Pastor Brad Strand Exposes Lordship Salvation

Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

One of my favorite Bible teachers is Pastor Brad Strand. I was delighted last year to learn that Brother Strand authored a helpful study Bible. The project was his heart's passion for 33 years, in which time he invested over 30,000 hours of labor to write this masterpiece. I was glad to learn that he faithfully contends for the Christian faith, exposing the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Pastor Strand writes concerning Romans 10:9 on pages 1858 and 1859:

Sadly, some “Lordship Salvation” advocates will use this verse to prove their point that JESUS must become your “Lord” before you can be saved. They claim that unbelievers must count the cost of discipleship and decide if they are willing to pay the price in order to obtain eternal life. One such advocate has written a book in which he gives the following answer to the question “What [is] the minimum amount of doctrine or belief a person [has] to have to be a Christian?” He notes:

The minimum amount a person must believe to be a Christian is everything, and the minimum amount a person must give is all. I say, “You must give it all. You cannot hold back even a fraction of a percentage of yourself. Every sin must be abandoned. Every false thought must be repudiated. You must be the Lord's entirely.” —SOURCE: Montgomery Boice, James. Christ's Call to Discipleship. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1986. Print.

What this man is advocating is that a person cannot be saved until he makes Jesus the “Lord” of his life. However, this verse is not teaching us that we must make Jesus our Lord in order to be saved; it is teaching us that Jesus is “Lord” and if we are to be saved, we must accept the fact that He was God in flesh on earth (Jn 5:17-18 & 10:30-33). Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:23-24, “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins (i.e., go to Hell): for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” Jesus said that salvation is based on two things (Mt 3:2):

1. Who we are (Lk 5:31-32 & 13:1-5 and Mt 27:3) — God tells us that we are “sinfully” sick and in need of the Savior and that we cannot save ourselves (Rom 3:10, 23).
2. Who Christ is (Mt 4:13-17 & 11:20-24, Mk 1:15, Acts 3:12-19 and Acts 2:38a) — Christ is God (Lord — Jon 8:24, 58-59), not a god. Christ is the only Savior (Acts 4:10-12).

Lordship Salvation doctrine hinders unbelievers from being saved because it presents them with a distorted view of the Gospel of God's grace. 

SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, 'The Strand Study Bible,' pp. 1858-1859; ©2009, Rood Scholar Press

Bravo to Pastor Strand. The Devil's a liar and the father of all liars (John 8:44). It may seem like a trifle matter to most churchgoers today to embellish the Gospel. Literally, you can attend a dozen different Bible colleges or churches and you'll hear multiple different plans of salvation. But we know from the inspired King James Bible that there is only one Gospel. Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” So how in the world did we end up with nearly every church today preaching something different than what the inspired Holy Bible teaches?

I think the answer is simply that 99% of churchgoers have always blindly followed whatever their pastor tells them, instead of doing as the Bereans did in the Bible, whom the Apostle Paul said, “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” The Bereans didn't just take it for granted that they were being told the truth, they went to verify from the inspired Word of God whether those things were so. If people would simply study the Bible they would quickly find that Lordship Salvation is a fallacy, a counterfeit plan of salvation.

God wrote the Gospel of John as His Gospel tract. The word “believe” is found 85 times in the Gospel of John. In the book of John we don't find anything about making Jesus our “Lord” to get to Heaven. Pastor Curtis Hutson wisely said: A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. Advocates of Lordship Salvation often cite obscure passages of Scripture, wresting the Bible to their own destruction. Yet, they totally ignore the Gospel of John, which according to John 20:31 was written to show us how to get to Heaven, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

Why Make It Harder For People To Be Saved?

Acts 2:38-42, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

Something that has bothered me for many years is when pastors at the end of a church service don't tell the audience how to be saved in their pew. Usually they'll require lost sinners to walk an aisle to the front of the church, or talk to somebody in the back after the service, et cetera. It is not my place to criticize or tell a pastor how to run his church, but I have a right to my humble opinion.

