Simple Salvation

Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

The following beautiful Gospel tract was written by one of my favorite preachers, Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995). God's plan of salvation for humanity is so very simple. Humans have a horrible tendency to complicate everything, which is why the world is in such a mess. The theological world is not exempt from man's insanity. What God intended to be so simple (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4)—receiving eternal life as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9)—men have turned into a complicated insolvable puzzle (2nd Peter 3:16-17; Galatians 1:6-9). I thank God for godly preachers like Curtis Hutson, who preach the simplicity that is in Christ...

In the book, Life and Works of Spurgeon, published in 1890, Mr. Spurgeon gives the following account of his conversion:

It pleased God in my childhood to convince me of sin.… My heart was broken in pieces. Six months did I pray—prayed agonizingly with all my heart, and never had an answer. I resolved that, in the town where I lived, I would visit every place of worship in order to find out the way of salvation. I felt I was willing to do anything and be anything if God would only forgive me.

I set off, determined to go round to all the chapels; and I went to all the places of worship; and though I dearly venerate the men that occupy those pulpits now, and did so then, I am bound to say that I never heard them once fully preach the Gospel. I mean by that, they preached truth, great truths, many good truths that were fitting to many of their congregation—spiritually-minded people; but what I wanted to know was, How can I get my sins forgiven? And they never once told me that. I wanted to hear how a poor sinner, under a sense of sin, might find peace with God; and when I went I heard a sermon on "Be not deceived: God is not mocked," which cut me up worse, but did not say how I might escape. I went again another day, and the text was something about the glories of the righteous: nothing for poor me.…

At last, one snowy day—it snowed so much I could not go to the place I had determined to go to, and I was obliged to stop on the road, and it was a blessed stop to me—I found rather an obscure street, and turned down a court, and there was a little chapel.…I wanted to know how I might be saved.…At last a very thin-looking man came into the pulpit and opened his Bible and read these words: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Just setting his eyes upon me, as if he knew me all by heart, he said, "Young man, you are in trouble." Well, I was, sure enough. Says he, "You will never get out of it unless you look to Christ."

And then, lifting up his hands, he cried out…, "Look, look, look! It is only look!" I saw at once the way of salvation. Oh, how I did leap for joy at that moment! I know not what else he said; I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, they only looked and were healed. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard this word "Look!" what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh, I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away! And in Heaven I will look on still in my joy unutterable.

That was Spurgeon’s experience of salvation—the man who became one of the greatest preachers of all times. In fact, he may have been the greatest preacher since the Apostle Paul or since New Testament preachers.

He preached when just a teenager at Park Street Church. A thousand came to hear him, then twelve hundred. He made a move to Exeter Hall, and ten thousand came. Later when that place burned, they moved to Surrey Gardens. Thirty thousand came to hear him there.

The people said, "He’s a teenager, a novelty. When he gets older, this will wear off, and such crowds will not come." But they kept coming. Finally the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle was built which seated five thousand. You had to have a ticket in order to get into the Metropolitan Tabernacle to hear Spurgeon preach, and these had to be gotten two to three weeks in advance. On many occasions Spurgeon would ask the church members to stay at home to make space for all the visitors. And these visitors would pack the five-thousand-seat building to hear Spurgeon preach.

When I read his salvation experience, I knew my experience was not too much unlike Charles Spurgeon’s. I went to church. A preacher said, "Ye must be born again," but I had no idea what he meant. I even heard him say, "You ought to be saved. If you are not saved, you are going to Hell." I knew Hell was a lake of fire—an awful place—but I didn’t know what "saved" meant. And no matter how much I wanted to be saved, I couldn’t have been because I didn’t know how to be saved. I prayed, I did everything else I knew to do, but I didn’t know I had to trust Jesus Christ as my Saviour. Nobody had ever explained it to me.

Multiplied thousands of religious people go to church Sunday after Sunday, week after week, month after month, year after year; many know about Jesus and know something about the Scriptures, but they don’t know how to obtain forgiveness of their sins. So they face death still unsaved.

I think many preachers take for granted that people know how to be saved, and so they never bother to explain it. They think it sounds too simple.

At the risk of sounding too simple, I take the text Spurgeon heard and give you a simple salvation sermon so no one listening to my voice can ever say, "I went to church, heard what he said, but didn’t know what he meant. I didn’t know how to be saved, nor did I know how to obtain forgiveness of my sins."

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." —Isaiah 45:22.

Looking at the text, I call your attention to four things:

I. THE SOURCE OF SALVATION

You have the Source of salvation in the text: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." Doesn’t it seem strange that we have to emphasize "me"? Salvation is not in a church, not in any denomination, not in sacraments, not in ceremonies, not in rituals, not in works, not in reformation; salvation is in a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ. "Look unto me, and be ye saved."

My most difficult job as an evangelist is getting people to look to Christ alone for salvation. Some very sincere people look to Jesus and the baptistry. "It is not enough to look to Jesus," they say; "you must also be baptized."

Now everybody who gets saved ought to be baptized by immersion in a local church, but no one gets baptized to be saved. It is not looking to the baptistry; it is looking to Jesus.

I have been baptized, and I try to live right. But if I had to die right now and stand at Heaven’s gate and were asked, "Curtis, why should we let you in?" I would not say, "Because I lived right." I believe I would stand tall and say:

My hope was built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dared not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly leaned on Jesus’ name.

And that angel would say, "Come in, Curtis. You have the magic word that gets one into Heaven!"

Jesus will not share saving people with any church, with any denomination, with any individual—not the pope, not the Baptist preacher, no sacrament—nothing else. He only is the Saviour, not one of the saviours.

