By David J. Stewart | September 2013
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.”
In acts 15:1 a group of false prophets came to
town teaching a false plan of salvation, errantly requiring sinners to be
physically circumcised in order to be saved. This is no different than the
false teachings of men like Ray Comfort, Paul Washer and John Macarthur who
errantly teach that a person cannot be saved by faith unless they first
determine to cease from their sinful bad habits, forsake the world and
surrender their life to Jesus Christ.
These men are sincere, no doubt,
but they are sincerely wrong, perverting “the simplicity that is in
Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3). If a person must purpose in their heart
to depart from literal sins to be saved, then salvation has become very
complicated for anyone (“For all have sinned...,” Romans 3:23).
In sharp contrast, as the
wonderful Gospel hymns goes, God receives us “JUST AS I AM.” I had the
wonderful opportunity to witness to a woman yesterday, who said that a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) had recently tried to recruit her. I plainly
warned her to avoid the SDA religious cult, because they teach that a person
must cease from sinful living or else they cannot be saved. I preached the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to her. She replied sadly by saying that she was very
“backslidden.” From listening to her further, it became evident that she had
never trusted in Christ's death on the cross for her sins, His burial, and
His resurrection from the dead three days later. This is the glorious gospel
(good news) of the Lord Jesus Christ that saves if you believe on Him alone
(Romans 1:16). We are saved, literally, by RESTING in Christ (Hebrews
4:1-11).
So I continued to talk with this
lady. I had heard Brother Lester Roloff
singing the famous hymn, “Just As I Am,” earlier that day from an old
sermon. So I told the woman that we are all sinners, and mentioned the song
“Just As I Am.” I started to sing it. She remembered hearing the song before
and I saw the happiness in her eyes when I mentioned Romans 4:5, “But to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
THE UNGODLY, his faith is counted for
righteousness.” She realized that God would receive her just as she
is, as a horrible sinner. The heretics teaching Lordship Salvation and
teaching the same FALSE meaning of repentance as the demonic religious cults
of Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism and as I'm showing you the reader in this
important article, also the Jehovah's Witnesses.
I taught her that we ought to live
right because WE ARE saved, not to BE saved. I explained to
her the difference between the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) religion
verses the Bible's teaching concerning sin.
Whereas SDA's require
a person to cease from sinful living in order TO BE saved, the Bible
teaches the exact opposite, that is, we should forsake our sins because WE
ARE saved. God only saves sinners! God doesn't save the self-righteous who
trust in their earthly riches, manmade traditions and church membership.
Repent sinners believe on the
name of Jesus!
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind
about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get
to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for
Hell tonight.”
—Pastor Bob Gray, a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon,
Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church
Whatever changes need to be made
in a new convert's life are God's department, as He convicts every believer,
and they “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye
may grow thereby” (1st Peter 2:2). Lordship Salvationists confuse
salvation with discipleship, and sonship with fellowship. 1st John 1:6,
“If we say that we have fellowship with
him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” In 1st John
the topic is fellowship, not sonship. God accepts us “Just As I am” for
salvation. Anyone who receives the Gospel as full payment for their sins is
saved immediately, irrevocably and eternally.
Jehovah's Witnesses share the same
false beliefs with Lordship Salvationists that faith in Christ Jesus is
insufficient to save a person. They BOTH teach that a person must continue
in obedience in order to be saved. Here is a frightening comparison chart
showing that Ray Comfort, Paul Washer and John MacArthur share the same
beliefs as JW's concerning salvation...
Think about this friend... If God
imputes (i.e.,
places Christ's righteousness upon our record) at the time of salvation,
then why would we have to “continue on” in belief and repentance to have
“true security” as Washer's teaches? That is works salvation! Clearly, Paul
Washer is sincere, but sincerely corrupted and wrong in his teachings. Mr.
Washer understands repentance unto salvation to mean a departure from the
act of sin itself. And he says that anyone who doesn't depart from sin has
never repented.
