Another Jesus, Another Spirit, Another Gospel

2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”

I am going to teach this Bible study quite different than I normally would. I usually go directly to 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 and explain the passage. But in this blog I want to first explain the Old Testament law and then build upon that, to teach you the Holy Bible. I think you will find much of this information edifying, filling in those puzzle pieces that give the Christian believer a firmer grasp of the Word of God overall. In other words, in this blog I want to help you see the Big Picture, which will help you understand many other Scripture passages as well.

The Apostle Paul was frustrated and upset with the churches of Galatia. Why? It was because they had embraced a counterfeit gospel. Just like today, people thousands of years ago often became confused, simply because they were naïve and ignorant of spiritual matters. It is in our old fleshly human nature to be unlearned in the things of God. 1st Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” This is why a good Bible teacher is worth more than gold. And I mean that!

The Old Testament Ceremonial Laws

Throughout the Old Testament under the Mosaic law, the Jews (God's chosen people) were required to observe a strict regiment of ceremonial laws. By “Mosaic law” I mean that God gave His laws to His servant and prophet, Moses, to give then to the people of God. These Mosaic laws were intended to teach greater spiritual truths (not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles, even today). God gave the world a conscience through the nation of Israel. That is, God chose Abraham's descendants to be His ambassador nation to the rest of the world, to preach the Gospel of free grace, and to be a peculiar people zealous of good works (Exodus 19:5-6).

But sadly, Israel rebelled, choosing instead to worship idols and forget the Lord their God. So God divorced Israel. Jeremiah 3:8, “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.” The weeping prophet Jeremiah in this verse is referring to the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria was the capital). God raised up the nation of Assyria (Iran today) against the wicked northern kingdom of Israel, overthrowing it in 722 BC. The southern kingdom of Israel (whose capital was Judah) continued in prosperity, but was overthrown by the nation of Babylon in 586 BC. In Jeremiah 3:8, God is simply telling the Jews in the remaining southern kingdom that they saw the rebellion, invasion and fall of their sister up north, but they 

The ceremonial laws were only for:

• Jews (a specific people)
• Old Testament (a specific time)
• Palestine (a specific place)

The Bible teaches that these ceremonial laws ceased at Calvary, because they were nailed to the cross with Christ. Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Subsequently, God does not expect anyone to keep the Sabbath Day in these modern times. Some people choose to still observe the Sabbath Day to honor God, which is fine, just so long as you don't insist that it be done; or God forbid, require Sabbath keeping to prove that you are saved (this is what the cult of Seventh-Day Adventism wickedly does).

And let me plainly say, dear friend, that salvation has ALWAYS been by grace through faith. I am saddened when I hear well-known preachers (e.g., Peter S. Ruckman and William P. Grady) teach that people were saved by WORKS under the Mosaic law. Nothing could be further from the truth (Acts 10:43). Keeping the law in the Old Testament was a matter of service, just like today. Salvation is the free gift of God; Service is what we do with that gift! No one has ever been saved by service, that is, by serving God.

Keeping the law under the Old Covenant was a matter of obeying God to please Him, which if the Jews failed to keep the law, God punished the nation. Proof of what I say is that God sent the Jews into 70 years of captivity in Babylon (one year for every seven years that the Jews failed to keep the Sabbath Day). God punished the nation of Israel with Babylon.

That is what is happening now in Ukraine. God has raised up Russia to judge Ukraine. Look at this shameful video of Ukraine's president dressed in drag, a sodomite, dancing with homosexuals! Search the internet and you will find hundreds of articles identifying Ukraine as THE MOST CORRUPT NATION IN EUROPE!!! Ukraine is long overdo for judgment and God is using Russia to do it! That doesn't mean Russia is without fault, it just means that Ukraine is worse! Babylon wasn't a godly nation, but they shined in comparison to the depths of wickedness to which Israel had sunk! How wicked was it? In Ezekiel chapter eight, God carried Ezekiel's spirit by the Holy Spirit from Babylon to Jerusalem, to show him the Jewish priests worshipping the sun, moon and stars in IDOLATRY. These were the entrusted spiritual leaders of Israel, worshipping creation instead of the Creator!!!

I wanted to take some time, to explain the Old Testament system of ceremonial laws, which centered around the tabernacle and the work of the priestly tribe of the Levities. Once each year the high priest was required by God to kill a lamb. It had to be a young male lamb without spot or blemish, because it represented the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The high priest cut the lamb's throat and let the blood drain into a basin (bowl). He then took that blood and entered into the holiest inner court of the tabernacle. Only the high priest could enter into the holy place, and not without blood!

I absolutely LOVE the book of Hebrews!!! It is all about the blood of Jesus. A great teacher, regardless of the subject, takes a complicated matter, breaks it down, and makes it simple to understand. Any teacher who cannot do that ought not be teaching!!! I have sat in countless classes during my lifetime, where the person teaching rambled off a bunch of data, statistics and information, but they didn't make any sense. Those were horrible unqualified teachers!

