The Simplicity Of God's Plan Of Salvation

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.”

Since the beginning of human civilization, the Devil has been trying to complicate God's simple plan of salvation for mankind. Part of our sinful human nature is pride and self-righteousness. 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.” Satan wants everyone to spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell. All men are sinners (Romans 3:10-23). We have all broken God's Ten Commandments. The primary purpose of God's Old Testament law is to give humanity “THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN” (Romans 3:20b). Consequently, we all deserve to be punished in Hell forever.

Most preachers today misunderstand the inspired Word of God. Men by nature have ego issues, full of stubborn pride and an unwillingness to admit when wrong doctrinally. I love the following passage of Scripture, which gives us some meat and potatoes doctrinally (i.e., foundational principles)...

Romans 3:19-27, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

Please don't miss what we just read in verses 21 and 22, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” Carefully notice that the Bible simply says to BELIEVE on Jesus Christ to be saved. There is no mention of repenting of sin or turning away from your sins to be saved. That is keeping the law! Telling someone to turn away from their sin to get to Heaven is the same as putting them under the yoke of keeping the law to be saved. What do you think the law is? ...

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Exodus 20:1-17):

1. You will not have other gods before me.
2. You will not make idols.
3. You will not take the name of the eternal God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You will not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You will not steal.
9. You shall not speak false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You will not covet.

Nine of those commandments are moral law, which apply to all people, for all time periods, and in all geographical areas. But the fourth commandment to keep The Sabbath was only for the Jews, who lived during the Old Testament time period, and who lived in the land of Palestine. According to Colossians 2:14-16 the ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross. God's law became fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:3-4). So we are not expected by God to keep the Sabbath Day today in New Testament times. It was a ceremonial law, not a moral law. This is important to understand.

These knuckleheaded ignoramus preachers today who go around foolishly requiring people to turn away from sin to be saved, are in reality keeping lost sinners under the curse and weight of God's law, which is another gospel accursed by God (Romans 3:19-20; Galatians 1:6-9). Jesus came into the world to die for our sins, not demand that we make an effort to stop committing them or else God won't save us. The very idea is absurd. Who can turn away from their sins? No one! You may have forsaken 99% of the sins in your life, but you will still be just as dirty, guilty and wicked as the vilest sinner upon the face of the earth (James 2:10). If you comprehend this Bible truth, then you will quickly understand the total fallacy of “Lordship Salvation.” You don't get saved by “surrendering all” to live for Christ; but rather, you get saved by ceasing from your own labors and simply RESTING in the finished redemptive work of Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11). JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

Here is a wonderful excerpt from Michael P. Bowen's helpful book titled: “I NEVER KNEW YOU: The Horror Of The Great White Throne Judgement And How You Can Avoid It”:

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). ~Michael P. Bowen, “I Never Knew You,” p. xii

There you have it friend, how to know that you're going to Heaven in just 30 seconds!

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

God bless you dear reader and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. To God alone be ALL the praise, credit, thanks and glory, because without Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5). Jesus is precious!!!

The Tragic Legacy Of Billy Graham

John 20:30-31, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 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.” 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.”

Yesterday I became curious what would appear on Google if I searched how to go to Heaven. So on my mobile phone I typed “How to go to Heaven” in Google. The first website that appeared was the Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusade. I was saddened when I read their false plan of salvation. Here is a quote from their website:

HOW TO GO TO HEAVEN

We can’t earn salvation; we are saved by God’s grace when we have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. All you have to do is believe you are a sinner, that Christ died for your sins, and ask His forgiveness. Then turn from your sins—that’s called repentance. Jesus Christ knows you and loves you. What matters to Him is the attitude of your heart, your honesty. We suggest praying the following prayer to accept Christ as your Savior:

"Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen."

SOURCE: https://peacewithgod.net/how-to-go-to-heaven/

What you have just read is another gospel, not what the Bible teaches. Nowhere in the inspired Scriptures (if you have a trustworthy King James Bible) are we taught to “turn from your sins” to be saved. This is a work! Turning away from sinning is in fact, keeping the law. What saith the Scripture? Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The only purpose of God's Old Testament law in salvation is to give mankind THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.

The Apostle Paul also said in Romans 7:13, “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” You see dear reader, the law was given to man by God, not so that we can try to keep it to get to Heaven, but to show us we are all guilty sinners in the sight of a holy God. Then the law brings us to Christ to be saved by God's grace through faith alone. Galatians 3:24-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

It is tragic that Billy Graham and his family who are still continuing his corrupt ministry, have added to the Gospel, requiring that people keep the law to be saved. Billy Graham preached the heresy of Lordship Salvation, which requires more than faith alone to get to Heaven. In addition, Billy Graham and his followers are all propagating the same heretical junk theology of the accursed Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), whose official Statement of Faith errantly teaches that to be saved you must commit your entire personality to Him as both Lord and Savior. That is FALSE! When the Roman jailor asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, the simple answer was to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Paul and Silas didn't tell the man to commit anything to God. They didn't tell him to turn from his sins. They didn't tell him to surrender all to Christ as Lord. They simply told him to BELIEVE.

