Acts 15:1, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.”
I have always greatly admired Evangelist David
W. Cloud as a gifted writer
for his hard work, fighting spirit and willingness to contend for the
religious faith he holds to. I agree with 95% of Mr. Cloud's teachings. I
enjoy reading most of his work. However, Mr. Cloud is very wrong
concerning the meaning of “repentance” and the plan of salvation. There
are not two gospels, as heretic C. S. Lewis calls “formulas.” There is only
one gospel as defined in the Scriptures...
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.”
Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Whether good works or bad works, both are DEAD WORKS! (Hebrews 6:1).
David Cloud teaches a very different plan of salvation than the Bible, as witnessed in the following quote from his website...
A sinner who can flippantly pray a sinner's prayer without being ready conjointly to follow Christ has not repented in a biblical fashion and is not saved. Those who accept such a thing and proclaim such people "saved" and include such people in their "salvation statistics" are not following the Bible and are creating endless confusion. Sinner's prayers divorced from a repentant faith are empty.
David Cloud is wrong on both counts. First, you don't get saved by praying. That's not the gospel. Second, repentance is not reformation, which is what Cloud is teaching. The dictionary defines reformation as “rescuing from error and returning to a rightful course.” David Cloud is the most dangerous type of false teacher, because he is very subtle, hiding a lie between two truths. The most effective deception is the half-truth, because in part it can be defended with incontestable logic. Mark Twain said, “It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” That is so true!
David Cloud is teaching “another gospel” that effectively adds works to faith. Cloud says if you're not ready to follow Christ, which is discipleship, then you're not ready to get saved. May I say, discipleship has nothing to do with sonship. David Cloud errantly associates repentance unto life for salvation with following Christ in obedience and surrender, which is a satanic lie. Cloud's false plan of salvation insults the imputed righteousness of God (Romans 4:5-6), and corrupts the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23).
I marvel how Baptist preachers can read Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” and come away requiring sinners to surrender their life to Christ in order to receive the free gift of eternal life by faith in Christ Jesus. If a person must follow Christ and surrender their life to Him to be saved, then eternal life becomes a REWARD instead of a GIFT. Truly, and it saddens me greatly, David Cloud is spreading a satanic false plan of salvation...
2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
David Cloud and Jehovah's Witnesses Agree
Please understand that David Cloud's errant view of repentance is the same as the satanic cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. JW's teach that we are saved by faith that is only valid if a changed life results, which is exactly what David Cloud teaches.
Here are direct heretical quotes from the Jehovah's Witness' Watchtower.org website...
So, what does "accepting" Jesus really mean? Is it a one-time act of faith, or is it a continuing way of life? Must our belief be strong enough to motivate us to action? Can we really accept the benefits of Jesus' sacrifice without the responsibility of following him?
Well, how valuable is the lifeblood of Jesus Christ? It is a free gift, but we must demonstrate deep appreciation for it.
We do not earn salvation by doing these things, for no human could ever do enough to merit such an astounding blessing. We are not worthy of this magnificent gift, though, if we fail to demonstrate our love and obedience by doing the things that the Bible says God and Christ want us to do. Without works to demonstrate our faith, our claim to follow Jesus would fall far short, for the Bible clearly states: "Faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself."—James 2:17.
Surely we would not want to agree with one of America's best-known evangelists, who said that you do not have to "clean up, give up, or turn around."—Contrast Acts 17:30; Romans 3:25; James 5:19, 20.
SOURCE: What Must We Do to Be Saved? - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site
Now read the similar heresy that David Cloud teaches on his website...
Biblical repentance is not a change of life. That would be a works salvation. Biblical repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of life, which is exactly what the Bible says about salvation (2 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 2:8-10). If someone has a so-called salvation that doesn't result in a change of life, he doesn't have a biblical salvation. The Bible says that "if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW creature" (2 Cor. 5:21). "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). Too many "converts" today are like those Paul warned about in Titus 1:16 -- "They PROFESS that they know God; BUT IN WORKS THEY DENY HIM, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
Biblical repentance is, very simply, a turning, a change of direction. It is depicted by the Prodigal Son. He came to himself in the hog pen (and we know from other passages that this comes through divine conviction) and he confessed his sin and changed directions. He acknowledged his sin before God and man and turned his feet back to the father's house. When he turned his feet to return to the father, he was, simply and automatically and by the very nature of the thing, turning from his old life. By the supernatural inner conviction and providential external working of God, the young man had gotten fed up with the old life and was ready for a new one. That is repentance.
