Minister Paris Reidhead's False Gospel

By David J. Stewart | April 2014

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.”

Paris Reidhead (1919-1992) was a religious missionary, teacher, writer and advocate of economic development in impoverished nations. Reidhead's sermons are popular on YouTube and various religious websites. Unfortunately, like Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, William Lane Craig and others, Paris Reidhead espouses a Calvinistic false plan of salvation known as “LORDSHIP SALVATION.”

Consider the heretical following quote from Reidhead's book, “FINDING THE REALITY OF GOD” . . . 

THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE:

"Repentance is defined by the Scripture as a change of mind, turning away from the intention and purpose of pleasing self and choosing to please God. The seed of all righteousness and holiness is in repentance. Perhaps a man's purpose - his aim and direction - is to please himself. But when he repents he must make an about-face This is a complete turnabout. From that moment on, the intention of this man is to please and glorify God - to satisfy only Him. The salvation of which Jesus speaks is not our being satisfied with Him, rather it is His being satisfied with us." Paris Reidhead (Finding the Reality of God, pg 32-33)

"Repentance means making a 180-degree turn. It means changing your mindset from 'I'm going to do what I want to do,' to, 'Lord, I'm going to please You as long as I live.' It is a change of mind, a change of intention, a change of purpose, a change of practice." Paris Reidhead (Finding the Reality of God, pg 87)

"So we see that repentance has to be complete and not partial. Repentance is a committal of the will to the principle and practice of pleasing God in everything. That means, from today on, the Lord is going to be king and boss and sovereign. You do as He tells you. Because, out of love, He deserves to be obeyed and served. We need to understand this ourselves in order to proclaim it to others." Paris Reidhead (Finding the Reality of God, pg 88)

"This is the nature of repentance. It is a change of mind - a change of intention - a change of purpose. It is not merely 'accepting Christ." Paris Reidhead (Finding the Reality of God, pg. 89)

Notice how Paris Reidhead subtly begins in “FINDING THE REALITY OF GOD” by correctly defining “repentance” unto salvation as “a change of mind” (metanoeo, Mark 1:15); but then he deceitfully and dishonestly redefines the word to mean “Lord, I'm going to please You as long as I live.” Pleasing God is a matter of discipleship and fellowship, not sonship. Salvation is immediate, but sanctification is a lifetime process.

Paris Reidhead is a false prophet teaching a doctrine of devils. On page 89 of his book “FINDING THE REALITY OF GOD” Reidhead errantly states, “Repentance is a committal of the will to the principle and practice of pleasing God in everything. That means, from today on, the Lord is going to be king and boss and sovereign. You do as He tells you.” How did repentance begin as “a change of mind,” but then become “a committal of the will to the principle and practice of pleasing God in everything?” What blatant heresy!!!
 

Anyone Who Requires Full Surrender For Salvation Is A Liar

I am wearied by these religious intellectuals like Paris Reidhead who make soul-winning hard and difficult. I first learned about Missionary Paris Reidhead when I heard his classic sermon, “TEN SHEKELS AND A SHIRT,” which is a powerful and great sermon, but toward the end he starts getting into the Lordship Salvation heresy. Reidhead is correct that the human race are all monsters of iniquity in need of repentance toward a holy God. We all need to repent of our wickedness. Reidhead is correct that there can be no repentance until their has first been conviction, convincing us that we are all monstrous criminals in the eyes of a holy God. The Bible is not trying to convince good men that they deserve the wrath of a bad God; but rather, the Word of God attempts to convince bad men that they deserve the wrath and anger of a good God. We all deserve to go straight to Hell and burn forever. I agree with all that! Christianity says that the end of all being is the glory of God. Humanism says that the end of all being is the happiness of man. Yes, that is true!

However, Paris Reidhead contrasts two types of repentance: claiming that one is based upon the conviction that we are all monsters of iniquity deserving of the damnation of Hell, whereas there is another insincere form of repentance that merely desires to escape being burned in the fires of Hell. May I say, there is nothing wrong with getting saved to avoid the fires and damnation of Hell. Reidhead is teaching a strange doctrine here that is unbiblical. Whether you get saved because you desire Heaven or fear Hell is irrelevant. I heard Dr. Jack Hyles in his great sermon, LITTLE SANCTUARIES, say that the day he got saved he asked God to give him a mansion in Heaven. There's nothing wrong with that. Even Jesus Himself enticed us with the command to lay up FOR OURSELVES treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).

