Believing Is All That's Required To Get To Heaven

Galatians 3:22-24, “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

I marvel how so many preachers pervert God's simple plan of salvation. The inspired King James Bible plainly teaches that salvation comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a solemn PROMISED from God “to save them that believe” (1st Corinthians 1:21b).

BELIEVE! BELIEVE! BELIEVE!

Acts 13:39, “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” What part of “BELIEVE” don't today's corrupt preachers understand? I am so sick and tired of hearing ungodly preachers embellish and change God's simple plan of salvation. In most Baptist churches today, sadly, you will hear some of the following corrupt embellishments added to the Gospel:

1. turn from your sins
2. forsake a lifestyle of sinning
3. leave the world
4. forsake your past sinful ways
5. live a lifestyle of repentance
6. become a Christ follower
7. surrender your life to Christ
8. receive Jesus as your Lord
9. get water baptized
10. partake of sacraments
11. pray a sinner's prayer
12. exchange all that you are for all that Christ is
13. commit your life to Christ
14. faithfully run the race
15. prove the genuineness of your faith by doing works

NONE of these things are found in the inspired King James Bible, yet you will hear any number of these perversions of the Scripture in most churches today. It is tragic!

When asked in Acts 16:30, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,” the simple answer Paul and Silas gave in verse 31b was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” None of the aforementioned 15 embellishments are found in Acts 16:31. But we do find the all important word “BELIEVE.”

I hope you now realize dear reader that you have been lied to by most preachers today. For example: Here is the perverted plan of salvation according to the late Billy Graham.

Beware Of False Prophet, Billy Graham

One such minister of unrighteousness is Billy Graham (1918-2018). I cannot warn people enough about the lying counterfeit plan of salvation of Billy Graham, and his son Franklin Graham. Here is a quote from the official website of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA)...

“Many people come to Christ without first counting the cost. The cost includes repentance, the forsaking of sin, and a continual, daily, open acknowledgment of Christ in your life.” [emphasis added] 

SOURCE: How to Be Sure You’re Saved | Decision Magazine | BGEA

Liar, liar, pants on fire in Hell!!! Nowhere does the inspired King James Bible teach those lies!!! Bible repentance is “a change of mind” (Greek: metanoia), not a change of behavior. Changing one's behavior is reformation, not repentance. A changed life for a believer is produced by the “fruit” of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25), and by not one's decision to straighten up as a requirement to be saved. Billy Graham is a liar!!!

Openly acknowledging Christ in one's life is strictly a matter of discipleship, not sonship. Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) said it very well...

"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)

Billy Graham has woefully confused service with salvation (confused discipleship with sonship), mixing the two, which is another gospel that cannot produce the new birth by the Holy Spirit of God. One of my very favorite quotes, comes from one of my favorite Gospel preachers, John Bunyan:

“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)

That is brilliant! Every pastor and every layman should memorize that precious quote, as I have also. John Bunyan fully understood the free grace Gospel. Bunyan understood that the fruit produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit (aka, the Spirit of Christ) was a matter of sanctification, and not of justification. The heresy of Lordship Salvation confuses people by combining sanctification with justification. Woe unto false prophet pastors! Jeremiah 12:10, “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.”

Beware Of The “Have A Relationship With Jesus” Heresy

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.”

From nearly every church pulpit today, and on nearly every radio station, and in nearly every religious book written and throughout social media—you will hear the unbiblical rubbish taught, that to get to Heaven you must “have a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.” It reminds me of a broken record that just keeps repeating over and over again. The big problem is that nowhere does the inspired Holy Bible require us to start a relationship with Christ to be saved.

In fact, Judas Iscariot did have a personal “relationship” with Jesus, but he still went to Hell in his sins to burn forever. How tragic and sad! The simple truth is that you don't get to Heaven by starting or maintaining a personal “relationship” with Christ. What the Bible DOES teach is that: YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

John 3:3, “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.”

You can have a personal relationship with Jesus and still go straight to Hell when you die. What you had better do is GET BORN AGAIN! What saith the Scripture? John 1:12-13, “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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” You receive the supernatural miracle of the new birth by placing your childlike faith (trust, reliance) in Jesus Christ alone.

