“When you get saved, you get saved not because you deserve it, but because you simply let God save you and because you confess your own poor sinful state and your inability to save yourself.” —Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980), “Dr. Rice... Here is My Question,” p. 304; 1962, Sword of the Lord Publishers
“The change in your heart, sinner, is God's part and you may be sure He will attend to that. Your part is to simply believe in Him. Whatever else is necessary in your eternal salvation, the Lord attends to when you trust in Him, or believe in Him.” —Dr. John R. Rice, Gospel tract titled: “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”
John 3:1-3, “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
There is much rave on social media and in the news about the Christian faith if Hollywood actor Denzel Washington. Unfortunately, I don't see it! In the following recent YouTube video you will hear Denzel speak about his so-called salvation testimony, in which he says that as a boy he, “Gave it up” and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Dear reader, that is not God's simple plan of salvation, not even close! ...
WHY I LOVE JESUS! ~ Denzel Washington (Epic & Powerful Christian Testimony)
In a 2020 article titled, “Denzel Washington on Coming to Christ: ‘I Was Filled With the Holy Ghost and it Scared Me,” Denzel merely says that he “Gave his life to Christ” three times while growing up, but that is not the true biblical Gospel. What saith the Scripture?
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:”
As we just read, the “Gospel” (Good News) is comprised of three things:
Jesus DIED on a cross to pay our debt of sin.
He was BURIED.
Three days later Jesus RESURRECTED physically from the dead.
To settle the matter, so that you will know from this moment forward that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and that you have a home in Heaven—simply come to God as an admitted guilty sinner and receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He died, was buried, but then bodily raised up the third day from the dead. If this is your only hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, you are born again! It's that simple.
In the introduction to Michael P. Bowen's helpful book, "I NEVER KNEW YOU," he writes these truthful words on page xii:
Here is the gospel: God says that we are sinners and that no amount of good works or behavioral changes on our part could ever make us holy enough to enter heaven. God sent His Son to pay for all of our sins. Jesus paid for our crimes by dying on the cross for us all. His dead body was buried in a grave. On the third day, Jesus arose from the dead. The instant you believe this, He knows it and He saves you. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life”(John 6:47). The free gift is based solely upon your trust in what Jesus did for you and has nothing at all to do with what you do for Him. “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Amen and amen! I thank God for Brother Bowen, that he so beautifully clarifies the Gospel. God only knows the eternal impact that his book is making for the cause of Jesus Christ.
Denzel Washington says some excellent things in interviews. He is right that the biggest problem in America today is a lack of fathers in the home. Denzel wisely said that where there is no father in the home, boys find a father in the streets instead. The judge becomes their mother and the prison system their home.
Denzel also rightly said that love cannot be legislated. The government cannot force different ethnicities (e.g., blacks and whites) to get along with each other. Love is a personal thing, not something that can be forced through legislation. It all begins with us as individual people. It all boils down to one's home environment, how we were raised up. This is why sexual immorality (casual sex) in today's wicked American “hookup culture” is so evil and dangerous, because it conceives fatherless bastards. Every child deserves to have both a mother and a father in a happy and safe home. Yet, all we see from Hollywood, television, the entertainment industry and every other media venue today is sexual immorality being promoted as a cool lifestyle.
Singer Taylor Swift is not what she appears to be! I cannot warn parents enough to protect your child from Miss Swift, who is a child of the Devil. Take a look at what she did in her despicable music video titled, 'Wildest Dreams'! Why aren't parents everywhere angry and rising up in protest against this evil woman? Why hasn't the news media investigated and exposed Taylor Swift as a sex pervert and dangerous bad role model for teenagers? I'll tell you why! It is because Satan is the god of this evil world (2nd Corinthians 4:4). It is because the ungodly world love and excuse their own (John 15:19). If a pastor and church would have made a video like that, the FBI would have been knocking at their doors!
I don't believe Denzel Washington is a genuine born again believer, because his testimony is not that of a saved man. Giving one's life to Jesus is not God's plan of salvation (Matthew 7:21-23). Thank you for reading my blog.
Galatians 1:6-9, “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. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
When cartoon evangelist Jack Chick (1924-2016) wickedly tells lost sinners that God demands they first "be willing to turn from sin" to get saved, it clearly instills a horrible mindset into that person's mind that God expects them to forsake their sinful bad habits, and to radically change their behavior, in exchange for a so-called "gift" that is supposed to be completely free. Jack Chick's corrupt plan of salvation is totally confusing BULL CRAP!!!
Surrender your life to Christ? That is NOT what the Bible teaches in 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.” I am sickened that nearly every Baptist pastor and church today promote Chick Tracts, when Jack Chick blatantly and arrogantly perverted God's simple plan of salvation. The answer to the Philippian jailer's question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved,” was not, “Surrender your life to Christ” as Jack Chick horribly teaches. THAT IS DAMNABLE HERESY!!!
The Bible's response is to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Jack Chick is a LIAR! Shame on any pastor and church who distribute Chick Tracts. If you do after reading what I have just shown you, then you are a wicked person with blood on your hands for adding to God's Word (Proverbs 30:5-6).
Damnable Heresy In 'Chick Tracts'
Step #2 is totally unbiblical. Having to be willing to forsake one's sinful ways is something that is not only very hard to do, it is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE! No one has ever turned from their sinning. At best all we can do is clean up our life of sins.
Kindly said, Jack Chick (1924-2016) was an idiot in his theology. He was a California hippie cartoon artist, not a doctrinally sound Bible preacher! Do you realize that having sold over 1,000,000,000 Chick Tracts since 1960, that Jack Chick took in hundreds of millions of dollars!!! God only knows the incalculable spiritual damage that Jack Chick has done, by influencing tens of thousands of preachers and churches to preach another gospel. It is not merely a matter of semantics, it is damnable heresy!!! To be willing to try to give up one's sinning has absolutely NOTHING to do with the sacrifice which Jesus made for all humanity on Calvary's cross. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.
