Is it true that no matter what we do, as long as we have said the Sinner’s Prayer, we will go to heaven because of what Jesus did for us?

Sincerely,
Praying It’s True

Dear Praying It’s True,

The sinner’s prayer is not how people become saved.  If we want to know what it takes to be saved, we should see what people in the Bible did to become saved.  The Bible outlines five separate requirements for salvation, and all of them are necessary.

1. Hear the Word. Faith comes through hearing, and hearing comes through the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Until someone hears God’s Word, they are incapable of obeying it.
2. Believe the Word. It is impossible for someone to become a christian unless they believe that Jesus is the Savior and Son of God (Jhn 20:31, Acts 16:31, Jhn 3:16).
3. Repent of your sins. ‘Repent’ means to ‘change your mind’. That change of mind always involves a change of action as well. Repentance is when we change our mind about what is important and submit ourselves to Jesus and His Word. Repentance is a necessity of salvation (Mk 6:12, Lk 13:5, Lk 15:7).
4. Confess Jesus to others. If we have sworn our allegiance to Jesus, we must be prepared to publicly confess Him as our Lord. If we won’t confess Jesus before men, He won’t confess us before God (Matt 10:32-33, Lk 12:8-9).
5. Be baptized in the name of Jesus for salvation. Many groups baptize people, but very few baptize people for the right reasons. Baptism isn’t merely an “outward showing of an inward faith” or “for membership”. Baptism is what saves us (1 Pet 3:21). Baptism is the point where someone goes from being lost to saved because they are buried and resurrected with Christ (Rom 6:4-5). Baptism is the final requirement to become a christian (Acts 2:37-38, Mk 16:16, Acts 2:41). There is not a single example of someone becoming a christian without baptism. Baptism is just as necessary as the other four requirements.

If we want to have total confidence that we are saved, we must do everything the Bible says to receive salvation (Ps 119:160).  Prayer is a wonderful thing to do, but it isn’t a part of the conversion process.

Since the time I was baptized decades ago, I have attended worship as regularly as I could, and the assemblies of the saints are extremely important to me and my wife.  I have preached the gospel full-time for about nine years and have preached and taught as much as opportunity has been afforded to me for the past twenty-plus years.  Although I desire to do more for the Lord, obtaining support for preaching is very difficult, and, just like any other christian, my family and I need to make a living. Recently, after almost fifteen years with my current employer, my work schedule has been changed, and I am no longer able to get the Lord's day mornings off.  Some assert that they would not continue in a job which requires them to work on the Lord's day, and others imply that, "If one has faith, God will take care of him."  What does the Bible say about working on the Lord's day?  Also, what does the Bible say about the idea that if one is really a faithful christian, he or she will be at every service?

Believe me when I say there is no place I would rather be than at worship with the church, lending encouragement and gaining strength through God's Word.  I believe that an examination of this topic would be helpful.

Sincerely,
Hard At Work

Dear Hard At Work,

We really appreciate your attitude and desire to do what is right.  This is an issue that thousands of, if not all, saints struggle with.  When is it appropriate to miss services? To answer your question, we need to look at two verses: Rev 1:10 and Heb 10:25.

As you probably know, two services on Sunday is merely an expediency.  Nowhere in the Scripture are the saints required to meet twice on Sunday – however, there is a reason that most congregations have multiple services.  The reason our group has a morning and an evening worship is because Sunday is called "the Lord's day".  That term is found in Rev 1:10 and is almost universally agreed by commentators to refer to Sunday because that is the day that the Lord arose from the grave, and it is the day that God commanded His saints to commemorate Christ's death (Acts 20:7).  What is Sunday to a christian?  It is a day given to the Lord.  It doesn't say "The Lord's half-hour" or "The Lord's morning" – it says "The Lord's day".  There is a principle there.  God intends for us to mentally set that day aside for spiritual things.  Unlike the Jewish Sabbath, christians aren't prohibited from working on Sundays or doing other things, but we still have a principle of devoting that day as a day for spiritual things.  After all, the Old Testament Sabbath existed for the spiritual needs of men (Mk 2:27), and it isn't like those spiritual needs have gone away just because we aren't Jewish.  Once again, for clarification, Sunday isn't a new Sabbath, but we can take some principles from Old Testament examples (1 Cor 10:6).  It isn't wrong for a christian to work on Sunday, but it also isn't right for a christian to disregard the Bible design of Sunday as the Lord's day.