Any needy sinner who by faith (taking God at His Word as recorded in the Scripture) receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for their sins, believing that Jesus was buried, but then physically resurrected from the dead three days later is instantly, irrevocably and eternally saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 1:16). 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 very wrong, unbiblical and misleading to merely tell a lost sinner that they need to have a “relationship” with Jesus to have their sins forgiven. The Bible says that you must TRUST upon the name of Jesus to be saved! Since we have never actually met the person named Jesus, all we can do is to trust (rely) upon His precious name. God understands this, which is why John 1:12b says, “to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name...” It is perfectly okay to place your faith in Jesus' name, believing that He died in your place on the cross to pay your massive debt of sin. Thank God for the cross of Calvary that Jesus died upon for my sins!!!

Please don't ever mislead anybody by telling them to begin a “relationship” with the Savior. Although it is true that every Christian believer has a relationship with Jesus as God's adopted child (Romans 8:15), you don't acquire that relationship by starting the relationship. You acquire it by being BORN AGAIN, which is through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

When the unsaved Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas how to be saved in Acts 16:30, they did not tell the man to have a “relationship” with Jesus. No, they said in Acts 16:31b, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” The word relationship doesn't even appear once in the entire inspired Holy Bible! Satan has effectively obscured God's simple plan of salvation, by filling the churches with all sorts of unbiblical embellishments, religious jargon and the commandments of men (Mark 7:9).

In so do, well-meaning but wicked religious people have perverted the Gospel of free grace, blinding the lost to the light of the truth. 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” It is a very dangerous thing and a serious offense against God, to tamper with the plain Gospel as proclaimed clearly in the Word of God...

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:”

There you have it, 'THE GOSPEL':

1. Jesus DIED on a cross for our sins
2. He was BURIED.
3. Three days later Jesus RESURRECTED from the dead.

So where in the world do today's corrupt pastors get the WRONG ideas that to get to Heaven you must: turn from your sins, forsake the world, live a lifestyle of repentance, live a changed life to prove that your faith is genuine, surrender all to Christ as “Lord,” become a Christ follower, get water baptized, keep sacraments, observe the Sabbath Day, do good works, et cetera? They are all dirty infidel liars!

The Man Who Believes Has Also Repented

2nd Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

I love this passage of Scripture, because it helps us to understand what repentance means. We know that the Greek noun for “repentance” in Verse 25 means “a change of mind.” Since this is all that the word means, “a change of mind,” we need supplemental information to know what to change our mind about. The Bible speaks of changing our mind to ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRUTH.

One of my favorite former Bible professors at Hyles-Anderson College in the late 1980's, Pastor Brad Strand in Texas today, offers this Bible commentary on what repentance means...

Like the thief on the cross who never had an opportunity to “turn from his sin,” we, like him, can only “acknowledge our sinfulness” in order to be saved (Lk 23:40-41). ...

True repentance has nothing to do with “turning from sin” and everything to do with “acknowledging one's sinfulness” (Jonah 3:5). Like the thief on the cross who simply acknowledged his sinfulness (Lk 23:39-43), the only part a person has in salvation is the beggar's part.
 
SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, “The Strand Study Bible”; 2nd Corinthians 7:8-9, pp. 1938, 1939

Amen and amen! Repentance is to change your mind to believe the truth.

“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 (2000); “Salvation Crystal Clear,” p. 331; Sword Of The Lord Publishers

Hebrews 6:1 speaks of repentance from "DEAD WORKS" which cannot save a person. Faith without works is DEAD FAITH; and works without faith is DEAD WORKS. The Epistle of James speaks of a "DEAD FAITH," but dead faith is still faith. That is, your faith may be dead without works as a born-again believer, but you are still 100% saved. And the unsaved person who does "many wonderful works" (Matthew 7:21-23), must repent of their useless DEAD WORKS and believe on Jesus Christ to be saved.

“The fella who knows what repentance is knows it's included in believing.” —Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

“You'll even change your mind about repentance if you get saved. You are going to have to repent about your idea of repentance to be saved. Because if you have felt repentance is reformation, or turning from sin, and you're going to turn from sin to get saved, then you're not going to get saved until you change your mind about that idea, and decide that you're saved by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Then you've repented over your repentance!” —Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) wrote these helpful words regarding repentance...

