1st Corinthians 1:18-19, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
I was delighted to learn that actor Jim Carrey is a Christian. Here is Jim's heart touching story. This is so precious! Sadly, Carrey's girlfriend took her own life in 2015. Through his suffering, losses and hardships, Jim Carrey said he was led to trust Jesus as His personal Savior, for which I am grateful. Many Christians had prayed for a long time for the beloved actor's salvation.
It just goes to show, that you never know who might come to Jesus Christ. Let's keep sharing the Gospel and praying for God to work in the hearts of the unsaved.
“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!”
Dear reader, God's plan of salvation is so free, easy and simple that even a small child can be saved simply by believing the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection three days later. This is the Gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-6.
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.”
BELIEVE IT, oh sinner, and you will be saved immediately, irrevocably and eternally.
Matthew 25:31-40, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Simply put, the SHEEP are God's children, and the GOATS are the Devil's children. The redeemed saints in the inspired Holy Bible are also represented by WHEAT, but the unsaved children of the Devil are represented by TARES (weeds). We read in the Old Testament book of Daniel 12:11-13, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” This is one reason how we know that the Tribulation Period will last for 7 years. As we just read, from the event called “The Abomination of Desolation” (Matthew 24:15), there will be 1,290 days before Jesus Christ's Second Coming.
The following Bible verse is solid proof that the Tribulation will last for 7 years. In Bible prophecy, one week equals 7 years. So “one week” in the following passage refers to 7 years. How do I know that? Because the preceding passage from Daniel 12:11-12 plainly tells us that the last half of the week will be 1,290 days! So the first half must be the same in duration:
Daniel 9:27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Then we read in Daniel 12:12a that “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” This is a difference of 45 days. This 45 day time period allows for The Judgment Of The Nations. It won't be a judgment where China is judged, and then Russia, and then Turkey, et cetera. Rather, the entire world will be judged, nation by nation. The Bible teaches that the angels will gather the elect (the saints). Let me say right here that God NEVER chooses anyone to be saved. God chose us because we first chose His only begotten Son, Jesus, as our personal Savior.
What saith the Scripture? John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” So the “elect” are all the saints, chosen by God because we first freely chose to trust the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
During this 45 day period at the end of the Tribulation period, all of the unsaved (the goats) will be cast into Hell by the angels. Many people mistakenly think that these passages refer to the Rapture, but in my humble opinion it doesn't. 2nd Timothy 2:15 exhorts us as believers to RIGHLTY DIVIDE the Word of Truth (i.e., the inspired Holy Bible). It is my humble opinion that the following two Scripture passages refer to the SAME event, at the end of the Tribulation period when Jesus Christ returns at His SECOND COMING:
Matthew 24:36-41, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
Matthew 13:30, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The angels are commissioned by God to gather (not the saints), but the unsaved tares, so they can be burned (in Hell). I do firmly believe in a Pretribulation Rapture, based on 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1st Corinthians 15:51-58). The Bible says the Lord's return will be like the days of Noah, when the wicked were partying and didn't know what hit them! Likewise, the heathen world isn't concerned with the words of warning from the preacher. They don't care about what the Holy Bible says. They aren't paying attention!!! But Noah knew when the flood was coming, as soon as he finished the ark that God commanded him to build.
We don't know WHEN the Rapture will happen. Not even the angels know. It is a carefully guarded secret. Certainly God knows the time. We also know that from the event called The Abomination Of Desolation, it shall be 1,290 days until Christ's Second Coming. So if we put all these doctrinal puzzle pieces together, the only logical conclusion that we can make is a Pretribulation Rapture (i.e., Jesus will return FOR His saints BEFORE the Tribulation period).
So we see in the Scripture that the goats are the unsaved. Sadly, 95% of our churches today are filled with goats. Everywhere I look today I see false doctrine plaguing the Bible colleges and churches which their corrupt graduates destroy!!! Bob Jones University is a cancer! Look at the doctrine of devils preached at BJU by their ungodly president since 2014, Dr. Steve Pettit:
“You can't just speak about getting saved, and you accepted Christ, and then that's it! There is a justification; There is a sanctification; There's ultimately a glorification, and though there are three parts, they are all part of the whole, and you cannot separate them. In order for you to qualify for the award, you have to get into the race, you have to stay in the race, and you have to finish the race. If you want to win, you have to run to the end; and winning in the Christian life is everything, because if you lose—if you don't finish—you lose everything—you lose your SOUL. And so, the Christian race is the life of faith that begins, is run, and is finished when we cross over into Heaven!” [emphasis added] —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 11:34)
Dear reader, that is NOT the free grace Gospel taught in the inspired King James Bible. In fact, it's not even in the ball park. Dr. Pettit is full of tommyrot, balderdash, flapdoodle, claptrap
and poppycock!!! It sure ain't THE GOSPEL!!!
Salvation is not a reward for the righteous; it is a gift for the guilty!
Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
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.
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).
Is your church full of goats and tares? Mormon churches are full of tares. Catholic churches are full of goats. Seventh-Day Adventist churches are full of goats and tares. In other words, they are not saved. I am using the words goats and tares interchangeably, for they both refer to the same thing, someone who is not a child of God.
You know, we often hear the unsaved referred to by preachers as “Christ rejecters,” but the false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 DIDN'T reject Jesus. I mean, they did in one way, but not in another. They preached in Jesus' name everywhere they went. They did many wonderful works in Jesus' name. They cast out devils ion Jesus' name. They followed Jesus, calling Him “Lord, Lord,” but the dear Savior denied knowing them. They certainly didn't intend to reject Christ, far from it. But look what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “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.” John 6:40 teaches that the will of the Father is to “BELIEVE ON HIM.” So in the sense that they failed to trust wholly in the Lamb of God, they effectively did reject Him as their Savior. What a tragedy!!!