Paul Washer is tricky in his words. Although he
speaks of “evidence” of salvation, he also plainly makes it clear that those
“evidences” are a requirement for salvation. In effect, Washer has
combined the FRUIT of a believer's faith (James 2:18-21) with the ROOT of a
believer's faith (Romans 4:5-6). To do so is damnable heresy and a
guaranteed road to Hell. The doctrines of Lordship Salvation and the
Perseverance of the Saints are foreign to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Both doctrines are rooted in works salvation.
Paul Washer is clearly a follower of
John Calvin (1483-1546), who
errantly taught that a believer will continue in faith and repentance as
part of salvation. The dangerous mindset in all of Washer's teachings is
that the convert is required to keep his salvation, which goes 100% contrary
to the Biblical teaching that salvation is a NEW BIRTH, a miracle of God
(John 1:12-13), a SECOND BIRTH, which cannot be undone. A person cannot be
unborn physically. Likewise, the spiritual birth is also just as
irreversible.
That is a false Gospel. In one statement Paul
Washer says that we are saved by faith alone; but then in the next statement
he subtly requires giving up one's sinful lifestyle to be saved. Washer says
that repentance must precede faith to be valid. This is not faith alone as
the Bible teaches. The Bible is clear that salvation is without works.
Romans 4:5,6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as
David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works.”
According to Paul Washer's thinking the church
congregation at Corinth wasn't saved, because they lived in horrible sin.
Yet, Paul calls them “babes in Christ” in 1st Corinthians 3:1. In
Romans 12:1, Paul begged the believers at Rome to surrender their
lives to God, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service." They were saved, but they hadn't
presented their bodies to God “a living sacrifice” yet.
Look at the carnal church at
Corinth! They were suing each other (1st
Corinthians 6:6), eating meats offered to idols (1st Corinthians 8:12),
allowing fornication within the church (1st Corinthians 5:1), showing up
drunk at the Lord's Supper (1st Corinthians 11:21), et cetera. The
carnal church at Corinth is proof that Lordship Salvation is a lie. I
am not trying to justify believers who live in sin. I am simply saying that
our salvation is not dependent upon giving up our sins.
Please see the excellent sermon:
“Repentance and Salvation” (by
Pastor Steven L. Anderson).
What is Biblical Repentance?
For a wonderful exegesis on repentance, please
read the article, “The Great Meaning of 'METANOIA'”!
Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) correctly
understood repentance . . .
“Repentance is the very
opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is
utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be
through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom
for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all
self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our
salvation.”
SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside;
Except Ye
Repent, pg. 36)
Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of
the Gospel. Harry A. Ironside correctly recognized repentance as the
confession that “one is utterly without merit” and that if one is “ever
saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Salvation is without works of self-righteousness. Romans 4:5 plainly teaches
that a man's faith is COUNTED for righteousness, i.e., the righteousness of
Jesus Christ is imputed to a sinner by faith in the Gospel.
“Repentance is the
recognition of my sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile
as He has declared me to be in His holy Word.”
SOURCE:
Except Ye
Repent, by Dr. Harry Ironside, chapter 3.
Now it is certainly possible for a person to accept
the hope of salvation and still not be saved, because they failed to see
themselves as a guilty sinner. Turning over a new leaf is false repentance,
not the new birth. We see this evidence in the Bible with Judas. Matthew
27:3 tells us that Judas repented To be saved, a person must acknowledge
being a guilty sinner in God's sight. This is
far different than forsaking the sinful world and commit
one's life to holy living. The latter is consecration, which most believers
never grow to fulfil. This has nothing to do with salvation, which is the
gift of God by faith in Christ's death, burial and resurrection. A gift is
free for the taking, and can have no conditions or strings attached if it is
a genuine gift. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
Biblical repentance is the
realization (change of mind) that I am a guilty sinner, which compels me to
completely rest upon the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. There are only two
ways to Heaven: either you must be completely sinless, perfect in every way,
keeping God's law to the fullest; or you may rest completely in Jesus Christ
by accepting His payment for your sins. Since no human being other than the
sinless Lamb of God has ever been able to fully keep the law of God (Romans
3:23), then in fact there is only ONE WAY TO HEAVEN, and that is by God's
righteousness through faith in His Son Christ Jesus! YOU ARE A SINNER!
