Is the Sinner's Prayer Biblical?

IS THE SINNER'S PRAYER BIBLICAL?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

The sinners prayer is a prayer that is commonly identified with Evangelical Christian traditions. It is used in guiding a person who makes a personal decision for Christ to publicly or privately confess sin and declare their faith in Christ.

Some Christian traditions reject this prayer saying that it is manipulative and that those who are led through the prayer may not be born again. They argue that since the words do not originate from the sinner, they have no effect at all.

OBJECTIONS

I wish to outline three key objections to the sinner's prayer as follows:

1) The sinner's prayer does not come from the sinner. It is therefore not his or her confession but the preacher's. 

2) The sinner's prayer gives a false assurance to an ignorant sinner, who may be led to imagine that having repeated the prayer, they are automatically saved.

3) There is no example of the sinner's prayer in the Bible. So why should we use it?

MY RESPONSES

Here are my responses to each of the objections above:

1) There's no evidence to suggest that a sinner, having been convicted of sin and is led to Christ through the sinners prayer, does not mean the words he confesses. The preacher usually seeks the affirmation from the sinner before leading them in prayer. It is therefore unfair to argue that the prayer is not based on the sinner's confession.

2) Theres no evidence that the sinner's prayer gives false assurance or that a person who comes to Christ is ignorant of Bible truth. This is a person who responded to the preaching of the word of God. No one has the spiritual barometer with which to measure the genuineness of the sinner's conviction.  God alone knows our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

When we roundedly condemn a practice without objective Biblical evidence, we act judgmentally. If a person publicly proclaims his faith in Christ, we cannot question his sincerity. Of course time will tell if the repentance was genuine. The Bible says that the Lord knows those who are His (2 Timothy 2:19).

I was personally led to Christ by a dear brother who took me through the sinner's prayer. Of course I had received the conviction of my sin and the desired for the Savior at this point. I had absolutely no reason to doubt my conviction neither did the brother.

3) The argument that there's no example of the sinner's prayer in the Bible is misplaced. Not every Christian  practice is expressly defined or prescribed in Scripture. My view is that if a practice or procedure does not contradict the truths of God's word and, as with the case of the sinner's prayer, advances God's purposes for the gospel, there's nothing ungodly about it.

The Bible does not have to prescribe a specific procedure for a practice to be considered admissible. For instance, the the Lord's prayer recorded in Matthew 6:9-14 is a guide rather than a prescription. Not every Christian tradition regularly recite it.

My view is that those who roundedly criticize the sinner's prayer are perhaps being presumptuous rather than objective.



© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020

Why was Cain's Gift Rejected by God?

WHY WAS CAIN'S GIFT REJECTED BY GOD?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

Why was Cain's gift rejected by God? Was Cain's gift laced with some physical blemish? Was it wrong for him to have offered the fruit of the ground to God? Some think so. Others say that the blood sacrifice was accepted because it was a shadow of what God would offer in Christ. This is undeniable. However, it does not answer the question at hand.

I am hesitant to accede to the argument that the fruit of the ground was cursed and therefore not pleasing to God.
If this was true, then why were grain offerings later included in the Levitical ritual worship?

Did God have a mere preference for the first born of Abel's flock rather than the fruit of the ground offering?

Here's how the Bible outlines God's evaluation of the two sets of offerings. Genesis 4:4-5 says "...Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat And the LORD  respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell."

Notice that Scripture describes God's assessment of both the man and his offering under each case! My view is that God found Abel righteous in His sight and on this basis, his offering was accepted. Abel pleased God.

This is not so concerning his brother Cain. God rejected him and his offering. Why? Cain failed to please God. He approached God, not with a polluted offering but with an evil heart. His attitude was actuated by a volcano of evil that the passage of Genesis 4:1-15 subsequently outlines.

Instead of repenting for his wickedness and seeking God's approval, Cain chose to handle things his way. He habored burning jealousy because his brother, a righteous man, was approved of God and his gift was accepted. His action was not justified.

Some people try to outdo others in serving God in the hope they will outshine them. God is always concerned about the state of our hearts far above the measure of our  efforts, resources or our social status in the eyes of men.

