Knowledgeable Christians correctly dispute all misapplication of Scripture, including declarations that non-Christians can be saved and become Christians by saying a sinner’s prayer. The New Testament contains two differing scenarios for taking care of man’s sin problem in divinely appointed ways. Non-Christians are taught by an analysis of several passages in the Gospel to hear God’s Word exclusively (Romans 10:17), consequently to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and the Son of God (John 8:24), to repent of sins (Acts 17:30), to be willing to publicly acknowledge belief in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10) and to be immersed in water for the remission of sins (Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38; 22:16); we might colloquially refer to these actions collectively as the first law of pardon. However, the New Testament contains different instructions for erring Christians, namely, that they repent and pray for forgiveness (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9); these two activities comprise what one might dub as the second law of pardon. The mistake that the world and denominations typically make is to suppose that the second law of pardon is God’s solution for the non-Christian’s sin problem. Hence, the so-called sinner’s prayer bandied about in religious circles for non-Christians is a serious misapplication of God’s Word.
Generally, Christians agree that God does not hear a non-Christian’s prayer. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18; see also Proverbs 1:24-28). However, there is a prayer by a non-Christian to which God does respond. He does so on the basis of those who are morally right (“righteous”) and whose prayer pertains to knowing how to please God. “The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). This person exhibits reverence for (“is a worshipper”) of God. “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31). We have an example of such a person in Cornelius (Acts 10-11).
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.” (Acts 10:1-6)
…who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved. (Acts 11:14)
Forty years ago, I was such a man in some respects as was Cornelius. I was a sinner – a non-Christian, and I prayed to God – longing to find the one, true church. This was my frequent, earnest prayer. I was at the time a disenchanted Catholic youth who had learned to deeply revere God from devout, Catholic grandparents. However, due to hypocrisy and the changing of several Catholic doctrines in my short life, I was convinced that the Catholic Church was not the true church.
For personal reasons, I obligated myself to the Air Force while still in high school, and six days following graduation from high school, I was in boot camp. My military aptitude tests permitted me to select before my fellows from among openings in career choices at the time, but my application to become a chaplain’s assistant was rejected. Thereafter, I was forced to take what was left because everyone else had applied for and had been granted career fields for which they applied. I was assigned a career field I did not want; I was placed on a bus bound for a military school – neither of which were my choices – and schooled in a military career not of my choosing. These circumstances out of my control put me into a military class that was being taught by a deacon in the Lord’s church; I had never heard of the churches of Christ before.
I was to be an Administrative Specialist, a clerk. To demonstrate that I already knew how to type and to move to the next higher course, I had to take a simple test. I was instructed to type a specified paragraph on a sheet of paper, under which was a sheet of carbon paper and another sheet of paper. I got my carbon paper upside down, so I had two copies of the text on either side of one sheet of paper, and I had one still blank sheet of paper. Upon approaching my instructor for instructions on what he wanted me to do now, I observed him retrieving something from his brief case. Inside the case was a bumper sticker decrying the use of instrumental music. Inquiring of him about the meaning of that signage led to an ongoing Bible study over the next six weeks, concluding with my obedience to the Gospel of Christ in baptism.
Now, one might say that the series of coincidences which provided me the opportunity to come in contact with the Gospel of Christ were no more than unrelated, happenchance events. Or, were all of these occasions that were contrary to my wishes and beyond my control rather God’s providential answering of a real sinner’s prayer? Though without modern-day revelation, no one could conclusively and definitively aver the latter, I believe that in my case, God answered this sinner’s prayerful and constant plea to find the one, true church. About 2,000 years ago, the evangelist Philip was the providential answer to the Ethiopian treasurer’s desire to know God’s Word more perfectly – which resulted in his conversion (Acts 8:26-39).
