Hebrews 4:1-2, 10-11, “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 he that is entered into his rest, he also
hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief.”
I was so happy when the Holy Spirit showed me this truth last night. Hebrews
4:10-11 uses the 6 days of creation in Genesis as an illustration, to help
us understand repentance unto salvation. God worked during those 6 days.
God's works were not sinful. God did not turn from His sins to rest on the
7th day. I sure hope you are getting this truth friend, because this is GOOD
STUFF!God ceased from His “works” the Bible says. Did God have to turn away from His sins? No, God is incapable of sinning (James 1:13). God ceased from His efforts. He ceased from doing anything. God rested. Dear friend, that is the best illustration of salvation you'll ever hear, and it came directly from God Himself in Hebrews 4:10-11. Just as God ceased from his works, that is exactly how to get saved. You simply cease from doing anything, and you rest completely in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why the Apostle Paul could simply say in 1st Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” That is why Paul could simply say in Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Paul didn't ask them if they had repented and turned away from their sins, nor if they had made a commitment to Christ as “Lord,” nor if they were willing to follow Jesus no matter what the cost. Pastor John MacArthur heretically requires all of these unbiblical requirements to be saved.
My dear non-feathered friend, I care about you. I don't get paid a penny to labor night and day online, preaching the truth. My reward is laid up in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). You are my greatest reward, those of you who are my spiritual children, whom I've had the privilege of leading to Christ with the Gospel. I've been having the time of my life since 2002, for almost 20 years, contending for the Christian faith. It brings me joy to preach THE TRUTH. One of the great joys of the Christian life is contending for the faith (Jude 1:3).
Kindly said, anybody who tells you that
you are required by God to “turn
away from your sin” to be saved, doesn't
understand God's plan of salvation. They are woefully ignorant of the
Gospel, theologically incompetent, and are not saved. I'm talking about
the pathetic
Bob Jones University crowd. I'm talking about
former Harvest Baptist Church on Guam pastor, Dr.
Marty Herron. I'm talking about Evangelist
Steve Pettit, president of BJU since 2014. I'm talking about 'UNSHACKLED'
which is produced by Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. All of these
religious characters and groups preach “ANOTHER
GOSPEL” (2nd
Corinthians 11:3-4), which is not another (Galatians 1:6-9).
Dear friend, you get
saved by getting out of the way, and letting God do the saving, all of
it! Romans
10:3-4, “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.” The
only part you and I have in salvation is to REST completely in Jesus.
“Everything that's hard and complicated about salvation is God's side of it!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”
Christ died on the cross for our sins. He
was buried. Three days later He miraculously resurrected physically from
the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). This is “the
Gospel” (the
Good News), by which men are saved, if they will REST in the finished
redemptive WORK OF CHRIST. You see, it's not YOUR WORKS that saves you,
it is JESUS WORKS! The Bible teaches in Hebrews 4:10-11 that just as God
ceased from His works, even so must we cease from our works, resting
completely in Jesus Christ to be saved. God didn't turn from His sins,
He ceased from His labors.
