What Is Bible Repentance To Get To Heaven?

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘? ( 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗜𝗔)

So many today speak about “repentance” today — but few understand what it truly means.

Some think it’s about crying over sin, feeling sorry, or turning over a new leaf.

But that’s not the Bible repentance that saves.

In the context of biblical salvation, repentance is not turning from sin — it’s changing your mind toward God and His truth.

The word “repentance” comes from the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), which literally means “a change of mind.”

It comes from meta (to change) and nous (mind or understanding).

It’s realizing you’re a sinner who cannot save yourself — and turning from unbelief to believe the Gospel of grace.

It’s the moment you stop trusting your religion, works, or emotions, and start trusting Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

“Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” —Acts 20:21 (KJV)

Repentance and faith are inseparable — they’re two sides of the same coin.

No one can truly believe the Gospel unless they have repented, because repentance is that change of mind that leads to faith.

When you believe the Gospel, you’ve already repented.

When you repent toward God, you’re ready to believe.

The Gospel that saves:

“...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.” —1 Corinthians 15:3b–4 (KJV)

Salvation isn’t about what you can do — it’s about what Christ already did.

It’s not about turning from sin to earn forgiveness — it’s about believing the One who paid for your sin in full.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” —Titus 3:5 (KJV)

Repentance = Μετάνοια (Metanoia) — A Change of Mind

• Not emotion.
• Not self-reformation.
• Not behavior adjustment.

It’s a heart-level change of thinking — from rejecting God to believing His truth.

When you truly believe the Gospel, you have repented.

When you truly repent toward God, you will believe the Gospel.

That’s how salvation by grace through faith works — it’s all of Him, none of us.

Free Grace Gospel Versus Lordship Salvation

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.”

Contrast: Free Grace Theology vs. Lordship Salvation

Below is a clear, structured contrast between the two systems—doctrinally, exegetically, historically, and pastorally.

1. Definition of Faith

Free Grace Theology

• Faith is persuasion—being convinced that Jesus gives eternal life to the believer (John 3:16; John 5:24; John 6:47).
• Faith contains no inherent commitment, no promise to obey, no pledge of loyalty.
• Faith receives a gift, not a contract.
• Greek: pisteuō means to believe, to be persuaded, never “commit,” “yield,” or “surrender.”
• Salvation is a one-time event, not a lifelong project.

Lordship Salvation

• Faith is redefined as commitment, surrender, whole-life allegiance, or obedient trust.
• Faith includes willingness to follow, obey, forsake sin, submit, and persevere.
• Because works are built into the definition of faith, faith becomes faith + obedience.

Core difference:

• Free Grace makes faith about Christ’s promise.
• Lordship makes faith about the believer’s performance.

2. Salvation vs. Discipleship

Free Grace Theology

• Scripture distinguishes receiving eternal life (John 4:10; Eph. 2:8–9) from following Christ (Luke 9:23–26).
• Salvation = free gift.
• Discipleship = lifelong growth, costly obedience, bearing a cross, perseverance.

Lordship Salvation

• Salvation is discipleship; they collapse both categories.
• Conditions of discipleship become conditions of salvation.
• Demands like self-denial, taking up the cross, forsaking all, and perseverance become requirements to prove one is truly saved.

Core difference:

• Free Grace: Salvation is received; discipleship is lived.
• Lordship: Salvation is proven by discipleship.

3. Assurance of Salvation

Free Grace Theology

• Assurance comes from the promise of Christ alone (John 5:24; 6:47; 10:28–29).
• If Christ gives eternal life, then it is eternally secure.
• The foundation of assurance is God’s Word, not self-examination.

Lordship Salvation

• Assurance is obtained by evaluating one's behavior—fruit, obedience, direction of life, perseverance.
• A believer cannot know infallibly whether he will persevere.
• Therefore he cannot know if he is truly saved until the end.

Core difference:

• Free Grace: Assurance is of the essence of saving faith.
• Lordship: Assurance is the fruit of a life of obedience.

4. View of Apostasy and Sin in Believers

Free Grace Theology

• Believers can fall into sin, even serious sin, even doctrinal error.
• Believers can become spiritually shipwrecked (1 Tim. 1:19), carnal (1 Cor. 3:1–3), or deny Christ (2 Tim. 2:12–13).
• Discipline may include sickness, death, temporal judgment, loss of reward.
• But eternal life remains intact because it depends on Christ, not the believer.

Lordship Salvation

• If someone falls into serious, continual, or unrepentant sin, this proves the person was never saved.
• Perseverance in holiness is required to authenticate conversion.
• Apostates were “never truly regenerate.”

Core difference:

• Free Grace: Apostasy = loss of fellowship and reward.
• Lordship: Apostasy = proof of false conversion.

5. Interpretation of Warning Passages

Free Grace Theology

• New Testament warning passages address believers and relate to:

1. temporal discipline
2. loss of rewards
3. loss of fellowship
4. consequences in the Christian life
5. none threaten eternal condemnation

Lordship Salvation

• Warnings test whether one is a “real Christian” or merely a “professor.”
• Warnings function as salvation filters—measuring whether obedience proves regeneration.

Core difference:

• Free Grace reads warnings as family discipline.
• Lordship reads warnings as heaven-or-hell tests.

6. Rewards and Inheritance

Free Grace Theology

• Rewards are distinct from salvation.
• All believers enter the kingdom (John 3:5).
• Only faithful believers inherit (possess, rule, reign) in the kingdom (2 Tim. 2:12; Rom. 8:17; Rev. 2–3).
• Eternal rewards motivate perseverance and godly living.

Lordship Salvation

• Rewards largely collapse into “heaven itself.”
• Faithfulness becomes proof of salvation, not the basis of reward.
• Inheritance and entering the kingdom are treated as identical.

Core difference:

• Free Grace: Rewards are earned; salvation is gifted.
• Lordship: Rewards are absorbed into salvation.

