by David J. Stewart | April 2016
2nd Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
I was intrigued today by two pieces of
literature that I came across, and how they perfectly came together in my
mind to write this article. One was doctrinally correct, but the other
completely heretical.
The first piece of literature was “BIMI WORLD,” a trustworthy missionary publication from Baptist International Missions Incorporated. I have never received a penny for my labors for Christ, nor will I ever, but if you want my opinion where to give, it would be to BIMI. They are King James Bible only. They are a missionary board, who are a liaison between the churches and about 900 missionaries worldwide. I've heard some preachers preach against mission boards, but I firmly support them (if they are King James Bible only), because they have the resources to help missionaries that a small church simply could not afford or make happen (such as medical assistance, field directors to monitor missionaries, disaster relief, et cetera). It was Pastor Lee Roberson (1909-2007) who started BIMI in 1960. I would never give a dime to any charity that pays it's director a 6-digit salary (such as the Salvation Army). I thank God for BIMI, who do not exploit the Lord's work for profit.
I read a very good quote today from BIMI Director David H. Snyder on the second page of the publication:
“It is Satan's desire to hide the cross from those who are unsaved so they will be lost for all eternity. The devil uses many different things like religion, baptism, good works, moral living, sinful pleasures, bitterness, wealth, and difficult circumstances to hide the light of the Gospel.”
SOURCE: BIMI WORLD; Director David H. Snyder; p. 2., Volume 52, Number , 2016.
That
is so very true. I usually say that Satan has provided many substitutes for
the Gospel, but I never thought of it that way before, that is, that the
Devil hides the cross from the unsaved. That is very true! A popular
teaching that we hear nowadays is to “Invite Jesus into your life,” which is
not the Gospel.
The second piece of literature that I came across today (heretical) was the “Amazing Facts Study Guide” published by the Seventh-day Adventists (SDA). On page 11 it reads:
How can I be certain to be ready when Jesus comes back?
“He who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God” (John 1:12). “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10). “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Answer: Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20). Through the Holy Spirit and my conscience, Jesus knocks and asks to come into my heart so that He can change my life. If I unreservedly turn my life over to Him, He will erase all my sins of the past (Romans 3:25) and give me the power to live a godly life (John 1:12). As a free gift, He bestows upon me His own righteous character so I can stand unafraid before a holy God when my life in changed by Jesus. Then doing His will becomes a pleasure. It is so simple that many doubt its reality. But it's true. My part is simply to give my life to Christ and let Him live within me. His part is to work the mighty miracle within me that changes my life and prepares me for His second coming. It is a free gift. I need only accept it.
SOURCE: The Ultimate Deliverances: Amazing Facts Study Guide, volume #8; p. 11; AMAZING FACTS, Roseville, Ca.
There is so much heresy in the preceding quote from an SDA publication that I could write a book exposing it!!!
To
begin, please notice that no mention is made of THE CROSS! No mention is
made of Jesus being crucified for our sins, or of the precious blood that He
shed to pay for our sins. There is no mention of Christ's burial, nor of His
bodily resurrection the third day. These are the elements which constitute
“the Gospel”:
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.”
Here we have a plain definition of what “the Gospel” is, so there's no reason to guess, speculate or wonder. Christ DIED on the cross for our sins, He was BURIED, and He bodily RESURRECTED the third day for our justification.
I love the drawing to the above right. When a man receives (believes) THE GOSPEL by faith, he is saved, and God sees Him as righteous through the cross of Calvary. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. We are saved by God's imputed righteousness! Everyone's sins were imputed to Jesus Christ on the cross, and He paid for our sins in full. That's why eternal life is a free gift. Jesus paid it all! You don't have to ask Jesus to forgive your sins, because He has already paid for them on the cross. You simply need to receive God's gift of forgiveness by faith in the Gospel. And then God imputes Christ's righteousness to us, without works. Romans 4:5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted (imputed) for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” The words “counted” and “imputed” in the preceding text BOTH come from the exact same Greek word. Thus, by faith our sins are counted to Christ and His righteousness is counted to us. Amen!