In Acts 4:12 Peter said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

A missionary visiting on a mission field led a little boy to Christ. He already had religion and knew about Jesus, but he had added many other things for salvation.

A few days later when she saw the little fellow, his countenance had changed. She asked, "Son, something has happened to you. You don’t look the same. What happened?"

He answered, "Miss Missionary, I always knew Jesus was necessary, but I didn’t know until the other day that He was enough."

I am here to tell you and the whole world that Jesus Christ is not only necessary, He is enough.

It is not what a man does that saves him; it is not what a man promises to do that saves him; it is not what a man quits doing that saves him; it is what a man has that makes him a Christian.

If a man must have a million dollars to be a millionaire, what must a man have to be a Christian? CHRIST! In I John 5:12 we read, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." That is it!

I’m not going to Heaven because I’m a Baptist, or because I’ve been baptized, or because I have tried to live good. I’m going to Heaven because I’m trusting Christ and Him alone for salvation.

There is no promise to those who partially believe on Jesus. The promise is to those who wholly believe on Him, the Source of salvation.

I belong to a church, I tithe to a local church in Murfreesboro, not in order to be saved, but because I am saved and want to help propagate the Gospel throughout the world through my local church program. But I did only one thing for salvation: I looked to Christ alone.

If there were any other way to be saved, why would God let His Son die on the cross? Yet this religion and this religion and this religion are trying to go to Heaven through baptism, through keeping the Commandments, through sacraments, through ceremonies, through lighting and burning candles and every other way. But Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

II. THE SCOPE OF SALVATION

We have the Source of salvation, but we have also the scope of salvation: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Who can be saved? Everybody!

I get a little impatient with those who teach hyper-Calvinism and say that some are elected to be saved, some are elected to be lost, and some couldn’t get saved no matter what because they weren’t elected.

I have never met a non-elected Calvinist. They are all elected. It is the others who are not.

Ask any little first-grader what "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" means, and he will tell you, "Everybody in the world."

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world…." Ask any third-grader what that means, and he’ll tell you, "God loves everybody in the world."

Hebrews 2:9 says He tasted "death for every man." Ask any third-grader what "every man" means, and he’ll say, "Nobody is excluded: it means everybody."

But once you get to college and seminary, you learn that "every man" doesn’t really mean every man; that the whole world doesn’t really mean the whole world, but the whole elected world. Hogwash! Why don’t you take it for what it says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved"?

What is the scope? "All the ends of the earth." Salvation is for everybody.

If I sell automobiles, I have to find a prospect because everybody is not a prospect. If I am selling real estate, I have to find a prospect because everybody is not a prospect. But when I am preaching the Gospel, everybody I meet—rich or poor, educated, uneducated, dumb, handsome, good-looking or ugly—is a prospect for salvation. "Jesus died for the whole world" is the scope of salvation.

Nobody in Hell will ever look up to Heaven and say, "Jesus, I wanted to be saved, but You didn’t die for me." He will be in Hell because he would not trust Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

III. THE SIMPLICITY OF SALVATION

We not only have the Source of salvation and the scope of salvation, but we have the simplicity of salvation in our text.

Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., once said, "Truth’s most becoming garment is simplicity." People are not confused because preachers have been too simple, but they are confused because preachers have been too complicated. Good preaching is not complicating a simple matter, but simplifying a complicated matter. Billy Sunday used to say, "Put the cookies on the lower shelf so everybody can reach them."

Whether this is true, I do not know, but I have been told that Charles Finney really didn’t start out to preach. But he went to hear other preachers preach, and they used such words that the average man couldn’t understand. Being a lawyer and an educated man, he could understand them. I am told that Charles Finney would gather people together and explain what the preacher had said from the pulpit. And he drew larger crowds explaining what the preacher had said than the preacher drew when he preached the sermon! Make your message so simple that anybody can understand it.

Salvation is so simple that we stumble over it. We can’t believe it is that easy. Does our text say, "Look unto me, and be baptized and join the church"? No. Does it say, "Look unto me, and live right"? No. Does it read, "Look unto me, turn over a new leaf, and promise never to sin again"? Oh no! We do one thing to get saved: we look to Christ.

When Moses raised that brazen serpent in the wilderness, he said to those who were bitten and doomed to die, ‘Look and live.’ He didn’t say, "All you who have 20/20 vision, look and you will live, but you who are blind in one eye don’t have a chance." He just said, "Look." You could have been blind in one eye and hardly have had sight in the other, but with what sight you had, if you looked at that brazen serpent, you lived.

People say to me, "I don’t think I have enough faith to be saved." It is not the measure of faith but the object of faith who saves. You can have a little bitty faith and a great big Saviour. If, with what little, quivering faith you have, you will look to Jesus, then you will be saved.

Not a man in this room put his breakfast through a chemical analysis before he ate it. You just sat down and started eating. You don’t know that your spouse wouldn’t put rat poison in that food! Blind faith. You trusted her.

When you eat in a restaurant, you eat by faith. I have sat down in a restaurant and noticed bread left on plates and nice pieces of meat. I wonder: Do they throw out that good, uneaten stuff? That seems like such a waste. Everyone has faith.

The simplicity of salvation—"Look unto me" is all He is saying. With the little faith you have, even if it be just the least bit, say, "I cannot save myself. I believe Jesus died for me, and I’m looking to Him, trusting Him to take me to Heaven," and you will be saved.