Woe unto any preacher or layman who wickedly passes out Chick Tracts. The beautiful artwork is enticing eye candy, which masks the deadly doctrinal poison contained in Jack Chick's partial faith in Christ plus works counterfeit plan of salvation. The requirement to have such a radical change of heart toward sin, that a lost person must experienced a drastic change in their behavior, is SELF REFORMATION; but this is not how God's plan of redemption works, in which the indwelling Holy Spirit lives the Christian life through a saved person, and not we of our own self-righteous accord (Galatians 2:20).
Effectively, every false prophet who errantly teaches that a person must "be willing to turn from sin" to get to Heaven, is telling them that they must be willing to change themselves to be saved. That is NOT Bible repentance, it is human reformation. Matthew 27:3b says that wicked Judas “repented himself,” but this is a completely different Greek word than is used for repentance unto salvation used elsewhere throughout the New Testament.
Judas was merely sorry that he got caught betraying an innocent man (he even returned the 30 pieces of silver because he felt regret), but he didn't change his mind to admit that he was a dirty sinner in God's sight, nor did Judas change his mind to admit that Jesus is the Christ. Judas died in his sins and went to Hell forever to suffer, not because he was a sinner, but because he turned from his sins instead of repenting toward God in true repentance, which includes faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
The Gospel is critically important. I am sad and disgusted that roughly 85% of Baptists today are hellbound churchgoers. They have churchianity without Christianity. No one is saved who has the wrong mindset that the life we live affects our eternal destiny. No one is saved who attempts to live a changed life in order to know that they are saved.
I did a study to find out how many people join the various pseudo-Christian religions. Worldwide there are approximately 16 million Mormons, 22 million Seventh-Day Adventists, 8 million Jehovah's Witnesses, 1.3 billion Roman Catholics, et cetera. You'd think that people would be smarter than that. I mean, in this age of information you've got to be out of your mind to become a Mormon! Magic underwear? Sex temples with beds inside? I need to go take a long walk! What is it about human beings that we are so easily deceived by false prophets?
I cannot encourage you enough to start thinking for yourself dear reader. Jesus warned everyone in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible teaches to turn from your sinning (not even to “be willing” to turn from your sins) to get to Heaven. That would be WORKS!!!
The Holy Bible plainly teaches that eternal life is a gift (Romans 5:18, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). A “gift” by very definition means whatever is offered freely cannot have any stipulations or obligations. Yet, most preachers today have been deceived by Satan, caught between grace and works, going around falsely teaching lost sinners that God won't save them unless they first commit to be willing to turn from their sinful bad habits. I'm talking about the hellhole at Pensacola Christian College!!! I'm talking about the cult at Bob Jones University!!!
RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!
My Own Salvation Testimony At Age 13
I humbly got saved at age 13 because I trusted Jesus as my personal Savior, believing that He did it all for me through Calvary's cross.
Thankfully the issue of my sinful bad habits didn't come up, or else I wouldn't have trusted Christ. I mean, I would have known that I cannot give up my sinning, no one can. The very idea would have turned me off completely to trusting Christ. I never would have come to Christ if someone would have said to me in 1980 at age 13:
"David, you can be saved right now by trusting Christ, believing that He died on the cross for your sins, was buried and resurrected three days later; but first you must be willing to turn away from your sinning from now on. You cannot continue openly committing sin. From now on you must do your best to live a clean life and not sin anymore. You won't be perfect, but you must try your very best not to sin anymore. If you're not willing to do that, then you cannot be saved. Would you still like to be saved?"
To brush the person off, I would have politely said that I need to think about it first, but in my heart I would have already decided that I am not interested, knowing that I could never make such a COMMITMENT. And that's what it really is, a commitment do earnestly make an effort not to sin anymore. This is NOT the simple plan of salvation which Jesus teaches in the Holy Bible (John 6:28-29). This is NOT the simple plan of salvation which the Apostle Paul teaches in the Holy Bible (1st Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 16:30-31). Robert Breaker, William P. Grady and other Ruckmanites are guilty of preaching another gospel. Peter S. Ruckman (1924-2016) pulled on the same rope as the Devil.
False Prophets Place The Burden Of Change Upon Lost Sinners
Do you see what they are wickedly doing dear reader? They are placing the burden of behavioral change upon the sinner's shoulder to be saved. What a heavy burden it is!!! No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you have been lied to dear friend by a Ruckmanite, told that you must “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven, then Jesus also says to you, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
That sweet “rest” Christ gives is in knowing that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven. That sweet “rest” Christ gives is in knowing that when you got saved, nothing more was required to have eternal security. By the way, Eternal Security is not a separate doctrine from Eternal Life. They are one and the same teaching.
The man who has Eternal Life also has Eternal Security, that is, a total Assurance of Salvation. 1st John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” Jesus is Eternal Life. So, if you have trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, you already have Eternal Life!!! When the tabernacle of your earthly body is no longer suitable to sustain physical life (2nd Corinthians 5:1), your spirit and soul return to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
False prophets are effectively putting a knife to your throat, threatening you that God won't save you unless you first COMMIT to attempt to stop sinning. Ungodly Calvinist pastor, John MacArthur, even calls Lordship Salvation “an exchange, a trade of sorts.”The biggest problem today is that the churches have become truth resistant, just like a diabetic who has become insulin resistant. Even when faithful preachers (humbly like me by God's grace) place the truth directly into their hands, they reject it to side with their corrupt peers in the ministry (Hosea 4:6). They are afraid to suffer reproach for Christ. They don't want to be put outside the gate with Jesus (2nd Timothy 3:12).