So you see, when some wicked false preacher tells you that to go to Heaven you must “repent and turn from your sins,” he is lying to you! Repentance is a change of mind from unbelief to belief; that's it, that's all, no more! We've got a bunch of lying preachers today! I am talking about Jeff Redlin and Timothy Zacharias of Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College (PCC), who falsely teach in their Foundation's Class for all new church members, and I quote: “Repentance is a change of mind resulting in a change of behavior.” The Bible doesn't teach that repentance results in anything except BELIEVING ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST to be saved, period, end of story.

Anyone who teaches that true repentance will result in a change of behavior is preaching another Gospel. It is the Holy Spirit through the Word of God that sanctifies a person (John 17:17; 1st Peter 2:2), but only if that person yields to the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1-2; 2nd Corinthians 10:5-6). Many believers don't yield to God's indwelling Holy Spirit, and so they continue to live carnal lives of horrible sin (like Lot, Samson and Solomon).

This truth is also evidenced by the sexually immoral Christian man in 1st Corinthians 5:1-5. The Bible says that if he refused to repent of his sins (as a believer), then he would still “be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus” (1st Corinthians 5:5b). This proves that Lordship Salvation is untrue, because if a man must surrender to Christ as both Savior AND LORD to be saved, then this man could never have been saved at all. And, again in 1st Corinthians 3:15b we see a man who lost all his rewards in Heaven because of sin “saved; yet so as by fire.” He barely escaped the fires of Hell! 1st Corinthians 3:15, “If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” Lordship Salvation makes the fatal error of mixing and combining sanctification with justification.

Pilgrim's Progress author, John Bunyan, said it best I think:

“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)

We rarely hear any distinction between sanctification and justification anymore in today's apostate pulpits. Instead, all we hear is that you cannot go to Heaven unless you “turn from your sins” or “make full surrender to Christ as 'Lord'” or “give your life to Christ” or “follow Jesus as 'Lord' from now on.” You may do all these things and yet never have been born-again at all. Jesus said that to be saved “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN” (John 3:3-7).

Billy Graham (1918-2018) was a gifted orator, a kind man and beloved by millions of people. Unfortunately, he also did more than anyone to sinfully yoke believers together with unbelievers in the damned Roman Catholic religion. You cannot get to Heaven through the sacramental salvation of the accursed Catholic church. The Bible is very plain in Acts 16:30b-31, “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.”

You get saved by putting your childlike faith (reliance, confidence) in the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He did it all for you on the cross. Christ died for your sins, He was buried and three days later He physically resurrected from the dead. Those THREE THINGS are the Gospel (i.e., the Good News) by which we are saved, IF we believe it (Romans 1:16). I am so tired of hearing preachers today just tell people to believe that Christ died for their sins, and there is no mention of His bodily resurrection from the dead. To be saved you absolutely must believe that Jesus raised up from the dead.

Just in case you think I am barking up an empty tree here, consider that statistically 25% of all professed Christians in Europe today deny that Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead. Here is a wacky church that falsely says Jesus didn't die on the cross for our sins! Need I say more? So you see, it is of the utmost importance that preachers always mention Christ's death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection. Here is the official website of the accursed Jehovah's Witnesses, who deny that Jesus ressurected physically from the dead. They claim that He only raised up in Spirit. Dear friend, JESUS RESURRECTED PHYSICALLY FROM THE DEAD. The Bible plainly says:

1st Corinthians 15:4-6, “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.”

Now, I may not be that smart, but I know that you cannot see a spirit. As we just read, Jesus (after He raised up from the dead) was SEEN by over 500 saints at one time! Wow! I believe Christ appeared to thousands of saints after he physically resurrected from the dead. Also, we read in Acts 1:9-11...

Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

As I just showed you, FIVE TIMES in Acts 1:9-11 we are told that the apostles SAW Jesus in His physical form, ascending up into Heaven. Clearly, Jesus did physically, and not just in Spirit, raise up from the dead.

Billy Graham is a theological liar! According to his website, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusade falsely says:

"I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen."

SOURCE: https://peacewithgod.net/how-to-go-to-heaven/

Nowhere in the Holy Bible are we told to “follow Him as Lord, from this day forward” to be saved. Those lies cannot produce the new birth in Jesus Christ. It is so tragic that the first website to appear, when I searched Google for how to go to Heaven, is Billy Graham's damnable false plan of salvation. Just as the Bible says in Romans 3:20, no flesh will be justified in God's sight by keeping the works of the law.

Like all lying false prophets, Billy Graham starts of by saying that salvation is not by works, but then totally contradicts himself by requiring you to keep the law to be saved. Salvation cannot be by both folks! You either get saved by faith alone without works; or else you must turn from sin (keep the law) in addition to faith to be saved. One or both of these plans of salvation may be false, but they absolutely cannot both be true!!!

It is tragic that Mr. Graham leaves behind a legacy of doing works for a salvation which he claims is not earned by works. It makes no sense! Lordship Salvation is a sick form of theological schizophrenia. While they incessantly insist that salvation is without works, they incessantly require that you do works (turn away from your sinful living) to be saved. That cannot be a free gift. The Bible teaches that eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 5:15-18, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). A “gift” by every definition of the word is something which is received without obligation or compensation. ...

Paul Washer Exposed: Repent Of Your Sins False Gospel Refuted

There is no threat as dangerous today to the Gospel as the “repent of your sins” heresy in churches and Bible colleges today. Evangelist Ken Ham is guilty of preaching another gospel. Sadly, Pastor Clarence Sexton, Crown College and Temple Baptist Church in Powell, Tennessee sinfully bid Ken Ham Godspeed. Something is very wrong with today's pastors, who don't stand against error, false doctrine or false prophets anymore. Does Clarence Sexton stand against anything anymore? Pastor Sexton foolishly stands against King James Bible only preachers, while at the same time endorsing repent of your sin heretics! Go figure!