Notice that Cloud says “repentance is not a change of life,” but then he says that repentance is “a change of direction.” Huh? What's the difference? Literally, here's what Cloud just said. Read Cloud's teachings again carefully...
Biblical repentance is not a change of life. That would be a works salvation. Biblical repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of life, which is exactly what the Bible says about salvation (2 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 2:8-10). If someone has a so-called salvation that doesn't result in a change of life, he doesn't have a biblical salvation. The Bible says that "if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW creature" (2 Cor. 5:21).
Huh? The old boy's losing it. First he says that repentance is not a change of life, admitting that that would be works salvation, but then he says that you're not saved unless your life has been changed, which is a backdoor approach to Lordship Salvation. According to what you just read, David Cloud teaches that you don't have to change your life to be saved, but if your life hasn't changed you're not saved! That's the same double-talk that the JW's use (read their quotes again that I shared with you).
Jehovah's Witnesses errantly teach...
So, what does "accepting" Jesus really mean? Is it a one-time act of faith, or is it a continuing way of life? Must our belief be strong enough to motivate us to action? Can we really accept the benefits of Jesus' sacrifice without the responsibility of following him?
SOURCE: What Must We Do to Be Saved? - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site
David Cloud errantly teaches...
"I believe we have to be clear with people that there is going to be a turning here. God's the one that is going to change your life. God is the one that is going to give you power. But there's going to be a change, and if you're not ready for that, you cannot be saved. I believe that's what repentance is. Many soulwinning programs just seem to try to wanna slip the Gospel by the sinner before he knows what's happening, get him saved, and then try to disciple him somehow later on, when there's never, ever, been a surrender to God." [emphasis added]
SOURCE: http://www.wayoflife.org/streaming/audio/calvinism-debate.html
Now, that's just unbiblical folks! The bottom line to Cloud's teaching on repentance is that you cannot come to Christ for salvation unless you first intend not to walk in sin after you receive Him. This is “qualification by works” as a prerequisite for receiving Christ as Savior. David Cloud is teaching utter heresy.
Ironically, Cloud accuses others as myself of “creating endless confusion” (see his preceding first quote I gave you). David Cloud is confused himself, confusing the different meanings of “repent” in the Bible. Judas repented in Matthew 27:3, but the Greek word (metamellomai, “to care afterwards, to regret”) is different here than the word “repent” (metanoeo, “a change of mind”) used for salvation in Mark 1:15. Judas felt sorry that he got caught. He regretted what he did, that is, betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas intended to reform. Judas even tried to make restitution by returning the silver coins. This is exactly the same false repentance of Judas that Cloud is teaching.
Judas, like Cain with his grain offering, and
Adam with his fig-leaf religion, foolishly attempted to clean up his own
sin problem. However, behavior modification is not Biblical repentance.
Feeling sorry for one's sins is not Biblical repentance.
A Study of "Whosoever is Born of God Cannot Sin"
In the earlier quote I gave you from David Cloud, he errantly defines repentance as “a change of mind that results in a change of life.”[1] That's not what metanoia means (the Greek noun for repentance in the Bible concerning salvation). The meaning is simply, “a change of mind.” Mr. Cloud is adding to the meaning. Shallow Christianity Cannot Be Cured By Adding Works To Salvation.
I once did a study on 1st John 3:7-9 that really opened my eyes. I've heard false prophet after false prophet attempt to use this passage of Scripture to bolster up their straw-man heresy of Lordship Salvation...
1st John 3:7-9, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
At a glance, to the baby believer, this passage of Scripture would seem to teach that you're not saved if there is willful and habitual sin in a person's life. That's not what the Bible is saying. The key phrase is “he cannot sin” in verse 9. We know that every Christian sins, even the very best among us. In fact, some of the worst Christians do the most for God, while believers who are considered good Christians at their church never lift a finger to do anything for God. God didn't save us to be good, but to do good. So how can a man not sin at all as this Scripture seems to teach? 1st John 3:9 says that the man who is born of God CANNOT SIN. This simply means that the new creature, the Holy Spirit, Who indwells every Christian believer, cannot sin.
