Every Christian Should Be A Soul Winner

Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

My Baptist pastor said something in a sermon a couple weeks ago that has stuck with me and encouraged me. He said that even if you win just one person to the Lord in your entire lifetime, it will have been worth it all. I really love what he said. By God's amazing grace, I've had the privilege of leading many lost sinners to the dear Savior. Amen and amen.

At the end of every year, I update the statistics for my Jesus-is-Savior.com website ministry. In 2024, by God's grace my website received 1,207,256 visitors. Of those visitors, there were 27,038 people in 2024 who spent an hour or more searching through the Jesus-is-Savior.com website. THANK YOU to all my blog and website visitors! In 2024, my web visitors drew 2,070,000,000,000 bytes (2.07 Terabytes) of bandwidth. There were a total of 19,354,984 webpage hits (pages viewed). To God be the glory, great things He hath done (and is doing).

Sadly, Google has been caught red-handed censoring Christian and conservative webpages, while leaving liberal webpages alone. In 2017, my Jesus-is-Savior.com ministry received 10,879,326 total visitors. Google has been horribly censoring my ministry's webpages. Google has removed all of my 400 abortion memes, banners and images. Very few of the images were graphic, showing aborted baby parts. Over 95% of the images were simply anti-abortion banners and signs, which Google has censored without providing any explanation. It is wickedness and an attack upon our First Amendment freedom of speech Bill of Rights.

Sadly, the U.S. government has been hijacked by criminals. Our own elected leaders are warning us. We're in trouble folks! Satan has taken over our federal government, social media and it's only going to get much worse. Next, you can expect to see a nationwide ban on the sale, purchase and trade of guns. This happened in Canada in October of 2022. Tyranny is coming to the United States! By censoring Christian and conservative websites, Google is effectively shaping public opinion. This is all necessary to destroy the Old World Order, to make way for the diabolical New World Order. I digress. Having said that, gratefully, God is still using my website and blog ministries to lead lost sinners to Jesus Christ with 'THE GOSPEL.'

The Bible tells us in Daniel 12:3b, “and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” I humbly think this Scripture refers to the grateful people in Heaven whom we have led to the dear Savior. They will adore, love and cherish us for sharing the light of the truth of the Gospel with them, without which they would be burning in the fires of Hell without hope, without rest day or night, forever and ever (Revelation 14:11, 20:11-15, 21:8). Soul winners will be the heroes, the celebrities, in Heaven (not some high school dropout who is 6' 6" tall and can win a basketball ballgame). We've got all the wrong heroes in America! Talent seeks attention; wisdom pays attention.

Dear reader, my pastor is absolute right! If all you do in life for God is to lead just one lost sinner to Jesus Christ, it will be worth it all. Your suffering, your sacrifice, your life, your patience—all that has happened to you, good and bad alike—will not have been in vain if you take one person with you into eternity. Although it is true that we cannot take anything temporal with us into eternity, we CAN send it ahead. Jesus exhorts every saint in Matthew 6:20b-21 to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Please don't miss verse 21, which teaches that where your treasure is, there your heart will follow. Many people get this backwards, thinking that where your heart is, your treasure will follow. But the inspired Holy Bible says your heart will follow your investment. People sometimes tell me that they have a problem with caring; they don't care but want to. Here is the answer in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If you want to care more, then invest in someone. Pray for them. Do something kind, loving or generous for them.

There is a 95 year old Christian lady in our church. She asked me if I knew where she could get some unprocessed walnuts and almonds. I told her that I would gladly buy them for her. I went to the local store the next day and I bought her one pound each of raw unprocessed walnuts, almonds, pecans and pine nuts. I also gave her $95 for her 95th birthday. She was born in 1929. I am honoring her as an elderly person, which I believe is proper and right for the younger generations to do. We treat our elderly like garbage in America. I speak this to our shame as a society. Every time an elderly person dies, a library of information is gone.

By caring it helps me to care more. My treasure is people, and my heart increasingly cares about them the more that I invest in them. I have invested well over 50,000 hours into my website ministry since 2002. I did it all for Jesus, to help others, and I am laying up treasures in Heaven, the greatest of which is my converts whom God used my Bible preaching to turn from darkness to light. I don't spend time relishing in the work I have already accomplished, I am solely focused on the work ahead for Christ. Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

The adage is very true: “People don't care what you know, until they know that you care.” Sadly, I have attended many Baptist churches where I felt that the pastors didn't care. In fact, I know that they didn't care. When I handed the truth to them, they rejected it (Hosea 4:6). When I attended the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam from 2013 to 2014, their incompetent senior pastor, Marty Herron, preached the Devil's deception of Lordship Salvation. When I befriended him with the truth, by giving Pastor Herron Michael P. Bowen's excellent book in defense of a free grace Gospel, 'I NEVER KNEW YOU,' he rejected it and was offended. I was harshly rebuked by the cult pastors and forced out of the so-called “church.” Let me tell you dear reader, any church with a pastor who preaches the lie of Lordship Salvation is a cult, not a New Testament church. Part of being a soul winner is warning people what is NOT the Gospel.