Dear friend, religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this world. Salvation is NOT found in any religion, but in a person—the precious Lord Jesus Christ!!!
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.”
Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
The word repent” here is the Greek verb, metanoeo, which means: “to think differently.” I here so many preachers embellish the word repent. They'll say things like Timothy Zacharias did at Campus Church (Pensacola Christian College). On July 14, 2021 at a Wednesday evening Bible study Pastor Zacharias said: “Repentance is a change of mind which results in a change of behavior.” I cringed in my seat in the back of the giant auditorium, beholding a sea of several thousand people being woefully deceived. Dr. Zacharias taught with authority, spewing his damnable heresy.
The next day I contacted the senior pastor of Campus Church, Jeff Redlin, letting him know about the gross doctrinal error. Sadly, Pastor Redlin 100% supported the heresy and said that is what Pensacola Christian College believes. Dear reader, these men are ungodly false teachers. Right doctrine matters! It is a big deal. Changing the Gospel even a little but renders it totally ineffective to save. Repentance affects the Gospel. There are not variations of the Gospel. The Word of God plainly defines “the gospel” (meaning “Good News,” or “Glad Tidings”) in 1st Corinthians 15:1-6 as three things:
Jesus died on the cross for our sins according to the Scriptures.
He was buried.
Three days later Christ physically resurrected from the dead.
That is “the gospel” (the Good News) by which anyone is saved who BELIEVES it. 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.” Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible says to repent“of your sin” to be saved. Wicked men added those words to the Bible. We are simply commanded to “repent.” God intentionally chose to use the word “repent” because it is an open-ended and all-inclusive term. Anyone who says that repentance is more than a change of mind has corrupted the Gospel.
What must we think differently about to be saved? That's an easy answer—whatever it is that has been hindering you from BELIEVING the Gospel to be saved. You don't get saved by repenting, you get saved by believing. That is why in the Gospel of John we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times, but there is no mention of the word “repent.” But no one has ever believed who didn't repent. Repentance is absolutely necessary for the new birth.
A common criticism from those who errantly teach that you must “repent and turn away from your sin” to be saved, hurled against the free grace crowd such as myself and Jack Hyles, is that we don't believe in repentance. Nothing could be further from THE TRUTH.
Here is an example of what I just said. Pastor Charles Lawson of the Temple Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee errantly preaches:
“The Bible colleges around the country will stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and give an account for removing repentance from salvation and conversion.How can you be saved if you're not willing to repent?Salvation is not believing a bunch of stuff about Christ. You can change your mind what you believe about Him. And where you said before, 'I don't believe all this,' now you say, 'I believe all this.' Does that make you born again? 'For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.'
But you see, you can get a lot of people into church with easy-believism... “1-2-3 believe after me!” You prayed the sinner's prayer. You can fill up the congregation, and then you can go brag to the brethren about what a great job God's doing through you. Of course all that 'great job what God's doing through you' is meaningless. What they really mean to say is: 'Look how wonderful I am!' That's the idea. But they took repentance out.” [emphasis added]
Like so many ignorant preachers today, Pastor Lawson fails to understand the true Biblical meaning of the word repent. Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) gets it 100% correct:
“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.”
Salvation is a gift, paid for by Jesus' literal, physical, precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; 1st John 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Revelation 1:5). We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33; Romans 10:3,4; 1st Corinthians 5:21); and not our own willingness to do better (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Romans 4:5,6,22). We don't give up our sins to get saved; we give up our sins because we are saved, and that requires time to grow in God's grace (1st Peter 2:2; Ephesians 2:10).
I love Pastor Lawson, and he says many great truths in his preaching, but it is he (and not Jack Hyles, Curtis Hutson and myself) who is wrong on repentance. Charles Lawson is guilty of corrupting the Word of God, and casting stumbling blocks before the people!!! I say that kindly but truthfully in love (Ephesians 4:15).
Kindly, Dr. Lawson is placing the burden of character transformation upon the sinner, instead of upon the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. Pastor Lawson is errant in his view of repentance. America's Baptist churches are divided right down the middle on the meaning of repentance. Ultimately, you the reader must decide who is correct—Dr. Lawson or the Holy Bible. I ask you to let the inspired Words of God be your only guide. What saith the Scripture? John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
Dr. Lawson says: “How can you be saved if you're not willing to repent?” In other words, he is saying that you cannot be saved unless you are willing to turn away from your sin. Pastor Lawson teaches that if you place your trust in Christ's death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection (i.e., the Gospel) for salvation, it means nothing unless you have had such a drastic transformation in your heart toward sin that it changes your life permanently. He understands this to be repentance. This is qualification by works for salvation, not the free grace of God which comes through faith alone.
Dr. Lawson attributes the changes in a believer's life to repentance, when the Bible teaches “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” It is the indwelling Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) that produces the “fruit” of righteousness in a believer's life (Galatians 5:22-25), and not a drastic change of heart misunderstood to be repentance. The goal of true repentance is to believe the Gospel, period, end of the road. The goal of false repentance is to live a changed life.
That is the damnable heresy taught at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) today. Pastor Tim Zacharias said on July 14, 2021 at a Wednesday night Bible study: “Repentance is a change of mind which results in a change of behavior.” No, repentance does not result in behavior modification!!! That is the Devil's lie of Calvinism, aka, Lordship Salvation. I'm tired of bad preachers lying to people, misleading them to think that if their behavior hasn't changed they never really repented and are not saved. That is the same poisonous falsehood preached at Bob Jones University (BJU) today. Satan is a beautiful liar! Satan has subtly crept into our Bible colleges and churches, corrupting the Word of God by convincing people that they must forsake lifelong sinful bad habits or else they cannot go to Heaven. You cannot show me that teaching from the inspired King James Bible!!!
