A New Take on an Old Prayer

David Gushee has an interesting take on the sinner's prayer in the online edition of Christianity Today. Here is what I had to say in response to his article:

"Radical trust calls for both belief and action." Gushee is right. If you take a look at the Greek word we generally translate "believe," you discover that it has three facets. Certainly belief, but also trust and response. In order to have a true biblical faith, I must believe - that is my head, I must trust - that is my heart, and I must respond - feet and hands. Therein lies the rub. For centuries, Christians have fussed over the question, "What is the appropriate response?" To be sure, the sinner's prayer is a response. But is it the most biblically correct response? I can't find it anywhere in the NT. So what is the biblical response? It is any number of actions - all of which can be found in connection with the Greek word(s) for salvation: repentance, confession, baptism, sanctification, and perseverance. The blood of Christ bought our freedom; we cannot earn forgiveness. But clearly there are actions we need to take to appropriate that for which Christ died.