ETERNAL LIFE IS ETERNAL. It is NOT “life until you sin again.” Jesus promised us “eternal life” and it is ridiculous to think that He didn’t mean that He gives us life that would never end. Eternal life begins THE MOMENT when we believe.
The believer “is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24).
SALVATION IS A “BY BIRTH” SITUATION. A birth cannot be undone or reversed. “Once born, always born, Jesus did not teach a man must be born again and again and perhaps even yet again. We don’t have a second opportunity to be born again physically, nor do we have or even need a second opportunity to be born again spiritually once we have received our spiritual birth.
SALVATION (ETERNAL LIFE) IS A FREE GIFT. It is not something that is earned or can be deserved. Works earn “rewards,” not salvation. Romans 5:15-18, 6:23; Eph. 2:8,9; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.
SALVATION IS BASED UPON HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, NOT OURS. Philippians 3:9 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 teach that it is Christ’s righteousness that is imputed to our account. If our salvation is based upon Christ righteousness and not our own, how could our own unrighteousness ever make His righteousness insufficient? When God declares us righteous, it is settled. Romans 8:33.
WE ARE KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD. 1 Peter 1:4,5 teaches this. If it is God’s power that keeps us, who is stronger or more powerful than God?
JESUS IS HOLDING US IN HIS HAND. John 10:28. We are not holding onto God; He is holding onto us! Even if we could let go, He cannot and will not.
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (5) Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
WE SHALL NEVER COME INTO CONDEMNATION OR JUDGMENT. John 5:24 teaches us this. As in John 3:16 and John 10:28 wherein we are told we will NEVER PERISH.
In John 11:25 wherein Jesus said the believer will “NEVER DIE,” here we are told the believer will “NEVER COME INTO CONDEMNATION.”
If a person could lose salvation, this would not be true.
WE HAVE ALREADY PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE. Now get this. According to John 5:24, the believer has already passed (past tense) from death into life. This cannot be speaking of physical life but must be speaking of spiritual death and life. We have never yet been dead physically but we were dead spiritually.
THE BELIEVER SHALL NEVER DIE. In John 11:25 Jesus said to Martha that “whoever lives and believes in me shall NEVER die.” He surely was not speaking of physical death so He must have been speaking of a spiritual death.
JESUS SAID HE WOULD NOT CAST US OUT. As in Hebrews 13:5 wherein Jesus said He would never leave us nor forsake us, He tells us in John 6:37 He will never cast us out.
JESUS WILL LOSE NOTHING (THAT INCLUDES US). John 6:39 tells us that Jesus will lose nothing but “will raise it up at the last day, Whatever we are, we are something! This answers those who say He will not cast us out but we could choose to walk out on our own.
WE ARE “JUSTIFIED” (DECLARED RIGHTEOUS) BY FAITH. When it is God who does the justifying, that is all we need. Romans 5:1 teaches us that it is because we are justified by faith that we have “peace with God.”
WE ARE SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. When it is God who does the sealing, man cannot break the seal. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer to be with him and in him forever. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 teaches us that we are “bought with a price,” the blood of Christ. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR “EARNEST. (GUARANTEE) OF OUR INHERITANCE.
Titus 1:2 teaches us that God cannot lie and He has promised us eternal life. God said it; that settles it!
GOD SAYS WE CAN KNOW WE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. We are taught in I John 5:13 that the believer can “KNOW” that he has eternal life. How could he possibly know it if he could still wind up in hell?
EVEN IF WE ARE FAITHLESS, GOD REMAINS FAITHFUL FOR HE CANNOT DENY HIMSELF.
2 Timothy 2:13 We are “in Christ” once we have believed. For Him to deny us, He would have to deny Himself. OUR SINS (ALL OF THEM) HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN. If all sins are forgive, how could any sin send a believer to hell?
Acts 13:38, 39 says that ALL who believe are justified from all things.” To be justified is to be declared righteous. When Christ died for sin, it was for all sin (past, present, and future).
NOBODY (INCLUDING SATAN) CAN LAY ANYTHING TO OUR CHARGE. Satan may accuse us for what we have done but it was God who sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins and it is He who declares us righteous. If God declares us righteous, who is Satan to say otherwise? Romans 8:33.
NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD’S LOVE. Romans 8:37-39 teaches this clearly. “Nothing” certainly includes our sin.
THE GIFTS AND CALLINGS OF GOD ARE WITHOUT REPENTANCE. Romans 11:29 Nobody can argue that salvation is not a gift. See Romans 5 and notice how many times the word “gift” is used in describing salvation.
SALVATION IS NEVER BASED ON WORKS SO HOW COULD ONE LOSE IT BY EVEN BAD WORKS? Verses like Ephesians 2:8,9, Titus 3:5, Romans 3:28, 4:5, 11:6, and Galatians 2:16 all clearly teach the receiving of salvation apart from works. (Note especially Romans 4:5 “to him that worketh not.”) The believer will NEVER PERISH. If this does not shout eternal security, then one must be determined to believe otherwise. John 3:16 is perhaps the most quoted and least understood verse in the Bible. Many would rather quote it this way: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes and continues to please God might not perish but have eternal life.”
THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH THAT SALVATION CAN BE LOST. While there are numerous verses that some THAT TRY to use to teach that salvation can be lost, there are no verses that say such a thing.
There are verses that teach subjects like “falling from grace,” “working out your own salvation,” “enduring to the end,” and “overcoming” which people try to use to teach the possibility of losing one’s salvation but this is not the case. Study those verses in their context and you will see they DO NOT teach a loss of salvation. Sadly, many have been deceived into believing their salvation can be lost, even though the Bible never teaches such a doctrine. You might ask: “How can this be?” While it is true that they have their verses they use to teach what is called “Conditional Security,” those verses are taken OUT OF CONTEXT.
It all boils down to this: Those who BELIEVE are not condemned and those who have NOT BELIEVED are condemned already. (See John 3:18) Some think the doctrine of Eternal Security gives the believer a license to sin. Far from it! This doctrine frees the believer to truly live for God out of his love and gratefulness. There are also those who think this doctrine of Eternal Security to be a doctrine separate from that of Salvation, yet I disagree. If being saved doesn’t ultimately land a person in heaven, what was he saved from? Instead of salvation, many actually teach we have a sort of probation-life until we sin so badly we cross the line and lose our salvation. What this amounts to is the fact that man continually looks for ways to put his own works back into the equation.