I humbly believe that God has given me the gift of writing and teaching. I give ALL the credit to God for anything good accomplished through my website ministry. Dear reader, did you know that the heresy of Lordship Salvation is rooted in the Old Testament law? It is absolutely true! What does that mean? Well, what is God's law? The law are God's commandments. Everyone is familiar with the Ten Commandments which God personally gave to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17). Actually, Moses gave about 720 laws in total for the Hebrews to follow! If you think that is too many, consider that there are now over 1,000,000 laws, regulations and codes on the books in the United States!!! Good golly Miss Molly!

The purpose of God's law is expressly stated in Romans 3:19-20 and also in Galatians 3:24-26:

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.”

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.”

Boy, I love those helpful passages of Scripture! If all of the incompetent pastors and preachers today, would simply study these passages of the Bible, they would realize that telling someone to “repent of their sin” or “turn away from your sinful ways” d

God said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery (Ex 20:1-2):

1. “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” (Exodus 20:4-6).
3. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:7).
4. “Observe the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11).
5. “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).
6. “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
7. “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
8. 8th “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
9. “You shall not give false testimony” (Exodus 20:16).
10. “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17).

God never intended for anyone to keep the law to get to Heaven. Rather, God gave the law to show humanity our hopeless to merit Heaven on our own. The law gives man the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20).

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.”

So when anyone comes along preaching that you must turn away from your sins to be saved, what they are really doing is trying to put you under the law to be saved. The Bible plainly teaches, as we just read in Romans 3:20, that no one has ever been justified by keeping the law. Everything about the law was for our learning...

Hebrews 10:1, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”

We learn from the Ten Commandments that we cannot keep it. No matter how hard we try, we fail at keeping God's law perfectly. That seems the same as trying to lose weight... impossible. I'm kidding of course. With proper nutrition and eating only certain natural foods and baked foods, we can lose weight slowly but surely. However, no one has ever perfectly keep God's law. That is, no one is without sin among mankind. We are all horrible sinners (Romans 3:10-23). God gave the law to help mankind. He chose to give the law to the world through the chosen people, the Jews. But that which God meant to be a blessing, the foolish Jews turned into a big stumbling block:

1st Peter 2:7-8, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.”

R.C. Sproul's Ligonier ministry, heretic Dr. Burk Parsons, spoke this blasphemy:

“True repentance is actually striving to live in a new way, in a consecrated way, that we would be striving to change our behavior, change our actions, change our motives, and that we would pray that God would help us to do so.” ~Dr. Burk Parsons

No, that is reformation, not Bible repentance. Another heretic, John C. Ryle foolishly says:

“Let us beware of any repentance, falsely so called, which is not of this character. Action is the very life of 'repentance unto salvation.' Feelings, and tears, and remorse, and wishes, and resolutions, are all useless, until they are accompanied by action and a change of life. In fact they are worse than useless. Insensibly they sear the conscience and harden the heart.” —Pastor J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

It's true, Jesus was a friend of sinners, and because he was a true friend, He called those friends to repent of their unbelief and believe; but He did not require them to turn away from sinning to be saved, which would be works. When asked how to be saved, Paul and Silas simply told the Roman jailor to: BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Acts 16:30-31).

Those wicked preachers today who teach that you must turn from your sin to be saved are preaching another gospel, with another spirit, and it is not what the Holy Bible teaches!

Evangelist J.C. Ryle Is A Deadly False Prophet!

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.”

Acts 16:29-30, “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

The dear Savior Himself said that the work of God for salvation is simply to BELIEVE ON HIM. When asked by the Roman jailor how to be saved, Paul and Silas simply told him to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Yet, many preachers when asked how to get to Heaven, have a very different answer.

One such dangerous false teacher is John Charles Ryle (commonly know as: J.C. Ryle):

“The man in whose heart a true work of the Holy Spirit has begun, will never be content with thinking and resolving. He will break off from sin. He will come out from its fellowship. He will cease to do evil. He will learn to do well. He will turn to God in humble prayer. He will confess his iniquities. He will not attempt to excuse his sins. He will say with David, 'I acknowledge my transgression.' He will say with the tax-collector, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' (Psalms 51:3. Luke 18:13.) 

Let us beware of any repentance, falsely so called, which is not of this character. Action is the very life of “repentance unto salvation.” Feelings, and tears, and remorse, and wishes, and resolutions, are all useless, until they are accompanied by action and a change of life. In fact they are worse than useless. Insensibly they sear the conscience and harden the heart.” —Pastor J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

SOURCE: Repentance - J.C. Ryle 

BLASPHEMY!!! Dear reader, what you just read is another gospel by J.C. Ryle. It is blatant damnable false doctrine! Not one verse in the Bible mandates a changed life to get into Heaven. What he is effectively teaching is that getting saved must result in keeping the law, so if you don't keep the law you never really got saved. The woeful theological error that J.C. Ryle has made is that he mixed sanctification with justification. We must not confuse these two things.

