by David J. Stewart | October 2016
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Certain things deeply grieve my spirit, just as certain things grieve the
Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:23-32). One of the things that grieves me is the
theological perversion in many of today's religious tracts. Deceitfully,
such printed poisonous propaganda is often called “Gospel tracts,” even
though they don't accurately convey the Gospel truth to the reader.
Literally, I'd say about 90% of the salvation tracts available for purchase
on the internet are theological garbage!
I came across a disturbing Gospel track the other day titled, “HOW TO HAVE PEACE WITH GOD,” printed by MGPI (Macedonia Gospel Publications International) in Georgia. It is garbage! The religious tract has the name of a local independent Baptist church printed on the back page. The church endorses the tract by stamping their church's name and address onto the literature. Shame on them! Someone passed the tract out publicly in my presence.
As born-again Christian and fundamentalist Baptist preacher, I
have an irresistible temptation to examine all “Gospel tracts,” to see if
they really present the clarity of the Gospel, or instead promote a
false plan of salvation that cannot produce the new birth in Christ Jesus.
So I read the tract carefully and, as a true Christian friend, I kindly told
the person who handed out the tract that it is a horrible tract, which does
not present the Gospel properly. In fact, it was a false plan of salvation,
which I will now show you. Please be careful when ordering Gospel tracts to
make sure they actually teach the Gospel.
A Very Horrible Salvation Track Which No Church Should Ever Pass Out!
Here is the horrible perverted Gospel track that I read the other day (I found the publisher of the tract online)...
HOW TO RECEIVE CHRIST:
1) ADMIT YOUR NEED (I AM A SINNER).
2) BE WILLING TO TURN FROM YOUR SINS (REPENT).
3) BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU ON THE CROSS AND ROSE FROM THE GRAVE.
4) THROUGH PRAYER, INVITE JESUS CHRIST TO COME IN AND CONTROL YOUR LIFE THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD OF GOD. (RECEIVE HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR.)
SOURCE: http://www.mgpi.org/tracts-booklets/#home/tractdetails/559c10a2865ae7f05bb3b83e/
Requirement #2 above is false doctrine. No where in the Holy Scriptures are we commanded to “turn from your sins” to be receive the free gift of eternal life. Romans 4:5-6 plainly teaches that a man's faith is COUNTED (IMPUTED) for righteousness, so that no works are needed. The meaning of “repentance” promoted by modern English dictionaries is completely different than the Biblical Greek meaning of “repentance” (which simply means, “a change of mind” or “to think differently”). The modern English dictionary defines the word “repent” as “to turn away from sin or do penitence; to feel sorry for, feel contrite about, remorse for your past conduct.” This is not the Bible meaning, which is very important to understand, lest you go to Hell and lead others into Hell with a false Gospel. Obviously, the Roman Catholic church has had a large influence on the modern English meaning of “repent.”
In sharp contrast, the Biblical Greek meaning of the word repent is “a change of mind” (noun) or “to think differently” (verb). If you want to learn THE TRUTH about Biblical “repentance,” then I plead with you to read “The Great Meaning Of 'METANOIA'” and “EXCEPT YE REPENT” (by Dr. Harry A. Ironside, 1876-1951). You can trust the prolific writings of the man of God, Dr. Harry Ironside.
Requirement #4 above is false doctrine.
First, you don't have to pray to be saved. We are saved by BELIEVING, not by praying. You don't have to open your mouth at all to be saved. We read in John 12:42-43 that many of the chief rulers “BELIEVED” on Jesus, but they “did not CONFESS Him” for fear of the Pharisees kicking them out of the synagogue. The Bible says those chief rulers loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, but they were still saved eternally because they BELIEVED on the Son of God. Clearly, Jesus was their Savior, but they had not received Him as their Lord yet. Amen!
Second, no where in the Holy Bible are we taught to “invite Jesus to come into our life.” That is not how you get born-again. That is not the Gospel. This is hardcore false doctrine!!! We read about the Lord knocking on the door of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:20, because the carnal believers locked Jesus out of His own church. The Lord appealed unto them to open the door, so that He could fellowship with them once again as before. Revelation 3:20 is written to believers, not the lost. You don't get saved by opening your heart to Christ, you get saved ONLY by “the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...” (Romans 1:16b).