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.”
“Your whole life should be one big 'THANK YOU' to the Lord!” —Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold, a wonderful quote from the MP3 sermon called, “The Importance of The Lord' Supper”
John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
I like what Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." It would be bad Bible interpretation to base a doctrine on one verse, like 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.” Countless fools have lifted this Scripture text out of context to create a new pretext (heresy). When properly interpreting the inspired Holy Bible, we must compare Scripture with Scripture to solve the puzzle. If a puzzle piece (i.e., your suggested interpretation) fits, by making sure that it agrees with the whole of Scripture, then you know you've got the correct meaning. If your suggested interpretation doesn't fit, then you've got the wrong meaning and need to keep studying.
The entire Gospel of John was authored by God for the specific purpose of showing humanity how to get to Heaven (John 20:31). In the book of John we find the word "believe " mentioned 85 times without any mention of confessing with the mouth. If "confession" were required to obtain the new birth, then John would have mentioned it. Likewise, in the book of John neither will you find any mention of following Christ, water baptism, surrendering all, or repenting of your sinful ways to be saved. Ungodly, but well-meaning, religious men added these embellishments to pervert God's simple plan of salvation. Woe be unto them in eternity when they are judged!
Also, the same Apostle John who penned the book of John penned the Epistle of 1st John. According to 1st John 5:13 the purpose of John's book is so that believers can "know" that we are saved. Nowhere does John require that we must "confess" to be saved. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) shared this wisdom:
It is heresy for anyone to tell someone that they must pray, call or ask to get to Heaven. The inspired King James Bible is abundantly clear that the man who BELIEVES is saved. John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
Jesus did tell the Samaritan woman in John 4:10 that if she knew who He was, she would have asked Him for the water of life; but if you read the rest of the chapter, nowhere does it say that any of the Samaritans asked, called or prayed to be saved, it says they BELIEVED on Him. There is nothing wrong with calling, praying or asking Jesus to save you, just so long as you don't trust in prayer to save you. But to say that a person cannot be saved without praying, calling or asking is a perversion of God's simple plan of salvation.
Hebrews 6:1-3, “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. And this will we do, if God permit.”
I read the following tremendous words today from 'The Strand Study Bible,' which I bought recently and cherish it. In fact, I bought two of them from Amazon I am so pleased with it. Proverbs 23:23, “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” You can purchase a much cheaper used one at Abe'sBooks (from time to time). Here is the last portion of Brother Strands exegesis for Hebrews 6:1...
6:1c The work done to secure salvation was not done through “dead works” (i.e., human effort - Jn 1:13). It's not our works that save us or are saving us (Gal 3:1-3), but Christ's “WORK” of redemption on the cross (Exo 14:13, 30-31, Hab 1:5, Rom 13:11, Titus 3:5a and John 6:28-29). Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). We are not headed to Heaven because we're good, but because Christ is good (II Cor 5:21 Mt 19:16-17).
NOTE - Whereas religion says, “Look what I've done for Jesus. I've been good, baptized, faithful to church, etc.” (i.e., religious works), Christianity says, “Look what Jesus did for me. I was headed to Hell and He offered me salvation and I accepted it.” (i.e., grace).
Bravo! I am so thankful for Pastor Strand's time and intense labor in putting together his life's work in this helpful Bible commentary. It took him 33 years and over 30,000 hours of labor! It is worth every penny!
In the Bible we find that truth is synonymous with righteousness. The word “truth” is mentioned 41 times in the Old Testament book of Psalms.Psalms 119:30, “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” It is tragic that most believers can sit in front of the television for hundreds of hours each month without getting bored, but find it a chore to read and study the Holy Bible for 5 minutes each day. That ought not be! Of course, the words of no man should ever be placed on equal footing with the inspired Words of God. A Bible commentary helps guide us, but the Word of God is our final and only authority in all matters of life and faith.
It is important to notice that Hebrews 6:1 doesn't say to “turn from your sins” to be saved, it says to repent of your “dead works.” Dead works are self-righteous works that you've done. No one has ever been saved by WORKS. Romans 4:4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” A dangerous false teacher lurking in many Baptist churches today is Dr. William P. Grady, who foolishly says that no one was ever saved in the Old Testament. Mr. Grady is also a religious Zionist who idolizes manmade Israel. True Israel hasn't existed since 586 BC, and won't exist again until Jesus Christ returns at His Second Coming (Hosea 3:4-5). Please beware of William Grady's false teachings!
You won't find any theological garbage in 'The Strand Study Bible' which teaches the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation, or that you must turn from your sinful habits, to be saved; nor any other grace-corrupting rubbish that is commonly taught in corrupt churches nowadays. Brother Strand is 100% free grace Gospel and I love him for it. Like never before there is a need for Christian saints “to earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3b) in these perilous times of doctrinal deception in the Bible colleges, religious radio and churches. I encourage you to get yourself a copy of 'The Strand Study Bible' while they're still available. I am confident that you won't be disappointed my friend. Thank you for reading my blog.
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.”
Kindly said, you cannot show me one verse from the inspired King James Bible that teaches to repent “of your sins,” turn from your sins, be willing to turn from your sins, forsake a sinful lifestyle, or turn from your past sinful ways to be saved. Yet, this is the shameful Satanic garbage we are hearing preached from nearly every pulpit, website, radio station and television channel today.
I love the following sermon by Pastor Adam Fannin in defense of a true free grace Gospel...
Repent Of Sins: Gospel Of Pharisees
Even more tragic is that 99% of churchgoers today are Bible ignoramuses. They merely unquestioningly go along with whatever their stupid pastor teaches them, damning their souls to Hell forever with a false hope. Dear reader, I am the best friend you have right now, because I am telling you the truth.
Beware of Pensacola Christian College (PCC) and their damnable counterfeit gospel. Beware of Bob Jones University (BJU) and their damnable counterfeit gospel. I have seen them literally laugh in my face over my preaching, esteeming my website ministry a joke. We'll see what God has to say about all this in eternity on Judgment Day. The King James Bible crowd is going to come out on top. The free grace Gospel crowd is going to come out on top.