In 2024, I attended the Christmas Eve service at the neo-evangelical First Baptist Church of Pensacola. They are 1 of 45,000 Southern Baptist convention churches. During the service, the senior pastor Dave Snyder told everyone of their need to turn from darkness to light by trusting in Christ, but that's all he said. The pastor never bothered to warn anyone that you cannot add good works, turning from sinful behavior or following Christ to faith, otherwise it negates faith. But don't take my word for it. Jesus tells a horrifying account in Matthew 7:21-23, about a group of people who followed Him, calling Jesus, “Lord, Lord.” They reminded Christ of having done many wonderful works, preaching in Jesus' name and casting out devils. They did these things all in Jesus' name. Yet, the blessed Savior said to their horror in Matthew 7:23b, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Dear reader, this is where the falsehood of Lordship Salvation leads, to Hell. In case you still don't understand what this deception is, please read: 'What Is Lordship Salvation?' Lordship Salvation is an enemy of soulwinning, because it perverts the free grace of God. It misleads and confuses people, causing them to emotionally worry and fret whether or not they are really saved, doubting God's free gift of eternal life because of their struggle with sinning. They have been lied to by fools such as Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, Charles Lawson, John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Adrian Rogers and others who preach the damnable Lordship Salvation heresy.

I encourage you dear reader to get busy soulwinning for God. I have several web visitors who are sharing my articles on social media. They share sermons by soulwinning pastors; such as, Jack Hyles, Ralph Yankee Arnold, Steven Anderson, Onorato Diamante, Roger Jimenez, Curtis Hutson, Max Younce, Harry Ironside and others. This is a ministry! Jesus promised that even if you give a cup of water to a child of God, you will be rewarded. Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

The true measurement of our success won't be measured by how many people show up to say goodbye at our funeral; but rather, how many people will be waiting to greet us when we get to Heaven. Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

The Lie Of Believing With The Mind But Not The Heart

Romans 10:8-10, “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 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.”

This is one of the most obscure and debated passages of Scripture in the Bible. And let me say, there is no such thing as believing in one's mind without believing in one's heart. That is utterly impossible. I love Pastor J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988), but he wrote a religious tract once that I absolutely hate. It is called, "Missing Heaven By 18" Inches." I wrote an article refuting this horrible lie.

The heart is a muscle about twice the size of one's fist that pumps blood. The "heart" mentioned in the Bible is part of the human brain, our subconsciousness. No one has ever trusted in Christ with their mind, but not their heart. That is impossible, because our mind and heart work together. I think what Dr. McGee meant is that it is possible to have head knowledge of the facts of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, but THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS TRUST. To "trust" the facts of the Gospel means that you personally have decided to make those facts your only hope for eternal life. This is faith, not mere knowledge. I love how Pastor Max Younce expressed this truth:

"Christ died, that's history; Christ died for me, that's salvation." Amen and amen.

So, if you my friend are relying (which is what trusting and faith is) upon the biblical truths that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 20:31); who died in your place on the cross, was buried and physically resurrected three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-6; John chapter 19), then YOU ARE ETERNALLY SAVED. Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold says it this way: "To be saved just believe that Jesus did it all for you." By the way, I highly recommend that you regularly listen to Dr. Yankee Arnold's Bible preaching. He is one of the best free grace Gospel preachers today. It will help you become more doctrinally sound, as it has myself.

Matthew 9:4, “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” Here Jesus plainly confirms that the mind and the heart are essentially the same thing. Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” The Bible mentions thinking with our heart. So, we see clearly that the idea someone can only believe with their mind without the heart is utter foolishness. The heart is one's subconscious mind, which is involved in all thinking and decisions.

In Romans 10:10, the Apostle Paul says that we are saved by believing in the heart. This would automatically include the mind as well, since the heart is located in the brain. The human soul is comprised of THREE things: A mind to THINK, a heart to FEEL, and a will to DECIDE. These all work together. The spirit is our person, who we are, created by God. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says when we die, our spirit returns to God who gave it.

Singer "Sting" of the band, The Police, has it right we he sings, "We are spirits in the material." We are not a body with a spirit, we are a spirit with a body. When the tabernacle of this human fleshly body can no longer house the spirit, we go home to be with God (2nd Corinthians 5:1). Unbelievers perish into Hell beneath.

When Paul says in Romans 10:10 that "confession is made unto salvation," he is simply saying that we testify with our mouth what has happened in our heart. This is biblical. Matthew 12:34, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." It is out of a believing heart that one's mouth confesses that he or she is trusting Jesus alone to save him. Many Bible students go astray by focusing on this sole passage of Scripture, while totally ignoring the entire Gospel of John.

Pastor Curtis Hutson wisely taught: “A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.” I love that truth! It is a mistake to base a doctrine solely on Romans 10:10 (which is what many fools have done), while completely ignoring the entire Gospel of John. Several dozen times in the Gospel of John, we are simply taught to BELIEVE ON JESUS to have eternal life. For example: John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” It would be wrong to teach that to get to Heaven a person must confess with the mouth, when no such requirement is found in the entire Gospel of John.

