Fixing Fallacies: Entering Christianity

In this Series, We are Looking at Fallacies (Misconceptions or Mistaken Beliefs) Concerning Christianity

We Started with the God of Christianity

Next, the Ruler/Authority of Christianity

Last Week, The Church of Christianity

Now We are Going to Focus on Entering Christianity

What I Mean by “Entering Christianity” is Becoming a Christian

To Use Some Ideas We Talked about Last Week...

To Enter Christianity is to be Added by Jesus to His Body/Church

To be Adopted into God’s Family

To a Member of the Community of People that Jesus is Going to Rescue/Save

To be a Citizen in His Kingdom

The Topic We are Covering Today Deals with the Question, “How Do I Enter Christianity?”

We are Only Going to Look at One Fallacy Today

This Fallacy is Widely Believed by Many Who Profess to be Christians

Fallacy 1: You Enter Christianity By Saying The Sinner’s Prayer

This has been a Popular Teaching for a Couple Centuries Now

The Sinner’s Prayer is a Way for a Non-Christian to Ask Jesus to Come into Their Hearts and Save Them

It Typically Goes Something like this:

“God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!”

The Idea is that if a Person Understands and Believes the Words of this Prayer, then After having Said it, Jesus will Save Them

The Sinner’s Prayer Stems from the Reformation Doctrine of “Salvation by Grace Alone Through Faith Alone in Christ Alone”

This Teaching was an Attempt to Move Away from the False Doctrine of Works-Based Salvation and the Selling of Indulgences (Buying Forgiveness)

There’s Some Truth to this Doctrine

Ephesians 2:8–9 NASB95

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We Absolutely are Saved by God’s Grace Through Faith in Jesus Christ

And There is No Amount of Good Works We can Do to Earn Salvation

Reading the Context Makes this Apparent

Ephesians 2:1–10 NASB95

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We All Were Destined for and Deserving of Eternal Death and Eternal Separation from God because of Our Sins and Worldly Living

But God is Rich in Mercy and Loves Us so Much that He is Willing to Forgive Our Debt of Sinfulness

We Went from Being Separated from the Life-Giver and Destined for Death to Being Embraced by the Life-Giver and Destined for Life

This was Made Possible Simply by God’s Grace (His Mercy, Love, and Kindness)

Entering Christianity (Being “Created in Christ Jesus for Good Works”) is a Gift that God Offers to Us

But that Gift has to be Accepted Through Faith

Faith is Placing Our Whole Trust and Allegiance in God

I Would Say that Most People Who Teach Salvation by Sinner’s Prayer Believe this

But Their Application of this Belief is Not Biblical

Nowhere in the Bible Do We Find Anyone Saying a Sinner’s Prayer to Enter Christianity

So Why Do so Many People Teach Salvation by Sinner’s Prayer as the Application of “By Grace Alone Through Faith Alone”?

Let’s Look at a Few Texts People Use to Teach the Sinner’s Prayer

John 1:12 NASB95

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

In Saying the Sinner’s Prayer, it is Said You are Receiving Jesus into Your Heart

Verse 12 Says that Those Who “Receive” Jesus have the Right to be God’s Children

But Don’t Forget Verse 13 (John 1:13)

John 1:13 NASB95

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Those Who have Received Jesus are Those Who are Born of God

John Loves to Use the Phrase, “Born of God”

Let’s See Where Else He Uses it to Help Us Understand What it Means to be Born of God

1 John 5:1 NASB95

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

Those Who Believe Jesus is the Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King of His Kingdom are Born of God

1 John 3:9 NASB95

No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Those Who are Repentant (Do Not Practice Sin) are Born of God

John 3:3–5 NASB95

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Those Who are Born Again are Born of Water and the Spirit

So a Person Who Receives Christ is a Person Who is Born of God

And a Person Who is Born of God is a Person Who Believes Jesus is the Christ, is Repentant, and is Born of Water and the Spirit

Another Text that is Used to Support the Sinner’s Prayer is Acts 2:21

Acts 2:21 NASB95

‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Peter is Here Preaching on the Day of Pentecost from the Prophet Joel

All a Person has to Do to be Saved is to Call on the Name of God

Many Say that Refers to the Sinner’s Prayer

But After Peter Tells the Crowd that Those Who Call on the Name of God will be Saved, They Then Ask this Question...