The word look means "to depend on, to rely on." That same expression is found in Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Martin Luther translated that, "Oft looking unto Jesus," which has the idea of looking away from everything else and looking only to Jesus—looking away from our baptism, our works, our good life, our promises to do better, our reformation—looking only to Jesus.

Do I make myself clear? I’m struggling. I don’t want you to trust anything but Jesus. I want you to live right, go to church, get baptized, tithe. But when it comes to salvation, I want you to say, "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I am trusting Him and Him alone to get me to Heaven."

The Source of salvation—Jesus.

The scope of salvation—"all the ends of the earth."

The simplicity of salvation—just look.

Isn’t that simple? Jesus made it that easy for us. He did the hard part two thousand years ago when He suffered Hell at Calvary for the whole world. I won’t get into trying to explain that, except to say that He was infinite. He could suffer infinitely. And He did it in those few hours when He was suspended between Heaven and earth, as if rejected by both.

We have seen the Source of salvation, the scope of salvation, the simplicity of salvation. One is saved by simply trusting, simply believing, simply depending on Jesus.

IV. THE SURETY OF SALVATION

Now, the surety of salvation. "Look unto me, and be ye saved." We use that word all the time. Sometimes an unsaved world doesn’t understand our terminology, especially those who don’t go to church. If you say, "So-and-so got saved," they think he was in a house on fire and was pulled out of the back bedroom window. Or he was drowning, and somebody threw him a lifeline and dragged him in. To the world, saved means saved from something. If you save a man from a burning building, you save him from burning to death. If you save a man from drowning, you drag him out of the lake before he goes under for the last time. And when a man is saved in the Bible sense, he is saved from the penalty of sin, which is Hell.

To be saved means I am saved from Hell, the lake of fire. And when I get to Heaven, I’ll be saved from the very practice and presence of sin. But right now, I am saved from the penalty of sin, for Jesus paid the penalty at Calvary.

"Look unto me, and be ye saved."

The Bible tells us that, but most religions teach that you are not saved when you look to Jesus. They say you are put in a position to be saved, provided you don’t mess up again, or provided you endure to the end, or provided you keep the Ten Commandments. You have looked to Jesus and are trusting Him, but if you mess up, too bad. But all of us know we are going to mess up.

We are not saved by not messing up; we are saved by looking to Him. "Look unto me, and be ye saved"—not put into a position to be saved provided you do this and do that; but look unto Him, and be saved.

Do you know that if you are in danger of being lost, you are not saved? You were just put into a position to be saved, provided something doesn’t happen. If I swim out into the middle of the lake to rescue you, then drag you ninety yards and leave you ten yards from shore, then brag after I get back to shore that I have saved you—I didn’t save you. I put you in a position to be saved provided you could swim ten yards.

And if you look to Jesus and He says, "You will go to Heaven if you don’t do this, or if you do that," He doesn’t save you; He puts you in a position to be saved if you can do this or if you can refrain from doing the other.

No, when you looked to Jesus, you were saved right then and there. And you couldn’t go to Hell if you tried. Justification is an act that cannot be reversed nor followed by condemnation.

The Source of salvation—Jesus.

The scope of salvation—"the ends of the earth."

The simplicity of salvation—just looking, just trusting.

The surety—and be saved.

I am saved. I am going to Heaven. Why? Because I’m looking to Jesus. I’m trusting Jesus. And if you will look to Him, you too will be saved. Trust Him alone and nothing else.

The True Sermon That Pissed Off Pastor Clarence Sexton

Psalms 138:2, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” 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.”

In 2006, Pastor William P. Grady dropped a theological nuclear bomb on Temple Baptist Church and The Crown College in Powell, Tennessee. Dr. Grady knew it was likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to either caress the audience and likely be invited back, or preach THE TRUTH at the likely risk of never being invited back again. Grady was history, because he chose the latter!!! I commend Brother Grady for standing for THE TRUTH of the inspiration of the King James Bible. The classic sermon (which I recommend you download to save) is titled: “Shibboleth-Seven Signs Of Pseudo-King James Onlyism.” 

Admittedly it seems like a strange title at first, but after hearing the entire sermon it is perfectly fitting. The basic gist of the sermon is that most Bible colleges today have turned apostate! They will superficially claim to use only the King James Bible, but in actuality they don't really believe that we have an infallible, inerrant, inspired and perfect Holy Bible today. In particular, Pastor Grady's mentions Pensacola Christian College (PCC) in Pensacola, Florida. I had the unpleasant opportunity to meet one of the shameful alumni in 2018 at the Light House Baptist Church on Guam. His name is Sean Quinlan. I had visited the church frequently for several months, bringing in several hundred dollars of Kentucky Fried Chickens trays for the church members at church events, because I love to give and especially to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I thought perhaps I had found a new church family. But...

For the several months I had visited the church I couldn't help but be me. I love God's Word. I love the King James Bible. I know it is inspired. I know it is infallible. I hate the Devil's hundreds of corrupt English Bible revisions, which are everywhere in churches today. To make a long story short, Pastor Quinlan got really mad at me for continually warning people in private conversations about the modern Bible versions. One Sunday evening after church, he was eavesdropping on my private conversation in the parking lot, where the church entrance is. He had me say that Bob Jones University sells corruptible seed. That pissed him off. So he confronted me. At first I was very kind and even apologized. But then he said I had no class and I tore him up and down with the Word of God. I told him that he had no business bidding Godspeed to Calvinists at Harvest Baptist Church. I told him that he was wrong to support corrupt Bible versions. My last words to him were: “SHAME ON YOU!!!”