When I attended the 2021 convocation service at PCC, Pastor Kurt Skelly was the guest speaker from Virginia. To my horror, at the end of his sermon he told the unsaved sinners in the audience of over 10,000 people to walk down the aisles to the front of the building, if they wanted to learn how to get to Heaven. I wrote an article about the tragedy. At the convocation there were parents, uncles and aunts, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and all sorts of family members present with their loved who was enrolling at PCC as a student. What a grand opportunity to share the saving Gospel with several thousand people. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but Pastor Kurt Skelly blew it royally! He failed to tell anyone how to be saved. I have no doubt whatsoever that hundreds of people who could have been saved that night at Campus Church, will now go to Hell because Mr. Skelly refused to share the Gospel.

 

Dear reader, it takes only 60 seconds to share the Gospel with a lost person. If you come to God as an admitted sinner, and you by faith receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried but then three days later physically resurrected from the dead, you are instantly and forever saved. It is that simple to be saved.

So why do 99% of preachers require people to walk down a church aisle, or go find and talk to someone after the church service, to learn how to be saved? What if that person chickens out? What if they don't feel comfortable and change their mind, walking out the door without talking to anyone about salvation? What if they don't feel well physically, or they don't feel comfortable walking an aisle to be made a spectacle of in front of the church? Sadly, we make it too hard for people to get to Heaven. We really do.

In God's simple plan of salvation, where is no extra requirement to walk down an aisle to get to Heaven. There is no extra requirement to go find and talk to someone after the church service. God knows that my goal in writing this blog is not to be unkind or offend anyone, God forbid. I am just trying to be a blessing, to be helpful. I want more people to get saved. No doubt many people do go along with walking down an aisle, or talking to a soulwinners after the church service, but I wonder how many of those lost sinner didn't. How many just left and walked out the door never to return again, and went to Hell?

It is my sincere conviction that a preacher should ALWAYS tell his audience how to be saved right from their pew, without putting pressure on that individual to speak with someone, or pressure them to walk down an aisle to be made a spectacle of in front of the church. I am a shy person by nature. I love to play musical instruments, but I am shy to get up in front of people because of social anxiety. It took me a long time to gain the courage to play my Hawaiian steel guitar in front of people at the beach on Guam. But once I did it, I enjoyed doing it and became relaxed.

When someone raises their hand in an invitation that they want to be saved, I humbly think a preacher should tell them how to be saved in their seat, without pressuring them to walk an aisle or go talk to a stranger, which can be very intimidating for someone. No doubt some people will disagree with me, and I respect your right to disagree. I just think we should make it as easy as possible for lost sinners to get to Heaven. The fear of walking down a church aisle and being confronted can be next to impossible for some people to overcome.

What The Gospel Is Not

1st Corinthians 9:16, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”

The Apostle Paul could not take any credit for preaching the Gospel of Christ. His duty as a minister of Christ was to faithfully share the Gospel with lost sinners.

As a child of God, it is God the Father’s will that all His children be ambassadors for Christ. 2nd Corinthians 5:20, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

As a child of Light, we represent the Lord in a foreign land. We have been solemnly entrusted with the Gospel of Christ as saints. 1st Thessalonians 2:4, “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.”

Every Christian is commanded to share the glorious Gospel of Christ; but if not, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!” (1st Corinthians 9:16b).

What is NOT the Gospel?
To understand the “Gospel,” one needs to understand what is “NOT the Gospel.” This is a list of what is NOT the Gospel. None of these bulleted items listed below will save you. NEVER!

1. The Gospel is NOT going to the confessional and confessing your sins.
2. The Gospel is NOT saying a “sinner’s prayer.”
3. The Gospel is NOT asking Jesus into your heart.
4. The Gospel is NOT surrendering your life to Jesus.
5. The Gospel is NOT “stop sinning.”
6. The Gospel is NOT feeling sorry for your sin.
7. The Gospel is NOT turning from your sin.
8. The Gospel is NOT walking to the front of the church and giving your life to Jesus.
9. The Gospel is NOT getting water baptized (infants or adults).
10. The Gospel is NOT being a part of a certain church organization or religion.
11. The Gospel is NOT giving money and buying your way into Heaven.
12. The Gospel is NOT making Jesus “King and Lord” of your life.
13. The Gospel is NOT following the Ten Commandments.
14. The Gospel is NOT trying to “outweigh the good over the bad” in one’s life.
15. The Gospel is NOT “just believe in God” or a “higher power.”
16. The Gospel is NOT submitting oneself to Jesus.
17. The Gospel is NOT getting confirmed or going through confirmation.
18. The Gospel is NOT partaking in communion.
19. The Gospel is NOT praying to Mary and other idols.
20. The Gospel is NOT praying to Allah, Buddha, or any other false gods.
21. The Gospel is NOT faith plus works.
22. The Gospel is NOT trusting and serving Jesus (mixing faith plus works).

