The Samaritan Woman Became An Instant Soulwinner

John 4:7-15, “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, 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. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”

John 4:39-42, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

I love this precious true story in John chapter four. The Samaritans were half-bred Jews, literally. In the Old Testament, the country of Assyria (which was a world power at the time) invaded the northern kingdom of Israel. The capital of northern Israel was Samaria, but in the southern kingdom of Israel the capital was Judah. Northern Israel was conquered in 722 BC (southern Israel was conquered by Babylon 136 years later in 586 BC). After the Assyrians conquered Samaria in the north, they took the Jews captive to Assyria. Soon thereafter, the king of Assyria decided to send both Assyrians and Jews back to northern Israel to inhabit the conquered land. Those Jews intermarried with the captives from multiple other nations and became known as the Samaritan people.

Jesus greatly loved the Samaritan people, even though Jews avoided associating with the Samaritans, because the Samaritans were not pure ethnic Jews, Christ went to them with the Gospel. John 4:4, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” When Jesus approached the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well in John chapter four, she was awestruck that a Jewish man would even take the time to speak with her. When she found out that He is the Messiah, the Bible says that she left her waterpot. Her mind was blown! John 4:28-29 “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” I commend this Samaritan woman, who greatly wanted her own people to hear the Messiah, so they could be saved too.

I love this true story. When the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well realized that she was speaking with the promised Messiah, the Bible says she left her waterpot and ran to tell her own people about Christ. She wanted them to get saved too! They got saved the very moment that they BELIEVED on the name of Jesus. John 4:42, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” I love that! They exclaimed in joy—[WE] KNOW THIS IS INDEED THE CHRIST, THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD!!! Amen and amen.

Dear reader, that is all God requires to get to Heaven, just put your trust (confidence) in the crucified, buried and risen Savior of the world. 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.” That's it! Simply BELIEVE the Gospel (i.e., the Good News), and you are saved!

I have heard numerous Christian believers tell me that they don't know how to go soulwinning. It is so simple dear friend. If you know how you got saved, then you can tell someone else too. You don't need to become a theologian to win people to Christ, you just need to tell them how you got saved. Sadly, I have found that the reason why so many churchgoers don't know how to win someone to Christ, is because they don't even know how they got saved, which can only mean that they aren't really saved. No one is saved who doesn't know how they got saved!

I got saved when I was 13 years old. It was a Sunday morning during the summer. I don't remember the month or even the year, but my best guess is that it was in 1980, when I was 13 years old. I do however, vividly remember that Sunday morning, and the place where I was sitting in the pew in back of the church. I don't remember the title of the sermon, or even the subject that it was about. All I do remember is that the preacher said if you can sin, and there is no Holy Spirit conviction in your soul about the sin in your life, you are not saved. I instantly felt conviction, knowing that I didn't have the Holy Spirit. I had never been truly born again.

When I was in kindergarten, at age 7 (I actually did fail first grade. I am not kidding. That was in a public school. So my parents enrolled me into a Christian school, which decided it was best for me to go back and finish kindergarten, and learn my ABC's). It was in kindergarten in the Christian school, that my teacher asked everyone if we wanted to be saved. So I raised my hand and she led the class in a “1-2-3, Follow Me,” type of prayer. In hindsight, I didn't get saved that day. There was no conviction about me being a guilty sinner in God's sight. There was no awareness of why Jesus died for me, and what it meant. My parents had me water baptized in the weeks to follow. I had no idea what was going on spiritually.

It wasn't until I was in grade school, at age 13, that I finally felt God's Holy Spirit convicting me that I was a needy sinner. I was afraid of going to Hell, which is a perfectly fine reason to get saved. I once heard Paris Reidhead (1919-1992), an international missionary, teach on the KHMG 88.1 FM radio station of the corrupt Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, that if the only reason you got saved was to escape Hell, you didn't really get saved. Kindly said, Paris Reidhead is a damnable false prophet, who sadly very likely went to Hell when he died.

According to Paris Reidhead's corrupt theology, you can only get saved if you literally turn away from your sinful behavior and reform. That is NOT the free grace Gospel. I heard Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) say that as an 11 year old boy he got saved because he was fearful of going to Hell. There is absolutely nothing wrong with coming to Jesus Christ to be saved to escape burning in the fires and torments of Hell forever! If more clergy would preach on the subject of eternal damnation in the fires of Hell, a lot more lost sinners would get saved. The average Baptist pastor doesn't preach on the subject of Hell once a year. I say that to their utter shame!

Life is short, Hell is hot, and eternity is a long time!

God's Simple Plan Of Salvation

2nd Corinthians 11:1-4, “Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”

Since the beginning of human civilization, the Devil has tried to tempt humans to disobey God. The Devil's name is Satan, who fell from his lofty position as one of God's archangels in Heaven. In Ezekiel 28:11-17 we find what is called in theology, “Double Fulfillment.” That is, this passage of Scripture has two parallel applications. Although Ezekiel 28:11-17 is speaking about the king of Tyrus, it also describes Lucifer and his fall from glory. We see another example of Double Fulfillment in Hebrews chapter 7, which speaks of Melchisedec. This passage is also clearly about the precious Lord Jesus Christ, who is without beginning or end, the King of Righteousness (Hebrews 7:1-4).

