In this day of seeker-sensitive churches and cheap grace, we should seriously reconsider the validity of the sinner’s prayer.
I’m sure some have been genuinely born again after saying the sinner’s prayer. My concern is for the multitudes who said a simple prayer but still live for themselves. My burden is for those who show no evidence they have been regenerated, even though they responded to an altar call and asked Jesus to forgive them.
Are these truly heaven bound, even though they show no signs of genuine repentance and surrender?
When you contrast the sinner’s prayer to how the ancients entered into covenant, you will understand what I mean.
Entering the New Covenant
The New Covenant demands absolute surrender of our lives. Not parroting a prayer of who Jesus is and what He did.
The New Covenant is a binding agreement with the Lord, requiring self-abandonment and living by faith. It’s not mental ascent, agreeing with our minds Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure who died and was resurrected.
The New Covenant is an invitation to die to yourself—not just once—but daily. It’s not fire insurance from hell and an allowance to live however we please.
I’ll explain further by describing the first step in ancient covenant making—the pre-ceremony actions.
The Pre-Ceremony Actions
Prior to the covenant ceremony, the two parties spent time discussing the terms, conditions, promises, blessings, and curses of the agreement. They weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the treaty, assessing whether the personal sacrifices demanded would return equal or greater blessings.
Simply put, the ancients counted the cost of the covenant before they entered into it.
The Pre-Ceremony Actions in the Abrahamic Covenant
We see this step in God’s covenant with Abraham. The Lord initiated this covenant in Genesis 12, saying to him,
Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. (Gen. 12:1-3)
Between this invitation and the covenant ceremony in Genesis 15, Abraham spent time counting the cost. The Lord stated the terms, conditions, and promises of the covenant and Abraham had to decide if it was worth the sacrifice of leaving his homeland, immediate family, and relatives. Abraham’s cost to enter the covenant was significant. He had to give up security, comfort, and the familiar to become an alien in a foreign land.
Though the cost was steep, the promises were staggering. God didn’t just promise Abraham and his descendants a piece of land in the Middle East. He also offered him an eternal city to dwell in forever—the new Jerusalem (Heb. 11:8-10).
If Abraham left his country, family, and relatives, God promised him extraordinary eternal and temporal blessings. All the nations would be blessed through Abraham if he paid the price and responded to God’s covenant invitation.
We know the rest of the story. Abraham obeyed God’s voice and later entered into an eternal covenant with Him in Genesis 15.
The Pre-Ceremony Actions in the New Covenant
We see a similar pattern with Jesus. The eternal Son became a Man in Jesus of Nazareth and spent His public ministry proclaiming the kingdom of God. He revealed what it was, the promises of it, and the expectations for living in it.
Put another way, Jesus specified the terms, conditions, and promises of the New Covenant.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus often stated, “You have heard that it was said . . . but I say to you” (Matt. 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43). Why did He say this? He was laying out the requirements of the New Covenant.
When you view Jesus’ teachings through the lens of covenant, you realize many of his parables and teachings were stipulations of the New Covenant.
Just as typical covenants required both parties to count the cost, Jesus wanted us to do the same before entering into the New Covenant. Notice what He said in Luke 14:28-33:
For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. (Luke 14:28-33)
Jesus offers salvation to everyone. He invites all humanity to enter into covenant with God through Him. Nevertheless, there is a cost we must consider before entering into the New Covenant. The cost is far greater than walking down an aisle and saying a prayer. We must surrender our entire lives to Him. Not just once but daily.
Pause for a minute and examine your walk with the Lord. Have you made a “decision” to believe a set of facts about Jesus? Or have you completely surrendered your life to Him?
Unconditional surrender is the only sufficient response.