Third, no where in the Holy Bible are we commanded to surrender control of our life to Jesus Christ as a requirement to be saved. This is a works-based false plan of damnation, not salvation. It is wickedness to add to the Gospel, requiring a sinner to invite Christ to come into them and control their life through the Holy Spirit to be saved. May I say, God DOESN'T control any believer's life, otherwise what would be the purpose of having a God-given freewill? We all have a CHOICE as believers to either walk in the sinful flesh, or to walk in the Holy Spirit and obey God. Galatians 5:16-18, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Notice carefully that every believer is “led” by the Spirit, not controlled.
Thus, you don't invite Christ into your life as some sort of overlord to control you; but rather, when you trust Jesus as your Savior, He automatically becomes your Lord, and as you grow in grace, hopefully at some point you'll decide to follow Jesus, willingly desirous to be led by the indwelling Holy Spirit. God never forces anyone to get saved, do right or serve Him. We choose to get saved by believing the Gospel of our own freewill; and then as a believer we ought to make a second decision to become a disciple of Jesus, which is also voluntarily of our own freewill (Romans 12:1-2). The Gospel tract which I have (by God's grace and wisdom) exposed on this webpage wrongly mixes and confuses SALVATION with DISCIPLESHIP. This is what the heresy of Lordship Salvation is in its most basic form, i.e., confusing salvation with discipleship!!! It is heresy to require anyone to invite Christ to come in and control their life to be saved. That is not the Gospel. We are saved simply by judging our self as a guilty sinner and BELIEVING the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing else.
I hate this awful religious tract from Macedonia Gospel Publications International. Again, it is called: “HOW TO HAVE PEACE WITH GOD.” The tract was very poorly written by an ignorant person. I say that kindly. Many ignorant and unlearned wannabe Bible scholars wrestle the Holy Scriptures to their own destruction, “being led away with the error of the wicked” (2nd Peter 3:16-17). No one could ever receive the gift of forgiveness of sins or the new birth from reading the corrupt tract we've just examined. You don't get saved by turning from your sins! You don't get saved by inviting Christ to come in, to control your life. The theology is absurd and satanic! This is religion, not the Gospel message!!! This is the error of Cain, adding works to faith.
The “Gospel” (meaning “Good News”) is
that Christ DIED on the cross to pay for all our sins. Jesus died as the
sinless, perfect, acceptable, Lamb of God (John 1:29). Christ died in our
place, paying a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could
not pay. Christ was BURIED. Three days later Jesus bodily RESURRECTED from
the dead as our intercessory High Priest (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:14-16) and
ascended into Heaven, sprinkling His literal precious blood upon the Mercy
Seat in Heaven in the presence of the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 9:12,
22-24; 12:24). Anyone who admits they are a needy sinner in the eyes of a
holy God (Romans 3:19), and by faith receives Christ's sacrifice on the
cross as full-payment for their sins, believing that Christ was buried, and
bodily raised up from the dead three days later, is saved immediately,
irrevocably and permanently (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). It's that simple! You
don't have to be a theologian to get saved, you just need to “BELIEVE ON THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST” as Acts 16:30-31 teaches!!! The “Gospel” is the Good
News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen! Believe it and the
work is done! Please make the Gospel your only hope for Heaven!!!
Jehovah's Witnesses' Cult Agree With Lordship Salvation Perversion
If you examine the core beliefs of the different religious cults; namely, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists, you'll discover that their views on repentance perfectly align with the adherents of the Lordship Salvation heresy. Also, see how Dr. John MacArthur's views on repentance match those of the Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists.
Here's a heretical quote from the Jehovah's Witnesses' handbook titled: “You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth”; from the last chapter titled: “What You Must Do To Live Forever,” pages 250-252).
“However, more than faith is needed. There must also be works to demonstrate what your true feelings are about Jehovah (James 2:20, 26). Have you done things to show that you are sorry for any failing in the past to do what is right? Have you been removed to repent or make changes to bring your life course into harmony with Jehovah's will?”
