ZEAL AND KNOWLEDGE
Paul admired the zeal that the Jewish people possessed (Romans 10:2). Looking at his own life, his zeal led him to persecute the church of Christ (Philippians 3:6). The zeal, however, lacked a key ingredient. That key ingredient according to the passage in Romans was "knowledge". If they had come to proper knowledge then they would have ceased rejecting Jesus as the Son of God. They were ignorant of God's way of doing things and thereby set out to establish their own way (Romans 10:3).
The other day I came across a tract that someone had left in a store. I picked it up and read through it very quickly. I did not want to put it back because of the error it contained. Those who publish these kinds of tracts and those who leave them in doctor's offices, restaurants, stores and so forth, are people of unquestioned zeal. As with the Jews which Paul cited in Romans, their zeal is not tempered with knowledge. This tract was similar to others, which I had read. It speaks about what a person must do in order to be saved.
This tract closed by telling the reader to make this prayer. Here then is the sinner who is outside of Christ. He needs to be saved. How does he go about being saved? He has to pray. Would it not be a good thing to ascertain about knowledge at this point? Knowledge must come from the Word of God otherwise it is not in faith (Romans 10:17). In searching the Scriptures there is not one case where anyone became a Christian through prayer, not a single case. You do not find any teacher who instructed the person outside of Christ to pray for salvation. If we cannot find it in Scriptures, then where would the knowledge come from to promote such an idea?
The prayer continues by telling the sinner to acknowledge that he is sorry for his sins and to trust the Lord Jesus to save him. Again, through knowledge of the Scriptures, it is godly sorrow which works or causes repentance (II Corinthians 7:10). In the same verse we have the expression, "sorrow of the world." Godly sorrow leads to change while sorrow of the world is filled with regret but does not bring about change. Paul speaks about trusting Christ. In his letter to the brethren at Ephesus, he relates that they trusted in Christ AFTER they had received the word of truth, that is the gospel of their salvation (Ephesians 1:13). If one does not receive the word of truth, they cannot trust Christ.
The Jews on Pentecost gladly received the word (Acts 2:41). When they gladly received the word, they were baptized. There is only one gospel. The gospel in Jerusalem was gladly received and individuals were baptized. The brethren in Ephesus trusted Christ after they received the word of truth. Would it not follow then that they were baptized as were the ones in Jerusalem in Acts 2? Yet here is this tract that speaks about being sorry for your sins and trusting Christ to save you.
The reader, then, of this tract is to take Jesus as his Lord and Savior, whereupon he is saved. This raises an interesting point. Jesus asked this question, "Why do you call me Lord and yet will not do what I tell you to do?" (Luke 6:46). If one can claim that Jesus is his Lord, the only basis for such a claim is obedience to the Lord?s commands. How, then, can Jesus be your Lord if you refuse to do what He commands? Jesus gave this as part of the gospel message to be taken into all the world. When the gospel is preached, and the person believes it and is baptized, they then can be saved (Mark 16:15,16). Of course if they do not believe then they will not be baptized.
The person then concludes his prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. The words, "in the name of Jesus Christ" means by His authority. Paul encouraged Christians to do all things (words and deeds) by the authority of Christ (Colossians 3:17). Our individual responsibility to God is described as "sanctifying the Lord God in our hearts" (I Peter 3:15). Once Christ is enthroned within, we are to be able to answer anyone who asks us about our hope.
If no one became a Christian through prayer, you have no answer to justify this tract and the doctrine it espouses. I do not question the zeal (or sincerity) but I do question the knowledge; without which there can be no faith.