Articles
Cornelius' Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This version of what is sometimes called the “Sinner’s Prayer” has been copied verbatim from a very popular and influential book, but we do not have to look far and wide to see it everywhere. Indeed, most evangelical Protestant churches teach if one sincerely prays these words he will be saved. The purpose of this article is not to discuss all the arguments put forth in favor this doctrine nor to study the Scriptures often quoted in its support. Rather, it is to focus on one example of conversion found in Acts. The question is this: what did Cornelius’ prayer have to do with his salvation in Christ?
It is clear that Cornelius was a praying man (Acts 10:2); in fact he was praying the very moment he saw a vision of an angel speaking to him (Acts 10:3, 30). We can safely conclude that his prayers were genuine and sincere, since he was a “devout man, one who feared God with all his household” (Acts 10:2). Furthermore, there is no doubt that God not only heard but answered Cornelius’ prayers, for the angel told him explicitly, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4; also v. 31). Certainly, his prayer had something to do with his salvation, but not in the same way folks think of the Sinner’s Prayer.
Of course, it must be readily admitted that Cornelius could not have prayed the prayer printed above because he did not know of salvation in Christ until Peter preached the gospel to him and his family, though they all had heard of Jesus (Acts 10:37-38). Instead, Cornelius’ prayer was of a different nature. We do not know precisely what he said, but from the inspired description of his character and the divine response to his prayers we can surmise that he was seeking to know and do God’s will the best he knew how. He was humbly “asking, seeking, knocking,” and, just as Jesus promised, God answered (Matt. 7:7). What is important to note is the answer given: the angel does not tell him his sins are forgiven, but that he should send for Peter who would “speak words to you by which you will be saved” (Acts 11:13-14). Clearly, Cornelius’ prayer did not save him; he was lost until he heard and obeyed the gospel (Acts 10:44-48). The fact that he obeyed immediately demonstrated that the spirit of his prayer was not “save me as I am, on my terms” but “show me Your will, and I will do it.”
If we understand water baptism in Jesus’ name to be for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), then we conclude that Cornelius was not saved until he was baptized in Acts 10:48. Certainly, he and his family believed what they heard from Peter (Acts 11:17), and the appropriate response is clearly stated. Peter “ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:48). Nowhere here—in fact, nowhere in the whole New Testament—is it taught that a person saved merely because he prayed. Conversion is not a matter of “praying through” or “having a powerful experience” but doing what God says do.
J.W. McGarvey commented on the story of Cornelius in his commentary many years ago, and his thoughts are quite fitting even today: Let any man come before the Church with such an experience as his [Cornelius’], saying, “I have been for many years a devout man, worshipping God as well as I knew how, giving alms to the poor, praying continually, and teaching all my family the fear of God. Yesterday afternoon, at 3:00, I was praying, according to my custom, when suddenly a holy angel stood before me, and said, ‘Thy prayers and thine alms have come up for a memorial before God.’” Who would dare doubt that he was “powerfully converted,” or dare insinuate that there was anything else necessary in the case? He would receive the right-hand of fellowship at once. Yet, so different was the apostolic procedure, that the man was now only prepared to hear words by which he might be saved. How long will religious men allow their inventions and traditions to nullify the word of God?
Do not rely on what men say you need to do to be saved—rely on what God says. Your soul is too precious. You may pray for God to save you, and He will point you to the gospel of Jesus just as He did with Cornelius. Then it is your choice to heed and obey what you hear. Only then can you be saved.