Now that I've explained to you plainly from the Holy Scriptures what THE GOSPEL is, let's further examine the preceding Seventh-day Adventist quote. It is complete heresy! SDA's teach . . . “If I unreservedly turn my life over to Him, He will erase all my sins of the past.” Ladies and gentleman, that is not the Gospel. Where in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 are we instructed to turn our life over to Christ without reservation? We are not. SDA teaches a false Gospel, “another Gospel” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).
The heretical quote I just gave you by SDA's is followed by Romans 3:25. They left out verse 24. Romans 3:24-25, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Notice clearly that SDA's recklessly attempt to use this Scripture reference to bolster their false doctrine. Romans 3:24-25 tells us that we are justified freely “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” and not by turning our life completely over to Christ. The average person would take their word for it and not search the Scriptures. My friend, this is how the Devil deceives people...
“It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.” —Horace Greeley (1811-1872)
Jesus taught us to do our own homework. John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
Here
again is another horribly inaccurate teaching from the preceding SDA quote .
. . “My
part is simply to give my life to Christ and let Him live within me. His
part is to work the mighty miracle within me that changes my life and
prepares me for His second coming.” Is
that Biblical? Are we commanded by God to give our life to Christ to be
saved? No, that is not the Gospel. Salvation is not about what we can
give to God; but rather, it's about what God has already given to us—the
sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross!!!
Seventh-day Adventism is a satanic religious
cult, that hides the cross in an elaborate system of religious jargon. As I
have shown you from SDA's lame answer to the question, “How
can I be certain to be ready when Jesus comes back?,” that they have totally
evaded the Gospel. Instead, the reader is persuaded to live the Christian
life to be saved. That is religion, not salvation. Satan's greatest weapon
is to con people into living the Christian life without being born-again!!!
Satan is a beautiful liar! In other SDA literature, they do seem to believe
the Gospel superficially, but please do not be deceived by this
Masonic infiltration
group, they do not
believe the Gospel as taught in the Word of God. In fact, SDA's highly
revere the writings of their prophetess,
Ellen G. White
(1827-1915). Miss White claimed to have seen numerous visions, proclaiming
herself an end times prophetess to prepare God's people for Christ's Second
Coming. In sharp contrast, the Holy Bible teaches in Hebrews 1:1-2 that God
speaks to us in these last days through His Son, that is, the Word of God
(John 1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13).
How Satan is Turning Evangelical Churches From the Gospel to Religion
I have so far given you one frightening way that Satan hides the cross from the unsaved, through the Seventh-day Adventist religion. But even more disturbing is knowing that America's 90-100 million evangelicals[1] have adopted a very similar religious philosophy as the Seventh-day Adventists concerning salvation. Ellen G. White taught a wrong view of repentance, which is virtually identical to the Lordship Salvation heresy being taught in many Baptist, non-denominational and other church denominations today.
I have a copy of “Steps To Christ” in front of me, and I am going to share with you a quote from Ellen White's chapter titled, “REPENTANCE” . . .
“Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.”
SOURCE: Ellen G. White, Steps To Christ, pp. 23-24.
What
you just read is heresy! It is the Holy Spirit of God that produces changes in
a believer's life, and not a mandatory change of heart to be saved. I'm tired
of hearing false teachers say that you must have a change of heart and life to be saved. In effect, they are teaching that there can be no regeneration
(being born-again) until there has first been reformation (a changed life).
That is backwards! The Bible teaches that there can be no reformation until
there has been regeneration (the new birth). To require a change heart for
salvation is religion, and does NOT produce the new birth. A change of mind is
a decision, but a change of heart is character. Tragically, all
across America, Independent Baptist Pastors are teaching exactly what Ellen G.
White taught. This is not the Gospel; but rather, it is akin to the
errant
Roman Catholic teaching on repentance.
