the sinner's prayer came from john 3 : 5.
the sinner's prayer came from john 3 : 5.
where did the sinner's prayer come from?
john 3 : 5
the sinner's prayer, as popularly known today, has roots in protestant christianity. some affirm that it evolved, in some form or another, during the early days of the protestant reformation, as a reaction against the roman catholic dogma of justification by means of meritorious works. others believe it originated as late as the eighteenth century revival movement. however, paul harrison chitwood, in his doctoral dissertation on the history of the sinner's prayer, provides strong evidence that the sinner's prayer originated in the early twentieth century.
sinner's prayer
another criticism of the sinner's prayer is that passages used to support it actually are not about the lost repeating a prayer in order to become christians. the sinner's prayer is often employed in conjunction with revelation 3:20 and romans 10:9-10, 13. revelation 3:20 is employed to teach that christ is knocking at the door of one's heart, and when a lost person asks him to come inside, jesus comes into the sinner's heart. romans 10:9-10, 13 are employed to affirm that one must confess with his mouth, that is, say the sinner's prayer, in order to become a christian. however, the baptist greek professor thomas ross argues that revelation 3:20 is about members of a church turning to the lord, not about christ entering into the heart of the lost. he provides 14 reasons that revelation 3:20 is not about the lost asking jesus into their hearts to become saved. he similarly argues that romans 10:9-14 refers to christians confessing christ publicly before men and manifesting a life of prayer, rather than to the lost becoming saved by a one-time repetition of the sinner's prayer.
sinner's prayer