I make no apologies and am glad that he quit soon thereafter as pastor. I make no apologies for refuting Baptist heretics in our churches today. Pensacola Christian College has blood on their hands! They don't teach their students to stand. Sadly, PCC doesn't think the inspiration and infallibility of God's Word is something worth fighting over. Quinlan falsely accused me of bringing a “controversy” into HIS CHURCH. Well, it must be his church, because it sure isn't the Lord's. Sean Quinlan is a fool for bidding Godspeed to Calvinists and Bible-corrupters, plain and simple. I am going to call names from now on of bad pastors. I've had it damn it! God only authored ONE BOOK, not two. So I have witnessed firsthand the pathetic PCC attitude nowadays, which couldn't care less about the Devil tampering with the Word of God. They just want to make money, play church, and let someone else do the fighting against the Devil creeping into the churches. Bible colleges are dangerous!!!

So why won't PCC stand? Why are their graduates so lame, shallow, incompetent, wimpy, unconcerned, defensive and indifferent about the Devil tampering with our Sword? Psalms 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” What a great Bible verse! If the foundation of the Word of God becomes corrupted, then what will we do? I mean, after all, Jesus is called THE WORD OF GOD (John 1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13). I don't know if you've been to a popular book store lately, to their religious section (I always go there), but you'll be hard pressed to find a King James Bible anymore. What is going on? I'll tell you, the Devil has crept into the churches with his corruptible seed, changing the Word of God. 

For example: The phrase repent “OF YOUR SINS” is not found in the King James Bible. That is because repentance doesn't mean to turn from your sins, it is simply “a change of mind” toward THE TRUTH (2nd Timothy 2:25), that compels a man to believe the Good News of Jesus Christ to be saved. Yet, if you look in the New Living Translation (NLT), they have corrupted the Word of God by adding the words in Mark 1:15 to repent “OF YOUR SINS.” Wicked men are rewriting the Bible to fit their changing doctrine, which is not the Gospel.

Lord willing I am planning on moving soon from Guam back to the United States, after living here for 16 years. My body is in much pain, and I have burning nerves which I cannot even explain in words how much it afflicts me 24/7. I have been looking for a city to move and reading many church websites. I have been so disgusted, wanting to close my computer, and need to go take a walk, as I read the bullcrap in church Statement's of Faith. I am shocked how many pastors foolishly believe that you have to turn away from your sins to be saved. Nowhere does the Bible teach that! You turn from your self-righteousness, nothing else (Hebrews 4:10-11).

Getting back to Brother Grady's excellent and needful sermon, about the inspiration of the King James Bible, it really pissed off Pastor Clarence Sexton. It greatly saddens me that Pastor Sexton dismisses the issue as a mere ongoing feud between a couple Bible colleges. The battle over INSPIRATION is oh so much more than that! (see the sermon end at 1:02:57) to hear Brother Sexton make a fool of himself. ...

Dear reader, right doctrine matters! Having, using, selling and promoting the right Bible matters! Pastor Sexton gets up at the end of the service, scolds Dr. Grady, and then plainly says that he wants no part in the battle. Why not man? Why not? Kindly said, it is because of A.W.O.L. pastors from the battle of the ages, just like Clarence Sexton, that is sending America to Hell. Bigger churches aren't going to help anyone if the next generation embraces the Devil's Bible versions. John Wesley (1703-1791) was right: “What one generation tolerates the next generation will embrace.”

And Others

Hebrews 11:36-40 “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

This is such an amazing passage of Scripture. We have all heard sermons about bad things that will happen to us, if we run away from God and disobey Him. We are all familiar with the Old Testament true story of Jonah, who ran from God. The Lord prepared a great fish (a whale according to Matthew 12:40), who swallowed Jonah. When Jonah repented and offered up a voice of thanksgiving to God in his dire circumstances, the whale dropped off Jonah on dry ground at the next whale stop! 

Hebrews chapter 11 is often referred to as: “The Hall Of Faith.” In Hebrews 11 we read about dozens of Old Testament saints who, through whom God accomplished great things “BY FAITH.” But then we get to Hebrews 11:36 and read the words: “AND OTHERS.” Not everyone does great things by faith. In fact, some believers suffer “BY FAITH.” The Bible says some believers were sawn asunder, slain by the Sword, tortured, wandered homeless, and hid in caves “BY FAITH.” 

Literally, you might be crippled in a wheelchair “BY FAITH.” It doesn't mean you've done something sinful because you are suffering, disabled, afflicted or surviving in poverty and homelessness. Sometimes a person's sins DO cause their physical disability...

John 5:5-8 and 14, “And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: ...Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

But most of the time a person's physical disability wasn't caused by their sins... 

John 9:1-3, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

The Holy Bible teaches that God often creates disabled people. Exodus 4:11, “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” So if you were born with a disability, the Bible calls it an ability. God made you that way for His purpose and glory. Such was the case with the man born blind in John 9:1-3.

Remember that Adam and Eve had never sinned prior to being tempted in the Garden of Eden. It was a paradise, literally. God created Adam and Eve perfectly upright in all their ways. Even within the perfect will of God, the Lord planted the Tree Of Knowledge. God gave them their only opportunity to sin! Think about that. There was only one potential sin for Adam and Eve, which was to eat of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:16-17). This teaches us that even while in God's perfect will, the Lord Himself will test our faith, giving us an opportunity to disobey Him. The Bible is clear on this, not just for Adam and Eve, but for every Christian. A faith must be tested! What saith the Scripture? ...