The Holy Spirit Lives The Christian Life Through Us
Dear reader, I know that I preach on this topic often, coming at false repentance and Lordship Salvation from different angles, but I don't want to take the least risk that someone may miss the truth of the Gospel and go to Hell, all because they were lied to by Satan's ministers of unrighteousness (Matthew 7:13-15; 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15). To clarify, you DON'T have to be willing to forsake your sinning to get to Heaven. You simply need to trust the written Word of God which says that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of God, who died in your place on the cross to pay down your massive dent of sin.
He did that for you, me, and every human being who has ever been born (1st John 2:2). Jesus was buried, but He didn't stay dead. Three days later Jesus miraculously resurrected from the dead. This is the GOOD NEWS (which means, 'GOSPEL'), by which all who BELIEVE IT are instantly, irrevocably and forever saved. 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.” According to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, the 'Gospel' is the Good News that Jesus died on a cross for our sins, He was buried, and three days later He raised up bodily from the dead. If you BELIEVE (trust, rely upon) that 'GOOD NEWS,' then you are saved dear sinner.
Please don't miss what I am about to show you. All of the wicked preachers today (e.g., Jack Chick, William P. Grady, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Chuck Phelps, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Todd Friel, Paul Washer, Bob Jones University cult, Pensacola Christian College cult, et cetera), who say that you must “turn from your sins” to be saved, are placing the burden to change one's behavior upon THE SINNER. This is a false plan of salvation!
In true Bible salvation, you simply come to God as you are, as a hopeless ungodly sinner. You don't have to stop or start anything, nor even be willing to change. You simply receive God's free gift of eternal life by trusting what God has written in His inspired Word concerning Jesus Christ. The dear Savior died in your place on the cross, paying a debt that He did not owe (2nd Corinthians 5:21). The moment you trust Christ, God indwells and seals you with His the blessed gift of His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1st John 3:24).
Unlike the first counterfeit plan of salvation which errantly requires YOU to change your own behavior, in God's true plan of salvation it is Christ's Holy Spirit who lives the Christian life through you. Galatians 2:20-21, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” God intentionally put these two Bible verses together! Verse 21 says that keeping the WORKS of the law cannot save anyone. Yet, WORKS are exactly what corrupt preachers are demanding from you when they teach that you must be willing to “turn from your sins” to be saved, or “live a changed life” to prove that you're saved. They are demanding WORKS from you to get to Heaven.
The Deadly Sin Of Tampering With God's Word
In the Old Testament we read the tragic true story of Uzzah...
2nd Samuel 6:5-7 “And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”
I like Uzzah. He was a good guy! I see careless people leave their shopping carts in a store's parking lot. I always grab a cart when I'm going into a store, since I'm going that way anyway. I always return my cart when done, and I usually grab two carts, to return them into the store. I do that for Jesus, to let my light so shine before men (Matthew 5:16). I care! I think Uzzah was that kind of guy, desiring to be helpful. He saw the Arc of the Covenant wobbling like it was ready to topple over, so he reached out his hand to steady it. God didn't just rebuke him, God killed Uzzah on the spot! Some liberals no doubt think that God should have overlooked Uzzah's offence, seeing that Uzzah had the best of intentions. Numbers 4:15 plainly warns that anyone who touched the Arc of the Covenant would die. The lesson is clear—God doesn't need our help to secure His Word, don't mess with God's Word!
Likewise, tens of thousands of corrupt preachers today mean well. They are good men (as far as sinful humans go). They don't want to hurt God, corrupt the Bible, or help damn souls to Hell. That is not their intent, I have no doubt. However, we read in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” I have no doubt that Jack Chick was a good man. I am confident that he pays his bills on time and loves his neighbor as himself; yet, he is guilty of corrupting God's Word.
All of the well-meaning preachers today who falsely teach that you must “turn from your sins” to be saved are guilty of mixing works with grace. Like Uzzah they have the best of intentions, but they know not what they are doing. You cannot show me one verse in the inspired King James Bible which says to “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven. Wicked but well-meaning religious men added those extra words to God's Words. 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.”
Tragically, Jack Chick's alluring art work has captivated the hearts of churchgoers for the past 64 years in America (since 1960). Unfortunately, as I have shown you, Mr. Chick preached another gospel which added self-reformation to the grace of God. Without intending to do so, Jack Chick has influenced generations now of Lordship Salvation heretics!!! Like it or not, God's simple plan of salvation does NOT require that you stop or start anything.
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.”
Someone asked me today what I think about Pastor Peter S. Ruckman (1924-2016). Dr. Ruckman actually foolishly teaches that after the Rapture, lost sinners will have to keep the Ten Commandments to get to Heaven. That is damnable heresy!
Dr. Ruckman also errantly teaches that this is how folks were saved in the Old Testament, by works, which is nonsense. Acts 10:32 says "all" the prophets gave witness that remission of sins comes only though faith in Christ (the Messiah). Another false prophet is Evangelist William P. Grady (another loyal disciple of Ruckman). These are Hell's Henchman, damning souls to Hell with their counterfeit plan of salvation, which is really a plan of slavation!
Dr. Ruckman had so many weird and unbiblical ideas and teachings. They idolize Ruckman at Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, a militant cult of several hundred Ruckmanites who deceive people with a false gospel of partial faith in Christ plus turning from your sins to be saved. They're shameful Bible Baptist Bookstore (a ministry of their corrupt church) that sells deadly "Chick Tracts." Evangelist Robert Breaker in Milton, Florida, graduated in 1998 from Peter Ruckman's Bible college (aka, Pensacola Bible Institute).
