We are living in woeful times of ignorance concerning God's Word. The
internet is a cesspool of heresy. Tragically, so are today's churches! I
greatly admire Dr. Peter S. Ruckman's diligent work and defense for the King
James Bible, but Dr.
Ruckman is a dangerous heretic concerning the Gospel. He teaches that
people were saved by works in the Old Testament, and that people again will
be saved by works in the coming Tribulation period. That is total hogwash!
What saith the Scripture? The writer of Hebrews plainly tells us that there has always been only ONE GOSPEL...
Hebrews 4:1-3a, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest...”
The same Gospel of believing on the Lord was preached in the Old Testament. Hebrews 4:1-3 plainly teaches that Moses preached the Good News of faith in Christ to be saved.
What saith the Scripture? Galatians 3:11, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” We know that the preceding Bible verse does not apply only to the New Testament, because Paul is quoting from the Old Testament. Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” Salvation has ALWAYS been by faith in Christ! The just shall LIVE BY FAITH!!! That is, faith is that which brings eternal life.
Further proof is found in Genesis 15:6 concerning Abraham, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Abraham was saved by believing “in the Lord.” And if you are still not onvinced that people were saved by faith alone in the Old Testament (which includes the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), then please ponder the following incontrovertible passage of Scripture...
Romans 4:1-5, “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
I have just given you 100% Biblical proof that Abraham was saved solely by faith! If Abraham had been saved by works, then he would have a right to boast of his own glory, “Hey look everybody, I am so self-righteous that I saved myself!” This is why we are told in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Don't miss that... “NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST”! That is exactly what Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” The Bible couldn't be more plainer in this important doctrinal matter. Abraham was NOT justified by works, for if he had been, he would have had a right to brag of his own righteousness. What saith the Scripture? ...
Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
The whole purpose of God's LAW is to silence
men of their self-righteous boasting, and convince them of their guilty
condition in the sight of a holy God. The LAW then brings us to Christ, to
be saved by God's GRACE (Galatians 3:24-26). If you have any honesty in you
at all, then you know in your heart of hearts that there has always been
only ONE GOSPEL.
The Just Shall Live By Faith
The
godly man Job expressed his faith in the living Redeemer. Job 19:25, “For
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day
upon the earth.” Job knew that his Redeemer would stand upon the earth
in the latter day. Job's faith was in the Savior. Job was not saved by
works! Clearly, Old Testament saints were fully aware of the promised coming
Messiah. We see this evidenced by the heartfelt words of the Samaritan woman
to Jesus in John 4:25, “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias
cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all
things.” This woman could have just as easily lived and made this
statement a thousand years earlier! Throughout the Old Testament, it was
common knowledge that the Messiah was coming! Many, like this dear woman,
were looking and waiting for the promised Messiah.
Furthermore, Jesus Himself plainly said that the Gospel was preached by the prophets throughout the Old Testament...
Luke 18:31-34, “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
Jesus plainly said that His suffering, death and resurrection were foretold by the prophets of old. Granted, the details of Christ's crucifixion were vague to people living in the Old Testament, but we are not saved by understanding the cross, nor by becoming a theologian, nor by figuring everything out; but rather, simply by placing childlike faith “in the Lord.” That is exactly what Abraham did in Genesis 15:6, he simply “believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Argue as one way, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!!! We have such a beautiful God. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!!!!!
We read in Acts 4:10-12 that salvation is found ONLY in Christ. Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” People have always been saved by trusting upon the Savior. There has NEVER been a time when someone was saved by works!!! Salvation has always been BY FAITH alone!!!
NO ONE was ever saved by keeping the law, NO
ONE! I am dumbfounded by the ignorance of theologians like Peter Ruckman!
Since Dr. Ruckman is a brilliant speaker, and a bold preacher, and
considered the godfather of the King James Bible only movement, many
Christian men have given him Carte Blanche in all doctrinal matters. That is
as foolish as it is dangerous! Dr. Ruckman is very wrong in his bizarre
views of Old Testament and Tribulation salvation, and I won't be quiet about
it! Mr. Ruckman is a false prophet on some critically important matters!!! I
agree with Pastor Steven Anderson that Dr. Ruckman's false teachings are
equivalent to a gateway drug! That is, it sets a dangerous precedent for
salvation by grace plus works!
