2nd Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
The Word of God is a book filled with PROMISES from God. As Christian
believers, life doesn't become any easier for us, but it is better because we
can go to the blessed holy Scriptures and claim the PROMISES of God day-by-day
and moment-by-moment. Literally, the Bible contains THOUSANDS of PROMISES from
God.
In his classic 1962 book titled “All The Promises Of God,” Dr. Herbert Lockyer (1886-1984) says that Professor Everett R. Storm concluded that the Holy Bible contains 7,487 PROMISES made by God to man. ...
The word “promise” appears more than 100 times in sacred scripture. One thousand promises are listed in “What the Bible Says about Praise and Promise.” Thousands more are listed in Samuel Clarke's two-hundred-year-old classic, “Precious Bible Promises.” Some have suggested that there may be as many as 30,000 promises contained in Scripture. Herbert Lockyer, in his volume “All the Promises of the Bible,” tells the story of Everett R. Storms, a schoolteacher in Canada, who made a detailed study of promises.
According to “Time,” Storms, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, reckoned the figure of 30,000 to be too high (since it is roughly the number of verses making up the Bible: 31,173). During his twenty-seventh reading of the Bible, a task which took him a year and a half, Storms came up with a grand total of 8,810 promises (7,487 of them being promises made by God to humankind).
SOURCE: Knowles, Victor (1998); "Promise And Fulfillment: Believing the Promises of God"; “Leaven: A Journal Of Christian Ministry” (Volume 6, Issue 3, Article 4)
My friend, when life gets difficult, and bad things happen, and you feel like you cannot face another day, and you cannot see your hand in front of your face, and it seems that all hope is gone—CLAIM THE PROMISES OF GOD!!!
For example: When I am in physical pain and suffering, wishing that this earthly life would hurry up, or the Lord would return today, I am reminded of God's PROMISE of a new body in Philippians 3:21, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” What a beautiful PROMISE.
When someone hurts my feelings and ruins my day, I am reminded of the Lord's PROMISE that the day will come when no one will ever rob my joy away again in John 16:22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” And then I am reminded of the Lord's encouraging words and PROMISE in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Because Jesus has overcome sin and death through the cross of Calvary, and His glorious bodily resurrection, we as believers can rejoice in knowing that God has already made all things right. I have eternal life NOW. I am already a citizen of Heaven and a member of God's family, presently. I don't hope, I HAVE A HOPE!!!
When someone cheats me, or does evil against me, I remember God's PROMISE to avenge me in Romans 12:18-21, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:19 reminds us of a PROMISE God made back in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 32:35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” As the rainbow signifies each time we see one: GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!!!
I am commanded not to seek revenge nor harm those who wrong me, because God will deal with them accordingly. This doesn't mean that we ought not have criminals prosecuted, God forbid, lest they go hurt someone else. In matters of civil court, the Bible commands us not to sue our Christian brethren (1st Corinthians 6:6-7). Some believers think that the Bible is teaching for us as Christians to resolve felony criminal matters outside of the law, but this often brings reproach upon the name of the Christ and the church, making it look like church leaders tried to cover-up and protect the guilty. I believe that 1st Corinthians 6:6-7 is speaking of civil matters involving money, agreements and property, et cetera; which if either party were a good Christian, the matter could reasonably be resolved outside of court. Although our court system in America is one of the most unfair, unjust, hypocritical, bribable and merciless in history, we as Christians are still subject unto the higher powers which ultimately are ordained by God (Romans 13:1-3).
As quoted earlier, I believe God's PROMISE in Romans 12:19 refers to when the law fails, and there are situations outside of the law where we can do nothing, or being cheated by a Christian brother, or even something as seemingly trifle as people deliberately wounding our feelings (people can be very cruel), when we ought to trust God's PROMISE that He will hold all men and women accountable for their deeds (Ecclesiastes 12:14), their words (Matthew 12:36), and their very thoughts and intentions (Proverbs 24:12). No one is going to get away with anything wrong, evil or hurtful (Romans 14:10-12). 1st Thessalonians 4:6 PROMISES that God will avenge a defrauded brother or sister. Hebrews 4:13 teaches that all things are naked and open before the eyes of God, our Judge. When we all die, we will fall into God's hands (Hebrews 10:31).
Another wonderful PROMISE from God to every believer is found in John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Everybody needs to have their own space, a place to call “home,” where they can be alone and enjoy their life. The Lord Jesus PROMISED that He would go and prepare a place for each and every Christian believer, so that where He is, we may be also. I love that PROMISE from God. I want to live where Jesus lives. I want a home in gloryland where the saints abide. Amen!
