors are totally unacceptable in the eyes of God the Father.
- He will show them how powerless and helpless they really are in their natural state in being able to pull out of some of their sins.
- Once you begin to see what a hopeless and miserable sinner you really are – and that you do not have the mental or emotional capacity within your own being to change yourself for the better – then you will become open to receiving the truth of the Gospel.
- Then you will be open to listening to what happened to Jesus when He came down to our earth in the flesh to die on the cross for all of our sins.
- Once you fully see and fully realize that you have been born into this world as a sinner and that you have been living all of your life as a sinner .
- Then you will be ready to accept God’s free gift of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on that cross.
- Then you will see that it is the grace, mercy, love, and goodness of God and Jesus that will save you from yourself and your sinful state.
- You will see that God the Father is now willing to grant you a pardon and make a way of escape for you from the eventual fires of a real, live, living hell if you are willing to believe on His Son Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.
The 8 verses I will list under this section will show you that a true repentance from the heart will be what will lead you to be able to have a true salvation-conversion experience with the Lord.
The first three verses I will list all use the words “repent” or “repentance.“ And all three of these verses are linking the word “repentance” to being saved and converted to the Lord.
The word “repentance” means a turning away from sin and a turning back to God. It means to be willing to have a change of heart, a change of attitude, and a change of mind.
It means that you are now willing to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and once you do this, that you will then be willing to work with the Lord for the rest of your life so that He can then transform you into the express image of Himself.
Now here are 8 very powerful verses all showing us that we have all been born into this world as corrupt sinners – and that having a true, repentant heart will be the key to being able to receive God’s gift of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.
- “For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation …” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
- “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
- “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)
- “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalms 51:5)
- “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …” (Romans 3:23)
- As it is written: “There is none righteous, no not one …” (Romans 3:10)
- “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind …” (Isaiah 64:6)
- “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us …” (Titus 3:4)
All 8 of these verses are major power verses on being able to understand exactly what needs to be understood before we can really have a true conversion experience with the Lord.
This is why the first three verses are really emphasizing the fact that you must first be willing to repent before God before you can really accept Jesus as your personal Savior.
If you would like a bit more information on this topic, we have another article in our site titled “True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation.”
The last 5 verses are stating, without any other possible interpretation, that we have all been born into this world with an inherent sin nature and we have all thus become fallen sinners in this life.
As a result, none of us appears truly righteous and good before the eyes of God the Father.
Again, God the Father could not make things any more clear on the basics of our salvation through His Son Jesus with the way that He has worded all of the above verses.
Total Forgiveness of All of Our Sins
Once the sinner has been truly enlightened by the Holy Spirit as to what a sinner they really are, and that a true repentant heart on their end will now open up the door for them to be able to receive God’s gift of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.
Then the last thing that will need to be explained to this person is that once they fully accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior
And then all of their past, present, and future sins will be fully forgiven.
The verses I will list under this section are again major foundational verses. God is once again using some very intense language in some of these verses. He says that once the sinner accepts His gift of eternal salvation, then not only are all of his sins fully forgiven – but these sins are no longer “remembered” in His mind.
They have now been fully removed from Him as far as the east is from the west! In other words, your slate has now been made fully clean in the Lord!
Here are 6 very powerful verses showing that all sinners will now have all of their sins fully forgiven and fully wiped clean from their past, present, and future if they are willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
- “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace …” (Ephesians 1:7)
- “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43)
- “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)
- “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)
- “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities … For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:2,11)
- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Notice in the last verse it says that you have to first “confess” your sins before the Lord before you can receive His forgiveness for those sins.
This is why you have the sinner in “general” confess out all of the wrong and sinful things they have ever done in their lives in the article the Sinner’s Prayer.
You first have to be willing to admit that you are a sinner, and then be willing to confess all of your sins before God can move in to save you and bring you total forgiveness for all of those sins.
Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and have had all of your sins fully forgiven – something very awesome will now happen next, which will now lead us right into the next section.
You Have Now Become a New Creation – All Things Are Now Brand New
These next 10 verses will now be the icing on the entire cake. As a result of accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, not only are all of your sins fully forgiven, not only will you get to go straight to heaven when you die and cross over – but you have now become a brand new creation in the Lord.
As a result of becoming a brand new creation in the Lord, all old things have now passed away and all things have now been made brand new!
In other words, you have now been given a brand new life with a brand new start, along with a brand new heart and a brand new Spirit being put into you by God the Father.
This Spirit that God will now be putting into you will be the Holy Spirit Himself.
As you will see in several of the verses I will list below, each person who gets saved and born again receives the Holy Spirit Himself at the exact moment of their conversion. And then the Bible takes it one step further. It says that we are then “sealed” with the presence of the Holy Spirit.