“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.”

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 250-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Repentance is not a separate event from faith, although they are not the same thing. Here is the best quote that I've found on repentance, by Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951):

“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” ('Except Ye Repent,' p. 16)

The only thing that we need to repent from to be saved is UNBELIEF. Do we have to realize our sinful condition to be saved? Of course, yes! But there is not one verse in the entire Bible which requires a person to forsake sin to be saved. Nor does the Bible give anyone God's permission to commit sin just because they are saved (Romans 3:31). Every time Jesus forgave someone and healed them, it was only AFTERWARDS that He said... “Go and sin no more.” John 5:14, "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." 

Repentance simply means “a change of mind.” Believers change our minds every day about all kinds of things, including the sins in our life. Repenting of sins throughout one's Christian life is solely a matter of DISCIPLESHIP, not SALVATION. It is a matter of growing in the Lord's grace (1st Peter 2:2), as we yield to the Holy Spirit's leading in obedience to the Holy Scriptures (2nd Corinthians 10:5).

Thus, we don't give up our sins to become a Christian (Romans 3:20); rather, we forsake our sins because we are a Christian (Romans 12:1-2). There are no prerequisites or conditions for salvation (Galatians 3:2). God will save any guilty sinner who trusts upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation (Romans 10:13). John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

May we never forget that eternal life is a “FREE GIFT” from God (Romans 5:15-18). A gift is simply taken. The man who BELIEVES ON JESUS has also repented.

Is It Right To Do Repentance And Baptism?

Luke 24:46-48, “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.”

Someone emailed me today and asked the simple question: Is it right to do repentance and baptism? They also sent this image along with their question...

Repentance and water baptism are good in their proper place.

The Bible teaches that water baptism always comes AFTER a person gets saved, never before or as a means of obtaining salvation. Baptism symbolizes the Gospel (i.e., one's faith in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection). Baptism is like a wedding ring. The ring doesn't make someone married, it just symbolizes the marriage bond, letting others know that they are taken in marriage. Adding baptism to one's faith is a false gospel which cannot produce the new birth and is a sure road to Hell. Baptism must NOT be trusted in for salvation.

The same is true of repentance. Repentance is necessary for salvation, but biblical repentance means " a change of mind," not a change of behavior...

• https://www.jesusisprecious.org/fundamentals/repentance_simple.htm
• https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/Doctrines/repentance.htm

No one in the Old Testament was water baptized. The thief on the cross who got saved didn't get baptized. In the Epistle of 1st John, he explains how to "know" that we have eternal life (1st John 5:13), yet John never says to make sure you've been baptized. The word "baptize" is not mentioned in any form on 1st John. Clearly, baptism is NOT required to get to Heaven. My grandmother on my Mom's side of the family was a born again Christian, but she never got baptized. I was baptized four years after I got saved. Baptism was not essential to be saved, but I felt obedient to God when I was finally baptized at age 17. Water baptism is strictly a matter of discipleship, not sonship. It is a matter of sanctification, not justification.

The first step of obedience for a new believer is water baptism. Getting baptized is a matter of pleasing God, and not of getting saved. In the Scripture that you cited from Luke 24:46-47, "remission of sins" comes by faith in Jesus. Acts 10:43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." So, here we learn that you get your sins remitted (pardoned) through FAITH in Jesus Christ. This has nothing to do with being willing to turn away from the sinful bad habits in one's life.

Also, don't make the mistake of ass-u-ming that "repentance" in Luke 24:46-47 means to turn from one's sins, because that is NOT what the word means. The English dictionary defines "repentance" as "turning from sins," but that is not the biblical meaning of the word. The Greek noun for "repent" is METANOIA (a change of mind) ...

• https://www.lovethetruth.com/bd/metanoia.htm

Bible repentance is a change of mind. It is clear from dozens of passages that salvation comes by simply believing on the name of Jesus. So, Bible repentance can only mean then, to change your mind from unbelief to belief. Anything else would constitute works for salvation.