The Counterfeit Gospel of Dr. Peter S. Ruckman
As much as I admire Dr. Peter Ruckman (1921-1916) for his work defending the King James Bible, who is responsible more than anyone else next to Dr. Gail Riplinger for enlightening modern Christians of the horrifying truth behind the Satanic Alexandrian Satanic Bible perversions, I am compelled as a Bible preacher to expose and refute Dr. Ruckman as a false prophet in this matter of salvation by works plus faith during the Old Testament and future Tribulation. Dr. Ruckman errantly states:
“Before the Rapture, you could have been saved by grace through faith plus nothing (Ephesians 2:8-9), but one minute after the Rapture took place you must get out the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule and start learning them, because you’re going to be judged by them (Matthew 25:31-46).” (Ruckman, Peter. Millions Disappear. 1989, p. 23)
It will take faith in Christ’s shed blood, plus works—exactly as in the OT it took faith in shed blood and works. (Ruckman, Peter. Millions Disappear. 1989, p. 26)
What a bold-faced liar!!! God pity the foolish preacher who follows this “PUFFED UP” man in his vain knowledge and teachings of salvation by “FAITH IN CHRIST'S SHED BLOOD, PLUS WORKS” in the Old Testament and coming Tribulation. Dear reader, one of the fastest and surest ways to wrongly divide the Word of Truth is to think too deep! That is why I detest the whole idea of dispensational teaching. There are pastors whom I love, like Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951), that teach Dispensationalism, but I do not agree with them. In my experience, I have found that dispensational teaching confuses people and often begets many heresies. Case in point is Peter Ruckman, who has divided the Bible into so many dispensations that he is divided in his own mind, creating divisions to his divisions, utterly confusing when he tries to teach his multiple plans of salvation. Dr. Ruckman identifies at least six different plans of salvation in the book of Acts alone! No thanks pal, I'll stick to the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4)!!!
I support Dr. Ruckman for his awesome teachings on the King James Bible, minus his whacky ideas of double-inspiration, with which I completely disagree. Albeit, there is nothing more important than the clarity of the Gospel. I am mainly concerned about his false teachings of salvation by works plus faith in the coming Tribulation, because Dr. Ruckman's counterfeit Gospel could cause many people to miss the Gospel and go to Hell. There is absolutely nothing in the Scriptures to support such a horrible and inaccurate philosophy, which says that a person must perform good works to be saved during the Tribulation!
One of the reasons why preachers tolerate Dr. Ruckman, is simply because he claims that salvation in this present Church age is by faith alone and God's grace. However, something is VERY WRONG with a Bible scholar who identifies multiple plans of salvation in the Holy Bible. You better believe that doesn't set right with me, and it ought not set right with you either! We have the plain statements of the Scriptures that Abraham was saved because he “believed in the Lord” (Genesis 15:6). For anyone to claim that under Moses, after the law was given, that the plan of salvation changed to being one of works plus faith, is 100% of the Devil. Hebrews 4:1-3 says that Moses preached “THE GOSPEL” unto them in the Wilderness.
The Bible would be extremely misleading and
rotten, if this “GOSPEL” were something other than the same Gospel which
Paul taught in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. Paul warned that there is a “curse”
from God upon anyone, even an angel, who preaches “ANOTHER GOSPEL”
(Galatians 1:6-9). The fact that the Holy Bible DOESN'T present to the
reader multiple Gospels speaks volumes! So not only are we not taught
multiple plans of salvation in the Bible, but also we are warned that there
is a curse upon anyone who does! Peter Ruckman is cursed by God!!! I didn't
say that, God did in His Word! The Bible doesn't say that there is only a
curse upon a person who teaches another Gospel for this time and age, but
for any time and age!!!
Works for Salvation is the Most Offensive Thing to God!
I
receive quite a few e-mails, from people who are driving themselves nuts by
trying to overanalyze the Gospel. Most of them have been confused by
listening to heretics on the internet; such as, Robert Breaker, William P.
Grady and Peter Ruckman (who all teach Old Testament salvation by works).
Other web visitors have been confused be false prophets; such as, Ray
Comfort, Paul Washer and John MacArthur (who all teach Lordship Salvation).