These next 10 verses are so profound, that I think many Christians miss out on what God is really trying to tell them.
These verses really need to be meditated on and chewed on. I will go ahead and list each one of them, and then point out some of the key revelation that God is trying to transmit to all of us.
- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world …” (Ephesians 2:1)
- “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13)
- And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” (Acts 10:15)
- “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:25)
- Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38)
- “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13)
- “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)
- “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a deposit.” (2 Corinthians 1:21)
- “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 5:5)
Put all of these verses together, one right after the other, and you can then see what God is trying to tell you once you become saved and born again. You will now get all of the following benefits and blessings:
- You have now become a brand new creation
- You have now been made fully alive
- All old things have now passed away
- All things have now been made brand new
- You have now been delivered from the powers of darkness
- You have now been translated into the Kingdom of God
- You have now been given a brand new heart of flesh
- You have now received the Holy Spirit Himself
As a result of having the Holy Spirit now literally living on the inside of you – you have now become a brand new creation and you have now been made fully alive!
You also have God’s supernatural power available to you to help transform and sanctify you.
As a result of now having the Holy Spirit residing on the inside of you – you now have His supernatural power to defeat the powers of darkness, whether they be attacking you or anyone else that may be close to you.
This is why the Bible is specifically telling us in the above verse that you have now been delivered from the powers of darkness. Satan and his demons no longer have any ability to continue to have any kind of hold or sway on you because you now have the power of God operating through the Holy Spirit to defeat any demons who may try and come against you.
Another incredible benefit that you will get as a result of having the Holy Spirit now residing on the inside of you is that you will now be given a brand new heart.
In the above verse from Ezekiel, God says that He will take out your heart of stone, which is a hard type of heart, and replace it with a heart of flesh, which is tender type of heart that is now capable of feeling compassion and empathy for other people.
As a result of now making Jesus Lord over your life, this means that you have now been given a brand new life with a brand new start. God will now be placing you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life.
God, through His Holy Spirit, will now be leading and guiding you down the path that He will want you to follow in this life. God will be letting you know exactly what your call, what your purpose, and what your divine destiny is going to be in Him.
Your brand new life will now have real meaning and purpose to it – because you will now be finding out exactly why God created you in the first place and exactly what God wants to do with your life.
As a result of this brand new life that God will now be placing out before you, all old things will now past away.
You can now finally let go of all of your past, along with all of the hurts and heartaches of your past.
No matter what has happened to you in your past, no matter how many sins you may have committed, and no matter how bad and how vile some of those sins may have been – God can fully forgive you of all of your sins.
God can now wipe your slate fully clean. He can also help clean up any loose ends from your past that may be trying to hold you back from being able to propel full steam ahead into the divine destiny that He now has set up for you and your life.
This is why getting a person saved and born again is the greatest thing you can do for another person this side of heaven.
Not only will you get them saved from the fires of a real, live, living hell when they die and cross over – but you will also be giving them a brand new life, with a brand new start, and a brand new direction to follow.
The gift of eternal salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, is without question, the greatest and most life-altering experience any person can have this side of heaven.
And God the Father can use each and everyone of you over the course of your life to lead a certain amount of people to this free gift that He is only too happy and too anxious to give to all of those who are willing to repent and believe on Him for this gift.
Confess With Your Mouth – Believe From Your Heart
All of the above verses will give you some major live ammunition to use when you start to try and witness to others about the basics of salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit will also be there to help you out with all of this.
The Holy Spirit will also anoint your words as you are speaking them out.
And then once those anointed words have been spoken out and they have entered into that person’s mind and spirit – then the Holy Spirit can start to work behind the scenes to help illuminate and enlighten this person’s mind and intellect so they can fully understand what God’s message of eternal salvation is really all about.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will wrestle and strive with a man in an effort to try and show them the errors of their ways and the errors of their thinking.
This wrestling match that will occur between the unsaved sinner and the Holy Spirit can last anywhere from a few minutes, to a few days, to a few weeks, to several years, to many years – and in some cases, literally right up to the deathbed of that person.
Many people have actually been saved right on their deathbeds.
However, in other cases, the Holy Spirit will wrestle, strive, and chase after a person for a good portion of their lives, but that person keeps rejecting His strivings over and over again.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will not strive with a man forever.
This means that there is a limit to God’s patience.
And once that breaking point has been reached with God the Father – then it is over – and that person is then doomed to spend the rest of all of eternity in the most horrible place imaginable when they die and cross over.
God will win some and God will lose some in His efforts and strategies to try and get as many people saved as He possibly can before they die and cross over.
And it will be the same with you. Some people you will be able to lead to the Lord and others you will not – no matter how hard you witness to them, and no matter how hard you may pray for them.