Anyone who endorses Billy Graham has doctrinal issues! Mr. Graham went to Hell to burn forever, rotting with his “repent of your sins” garbage. You cannot show me even one verse in the Bible, where someone was told to repent of their sins to be saved. I can show you in Matthew 27:3 where Judas repented for the sins he had committed, but Judas still went to Hell forever in his sins. You don't turn from your sins to be forgiven of your sins, you REST completely in what Jesus Christ has already done for you through Calvary's cross. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” ALL the prophets gave witness through their preaching, that faith in Christ is the only way of salvation. There was no mention or requirement to follow Christ as supreme “Lord,” turn away from sins or anything else!!!

God Wants You To Live Forever Dear Friend

John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

This is perhaps the greatest preacher's passage in the Word of God. John 3:16 to me says it all. Christ died for our sins. Verse 17 tells us that Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn sinners; but rather, to save us.

With that precious truth in mind, one can only imagine why today's preachers have strayed so far away from THE TRUTH of the Gospel. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. Three days later He miraculously resurrected from the dead. This is “the Gospel” (or, Good News) according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4.

I woke up today and a moment of awe came over me, realizing that God has already given His gift of eternal life to me. To think, I am going to live forever!!! Wow! I don't think it will ever completely sink in until I actually get there! I certainly wouldn't want to live forever in this sinful world, with this hurting and broken down body, but the Lord has promised us a new immortal body (Philippians 3:21), and a new home in Heaven (John 14:1-3), and all things from God (Romans 8:32). That all sounds real good to this ole boy! I want the best quality 5-string banjo in Heaven, one that Jesus picks out for me. He knows what I want and need better than I do. I want the best backing tracks. I want to make beautiful music to cheer people's hearts.

Do you have eternal life friend? You can and should! God is offering eternal life along with the forgiveness of all your sins as a free gift, just for the taking by faith. Simply admit to God that you are a guilty sinner, and BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

RUN from all these lying corrupt preachers today, who falsely teach that more than faith is required. They foolishly teach that you must also repent and turn away from your sins to be saved. You cannot show me that garbage from the inspired King James Bible!!! My beloved Bible simply tells me to BELIEVE the Good News of Jesus Christ to be saved. Anyone can have eternal life right now, for free, just by believing that Jesus did it all for you. Christ paid your debt of sin, and mine. Thank God!

Judas Repented Of Sin, But Not From Unbelief

Matthew 27:3-4, “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.”

We are hearing the false teaching in most churches today that to get to Heaven you must repent of your sin. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Bible says  in our text passage that Judas repented of his sin. That is, Judas was sorry for the sins that he had done. Judas brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the wicked Pharisees, admitting that he had betrayed innocents blood. That is what some wicked Judas did this week to Pastor Steven Anderson, falsely accusing him of murdering his family. Police stormed the house, helicopter and all! Hell will be hot for that wicked person!

Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible teaches to repent “of your sin” to get to Heaven. Repentance in the Bible concerning salvation simply means a change of mind. It is a change of mind from unbelief to belief. I know that 100% because the Gospel of John simply teaches that the way to be saved is to BELIEVE. We find the word “believe” 88 times mentioned in John, but the word repent is not mentioned even once. That speaks volumes! It simply means that repentance is automatic, and is included with belief.

Dr. John R. Rice made this truth very clear:

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

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

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

Oh dear friend, that is so beautiful. The person who has saving faith has repented. Any preacher who separates repentance from faith, requiring repentance from sin as a separate step to salvation than to simply believe, is preaching another Gospel.

Pastor Jack Hyles further clarifies this important matter of repentance:

2. You can repent of something other than sin.

Matthew 7:3, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders." Notice that Judas repented. Now what does it mean? It means he repented about keeping the money. He had sold our Saviour for thirty pieces of silver; he changed his mind and took the silver back. A change of mind and change of direction took place, but it had nothing to do with salvation. He had made a bad deal; he regretted he had made that bad deal, and he tried to correct it.

Everybody who lives in sin eventually repents, but they do not repent of unbelief. They change their mind about sin. No one lives in sin without realizing later that it did not bring the joy, happiness, peace and contentment that it claimed to bring. I talk to people every week who are tired of their sins, unhappy in their sinful life or living a miserable, wretched life because of the results of sin. What have they done? They have changed their mind about sin, and in some cases, they even quit their sin - at least that sin which was most predominant in their lives. You can repent of sin without repenting of unbelief. Such was the case with Judas. No doubt he repented that he had done wrong. He certainly repented of the bad deal he had made. He turned around, changed his mind and brought the money back, but he did not repent of that thing from which he must repent in order to be saved, and that is unbelief. ~ Pastor Jack Hyles, 'Misunderstood Repentance: An Enemy Of Soulwinning'

The truth dear reader is that you don't have to repent of your sin to be saved. You don't have to stop one sin to be saved. You don't have to keep God's law to be saved (Romans 3:19-20). Telling someone that they must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved is putting them under God's law, which is a false plan of salvation. To be saved, a man must simply acknowledge that he or she is a guilty sinner in God's sin, and BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Acts 16:30-31). Nothing more is required or permitted by God.