Others have been confused by false prophets; such as, Jack Chick, Charles
Lawson and David W. Cloud (who require a willingness to “turn from sins” to
be saved). There is a popular heresy that says Peter and Paul preached
different Gospels. Nothing could be further from the truth! Some nuts say
that Paul's Gospel was different from Jesus' Gospel. That is untrue! I heard
a nutty preacher say the other day, that the 3,000 people saved in Acts
2:38-41 were required to be water baptized to be saved, and that this was a
different Gospel than for us today. That is absurd! Ignorance of the
Scriptures is a very dangerous thing!!!
I cannot think of anything as offensive to God, as claiming that somebody at any time in human civilization, could ever be saved by works! I once witnessed to a Roman Catholic man who said that he believes we are saved by “faith and works.” May I say kindly, that is impossible!!! Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” Adding works to grace crosses out grace! That is exactly what Romans 11:6 says, as you just read. There is NO SUCH ANIMAL as faith plus works! You're either saved by the keeping of the law or by faith.
Galatians 3:1-2, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” It doesn't get any simpler than that? Paul wanted to know from the Galatians how they got saved. Was it by works or by faith! The phrase “hearing of faith” simply means that when you hear the Gospel preached, you believe it!
We find a beautiful example in the Scriptures of “hearing of faith” in Acts chapter ten. There was a centurion (a Roman commander over one hundred soldiers) named Cornelius. The Bible says that Cornelius devoutly feared God, prayed always, and gave much alms to the poor. Interestingly, Cornelius was a lost man! This is a very important passage of Scripture in Acts 10, because it shows that even good people who love God, pray and give money to charity, can still perish in their sins and go to Hell. God shewed mercy on Cornelius by arranging for him and the apostle Peter to meet, so Cornelius could hear the Gospel. I love this passage of Scripture in Acts 10, because it shows very clearly how simple it is to be saved. Read what the Holy Bible says...
Acts 10:43-44, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
The Holy Ghost immediately indwelt the listeners because they believed and were saved. The most important truth that I want you to notice here, is that Peter didn't tell them to do anything! Please don't miss that! Peter never said to do even one thing! Peter simply told them the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen, and when they heard those words (the “hearing of faith”) and BELIEVED, they were saved!!! I LOVE THAT! We are saved by the “HEARING OF FAITH,” and not by WORKS! That is, we are saved by placing our faith in the Gospel when we hear it.
In the Old Testament, God killed a man for collecting sticks on the Sabbath Day (Numbers 15:32-36). That was because picking up sticks represented adding works to faith. That is how offensive it is to God when someone adds works to faith! The Sabbath Day was a day of rest, a memorial of God resting on the seventh-day from His work of creating the universe in 6 days. There is a great theological meaning in all of this! The Sabbath Day according to Hebrews 4:10-11 represents Jesus Christ, in Whom we simply “rest” for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Jesus is our Sabbath today. Seventh-day Adventists are so silly and foolish, who miserably worship the creature instead of the Creator! Instead of trusting Christ alone, which is what the Sabbath Day pictures; they trust in the Sabbath Day itself, the observation of which is a requirement to be saved in their false religion. Colossians 2:14-16 teaches that the Sabbath Day (a temporary ceremonial law) was nailed to the cross. Christ is the “END OF THE LAW” to them that believe (Romans 10:3-4). That is, Jesus is the fulfillment of what the LAW is intended to do, which is to show us our sinnership, and then bring us to Christ to be saved by God's GRACE (Galatians 3:24-26).
In 2nd Samuel 6:1-7 we read the tragic story of Uzzah, a sincere man who wanted to be helpful, which cost him his life. When the Ark of the Covenant (which contained the Word of God inside) started to wobble, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark from toppling over. God instantly killed him for it! This is because you don't mess with God's Word! God killed a man for merely picking up sticks on the Sabbath Day, to let everyone know that you don't mess with the Gospel. And likewise, God killed a man for merely touching the Ark of the Covenant, to let everyone know that you don't touch God's Word. That which is holy is sacred and must be respected. That is why God punished king Saul, for his lack of respect for holy things. When the priest was late, Saul took it upon himself to do the priest's work, as if it were some sort of hocus-pocus or witchcraft. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Saul. Nothing is as offensive to God as those who mess with His incorruptible Word, and the simplicity of the Gospel.
Adding works to grace is so offensive to God that He curses anyone who does it! ...
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.”
There is nothing in the Scriptures about a
“new” Gospel.