If you as a needy sinner are trusting (relying) upon Jesus Christ alone, because of what He did through Calvary's cross to pay your debt of sin, believing that He was buried, but then resurrected from the dead three days later, you are saved. There's no such thing as believing with one's mind but not the heart. That would be IMPOSSIBLE! It is unfortunate that some preachers are needlessly confusing people about this matter. If your only hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved. Simply believe that Jesus did it all for you. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

You Don't Have To Give Up Anything To Be Saved

Titus 2:11-15 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”

Jesus gave His life on the cross to pay for your sins, He doesn't demand that you meet Him half way. He doesn't demand that you give up your sins or follow Him as “Lord” to receive His free gift of eternal life. All God requires is for you to believe that Jesus did it all for you. That's it!

I cannot warn you enough to RUN from today's corrupt Baptist churches (or any so-called church) that requires you to first be willing to forsake your sinful bad habits to get to Heaven. That is a works-based plan of salvation (damnation), not Bible salvation. For example: Here is a quote from their Statement of Faith at the Baptist Christian Church in Royal Center Indiana...

We believe that repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God brought about by the Holy Spirit. Repentance is characterized by godly sorrow for sin which is offensive to God and destructive to the soul. True repentance is inseparably related to true faith causing one to purposely turn away from sin and move instead toward God as an act of faith. (Luke 13:1-3; Luke 15:7; Acts 8:22; Acts 20:21; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10) SOURCE

There are THREE major heresies in the preceding Statement of Faith:

1. Repentance means a change of mind, period. Nowhere in the Bible do we learn that repentance also includes a change of purpose toward God. Wicked people added those extra words to God's Word (Proverbs 30:5-6).
2. Nowhere does the inspired Word of God require someone feel sorry for their sins to get to Heaven. I triple-dog dare you to show me where the Bible says that! When the Apostle Paul mentioned godly sorrow in his second epistle to the church at Corinth he was addressing saved Christians, not the lost.
3. Nowhere does the inspired Holy Bible teach that we must turn from our sins to get to Heaven. In sharp contrast, Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. He does not require that we be willing to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to be saved.

Do you see how bad churches today wrest the inspired Word of God, teaching false doctrines which poison men's souls and damn them to the Lake of Fire forever? Dear reader, you don't have to be willing to give up anything to be saved, Jesus gave up His life for you on the cross. 

All you need to do to be saved is simply come to God by faith as a needy sinner. “By faith” I mean to just take God at His promises as recorded in the written Holy Bible. If you'll simply receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that Jesus died, was buried and physically resurrected three days later, you will be instantly and forever born again (saved). This is the Gospel as recorded in the Bible...

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:”

That is the official “Gospel,” which means, “Good News”:

1. Jesus DIED for our sins on a cross
2. Jesus was BURIED.
3. Jesus RESURRECTED three days later.

If anybody SUBTRACTS or ADDS to the Gospel, he or she is preaching another Gospel. The only thing that you need to know to BELIEVE THE GOSPEL is why you need to be saved, which is because you and I are guilty sinners, and the penalty for our sins is eternal damnation in Hell's fire and brimstone (Romans 3:19-20; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8).

NO ONE has ever been saved who refused to admit that he or she is a SINNER (1st John 1:8-10).

One of my favorite historical preachers was Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951), who made this excellent observation concerning the Gospel...

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: 'What Is The Gospel?'

Amen and amen! I encourage you to read Pastor Ironside's Gospel tract, 'What Is The Gospel?' Please don't allow any false prophet, who is really a wolf in pastor's clothing, to take you to Hell forever with himself. Jesus paid your debt of sin through Calvary's cross. He raised up from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Jesus sprinkled His literal liquid blood upon the heavenly Mercy Seat in the presence of His Father (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). All you have to do to be saved is to BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you!

Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

And remember, In Jonah 3:10 God repented, that is, He changed His mind not to destroy the people of Nineveh. If repentance means to turn from your sins, then how could God repent, since He is incapable of sinning? Tragically, many Baptist preachers (pastors and clergy) today are bold-faced theological LIARS! They are mere fools parroting and regurgitating the things that they've heard other fools saying, propagating the lies. This is why the inspired Word of God exhorts every believer to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES (John 5:39; Acts 17:10-11), so that we may RIGHTLY DIVIDE the Word of Truth (2nd Timothy 2:15).

No one has ever turned from his or her sins. The very idea is preposterous! That is why Jesus Christ had to die on a cross to pay our massive debt of sin, so that we wouldn't have to burn in the fires of Hell forever to pay for our own sins. You may clean up your life superficially, so that you cleverly hide your sins from others (living above reproach), but God still sees your sins. No human being has ever achieved sinless perfection (Romans 3:10-23). Jesus was the only person who was completely without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is the sinless Lamb of God (John 1:29).

God freely offers the gift of eternal life to anyone who wants it. You need not give up anything to receive it. Just come to God as a needy sinner and take His gift by faith, by simply BELIEVING the Good News of Jesus crucified, buried and risen the third day. There is nothing else that you need to do, nor that you are allowed to do, to get to Heaven.