Maybe you thought one of those items listed above was part of the Gospel, but you have just seen for yourself what is “NOT the Gospel.” The Bible is very clear what the Gospel is and it is the glorious Gospel that saves.

The Gospel is NOT the life of Christ. The GOSPEL is Jesus Christ’s death payment for sin, burial and resurrection. 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” [emphasis added]

As a child of God you have a choice:

1. Share the Gospel, support the Gospel, attend a Gospel preaching church, pray for the Gospel.
2. Share not the Gospel, support not the Gospel, attend not a Gospel preaching, pray not for the Gospel.

Fight the good fight of “faith” and lay hold of “eternal life.” “Profess” the finished redemptive work of Christ at Calvary with others. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1st Timothy 6:12).

Let us live each day as saints looking for the Blessed Hope, and until Jesus returns share the Gospel with others daily.

THE GOSPEL THAT SAVES
The “Gospel” that “saves” is to “believe” that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for all your sins, was buried, and bodily resurrected from the dead three days later:

1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” [emphasis added]

How is a person saved? The Bible says, “And they said, BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be SAVED, and thy house” (Acts 16:31 KJV). Notice what it does not say. It does not say “turn from sin,” “pick up your cross,” “make Jesus Lord of your life,” “walk an aisle,” “water baptized,” “speak in tongues,” “follow the 10 Commandments,” et cetera. The inspired Holy Bible reads, “BELIEVE” on Jesus Christ and thou shalt be “SAVED.”

If you have never been born-again dear friend, then I invite you right now to do so. Friend, you and I are guilty sinners in the sight of a holy God (Romans 3:10-23). There is a penalty for our sin, which the Bible warns is death (Romans 6:23), including a second death in the everlasting Lake of Fire, Hell (Revelation 21:8). But God in His love sent His only begotten (biological Son), Jesus, into the world to die on a cruel and lonely cross to pay our debt of sin. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

Anyone who acknowledges these facts, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for their sins, believing that He was buried but then raised up three days later from the dead is saved. Simply believe that Jesus did it all for you! Remember, you cannot save yourself! That is why Jesus had to come into the world to die on a cross. Christ died in our place. Many religious people have been tricked by the Devil to think that they can get to Heaven by doing good works. The inspired Word of God teaches that no one can be saved by works, that is, by keeping the law. Galatians 2:21, “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

The true Gospel that saves is the “GOOD NEWS” of Jesus' death, burial and physical resurrection. These THREE elements comprise the Gospel of free grace. Tragically, you'll hear something very different in over 95% of churches today, everything from an additional requirement to “turn from your sins” to water baptism (i.e., the heresy of “Baptismal Regeneration,” or as it is also called in theology, “Sacramental Salvation”). It is sad and very wrong that most churches today have taken the liberty to embellish and in so doing, corrupt “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3b).

The “Faith Will Work” Damnable Heresy

1st Corinthians 3:13-15, “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Our text Scripture passage from 1st Corinthians 3:15 is never mentioned by the proponents of Lordship Salvation. The reason why is obvious, because this Bible verse proves that the worst of believers are still saved. The carnal Christian man in this passage lived such a wasted selfish life, that all his earthly works were consumed by fire, and he received NO REWARDS from God. If Lordship Salvation were true (which it is not), then this man shouldn't even be saved.

Beware of Pastor Chuck Phelps' Counterfeit Gospel

Case in point is Pastor Chuck Phelps of the Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, who made this heretical statement:

“You can't work to have salvation, but if you have salvation it will work!” [emphasis added] —Pastor Charles Phelps, “False Faith” (time - 30:13; November 1, 2009 - Sunday morning)

That is a backdoor forked-tongue false gospel. Dear reader, the Bible teaches that forgiveness of our sins and eternal life are a gift from God (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). There is no requirement to follow through with a lifestyle of obedience, service and commitment to Christ. What Pastor Phelps is preaching is another gospel, not the free grace promised by God by faith alone.

