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The question often arises about what a Christian should do if someone is repentant. Should we lead him in what’s commonly called a “sinner’s prayer” or simply instruct him to seek after God? Perhaps the answer comes by looking to the natural realm. As long as there are no complications when a child is born, all the doctor needs to do is guide the head. The same applies spiritually. When someone is “born of God,” all we need to do is guide the head—make sure that they understand what they are doing. Philip the evangelist did this with the Ethiopian eunuch. He asked him, “Do you understand what you read?” (Acts 8:30). In the parable of the sower, the true convert (the “good soil” hearer) is he who hears “and understands.” This understanding comes by the Law in the hand of the Spirit (Romans 7:7). If a sinner is ready for the Saviour, it is because he has been drawn by the Holy Spirit (John 6:44). This is why we must be careful to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work and not rush in where angels fear to tread. Praying a sinner’s prayer with someone who isn’t genuinely repentant may leave you with a "stillborn" in your hands. Therefore, rather than lead him in a prayer of repentance, it is wise to encourage him to pray himself. When Nathan confronted David about his sin, he didn’t lead the king in a prayer of repentance. If a man committed adultery, and his wife is willing to take him back, should you have to write out an apology for him to read to her? No. Sorrow for his betrayal of her trust should spill from his lips. She doesn’t want eloquent words, but simply sorrow of heart. The same applies to a prayer of repentance. The words aren’t as important as the presence of “godly sorrow.” The sinner should be told to repent—to "confess" and "forsake" his sins. He could do this as a whispered prayer, then you could pray for him. If he’s not sure what to say, perhaps David’s prayer of repentance (Psalm 51) could be used as a model, but his own words are more desirable. 1:13 The sad reality in both the liberal and the "conservative" camps is that they are full of professing Christians who have merely gone through the motions, said a prayer, walked an aisle, followed the crowd, obeyed their pastor or tradition, and nothing has happened. They have no assurance of salvation, no adoption, no victory, and therefore, no reality. I wonder how many “would-be” Christians have died in miscarriages at the very moment of their conversions by a false assurance, an empty commitment and a crossless Christ. Our aim should be to ensure that sinners are born of the Spirit—of the "will of God" and not of the will of man. Too many of our “decisions” are not a work of the Spirit, but a work of manipulative practices. It is simple to secure a decision for Jesus by using this "popular" method: “Do you know whether you are going to heaven when you die?.... Would you like me to pray with you right now so that you can give your heart to Jesus?..... Then, you will have the assurance that you are going to heaven when you die.” When someone repents and calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, he turns the tables on the devil. The ten stinging cords of the Ten Commandments in the hand of the Saviour will cleanse the temple of sin. Charles Spurgeon had a resolute grasp of the Law. In preaching to sinners, he said, “I would that this whip would fall upon your backs, that you might be flogged out of your self-righteousness and made to fly to Jesus Christ and find shelter there.” Pastor and missionary, Paris Reidhead, made this statement “If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of ‘the plan of salvation’ in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airwaves and the pulpits to preach the "holiness" of God, the "righteousness" of God, and the "Law" of God, until sinners would cry out, ‘What must we do to be saved?’ Then I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding "why" they need to be saved.” It is true that there
are numerous Bible verses that speak of the promise of salvation,
with Without repentance from sin, wicked men cannot have fellowship with a holy God. We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and until we forsake them through repentance, we cannot be made alive in Christ. The Scriptures speak of “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). We turn from sin to the Saviour. This is why Paul preached “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The first public word Jesus preached was “repent” (Matthew 4:17). John the Baptist began his ministry the same way (Matthew 3:2). Jesus told His hearers that without repentance, they would perish (Luke 13:3). If belief is all that is necessary for salvation, then the logical conclusion is that one need never repent. However, the Bible tells us that a false convert “believes” and yet is not saved (Luke 8:13); he remains a “worker of iniquity.” Look at the warning of Scripture: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6). The Scriptures also say, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Jesus said that there was joy in heaven over one sinner who “repents” (Luke 15:10). If there is no repentance, there is no joy because there is no salvation. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he commanded his hearers to repent “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Without repentance, there is no remission of sins; we are still under His wrath. Peter further said, “Repent . . . and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). We cannot be “converted” unless we repent. God Himself “commands all men everywhere [leaving no exceptions] to repent” (Acts 17:30). Peter said a similar thing at Pentecost: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you” (Acts 2:38). If repentance wasn’t necessary for salvation, why then did Jesus command that repentance be preached to all nations (Luke 24:47)? With so many Scriptures speaking of the necessity of repentance for salvation, one can only suspect that those who preach salvation without repentance are strangers to repentance themselves, and thus strangers to a "true conversion". Don’t be tempted to measure evangelistic “success” by the number of “decisions” obtained. We tend to rejoice over decisions, when heaven reserves its rejoicing for repentance—“There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents” (Luke 15:10). It is easy to get “decisions for Jesus” using the modern method of well-chosen words and psychological manipulation. Instead, see success as having the opportunity to sow the seed of God’s Word into the "hearts" of your hearers. If you faithfully sow, someone else will reap. If you have the privilege of reaping, then someone has faithfully sown before you. One sows, another reaps, but it is God who gives the increase.
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