SOURCE: You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, page 250; WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC; New Edition of 1981
My friend, what you just read is a false plan of salvation. It is “ANOTHER GOSPEL” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). The Bible pronounces a CURSE FROM GOD upon anyone who preaches a corrupted Gospel...
Galatians 1:6-9, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
Sadly, Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) are CURSED!!! I say that with Christ's love. I have no ill-intent toward any Jehovah's Witness. My preaching is strictly against the false teachings of the JW's, which are exposed by shining the light of God's Word upon them. Ephesians 4:15, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” JW's Have Got It All Wrong!
And may I say, the apostate Baptist
churches today who are teaching “Lordship
Salvation” are teaching the same “grace plus works” false
plan of salvation as the Jehovah's Witnesses. As you just read
in the quote from page 250 from “You Can Live Forever In
Paradise On Earth,” JW's teach faith is NOT ENOUGH to be saved.
I hear Independent Baptists teaching the same garbage. Beware of
John MacArthur, Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, John Piper, R.C.
Sproul, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Charles Stanley, Robert
Schuller, Beth Moore, Chip Ingram, Paris Reidhead, James Dobson,
Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Jimmy Swaggert and Billy Graham, to
name just a few of the popular false prophets of our time
concerning the Gospel.
Most Gospel Tracts Don't Make the Gospel Clear At All
Biblically, “the Gospel” is defined as Christ's death on the cross for our sins, His burial, and bodily resurrection three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If you acknowledge yourself as a guilty sinner in the eyes of a holy God (Romans 3:19), and believe the Gospel, then you are immediately and forever saved (Romans 1:16; Mark 1:15; Philippians 3:9; Galatians 3:26; Romans 10:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-9). Please read “I NEVER KNEW YOU” (by Michael P. Bowen) for an excellent defense of the simple Gospel. Also, please hear the awesome MP3 sermon by Dr. Hank Lindstrom titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation?”
“There is power in this Gospel message. Most people just don't know how to present it... The clarity of the Gospel is what makes it easy for them to believe” —Pastor Yankee Arnold, a quote from the excellent MP3 sermon titled, “WHY GRACE CAN SAVE THE WORST MAN!”
The clarity of the Gospel is a very big deal. Again, the clarity of the Gospel is a very big deal. What good does it do to pass out a bunch of religious pamphlets or tracts that are doctrinally corrupt, which utterly fail to clarify how a person gets saved? I mean, why waste God's money (which is what the church tithes 100% are). And if you are a born-again believer, 100% of everything that you own belongs to the Lord. ALL OF IT!!! Why waste God's money on religious mumbo-jumbo that confuses people? Think about it! When you hand somebody a tract that requires them to turn from sins to be saved, what does that mean to them? What sins do you have to turn from? Does that mean to turn away from sinful behavior? Does it mean forsaking shacking up in fornication with a girlfriend, or else you cannot be saved? Does it mean that you should be willing to stop shacking up? If so, then what happens if a couple aren't willing to break up, nor do they want to tie the knot and get married yet? Can they be saved even though they refuse to stop shacking up in fornication?
How about smoking cigarettes, which damages the body? How about consuming beer, which contains the narcotic drug “alcohol.” Do you have to quit smoking to be saved? Do you have to cease from drinking booze to be saved? Can you drink some booze and be saved? Or can you drink some alcohol, but just don't get drunk? Who decides what “drunk” means? The U.S. government says you are legally drunk at 0.08 BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration). What if you trust Christ as your Savior, having a desire to quit getting drunk, but then give up that desire and become a full-blown drunk laying in the street gutter? Do you see how crazy this can all get very quickly? If turning away from sins is a requirement to be saved, then hundreds of theological problems arise, which would require a book to examine. It all becomes a nightmare! This is not “the simplicity that is in Christ” spoken of in 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4. God made His plan of salvation for mankind so SIMPLE that even stupid people can be saved. I say that kindly, but truthfully. There are many stupid people in the world, who could never be saved if God made getting saved complicated.
“There is power in this Gospel message. Most people just don't know how to present it... The clarity of the Gospel is what makes it easy for them to believe” —Pastor Yankee Arnold, a quote from the excellent MP3 sermon titled, “WHY GRACE CAN SAVE THE WORST MAN!”