Nowhere does the King James Bible teach to “repent of your sin” to be saved. Now, if you use the Devil's corrupt Bible versions, you'll find all kinds of garbage. If you don't believe me, take a look at this shocking chart...
The Bible Has Been Corrupted Just To Get A Legal Copyright!
When I showed this evil to the pastors of the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, they berated and scolded me, forcing me out of their church. Pastor Marty Herron threw me under the bus. He was a coward and asked his sidekick Joe Hansen to do the dirty work to get rid of me. Associate pastor, Jared Baldwin, blindly followed his spiritual partner in crime, Marty Herron. None of these men had the courage to stand upon their own two feet—all complicit to wrong doctrine, a false gospel, false Bibles and ecumenical compromise. But the blood is upon their hands and heads, not mine. I TOLD THE TRUTH as a righteous man does!!! Proverbs 14:17, “He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.”
Dear reader, I am not trying to be a troublemaker. I am simply telling the truth!!! 1st Kings 18:17, “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” Elijah wasn't trying to cause trouble, but preaching THE TRUTH always upsets people who hate THE TRUTH!!! The Apostle Paul made enemies among the churches of Galatia because he told them the unpleasant TRUTH. Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” A cult had infiltered the churches and Paul rebuked them for it, which they did not like one bit. That is why the BJU and PCC camp are upset with me, because I called them out for preaching LIES!!!
“Men like to believe lies, but when it gets to real truth, then how few will believe the Word of God!” —Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)
Ladies and gentlemen, not one verse in the inspired Holy Bible tells us to repent of our sin to be saved, unless you are using one of the Devil's corrupt modern Bible revisions. I encourage you to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES as our blessed Savior told us to do (John 5:39). You simply cannot trust men to be honest! You cannot trust the Devil's fake Bibles. There's your FAKE NEWS!!!
Bible repentance is simply a change of mind from unbelief to belief. The only sin that can keep a person out of Heaven is the sin of UNBELIEF. Repentance is a change of mind unto the Gospel itself. We don't have to turn away from sinning to be saved because that would be keeping the law, which is definitely a works-based plan of salvation (Romans 3:19-20).
We are saved simply by BELIEVING. What saith the Scripture? ...
John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, 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.”
Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
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.”
I love all those wonderful passages of Scripture! Again and again in the Bible we are taught that the way of salvation is simply to BELIEVE ON JESUS CHRIST. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” As we just read, ALL the prophets (e.g., Moses, Elijah, Isiah, Jeremiah, Nahum, Daniel, Joel, Habakkuk, et cetera) testified that remission of sins comes only through FAITH IN THE MESSIAH!!!
Jesus DIED on the cross to pay our debt of sin. He was BURIED. Three days later (72 hours), Jesus bodily RESURRECTED from the dead for our justification. That is, our faith in Him was not in vain!!! Just as He had promised, Jesus raised up His temple after three days (Mark 14:58; John 2:19). That is the Gospel, or Good News, by which we are saved, all who BELIEVE IT!!! Nothing is mentioned in the Bible about forsaking the world, turning away from our sinful ways, following Christ as “Lord,” making full surrender, exchanging all that we are for all that Christ is, counting the cost and paying the price, running the race, living a lifestyle of repentance, or anything else to be saved; we are told only to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED (Acts 16:31). Amen and amen!!!
Deadly false prophets like Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, John MacArthur, Tim Zacharias, Jeff Redlin, Sam Horn and others, who require more than faith to be saved are of the Devil. Jeff Redlin and his Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College require that you repent of your sin to be saved, which is a lie of the Devil. PCC falsely preaches that if your behavior doesn't change, you didn't repent and are not saved. That is Calvinism!!!
Repentance has NOTHING to do with turning away from your sin, nor behavior modification; it only has to do with you coming to God as a needy sinner to BELIEVE the Gospel to be saved. What saith the Scripture? 2nd Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God 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.”
Did you see that? Repentance is NOT from sin, it is to the acknowledgment of THE TRUTH. Pastor Harry A. Ironside gets it exactly right:
“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.” —Dr. Harry Ironside; 'Except Ye Repent,' p. 36
Repentance is simply a change of mind concerning THE TRUTH that you are a guilty and hopeless sinner. Thus seeing your need you turn to Christ by faith for salvation. What saith the Scripture? Galatians 3:24-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” The Old Testament LAW is a measuring stick, by which when compared all men fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The LAW, having done its job, then brings us to CHRIST to be saved by grace through faith. LAW and CHRIST; or respectfully, OLD and NEW TESTAMENTS. There is God's simple plan of salvation.
“The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out.” —Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935)
Please understand that God never intended for anybody to perfectly keep the law to merit Heaven, simply because no human being has ever been able to do so, except Jesus (Hebrews 4:15). So when these false prophets (which includes the entire Bob Jones University campo today) come along teaching that your faith is not genuine unless you perform works, they are corrupting the Word of God and casting stumbling blocks before the people. They are requiring you to keep the law to prove that your faith is legitimate for salvation. In so doing they are combining LAW and CHRIST (or grace).
Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688) said it best:
“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —Evangelist John Bunyan
Amen and amen! Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) preached a wonderful sermon emphasizing this very same truth, titled: “Steps In Sanctification; Or, The Root Of All Heresy!” We've got to keep the crucified life, the risen life and the ascended life, all separate from the SAVED LIFE. Justification has nothing to do with the believer's sanctification. We've got to keep sonship completely separate from discipleship. We must keep salvation entirely separate from service.
Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) wrote these helpful doctrinally sound words, to reinforce the Bible truths I am teaching:
“There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness.” —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, Hebrews; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117).
Having shared all these excellent truths with you, it should be abundantly obvious now that repentance doesn't mean to turn away from sinning to be saved. You don't need to keep the law to be saved. Nor do you need to keep the law to prove that you are saved. That is what Paul meant in Galatians 3:3, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Paul continues in Galatians 3:4-6,“Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Abraham believed God and it was credited (imputed) to him for faith. This is the ONLY way that anybody has ever been saved, by God's imputed righteousness.