Kindly said, you need to beware of Robert Breaker's Ruckmanology! (in this heretical video he falsely teaches that people were saved by WORKS in the Old Testament). The prophet Habakkuk lived under the Mosaic law, yet he exclaimed in Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” People were saved by FAITH alone throughout the Old Testament. Romans 4:4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” If salvation had been by WORKS in the Old testament, then God would have OWED them eternal life. Dear reader, God has never owed any sinner anything except to burn in Hell forever!!!
Old Testament Salvation: By Works?
Furthermore, Robert Breaker teaches in his foolish video (at about 24 minutes) that salvation required WORKS under the law in the Old Testament. He foolishly says that the priest had to do the WORK of cutting the lamb's throat, and the WORK of bringing the blood into the Holy Place, et cetera. This is some of the worst Bible teaching I've ever heard. What a butcher! Common sense tells us that 99.9% of the Israelites weren't involved with the priestly work of the tribe of Levi (aka, the book of “Leviticus” which describes the ceremonial work of the tribe of Levi). So how did all those 99.9% of the Jews get saved?
Also, if Robert Breaker is correct, how did the Israelites get saved when they were taken captive 400 miles east into Babylon for 70 years? If Breaker is right, then they all went to Hell, because the Levite Jews could not perform the WORK of the priests. I am stunned at the woeful theological ignorance of Ruckmanites!
The psalmist understood that we are saved by God's righteousness, and not our own works. Psalms 119:142, “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.” We find the phrase “Thy righteousness” mentioned 24 times in the book of Psalms. Clearly, God's imputed righteousness, which is by faith alone without works. The New Testament confirms this truth in Romans 4:5-7, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Hello Mr. Breaker, did you read that: WITHOUT WORKS!!!
Where did David describe the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness WITHOUT WORKS? Psalms 32:1-2, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” David fully understood that salvation is solely of the Lord, and not by WORKS! All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2nd Timothy 3:16). The Apostle Paul clarifies the truth that David understood that God's imputed (credited) righteousness to the sinner by faith is WITHOUT WORKS. David calls Robert Breaker a LIAR!
Millions of Baptists Are Sadly Going To Hell
I hate to say it, but MILLIONS of Baptists are going to split Hell wide open when they die, because they have bought into the lie that faith is not enough to be saved. They think you must be willing to turn away from your sinful bad habits to receive God's free gift of eternal life, but that is an entirely different mindset than grace alone. To "be willing" to give up your sinning effectively implies that you MUST try to stop sinning to be saved.
As an illustration: Let's say that a teenage son asks his father if he can borrow the family car to drive somewhere. The father says, "Okay son, but only if you'd 'be willing' to gas the tank when you're done!" The son agrees and brings the car back with an empty tank of gas. The angry father asks his son why he didn't put gas into the tank. The Smart Alec son says, "Well Dad, you only said that I needed to 'be willing' to gas the tank, you didn't say that I had to." Obviously that son would be in big trouble and likely never be allowed to drive the car again."
Likewise, when cartoon evangelist Jack Chick (1924-2016) wickedly tells lost sinners that God demands they first "be willing to turn from sin" to get saved, it clearly instills a horrible mindset into that person's mind that God expects them to forsake their sinful bad habits, and to radically change their behavior, in exchange for a so-called "gift" that is supposed to be completely free. Jack Chick's corrupt plan of salvation is totally confusing BULL CRAP!!!
Having to forsake one's sinful ways is something that is not only very hard to do, it is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE! No one has ever turned from their sinning. At best all we can do is clean up our life of sins. Kindly said, Jack Chick (1924-2016) was an idiot in his theology. He was a California hippie cartoon artist, not a Bible preacher! God only knows the incalculable spiritual damage that Jack Chick has done, by influencing tens of thousands of preachers and churches to preach another gospel. It is not merely a matter of semantics, it is damnable heresy!!! To be willing to try to give up one's sinning has absolutely NOTHING to do with the sacrifice which Jesus made for all humanity on Calvary's cross.
Woe unto any preacher or layman who wickedly passes out Chick Tracts. The beautiful artwork is enticing eye candy, which masks the deadly doctrinal poison contained in Jack Chick's partial faith in Christ plus works counterfeit plan of salvation. The requirement to have such a radical change of heart toward sin, that a lost person must experienced a drastic change in their behavior, is SELF REFORMATION; but this is not how God's plan of redemption works, in which the indwelling Holy Spirit lives the Christian life through a saved person, and not we of our own self-righteous accord (Galatians 2:20).
Effectively, every false prophet who errantly teaches that a person must "be willing to turn from sin" to get to Heaven, is telling them that they must be willing to change themselves to be saved. That is NOT Bible repentance, it is human reformation. Matthew 27:3b says that wicked Judas “repented himself,” but this is a completely different Greek word than is used for repentance unto salvation used elsewhere throughout the New Testament.
Judas was merely sorry that he got caught betraying an innocent man (he even returned the 30 pieces of silver because he felt regret), but he didn't change his mind to admit that he was a dirty sinner in God's sight, nor did Judas change his mind to admit that Jesus is the Christ. Judas died in his sins and went to Hell forever to suffer, not because he was a sinner, but because he turned from his sins instead of repenting toward God in true repentance, which includes faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
The Gospel is critically important. I am sad and disgusted that roughly 85% of Baptists today are hellbound churchgoers. They have churchianity without Christianity. No one is saved who has the wrong mindset that the life we live affects our eternal destiny. No one is saved who attempts to live a changed life in order to know that they are saved.
My Own Salvation Testimony At Age 13
I humbly got saved at age 13 because I trusted Jesus as my personal Savior, believing that He did it all for me through Calvary's cross.