There are no right or wrong reason to get saved, just so long as you come sincerely as an admitted guilty sinner and place your complete trust and reliance in the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross for YOUR SINS, and His burial, and His resurrection from the dead. Mark 1:15 says, “...Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” The Bible doesn't say to clean up your life and believe the gospel. Nor does the Bible say to repent and turn over a new leaf. No, it says to REPENT YE, AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL.

The Great Commission is four-fold...

This is how the great commission works. Our part is to preach the gospel. Whatever changes need to be made in a covert's life is God's department, and you can be assured that He will attend to that is taught in Hebrews 12:6-8.

Here is one of the greatest sermons that I've ever heard by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), which so plainly explains the debate over getting saved verses living the crucified life. I ask you and hope prayerfully to God that you'll listen with all your mind and heart . . .

The Saved, Crucified, Resurrected And Ascended Life
 (awesome MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles - Read Article)

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Savior of ALL MEN, especially of those that believe. 1st Timothy 4:10-11, “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. These things command and teach.” Not one verse in the Bible teaches that a sinner must declare “Jesus as Lord” to be saved, unless you have a perverted, corrupted and ungodly New International Version (NIV or H.I.V.) version of the Bible.

You don't make Jesus Lord, HE IS LORD! You receive Jesus Christ as your SAVIOR to be saved, and then He automatically becomes your Lord. As you grow in grace, over time, hopefully you will surrender to His revealed will in the Word of God, and be conformed into the image of Christ. Anyone who teaches that someone didn't get saved because they haven't made full surrender to Christ is being a religious hypocrite and teaching false doctrine. The Bible says that eternal life is a gift, a free gift, which cannot be earned nor merited. When a false preacher teaches that a person MUST cease from sinful living to have eternal life, they have perverted the gospel and have ADDED something to salvation that God didn't require (just as they did in Acts 15:1,24). Like it or not, eternal life is a free gift for WHOSOEVER (that means anyone) shall call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). Jesus promised to NEVER turn anyone away who comes unto Him (John 6:37). If you desire to come to Christ, then come and He will save you just as He promised.

Sanctification is the result, that is, THE FRUIT, of genuine repentance, and not a part of the ROOT of saving faith. The requirement to fully surrender to Christ's Lordship as a prerequisite to salvation is a satanic doctrine which deters millions of people from getting saved, errantly thinking that Jesus WON'T save them because they are ungodly.

In sharp contrast, Romans 4:5 says “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Notice that Jesus JUSTIFIETH THE UNGODLY. The entire notion that a person must clean up their life, reform and turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved is satanic teaching. We turn away from our sins because WE ARE SAVED, not to GET SAVED. Eternal life is a free gift the Bible says, and a gift is totally free without any obligations, requirements or strings attached. If you want to be saved, just LOOK TO THE CROSS OF CHRIST! A man's faith is COUNTED for righteousness!

Jesus PROMISED in John 6:37 that He would NEVER turn anyone away who comes to Him. John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

In order to be born-again (saved), does a person have to purpose in their heart that Jesus, from this day forward, is “going to be king and boss and sovereign?” Paris Reidhead is preaching “ANOTHER GOSPEL” (2nd Corinthians 11:4-5). Reidhead and other proponents of the Lordship Salvation heresy boldly claim that faith in Christ is insufficient to save a person.

One of my favorite Scripture passages is found in Romans 4:4-6. Notice carefully that Jesus saves THE UNGODLY . . .

Romans 4:4-6, “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. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”

There you have it, plain and simple, the Bible teaches that a person's faith supercedes all self-righteousness. When religious people cringe and strongly disagree with the simple idea that a person can be saved by faith in the gospel, they are 100% going contrary to the plainest teachings of God's Word . . .

Acts 15:1 and 24, “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. ... Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment.”

A group of false prophets came to town in Acts 15:1 teaching a false plan of salvation, requiring people to be circumcised to be saved. Of course, this is false religion all the way! Like demonic Lordship Salvationists, so also did these heretics falsely think and teach that circumcision (works, self-effort, human intent to reform, a full surrender to Christ) is required to be saved. My friend, Christ paid the price in full for your sins and mine, because we are horrible sinners, deserving of the Lake of Fire, but the love of God has provided redemption for us through the dear gift of God's only begotten Son, Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God.

We hypocritically sing the famous gospel hymn “JUST AS I AM” in our churches, but then tell people Jesus won't save them unless they make full surrender, turn over a new leaf, forsake their sinful habits, and intend to reform from this day forward. What a crock of garbage!