7. Pastoral Practice & Lived Outcome

Free Grace Theology

• Produces at best:

1. Gratitude
2. Humility
3. Security
4. Motivation from grace
5. Compassion toward struggling believers
6. Focus on Christ, not performance

• At its worst:

1. Some believers drift into careless thinking, but Scripture calls them to sanctification, discipline, and reward—not doubt of salvation.

Lordship Salvation

• Produces at best:

1. Perpetual self-evaluation
2. Fear of being a false convert
3. Anxiety
4. Legalism in many cases
5. Suspicion toward others' salvation
6. Uncertainty about one’s standing with God

• At its worst:

1. Believers live under constant doubt, believing their salvation depends on their perseverance.
2. Core difference:
3. Free Grace produces rest.
4. Lordship produces restlessness.

8. The Middle Ground?

• There is no true middle ground because the systems begin with different definitions:
• If faith includes commitment → salvation requires works.
• If faith receives a gift → salvation is apart from works.

These systems answer different questions:

Lordship asks:
“How do you know you’re really saved?”

Free Grace asks:
“What did Jesus promise to the believer?”

SUMMARY (One Paragraph)

Free Grace Theology teaches that eternal life is a free and irrevocable gift received the moment one believes in Christ’s promise. Salvation and discipleship are distinct; assurance rests solely on God’s Word; and failure, sin, or apostasy—while tragic—cannot undo regeneration. Lordship Salvation treats faith as surrender, obedience, and perseverance, making discipleship the test of salvation, placing assurance on personal performance, and interpreting failure as evidence of false conversion. Free Grace views warnings as discipline; Lordship views them as salvation filters. In essence: Free Grace centers salvation on Christ’s work, while Lordship centers it on the believer’s response.

Luciferian Conspiracy Of Calvinism And Lordship Salvation

Jude 1:4, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Heretic John Calvin (1509-1564)

According to author and retired Canadian Navy commander William Guy Carr (1895-1959), the French reformation leader John Calvin was actually a Jewish infiltrator (which fact he attributes to an article from the Catholic Gazette in 1936):

Once the revolution had been decided upon, the Jewish plotters introduced Calvinism into England to split Church and State, and divide the people. Contrary to general belief, Calvinism is of Jewish origin. It was deliberately conceived to split the adherents of the Christian religions, and divide the people. Calvin’s real name was Cohen! When he went from Geneva to France to start preaching his doctrine he became known as Cauin. Then in England it became Calvin. History proves that there is hardly a revolutionary plot that wasn’t hatched in Switzerland; there is hardly a Jewish revolutionary leader who hasn’t changed his name.

At the B’nai B’rith celebrations held in Paris, France, in 1936 Cohen, Cauvin, or Calvin, whatever his name may have been, was enthusiastically acclaimed to have been of Jewish descent.

SOURCE: Comdr. William Guy Carr, Pawns In The Game; p. 9 of 15 from chapter 2; ©1958.

It's now the year 2015 and our churches across America and the world are divided between “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4) concerning the Gospel, and the false plan of “Lordship Salvation” which requires discipleship for salvation. Few born-again Christians would ever suspect that the heresy of Lordship Salvation (which is nothing but repackaged Calvinism) is a Luciferian conspiracy to divide and conquer the churches:

The Forces of Evil realize that in order to win undisputed control of the material assets of the world, and establish an Atheistic Materialistic Totalitarian Dictatorship, it is necessary to destroy all forms of constitutional government and organized religion. In order to do this the Forces of Evil decided they must divide the peoples of the world against each other on various issues.

SOURCE: Commander William Guy Carr, Pawns In The Game; p. 1 of 15 from chapter 2; ©1958.

One of the most distinguishing traits of Freemasonry is their vague, one-size-fits-all, New World Order, false concept of God, which Masons call: “THE GREAT ARCHITECT.” Notice the famous painting of John Calvin (1509-1564) at the beginning of this article, in which he is flashing a well-known occult hand-sign, which The Beatles Paul McCartney and other secret society members have used in public. John Calvin was clearly a member of a secret society:

John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), repeatedly calls the Christian God: “the Architect of the Universe,” also referring to his works as “Architecture of the Universe", and in his commentary on Psalm 19 refers to the Christian God as the “Great Architect” or “Architect of the Universe.”

SOURCE: “Great Architect Of The Universe”; Wikipedia.org

“The Great Architect” of the New World Order is none other than LUCIFER. Although Zionist Jews, high-ranking Freemasons and Vatican leaders within the Roman and Russian Catholic churches are complicit with the Illuminati's agendas, the sinister plot for World Government is 100% Luciferian in nature.

Pastor John MacArthur of Grace To You ministry in California is a self-professed 5-point Calvinist.[1] MacArthur teaches Limited Atonement[2] (i.e., the heresy that Christ only died on the cross for believers). MacArthur also teaches that there is no such thing as a childhood conversion,[3] and that it is not easy to be saved.[4] He claims that just as God gave His Son, and Jesus gave His life, so must we give everything to God to be saved.[4] This is blatant corruption of “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). The false teaching of Lordship Salvation effectively requires living the Christian life as a substitute for being born-again (which can only happen by God's imputed righteousness, with is solely by faith without human works of any kind - Romans 4:5-7). Lordship Salvation deliberately confuses people by mixing Discipleship with Salvation; thus, adding human effort to partial faith in Christ, which is vain religion, not the glorious new birth. ...

John Macarthur's Spiritual Mentor was a Jewish Rabbi

John Macarthur's father, Dr. "Jack" Macarthur, in addition to being the director of the foundation which started Fuller Seminary, was in Henrietta Mears' inner circle and was involved at the highest level of the world ecumenical movement. The goal of the ecumenical movement is to create a one-world religion for the worship of Lucifer. Christians have been falsely led to believe that the one-world religion will eradicate Christianity rather than transform it. (See John Macarthur's Ecumenical Roots and What is the Church Growth Movement?)

