A FALSE Plan Of Salvation
There's
a
religious
tract
published
and
distributed
freely
online
by
evangelicaloutreach.org which teaches a FALSE GOSPEL. The
author requires lost sinners to . . .
“Persist in doing good so God will give you eternal life (Rom. 2:7).”
Tragically, the author of the preceding statement is woefully ignorant of the Scriptures. Romans 2:7 says, “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.” Taken by itself, Romans 2:7 would seem to imply that good works are required for salvation. An even more powerful Scripture that would seem to support this same notion is found in Romans 2:13, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Now please careful read Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” We have a 100% direct contradiction here. Indeed, this has confused many people who are ignorant of the Scriptures, including the author of the evangelicaloutreach.org website.
So what is the answer? Which is it... are we justified by obeying the works of the Law or not? Romans 2:13 says, YES. Romans 3:20 says, NO. Why the contradiction? What's going on here?
The answer is quite simple. There were a group of Jews in Paul's time who believed that they could be saved by keeping the Law. This is abundantly clear from Romans 2:17, “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God.” Those Jews were RESTING, or relying upon the keeping of God's Law, to save them. The Apostle Paul goes on, from Romans 2:18 to Romans 3:19, to inform the Jews that they hadn't done a very good job of keeping the Law and were a bunch of hypocrites! He concludes his indictment against them with Romans 3:20, “THEREFORE by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Just as the author
of evangelicaloutreach.org
errantly wrestles the Scriptures, so also did the Jews
foolishly think that salvation requires our own
self-righteousness. Paul told the Jews in
Romans 2:7-13 that
if they were to be justified by the Law, then they would have
to KEEP IT
The Apostle Paul reiterates the purpose of God's Law in Romans 7:13, “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” The Law shows mankind his inability to please God in his own self-righteousness. No one can keep the whole Law of God, no one. We all fall short of pleasing God. Mankind tried to keep God's Law and utterly failed. God's Law had served its purpose in showing men their sinful condition and; thus, need for a Savior. God DIDN'T give us the Law to merit or work our way into Heaven. This is what many people foolishly believe. That is self-righteousness. Persisting to do good is NOT a part of salvation as the author of evangelicaloutreach.org teaches.
There is NO contradiction in the Scriptures. Salvation is by God's grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether or not a person is willing to change their sinful habits has nothing to do with being saved. A changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentance and not a part of the ROOT of saving-faith. Salvation is receiving; not giving. Eternal life is God's gift to fallen humanity (Romans 5:15; 6:23).
Certainly, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17); however, the spiritual regeneration which has taken place (i.e., the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ) doesn't mean that immediate reformation will follow. Growth in grace takes time. 1st Peter 2:2 teaches this Biblical truth, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” Expecting a babe in Christ to forsake their sinful habits is like expecting a baby to run a marathon. I am not approving of sin or saying it's acceptable for a believer to continue living in sin, not at all; I am simply saying that salvation has absolutely NOTHING to do with cleaning up one's life. The changed life comes AFTER a person is saved, as a result of being saved; and not as a requirement to be saved. That's the big difference that so many people don't understand. Salvation is obtained solely by Christ's righteousness, and not by our own self-righteousness or human effort in any way.
John 6:29,
“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of
God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent.” The only
work which God requires from a lost sinner to be saved is that
he or she BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
John 3:20 Explains The Meaning Of Repentance
John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
John 3:20 is an excellent Scripture to
help us understand what it means to “repent” concerning salvation. Jesus
teaches in John 3:20 that unsaved people who love their sins WON'T come to
the light to be saved. John 5:40, “And ye will not come to me,
that ye might have life.” Notice that jesus didn't say “ye cannot come”;
but rather, “ye will not come.”
The Lord teaches that people who love their sinful lifestyle WON'T come to the light to be saved, to avoid being reproved for their sins. That is, they don't want to face the realization that the life they are living is wickedness. The heathen world doesn't want to feel guilty for their sins.
The light is the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ Who died, was buried and resurrected. 2nd Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Since the unsaved man refuses to come to the light of the gospel to be saved because he loves his sins, then it becomes clear that the man who repents has changed his mind and is now coming to Christ to be saved. The very act of coming to Jesus Christ to be forgiven of one's sins is plain evidence that repentance has taken place. All that God requires to be saved (concerning sin) is that a person admit they have a sin problem.
Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” The Greek word for “repent” in this Scripture is metanoeo and means “a change of mind.” Notice that repentance concerning salvation is a change of mind and not a change of lifestyle. Although the Bible does not specify what the change of mind is, John 3:20 provides the answer for us.
The word “reproved” in John 3:20 is the Greek word elegchō and means “to confute, admonish: - convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.” The word “confute” means “to prove false or wrong.” The ungodly world do not want to be told that their sexual immorality, drunkenness and abortions are sinful and wrong. Thus, they rename the sin of sexual immorality to “sexual freedom.” The sin of drunkenness is now called “a disease.” The sin of abortion has been renamed to “freedom of choice.” And the vile sin of homosexuality is now considered an “alternative lifestyle.” The Bible calls these acts “sin.”
Again, the word “confute” means “to prove false or wrong.” Unsaved heathens don't want to be proven wrong concerning their sins. That's why they won't come to the light (truth) of the gospel to be saved. No one likes to be told that they are doing wrong and are sinning against God. Homosexuals don't want to be proven wrong concerning their same-sex perversion. Abortionists don't want to be proven wrong regarding their mass-murdering of human life. Unrepentant sinners don't want to be proven false or wrong!
2nd Peter 3:16, “As also in all his [Paul's] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [twist], as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
Ye Must Be Born Again! | You Need HIS Righteousness! | Believe The Gospel
