Pistachios and Wesleyans...
Written by Faithful Servant on Tuesday, June 03, 2008No real thought provoking commentary to post today. Matter of fact, I'm just plain tired this week and won't get much done on the blog for a minute. It's gardening time and I'm wrapping up the spring cleaning.
I did get to spend a few hours with some friends of mine yesterday evening. Both are ordained Pastors of the United Methodist Church. Which is often scary whenever theology is discussed. But my closest friend of the two decided to further our past discussions on the "sinner's prayer," and the sovereignty of God in man's salvation. His basic question was, after we preach the Gospel then what? Well, as we ate pistachios and drank coffee, I shared with him in the best way I could articulate it why I think there is good reason to avoid using the sinner's prayer with people. Even the use of the prayer with seemingly contrite and genuinely repentant people rubs a raw nerve, and I feel should be avoided even then also.
I'd like to elaborate more, and I will in another post to come soon. But until then, what are your thoughts on this matter? Let me know in the comments below! I'd like your input.
I'll spare you the details of the rest of my conversations with the two Pastors. In short, they were nothing shy of interesting, that's for sure.
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1 comments: Responses to “ Pistachios and Wesleyans... ”
By Arthur Sido on June 7, 2008 10:09 PM
I guess my response would be that there is no Biblical mandate for repeating a rote prayer as the means of salvation. What is required is a broken and contrite spirit, a heart regenerated by the Holy Spirt. None of that happens because someone repeats a "sinners prayer". I would say you are right on target with avoiding the sinners prayer, as it tends to lead people to a false assurance that they are saved because someone tells them all they need to do is say a certain set of words.