According to an interview with Phil Johnson of Grace To You, John Macarthur stated that at his father's request, he went to Talbot Theological Seminary (now known as Talbot School of Theology) "just because of him [Dr. Charles Feinberg], to be my mentor, my professor and [to take] every course that he offered." (1)

Dr. Feinberg was Talbot Seminary's first dean (1952-1975) and according to John Macarthur, was a Jewish rabbi. In reference to his time at Talbot Seminary (I believe in the early 1960's), John Macarthur stated, "Charles Feinberg..., just a converted rabbi, basically, studied fourteen years to be a rabbi." (2) Why are Jewish rabbis heading Christian seminaries? Do you believe a Jewish Rabbi would personally tutor a Gentile?

According to Wikipedia "In 1930, he [Charles Feinberg] converted from Judaism to Christianity through the ministry of Chosen People Ministries."

According to the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (Feinberg was a charter member of the ETS), "Charles Lee Feinberg was born on June 12, 1909... He was reared in an orthodox Jewish home and prepared for the rabbinate for fourteen years prior to his conversion to Christ in the fall of 1930."(3)

The curriculum for being a Rabbi involves studying the Talmud, the textbook of all rabbi's and the basis of Judaism. The Talmud is extremely anti-Christian and greatly slanders the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. Feinberg studied the Babylonian Talmud and cited it in his writings.

Though John Macarthur refers to his spiritual mentor, Rabbi Feinberg, as a "Jewish Christian," (4) Rabbi Feinberg's son, Dr. John Feinberg, referred to his father posthumously as "an orthodox Jew" (5).

Of interest, according to the Lockman Foundation website, Dr. Feinberg was an original translator of the corrupt bible version, the NASB, the version from which John Macarthur currently preaches. Click here to read more about this corrupt bible version and the false Greek text from which it was translated.

There is also evidence that Rabbi Feinberg was a Calvinist. "...or the treasury of notes in the New Scofield Bible written by an elite group of Bible scholars which included Charles Feinberg, who incidentally, was a Calvinist." To those who have studied the truth about John Calvin, a crypto Jew, and the Protestant Reformation, it wouldn't come as a surprise to learn that an orthodox Jewish rabbi was a Calvinist. Click here to read a most enlightening article regarding evil Calvin, Calvinism, and the Rosicrucian roots of the Protestant Reformation.

Christian researchers have found definite connections to Freemasonry at the highest levels of the leadership of the reformed movement (located in Edinburgh, Scotland). Interestingly, the motto for FIRE (Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals), which numbers Phil Johnson, the Executive Director of John Macarthur's Grace To You, as a member, is nearly identical to the motto of Phoenix Freemasonry. (See: John Macarthur's Ecumenical Roots)

SOURCE: John Macarthur's Spiritual Mentor was a Jewish Rabbi

The truth is stranger than fiction. Dr. MacArthur is a major promoter of the heresy of Lordship Salvation—the false teaching that a person cannot be saved without making full surrender to Christ's Lordship, confessing Christ publicly before men, turning (or be willing to turn) away from sinful behavior, and forsaking the world. Although these things are noble in their proper place, none of them have anything to do with receiving the free GIFT of God by faith in the Gospel.

The Luciferian elite worship only Lucifer, the god of fallen man in this wicked world (2nd Corinthians 4:4; 1st John 5:19). Since their works are of the Devil, they must operate in hiding through secret societies worldwide (The Thule Society, Freemasons, Skull & Bones, Bohemian Grove, The Fenian Brotherhood, Rosicrucianism, The Club Of Rome, Knights Templar, The Council Of Nine, The Illuminati, The Bilderberg Group, Sons Of Liberty, et cetera).

By far, Freemasonry is the most common of these secret societies, which greatly (and woefully) influences America's churches for evil. It is estimated that over one-third of the Freemasonry membership in the United States are members of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). A 1991 survey by the Southern Baptist Convention Sunday School Board found that 14% of SBC pastors and 18% of SBC deacon board chairs were Masons; it is also estimated that SBC members comprise 37% of total U.S. lodge membership. A 2000 SBC report found that over 1,000 SBC pastors are Masons. This is apostasy!

Freemasons are forbidden to pray in Jesus' name at lodge meetings, lest they offend non-Christian members. Do you realize how demonic and blasphemous that is in God's eyes??? Only a wicked man would voluntarily join a questionable group that forbids praying in Jesus' name, demanding that Christ not be recognized and honored as He ought as the only begotten Son of God. Think about that! Freemasonry does a lot of good to help others, especially their Shriners hospitals for children (what a great cover for a Satanic cult!). Only the higher level members of the Masonic order fully understand the true Luciferian agenda of their organization, which is to infiltrate, divide and takeover as many institutions as possible to support World Government, aka, a New World Order!

It's important for believers to understand that the Devil doesn't try to recruit churches; but rather, he creeps in unawares, bringing in damnable heresies (like Lordship Salvation and counterfeit Bible versions), and then before you know it, the church has woefully changed, succumbing to ecumenical apostasy:

The goal of the ecumenical movement is to create a one-world religion for the worship of Lucifer. Ecumenists (bridge-builders) in the leadership of the various denominations direct the churches to set aside their differences, find common ground, and unify. John Macarthur preaches against ecumenism, however, his family and ministry are firmly rooted in the ecumenical movement.

In The Voice of Calvary Legacy, John Macarthur paid tribute to his father, Dr. John “Jack” Macarthur. He served on the Extension Staff of Moody Bible Institute and later became the director of Charles E. Fuller Evangelistic Foundation.2 In 1968, the Fuller Evangelistic Foundation changed its name to the Fuller Evangelistic Association. ...

SOURCE: John Macarthur's Father's Involvement at the Highest Level of the World Ecumenical Movement

We are going to see a lot more ecumenical apostasy creeping into the churches. Many churches have been hoodwinked by Pastor Rick Warren's Satanic Emerging Church deception. Mr. Warren also teaches the heresy of Lordship Salvation. Warren is a disgusting compromiser, who has apologized to many his “gay friends” for taking a stand against homosexual marriage. Warren is far more concerned what people think about him, than what God thinks about him (John 12:42-43). ...

JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564) was the classic fundamentalist [of heresy]. Reportedly he was Jewish, gay and a sadist. Jerome Bolsec published a life of Calvin, 'Vie de Calvin', in 1577. According to Bolsec, Calvin frequently engaged in gay sex. According to Bolsec, Calvin resigned his church post at Noyon, in France, because of the public exposure of his homosexuality.

John Calvin became the religious boss of Geneva in Switzerland. "Under his rule Geneva, formerly so gay, became like a city of death, where all citizens went about as if in mourning." (Progress of Calvinism - In Switzerland.) Calvin's followers burned 58 people for heresy. Servetus was a wise doctor who took an interest in religion. He was not keen on the idea of the Trinity. When Servetus came to Geneva in 1553, Calvin had him arrested.

Poor Servetus was then burnt at the stake. Christopher Hitchens writes (Christopher Hitchens - God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons ...) that "Calvin's Geneva was a prototypical totalitarian state, and Calvin himself a sadist and torturer and killer, who burned Servetus (one of the great thinkers and questioners of the day) while the man was still alive."

Allegedly, Jewish plotters introduced Calvinism into England 'to split Church and State, and divide the people'.

Archibald Ramsay wrote: 'How the Jews stole Britain' and according to an article based on Ramsay's book:

Calvinism is of Jewish origin.

Calvin’s real name was Cohen.

When he went from Geneva to France he became known as Cauin.

Then in England it became Calvin.

At the B’nai B’rith celebrations held in Paris, France, in 1936, Calvin, was enthusiastically acclaimed to have been of Jewish descent.

SOURCE: Calvin And The Jews

John Calvin was a monster! It does not surprise me that a crypto-Jewish occultist, fraudulently named John Calvin, introduced a false plan of works-based salvation into the churches, which infects many churches still today. There are Satanic forces at work to corrupt and transform the churches into spiritually dead religious centers, instead of an assembly of Holy Spirit indwelled born-again Christians. Spirituality is replacing theology in the churches! Without the sound doctrines of the inspired Words of God in the King James Bible, the churches are losing their foundation. Psalms 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Please beware of John Calvin's teachings, commonly referred to as, what else... “CALVINISM”! Please beware of Calvinist influenced ministers and institutions; such as (to name but a few), Evangelist Paul Washer, Dr. John Piper, Evangelist Ray Comfort, Dr. John MacArthur, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, any churches that support and promote John MacArthur, et cetera.

Satan knows that the best way to hinder truth is to confuse people by introducing lies into the mix. The Bible teaches us about “the simplicity that is in Christ” in the Gospel (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4). In sharp contrast, there is nothing “simple” about having to surrender all to Christ to be saved. There is nothing “simple” about forsaking sinful bad habits and confessing Christ before men publicly to be saved. The lie of Lordship Salvation places extremely heavy burdens upon men's shoulders; whereas Christ bore the total weight of every man's sins upon the cross, so that salvation could be made freely available to all mankind, by simple faith in the Gospel.

The true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is free and simple to anyone who wants it, by simply receiving Christ's sacrifice upon the cross as the payment for one's sins, and believing that Jesus bodily raised up the third day for our justification. This is drastically different than the extra-biblical requirement to cease from sinful living, forsake the world, confess Christ before men and surrender all to Christ to be saved. These latter are all self-righteous works, which are forbidden in God's plan of salvation (Isaiah 64:6). The false doctrine of Lordship Salvation is also held (or a variation of) by Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, Church of Christ and Jehovah's Witnesses, to name but a few Satanic cults.

Man has no part in God's salvation of man, except to BELIEVE the Gospel. When the Scriptures teach believers in Philippians 2:12, “...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” it does NOT say to work out God's salvation.

2nd Corinthians 4:3, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.” The heresy of Lordship Salvation cleverly hides the Gospel behind a wall of holy living, teaching people that to be saved they must repent in the sense of changing their life, and then continue repenting for the rest of their life if they're really saved. This effectively requires a lifetime of good works, and abstaining from bad works, to be saved. I've heard this garbage theology taught on UNSHACKLED by Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Grace To You with Dr. John MacArthur, and also by Evangelist Chip Ingram, and also Seeking Him ministry online, to name just a few.

Dear reader, whether or not you believe the occult connection of Calvinism (aka., Lordship Salvation) with Luciferianism, if you believe the Holy Bible then you cannot dispute the truth that Satan is the god of this evil world (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4). Why should it be difficult to accept that the most evil being in the universe, Lucifer, wants to corrupt the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of God's free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith alone in Jesus' crucifixtion, burial and bodily resurrection (1st Corinthians 15:1-4)?

The Devil is more clever and subtle (sneaky) than any human being can imagine. Old smutface knows that if he can trick you into adding even the tiniest amount of self-effort to God's simple and free plan of salvation, then he has damned you to the Lake of Fire forever. I agree with Pastor Dennis Rokser (pronounced "rock-sir"), who said that if you have to trim your toe nails once every million years in addition to faith in Jesus Christ, you are going to spend eternity burning in Hell because that is not the Gospel.

Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. But to the carnal mind, it makes sense that a person should have to resolve to reform, turn away from sinful ways and commit their life to follow Christ as “Lord” to get to Heaven. The big problem is that all those things focus on YOU, instead of CHRIST. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. Good works are not the payment for sin, the payment for sin is death. That is why Jesus voluntarily died in our place on the cross, paying down our massive debt of sin. 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!

Wake up oh Christian from your spiritual slumber! We are in a relentless spiritual war for God!!! Thank you for reading this blog. Jesus is precious!!!

Psalms 118:6, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”

Psalms 56:9, “...this I know; for God is for me.”