I'd say that at least ninety-five percent of the religious literature that Baptist churches hand out to unsaved people could never lead anyone to Jesus Christ!!! To tell a lost person to “turn from sins” to be saved could mean dozens of different things. I am convinced that many neo-evangelical Baptist pastors intentionally avoid being clear, because they don't know what it means to repent. Well I DO know. It means “to change your mind,” period. If you change your mind about whatever has been hindering you from believing the Gospel, and you now believe, you are saved! You are not saved by repenting, you are saved by believing, but you would never believe if you hadn't repented. Faith and repentance are inseparable. They happen simultaneously, at the same time. You don't repent AND believe; but rather, you repent TO believe. Repentance is simply seeing myself as a guilty and needy sinner in the sight of a holy God. We all need the dear Savior! (Galatians 3:24-26).
Here is one of the best quotes I've read on “repentance,” by Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951):
“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” (Except Ye Repent, p. 16)
Oh listen my friend, there are so many different meanings of “repentance” circulating in the churches today, that hardly anyone knows what it truly means to repent anymore. Consequently, hardly anyone knows what the true plan of salvation is either. A false repentance means a no salvation!!! When a person reads in a Gospel tract that they are required to “turn from your sins” to be saved, that confuses them, because it is a vague statement. What does it mean to turn from one's sins? Does it mean to stop sinning? Does it mean to try to stop sinning? Does it mean to decide to stop sinning? Does it mean to be willing to try to stop sinning? Does it mean to feel sorry and have remorse over past sins only? What about future sins? What about the sinful bad habits in a person's life right now, today? We all have some sinful bad habits! Do you see how utterly confusing and useless such a teaching is in a Gospel tract???
Clearly, there is nothing simple about such a
horrible piece of trash tract. Shame on the Macedonia Gospel Publications
International. Shame on the independent Baptist church that buys them and
passes them out, confusing people concerning the Gospel. No wonder few
people are coming to Christ anymore to be saved. The Gospel has been made
complicated by perverse theologians, woefully ignorant ministers, naive
tract publishers, counterfeit modern Bible revisions and outright fools!!!
Eternal Life and Forgiveness of Sins Are Free Gifts Received by Believing the Gospel
I highly recommend that you read the beautiful book, “I NEVER KNEW YOU: THE COMING GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT AND HOW YOU CAN AVOID IT!” by Michael P. Bowen, which defends the simplicity that is in Christ! I gave a hardcopy of this book to the pastor of the church who distributes the awful tract I've exposed on this page. Sadly, that pastor is not so fundamental, and he evidently is lackadaisical about doctrinal purity. Thankfully, he is King James Bible only. He's a Pensacola Christian College (PCC) graduate from Florida. The KJB is all they use in their local Baptist church. Unfortunately, he and his congregation are spreading poison in the community by distributing the tract titled, “HOW TO HAVE PEACE WITH GOD,” which requires turning from sins and inviting Christ in, to control your life, to be saved. These are not the Gospel!!!
I love the apostle Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. Adding anything to the Gospel makes it no longer the Gospel (Galatians 1:6). Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” Paul is defending the Gospel. Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Notice that the words “repent” and “repentance” are not mentioned even once in the Epistle of Galatians. This speaks 1,000 words!!!
Clearly, repentance is a part of believing, otherwise Paul would have mentioned the dire need for turning from one's sins to be saved. BUT HE DOESN'T! Paul makes it real clear in Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” I love that simple phrase... “OR BY THE HEARING OF FAITH?” In other words, when you hear the Gospel message being preached, and you believe (place your trust in) the truth you are hearing, you are born-again by faith in the Gospel!!! Amen and amen!!!!!!!
We see evidence of this truth in Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” The apostle Peter preached the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost. This important event happened fifty days after Jesus resurrected from the dead. In response to Peter's preaching of the Gospel, the Bible says that 3,000 people “gladly received (believed) his word” and were saved. Afterwards, they were immediately water baptized as a public profession of their faith. Of course, water baptism is not required for salvation, anymore than a wedding ring is required to make a person married. It is symbolic. Repentance simply means that you change your mind from your idea of how to get to Heaven, to what God says you must do to get to Heaven. Effectively, it means judging yourself as a guilty sinner in the eyes of a holy God, which compels a person to believe the Gospel to be saved. Without repentance no one would ever be saved (John 3:20).