Unless you accept Christ's payment for your sins upon the cross, you will
burn in Hell forever.
Jesus died on the cross for OUR
SINS, He was buried, and He was bodily resurrected miraculously from the
dead three days later. Christ ascended into Heaven with His literal shed
blood and sprinkled that liquid blood upon the heavenly Mercy Seat to
appease the wrath of the Father (Hebrews 9:12,24;12:24). The price of sin
has been paid in full! Will you rest completely in Christ, or will you
foolishly trust partially (which is not salvation) by adding forsaking the
world, to stop sinning, make full surrender to Christ, declare “Jesus as
Lord” and other false requirements to be saved? My friend, if you don't want
to hear those horrifying words one day from the Lord's mouth... I NEVER KNEW
YOU!... then you had better rest completely in Christ Who died upon the
cross for your sins, was buried, and raised up from the dead.
Jesus' literal blood is sprinkled
on the Mercy Seat in Heaven as payment for your sins. 1st Peter 1:18-19,
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot.”
The Gospel + Faith = Salvation
All that God requires for salvation is that we
receive Christ's death, burial and resurrection from the dead (three days
later) as full-payment for our sins. Concerning salvation, “repentance” does
NOT mean to cease from sinful bad habits, nor turn over a new
leaf, nor make a full surrender to Christ, nor to forsake the world. A
person may do all of these things and yet never have believe the Gospel at
all. The Gospel is Good News to simply be believed; and not
conditions to be achieved or met. Christ bore the heavy weight of our sins,
so we wouldn't have to in the Lake of Fire. The Lord said that His yoke is
easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).
To demand that lost sinners declare “Jesus is
Lord” (as the perverted New International Version (NIV) of the Bible
requires in Romans 10:9) is a false plan of salvation. If a person must
surrender their life in lordship to Christ, and depart from every sinful bad
habit formed over a lifetime to be saved, then how terrible and heavy is
such a horrible burden!!! In sharp contrast, Jesus said His burden is light,
because the Lord carried the heavy load of our sins upon Himself at Calvary.
Our part in SALVATION is only to believe (trust) upon the name of Jesus. God
does everything else.
I don't know what the future holds, but I do
know who holds the future. My friend, it is easy and simple to be saved. I'm
not saying that anyone has God's permission to get saved and continue living
in gross immorality. God forbid (Romans 3:31). What I am saying is that the
Bible teaches salvation is without works, and a man's faith is counted in
place of righteousness (Romans 4:5-6). And a good thing because we have no
true righteousness (Isaiah 64:6). No amount of self-righteousness can atone
for one's past sins (and we all have innumerable past sins). Even one sin is
enough to condemn a person to the Lake of Fire forever (James 2:10).
That's why God sent His only begotten Son into
the world to pay the debt incurred by our sins. Romans 6:23 teaches that the
“wages” of our sins is death. Sin brings death (Romans 5:12). We all have to
die the physical death (Hebrews 9:27), but we can escape the second death
(Revelation 20:6; 21:8) because of Christ's precious blood sacrifice (1st
Peter 1:18-19). We are saved by the blood. Romans 5:9, “Much more then,
being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him.”
SDA Book “The Great Hope”
Exposed!
Eternal Security
“No Christian will ever have his
name blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life,
for all such have eternal
life—which is unforfeitable and everlasting.”
—Dr.
Harry A. Ironside
“To open
their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of
Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” —Acts 26:18