Lucifer became Satan, a malicious spirit being who labors night and day to kill, steal and destroy. As such, the Devil desires for for and everyone else to go to Hell forever. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. Sadly, it is rare nowadays to hear preachers even use the term “born-again.” What saith the Scripture? 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.”

So how do you get born again? What does that even mean? Well, the Bible says that when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, death passed upon all men. Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Every human being born into this world since Adam, has been born with an inherent sinful nature. It is a part of who we are as humans. Children do not need to be taught how to lie, cheat and do wrong; they need to be trained up to tell the truth, be honest and to always do what is right.

Because of our sins, there is a penalty, which according to the Bible is death. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Carefully notice the contrast in Romans 6:23, between the deadly wages of sin that we deserve, versus the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. No one needs to go to Hell forever. God desires for all men, even the worst of criminals, to repent of their unbelief and come to Jesus Christ in faith to be saved (2nd Peter 3:6).

Also, please understand that there is a difference between being spiritually dead versus the second death in the Lake of Fire. Every human being is born spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-2). But only Christ-rejecters are case into the everlasting Lake of Fire (Hell). Those sinners who never trust Christ as their Savior will perish in their unregenerated state. They were born spiritually dead into this world, and they will die spiritually dead. That is why everyone must be “born again,” it is not optional if you want to enter into the Kingdom of God.

You would be shocked friend, if in the Baptist church that you hopefully attend, you start asking the people around you if they know for certain they're going to Heaven. Ask them why they know. You will be shocked, as I was, to learn that at least half of them haven't a clue. I'm not kidding. I know a good elderly man, who has been an usher in a local Baptist church in Pensacola for the past five years, but when I witnessed to him, he told me that water baptism is necessary to go to Heaven. That is his pastor's fault for not feeding his congregation.

In that dear man's church, the pastor is always telling everyone that they must have “a relationship” with Christ to get to Heaven. What does that even mean? Judas had “a relationship” with Jesus, but John 6:70 says Judas had a devil in him. Judas died in his sins because of unbelief, and is sadly burning in Hell forever. The unsaved wicked Pharisees also had “a relationship” with Jesus, but perished in their sin of unbelief. I am so thankful that I know I am a born-again child of God. If you don't know that friend, you can and should KNOW beyond any shadow of a doubt (1st John 5:13).

Salvation is solely based on what Christ has already DONE for you through Calvary's cross, and the blood which He sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in Heaven (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). So many churchgoers have been lied to, misled by their heathen pastor to think that they are saved by partial faith in Christ, PLUS something else (repenting of sin, following Christ as Lord, living the Christian life, et cetera). I tell you that there is no plus anything in God's simple plan of redemption. You simply CEASE from your own false religious dead works (i.e., trusting in Roman Catholicism, good works, Mother Mary, the Pope, Mormonism, Hara Krishna, religion, sacraments, et cetera), and come to God as a needy guilty sinner, completely RESTING in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11). That is what repentance is, a change of mind, turning from your UNBELIEF to BELIEF in Jesus as the Christ, the only begotten Son of God. When the Roman jailer asked Paul and Silas the $64,000 question: “What must I do to be saved?,” the answer was a simple: “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST” (Acts 16:30-31).

It is important that you understand what you are being saved from. That is why I took the time to explain these things to you friend. It is not enough to merely believe the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen to get to Heaven; you absolutely must realize and admit to yourself and God that YOU ARE A GUILTY SINNER:

Romans 3:18-20, “There is no fear of God before their eyes. 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.”

God made two great divisions to His inspired Word: Old Testament and New Testaments (or respectively, LAW and CHRIST). 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.” God's Old Testament law (which is summed up in the Ten Commandments) was intended by God to be used as a measuring-stick, by which when compared humans fall short of being sinless and perfect. Thus, realizing our shortcomings to perfectly keep God's law, we then realize our need for the blessed Savior, Jesus. That is what Galatians 3:24-26 is teaching.

This should make it obvious to you then, dear reader, why it is so wrong for any preacher to falsely teach that you must “turn away from your sinful ways” to be saved. Evangelist Ken Ham preaches this damnable heresy! Forsaking your sinful ways was never the intended purpose of God's law. Does God want you to turn away from a deliberate lifestyle of sinning? Yes, of course, but that has absolutely nothing to do with receiving His free gift of eternal life. You must keep living the Christian life (which is our SERVICE for Christ, or sanctification); completely separate from getting born-again (which is SALVATION in Christ, or justification. 

Pilgrim's Progress book author John Bunyan (1628-1688) well understood this very important distinction, as a free grace preacher of the saving Gospel:

“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

Also, Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) had a very good understanding of this important distinction between sanctification and justification:

“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)

I hope you can now see dear reader why it is so very, very, very important to always keep getting saved completely separate from changes in our behavior, serving Christ, following Him as “Lord” of our life, turning away from our sinful ways, repenting of sin, running the Christian race faithfully, taking up our cross, giving up the old ways, surrendering “all” to Christ, counting the cost and paying the price, forsaking a lifestyle of sinning, living a lifestyle of repentance, et cetera, et cetera.

