The Lutheran "Sinner's Prayer"

The fundamentalist Baptist denomination that I grew up in taught me that any person who believed that he was saved in his infant baptism absolutely could not be saved.  They were not a Christian and were destined for hell when they died.

This meant that all Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists and all other infant-baptizers were not Christians and would burn in hell for all eternity.

I am very happy to hear from Pastor Stephen Cavness that the largest Baptist denomination in the world, the Southern Baptist Convention, does not agree with this belief.

But what if the fundamentalists are right?  What if the rest of us are wrong?  An eternity burning in the flames of hell is a pretty dreadful outcome for an incorrect decision on how one becomes a Christian!

If the fundamentalists are right then salvation occurs as follows:

You, as an older child or as an adult, realize that you are a sinner bound for hell.  You pray to Christ to forgive you of your sins (repentance), you express your faith in him alone to give you eternal life,  and you ask him to be your Lord and Savior. You pledge to follow his will for your life as outlined in the Bible.  In essence, you pray the "Sinner's Prayer".

Why not cover our bases and just do this???

Here is my recommendation for the "Lutheran Sinner's Prayer":

"Dear Lord Jesus,

My Lutheran Church has told me that you saved me in my infant baptism.  My Lutheran Church has told me that you saved me by the power of your Holy Word spoken at my baptism, not by my decision, or the decision of my parents, to be baptized. 

My soul and conscience are deeply troubled that there exists the possibility that my Lutheran Church could be wrong on this teaching.

Therefore, at this very moment, I admit that I am a sinner, lost and bound for hell and in need of your saving grace and mercy.  If I am not saved, a Christian, I ask you to save me right now.  Forgive me of my sins, and help me to live my life according to your Holy will.  Amen."

Now, if you are reading this you may think that I'm trying to be sarcastic or humorous.  I'm not.  I'm dead serious.  As a father, I intend to have my children who are now four and two years old pray this prayer when they are old enough to understand what they are saying.

Why not?  I'm not going to risk my childrens' eternal destiny on refusing to say one simple prayer.  Why take the chance?

Does the Bible condone Slavery?

Prior to the Civil War, many white Southern Christians pointed to the Bible to justify slavery.  "There is nowhere in the New Testament that condemns slavery," they said.  Actually quite the contrary:  there are several verses that tell slaves to "obey your master"!

So were the Abolitionists committing sin by aiding slaves to disobey their "masters" by escaping in the Underground Railroad??

Would any mentally competent Christian today tell modern-day slaves in places like the Sudan to "obey your master" and not try to escape?

Growing up in the 60's and 70's, my fundamentalist Baptist church used the Bible to justify its support for segregation and the ban on marriages between whites and blacks. 

Christians should learn a lesson from these historical mistakes.  Don't use the Bible to make decisions on secular laws regarding civil liberties and social equality!

The Bible is the highest authority in the Christian home and Church.  The Constitution is the highest authority in the nation.  Keep Church and State separate!

Is it inconsistent for a conservative Lutheran to support Gay equality?

Can a conservative Lutheran support Gay equality and still be consistent with his/her conservative Lutheran principles and faith?

I believe they can.

Church and State should be kept completely separate!  The State should not be interfering in Church affairs such as President Obama's attempt to force churches to cover contraception.  And the Church should not be trying to impose Christian moral values on secular society!

Where in the New Testament do you see the Apostles exhorting their followers to take up campaigns to try and change the moral laws of the Roman Empire?

I support the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod in its position that all sexual activity outside of traditional marriage (between a man and woman) is sin.

I also support equal rights for all adult American citizens.  No group should be given more or less rights or benefits.  "All men are created equal" should be applied to everyone.

The Bible is the highest authority in the home and the Church.

The Constitution is the highest authority in the nation.

Keep the government out of the Church, and the Church out of the government!

A little bit of fundamentalist humor!

St. Peter was giving a tour of heaven one day to some new arrivals.  One was Catholic, one was Episcopalian, one was Presbyterian, one was Lutheran, and one was Pentecostal.

The apostle took them around to see many beautiful sites and buildings in the Celestial City.  Half way through the tour, St. Peter stopped, turned to the group, and said:  "Be VERY quiet as we pass this next building!"