Those infidels who promote the Devil's corruptible seed (such as BJU) have much blood on their hands and will rue the day when they are judged by God almighty. Those who preach another gospel (such as PCC) have much blood on their hands and will rue the day when they are judged by God almighty. I am virtually the only one who is standing for the truth. Show me the preachers today that are exposing PCC and BJU like I am. Good luck finding them!
My ministry friend, Lou Martuneac, from Chicago (my home town) is the only one I know of (besides myself) who is preaching against BJU today. Lou is an alumnus of BJU and understands how apostate the college has become. Dr. Steve Pettit (BJU president from 2014 to 2023) is a devil in the pulpit, who preaches hardcore Calvinist Lordship Salvation.
Matthew 3:1-2, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ...
This word (Repent) is the Greek word metanoeo. Metanoeo is taken from two Greek words: (meta - meaning, “after”) and (noeo - meaning, “mind”). The word literally means, “after thought” (II Cor. 7:8-10). True repentance means, “to change your mind about what you believe and agree with what God says, and then confess it” (I Jn. 1:9a). God tells us that there are two areas in which we must repent, if we are to be saved. We must change our minds as to:
Who we are (Lk. 5:31-32 & 13:1-5 and Mt. 27:3) — God tells us that we are sinfully sick and in need of the Savior and that we cannot save ourselves (Rom. 3:10, 23).
Who CHRISTis (Mt. 4:13-14 & 11:20-24, Mk. 1:15, Acts 3:12-19 and Acts 2:38a) —Christ is God (Jn. 8:24, 58-59, not a god. Christ is the only Savior (Acts 4:10-12).
SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, 'The Strand Study Bible'
Bravo Pastor Strand! I would like to clarify that to “confess it” does not mean with your mouth; but rather, to simply admit to God you are a guilty sinner (Romans 3:19-20). I am against the strange New IFB (New Independent Fundamental Baptist) doctrine today which mandates praying to be saved. The Bible plainly teaches that trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior—believing that He is the only begotten Son of God who died on a cross to pay for your sins and raised from the dead—is enough to be saved (without calling, asking or praying for it). John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
My regular blog readers know that I write about repentance often, but the reason I do is simply because it is such an important topic. Very few preachers get repentance correct these days, so I need to pick up the slack to warn everyone. Wrong repentance means a wrong Gospel and no new birth. Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) was right, who said that repentance is like buttoning a dress shirt—if you get the first button wrong, then all of the other buttons will be wrong too. Pastor Hutson is so right!
Dear friend, I heard a foolish religious man, Professor Kevin Bauder from Central Baptist Theological Seminary, falsely claim that Lordship Salvation falls within the realm of orthodox theology. No Sir, it does not, not even close. You either have to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to be saved, or you do not, but it simply cannot be both! For example: Take a look and compare the following two plans of salvation...
If you took the time to examine and compare the different plans of salvation, then you saw that what Stephen Davey, Hillsong and PCC are preaching today is VERY different than the simple free grace Gospel that David Rutkin and Curtis Hutson are preaching.
These are two completely different plans of salvation!!! One plan requires simple childlike faith in Jesus Christ and what He did through Calvary's cross to pay your debt of sin; but the other demands that in addition you turn from your sinful bad habits, abandon self to submit to obey God's will for your life, and follow Jesus as “Lord” from now on. The latter plan is based upon partial faith in Christ plus works, not God's grace alone.
Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty!
Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.
If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from?
The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: And howl kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house. Acts 20:17-20
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:27, 28
The word purchased means the right price applied to the right place.
If I wrote a check to pay for a debt, but failed to send that check in to the whom I owed, would my debt be paid? No, I still owe the debt. A debt must not only be the proper price, it must also be paid to the proper place. The price for the church is God's blood, but the blood must be paid to the proper place. Let me show you what the proper place is.
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Hebrews 9:12
In the Old Testament, the High Priest killed two goats on the Day of Atonement. The blood of one goat was taken by the High Priest into the Holy Place to the Ark of the Covenant. On the top of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat. Over that Mercy Seat were two cherubims beaten out of pure gold. Between the wings of those cherubims was the Glory of God. The blood from the goat that was sacrificed was applied to the proper place which was the Mercy Seat. If the blood did not get to the Mercy Seat, then it was the proper price, but not paid to the proper place. It would have been no more valid than that check written but not paid to the creditor.
If the blood of Jesus was left on the ground at the cross, that means it did not get to the Holy Place and is not valid. "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." It is not just the blood shed, but also the blood applied.
God told Moses to instruct the people to apply the blood of the lamb at the Passover. When He passed over and saw the blood of that lamb, He would withhold His judgment. God did not judge them based on His omniscience. He made a point of letting them know that He would not judge them only when He saw the blood. It was not enough that the blood was shed. The blood had to be properly applied.
How could God see the blood in the tabernacle? His glory was in the Holy Place, and the blood had to be taken inside the Holy Place and sprinkled on that Mercy Seat. That was the right place to take the right price. If the right price was paid on the altar in the courtyard, but left there, it would have been the right price, but the wrong place. If the blood Jesus shed on Calvary was not applied in Heaven, it was the right price in the wrong place and it cannot save anybody.
Jesus did more than just shed His blood for the church. He purchased the church with his own blood. To purchase it, He had to take the right price to the right place.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:24
It does not say that it is the shedding of blood that saves. It is the shed blood sprinkled that saves. When Cain had killed Abel God said:
What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Genesis 4:10
God can hear blood speak. The voice of Abel's blood cried to God from the ground. Blood can speak a language God can hear.
Thirty years after the blood had been shed, it still speaketh. Two thousand years after Calvary it still speaketh. From where does it speak? It has to speak to God, so there is a heavenly Mercy Seat just as there was an earthly Mercy Seat; Jesus, the High Priest, took His own blood to that heavenly Mercy Seat, otherwise it would not have been acceptable. It would have been the right price, but the wrong place. The blood had to get from the altar to the Mercy Seat.
