Posted on 09/30/2016 11:36:30 AM PDT by Gamecock
New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, who's best known for his street evangelism in which he asks people about God, the Bible, sin and salvation, explains why he never leads people in the "sinner's prayer."
In Comfort's many taped evangelism videos he is rarely seen praying with those he encounters and has received many questions from believers who are curious about this particular omission.
One commenter posed the question to Comfort on Facebook last Friday: "You often have them at the point of belief but then don't allow them, or encourage them, to confess. You do great work to get them to believe, and yet not confess. If you don't want to lead them in a prayer, which is what people do when they exchange vows at a wedding, why not encourage them to pray their own prayer? Help them if they need it, but why not?
Comfort responded with a video message to provide insight as to why he doesn't lead people in the "sinner's prayer."
"I regularly pray with people off camera. But I think you are talking about leading people is what is often called a 'sinner's prayer.' It's similar to the difference between a 'shotgun' wedding, and one where the bride and groom make vows because they want to. Many who make decisions for Christ nowadays are shotgun weddings. They are manipulated by man rather than born of God, and it has filled our churches with false converts," he said.
Comfort also used the example of a husband and wife who are at odds. He explained that leading someone in the "sinner's prayer" is similar to him walking up to the house of the fighting couple with the husband, then ringing the bell and telling the wife that her husband was terribly sorry and then proceeding to lead the husband in an apology to his wife.
The California-based minister pointed to the fact that the apology would not be sincere or genuine since it's not coming directly from the heart of the husband. He likened that scenario to the way one should pray and repent of their sins on their own to God and not be led by someone else.
Comfort's evangelism videos can be seen on YouTube. His work also includes the miniseries "The Way of the Master" and films "180: Changing the Heart of a Nation," and "Noah and the Last Days."
His last film, "Audacity" took on the subject of homosexuality and Christianity, and seeks to answer the question of whether or not Christians should share the truth of the Bible with the LGBT community even if it's frowned upon.
** They are manipulated by man rather than born of God, and it has filled our churches with false converts,” he said. **
Ummm-Hmm.
Correct, that’s why you get someone who “said the sinner’s prayer” when they were 12 but now they live with their girlfriend. Doesn’t work that way.
** They are manipulated by man rather than born of God, and it has filled our churches with false converts,” he said. **
I firmly agree with him on that. Here is a great analogy explaining why I no longer believe in ECT:
Suppose for a moment that a wonderful man—Mr. Right, if you will—offers a marriage proposal to the woman he loves. “Marry me,” he says, “and I will give you a life like you’ve never dreamed of before. You will be loved with the greatest commitment and passion that any woman has ever known. I will give you the finest house with all of the wonderful things you’ve ever wanted, and you will be happy for the rest of your days!”
Now suppose the woman is very flattered by the proposal, but is uncertain about whether or not she is ready for such a commitment. Asking for a few more days to think it over, Mr. Right answers, “You are welcome to take more time, but it’s only fair that I warn you what will happen if you decline my generous offer. Your only option, other than spending paradise with me, is to be thrown into my underground dungeon, have your eyes gouged from their sockets, and be subjected to unimaginable pain every hour, on the hour, for the rest of your long, miserable life.”
What do you suppose would be going through the young woman’s mind at a time like this? I imagine that would change the way she feels about the man considerably. She might have previously accepted Mr. Right’s proposal because of her love for him, but is there much chance of that now? Surely not. If she takes him seriously, she’ll undoubtedly marry him, but not as much for love as out of genuine terror at the alternative.
Is this God’s way of doing things?
Salvation is the most personal act between a person and God. It is entered into in the quiet of one’s soul. No one can lead another to salvation. One can only be saved by being found by God in the most desperate need of His grace.
In a lifetime, you need to say the sinner’s prayer more than once.
I do not think your example is appropriate. A more accurate one IMO would be if the woman was already living a degrading life of beggary, thievery and prostitution, and Mr. Right offers her a better life if she will only ask for it. The person who has not accepted God is already living the life you describe as a punishment.
If she does not feel that her current life is one of pain, then she will not accept the offer and will not feel she missed anything.
Is this God’s way of doing things?
Jesus seems to think so:
Luk_12:5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, He’s the One to fear.
God must be just. Mercy is at his discretion, he does not have to be merciful.
As much as you don’t like it. GOD MUST BE JUST, HE IS HOLY.
Until one understands what we deserve, we can never fully understand His mercy.
The very nature of your question states you want to define God because you want to decide what is right and wrong (familiar?), instead of letting him tell you who HE IS.