Eternal life and forgiveness of sins are FREE
GIFTS. A gift may only be taken. A gift is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE
proposition. The recipient doesn't have to give anything, they simply take
the gift. If a person has to “turn from sins” to be saved, then salvation
becomes a reward, because human effort is required, which negates “the
gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). It's a serious
matter. This is not a mere matter of semantics!!! Far, far, from it! I will
fight and contend for the Biblical faith until I die (Jude 1:3)! I know I
have eternal life (John 3:16). I do not fear death, because I have the
promise of eternal life by faith in Christ Jesus my God and Savior (Titus
1:2). Eternal life is a gift that God has promised to all those who believe
the Gospel (1st Corinthians 1:21). 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.”
Most Gospel Tracts are Garbage
I'm amazed how a professed fundamental Baptist pastor who uses only the King James Bible, and exposes the modern Bible revisions (which originated from the corrupt 1881 Greek of heretics Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort), will foolishly at the same time hand out poisonous religious tracts that corrupt and pervert the Gospel message, teaching Lordship Salvation instead of the simple Gospel truth. What is wrong with today's pastors? It appears that even the best churches in America always still have a certain amount of toxicity, perversion and corruption which has crept into the church. I plead with you, if you are a born-again believer, to closely examine the Gospel tracts which your church passes out in the community. Make sure they are truly the Gospel, with no additions. Honestly, 95% of Gospel tracts don't accurately present the Gospel. Many don't even mention Christ's death on the cross, His burial or His bodily resurrection three days later. For a concise view of “the Gospel,” please read Dr. Harry Ironside's (1876-1951) excellent book titled, what else, “WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?”
Remember, one of Jesus Christ's very apostles
went to Hell. Judas followed Christ and went to Hell forever. Matthew 27:3
says Judas “repented.” It was false repentance. Judas felt sorry for his
wicked deeds, even returning the thirty pieces of silver, turning from his
sins. Judas went to Hell because he tried to make reconciliation by turning
from his sins. John 6:70 says Judas had a devil in him. Judas spent much
time around the Lord—eating with Him, visiting towns with Him, praying with
Him, working with Him, witnessing Christ's miracles and power—and yet Judas
is burning in the fires and torments of Hell this very moment! Judas had
religion but was not born-again. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people
into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. Have you been
born-again my friend?
We Are Saved Only by the Imputed Righteous of God
Beware of any false Gospel which requires “turning from sins” to be saved. Christ Himself bore the full weight of our sins on the cross, so that we wouldn't have to in the Lake of Fire. The additional requirement of turning from sins to be saved is a product of manmade Roman Catholic dogma, and not the inspired Words of God. It is God who makes the believing sinner righteous through faith in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the imputed righteousness of God. 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.” These are some of my favorite Scriptures.
Romans 4:5-6 were completely left out of Evangelist Ray Comfort's popular “THE EVIDENCE BIBLE.” How could any preacher ignore one of the most important doctrines in the Holy Scriptures? In the back of Mr. Comfort's commentary Bible, there are over 1,000 words listed with page references. The words “impute” and “imputation” are not listed at all. This shouldn't be surprising if you understand that Mr. Comfort is a false prophet who teaches Lordship Salvation. According to Ray Comfort, it is not enough to simply believe the Gospel to be saved. He adds the requirement to turn from sinful behavior to be saved. This is false repentance, not the simplicity that is in Christ. This is why Ray Comfort never leads anybody to the Lord when he goes street preaching. He browbeats people that they are guilty sinners, but that's as far as he ever gets, because no one can give up their sins as he teaches to be saved. I've never heard Ray Comfort mention how many converts he led to the Lord.
In sharp contrast, when the simplicity that is in Christ (i.e., the Gospel) was preached by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, there were 3,000 souls saved in just ONE DAY!!! Amen! God has never saved anybody except THE UNGODLY, as they are, without even the slightest improvement changes or willingness to forsake sinful bad habits. God does not save the self-righteous who trust in men, religion and works, who are trying to be saved; but rather, He only saves trusting sinners. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. God's plan of salvation is so easy and simple that even a small child can be saved, just by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Anybody who acknowledges that they are a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God, and receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for their sins, believing that he was buried and bodily resurrected three days later is saved. It is not what we do that saves us (Titus 3:5), but what Christ has already done to pay for our sins with His precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19).