Please don't fall for the Devil's lie that you cannot be saved unless you “repent and turn away from your sin.” The Bible simply doesn't teach that garbage! It sounds good, but it's heresy! The true Gospel always points you to Christ; a false gospel always points to you. 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?
John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” 1st John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
Once a person gets saved (born-again), the Bible says we have PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE. It is the same as when a child is physically born. Once born, always born!!! Ray Comfort says that Judas is his favorite of all the disciples, because Judas showed him that it is not enough to BELIEVE in Jesus to be saved; it's not even enough to follow Him.
Dear reader, Ray is oh so wrong! When asked directly what “works” we must do to get to Heaven, Jesus replied with the simplest of answers. He just said—BELIEVE ON HIM!!! John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” As we see, clearly, BELIEVING is enough to be saved.
Ray Comfort Exposed
At 42:32 minutes into the preceding video, Ray heretically says:
“Yeah, I don't believe 'Once Saved, Always Saved,' that you can live like the Devil.”
Ray Comfort is preaching another gospel, accursed by God (Galatians 1:6-9). What Ray fails to understand is that we are saved by God's imputed righteousness. To “impute” means to credit something to a person or source. Romans 4:5-7, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Both words “counted” and “imputeth” come from the SAME Greek word. They mean the SAME thing!!! So we can use these words interchangeably. So to the sinful man who worketh not, but BELIEVES on Jesus Christ, God credits His righteousness to that sinful man. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” What a precious Bible truth!!!
I fully agree with my friend Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, who said:
“'You can't tell me you can trust Christ as Savior, and then go out here and live like the Devil, and still go to Heaven!' Yes, I can tell you that! That's what the Bible says. If you don't come to the conclusion, that—Yes, you can trust Christ as your Savior and live like the Devil, and still go to Heaven when you die—you don't get grace, because that is the exact truth! That is the truth! I do not have to change my life! I don't have to stop one sin! You say, 'I've never heard a preacher say that.' You just heard one! And you listen to me—I want to live as holy and as godly as I possibly can. I am now 70 years old. I've been saved for 52 years. ... the only reason I'm going to Heaven is because, 52 years ago in a little living room, I accepted Christ as my Savior.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, a helpful quote from the awesome sermon: “Calvinism And Grace Are NOT Compatible | MP3”
What saith the Scripture? Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” We receive God's free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life, by ceasing from our own works and completely resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Literally, all you have to do to get to Heaven is simply believe that Jesus did it for you.
Dear reader, I sincerely love Ray Comfort, but he is going to Hell forever if he doesn't repent of his wrong repentance. Mr. Comfort chose Judas as his favorite disciple because he says Judas proves that believing in Jesus and following Him is not enough to be saved. But dear reader, Judas never did believe in Jesus as his personal Savior. We read in Matthew 27:3 that Judas “repented himself.” Judas was a reformed man, he turned away from his sins. Judas even returned the 30 pieces of silver, for which he was paid to betray the innocent one. By the way, 30 pieces of silver was the going price of a slave. Judas returned the money, which theologically is called “penance.” Judas felt sorry for what he had done, which theologically is called, “penitence.” Let's itemize these theological terms:
penitence = sorry for sin
penance = making a mend for sin
reformation = turning away from sin
repentance = a change of mind
Judas experienced penitence, penance and reformation, but he did NOT repent toward God (Acts 20:21). Judas did not believe Jesus was the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, as Peter did. Matthew 16:16, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 followed Jesus, calling Him, “Lord, Lord.” They did many wonderful world sin Jesus' name. They cast out devils in Jesus' name. Like Ray Comfort, they prophesied (preached) their message in Jesus' name. Yet, Jesus said He didn't know any of them, and told the angels to cast them into the outer darkness of Hell forever.
The dear Savior tells us plainly what they did wrong in Matthew 7:21, “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.” The best way to interpret the Bible is with the Bible. What is the will of the Father? Jesus plainly tells us in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” There you have it, right from the Savior's own mouth, the will of God is to BELIEVE ON JESUS!!! John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” That's it, that's all, no more!!!
Salvation is not a reward for the righteous; it is a gift for the guilty!
Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
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.
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).
Kindly said, Ray Comfort is dead wrong to deny the great Bible doctrine of “Once Saved Always Saved.” Ray says you cannot be saved and continue living like the Devil. But you can my friend, you certainly can! I didn't say you should, because you shouldn't. The first thing I remember when I got converted as a 13-year-old young man, was the indwelling Holy Spirit began convicting me about the sin in my life. I sometimes listened, but at other times ignored the Holy Spirit.
When I didn't listen, bad things sometimes happened, as chastisement for doing wrong. Sometimes I got caught, and at other times I didn't get caught. That is true of everybody! But the Bible teaches that the eyes of the Lord see everything, the bad and the good. So that we cannot hide anything from God. Hebrews 4:13, “ Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” I assure you Biblically that no one ever gets away with sinning. Every hidden evil work done in a dark, dreary, obscure place, will be manifest in eternity at the Judgment for all to see (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Romans 14:10-12; Matthew 12:36; Proverbs 24:12). 1st Timothy 5:24, “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”
I sometimes like to watch “Forensic Files” and “Cold Case Files,” which are as fascinating as they are disturbing. I learned that only 50% of murder cases in the United States ever get solved. The infamous 'Zodiac Killer' of the 1960's in California has never been caught. The Zodiac Killer claims to have murdered at least 31 people. I believe him! But the victims (and their families) of this madman need not worry, justice will be met in God's court system!