The Old Covenant Verses the New Covenant
The
Holy Bible as a whole can be divided into LAW and GRACE. In simplest terms,
this teaches all humanity that we sinners condemned under the law, but God
has gracious made a way of escape through the sacrifice of His only begotten
Son Jesus Christ on the cross. We need the Old Testament to understand the
New Testament, to give it meaning and depth. The law was only a shadow of
the good things that were coming, not the realities themselves. For this
reason the law could never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year
after year, save those who draw near to worship. Jesus Christ is the END of
the law, that is, by resting in Jesus alone for forgiveness of sins and
eternal life, we are counted righteous in God's sight, just as if we had
perfectly kept the law of God. This is the imputed righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”
The Old Testament is a record of the nation of Israel struggling and utterly failing to keep its covenant with God. The New Testament is a record of Jesus Christ keeping that covenant, doing what Israel could not do (i.e., living a sinless life), and through His sacrifice on the cross offering that perfect righteousness to anyone who receives Him by faith. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Once a man is saved, he is now under grace, and the curse of the law no longer has any power over him. The purpose of the Old Testament was to shew men their guilty condition in God's sight (Romans 3:19), and establish that no man has ever been justified by works (Romans 3:20). Don't miss that! ...
Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
NO MAN HAS EVER BEEN JUSTIFIED BY WORKS! If the Old Testament saints were justified by faith plus works, then they all went to Hell! The reason why is because NO ONE has ever been able to keep the law. According to Dr. Ruckman, faith alone wasn't enough to save a sinner in the Old Testament. The very idea of mixing works with faith is satanic to the core!!! It blows my mind that Peter Ruckman and his follows teach this garbage! I am not a follower of Peter Ruckman, I simply take the good and leave the bad. I do not know of another man who has done more to uphold, honor and promote the inspiration of the King James Bible than Peter Ruckman, which makes him all that much more dangerous when he teaches MULTIPLE GOSPELS!
Dr. Ruckman errantly teaches:
The original “plan of salvation” was pure WORKS (Gen. 2:16-17), and in the Millennium the last plan of salvation is again pure WORKS (Rev. 22:14), contrary to every immature, milksop, Baptist baby in your town or city. Genesis 3:22 corrects the kiddies. (Ruckman, Peter. Ruckman’s Bible References: Personal Notes on Salient Verses in the Bible, p. 7)
For the Old Testament Dr. Ruckman has an erratic system, with the method of salvation switching back and forth, from faith to works and then back to faith, in an attempt to deal with some theological difficulties. Notice the following:
In the Old Testament, you find salvation before the Law by grace through faith and under the Law by faith and works… (Ruckman, Peter. Body, Soul, and Spirit. 1986, 1997, p. 12)
That is preposterous! I cannot fathom the disturbing theological ignorance of this brilliant man! How could anyone buy into the Devil's lie that salvation was by faith alone before Moses, but then became by works under the Mosaic law, and then reverted back to faith alone in the New Testament? Dr. Ruckman is WRONG! Salvation has ALWAYS been by faith alone. Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Here is a plain statement from the Scriptures that salvation has ALWAYS been through faith alone in Christ!!!
Carefully notice in the following Scripture concerning the Passover in Egypt, that those who saved were not saved by their own works, but BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB! The blood was a token, a symbol of their faith in Christ...
Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
The true story of the Passover is symbolic of salvation by grace through faith in the slain Lamb of God. If the blood was not applied to the door of the home, then the firstborn of all children and animals died. The Passover teaches us that salvation has ALWAYS been through Christ's precious blood!!! Atonement of sins under the Mosaic covenant centered around the blood of the lamb! 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.” Salvation has always been by grace alone through faith in the Savior! We are redeemed today, just as back then in Moses' day, by the blood of the Lamb sprinkled on the Mercy Seat!!!
Also, we read in Romans 4:2 that if Abraham had been saved by works, then he would have had a right to glory (boast), but not of God. Abraham could have taken credit, in part, for his own salvation. That is blasphemy! God will not share His glory with anyone! If you go to Heaven, either God does the saving, ALL OF IT, or else you don't go!!! So why would anything change under Moses? I mean, if people were saved by works under Moses, then they would have a right to glory of their own righteousness!!! Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” It would be silly and foolish to claim that people were saved differently under Moses, that is, after the law was given, because then they WOULD have “whereof to glory, but not of God”!!!