When reading any Scripture from the Epistle of 1st John, always interpret them in the proper context that the Holy Spirit Who indwells the believer is the only evidence that we are truly saved, and not the presence of good works or the absence of bad works. Many unsaved religious people perform abundant good works (Matthew 7:21-23); and shun bad works, such as the Pharisees, who were filthy on the inside (Matthew 23:27). Clearly, the presence of good works or the absence of bad works is not an accurate way to determine whether a person is saved. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit that bears witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God. Romans 8:16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
It's getting to be a habit to do David Cloud's studying. He doesn't study. He attempts to use 1st John 2:4 to bolster his straw-man position of his false plan of salvation...
1st John 2:4-5, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
Cloud quotes this Scripture passage by itself, not taking into consideration the entire Epistle of 1st John. The verse to follow in 1st John 2:11 says, “he that hateth his brother is in darkness.” Does this mean that a Christian who can't stand another Christian who annoys him at church is not saved? No, that's not what it means. It means if you hate Christians because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in them, it's only because you don't have the Holy Spirit in you. The Bible is saying that if you don't have the Holy Spirit in you, then you are not saved. It was this very truth that compelled me to get saved as a 13-year-old boy. I knew that Sunday morning that I didn't have the Holy Spirit convicting me of sins in my life, so I got saved that morning by receiving Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and I've had the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling me ever since. Do you have the Holy Spirit in you?
Kindly, there's nobody in this world that hates Jack Hyles any more than David Cloud. I'm sure that Mr. Cloud would say that he doesn't hate Dr. Hyles, but he slanders him on the internet, attacking his family and morals, degrades his character and denounces his teachings, calls him “the king of shallow fundamentalism,” tells the world what a horrible man he was, and says all kinds of distorted garbage that's not even true about him. Expressing disagreement with someone's views is one thing, but Cloud is on a personal vendetta to utterly destroy Dr. Hyles' legacy. If that's not hatred, then what is? Dr. Hyles did more for God in his generation than anyone else. Millions of people walked on isle for Christ, either at churches pastored by Brother Hyles, or by churches pastored by Dr. Hyles' preacher boys. Yet, does that mean David Cloud is not saved because he hates Jack Hyles? No, it just means that he hates Jack Hyles personally. I think he's jealous of him, but that doesn't mean he's not a Christian. We all have our faults.
However, it is Cloud's false plan of salvation that concerns me, and I truly do doubt David Cloud's salvation, because his beliefs about repentance are religious instead of Biblical. At a distant glance, there appears to be a very fine line between Christianity and Seventh-Day Adventism (SDA's), but they are worlds apart. SDA's believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that He was buried, and bodily resurrected. They claim to believe the basic tenants of Christianity. However, a closer look exposes them as a satanic religion, who redefine “faith” to mean good works and fulfillment of obligations. They teach baptismal regeneration. They require worship of the Sabbath Day to be saved. They try to hide their belief that Michael became Jesus. What a demonic cult! And, SDA's define repentance the same as David Cloud and John MacArthur.
David Cloud and Seventh-Day Adventists
Agree!
Is David Cloud a Seventh Day Adventist? As with Lordship Salvationists, Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) deceitfully profess to believe in salvation by grace through faith; but then horribly contradict themselves in their writings. Here is what Jan Paulsen (President of the General Conference of SDA's) errantly teaches...
Faith is not simply looking at a distant, historical Jesus. Rather, it is responding to His invitation to "follow me." That is how I become a disciple. It is by accepting the obligation to live a life of discipleship that faith becomes obedience. Surely this is what Mrs. White meant when she wrote that the faith that leads to salvation "is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. . . . The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour" (ibid., p. 347). "To have faith means to find and accept the gospel treasure, with all the obligations which it imposes" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 112).
SOURCE: SALVATION BY FAITH, Jan Paulsen: http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents/Salvation%20by%20Faith.htm
Do you see that? David Cloud almost word-for-word teaches the same exact Satanic gospel as do the Seventh Day Adventists!!!