God Knows Your Thoughts, So You Don't Need To Pray To Be Saved

Luke 6:8, “But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.”

My humble belief is that when you rightly believe the Gospel you are saved and the Lord knows what your thoughts are, and He knows that you have believed the Gospel.

At one time, someone said to me that if you don't pray, then how does God know that you want to be saved, so I let him know that the Lord knows your thoughts and I quoted a verse about that. Luke 6:8, “But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.”

In his helpful book titled, "I NEVER KNEW YOU," Michael P. Bowen eloquently writes in chapter 5...

The gospel message is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we believe that Jesus died for us and came back to life three days later, He knows it — He knows all of your thoughts — and He knows the very instant that you believe His gospel message. The instant you believe His message, Jesus saves you. Time and time again we see in the bible that when people heard this message, they “believed.” When they believed, they were saved that very same instant. They did not pray prayers of salvation asking Jesus into their hearts. They did not commit their lives to the Lordship of Christ. They did not determine to follow Him all the days of their lives in obedience to His Lordship or to the practice of discipleship. They simply believed on Christ alone as their savior.

It doesn’t matter how successful a ministry is, or how beautiful and satisfying their particular plan of salvation may be. If what they say about salvation does not match with what Christ said about salvation, their plan is counterfeit and falls under the label of an “accursed message.” Galatians 1:8-9 says, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

If you were to have asked Paul how to be saved, he would have told you the same thing he told the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31: “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” And if you were to ask Jesus Christ how to be saved, He would tell you the same thing that He told Nicodemus in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Bravo to Michael Bowen for these truthful words! The simple Bible way of salvation is to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, which even a small child, or a mentally challenged person, or an uneducated person, or even a stupid person, can easily do. God deliberately made His plan of salvation very simple, so that anybody can have eternal life. All you have to do is simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you. Just by faith (taking God at His written Word) receive Christ's death on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, but then resurrected three days later from the dead. This is the Gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4.

Thank you for reading my ministry blog dear friend. God bless you.

The Gospel Leads People To Jesus Christ, Not Us

Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Over the 22 years of my website ministry, I have often been asked the question: “What is the best way to lead _______ to the Lord?” They sometimes ask, “What is the best way to lead a Roman Catholic to the Lord?” or “What is the best way to lead a Muslim to the Lord?” The Bible gives us the answer in our text passage of Scripture from Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

It is not our eloquently prepared words, cunning wisdom or articulated speech that will win a lost sinner over to trust the Lord Jesus Christ; but rather, it is the GOOD NEWS (the Gospel) itself that wins people to Christ. No matter whom you are trying to win to Jesus, whether it be a hardened atheist, or a blinded religious Catholic, simply share the Gospel with them.

According to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, "the Gospel" is comprised of three things:

1. Jesus DIED on a cross to pay our debt of sin
2. He was BURIED
3. Jesus RESURRECTED three days later from the dead in His physical body

The ONLY prerequisite to believing the Gospel is to know what you are being saved from. You are a guilty sinner, and so am I (Romans 3:10-23). There is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23), which includes the Second Death in Hell (Revelation 21:8). You need to know what you're being saved from, Hell. So, if you acknowledge being a hell-deserving sinner, simply BELIEVE THE GOSPEL to receive eternal life. If someone refused to admit being a sinner, they would be calling God a ”liar” (1st John 1:8-10). No one has ever been saved who didn't admit to being a sinner in God's sight. That is why we need s Savior. The best way to lead anybody to Christ is to simply preach to them, THE GOSPEL.

We Cannot Save Anybody

By God's abundant grace, I've had the privilege of leading countless lost sinners to the dear Savior during my lifetime. Jesus Christ is the only Savior (Acts 4:10-12). I've been laboring diligently night and day now for the past 22 years. Lord willing it will be 23 years in May of 2025, since I started Jesus-is-Savior.com ministry website. But I fully know that the hundreds of people whom are my precious children in the Lord, that is, I led them to Christ; it was the power of God through the Gospel that saved them, not me. What saith the Scripture? 1st Corinthians 3:7, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” I give all the praise, credit and glory to my blessed faithful Savior, God and Lord, Jesus Christ!!!

I heard Missionary Steven Heidenreich years ago sinfully boasting that he has singlehandedly led 200,000 people to Christ. I seriously doubt that claim! It is such foolish braggadocios tomfoolery why many people today no longer trust lying Baptist preachers. I am confident that hundreds of people have come to Christ through my global website ministry since 2002, but I don't go around boasting about it; I give ALL the glory, praise and credit to God alone.

I had the displeasure of meeting with Steve Heidenreich back in 2004 in Indiana, when he still worked at Hyles-Anderson College (HAC). I drove all the way from Chicago to meet with the idiot. I wanted to pursue missionary work and needed his help. He was worthless! Heidenreich was rude, weird, selfish and a first-class moron! I regret ever meeting with the incompetent fool. The jerk didn't even thank me for the meal that I paid for. I have no respect for Steven Heidenreich as a Christian, man or a Baptist minister.