Man will always have his free will on all of this – and not even God Himself will force anyone to accept the pardon and redemption that He is willing to offer them through the blood and death of His Son Jesus Christ.
However, there will be many that will accept what Jesus has done for them, especially if they are being properly witnessed to by an anointed, Spirit-filled believer who knows how to flow and operate with his leadings from the Holy Spirit.
Once a sinner has seen the light and the real truth of the Gospel, then they are now ready to be led into a true salvation-conversion experience with the Lord. And this is where the above type of Sinners Prayer will now come into play.
Here is the verse from Scripture that will show you how a person will actually get saved.
This particular verse has to be one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture – because in this verse is complete revelation on how a person is able to get saved and born again in the Lord.
Here is the verse, and then I will show you how it lines up with how the above Sinner’s Prayer is worded.
“… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Romans 10:9)
Notice the following:
1. In the above Sinner’s Prayer, you are instructed to say the prayer out loud. If by chance the person cannot verbally speak the prayer out loud for whatever reason – then they can say the Sinner’s Prayer silently in their own mind to themselves. However, if they can verbally speak out loud without any problems or impediments, then the Sinner’s Prayer should really be said out loud.
Notice in the above verse that it says “with the MOUTH confession is made to salvation” and “if you confess with your MOUTH the Lord Jesus.” Both phrases are using the word “mouth.”
Your mouth is what you speak things out with.
This verse is thus telling you that you need to make a public confession out loud with your mouth to God and Jesus when you start saying the Sinner’s Prayer to receive Their gift of eternal salvation.
This is why you always have the pastors, evangelists, and other believers have the unsaved sinner say the Sinner’s Prayer out loud based upon the specific wording of this verse.
2. The second thing I have listed in the above Sinner’s Prayer is that in addition to confessing all of this out loud – that you also have to believe in all of this from your heart.
The wording in the above verse says that you have to “believe in your heart” that God has raised Jesus from the dead.
The Bible tells us that God will give each person a certain measure of faith in order to be able to believe in all of this.
This is why the Bible tells us that a person cannot be brought into a true salvation experience unless the Holy Spirit is moving and working with that person. The Holy Spirit will be the One to give this person enough faith and belief to be able to believe in all of this.
3. In the above Sinner’s Prayer, you first have the person start out by stating that they now believe in who Jesus Christ really is.
This will help set the stage for being able to accept what Jesus’ death on the cross really means for them.
The first part of the Sinner’s Prayer thus starts out with a very basic statement in that the sinner is now believing that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, that Jesus then came down to our earth in the flesh, and that He then went to die on the cross for all of the sins of this world.
This opening statement then ends with the specific wording that the sinner now believes that God has raised Jesus from the dead on the third day from His crucifixion.
The above verse says that you have to believe that God had raised Jesus from the dead. If you do not believe that Jesus literally resurrected from the dead on the third day – then you cannot get saved and brought into God’s kingdom.
The death and resurrection of Jesus go hand in hand, and both doctrines have to be fully believed before you can get saved and born again.
4. After this opening statement has been made, then the unsaved sinner will confess out all of the wrong and sinful things they have ever done in their lives. In the above caption titled “True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation” – a person cannot enter into a true salvation experience with the Lord unless they are willing to admit that they are a sinner – and then be willing to confess those sins out – and then be willing to repent and turn away from those sins.
The person does not have to list out each one of their sins individually at this time unless the Lord is specifically wanting them to do so.
The Lord may deal with them a little bit later on in the privacy of their own thoughts and life – as this may take some additional time depending on how much of a bad past this person may have.
But for the purposes of getting this person saved, born again and crossed over into the arms of the Lord – all they have to be willing to do at this time is to admit that they are a sinner, and then be willing to confess all of their sins in “general” to God and Jesus.
Notice that you have the person make the statement that they are now willing to confess all of their sins to Jesus – and then they ask God to please forgive them from all of their sins by the blood that Jesus has personally shed for them on the cross.
5. After the above confession is made out on their sins, then the person ends the Sinner’s Prayer by stating that they are now ready to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and then they will ask Jesus to come into their lives and live with them for all of eternity.
This sinner’s prayer is short, simple, and straight-to-the-point. If this sinner’s prayer is confessed and said out loud, and believed from the heart before the Lord, then that person will become saved and born again – right there on the spot where they complete this prayer. It can literally be that quick and that simple!
A sinner can get saved anywhere at anytime. It can happen at an altar call at a church, or as you are witnessing to someone in the privacy of your own home or their home.
It can also happen out in a public setting such as a shopping mall, street corner, or in a car, train, or plane.
It can also happen to someone all by themselves as they are watching a TV minister preach over the TV and then he has them recite the Sinner’s Prayer out loud as he gives them the specific words to say.
Many people have been saved right over their TV sets. The Holy Spirit can literally move into a person’s house right off the anointing that a TV minister may have operating through him.