Thankfully the issue of my sinful bad habits didn't come up, or else I wouldn't have trusted Christ. I mean, I would have known that I cannot give up my sinning, no one can. The very idea would have turned me off completely to trusting Christ. I never would have come to Christ if someone would have said to me in 1980 at age 13:
"David, you can be saved right now by trusting Christ, believing that He died on the cross for your sins, was buried and resurrected three days later; but first you must be willing to turn away from your sinning from now on. You cannot continue openly committing sin. From now on you must do your best to live a clean life and not sin anymore. You won't be perfect, but you must try your very best not to sin anymore. If you're not willing to do that, then you cannot be saved. Would you still like to be saved?"
To brush the person off, I would have politely said that I need to think about it first, but in my heart I would have already decided that I am not interested, knowing that I could never make such a COMMITMENT. And that's what it really is, a commitment do earnestly make an effort not to sin anymore. This is NOT the simple plan of salvation which Jesus teaches in the Holy Bible. This is NOT the simple plan of Salvation which the Apostle Paul teaches in the Holy Bible. Robert breaker, William P. Grady and other Ruckmanites are guilty of preaching another gospel. Peter S. Ruckman (1924-2016) pulled on the same rope as the Devil.
False Prophets Place The Burden Of Change Upon Lost Sinners
Do you see what they are wickedly doing dear reader? They are placing the burden of behavioral change upon the sinner's shoulder to be saved. What a heavy burden it is!!! No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you have been lied to dear friend by a Ruckmanite, told that you must “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven, then Jesus also says to you, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
That sweet “rest” Christ gives is in knowing that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven. That sweet “rest” Christ gives is in knowing that when you got saved, nothing more was required to have eternal security. By the way, Eternal Security is not a separate doctrine from Eternal Life. They are one and the same teaching.
The man who has Eternal Life also has Eternal Security, that is, a total Assurance of Salvation. 1st John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” Jesus is Eternal Life. So, if you have trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, you already have Eternal Life!!! When the tabernacle of your earthly body is no longer suitable to sustain physical life (2nd Corinthians 5:1), your spirit and soul return to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
False prophets are effectively putting a knife to your throat, threatening you that God won't save you unless you first COMMIT to attempt to stop sinning. Ungodly Calvinist pastor, John MacArthur, even calls Lordship Salvation “an exchange, a trade of sorts.”The biggest problem today is that the churches have become truth resistant, just like a diabetic who has become insulin resistant. Even when faithful preachers (humbly like me by God's grace) place the truth directly into their hands, they reject it to side with their corrupt peers in the ministry (Hosea 4:6). They are afraid to suffer reproach for Christ. They don't want to be put outside the gate with Jesus (2nd Timothy 3:12).
The Holy Spirit Lives The Christian Life Through Us
Dear reader, I know that I preach on this topic often, coming at false repentance and Lordship Salvation from different angles, but I don't want to take the least risk that someone may miss the truth of the Gospel and go to Hell, all because they were lied to by Satan's ministers of unrighteousness (Matthew 7:13-15; 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15). To clarify, you DON'T have to be willing to forsake your sinning to get to Heaven. You simply need to trust the written Word of God which says that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of God, who died in your place on the cross to pay down your massive dent of sin.
He did that for you, me, and every human being who has ever been born (1st John 2:2). Jesus was buried, but He didn't stay dead. Three days later Jesus miraculously resurrected from the dead. This is the GOOD NEWS (which means, 'GOSPEL'), by which all who BELIEVE IT are instantly, irrevocably and forever saved. 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.” According to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, the 'Gospel' is the Good News that Jesus died on a cross for our sins, He was buried, and three days later He raised up bodily from the dead. If you BELIEVE (trust, rely upon) that 'GOOD NEWS,' then you are saved dear sinner.
Please don't miss what I am about to show you. All of the wicked preachers today (e.g., Jack Chick, William P. Grady, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Chuck Phelps, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Todd Friel, Paul Washer, Bob Jones University cult, Pensacola Christian College cult, et cetera), who say that you must “turn from your sins” to be saved, are placing the burden to change one's behavior upon THE SINNER. This is a false plan of salvation!
In true Bible salvation, you simply come to God as you are, as a hopeless ungodly sinner. You don't have to stop or start anything, nor even be willing to change. You simply receive God's free gift of eternal life by trusting what God has written in His inspired Word concerning Jesus Christ. The dear Savior died in your place on the cross, paying a debt that He did not owe (2nd Corinthians 5:21). The moment you trust Christ, God indwells and seals you with His the blessed gift of His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1st John 3:24).
Unlike the first counterfeit plan of salvation which errantly requires YOU to change your own behavior, in God's true plan of salvation it is Christ's Holy Spirit who lives the Christian life through you. Galatians 2:20-21, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” God intentionally put these two Bible verses together! Verse 21 says that keeping the WORKS of the law cannot save anyone. Yet, WORKS are exactly what corrupt preachers are demanding from you when they teach that you must be willing to “turn from your sins” to be saved, or “live a changed life” to prove that you're saved. They are demanding WORKS from you to get to Heaven.
The Deadly Sin Of Tampering With God's Word
In the Old Testament we read the tragic true story of Uzzah...
2nd Samuel 6:5-7 “And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”
I like Uzzah. He was a good guy! I see careless people leave their shopping carts in a store's parking lot. I always grab a cart when I'm going into a store, since I'm going that way anyway. I always return my cart when done, and I usually grab two carts, to return them into the store. I do that for Jesus, to let my light so shine before men (Matthew 5:16). I care! I think Uzzah was that kind of guy, desiring to be helpful. He saw the Arc of the Covenant wobbling like it was ready to topple over, so he reached out his hand to steady it. God didn't just rebuke him, God killed Uzzah on the spot! Some liberals no doubt think that God should have overlooked Uzzah's offence, seeing that Uzzah had the best of intentions. Numbers 4:15 plainly warns that anyone who touched the Arc of the Covenant would die. The lesson is clear—God doesn't need our help to secure His Word, don't mess with God's Word!