We often hear preachers saying that the Holy Bible has all the answers, but many people don't understand how that works. They don't see the connection between their daily problems and the Word of God. Well, I am telling you now what that connection is... IT IS THE PROMISES OF GOD!!! Whatever your need may be, there is a PROMISE from God that you can claim to give you the COMFORT and HOPE promised in Romans 15:4. All of the Old Testament biographies of the saints were given to us, according to Romans 15:4, to give us COMFORT and HOPE. Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
We have the benefit of examining the lives of Old Testament saints—seeing their problems, struggles and life's woes—but we have the privilege of seeing their future, where it all ended, and how it all worked out for eternal good at the end. God was faithful to everyone of them! No Christian who feared the Lord lost out when it was over. Even wicked Solomon, who built high places for his several hundred heathen wives to abort their children to Moloch, still went to Heaven. Wicked Samson chased unholy skirts, having sex with harlots (Judges 16:1). Samson ended up literally blinded, as a slave in the house of the Philistines, being mocked for sport. Samson commit suicide and took a couple thousand Philistines with him into death. Yet, Samson was a just man, washed in the sin-cleansing blood of Jesus, who is now enjoying the splendors of Heaven. Surely, the tears will flow at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and rewards will be lost (1st Corinthians 3:15; 2nd Corinthians 5:9-11), but no Christian is in danger of hell-fire.
I was thinking today how foolish the unbelieving world is. George Carlin (1937-2008) is the atheist's hero. I heard former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura (real name: James Janos) say, “My religion is the religion of George Carlin.” That is so sad and tragic. Mr. Carlin was a fool, who rejected the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and is doomed to eternal damnation in the fires of Hell beneath. Atheists are lazy, they like to piggy-back on the blasphemy and rants of famous atheists who make their best attempt to destroy God in their own minds. Romans 1:28, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” In eternity, professed atheists are going to feel like jackasses, when they realize that they followed a fool like George Carlin to his everlasting fiery damnation. We are all born into this world as INDIVIDUALS, and we will die as INDIVIDUALS, and we will stand before God in judgment as an INDIVIDUAL (Romans 14:10-12).
Oh my friend, here is a PROMISE for you. Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Before God ever spoke the universe into existence, and before God ever formed the first man, He knew mankind would fall into sin, and He lovingly and mercifully made plans to redeem mankind, securing the PROMISE of eternal life. Revelation 13:8, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Whereas man lives within the creation of time, God dwells in eternity, which transcends time and space. Thankfully, God doesn't expect us to understand how things work, He just asks us to trust Him, BELIEVING on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved. 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.”
A fairly recent religious film (2006) titled “Facing The Giants,” propagates a health, wealth and prosperity message. Although the film is well made, I didn't like it because of the false notion it sends to people that if you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, everything in your life will begin to flourish. At the beginning of the movie, the main character (Grant Taylor, a husband and coach) is in financial struggles. His wife (Brooke Taylor) cannot get pregnant, and a doctor's visit reveals that he is physically unable to conceive. The film shows the couple struggling with everyday problems; such as the kitchen sink won't drain, and they are broke. The coach's team consistently loses every game they play. The film portrays Grant Taylor (played by Alex Kendrick) as a loser.
But then, Grant surrenders his life to Jesus in the film, and all of a sudden his wife is pregnant, and someone gives him a brand new Ford F-130 pickup truck, his team becomes the state champions and Grant receives a $6,000 a year raise and promotion. Hooray, Jesus made me rich, prosperous and healthy!!! Oh yeah, I want to become a Christian too, money, money, money!!! yeah, isn't it great to be a Christian and everything will be great for ever again. Yeah!!! What crap!!! This is nothing but the health, wealth and prosperity BULL CRAP of The 700 Club with evil charlatans Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson and Terry Meeuwsen. The 700 Club has been promoting the Charismatic Movement since 1966. Pat Robertson has an estimated net worth of approximately $200,000,000 and some say much higher!!! Man of God? Jesus warned that NO MAN can serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13).
Beware of the demonic Charismatic Movement—who falsely claim the power to heal the sick, deceitfully promise to bring wealth to those who give them “seed” money, falsely guarantee to bring prosperity to those who support them, and wickedly bilk elderly widows out of all their money. Benny Hinn's $100,000,000 income a year is blood money!!! Hinn's personal net worth is an estimated $42,000,000!!! The Bible teaches that as believers we live BY FAITH, not BY SIGHT. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” The give-to-get philosophy is living by sight, and it is carnal. Living-by-faith means giving to the work of the Lord, without expecting anything in return.
