Question: "Mr. McLemore, Isn’t Luke 18:13 an example of being saved by just praying ‘the sinner’s prayer?’"

Answer: No. The issue involved is the status of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14) as compared to people today. Jesus came to the Jews as the covenant people of God. His work, as well as that of John the Baptizer, was to lead the covenant people to repent and to acknowledge the reign of God (i.e., enter the kingdom) which Jesus came to bring into reality. After the kingdom became reality (Acts 2:32-36), and after Jesus had established the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13), the failure of the Jews to acknowledge and enter the kingdom meant that they ceased to be God’s people (Romans 9-11) through their unbelief. The two men in the story were already God’s people, but their attitudes (reflected by their respective prayers) marked the distinction between being right with God and not being right with God as his covenant people. The gospel preached on Pentecost (Acts 2:24-41) shows how to become God’s people today, and the story of the Pharisee and the publican teaches God’s people about humility.