Ellen White says that a person's life will never change unless they have a change of heart, which she understands to be the meaning of repentance for salvation. The truth is that there are different meanings of repentance in the Bible. The word “repent” (metanoia or metanoeo) concerning salvation simply means “a change of mind.” Even Wikipedia.org gets it right, teaching the truth that METANOIA means to change one's mind. This has nothing to do with changing one's behavior, life or heart. Many evangelical church leaders today are sadly teaching the heresy of Lordship Salvation.
The multitude of new counterfeit Bible versions have been corrupted by Satan. What most churchgoers don't know is that all the new Bible were translated from a different source than the King James Bible. In fact, Luciferian occultists are behind the modern Bible versions!!! Satan has changed (perverted) the Bible, changing what it means to “repent,” changing how to be saved. Thus, more and more people are being led astray into religion, living the Christian life without ever being born-again! The new Bible versions teach people in Romans 10:9 to superstitiously say “Jesus is Lord” to be saved. Again, go back to the beginning of this article (or read 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 - Note: All Scriptures references only to King James Bible) and review what “THE GOSPEL” means, and you will see that declaring Jesus as the “Lord” of your life is not a part of the Gospel. You don't make Jesus Lord, He is Lord! Submitting to Jesus' Lordship is strictly a matter of Discipleship and has nothing to do with Salvation.
I was reading tonight and found a great quote from Evangelist Oliver B. Greene:
“When we believe, we receive: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved' (Acts 16:31). 'As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name' (John 1:12).”
SOURCE: Dr. Oliver B. Greene; The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews; THE GOSPEL HOUR, INC., © 1965.
It's that simple to be saved. You simply BELIEVE THE GOSPEL and you are born-again by the Holy Spirit into God's family. I love the following Scripture, which confirms how easy it is to be saved:
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?”
The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Galatia and said he only wanted to know ONE THING . . . How did they get saved? That is, How did they become indwelt with the Holy Spirit? When a person gets saved, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside their body permanently (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24). Paul confirms that the way to be saved is “BY THE HEARING OF FAITH.” That is, when you hear the Gospel preached, you receive (believe) what you hear by faith. We read in Hebrews 4:2 that many of the Jews in the Wilderness perished, because although they heard Moses preach the Gospel, they had no faith in what they heard. Hebrews 4:2, “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.” In the horrific SDA quote I provided earlier in this article, no mention is made about “faith.” They just tell you to turn your life over to Christ. Judas did that, being one of Christ's very apostles, but he still went to Hell. Jesus said in John 3:3, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Tens-of-millions of people are blinded by their wealth. Since they live comfortably, they have no need for God, so they foolishly think. Many people have suffered through difficult circumstances, and blame God, shunning the things of God to their own destruction. Oh friend, life is short, Hell is hot, and eternity is a long time! Have you been born-again? If not, simply admit now that you are a guilty sinner in the eyes of a holy God, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL, and you will be saved immediately, securely and eternally! Simply receive by faith Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, and raised up from the dead three days later! It is that easy and simple to be saved. That's why the Bible refers to the Gospel in 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 as “THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST”! Eternal life is a gift to you, which you need only receive by faith. If you know that you are a guilty sinner in God's holy eyes, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for YOUR SINS, and you believe that He was buried, and that He raised up three days later, and that's your only hope for Heaven apart from all else, YOU ARE SAVED MY FRIEND!!!
I've met many bitter people in my life toward churches, Christians and God. The Devil uses their bitterness to hide the cross from them. That is, the Devil hides the Gospel from them, hindering them from seeing the truth (2nd Corinthians 4:4). 2nd Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” Repentance is not “from sins”; but rather, from the “unbelief” that has been hindering you from being saved. Mark 6:6 and 12, “And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. ... And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” You don't need to pray to be saved. The Scriptures tell us that whosoever BELIEVES is saved. 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.”
Here is the best quote that I've found 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)
Beware of all the dangerous false teachings nowadays about “Inviting Jesus into your life,” and “Asking Jesus into your heart,” and “Confessing Christ before men,” and “Following Christ,” and “Praying a prayer,” and “Saying 'Jesus is Lord'” to be saved. None of these constitute “the Gospel.” Here's a great writing by Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) titled, WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
