We Are Saved, Not Being Saved

1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

The following is further evidence what is so WRONG with today's plethora of new Devil's Bible revisions. We are saved by faith in a NANOSECOND, it is not an ongoing process (which is what Calvinism and Lordship Salvation falsely teach).

Here is a comparison between the inspired King James Bible (KJB) and the demonic New American Standard Bible (NASB). Carefully notice how the NASB changes "are saved" to "being saved" (a process). ...

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 it is the power of God.”

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (NASB) - 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 it is the power of God.”

Dear reader, there is a BIG difference between BEING saved versus knowing that you ARE saved. I am saved!!! I was born again at age 13 in the year 1980 at the Northland Baptist Church (now defunct) on Chicago's northside. I haven't tried to maintain God's free gift of eternal life for the past 43 years. It is not my salvation; but rather, it is God's gift of salvation to all whom believe on the name of His only begotten Son, Jesus. John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” Since we cannot visibly see Jesus, we get saved by simply BELIEVING on His name. My total trust is upon the name of Jesus my Savior.

Now please take a look at what Bob Jones University teaches their 5,000 impressionable young students today. Dr. Steve Pettit (president of BJU from 2014 to 2023) is a hellbound Calvinist! Sadly, Pensacola Christian College (PCC) teaches this same theological garbage today to their thousands of impressionable young students. Both PCC and BJU errantly teach that justification, sanctification and glorification are a package deal, which you cannot separate. That is a lie of Satan which they teach! Of course you can separate them!

In other words, BJU and PCC falsely teach that if your BEHAVIOR hasn't changed, you have never repented (according to their misunderstanding of what it means to repent to be saved) and are not saved. Let me truthfully say dear reader that BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION is not a part of God's simple plan of salvation. Whether your behavior changes is a strict matter of discipleship as a child of God, and not a matter of getting saved itself. Salvation is more than being saved, to be sure. God has a plan for your life dear saint of God. But whether you choose to yield to walk in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25), or choose by default to walk carnally in the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), it is a matter of SERVICE (Romans 12:1-2) and not SALVATION (Luke 1:77).

Look at this heretical screen-capture from PCC's Campus Church. ...

Damnable Heresy Being Taught At Pensacola Christian College (PCC)

Take a look at the tommyrot being foolishly taught at PCC today (I put the red cancellation circle over PCC's false teaching). PCC teaches that you haven't repented unless your behavior improves. That is Lordship Salvation, not God's grace.

Pilgrim's Progress author, John Bunyan, gets it 100% correct. ...

“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)

The true Gospel of free grace keeps sanctification (i.e., service, discipleship) completely SEPARATE from justification (i.e., salvation, sonship). One thing has nothing to do with the other, otherwise you have deadly Calvinism. In John Calvin's (1509-1564) perverse theology, he viewed living the Christian life as being synonymous with saving faith, so that you cannot have one without the other. But that is Lordship Salvation, which is 100% works based. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again.

We must expose cults like PCC and BJU who corrupt the Gospel. BJU became corrupted first, because when they started allowing the Devil's modern perversions of the Bible to be used at BJU, it changed their doctrine. Sadly, BJU today is a cesspool of hardcore Lordship Salvation. John MacArthur is an alumni of BJU, of whom they are sinfully proud and wickedly bid Godspeed to him and his demonic Calvinist ministry.

PCC has been infested with ticks and flees from laying down with BJU. PCC are ungodly compromisers. Shame on any church that supports the apostate PCC cult today. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!! I won't shut up. I won't be silenced. I am a VOICE!

The one truth that I want you to take away from this blog is that we 'ARE SAVED' as believers, we are not 'BEING SAVED'. All of today's modern Devil's bibles are corrupted by Satan. Whatever Bible version you use right now, just flip the pages open to 1st Corinthians 1:18 and check to see if it says “are saved” or “being saved.” It should say “are saved,” which is what the trustworthy inspired King James Bible says. I plead with you dear friend to use only the King James Bible.

Getting saved is NOT a process, it is a new birth (aka, born again). Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) has authored a very helpful book titled: 'SALVATION IS MORE THAN BEING SAVED.' Dr. Hyles uses the illustration of being recycled from the incinerator at a waste facility. Likewise, when we trust Christ as our Savior, God salvages us from being burned in Hell for all eternity. But now the recycling process begins, which is a process. We must never confuse being salvaged from being recycled. Likewise, we must never confused being born again from being sanctified to be used for God's service.

Pastor Hyles preached a helpful sermon called: 'YOUR SALVATION DID NOT CHANGE YOU ONE BIT.' I love this sermon! Dr. Hyles uses the true illustration of a strip joint that existed down the street from the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana (FBCH). That illicit house of sin was a thorn in the church's side for decades. Soulwinners from FBCH regularly passed by the front of the place and passed out Gospel tracts. The owner despised and hated the FBCH.

As time passed the strip club closed down and a couple more years passed. One day Pastor Hyles received a letter in the mail from the owner of the club, offering to sell the building to the church. The man also shared with Pastor Hyles that he had been born again and was now preparing for full-time ministry as a pastor.