The blood of Jesus had to be shed; otherwise He could have died without the inflicting of the wounds. Jesus went up to Heaven and sprinkled His own blood on the Mercy Seat. Right now that blood is talking. It is saying not to charge our sins to us because we have been purchased by that blood.
Cain's blood indicted him for killing his brother Abel. God's blood speaketh better things than that of Abel. God looks down, sees my sins, and starts to charge them against my record, but the blood starts talking. The blood says, "I have already paid for that sin." The Bible says that God will not impute or write down my sin against me because the blood is speaking. The blood is my canceled check, and that check speaks that the debt has been paid. There is nothing God the Father can do about my sins because Jesus has the canceled check there on the Mercy Seat. That is the price He paid for the church.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.... I Peter 1:2
This does not refer to the elect according to the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, but to the sprinkling of that blood applied to the proper place. Jesus did die and pay the price, but paying the price and getting the price to the right place are two entirely different things. If on the Passover, the blood of that innocent lamb was left in the back yard where the lamb was killed and not properly applied, the firstborn of the family would have been killed. It was not the blood shed back in the back yard that spared the life of that firstborn; it was that blood applied at the front door. It was not the blood shed on the altar that satisfied God; it was the blood applied in the Holy of Holies. It was not the blood shed on the cross that saves; it was that blood applied in Heaven.
When Jesus was resurrected, and Mary Magdalene saw him, Jesus said, Touch me Not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father. He was the High Priest. He was taking the blood He had shed as the Lamb of God to the Mercy Seat in Heaven, to sprinkle it there. Between the time the High Priest took the blood in the basin and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat, nobody could touch Him. That is why He told Mary Magdalene not to touch Him.
Later He told Thomas to put his hands into His side. Why could Thomas touch Him when Mary Magdalene could not? Because when Thomas saw Him, He had already been to Heaven, sprinkled the blood, and the blood was already talking to the Father.
Jesus died for the church and purchased it with His own blood. The local church is composed of born-again people, who have been scripturally baptized, and have joined a certain assembly.
The Jews were going to the promised land. When they got there, they were going to build a permanent temple. On the way, all they had was a tabernacle, a tent. It was a portable place of worship. Jesus has bought us a home in Heaven, but we are not there yet. So He has also bought us a portable Heaven, which is called the church. He bought me a home in Heaven with his blood, and He bought me a home on earth while I am going to Heaven. He purchased it with the most precious and expensive thing, God's own blood. He not only bought my soul, my spirit, my body, a home in Heaven, but He also purchased the church with His own blood.
God is so good to us in helping us flee sin. Hence, He uses everything within His disposal to let us know that sin is wrong and is not for our own good. There are several things that God uses in a progressive way to keep us from sin and to convict us of evil.
1. The conscience.
Romans 2:15, 16, "Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
The conscience is the kindergarten of conviction. It is that part of us that God has given that instinctively tells us what is wrong. It tells us what NOT to do. It is, in a sense, the accuser. When one is in a situation where he should not be, the conscience says, "You should not be here." You then obey the conscience and leave. Being the kindergarten of conviction, the conscience does not tell you where to go when you leave the undesirable place.
The conscience says, "You shouldn't do that." so you quit, but it does not tell you what you SHOULD do. The Bible teaches us that the conscience can become seared and depraved. Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Consequently, one should be very sensitive to his conscience and obey that righteous instinct not to do evil.
2. The Bible.
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 mighty become exceeding sinful."
Conscience tells us what NOT to do; the Bible does THAT AND MORE. Not only does it tell us what NOT to do, but it reminds us of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Then it adds WHAT to do and gives us principles and examples to tell us how to do good, the blessing of doing good and the consequences of doing evil. The conscience says, "You should not be here," and stops there. The Bible comes along and says, "You should not be here, but this is the TYPE PLACE you should be." Now the Bible does not give the EXACT place, but it does give us the TYPE of place that we should go. The conscience says, "You should not do this." The Bible comes along and says, "That's right. You should not do that, and this is the type of thing you should do." It does, however, stop short of telling us EXACTLY what good thing to do and WHERE TO DO IT.
The conscience says, "You are in the wrong neighborhood." The Bible comes along and underlines the words of the conscience and goes farther and says, "Not only should you not be in this neighborhood, but this is the type neighborhood to which you should go." In a sense, the Bible then becomes the grade school of conviction.
3. Jesus.
Luke 2:34, 35, "And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
The conscience told us what NOT to do. The Bible told us what no to do and went a step farther to tell us WHAT TYPE of thing we SHOULD do. Now Jesus comes along and convicts us by His pattern. He shows us a model life with which we can compare ours. As we compare our life to His, we become aware of our weaknesses and failures and thereby are convicted of our wrong and our lack of right. So in giving us a pattern of life of One Who follows both the conscience and the Word of God, Jesus becomes, in a sense, the high school of conviction.
4. The Holy Spirit.
John 16:8, "And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
We call the Holy Spirit the university of conviction. We have learned form the conscience what NOT to do and from the Bible the type thing we are TO DO; in Jesus we see a model of the above; not the Holy Spirit adds another dimension. He comes to tell us that sin is wrong, but He tells us specifically WHERE to go and WHAT good to do. When one by his conscience has been convicted of his wrong and by the Bible has been taught principles of what is right and sees both of them combined in the perfect life of Christ, he then must come to the Holy Spirit and ask what good he is supposed to do. The conscience says, "You should not be here. You should leave." The Bible comes along and tells you the type of area into which you should go. The Holy Spirit then tells you into WHICH of the desirable areas you should go.
A man is driving to fast on the highway. He does not know the speed limit and his speedometer is not working, and yet something tells him that he is driving too fast. This is the conscience. He then sees a speed limit sign and his speedometer begins to work, so he finds not only that he is driving too fast but exactly how fast he is driving. The speed limit sign and the speedometer symbolize the Word of God. He then notices another driver who is driving carefully within the speed limit. This typifies Jesus, the pattern of the Spirit-filled life. Then he asks the Holy Spirit to tell him WHERE to drive and EXACTLY HOW FAST to drive.
