The Sinner’s Prayer had become a hallmark of modern evangelism for some time, a tool often wielded with the promise of instant salvation. Yet, as those who hold to reformed theology, we must pause and consider: does this practice align with the biblical gospel? Before we approach the Sinner’s Prayer, we must first give great consideration to the doctrines of regeneration and the effectual calling of God. Salvation is not a human achievement; it is the sovereign work of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who, before the foundation of the world, chose to save His elect (Ephesians 1:4-5, ESV). It is God who quickens the sinner’s heart, granting new life where there was only death, for as Ephesians 2:1 declares, we were “dead in [our] trespasses and sins.” This regeneration is a supernatural act, a transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit through the atoning death of Christ, not a product of our own efforts—not even our prayers.
I recall my early days of evangelism in Haiti, serving as a translator for American missionaries. On numerous occasions, I led groups through the Sinner’s Prayer after a brief presentation of the gospel, often using frameworks like the Four Spiritual Laws. The missionaries would then declare these individuals “born again,” (ready for baptism and church membership). Yet, over the past decade, I have witnessed the fallout of such methods. Many of those “converts” drifted away, their lives unchanged, their hearts unquickened. As Paul Washer has tirelessly stressed, repeating a prayer after a superficial gospel presentation does not mean one is born again. Regeneration is not a formula; it is God’s sovereign act, it is a miracle, a transformation. The Puritan Thomas Brooks warned, “Many are deluded by a false faith, thinking they have Christ because they have said words, but true faith is a work of God in the heart.” Salvation is by grace alone, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV). To declare someone saved by a prayer, risks fostering false assurance, a danger to the church that leaves many unchanged and unregenerate.
What, then, of Romans 10:9-10, often cited as the basis for the Sinner’s Prayer? “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (ESV). This is not a prayer formula to “become Christian.” It speaks of a deep confession. An acknowledgment in the heart of Christ’s death and resurrection as a substitution for our sins. This confession must lead to genuine repentance, a turning from sin, and a wholehearted embrace of Christ for salvation from God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Repentance and faith are not human achievements; they are gifts from God, bestowed upon His elect as He replaces a heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). The Sinner’s Prayer cannot force God’s hand or soften His heart. As the Puritan John Owen wrote, “Salvation is the work of God alone, who calls His chosen to life; our words cannot compel His decree.” Can someone be saved through the Sinner’s Prayer? No. God may save in spite of it, as Paul Washer notes, but not because it is biblical.
The easy-believism and cheap grace that have invaded the church, seen in Haiti and beyond, reflect an American pragmatic approach to the gospel, deceiving many into false belief. Employing the Sinner’s Prayer in this way carries a threefold abuse, a grievous error for which many of us bear guilt. First, it oversteps our God-given role, claiming an authority we do not possess to declare someone saved on the spot. Second, it affronts God’s sovereignty in salvation, presuming a prayer can dictate His eternal decree. Third, it deceives the sinner with whom we share the gospel, offering false hope that a mere recitation secures their redemption. In preaching the gospel, we sow seeds, and we must pray with and for those we share it with, that God may give life. But we cannot declare them saved by a repeated prayer. None of us holds that authority. Salvation remains God’s sovereign work, rooted in His eternal election, where He calls, quickens, and saves for His glory alone.
