Is the Sinner's Prayer Biblical?

Jimmy Fortunato

June 21, 2025

Is the Sinner's Prayer Biblical?

Are We Leading People Astray with the Sinner's Prayer?

If you've ever asked someone to "repeat this prayer after me" to get saved, this message might make you uncomfortable. But before you click away, hear me out with an open heart - because this could change how you view evangelism forever.

Let me start with this qualifying statement: it's absolutely right for a sinner to pray. But there's a world of difference between a sinner praying from a broken heart and what we've turned into "quick prayerism" in modern evangelism.

The Problem with "Ticket to Heaven" Evangelism

The sinner's prayer became popular when evangelists started packaging salvation like a sales pitch: "Do you know for sure that if you died today you would go to heaven? Would you like to know how?"

Sound familiar? I've asked this question myself, and maybe you have too. While there's nothing inherently wrong with the question, here's where it gets dangerous - when we start trying to get people to commit to a "yes" before they even understood what they were saying yes to.

In sales, you get a person to say "yes" enough times prior to asking for the sale, and when you finally ask for the sale - boom! - you make it. So, we need to be careful that we're not presenting someone a ticket to heaven when they don't really want the Lord to be there - they just don't want hell.

The Biblical Challenge

Here's a question that might shake you: Can you show me anywhere in the Bible - anywhere in the New Testament - where someone was asked to pray a sinner's prayer?

Let's examine what Scripture actually shows us about biblical evangelism.

What Scripture Really Says About Evangelism

When we examine what Scripture really says about salvation, we see something radically different from our modern methods.

Paul's Approach with King Agrippa (Acts 26:20)

Paul didn't ask King Agrippa if he wanted to go to heaven. He didn't ask him to invite Jesus into his heart or repeat words after him. Instead, Paul declared:

"But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance."

Paul put the truth out there and let the Holy Spirit work. The result? Agrippa said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28). Almost - but lost.

Jesus' Confrontational Method

True evangelism is confrontational. You have to confront the sinner with:

  • The truth of the gospel

  • The truth that they are a sinner

  • Their need for a Savior

  • That they're not as righteous as they think

Look at how Jesus handled different people:

Nicodemus (John 3): Jesus confronted him with his need for spiritual birth - a negative message about his current condition.

The Woman at the Well (John 4): Jesus didn't waste time - He pointed out her immoral lifestyle first.

The Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10): Jesus told him to sell everything he had. When the man left grieved, Jesus didn't chase after him with an easier message.

The Ethiopian Eunuch: A Model of Genuine Conversion

In Acts 8, we see Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch. Notice what happened:

"And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37).

Did Philip tell him what to say? No! This whole situation unraveled naturally, and when Philip said "if thou believest with all thine heart," the eunuch called out to God with his own words from his own heart.

He owned it.

The Danger of Modern Quick Prayerism

We need to be careful that we aren't trying to "own" salvation for people - they must "own it" themselves.

The Jack Hyles Influence

In the independent Baptist movement, this approach became popular under Jack Hyles' ministry. One of his quotes was: "You must try to get them to pray." Not repent, not trust Christ, not get to the cross - everything was designed around getting them into a prayer.

That's a problem, and it's a BIG problem.

The Time Investment Problem

You know why they call it "quick prayerism"? Because they want it done in 10 or 15 minutes. But that's just not going to be the case.

I got saved out of traditional religion. You think you're going to get me saved in 10 minutes? It took me almost two years just to unpack my life and the religious beliefs I held to.

If you are not willing to sit down with a man or woman for an hour or two hours, or be ready to stay up in the church house all night until that person cries out - "What must I do to be saved?" then just stop.

What Biblical Evangelism Looks Like

The Philippian Jailer Model

"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30-31).

You get a sinner to the point where they're crying out to you saying "What must I do to be saved?" - now we're talking!

Some of the old preachers would do sermon after sermon about:

  • The wrath of God

  • The judgment of God

  • Man as a sinner

Over and over until someone cries out, "What do I got to do to be saved?" Then they gave the message of grace and God's love.