They're still digging up bodies who were victims of John Wayne Gacy (1942-1994) in Gary, Indiana, over 40 years later. I think the death count just surpassed 40 bodies! Interestingly, curious scientists dissected Mr. Gacy's brain after his execution, slicing it up into pieces to analyze his brain for abnormalities, hoping to identify something which could cause a man to commit such monstrous crimes. But they found a 100% normal brain. That is frightening!!! What saith the Scripture? Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” What made Judas do the evil things that he did? Why did Peter and the other disciples believe on Jesus, but not Judas? There is no answer friend, except that God has given to every human being a freewill to decide for ourselves.
I chose to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior at age 13 in Chicago, in an old-fashioned Baptist church on a Sunday morning; a decision which I have never once regretted, and for which I am so eternally grateful to God. God chose me (the elect) because I first chose Jesus. God never chooses anyone to salvation, we chose Him first. I could write a thick book on all the Biblical reasons why Ray Comfort is doctrinally WRONG to deny “Once Saved Always Saved.” Even the best Christians still continue in a lifestyle of sinning (Romans 7:14-25). As long as we are in the flesh, we will commit sin. It is in our sinful nature. Even though we have a new nature as a born-again child of God, the old nature (the flesh) is still with us. So there is a constant battle going on between the Holy Spirit and the flesh (Romans 7:14-25).
Humbly said, I actually prefer the saying: “If Saved Always Saved.” Once you receive Christ as your personal Savior, God performs the supernatural miracle of the new birth (John 1:12-13). A lot of people fail to understand that getting saved is a supernatural miracle in response to one's childlike faith in the Gospel (i.e., the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day). 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.”
If it were true, as Ray Comfort preaches, that you could lose God's salvation because of intentional habitual sinning, then we could not “REJOICE” as Jesus commands every believer to do (Luke 10:20). We could not have any peace, wondering every time we backslid if we had crossed the line and lost our salvation again. What a horrible life of fear, uncertainty and misery! That is not the free grace Gospel taught in the inspired King James Bible!!!
We can KNOW we are saved, simply because salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). We are saved ONLY by what Christ did to pay for our sins on the cross; and not by our own efforts, faithfulness and continual repenting (turning away) from the sins in our life. That is a false understanding of repentance, which Pastor Jack Hyles exposes in this helpful article.
Once you get saved, it is a done deal, permanent. One of my favorite sermons, and the very message that compelled Michael P. Bowen to get saved, by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) is titled: 'How Permanent Is Your Salvation?' Dear Christian friend—even if you were to kill 1,000 puppies just because you can—you would still be 100% saved and on your way to Heaven. What? I realize that such a statement harelips every dog in the county, but it is solid Bible doctrine:
Romans 5:20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
There is no crime that you can think of which could ever result in losing God's gift of eternal life, which is by faith alone. The only unpardonable sin is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. To understand what that means, you need to know that it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit is God with us, and He is dealing with your soul dear friend when you feel convicted. If you are saved, then you have the blessed Holy Spirit living inside you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, never to leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). I love the Holy Spirit!!! So when the Holy Spirit can no longer speak to a man's heart, because he speaks evil of the Holy Spirit, then how can he be saved? He cannot. That is the unpardonable sin, not getting saved.
Peter spoke evil of Jesus, even denying knowing Him, cursing His precious name; but he later repented when alone. We may get angry and blaspheme the Lord's name by our sinful testimony and words, but the Holy Spirit deals with our heart of hearts, which is what really matters to God. Our Christian testimony may be lousy, as was Lot's and Samson's testimony. But that doesn't mean they weren't saved. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit means that we personally reject Him in our soul, and no believer has eve done that! It is IMPOSSIBLE for a redeemed child of God to ever commit the unpardonable sin. Sadly, Ray Comfort has committed the unpardonable sin, by perverting the grace of God. When you attack the grace of God, you attack the God of grace. God bless you dear friend. Thank you for reading my humble blogs. YOU are my ministry.
Galatians 3:1-7, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
One of my favorite passages in the Holy Bible is Galatians chapter 3. I really love the Apostle Paul's zeal for exposing false doctrine. Paul suffered no fools. In Galatians 3:-7 we find the phrase “the hearing of faith” mentioned twice.
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?”
Galatians 3:5, “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
What does Paul mean by the HEARING OF FAITH? The answer is found in 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.” Moses preached the Gospel to the Jews in the Wilderness for 40 years. The Jews could have recited the Gospel forwards and backwards, but they didn't believe a word of it. You get saved by placing your faith in the Good News (Gospel) when you hear it preached. It's that simple.
This is exactly what happened in Acts 2:41 on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:37a and 41 “Now when they heard this... they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” They heard the Apostle Peter preach the FACTS of the Gospel. Then they put their FAITH in those facts and were saved. That is how everyone gets saved, by BELIEVING THE GOOD NEWS!!!
In John 20:31 we read, “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.” We are saved by accepting God at His Word, as He has recorded for us in the Holy Bible. There is no need to guess, wonder or embellish the Gospel, because the Bible clearly defines it for us:
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:”
Please notice the phrase twice mentioned by Paul, “according to the Scriptures.” Again and again we see in the Bible that salvation comes to the man who BELIEVES the Written Word, the Scriptures!!! This takes the guesswork and mystery out of going to Heaven. God plainly lays out His simple plan of salvation for all humanity to see. We are all sinner (Romans 3:23). There is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). This includes a second death, which is the lake of fire and brimstone, or Hell (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:9; Psalms 9:17). But God is His love made a way of escape. The heavenly Father sent His only begotten (biological) Son, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life, ultimately dying on the cross to pay our debt of sin. Jesus was buried (to prove He was dead). After three days Christ arose from the dead triumphant, and was seen physically by over 500 brethren at once (1st Corinthians 15:6). This is “the gospel,” by which all who are saved who BELIEVE (Romans 1:16).
Having laid that solid Scriptural foundation, how in the world does false prophets like John MacArthur come up with this junk theology? ...