All of the preceding vain things have been wickedly added to the Gospel by today's corrupt neo-evangelical pastors, evangelists and Bible college professors. You may do all of these noble things and yet never have been saved at all. You don't get born-again by doing good works. You don't get born-again through the sacrament of water baptism. “Sacraments” are totally unbiblical and you ought never give any attention to such nonsense. The Bible teaches water baptism as a public profession of one's faith, but it is a command for BELIEVERS only, not a sacrament of any church. Likewise, the Lord's Supper is a command from God only for BELIEVERS, a time to remember what Jesus has done for on through Calvary's cruel cross. Please do not ever think, refer or partake of any sacraments, because they are unbiblical. There is no spiritual grace or power bestowed upon the recipient of water baptism or the communion. Beware of formal religion that corrupts the truth of God's inspired Word.

I love this helpful quote from Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951), which shows that Dr. Ironside had a very sound understanding that our service, sanctification and discipleship as Christian believers, has absolutely nothing to do with receiving God's free gift of eternal life by faith alone in Jesus Christ:

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

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

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

One of my favorite authors is Michael P. Bowen. In his excellent defense of the Christian faith titled, 'I NEVER KNEW YOU,' Michael Bowen writes these wonderful words:

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

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

A tree without fruit is still a tree with roots. This is evidenced by the parable of the sower and the seed in Luke 8:12-15. Of the four groups, only the first group are unsaved, because the Devil removed the seed from their soul before it could sprout into new life. The second and third groups represent believers who never mature to bear fruit (leading others to Christ). They never matured into fruit-bearing Christians, because of their shallow roots; or because as with the third group, they become choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life. Ah, but the fourth group matured, having a good and honest heart the Bible says, keeping the Lord's Word, bearing much fruit unto Christ (cf., John 15:1-7). Just because the second and third groups didn't bear fruit, didn't mean they were not saved (as Ray Comfort errantly teaches).

I have shared these truths with you dear reader, to help solidify your understanding of what the Gospel is not. More people will miss Heaven someday simply because they trusted in TOO MUCH! Everything that is complicated about getting saved is God's part. The only thing that God demands of us to be born-again is to place our childlike faith in Jesus, His only begotten Son.

God's simple plan of salvation is so easy, free and plain to understand that even a small child can be saved. God needed to make His plan of salvation so simple, because the world is full of ignorant, unlearned and stupid people. I say that respectfully and with kindness, but it is THE TRUTH. There are a lot of not so bright humans on the planet. That doesn't make them better or worse than anyone else, it just means that God needed to make His plan of redemption for mankind utterly uncomplicated.

In 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 the Bible even refers to the saving Gospel as “the simplicity that is in Christ.” We are saved by BELIEVING the Gospel. The “Gospel” means GOOD NEWS!!! It is the “Good News” (or “Glad Tidings”) that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, into the world, to die on a cross to pay our massive debt of sin. Jesus died on a cross! He was buried. And three days later Christ bodily resurrected by a miracle of God from the dead. These three things comprise THE GOSPEL: Jesus' death on the cross, burial and physical resurrection.

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

There you have it, THE GOSPEL!!! I didn't see anything in there about turning away from sinful ways, did you? Nope! Oh, how men make everything complicated! God's simple plan of salvation is to just put your childlike faith (confidence, trust) in Jesus Christ. God knows that you and I have never seen Jesus, so it is okay to just believe on His name. John 1:12, “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:” Just take God at His Word as recorded in the Holy Bible. Simply BELIEVE the record which God Has given us in His Word of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen for our justification. What an awesome God and Savior!!!

The One Thing That Determines Salvation
(by Pastor Curtis Hutson)

Repentance
(a helpful article)

Wrong Repentance No Salvation
(MP3 sermon, by Dr. Hank Lindstrom, 1940-2008)

Hell Is Full Of Good People

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

Matthew 19:16-23, “ And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Acts 10:1-2, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”

Hell is full of good people! I have given you three Bible examples of good people who were not saved. That is, they had never been born-again!

Matthew 7:21-23 - 'Ye That Work Iniquity'

In Matthew 7:21-23 we read about a devout group of people who preached (prophesied in Jesus' name). They did many wonderful works in Jesus' name. These were decent and good people. They weren't criminals! They went about doing good deeds everywhere they went, and they did them all in Jesus' name, because they served Christ. But dear reader, you cannot get to Heaven by serving Christ! Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. Religion is oftentimes a deadly mask that blinds it's followers to THE TRUTH of the Gospel.

Matthew 19:16-23 - 'What Good Thing Shall I Do?'

And then in Matthew 19:16-23 we read about a rich young man, a ruler among the Jews, who greatly admired Jesus and came to ask Him something. The young man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life. That is a great question! In fact, it is the most important question that anyone could ever ask. The dear Savior discerned that the young man was trusting in his own self-righteousness, because he had greeted Jesus as: “Good Master.”

The young man asked Jesus in Matthew 19:16a, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Sadly, this is how 95% of people think! They foolishly think that to get to Heaven they must live a good life. Jesus discerned that the young man was self-righteous, so He responded by using the Old Testament law the way it was intended to be used, as a measuring stick, to show that young man that he had fallen short of God's perfect standard. If any human being could live a 100% perfect and sinless life, they would never die! Romans 6:23b teaches that “the wages of sin is death.”