The Lord has PROMISED to return whatever we invest in the Kingdom of God an hundredfold, both in this life and the next; He never promised health, wealth and prosperity, but the family of God (Mark 10:30). An hundredfold is 100 times what we invest, so if you give $100 God PROMISES to return $10,000. But I find nothing in the Scriptures which promises financial prosperity in this earthly life. I know that God will reward every good deed that we do as born-again believers (2nd Corinthians 5:10). Jesus PROMISED to reward even a cup of water given to a disciple in Jesus' name. Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
By God's grace and
Holy Spirit power, there are literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people
around the world who've been saved through the influence of my online labors
since 2002. Christians cannot save anybody, but the Lord works through
believers (in a ministry of reconciliation) as His children to reach others
with the Gospel message. My greatest reward are those souls who've been saved
and challenged to serve the Lord through my influence for Christ. Whatever
good this ministry has accomplished, I attribute to God's Holy Spirit working
through me as His child and humble servant. I am here to spend and be spent
for you. 2nd Corinthians 12:15, “And I will very gladly
spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you,
the less I be loved.”
The Foolishness Of Investing In This Temporary Life
I'm tired of hearing people on the radio talk about the importance of laying up earthly treasures for retirement, without ever addressing the reality that death could come at any moment. People ought to be concerned about the fate of their soul, and not obsessed with buying gold and silver for the future. Aren't people so foolish? There's nothing in this world that you can take with you into eternity, except the lives who were impacted by your labors, prayers, witnessing and influence for Jesus Christ. ...
“Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”
—Charles T. Studd (1860-1931)
The average person in America is boggled down with materialism. The heathen world lives for personal success, prosperity and trying to get ahead of their neighbour. Nearly everyone desires financial security and the freedom to live their life free of obligation to a job or schedule. This is why youth go to college, so they can secure a stable career, and retire with amassed wealth, to enjoy their retirement and have the freedom to travel and do all the things they've always wanted to do. I hear advertisement on the radio, luring people to invest every penny possible for retirement, not even considering that our very breath is in God's hands. Daniel 5:23, “...the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.” At some point in life, every reasonable person eventually realizes the foolishness and vanity of living for this world's good, pleasures and wealth.
In reality, there are hundreds of bad things that can happen (and usually do) which devour your wealth, health and retirement. When the dwindling steel industry collapsed (due to the evils of deindustrialization in America), even the institutions which were created to protect the retirements of the workers went belly-up, and they lost everything!!! The steel workers lost their medical insurance and the money which they had laboured day and night to earn for 40-50 years. No one went to prison, but many crooks should have. God will make them pay dearly!!! The point here is simple, Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19-20 not to laying up treasures in this world where thieves break through and steal (the biggest thieves wear white collars and sit behind desks).
Jesus said in
Matthew 6 that we ought to lay up treasures in Heaven through laboring in
prayer in their closet, fasting in secret, and giving alms (help) to the poor.
Christians can earn heavenly rewards by helping the Church, contending for the
faith, giving alms to the poor, supporting missionaries, doing good works in
Jesus' name, helping the afflicted, encouraging your pastor, visiting the
imprisoned, and soul-winning by proclaiming the Gospel. Anything good that you
do as a born-again Christian for Jesus Christ, and to further the fulfillment
of The Great Commission, will be rewarded. God's heart's desire is to see
souls saved, that His house may be filled. Any work for God that leaves off
proclaiming the Gospel is a waste of time, all done in vain.
God Does Not Reward Lukewarm Complacency
I know that God is disgusted with the thousands of popular Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) entertainers who never preach the Gospel, and cater to unsaved Roman Catholics, going along to get along, just making money in Jesus' name. God hates that kind of exploitation of Christianity. In the United States, Christianity has been reduced to a mere business. It's all about money today in America. No wonder the Holy Bible warned that the love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10). The love of money is behind the plethora of counterfeit modern Bible versions, which are straight out of the pits of Hell.
Revelation 3:15-16 says that God vomits out LUKEWARM believers, and most pastors are as lukewarm as can be. If your church uses multiple Bible versions, your group is LUKEWARM. I mean, does not your pastor(s) have enough spiritual discernment to identify which Bible is really God's Word? It couldn't be more plain that only the King James Bible faithfully upholds and promotes the deity of Christ, the Godhead and the preeminence of Christ.