Furthermore, Cloud is holding to a Roman Catholic understanding of repentance. All of the pseudo-Christian religious cults teach the same works-based misunderstanding of repentance as do the Lordship Salvation crowd. The Bible simply teaches that repentance is changing your mind about your opinion of how to get to Heaven, to what God says that you must do to get to Heaven, which is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 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.” Amen! Men complicate God's simple plan of salvation. Christ died, that's history; Christ died for me, that's salvation!
Like other Lordship Salvationists do, Cloud
begins with the proper definition of repentance being a change of mind,
but then he builds off that and morphs it into something very different.
He defines repentance as “a change of mind that results in a change of
life.” That is not the Biblical meaning of “repent,” which is simply “a
change of mind.” If God wanted to ADD the requirement for a commitment to
have one's life changed to be saved, then he would have said so. Cloud
MANDATES a commitment, prior to salvation, to be ready to accept a changed
life after they are saved. Cloud requires a commitment to be ready to
change on the part of the sinner at the time of faith as a prerequisite to
be saved. That is a false plan of salvation.
The Parable of the Sower and His Seed
I teach people that a changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentance, and not a part of the ROOT of saving faith. That is Biblical. But I'm not redefining repentance as David Cloud is doing. Cloud is teaching that if there's no fruit, then there's no tree, and no root. That is, Cloud says if there's no changed life, then a professed Christians was never really saved at all. The truth is that if there's no fruit, then the tree is sick and not what it was meant to be, but there is still a tree with roots.
Biblical evidence of what I am teaching is found in the parable of the sower and the seeds. There are four groups of people in Luke 8:12-15. The first group is not saved, because Satan removes the seed before it can take root. The seed is the gospel, the Word of God. The second group is saved, because the seed spouts into new life, but it has shallow roots that didn't have time to grow deeper and this believer falls by the wayside, living a fruitless life for God. The third group is also saved, because the seed sprouts into new life, but weeds choke the plant. This is the believer who is choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of the world. They also live a fruitless life for God. Ah, but the fourth group are the Christians who grow into mature fruit bearing plants, keeping the Word and bearing much fruit (winning other people to Jesus Christ with the gospel message) for God in their life.
Now the second and third group of believers have roots (they are saved), and they began to grow as a tree, but they never bore any fruit. According to David Cloud they were never saved at all. This is heresy and unbiblical garbage theology that Cloud is teaching. The first group had no roots, because they were never saved. Only the fourth group had roots, a tree and bore fruit, which is God's perfect will for every Christian believer.
David Cloud and other proponents of the Lordship Salvation heresy eliminate the second and third groups. With them it's all-or-nothing, you're either saved or you aren't. There's no middle ground. Well, as I just showed you from the Bible, there are many backslidden and immature sick believers who've never grown into perfection, never becoming the witness for Christ that God desires for every believer to become. If you want to become an instant great Christian and make the Lord very proud, go witness to some lost sinners today with the gospel. That's God's ultimate goal for each and every one of us here on earth.
So as we have just learned from Luke 8:12-15, just because a believer doesn't bear fruit doesn't mean that there is no tree or no root of faith. A believer who lacks a changed life is spiritually sick, immature or backslidden (as were the carnal believers at the church of Corinth, 1st Corinthians 3:1).
Heretic Ray Comfort teaches that there's no such thing as a backslidden Christian, but says they are unsaved...
“When someone is soundly saved, God says: 'I'll take my Law and I'll write it on their hearts, and cause them to walk in my statutes.' That's what happens when someone is soundly saved, they have regard to the divine Law. No longer are they workers of iniquity. They don't lie, they don't steal, they don't kill. They don't commit adultery. They don't lust. They don't hate. They don't get angry without cause. They don't covet. It's those we erroneously call backsliders, who fall away, because they have never slid forward in the first place.
SOURCE: Ray Comfort, audio sermon, TRUE & FALSE CONVERSION
Soundly saved? Ray Comfort says that a “soundly saved” person doesn't lie, steal or lust. What heresy! Buddy, the way you live has nothing to do with your eternal security in Christ Jesus. Our salvation is 100% secure in the promises of God, and not in us doing our very best. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3 says that Abraham's faith was counted for righteousness, which means that you don't need any self-righteousness to be saved, and a good thing, because we don't have any to offer God (Isaiah 64:6).