All Mr. Heidenreich did during our ridiculous meeting was horribly brag on himself, that he had built over one million dollars worth of buildings in the Philippines for missionary Rick Martin. He made it sound like he and Darrell Moore were homosexual lovers, by the creepy way that he kept sticking it in my face how “close” they were. I do not trust this man. When I needed his help, Heidenreich dropped the ball big time. How in the world a fool like that was ever put in charge of their mission's program at HAC bewilders me! Proverbs 20:6, “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”

“There is power in this Gospel message. Most people just don't know how to present it... The clarity of the Gospel is what makes it easy for them to believe.”—Pastor Yankee Arnold, “WHY GRACE CAN SAVE THE WORST MAN!”

The Simple Gospel Must Be Defended And Preached

Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

I love this simple and clear passage of Scripture, because it is a classic example of Lordship Salvation in the inspired Holy Bible. These people called Jesus “Lord, Lord,” but the dear Savior denied knowing them as His redeemed sheep. They sadly went to Hell forever in their sins. They had spent their time on earth living the Christian life, but without ever being born again. Tragically, this is exactly the situation with 99% of churchgoers today. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again. John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The new birth is NOT optional.

By just adding trusting in water baptism, turning away from your sinful bad habits, repenting of sinful ways, following Christ as the Lord of your life, surrendering all to Him, doing good works, forsaking the world, et cetera—it is now IMPOSSIBLE to be born anew by the Holy Spirit of God. No one has ever been born again (saved) who trusted anything more Jesus, who is the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of God.

We Are Saved By Trusting The Gospel (which means, 'Good News')

Look at these simple passages of Scripture, which reiterate that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ...

Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Ephesians 1:12-14, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

The Bible makes it very easy for us, by defining exactly what is 'THE GOSPEL'...

1st Corinthians 15:1-6, “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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

There you have it. THE GOSPEL is comprised of three things:

1. Jesus DIED on a cross for our sins.
2. He was BURIED.
3. Three days later Jesus RESURRECTED bodily from the dead.

That is THE GOOD NEWS by which all who BELIEVE IT are saved. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Repeatedly in the inspired King James Bible, which is the ONLY English Bible that you can trust today, we are taught that the way to obtain eternal life is by FAITH IN JESUS.

Ephesians 1:12-13a, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit...”

This is how you get saved—after you hear the truth of the Gospel preached, you BELIEVE IT! 

That is exactly how Cornelius and his friends were saved in Acts 10:34-44. The Apostle Peter preached the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ unto them, and they quietly listened. After they heard THE TRUTH of the Gospel preached unto them, THEY BELIEVED IT and were saved in verse 44.

This is what the Apostle Paul means in Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Paul wanted to know from the churches of Galatia how they got saved (i.e., how did they become indwelt with the Holy Spirit). The apostle gives them a multiple choice question. Did they get saved by doing the works of the Old Testament law to be saved; or, did they get saved by trusting in the truth of the Gospel after hearing it preached unto them? Did you get saved by works or by faith? I love Paul's choice of words, “the hearing of faith.”

With that beautiful phrase in mind, please apply it to Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” I love that! The writer of Hebrews (I humbly think it was Paul but we don't know for certain) is speaking here about the Jews who wandered in the Wilderness for 40 years. They wandered because they were trying really hard to find their way out, but God had made it impossible for them to escape. As we just read, Moses preached the truth of the Gospel unto them for 40 years, but they didn't get saved because they lacked faith in what they heard. They didn't have “the hearing of faith” which Paul spoke of to the Galatians. Unfortuntely for those Jews, they had the hearing of doubt.

Dear reader, it is that simple to be saved. When you hear the truth of the Gospel (Jesus' death, burial and resurrection) preached unto you (or you read it in a book), you simply need to BELIEVE IT to be saved and receive eternal life. The moment you are saved, all your sins (past, present and future) are all forgiven forever.

I love all these precious Bible passages. Perhaps you've never heard God's simple plan of salvation presented so simply before. Obtaining eternal life is simply a matter of trusting that Jesus has done it all for you. Here are some of my favorite statements about salvation...

1. Good works are not the payment for sin, the payment for sin is death.
2. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty!
3. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
4. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.
5. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from?
6. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.
7. We must stay true to the simplicity of the Gospel. Repentance regarding salvation is a change of mind from unbelief to belief. We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).

The Gospel Needs Your Help

Sometimes people who follow my internet ministry ask me why I preach against Lordship Salvation, corrupt Bibles and misunderstood repentance so much. The simple reasons are that very few preachers are exposing these evils today, and also because your eternal destination depends upon getting the truth right. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

Our text passage of Scripture provides clear biblical evidence that it is possible to diligently serve Christ for a lifetime, to do many wonderful works (not just a few), and to follow Christ as the supreme Lord of your life, and yet still go to Hell. I love this thought provoking quote from one of my favorite preachers, Pastor Harry A. ironside (1876-1951):

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the tract: 'What Is The Gospel?'