There is no end to the different ways that God will use to try and get someone saved. And in many of these situations, God is wanting to pull that person in through another believer.
The Bible tells us that God the Father wants all of us to become fisherman for Him.
As such, every single Christian should always keep their radars up and be very sensitive to any leadings, promptings, or unctions they may receive from the Holy Spirit to work with an unsaved person.
Conclusion
As I said at the top of this article, leading an unsaved person into the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has to be the greatest and most awesome experience that either you or the unsaved person can have this side of heaven.
For the person that you will lead into eternal salvation – you will give them the greatest gift that anyone can give to them down here in this life – the gift of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.
The personal reward that you will receive for leading a sinner into God’s gift of eternal salvation is the personal satisfaction that you will have that will last for all of eternity – knowing that God had personally used you to release His knowledge, power, and anointing through to save that sinner from the fires of a real, live, living hell.
When you really step back and look out at the real big picture – the only thing that really matters in this life is that people get saved, born again, and brought home to the Lord when they die and cross over.
All of the money these sinners will make, all of the friends they will make in this life, and all of the things they will accomplish in this life will all be for naught if they do not get saved and born again before they die and cross over.
It simply amazes me that so many people are only living this life for the temporary pleasures and luxuries they can get out of this life while they still can – while all the while thinking they will never really die or have to face God Almighty Himself for any kind of a personal judgment. If there is one thing that we all know for sure – every single one of us is going to physically die and depart from this life sooner or later – with absolutely no exceptions!
As much as science likes to think they have a lot of the answers to everything, and that we do not need a divine God to answer to or live for – not one of them has yet to find or come up with any kind of solution that will give man personal immortality down here on this earth. No one has yet been able to stop the aging process and the eventual physical death of our bodies. And not only can we not stop the aging and death process, but we can’t even control when and how we are going to die.
Yet man still continues to live thinking that he is going to live forever, and that he will never have to face what may be lying on the other side when he does die and cross over.
The big picture is a real bone chilling scenario. Each man and each woman only has one chance, one shot, and one opportunity to see the light and truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ before they die and cross over.
They will not be given a second chance to see the light and truth of His Gospel once they die and cross over. If they wait until they die – it will have already been too late! Each man and woman thus walks out this life never knowing when the next day may literally be their last day on this earth.
Knowing this is the kind of big picture that we all have to face in this life, each and every Christian should always keep themselves open to being able to be used by the Lord to try and get other people saved.
So many of these unsaved and hardened sinners are totally clueless as to how close they really are to falling into the fires of a real, live, living hell. And the only thing that may be standing between them and this real, live, living hell may be you and what God can possibly do through you to reach that hardened sinner’s mind and heart with the truth of His Word.
Remember, you have the power of the Holy Spirit Himself operating through you to be able to effectively witness to others. God will set the stages for you. He can lead you as to who you should be witnessing to, when you are to witness to them, how long you will need to stay with each one of them, and exactly what to say and how to handle each one of them.
God is calling each and every Christian at this time to become a powerful and anointed eagle for Him. You only have a certain number of years on this earth to accomplish everything that God would like for you to accomplish for Him. You only have one shot in the eternal scheme of things to be able to be used by God to save a sinner from a fate of eternal torment and agony.
Don’t lose your one and only chance in being able to be used by God for a major rescue and deliverance mission. Lives are hanging in the balance.
You personally may be the difference as to whether or not a certain number of sinners will ever see the love, mercy, and saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ before they die and cross over.
Remember – the Word of God is your Sword. Keep this Sinner’s Prayer on the tip of your Sword – and always be ready to move into action should the Holy Spirit ever call upon you to literally save the day for a soul that may be headed straight into the pits of a real, live, living hell.
Hello,
After reading your article about getting saved, I have a fearful question for you, please. If I told you everything, it would take a while to write, so I’ll just get to what’s important to me. I got saved when I was either 16 or 17 and I am 61 now, so things are blurry to me. I remember going to the altar and I went knowing full well what I was doing and I wanted to be saved but no one was there to help me because they were busy with others that had gone to the altar also.So, not knowing what to do or say,I, as best as I could, I cried out “save me Jesus, save me!”. I knew full well what I was doing and I did go to the altar for the absolute reason to get saved.didn’t then know to profess out loud with my mouth that Jesus was my Lord and Savior but certainly have said it since. Can you tell me if that was enough to get me saved, or did I miss the mark? If I did miss it, I fear that God will never draw me to him again and I will go to hell. This has been bothering me for quite a while and any help is appreciated. Thank you very much.