No matter how privileged we are, God is not a respecter of persons. He has His divine standards by which to judge our motives and approve or reject our service. Let us therefore serve Him from a clear conscience. The Bible says in 1 John 3:20-21 says "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9-10 that "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart,I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings."

If God searches the heart and tests our minds, there is nothing concerning our motives that can be hidden before His presence.

We also learn about God's omniscience.  God sees all things. We learn this from David's election by God to kingship in 1 Samuel 16:7. The Bible says "...the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

God indeed searched the hearts of David's seven brothers and in His divine counsel turned them down. Surprisingly, David, who never made it to the shortlist of Samuel and his father Jesse, was sought from the wilderness! God saw in David what no one could see at the time.

God therefore knows our intentions even before we approach His presence in worship.

Back to our story of Cain and Abel...

The Bible reveals that Cain's heart was not right with God and this is the basis upon which his offering was rejected. There was nothing wrong with his grain offering per se.

Some Bible teachers say that Cain offered a wrong sacrifice. This claim is however not discernable from the passage of Genesis 4:1-7. Genesis 4:7 in fact reveals the reason for Cain's rejection. Scripture says that Cain did not do well and sin lay at his door. His moral and spiritual deportment was unacceptable to God.

The idea of sin lying at the door is a Hebrew phrase that suggests that Cain had lost his moral bearing. He was exceeding given to evil and the consequences of his persistent imprudence would shortly be laid bare in the passage.

Notice that shortly after he and his offering were rejected, Cain went on to commit the first murder in Biblical history. He killed his own brother unprovoked and could not express any remorse for the heinous transgression even when God confronted him (Genesis 4:8-15). His conscience was seared with hot iron because of wickedness (cf. 1 Timothy 4:2).

The murder of Abel was primarily motivated by Cain's evil and jealousy. It was not a reflex action or manslaughter. It was a premeditated murder. God cursed him because of His exceeding evil. Genesis 4:11-12 says "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

There's something lethal about unbridled jealousy, anger and bitterness being nursed over time. It may result in tragic choices often made outside God's counsel.

This is the reason that we should constantly ask God to search our hearts and heal us. David earnestly cried to God in Psalm 139:23-24, saying, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting."

God's cure for sin is found in Christ alone. Only in His atoning blood was the solution for sinful condemnation found. When a sinner turns to Christ, he are freed from the burden and eternal consequences of sin.

Christ is the answer.


Shalom


© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020

Christian Response to COVID 19 Regulations

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RESPOND TO STATE REGULATIONS ON COVID 19 PANDEMIC?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

I received a question from a brother in the Lord who sought to know how believers should react to the regulations touching on the present COVID 19 pandemic.

I must confess that I don't have a template answer to this question. It touches on unusual situation that is perhaps unprecedented in history. I will however attempt a response based on my discernment of Scripture on situations of this nature. Here are my thoughts.

Given the prevailing circumstances of global  lockdowns and restrictions that have seen churches closed down indefinitely, I can appreciate the feeling among believers who perceive that they have been shortchanged by the state. Some have argued that churches and other places of worship should be reopened subject to clearly defined safety precautions for worshippers.

I agree with the view that if people can be permitted into supermarkets, restaurants, buses and shopping malls under strict compliance with safety precautions, there's no reason to deny believers the same privilege on congregational worship gatherings.

The brother also prescribed a solution in addition to his question above. He suggested that believers should call on God for healing from the fear of diseases including COVID 19. He said that the word of God should heal and free (us) from any fear of death from any kind of disease sent by the devil, including Corona virus.

I agree with the brother that God is our healer and that no disease is beyond His power. God has indeed provided for us the perfect cure for our sins in Christ Jesus. There can be no greater cure for sinful humanity.

I believe that God heals our diseases whether through direct intervention or by means of medical science. Even where God permits a disease or pandemic to prevail, He will grant believers the grace to bear the unpleasant circumstances. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says "no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Scripture is our source of comfort because it communicates to us the mind of God concerning our circumstances and proclaims His promises to us. We should therefore daily turn to the word of God even as we seek His face in prayer so that we may connect with Him in devotion and fellowship.

