Don't Muddy The Gospel

“A man can slip into Hell with his hand on the door-knob of Heaven.” —Evangelist Billy Sunday

Pilgrim's Progress - Thrown Into Hell From Heaven's Gate

There is a fine line between faith and foolishness. All of these incompetent pastors today who embellish the Gospel with unbiblical additions are polluting God's simple plan of salvation. In so doing they are mudding the water and complicating how to be saved. Consequently, far fewer people are getting born-again. Some of these heretical additions are as follows:

1. walk an aisle
2. pray a prayer
3. join a church, denomination or convention
4. turn from your sins
5. repent of your sins
6. be willing to turn away from sin
7. feel sorrow for your sins
8. forsake a lifestyle of sinning
9. be baptized in water
10. speak in “tongues”
11. turn over a new leaf
12. ask Christ into your heart
13. invite Jesus into your life
14. surrender your entire personality to Christ
15. surrender all
16. begin to follow the King
17. live a holy life
18. live a changed life
19. give control of your life over to Christ
20. faithfully run the race
21. count the cost and pay the price
22. live a lifestyle of repentance from sins
23. turn away from the old life
24. follow Jesus no matter what the cost
25. make Jesus the “Lord” (Master) of your life
26. be sorrow for your sin
27. confess Christ publicly
28. keep the Sabbath Day
29. keep God's Ten Commandments
30. get rid of sinful bad habits and vices
31. ask Jesus into your heart
32. have a religious experience
33. feel hatred for sin
34. begin the process of submitting to the one true King
35. believe in Jesus as the religious leader of your life
36. have a relationship with Jesus
37. become a Christ follower
37. perpetually turn from your sins
38. endure until the end
39. follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins
40. make full submission

NONE of these things are required to get to Heaven. Yet, I can hardly listen to a sermon today—or visit a church website, or watch a YouTube video, or hear a Bible college chapel service, or read a religious tract, or listen to religious radio, or attend a church service—without hearing these unbiblical additions to God's simple plan of salvation, which are damnable heresy!
The new birth comes only to the guilty sinner who puts one's childlike faith (trust) in the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and bodily risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). That's it, that's all, no more! ...
“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

The Bible teaches that the Gospel is “the power of God” unto salvation, nothing else. 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.” God does not need our oratory skills, eloquence of speech or human wisdom to bring lost sinners to Jesus Christ, we simply need to share the Gospel. 1st Corinthians 2:1-2, ”And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

The Apostle Paul said that he did not try to beat around the bush or sway the Corinthians with his cunning words or excellency of speech. Paul only wanted to know one thing—did they believe the Gospel? That is, what was their attitude toward Jesus' death on the cross, His burial and bodily resurrection? That is the only way to get to Heaven—through faith alone in the Gospel alone.

I am astonished by all the embellishments of the Gospel today from nearly every pulpit across America, adding things which are nowhere taught in the Scripture. Earlier I listed 40 unbiblical embellishments of God's simple plan of salvation. I can name all the corrupt preachers and institutions who add those embellishments to the Gospel. For example: The 39th embellishment to “follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins” is the heresy that Pensacola Christian College (PCC) teaches today, which is not a free grace Gospel. Sadly, PCC has become a neo-evangelical cult, preaching damnable heresy!

May we all be careful to guard against muddying the Gospel.

 (Pastor Harry Ironside, 1876-1951)

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