The notion a lost sinner could be justified under the Mosaic covenant by keeping the law is absurd! I would expect an unlearned Bible student to misinterpret the truth, wrongly dividing the Scriptures, but there is no excuse for someone like Dr. Ruckman or Dr. Bill Grady (his protégée). I say that kindly. These are supposedly learned men in the Scriptures, yet they disregard grace under the ridiculous claim of it being in a different “dispensation.” This is one more reason why I strongly reject all forms of dispensational teaching, which is confusing at best. Proponents of Dispensationalism claim that it is simply an overlay upon the Scriptures, to aid the Bible student in understanding the Bible. What it really amounts to is a subtle way of indoctrinating the churches with Zionism, and thus leading them to support the New World Order via modern manmade Israel. Consequently, the emphasis changes from preaching the Gospel to supporting Israel. Granted, there are milder forms of dispensational teaching, which are more tolerable, but I don't like any of it.
The truth is that if you never picked up a Scofield reference Bible, or something similar promoting such ideas, you wouldn't come up with Dispensationalism in a thousand years of diligently searching the Scriptures!!! Dispensationalism is a manmade system that wrongly divides the Word of Truth! Whereas Dispensationalism divides the Holy Bible into SEVEN segments, God has already divided His Word into TWO great divisions of: OLD and NEW Testaments (i.e., LAW and GRACE). Christ is the end of the law by faith. Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Those corrupt Bible scholars who foolishly teach that salvation was by works in the Old Testament utterly fail to see the big picture of LAW and GRACE! They cannot see the forest for the trees! The are lost somewhere aimless wandering in the Wilderness with the Hebrews, still stuck on trying to keep the law to be saved. We have a beautiful truth told to us in Hebrews 4:1-3. This truth is that Moses PREACHED THE GOSPEL UNTO THEM!!! That is how people were saved in the Old Testament, by believing the Good News when they heard it!
The Old Testament saints were under the first covenant, and New Testament saints are under the new covenant; but BOTH covenants are based on the SAME Gospel. I love the book of Hebrews! In fact, it just may be my favorite book in the Holy Bible. I love Hebrews because it brings everything together and connects the New Testament with the Old Testament, explaining salvation beautifully. What a powerful reservoir of truth! Hebrews 9:11, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” Under the Old Covenant, all of the future High Priestly work of Christ in Heaven, was foreshadowed by the earthly priests and tabernacle, which were a pattern of things to come.
Hebrews 9:23, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” The fulfillment of the New Covenant was embodied within the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant. They were a type of Jesus, our heavenly High Priest, Who entered into the Holy Place and sprinkled His liquid blood upon the Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:12, 24; 12:24). The Old Covenant (LAW) was given to show us the weakness and inability of man to keep God's holy commandments. Thus, realizing our sinnership and inability to save ourselves, we are brought by God's law to Jesus Christ, to be saved by GRACE under the New Covenant (Galatians 3:24-26).
Consider this important thought—If saints were
saved by WORKS under the law of Moses, then why did they need the
sacrificial lamb? Why did the tabernacle high priest need to kill a spotless
male lamb each year, and then sprinkle that shed blood upon the Mercy Seat
atop the Ark of the Covenant? If the people could have been redeemed by
their own human efforts, through trying to keep the law, then there would
have been no need for the lamb! But they couldn't perfectly keep the law,
which is exactly why the lamb was needed, which was a symbol of the coming
Lamb of God who paid for our sins on the cross. Jesus Christ once and for
all washed away our sins, to those who believe on Him. What a glorious
blessed Redeemer!!!
The Impossibility of Having More Than One Gospel
The
one great message of the inspired Word of God is summarized in John
3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
Jesus is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation
13:8b). God dwells in eternity, not time. This is why the Bible says one
day is as a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years as one day (2nd
Peter 3:8). That is quite a remarkable truth! God created time as a way of
letting His friends know what will happen next on God's prophetic calendar.
Before God ever created the first man, Christ had already been slain in eternity. Some Bible teachers claim that “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world” refers to Abel's lamb sacrifice, but that is not accurate. We know that Jesus is the “Lamb” spoken of because the “BOOK OF LIFE OF THE LAMB” is plainly mentioned in 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.” Our beloved Christ is the precious “Lamb” slain from the foundation of the world. That is what Christianity is all about!!! The very idea that people were saved in the Old Testament by “works” is as Satanic to the core as it is highly offensive to God!
