To “Repent Of Your Sin” Seems So Harmless

Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

I don't care if every Baptist pastor, religious big shot, and Bible college professor in America detests me for my harsh preaching, I will expose them for teaching heresy! ...

“I've stood for more sneers and scoffs and insults and had my life threatened from one end of the land to the other by this God-forsaken gang of thugs and cutthroats because I have come out uncompromisingly against them.” —Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935)

The apostle Paul makes very clear in our text passage that the way to be saved is simply “BY THE HEARING OF FAITH.” In Acts 10:1-43, we read the true story of a religious man named Cornelius, an Italian Centurion commander in the military. Cornelius was a good man, who feared God, gave alms to the poor, fasted and prayed, but he was not saved. God arranges for Cornelius and the apostle Peter to meet, and Peter preaches the Gospel to him. No mention is made of repenting of your sin. As Peter is preaching the Gospel, the audience simply BELIEVES what they hear and are saved. That is “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). 

2nd Corinthians 11:6, “But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.” I know Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, and the rest of the Bob Jones camp, are upset with me for criticizing their leaders; but I speak THE TRUTH! They are deceived by the Devil, bewitched. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) preached the Gospel of free grace correctly, so what changed at Bob Jones University (BJU)? They let their guard down! In my humble opinion, the executive board at BJU made a horrible mistake when they hired Evangelist Steve Pettit to be their president in 2014, who teaches the Devil's lie of Calvinism.

Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Contrary to the heresy of Pastor Marty Herron, at the Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary in Iowa, who says you must “repent of your sin” to be saved; the Bible says in Acts 10:43 (which I just quoted) that our sins are remitted when we BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is quite a difference in theology between the two concepts! Whereas Pastor Herron says you must turn from your sin to be saved, the Bible says you must simply turn to Jesus. I heard Pastor Herron with my own two ears say at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam in 2014, “It is not enough to admit you are a sinner, you must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved.” That is the heresy of Lordship Salvation! That is the garbage taught by Dr. John MacArthur.

Pastor John MacArthur of 'Grace To You,' says Lordship’s indispensable condition is that the lost man “must turn from sin” to receive the gift of eternal life and ultimately enter Heaven. This is the same junk theology that Dr. Steve Pettit teaches as president of BJU. This is another gospel of damnation!!! This is what Dr. Marty Herron teaches too! This is what Dr. Sam Horn teaches! These men have been corrupted by Satan. They are tares among the wheat. They are religious men who have never been born-again, so they filter the Gospel through their own corrupt understand that one must “turn from your sins” to be saved. No, you must turn to Jesus! 

I've heard corrupted Baptist preachers use the lame excuse, “Well, to turn to Jesus you must turn from something!” If someone is turning to Jesus by faith as their Savior, WHO CARES what they are turning from! It doesn't matter whether it be idols, sinful ways or atheism, a person is saved by BELIEVING, not turning from something. The horrible error of the Lordship Salvation crowd is that they REQUIRE that a person turn from their sinful behavior, as an added extra step to getting saved. So instead of simply believing the Gospel, now the person is told they must first commit to turning away from a life of living in sin, and only then will God accept their faith. This is exactly what Evangelist Ray Comfort teaches. Mr. Comfort made this horribly corrupt statement:

“So if the plane goes down, you'd end up in Hell! There are two things you have to do to be saved. Do you remember what they are? I told you what they are—You've got to repent and trust the Savior! ... God's offering you everlasting life upon your repentance and faith in Christ. Who in his right mind wouldn't say, 'Whoa! That's a good offer!' (The curious woman asks what it means to “repent”?)... Have you ever said you're sorry to someone you did something wrong to? That's all repentance is—You've sinned against God; it's a matter of saying, 'God, I'm sorry,' and then LIVING A LIFESTYLE that proves the reality of your repentance. That's what repentance is, it's a continual thing! God, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not going going to lie or steal or blaspheme Your name ever again. It has that attitude! And the second thing—trust in Jesus!” [emphasis added] 

SOURCE: Evangelist Ray Comfort, “I've never killed anyone” (MP3 clip from video).