Beware of these dangerous false teachers today (which include Jeff Redlin at Pensacola Christian College, Chuck Phelps at Colonial Hills Baptist Church, Steve Pettit at Bob Jones University, Marty Herron at Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary, and John MacArthur) who preach that salvation is by grace through faith alone, but then they lie by saying that faith is not alone, it performs works, and if you don't have works you are not saved. That is a counterfeit gospel. Works has no place in God's free gift of salvation, neither before, at the time of, or thereafter!

God is not a trickster like the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent promised one thing, but Eve received something very different than what she had been misled to expect. The serpent had promised Eve godlike powers, as if she would become like the God of the universe; but instead, she only become the god of her own life and destiny, and suffered the consequences of it. Satan lied to Eve! The Devil is a beautiful liar! That is what Marty Herron and Steve Pettit do, they lie to people.

They preach deceitfully that salvation is by faith alone, which is true; but then they pollute the truth into a dirty lie, by teaching that if your faith doesn't produce a changed life, with works and dedication to serve God faithfully for a lifetime, then you go to Hell forever! It is a false religion of fear and uncertainty, where you must continually strive to maintain works in your life, lest you fall away and prove to the world that you were never really saved at all. This is the demonic crap that the preach!!! (backup article). Sadly, Dr. Steve Pettit is a false prophet, an unsaved infidel, a predator in the pulpit today. Just like Judas, the Bob Jones crowd foolishly think they are going to Heaven because they have repented of their sins, but in fact that have still never wholly rested in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ through Calvary's cross. If you want to go to Heaven, simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you.

You are a guilty sinner friend. But God loves you so much that He chose rather to die on a cross than to live without you! Jesus died in our place, paid the price for our sins with His precious blood; He was buried and resurrected bodily three days later for our justification. Whosoever (meaning anybody) that will simply put their childlike faith in Christ will be instantly, irrevocably and forever born-again. You have God's promise of it! John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Pastor Marty Herron Doesn't Understand God's Plan Of Salvation

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.”

One of the saddest things is the false gospel being preached today by the Bob Jones University (BJU) crowd. The college opened its doors in 1927, founded by Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968). As far as I can tell from reading, Dr. Bob as they called him preached a free grace Gospel. Unfortunately, that is not the case anymore, nor has it been for decades at BJU. The college has turned apostate, now preaching the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation.

I had the privilege of attending the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam for the entire year of 2014. It was a privilege because I made some wonderful friends there, whom I still love and cherish and miss, like Doug Abel's and his family, and Dave Morgan and Amy, and Cark and Peggy across the street from me (and their children Scott, Shane, Nelly-Mae and Katy-Joe). I do still miss them all!

Sadly, the church's shameful senior pastor from 1999 to 2018, Marty Herron, is an infidel of the faith, an imposter who is theologically incompetent and has no business standing behind any pulpit. In 2014 I sat among hundreds of church members and heard Pastor Herron make this heretical statement: “It is not enough to admit that you are a sinner to go to Heaven, you must also turn away from a lifestyle of sinning.” I felt numb in my soul. I went home and literally cried. I prayed to God, asking Him what I should do. Harvest is a religious cult

In case you don't already know, what Pastor Herron preaches (and the entire Bob Jones crowd nowadays) is the SAME false gospel preached by Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholics. Humbly said, as you can see, I have done my homework on these different cults and how they relate to proponents of Lordship Salvation. Lest I haven't convinced you yet, please consider that the deadly Mormon cult have made John MacArthur's book: “Faith Works,” official reading at Brigham Young University.

I just wrote a blog refuting the heretical idea that faith must have works to be true faith. Our dear Savior said that faith itself is the only “work” which God allows for salvation:

John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

The Bible is so clear and plain to understand to the honest person. Jesus plainly said that faith itself is the only work to be saved. And again, we read in Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Then, please do not make the fatal error of somehow or another, adding works to faith! Since the very beginning of humanity, beginning with Adam, he sewed together some fig leaves in a wasted attempt to atone for his sins, and that of his wife Eve. Afterward, we see their offspring Cain, who offered God the best grains which his fields could produce. This also was a wasted attempt, trying to impress God with self-righteousness.

Marty Herron has been deceived by the subtle Devil. Read was the famous preacher George Whitefield (a devout Calvinist) said:

“Our salvation is all of God, from the beginning to the end; it is not of works, lest any man should boast; man has no hand in it.” ~Pastor George Whitefield (1714-1770)

Although that is true and sounds great theologically, now read what Mr. Whitefield said elsewhere. In a sermon titled: “Repentance And Conversion,” Whitefield says:

It is a pity that modern preachers do not pay more attention to the method that the apostles followed in preaching Jesus Christ! The success and divine authority of their discourses should impress ministers of the gospel more than all modern schemes. If this were the case, ministers would first learn to sow and then to reap. They would endeavor to plow up the fallow ground and to prepare people for God’s blessings to rain down upon them.

This is the way Peter preached when under divine influence at Pentecost. Despite the fact that many of his listeners were educated, prominent people, he boldly charged them with murdering the Son of God. His piercing accusation entered deep into their conscience and was used by the Holy Spirit to give them a proper sense of themselves.

