| The Sinner's Prayer, Part 2 |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, August 01 2005 00:00 |
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What is the Biblical basis of "the sinner's prayer"? Before we consider what that basis is, we need to notice what it is not. It is not the ground of our justification. No one can say that he/she is pardoned of sin because he/she prayed the sinner's prayer. Also it is accurate to say that no one is pardoned of the guilt of sin and declared righteous before God because of his faith. We are justified by faith, but never because of faith. The ground of our justification is the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Why then are we justified by faith? Because when we believe, we are receiving into our souls the truth of the gospel, that Jesus died for our sins. When we believe, we are trusting in Christ, and we are resting only in him and on him for our salvation. Faith in that way forms a point of connection between the work of Christ and our sinful souls. It is like a conduit that allows the free grace of God to enter our being. It is the alone instrument of our justification, but it is not the ground or the basis of our justification. Thus it is with prayer, and thus it is with baptism, and thus it is with confession. None of these acts, worthy and commanded though they are, form the basis of our justification. Neither can we say that we are justified by prayer, or by confession, or by baptism; we are justified by faith alone. Thus in our first two studies on this subject we see that we are justified by faith alone but not because of faith, and not because of anything else - anything other than the finished work of Christ. But the question remains unanswered: "what about the sinner's prayer." And we shall be ready to address that question in the next devotional. |
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