Galatians 1:6-8, “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.”
Jesus foretold in the end times that “many false prophets shall rise, and
shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11). The Devil fully knows that the most
effective form of deception is the HALF-TRUTH, because in part it can be
defended with incontestable logic. For example: We hear many false prophets
assuring us that salvation is a free gift, received by grace through faith,
yet they say we must also do good works to obtain it! Here's an example
quote from the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's)...
“Salvation is a free gift from God. It cannot be earned. Yet it does require effort on our part.” [emphasis added]
SOURCE: What Must We Do to Be Saved? - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site
Does that make any sense to you? How can salvation be a free gift and yet you still have to do works to receive it? This type of forked-tongue doublespeak is common in the cults. This is a half-truth! JW's can irrefutably defend their deception by saying that they believe salvation is a free gift, which cannot be earned. Who can argue with that truth? But the lie here is that “effort” is also required to be saved.
In the same “What Must We Do To Be Saved?” article, the JW's teach virtually the exact same thing as Pastor John MacArthur and Evangelist Ray Comfort (both heretics on salvation). Here again is what the Jehovah's Witness teach...
Ah, here the problem arises! Many people who have been told that they are “saved” seem to have little intention of either following or obeying Jesus. In fact, a Protestant clergyman wrote: “Of course, our faith in Christ should continue. But the claim that it absolutely must, or necessarily does, has no support at all in the Bible.”
On the contrary, the Bible lists immoral practices that are common among some people who think that they are “saved.” Regarding one who continued in such ways, it instructed Christians: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” Surely God would not want wicked people contaminating his Christian congregation!—1 Corinthians 5:11-13.True Christians are in a saved condition in that they are in an approved position before God. As a group, their salvation is sure. Individually, they must meet God’s requirements. However, we can fail, for Jesus said: “If anyone does not remain in union with me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up.” —John 15:6 [emphasis added]
SOURCE: What Must We Do to Be Saved? - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site
BLASPHEMY!!! As a group? What kind of nonsense is that? God doesn't save groups, he saves individuals, and there are NO REQUIREMENTS except to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” The phrase “and thy house” is simply an extended invitation for the whole family to “believe” and be saved. JW's are false prophets! JW's errantly teach that “we can fail” as Christians and lose God's salvation, but that is impossible! JW's misinterpret John 15:6 to refer to salvation, but Jesus is speaking about DISCIPLESHIP, not SONSHIP. John 15:8, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” Notice that Jesus said ye shall be “MY DISCIPLES.” The Lord is not talking about getting saved here.
JW's are demonic liars! If you read their entire article, you will see
that JW's teach a hardcore works based plan of salvation (which is really
damnation). The Jehovah's Witness cult began in 1874, started by a wicked
man named Charles Taze Russell. Russell wrote his own corrupt Bible version
(New World Translation), denied the deity of Jesus Christ, denied Jesus'
bodily resurrection, and is now burning in the very Hell that he also said
doesn't exist. Satan is a beautiful liar!!!
Ray Comfort Agrees With the Jehovah's Witnesses
Now here is a similar quote from Ray Comfort.
Ray uses different wording, but effectively
teaches the same thing as the
JW's,
insisting that faith is not enough to be saved, and that you must also be
willing to turn away from living in open sin (and keep doing it your whole
life to prove the reality of your repentance)...
“The forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ is conditional upon ‘repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21). It is a gift that God offers to everyone, but individuals must receive it by repenting and trusting in Christ, or they will remain dead in their sins. No one has Biblical grounds to continue in sin, assuming that they are safe just because Jesus died on the cross. See 1 John 3:4-6.” [Emphasis added]
SOURCE: THE EVIDENCE BIBLE, by Ray Comfort, pg. 1513; 2003, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Orlando, Florida
Oh my friend, Ray Comfort is so wrong! Ray is literally saying that if you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but still allow deliberate sins in your life, then you are not guaranteed the safety of eternal life, merely because Christ paid for your sins on the cross. What saith the Scripture? 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.” We are saved by God's IMPUTED righteousness! That means when you trust Jesus as your personal Savior, God counts your sins to His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and God also counts Jesus' perfect righteousness to you. This is IMPUTATION! This all happens by faith in the “GOOD NEWS” (GOSPEL) of Christ's death on the cross, burial, and bodily resurrection from the dead three days later for our justification (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay! What a wonderful loving and merciful God!!!
As you might be surprised to learn, in Ray
Comfort's popular “THE EVIDENCE BIBLE,” he totally ignores this important
Scripture passage from Romans 4:5-6, and makes no mention about “imputation”
throughout his entire Bible commentary, nor does he even mention the word in
his concordance in the back of the book. Why? The word imputed is in the
Bible, is it not? How could Ray Comfort miss over and ignore such a vital
theological doctrine of God's Word? Well, the answer is quite simple and
disturbing, proving again why these modern Bible versions are so dangerous.