The apostle then let them know that, although their sin was great, it was not unpardonable. They had been part of the horrid crime of murdering the Lord of life, and had thereby incurred the penalty of eternal death. Yet there was mercy for them in the way prescribed: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). ...

What is conversion then? In order to be truly converted, a man must become a new creature and be converted from his own righteousness to the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Conviction will always precede spiritual conversion. You may be convicted without being converted, but you cannot be converted without being convicted.

True conversion means turning not only from sin but also from depending on self-made righteousness. Those who trust in their own righteousness for conversion hide behind their own good works. This is the reason that self-righteous people are so angry with gospel preachers, because the gospel does not spare those who will not submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ! [emphasis mine]

SOURCE: George Whitefield, “Repentance And Conversion”

The Devil is very subtle. As with many deceptions, Whitefield tells a HALF-TRUTH. It is true that a man must be convicted of his sin to be saved. It is also true that a man must repent (change his mind) from his own self-righteousness, and instead embrace God's imputed righteousness. Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

However, it is NOT true that a man must repent “of his sin” to be saved, in the sense that he must turn away from and forsake a lifestyle of sinning. The Bible never teaches that! Nowhere in the Scriptures do we find the phrase “of your sin” in relation to repentance. Yes, the Apostle Peter did preach to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost. Peter reminded them that they murdered their Messiah, but Peter never required them to forsake their sinful ways to be saved. The Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract according to 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.” No mention is made in the Gospel of John about turning away from one's sinful ways to be saved.

The following horrible heretical quote is from Pastor Aiden W. Tozer (1897-1963)...

Pastor Aiden W. Tozer Is A False Prophet!

Where does the King James Bible teach that a person must forsake the world to be saved? It doesn't. John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Jesus did not tell these people to forsake their sinful behavior, He simply told them to BELIEBE ON HIM.

Forsaking one's sinful behavior is a matter of obedience to God as His child, and not involved with justification. You are the biological child of your earthly parent because they conceived you. It had absolutely NOTHING to do with you. Likewise, you had absolutely nothing to do with God saving your soul (John 1:12-13). The moment that you BELIEVE, God saves you, end of story. Nothing more is required than to simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you! That is so easy and simply.

So why do wicked but sincere men make God's simple plan of salvation so complicated? I agree with Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995):

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

What about James chapter two? There is much confusing over what James taught. ...

Just hold the phone Joan,

Wait a minute...

Step on the brake Jake,

Watch where you're drivin' Ivan,

Wait a minute...

What saith the Scripture? ...

James 2:20-22, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”

It is very clear that James was speaking about being justified in the sight of men, because he uses the phrases “shew me” and “shew thee.” James 2:18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James wasn't speaking about shewing God our faith. In sharp contrast, the Apostle Paul in Romans speaks about being justified in the sight of God. ...

Romans 4:4-7, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 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.”

Salvation has always been by faith alone. Beware of the false teaching (popular with the Bob Jones camp) that we are saved by faith alone; but faith is not alone, it must produce works. By adhering to this blatant heresy, the Bob Jones crowd in reality are merging sanctification with justification. I love something that Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan said:

“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)

I couldn't have said it better! I love Pastor Herron, sincerely, but he is WRONG on the Gospel. Sadly, Marty is leading thousands of people with him into the Lake of Fire. God does not make exceptions for anybody. God does not let anybody slide. If you don't go through faith alone in Jesus Christ, there is no other way of salvation (Acts 4:10-12). God's plan of salvation does not require that you turn away from sin, forsake the world, faithfully run the race, count the cost and pay the price, live a lifestyle of repentance, nor anything else.

Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) made these wonderful helpful statements:

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

Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel:

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.” ~Dr. Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?

Read what Pastor Ironside said in his Gospel tract, ANOTHER GOSPEL? ...

"When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him." ~Dr. Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, Another Gospel.

Dear reader, the truth is so simple and easy to see, if you just let the inspired Holy Bible speak for itself. It's when you start listening to corrupt preachers, who add words to God's Word, that people become utterly confused. A false gospel cannot produce the new birth! I have often prayed for Marty Herron's salvation, and that of his family who follow his false faith, but the truth is ineffective upon a proud and arrogant heart. 2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

A Clear Gospel Presentation In 4 Minutes

The Password To Heaven

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

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

There can be no misery greater than living life wondering if someday you will lift up your eyes in Hell! The Bible so wonderfully makes salvation clear! It is a gift given of God, that cannot be earned in any way of our own doing. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Titus 3:5, “Jesus Christ made this wonderful, free salvation possible.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

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

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

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

1st Corinthians 15:1-4 says, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; BY WHICH ALSO YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Password To Heaven (Pastor Peter Ruckman)

God’s Simple Plan of Salvation

Pastor Robert Ford Porter (1893-1976) was born in Sparta, Michigan. His parents were godly Christians, and he was saved at a young age. After his father died, however, he drifted away from God. He rededicated his life to Christ during a revival in Evansville, Indiana when he was 23. Porter taught Sunday school and worked with Dr. Ernest Reveal at the Evansville Rescue Mission. In 1919 he surrendered to preach and attended Moody Bible Institute.

After graduating he founded the East Side Baptist Church in Evansville. In 1926 he accepted the pastorate of First Baptist Church in Princeton, Indiana. He led his church to leave the increasingly liberal Northern Baptist Convention, then was forced by the convention to spend two years in court defending the withdrawal. Porter won the case, establishing the right of churches to leave the convention.

