Kids can be pretty demanding at times. I suppose that's true of all people when you think about it but lately I've been much more aware of it with my five year old daughter and one year old son. My son Ian, who isn't exactly "fluent" with his English just yet, tends to communicate that he wants something through a series of grunts, screams, whines and generally irritating noises. If he doesn't get what he wants he then proceeds to scream like a witch being boiled and often begins head-butting something, usually my wife's face. So he may not be socially ready to attend a black tie dinner party just yet but fits in great with the NASCAR and WWE crowd.
My daughter, on the other hand, has a working grasp of the English language and so we have higher expectations for her when communicating. Our current efforts are in getting her to say "please" and "thank you," words that are often referred to as "the magic words." I'm not a big fan of the "magic words" analogy really. I think it presents the user with a false sense of inevitability when they're used. They aren't really magic at all. It's simply polite and respectful to use them. And just like using them doesn't guarantee that we'll get what we want, not using them doesn't necessarily disqualify our request either. Sometimes we can ask someone for assistance or a favor, not say "please," and low and behold, they still help us.
I think sometimes we treat God and Christianity like this. Not long ago I was talking to a friend who is also a Christian about another mutual friend. I was explaining to him that our other friend had recently started attending church and began asking me questions about what it means to be baptized. He then asked me if our friend had become a Christian to which I said, "It sounds like it to me." Then he asked, "Did she say the prayer?" "What prayer?" I asked. "You know, the sinners prayer. The prayer to become a Christian."
It seems my friend believed that in order to become a Christian you have to recite a prayer that contained certain elements. It's a typical Christianese formula really, "I'm a sinner, Jesus died for my sins, Jesus is my savior, forgive my sins, yadda yadda yadda, amen." Bingo, you're a Christian now. I once went to one of the big stadium crusades where the speaker gives and invitation to come down and become a Christian at the end. This one actually said, "If you come down on this field and pray this prayer, I guarantee you'll go to heaven when you die." Huh? Really? That's all I have to do?
I am perplexed that Western Christianity has promoted the idea that there are "magic words" we can say to go to heaven. If we just use this secret ancient Christian incantation, God will have no choice but to let us in. It's really ridiculous. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we have to recite a certain prayer, or say certain things to be "in." You will not find a single passage where Paul, Peter, John, Jude, or even Jesus, indicates the necessity of "magic words" to become a follower of Jesus. The closest thing you will find is Romans 10:9 which says:
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (NIV)
Some may think that this passage makes it clear that you must "confess" out loud that Jesus is Lord. This poses a real problem for people who are born mute or who are unable to speak for their "death-bed confession." Plus, have you noticed the complete absence of asking for forgiveness in this verse? The idea behind this verse is your heart. What Paul was getting at here is that if you "believe in your heart" then you won't be able to help but to "confess with your mouth." I'm afraid there are no "magic words" or there is no special prayer that you must say to become a Christian. It is simply a belief that starts in your heart and begins to pour out of you from there.
Please don't mistake what I'm saying here. Confessing that we are flawed sinners, acknowledging that Jesus died for us, and committing our lives to Him are all very good things. I am not disparaging the practice of the "sinner's prayer" in any way. I had said it myself and have led others in it. I am, however, taking issue with the idea that it MUST be done or God can't and won't accept us as Christians. That is certainly a very narrow view of a very big God.
My daughter, on the other hand, has a working grasp of the English language and so we have higher expectations for her when communicating. Our current efforts are in getting her to say "please" and "thank you," words that are often referred to as "the magic words." I'm not a big fan of the "magic words" analogy really. I think it presents the user with a false sense of inevitability when they're used. They aren't really magic at all. It's simply polite and respectful to use them. And just like using them doesn't guarantee that we'll get what we want, not using them doesn't necessarily disqualify our request either. Sometimes we can ask someone for assistance or a favor, not say "please," and low and behold, they still help us.
I think sometimes we treat God and Christianity like this. Not long ago I was talking to a friend who is also a Christian about another mutual friend. I was explaining to him that our other friend had recently started attending church and began asking me questions about what it means to be baptized. He then asked me if our friend had become a Christian to which I said, "It sounds like it to me." Then he asked, "Did she say the prayer?" "What prayer?" I asked. "You know, the sinners prayer. The prayer to become a Christian."
It seems my friend believed that in order to become a Christian you have to recite a prayer that contained certain elements. It's a typical Christianese formula really, "I'm a sinner, Jesus died for my sins, Jesus is my savior, forgive my sins, yadda yadda yadda, amen." Bingo, you're a Christian now. I once went to one of the big stadium crusades where the speaker gives and invitation to come down and become a Christian at the end. This one actually said, "If you come down on this field and pray this prayer, I guarantee you'll go to heaven when you die." Huh? Really? That's all I have to do?
I am perplexed that Western Christianity has promoted the idea that there are "magic words" we can say to go to heaven. If we just use this secret ancient Christian incantation, God will have no choice but to let us in. It's really ridiculous. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we have to recite a certain prayer, or say certain things to be "in." You will not find a single passage where Paul, Peter, John, Jude, or even Jesus, indicates the necessity of "magic words" to become a follower of Jesus. The closest thing you will find is Romans 10:9 which says:
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (NIV)
Some may think that this passage makes it clear that you must "confess" out loud that Jesus is Lord. This poses a real problem for people who are born mute or who are unable to speak for their "death-bed confession." Plus, have you noticed the complete absence of asking for forgiveness in this verse? The idea behind this verse is your heart. What Paul was getting at here is that if you "believe in your heart" then you won't be able to help but to "confess with your mouth." I'm afraid there are no "magic words" or there is no special prayer that you must say to become a Christian. It is simply a belief that starts in your heart and begins to pour out of you from there.
Please don't mistake what I'm saying here. Confessing that we are flawed sinners, acknowledging that Jesus died for us, and committing our lives to Him are all very good things. I am not disparaging the practice of the "sinner's prayer" in any way. I had said it myself and have led others in it. I am, however, taking issue with the idea that it MUST be done or God can't and won't accept us as Christians. That is certainly a very narrow view of a very big God.
Even if "magic words" are magic they are still only words. Of the thousands of people who walked down on that field at the stadium crusade I mentioned, I wonder how many are still "believing in their hearts" what they once "confessed with their mouth." Confession is a beautiful thing. It helps us to deal with the pain of life and our own shortcomings. But without the "believing" that must precede it, confession is just words. And there's nothing very magical about that.
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