Having said as much, my view is that we should submit to the safety precautions prescribed by our Governments against the COVID 19 pandemic. This is part of our civic responsibility that underlies our Christian obedience outlined in Romans 13:1-7 and other relevant passages of Scripture. We can never justify our disobedience to godly regulations from the authority of the Bible.

I am aware that some charismatic preachers claim that they can pray for healing from COVID 19 infections though there has been no evidence to back the claims. Others teach that the disease does not affect believers and is part of God's judgement on sinners! These claims are utterly false. There's no evidence that God is targeting non-believers with the pandemic!

Besides, it is undeniable that among those who are infected and/or have died from the COVID 19 pandemic are faithful Christians for whom earnest prayers were offered to God on their behalf.

It is regrettable that some clergymen who defied state regulations in their countries have needlessly exposed their congregations to COVID 19 infections and deaths. Some of these pastors have reportedly succumbed to the disease.

My view is that we (believers and Christian communities at large) should obey the civic authorities and submit to regulations proclaimed by the state that serve the good of the citizens and are consistent with the principles of the word of God. Where there's no known cure for a disease, as is the case with COVID 19, medical precautions should therefore be observed in order to contain the spread of the infection.

We should sanitize, wear masks and observe social distance as required. We should also obey the authorities on restrictions touching on congregational church worship until and unless it is safe to resume our church gatherings. These regulations definitely serve God's purposes for us under the prevailing circumstances. There's no evidence that they unfairly target Christians because all religions and faiths have been affected.

This is not to suggest that the civilian authorities are always right concerning the things of God. There are circumstances that the believers or Christian communities may disagree with the state on certain laws and regulations that they consider to contravene the moral principles of Scripture. For instance, a biblical Christian community will never accept any state legislations that supports abortion or unfairly curtail the freedom of worship.

In those circumstances, the Christian community should lobby and engage the state in dialogue through its representatives in order to air their grievances.

In some countries, especially in the Arab world and communist regimes such as China and North Korea, strict regulations are imposed on religion. Others subscribe to a single state religion. In most of these countries, Christianity is often outlawed and Christians are severely persecuted.

The case of Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego recorded in Daniel 3 is a perfect illustration of state interference on freedom of worship.

We should also bear in mind that there will never be perfect conditions for believers on earth. This world is increasingly hostile to the Christan Faith and, in the words of Jesus, things won't get any better (Matthew 24:3-14). We should brace for difficult seasons ahead.

The Bible says that we are strangers and pilgrims on earth (Hebrews 11:13). No  matter how convenient or trying life turns out on this side of the sun, we are always on a journey of faith as we look forward to the soon coming of Christ.

We therefore ought to "run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).


Shalom




© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020

None without Sin but Christ

NONE WITHOUT SIN BUT CHRIST

By Ezekiel Kimosop

During my days as an undergraduate student at the University of Nairobi in the late 1980s, I met a brother who confessed to me that he had attained a stage in his walk with God that sin was no longer an issue for him. He claimed that he could not commit sin and that the Devil was aware of this fact!

I was temporarily jolted from my seat on hearing this strange testimony. I was fairly young in the faith at the time but I knew a thing or two on sin and forgiveness.

I tried reasoning with the brother that it is impossible for a believer to attain spiritual perfection on earth. The brother would hear none of that. He argued that God deals with each believer differently and that our measure of faith and spiritual revelation varies from one believer to another.

The brother was an evangelist and, to my knowledge, was mature in the faith. I often admired his mastery of the Scriptures.

That incident disturbed me a lot for some time until I met a pastor who addressed the issue comprehensively based the teaching of the Bible. He concluded that the doctrine held by the brother was not founded on biblical truth.

After several years, I met the brother again and by the grace of God, his error was no longer evident in his teachings. Unfortunately, I came to discover that he held another controversial doctrine!