What happens is that some people get so sick of shallow Christians who are “SO SAVED AS BY FIRE,” that they change the plan of salvation to require a person to cease from sins to be saved. That's a false plan of salvation! This is exactly what all these false ministers are doing, that is, trying to force people to live right by corrupting the gospel message. In so doing they have perverted the words of the living God and are producing spiritual still births, religious but not saved, having churchianity without Christianity, having the religious mindset that the way they personally live is what repentance means and is required for salvation. So they spend their adult life in church thinking that they've repented because they're living self-righteously by church standards. In reality they have adopted a self-righteous form of false religion, never having experienced the second birth. John 3:5, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!!!” So many religious people and churchgoers are NOT truly saved.

Many religious people are foolishly going about to establish their own righteousness, but what they need is JESUS CHRIST . . .

Romans 10:2-4, “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

A Christian's proper mindset is that repentance simply means at some point in the past I realized that I was a guilty sinner in the eyes of God the Father, and so I placed my trust in Jesus, the Christ, God's only begotten Son, Who died for MY SINS upon the cross, was buried, and then resurrected from the dead after three days. That's the gospel (good news). Jesus saved me right there, right then, forever His children Amen!

Lordship Salvationists carry a heavy burden of uncertainty. They continually wonder if they're really saved when they commit sins, or when someone else commits sin. Their whole perverted mindset is that repentance means giving up the world and all the sinful pleases, cares and riches of the world. Whereas Biblical salvation (a free grace view of the gospel) is 100% dependent upon Christ alone and His work of redemption; Lordship Salvation is largely dependent upon human beings, who are required to clean up their act, leave sinful friends, depart from iniquity, cease from lifelong sinful bad habits, stop shacking up in fornication, make a full surrender to Christ, et cetera.

Lordship Salvation is a horrible mindset of works salvation; certainly not the Biblical salvation that offers perfect peace by resting in Christ, Who is our Sabbath today. I am simply resting in Jesus Christ and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS for salvation (Matthew 6:33). I try to live right because I love Jesus and don't want to be chastised, but this is discipleship and fellowship and absolutely has NOTHING to do with my SONSHIP as a born-again child of God. Amen! Jesus is precious!

And on the other extreme you've got corrupt preachers who abandon sin altogether. They say to invite Jesus into your heart and life to be saved, but they fail to mention sin. You're not saved by asking Jesus to come into your heart. You've got to address the matter of your sinnership. God saves THE UNGODLY (Romans 4:5). God doesn't save the self-righteous who errantly think they can earn eternal life. No one has ever got saved who didn't realize that he was a sinner. You've got to know what you're saved from.
 

The Lordship Salvationist's Unbiblical Mindset

The entire mindset of those who teach Lordship Salvation is flawed, bogus and rooted in self-righteousness. The purpose of the Old Testament law according to Romans 3:19 is simply to silence every mouth concerning men's own goodness, and to BECOME GUILTY in God's eyes. Once you recognize your self as a wicked, vile and hopeless sinner who cannot perfectly keep God's law, then the law points you to Christ, Who by God's IMPUTED righteousness is willing to save you despite your own shortcomings and sins. Amen! For Christ is THE END of the ride, the end of the law, for them that believe.

Now it's very important for you to understand all this so that you'll see clearly what's so evil, wrong and unbiblical about Lordship Salvation. Again, Lordship Salvation is a false doctrine of devils which requires a person to receive “Jesus as Lord” to be saved, which means, making a full surrender to Christ's will, forsaking the sinful world and all lifelong bad habits to be saved, and purposing in your heart that you will (from this day forward) intend on reforming. You may do all these things and still never have been saved at all. This is not the gospel. Please read “WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?” by Pastor Harry Ironside for an excellent explanation of what the gospel really means Biblically.

I love Pastor Harry A. Ironside's awesome book titled, “ANOTHER GOSPEL,” Biblically exposing false prophets like Paris Reidhead. If you search YouTube for sermons, you'll find that Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Kirk Cameron, Paris Reidhead and other Lordship Salvationists often appear together and are promoted as a group, trying to muster support anywhere they can find it to bolster up their straw-man false doctrines. They all teach the same false doctrine of Lordship Salvation.

True salvation has always been “to him that worketh not” as taught in Romans 4:5-6. This Scripture is frequently AVOIDED by Lordshippers, such as in Ray Comfort's Bible commentary titled, THE EVIDENCE BIBLE. I really admire Ray Comfort and like him a lot, but he's wrong on repentance and salvation, and I am compelled as a faithful Christian to take a Biblical stand for God.