That is why Roman Catholics had to invent the false doctrine of The Assumption of Mary (which became official Catholic dogma in 1950), which falsely teaches that God assumed Mary (i.e., took Jesus' mother up into Heaven), because according to Catholics Mary never sinned. Catholics teach a heresy called The Immaculate Conception of Mary (i.e., she was virgin born too, Just like Jesus). Oh boy, what blasphemy against the Holy Bible. One heresy begets another heresy!!! Since Catholics teach that Mary was virgin born, they had to fabricate another false doctrine that says Mary never sinned, just like Jesus. And since she allegedly never sinned, she couldn't die either, because only sin brings death. I hope you can clearly see how Satanic the Roman and Russian Orthodox Catholic churches are! Roman Catholicism is headquartered in Vatican City, Rome. The Russian Orthodox Catholic church is headquartered in Moscow, Russia. There's not a dimes difference between these two cults!

Jesus was trying to show the rich young ruler that no amount of good works could erase his sins. The young man was very wealthy and covetous, making him a sinner, incapable of meriting eternal life. Jesus is the ONLY human being who has ever lived without sinning, and that is only because He had God almighty as His biological Father (John 3:16). God almighty came down to earth as a biological man. Deity became flesh, incarnate (John 1:1-3, 14; John 10:33; 1st Timothy 3:16). Colossians 2:8-9, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

In the earthly flesh of the man Jesus, the Godhead dwelt in all their fullness. The Godhead is often referred to in Bible theology classes as the “Trinity.” Although I am not against using the word Trinity, I like the Word Godhead much better, since it is found in the Holy Bible. It is no coincidence that the word “Godhead” has been completely removed in nearly all of the Devil's modern Bible revisions, because the Devil doesn't want people to recognize Jesus as almighty God. In the inspired King James Bible you will find the word “Godhead” mentioned three times (Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9). But in all three passages, the modern Bible perversions totally obliterate the Godhead.

Take a look at a comparison between Colossians 2:9 in the trustworthy King James Bible, versus the corrupt English Standard Version (ESV), which is the official Bible version used by Bob Jones University (BJU) now for many years...

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV) - Colossians 2:9, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”

There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between the words “deity” and “Godhead.” Deity refers to God, but Godhead refers to the triune aspect of God. Words convey meaning and are extremely important. Take a look at a comparison of Romans 1:20 between the inspired King James Bible, versus the corrupt English Standard Version (ESV)...

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV) - Romans 1:20, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

The words “divine nature” are NOT the same as “Godhead.” Things that are different are not the same! Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) preaches one of my favorite sermons of the same title, called: “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same.” I cannot warn you enough dear reader about the danger of using the Devil's modern Bible revisions. They are all corrupt, translated from the corrupt 1881 Greek text of Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort. Even the translations which claim to be based upon the Textus Receptus, from which the King James Bible was translated in 1611, are still corrupted by the influence of Westcott and Hort. For example: The ungodly translators of the English Standard Version (ESV) falsely claim that their work is accurately based upon the Textus Receptus, but if you compare it to all the rest of the Westcott and Hort versions, it is essentially the same. If you've seen one Westcott and Hort Bible, you've seen them all!!! That is because they all share the same corruptions! Which Bible Would Jesus Use? (take a look at Matthew 8:2, 1st Timothy 3:16 and Psalms 12:7).

Acts 10:1-2 - Cornelius, A Good Man But Lost

Cornelius had faith in God. He was an Italian centurion (military commander) over 100 solders. He fasted and prayed, giving alms (provisions) to the poor. Cornelius was a GOOD MAN who feared God. Yet he was not a born-again believer. God arranged for the Apostle Peter and Cornelius to meet. Thankfully, we read in Acts 10:42-43 that Cornelius got saved, and the friends who were with him. I like something that Pastor Curtis Hutson said:

“Just yesterday I heard a man say on the radio, or television, that a certain area was 'Gospel hardened.' And I thought to myself: 'You just don't understand. The area is not Gospel hardened, it is Gospel ignorant.'” —Dr. Curtis Hutson, sermon title: “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same”

Dear reader, Hell is full of unsaved GOOD PEOPLE, who died in their sins without Jesus Christ. if you want to go to Heaven, you need GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, which is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” 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:” I really love those two Bible verses!!!

THE CLEAR GOSPEL IN 4 MINUTES
(Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold)

What Does 1st John 5:8 Mean?

1st John 5:4-8, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

I like Pastor Harry A. Ironside's (1876-1951) Bible commentary on 1st John 5:8...

Then verse 8 reads (1 John 5:8), “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” What does the apostle mean when he speaks of these three that bear witness or testimony? To what do they give testimony? They testify to the effectiveness of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The three witnesses are the Spirit, the water, and the blood.

The Spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit of God who, after the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, came from Heaven to dwell in the church on earth. He came to empower those proclaiming the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between merely explaining doctrine and preaching the gospel in the Spirit’s power. Anyone can do the former, and everything said might be true, but there is no power in it. Preaching the gospel in the energy of the Holy Ghost is another thing altogether, and therefore we read, “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit, then, is a witness to the effectiveness of the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. He has come down from Heaven to assure us that Christ’s sacrifice has been accepted for us.

The other witnesses are the water and the blood. In John’s Gospel we are told that they broke the legs of the thieves who hung on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they came to Jesus, they marveled because He was already dead, and so they did not break His legs, for it was written, “A bone of him shall not be broken” (John 19:36). Instead one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and, John writes, “Forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). That made a great impression on the mind of John as he saw those two elements mingled and flowing from the wounded side of the Savior.