Ray uses the “Amplified Bible” (AMP) for his commentary, which totally
removes the word “impute.” So in the translator's attempt to explain this
allegedly difficult to understand theological word, they have rendered it
meaningless, evidenced by the fact that Ray Comfort totally missed the
doctrine while commenting on the entire Bible! That speaks volumes my friend
concerning the grave dangers posed by the rash of
ever-changing modern
perversions of the Bible!!!
The Curse of Front-Loading the Gospel
These
false prophets are all FRONT-LOADING THE GOSPEL!
Here is the dictionary definition of what “front-loading” means:
front-load (frŭnt′lōd′)
tr.v. front-load·ed, front-load·ing, front-loads1. To arrange or plan (a schedule, project, or process, for example) so that a large portion of activity occurs in an early period: front-loaded the primaries so that most of them occur early rather than later in the election year.
2. To incur or pay off (expenses, for example) in an early period of a fiscal arrangement.
Biblically, there is NOTHING required at a later time to complete the acquisition of forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The very moment that an acknowledged sinner places his or her faith in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen, they are permanently saved, safe and secure. You CAN write your name, date, time and place where you were born-again in your Bible! Evangelist Paul Washer says you cannot, and calls Baptist preachers (like me) “stupid” for teaching that you can. You see, I believe what the Bible teaches—that the new birth is an instantaneous miracle of God wrought in response to a person's faith in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, Paul Washer believes the same half-truth deception as Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, John Calvin and the Jehovah's Witness—the lie which says you cannot be saved in a moment's time and KNOW IT, because you have to “live a lifestyle of repentance” (source: “I've Never Killed Anyone” - a YouTube video clip by Ray Comfort | backup MP3). All of these wicked false prophets misunderstand “repentance” in the Bible concerning salvation to mean “turning away from sins, that is, your sinful behavior.”
All of the aforementioned false teachers FRONT-LOAD the Gospel. They require things of a sinner that God only expects from a Christian. 2nd Timothy 2:19-21, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” Carefully notice that this command to “depart from iniquity” is to them who have ALREADY been saved (“that nameth the name of Christ”). The Bible likens believers to vessels in a great house. Some vessels are made of gold and silver, which are very expensive precious metals. But other vessels are worthless, made of clay and wood. The Scriptures teach us that to be MEET (FIT) FOR THE MASTER'S USE and PREPARED UNTO EVERY GOOD WORK, we must depart from iniquity in our life.
Do you understand this passage of Scripture dear reader? Turning away from our sins as a Christian is strictly a matter of being fit for the Master's use, but it has absolutely NOTHING to do with receiving the free gift of God, which is eternal life (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10). Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” The “washing of regeneration” is NOT water baptism, it is being born-anew by the Holy Ghost. Pastor Jack Hyles says that being “born-again” means to have He (Jesus) Who is the beginning, born in you! I like that.
Please don't let Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, John Calvin and the Jehovah's Witness sell you a tropical beach home in Antarctica! In other words, don't let them sell you their LIE! God does not require anything of you to be saved other than childlike FAITH in His only begotten Son. What saith the Scripture? John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” That's it! That is all that is required to be saved—simply BELIEVE ON JESUS WHOM THE FATHER HATH SENT!!! You just read it for yourself. In John chapter 19 we read about Christ's brutal crucifixion and burial. In John chapter 20 we read about His triumphant and miraculous resurrection from the dead, victorious over sin and death! The Savior did that for YOU AND ME dear reader! He certainly did. 2nd Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” Notice again the invitation for believers not to live selfishly for themselves! Clearly, this happens AFTER salvation, and not as a requirement to be saved. Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, John Calvin and the Jehovah's Witness front-load the Gospel, adding a bunch of requirements that God doesn't demand of them to be saved.
Turning away from sins is something that God only expects of a believer, who is already saved. You just read it for yourself in multiple Scripture passages. See also Romans 12:1-2. All God demands of a person to be saved is the admission in your soul that you are a guilty sinner in His sight (Romans 3:19-20), so that you will BELIEVE on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He died on the cross in your place, was buried, and physically raised up the third day. If Christ were still dead, then He couldn't save anyone. 1st Corinthians 15:17, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” You need to be careful where you go to church, because there are literally professed Christians today who deny Christ's bodily resurrection! I'm not kidding! Obviously they are fake Christians! NO ONE is a true born-again Christian who denies Jesus' bodily resurrection. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!
So beware of anyone who front-loads the Gospel with a bunch of requirements to be saved. God only asks ONE THING of you to become His adopted child, and that is to “BELIEVE.” John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Nothing else is required to be saved. Remember, forgiveness of sins is a gift. Eternal life is a gift. A “gift” is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. You simple take it!