“The narrow gate is hard to find and hard to go through, because it demands: denial of self, denial of self-righteousness, recognition of sin, full repentance, submission to Christ, commitment to obey Him, and follow Him no matter what the cost!” —Pastor John MacArthur, a quote from his sermon titled, “Saved Or Self-Deceived, Part One” (time: 4:25 in YouTube sermon video)
Let's list the SEVEN requirements for salvation which Mr. MacArthur just mentioned:
Denial of self (wrong! You get saved by receiving Christ, not forsaking self)
Denial of self-righteousness (this one is Biblical, you've got to trust Jesus alone)
Recognition of sin (this one is Biblical, you've got to know what you're being saved from)
Full repentance (what does this even mean?)
Submission to Christ (wrong! This is sanctification, not justification)
Commitment to obey Christ (wrong! This is sanctification, not justification)
Follow Jesus no matter what the cost (wrong! This is sanctification, not justification)
Ladies and gentlemen, that is not “THE GOSPEL.” The 'GOSPEL' (or, 'GOOD NEWS') is Jesus Christ's DEATH on the cross, His BURIAL and subsequent bodily RESURRECTION three days later. This is “THE GOSPEL” according to the apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 15:1-6, as we just read. Mr. MacArthur doesn't mention any of this in his requirements to make it through the narrow gate. Go figure! Of all the things MacArthur mentions, he leaves off the Gospel. What a deadly false teacher!!!
The ONLY requirement for salvation is to recognize your need as a GUILTY SINNER. What do we need? We need the precious Savior who has the nail-scared hands and feet! The reason is because we deserve to be punished in Hell for our own sins. Anyone who dies in their sin will go to Hell forever.
God gave mankind the Old Testament law to be used a measuring stick, to show us that we cannot live a perfect enough life to merit Heaven. Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The hardest part about getting people saved is to first get them lost. Once a person recognizes their lost condition as a guilty sinner, then it is easy to bring them to Jesus Christ to be saved BY FAITH alone.
As I said earlier, I love Galatians 3:1-7. There is so much beautiful doctrine here. We read in Verse 6 that Abraham BELIEVED God and it was counted (credited) to him for righteousness. In this great truth rests the key to man's salvation!!! Since we have no righteousness of our own to appease God's wrath against sinners (Psalms 7:11; John 3:36), we need someone else to pay for our ticket to Heaven. Jesus did that for us on the cross of Calvary!!!
The Bible teaches that our best goodness is as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). That is because no amount of good can compensate for the sins we have committed. This is why we read in James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” The law is like a car side window, if you break it, it will shatter into a thousand little pieces. The glass is designed this way on purpose, to prevent large chunks of glass from causing severe bodily injury if it breaks. Likewise, you can break the Ten Commandments which God has written in stone, but you cannot bend them. There is no eraser or white-out that came with God's Ten Commandments, He wrote them in solid stone!
The hearing of faith!
The hearing of faith!
The hearing of faith!
The hearing of faith!
I love it. I love it. I love it!!! Such a simple statement, yet it conveys such a deep and profound Biblical truth. No one has ever been saved by the keeping of the law! We are saved by the hearing of faith, that is, putting our faith in the Good News of Christ crucified, buried and risen that we hear preached. Oh, how simple it is to go to Heaven!!! Yet, sincere but foolish and ignorant ungodly men complicate God's simple plan of salvation...
These Falsehoods Will Keep You Out Of Heaven If You Trust Them
The preceding list of good works are okay in their proper place, but that place is NOT in God's simple and free plan of salvation. Our ONLY part in God's plan of salvation is to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ; everything else is God's part, and you can be assured that He will attend to it.
Beware of Deadly Lies Subtly Hidden Among Truth
The Devil is a beautiful liar, more subtle than any other creature (John 8:44; 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15). The Devil's standard M.O. (Method of Operation) is to employ half-truths to deceive people. It was 33rd degree Freemason and prolific writer, Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) who stated:
“The half-truth is the most dangerous form of lie, because it can be defended in part by incontestable logic.” —Manly P. Hall, 'The Secret Destiny Of America,' p. 195; 1944; ISBN: 0-89314-388-X; publisher: The Philosophical Research Society, Inc, Los Angeles, California.
False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. Satan loves to deceive people, and using half-truth is an effective way to do it! An example is the 911 attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC). The world on video saw two commercial jets crashing into WTC buildings 1 and 2, murdering 2,996 innocent people. The BIG LIE was that rogue terrorists operating from a cave with a laptop in Afghanistan pulled it off. THE TRUTH is that there were bombs in all those WTC buildings, which took a demolition team several months to prepare.
That is why Marvin Bush, the younger complicit brother of President George W. Bush, worked on the management board for the security company which oversaw the WTC buildings for the 2-years leading up to 911. That gave them the perfect opportunity and secrecy needed to prepare and execute their sinister plan. It is so unimaginable that our own White House could be involved with such a wicked plan, that most people cannot even grasp such heinous evil. But what saith the Scripture? Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The WTC complex was brought down to the ground in just 12 seconds by controlled demolition, using high explosive thermite charges to cut through the massive thick structural support beams. The debris was hauled off on barges to China, preventing metallurgical testing from being done, lest the true culprits in the White House who orchestrated the attacks (and their many accomplices) be exposed.
So what was the half-truth? What was the truth? What was the lie? The lie was the government telling the public that planes brought down WTC buildings 1 & 2. But what about WTC building 7? No plane struck it. How do 2 planes brings down 3 buildings? The truth is so blatant to see, 911 was an INSIDE JOB!!! (so says Vietnam veteran and 32-year retired NYFD firefighter Rudy Dent). The Luciferian elite who control this world for Satan (2nd Corinthians 4:4), were able to get away with the 911 attacks because they control the mainstream newsmedia. Through the media they convinced 99% of the public that 2 airplanes caused those buildings to crumble to the ground. But that is not the truth. THE TRUTH is that bombs via controlled demolition brought WTC buildings 1, 2 and 7 down. The planes didn't do that, but the planes provided a convenient lie to cover for the real truth. 911 is one big giant HALF-TRUTH.