Deuteronomy 8:1-3, “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

God literally led the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt, to cause them to suffer in the hot barren desert. The Jews were so excited and happy to be delivered out of slavery in Egypt. They expected everything to become easier from now on. But life didn't get easier. The desert had no water, and the water that they did find was toxic to drink. The desert was filled with draught, tumbleweeds, intolerable heat, snakes, scorpions, lack of food and hardships. 

God wanted to test their faith, to see if they would continue obeying Him in poverty, hardships and unending tough times. There was no relief point! Make sure you get that truth. Things never got better. God provided for their basic needs, giving them manna (angel's food) and quail. The Jews complained relentlessly, accusing Moses of leading them from the frying pan into the fire. Hebrews 11:36 says: “AND OTHERS.” It could very well be God's perfect will for you to be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. Suffering may be God's perfect will for your life.

So don't evaluate whether God loves you, or is blessing you, based on circumstances. Don't ever do that. The Bible is filled with true stories of saints who suffered; such as Daniel, Joseph, Phillip, James and many others, who suffered for doing right. We should always base whether God loves us or not upon the written inspired Word of God, and never upon life's circumstances. Some Christians are used by God to accomplish great things BY FAITH, but there are OTHERS who are equally used by God who suffer BY FAITH.

Evangelist Ray Comfort Errs, Not Knowing The Scriptures

Matthew 22:29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” 2nd Peter 3:16-17, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness..”

Ray Comfort is an extremely popular evangelist in California. His YouTube videos on average receive over 60,000 views each. That is quite impressive. Unfortunately, Mr. Comfort preaches a false gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works. Here is some helpful information from Michael P. Bowen, refuting Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron on their deadly counterfeit plan of salvation:

The plan of salvation according to Ray Comfort and his cohort Kirk Cameron defines repentance incorrectly. In the most elemental sense possible, their plan of salvation is based upon an academic flaw. Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you. Neither of these gentlemen use the original Greek meaning of the word for repent which is metanoia. As defined in the Greek language, metanoia is “meta”(change) and “noia”(mind). Metanoia is simply a “change of mind.” That is all it means. Nothing else is added to it. If someone says it means a change of mind about bananas, they would be wrong. If a crafty pastor who claims salvation is by faith “plus” works and deeds of the law (under the clever guise of “committing your life to Christ”) says that metanoia means a change of mind about sin, he would be wrong. Metanoia, by itself, simply means a “change of mind.” When Christ used the word “repent” He was always referring to “a change of mind.” In proper context, Christ used “a change of mind” to refer to what people were trusting in to get them to heaven. Jesus would tell people to “change their minds” from keeping all the established laws of righteousness to instead trust upon Him alone in terms of Him being the sin-bearer, that He would “solve” the problem of sin once and for all by His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead. You see, Christ took care of the sin problem. When we, in any way whatsoever, attempt to remedy the problem of sin by turning our backs on it, forsaking it, or promising God that we will quit certain things that we know bring Him grief, we are essentially telling Christ that our faith in His death and resurrection from the grave is “not enough” to save us. If there was any way at all we could save ourselves by our works and behavioral changes, Christ may not have had to die on that cross; however, we know that God says in Romans 6:23 that the “wages of sin is death.”

SOURCE: Michael P. Bowen, “I NEVER KNEW YOU”; chapter 11, pp. 114, 115

No man has ever lived good enough to go to Heaven, that is why you must be saved by grace. If going to Heaven were the result of your good life, then salvation would be of debt, not grace. Romans 4:4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” Ray Comfort is the most dangerous kind of false prophet, because he employs the HALF-TRUTH. Satan knows that most people will reject an outright lie. But the Devil is much smarter than you or me, knowing exactly how to deceive the simple. So Satan uses the HALF-TRUTH, because the part of the deception that is true can be defended with incontestable logic. A common example of this is that false teachers will claim salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That sounds good, and it is so far. But then they will add something else to that faith, negating it. Here's an example:

Jehovah's Witnesses:

“Salvation is a free gift from God. It cannot be earned. Yet it does require effort on our part.”

SOURCE: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1996081

Do you see the blatant HALF-TRUTH? Indeed, salvation is the free gift of God. The lie is that it requires effort on our part. How can salvation be a free gift if we have to do anything? Obviously it can't. You simply receive a gift. Now take a look at how Ray Comfort employs the same type of deceitful half-truth...

“You need to repent of sin and trust alone in Jesus, and ask God to create a clean heart in you, so you'll love righteousness; because a Christian doesn't walk around high, he doesn't lie or steal or fornicate or look at indecency, he lives in holiness; not to earn Heaven, but out of gratitude to God for His mercy.” —Ray Comfort, “Christian, This Is Why You Aren't Conquering Sin”

Where does the Bible say you have to repent “of sin” to be saved? It doesn't. That is the lie in Ray Comfort's damnable counterfeit gospel. Where does the Bible say that you have to ask God to create a clean heart in you to receive His free gift of eternal life? It doesn't. Ray has added these unbiblical requirements to God's simple plan of salvation. Where does the Bible say that you have to love righteousness to be saved? It doesn't. 

Ray says that a Christian doesn't walk around high? I take prescription drugs and I am high all day long...lol. Ray says a Christian doesn't lie, but Sarah lied (Genesis 18:15). Ray says that a Christian doesn't steal, but Jacob stole from his uncle Laban (Genesis 31:20). Ray says that a Christian doesn't fornicate, but Samson fornicated (Judges 16:1). Kindly said, Ray Comfort is a false teacher, who wrests (tortures) the Scriptures to his own destruction.