The devil doctrine of repenting from sins (or a
willingness to turn from sins) to be saved has infected most Baptist
churches today. How's your church doing? I know a local Baptist church that
relishes a visit many years ago to their church by Ray Comfort. That is not
something that I'd be proud of. Mr. Comfort doesn't lead anybody to the
Lord. How can he? You don't get people saved by telling them to stop living
in sinning plus partial faith in Christ. That is what the cults teach.
Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) pioneer,
Ellen G. White, in
her Satanic book, “Steps
To Christ,” teaches Lordship Salvation. Satan wants to take as many
souls to Hell with him as possible. Lordship Salvation is one of his
deadliest weapons, because it adds works to grace, perverting the Gospel!!!
This is the corrupt Calvinistic doctrine of John MacArthur, Kirk Cameron and
Ray Comfort.
The Satanic Lie of Lordship Salvation Must Be Exposed
I have been accused of spending too much time exposing the heresy of Lordship Salvation. By God's grace and will, I'm just getting started. This deadly doctrine is epidemic in the churches today. I have to compensate for all the deadbeat preachers who won't stand for anything. So I'll stand a thousand times instead! Please listen to the awesome MP3 sermon by Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold titled, “Caught Between Grace And Works” (one of my favorite sermons). As Dr. Yankee Arnold explains in the sermon, many pastors began their ministry believing correctly, but now have drifted astray from listening to corrupt radio preachers. So now they teach and preach something that they don't really believe, but have been misled, caught between grace and works! I hope you'll take time to hear the sermon. Also, please listen to the classic MP3 sermon titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation,” by Dr. Hank Lindstrom. If you believe that you can lose your salvation for any reason, you need to get saved because you aren't!
And finally, I want to mention again the
extremely helpful book, “I NEVER
KNEW YOU: THE COMING GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT AND HOW YOU CAN AVOID IT!,”
by Michael P. Bowen. These resources honor the Word of God by defending the
simplicity that is in Christ. I'll stop preaching against Lordship Salvation
when preachers stop preaching it! That'll never happen! Jude 1:3b, “it
was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that
ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints.” Titus 1:10-14, “For there are many unruly and vain
talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must
be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not,
for filthy lucre's sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own,
said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness
is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be
sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of
men, that turn from the truth.” Turning away from sins for
salvation is a manmade commandment, a fable, which turns men from the truth,
away from the simplicity that is in Christ, which is the Gospel.
True Salvation Comes from True Repentance
The bottom line is that forgiveness of sins and eternal life are free gifts, paid in full by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. How dare anyone add the requirement to turn from sinful behavior to be saved, when God has already promised TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE. 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.” Notice that there is no mention of repentance. This is because the man who believes has also repented. Repentance is not a separate act from believing. Repentance is not the same thing as believing, but they happen together and are inseparable. It's like flipping a coin, that is, you cannot turn one side without also turning the other.
You cannot turn to God without turning from idols. 1st Thessalonians 1:9, “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” You don't get saved by turning from idols. But you cannot turn to God without at the same time turning your back against your idols. Likewise, you don't have to turn from your sins to be saved. When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you have also effectively turned your back against sin. So believing automatically takes care of repentance, it is not something separate that you must do. It is false doctrine to teach repentance from sins as a prerequisite to placing one's faith in the Gospel. The man who places his faith in Christ's death on the cross, burial and resurrection has turned his back against sin, for to be saved he had to judge himself as a needy sinner in the sight of a holy God. This is the true Biblical Greek meaning of repentance (metanoia), and not the religious modern English meaning of turning from sins, sorrow and regret for past sins. Repentance is unto the Gospel itself. If any man is wrong on repentance, there can be no new birth, no true salvation.
For an excellent free .pdf book defending the simplicity that is in Christ (i.e., the Gospel) by Michael P. Bowen, please read: I NEVER KNEW YOU: THE COMING GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT AND HOW YOU CAN AVOID IT!