That is one of my favorite preacher quotes! Pastor Ironside gets the Gospel 100% right! I think my ministry friend, Michael P. Bowen, in his excellent defense of the Christian faith titled, I NEVER KNEW YOU, said it best:

I am at eternal odds with the false, counterfeit messages of salvation-by-works that are taught from virtually every pulpit today, on every television channel, and on every Christian radio station; however, I am not at eternal odds with the individuals who preach these counterfeit messages. My heart literally goes out to all of them because they simply do not understand Christ’s plan of salvation. They have been lied to by a crafty enemy named Satan, whose sole aim is to take as many people with him to the lake of fire as he can possibly manage to steal away from God using a counterfeit plan of salvation that appears so real, so genuine, and so holy that few ever realize they have been deceived by it. Oh reader, so many of today’s professing Christians who think they are going to heaven when they die are not going to make it to heaven as they had assumed because they’ve been lied to by today’s error-filled gospel messages.

SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, 'I NEVER KNEW YOU,' p. 17; © 2009, Xulonpress.com. Hard Copies Available

It is my heart's sincere desire that an army of truth-telling Christian believers rise up on social media, to help me expose the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation, Misunderstood Repentance and the fraudulent modern Bible revisioons which pervert God's simple plan of salvation. The preceding three links are to excellent articles written by my hero of the faith, Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), from his helpful book titled: 'ENEMIES OF SOULWINNING.'

Dear friend, the Gospel needs your help and mine. Everywhere we turn today in the churches and on social media, the Gospel is being embellished, watered-down, corrupted, changed and made impotent to save. The Bible calls a corrupt gospel “another gospel” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). You can help others by sharing truthful free grace Gospel resources on social media. My websites and blogs are loaded with helpful resources. I make no money, have never made any money, and never will make any money from my ministry labors. I have never received a single penny for serving God, and I don't plan to start now or in the future. I labor for God alone out of a genuine uncinditional love for Jesus, truth and people (John 14:15). My rewards are waiting for me in Heaven (1st Corinthians 3:8; Matthew 6:19-20; Daniel 12:3).

I encourage you to share edifying articles, sermons, memes and other helpful resources that expose the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation, Misunderstood Repentance, False Bibles and False Prophets like Billy Graham.

Inexcusable Blatant Corruption In The Modern Bible Versions

You cannot lead a lost sinner to the Lord with a corrupt plan of salvation, which is what all of the Devil's modern bibles contain.

For example: Here is Mark 1:15 from the contemptible Easy-To-Read Version (ERV), which the ungodly Harvest Baptist Church on Guam uses, sells and promotes, to their shame:

Mark 1:15, “He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!”

Now here is what the inspired King James Bible reads: 

Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

The Greek word for “repent” in this verse is the verb metanoeo, which means “to think differently.” The noun form metanoia means “a change of mind.” So, where in the world prey tell me did the translators of the ERV get the idea that repentance means to “change your hearts and lives”? Do you see how these dishonest Bible publishers today wickedly change the Holy Bible to say wnatever they want? Their translations are not even based upon the ancient Hebrew, Chaldean and Greek. They just pulled their new changes from their behinds! Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Dear friend, I could literally spend hours enlightening you with such blatant dishonest perversions (unjustified changes) which today's hundreds of corrupt English Bible revisions have done to wrest, butcher and pervert God's inspired Words. Jeremiah 23:36, “And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.”

There are umpteen warnings in the inspired Holy Bible against tampering with God's Words. Deuteronomy 4:2, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” The Lord takes the matter of tampering with His Words so seriously, that he equates doing so with rejection of His only begotten Son. Revelation 22:19, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Jesus' name is 'THE WORD OF GOD' (Revelation 19:13). Jesus is the Living Word (John 1:1-3, 14); the Bible is the Written Word (Hebrews 4:12). To deliberately corrupt the Written Word of God is effectively the same sin as denying Jesus as one's Savior.

Closing Remarks

I wish I could open up the understanding of every Christian today, to see the woeful danger posed by today's perverted Bible revisions, counterfeit plans of salvation (wrong repentance and Lordship Salvation), false prophets, et cetera. The $64,000 question is: Do you care?

I know that I relentlessly preach on the topic of salvation and heresies related to getting saved, but life is short dear reader, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time. These new rotten bibles today are lethal spiritually, for a lost person or a baby believer. Right words matter, they really do! God's inspired Word is not open for debate, correction and alteration. There is no controversy if you believe the Holy Bible. Jeremiah 5:31, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” The biggest problem in the churches today is the church member who doesn't SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES as Jesus commanded (John 5:39), to verify if the things their pastor is saying are true (Acts 17:10-11). Sadly, most pastors are LIARS.

By God's grace, I have dedicated the remainder of my life to contend for the Christian faith (Jude 1:3). I welcome you to join me. Calvinism must be exposed! (an excellent video by Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold). There is something that every saint of God can do to further the Gospel for the sake of Jesus and the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:29-30). Every child of God ought to be doing something to serve God. Use whatever talents, resources and abilities which God has given you for the cause of Christ. The simple Gospel must be defended and preached, because the Devil relentlessly works to blind the lost, to hunder them from seeing the truth of the Gospel (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4). Thank you for reading my ministry blog.