God will reward those faithful believers who fight against the intentional corrupting of the Word of God. And those shameful pastors, the dirty rascals that they are, who refuse to take a Biblical stand against the new counterfeit Bible versions, will suffer great loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ, if they are even saved. All of the new satanic Bible versions redefine what it means to “repent,” turning “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4) into a manmade religion that requires persevering in holy living to be saved. This heresy is known as “Lordship Salvation,” and it is a deadly false plan of salvation rooted in human effort (works).
Most of the
religious work done today is done in the flesh, not by the influence and power
of the Holy Spirit of God. Psalms 127:1, “Except the LORD build the house,
they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman
waketh but in vain.” I've attended independent Baptist churches where not
one mention was made of the Holy Spirit, nor His power, nor the need for His
power. I remember sitting there in the pew and thinking to myself, when are
they going to get God involved with this? My friend, Jesus aid without Him we
can do NOTHING (John 15:5). That is, nothing for God of eternal value.
You Cannot Develop A Heart For God Without Developing A Heart For The Truth
In 2013-2014, I attended an independent Baptist church affiliated with Bob Jones University (BJU) for a whole year, and not one mention was ever made of the Holy Spirit or the need for the power of the Holy Spirit. To no surprise, the apostate church uses multiple Bible versions and teaches the heresy of Lordship Salvation. With each passing month at the church, I was dismayed, disturbed and broken-hearted. Finally, when I started sharing the truth on CD sermons and passing out books at my expense to other church members, it led to an unpleasant confrontation with the church's pastors and I was told to cease and desist or leave. As a faithful Christian and preacher who upholds THE TRUTH, I had no choice but to leave in tears because of their wickedness and apostasy.
Hypocritically, the Baptist church boasts that the purpose of their ministry is to “help people develop a heart for God,” but they do not have a heart for THE TRUTH. The Bible says that Jesus came into the world to bear witness unto “THE TRUTH,” not to help people develop a heart for God. John 18:37, “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” The King James Bible is THE TRUTH. The simplicity that is in Christ for salvation is THE TRUTH. Lordship Salvation is a DAMNED LIE! The hundreds of modern Bible versions are a DAMNED LIE!
Jesus said in John
4:24 to the Samaritan woman that God can only be worshipped in spirit and IN
TRUTH. It is tragic that many pastors today don't care about THE TRUTH,
although they are in denial and think that they do. If they cared about THE
TRUTH, then they'd stop the nonsense of searching through umpteen different
Bible versions, and use only the trustworthy King James Bible (KJB). Only the
KJB uplifts the deity of Christ, the Godhead and the preeminence of Jesus
Christ. All of the modern Bible versions are diluted!
Great Peace Comes From Resting In The Promises Of God
You can find solace in the PROMISES of God. 2nd Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Man's word means NOTHING. This world is full of wicked sinners. We are all sinners. Many sinners enjoying condemning other sinners, but God will judge us all as SINNERS, and God's harshest judgment is reserved for those sinners who condemns other sinners (Matthew 7:1-5)!!! Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemn)!
Here is a wonderful passage of Scripture, which PROMISES that our eternal weight of glory will far exceed our present light afflictions...
2nd Corinthians 4:16-18, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Life is a gift from God, which most people squander. ...
The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power,
to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour;
To lose one's wealth is sad indeed, to lose one's health is more,
to lose your soul is such a loss, that no one can restore.
Another of my favorite PROMISES from God is found in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The Bible teaches us to pray about everything, and worry about nothing, claiming God's PROMISE that once we've prayed, that He will attend to our request(s) and we may rest in peace from that point on. That's exactly what Philippians 4:6-7 teach us. Once we've prayed, making our request(s) known unto God, we are commanded to rest in THE PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, knowing that God is the keeper of our soul in Christ Jesus our Savior. If we choose to worry, that is our decision. ...
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
oh what needless pain we bear;
all because we do not carry,
everything to God in prayer.
Trusting, claiming and abiding (living) in the PROMISES of God is solely a matter of faith for the believer. Do you believe that the Bible is God's holy and inspired Words? Do you believe that God authored the Bible? Do you believe that there is a real, all powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), all-present (omnipresent), and all-loving (omnibenevolent) God in Heaven, Who created you, and loves you, and cares about you? If you don't believe that God authored the Holy Bible, then you're not going to place any credibility nor credence upon its veracity and reliability.