Likewise, tens of thousands of corrupt preachers today mean well. They are good men (as far as sinful humans go). They don't want to hurt God, corrupt the Bible, or help damn souls to Hell. That is not their intent, I have no doubt. However, we read in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” I have no doubt that Robert Breaker is a good man. I am confident that he pays his bills on time and loves his neighbor as himself; yet, he is guilty of corrupting God's Word.
All of the well-meaning preachers today who falsely teach that you must “turn from your sins” to be saved are guilty of mixing works with grace. Like Uzzah they have the best of intentions, but they know not what they are doing. You cannot show me one verse in the inspired King James Bible which says to “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven. Wicked but well-meaning religious men added those extra words to God's Words. 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. ”
Romans 7:15-18, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
The Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction between us (our new identity in Christ as believers) and our flesh. We (our born again true selves) do not sin. But when we do sin, it is our flesh that sins, not “us.” Romans 7:17a, “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me...”
We are born of the Holy Spirit of God and cannot sin, but the old man (the fleshly body and it’s desires) still commit sin. These sins are not attributed to us because God separated us from our flesh by the “operation of God” in Colossians 2:11-12, “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” We are set apart unto God (sanctified) and are now 100% righteous in His sight, and the sins of the flesh are put off from us by the blood of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18-19).
The Christian believer still struggles with sin every moment of every day. There is a horrible lie being taught in most Bible colleges and churches today, which requires lost sinners to “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven. The Bible does not teach this garbage! Jesus Christ died on a cross to pay our massive debt of sin. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!
Good works are not the payment for sin, the payment for sin is death.
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?
The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.
We must stay true to the simplicity of the Gospel!! Repentance regarding salvation is a change of mind from unbelief to belief!!! We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).
1st Timothy 6:7-12, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
I was listening to Pastor J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) last week in my car as I drove to go walking at Community Maritime Park in Pensacola. I wore my 20 pound weight vest, which I hadn’t worn since 2021 on Guam. I’ve been losing a lot of weight lately (27 pounds in just 4 months). This week I weighed 175.2 pounds on my digital scale. Amen! In September of 2023 I weighed 202 pounds. I’ve been taking prescription Mounjaro since late October, which is an amazing drug. I really like it. It’s a one week injection from a pen. I get 4 pens at a time. I started with 2.5 mg pens the first month; then 5.0 mg pens the second month, and now 7.5 mg pens. 15 mg is the highest dosage, but I don’t think my doctor will be raising my dosage any higher than 7.5 mg, because the drug is working well to control my glucose level.
Anyway, I was listening to Pastor McGee teach from Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and 6. He said that the rich man can only eat 3 meals a day, the same as the poor man. The rich man can pay for all the doctors he wants, but he won’t live any longer than the poor man. The rich man cannot enjoy seeing a sunset any more satisfying than the poor man can. The rich man eats food that grows from the same fields as the poor man does. The rich man can own 15 houses in different countries, but he can only sleep in one bed at a time. He can only live in one home at a time, while the rest of his houses sit idle uninhabited by him.
I watched an interview of David Lee Roth from Van Halen by Joe Rogan this week. Most Christians would likely consider such interviews as being a total waste of time. I mean, who wants to hear what a wicked heathen man has to say? As a Bible preacher I like to hear what everybody has to say. Pastor Jack Hyles used to wisely say: “Every man is my teacher.” As a musician myself I am curious about the lives of other musicians and singers. I like watching biographies as a hobby. People are interesting.
As I watched the interview of David Lee Roth, I felt sorry for him, because he is not a born again Christian. Roth professes to be Jewish in faith, which means he rejects Jesus as the Messiah. Being Jewish never saved anybody! Jesus plainly warned Nicodemus (a Jew) in John 3:3 that “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Roth has shamefully lived his life glorifying the sins of lust, fornication, substance abuse, rebellion, et cetera. I am so glad to be a Christian! Time is running out for Mr. Roth. He is a lonely broken old man with a mansion in Pasadena, California.
In his reckless youth Roth chose not to get married or father any children, too busy chasing unholy skirts (which he openly admits). He has no kids or grandkids, which is sad. The guy has nothing! It would be wonderful if David Lee Roth would receive Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, so that all of his sins would be forgiven and then he'd go to Heaven at the end of this life. God desires for “all men” to repent (change their mind) toward God to be saved (2nd Peter 3:9). Military chaplain David Rutkin explains how to get to Heaven...
Dear reader, this life is very short in lieu of eternity. When a man or woman is at their prime at age 35 and they feel on top of the world, just 40 years later they are 75 years old and well beyond the age that one is considered a senior citizen. What is 40 years? It's a drop in the bucket of time. My point is that if you are a young person, you’ll grow old before you know it; then like me you’ll look back over your life and wonder where the years went so quickly. Lord willing, I’ll turn 57 on March 5th, 2024. I feel like a teenager in my soul. My body feels about 80 sometimes due to my chronic neck pain. God is so good and I love Him as my dear Savior, Friend and Lord!
I follow a handful of preachers on X (formerly known as Twitter). I also follow Paul Stanley of the rock band KISS. I don’t support their wicked lifestyles, nor do I approve of their demonic rock music. I follow him out of curiosity to see what he promotes and how he thinks. Paul is now in his 70’s, as is also his band peer Gene Simmons (real name: Chaim Witz). Today on X Paul shared a post of himself holding a $1,000 bottle of expensive wine that he was drinking. He said that he worked hard and deserves it. Sadly, Paul and Gene are Jewish in their religious beliefs, both Christ rejecters (1st John 2:22; John 3:36). Unless these men repent of their unbelief and trust Jesus as their personal Savior, they will go to Hell in eternity.
