The Stupid Sinner's Prayer Needs To End

John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

Romans 10:13-14, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Romans 10:14 plainly teaches that no one calls upon the name of the LORD until they first BELIEVE in their heart, and we are told in several dozen Scripture passages that we are saved by BELIEVING on Christ (John 3:14-16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:28-29, 40, 47; 7:38; 10:1, 9; 11:25; 20:31). Prayer is NOT required to be saved, but it is okay to accompany one's faith with a prayer if you'd like to do so.

Think about it. Why would you “ask” God to give you a gift that He is already freely offering you? Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” If I bought you a birthday gift and handed it to you, would you ask me if you can take it? Salvation is the same. Shame on any incompetent pastor who insists that you must pray to ask God to save you!

Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) rightly said: "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." Romans 10:13 is an OBSCURE passage of Scripture because it stands alone, as does also Romans 10:9-10. It would be foolish to base a doctrine on a couple passages of Scripture that contradict several dozen clear passages.

On the Day of Pentecost 3,000 people were saved. There is no mention of anyone praying, calling or asking to be saved, they simply "gladly received" the gospel truth which the Apostle Peter preached unto them (Acts 2:41).

Likewise, there is no mention of Cornelius and his companions in Acts 10:43-44 praying, calling or asking to be saved, they simply believed the gospel truth which Peter preached unto them. That is why the Apostle Paul said in 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝟯:𝟮, “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄, 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵?” I love that phrase, "the hearing of faith." Hebrews 4:2 tells us that the Hebrews wandering in the Wilderness heard Moses preach the gospel unto them for 40 years, “𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘁.” A person gets saved by believing the gospel when they read or hear it preached.

It is wickedness and blatant false teaching for the New IFB (and their lunatic leader Steven Anderson) to teach that a lost sinner cannot be saved without calling or praying (asking) to be saved. What they are preaching confuses people, obscures the truth, and perverts God's simple plan of salvation. I speak to their utter incompetence and shame!

Biblically, a person can simply BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ in their soul and be saved without asking for it. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. The inspired King James Bible is full of people who were saved without calling; they simply believed. I agree that calling and believing are not a contradiction, because the person who calls from a believing heart is saved; but calling and believing are NOT the same thing, which Romans 10:14 plainly teaches.

Steven Anderson foolishly dismisses the issue, but he didn't suffer like I did for several years after I got saved at 13 years of age. I had been confused because every sermon and religious tract that I read required me to prayer a sinner's prayer to be saved, which unfortunately became ingrained into my thinking, misleading me concerning what God expected of me to get to Heaven. Again, you don't have to pray to be saved, not even silently in your soul. You simply need to take God at His written Word to accept Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, but then physically raised up from the dead three days later. This is the "Gospel" (1st Corinthians 15:1-6), by which all who believe this Good News are saved (Romans 1:16). It's that easy, free and simple to be born again.

I wouldn't learn until decades later from Pastor Max D. Younce (1935-2023) in his helpful book titled, "Salvation And The Public Invitation," that the sinner's prayer is not necessary to be saved. God used Dr. Younce to solidify my salvation beliefs and give me 100% perfect peace. It was that stupid sinner's prayer that misled me for decades, confusing me concerning God's simple plan of salvation. So, I say, the stupid sinner's prayer needs to disappear.