Welcome to the family of God!? 

I am guilty of declaring such a divine affirmation upon people whom I have led in receiving Christ in prayer. Well, isn't that a good thing? The problem here is that, I am not God. I do not have the ability to see through the hearts of men and gauge the authenticity if spiritual rebirth has indeed occurred. Growing in the faith I was trained to share Jesus to others and help them secure their heavenly destination by leading them in a prayer of acceptance, or so I thought. In the New Testament, specifically in the gospel of Luke, there are only two accounts where sinners prayed then were pronounced as justified – made righteous in God's eyes – by no less than Christ Himself. The first is a fictitious character, a tax collector, whom Jesus depicted in a parable as repentantly praying in the temple. In Luke 18:13 it reads; "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’" The Lord concluded the story in the next verse saying; "I tell you, this man went to his home justified [forgiven of the guilt of sin and placed in right standing with God]". (Amplified Bible) The second account is of a real person who uttered a prayer of faith before his impending death, he's one of the thieves who was crucified beside the Savior. He pleaded “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” To this Christ promised him; “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43) Apart from the above, nowhere else in Scriptures is it recorded that people were saved after saying a prayer. Instead the common denominator present in all of the conversion narratives in the Bible is saving faith in Christ. Fast forward to our generation, we in the Christian church have come to embrace the "sinner's prayer" as part of our traditional steps in bringing the lost into God's kingdom. Now if the Lord, whose desire is that all people be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), wanted to instruct His disciples to use such a prayer in saving souls, wouldn't He make sure to insert it somewhere in His inspired Word? But such a command does not exist, therefore its absence tells us that it's an invention of man. Now I hope you don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that the prayer is inherently wrong, however what usually is declared after it is near blasphemy. People who have been led in this prayer are customarily congratulated, welcomed into the family of God and assured of their eternal security. This is dangerously presumptuous. How can we, mere mortals, be certain that there was a supernatural transformation that happened in the hearts of men when such phenomenon is only known to God? The NLT version couldn't be clearer in retelling what Jesus said about the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in John 3:8; "The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit." A good example of the acts of the Holy Spirit and His miracle of rebirth is detailed in the conversion of Cornelius' household. And near the end of Acts 10, when Peter wasn't yet finished with his preaching, the Spirit of God pre-ordained to fall upon all who were listening who then began to speak in tongues and exalt God (Acts 10:44-46). Days later, Peter in reporting the event to the leaders in Jerusalem said; "If then God gave the same gift [of the Holy Spirit] to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” (Acts 11:17) The evidence in Scripture is plain. It is the choosing of the Spirit that brings people to saving faith through the gospel of Christ. And He is able to regenerate men, with or without prayer, because He knows the heart and sovereignly justifies those who believe. Please do not take my word for it. Scan the Scriptures, do your own study and see for yourself if what I have shared is merely my own. I wrote this as a heavy concern because this practice of leading others in a prayer of acceptance followed by affirming their salvation may have resulted in false assurance in those who weren't truly converted. Jesus said in John 8:31; "If you abide [remain faithful] in my word [teachings], you are truly my disciples." From a human standpoint, void of omniscience, how can you tell that a person who just prayed becomes a true disciple of Christ, when He said such can only be proven in time. Abiding in His Word or remaining faithful to His teachings is a test of perseverance and it takes time to observe. This may be one of the reasons why we see people dettaching themselves from the body of Christ. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued [persevered] with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." (1 John 2:19) You probably don't need to look far. You may know of people who used to be familiar faces in church. You may have even witnessed some go through the discipleship programs or volunteer for service. You may have watched kids outgrow Sunday school and/or the youth ministry. Nevertheless despite their potential and time of stay, they have left. I believe that God who is faithful will complete the good work He began in His children (Philippians 1:6) even the wayward ones but remember this is a promise only to those who are His. But what about those who believe they became Christians yet continue in the path of disobedience thinking they're heaven bound because after they prayed to receive Christ somebody assured them they're eternally secured? I cringe at the thought of what was told in Matthew 7, when supposed believers will object to why they're not included. Jesus gave the answers why; only those who are known (beloved) by Him and do the will of the Father will be allowed to enter His heavenly kingdom. Besides repenting, my personal conviction and resolve is to plead the LORD for His mercies and grace for the people I've led (before) who show no fruit of Christ in them especially for those who are dear to me. O Father, I pray that You would grant that they be drawn to Your Son so that they be truly saved (John 6:44, 65). In Jesus' glorious Name... It is my wish that this message would speak to you as well. To God alone be the glory! + jourNics 2022-Nov-09