Oh my! Dear reader, God does not demand that you “LIVE A LIFESTYLE” to receive His free gift of eternal life. Right doctrine matters! This matter is so critically important. What Ray Comfort is talking about is human reformation. Penitence is sorrow for sins. Penance is amending one's sinful ways. Reformation is turning from your sins. However, none of these are required for salvation. God only requires repentance, which is simply a change of mind unto the Gospel itself. Mark 1:15b, “repent ye, and believe the gospel.” The object of repenting is believing, not forsaking your sins. What saith the Scripture? Matthew 21:32, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” Here again we see that the object of repentance is not turning from your sins, nor changing your life; but rather, simply “THAT YE BELIEVE ON HIM”! You don't turn from your sins to believe, you believe to be forgiven of your sins. Please read again Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

We don't need the Greek to understand the King James Bible. Acts 20:21 plainly teaches repentance is “TOWARD GOD,” not from sin! Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance is simply recognizing one's self as a needy sinner in the sight of a holy God. To say that a person must “repent of sin” to be saved is heresy, and another gospel of works. Kindly said, I refute Pastor Marty Herron as a heretic for using the phrase “repent of your sin” when he witnesses to lost people, but if you understand what he means (as I have explained in this blog article), then you understand why I expose him as a false teacher. 

I don't like making enemies, but people's eternal souls are at stake. Requiring a person to turn from their sins makes the gospel very complicated all of a sudden. There is nothing simple about forsaking your lifelong sinful bad habits, following Christ no matter what the cost, running the race, living a lifestyle of repentance, forsaking the world, et cetera. This is all junk theology, which nearly every popular preacher is promoting nowadays. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Jesus' precious blood. You don't have to count the cost and pay the price, you simply get out of the way and let God do the saving, by faith alone (Hebrews 4:1-2, 10-11). Look what John MacArthur heretically said:

“Don’t believe anyone who says it’s easy to become a Christian. Salvation for sinners cost God His own Son; it cost God’s Son His life, and it’ll cost you the same thing...” [emphasis added] —Dr. John MacArthur, Grace To You, an updated quote from his book 'Hard To Believe', page 93.

The theologically corrupt new president of BJU, Dr. Steve Pettit, sinfully bids Godspeed to damnable false prophet John MacArthur. That is because these men both preach another gospel. Birds of a feather flock together! Sam Horn and Marty Herron are buddies with these theologically tainted men. Dr. Sam Horn is the new president of 'The Master's University' (originally founded in 1927 as 'The Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary'), which Mr. MacArthur was president of from 1984 to 2020. Sam Horn is the new president. BJU has turned to the darkside, pulling on the same rope as the Devil. Whatever greatness BJU once had when Dr. Bob Jones Sr. and his son were still alive, they are a theologically destitute, failed and corrupt religious institution in 2020. 

For taking a courageous Biblical stand against Lordship Salvation, I have lost my church family at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam since 2014. Despite my love for them, and repeated requests since 2017 to return to their church services, to simply be loved as part of their church family, they have sinfully rejected, shunned and ostracized me as an enemy, just like the church at Galatia horribly did to Paul. Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” But if my calamity can someday be their gain, if they'll come to their senses about the true Gospel of free grace, and reject the modern Devil's Bible revisions, then it will be worth it all for Jesus' sake. 2nd Corinthians 11:16 and 19, “I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. ...For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.” Right doctrine matters! The accuracy of the Gospel matters! The purity of the inspired Word of God matters! The Gospel has been embellished so much, that if you were to interview ten different church members, you'd get ten different gospels. 

For the sake of learning by repetition, I will repeat 'THE GOSPEL' (which means 'GOOD NEWS' or 'GLAD TIDINGS'). The 'BAD NEWS' is that we are are sinners (Romans 3:10-23). There is a penalty for our sins, or wages if you please, which is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible teaches that there is also a “second death” in a lake of fire and brimstone (Hell). We all deserve to suffer forever “in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8b). The 'GOOD NEWS' is that God loved you and me so much, that He sent His only begotten Son into the world, to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16-18). Jesus Christ paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay (2nd Corinthians 5:21). JESUS PAID IT ALL!!! THE GOSPEL specifically is comprised of just three things: Jesus Christ DIED on the cross, HE was BURIED, and He physically RESURRECTED from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Anyone who comes to God by faith as a needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing (relying upon) that He died, was buried and is bodily risen from the dead, is immediately, irreversibly and forever born-again (forgiven and saved). It's that simple to receive God's free gift of eternal life!