In summary, the conscience tells us what we should NOT do. The Bible comes along and verifies the conscience and adds the type thing we SHOULD do. Jesus comes along and shows us the perfect EXAMPLE. Then the Holy Spirit tells us WHICH good thing we should do and which acceptable area is God's place for our lives.
If one leaves out the Holy Spirit, he may drive properly in the wrong place. If one leaves out the Bible and the Holy Spirit and trusts only his conscience, he may come out of the wrong place but not know where to go and will no doubt, sooner or later, return to the place where he should not be. Hence, the wise Christian will be careful to listen to his conscience concerning evil. He will examine the Scriptures to find Bible principles that tell him what not to do and what to do. He will study the life of Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to help him become more and more fashioned in His likeness. Then day by day and moment by moment he will walk in the Spirit, asking the Holy Spirit that EXACT place that he should be and the exact thing that he should be doing.
This chapter is being written in the early hours of the morning. The sun is coming up. I am sitting in a rented car on the top of a mountain overlooking Mary Lake near Lucerne, California. The handiwork of God is unbelievable. No one knows where I am. Not a person in the entire world knows exactly where I am at this moment, but I am sure that the Holy Spirit has led me to this very spot. My conscience and my Bible tell me some things that people are doing here that I should not do. I should not dress as many are dressed. I should not go into the taverns that are so popular. However, there are many places nearby that would be desirable for me to visit, so I asked the Holy Spirit to lead me to the ONE SPOT where He wants me this morning so that I may fellowship with Him for awhile.
Here I am looking across at a mountain that He made, looking down at a beautiful lake that He formed, admiring gorgeous trees that He planted and nurtured and looking at a sunrise that He painted. I am in the will of God; He ordained it so. I have already yielded myself to the Holy Spirit and to His leadership today. Won't you join me now and bow your head. Promise God that you are going to flee that which the conscience says is evil and that you are going to live in the Word of God so that you may know what is evil and what is good. Then yield yourself to the Holy Spirit and walk with Him and in Him today so that you may know exactly into what place you should to today and exactly what good you should do today. May your conscience convict you of wrong, the Bible convict you of the areas of right, and may the Holy Spirit lead you into the particular area that He has planned for you today!
John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”
Yes, conviction is definitely necessary to be saved. That is what Jesus meant in John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, draws all humanity to Himself. I believe that is partly what Titus 2:11 means, when it says that the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared unto ALL men. That doesn't necessarily mean the Gospel.
My friend, Pastor Max Younce, teaches that God is obligated to give all men some form of light (truth). If someone accepts that light, then God is obligated to give them more light, and ultimately send a missionary to preach the Gospel to them. Our obligation is to receive that truth from God. So if (for example) some unsaved native in the central part of Papua New Guinea rejects the light that God gives them, He is not obligated to send that person the Gospel. I agree with Pastor Younce completely in this matter of conviction.
We see this truth illustrated with Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. Cornelius was a good man, a centurion over 100 Italian soldiers the Bible says. He prayed, fasted, feared God and gave alms to the poor; but Cornelius was lost. He was a good religious man, but lost. If God saw that Cornelius had not accepted the light that he had, the Lord wouldn't have arranged for Cornelius and Peter to meet. God arranged for Cornelius and the Apostle Peter to meet up later in the chapter, and in Acts 10:44 Cornelius (and his friends with him) believed the Gospel (Good News) and were saved. They were immediately indwelt with the Holy Spirit. It was a divine appointment. Amen!
I have heard preachers warn people that if they don't get saved right now, when they are at a church revival and are under Holy Spirit conviction, that they may never get another chance to be saved. I agree with that; not that a lost person cannot choose to be saved at any time, but because if God never convicts that person's soul again, because they never hear any preaching again, they might never get another opportunity under conviction to be saved. 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” So, yes, I definitely believe that Holy Spirit conviction is essential to a person being saved.
Another interesting thing is that Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) once addressed what he believes about the 5 points of Calvinism. Regarding the first tenet—Total Depravity—Ironside said that he agreed that all men are totally depraved. As they often deceitfully do, Calvinists today (including Moody Bible Institute sad to say), falsely claim that Ironside changed his doctrinal position in his latter ministry, leaning toward Calvinism. Nothing could be further from the truth. I fully agree with Ironside's views that he had concerning Calvinism. I agree with Ironside that all men are so depraved, that we cannot come to God unless we are drawn (convicted) by the Holy Spirit.
However, there is one BIG difference between what Dr. Ironside believed versus what Calvinists believe. Calvinists teach that God only draws SOME MEN. To the Calvinist only "Some Lives Matter," but to our great God, "All Lives Matters." What did Jesus say in John 12:32? John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." He said "if I be lifted up... I will draw ALL MEN unto Myself." ALL MEN, not SOME MEN.
Titus 2:11 says that the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared unto ALL MEN, not just SOME MEN. Ironside (as I do) believed that Christ's risen Spirit (Romans 8:9) draws (convicts) ALL MEN to be saved. This is a far cry from the lies of Calvinism, which make God a respecter of persons. The Bible says God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11).
Ironside also said that he believed in the PESEVERANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT in a believer. I fully agree: 'ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED.' We are sealed and indwelt with the blessed Holy Spirit, which is the Godhead living inside our body, soul and spirit. This is VERY different than Calvinism, which teaches the PESEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. It is the Holy Spirit who perseveres in a saint's life, not the saint, which would be works.
Dr. Ironside was not a Calvinist at all, he taught a free grace Gospel, that WHOSOEVER wants to be saved, can. I also don't think it appropriate to ever ask someone who wants to be saved, if they are under Holy Spirit conviction. That would be ridiculous. If they weren't being convicted, then they wouldn't desire to be born-again.
Evangelist Ray Comfort is a false prophet, who refuses to accept that a person who professes faith in the Gospel of Christ is saved, unless they first turn away from their sinful lifestyle, and continue to live that LIFESTYLE (the very word that he uses) for the rest of your life to get to Heaven. John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” The Comforter is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world that we are guilty sinners in God's sight. The Holy Spirit convicts the world that through faith in Christ we can obtain God's imputed righteousness. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of coming fiery judgment in Hell for the wicked. Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
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.”