In Jonah 3:10 we read, "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." The Bible says God saw their WORKS, that they turned from their evil way. The Ninevites didn't get saved, they merely turned from their sins and God in His mercy spared them judgment. God sent the prophet Nahum 100 years later to pronounce judgment again on Nineveh (the capital of Assyria) for their return to wickedness, and they were destroyed by the Babylonians.

Nobody repented in the Holy Bible as much as God. Jonah 3:10 says that God repented. God is incapable of doing evil. So, if repent means to turn from your sins, then how could God repent? No, God simply changed His mind not to destroy the Assyrians. When a lost sinner changes his or her mind from unbelief, to faith in Jesus Christ, they are born again immediately and permanently. That is how people have always been saved. There has only always been one Gospel. Acts 10:43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." This has always been God's simple plan of salvation, through childlike faith (trust, reliance) in the name of Jesus.

Since we cannot see Jesus, all we can do is trust in His name. John 1:12-13, "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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Any needy sinner who receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross by faith, believing that He was buried, but then bodily resurrected from the dead three days later, is saved. This is the Gospel (i.e., the GOOD NEWS) of Christ crucified, buried and risen (1st Corinthians 15:1-6).

If you have never been water baptized dear reader, you have nothing to fear if you died today. But if you've never been born again, then you should be very afraid. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

A False Gospel Is Being Preached Nearly Everywhere Today

Acts 15:1, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.”

Here is a truthful quote from Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)...

“𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗜'𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹. 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗕𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿. 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿! 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿! 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 '𝗲𝗺, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 ​𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸𝘀, 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁!” —𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝘆𝗹𝗲𝘀, "𝗔 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴"

Pastor Jack Hyles -  'A Vote For Preaching'

Truth matters! The purity of the inspired Word of God matters! The accuracy of the Gospel matters!

Abraham Lincoln Was Right

Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Both sides of the repentance debate cannot be right!

On one side you have hellbound neo-evangelicals like John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, Paul Washer, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Ken Ham's Answers-In-Genesis, Pensacola Christian College, Bob Jones University, Harvest Baptist Church on Guam and other theological cults who pervert the Gospel. They all preach the Devil's lie that Bible repentance means to be willing to forsake your sinful bad habits, as a prerequisite to qualify saving faith.

On the other side you have Harry Ironside, Jack Hyles, Curtis Hutson, Onorato Diamante, myself (humbly), Steven Anderson, Ralph Yankee Arnold, Ray Stanford, Hank Lindstrom, Alexander Marshall and others who preach a free grace Gospel without works. This faithful group of men preach the truth that Bible repentance is “a change of mind.” You must change your mind from unbelief to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!

These two different plans of salvation are irreconcilable! The former group requires that you first be willing to reform (turn from your sins) to get to Heaven; whereas the latter group requires that you simply come to God as a needy sinner. We must always remember that eternal life is a free gift from God, because it was paid for by the precious blood of Jesus, God's only begotten (biological) Son. 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.”

I watched a very interesting 12 hour documentary by historian film producer, Ken Burns, on 'The American Civil War.' It is heartbreaking history! I just heard a quote in the film by President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) that caught my attention...

“In great contests [battles], each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God—both may be, but one must be, wrong—God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time!” —President Abraham Lincoln

Why did Mr. Lincoln say that? It is because both the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy claimed to be doing “God's will” in fighting The Civil War (1860-1865). Both President Jefferson Davis in the south, and President Abraham Lincoln in the north, said they were doing “God's will.” As Mr. Lincoln wisely points out, that is IMPOSSIBLE! When two opposing parties, who are warring against each other, claiming to be doing God's will, obviously someone is WRONG! That is why Abraham Lincoln made that powerful statement!

One of my favorite books is titled: “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” by Michael P. Bowen. The following prolific words are from page 17 of chapter one...