"Why?" asked the group.

"The independent, pre-millenial, fundamental Baptists are inside.  They think they are the only ones here!"

Lutheran Pastors: Do you agree with this Lutheran statement on Salvation?

Attention reader:  The Southern Baptist Convention is responding to this Lutheran blog.  One of their pastors, Pastor Stephen Cavness, is giving the SBC Baptist response to Lutheran doctrines.  He is currently responding to my post "So How Are you Saved?" from October 2011.  If you are a Lutheran pastor, I would be interested to see if you agree with my Lutheran position on "Salvation" as stated below.  Please leave a brief comment below this post.   It would be great if you would identify yourself, your church, and your Synod (ELCA, LCMS, WELS, etc).

My Response to Pastor Cavness of the SBC:

I guess I'm not completely sure what the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) believes is required for salvation. We Lutherans agree with Baptists that simply believing that God raised Jesus from the dead and believing that Jesus Christ is Lord (God ) is not enough. Satan and his demons believe all that.

Romans 10:9 states that one must confess (publically profess) Jesus Christ as Lord (as YOUR Lord). Are you genuinely professing Christ as your Lord, your master, if you willfully intend to disobey his commmand to repent and turn from your sins? Lutherans would strongly encourage that "convert" to seriously evaluate whether he truly believes.

In Acts 2:38 God says that the sinner must also repent and be baptized.

Therefore the Lutheran Church believes that in salvation God commands/demands the following to occur:

-have faith
-believe
-repent (turn away from a life of sin)
-be baptized

All of these verbs are action verbs. They all require the sinner to take an action. None of them are works of righteousness of man. They are commands of God for any convert to the Faith to obey..

However, Lutherans believe that the ability to perform these actions do not come from a free will decision by the sinner, but they are gifts from God to the sinner. This is why salvation is a "free gift" as Scripture says. Everything involved in salvation is given to us freely, without any strings attached, by God. It is ours!

Lutherans believe that since God elected us to be his children (saved) before the world existed then we are saved the second that God quickens us and we believe. If before that sinner (who has just been quickened to believe by God) is able to utter the words "I repent" he is struck by lightening and dies, he will still go to heaven. He is a Christian.

Lutherans believe the same is true for baptism. If the quickened sinner believes, but as he is walking to the river to be baptized, he is mauled and killed by a lion, he will still go to heaven, he is a Christian.

Why do we believe this? We believe this because it is God that saves. Salvation is not dependent on man, on his own free will, or his actions to try to please or appease God. All the actions of having faith, believing, repenting and being baptized are supplied by God. If before all these actions are completed the convert dies, he will still be a Christian and on his way to heaven.

My guess is that SBC Baptists would agree with this. Am I right?

The controversy comes when we discuss how a person who has grown up in a Christian home and has loved and prayed to Jesus since they could walk and talk. How and when does God save them?

My Reformed/Calvinist relatives say that the elect will just know that they are saved and will then make a public profession at some point in their lives. One does not need to know exactly when God saved you.

Lutherans do not believe that the elect are born Christians as is stated in the Reformed Westminister Confessions. We believe that, just as in the Old Testament, there are two ways into the Covenant. One from outside the Covenant by adult conversion as mentioned above, and one by being born into the Covenant, children of believers, and by birthright, receiving the new circumcision, the new sign of the covenant, which is baptism.

Lutheran Pastors: Would you like to respond?

As previously mentioned, the Southern Baptist Convention is responding to the Lutheran doctrines discussed on this blog.  Pastor Stephen Cavness of the SBC has kindly agreed to provide the Southern Baptist perspective.  He has so far responded to five of my posts (topics).  He will be responding to approximately 20 posts, two posts/topics per week.

I believe it would be very informative and interesting for Lutherans and non-Lutherans alike, if some of the Lutheran pastors who post their blogs on Lutherans.com would respond to his comments.

Pastor Cavness is responding to my blog posts in order from oldest to most recent.  To see his comments, scroll down this page and click on "Blog Archive" on the right of your screen, then click on the posts/topics written in October 2011.  Leave your comment in the "comment box".  It would be great if you would sign your full name, name of your church, and which Lutheran body (ELCA, LCMS, etc) you are a member of.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in reaching out to Baptists and evangelicals with the truths of Lutheranism!