The First Baptist Church of Hammond purchased the building. Now, it was still decorated as a strip club. The building had transferred ownership from the former owner to the church. Although the church now owned the building, it was still adorned as an immoral place of sin. Dr. Hyles illustrated that the same thing happens when a lost sinner gets saved. We have changed ownership from Satan to God. But although our spirit, soul and body now belong to Christ as a saint, we haven't been remodeled yet. Just because the former strip club had transferred ownership in no way changed what it looked like inside. And just because you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior in no way changes your character, behavior or lifestyle. You need to be remodeled as a new believer, which has nothing to do with the new birth, which is solely of God (John 1:12-13).

Dr. Hyles wonderfully explains these precious truths in chapter 3 of his book titled: 'SALVATION IS MORE THAN BEING SAVED.' Chapter 3 is called: 'CONVERSION AND SALVATION.' Pastor Hyles tells the story I just mentioned to you much more eloquently:

The word "conversion" means "to turn around," "to change direction," "a change of purpose." In summary, it means "turning around the use of something. Conversion then would be "the outward manifestation of regeneration." Regeneration means "re-gening" or "being born of new genes." Conversion then would become the outward change brought about by regeneration. It is God Who places in us the new nature and re-genes or regenerates us. Just as the good Samaritan took the wounded man to the inn and commissioned the host to care for him, even so upon regeneration the newborn Christian is to place himself in a New Testament church so that church and the Christians therein can be used by the Holy Spirit for the converting of a life that was used for self to be used for others, that was lived in sin to be lived in righteousness, and that was producing works of the flesh to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Conversion then is the work of the church and its members as they are led by the Holy Spirit to change the life and work of one who has been regenerated.

Redemption is a work of God the Son. Regeneration is the work of God the Holy Spirit. Justification is the work of God the Father as He declares the sinner righteous in the Son. Conversion then becomes the work of the church as we change the use and purpose of a life.

One block from the First Baptist Church of Hammond there is a building that was occupied for many years by a nightclub. It advertised all kinds of unrighteousness, even to that of nude dancing. For years our people would go to the sidewalk in front of this club witnessing and passing out Gospel tracts. After several years the nightclub closed. We never knew why it closed until one day I received a call from an eastern state. The caller was a gentleman who informed me that he had previously been the owner of the aforementioned nightclub. He told me how that for a number of years he had hated our people because they had bothered him so much with Gospel tracts and with their attempts to try to tell him about the Saviour. He then proceeded to tell me that one night he went home and told his wife that he felt like those people from First Baptist were getting to him. He then said, "Pastor Hyles, they did get to me. I gave my life to God, closed the nightclub, and I wanted to call you to tell you that I am now preaching the Gospel and will be licensed to preach in a few days. I wanted to thank you and your people for being consistent witnesses and for what they have meant to my life."

Shortly thereafter the First Baptist Church purchased the nightclub building. Upon purchase it was ours. The price was paid, the deal was consummated and the building changed ownership. However, the building had not yet been converted. It had the same bar, the same furnishings and the same decor. It was purchased. It was redeemed. It was owned by the church, but now it must be converted in order that it might be used for another purpose. As soon as it was redeemed, or purchased, and as soon as it changed ownership, work was begun by our people in order that it might be converted to use for God, Had we purchased it and left it as it was, it would not be converted. Neither could we go in and convert it before it was purchased. The converting of the building would not have made it ours. It would have made us guilty of criminal offense. The purchasing of the building did not convert it. First the price had to be paid, then the deal was consummated, the title then changed hands, and then the workmen entered to change its use and convert It to use for God.

Now there are many Christians who are saved but not converted. They have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ but their feet do not walk in new ways; their tongues do not speak a new language; their minds do not dwell on spiritual things. They are saved,' but they are carnal. I Corinthians 3:1-3, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 

SOURCE: Dr. Jack Hyles, 'Salvation Is More Than Being Saved'; chapter 3, 'Conversion And Salvation

So, please remember that the actual new birth is a one time, instantaneous thing. No one has ever been born again twice, or partially or temporarily. The Bible teaches: “ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED” (OSAS). I like to say: “IF SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED.” That is, once you have been born from above by the Holy Spirit of God, you can NEVER lose God's free gift of eternal life. If salvation were determined by one's performance, faithfulness and works, then we could indeed lose it. Albeit, we absolutely cannot lose God's gift of eternal life.

You may lose heavenly rewards for not labouring (1st Corinthians 3:7-15). You may not shine as the brightness of the stars for not soulwinning (Daniel 12:3). But these things have NOTHING to do with the new birth, which is by faith alone.

Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) said it best:

"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)

Bravo Dr. DeHaan! I couldn't have said it any better. It is rare to find doctrinally sound preachers.

Beware of Calvinism (i.e., the heretical doctrine of a man named John Calvin who lived from 1509 to 1564). Calvin taught a perverse form of theology that combined living the Christian life with the new birth, so that anyone who doesn't live a holy sanctified Christian life is said not to be saved at all. That is a 'partial faith in Christ plus works' counterfeit gospel. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

I fully agree with this helpful quote from Pastor Yankee Arnold:

“It is 'Good News' if no one must have good works before salvation, or after salvation. For salvation to truly be by grace, it must not have any stipulations of any kind at any time. Works before, during or after; works cannot be evidence of my salvation.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, “Does Calvinism Change The Gospel?”

Good works are not the payment for sin, the payment for sin is death. That is why Christ died on the cross for our sins (Romans 5:6-9). Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? Repentance is simply changing one's mind regarding THE TRUTH that one is a guilty sinner and Jesus is the only Savior. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”