The other primary verse to consider is Heb 10:25.  We are commanded to "not forsake the assembly".  The word 'forsake' means 'to desert, abandon, or leave behind'.  This verse is sometimes misused to say that if you miss even a single class or service, you are sinning – that isn't the case.  Forsaking something is more than just a single absence; it is an attitude of desertion.  Heb 10:25 says that those who had forsaken the church assembly had made a custom out of it – it was their habit.  When our priorities change and the church is no longer important to us and the Lord's day is no longer a priority, then we have forsaken the assembly.  To forsake the assembly requires a devaluation of worship in our lives and in our hearts.  This is what makes your question so tricky.  Your work schedule has certainly altered your attendance, but you also honestly contend that it hasn't changed your desire to be there with the brethren.  This is a legitimate point, and it is unfair for someone to judge your heart's intent based off of your current work schedule issues without factoring in your decades of devotion.  On the other side of the coin, what we do consistently is a window into our hearts.  We are known by the fruit we bear (Matt 7:16).  If a brother begins to scale back his attendance, it will legitimately raise eyebrows on caring brethren because attendance decline is a consistent indication that someone is having spiritual problems.  People have a zillion different reasons (sickness, travel, family emergencies, work, car trouble, etc.) for missing services... sometimes those excuses are sincere, and sometimes they are a cover up for dodging our responsibilities to the Lord.  Not everyone that misses a service is spiritually weak, but spiritually weak people miss services.  We believe your intentions and desires are wholesome, but you have to admit that you are the exception to the trend.

In short, every christian needs to examine themselves (2 Cor 13:5) in those two areas.  Do we treat Sunday like the Lord's day?  Does our attitude and behavior clearly reflect that the church assembly is central to our lives?  Answer those questions with fear and trembling (Php 2:12), and you will have the answer to the question you sent us.

Should people be getting up in front of the congregation and giving testimonies in the Lord’s church today?

Sincerely,
Speaking Up

Dear Speaking Up,

We are given a couple of requirements regarding speaking in the church assembly.  Any testimony that someone gives of how Christ had helped them, how they had been converted, etc., must fit within the biblical guidelines for the church assembly.

One guideline is that women are not supposed to be speaking or in leadership positions during worship (1 Cor 14:34).  Therefore, any woman that has a testimony to give about her life wouldn't be able to do it in that setting.

Another guideline is that everything should be done decently and in order (1 Cor 14:40).  Many of the churches that have people give testimonials do so in a chaotic fashion with people jumping up to speak or yelling out during services... this is wholly inappropriate.  A congregation is required to be thoughtful and prepared with how the worship service is run.

These two guidelines alone clarify things.  If a man had a worthwhile teaching to give or biblical message to present, and it was prepared and presented in a way that was proper and decently in order, it would be permissible.  Realistically, very few of the churches in the religious world that use the "testimonial system" do that.

How many false prophets does the Bible mention?

Sincerely,
Counting The Corrupt

Dear Counting The Corrupt,

The Bible doesn’t mention a specific number of false prophets – it just says that there are many (Matt 24:11).  The world is fraught with false prophets who seek to use the Bible for their own gain and lead people astray.  This is why John warns us to test all teachers and compare what they say to the Bible (1 Jn 4:1).  Sadly, most of mankind is either duped by these false teachers or frustrated.  Even within the Lord’s church, false teachers and sin cause people’s love to grow cold (Matt 24:12).  False prophets are innumerable, and the way of truth is spoken against because of them (2 Pet 2:1-2).  It is an uphill battle, but if christians continue to refer people to the Bible instead of their own wisdom, God’s Word will be glorified.

Where we worship, there are a great number of people in need of healthcare.  It seems every time the announcements are made, we mention several who have missed because they are sick or in the hospital.  Where does the burden of responsibility lie for a church meeting the needs of its sick?  Considering the purpose of the church includes assembling, where do we stop in our efforts to help people assemble?

Sincerely,
Support Staff

Dear Support Staff,

Technically, it isn’t the job of the church to make sure people get to church services; it is the church’s job to make sure services happen.  That distinction can be seen in Heb 10:24-25 because individuals were rebuked for forsaking the assembly.  It is the individual’s responsibility to make it to services, not the church’s job to drag them there.

Having said that, we shouldn’t be cold-hearted toward people’s needs.  If there is a way for others to “do good to the household of faith” (Gal 6:10) by providing rides, that is more than appropriate and a great example of christian hospitality (1 Pet 4:9).  But once again, we are talking about individuals helping other individuals.

The church is told to assemble on the first day of the week as a minimum (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  That is the sum total of God’s command for the collective local body – it is very generic.  Within that generic command, a congregation can decide where, when, etc. based upon what is expedient and useful.  The specifics are left up to the local church to decide using wisdom (Pr 4:7).  The church has to factor in the needs of every member (ailing and healthy) when deciding when to meet.  It isn’t about meeting the needs of one particular group of people; it is about trying to balance everyone’s needs.  That looks different in each congregation because each congregation is made out of a unique collection of people.