to Ronnie Martin. I was saved in my home, March 1, 1960. The Pastor of a Baptist church visited me with a friend that I worked with. He asks me this question? If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity? I said that I didn’t know, that if I lived a good enough life, I would go to heaven and if I didn’t I would go to hell. I said it was like a balance, the good outweighing the bad. he said that is what many believe and If I could show you from the Bible, what God says, would you believe it. He took me down the Roman road. Romans 3;10, there’s none righteous no not one, then 3:23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. then 6:23, For the wages of sin, is death, but, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Then Romans 5:12, Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, so death passed upon all men for all have sinned. He showed me R omans 10:13, That whosoever would call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would be saved. He then went to Eph. 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved by faith and that not of your selves, it is the gift of God and not of works, lest any man should boast. he said that before I could get saved, I had to get lost and he explained, that when Adam sinned in the garden, that all mankind fell with him, as we were the seed or descendants of Adam. He said that God and man became Spiritually separated at that moment. He said that God sent His son, Jesus Christ into the world to pay the sin debt as a man couldn’t do it. Jesus Christ dying on the cross and shedding His precious blood is the only way for anyone to be saved. The book of Acts is a transition book when Jesus came to start His ministry, He came only to the Jews, Matthew 10: 5-6. When the apostle Paul was saved on the road to Damascus he was given a new revelation and a new salvation plan. Unless one comes to Jesus Christ through the Gospel that Paul preached, he can’t be saved. 1Cor. 15:1-4 is the Gospel Paul preached and it is for the Jew and the Gentile. Faith is taking God at His word, He said to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. The baptism he speaks about is that the moment that we believe, the Holy Spirit indwells us and seals us unto the day day of redemption. Water baptism is the first sign that we have been born-again and is out public testimony.
In response to Ronnie, the 61 yr old Christian concerned if he has been saved or not..my brother, when the Holy Spirit led you to that alter when you were a teen, you were adopted as one of God’s children because of the blood shed by His Son Jesus so many years ago. So you have been saved for quite some time! My question to you is, have you been laboring in the vineyard all those years? Have you witnessed to others the salvation you found in Christ Jesus? Have you given yourself over to Him in service? We all miss the mark daily, the word ‘sin’ is a archery term that means missed the mark, and we all fall short. However because we have been saved, we are forgiven, and because we are saved, its by God’s grace that we try to live to His glory. Its because of God’s grace that we are drawn to Him anyway, he is our Shepherd, and sheep always follow their master’s voice! So no worries, my brother, and I look forward to that great day we will all gather around our Father and worship Him! Yours in Christ’s cleansing blood, servergirl58.
Romans 10:9-10
I think that this treatment of the sinners prayer is troublesome at best. The thought that just because you repeat a set of words with “meaning” doesn’t mean that you have indeed been saved.
Man who is deceitful (Jer. 17:9), full of evil (Mark 7:21-23), loves darkness (John 3:19), does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12), is ungodly (Rom. 5:6), dead in his sins (Eph. 2:1), by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3), cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14), and a slave of sin (Rom. 6:16-20) could not, of his own accord, pray this type of thing with true meaning without already being saved by God. It is God who appoints people to believe (Acts 13:48), chooses who is to be holy and blameless (Eph. 1:4), calls according to His purpose (2 Tim. 1:9), chooses us for salvation (2 Thess. 2:13-14), grants the act of believing (Phil. 1:29), grants repentance (2 Tim. 2:24-26).
I would hope that you rethink the sinners prayer as an evangelism tool…
" It is the type of prayer that you will use to get someone saved and born again."
Really! Do you really believe that you can save anybody? Only the Holy Spirit can draw/lead someone to Christ. This is manipulation….
I will have you know that God used a christian co-worker 28 years ago to pray the sinners prayer with me and I was saved/born again. So don’t knock this prayer it changed my life.
@Steve Tassi,
This type of prayer coupled with a deep conviction I had experienced prior to being witnessed to and then subsequently prayed for by the worker who had under the leading of the holy Spirit..prayed the “Sinners Prayer” with me, I truly believe..and she later informed me that many other Christians were also praying for the encounter she had with me through a prayer chain attached to the ministry she was working in so there was much prayer involved..I believe it was entirely under the direction of the Holy Spirit because that day was and still is in my view a designated appointment with God which I was priveleged to keep with Him.. my life changed dramatically that day.. it was far from perfect but i do believe i was “born again” (John 3) that day but one thing I noticed was that the Holy Scriptures became “readable” whereas prior to that prayer they were only dry and lifeless. I then took the new testment paperback which she offered me and thoroughly devoured the Word of God like a starving baby.. and discovered in its pages finally the only model for my life worth following, the Son of Man and the Lord of Life, my saviour and the saviour of the whole world, Jesus Christ.
This is a great guide on learning how to lead, by the Holy Spirit, someone to Salvation; the greatest Gift God has given humanity.