1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

Lordship Salvation Is A Deadly Perversion Of The Gospel

Matthew 7:20-23, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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.”

In our text passage of Scripture, we find the damnable doctrine of Lordship Salvation in the inspired Holy Bible, and Jesus exposed it as a fraud. They cried out to Jesus in eternity at their time of judgment, saying: “Lord, Lord,” but Christ denied even knowing them. These religious people had spent their lives living the Christian life, preaching in the name of Jesus, doing many wonderful works in the name of Jesus, totally submitted to serving Christ; yet, Jesus denied knowing them. Like all condemned Christ rejecters (John 3:36), they are still burning in Hell today, awaiting the horrifying Great White Throne Of Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

One of my favorite free grace preachers is Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, who made this helpful statement to define what Lordship Salvation is:

“Lordship Salvation is the unsupportable and unbiblical belief that the performance of good works, the promise of good works, or the evidence of good works, must accompany faith in Christ to establish or provide evidence that such faith has resulted in eternal life.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold ('Jesus versus John MacArthur')

Amen and amen! Good works have no place in God's simple plan of salvation. In fact, neither do bad works! That is, you don't have to do good works, nor stop doing bad works, to get to Heaven. What saith the Scripture? ...

Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

Carefully notice that the inspired King James Bible says “repentance from dead works,” NOT repentance from sins. But look what the sneaky Devil's Bibles say:

New International Version (NIV) - Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,”

New Life Version (NLV) - Hebrews 6:1, “So let us leave the first things you need to know about Christ. Let us go on to the teaching that full-grown Christians should understand. We do not need to teach these first truths again. You already know that you must be sorry for your sins and turn from them. You know that you must have faith in God.“

New Century Version (NCV) - Hebrews 6:1, “So let us go on to grown-up teaching. Let us not go back over the beginning lessons we learned about Christ. We should not again start teaching about faith in God and about turning away from those acts that lead to death.“

Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) - Hebrews 6:1, “So we should be finished with the beginning lessons about Christ. We should not have to keep going back to where we started. We began our new life by turning away from the evil we did in the past and by believing in God. That’s when we were taught about baptisms, laying hands on people, the resurrection of those who have died, and the final judgment. Now we need to go forward to more mature teaching.“

WRONG!!! All of these popular demonic Bible PERversions (in these apostate modern times) are corrupted. The inspired King James Bible says to repent from 'DEAD WORKS' (which includes all works, both good and bad); but the Devil's corrupt perversions have changed it to “turn from your sins” or “turn away from acts that lead to death” or “turn away from evil.” The correct translation is “repentance from dead works.” The only thing that a sinner needs to repent of to be saved is our DEAD WORKS. That is, you must cease from trusting in your own good works, and cease from foolishly thinking that you must forsake a lifestyle of sinning, to be saved. Those are all DEAD WORKS!!!

You DON'T have to forsake your sinful behavior. Nor does repentance mean that your behavior will change after you get saved, which is the heresy taught at Pensacola Christian College (PCC). I attended PCC's Campus Church in 2021 and was disgusted to discover that their official position is: “Repentance is a change of mind which results in a change of behavior.” The Devil told them that lie! Just because you change your mind (repent) toward God to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, doesn't mean that your behavior will change. There is something in the Bible called “growth in grace” (2nd Peter 3:18; 1st Peter 2:2).

Please check the Bible that you are using, to see if Hebrews 6:1 has been corrupted. I only recommend that people use the inspired King James Bible. The Devil's modern Bibles are NOT inspired. That is, they are man's words and not God's words. The only inspired words of God in the English language in 2022 are in the King James Bible!!! All others are corrupt or inferior. And please don't let anyone trick into thinking that the King James Bible is full of errors. No, their head is full of errors! I find no fault in the Holy Bible. The Bible should correct us, not we the Bible! The Bible needs to be reread, not rewritten. You'd think after 900 English Bible versions that people would take a clue, but they still don't realize that the Devil is behind all this utter confusion (1st Corinthians 14:33).

BEWARE of all modern Bible versions!

Lordship Salvation is a perversion of the Gospel. 

I have collected these helpful quotes over the years by Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold:

“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, a quote from the excellent MP3 sermon titled, “WHY GRACE CAN SAVE THE WORST MAN!” 

“If all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, then why would you use those rags to prove that you're saved?” —Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold, sermon quote: “How Do I Know God Really Loves Me? - Part 2”

“Remember this, if you're depending upon your own good works to get you to Heaven, you're lost! Your salvation had to be purchased with something that was incorruptible, with the precious blood of Jesus Christ!” —Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold, Bibleline Radio Show - “The Precious Blood Of Christ”

“If you have to look at your life to prove that you are saved, it proves that you're not!” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold; an excellent quote from the awesome YouTube sermon titled, “Why Lordship Salvation is WRONG!

“My destination is not based upon how I live my life, it's on whom that I trust to save me.” —Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold

“It's not the size of my faith that gets me to Heaven, it's the object of my faith!” —Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold; a quote from the MP3 sermon, “Where Is Faith?”

“IF YOU WANT TO SAVE AMERICA, GET AMERICA SAVED!” —Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold

“Salvation can only be evidenced by works, if works are required to be saved.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, “Why Lordship Salvation Is Wrong!”

“Trusting Christ by faith alone cannot cannot be revealed by works at all; salvation can only be revealed by works, if works are required to be saved!” —Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold, quote from “Why Lordship Salvation Is Wrong”

“Being saved is not something that you perform, it is something that He performs.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, a great quote from the awesome sermon, “Raised For Our Justification.”

“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, a quote from the MP3 sermon titled: “God's Reversal Of Psalm 51”

“'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 great quote from the awesome sermon, “Calvinism And Grace Are NOT Compatible”

“The Gospel, if you understand it, can cause you to love one another.” –Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold, a quote from the sermon titled: “To Believe, Receive, Accept, or Trust???”

I LOVE all those truthful quotes!!!