Paul Stanley is living large, having a net worth of $200,000,000. His food doesn’t taste any better than mine. His bed is no softer than mine. He can only sleep in one bed at a time. He cannot eat any more food than I do. He may be able to travel the world, buy more expensive possessions, enjoy massive fame, et cetera; but he is living on borrowed time, just like everyone else on the planet. I thank God for the precious blood of Jesus that washed away all my sins when I was 13 years old in 1980. I simply knew that I was a sinner and I trusted Jesus as my personal Savior; believing that He died on a cross to pay for my sins, was buried, but then resurrected from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
Dear reader, you will leave this world exactly how you entered into it one day, with nothing. Country singer Toby Keith died on February 5th, 2024. Sadly, I doubt if he went to Heaven. His profession of faith in God and a Creator are not the same as being a born again believer. I like the following Bible verse from 1st Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” That is very interesting. We know that we were born into this world with nothing, and we know that we will die taking nothing out of this life with us.
When billionaire Steve Jobs (1955-2011), founder of Apple Inc. computers, died, he left behind a staggering net worth of $10,200,000,000. Steve couldn't take even one penny of his amassed fortune with him into eternity. Biblically he died in his sins and went to Hell, being a devout Christ-rejecting Buddhist. Each and every day on average on the planet roughly 250,000 people die. According to Matthew 7:13-15 and Luke 13:23-24, most of those people go to Hell. That's nearly 2,000,000 people that die weekly! I dare say that at least 99% of those people go to Hell. What saith the Scripture? 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.”
If you are a born again believer, you ought to thank God with all your heart, mind and soul. So few people ever come to the saving truth of the Gospel of free grace. Most religious people are deceived by the Devil. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again. Satan is a beautiful liar!
The Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to fight the good fight of faith, and to lay hold on eternal life. That means to make the best use of our remaining time here on earth as saints. We already have eternal life through faith in Christ. Paul is saying to lay hold (seize the moment) on our eternal life, so that we can be used of God for the cause of Christ. Every believer should be a soulwinner. We all have a duty to share the Gospel with lose sinners. Tragically, less than 1% of Christians today care about sharing the Gospel. This is primarily the fault of pastors for not teaching and inspiring their church congregation to share the Gospel. Everything rises and falls on leadership. Soulwinning pastors are very rare!
Dear reader are you born again? If not you need to take care of that immediately because today could be the last day of your life. And if you are saved you should be serving God. When is the last time you shared the Gospel with a lost sinner? I witnessed to my doctor and her physician’s assistant. I witnessed to four of my neighbors.
I don't claim to be a great soulwinner. I still feel convicted about the times when I hid my candle for the Lord. I cannot go back and fix it, because I'll never meet those people again very likely. But I can use my past failures to strive to do better in the future (2nd Corinthians 10:6). Usually I fail when I get caught off guard and I'm not thinking clearly. When I am on the ball and I am prepared, I do much better. This is true of everything in my life.
This is why it is important that we all purpose in our heart to be soul-conscious. If we intentionally think about sharing the Gospel with lost sinners, we are much more likely to do it. God help me to be a better light for Jesus in this dark and dreary world. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
This earthly life will be over before we know it. James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”I bought t really nice humidifier last year. I love this thing! It has a visible mist that comes out, which I love to breathe at night while sleeping. It keep it set on HIGH. It also has a cool nightlight. I have to fill the reservoir a couple times each day (I use a one litre fill container), but it's well worth the effort. Anyway, the water mist that comes out of the humidifier vanishes after beyond about 2 feet. The water vapor dissipates into the air, gone. The Bible says that is exactly how long our life is in comparison to eternity. Our earthly life is as a vapor of water that exists for just a moment, and then it is gone.
At the moment we die, the only thing that will matter then is if we are in Christ or not. Revelation 14:13, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” Everyone will either die in the Lord, or die in your sins. John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” If you die without having trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, Hell will be your eternal fate. The choice is yours alone to make dear friend.
And if you are a child of God, all that will matter when you die is what you did in this short lifetime for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel. What works did we do in Jesus' name for others? Did we help the poor, needy, hurting, imprisoned and lonely people along life's way? Or did we selfishly live choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life (Luke 8:14)? We all make our choices in life. I have chosen as a born again believer to live for Christ. I stand with Joshua, who said in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
1st John 5:10-13, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 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.”
Satan confuses people to keep them lost. God's plan of salvation is so easy, free and simple that most men make it complicated, embellishing the Gospel with manmade additional requirements which cancel grace. There is no letter “U” (YOU) in salvation! Either God does the saving, all of it, or else you don't get grace!
The following helpful words were penned by Michael P. Bowen from his excellent book, “I NEVER KNEW YOU.” In this chapter, Bowen is refuting Beth Moore's Satanic falsehood which cannot save anyone, since it requires more than faith to get to Heaven...
You can trust Christ with all of your might and do your best to turn from you sins and still end up in the lake of fire. That is shocking! You can do your best to trust that Jesus died for you, that He rose from the dead, and try your best to live a good, holy life and “still” end up dying in your sins because you have not placed your trust “alone” (apart from turning from your sins) in what He did for you. The sad thing about adding “self efforts” such as turning from your sins to Christ’s plan of “trust only” is that, while it sounds right, it sounds good, and it feels right, it is not the gospel message that Christ has so plainly given to us in His bible. Jesus said in John 3:16 that “whosoever believeth in Him” would be saved. He did not say “whosoever believeth” and turn from your sins. He did not say believe and be willing to turn from your sins. He did not say believe and follow Him in obedience “in order to” have everlasting life, nor did He ever imply such things when He spoke of salvation.” —Michael P. Bowen, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” pp. 81-82 (ORDER HARD COPIES to share with friends and loved ones)
Boy that is great truth! And also, Brother Bowen further refutes Beth Moore's demonic plan of salvation with these helpful words...
