Perry B. Cotham
Prayer is not in the Great Commission, the law of pardon as announced by the risen Christ, and no example of prayer for pardon was recorded in Acts of the Apostles. We then conclude that prayer is not a command given for salvation from sins. It is an addition by man and many souls are being led astray by this doctrine. Many are also being kept from learning and obeying the truth by a prayer system of salvation.
For What Should An Alien Pray?
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For God to love him? No, for God loves him now and has shown His love (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10).
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For light or understanding? No, for the word of God gives light, and the sinner has God’s word (Psa. 119:105, 130). Hence, read and understand.
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For the Holy Spirit? No. The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles to guide them into all truth. Christ never promised the Holy Spirit to anyone save the apostles (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13).
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For Christ to come to him? No, because the sinner is invited to come to Christ (Matt. 11:28-30). If the sinner fails to come he will not be saved (John 5:40).
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For mercy? No, for God has already extended his mercy to man (Ex. 34:6-7).
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For God to be willing to save him? No, for God is willing to save him now (1 Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9; Ezek. 18:23, 32). Yes, God is now anxious to save!
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For converting or saving power? No. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16; Psa. 19:7).
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For God to be reconciled to him? No. The sinner must be reconciled unto God (2 Cor. 5:18-20). This is done by obeying the truth.
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To get religion? No. Religion is something to do not get (Jas. 1:27).
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For saving grace? No. God’s grace that saves has already come (Tit. 2:11-12).
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For pardon? No. The sinner must turn to God in order to be pardoned (Isa. 55:6-7). God is “ready to pardon” (Neh. 9:17). Is the sinner ready to turn to God?
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For salvation? No. The sinner must comply with the terms of pardon before he can enjoy salvation (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 11:14; 22:16).
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For faith? No, for faith comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17).
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For repentance? No, for repentance is a command of God for man to obey (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3; Rev. 22:14).
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For a pure heart? No, for the heart is made pure by obedience to the truth (1 Pet. 1:22).
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For freedom from sin? No, for this comes by obedience (Rom. 6:17-18).
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For God to accept him? No, for man must work righteousness (obey) to be accepted (Acts 10:34). When he does this he is accepted.
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For remission of sins? No, for man must obey the Lord for remission of sins (Acts 2:38).
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For the Lord to make known his will to him? No. The Lord has already made known His will to all sinners (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).
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For the baptism of fire? No, No!! That will come later—too soon for some, I fear—upon the wicked and disobedient at the end of the world (2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 19:20; 20:14-15; 21:8).
Then why should an alien sinner pray at all? Where does the Bible teach a sinner to “pray it out with the Lord,” or “stay on your knees in prayer until God saves you”?
The sinner must hear the gospel, believe, repent and, upon confession of his faith in Christ, be baptized in order to be saved. This is the Lord’s way. Why change it?
To teach the mourners-bench system of salvation, instead of what the Lord has said, is to lead souls astray. What a terrible thing! Millions are being led into eternal damnation by this false doctrine. Better be careful (Matt. 15:14). It takes obedience—not prayer—to save (Luke 6:46). If one will not obey, God will not hear his prayer. God does not hear a sinner’s prayer (John 9:31; Prov. 28:9; Psa. 34:15). Prayer belongs to the child of God, not to an alien. And the saved cannot pray to God to save the sinner independent of the sinner’s obedience to the gospel.
I pray for sinners—that God may spare their lives until they have obeyed the gospel, that the sinner may obey the truth. This is the way Paul prayed for sinners (Rom. 10:1-3). Prayer must be asked according to God’s will, and I cannot ask God to save a sinner while the sinner is in disobedience to the Lord’s law of pardon (1 John 5:14). God will not set aside His law to save a sinner, even though I pray for his salvation. The sinner must obey the Lord’s law of forgiveness.
The rich man “in hell” (Luke 16:19-31) begged for mercy. It was denied him. Then he asked that a miracle be performed—that God would send Lazarus back to the world to warn his brothers not to come to that terrible place. This is the only time I ever read of anyone in all the Bible asking God to perform a miracle to save someone. Was this prayer answered? No. The reply from Abraham was, “They have Moses and the prophets [the Old testament Scriptures]; let them [your brothers] hear them [Moses and the prophets]” (Luke 19:29).
Today we have Moses and the prophets and, in addition, Christ and the apostles. If one refuses to hear what the Bible says, if he fails to obey the teaching as found in the book, he will die and be eternally lost. The sinner must in humble, submissive faith obey the Lord and be saved.