The following blatant heresy is mind-blowing dear reader! It is very obvious that John Ryle was an infidel (unsaved), a foolish man who didn't have a clue how to really be saved. If you read his biography on Wikipedia, you'll learn that John Charles Ryle was an Anglican minister (the same as Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort, the two infidels behind all of the corrupt modern Devil's Bibles). Anglicans are part of The Church of England, which requires water baptism to get to Heaven. This is a counterfeit gospel which does not produce the new birth in Jesus Christ. Read this shocking heresy by J.C. Ryle (1816-1900):

“"Make every effort" teaches that men and women must expect many adversaries and a hard battle, if they would have their soul saved. And this, as a matter of experience, is strictly true. There are no "gains without pains" in spiritual things any more than in earthly things. That roaring lion, the devil, will never let a soul escape from him without a struggle. The heart which is naturally sensual and earthly will never be turned to spiritual things without a daily fight. The world, with all its opposition and temptations, will never be overcome without a conflict. But why should any of this surprise us? What great and good thing was ever accomplished without trouble? Wheat does not grow without plowing and sowing; riches are not obtained without care and attention; success in life is not won without hardships and work; and heaven, above all, is not to be reached without the cross and the battle. The "kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men and women lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12). A man or woman must "Make every effort.”

SOURCE: https://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/JC-HowtobeSaved.htm

I am numb with bewilderment at the utter gross theological incompetence of J.C. Ryle! In the entire preceding article titled: “How To Be Saved,” not once does Ryle mention the death, burial or resurrection of Jesus Christ!!! Not once does he mention the word “gift.” Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15-18; 6:23). One of my favorite preachers (and the author of Pilgrim's Progress), John Bunyan, correctly teaches:

“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.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Bravo! Boy, I love that quote! Here is another profound helpful quote, this time from Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965):

“There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness.” ~Pastor M.R. DeHaan, Hebrews; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)

Thank God for doctrinally sound men like John Bunyan and Martin R. DeHaan, who've studied the Scriptures to show themselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, workmen who need not to be ashamed before God.

Here is another excellent quote from one of my favorite preachers, Pastor Curtis Hutson:

“But we've so muddied the Gospel, that when men want to make a decision to trust Christ, we've made it so complicated that they can't make a simple decision to 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' We'll say, 'If you don't do this' or 'You don't do that' or 'You haven't done that,' you're not saved'; but the truth of the matter is that when asked in the Bible, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,' one clear simple answer was given to him — 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'” —Pastor Curtis Hutson, “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same” (preached at Southwide Baptist Fellowship on October 3, 1994)

What saith the Scripture? John 3:14-16, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I love the simplicity of the Scriptures!

Here is another mind-blowing quote from Pastor J.C. Ryle, preaching a perverse false gospel of works:

Narrow as this door is, it is "a door always ready to open." No sinners of any kind are forbidden to draw near: whosoever will, may enter in and be saved. There is only one condition of admission: that condition is that you really feel and hate your sins and desire to be saved by Christ in His own way. Are you really aware of your guilt and wickedness? Have you a truly broken and contrite heart? Look at the door of salvation, and come in. He that made it declares, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away" (John 6:37).

The question to be considered is not whether you are a great sinner or a little sinner—whether you are elect or not—whether you are converted or not. The question is simply this, "Do you feel and hate your sins? Do you feel burdened and heavy-laden? Are you willing to put your life into Christ's hands?" Then, if that be the case, the door will open to you at once. Come in this very day. Why are you standing out there? ~Evangelist J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), “How To Be Saved”

I wonder if this man has ever even read the Holy Bible! J.C. Ryle doesn't even mention faith in Christ, he merely tells people to hate and turn away from their sins, and to put their life into Christ's hands. Folks, that is NOT the Gospel. What Ryle is preaching is WORKS!!! You don't get to Heaven by hating and forsaking your sins, and by putting your life into Christ's hands. You cannot show me nonsense in the Bible. Where does he get this garbage theology? He sure didn't get it from the inspired Word of God.

Dear friend, a good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. We have the entire Gospel of John, which was written solely to show us the way of salvation. 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.” The Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract! In this blessed book we find the word “BELIEVE” mentioned 88 times, but the word “REPENT” is not mentioned even once! That speaks volumes! It means that repentance is automatic, included with BELIEVING. Evangelist John R. Rice got it 100% correct, who wrote these eloquent true words:

There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith.

Everyone who genuinely repented under the preaching of John the Baptist put his trust in the Saviour John the Baptist preached, and was regenerated. There is no such thing as being “a disciple of John the Baptist” in any honest sense without being a disciple of Jesus, that is, without trusting Christ for salvation. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

That is VERY different than what Pastor J.C. Ryle taught. Things that are different are not the same. Perhaps you say: “J.C. Ryle was a good man. He helped multitudes of people. He did many wonderful works throughout his earthly life. John Charles Ryle loved Jesus and followed Him as his Lord. Surely this man must have been saved? Surely he must have been a child of God?” Not so fast friend! What saith the Scripture? ...

Matthew 7:21-23, “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

These people in Matthew 7:21-23 were very sincere! Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” They followed Christ. The called Him “Lord.” They prophesied (preached) in His name. Yet, Jesus denied even knowing them, calling them workers of iniquity. So you see friend, it is absolutely possible to serve Christ and follow Him loyally as your Lord, and yet still die in your sins and go to Hell to burn for all eternity.

The Bible tells us why in Matthew 7:21, “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.” The will of the heavenly Father is to BELIEVE ON HIM. 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.” Oh dear friend, that is so beautiful. Jesus didn't come to save those who are willing to turn from their sins, but to save everyone who believes on Him for the remission of their sins! That's the Gospel!