Ray Comfort and David Cloud fail to fully grasp this truth, because if they did grasp it, they wouldn't be associating a changed life with the imputed righteousness of God which is solely by faith in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:9; Romans 4:5-6). A gift is completely free, having no hidden requirements or obligations, no strings attached to pull it back if you don't fulfil your part. Our part in salvation is simply to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God does all the rest!
A changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentance, and not a part of the ROOT of saving-faith; but that doesn't mean there will always be fruit on the tree. This is evidenced in the parable of the seeds in Luke 8:12-15. First comes the root, then the tree, then the fruit. David Cloud wrongly defines repentance as “a change of mind that results in a change of life.”[1] If this is true, then the second and third group of people in Luke 8:13-14 couldn't be saved, because their life wasn't changed, but the Bible says they were saved. They were shipwrecked and choked, never amounting to anything useful for God in their earthly life, but they were born-again believers nonetheless.
Most Christians today are sitting idle for God, only concerned about paying their bills, having a good time on the weekends, and busy dealing with their problems in life. They are choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this temporary life, failing to lay hold on the eternal life which they already posses. 1st Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” If you are saved, you ought to be debt-leveraging everything in your life to invest in eternity, because nothing in this life is of eternal value. You can't take your possessions with you into eternity.
Ray Comfort has his own vocabulary of frightening terms; such as, “soundly saved.” Prey tell me, what other kind of believer is there? Are there believers who are unsoundly saved? Ray Comfort claims he believes that salvation is by God's grace through faith in the finished work of Christ; and yet Mr. Comfort totally contradicts himself when he teaches that a believer who lives in sin is not “soundly saved.” May I say, ALL BELIEVERS ARE SOUNDLY SAVED! I know that because my salvation is 100% dependent upon God's righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ, and not upon anything that I could ever say or do to merit, help or even validate God's salvation in my life. The validation that I am saved is the promise of God to save those who believe on Christ alone for salvation.
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ―Søren Kierkegaard
God Chastens and Scourges Disobedient Children, But They are Still His Children
In every case of someone who is having difficulty settling the assurance of their salvation, they are looking to what they did in the past (Did I have enough faith? What if I missed something? Did I pray correctly?) as validation of their salvation. In sharp contrast, the Bible teaches us that the presence of God's Holy Spirit in us is proof that we are saved, presently, right now, today! If you do not have the Holy Spirit living in you, convicting you about sin in your daily life, then you need to get saved. This is vastly different than saying that you are not saved if there is sin in your life.
When we sin, it is our fleshly old man, not the Spirit of God in us. The Bible commands us to walk in the Spirit Who lives in us as a child of God. Galatians 5:25, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” The Bible is teaching us here that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our body is sure evidence that we are saved. It is not the doing of good works or forsaking of bad works that is evidence of being saved; but rather, the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, Who influences us to do good works. Proponents of Lordship Salvation misinterpret the Epistle of 1st John to teach that a person who lives in sin is not saved. The Bible does not teach that at all.
Hebrews 12:6-8 teaches that God chastises and scourge His children. If a professed Christian can live in habitual unconfessed and unforsaken sin without being chastised and scourged by God, then the Bible says in Hebrews 12:8 that they are bastards (illegitimate) and not truly saved. So the correct Biblical teaching is not that Christians who habitually sin are not saved (as Ray Comfort, David Cloud and John MacArthur teach); but rather, false Christians who live in habitual sin without being chastised and scourged by God are not saved. Since we cannot know what God is doing in any particular person's life, there is no way for us to determine whether they are saved or not, apart from the direct testimony of their mouth.
It is a false teaching to teach that Christians who live in habitual sin have never really been saved. The true test of one's salvation is the presence of the Holy Spirit, which if a person does have, will convict them over present unconfessed and unforsaken sins in their life. The world's churches are filled with people who abound in good works and a form of synthetic love for one another, but they have never been born-again and do not have the Holy Spirit in them. I have visited Roman Catholic churches and could feel the strong presence of the Holy Spirit in me, while everyone around me was dead in dead religion, worshipping a dead false god. Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this world!
