THE SINNER’S PRAYER is not even found in the Bible one time! The sinner’s prayer usually goes something like this:

“Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I do now receive him as my Lord and personal Savior. I promise to serve you to the best of my ability. Please save me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

A person can search his Bible from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 and never find this prayer or any variation of it mentioned anywhere in Scripture. Why then do so many people believe the sinner’s prayer saves? People believe this is a way of salvation because they have put their trust in men and not God. The sinner’s prayer originated in America and was especially popularized by Baptist preacher Billy Graham (as well as Billy Sunday and Bill Bright). Over the last half century Billy Graham and denominational preachers like him, have taught multiplied millions of people a way of salvation that is not even found in the Bible! Remember, the Bible says “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25).

Source; the gospelofchrist.com

That is disheartening to say the least.

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now that is better, clean, simple and direct. So how do we do that? There does not seem to be some easy formula for gaining salvation. While the sinner’s prayer is not in the bible, there are  defined hints as to why pastors believe the prayer helps, even if it is not clearly understood.

Jesus answered the question about salvation in this way. Luke 18:27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” God the Father alone makes salvation possible for any of us. This is why the “sinner’s prayer” begins with a cry to the heavenly Father for help.

The second section of that prayer is identified by this verse. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” where grace is defined as unmerited favor, but God grants salvation even when we don’t deserve it. Now we begin to see the reason that the sinner’s prayer is used because there are scriptures that support every element of the prayer.

The question remains as to the validity of using the prayer in and of itself as justification for salvation. Now we have gone and dragged in another word that was not included in that prayer but is vitally important. God has to justify His own words in rendering final judgment in His own court.

Psalm 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Destroy is a difficult term to deal with here because the inference is that God does the punishing once a person is in hell. The Greek word here is apollymi. This is the same Greek word translated as lose in John 6:39 “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

When we think about being separated from God, the basis of our relationship should be viewed through Christ’s work of salvation. When we arrive there will be a separation of the sheep from the goats. Ref. Matthew 25:31-46

The sheep are Christ’s and the goats are the lost or losers. This is viewed from Christ’s perspective, not our own.Those losers end up going to eternal damnation where their tormentor, Satan and his ilk will make life with them a living hell, for all eternity.

Since we can view winning and losing in this way, don’t we all want to be on the winning side?

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

While the word “overcome” does mean conquer in the Greek the word world is adorn; “a harmonious arrangement or order,” then, “adornment, decoration,” came to denote “the world, or the universe, as that which is Divinely arranged.”

My way of thinking this is not a teachable moment but it does give me peace, which should be the point to John 16:33. Jesus has taken back the crown. That which was lost by original sin coming into the world has now been won back.

Think of it in any way that brings you peace but just because I find my peace this way does not mean everyone else must find it also. As we learned in 1 Corinthians 13, love does not insist on having things its own way. I love you enough to allow you to find peace as you need it. My love isn’t perfect, His is.

So the title here is loser but that does not allow me to go around calling the lost “loser”. I have seen first hand that this is an approach that does not work. We are all sinners, the difference is saving grace which should be the focus of discussion when in the midst of the battle for winning souls to Christ.

Some of us are so far removed from our old life that we have lost sight of how it felt to be lost. Grace is not just a salve that heals wounds, it removes the scars. Paul had a thorn in his flesh as a reminder of his imperfection. I don’t need scars to know that.