Pastor Curtis Hutson makes these helpful statements:

“And when it comes to salvation the only thing that counts with God today is the death of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. If you are counting on anything other than Jesus Christ to take you to Heaven, then you are counting on something that God doesn't count. Won't you trust Christ today? If you are not absolutely sure that there was a time in your life when you knew you were a sinner and made a definite decision to trust Jesus Christ completely for salvation, then we urge you to trust Him now.” —'Salvation Crystal Clear,' by Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

It's true, Jesus was a friend of sinners, and because he was a true friend, He called those friends to repent of their unbelief, so that they would BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. The Bible way of salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ. John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” I have no doubt that Pastor J.C. Ryle is burning in Hell this moment, because he trusted in his own human effort to hate and turn away from his sin. Mr. Ryle didn't not preach the Gospel of free grace, because clearly he did not even understand it!\

Pastor Ryle keeps foolishly speaking of “making every effort to be saved,” but dear reader, Jesus has already paid the price for our ticket to Heaven. The payment has been made with Jesus' precious blood. So in fact, we DON'T have to make every EFFORT to get to Heaven. But contrawise, we simply are told in Hebrews 4:10-11 to REST in Christ our Savior. Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” So, no, you don't need to MAKE EVERY EFFORT! That is false religion! That is of the Devil! That is J.C. Ryle's foolish words, not God's!

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

The Password To Heaven

1st John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Are you sure you're going to Heaven when you die? Or are you willing to chance your eternal soul and possibly end up in Hell fire?? Why not make sure of the matter today, while there is still time? The Good News is: You can KNOW that you're going to Heaven! The Bible clearly states in our text verse that God wants us to KNOW, and have the matter settled.

There can be no misery greater than living life wondering if someday you will lift up your eyes in Hell! The Bible so wonderfully makes salvation clear! It is a gift given of God, that cannot be earned in any way of our own doing. 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.” Titus 3:5, “Jesus Christ made this wonderful, free salvation possible.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Do you see what the verse says? It is simply BELIEF, or rather FAITH, TRUST, in Jesus Christ that saves. I am so thankful for these following verses that tell of man who sincerely wanted to be saved, and was told how: Acts 16:29-31, “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Christ came to this earth, God in the flesh, a perfect man who never committed sin. He sacrificed His life of the cross of Calvary, shed His blood, as PAYMENT for our sin.

You see, our sin separates us from a perfect and Holy God. We have no way to approach God in and of ourselves, for He is HOLY, righteous, perfect, and pure. He cannot tolerate sin. So Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world, that we might be reconciled (bought back and redeemed) to God. We can come to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son! John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

You may ask, well what must I believe, more specifically, about Jesus Christ to be eternally saved? I'm glad you asked my fine non-feathered friend! You are saved by BELIEVING the Good News of the Gospel—Christ's death, burial, and resurrection! When you accept this beautiful truth—that Christ loves you and died for YOUR sins, and arose from the grave FOR YOU, TO SAVE YOU FROM HELL; and you simply say, “yes” to Jesus (BELIEVING upon the Lord) in child-like simplicity, offering nothing of yourself or self-righteousness to God, but clinging only to CHRIST'S MERIT and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS—YOU WILL BE SAVED!!!

1st Corinthians 15:1-4 says, “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:”

Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Would you be willing to put your whole-hearted faith in Jesus to make it to Heaven, instead of trusting yourself and your own way? If you dear reader will simply trust what God has promised to every sinner in His inspired Word, “TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE” (1st Corinthians 1:21), you will be immediately and forever born-again.

Getting saved is easy, free and simple. Christ has already made the full payment for our sins, by His sacrifice on the cross 2,000 years ago. Hallelujah, praise God! God needed to make His plan of salvation for mankind very plain and simple, because there are a lot of base, unlearned and educable slow people in the world. God has made His plan of salvation so simple, that even a young child like Timothy in the Bible, can understand it. 2nd Timothy 3:15, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” I have heard testimonies from believers who were saved at the tender age of 5 and 6 years old. Amen! Pastor Steven Anderson was saved at the age of 6. Praise God!

The password to Heaven dear reader is childlike FAITH. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Again and again in the inspired Word of God we are taught that the way to Heaven is simply by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!!!

Yet, we hear so many corrupt preachers today adding to and embellishing the Gospel of free grace, perverting the truth. The Apostle Paul rebuked the churches of Galatia for this very same sin in Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Pastor Curtis Hutson said it well:

“But we've so muddied the Gospel, that when men want to make a decision to trust Christ, we've made it so complicated that they can't make a simple decision to 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' We'll say, 'If you don't do this' or 'You don't do that' or 'You haven't done that,' you're not saved'; but the truth of the matter is that when asked in the Bible, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,' one clear simple answer was given to him — 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'” — Pastor Curtis Hutson, “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same” (preached at Southwide Baptist Fellowship on October 3, 1994)

The false teaching of "Lordship Salvation" is not the SAME as: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). Things that are different are not the same. Oh, how the Devil is a beautiful liar! I recently visited the downtown popular First Baptist Church of Pensacola, Florida. Their senior pastor is Dave Snyder. I have met him and I love the guy. Pastor Snyder always makes me feel loved and welcomed in their church as a single divorced man. I love and respect Pastor Snyder for that. However, I felt like crying recently, as I sat in their traditional morning service, and he falsely told hundreds of impressionable people that the way to Heaven is to repent of your sins, and become a Christ follower, surrendering all to Christ as the Lord and the Master of your life. Folks, that is not the Gospel of free grace!

Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) gets repentance and the Gospel 100% correct:

“Faith and repentance are the same; they are not two separate decisions. One cannot trust Christ as Savior without repenting or changing his mind. The very fact that he trusts Christ for salvation shows that he has changed his mind regarding sin, salvation, and God.” —Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

But wait, didn't Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980) teach that you must “repent from sin with all your heart” to be saved? Yes he did! Yet, Dr. Rice clearly didn't believe that a person must attempt to reduce their amount of sinning to be saved, as evidenced by this helpful quote from him:

There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Amen and amen! I fully agree! Clearly, John R. Rice believed that the way you “turn from sin” is by trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior. This is one step, not two, to be saved. That is NOT what the Lordship Salvation crowd are heretically preaching today! I keep hearing these false preachers teaching that you must turn away from your sins first, and then secondly believe the Gospel. That is a false gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works!

You don't repent AND believe, as Dr. Tom Ferrell falsely preached; you repent TO believe as Dr. John R. Rice rightly taught. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!! Our words matter. How we present the Gospel really does matter. Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” The password to Heaven is FAITH.

You don't have to stop one sin to be saved. Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21), which is justification; but after we get saved, then Christ's Holy Spirit works to change us, which is sanctification. God desires to turn us away from sin as His adopted children, but this will depend on whether we CHOOSE to yield, submit and obey the Word of God in our daily life. That is why we as believers are exhorted in Romans 12:1 to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Notice that it is not our mandatory service; but rather, our reasonable service. Also, notice that we are talking about SERVICE here, and not SALVATION. Amen.

I hope these Bible teachings in this blog have been edifying for you friend. The following sermon is by Pastor Peter Ruckman (1921-2016), the title of which I chose for the title of this blog today: “The Password To Heaven”...

The Password To Heaven (Pastor Peter Ruckman)

Pastors Who Preach Lordship Salvation Will Be Sorry

Matthew 7:21-23, “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

In our text passage of Scripture Jesus makes some startling comments. Here we see a dedicated group of people who were aggressive about serving Christ as their Lord. They even referred to Jesus as “Lord, Lord.” They followed Christ. They recognized Him as their absolute Lord and Master. They did many wonderful works during their time on earth. The preached to people in Jesus' name. By all outward appearance these were true Christians. They went to church faithfully. They tithed. They prayed. They lived the Christian life. Yet, Jesus spoke these horrifying words to them: “I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME YE THAT WORK INIQUITY!” Jesus had the angels cast them into the outer darkness of Hell to burn!!!

Jesus tells us exactly why these wicked false prophets went to Hell, even though they faithfully followed and served Him as their absolute Lord and Master on earth. It is simply because they failed to completely trust, to rest, in the blessed Savior. Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Paul and Silas didn't tell the Roman jailor to follow Christ as absolute Lord and Master! Neither did they tell the Roman jailor to turn away from his sins, surrender all to Christ, nor to serve Him by doing many wonderful works! No, Paul and Silas simply told the Roman jailor to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED!!!

In his beautiful sermon titled: "EASY BELIEVISM," Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold leads a man to Christ with the simple Gospel, and he makes these post comments about the matter:

“Now, I spent just a few minutes explaining the Gospel to Him. But it's simple enough so that he can share it with somebody else, and somebody else, and somebody else. Now, I believe that there are a lot of preachers who will never have the joy of this, for the simple reason, they gotta make the Gospel so hard and complicated that they won't share it. I can share it with anybody at any given time, and it makes sense, and they trust the Lord. And I've seen their lives change. When they simply believe it. I didn't try to change anybody's life, but I've seen it happen, 'cause I know that the power of the Gospel works on people.” ~Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, “EASY BELIEVISM.”

I love that! Pastor Yankee presented the Gospel so simple to the man, that after leading him to Jesus Christ, that man went out and also started leading people to Christ, because the message was so simple and easy to believe. How sad and tragic it is today, to see men like Evangelist Ray Comfort confounding and complicating the Gospel, muddying it up so much with extra garbage that God does not require, that no one ever gets saved!!! If you watch all of Ray Comfort's videos, he never, NOT ONCE, even leads a single person to Jesus Christ! That is because Ray requires people to turn away from their sinful bad habits, and to continue “LIVING A LIFESTYLE” of repentance for the rest of their life to get to Heaven. Those are Ray Comfort's exact words: LIVING A LIFESTYLE!!!

Dear friend, you don't have to live any kind of lifestyle to be saved. Nor do you have to forsake a sinful lifestyle to be saved. Jesus Christ came to die on the cross to PAY FOR OUR SINS, because we were unable to pay for them ourselves. The only way that we could ever pay for our own sins would be to burn in Hell forever and ever!!! The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We deserve to die! We deserve to be punished in Hell, which the Bible calls the “second death” (Revelation 21:8). We sinful humans cannot understand the holiness of a righteous God, so in our feeble minds we don't think eternal damnation is fair, but in God's holy sight it is completely fair. The Bible says CHRIST CAME TO SAVE SINNERS (Romans 5:6-9). All humanity are sinners (Romans 3:23). We all deserve to die for our sins!