Years later when John wrote this Epistle to the children of God, he said, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood” (1 John 5:6). Why does he draw our attention to the water and the blood which flowed from the side of the Son of God? In these two elements we have suggested two characters of cleansing.

As a sinner I learn that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. But that cleansing is judicial—that is my cleansing before God. When God looks at me as a believer, He sees me cleansed from every stain by the blood of His Son. But that cleansing alone does not satisfy me. As a Christian, I want to know practical deliverance from the power of sin. I am not content to know that my sins have been put under the blood if I find that I am still living under the power of sin. I want sin to be taken away practically—I want to be set free, to be cleansed from the things that curse my life-and I find practical cleansing through the “washing of water by the word.” We read in

Ephesians 5:25-26, “Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” The Word of God applied to my heart and conscience sets me free from sin as a habit. I am delivered from its power. 

A Christian poet wrote:

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Save me from its guilt and power.

Augustus M. Toplady

The blood cleanses from sin’s guilt. The water of the Word applied in the power of the Holy Spirit cleanses from the defilement of sin. So then these are the three witnesses: the blood witnesses that the sin question is settled to God’s satisfaction; the Word witnesses that there is power to deliver from sin in a practical way; the Spirit bears witness that this power is for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. SOURCE

Although I like what Pastor Harry Ironside said on this passage, THE TRUTH is that no one knows for certain what 1st John 5:8 means, because the inspired Holy Bible does not clarify what it means. I love how God authored the Holy Bible, as a puzzle that only men with Holy Spirit enlightenment can understand (1st Corinthians 2:14-16; John 16:13).

As I pondered our passage from 1st John 5:4-8, I noticed the words of 1st John 5:6, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” The words “came by” I think are important to consider. How did Jesus come into the world? He came by a virgin birth, a literal physical human birth. This is a birth by water. A developing fetus is encased in its mother's water bag for nine months during the pregnancy. John 3:5-6, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In John 3:5-6, the physical birth into this world is said to be “by water.” So Jesus came by water, that is, He had a human birth.

But 1st John 5:6 says that Jesus “came by” not only water, but also by blood. That likely refers to the Deity of Jesus, that He literally had God the Father's blood flowing in His veins. Jesus wasn't just another human baby, He came into the world by a miraculous Virgin Birth. Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Jesus didn't have man's sin-tainted blood flowing in His veins, He had God's sinless blood. Jesus never sinned even one time! Jesus never thought an evil thought. Jesus never succumbed to sinful temptation. Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

So Jesus “came by” not only a physical human birth (by water); but moreover, He was the virgin born only begotten Son of God (by blood). And the Holy Spirit bears witness to all this truth through the inspired Word of God. John 5:32, “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.” The preceding verse refers to the Holy Spirit. John 8:18, “I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” We know from 1st John 5:7 that the three witnesses in Heaven are the Father, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Ghost. Whatever the “water and blood” are in 1st John 5:6, they are definitely both earthly witnesses to the fact Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.

Some theologians think that Jesus' water baptism is what “water” means in 1st John 5:6, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and the Father's voice said: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). That is a witness, but in my humble opinion this is not what “water and blood” are referring to in 1st John 5:6. It is my humble opinion that the “water and blood” refer to Jesus' incarnation in the flesh (John 1:1-3, 14; 1st Timothy 3:16), and His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The reason I tend to believe this is because of the words “came by” in 1st John 5:6, which speak of the way in which Jesus came into the world. Remember, these are witnesses.

3 Witnesses in Heaven (that Jesus is the Son of God):

1. Father
2. Word (Jesus - John 1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13)
3. Holy Ghost

3 Witnesses on earth (that Jesus is the Son of God):

1. Water (Jesus' came in the flesh, God incarnate)
2. Blood (Jesus' virgin birth, He had God's blood flowing in His veins)
3. Holy Spirit (He draws all men to Christ)

John the Baptist was also a witness, but a witness that Jesus is the Christ. John 1:6-7, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.”

Please understand that I humbly do not know for certain what 1st John 5:6 means. And anybody who speaks boldly that they do understand, truly don't, unless they can cite a Scripture passage that makes it plain and clear. Also, I am not saying that Pastor Ironside is wrong. I am simply sharing my thoughts on 1st John 5:6-8.

I find it interesting that the three witnesses in Heaven are all members of the Godhead (i.e., Trinity). So it seems logical that the three witnesses on earth would also be the Trinity. Again, we see the Holy Spirit as a witness on earth. Could the “water” refer to Jesus Christ, that is, His fleshly incarnation (i.e., God came in the flesh)? Could the “blood” refer to God the Father (whose sinless blood and divine DNA were in Christ? We can only speculate, since the Bible is not clear in this matter. It is definitely food for thought.

Another possible interpretation is that the “water” is the Word of God, which cleanses us as we read and apply it to our daily lives. 1st John 5:8 teaches that these three earthly witnesses all “agree in one.” The Holy Spirit never disagrees with the Holy Bible. Any time you hear someone talking about spiritual matters, but they are leaving our the inspired Word of God, run away from them! False prophets talk about spiritual things, but leave off the Word of God. I am think of Oprah Winfrey, one of the biggest promoters and dangerous false prophets of our generation. Oprah is incessantly featuring spiritual psychics, spiritual guides and spiritual gurus on her show, but the Holy Bible is absent. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit always agrees with the written Word of God.