The Gospel Message (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The objective of evangelism is to preach the gospel:

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you... For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

When we go out to knock on doors or attend festivals, we have one message: the gospel. We're not looking for little disagreements on doctrines that matter, but have no bearing on someone's eternity.

Pleading vs. Manipulating

Romans 10:9-13 - The Heart of True Confession

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Plead with the sinner to:

  • Confess the Lord Jesus with their mouth

  • Believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead

  • Not be ashamed of Jesus Christ

  • Call upon the name of the Lord

We spent almost two hours with a man last month. At the end, he said, "Brother Jimmy, I'm ready."

I said, "What are you ready for?"

"to Trust Christ."

"Well then, go ahead and pray."

For about a minute and a half, his heart poured out without me asking him to repeat any words after me.

The Manipulation Problem

We cannot manipulate people. Preachers have used manipulative tactics like:

  • "Every eye closed, every head bowed, I see that hand" - when it was all just smoke and mirrors

  • Leading questions: "You don't want to go to hell, do you? You want to go to heaven, right?"

  • "I'll start praying and you can quietly ask the Lord to save you" - they found 50% of people would start praying, but if they didn't repent and trust Christ, it's for nothing

God help us - we are not here to manipulate people.

The Critical Questions

Is your faith in the prayer you repeated, the decision you made, or in what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross?

Are you born again as a result of your prayer, your decision, or because of the grace of God?

The Prodigal Son Illustration

The prodigal son made a decision to go back home after he was in the hog pen. Did his decision save him? No! Who was there waiting? The father. The father showed compassion, received him, and had grace and mercy.

If God the Father doesn't have grace to save you, you can run toward Him with your decision and prayer, but if He isn't there to receive you, you're just going to drop dead.

Make a decision for Christ as a sinner - pray and cry out to Christ - but His grace will then save you.

The Teaching Principle

In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. How did He respond? He taught them by example - He prayed.

"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name..."

You know how you can teach someone to pray? You pray. But notice - nobody uses the Lord's Prayer as a sinner's prayer, and when you pray, do you say these exact words every time? Probably not.

The distinction that needs to be made is between "the sinner's prayer" and "sinners pray" - they're different.

Avoiding Vain Repetitions

Jesus warned in Matthew 6:7: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do."

One of the dangers of the sinner's prayer is: is it a vain repetition?

Prayer isn't wrong, but we need to stop using the sinner's prayer as a measuring stick for success. Going to a fair and counting how many people you got to repeat a prayer isn't a measure of success - it's a measure of how good you are at getting people to repeat words.

They should pray, but not as hypocrites, not as vain repetition with no meaning. Vain means it's worthless. Make sure they're not just repeating what you're saying, but actually crying out to God.

The Bottom Line

Salvation is not a sinner's prayer - salvation is a sinner entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

You must plead with the sinner. The battle is for the hearts and minds of men and women who don't know Christ as their Savior. We must be willing to put in the time and effort unless we're ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Man must see his fallen condition. He must see God as righteous. You must get someone lost before they are saved. If they don't see their lost condition, what are they getting saved from? Who are they praying to?

The goal of evangelism isn't to get them to pray - the goal is that they would receive Christ, and you will be there as a witness to help guide them as they pray.

Listen to the Complete Message

🎧 📖 Want to dive deeper into this crucial topic? This blog post only scratches the surface of this powerful message about biblical evangelism and the dangers of quick prayerism.

Listen to the entire sermon for comprehensive expository preaching and verse-by-verse Bible teaching that will challenge and equip you for genuine soul-winning ministry. This sermon provides the biblical foundation every evangelist needs to understand.

Listen to the Full Message Here - Complete with detailed verse-by-verse Bible teaching and expository preaching that will transform your approach to evangelism.

Don't miss this essential sermon on biblical evangelism - your ministry to lost souls may depend on it.

<All Posts