Porter later founded the Lifegate Baptist Church in Indianapolis. Among the other ministries he started were Indiana Baptist College (Heritage Baptist University), Came Berean, a radio ministry, a film ministry and the Vacation Bible School Institute. He is best known for his tract," God's Simple Plan of Salvation," which he wrote in 1933. Lifegate, Inc., which he founded for the sole purpose of distributing the tract, has now published more than 500,000,000 copies in over 100 languages.

Porter's prayer for a worldwide ministry that outlived him has been richly answered. On November 20, 1976, Ford Porter went Home to Heaven. His ministry continues today, led by his son, Robert Ford Porter, and his grandson, Robert Mark Porter. His tract continues to be printed and distributed around the world, and multiplied thousands have been saved through its clear presentation of the gospel message. SOURCE

Without further ado, here is Pastor Ford Porter's wonderful Gospel tract, “God's Simple Plan Of Salvation,” which he wrote in the year 1933:

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell. 

“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). “ . . .without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).

“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. . . .’ ”

Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior. 

“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” (John 1:12).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).  

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved. Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth: 

Pray — you talk to God.

Read your Bible — God talks to you.

Witness — you talk for God.

AFTER you are saved, you should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8).

Please note that you DON'T have to be baptized to go to Heaven. It is a step of obedience for the believer.

“Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

Salvation Crystal Clear

By Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

The other day someone told me about a friend who very seldom, if ever, attended Wednesday night prayer meeting. He said we were after him all the time about it. One day he told us about this man who died and went to Heaven. According to the story, God was in an office, and people were standing outside, waiting to go in. One at a time God took each of them into the office, kept him awhile and then dismissed him and called for the next one. He said this one man came out smiling. When his friends asked what he was smiling about, he laughed and said, "He's not counting Wednesday nights!"

After I had finished laughing, I said, "You know something? He's right. God does not count Wednesday nights. As a matter of fact, He doesn't even count Sunday mornings or Sunday nights. He doesn't count tithing. He doesn't even count baptism. When it comes to going to Heaven, God only counts one thing, and that is Jesus and what He did on the cross two thousand years ago.

God Does Not Count Good Works

God does not count good works in any form or fashion. The Bible says in Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...." And the Scripture declares in Ephesians 2:8-9,

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

There is not one verse in all the Bible that says anything about working to go to Heaven. The truth of the matter is, a man could go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night every week of his life and still die and go to Hell. One does not become a Christian by getting into the church any more than one becomes an automobile by getting into the garage. Joining the church has nothing to do with going to Heaven. Once a man is saved, he ought to join a good church, a place where he can at tend, enjoy the fellowship of other believers and learn from the Bible what God expects of him, a place where he can be involved in helping to get out the Gospel. But church membership comes after salvation, and no one should ever join a church until he is first sure that he is saved.

If salvation were by works of any kind, then somewhere the Scripture would have to tell us exactly how much one must work in order to be saved. Would Sunday morning and Sunday night church services be enough, or must one go to every service, including Wednesday nights? And must one also tithe his income and give to the poor? Exactly how much work is required before a man can go to Heaven?

There is no passage anywhere in the Bible that answers the question. If a man worked in order to be saved, then the motive for the work would render it ineffective. According to I Corinthians 13, any work not motivated by love for Christ is not acceptable. Paul said in I Corinthians 13:3, "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing." If a man worked in order to be saved, the motive for his service would not be love but fear. He would be working because he was afraid he was going to Hell, not because he loved God. Thus the motive would render the work unacceptable.

Matthew 7:22-23 makes it very clear that no one goes to Heaven on his good works. Here the Scripture says,

"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."

Here is a judgment scene where people tell the Lord all about their good works, thinking He will let them into Heaven. But in verse 23 the Lord says, "I never knew you: depart from me." And then He calls their good works 'works of iniquity.'

Once we receive Christ as Saviour, we should set out to serve Him and do all the good works we can. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works...." But we work because we love Him, not in order to be saved. When it comes to salvation, good works, no matter how good or how many, are absolutely futile.

Romans 11:6 says, "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." No, God doesn't count our good works. The truth in the man's story was absolutely right: God does not count Wednesday nights. Neither does He count Sunday mornings, Sunday nights or any other nights. Salvation is not a result of what we do for Christ but rather a result of what He does for us.

A man who died in a cheap hotel room in one of our great western states left a poem behind, part of which said,

I've tried in vain a thousand ways,
My fears to quell, my hopes to raise;
And all I need, the Bible says,
Is Jesus!

He went on to say,

Though some will mock, and some will blame;
In spite of fear, in spite of shame,
I'll go to Him because His name
Is Jesus!

The man who wrote the above lines had squandered a fortune in search of peace and happiness, but he never found either until he realized that Jesus Christ was all he needed and accepted Him as Saviour.

God Does Not Count Our Righteousness

If a man went to Heaven on his own righteousness, he would have to be as holy and as righteous as God Himself. And no man except Jesus Christ has ever been that righteous. God is so righteous that no man can look upon God and live. In Exodus 33:18 Moses said to God, "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." And God replied in verses 20-23,

"Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.... Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen."

The average Christian lives and dies and never has the foggiest idea of how holy and righteous God really is. In Isaiah 6:1-3 the prophet said,

"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."