Dear reader, there is no greater or more important thing you will ever hear than, “Ye Must Be Born Again.” Here is a helpful quote by Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980):
Multitudes of people who expect to go to Heaven will go to a Hell of torment. Thousands of “good” people, “moral” people, church members, even church workers - yes, and, alas, even prophets, priests and preachers - will find themselves lost when they expected to be saved, condemned when they expected approval, cast out of Heaven when they expected to be received into eternal bliss. That is the explicit meaning of the words of our Lord... (see: Matthew 7:21-23)
The Bible says in 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.” Please don't take this Scripture passage lightly.
This dedicated group of religious did “many wonderful works.” Carefully notice that these many wonderful works were all done in Jesus' name. They were following Jesus as their Lord, evidenced by them calling Him: “Lord, Lord.” We hear Neo-evangelical preachers today errantly teaching people, that to get to Heaven they must follow Jesus as the “Lord” of their life, turning away from sins and giving control of one's life over to God. None of that is biblical to be saved.
The Bible teaches that to be saved you must admit you are a sinner (Romans 3:19-23). You must believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the Christ (John 20:31). You must believe that Christ died on a cross to pay your debt of sin, and that He was buried and after three days resurrected bodily from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). Dear friend, if you by faith receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He was buried and then raised up physically three days later, you are saved! All you need to do to get to Heaven is to simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you!
In sharp contrast, Joel Osteen's plan of salvation doesn't match Christ's plan of salvation. According to Osteen in the preceding video link that I have provided, he falsely says that you must “repent of your sins.” You cannot find that phrase anywhere in the inspired King James Bible! Christ died on a cross to pay for your sins, He doesn't demand that you forsake a lifestyle of sinning to receive God's free gift of eternal life. I mean, if Christ died on the cross to wash all our sins away, then what is there to repent of? What sins can we repent of, since Jesus has taken the punishment for all those upon Himself on the cross?
Sadly, Pastor Osteen also demands that you “make Jesus your Lord and Savior.” Dear reader, that is another gospel. Nowhere in the Gospel of John (which is God's Gospel tract according to John 20:31). To understand what is so dangerous and unbiblical about being required to “make Jesus your Lord and Savior,” you need to know what they mean by that statement. These ungodly Neo-evangelicals mean that your life must change. They mean that you cannot continue living in willful open sin. They mean that from now on and for the rest of your life, you will live a changed life, following Jesus daily as your Lord in obedience. None of this is the Gospel.
Joel Osteen also errantly tells you to pray and ask Jesus to “come into your heart.” Again, you won't find that nonsense in the Gospel of John. How does a man invite Christ into his heart—a muscle twice the size of your fist that pumps blood? It makes no sense what Joel is saying. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again.
Why do ungodly pastors like Joel Osteen embellish and obscure God's simple plan of salvation? They do it because they are afraid to go against what other false prophets are teaching. Check and you will find, that every pseudo-Christian prophet today teaches the same exact theological garbage as Joel Osteen does! I dare you to research what I just said. If you'd like some help, please read this great book by Michael P. Bowen titled: “I NEVER KNEW YOU.”
Also, you DO NOT need to pray a prayer to be saved, you can simply BELIEVE the 'Good News' (Gospel) of Jesus' crucifixtion, burial and resurrection.
Jesus said in Luke 13:22-24, “And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” I quoted Matthew 7:21-23 to you earlier, which were Christ's very words. Jesus called them 'WORKERS OF INIQUITY,' even though they called Him: “Lord, Lord.” Why weren't they saved? What did they do wrong? What did they miss? Jesus plainly tells us in Matthew 7:21, “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.” Jesus plainly tells us the “will of the Father” in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Did you read that? The will of the Father is just to BELIEVE ON JESUS, nothing more or less! Dear reader, the following words were written by Christian author Michael Patrick Bowen. Please pay close attention as Brother Bowen exposes Pastor Osteen's counterfeit plan of salvation:
Salvation, according to Joel Osteen, consists of having a “relationship” with Jesus Christ. In order to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, Osteen says we must 1) repent of sins, 2) ask Jesus into our hearts, 3) ask Him to wash us clean, and 4) “make Him” our Lord and savior.
Now, according to the bible, this is not how to go to heaven. What this is, however, is a blueprint for discipleship. More accurately, what we really need is a “savior.” When you become born again through faith alone in Christ, you are automatically in a “relationship” with Jesus Christ the very instant you trust in what He did for you by His death, burial and resurrection from the dead. To say that we need a relationship with Christ is not an accurate statement. We need salvation in order to escape the wrath of God, not a “relationship.” Osteen preaches our need for a discipleship-based relationship with Christ. Salvation is vastly different from discipleship in that discipleship requires hard work whereas salvation requires only your trust in the promise of everlasting life that Christ extends to all of us by His grace. Quite literally, Jesus saves you the instant you trust in what He did for you. Salvation is not what you do for God. Salvation is what God did for you and nothing of yourself (works) enters into the contract (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Imagine you are about to buy a home. As you are about to sign the contract, you cross out the price and you insert a lower price. Will the seller of the home honor that contract? No, of course not. You have violated the terms of the contract. In the same way, a pastor who crosses out the terms of God’s contract and adds different terms to His contract, that contract is void. It will not stand.
What is free and available to all by grace through faith is hijacked by the addition of human efforts.
In no way can a person’s good works and deeds be added to the contract. God will not honor such a contract, and if you die under the terms of your own works-based contract, which essentially makes you the “savior” and not Christ, you will stand before Him at the Great White Throne Judgement. READ MORE (you can purchase hardcopies or Kindle on Amazon. These books make great gifts. I just gave one to my doctor last month.)
SOURCE: Michael P. Bowen, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” chapter 2 - 'The Plan Of Salvation According To Joel Osteen', pp. 22-23
Dear friend, for Joel Osteen to require lost sinners to “repent of my sins,” is effectively the same as telling people to forsake their sinful bad habits to get to Heaven, which is 100% WORKS! Jonah 3:10, “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 Ninevites (the capital city of Assyria) did not get saved, they repented of their evil ways, so God also repented (changed His mind) and didn't destroy them.