And the perhaps perhaps refers to the Gospel. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to pay for our sins. Jesus took that precious shed blood and sprinkled it upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven, in the presence of the Father (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). The Gospel (God's simple plan of salvation for mankind), the inspired Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit are all in agreement. Again, this is just a possible interpretation. We simply do not know 100% for certain. If someone does, I haven't found them yet. I am still searching for a conclusive answer on 1st John 5:8.

Like so many other topics in the Bible (e.g., the Pretribulation Rapture, an Old Testament place called Paradise, and an Old Earth Creation), we can only use deductive reasoning based upon what we do know to form further conclusions. Whatever “water and blood” refers to in 1st John 5:6, they must be earthly witnesses to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. Thank you for reading my blog.

The Gospel Of John Is God's Gospel Tract

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.”

The Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract. I always encourage people to listen to Alexander Scourby read the Gospel of John, and they will discern just how simple it is to go to Heaven:

The Gospel Of John
(read by Alexander Scourby, 1913-1985)

When we humbly compare all of the junk theology being propagated in churches and Bible colleges nowadays, to the simplicity of the Gospel set forth in the Book of John, it then becomes very obvious how corrupt most preachers have become.

You won't find anything mentioned in the Gospel of John about following Christ as "Lord" of your life, nor surrendering "all" to Christ, nor faithfully running the race, nor counting the cost and paying the price, nor turning over a new leaf, nor turning away from sin, nor giving up the old life, nor living a lifestyle of repentance; but rather, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47).

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.”

'The Beatles' Are More Popular Than Jesus To Many People

Exodus 20:13, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”

Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

By God's wondrous grace, I have been a born-again Christian now for 42 years (I was saved at age 13, in 1980 in an old-fashioned Baptist church on Chicago's northside). One of the most important lessons that I have learned is to NEVER base any doctrine upon a single passage of Scripture. Most pastors who preach heresy are guilty of lifting text out of context to create a new pretext. I love something that Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: “A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.”

A good example of this is the accursed Lordship Salvation crowd today. If you pay attention, you'll notice that people like Billy Graham, Paul Washer, John Piper, Steve Pettit, John MacArthur, Ray Comfort and other false prophets, often cite passages from the books of Matthew, Luke and other obscure passages, lifting their text out of context to create a new false pretext, to bolster up their strawman of damnable heresy!!! All the meanwhile they totally ignore the plain Gospel of John, which was authored by God specifically to show the reader how to get to Heaven (John 20:31). The Gospel of John is indeed God's Gospel tract!

Having said that, I chose the three passages of Scripture as text, so we could put them all together for this article. Please bare with me, I'm going somewhere. The Bible is very clear that killing (murder) is a sin (Exodus 20:13). We also read in Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” God's children (i.e., born again believers), who walk close with the Lord, are going to hate being around unsaved heathens!

A backslidden Christian can sink so far into sin and the world, that they don't care anymore; but there will ALWAYS be conviction from God's indwelling Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:6-8). It is for this very reason, why unsaved people won't come to the light of the truth of the Gospel to be saved, lest their evil deeds (i.e., a lifestyle of sinning) should be reproved (John 3:20-21).

And then the last Scripture passage I chose is from Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

I mentioned these three passages to lay a foundation to talk about Mark David Chapman (born 1955), the scumbag that cold-heartedly murdered John Lennon (1940-1980); who openly admitted decades later in a parole hearing, that one of the reasons he ruthlessly murdered John Lennon was due to anger over John's statement in 1966 about The Beatles are more popular than Jesus.

Admittedly, one of my favorite musical groups are The Beatles (not their wicked lifestyles, but the music itself). The Beatles were musical geniuses. You'd have to be a musician to truly appreciate the brilliance of their melodies, skill as musicians and iconic lyrics. That is quite astounding for four teenage lads from England. I am a musician, so I naturally love all kinds of music. As a Christian I filter what I choose to listen to.

Having said that, I already know that some hypocritical religious person—you know, the holier-than-thou type—is already condemning me for saying that I like The Beatles. Well, at least I am honest to admit it! Yes, I love The Beatles music! But just like hurtful religious hypocrites today, they condemned John Lennon (1940-1980) for saying in 1966 that The Beatles are more popular than Jesus. Oh boy, did John live to regret saying those words. I'll get back to this topic in a moment, but first I want to discuss the music of The Beatles.

1st John 4:1b teaches to “try the spirits whether they are of God,” so we need to evaluate each song individually with the filter of the Holy Bible. I'm just saying that some secular music is okay to listen to, in my humble Christian opinion. If that offends you, then don't listen to it. Romans 14:22, “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” I have no religious scrupulosity (religious guilt) about listen to some secular music.

Ladies and gentleman, John Lennon told THE TRUTH. At least from his own perspective. I am not sanctioning what he said, and John himself said that he regretted ever saying it. Those were just the words of a 26 year old young man, who had never been famous before. John later said that he sincerely meant no harm by his words, nor was he attempting to berate Jesus Christ, nor offend Christians. I believe him.

