Make Sure You're Saved

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.”

Oftentimes the Lord will lay a truth upon my heart, which prompts me to write an article, while the thought is still on my mind. Hence this very important article. I've known pastor's wives, who after 20-years of going along with their husband's ambitions to serve Christ in the ministry, realized that they had never been born-again. Religious workers, deacons, and even pastors themselves have realized after decades, that they were never saved at all. I care about you, whoever you may be, friend or foe, and I don't want you to miss the blessings of Heaven. And I certainly don't want you or anybody else to go to Hell forever.

The Holy Bible teaches that a person MUST be “born again” to enter into God's Kingdom. 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.” I am worried about a lot of professed Christians today, who think they are saved, but I am convinced are not. They are good people. They are sincere. They are religious. I'm talking about pastors, Bible college presidents, evangelists, deacons and pastor's wives. I'm talking about youth directors and Christian school teachers. I'm talking about Independent Baptist Churches and other groups as well. Our churches are filled with false converts. We see this horrifying reality evidenced in Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-24. The sad truth is that MOST religious people are still lost!

The reason why is that the clarity of the Gospel has been obscured by well-meaning, but ignorant, churchgoers and preachers. No doubt Satan is behind this theological confusion. It is critically important that soul-winners clarify the Gospel, keeping it simple the way God intended it to be. It is tragic how the churches have embellished (added to) the Gospel over the past century, hiding the Gospel behind a bunch of step-by-step methods, asking Jesus into one's heart, inviting Christ into your life, surrendering all to Christ, following Jesus or repeating a 123-follow-me prayer. None of these are the Gospel. 

'What Is The Gospel?' (Pastor Harry Ironside, 1876-1951)

I had attended an Independent Baptist church down the street from me (Harvest Baptist Church on Guam) a couple years ago. It opened my eyes to a lot of things, mainly the deadness and apostasy in our churches today. Although I kindly tried to help them see the light, they are in their spiritual comfort zones, and don't care about the truth. Harvest teaches that it's not enough to admit you're a sinner to be saved; but also, they insist you MUST “turn from your sin” to be saved. That is Bob Jones University's official doctrinal position. Sadly, Harvest Baptist Church on Guam employs a bunch of BJU graduates. The BJU camp are preaching another gospel of damnation. Are you saved dear reader?

Satanic Modern Bible Revisions Corrupt God's Simple Plan Of Salvation

This heresy doesn't come as a surprise when you consider that today's churches are using the Devil's Bible revisions. Harvest Baptist Church on Guam uses a parallel Bible, with the King James Bible (KJB) on the left, and the corrupt Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) on the right. The Satanic ERV plainly teaches that you must CHANGE YOUR LIFE to be saved. By the way, that's why I've been hitting that false Bible version (i.e., the ERV) so much over the past year in my articles, because it is popular in many deceived Baptist churches today. By the way, I don't refer to the King James Bible as a “version,” because it is God's inspired words and not merely another translation to pick from. God only wrote one book! It numbs the mind when one considers that according to the American Bible Society, there are 900 English Bibles.

The Greek word for “repent” in Mark 1:15 in the King James Bible is metanoeo, which means, “to think differently.” It is a change of mind. It DOESN'T mean to “change your hearts and lives,” which is what the corrupt ERV says!!! Here is a comparison . . .

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) — Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” [emphasis added] 

EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) — Mark 1:15, “He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!” [emphasis added]

That is wrong, wrong, wrong! You don't have to change your own life as a requirement to be saved. Rather, it is the indwelling Holy Spirit that comes into a person at the time of salvation that changes one's heart and life, over time as they grow in grace by nurturing on the milk of the Word (1st Peter 2:2). Anyone who tells you that you must change your ways, habits or sinful lifestyle to be saved is a BIG LIAR! Eternal life is a gift (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). A gift can simply be received, not achieved.

Because of the plethora of modern counterfeit Bible versions, heresy has overtaken Moody Bible Institute, Bob Jones University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Southern Baptist Convention, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Pacific Garden Mission's 'UNSHACKLED' radio program, Grace To You (Dr. John MacArthur), and countless thousands of other apostate ecumenical ministries. Literally, our nation is going to Hell. The main problem is that pastor's don't study the Bible anymore. One of my favorite scholars, Pastor J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) rightly states:

 “We're a nation of Biblical ignoramuses! We do not know the Word of God today in this land” (Dr. J. Vernon McGee, commentary from Hosea 4:1-2). Ain't it the truth brother!

Dr. John MacArthur and other false teachers claim that it is difficult to be saved, because they errantly think a changed life is mandatory to be saved. They confuse Discipleship with Salvation. Make sure you are saved dear friend. It's not by what YOU CAN DO that saves you, it's by what CHRIST HAS DONE. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Religion is man trying to reach God through human effort, but Christianity is God trying to reach man by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross. God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved. Salvation is received, not achieved.

Most Professed Christians Are Not Saved

Sadly, many people within the Bob Jones University camp are going to Hell. Devout members of the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, who adhere to their unbiblical counterfeit gospel, are going to Hell. I say that with love and truth. I read this intriguing article why people refuse to listen to FACTS, like Harvest refuses. No one is saved who thinks you must “turn from your sin” to be saved. That is the works of the law. Romans 3:20, “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.” 

The Devil is so subtle, that he has succeeded in convincing church members that to be saved they must do the deeds of the law. It is called “Lordship Salvation.” The proponents of this heresy, like Pastor Marty Herron, teach that faith is not enough to be saved; but also, they say you must “repent of your sin” to be saved. THE TRUTH is that you will not find that phrase anywhere in the Bible. Nowhere does that Bible teach to “turn from your sin” or “repent of your sin” or “be willing to repent and turn from your sin.” These phrases sound religious. They are intriguing. To the natural (unsaved) man, it sounds logical that a person should have to forsake a life of sin to be pardoned by God; however, this is not what the inspired Word of God teaches. Eternal life is a free gift from God (Romans 5:15-18; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is without works! You do not earn, merit or qualify for it! If you recognize yourself as a needy sinner, simply believe the 'Good News' and you are saved.