Albeit, God sent the prophet Nahum to preach to the Assyrians, but they didn't listen so the Lord utterly destroyed them for their wickedness. Shortly before the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C., Nahum uttered his prophecy against the hated city. To understand the prophet's exuberant outbursts of joy over their impending destruction, it is necessary to remember the savage cruelty of the Assyrians, which had made it the scourge of the ancient Near East for almost three centuries. The Assyrian soldiers were greatly feared, known as a hairy people who nailed their victims to a tree and then filleted them alive. The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell prey to Assyria in 722 B.C., because of their idolatry and continued rebellion against God.
Anybody who says that you must “repent of your sins” to get to Heaven is a LIAR! They are preaching another gospel of damnable heresy. You can verify this truth for yourself by searching through the Gospel of John, which 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.” The primary purpose for which this book of the inspired Holy Bible was written, is to convince you dear reader that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and that you will hopefully place your childlike trust in Him alone to be saved. If Jesus is your only hope for Heaven, because of what He did through Calvary's cross to pay for your sins, then you are saved. It is as simple as that!
BEWARE of Billy Graham, John Piper, John MacArthur, Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, Sam Horn, Chuck Phelps, Gary Walton, John Lewis, Adrian Rogers, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Charles G. Finney, Sam Adams, Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson, Bob Jones University, Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist University, the Southern Baptist Convention, Chip Ingram, William Lane Craig and countless other damnable wolves in sheep's clothing who pervert the Gospel by embellishing it with add-ons.
Jesus was directly asked what “WORKS” we must do to merit Heaven. 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.” As we just read, the dear Savior's simple answer is to BELIEVE ON HIM. Jesus didn't tell them to repent of their sinful ways. Nor did Jesus tell them to make Him the “LORD” of their life. Jesus simply told them to BELIEVE ON HIM.
Again, in Acts 16:30-31 the Apostle Paul and his companion, Silas, were directly asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved” by the Philippian jailer in Rome. Paul and Silas simply replied: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” Paul and Silas did not tell the man to “turn away from his sinful ways.” They did not tell him to surrender control of his life over to Jesus (this is the unbiblical heresy that Joyce Meyer preaches).
Dear friend (and I am being your true friend by telling you THE TRUTH), you cannot believe over 95% of preachers today concerning how to be saved. Preachers are human beings. Behind every pulpit is a flawed human being. As humans we tend to need heroes. We look up to others. I don't care who you are, you look up to someone. Many atheists look up to comedian George Carlin (1937-2008). I admit that Carlin was a profound philosopher. He said some amazing true things, even though he blasphemed God much of the time. I liked George and am sad that he very likely went to Hell (unless he repented of his unbelief on his death bed). I heard George once say: “He [God] loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money!” I thought that was funny. Carlin was mocking the greed of preachers today. I love people and am sad that George Carlin almost assuredly perished in his sins into Hell, without knowing Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
One of my heroes is Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001). I love that godly man for his tremendous influence upon my life! I choose to have preachers as my heroes. Another one of my heroes is Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951). We all need heroes! Americans have the wrong heroes today. Homosexual Elton John is a great singer and musician, but he is not nor ever will be one of my heroes. No sodomite will ever be my hero! Having said that, I love everybody with God's unconditional love, including Sir Elton John.
My heart grieves that he is not a Christian. Elton has been very public about his hatred of organized religion. I can't say I blame him there, I hate most organized religion myself. My father used to rightly say that religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this world. Religion tries to reach man through the filter of human understanding; Christianity is God trying to reach man through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The inspired Holy Bible teaches that the righteous and the unrighteous will never get along in sweet harmony. Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” That is why Elton hates religion, because the righteous won't allow him to be comfortable in his sinful lifestyle (death style).
The Bible tells us the reason why billions of lost sinners won't come to Jesus Christ to be saved. John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” People who love sinning refuse to come to Christ to be saved. Misunderstanding about this passage of Scripture has caused many people to go astray, errantly thinking that to be saved a person must turn away from their love of sinning, and forsake sinful behavior. That is NOT what this verse teaches. Carefully notice John 3:21a, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light...” Bible repentance is not forsaking your sinful ways, it is acknowledging THE TRUTH that you are a guilty sinner and Jesus is the only Savior.
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 that! Repentance is simply the acknowledgment (the admission) that you are a needy sinner and that Jesus is the Savior. Repentance and faith happen at the SAME time. It is false theology to think that repentance and faith happen separately, even though they are two separate things. The man who believes has repented, and the man who repents has believed. Bible “repentance” as a noun (Greek: metanoia) is simply: “a change of mind.” The verb form of “repent” (Greek: metanoeo) means: “to think differently.”
To be saved, you simply need to look up to God in your soul in admission that you are a guilty sinner, and turn toward Christ to be saved by His mercy and grace—through faith in the precious blood that He shed on Calvary's cross—where He died, was buried and resurrected three days later. This is the 'GOSPEL,' that is, the 'GOOD NEWS' (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). Any sinner who BELIEVES this Good news is saved. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” BELIEVE IT, oh sinner, and you are saved!
The Bible teaches that the only way to enter into the Kingdom of God is to be BORN AGAIN.
1st John 5:4-8, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”
I like Pastor Harry A. Ironside's (1876-1951) Bible commentary on 1st John 5:8...
Then verse 8 reads (1 John 5:8), “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” What does the apostle mean when he speaks of these three that bear witness or testimony? To what do they give testimony? They testify to the effectiveness of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The three witnesses are the Spirit, the water, and the blood.
The Spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit of God who, after the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, came from Heaven to dwell in the church on earth. He came to empower those proclaiming the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between merely explaining doctrine and preaching the gospel in the Spirit’s power. Anyone can do the former, and everything said might be true, but there is no power in it. Preaching the gospel in the energy of the Holy Ghost is another thing altogether, and therefore we read, “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit, then, is a witness to the effectiveness of the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. He has come down from Heaven to assure us that Christ’s sacrifice has been accepted for us.
The other witnesses are the water and the blood. In John’s Gospel we are told that they broke the legs of the thieves who hung on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they came to Jesus, they marveled because He was already dead, and so they did not break His legs, for it was written, “A bone of him shall not be broken” (John 19:36). Instead one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and, John writes, “Forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). That made a great impression on the mind of John as he saw those two elements mingled and flowing from the wounded side of the Savior.