We're Using The Wrong Hymns For Church Invitations

I'm wary of several popular hymns, such as: “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” “I Surrender All” and “The Old Time Religion.” The first two can seem to suggest that a lifestyle change is necessary to be saved, which is certainly false.

With much thanks to the Holy Spirit, and the excellent resources provided through sermons from Pastor Jack Hyles and others, I am indeed awake to righteousnes, and I never want to go back to sleep again. Because of that, I have begun to evaluate things I formerly liked, including “The Old Time Religion.” Quite frankly, the lyrics of that hymn are unbiblical. The song gives credit to religion for this, religion for that, even claiming that religion will take us all to Heaven. The Bible says nothing of the kind (John 14:6).

One of the most subtle, yet important things I have learned is distinguishing religious material from biblical truth, because the two are not the same thing. Religion is all over the place, but the truth has few friends. I've often heard people (usually unsaved people) bemoaning the decline of “religion” in the United States, and reminiscing about ages past when more people supported religion. What difference does religion make if you're going to Hell? You can follow religion until you're blue in the face, but that won't get you closer to receiving eternal life (Matthew 15:8; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 13:23-24). Religion never saved anybody!

Think about it dear reader, why do we sing, “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus,” for an invitation song? Since we don't “follow Jesus” to get to Heaven, why do we sing such an innapropriate song during an invitation? I'd much prefer to use the hymn, “Just As I Am.” God saves a lost sinner just as he or she is, by grace through faith, without any commitment to follow Christ or turn away from one's sinful behavior. That is not repentance, it is reformation!

Why do we sing inappropriate hymns like, “I Surrender All,” at the invitation time in church? Do you have to “surrender all” to get to Heaven? No, absolutely not. I humbly think that using such inappropriate hymns runs the risk of confusing people. One of my favorite hymns is titled, “Is Your All On The Altar?,” but do you have to lay your all on the latar to be saved? No, you don't, you just need to BELIEVE ON JESUS. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

What Bible Repentance Is Not

Repentance is NOT a change of lifestyle. I think Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951), who pastored the Moody Memorial Church in Chicago from 1930 to 1948, said it very well...

“Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside; 'Except Ye Repent,' p. 36

Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel. Consider further the following awesome quote by Dr. Ironside...

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: 'What Is The Gospel?'

I love that quote from Pastor Ironside.

Sadly, Moody Ministries today (75 years after Dr. Ironside's pastorate) has become doctrinally corrupted by false prophets such as Dr. John MacArthur (they publish all of MacArthur's new books and have honored him at their Founder's Week for many years). MacArthur plainly teaches a false plan of salvation in his book, 'HARD TO BELIEVE'...

“Don’t believe anyone who says it’s easy to become a Christian. Salvation for sinners cost God His own Son; it cost God’s Son His life, and it’ll cost you the same thing. Salvation isn’t gained by reciting mere words. Saving faith transforms the heart, and that in turn transforms behavior. Faith’s fruit is seen in actions, not intentions. There’s no room for passive spectators: words without actions are empty and futile. Remember that what John saw in his vision of judgment was a Book of Life, not a book of Words or Book of Intellectual Musings. The life we live, not the words we speak, reveals whether our faith is authentic. [emphasis added]" (Hard to Believe, p. 93)”

BLASPHEMY!

First, it is not hard to believe. The reason why most people aren't saved is NOT because it is hard; but rather, because they love their sins and won't come to Jesus to be saved (John 3:20; 5:40). John 3:21 teaches that repentance unto life of a matter of acknowledging THE TRUTH, and not of turning away from one's sinful ways (cf., 2nd Timothy 2:25). John 3:2, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” The Bible plainly says HE THAT DOETH TRUTH cometh to the light to be saved, not HE THAT TURNETH FROM HIS SINS. 2nd Timothy 2:25b-26 reads, “peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Again, please notice that the Bible doesn't say that repentance leads to forsaking sinful bad habits; but rather, to acknowledge (admit) the truth.

Second, the upright life that we try to live as believers is the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and not a part of the ROOT of saving faith. We should live right because WE ARE saved, not TO BE saved. The Holy Bible teaches that Jesus Christ lives the Christian life through us. Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” The life we live cannot get us to Heaven, because God does NOT accept works of self-righteousness. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

John MacArthur is a deadly Calvinist who errant teaches that if you're saved, you WILL live a changed life, but the Bible says in Titus 2:12 that believers SHOULD live achanged life. There's a big difference between WILL and SHOULD dear reader. We should do a lot of things as God's redeemed children, that we fail to do. This in no way suggests that we are not saved, it simply means that we are all struggling sinners. It is extremely dangerous and unbiblical to associate a changed life with possessing God's free gift of eternal life.

