Email is a wonderful tool that makes life so much simpler. It provides the ability to send letters, pictures, music, videos, and other forms of information anywhere in the world and gets it done instantly. While instant communication is great, it also is an open door for the spreading of urban myths and legends. Sometimes you will get an email from someone you know that tells you that a famous person has suffered a tragic death, that your favorite soft drink will have some strange adverse affect on you, to boycott a certain company because of their support of abortion or the homosexual movement, or to not flash your headlights at anyone because it is gang initiation week.  Whenever I receive one of these emails, I immediately go to a website like www.snopes.com to try to verify whether it is real or not. In most cases it is clear that it is an urban legend or lie. There are some, however, who receive these emails and believe the information provided or do whatever the urban legend suggests without first checking to see if its real. 

While it may be funny that some buy into some of these myths without checking them out, it is not funny when the same thing happens with people and their faith. With the passing of almost 2000 years since the completion of the Bible and all of the erroneous teaching that has arisen during that span of time, it is not surprising that there are many spiritual myths around. Some are simply misunderstandings about what is in the Bible – such as, “Laughter does good like medicine.” But others are more serious because they impact what a person actually believes and what they practice.  

Because of this, a spiritual myth may actually impact your salvation!   Every Christian should be like the Bereans who “searched the scriptures daily” to determine whether or not the things Paul taught them were true (Acts 17:11). Is your faith Bible based or myth based? Consider a one example of a spiritual urban legend:

 The Sinners Prayer Is Part Of Salvation:

Pick up almost any religious tract or publication that talks about being saved and you will find “The Sinner’s Prayer” at the end. This prayer confesses sin and asks Jesus to come into your heart to save you. There is a great appeal in this because of its convenience - a person can pick one up and have a “salvation experience” at any place and at any time. It is also very personal and appealing to emotions. But does the Bible teach this?

Here’s a challenge. Open your Bible or start up your Bible software on your computer and search for the sinner’s prayer. It helps to look in the book of Acts since it is filled with stories about people who were saved. At the end of your search you will discover something – The sinners prayer is not in the Bible!

You will read about faith, repentance, confession, and even baptism, but not the sinner’s prayer. Nowhere will you read about a person being told to “accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior and you will be saved.” Nowhere will you read a preacher telling someone to “close your eyes and say this prayer with me.” So where did the sinner’s prayer come from? It’s hard to be certain. During the 1800’s some preachers were leading people in prayer for their salvation. In the 1950’s, a preacher named Bill Bright came up with “The Four Spiritual Laws” which look amazingly similar to the common “sinner’s prayers” given today. Regardless of its source, we can know for sure it did not come from the Bible. If the sinner’s prayer is Biblical, why is it not found in the Bible?

Some use Romans 10:13 to justify this prayer. Paul said, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” The ideas is that is the same as saying the sinner’s prayer. If this is so, why don’t we read of this prayer this in the NT or in the early history of Christianity? We aren’t left to wonder what it means to call on the name of the Lord because other verses describe it in greater detail. This was told to those who listened to the first preaching of the gospel on Pentecost. When Peter explains to them that the events they were witnessing was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, he reminds them of this promise made by Joel: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). Peter continues preaching the gospel. As his sermon draws to a close, pointing people to the Lordship of Jesus that came through His resurrection, the crowd is convicted of their sin. They say, “Brothers, what shall we do?" (vs. 37). Obviously these people have come to believe in Jesus. Peter does not lead this crowd of people in saying the sinner’s prayer, but instead tells them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (vs. 38). Following this instruction “those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (vs. 41). A few verses later, the narrative ends by telling us that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (vs. 47). The promise was that whoever called on the name of the Lord would be saved. The people were not saved until after they heard the gospel, were pricked to their heart by it, repented, and were baptized. This is what it means to call upon the name of the Lord. Where is the sinner’s prayer?

Consider Saul of Tarsus (who later changed his name to Paul, the apostle). As he is travelling to Damascus to persecute Christians, Jesus appears to him (Acts 9).   Jesus says, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Obviously, he now believes in Jesus. But Jesus tells him that he is to go on into the city and he will be told there what he must do (vs. 6). Blinded by the Lord, he travels into the city as told. While there, Ananias was sent by God to preach to him. Ananias finishes telling him about Jesus then gives Saul a simple but pointed instruction: “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). What did it mean for Saul to call upon the name of the Lord? Again, there was belief, there was a turning to the Lord, and baptism into Jesus. Where is the sinner’s prayer?

Following the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the pattern of salvation is consistent. The gospel was preached, people believed in Jesus, repented of sins, confessed their faith, and were baptized into Jesus. This pattern is easily observed by reading through the book of Acts. After describing how God saved Noah by using water, Peter said, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 3:21). Notice he describes baptism as “an appeal to God.” Is that not very similar to saying, “calling on the name of the Lord?” No, it’s not baptism alone. It’s all of the things the Lord has instructed for us to in appealing to God through His name for salvation. This is not salvation by works. Look at what Peter said. The power is in the resurrection of Jesus. It is just what Jesus asked us to do to receive the forgiveness and grace available through His death.

We should not sacrifice what the Bible teaches us to do to be saved for something man came up with many years later, regardless of how convenient or emotionally appealing it may seem.