Years later when John wrote this Epistle to the children of God, he said, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood” (1 John 5:6). Why does he draw our attention to the water and the blood which flowed from the side of the Son of God? In these two elements we have suggested two characters of cleansing.
As a sinner I learn that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. But that cleansing is judicial—that is my cleansing before God. When God looks at me as a believer, He sees me cleansed from every stain by the blood of His Son. But that cleansing alone does not satisfy me. As a Christian, I want to know practical deliverance from the power of sin. I am not content to know that my sins have been put under the blood if I find that I am still living under the power of sin. I want sin to be taken away practically—I want to be set free, to be cleansed from the things that curse my life-and I find practical cleansing through the “washing of water by the word.” We read in
Ephesians 5:25-26, “Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” The Word of God applied to my heart and conscience sets me free from sin as a habit. I am delivered from its power.
A Christian poet wrote:
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save me from its guilt and power.
Augustus M. Toplady
The blood cleanses from sin’s guilt. The water of the Word applied in the power of the Holy Spirit cleanses from the defilement of sin. So then these are the three witnesses: the blood witnesses that the sin question is settled to God’s satisfaction; the Word witnesses that there is power to deliver from sin in a practical way; the Spirit bears witness that this power is for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. SOURCE
Although I like what Pastor Harry Ironside said on this passage, THE TRUTH is that no one knows for certain what 1st John 5:8 means, because the inspired Holy Bible does not clarify what it means. I love how God authored the Holy Bible, as a puzzle that only men with Holy Spirit enlightenment can understand (1st Corinthians 2:14-16; John 16:13).
As I pondered our passage from 1st John 5:4-8, I noticed the words of 1st John 5:6, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” The words “came by” I think are important to consider. How did Jesus come into the world? He came by a virgin birth, a literal physical human birth. This is a birth by water. A developing fetus is encased in its mother's water bag for nine months during the pregnancy. John 3:5-6, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In John 3:5-6, the physical birth into this world is said to be “by water.” So Jesus came by water, that is, He had a human birth.
But 1st John 5:6 says that Jesus “came by” not only water, but also by blood. That likely refers to the Deity of Jesus, that He literally had God the Father's blood flowing in His veins. Jesus wasn't just another human baby, He came into the world by a miraculous Virgin Birth. Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Jesus didn't have man's sin-tainted blood flowing in His veins, He had God's sinless blood. Jesus never sinned even one time! Jesus never thought an evil thought. Jesus never succumbed to sinful temptation. Hebrews 4:15, “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.”
So Jesus “came by” not only a physical human birth (by water); but moreover, He was the virgin born only begotten Son of God (by blood). And the Holy Spirit bears witness to all this truth through the inspired Word of God. John 5:32, “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.” The preceding verse refers to the Holy Spirit. John 8:18, “I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” We know from 1st John 5:7 that the three witnesses in Heaven are the Father, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Ghost. Whatever the “water and blood” are in 1st John 5:6, they are definitely both earthly witnesses to the fact Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.
Some theologians think that Jesus' water baptism is what “water” means in 1st John 5:6, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and the Father's voice said: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). That is a witness, but in my humble opinion this is not what “water and blood” are referring to in 1st John 5:6. It is my humble opinion that the “water and blood” refer to Jesus' incarnation in the flesh (John 1:1-3, 14; 1st Timothy 3:16), and His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The reason I tend to believe this is because of the words “came by” in 1st John 5:6, which speak of the way in which Jesus came into the world. Remember, these are witnesses.
3 Witnesses in Heaven (that Jesus is the Son of God):
Father
Word (Jesus - John 1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13)
Holy Ghost
3 Witnesses on earth (that Jesus is the Son of God):
Water (Jesus' came in the flesh, God incarnate)
Blood (Jesus' virgin birth, He had God's blood flowing in His veins)
Holy Spirit (He draws all men to Christ)
John the Baptist was also a witness, but a witness that Jesus is the Christ. John 1:6-7, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.”
Please understand that I humbly do not know for certain what 1st John 5:6 means. And anybody who speaks boldly that they do understand, truly don't, unless they can cite a Scripture passage that makes it plain and clear. Also, I am not saying that Pastor Ironside is wrong. I am simply sharing my thoughts on 1st John 5:6-8.
I find it interesting that the three witnesses in Heaven are all members of the Godhead (i.e., Trinity). So it seems logical that the three witnesses on earth would also be the Trinity. Again, we see the Holy Spirit as a witness on earth. Could the “water” refer to Jesus Christ, that is, His fleshly incarnation (i.e., God came in the flesh)? Could the “blood” refer to God the Father (whose sinless blood and divine DNA were in Christ? We can only speculate, since the Bible is not clear in this matter. It is definitely food for thought.
Another possible interpretation is that the “water” is the Word of God, which cleanses us as we read and apply it to our daily lives. 1st John 5:8 teaches that these three earthly witnesses all “agree in one.” The Holy Spirit never disagrees with the Holy Bible. Any time you hear someone talking about spiritual matters, but they are leaving our the inspired Word of God, run away from them! False prophets talk about spiritual things, but leave off the Word of God. I am think of Oprah Winfrey, one of the biggest promoters and dangerous false prophets of our generation. Oprah is incessantly featuring spiritual psychics, spiritual guides and spiritual gurus on her show, but the Holy Bible is absent. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit always agrees with the written Word of God.
And the perhaps perhaps refers to the Gospel. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to pay for our sins. Jesus took that precious shed blood and sprinkled it upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven, in the presence of the Father (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). The Gospel (God's simple plan of salvation for mankind), the inspired Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit are all in agreement. Again, this is just a possible interpretation. We simply do not know 100% for certain. If someone does, I haven't found them yet. I am still searching for a conclusive answer on 1st John 5:8.
Like so many other topics in the Bible (e.g., the Pretribulation Rapture, an Old Testament place called Paradise, and an Old Earth Creation), we can only use deductive reasoning based upon what we do know to form further conclusions. Whatever “water and blood” refers to in 1st John 5:6, they must be earthly witnesses to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. Thank you for reading my blog.