While I appreciate what Beth Moore has done for so many people, and I am behind her all the way in continuing to help as many people as she possibly can through both bible and popular psychological concepts that provide real encouragement and healing in these desperate, uncertain times, Moore’s plan of salvation will not save anyone because the addition of “turning from sins” to singular, simple faith in Christ is not the plan of salvation according to the bible. Look at this: “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). Here, God is speaking through Paul. Paul did not write the book of Acts, rather, God wrote Acts “through” Paul. God is literally telling us that we are made righteous through faith alone in what Christ did for us by His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead, and that deeds of the law, such as “turning from sins” will not justify us. Neither will any combination of partial faith in Christ coupled with partial faith in turning from your sins save you. By implication, “believing on Christ” always refers to the fact of what He did for us at Calvary. The gospel message is the same throughout all of scripture. Those in the Old Testament looked “forward” to what Christ would do for them, and everyone from the time of Christ’s resurrection to this very day look “backward” to what Christ accomplished for us by His finished work at Calvary. The gospel message of Jesus Christ, i.e., the “plan of salvation according to Jesus Christ,” is always the same and it never changes. This message is:
1) we cannot save ourselves,
2) Jesus died for our sins,
3) His dead body was buried, and
4) Jesus arose from the dead three days later.
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 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” (1 John 5:10-13). —Michael P. Bowen, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” pp. 83-84 (ORDER HARD COPIESto share with friends and loved ones)
Bravo! I sure do appreciate Michael Bowen's book in defense of the Gospel. I carry a hardcopy of his book with me to church every time I go, alongside my King James Bible. The reason why I carry a copy of I NEVER KNEW YOU with me at all times is two-fold:
1) So I can give it to someone if they have questions about the Gospel 2) To continually keep my heart tender toward preaching an accurate Gospel
Today's Bible seminaries and churches are in dire straits. We're in big trouble folks! The Gospel is under relentless attack from all sides, by well-meaning neo-evangelicals who are religious but not born again. As Michael so rightly says in his book, Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again. That is what is going on in over 95% of Bible colleges and churches today.
We see Scriptural support for this dilemma in Matthew 7:21-23. They followed Jesus devoutly. They performed “many wonderful works” in Jesus' name. They “prophesied” (preached) in Jesus' name. They even reverently called Jesus “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus denied knowing them as His sheep, and they perished in the Lake of Fire forever. They had failed to do the will of God the Father, which according to John 6:40 is to simply “BELIEVE” on Jesus. The will of the Father is not to work for Jesus, or live the Christian life for Jesus, or to follow Jesus as one's “Lord.” Lordship Salvation is a perversion of the Gospel, and no salvation at all.
Kindly said, I triple-dog dare you to find a church or Bible seminary today where to get to Heaven they don't foolishly add turning from your sins, becoming a Christ follower, submitting to obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins, faithfully running the Christian course until the end, living a lifestyle of repentance, make Jesus “Lord” of your life, et cetera. Dear reader, somewhere along the way these sincere but cursed religious people forgot the Bible's most basic teaching that eternal life is a “free gift.” You'll find those exact words in Romans 5:18.
Please pardon me friend that I write about these important topics of Misunderstood Repentance and Lordship Salvation incessantly, but the truth of a free grace Gospel needs to be reiterated often, because the vast majority of Bible colleges and churches today are not repenting of their wrong repentance. They sadly just don't care! They are blinded by our enemy the Devil. They are enamored with the love of money, that is, they love their steady paychecks. Even worse they are arrogant in their false beliefs and a step closer to eternal damnation each and every day that passes. Time is running out folks!!!
Where will you spend eternity? Please don't follow some lying false prophet from Bob Jones University or Pensacola Christian College into Hell, who errantly tell you that you must forsake a lifestyle of sinning to get to Heaven. Jesus plainly said in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” I kindly challenge you to read (or listen) to the Gospel of John dear friend, and then you show me where it says to turn from your sins to be saved. You won't be able to. I hate to say it, but preachers are the leading cause of people dying in their sins and going to Hell forever. Truth is stranger than fiction!
The Gospel Of John Presents A Simple Free Grace Gospel
I kindly challenge everyone to kick back and just listen to Alexander Scourby read the inspired Gospel of John. According to John 20:31, the book of John is God's Gospel tract. In this wonderful book authored by God Himself (which is what "inspired" means), you will hear the word" believe" mentioned 85 times, but you won't hear the word "repent" mentioned even once. That is because repentance is automatic. The man who believes has repented. That is, he has changed his mind from unbelief to belief. He has changed his mind to acknowledge that he is a guilty sinner and Jesus is the only Savior.
As you listen to the plain Gospel of John, neither will you hear the phrases "turn from your sins" or "repent of your sins" because they are not found in the Bible concerning how to get to Heaven. Well-meaning but ungodly men added these additional words and requirements to God's simple plan of salvation. Incompetent pastors and clergy have heard other preachers use these unbiblical terms for so long, that they merely go along to get along with their corrupt peers, adopting these damnable heresies as if it were truth. Again, I encourage you to just listen to the Gospel of John, and you will clearly see God's simple plan of salvation.
The Wonderful Gospel of John (Alexander Scourby reads the inspired King James Bible)