But Jesus paid our debt of sin with His precious blood, which He shed on the cross and sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in Heaven (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). The Gospel means “Good News.” It is the Good News of three things; namely, Jesus DIED on the cross to pay for our sins. He was BURIED, and after three days Christ RESURRECTED from the dead for our justification (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). When Christ raised up, our decision to trust Him was justified, because CHRIST IS RISEN!!! 1st Corinthians 15:13-14, “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” Thank God that Christ is indeed risen!!!

These wicked preachers today who require that people surrender all to Christ, repent and turn away from their sins, live a lifestyle of repentance, run the race, count the cost and pay the price to be saved are preaching another gospel accursed by God. Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” It is no trifle matter to God for pastors to change, embellish and corrupt the simplicity that is in Christ, which is the Gospel (Romans 1:16).

Galatians 6:7-8, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” These ungodly pastors in the Bob Jones University (BJU) camp today, and the ungodly Pensacola Christian College (PCC) Camp who wickedly bid Godspeed to them, will be sorry in eternity. The Bob Jones crowd are not going to Heaven. No one is going to Heaven who believes that faith is insufficient to be saved. No one is saved who also thinks that you must repent of your sins, and turn away from them, and forsake a lifestyle of sinning, and surrender your entire personality to Christ to be saved. Those things are not a part of the Gospel. 

Again, when asked by the Roman jailor what he needed to do to be saved, Paul and Silas simply told him to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” So why do so many incompetent pastors and evangelists and Bible professors today, get the Gospel WRONG?

I'll tell you why, because they heard some other preacher teach Lordship Salvation, and it sounds so good to the carnal man. Heresy makes sense to the unsaved man! Dear reader, have you believed a lie? I sure hope not. Please avoid Dr. John MacArthur, the Bob Jones University crowd, and the Southern Baptist Convention today. These influences are all pulling on the same rope as the Devil, requiring you to KEEP THE LAW to be saved. When they tell you to turn away from sin with all your heart, they are telling you to KEEP THE LAW to be saved. Romans 3:19-20 warns that no one ever gets saved by the works of the law!

What do you think the law is? Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain, et cetera. So if you must do your best to cease from doing these sinful things to be saved, how is that not keeping God's law? It sure is keeping the law! It is WORKS!!! Romans 4:4-5, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:4 absolutely proves that no one was ever saved by faith plus works in the Old Testament, because if they were then God would OWE THEM salvation. Salvation is by God's undeserved grace, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18-19).

When a curious disciple asked Jesus if many people are saved, the Lord confirmed that there aren't. Luke 13:23-24, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” There are thousands of false religions, corrupt churches and Bible colleges all across American today, who preach a false gospel of Lordship Salvation, Calvinism, misunderstood repentance or a combination thereof.

Only childlike faith a free grace Gospel produces the new birth in Christ Jesus. You simply come to God as a guilty sinner and BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST; receiving His sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He is risen from the dead. That's it! To be saved you must know the FACTS of the Gospel, which I just gave you (Christ's death, burial and resurrection), and then you must BELIEVE them for yourself. Christ died, that's history; Christ died and raised up for me, that's salvation. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

It is that easy, free and simple to be saved. Please don't infidels like Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Gary Walton, Chuck Phelps, Sam Horn and John MacArthur take your soul to Hell with them. Matthew 23:13, “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” The corrupt Bob Jones University camp today, with all their thousands of graduates, are no different than the self-righteous wicked Pharisees of Bible times! BJU and their alumni go around telling everyone that unless you “repent and turn away from your sin,” you cannot be saved. Yet, nowhere does the inspired King James Bible teaches this theological garbage. I am telling THE TRUTH (Romans 3:4). 

One of my favorite preachers, Pilgrim's Progress author, John Bunyan, said this great truth:

“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.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

John Bunyan nailed it! That is exactly where all these preachers are going astray today. Instead of keeping justification without (salvation and sonship), separate from sanctification within (discipleship and service)—they corrupt the Word of God and cast stumbling blocks before the people. I love this helpful explanation by Dr. M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965):

“There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness.” —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, Hebrews; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)

Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) wrote these helpful words: “Conversion And Salvation.”

I marvel that so many preachers nowadays have strayed away from the hope of the Gospel. Colossians 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;” The Word of God is so abundantly plain and clear. The Gospel of John never mentions the word “repent,” not even once! Yet we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times!!! Clearly, repentance is automatic. The man who believes has also repented. That is, he has simply changed his mind from unbelief to belief.

I am wearied with these incompetent pastors today, who falsely assume that Lordship Salvation falls within the realm of orthodox theology, just as does a free grace Gospel. But friend, nothing could be further from THE TRUTH. You must either turn away with all your heart from sinning to be saved, or else you don't have to quit one sin to be saved, but it cannot be both! Salvation is either by grace or by works, but it cannot be by both (Romans 11:6)

I marvel in astonishment that so many pastors today, fail to understand that Lordship Salvation is keeping the law. You are putting people under the law, when you require them to love God and keep His commandments to be saved:

Mark 12:28-33, "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Ladies and gentlemen, as you just read for yourself, making Jesus the Lord and the Master of your life is keeping the law. Lordship Salvation requires that you surrender ALL to be saved. That is a counterfeit gospel which does not produce the new birth necessary to get into God's Kingdom. Jesus said in John 3:3b, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” You MUST be born-again! Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

If You Must Stop Breaking God's Law To Be Saved, How's That Not Keeping The Law?