I am at eternal odds with the false, counterfeit messages of salvation-by-works that are taught from virtually every pulpit today, on every television channel, and on every Christian radio station; however, I am not at eternal odds with the individuals who preach these counterfeit messages. My heart literally goes out to all of them because they simply do not understand Christ’s plan of salvation. They have been lied to by a crafty enemy named Satan, whose sole aim is to take as many people with him to the lake of fire as he can possibly manage to steal away from God using a counterfeit plan of salvation that appears so real, so genuine, and so holy that few ever realize they have been deceived by it. Oh reader, so many of today’s professing Christians who think they are going to heaven when they die are not going to make it to heaven as they had assumed because they’ve been lied to by today’s error-filled gospel messages. Radical? Yes. But I am nonjudgmental toward the bearers of false messages; I am only judgmental toward the false plans of salvation they emphasize as being equal to the plan of Christ. There is only one plan of salvation in the bible; therefore, there cannot be two plans. SOURCE

Michael Bowen is so right! A counterfeit message is being preached in nearly every religious college, church pulpit, YouTube video, book and film today. It is tragic!

Dear reader, the inspired Word of God very plainly teaches that there is only ONE GOSPEL.

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.”

In Acts 15:1 we read a helpful Scripture, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” These false prophets were horribly teaching that to get to Heaven you must keep the law of Moses. This is no different than telling a lost person that God will not save them unless they are first willing to forsake their sinful bad habits. Take a look at what Pensacola Christian College wickedly teaches their thousands of students...

“REPENTANCE — Now is the time to turn from your sin and embrace God. The act of turning away from sin is called 'repentance.' This word implies an inward decision to follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins. It means changing your mind about sin and seeing it as something that grieves God. The Bible says that God patiently waits for all people to make this decision.”

SOURCE: “John & Romans,” Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, p. 60

To make matters even worse, on page 62 of the “John & Romans” booklet, Campus Church tells the reader that to be saved, you must make a mental check requiring the reader to agree to:

“I repent of my sins. I realize that sin is something that God hates and I no longer want to hold onto sinful bad habits in my life.”

SOURCE: “John & Romans,” Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, p. 62

Oh My! Folks, this is NOT part of the Gospel which the Apostle Paul preached in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4...

1st Corinthians15:1-4, “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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

There you have it! The “Gospel” is the “GOOD NEWS” that Jesus Christ DIED on a cross for our sins, He was BURIED and after three days He physically RESURRECTED from the dead. In Paul's Gospel (which Paul said he received directly from Jesus in Galatians 1:12), did you see anything that reads: “follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins.” No, that is not what Paul taught. So why is PCC and their Campus Church promoting this filth?

The only requirement to believe the Gospel is to know why you need to be saved. You need to know what you're being saved from. You are a guilty sinner, and so am I. No one has ever lived who didn't sin (Romans 3:10-23), except Jesus (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is the perfect sinless Lamb of God (John 1:29). The Bibles teaches and warns that the wages we earn from our sinning is death (Romans 5:12, 6:23). This includes a second death in Hell, fire and brimstone forever (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8). If you admit by faith to God that you are a guilty sinner deserving of Hell, then that is all you need to know to believe the GOOD NEWS that Jesus Christ died on a cross to pay for your sins, was buried and three days later He bodily raised up from the dead for your justification. BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS, oh sinner, and you are saved!

Abraham Lincoln was right, both sides may be wrong, but one side must be wrong! There cannot be two opposing plans of salvation. Either you cannot be saved without being willing to forsake sinful bad habits, or you don't, but it cannot be both.

Don't Get The Tickets Mixed Up!

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.”

“𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗠𝗜𝗫𝗘𝗗 𝗨𝗣” (Pastor Jack Hyles, 1997). In this helpful sermon, Dr. Hyles presents the Gospel as simply as he knows how. This is awesome! ...

Don't Get The Tickets Mixed Up!

Years ago Brother Hyles visited a museum. He was issued TWO tickets. The first one was to get into the museum, and the second ticket was for refreshments to enjoy the museum. Dr. Hyles explains that false religions confuse these two tickets, making people think that the second ticket is necessary to get into Heaven. This is what the damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation is, mixing service with salvation. ...

1. Ticket number 1 is God's Righteousness.
2. Ticket number 2 is my righteousness.

Trusting in what you can do is trying is get into Heaven with ticket #2. In Matthew 7:21-23 the people were trying to get into Heaven with ticket #2 (by their own self righteousness). I encourage you to listen to this practical life changing sermon.