According to these verses, the seraphims in Heaven are flying around the throne of God singing, "Holy, holy, holy!" They could be singing, "Justice, justice, justice!" for God is just. They could be singing, "Love, love, love!" for God is love. They could be singing, "Mercy, mercy, mercy!" for God is merciful. They could be singing, "Longsuffering, longsuffering, longsuffering!" for God is longsuffering. But, no, they are singing, "Holy, holy, holy!" And the seraphims that sang, "Holy, holy, holy!" have their faces covered with two of their wings. They are not even looking upon the God they are singing about.

John 3:3 says, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Verse 5 says that he cannot enter the kingdom of God, but this verse says that he cannot see the kingdom of God. If I go to Heaven, then I must be as holy and righteous as God Himself. And I cannot be that righteous.

Isaiah 64:6 reminds us, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. . . ." In Romans 10:1-4 Paul says:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteous ness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

Here Paul speaks of religious folks, zealous folks, but folks who do not know the way of salvation. They were trying to establish their own righteousness, not knowing that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in God's sight. How sad that multiplied millions of people throughout the world are trying to qualify for Heaven by living right, not knowing that their righteousnesses are as filthy rags in God's sight! They, like the people Paul wrote about, are going about to establish their own righteousness, not realizing that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4).

Heaven is not a reward for those who behave; it is a gift for those who believe.

My son Tony and his friend Melvin, who recently trusted Christ as Saviour, have been trying to win an older man to Christ. The man keeps insisting that he has to get better first. Melvin, a brand new Christian, demonstrated great wisdom when he said, "Dr. Hutson, the man wants to get well before he goes to the hospital."

I said, "You're right, Melvin. A man doesn't get better to get saved; he gets saved to get better."

No, God doesn't count our righteousness.

God Does Not Count Baptism

Contrary to the teaching of many when it comes to salvation, God does not count baptism. Baptismal regeneration was first taught by the Catholic church and later picked up by several other denominations. Those who think that God requires water baptism as an entrance into Heaven teach that the water washes away sins. The only thing that remits sins is the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 says, ". . . without shedding of blood is no remission."

If one had to be baptized to have his sins remitted, then what would he do with the sins he committed after he was saved? Suppose a man was baptized twenty years ago. Since then he has committed many sins. Remember, no one lives absolutely perfect and above sin. First John 1:10 says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." Now if baptism were necessary to remit sins, then this man would need to be baptized again in order to have remitted the sins he had committed since he had been saved. But if he is baptized the second time, then what will he do with the sins he commits after the second baptism?

Of course, if water were necessary to wash away sins, then he must be baptized again and again and again. Every time he commits a sin, he would have to be baptized again to have his sins washed away. If baptism is really necessary to remit sin, then a person not only should be baptized; he should get into the baptistry and refuse to ever get out lest he commit some sin after he gets out of the baptistry and die before he can get back into the water.

If baptism does remit sins, then Jesus Himself never remitted or forgave any man of his sins because the Bible plainly says in John 4:2, "Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples." Those who teach that one must be baptized in order to be saved further teach that one can lose his salvation. Suppose a man believes in Christ, confesses Him, repents, is baptized and joins the church of the preacher who teaches baptismal regeneration. Then, according to this preacher, he is saved. After a few years he goes back into sin and loses his salvation. Being disturbed about his condition, he goes back to the church and wants to be saved again. Does that same church insist that he be baptized again? No, they do not. If water baptism were necessary for salvation the first time, then how could he possibly be saved the second time without being baptized?

That is just one of the contradictions and inconsistencies of those who teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation.

If water baptism were necessary for salvation, then none of the Old Testament saints were saved because baptism was not mentioned one single time in the Old Testament, and there is no record of a single individual ever being baptized before John the Baptist began baptizing converts in the New Testament. Those who argue that baptism is essential to salvation teach one plan of salvation for those in the Old Testament and a different plan of salvation for those in the New Testament. But the Scripture teaches that all men are saved the same way in every dispensation or age.

Acts 10:43 says, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Now notice very carefully: this was the message of all the prophets. The Old Testament prophets preached remission of sins by faith in Christ. The New Testament prophets preached remission of sins by faith in Christ. And those who preach the truth today are still preaching remission of sins by faith in Christ. When it comes to salvation, God did not count baptism in the Old Testament. He did not count baptism in the New Testament, and He does not count baptism today. The message today is the same message all the prophets witnessed: ". . . that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."

What Does God Really Count?

It would be almost impossible to discuss in this article the multitude of things which people believe are necessary for salvation. The Roman Catholics believe you must receive all seven sacraments. The Seventh-day Adventists believe you must keep the old Jewish Sabbath, along with the other nine commandments. The Moslems think that, if one dies defending his religion, he goes straight to Heaven.

The Scripture warns in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." And the Bible says in Isaiah 55:8, "... neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." God's way of salvation is made clear in the Bible. Ephesians 2:8,9 settles the matter once and for all:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your selves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Here the Bible says it is 'not of ourselves,' "Not of works, lest any man should boast." It is by grace through faith. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Someone gave this acrostic for GRACE: "God's Riches At Christ's Expense." Grace and works cannot be mixed. To add any works to grace destroys grace completely. It is all of grace, or it is not grace at all. Jesus Christ came to the earth and lived a perfect, sinless life. Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

Second Corinthians 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. . . . " While Jesus Christ was being crucified between two thieves, one thief said to the other in Luke 23:40-41, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss." The word amiss means "wrong." Even the thief on the cross recognized that Jesus was the sinless, spotless Son of God.

