Dr. Peter S. Ruckman Said the Mouth Is Required for Salvation: The Sinner's Prayer as a Condition (Luke 18 Commentary) vs. Robert Breaker

"“Saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” This is the source of the so-called “sinner’s prayer.” Since it is an Old Testament prayer before the Crucifixion, Christians add: “and save me for Jesus’ sake.” This brings up the question of whether it is necessary to pray to be saved. There is a movement among Bible-believing Christians today that says if you pray to receive Christ, that is a work, and you aren’t saved by works (Eph. 2:8–9; Tit. 3:5). The logical conclusion to such an argument is that if you prayed to get saved, that you are lost and need to be saved (again!). It is the Baptist version of the Brownsville Revival retreaders. It’s propagated by pastors who aren’t seeing many people saved in their churches, so they turn on their congregations and try to reconvert them. In one of these churches over in Milton, the associate pastor (who was the son of the pastor) professed to have gotten saved seven times. That was six times past the first time when he prayed to be saved. And you are going to trust a man with no more assurance or stability than that to lead you to Christ? Now is prayer necessary for salvation? [do not take this out of context, Dr. Peter S. Ruckman later says that the mouth is required for salvation] No. You can say a prayer and be no more saved than the Pharisee was when he prayed. The touchstone of the Gospel is not Acts 16:31 or Romans 10:13. It is John 1:12. “But as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Did you know you can believe on Jesus Christ and still die lost and go to Hell? Simon the sorcerer did; look up Acts 8:13 and READ IT! You can even call on the name of the Lord and be lost. Those exorcists in Acts 19:13–15 did. But you can’t receive Jesus Christ and the free gift of God’s righteousness through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15–18) and not be saved. You can believe without receiving, but you can’t receive without believing. The question is not can you be saved by praying, because the Scriptures say you can: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). That calling involves the mouth (Rom. 10:9–10). You are confessing Jesus Christ with your mouth and believing on Him with your heart. The prayer is expressing the faith of the sinner in Jesus Christ to save him. So the real question is what are you doing when you say the sinner’s prayer? If you are repeating it as a ritual (like they do in Russia and the Ukraine due to the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church), that’s not salvation. If you are relying on the prayer itself to save you, that’s not salvation. But if the sinner prays to receive Christ and express his faith in what Jesus Christ did for him, that will do it. Here’s a sinner who comes to Jesus Christ in sincerity and faith, and prays, “Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and if you don’t do something for me, I’m headed for Hell. I’ve been told that your Son the Lord Jesus Christ can save me, so I’m going to trust Him right now. I believe He died on the cross to take away my sins and rose again to take me to Heaven. Right now I receive Him the best way I know how. Please save me, Lord Jesus, and help me to know I’m saved.” Do you think the Lord is going to tell that sinner, “No, I can’t save you because you just prayed and prayer is a work”? Do you really think the Lord is going to turn down a sinner who comes to Him like that after He said, “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37)? From a practical standpoint, it is good for a sinner to pray when he gets saved because it can reinforce the believer’s assurance. The prayer gives him a tangible time to which he can point and say, “That’s the time and place when I trusted Jesus Christ as my Saviour.”" - Dr. Peter S. Ruckman, Gospel of Luke Commentary (The Bible Believer's Commentary Series), Chapter 18 2013.

Dr. Peter S. Ruckman's soteriology is that the sinner prayer doesn't save you, the Lord Jesus Christ does, but you have to believe and use your mouth to pray as a condition for salvation.

The mouth is required.

You cannot take him out of context.