Steve if this were true then there would be no need for Disciples. Any one who is using this prayer should know that it is God who saves they're just asisting them in receiving God as their savior
You must understand doubt is a trick Satan uses also guilt and shame. these are our three worst enemies. He loves to worry you, It’s his job and he is good at it. Once I jumped those three hurdles it was like a freedom. My parents taught me hell and damnation and I was afraid and guilty about everything. I struggled for years with this. Make three hurdles in your mind and jump them tell Satan to get behind and stay there. God warns us about not having peace. Don’t let him win. Ask the holy spirit to pray with you, ask God to help you remove these feelings. Remember the holy spirit will even pray for you, if you ask it to. Have faith and know you are saved!!!
Bible battle is of Satan some people will argue about anything. This gentleman didn’t say he thought he could save anyone. Suppose this; Better to pray this prayer with someone and the Lord isn’t ready, then to not pray this prayer with them and the Lord is ready. The Lord sees all and I feel like he can certainly straighten out an error on our part to lead someone to him. Judge not!!!!!!!!!!!!
Harmony Wilson, thought you might like to read this… Love you!
I find it interesting that he does not quote a single scripture. What about Mark 16:16? What about a Biblical response to the question, “What shall we do?” Peter and the apostles answered in Acts 2:38, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The phrase “remission of sins” is exactly the same as Matthew 26:28. What Jesus was doing on the cross and what is received at the point of baptism are connected with the same results — remission of sins! You must repent. (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30) You must be born again. (John 3:7) You must obey the gospel. (2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter 1:22, 4:17)
Hey, so just wanted to clarify. The sinner’s prayer is what we were taught growing up in the church, although the author does make some good points in the coming sections, biblically that’s not how you bring someone to Christ. It is through baptism someone is saved.
No, you are not saved by Baptism, no one is saved by Baptism. Peter Clearly states that Baptism is simply an answer of a good conscience towards God. 1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
In Acts 10, Cornelius and His Household we’re saved before even being Baptized.
The only way of Salvation is Through Jesus Christ, by believe that he died, buried, and rose again for sinners, and Calling upon him for salvation in Romans 10:13 and Romans 10:9-10
I have a question. Is The Sinner’s Prayer located anywhere in The King James Bible? I have to read it for myself.
Thank you.
You asked for someone to show you the way; here goes. At the first opportunity to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter was asked by those who listened to him, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37b). To the inquiry of those who had been, “pricked in their heart,” Peter responded, “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 Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Peter told them that what he had said was, “the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). After some more convincing, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41).
Why not simply do as 3,000 did on that day when Peter preached? There was no alter call, no sinner’s prayer.
Could not have said it better, David. When someone asked the question “what must I do to be saved,” NO ONE I REPEAT NO ONE was told to pray this prayer. No one was told to accept Jesus, or invite Jesus into your heart. People have made salvation complicated, when it is very simple. We are saved by grace through faith, an active faith. So many want to avoid baptism and use the thief on the cross as an example, however after the death and resurrection of Christ He gave the command found in Matthew 28: 19-20 make followers baptizing them …… 1 Peter 3:21 and this baptism now saves you also not the putting away of the flith of the flesh but by a clear conscience toward God, it saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:5 for IF we have been united with him in the likeness of is death we will also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. The problem with the “baptism does not matter crowd” is the save by faith not works and what constitutes faith. It is late so take some time in deep study to show yourself a workman approved by God who rightly handles the Word of Truth. God’s blessing on us all in our journey with Him.
There is definately a great deal to know about this topic.
I love all of the points you made.
This is a little long, but bare with me here, and with God’s help, I’ll make it worth your time.
Baptism is not required for salvation, and neither is participation in the communion meal. Baptism, just like participation in communion meals are nothing but acts of obedience toward God.
If baptism were required for salvation, then that would mean that Jesus’s death on the cross was not sufficient to pay for anyone’s sins and we would all die in our sins.
How do you explain the crucified thief on the cross who believed that Jesus was the Son of God? That thief wasn’t baptized, but that very day, that thief met Jesus in paradise as promised by the Lord Himself! Baptism, and participating in communion are acts of obedience, and not tools of salvation.
Who wouldn’t want to display publicaly the acts of baptism & participation in communion among other men/women? John 3:16 says that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved! It doesn’t say whoever believes in Him, and is baptized and eats the communion supper! It’s only through faith that we are saved, and not by sharing a meal, or being submerged in water.
There are many parts of scripture that makes baptism a necessary step in our growth with God, but that does not mean that God will refuse anyone who has believed in the Gospel, and never had the chance to participate in baptism or sharing a communion meal. “If you deny me in front of men, I will deny you in front of my Father! Jesus said that. Being baptized and sharing in communion meals help us demonstrate to the world that we believe in Jesus, and that we are willing to obey him, and that we are giving Him honor, and not denying him.