Unfortunately, John Lennon's enemies weren't going to stop criticizing him for the rest of his sadly premature life (when he was unjustly killed in 1980 by a crazed religious nutcase). It wasn't what John said that made millions of religious Americans angry at him; but rather, the fact that The Beatles were so popular, especially with the young girls. People were jealous of their success. I can show you the same type of hateful people attacking Pastor Jack Hyles, because he was a massive success in the religious world. So the issue wasn't about what John Lennon said, in my humble opinion, as much as it was the fact that The Beatles were super popular around the world.

It was difficult for me to read the details of John's killing. Chapman bought a .38 caliber gun, but didn't have any bullets. So he flew down to Georgia to meet a friend of his, who was a policeman (the cop had no idea what Chapman was planning on doing). The bullets were hollow-point tipped, which do maximum damage to the victim (blowing out the back of whatever is targeted). John was in a hurry that fateful night, headed from his penthouse apartment in New York to his waiting wife (Yoko Ono) in the limousine. He was headed for a recording session, to finish up a song that they hadn't put on their most recent album.

Mark Chapman approached John and asked for his autograph, which John kindly gave him. John even asked Mark if he needed anything else, which Mark admitted years later. Mark said that John was friendly and nice to him in every way. So why did Mark do the inexplicable evil thing that he did, to the man who had just befriended him with love? Mark shot John 5 times! One bullet missed him. Two entered into John's shoulder, but the two that entered into his lungs proved to be fatal, as he bled to death in the ambulance. Doctors spent 45 minutes trying to revive John's lifeless body, but he was gone from this earth. Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” John Lennon hadn't the slightest clue that December 8th, 1980 would be his last day alive on earth, but it was. Dear reader, have you been born-again? If not, right now is the time, please.

Mark Chapman later admitted at a parole hearing (he has been denied parole 12 times already as of 2022), that he murdered John Lennon because he was angry at him:

• One thing that Mark was angry about was John Lennon's statement that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Mark says he became a born-again Presbyterian at age 16, and hated John for saying that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
• Another thing that made Mark angry (according to his own admission) is John Lennon's alleged hypocrisy for living such an extravagant lifestyle, which Mark feels is totally contradictory to John's lyrics in his 1972 number one hit song, Imagine, in which John sings “imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can.”
• Mark Chapman admits though, that the real reason he murdered John Lennon was because he himself wanted to become famous, for murdering a famous person. He admits to having also contemplated killing Johnny Carson, Elizabeth Taylor and George C. Scott. Unfortunately for John, Mark said it was easy to gain access to John, where he lived in New York City. That is so sad and disturbing.

I think the only logical conclusion for any normal person is that Mark Chapman is a very wicked person! Mark's lawyers suggested that he plead insanity, which he himself refused to do, admitting to the judge that he fully understood what he did to John Lennon. At least the guy is honest to admit what he did. The real victim in all of this is John Lennon's family. I feel sorry for Yoko Ono, who still today lives in the SAME apartment in New York where she and John lived when he was assassinated by a nutcase.

The real victim is Mark's wife, Gloria Chapman, who married Mark in 1979 in Hawaii. She said later that December 8th, 1980 was the worst day of her life! That was the day her husband committed the unthinkable, killing John Lennon. Unbelievably, Mark and Gloria are still married in 2022, 42 years later! Wow! Gloria is a born-again Christian living in Hawaii still today. I must say that I greatly admire Gloria for staying married to Mark all these many years. That is uncommon among married couples, to see that kind of dedication. All it took was one fight between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and she quit their marriage in 2016.

I chose the three Scripture passages for our text, because of the often contrarian nature of the Bible. I have learned that the word “balance” is important when studying the Bible. For example: We are commanded as believers to “hate evil” (Psalms 97:10). But we are also commanded to love our neighbour, which means every human being on the planet (Matthew 7:12). Anytime that you get your spiritual life out of BALANCE, you're headed for trouble!

That is what I think happened to Mark Chapman. I do believe that he is a born-again Christian, but I do not know for certain. We know from the Bible that saints can do some horribly unsaintly things; such as, Moses and David unjustly murdering another human being. I would need to talk with Mark Chapman directly, to hear a clear testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ without any works, to determine if he is truly saved or not. Sadly, most religious people who claim to be a “Christian” are not! That unsaved group includes: Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witness, Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of Church, Lutherans and the United Methodist Church. All of these groups corrupt the Gospel, adding works to faith (Hebrews 4:10-11).

The Beatles still today are indeed MORE POPULAR than Jesus to many people. This is called the sin of IDOLATRY!!! Anything or anyone that you hold, love, cherish, worship and idolize in your soul and life above the God who created you, is the horrible sin of IDOLATRY!!! ...

Exodus 20:1-6, “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Most Americans are idolaters and don't even realize it! For many people (young and old alike), cars are their god. For others it is their motorcycle, pet dog, golfing, a boat, fishing, hunting, a guitar, a band, cooking or their girlfriend or wife. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, not at all; unless you allow these things to take precedence over God in your heart and life. Deuteronomy 6:11, “And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” Moses warned the Jews—after God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and provided all their needs bountifully—that they not become ingrates by forgetting the Lord. Sadly, they did forget! BEWARE LEST THOU FORGET THE LORD AMERICA!!!