False Prophets Use Half-Truths To Lead People Into Hell
Jesus warned in Matthew 7:13-14 that most people are going to Hell, and that only very few will go to Heaven. Jesus tells us why in Verse 15, because of FALSE PROPHETS!!! These frightening statistics most definitely include preachers, missionaries and churches!!! The number one group going to Hell are religious people. We see this truth evidenced by the arrogant self-righteous Pharisees in the New Testament. We see this truth evidenced by the 450 unsaved prophets of Baal who challenged the prophet Elijah.
Dear friend, I encourage you to listen several times to Alexander Scourby read the Epistle of Galatians and the Gospel of John, to get a clear comprehension of the simple Gospel. Please STOP spending most of your time listening to corrupt preachers on TV and the internet, who are woefully ignorant of the Word of Truth. Tragically, preachers simply DON'T STUDY as the Bible commands all of us to do in 2nd Timothy 2:15.
The Word of God plainly defines "the gospel" as Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection. Yet, we hear tommyrot garbage like this from Satan's unrighteous ministers. For example: Evangelist Ray Comfort once had a conversation with a lost woman on an airplane, saying to her:
“So if the plane goes down, you'd end up in Hell! There are TWO THINGS you have to do to be saved. Do you remember what they are? I told you what they are—You've got to repent and trust the Savior! ... God's offering you everlasting life upon your repentance and faith in Christ. Who in his right mind wouldn't say, 'Whoa! That's a good offer!'" (The curious woman asks what it means to “repent”?)... Ray responds by saying, "Have you ever said you're sorry to someone you did something wrong to? That's all repentance is—You've sinned against God; it's a matter of saying, 'God, I'm sorry,' and then LIVING A LIFESTYLE that proves the reality of your repentance. That's what repentance is, it's a continual thing! God, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not going going to lie or steal or blaspheme Your name ever again. It has that attitude! And the second thing—trust in Jesus!” [emphasis added] SOURCE: Evangelist Ray Comfort, “I've never killed anyone”
Kindly said, Ray Comfort goes horribly astray from the Gospel of free grace, turning getting saved into a lifelong process instead of an instantaneous new birth. Nowhere in the inspired King James Bible are we taught to LIVE A LIFESTYLE of turning away from sinning to get to Heaven. That is keeping the law, not resting in Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11; Romans 3:20). Notice that Ray then teaches the woman that to get to Heaven she must do a "SECOND" thing, because in his counterfeit plan of salvation faith is not enough.
Ray uses a half-truth. The true part is that we must believe to be saved. The false part (or lie) is that you must repent of your sin to be saved. Not one Scripture in God's Word teaches to repent “of your sin” to be saved. Wicked unsaved men added those extra words to the Bible, and thus adding another requirement to be saved, which demands more than faith alone. What saith the Scripture? Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Paul doesn't make any mention of turning away from your sin.
Well don't you have to repent to be saved? Yes, of course, but Bible repentance is simply a change of mind. I have heard umpteen pastors get angry at the very thought, that repentance means nothing more than a change of mind. They insist that a person must experience profound guilt and grief over their sins to be saved, and must be so convicted by the Holy Spirit that they are resolved to stop living a lifestyle of sinning. This all sounds good and reasonable to a religious person, but the problem is that none of it is Biblical.
All God requires to be saved is that we acknowledge our sinnership. John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” So here we see that someone who loves living in sin WON'T come to the light of the truth of the Gospel to be saved. This is why they must repent, that is, change their mind. But please read Verse 21 again, which says, “He that doeth truth cometh to the light...” The Bible doesn't say “He that turns from his sin” cometh to the light. Repentance is a matter of seeing your need as a guilty sinner for the dear Savior.
Further evidence of what I am teaching is found in 2nd Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God 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.” Please notice that repentance unto life is not from sin, but TO THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE TRUTH. Amen and amen. One of my favorite preachers, Pastor Harry Ironside, gets repentance 100% correct.
Dear reader, we find the word "believe" mentioned 88 times in the Gospel of John, but there is not even one mention of the word "repent." That is because repentance is automatic. That is, the person who believes on Jesus Christ has repented (i.e., changed their mind from unbelief to belief). It is another gospel to teach that there are two steps to be saved.
Although repentance and faith are two different things theologically, they both happen in just ONE STEP of believing the Gospel. When asked, "What must I do to be saved" in Acts 16:30, the Apostle Paul answered the Roman soldier in Verse 31, "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED." There was just one work to be saved, which is to BELIEVE ON JESUS. John 6:28-29, "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
John 20:31, “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.”
It has been wisely said that the Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract. I fully agree. That is what our text verse says. The Apostle John said he penned these inspired words to convince you, dear reader, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John says he wrote these words so that by making the choice to BELIEVE, you will be saved. This is the ONLY way to be saved, through faith alone in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, subsequent burial and bodily resurrection three days later. This is THE GOSPEL (1st Corinthians 15:1-6).
There are many damnable false teachings (which the Bible calls “doctrines of Devils” in 1st Timothy 4:1-4), which are being preached in today's fake churches. We here much about “fake news” in recent years regarding social media. Ain't it the truth! It is hard to truly know what is true or false anymore, because there are so mnay liars, con artists, evildoers and false prophets in the world. Sadly, two of the biggest sources of misinformation is the U.S. government and the mainstream news media. After the blatant lies, inside job and cover-up of the 911 attacks, I will never trust the U.S. government or newsmedia again!!!