Questions for adherents of Adult-only Believer's Baptism

1.  If baptism is limited to adult believers, why is there no mention of such an age restriction in any book of the New Testament?

2.  In the Old Testament, the children of converts were automatically brought into the convenant with the converting parents.  If this pattern of household conversion did not continue into the New Covenant, why isn't there any mention in the New Testament of this drastic change from household conversion to individual conversion?   If the children of believers were now responsible for their own conversion, why did God remain silent on this issue?   The salvation or spiritual safety of the children of believers is not specifically addressed in the New Testament.  Why?  (The Age of Accountability is not found anywhere in the New Testament.) 

3.  Why isn't there at least one verse in Scripture that warns converting parents to make sure that their children eventually convert on their own when they reach an Age of Accountability?  Wouldn't that be an important issue that most parents would want to know?

4.  Why aren't there any accounts in the New Testament of children of Christians having born again experiences and then being baptized to enter into the church family?

5.  Why is there absolutely no historical evidence of a major early Church controversy regarding a new and heretical practice of baptizing infants?

6.  Why is there no historical evidence of any early Church Father espousing the idea of adult-only baptism?

So who is a Christian to believe: God, Darwin, or a Theologian?

In the early 1970’s the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod was rocked by controversy:  Preus against Tietjen.  Conservatives against Moderates.

I was about ten years old at the time and I wasn’t even a Lutheran, so I have no memories of these events to pass judgment on who was right and who was wrong.

However, a confessional document from that controversy remains.  It is listed today on the LCMS official website, under the heading of “Doctrine”.  Its title is  “A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles”.

In my humble layman’s opinion, it is very well written.  But I am a conservative Lutheran who believes in the literal interpretation of the Bible.  I’m sure liberals and a good number of moderates dislike it.

The reason I like this confessional statement is that, along with the Lutheran Confessions, it gives a clear guide on how the lay Christian is to read and understand the Bible.

At the other extreme on this issue are liberal interpretations of Scripture that at their very extreme allow each individual to interpret the Bible as he or she sees fit.

There are also positions in the middle, with big theological names, which tell the man in the pew that he cannot read the Bible on his own but needs the  assistance of theologians to understand when to believe God literally and when to read his Word allegorically or hypothetically.

Who is the Christian layperson to believe?

Now, even though I believe the Bible literally, does that mean that I believe that the earth is flat because Scripture states that the earth has “four corners”.  No, of course not.

But I still believe that the earth has four corners!  I believe it because God says so.

God says that Christ is really present in the Eucharist and I believe it, even though science would say that my belief defies logic, reason, and the laws of physics.

I believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharist without having to go further, as our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters do, and give a theological explanation on exactly how God does that (transubstantiation).

God says he created the world in six days.  I believe it.

God says Jonah was in the belly of a great fish.  I believe it.

God says the Israelites walked across the dry sea bed of the Red Sea.  I believe it.

God says that a virgin was impregnated by a Spirit.  I believe it.

But just because I believe in all these supernatural events doesn’t mean that I shut my mind to science and scientific evidence.

What it means is that I believe both!  I believe both the Bible and science even if saying that I believe both makes no sense to non-Christians.

I’m not going to try and stop the teaching of evolution in my child’s public school.  I want him to learn science and learn to distinguish between scientific fact and scientific theory.  I don’t want the public school teaching Creationism, because in my reading of the Bible, it is not the mission of Christians to impose their faith-based beliefs on secular society. 

My children will be taught the theory of evolution AND they will be taught that somehow, someway, God created the universe in six days just as He says in the Bible.  They will be taught that man was created in the image of God and that he is not an evolutionary descendant of apes.  Could God have used some ape DNA to make man?  Sure!  Alot of things are possible, but the concept that all of creation developed from thin air in a "Big Bang", devoid of God, is not. 

Bottom line:  Believe God and scientific fact.  Study and learn scientific theories. 

My position makes no sense, but Lutherans should have no problem in believing in paradoxical, seemingly contradictory positions.

Lutheranism is full of paradoxes!  Why should the doctrine of Creation be treated any differently?