You DON'T have to surrender “all” to Christ to be saved, you just need to trust Him as your personal Savior. You do that by admitting you are a guilty sinner (Romans 3:10-23). We all deserve to be punished in Hell-fire forever to pay for our own sins (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8). As sinners, we have a Savior! The Good News (Gospel) is that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, to die on a cross to pay our debt of sin (John 3:16). Jesus paid it all!!! If you will simply place your 100% confidence in Jesus, He will save you!!! 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.”

You simply come to God as a needy sinner, BELIEVING on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are immediately, irrevocably and forever saved! 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.”

God Cannot And Will Not Pardon Anyone Without Justice

2nd Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

I have often heard unsaved people (both religious and non-religious) say that if God is a loving God, then He won't send them to Hell. Billions of people throughout human history have made the eternal fatal error of assuming that a loving God would never send anyone to Hell. Oh, how wrong they are!

Although God is certainly a God of love, He is equally a God of justice. There must always be justice! Mankind is predictably unpredictable. I read in the news years ago about a man in Alaska, who drove his wife out to a secluded area on a snowy night, and then murdered her with a gun. The judge only sentenced him to 8 years in prison. Yet, in another sad story, a mother in Kansas was sentenced by a harsh judge to 45 years in prison for possessing 1/16th an ounce of cocaine. She was an addict. She needed help, not to be locked in a cage and tortured with loneliness and claustrophobia. In man's court system, there is little justice!

I have felt sickened lately, to see the U.S. Justice Department going after former honorable U.S. president Donald Trump. Yet, the corrupt U.S. Justice Department refused to investigate and prosecute the culprits behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, claiming that it was a matter of “national security.” What rotten scoundrels! The corrupt and injustice U.S. Justice Department also used the same lame excuse not to investigate and prosecute the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, or the HSBC Banking Scandal (laundering Mexican drug cartel money) in 2015, or the Mena, Arkansas drug trafficking ring (by then horrible corrupt Arkansas thug governor, Bill Clinton).

THE TRUTH is that the U.S. Justice Department is a puppet on a string, controlled by the demonic Masonic powers that really control the United States, a proxy of Israel since 1948. Thankfully, God sees all the injustice, and He will ultimately execute justice!!! Ecclesiastes 5:8, “If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.” Amen and amen!

I once heard the famous movie actor, Jackie Gleason (known as “The Great One”), say that he didn't think that God would send him to Hell for committing one sin. Kindly said, Jackie Gleason was so WRONG! James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” It is tragic that he didn't know Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, which is the ONLY way to Heaven. Mr. Gleason said publicly on 60 Minutes in 1984 that his greatest fear was not making Heaven. Sadly, that appears to be what happened, he missed Heaven and went to burn in Hell forever and ever. The inspired Word of God is very clear that a person MUST BE BORN AGAIN to enter into the Kingdom of God. 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.”

By God's mercy and grace, in response to my faith in the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection, I was born-again in 1980 at age 13. I thank God for the gift of His precious only begotten Son, Jesus. I do not deserve to go to Heaven. I deserve to go to Hell to burn forever, because of my own sins. Even one sin is enough to condemn a person to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, without hope or rest. God the Father in His genuine unconditional love, sent His only begotten (biological) Son into the world, to die a criminal's death on the cross, as a substitutionary sacrificial lamb for you and me dear reader.

Jesus paid it all! If you want to escape the fires of Hell, and spend eternity with Jesus and the hosts of Heaven in splendor and joy, then you must be born-again. Your sins must be paid for. Either you must spend eternity in Hell paying for your own crimes against God and man, or else you can receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins instead. I assure you, upon the authority of the Holy Bible, that God will NOT let you slide someday for your wickedness. God doesn't forget those wicked sins and crimes that you commit in your youth, that humanity doesn't know about, or time has effectively seemingly erased. No doubt there are murderers, pedophiles, rapists, thieves and atrocious criminals at large still, who have never been caught by the police yet. But you cannot escape the omniscience and justice of our holy 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.” Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

According to God's promises in the Bible, no one ever gets away with anything! Matthew 12:36 warns that God will hold men accountable even for their words. Proverbs 24:12 warns that even if men deny their wrong doing, God knows their very thoughts and intents of the heart, and will call them LIARS! You cannot hide or deceive God dear friend, because He knows and sees everything about you (Psalms s139:1-6). Romans 14:10-12 warns that all men will stand before the judgment of God, and give account. This means you! This means me! This means everyone! God is not a respecter of persons. It matters not how rich or poor you are. It matters not whether you are famous or unknown. It matters not if you are big or small, short or tall, learned or ignorant, cultured or uncouth, et cetera.

There MUST be justice! Sin must be paid for. No one can enter into Heaven merely because God is merciful and kind. You must consciously accept God's free gift of eternal life, which is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 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:”

So please do not make the grave mistake of foolishly thinking that just because you would let someone off the hook easily, that God is like you, because I assure you that HE IS NOT! God's holiness demands absolute justice, and justice cannot be foregone, overlooked or dismissed. That is exactly why Christ had to die on a cross to PAY for our sins, which were grievous and many. There was no other way of escape:

Romans 5:8-10, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Did you read that friend? The Bible teaches that we are justified BY HIS BLOOD. John MacArthur is a theological liar, who says that Jesus' blood actually only means His death. No, Mr. MacArthur, you are an infidel on your way to everlasting destruction. We are saved BY THE BLOOD of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:5, 7:14; 1st John 1:7). Jesus willingly shed His precious blood on Calvary's cross, and then took that liquid blood to Heaven (Hebrews 9:12), to sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in the Holy Place (Hebrews 12:24), in the presence of God on our behalf (Hebrews 9:22-24). Praise the Lord!!!