Pastor Phelps at 11:10 time in his heretical sermon says:

“If you're professed faith has not produced CHANGE it's false faith. He's (the Apostle Paul) saying if your confession has not CHANGED YOUR LIFE, it will not result in eternal life. What you say with your lips must be backed-up with your life, or it's false faith!” [emphasis added] —Pastor Charles Phelps, “False Faith” (time - 11:10; November 1, 2009 - Sunday morning)

Dear reader, what you just read is totally unscriptural. Chuck Phelps's accursed plan of salvation is based upon WORKS! If you have to look at your life to prove you are saved, it proves that you are not!!! Salvation is a new birth, not a reward or exchange. Salvation is received, not achieved. Salvation is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition.

A Changed Life Doesn't Prove Anything

God wants you to freely TAKE His free gift of eternal life by faith. God is already offering eternal life to you, so you don't need to ask for it. God is already offering it freely to you. If you will by faith simply take God at His Word, believing what He has recorded in His Written Word, you will be instantly and forever saved. Acts 16:30b-31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” All we must do to be saved is BELIEVE!!! Simply believe that Jesus did it all for you.

"Genuine faith" is NOT proven through our changed life. Our self-righteous “works” can never justify what Jesus Christ has already done on the cross of Calvary. We cannot use our "works" to prove God's gift of salvation, because even unsaved infidels can produce good works. We see this truth confirmed in Matthew 7:21-23. They boasted to Jesus of having done “many wonderful works,” yet Jesus denied knowing them as His sheep and called them workers of iniquity. Their good works didn't prove anything!

Genuine faith is proven when you COMPLETELY trust on the Lord Jesus Christ. We escape spending eternity burning in Hell through faith in Jesus' death on the cross, burial, and bodily resurrection three days later. We are saved if we trust in the Jesus as our all sufficient Redeemer.

Titus 3:5-6, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;”

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Romans 4:16, "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace..."

Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Don't Use Religious Devotion As A Cloak For Your Carnality

Jeremiah 7:8-10, “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?”

Matthew 15:7-9, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Our churches are filled with self-righteous Christians today. They are trusting Christ alone to save them, so they are genuinely born-again believers. Yet, they are foolishly playing church, going through the motions Sunday after Sunday, but their heart is far from God. They are walking in the flesh and not walking in the Holy Spirit.

It saddens me to see a church pastor, to whom people look up to for spiritual guidance as an example of faith, to be so carnally-minded that he shuns, mistreats and ignores hurting people. I have seen this time and time again from carnal pastors! The pastors of Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College are guilty of this wickedness. When I attended Campus Church in 2021, their ungodly senior pastor Jeff Redlin horribly mistreated me. They need to fire Mr. Redlin and bring in a genuine man of God who has compassion for people, which Redlin woefully doesn't. PCC has much blood on their hands for their victims!

Many ungodly wives who file for divorce, have their conscience hardened by their religious devotion. They go to church each Sunday. They tithe. They pray and read the Bible in daily devotions. These things are mere window-dressing that provides a cloak for her carnality (rebellion, pride, disrespect for her husband and wickedness). Divorce is the ultimate act of rebellion! God hates divorce, and so do I, and so should you if you love the Lord (Psalms 97:10; Jeremiah 3:20; Malachi 2:16).

By filing for divorce, someone is declaring to the world that they are more righteous than their spouse. They rationalize that they have the right to divorce, because their spouse is a bigger sinner than they are. But dear reader, I tell you on the authority of God's inspired Word, that you are just as much a dirty guilty sinner as anyone else! When married people get tired of the married life, they start looking for a way to get out and leave. So, they start searching for website that agree with their agenda. They start talking with ungodly liberal pastors who support divorce. This is what sinners do!

When confronted by God about his sins, Adam blamed his wife Eve. When God confronted Eve about her sins, she blamed the serpent. When God confronted the serpent (Satan) about his sins, he looked around for someone to blame, but there was no one to blame except himself. Humans always look for someone or something to blame for their bad, irresponsible and sinful choices in life, but we all have no one to blame except our self.

Some of the absolute worst Christians that I have known in my life, swept their wickedness under the rug by using their religious devotion as a smokescreen. Please don't do that! Put another way, many churchgoers cannot see the forest for the trees. They are so used to merely going through the motions of playing church, that they have actually become inoculated from walking with God. Literally, their religious life hinders them from finding a true walk with God.

