Pastor J.D. Farag Preaches Another Gospel

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:” 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?”

The inspired Word of God plainly defines “the Gospel” (i.e., the Good News) as Jesus' death on the cross for our sins, His burial, and His physical resurrection three days later. The only requirement to be saved is that a man acknowledge his sinful guilty condition, so he will come to the light of the truth of the Gospel to trust Jesus as His personal Savior. 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.”

In sharp contrast, read how Pastor J.D. Farag sinfully embellishes the Gospel, requiring more than God does to be saved...

ADMIT THAT YOU'RE A SINNER. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against the righteous god and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out.

BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOUR SINS, WAS BURIED, AND THAT GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was.

CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

SOURCE: https://www.jdfarag.org/abc

The first big theological error that Pastor Farag makes is to teach that repentance involves a change of behavior, which he makes clear implications to by his wording. The famous preacher John Bunyan (1628-1688) made this astoundingly truthful and helpful statement:

“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.” [emphasis added] —Evangelist John Bunyan

Secondly, Pastor Farag makes another theological error by associating Christ's Lordship with salvation. Not one verse in the Bible teaches that a person must declare or receive Jesus as “Lord” to receive God's free gift of eternal life. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Jesus never one time said to receive Him as your “Lord” to be saved, He simply said to believe “ON ME.”

As an illustration of how absurd Pastor Farag's corrupt plan of salvation is, let me use the following example. The way Pastor Farag presents the Gospel would be like me buying my son a birthday gift. It is fully paid for already because I bought it with my own money. I offer it to him as a gift, but then I say these words: 

“Here is a free gift that I bought for you son. I want you to have it, but with the understanding that I am the head of this household. I am your boss and you need to recognize and honor that if you take this gift. And if you are genuine in your appreciation to accept this gift, I will see your room clean, chores done, and the yard needs to be moved each weekend for the next year. Now it's a free gift son, and I paid for it, but you must always remember that I am in charge around here, and I expect to see your chores done, and the grass mowed, otherwise that will show me you really didn't accept this gift.”

Would that be a gift? Absolutely not! It would in fact be a reward that is earned, and not a free gift that is simply received. Yet that is the very same type of theological garbage preached at Bob Jones University, Master's University, Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Cemetery, Moody Bible Institute, Harvest Baptist Church of Guam, and Calvinist churches all across America and the world.

The Apostle Paul was really upset with the churches of Galatia, because they had embraced a religious cult that zealously affected them, but not according to the truth of the Gospel. ...

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?”

Paul simply wanted to know if they were saved by works or by the hearing of faith. That is, when you hear the Gospel preached and you believe it, you are saved. 

In Acts 10:34-43 the Apostle Peter simply preached the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen to Cornelius and his friends. Peter never told them to do one thing, he just preached the Gospel. And as Peter preached, the Bible says the people who heard him believed and were indwelt with the Holy Spirit. That is, they were saved! Amen! This beautiful true story so beautifully demonstrates the simplicity of salvation. Peter didn't require them to repent or turn away from their sinning. Peter didn't require them to exchange all that they are for all that Christ is (which is the junk theology Dr. John MacArthur preaches). No, Peter simply told them the wonderful story of Jesus. Believe it oh sinner and you'll be saved too!