Let us not add more difficulties in our own ways to what God has already said is not required for salvation. God said that only faith is needed, and that is the bottom line. The rest of it is obedience to his word.
The sinner’s prayer is a wonderful tool to bring people into God’s salvation plan. Look at the evidence. if God was not pleased with this tool, then would anyone care to explain why so many lives have been saved through the reciting of the sinner’s prayer? If anyone can produce a better way of delivering someone into God’s salvation, let him or her step forward, and show us the way.
God Bless!
Saying the “Sinners’s Prayer,” in my opinion, is not enough to make it to God’s Kingdom. We have to truly repent and turn our hearts to our Lord. We can’t say the prayer and continue in our sinful ways. I always recommend that those who say this prayer read the entire book of Ephesians and to refer back to the 10 Commandments (I have found a lot of people do not even know all of the 10 Commandments) to give them a start as to what Our Father expects of our daily lives, telling them to, not just read, but study the Word and make changes in their lives and heart according to His word. It always helps to find a good, Bible based church so that you can surround yourself with other believers that will help nurture and strengthen their walk in faith. As for the death bed confessions, I believe it comes down to what is truly in their hearts. But, for those who feel they do have tomorrow, it’s imperative that they start learn to “walk the walk” starting immediately because we are not promised tomorrow. We have to make sure our hearts and our actions line up with His word.
Lisa T,
I am confused by your reply because by saying the sinners prayer, and asking Jesus to come into our hearts and to direct our lives, that in and of itself will keep us from sinning or when we do sin, Spirit of Truth will convict us and lead us back from our sins. Secondly, i don’t understand your disbelief because bible clearly states that you WILL be saved(Romans 10:9, 10:10) and your point about repentance is stated in the article. Of course, just because we said the prayer doesnt mean that we will be perfect Christian over night. We will back slide (as ALL of us will do) but because of Gods grace and mercy, he will forgive us when we do. Jesus told us how to pray and in His prayer he specifically said to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespasses against us” meaning we will sometime sin against others and ourselves. Important thing for us is to listen to the Spirit of Truth and be convicted, and don’t continue down the path of sin. What you describe is the process of consecration that all of have to go through. And if the person has said the prayer and dies that day in a car accident, i believe that, that person will be saved . So, lets give these “baby” Christian a chance and stop being so hard on them by giving them adult food.
The 10 commands were removed. Romans 7 It was part of the old law. We serve with a better priest and a better law now. Old law was physical, the new law is spiritual. Heb ch 7-10
You all got me confused! I believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten son, and He came down to our earth in flesh and died on the cross for all of our sins of this world. I also believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us who believes in him eternal life. I asked Jesus for forgiveness for all my wrongs and sinful things. I just want to be saved and do what God wants me to. be Obedience and do what right. I want to be closer to God. I want to help others by spreading Gods word. I want the understanding and knowledge. I want the Holy Spirit in me. Please don’t make it harder than it already is. I want all my family and friends to be saved. Thank you, God Bless.
Doesn’t sound like you are at all confused……you wrote exactly what it takes to be saved…..stay close to JESUS!!!!!
I like your article, because no man cameth to God without total conviction with converttion. you must confessed that God exist and also believed in His only begotten Son,that’s when the Holy spirit manifest. Thank you and God bless you.
You went through all that time and all those scriptures and you still didn’t answer the question. Where is the sinners prayer in the Bible? Here is the TRUTH and it’s simple. NOWHERE it is not scriptual it’s a LIE.
Your statement about how many people are saved with it…doesn’t wash. How many Isrealites died in the wilderness NEVER seeing the promised land.
The scriptual way to salvation is written all throughout the book of Acts and not one of them said the SINNERS PRAYER and yet everyone of them was BAPTIZED..
Not mention 1 Peter 3:20 & 21. Which says how water saves…not my words but God’s.
The so-called “sinners prayer” is not found anywhere in the Bible and there isn’t one example in scripture where one person was saved by saying such a prayer. The truth about being saved is found in Marc 16:16, 1Peter 3:21 and other verses. But the “sinners prayer”…not going to find it anywhere except in the minds of people. Many need to read verses like Romans 16:17 and Titus 2:1.