I need to say it more than once a day!
I think you are only trying to nail down the degree to which her current life is worse than the one he offers. But it rally is not the point the story is making.
It’s arguing two things:
1. Refusing him will give you a fate worse than anything you can even wrap your brain around.
2. Is that the way God does things?
I searched scripture and can find not one case of God tormenting his enemies eternally. It was always the same: He put up with them until he was done and then he ended them.
And that’s the thing. What does Jesus save us from? Death - which is the wages of sin according to Romans 3:26.
But He offers a better way - eternal life with Him.
And nothing there about any kind of prayer, much less a Sinner’s prayer.
Luk_12:5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, He’s the One to fear.
Thing is, believers are born again. This is the birth of the spirit. The lost don’t get that. They are destroyed, first the tent they occupy (the body) and then they are destroyed (the soul).
It’s why the gift is described as “eternal life” or “immortality”. It is only offered to one side of the equation.
BTW, The word translated “hell” is actually “gehenna”. The Greek lexicon calls it “Gehenna, a valley W. and S. of Jerusalem.”
It’s a garbage dump. And that is the fate of the lost. They are thrown out like garbage. Or, in other analogies he uses, they are burned up like weeds. They are simply removed from existence.
The very nature of your question states you want to define God because you want to decide what is right and wrong (familiar?), instead of letting him tell you who HE IS.
I get this from His word.
And over and over again it points out, regarding the fate of the lost, that their fate is eternal. They’re not coming back.
A lot of people get hung up on the word, “punishment”. It means many things, one of which is consequences. It can also mean suffering, but that is to teach the sufferer a lesson. In the case of the lost after the GWTJ, that time has passed.
A Biblical Alternative to the Sinner’s Prayer - Paul Washer
https://youtu.be/_9hd3pV2VxU
What is the Sinner’s Prayer? Is it Biblical? — John MacArthur
https://youtu.be/flegO51nOsw
Don’t Ask Jesus Into Your Heart — David Platt
https://youtu.be/TMrPPPeOvPE
While it is true that God is preparing the church (i.e. people who believe the Gospel and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior) to be the bride of Christ, this is NOT the invitation of the Gospel.
The Gospel is a call for sinners, currently under God’s wrath, to flee for refuge and escape. It is an offer of life.
Comparing the Gospel to a wedding PROPOSAL is not Biblical. Jesus did, however, compare it to a wedding INVITATION. There is a big difference between the two.
Ugh. Nobody needs Ray Comfort’s—or MacArthur’s or Platt’s or Washer’s— permission to be saved correctly. It is as it has been from the beginning:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING; it is the GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”—Ephesians 2:8-9
and
“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by BELIEVING WHAT YOU HEARD?”
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Imbibe these men’s compromised “gospel” and you’ll suffer for it. Ignore them and go sit under God’s Word. Good News for sinners can be found there!
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”—1 Timothy 1:15-16
Since you’ve got it all figured out, please ignore my posts. There are likely others out there, however, who are lost but have been given false assurance based on praying a prayer. They need to understand this.
I have led people in prayer to give their lives to Jesus Christ and to receive him and his gift of salavation. You can see the relationship they have with God now with some and with others you can’t. Leading someone in prayer doesn’t lessen the possibility it is real faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, Eph 2:8
We don’t choose Jesus, he chooses us. John 15:16
A prayer won’t save you, the gift of God’s grace does, including his gift of faith.
I don’t see much wisdom in someone who is part of the Left Behind baloney.
Suppose a man really wanted to marry a woman, and he wanted to make some vows to her. If some preacher told him what to say, then they would not be married, right? In order for them to be sincere, they have to make up their vows on the spot, right?
Preacher, “I, Brian, take thee Judy...”
Groom, “I, Brian, take thee Judy...”
Preacher, “to my lawful wedded wife...”
Groom, “to my lawful wedded wife...” etc.
The “Sinner’s Prayer” is an actual prayer that a sinner prayed in scripture. (See Luke 18:13.) There have been many who have prayed it in salvation. It does not become insincere just because you learn it somehow before you pray it.
The “Model Prayer,” sometimes called “The Lord’s Prayer,” is an actual prayer in scripture that many believers have prayed every day all their lives. It does not become worthless just because somebody taught it to you or because you prayed it before.
While not objecting to what the man is doing, for there is no requirement in the Bible for a soul-winner to “lead someone in the sinner’s prayer,” we must not create some new rule against it, for that is NOT in scripture either!
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