Mark Chapman hated sin so much that he became disillusioned with reality, hating the sinner instead. Dear reader, we should never accept the sin with the sinner; nor reject the sinner with the sin. I love that important truth. It is worth remembering! We should never accept the sin with the sinner; nor reject the sinner with the sin. I am a born-again Christian first and foremost. That is the ONLY reason why I am going to Heaven, because of what Jesus—the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of the living God—did through Calvary's cross to pay my sin debt (and yours too friend)! Jesus was buried and bodily resurrected miraculously (by the power of God) three days later from the dead. This is “the Gospel” (or Good News) by which all who BELIEVE IT are immediately, irrevocably and forever saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-6; Romans 1:16; Galatians 3:26; Philippians 3:9; 1st Thessalonians 4:14).

I grew up in our American culture, born in 1967. I grew up listening to beautiful music, and was influenced by the same celebrities that the rest of us have. But now they are growing old, many having already died. I always wonder if famous people went to Heaven or Hell. If you listen to the ungodly world at their funerals, most of the time they automatically assume that everybody goes to Heaven. That reminds me of United Artist's 1989 movie: “All Dogs Go To Heaven.” I think it is so sad. In fact, it is evil blasphemy! Many children's resources are now advertising: “In Dog We Trust,” instead of “In God We Trust.” If you think that is merely harmless and cute, you are not right with God friend! The things of God are sacred, and no one ought ever diminish, make fun of, belittle or take God name in vain. If you think God has a sense of humor akin to perverse Late Night Television, you are in for a horrific surprise in eternity (Hebrews 10:31).

Anyway, I wrote this blog after watching a YouTube documentary about the life of John Lennon. At one time in John's life, he sought out compassion from Pastor Oral Roberts. Unfortunately, Roberts didn't treat John very well, and I have no doubt that it discourage him. Like most other Americans, John has seen Oral on television. All of those TV preachers are of the Devil!!! But in his search for God, John did publicly announce to the world that he became a Christian. I don't know if John went to Heaven or Hell, and that is the honest truth. I hope that John did, but I don't know. Only John, God, the Devil and those already in eternity know for sure where John Lennon is right now! But I can tell you upon the authority of the Scriptures that John either went to Heaven or Hell (John 3:16-18; 8:24; Revelation 14:13; 20:11-15).

Recently Olivia Newton John (1948-2022) died. I love her song: “Hopelessly Devoted To You.” I often here that song in my mind and it is so beautiful. Olivia did profess to be a Christian, but I couldn't find anything concrete online to determine if she was really saved. It always bothers me when someone claims to be a Christian, but there is no public testimony of it. Of course, that doesn't mean she didn't go to Heaven. In John 12:42-43, the Bible says that many of the chief rulers believed on Jesus, but they DID NOT confess Him, for fear of the Pharisees. The wicked Pharisees had warned that if anyone confessed Christ, they would be excommunicated from the synagogue. John 12:43 says that those chief rulers who believed loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. I think that was Olivia's testimony too, but I have a good feeling that she went to Heaven. I think there are quite a few celebrities who are saved, but keep it quiet to avoid public scrutiny (Luke 8:13; Galatians 2:2).

Yes, The Beatles are still sadly more popular than Jesus in many people's lives. But from a historical viewpoint, John Lennon was so very WRONG! It is possible to like a music group, and listen to their music, without worshipping them. In this video gone viral about a decade ago, a young teenage boy (he sadly looks like a girl), says that he will kill himself if Britney Spears kills herself because of her critics on social media. Folks, that is America today!

On August 23, 2022 an emotionally distressed girl jumped from a school's third floor.

Our foolish culture thinks that more emotional support is needed to prevent students from trying to kill themselves. When will the heathen world realize that youth need God in their curriculum. I don't care how much a child may learn about God at home, that youth is going to be broken and messed up being indoctrinated for 40 to 50 hours each week from ungodly curriculum and homework devoid of their Creator. God made us humans! When all else fails, read the instructions, that is, the inspired HOLY BIBLE!!!

Please read what the Bible says these Last Days will be like:

2nd Timothy 3:1-7, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

All we keep hearing from the media, police, teachers, you name it, is that we need more of everything except to put the inspired Holy Bible back into America's classrooms!!! Children need Jesus. We've allowed a tiny group of God-hating atheists to destroy our entire society, but they accept no responsibility for it! Truly, Satan is the god of this evil world (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4; 11:13-15).

I'll stop here. This was a longer blog, but an important one. I could write about John Lennon's infamous statement that The Beatles are more popular than Jesus for days. There are many different aspects of John's claim that could be addressed. I think it is terrible that John made that statement, showing that he had no regard for God's feelings. God does have feelings. It is possible to grieve God (Ephesians 4:30). The Bible says that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalms 7:11). I think it is clear that George Harrison went to Hell, according to the Holy Bible, since George worshipped Hara Krishna instead of Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

Paul McCartney has made subtle professions of being everything from an ashiest, to an agnostic (not sure what's out there), to a Roman Catholic, to following Harrison's eastern mysticism. Will the real Paul McCartney please stand up? I simply don't know what he believes, and I doubt if Paul does either. Worldly riches, pleasures and fame blind men to the seriousness of preparing for eternity (Luke 16:19-31). Ringo Starr professes to be a Christian, but I read that he is a member of the apostate Church of England, with their Sacramental Salvation from their accursed water baptistry. That is NOT the Bible way to Heaven!!! Jesus warned in John 3:3b, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.”

John 3:3b, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.”