Acts 2:37 NASB95

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

After Peter Preaches the Lordship of Jesus (v.36) and Tells Them They Must Call on the Name of God to be Saved, They Ask What They Need to Do

Essentially, They are Asking How They Must Call on the Name of God

Acts 2:38 NASB95

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

After They Acknowledged Their Belief in the Lordship of Jesus, Peter Told Them to Repent and be Baptized to Call on the Name of God

Baptism is How One is Born Again from Water to Walk in Newness of Life (Romans 6:4)

And Baptism is Where We are Given the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Notice All the Connections?

John Told Us that to Receive Jesus is to be Born Again of God

To be Born Again is to Believe in Jesus’ Lordship, Repent of Our Sins, and be Born of Water and the Spirit (Baptism)

Peter just Showed Us that Calling on the Name of God for Salvation Involves the Same Ingredients

One More Text that is Often Used to Teach the Sinner’s Prayer is Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9–10 NASB95

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

This Passage Seems to Indicate that All it Takes for Salvation is to Believe and Confess

But to Understand What Paul is Talking about Here, We Need to Know the Context in Which He is Saying it

It’s Important to Know Who He is Writing to and What He is Writing about

He is Writing to Christians in Rome

The Book of Romans was Written about How Both Jews and Gentiles are Accepted into God’s Kingdom

And in Chapter 10, He is Talking about How Righteousness and Salvation Comes Through Faith in Jesus, Not Through Obedience to the Old Testament Law

To a Roman Citizen, Confessing with Your Mouth that Caesar is Lord would Mean You are Swearing Your Allegiance to Him

But Paul was Telling These Romans Christians that Anyone (Jew or Gentile) Who Confesses Jesus as Lord (Swears Allegiance to Jesus) will be Saved

Righteousness and Salvation Do Not Come from the Law, but They Come from Faith/Allegiance in Jesus

This Passage is Not Saying that a Person can be Saved by Simply Believing and Confessing Jesus as Lord

Imagine Confessing Allegiance to Caesar, but then Living in Open Rebellion to His Will

You would be Put to Death

Now Imagine Confessing Allegiance to Christ, but Living in Open Rebellion to His Will

The Result is Quite the Same - Death

If We Must Believe in the Lordship of Jesus, Repent of Our Sins, and be Baptized to Follow the Will of Jesus...

Then Simply Believing and Confessing that Belief would be Contrary to His Will

This Passage is Teaching Us that Anyone can Believe in and Swear Their Allegiance to Jesus as Lord/Master to the Saving of Their Souls

It’s Not about Saying a Prayer and Being Saved

We can Know that this is What is Meant by These 2 Verses by Reading the Next 3 Verses (Romans 10:11-13)

Romans 10:11–13 NASB95

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Here We are Again

This Passage has Brought Us Back to Calling on the Name of the Lord

To Call on the Name of the Lord is to Believe in and Swear Allegiance to Jesus’ Lordship, to Repent of Our Sins, and to be Born Again of Water and the Spirit

Does God’s Grace Alone Save Us?

No - We Must Have Faith

Faith is More than just Intellectual Acknowledgement

It is a Placing Our Complete Trust and Allegiance in Jesus Which Leads to Our Obedience to Him

Does Our Faith Alone Save Us?

No - Faith in Jesus Would be Worthless is God hadn’t First Given Us the Gift of His Wonderful Grace

Belief, Repentance, and Baptism Would Mean Nothing if Jesus had Never Lived, Died, and Resurrected for Us

Does the Sinner’s Prayer Save Us?

No - There’s just No Biblical Example of Anyone Ever Being Saved in that Manner

Prayer is for God’s Children, Not for Those Who Refuse to Do What He has Commanded

To Pray to God and Ask Him to Save You Contrary to His Will to Save Mankind, is to Pray a Prayer that will Never be Answered

We Shouldn’t Ask God to Change His Will for Us

We Should Accept God’s Will and Lovingly Obey it

Have You Received Jesus and Been Born Again by Calling on His Name?

You Do that by Believing that He is Master and Lord, Repenting of Your Sins, and being Baptized into Christ