The truth is that every Christian believer has a choice of either walking in the Spirit to please God, or walking in the lusts of the flesh to please self. Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” It is a constant battle, as taught by the apostle Paul in Romans 7:15-25.
David Cloud takes the Bible out of context...
Too many "converts" today are like those Paul warned about in Titus 1:16 -- "They PROFESS that they know God; BUT IN WORKS THEY DENY HIM, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
Notice in the preceding quote that Cloud likens them to “converts,” but the Bible says they are “unbelieving”...
Titus 1:15-16, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”
The Bible is speaking about heathen unsaved people (liberals and modernists) who pretend to be Christians, not about flawed Christians who are living in gross immorality. Cloud attempts to demonize sinful Christians. The irony of all of Cloud's teachings is that every Christian is still in sin, all the time. Lordship Salvationists condemn professed believers who live in willful sin, failing to realize that they are still woeful sinners themselves. The $64,000 question is: Are you righteous in the eyes of God? This can only be accomplished through faith in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, Who died in our place, paying the price for our sins. The entire notion of a believer demonstrating a changed life as validation of salvation mixes and confuses discipleship with sonship. James 2:17-18 speaks of being justified in the eyes of men by our works, which has nothing to do with validating our faith in God's eyes.
The mighty Baptist preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) was saved in a Methodist church as a 15-year-old teenager, which he quit one week later when he discovered they taught that a believer could live in holy perfection above sin. Spurgeon knew, even as a new Christian, that such teaching was ridiculous and unbiblical. This is known as the “Holiness Movement,” a heresy still taught in some Methodist churches. No believer can live above sin. Even the best Christians are still sinners saved by grace, prone to sin because of the flesh. No one has God's permission to sin (Romans 3:31), but we still sin because we are sinners by nature and by choice. I can choose to walk in the Spirit at any given time, but I won't always make that right choice because I am a sinner.
Christian believers still have the capacity as
human beings to commit all of the horrible sins that unbeliever's commit. Your
salvation does not change you one bit. Please read the excellent book by Dr.
Jack Hyles (1926-2001), “Salvation
Is More Than Being Saved.” The Holy Spirit indwells the believer
the moment we are saved (1st Corinthians 3:16-17), beginning a lifetime
process of growing in grace (1st Peter 2:2). We become a Christian
immediately when we trust Christ, but becoming Christlike takes a
lifetime. The “new creature” mentioned in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 is the
“Spirit of Christ” (Holy Spirit) in the born-again believer (Romans 8:9).
Dr. Mark G. Cambron Has it 100% Correct On Repentance
Here is an excellent and needful writing by Dr. Mark G. Cambron (1911-2000) on the subject of REPENTANCE. Please read the following quote carefully, because Dr. Cambron is one of few theologian who gets it, that is, he understands the simplicity of the Gospel and that repentance does not mean turning from sin as proponents of Lordship Salvation foolishly teach.
Here is what the Bible teaches, as explained by Dr. Cambron...
Repentance is necessary for salvation.
The Greek word for repent is metanoeo, which, translated into English is: to change ones mind. It does not mean to turn from sin. That would add works to salvation.
Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from men's ideas of salvation and religion, to an acceptance of Gods only way of salvation.
This results in a completely new creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever after salvation and has not been reformed . . . The old nature can now be controlled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
God guarantees salvation. This is His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient son.
God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient son.
God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.
Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly, by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not understand Gods great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely unscriptural. It is Galatianism and a counterfeit of the gospel.
It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. The Cambron Institute is dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives not to be saved but because they are saved.
Shallow Christianity cannot be cured by adding works to salvation.
Salvation is not the result of what we do, but is by receiving what God has done for us. Acts 13:38, 39; Acts 20:20: Gal. 1:8,9; Gal. 2:4; Gal. 2:21; Gal. 3:1.3; Gal. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10; II Cor. 5:21;John 3:16-18; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5-8:11 Cor. 11:13-1 5.SOURCE: The Cambron Institute
The bottom line to Cloud's teaching on repentance is that you cannot come to Christ for salvation unless you first intend not to walk in sin after you receive Him. This is “qualification by works” as a prerequisite for receiving Christ as Savior. David Cloud is teaching utter heresy, a false plan of salvation... “ANOTHER GOSPEL.”