To God be the Glory,As He continue to use my each and every story. Some people do not want to be saved. Some do not mind going to the hidden pit of hell, However I must confess, when they read what you are saying, they will want to saved. what you have written , while they are reading will bring happiness to their mind, joy to their heart and peace to their soul, both the young and the old. what you have written is also a blessing with not enough room to contain in the name of the Father. It is a gift that is priceless in the name of the Son, and it is an UN—Common Miracle that God is sending His Children way, In the name of the Holy Spirit. This is all Confirmation for me. For those who can not see or read what you have written , hearing someone else read it will have the very same effects. Each and everyday w God wake us up, we still have another chance in advance to serve God, not Satan, to listen to God still quiet whispering voice, not to Satan lies. to go to Heaven not Hell, and to Live not die. I vow to help as many souls as I can. Even to those who considers me as being their enemies. Satan is an UN–Godly accident waiting to happen. And I refuse to let him wreck me and mine life, as our life belongs to God and Jesus the Christ. This I leave for all. Never ever play lets make a deal with that old devil, keep it all for Godly real. If you do this,behind door number one ,you will not find God only Begotten Son. Behind door number two, you will not find anyone to stand in agreement with you, and behind door number three ,you will not find God Heavenly Kingdom Key. UN-Godly recess is over, but some are still out there on Satan playground looking for that four leaf clover.We are living in the very last and evil days and the Bible is being fulfill .No one or nothing surprise or shocks me anymore.Many want write what you have written. and many sugarcoat what they write, teach and preach. Many tell others what they want to hear but not what they need to hear, as they are afraid if they step on John and Jane Doe toe ,they will join them no more. I wish that I could give one by one and name by name the gift of the Holy Spirit 20/04/07, until we all go to Heaven.
Wow! Jesus made it absolutely clear to Nicodemus that he must be born of water and of the Spirit. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3: 5). The word water is literally “H2O,” and the word Spirit is literally speaking of the Holy Ghost. This would agree with (Acts 2:38, Acts 8:16-17, Acts 19: 5-6, Acts 10: 44-48). All of these scriptures show a pattern of people receiving both the water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and the Spirit baptism of the Holy Ghost. These two elements are present in each encounter of the people being Bible saved, regardless of whether they received water baptism first, or Spirit baptism first, both elements are present and required.
There is actually no scripture found in the Bible where the apostles ever instructed anyone to repeat a sinner’s prayer in order to be saved. This is a tradition of men which is not founded upon the Holy scriptures.
Men will say, “once you are saved you will be baptized, but the Bible say, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Notice men plan of salvation is vice versus to God’s plan of salvation.
Note that (Romans 10:9) is written to brethren (Romans 10:1). In essence this was written to the church at Rome, the Christians, fellow believers, saints of God, and not to sinners. We must confess even as saints and fellow believers that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that God raised him from the dead, and we must do it continually. Again notice that no repentance is mentioned in (Romans 10:9), and we as believers know you cannot be saved without repentance.
Being obedient to (Acts 2:38-39) will guarantee salvation according to the Word and will of God, for these scriptures includes “your sons and daughters” (Jews), and to all that are afar off (Gentiles), even as many as the Lord our God shall call (this covers even those who are yet physically unborn). Search the scriptures, and rightly divide the Word of God.
Be blessed in Jesus Name.
The dying thief on the cross was never baptized, belonged to no visible church, and never recieved the Lords supper. But he repented and believed, and therefore he was saved.
He was pardoned before he lived a single righteous day.
Think about what u believe cause it’s not true. God Bless.
Who says the thief wasn’t baptized. He knew about Jesus and was likely baptized by John and then Jesus disciples were also baptizing even more. The thief lived under the old law. The terms of the new covenant were not offered until Peter stood up with the other apostles on Pentecost. Acts 2:37-38 Guess what Peter preached…not the sinners prayer.
If baptism by water is the point which man is saved, then Jesus was baptised unnecessarily because He had no sins. Rather, it was pleasing to His Father which is why someone who accepted Jesus and been forgiven through confession of their sins and acceptance of the Grace of God, follows with baptism as the outward appearance of their inward change “because it is pleasing to our Father in Heaven” and His instruction. Baptism as the act is not what saves one from a life of sin, belief and acceptance does that.
Could you please give me some Greatly needed ASAP tips and clues, information on how to know the difference between demonic inbody possession and works of the Holy spirit? I’ve felt and seen some very out of this world experiences the past few years and I’m in need of desperate help. I got to really know Jesus lives in me because tomorrow is only in God’s will
When Jesus was asked by an expert in the law – “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
My question is, how and why, here in the U.S. particularly, mess things up so much as to answer the very same question with – say this Sinners Prayer? It’s right there – in the Gospel / Teachings of the Way. Then, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan and emphasizing that the one who showed loved to the hurt man (not the Priest or the Levite) was the example of loving his neighbor. Indeed, I noted that of all the scriptures quoted above, only one was from one of the Gospels and it emphasizes God’s Grace. Note that this was an “expert in the law” that asked the question as a “test”. In other words, this expert was testing Jesus as to whether Jesus was teaching the “right” things about the “right” religion. The Sinner’s Prayer also suggests that salvation is about saying the right things. I’m sure the priest and the Levite could have said the right things and satisfy the expert in the Law… right?