I believe 100% that the King James Bible is God's preserved and inspired words for this generation. I find no error, nor fault in the King James Bible. I don't think it needs any improvement, nor do I think its 54 translators could have done a better job. I do not believe in double inspiration, that is, I do not believe that God gave any new revelations to the King James Bible translators. I do believe that God oversaw the work, and that the Holy Spirit made sure that when completed, the King James Bible was exactly what God intended for us to have in 2015. I do not believe that there will ever be another translation of the Holy Bible into the English language, simply because today's inferior language could not facilitate a proper translation.
As a born-again Christian, I find great peace in the comforting Words of God, particularly in the PROMISES OF GOD. What a wonderful truth that the Bible contains 7,487 PROMISES from God to man. Our text verses from 1st Peter 1:2-4 teaches that the power of God resides in the PROMISES of God, because the Lord always keeps His promises, and you can take that to the bank. Only a fool bases his life and eternal destiny upon speculation, human reasoning, fables, manmade tradition and religion. What you had better do is “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES” as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, discovering and claiming the PROMISES OF GOD in the King James Bible, and then you'll KNOW that you're not living your life in vain, having a foundation that is sure in Jesus Christ, and a hope of eternal life and heavenly rewards that man cannot take away, nor can time destroy as the world fades away.
This temporal
earthly life will come to an end, guaranteed. Everything that you see around
you will eventually return to the dust from which it came. Ah, but the
PROMISES of God transcend this earthly life, lasting forever. When you're dead
and gone, the PROMISES of God will still stand true; and if you die in the
Lord (Revelation 14:13), you will spend eternity enjoying all the blessings of
God (Romans 8:32).
God Promised To Save Them That Believe The Gospel
1st Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” I fear for those who die in their sins (John 8:24), who die without God's imputed righteousness, which comes only through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:3-4; 2nd Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9; Romans 4:5-6). I hear fools teaching the heresy of Lordship Salvation, which says that a person cannot merely trust Christ as one's Savior and write their name in the back of their Bible, assuming that they are eternally secure without first proving their sincerity through living a life of holiness and surrender to Christ's lordship. That is a false plan of salvation, which sadly Pacific Garden Mission's Unshackled radio program series has been propagating.
My friend, salvation is a supernatural miracle of God in response to a person's faith in the Gospel (Romans 1:16; John 1:12-13). Yes, you can simply acknowledge your guilt of sin in the eyes of a holy God (Romans 3:19), and BELIEVE the Gospel to be saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4), without any obligation to change your behavior, surrender to Christ, confess Christ publicly, forsake the world, commit to follow Jesus, or cease from sinful bad habits. These are all human effort (works), which are not allowed nor tolerated by God in His simple plan of salvation. Jesus paid it all with His precious blood. Man has no part in God's salvation, except to completely rest in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 4:10-11). Yes, you can write in your Bible's insert your name, date, time and place that you were born-again, spiritually reborn into God's Kingdom. Salvation is a new birth, which happens in an instant in time, just as one's first physical birth into this world.
Heretical Evangelist Paul Washer condemns the practice of writing one's name, date, time and place in one's Bible. Mr. Washer says that a life of works must legitimize one's faith to be valid. This is part of the demonic doctrines of Calvinism. False prophets speak with a forked-tongue. They say that salvation is the gift of God, and cannot be earned by works; yet at the same time they say that if a person does not desire to depart from sinful ways and follow Christ, they are not saved. Romans 11:6 says that salvation is either by works or grace, but it cannot be both. It is heresy to mandate a changed life to be saved. Proponents of Lordship Salvation have it all backwards. God saves those who simply BELIEVE the Gospel, who trust upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He died on the cross for their sins, was buried, and resurrected the third day. That's the Gospel.
As far as a changed life goes, that's an entirely different matter of Discipleship. New believers need to be properly mentored, which is part of The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). If preachers would preach against sin as they ought, Christians would live holier lives. Instead, the Devil has duped many preachers into perverting the Gospel, forcing people to forsake sinful behavior as part of being saved. This is a false plan of salvation, which converts men to religion, but does not produce the new birth by the Holy Spirit of God. Many moral churchgoers are going to be cast into the Lake of Fire. 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.”
I KNOW, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I am saved and on my way to Heaven, eternally secure, because of the PROMISE of God to save them that believe. Salvation is not a matter of my goodness, nor my faithfulness to God; but rather, it is based upon God's goodness, and God's faithfulness to keep His PROMISES!!! Amen, hallelujah, glory to God!!! Thank you Lord Jesus for dying for my sins on the cross, and paying my insurmountable debt of sin that you did not owe. I challenge you, whoever you are, to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES for the PROMISES of God, for in them rest the power of God, because God keeps His PROMISES!!!