Kindly, Peter Ruckman was inspired by demons when he taught that Old Testament saints were saved by works! The precious LAMB OF GOD was slain from the foundation of the world. God totally REJECTED Cain's vegetable offering from his field...
Genesis 4:2-5, “And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
Ah, but God had respect unto Abel's lamb sacrifice. We know it was a lamb because the Bible plainly says that Abel was “a keeper of sheep.” Now listen dear reader, where in the world does Peter Ruckman, or Bill Grady, or Robert Breaker, and other bad students of the Holy Bible, derive their false doctrine that says people were saved by works in the Old Testament? These men are puffed up with knowledge. Their brains are swollen with vanity and pride, robbing the glory that belongs only to God in the salvation of men's souls. 1st Corinthians 8:1b, “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” Theologians are scary people!!! I have already quoted several passages of Scripture to you, that warn against boasting and glorying in one's self-righteousness.
I could further elaborate concerning Adam, who sewed fig leaves together in an attempt to atone for his own sins, and that of his Satanically deceived wife. God rejected Adam's fig-leaf religion. Consider what I say dear friend. We can perceive from these numerous Biblical examples of faith gone wrong, that works have no place in God's salvation of a man. Everyone has faith in something, whether it be in one's own contemptible human wisdom or the precious redeeming Lamb of God. My faith rests in the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ!!!!!!! Adam and Cain were sincere, but they failed to grasp God's profound plan of redemption for mankind, which is solely through faith in the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.
In the belly of the whale, the prophet Jonah pondered the profoundly simple truth that, “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9b). We saw this truth witnessed to be true with Abraham, whose faith “in the Lord” was counted for righteousness. Genesis 15:6, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” There is not one mention of “works” concerning Adam, Cain, Abraham or Jonah to be saved. In Hebrews 4:1-3 there is no mention of “works” concerning the Hebrews who wandered in the Wilderness for forty years. The Bible says some believed but most perished in unbelief, because they heard the Gospel, but “not being mixed with faith in them that heard it,” it couldn't save them. The Gospel is only “the power of God unto salvation” to “every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16). Without faith, the Gospel is powerless to save anyone!
It is utterly IMPOSSIBLE to have more than one Gospel, for it would violate the very character, nature and purpose of the LAMB OF GOD SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. Salvation has ALWAYS been by God's wondrous grace, offered to undeserving sinners, through faith alone in the Savior. Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” Don't miss that! I tell you, it is IMPOSSIBLE!!! The most important truth set forth in the inspired Word of God—from the innocent lamb killed by Abel in Genesis, to the saints whose robes are washed by the blood of the Lamb in Revelation—It is the precious redeeming BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!!! John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” That has always been THE ONLY way of salvation, through the Lamb of God! ...
Acts 10:43-44, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
There is nothing mentioned about “works” in the preceding Scripture passage! It is for the same underlying reasons that salvation is only by God's grace, that it could never have been, nor ever will be, by “works”! We have no right to glory of our own accord. For the same reason why Abraham had no right to glory of his own, neither did anyone under Moses have a right to boast, and neither does anyone today have a right to brag of their own goodness. Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved by God's grace through faith, “Not of works, lest any man should boast”! NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST! No one under the Mosaic law had a right to boast, but they would have had a right to glory, if Peter Ruckman is correct that they were saved by “works.”
One thing I have learned during the 39 years I have been saved, is how simple the Word of God really is, specifically the King James Bible. The longer I am saved and ponder the Scriptures, the more simple it becomes. The whole Bible is divided into LAW and GRACE. Of the 6,000 years of human civilization, God used the first 4,000 years to teach us the LAW, that we are sinners; and then for the past 2,000 years God has taught us that the solution is GRACE, which freely offers salvation through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ! For anyone to claim that people were saved by “works” under the law, perverts this truth, ignoring grace!
One of the things that has helped me see the Bible plainly is simply listening to Alexander Scourby read the King James Bible, and not reading too much into the message. God didn't put a bunch of secret society-style hidden esoteric meaning in the Bible! A lot of Bible students and preachers go horribly astray by reading meaning into the Scriptures that doesn't exist. I can't think of a better example than dispensational teaching; it's just not found in the Bible! Zionism is unbiblical. Lordship Salvation is unbiblical. Turning from sins to be saved is unbiblical. Praying to be saved is unbiblical. And salvation by “works” at any time in history is unbiblical.