Before Pilate turned Christ over to the angry mob, he said in John 19:6, "I find no fault in him." Jesus Christ was the only person who ever lived as righteous as God Himself. And when we trust Christ, we are given His righteousness. That is the clear promise of the Bible in Romans 10:4 where the Scripture says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." God does not count my righteousness, but He does count the righteousness of His Son.

The Bible says in Romans 4:3, "...Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." And then the Scripture further promises in Romans 4:5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

The only way anyone can ever be righteous enough to go to Heaven is by receiving God's own righteousness by faith. Not only did Jesus Christ live a perfectly righteous life; He died a substitutionary death. Two thousand years ago God took every sin we ever have committed and all we ever will commit, and He placed those sins on Christ. Isaiah 53:6 says, ". . . the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And Titus 2:14 says, "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. . ."

What blessed truth! God took the iniquities of all men and laid those iniquities on Christ. But He not only took the iniquities of all men and laid them on Christ; He took all the iniquities of men and laid them on Christ. And the Bible says in I Peter 2:24, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. . . . " While Christ was bearing our sins in His own body, God punished Him in our place to pay the debt we owe so that, when we die, we won't have to pay it. That's what the Bible means when it says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The other day I received a letter from a dear Jewish friend here in Murfreesboro, who reminded me that it wasn't the Jews who killed Christ. Rather, he said, "It was the Roman soldiers." Of course, this dear Jewish man was both right and wrong. He was right when he said it wasn't the Jews, but he was wrong when he said it was the Roman soldiers. It was neither the Jews nor the Roman soldiers. It was God Himself.

The Scripture says in Isaiah 53:10, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. . .." It was God Himself who made His (Jesus') soul an offering for sin. Romans 8:32 says, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" The Scriptures further explain in Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was an expression of God's love for us. He loved us so much that He didn't want us to go to Hell, so He punished His Son in our place to pay the debt we owe so that we can go to Heaven on a free pass.

My beloved predecessor Dr. Rice used to say, "Every man who goes to Heaven goes on a free pass, but he who goes to Hell pays his own way." And then he would quote Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Before Adam and Eve ever sinned, God demanded the death penalty. He said in Genesis 2:17, ". . . in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." God's payment for sin is death, the second death in the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14 says, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

If we are to satisfy the just demands of a holy God, we must go into Hell and stay there forever and ever. But Jesus Himself satisfied God's demand. The prophet said in Isaiah 53:11, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. . . ." Here the Scripture plainly states that God was satisfied with the payment Jesus made on the cross for our sins. He further showed that satisfaction by raising Jesus Christ from the dead and taking Him back to Heaven. If Christ had not accomplished what He came to do; that is, die for our sins, He would have never gone back to Heaven. But praise the Lord, He did the job!

While He was hanging on the cross He uttered seven things. The sixth utterance was: "It is finished" (John 19:30). And, dear friend, you can count on it: it was finished. There is nothing else to do but to accept Jesus Christ by faith, to trust Him, to depend on Him.

The man was right: God does not count Wednesday nights. He doesn't count Sunday mornings or Sunday nights or any other nights. God does not count our own righteousness. He does not count our good works. He does not count baptism or any other ceremony or ritual. He only counts one thing: the death of His Son Jesus Christ. And the Scripture plainly says in Isaiah 53:11 that He was satisfied with the sacrifice His Son made for our sins. If Jesus Christ said it was finished and God Himself said He was satisfied, then why can't we be satisfied with Christ's death and not add anything to it?

The only way to show that you are satisfied with Christ's death for your sins is to trust Him and Him alone for salvation. If you trust anything else, then it is evident that you are not satisfied with Christ and what He did at Calvary. If you trust Jesus Christ, plus your baptism, then you are not satisfied with Christ: you must add to Him baptism. If you trust Jesus Christ plus your good works, then you are not satisfied with Christ: you must add to Him good works. If you trust Jesus Christ plus your church membership, then you are not satisfied with Christ: you must add church membership. If you trust Jesus Christ plus your reformation, then you are not satisfied with Christ: you must add your reformation.

Now, I am a church member. I have been baptized. I was baptized when I was eleven years old. I try to live right. I have been preaching since I was twenty years old. I travel every week of my life going from church to church throughout this country to preach the Gospel. As I dictate this sermon, I am driving to Lowell, Indiana. Next week I will be in Wadsworth, Ohio.

But I do none of these things to be saved. My only hope of Heaven is the fact that Jesus Christ died for me. He paid my sin debt. And I am trusting Him alone for salvation. I am not trusting my good works, my church membership, my baptism or anything else. When we stand before God, the only thing that He will count is what His Son did at Calvary.

When the children of Israel were in Egyptian bondage, God sent plagues upon Pharaoh. Finally God said, 'The firstborn in every house is going to die.' But He gave the Israelites instructions to kill an innocent lamb and sprinkle the blood on the doorposts of the house. And God promised in Exodus 12:13, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." He did not say, 'When I see your church membership, I will pass over you.' He did not say, 'When I see your good life, I will pass over you.' He did not say, 'When I see your good works, I will pass over you.' He did not say, 'When I see your baptism, I will pass over you.' No, no, no! He said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." The only thing that counted with God was the death of the lamb.

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

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