You can know who truly walks with God, because they are bold to tell the truth (Acts 4:13). They are full of unconditional love for everyone, just as God loves everyone (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-9; 1st Corinthians 13). They genuinely care about people (1st Peter 5:7-8). A man who genuinely walks with God is bold to speak the truth, he cares, and he unconditionally loves everyone. The hallmark quality of a Christian who is right with God is caring. Sadly, most pastors don't care! The pastors at PCC's Campus Church don't care.

This is exactly what happened to the horrible church at Laodicea. Jesus said they were naked, blind, wretched, poor and miserable (Revelation 3:15-17). Yet, they foolishly thought they were prospering. That is Pensacola Christian College (PCC) today! They take in tens of millions of dollars. They have several thousand students and church members. They have the big head. So they are blind to their carnality. The problem is their carnal leaders. Pastor Lee Roberson (1909-2007) rightly said: "Everything rises and falls on leadership." It sure does! Churches these days are corrupt because they continue to hire the deadbeat, incompetent and bad graduates of horrible religious colleges like PCC.

Be real dear friend. Always be pure of heart.

Just Keep On Praying, Which Is Faith In God

Romans 8:26-28, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980) used to rightly say that, “Prayer is asking.” Brother Rice was right. And I'd like to say that asking God for something is faith. Prayer is faith. What is faith? Faith is what you bet your life on. Faith is anything that you do for Jesus because you believe He is risen from the dead and alive today. Prayer is synonymous with faith.

By God's grace I now have eight ministry websites and eight ministry blogs. I receive hundreds of emails on a regularly basis, mostly from fellow Christians. One of the complaints that I often here is concerning God nit answering prayer. I surprise most people by letting them know that I feel the same way. Yes, I feel like my prayers don't get answered either. People think that because I am a Bible preacher with a big internet ministry that I always get my prayers answered. They feel hopeless in their own prayer life, so they feel more comfortable asking me to pray for them instead. I get just as frustrated as everybody else who is honest. God doesn't seem to answer my prayers either.

Albeit, I keep praying anyhow. The Bible exhorts Christians to walk by faith, not by sight. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” If we stop praying in frustration because we don't see God's hand at work in response to our prayers, then we are unwisely walking by sight. I want to walk by faith, which means blindly trusting God no matter what happens. Just keep on praying dear friend, because that is faith!

I like watching YouTube documentaries about war, history, the economy, homelessness, et cetera. I enjoy learning new things. History is HIS STORY! That is, God's story. I love learning history, looking for how God's hand worked in each generation. God is truly amazing! The Lord is not to blame for man's wickedness (1st John 5:19). I pray because God told me to pray without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:17). I pray because I desperately need God. He may not answer in the way or timing that I want Him to, but that is okay because God knows what He is doing.

Years ago digital cameras and SD storage media cards didn't exist. When I was younger most cameras used 35 mm film rolls. You'd take your used film rolls to Walgreens or a camera shop to have them developed, which usually took a couple days (some even one hour service). With that fact in mind, the old adage is true: Faith is like film, it develops in the dark. Someone who has only known the digital world might not understand that statement, but if you remember when cameras all used film that needed to be developed, it makes perfect sense. Put another way, Dr. Jack Hyles wisely said, “Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken.”

Listen, anybody can pray when everything is going well in life. But it takes a greater faith to continue praying when nothing seems to be going right, and God appears to have abandoned you and won't answer your prayers. Honestly, if I were God I wouldn't answer the prayers of spoiled Americans either. We are a spoiled rotten country! Look at all the wickedness in our rotten culture! Look at the filth in Hollywood! Look at the disgrace of Sin City in Las Vegas! Why should God bless America? Why should God answer our prayers?

In Judges chapter 6, Gideon was very frustrated. If you read the intriguing chapter, you will see that the Midiantes had taken the food from God's people. The Jews were starving! Gideon uttered his frustration in Judges 6:13, “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?  and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?  but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” I hear these same type of questions today from believers. They ask me why God doesn't answer their prayers. They are upset and feel like quitting on God.