Again, true salvation has always been “to him that worketh not” as taught in Romans 4:5-6.This is God's IMPUTED righteousness which is by faith alone, completely unmerited, attributed to the ungodly by faith. That means there's no requirement to cease from a sinful lifestyle to get saved. Somehow, somewhere along the way, the message of the law got corrupted and it became widespread in our churches today like Bubonic Plague. The law's message is simple, that is, we are all sinners, guilty as the day is long, deserving of the penalty of eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire. But God is so precious and just that He doesn't just leave us without hope; but rather, the law POINTS US TO CHRIST, Who through His own imputed righteousness tells us that we can still go to Heaven, not needing any self-righteousness at all. NOT ONE TINY BIT! Why? It's because JESUS PAID IT ALL WITH HIS LIQUID, PRECIOUS, LITERAL, BLOOD!!!

The Bible plainly teaches in Romans 4:5 that a man's FAITH is counted as being equivalent with a lifetime of perfect righteousness. Our faith is worth all the righteousness in the world to God, and He counts it for salvation, because our faith is rooted in the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ and not our own filthy self-righteousness (Isaiah 64:6). We have no true righteousness to offer to God. Isn't that a gracious, merciful and awesome God of love!!!

Proponents of Lordship Salvation place the burden of sin upon the sinner's shoulder, demanding for them to make difficult and big personal life's changes as a prerequisite to being saved. Some of these decisions will affect their entire family. What a heavy burden when you are told that God won't save a you, a drunkard, unless you intend to reform and clean up your life from now on. It's is cruel hoax to ask that of an alcoholic who is chemically addicted and needs medical help. The same can be said of nearly every addiction: drugs, money, power, sex, gambling, lying, stealing, prostitution, gangs, self abuse, et cetera. The Lord doesn't ask us to give up anything except our unbelief, which is the ONLY sin that can keep a person from going to Heaven.
 

Purpose Of Old Testament Law Show Man's Sinnership And Way To Messiah

The great PURPOSE of God's law in the Old Testament is NOT to lead people to denounce personal sins and stop committing them; but, rather, that the law should be a schoolmaster (as stated in Galatians 3:24-25) to point us to Jesus Christ Who is the END OF THE LAW TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH. Men in their arrogance have to first learn that they have messed things up beyond all repair (or as they say in the military: FUBAR). Ask any veteran what FUBAR means and they'll smile and tell you immediately. Well, the human race was FUBAR and God sent His only begotten Son into the world, to endure the shame and persecution, the scourgings and the beatings, the rejection and crucifixion, and Jesus did it all for YOU and for ME. The law shows us that we cannot save ourselves, and then points us to Jesus Christ Who can and will if we'll trust upon the gospel (Hebrews 4:2).

The law of God simply shows us our total inability to merit Heaven by trying to perfectly keep God's commandments (the old Mosaic covenant, which was given to prove to everyone that NO ONE can earn their way to Heaven, because no one is without sin, because we've all broken God's commandments). The New Testament is much better, because it rests solely in Christ's righteousness and not any of our own. The rich young ruler failed. utterly, still covetous. The Jews failed in Romans 2:13, being only hearers of the law but not doers.

Also, please read “WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?” by Pastor Harry Ironside for an excellent explanation of what the gospel really means Biblically.

Read what Dr. Ironside said in his Gospel tract, ANOTHER GOSPEL? ...

Harry A. Ironside"When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him."

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, Another Gospel.

Dr. Ironside further makes the Biblically correct and helpful statement...

"Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all."

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?

Yes, Dr. Ironside is 100% correct!!! Salvation is a gift, paid for by Jesus' literal, physical, precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; 1st John 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Revelation 1:5). We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33; Romans 10:3,4; 1st Corinthians 5:21); and not our own willingness to do better (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Romans 4:5,6,22).

We don't give up our sins to get saved; but rather, we give up our sins because we are saved, and that requires time to grow in God's grace (1st Peter 2:2). Beware of anyone who ADDS the unbiblical requirement of “making full surrender to Christ” to be saved. It is a false plan of salvation!!! Beware of anyone who ADDS the unbiblical prerequisite of having “intent to reform” before you can place your faith in Jesus as the Christ. If you realize that you are a guilty sinner in God's eyes for breaking His commandments, and you want to come to Christ to be saved, you can!

The “gospel” is the good news of Christ's death on the cross for our sins, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead three days later. Anyone who receives the gospel as full payment for their sins is saved. It's that simple to be saved. Anyone who makes salvation HARD is preaching a false gospel.

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