Please keep in mind in the preceding quote from Ray Comfort, that he is witnessing to a lost man. Ray tells this guy that he must repent of his sins, and ask God to create a clean heart in him, so that he'll love righteousness. Do you see what Ray is horribly doing? He is emphasizing a changed life, not emphasizing Christ's sacrifice on the cross to pay our debt of sin. Ray is focusing on sin, pressuring lost people to turn away from their sinful bad habits, as a requirement to receive God's free gift. Dear reader, this is NOT the Gospel which is taught in the inspired Word of God:

1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

As you just read for yourself, Paul's definition of “the gospel” (Good News) doesn't include repenting of sins or asking God to create a clean heart in you! Like most heretics, Ray Comfort is trying to force human reformation upon people, as a requirement to get to Heaven. Ray is saying that if you want to go to Heaven, then you must stop deliberately committing sin, and you must commit to changing your life with God's help, or you cannot be saved. This is all based upon YOUR faithfulness, and not GOD'S righteousness. Ray uses a lot of forked-tongue doublespeak. Here again are the helpful words of Michael P. Bowen, refuting Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron's counterfeit gospel:

Our government has invested millions of dollars into equipment capable of identifying counterfeit money. The problem with counterfeit currency is that it looks “so real” that nobody can tell the difference. It takes special machines to be able to spot fake money, today, because crooks are becoming better and better with each passing day at being able to fool the government with counterfeit money. Similarly, today’s false plans of salvation are becoming more and more harder to detect. Today’s false plans of salvation are very beautiful, they have great appeal to a lonely person’s innermost needs, and they do satisfy to some degree one’s deepest longings for a relationship with Jesus Christ. But because they differ from the plan of salvation that Christ provides, they are wrong, because there is only one gospel message according to the bible. Reader, if you trust the plan of salvation offered to you by anyone other than Christ Himself, you will not make it to heaven. If you instead trust what Christ has said about salvation, He will save you eternally the same instant that you trust in Him alone. For those who place their trust in a counterfeit plan of salvation, such as the counterfeit plan I have presented to you in this chapter, you can expect to meet Christ as your “judge” rather than as your “savior” at the Great White Throne Judgement. Look at what Jesus has to say to all of those who placed only partial faith in Him and the rest of their faith in living the “Christian Lifestyle” as their means to gain entrance into heaven: “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” (Matthew 7:21-23). From there, all who have trusted in counterfeit forms of the gospel will be sent to the lake of fire. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15). Who will you choose to believe, reader, when it comes to where you will spend your eternal destiny? Will you choose the words of men, or will you choose the words of Jesus Christ? This, of course, is up to you.

SOURCE: Michael P. Bowen, “I NEVER KNEW YOU”; chapter 11, pp. 117-119

I once spoke with Jared Baldwin, a former associate pastor of Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. I was talking to a fool. Jared insisted that Ray Comfort is a man of God, as I wasted my time trying to tell him THE TRUTH, that Ray Comfort is a damnable false prophet! Jared is indoctrinated with Lordship Salvation, following his mentor Marty Herron into Hell. Since 2018,, these incompetent ministers are now residing at the Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Cemetery in Ankeny, Iowa, ruining lives elsewhere with their false gospel of Lordship Salvation. 

Dear friend, please reason with me for a moment. If the proponents of Lordship Salvation are saved, and Free Grace Gospel proponents are also saved, then we've got a dilemma. One group says you can be saved by faith alone in the Gospel, but the other group says you cannot, teaching that you must also continue to live the Christian life, surrender all to Christ as Lord of your life, and follow Jesus no matter what the cost. They cannot both be the Gospel.

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

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

Why did Mr. Lincoln say that? It is because both the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy claimed to be doing “God's will” in fighting The Civil War (1860-1965). Both President Jefferson Davis in the south, and President Abraham Lincoln in the north, said they were doing “God's will.” As Mr. Lincoln wisely points out, that is IMPOSSIBLE! When two opposing parties, who are warring against each other, claiming to be doing God's will, obviously someone is WRONG! That is why Abraham Lincoln made that powerful statement!

Either you have to turn away from a lifestyle of sinning to be saved, or you do not, but it cannot be both. Either you have to follow Jesus in obedient Christian service to be saved, or you don't. Either you have to faithfully run the race to get saved, or you don't. Either you have to receive Jesus as your “Savior and Lord,” or just your “Savior,” but it cannot be both. Serving the Lord is strictly a matter of showing how much you love Jesus (John 14:15), but this has absolutely nothing to do with receiving God's free gift of eternal life, which is by faith alone in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. There is no other option. Without the new birth you don't go to Heaven. Jesus exclaimed in John 3:3b, “Ye must be born again.”

There cannot be TWO plans of salvation. I heard Dr. Kevin Bauder foolishly teach that Free Grace and Lordship Salvation both fall within the realm of orthodox theology. He's got a hole in his theology! Lordship Salvation advocates typically try to keep the discussion of salvation focused on sanctification, to the near exclusion of justification. Lordship Salvation's false repentance confuses sanctification (growth of a believer) with justification (God declaring a sinner righteous). I love this quote from John Bunyan:

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

We are made a child of God by yielding to the truth of the Gospel. Salvation is of the LORD! Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” God alone can SAVE you in response to your yielding, and God alone can SANCTIFY you in response to your yielding. We live the Christian life the SAME way we get saved—BY YIELDING TO GOD, WHICH IS FAITH!

All that God requires to be saved is that by faith you BELIEVE His record in the Bible. Christ died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. Three days later Jesus miraculously resurrected from the dead. If you acknowledge THE TRUTH that you are a guilty sinner (2nd Timothy 2:25; Romans 3:19), and you embrace THE TRUTH that Christ died on the cross as the sacrifice for your sins, was buried and is risen, and that is your only hope for eternal life (1st Corinthians 15:1-4)—you are saved! 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.”