Everybody has interests, priorities, hobbies and someplace where they spend most of their time. Whereas some men choose to spend most of their spare time fishing, playing golf (I hate golf) or doing work around the house, I spend most of my time contending for the Christian faith. It is my passion!!! The Apostle Paul said that he was SET FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE GOSPEL. Philippians 1:17, “But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.”
The word “set” in Philippians 1:17 is the Greek word keimai, which means: “to lie outstretched.” It means to be laid up, to be totally overcome to a cause, which in this case was to defend the light of the truth of the Gospel. Paul was wholly committed to making sure that the Devil and his false teachers didn't creep into the churches he had started, and allow false prophets to corrupt his work. Likewise, I am committing as Paul to exposing everyplace in Bible colleges and churches today where the Devil rears his ugly poisonous head! It like a game of Whack-A-Mole! When I see Lordship Salvation sticking its ugly head up...WHACK! When I see Bob Jones University falsely teaching that you must repent and turn away from your sinning to be saved... WHACK!
“The world will go to Hell unless somebody is authoritative!”
Having said that, I am unalterably opposed to the Devil's lie that more than childlike faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is necessary to get to Heaven. To be saved you simply need to know the Bible FACTS and BELIEVE (put your confidence in) them. You are a guilty sinner in God's holy sight (Romans 3:19-23). There is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). That includes the second death in Hell for all eternity (Psalms 9:17; Revelation 14:11; 20:11-15;21:8). But the Good News (or Gospel) is that God loves you dear friend. So He sent His only begotten Son Jesus into the world, to die a sinner's death in your place and mind on the cross of Calvary. The sinless virgin-born Son of God paid a debt that He didn't owe, to pay our massive debt of sin which we couldn't pay! Jesus was buried and then three days later He miraculously resurrected from the dead. The Bible teaches that anyone who simply BELIEVES those facts is saved.
But the lying Devil comes along and wickedly says:
“No, no, wait a minute Buster! You can't just come to God with the attitude that you intend to continue living in sin, and then seriously expect Him to forgive you. You must repent of your sins and turn away from them with all your heart, grieving over them, and be resolved in your heart to stop living a lifestyle of sin, or else you cannot be saved until you do. You must surrender your whole personality to Christ, choosing to follow Him from now on as your “Lord,” or else God will not save you until you do. You must count the cost and pay the price, emptying yourself of all selfish ambitions and love for the world. You must run the race of the Christian life faithfully until the end, if you want God to save you.”
The preceding plan of salvation is a demonic fraud; not the simplify that is in Christ, THE GOSPEL, which is plainly taught in the Holy Scriptures (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). I am amazed and saddened by the many unbiblical teachings which I constantly hear coming from pulpits all across America. We need a revival of preaching only what the Bible says, not what we think it says! You cannot show me any of the preceding concepts in the Bible. No where are we taught to run the race faithfully for a lifetime, as Dr. Steve Pettit false says we must to get to Heaven. It is frightening because Dr. Pettit is the president of Bob Jones University, brainwashing 3,000 students and faculty each year with his Calvinist lies, damning their souls to the Lake of Fire. You cannot be born-again when you ADD something else to faith alone!
Here are some helpful preacher quotes refuting the Devil's falsehood of Lordship Salvation:
“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —Evangelist John Bunyan
“Dear sinner, do not make this a difficult matter. There is one simple step between you and Jesus. When you trust Him, everything else is settled, and you have repented, you have come to Christ, you have received Him, you have done everything necessary to be saved.” —Dr. John R. Rice, a quote from his tract titled: “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”
Lordship salvation would make salvation a trade or a deal or maybe even a bribe. It would take away the simple reception of Christ for eternal life and would become God giving us something if we give Him something. God would say to us, “You give Me something; I'll give you something. We will trade, and you will be saved.” Salvation is not my giving God something and God giving me something; salvation is God giving me something and my receiving it. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Lordship Salvation” (chapter 11 from his book: “Salvation Is More Than Being Saved”)
“Yes, Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of the universe, and, of course, we believe that He is Lord. However, to believe that in order to be saved one must make Him the Lord of his life is just another form of salvation by works.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Lordship Salvation - An Enemy of Soulwinning”
Why do men always have to complicate things? John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Repeatedly throughout the precious Gospel of John, as well as the entire Bible, we are simply taught to BELIEVE ON CHRIST to be saved. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Could the Bible be any plainer? I think not. So where did the perverse Bob Jones University (BJU) camp get their Satanic teaching that you must repent and turn away from sinful bad habits to be saved?
Where did the Bob Jones crowd get the insane idea that you cannot be saved by faith alone, but also you must faithfully run the Christian race until the end? Where did they get the Devil's lie that you faith is not valid unless you spend your life doing good works to prove it? (Pastor Chuck Phelps is on the BJU board of directors). These are wicked unsaved men who have total disregard for THE TRUTH of God's Word, taking it upon themselves to sit in judgment as critics upon the time-tested inspired Word of God? What gives them the right to promote the Devil's corruptible seed? God will punish them for pulling on the same rope as the Devil, and for persecuting me for telling them THE TRUTH, befriending and warning them as a true friend does. Instead, they cast me out and ostracized me for 7 long years on Guam (2014-2021), for which God will hold them accountable as evildoers. Like the Apostle Paul, I became the enemy of the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam because I told them THE TRUTH. Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you THE TRUTH? (Galatians 4:16).
What gives the Bob Jones camp the right to embellish the Gospel, changing it to include more than just childlike faith in the Good News of Jesus crucified, buried and risen? Shame on them all! God will punish them in eternity (Proverbs 30:5-6). Galatians 6:7 warns that God will not be mocked, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. What the wicked Harvest Baptist Church on Guam has done, and their incompetent's pastors (i.e., Marty Herron, Joe Hansen, Jared Baldwin, Gary Walton, et cetera), by spreading fake Bibles, misunderstood repentance and a false gospel of Lordship Salvation, will not escape God's judgment. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!