What Gideon didn't see is what we can clearly see in Judges 6:1, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.” I think it is clear to see today that God's hand of blessing has slowly been departing from America for a long time. The United States is collapsing economically, morally, socially and in every other way. The unfortunate introduction of tens of millions of illegal immigrants since the 1980's has polluted our nation's sovereignty. The United States is no longer a sovereign country. A nation without borders ceases to be a country!

The insane forcing of transgenderism, feminism, sexualization, race profiling and homosexual woke ideologies upon our nation's youth is a blatant Satanic plot to destroy the traditional nuclear family. Feminism has turned men off to the prospect of ever getting married. The risks are too great in today's toxic feminist culture that demonizes masculine men. God's plan according to 1st Timothy 5:14-15 is for women to get married first, then have children, guide the house as a homemaker, and stay out of trouble. That is God's simple plan ladies!!!

It is not God's plan for any young woman to pursue a career, freeze your eggs and fornicate, which blasphemes the Word of God. Having sex outside of a legally binding marriage is wickedness which brings the judgment of God (Colossians 3:5-6).

Titus 2:3-5, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

Wow! The passage of Scripture I just quoted to you is regarded as public enemy number one in America today! The very mention of women “obeying” a husband is now insanely attacked as “domestic abuse.” Sadly, nearly all marriage vows today for the woman removes the words “and obey.” That is unfortunate. No wonder statistically that women file for divorce more than TWICE the rate of men! Their mindset is all WRONG! Ladies, please don't allow some rebellious feminist to poison your mind with their toxic mentality, warped values, disregard for God's Word and hatred of men. Traditional values are becoming very rare, almost extinct.

I know this particularly blog is about prayer, but the Bible teaches that sin hinders prayer. So if you are shacking up and living in rebellion against God's Word, don't expect God to hear your prayers. 1st Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” A rebellious wife is evil. Feminism is evil. Abusive husbands are evil. Mistreating others is evil. God won't answer the prayers of evildoers!

When I look at the cesspool of iniquity in America today (which includes the United States and all of our territories, like Guam and Puerto Rico), I am surprised that God would answer any of our prayers! The Arab nations call the United States, “The Great Satan.” I would have to fully agree with that disparaging term. Abortion, homosexual marriage, violence, nudity at all public beaches, greed and covetousness, indecent imagery, adultery, divorce, false religion—the list of sins go on and on in America. God damn America!!! Only a wicked heathen would want God to bless this pile of iniquity which we call The Land Of The Free!

Please don't misunderstand me, I love my country! I love the Rocky Mountains. I love The Great Lakes and the majestic power. I love Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Big Bend National Park in Texas, Glacier National Park in Montana, The Appalachian Mountains, and so many other beautiful landscapes across the United States. From the hot and dry deserts in California, to the small quaint fishing communities up in Maine, I love my country. But I loath our crooked and criminal government, which is a curse to the rest of the world.

Our U.S. leaders today are guilty of high treason, especially President Joe Biden. By allowing several million more illegals into the United States since 2020, Joe Biden has the blood of Laken Riley on his hands, and the blood of everyone else who has been harmed by these unwanted intruders. A group of punk illegals assaulted two police officers in New York last month, literally kicking them in the head after pushing the cops to the ground, overpowering them. I am shocked that the American people have tolerated this treason. It is just a clear sign of how far gone our country was a long time ago. Americans today feel powerless to stop this tyranny, and we are unless we unite together against the New World Order.

Dear reader, I encourage you to just keep praying. You'll never be able to get all the sin out of your life (because we are sinners by nature and by choice), but we can confess our sins daily to God (as taught in The Lord's Prayer) and ask God to help us do better each day. God doesn't expect anyone to be perfect, He just wants us to do better. We can do that by God's grace. Remember, we don't live the Christian life, Jesus lives the Christian life through us, as we walk in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 2:20, 5:22-25). Just keep on praying about everything!

Dr. John R. Rice Quotes About Salvation

Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980)

“When you get saved, you get saved not because you deserve it, but because you simply let God save you and because you confess your own poor sinful state and your inability to save yourself.” —Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980), “Dr. Rice... Here is My Question,” p. 304; 1962, Sword of the Lord Publishers

“The change in your heart, sinner, is God's part and you may be sure He will attend to that. Your part is to simply believe in Him. Whatever else is necessary in your eternal salvation, the Lord attends to when you trust in Him, or believe in Him.” —Dr. John R. Rice, Gospel tract titled: “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”