The brother attributed Christian suffering to God's judgment on the believer for known sins that he had committed. He admitted that God punished him on a number of occasions because he was disobedient in failing to heed His voice. He could not reconcile the idea that a loving God could subject His children (believers) to trials and afflictions. He argued that Christ has already nailed all our sins to the cross.

Again, I engaged the brother in a biblical conversation on the issue. Luckily for me this time, I had both the discernment and the courage for taking on his error. I was convinced that the brother's doctrine was totally inconsistent with biblical truth.

I tried to canvas my objections to his doctrine using the Scriptures such as Psalm 34:19; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12-19. Unfortunately, the brother would hear none of that. He even went on to reject the authority of the Book of Job on Christian suffering saying the book was not binding on the New Testament believer!

After engaging the brother in long conversation threads, he still stuck to his guns. He could not cede any ground. I abandoned the engagement. The brother still subscribes to this false doctrine to this day.

My view is that no believer, not even Mary the mother of Jesus, was or is without sin. Only Christ alone was and is sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21).

We live in a fallen sinful world which is under the presence and influence of sin. Besides, our bodies are susceptible to sinful inclinations. We cannot therefore fully satisfy God's divine standards even with the best of our efforts.

Only when we shall be raised in our heavenly bodies and dwell in the presence of the risen Christ in heaven shall we be truly without the influence or presence of sin.

Meanwhile, we ought to confess our sins whenever we come before the Lord in prayer. The Lord's prayer recorded in Matthew 6:9-15 is explicit on the significance of Christian confession.

To deny human sinfulness is to deny the authority Scripture.
1 John 1:8-10 says "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

We should therefore confess our known and unknown sins so that our heavenly Father may cleanse us from sin by the power of Christ's shed blood.

Yes, there's none without sin but Christ.


Shalom


© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020

Dealing with Christian Liberties

HANDLING OUR CHRISTIAN LIBERTIES

By Ezekiel Kimosop

I have been studying the Book of Romans for quite some time now. In fact my last sunday's sermon whose link I posted on this page was drawn from my study of Romans 13:11-14.

At one time in the course of my study of Romans, I wrote an exposition of Romans 9 and posted it on my teaching pages.

I was not surprised when I received sharp criticisms on Facebook from followers of high Calvinism whose interpretation of the passage does not agree with mine! I knew that there are those who will not agree with my exposition.

One particular Calvinistic brother engaged me in a long conversation which appears on my Facebook page. He was contending for the perspective held by John Calvin and other Reformed Calvinism teachers. The issue boiled down to the canvassing of our conflicting perspectives.

Some sections of Reformed Calvinistic traditions claim that Romans 9 teaches predestination of believers. They argue that the  regeneration of the believer precedes their faith in Christ, that the sinner is first regenerated by God before they can believe in Christ. This is largely informed by their "divine decree" doctrine which says that from the foundation of the world, God had already decreed the identity and the number of those who will be saved and those who will go to eternal destruction.

They further say that Christ's atonement is only limited to those who had been predestined to eternal life.

Calvinism teaches that the sinner is so dead in sin that he is unable to make a moral decision for Christ unless God first regenerates his heart. This is based on their literal interpretation of the analogy of Ephesians 2:5.

I am not pursuaded by the  articulation of the soteriological doctrines held by Calvinism. I believe that salvation is a synergistic process involving God and the cooperation of the sinner. I believe that every sinner who hears the gospel, and is convicted of sin, has a free will choice for Christ, either to believe or reject Him.

My view is that a sinner who hears and is convicted by the preaching of the gospel must first believe in Jesus Christ before they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, we agreed to disagree with my Calvinism brother. We respectfully registered our divergence of opinions and closed our conversation. This does not imply that we do not recognize our shared heritage in Christ as believers but that we see things differently on the articulation of salvation doctrines. We are both agreed on the fundamentals of the faith.

THE PASSAGE

I have mentioned this incident because it is somewhat relevant to what I am about to share based on my study of Romans 14:1-13.

In this passage, the Bible  prescribes some practical guidelines concerning the management of our conflicting views on Christian practices that are otherwise not fundamental to the truths of our Christian faith.

Allow me to qualify this further. When I speak of fundamental truths, I am referring to the core doctrines of the Bible that concern our faith in Christ. I will highlight a few for context sake.

