Religion wants to fit us with glasses, but the Lord wants to open our eyes! Thank God for the truth of His precious Word, which is a lamp unto our feet. Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” America's churches influence the world, so if Satan can corrupt our churches here at home, then he can corrupt the world. The United States sends out more missionaries than any other nation. Sadly, there is MUCH heresy and false teaching circulating on the radio, television and in our churches nowadays concerning what a person must do to be saved.
What exactly is the Gospel? The word “Gospel” means “Good News” or “Glad Tidings.” There is no need to guess what the “Gospel” is because the Bible plainly tells us. The “Gospel” is the Good News of Christ's DEATH on the cross for our sins, His BURIAL and bodily RESURRECTION three days later:
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.”We are saved by BELIEVING “the Gospel,” which is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” It is that simple to be saved. If you admit that you are a guilty sinner in God's sight, and you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, and bodily resurrected three days later, and that is your only hope for eternal life, then YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY, SECURELY AND FOREVER SAVED!!! This is the proper Gospel mindset. Anything else is not Bible salvation!
Kindly, the following preachers have ANOTHER GOSPEL: John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Paul Washer, Jon Piper, William Lane Craig, Charles Lawson, Beth Moore, Jimmy Swaggart, John Hagee, Joel Osteen, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Jack Chick, David Cloud, Pat Robertson, Don Blackwell, Dan Corner, Brian Derringer, Charles Stanley. And then there is a corrupt group of preachers who believe that people in the Old Testament were required to do works to be saved; such as, William P. Grady and Peter S. Ruckman. All these men preach ANOTHER GOSPEL that is not the Gospel.
One of my favorite men of God, Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), preached a monumental sermon titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation?” The basic gist of the sermon is to ask every person who claims to be saved, the following question: Is there anything you could ever do to lose your salvation? If their answer is “yes,” then the person is not saved, because they have the wrong mindset and do not understand the Gospel. A person who is truly saved, fully understands that salvation has absolutely NOTHING to do with them self, and that Jesus paid the full price for our sins with His precious blood. 1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” This is the Gospel mindset.
If a person believes that even the slightest amount of human effort is necessary to merit eternal life, then they are not born-again! Jesus paid it all! I once witnessed to a professed Christian man, a school teacher at the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. I kindly asked him if admitting one's guilt as a sinner and believing the Gospel is enough to be saved. He said, “Ah, I think there needs to be a little bit more.” His reply clearly evidenced to me that he is in fact, not saved.
Kindly, if you think that water baptism is necessary to get to Heaven, you are not going! If you think that a Catholic priest or Lutheran minister can forgive your sins, you are going to Hell when you die. If you think that living a good life impresses God, and that is your hope for eternal life, then you will perish in your sins when you die and spend the rest of eternity tormented in the Lake of Fire. The Roman Catholic Church is a prisonhouse of religion! Hell is filled with sincere Catholics, who bought into the Satanic lie that they could get to Heaven through sacraments. Salvation is not found in any religion, but in a Person—The Lord Jesus Christ!
There is only one proper way of thinking, that produces the new birth by the Holy Spirit of God, and that is faith alone in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ. Salvation has always been through faith in the Messiah. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” The Gospel is so simple. In fact, it is even called “the simplicity that is in Christ” in 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4. Having to forsake one's sinful ways to be saved is anything but “simple.” If a person must forsake lifelong sinful bad habits to be saved, or even try to cease from sinning, then we're all going to Hell.
Do you have a proper Gospel mindset? If a born-again believer went out and murdered 1,000 people, God forbid, they would still have eternal life. The reason why is because you don't get saved by doing good works, nor can you be lost by doing bad works! How can you lose that which was not yours to give in the first place? “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9b). A Christian falls IN GRACE, never FROM GRACE. Only the Christ-rejecter falls FROM GRACE! When we have sinned as Christians, “grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20b).
2nd Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies...”