Americans Woefully Abuse The Word “Free”

Romans 5:15-18, “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Aren't those beautiful words? Eternal life is a “FREE GIFT.” God even used the word “FREE.” The Greek word for “free gift” is charisma. Thayer's Greek Lexicon defines the word “charisma” as: “a favour with which one receives without any merit of his own.” Eternal life is a favor from God, a pardon, which a guilty sinner receives without any merit of his own.

Having said that, as an American I am so sick and tired of our lying society. Here is an example I found today...

You can create a free and professional website all on your own. With Wix, you can start with a stunning template and customize it, or get a personalized website made just for you. When you choose Wix, you don't just get a drag and drop website builder.

SOURCE: Wix.com: Free Website Builder | Create A Free Website

Boy that sounds great right? But wait, there's a catch... 5 Reasons Not To Use Wix For Your Website – A Brief Wix Review. Turns out, if you make a “FREE” website, they're going to bombard your “FREE” website with advertisements to promote their business. So in reality they are using you! They are manipulating your hard work to create a “FREE” website, either compelling you through annoying ads to pay Wix $168 a year to make the ads go away, or else they'll just pimp your website with ads galore! So is Wix really “FREE”? I think not.

Sadly, that is how Dr. Steve Pettit and Bob Jones University preach a perverted plan of salvation nowadays. Out of one side of their mouth they insist that salvation is solely by God's grace, still a free gift. But then out of the the side of their mouth they say you must “repent and turn away from sin” (which is nowhere taught in the Bible) to be saved. You don't have to turn away from a lifestyle of sinning to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift. Clearly the Bob Jones camp are in theological denial. Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” Salvation cannot be by both grace and works.

I have heard woefully ignorant preachers, like Pastor Charles Lawson in Knoxville, Tennessee, teach that turning away from a lifestyle of sinning is not a work. Kindly said, he is very wrong and as foolish as the deceived Galatian churches (Galatians 3:1-3; 1:6-9). What do you think works is? Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The law says not to commit adultery, right? So if you tell a man that he must stop living in adultery to be saved, you have effectively required him to keep the law to be saved. 

Folks, that is exactly what all these wicked churches are teaching people today, with their heresy of Lordship Salvation. They claim that faith in Jesus as one's Savior is not enough to be saved. In addition, they say you must receive Jesus as your “Lord,” so that you turn away from living in adultery and surrender your whole being to Christ as your Master. Anyone who is not ready to cease from their willful adulterous sinning is rejected by the Lordship Salvation crowd, told that God won't save them by faith alone. That is of the Devil. 

Even Satan will receive an adulterer! Don't you tell me that God won't save an ungodly sinner. “CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY” (Romans 5:6-9). The changed life comes after a person is saved, not as a requirement to be saved. God saves a man and then the indwelling Holy Spirit begins to work on that man (John 16:13; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 12:6-8; Romans 8:9), as he nurtures on the milk of the Word and is sanctified (1st Peter 2:2; John 17:17). Proponents of Lordship Salvation and Wrong Repentance frontload the Gospel, perverting God's free grace.

I could also mention the apostate Moody Bible Institute crowd in Chicago with their Lordship Salvation and dozens of counterfeit Bible revisions. Shame on Moody Church! I could mention the apostate group at Pacific Garden Mission and their 'UNSHACKLED' radio series, which often perverts the Gospel of free grace. Right doctrine matters! Calvinism is NOT the Gospel! Calvinism infects the Gospel. There is a lot of confusion in this world because of evil, but God is not confused dear friend (1st Corinthians 14:33). God knows the score! Nothing escape the sight of God (Hebrews 4:13). God sees all of the good and the evil, even that which is done in secret (Ecclesiastes 12:14). No man shall escape the judgment of almighty God (Hebrews 9:27). All of these preachers today who promote a dozen Bible versions will be sorry in eternity. God only authored ONE BOOK, not 2, not 335, not 900, but just ONE! We have that blessed infallible, inerrant and inspired Book in the King James Bible today! Hallelujah!

All of these Bible professors, administrators, churches and pastors that preach the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation and Wrong Repentance (often two different heresies) will be sorry in eternity, for perverting the Gospel of free grace. The people in Matthew 7:21-23 were as dedicated to Christ as you can get. They earnestly followed Jesus as their “Lord.” These were not lazy or idle people, they did “many wonderful works” in Jesus' name. They prophesied (preached) in Jesus' name everywhere they went. Boy, they thought they had it made in the shade. Man, Jesus must be so proud of them, right? No, they all went to burn in Hell forever! 

Jesus actually denied even knowing them. That's right! And Jesus doesn't know Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, Gary Walton, Bob Jones University, John MacArthur, Harvest Baptist Church of Guam, Moody Church, Pacific Garden Mission or anyone else who thinks that you must turn away from sin to receive God's free gift. They are all no better than Wix.com for falsely advertising a free website, that in reality comes with a ton of unwanted advertisements. THAT IS NOT FREE!!! They are woefully abusing the word “FREE.”

Think about this, because it is really a great illustration. The Calvinist crowd claim salvation is a free gift, but then pressure people for the rest of their life with advertisements that you didn't really get saved unless you live a certain holy way that meets their criteria. How can eternal life still be free? Obviously it cannot. To be completely free, you must be able to go out and deliberately live like the Devil, and still be 100% safe and secure in God's free gift of salvation. That is absolutely NOT the message being preached by the Bob Jones crowd today, who are all followers of Dr. John MacArthur's damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation.

Dear friend, let me ask you a good question. Are you ready? How much can you change the Gospel before it can no longer save someone? That is a good question. Romans 1:16b says the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth.” So the Gospel has the power to save. This is “the power” denied in 2nd Timothy 3:5, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” The world is full of dead religion, because the saving-power of the Gospel is missing. 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 clearly defines “the gospel” as Jesus' death on the cross for our sins, His burial, and His bodily resurrection three days later. Christ died for our sins, was buried and raised up from the dead the third day. That alone is the Good News (Gospel) friend, believe it and you are saved.

Do you think those people in Matthew 7:21-23 believed that Jesus died on the cross? Yes, I think they absolutely did. I am certain that they believed Jesus raised up from the dead. So where did they go wrong? Why didn't Jesus know them? Matthew 7:21 tells us plainly, “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.” Jesus Himself said those words. You don't get to Heaven by idolizing the name of Jesus. You don't get to Heaven by serving, following, helping or ministering to the poor in Jesus' name.

The Lord said you must do the will of His heavenly Father. We find God's will in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” You get to Heaven by completely resting in Jesus as the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, Who paid for your sins on the cross with His own blood. 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.” Simply BELIEVE the Good News of Christ crucified, buried and risen dear friend and you have eternal life. You have God's promise of it!

Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”