Please make sure that you have been born-again! Being religious is not the way to Heaven. Attending church, following Christ, surrendering all to God, giving your life to serve Jesus, turning away from sinful ways—these things are all proper in their place along the Christian journey of sanctification, but NONE of these things comprise THE GOSPEL (1st Corinthians 15:1-6); and you may do all these things and yet never have been saved at all. YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN (John 3:3b).

That is the ONLY way to meet God's demand and standard for justice. There is nothing that you can do to remedy your own dilemma. You are a hopeless sinful wretch dear reader, and so am I. Apart from Christ's sacrifice through Calvary's cross, there is no hope for anyone!!! If you will simply humble yourself before almighty God, to admit that you are a hopeless guilty sinner in need of a Savior; and cast yourself at the beautiful feet of the only begotten Son of God, by putting your complete reliance in Jesus Christ to save you, then He promises to do so immediately. John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Simply believe (put your trust in) THE FACTS of the Gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 20:31), who died in your place on the cross, was buried, but three glorious days later He bodily resurrected from the dead. This is THE GOSPEL by which all who believe it are saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That is how you can be declared JUSTIFIED by God in Heaven, JUST-IF-I'D never sinned at all. What an awesome God!!! Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?  he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”

To Him That Worketh Not

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” —Romans 4:5

What can you say to that? How can you argue with such plain and simple Words? The Word of God boldly proclaims that eternal life is obtained WITHOUT good works, i.e., works of self-righteousness. This Scripture silences the Lordship Salvationists. This Scripture silences the Pentecostals, like Wayman Mitchell, who teach that salvation can be lost if we do bad works. No sir, the Word of God does NOT teach any such lies. Jesus clearly stated in John 6:37, “...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

What a wonderful statement... BUT TO HIM THAT WORKETH NOT! So many imposters today behind America's pulpits, like John MacArthur, deceitfully teach lost sinners that works must accompany faith. In John MacArthur’s 1988 book titled The Gospel According to Jesus, he clearly teaches Lordship Salvation! MacArthur writes on page 173 that faith ‘encompasses obedience,’ and on page 174 that obedience is ‘an integral part of saving faith.’ Indeed, obedience is bound up in the very ‘definition of faith’ (page 171) being a ‘constitutive element in what it means to believe.’

Thus any ‘concept of faith that excludes obedience’ (page 174) must be rejected because obedience is ‘indivisibly wrapped up in the idea of believing’ (page 176). In fact, ‘the character of true faith’ is nothing less than the ‘higher righteousness’ of the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-11 (page 176). Mr. MacArthur is deathly wrong! He needs to ponder Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Did you read that Mr. MacArthur... HIS FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!

Why do men make salvation difficult? Jesus said in John 10:9 that salvation is as easy as walking through a Door... “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” What can you say to that? Jesus said in John 4:10 that salvation is as easy as drinking a cup of water... “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” There is nothing hard or difficult about God's salvation. We just need to receive it through Jesus Christ, because He shed His blood to take away our sins. And by the way, no one can WORK their way into Heaven... “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...” (Titus 3:5).

Dr. John Rice (1895-1980), founder of the Sword of the Lord, makes the following excellent statements . . .

“When you get saved, you get saved not because you deserve it, but because you simply let God save you and because you confess your own poor sinful state and your inability to save yourself.”

SOURCE: Dr. Rice... Here is My Question, by Dr. John R. Rice, pp. 304; 1962, Sword of the Lord Publishers; ISBN: 0-87398-158-8

This is what the Bible teaches. Dr. Rice also states in his Gospel tract, What Must I Do To Be Saved...

“The change in your heart, sinner, is God's part and you may be sure He will attend to that. Your part is to simply believe in Him. Whatever else is necessary in your eternal salvation, the Lord attends to when you trust in Him, or believe in Him.”

SOURCE: 'What Must I DO To Be Saved,' by Dr. John R. Rice

Dr. Rice is 100% correct!

Why do some ministers require lost sinners to walk an isle to be saved (.pdf book)? Why can't people be saved right in their pew? The saving power of the Gospel should be presented to those in the pew as well. Why do some ministers require people to feel sorry for their sins to be saved? Why do some preachers tell lost sinners to “be willing to turn from sin” to be saved? This implies Lordship Salvation. If I say... “I'll lend you my car if you're willing to fill the gas tank” ... what am I really saying? Obviously, I expect you to fill my gas tank. Is not the same type of message placed in the minds of lost sinners when we require them to "be willing" to do anything.

Did Jesus require the adulterous woman in John 8 to “be willing to turn from sin” to be saved? No, Jesus saved her and then simply told her to “go and sin no more.” When we come to Jesus Christ in repentance, realizing that we are hellbound sinners under the condemnation of God's Law and place our faith in Jesus to forgive and save us, then we are saved eternally. It is after we are saved that Jesus says to all of us... “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...” (Romans 8:1). You must be “in Christ Jesus” not to be condemned.

There are several favorite Scriptures that I cherish, but none greater than the precious truth of Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

...BUT TO HIM THAT WORKETH NOT!

Repentance Is Included In Believing

Acts 16:27-31, “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 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.”

QUESTION? - I have heard many preachers from different churches say that in order to be saved a person MUST repent of their sins. Is that true???

ANSWER - NO!!! It is true that you MUST REPENT. Yes in order for a person to be saved the individual has to repent. One thing a person needs to understand is that repentance and believing are one of the same coin. So, therefore, when a person trusts Christ as their only payment for their sins (i.e. believes the Gospel), that individual has repented.

TO CLARIFY what was said above The word REPENT (when it is in reference to salvation) is the Greek word MENTANOIA, which simply means A CHANGE OF MIND.

THE TRUTH... At the moment that a person TRUSTS CHRIST by placing their faith in JESUS' Death on a cross for our sins, Burial and bodily Resurrection (as the ONLY PAYMENT for their sins), that person has REPENTED; or in other words, they CHANGED THEIR MIND from what they once thought or believed it took them to get to Heaven, to believing God's way of going to Heaven.