The Bible teaches that we are born in sin by reason of Adam's disobedience and that God's condemnation stood upon all men until God provided a savior for us in Christ Jesus.

We believe that the death of Jesus Christ satisfied God's divine wrath against our sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23). Scripture teaches that whoever believes in Jesus will be forgiven his sin and reconciled to God. His name will be written in the Lamb's Book of Life (John 1:12, 29, 3:16; 1 Peter 1:19)

Whoever rejects the message of the cross will stand condemned. We believe that Christ's atonement was final and effective and that salvation can be found in no one else but by Him (John 14:6; cf. Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:22).

We believe that Jesus is coming soon to take His Church and to judge the wicked and destroy His enemies once and for all.

Now these statements, among others, form the core Biblical truths that every true follower of Christ must subscribe to without any doubt.

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY

Having said as much, I recognize that there are convictions that do not touch on the fundamentals.

For instance, some Christian traditions such as the Seventh Day Adventists esteem a particular day of the week as hallowed. Most Christian traditions worship on Sunday. Some do not consider any day as more hallowed and would readily worship on any day of the week if it serves their convenience.

Away from the day of worship, there are other issues that divide Christians along their traditional practices. Some liberal churches permit their faithful to take alcoholic beverages while others consider drinking as morally untennable. Others have a choice for dress codes or even the manner in which to worship including permitted music.

Evangelicals and Pentecostals  have conflicting views and perspectives touching on cessation or continuation of certain spiritual gifts.

Even where Church traditions agree on a given perspective, the practices and articulations may considerably vary.

Now turning to our passage of Romans 14:1-13, we discover that Paul was addressing the management of Christian liberties. The Bible exhorts us to be mindful of one another's convictions on matters that are not otherwise fundamental to the faith. This passage identifies conflicting cultural preference on foods (Romans 14:1-4) and worship days (Romans 14:5-6) as examples of the sources of contention. These were notable areas of contention separating Jews and Gentiles.

The Bible concludes with a warning that we should not sit in the place of God and judge others based on our perspectives on non essential issues that fall within the spectrum of our Christian liberties (14:10-11).

This does not however suggest that we cannot judge acts of moral disobedience or point out false teaching or single out teachers of heresy.

The Bible says that each of us shall give an account before God. We should therefore allow for Christian liberty on the non essential matters while standing firm on our convictions touching on the fundamental truths of the Faith as revealed in Scripture.



© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j4QbFEOs1r7pWYgpcbOPEUjX0csIopvp/view?usp=drivesdk

Stay on the Word

STAY IN THE WORD

By Ezekiel Kimosop

We live in a time and season when the health and wealth gospel (prosperity gospel) rules the airwaves.

Prosperity teachers present a corrupted and hollow gospel that tickles the ears of their audience and yet is totally inconsistent with truths of Scripture.

These teachers of heresy and their followers were predicted in Scripture (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 4:1-5). Millions are today hooked to this this religion of Mammon.

How should the child of God scale the trying times in the face of this spiritual pollution?

Now that our church congregations cannot gather because of the current restrictions under the COVID 19 pandemic, many believers are exposed to all manner of online messages.

I recently opened one of our leading local TV channels on Sunday morning trying to get some spiritual nourishment. I was shocked to find that a number of them were hosting false teachers including a false prophet from Uganda.

Unless we spend time studying the Bible and receive proper instruction in truth, we may not easily distinguish between false teachings and biblically centred messages on screen.

We therefore need to take time to regularly study the Bible in order appreciate the balanced truths of the word of God regarding this life and the one to come so that we may build our faith on the right foundation and stay focused on Christ in all seasons.

No matter what we experience today or in the days to come, God's mercies for us endure forever (Psalm 136).Jesus promised that He will always be with us (Matthew 28:20). How is Jesus with us yet in heaven?

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, eternally abides with us who call on His name. This is the assurance that we should hold onto at all times even as we look forward to the soon coming of Christ (Titus 2:11-14).

Let us therefore encourage one another in the Lord.

Shalom