We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (that is, by wearing Christ's robe of righteousness, and not our own). I try to live upright because I love my Lord and don't want to grieve Him (John 14:15). I fail horribly sometimes, and it makes me mad at myself, and I get up and ask God to help me to do much better. That's how the Christian life is lived, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Even the best Christians are still sinners who battle daily with the flesh (Romans 7:14-25).

Misunderstood Repentance: An Enemy Of Soulwinning (a doctrinally-sound book by Dr. Jack Hyles)

The word “repent” (metanoeo, such as in Mark 1:15, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel”), simply means “a change of mind.” Evangelist David Cloud errantly defines the meaning as “a change of mind that results in a change of life.” That's not what the Bible teaches. Biblically, a changed life is the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is not required for salvation.

I think Michael P. Bowen, in his excellent defense of the Christian faith titled, I NEVER KNEW YOU, says it best. ...

I am at eternal odds with the false, counterfeit messages of salvation-by-works that are taught from virtually every pulpit today, on every television channel, and on every Christian radio station; however, I am not at eternal odds with the individuals who preach these counterfeit messages. My heart literally goes out to all of them because they simply do not understand Christ’s plan of salvation. They have been lied to by a crafty enemy named Satan, whose sole aim is to take as many people with him to the lake of fire as he can possibly manage to steal away from God using a counterfeit plan of salvation that appears so real, so genuine, and so holy that few ever realize they have been deceived by it. Oh reader, so many of today’s professing Christians who think they are going to heaven when they die are not going to make it to heaven as they had assumed because they’ve been lied to by today’s error-filled gospel messages.

SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, 'I NEVER KNEW YOU,' p. 17; © 2009, Xulonpress.com. Hard Copies Available

A tree without fruit is still a tree with roots. This is evidenced by the parable of the sower and the seed in Luke 8:11-15. Of the four groups, only the first are unsaved, because the Devil removed the seed from their heart before it could sprout into new life. The second and third group represent believers who never mature to bear fruit (leading others to Christ). They never mature into fruit-bearing Christians because of shallow roots, or because they are choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life. Ah, but the fourth group mature, having an honest heart, keeping the Lord's Word, bearing much fruit unto Christ (John 15:1-7). Just because the second and third groups don't bear fruit doesn't mean that they are not saved, as Ray Comfort and David Cloud errantly teach. The point of Jesus' parable is to win souls.

I humbly think it is not a good thing to use songs like, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and “I Surrender All” during a church salvation invitation. These seemingly innocent songs subtly suggest that a lifestyle change is necessary to be saved, which is false. For someone who is as lost as a moose in a caboose in Tallapoosa, hearing such songs may obscure the Gospel. I humbly think that it would be much more appropriate to use hymns like “Amazing Grace” or “Just As I Am.

Honestly, I'd rather see a church use Elvis Presley's hit songs: “Ain't Nothing But A Houndog” or “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” for a salvation invitation, than to use “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus.” The folks in Matthew 7:21-23 followed Jesus, but the dear Savior denied knowing them as His sheep because they had never been born again. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again (Luke 13:23-24).

Evangelist Ray Comfort Gets 'Born Again' Wrong

Jesus, in no uncertain terms, stressed the importance that in order to enter into God's Kingdom, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN” (John 3:3b).

Tragically, very few people understand what it really means to be born again. There's a popular evangelist named Ray Comfort, who has a flawed view of the new birth. According to Ray Comfort, being “born again” means to have a radical change of behavior. Ladies and gentlemen, your behavior improving has absolutely nothing to do with being born again. Since Adam opened the floodgate of sin upon the world, sin and death have been imputed to all mankind (Romans 5:12). Consequently, we were all born spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-2).

That is why we all must be born anew by the Holy Spirit of God. The seed of which is the inspired Word of God (Luke 8:11; 1st Peter 1:23). When a man places his childlike faith (trust, reliance) in the seed of God's Word (i.e., the Gospel of Jesus Christ), God works the miracle of the new birth, and that sinful individual is regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God, made a permanent member of God's heavenly family. The new birth is a miracle wrought by God, and not merely a radical change in one's behavior as Ray Camfort falsely teaches.

Right Doctrine Matters

I loathe many of the hymns we sing in church today. The church I reguarly attend likes to sing the hymn, “Victory In Jesus,” which I hate. I detest the song because of the phrase, “Then I repented of my sin and won the victory.” Is that biblical? What saith the Scripture? 1st John 5:4, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The inspired Scripture teaches that it is our FAITH that wins the victory, and not repenting of our sins.

Do you see how quite a few of the popular hymns that we sing in church are corrupt and misleading? Whenever we sing that atrocious song on Sundays, I always keep my mouth closed while everyone else is bellowing out those heretical words. I refuse to participate in spreading heresy! If I had my way, I'd either get rid of that song; or do as Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) did years ago, when he edited and changed many hymns to make them doctrinally correct. His new songbook is titled: 'SOUL-STIRRING SONGS AND HYMNS.'

May we be careful to choose better songs to use in our church invitations, which accurately represent the Gospel truth, and not the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation and Misunderstood Repentance. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

Wrong Repentance, No Salvation (MP3, by Pastor Hank Lindstrom)