THE CONFUSION begins when churches, preachers or missionaries place a FALSE DEFINITION (such as: “Turn from sin,” or “Be sorry for your sins,” or do XYZ to get saved. If anything more than childlike faith were required to get to Heaven, then the Apostle Paul and Silas would have said so in Acts 16:30-31, but they didn't, they just told the Roman jailor to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

When Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord, God accepted Abel's blood sacrifice, but He rejected Cain's grain sacrifice. 

God NEVER makes a person to do anything, nor places any conditions upon them, in order to get saved except to BELIEVE THE GOSPEL. That is, believe the GOOD NEWS of Christ crucified, buried and risen three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4; John chapters 19 and 20).

TO PUT IT SIMPLE... 

1. God LOVES us (John 3:16)
2. We are GUILTY SINNERS (Romans 3:19-23)
3. Burning in HELL is the eternal penalty for our sins (Revelation 20:12-15)
4. Jesus Christ DIED on a cross to pay down our massive DEBT of sin (Romans 5:6-9)
5. Jesus was BURIED and RESURRECTED three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4)
6. Simply BELIEVE (put your confidence in) these FACTS to be saved (Acts 16:30-31)

The Holy Bible plainly and clearly defines THE GOSPEL 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.”

The person who BELIEVES has also REPENTED. That is, they have CHANGED THEIR MIND from unbelief to belief. You DON'T need to repent of your sin to be saved. You DON'T need to forsake the world or a lifestyle of sinning. That would be WORKS!!!

The way to be saved is to CEASE from your own labors (works), and just REST in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 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.” Don't miss that! Please don't miss that! Carefully notice that the issue here is UNBELIEF. The Bible is using the Jews who wandered in the Wilderness for 40 years as an EXAMPLE of their UNBELIEF, for which they perished in their sins and went to Hell. Hebrews 4:1-2, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 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.” There are millions of people in the churches today, who have heard the Gospel preached all their life, but they don't believe it.

You get saved dear friend, by ceasing from your own DEAD WORKS (Hebrews 6:1), and just BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you through Calvary's cross. 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.

Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980) was a godly man and a free grace preacher. But in his sincere ignorance Dr. Rice often used the unscriptural phrase to “turn from your sin” to be saved. Consequently, many people misunderstood Brother Rice (even still today decades later). But I have studied Dr. Rice's books much more than the average person who misrepresents him. Since Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) was lifelong good ministry friends with John R. Rice, I am very familiar with their teachings.

It bothers me when Baptist churches skew (a slanted position) Dr. Rice's writings, misrepresenting what he really taught. Anyone who represents Dr. Rice as teaching that you have to turn from sins, as a separate act from believing, is slandering him! Please read what Dr. Rice actually believed and taught:

There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith.

Everyone who genuinely repented under the preaching of John the Baptist put his trust in the Saviour John the Baptist preached, and was regenerated. There is no such thing as being “a disciple of John the Baptist” in any honest sense without being a disciple of Jesus, that is, without trusting Christ for salvation. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Oh dear friend, that is so beautiful. Please don't miss it! The only change of mind concerning sin that you need to have to be saved, is to ADMIT that you are one. Romans 3:19-20, “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. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” To be saved, you just need to realize that you are a GUILTY SINNER, so that you will know what you are being saved from. As guilty sinners we all deserve to be punished by God's wrath in a burning Hell forever and ever (Revelation 20:12-15).

I have heard Missionary David W. Cloud and other false teachers, attempt to portray Dr. Rice as a proponent of Lordship Salvation, saying he taught that people must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved. David Cloud even goes as far as to pitch Dr. John R. Rice against his successor Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995). I explain this issue in the preceding hyperlink. Mr. Cloud claims that Curtis Hutson leaves off repentance, thus corrupting the Gospel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Kindly said, I am so sick and tired of Ray Comfort's damnable doctrines of devils. In all of his YouTube videos, Ray requires people to do TWO things to be saved. He first requires that people repent of their sins. He defines repentance as telling God you're sorry, and then living a LIFESTYLE OF REPENTANCE to prove the reality of your salvation. John R. Rice rightly taught that repentance and faith are simply two parts of ONE STEP of believing to be saved; whereas Ray Comfort errantly teaches that repentance and faith are TWO STEPS, which require an effort to stop living in sin to be saved.

What Ray Comfort is preaching is something entirely different than what Dr. John R. Rice taught. These are two very different plans of salvation! It is very deceptive for any Baptist church to partially quote John R. Rice, telling people that repentance means “to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart,” as being something different than faith alone to be saved. In reality, in fact, that is NOT what repentance means!!!!!!! The word “repent” regarding salvation in the Bible is either the noun metanoia (a change of mind), or the verb form metanoeo (to think differently). Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” That is, THINK DIFFERENTLY and believe the GOOD NEWS!!!

To be saved, you must think differently and believe the GOOD NEWS (i.e., Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, He was buried and physically resurrected three days later). We are saved by believing, not by repenting; but repentance makes believing possible. Repentance facilitates believing. If you didn't change your mind about whatever it is that has been preventing you from believing, then you wouldn't have come to Christ to be forgiven and saved. The only thing you need to change your mind about is whatever has been hindering you from believing. UNBELIEF is the only unpardonable sin dear reader!

Unbelief is the only thing that keeps a person from believing. To require that someone commit to turning away from living a lifestyle of sin, has absolutely nothing to do with receiving God's free gift of eternal life. I hope you see that. False teachers like John MacArthur, Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, James White, Gary Walton, Bryan Denlinger, Sam Horn, John Piper, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and R.C. Sproul—all unbiblically require people to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to get saved, which is heresy. Salvation is a take proposition, not a give proposition.

Jesus doesn't forgive sin, He has already paid for our sins with His precious blood. You simply receive that free gift from God by childlike faith (trust, confidence) in the record which God has given to humanity in the inspired Holy Bible. Simply BELIEVE that Christ did it for you oh sinner and you are saved!!! 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.” Thank you for reading.