Understanding Surrender And Salvation

Romans 4:1-5, “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 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.”

Dear reader, the Devil has always been a dirty liar (John 8:44). The Devil is a beautiful liar! The Devil came in the form of a serpent to tempt Eve, deceiving her with his beautiful lies. The Devil came to tempt our Lord in Matthew 4:1-10, but Jesus knew His Scriptures too well to be deceived by the Devil. The saint who is learned in the Scriptures cannot be deceived.

Having said that, there is an epidemic which has infected thousands of Baptist churches today called “Lordship Salvation,” which is the lie that faith is not enough to be saved. In addition, the advocates of Lordship Salvation say you must turn away from your sins, surrender all to Christ as “Lord” (Master), run the race faithfully until the end to prove the genuineness of your faith, and follow Jesus no matter what the cost to have the gift of eternal life. Yet, none of these things comprise the Gospel. They are perversions of God's free grace.

The following excellent information refuting Lordship Salvation is from Dr. John R. Van Gelderen, president of Revival Focus Ministries:

Question #44: In regard to salvation, what must be surrendered? Would it be accurate to say that one must only surrender his soul to be saved by Jesus? And that surrendering anything else would be a works-based salvation? Isn’t this what lordship salvation teaches? You must be willing to surrender and be willing to turn from individual sins, pride, etc.? What is involved in “surrendering” to salvation? Would it be correct to say that the ONLY sin one must surrender would be the sin of unbelief (not trusting in Christ)? I have heard if one isn’t willing to publicly confess Christ, then they haven’t totally surrendered. But if that is the case, wouldn’t this be works based?

John Van Gelderen Answers:

Insightful questions! There is much misunderstanding in this area. Several questions have been submitted along these lines revealing the confusion that is prevalent. See also Question #14 and Question #18 among others.

The issue is not between soul and body. Soul-focus can be off-based too. The issue is the object of faith and the condition of salvation. The lordship salvation debate is not a debate on whether Jesus is Lord, but on what constitutes the condition of receiving salvation. 

If surrender is made to be anything more than the flip-side of faith, it becomes works. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin as the problem, judgment as the consequence, and the righteousness of Jesus as the answer. [John 16:8-11] Being convinced of these three truths, when someone surrenders to them, they are trusting in Christ as the righteousness needed to be saved from sin and judgment. This is faith. Yet this is surrender in the correct sense. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is not believing in Jesus. Therefore, the core issue of surrender is believing on Jesus Christ.

When surrender is defined as turning from your sins or being willing to turn from your sins (your commitment to do right), grace is violated. This definition unwittingly places your dependence on yourself—your commitment to do right, your willingness to turn from your sins, instead of on Christ (the object of faith) to save you from yours sins. The focus of surrender must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented.

Regarding the public profession of faith, what is stated above applies. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple. This means he was in fact a believer, and his being labeled by the inspired text as a disciple was contingent on his faith in Christ, not his public confession.

SOURCE: https://revivalfocus.org/q-44-surrender-and-salvation

I love that. The issue is not over whether Jesus is Lord; but rather, what is required to receive God's gift of eternal life? The Statement of Faith of the First Baptist Church of El Paso, Texas caught my attention recently. Sadly, they preach another gospel that is totally perverted...

SALVATION

Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://fbcep.com/what-we-believe

Do you see the woeful contradiction? In one statement they say that you cannot be saved by works, but then they follow two sentences later by saying that without works you cannot be saved! That is theologically absurd! Clearly they are ADDING works to faith, corrupting the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). Nowhere does the Holy Bible teach that a person must “turn from our self-willed life” to receive God's free gift of eternal life. It is a perversion of grace. Again, Dr. Van Gelderen rightly states in defense of the Gospel:

When surrender is defined as turning from your sins or being willing to turn from your sins (your commitment to do right), grace is violated. This definition unwittingly places your dependence on yourself—your commitment to do right, your willingness to turn from your sins, instead of on Christ (the object of faith) to save you from yours sins. The focus of surrender must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://revivalfocus.org/q-44-surrender-and-salvation (February 22, 2018

Evangelist John Bunyan (1628-1688) also said it well:

“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.” [emphasis added] —John Bunyan

Salvation is by faith alone (Acts 10:43). Many of today's apostate Bible colleges (e.g., Bob Jones University and Moody Bible Institute) and corrupt churches (e.g., First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida and Harvest Baptist Church of Guam) are in utter denial, insisting that salvation is still by grace, while requiring people to turn away from their willful sinning to be saved. That is 100% partial faith in Christ plus works, which is no faith at all. The focus of surrender for salvation must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented. A man surrenders by believing on Christ. A man repents by believing on Christ. Nothing else is necessary for salvation except that a sinner believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31).

What is the Gospel (i.e., Good News)? Christ died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. Three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead for our justification (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe it Oh sinner and you will be instantly and eternally saved (Acts 16:30-31). You will be able to confidently say: “I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I know I have eternal life.” You have the Lord's promise of it in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Nothing Matters If You Don't Have Love For People

1st Corinthians 13:1-3, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” Matthew 16:24-26, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

I love people. I care! The Lord invited His disciples to follow Him. This is not a plan of salvation, but discipleship for the believer. We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:5-6; Galatians 3:26). Anytime that someone combines discipleship with saving faith, they have perverted the Gospel of free grace (Acts 15:1; Galatians 1:6-9). This heresy is called: “Lordship Salvation.” Anyone who attacks the grace of God, attacks the God of grace!