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.”

Our text passage above plainly teaches that the ONLY role of God's Law in God's simple plan of salvation for man is TO GIVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN. That's is my friend, no more! God never intended that you repent “of your sin” to be saved! God never intended that you “turn away from your sin” to be saved. Those requirements means KEEPING THE LAW!

Think about it dear friend. What is “the law” anyway? You've heard of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-18). (by the way, if you want to see something unsettling, check out The Ten Commandments for Roman Catholics, which completely remove God's 2nd Commandment not to bow down to graven images. They split the 10th Commandment not to covet into two, making the 9th and 10th Commandments both not to covet. The Catholic religion is EVIL!) Anyway, the Ten Commandments tell us not to steal, not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to take God's name in vain, not to covet, et cetera. Essentially, God's Law commands us not to sin! So when some incompetence preacher tells you to “turn away from your sin” to be saved, he is effectively ordering you to KEEP THE LAW to get to Heaven, which the Bible says is impossible. 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 sole purpose of God's Law in getting saved is to give humanity THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN! That is what Romans 3:19 plainly teaches! With that truth in mind, Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) gets repentance 100% correct:

“Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.” —Pastor Harry A. Ironside; “Except Ye Repent,” p. 36

Listen to what Dr. Ironside correctly states about repentance:

“In all that I have written I have failed completely to express what was surging up in my soul if I have given anyone the impression that I think of repentance as something meritorious which must be produced in man by self-effort ere he is fit to come to God for salvation.” —Dr. Harry Ironside, a quote from chapter 16, “The Preaching That Produces Repentance,” from his classic book, “Except Ye Repent”

Dr. Ironside rightly teaches:

“Repentance is the recognition of my sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word.” —Dr. Harry Ironside, chapter 3, “Except Ye Repent”

What Pastor Ironside is teaching is vastly different than actually ceasing from one's sinful lifestyle to be saved, or even attempt or to be willing to turn away from sin to be saved. Pastor Ironside is correct—repentance is simply owning before God that I am a guilty sinner. Thus seeing my need for Christ, I am saved solely by BELIEVING the Gospel (the Good News of Jesus crucified, buried and bodily risen the third day). Thankfully, Jesus paid the price for out sins with His own precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24).

As did the Apostle Paul, I marvel at how easily Satan has deceived so many preachers today with a counterfeit gospel...

Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

I was tremendously heartbroken in 2014 at the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, which I attended for one year. On a particular Sunday, their senior pastor Marty Herron got up and preached to several hundred people. Tragically, at the end of his sermon he preached another gospel, and I went home and cried. Pastor Herron said to all those people, and I quote: “It is not enough to admit that you are a sinner to get to Heaven, you MUST turn away from a lifestyle of sinning.” Folks, that means KEEPING THE LAW!!!

From all the truths that I have just shared with you dear reader, it should be very clear from the inspired Word of God that, in fact, you DON'T have to stop even one sin to be saved!

You Don't Go To Hell Because You Won't Quit Your Sinning

(by Pastor Curtis Hutson, “Why Do Men Go To Hell?”)

Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) became a born-again Christian at age 11. He simply BELIEVED the Gospel as a sinner. That is how I got saved at age 13. I simply came to God as a needy sinner and put my faith in His only begotten Son, believing (placing my confidence in) what Jesus did to pay for my sins on the cross. Jesus died on the cross. He was buried. Three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead. This is “THE 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:”

Dr. Hutson tells a beautiful illustration of salvation by using a chair. If I say I believe that a chair will hold my weight up if I sit in it, I still haven't put my trust in that chair. Only when I actually sit down on the chair have I trusted it! The same is true with Jesus Christ. Saying that you believe He exists and died on the cross isn't salvation. But when you make it personal and YOU put YOUR trust in His death, burial and resurrection, then you are immediately, irrevocably and forever saved!!! It's a simple little decision friend. Christ died, that's history; Christ died and rose for me, that's salvation! 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

Please don't ever let anyone feed you the Devil's lie that faith is not enough to get to Heaven. It sure is! What saith the Scripture? Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” If someone tells you that you must also “repent and turn away from your sinning” to be saved, you tell them they are wrong according to the Gospel of John! In this beautiful book of the Holy Bible we find the word “BELIEVE” mentioned 88 times, but the word “REPENT” is not mentioned even once. That speaks volumes! Clearly, repentance is automatic and is included in faith. If this were not the case, then the Gospel of John would have required a two-step plan of salvation, but it doesn't.

Case in point is a wicked false teacher named Ray Comfort. See for yourself what Mr. Comfort horribly teaches this woman, in this transcript from the Living Waters video:

“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).

Carefully notice that Ray Comfort teaches that faith is the “SECOND THING” you must do to be saved. Folks, that is a another gospel, a false gospel of Satan. The Gospel of John plainly teaches that there is only ONE THING a person must do to be saved, which is to BELIEVE.

What did Paul and Silas tell the Roman Jailor who asked how to be saved? Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Again, all that was required to be saved is simply to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. If turning away from a sinful lifestyle where necessary to obtain eternal life, and LIVING A LIFESTYLE of repentance as Ray Comfort falsely teaches, then the Bible would have said so, but is doesn't. We are simply taught again and again throughout the Gospel of John, and the Word of God, to BELIEVE. 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.” No more, no less! Anyone sinner who believes the Good News of Jesus Christ is saved. That's it, that's all, no more!

You Deserve Hell Today

For decades now, billions of people have been listening to the McDonald's singing slogan, "You Deserve A Break Today." The sinful human nature finds such self-indulgent words greatly appealing. No doubt, this marketing strategy has largely contributed to McDonald's success. Unfortunately, few people realize the underlying humanism inherent in such words. Do we really deserve a break today?

The Word of God (the Bible) declares that we all deserve to burn in hell-fire and brimstone (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:13-15, 21:8). No one deserves anything more than hell. Perhaps McDonald's simply meant that a working person has earned the right to enjoy a good meal. I would agree with that 100%. I love Big Macs and Quarter Pounders. I do not believe that McDonald's had any ill intent by using such words, but there is a difference between what we "deserve" and what we have have "earned" a right to enjoy. The Bible teaches that if a man doesn't work, then he shouldn't eat (2nd Thessalonians 3:10). A working man has a "right" to eat.

Nevertheless, even if McDonald's simply meant that a working person deserves a break, there is still a humanistic element in hearing those words..."You Deserve A Break Today." Believe me, millions of dollars probably went into coming up with that perfect statement. McDonald's has spent hundreds-of-millions of dollars experimenting with food items to come up with just the right product. I love McDonald's Coca-Cola.

A very long time ago when I was a teenager, I worked for McDonald's. I remember my supervisor telling me that McDonald's had spent $3,000,000 just to determine how many holes to put in the “McDLT” sandwich! sauce dispenser (I think it was 21 holes). Don't hold me to that, it's been a long time. The “McDLT” sandwich came in two halves, in a double-compartment Styrofoam container. The hot beef patty with bottom bun came in one section of the container; then the cold lettuce, tomato, and other items came with the top bun. When you opened the container, you'd put the two halves together for a delicious sandwich. They stopped selling them many years ago, but I miss them a lot. What does all this have to do with deserving to go to Hell? Absolutely nothing, but I just felt like telling you about the “McDLT” sandwich...lol. Yummy!

Seriously, the Bible proclaims in Romans 3:10 that we are ALL sinners. Romans 3:23 declares that we have ALL fallen short of the glory of God. Isaiah 64:6 declares that our self righteousnesses are as filthy rags in the sight of God. We needs the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, available only through the blood which Jesus Shed upon the cross. If you have never trusted Christ as your Saviour, then please do so now.

The sinful world in which we live praises itself for it's own self achievements. As Christians, we know better. We know that all good things come from God above (James 1:17). The pride of this life, and the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eyes...will all pass away (1st John 2:15). One hundred years from now, nothing will matter except what you did with Jesus Christ. If you die in your sins, you will go to hell to burn. If you die in the Lord, then you will go to heaven. It's as simple as that.

In a materialistic world where businesses are continually programming people to believe that they are so wonderful with slogans such as: "You Deserve The Best"..."You're Number One"... "Treat Yourself"... "Have It Your Way"... "You Deserve A Break Today"... "You Deserve A Vacation" — It's no wonder why people are so tragically brainwashed with humanism. Humanism is evil, a philosophy that abandons God and His Word. Humanism is an insane form of human thinking which invades the human mind, convincing it of its superiority over God. Burger King's "Have It Your Way" is reminiscent of Frank Sinatra's "I Did It My Way" (written by Paul Anka). On the contrary, the Bible teaches that we should do it God's way.

Could you imagine driving down the highway, when suddenly over the radio you heard someone singing... "You Deserve Hell Today, at McDonald's." You'd probably drive off the road. McDonald's would receive threatening calls and letters by the millions saying: "How dare you!" People would file lawsuits claiming that their children were traumatized for life. You see, most people don't like when you tell them the truth.

That reminds me of something hilariously funny that happened. Some parents had taken their kids to Walt Disney to give them the "dream of a lifetime." Well, after being completely dazzled with Mickey Mouse, they were allegedly devastated afterwards when they saw Mickey Mouse taking his costume off around the corner. The parents filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney for traumatizing their child. Only in America! I don't know if they ever won. Aren't we Americans a spoiled bunch? As Americans become increasingly spoiled, they are also becoming increasingly intolerant towards the truth of God's Word. The Biblical truth that we are all sinners deserving of Hell is becoming increasingly offensive to the average spoiled rotten American. God deserves so much better from us!

Let us be diligent to look beyond the superficial cleverly crafted humanistic phrases that corporations are continually using against society in an attempt to appeal to our carnal nature. Let us constantly be reminded that our days are numbered in this short life. We should all be saying, "Lord willing, I'll do this or that..." (James 4:15, "For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that"). Proverbs 27:1, "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Let us be reminded continually that there is a God to Whom we MUST all give account one day after we die (Romans 14:12 reads, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God"). Thank you for reading this.

Are You Ready To Meet God?