I couldn't help but notice the words “THE TRUTH” in 1st Corinthians 13:6, “Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;” The Bible says that a person who has genuine love rejoices in THE TRUTH! All of these phony Christians today who promote the Devil's Bible revisions, don't have genuine love for Jesus or people. How can someone truly love the precious Lord Jesus Christ, while bidding Godspeed to modern Bible revisions that attack His deity? Something is wrong with a person's profession of love for the dear Savior, when they are okay with all these modern versions that remove every mention of people “worshipping” Jesus. We've got a bunch of religious people today, who merely believe everything they hear, and have been deceived by the Devil concerning which Bible they should use. Proverbs 14:15, “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” I am telling you truthfully, that if you don't have a King James Bible, you don't have an inspired Holy Bible!

All of these new corrupt Bibles are changing the theology taught in the churches. Anyone who is learned in the matter recognizes Satan's hand in the Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort based translations (basically all modern revisions). I can understand someone being ignorant, who doesn't know any better. But when a knowledgeable Christian such as myself (or Pastor Bob Gray Sr., or Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, or Pastor Danny Castle) educates someone about the Devil's Bible revisions, and that person or group doesn't listen or care, then it evidences that they truly DON'T love Jesus Christ!!!

The Bible says all of our faith, religion, good works, and generosity are meaningless if we lack love. 1st Corinthians 13:6 says that love REJOICES IN THE TRUTH!!! So when I show the Bob Jones University crowd that the English Standard Version (ESV) that they use, sell and promote is a perverted Devil's Bible, but they couldn't care less and refuse to listen, it proves that they don't genuinely love the Lord Jesus Christ! Love rejoices in THE TRUTH!!! When you truly love God and people, you absolutely must love truth, because truth frees people from bondage (John 8:32, 36). Love is synonymous with THE TRUTH.

The Utter Theological Stupidity Of Lordship Salvation

Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” 1st John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”

These precious passages of Scripture teach that every believer has been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. Whether one Christian has more or less sin than another doesn't matter, because the only thing that separates the best Christian from the vilest unsaved sinner, is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that washes our sins away. That is why Lordship Salvation is so stupid. False preachers like Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, James White, Marty Herron, Paul Washer, R.C. Sproul, Franklin Graham, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren and Steve Pettit all claim that they are proving the genuineness of their faith by their manner of life, which is works for salvation, not God's saving grace. They are trying to live above sin to prove they are saved, which is not faith at all. Evangelist Steve Pettit heretically says:

“For the real reality of the genuineness of your faith is that you are faithful to run the race!” —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 22:44)

That is a false plan of salvation! If we have to live in such a way as to prove that we are saved, then how can we ever have the sweet assurance of salvation? The people in Matthew 7:21-23 did “many wonderful works” in Jesus' name. They “prophesied” (preached) in Jesus' name. They “cast out devils” in Jesus' name. They called Him “Lord, Lord.” Yet they were not saved at all. They were faithful to run the race as Dr. Steve Pettit teaches, but Jesus said He never knew them! Dear reader, you don't get born-again by a false faith that requires for you to prove it is real by living the Christian life. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again.

Lordship Salvation is the unbiblical teaching that you cannot just say you accepted Christ, and you've been born-again by faith alone in the Gospel, and that's it. According to the proponents of Lordship Salvation, in addition to faith you must also surrender all to Jesus as “Lord,” turn away from all your deliberate sinning, faithfully “run the race” (live the Christian life) until the end, commit your life to serve God, prove the reality of your faith by living a lifestyle of turning away from sin, and follow Jesus no matter what the cost to receive eternal life. Dear reader, none of that comprises the Gospel of free grace. We are saved only by faith.

Lordship Salvation is stupid, because it is based on the idea that a saved person WILL make an effort to turn away from a lifestyle of sin. But every believer still lives a lifestyle of sin. You may sin less than the next guy, but James 2:10 says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” In other words, it doesn't matter how big or little of a sinner you are, because the ONLY way to get to Heaven is on the merit of GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, which is by faith in Jesus. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” I love that Bible verse so much!!! 

Do you see my friend, you and I have no righteousness to offer God. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Those religious people who believe in Lordship Salvation are Calvinists. That is, they adhere to the teachings of a man named John Calvin (1509-1564). Calvinism says if you are saved you WILL do good works. Roman Catholicism says you MUST do good works. The Bible says you SHOULD do good works. By teaching that the saints WILL persevere in holiness and service to Christ, Calvinists corrupt the Gospel and cast stumbling blocks before the people. John Bunyan (1628-1688) beautifully said that:

“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.” [emphasis added] —Evangelist John Bunyan

Lordship Salvation is stupid, because no one can stop sinning. If you have to look at your life to prove that you're saved, it proves that you're not! We are not saved because WE are faithful, but because GOD is faithful. 2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” The people in Matthew 7:21-23 spent their lives living the Christian life. They called Jesus “Lord, Lord.” They “prophesied” (preached) in Jesus' name. They did “many wonderful works” in Jesus' name. They “cast out devils” in Jesus' name. Yet, Jesus said He never knew them!!! They failed to rest wholly in Christ alone. Like the proponents of Lordship Salvation (Calvinism) today, they foolishly thought that they could get to Heaven by partial faith plus turning away from their sins, persevering in good works, and following Jesus as their “Lord, Lord.” And may I say, partial faith is no faith at all.

How Calvinism Infects The Gospel (Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold)