Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Walking In The Spirit Is A Choice

Ephesians 4:22-24, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Salvation is a free gift from God, received through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus. You did nothing to deserve God's forgiveness, and His gift of eternal life is accompanied by another gift—the blessed indwelling Holy Spirit (who is the Godhead living in each believer). The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who enables you and me to live the Christian life. John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” The Holy Spirit helps you in resisting temptation and making wiser decisions. He gives us knowledge through searching the inspired Word of God, to help us make daily decisions.

The FLESH (our human sinful nature) is diabolical and always ready to separate us from the spiritual things of God. Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Every saint of God struggles between the flesh and the spirit. I have heard some preachers teach that when a person gets saved, the old nature is forever gone, and only the new nature in Christ remains. However, it cannot be denied that even with the new nature (which is Christ in us, united with our spirit), we still have the sinful FLESH to contend with. So call it what you will, every Christian still has the old sinful flesh which is contrary to the Holy Spirit in us. The old nature may be gone, but the flesh is still here!

Our old nature is when our spirit was dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), and we did not know God; but then we trusted in Jesus Christ, and we became a new creature (2nd Corinthians 5:17). God gives us a new spiritual understanding of the things of God (i.e., now we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to teach and guide us into all truth. John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. Even though we have a new nature, in which the indwelling Spirit of God convicts us about the sins in our life, it is possible for us to CHOOSE to continue walking in the flesh, and not walk in the Spirit, so that we will still fulfill the sinful lusts of the flesh.

This does not mean we are not born-again, it just means that we are not obeying our heavenly Father to walk in the Spirit. If saved, always saved! At the moment of salvation, God regenerates our spirit that was dead, giving us life in His Holy Spirit. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ.” Romans 8:9, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” That is precious! The Holy Spirit is Jesus' Spirit in us as believers. We also have the Spirit of God the Father in us as believers. That is, we have the Godhead living inside of our spirit, soul and body as redeemed saints of God.

What a magnificent God, who loves us so much that He wanted to make His abode inside our very being. Wow, what amazing love and grace!!! What saith the Scripture? John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” The man who loves God will keep His Words. We find those words in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Our born-again spirit is sinless by virtue of the Cross! But should we continue to sin? God forbid! With Grace on our minds, the last thing we want to do is grieve the Holy Spirit. Remember, as believers we FALL IN GRACE, but never FROM GRACE! Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?When we choose to sin as God's children, even committing the most despicable of crimes, God's grace always abounds, so that we could NEVER lose His free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The reason why is because we didn't earn it. We did not pay for it, Jesus did, with His precious blood that He shed on the cross, and sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in Heaven (1st Peter 1:18-19; Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24).

True perfection will not come until the Rapture of the church when we rise to meet Jesus in the air. (1st Thessalonians 4:17). We will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to follow (2nd Corinthians 5:9-11), where our works (the good and bad done in our body) will be judged and rewards will be given (1st Corinthians 3:6-15). Tears will flow for most saints, who wasted their time here on earth (1st Corinthians 3:11-15); while a few soulwinning saints will shine as the brightness of the stars forever (Daniel 12:3). They will shine because they will be a hero to all the people whom they led to Jesus Christ back on earth.

In salvation, Christ redeemed our soul, but our body won't be redeemed until Christ returns. Our redemption will be complete at the Rapture (which I humbly think will happen BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation period), and we will live and reign with Christ throughout the 1,000-year Millennium, in our glorified bodies in sinless perfection (Revelation 20:6; Philippians 3:21; 1st Corinthians 15:51-58).

As believers, God's Spirit lives in us and renews us every day. Walking in the Spirit is a choice. We can ignore God and make the wrong choices, indulging in sin, losing our calm and peace of soul; or we can choose to walk in the Spirit, by bringing every thought into captivity unto obedience to Christ. ...
2nd Corinthians 10:3-6, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
At any given moment we can choose to walk in the Spirit, but we won't always make that right choice because we are still tied to the sinful flesh (which is where the word “carnal comes from, fleshly; as in Carna Asada steak, which means flesh roasted). Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?  by taking heed thereto according to thy wordWith my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. The Bible will keep us from sin; or sin will keep us from the Bible.

The Holy Spirit ALWAYS guides us with the inspired Word of God. If you ever hear Oprah Winfrey or anybody else, talking about spiritual things and they are not including the Holy Bible, run away as fast as you can; because any spirit that is not the Holy Spirit is a familiar spirit (a demon). The Holy Spirit always leads a child of God in accordance with the written Word of God, and never contrary to it. People do a lot of crazy things, claiming that God's Spirit led them to do it, but don't you believe them for a moment.

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Was Jesus' Teaching Works For Salvation In Luke 10:25-28?

Luke 10:25-28, “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

This is an intriguing passage of Scripture. I love something that Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: “A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.” Using that important Bible study principle, we can say without a doubt that Luke 10:25-28 is NOT teaching a works-based plan of salvation! We know this because of clear passages; such as, Romans 4:3-5, “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.”

To understand what Jesus is saying in Luke 10:25-28, it is key to notice that one of the wicked unsaved Pharisees, a lawyer, is tempting Him. Luke 10:25, “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So we must keep in mind that Jesus is responding to a wicked man who is tempting Him. The Lord often spoke in parables, or in a clever way, when dealing with skeptics and unbelievers...
Mark 4:34, “But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
Jesus was a sincere man, He refused to cast pearls before the swine, before those whom Jesus knew resented His Words and had no interest in the truth. Jesus asked the lawyer how he interpreted the Old Testament. Luke 10:26,“He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? The lawyer gave a works based plan of salvation, so Jesus agreed with him. Christ did the same thing with the rich young ruler...
Mark 10:17-23, “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
The young man called Jesus, “Good Master.” Although Jesus was good, God in fact, sinless in every manner; the rich young ruler didn't recognize Jesus as such. Instead, the young man saw Jesus as a good man, who had perfectly kept God's commandments. The Old Testament law had originally been given by God as a measuring stick, by which when sinful men compared themselves, they realized their sinnership and need for the coming Messiah (Romans 3:19-20). Unfortunately, the Jews failed to understand this truth and instead turned the law into a plan of salvation. So instead of seeing themselves as sinners and turning to Christ by faith to be saved, they were now trying to perfectly keep the law as a means of attaining eternal life. The law had become a stumblingblock to the Jews!

Jesus was not giving the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-23 a plan of salvation, He was using the law the way it was intended to be used—as a measuring stick to show men their desperate need for salvation through faith in Christ alone. Acts 10:42, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Everyone in the Old Testament was saved the same way we are today—by faith alone in Christ alone.

So in Luke 24:25-28 Jesus is NOT giving a plan of salvation to this lawyer—the Lord is simply agreeing with the Pharisee that if he wants to get to Heaven by keeping the law, he must do so perfectly. Carefully notice what Jesus told him in Luke 10:28, “And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. Notice that Jesus said, THIS DO (that is works). Jesus was simply agreeing with the man, who had said that you attain eternal life by keeping the law. Just as Jesus did with the rich young ruler, so also is he simply agreeing with this lawyer that if he wants to work his way to Heaven, then he must perfectly keep the law.

Please notice the lawyer's insincerity and confirmation that he is trying to work his way to Heaven in Luke 10:29, “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” You see, this heathen lawyer is trying to JUSTIFY HIMSELF!!! No one has ever been born-again by justifying himself. We can only be justified by faith in Jesus Christ, accepting His sacrifice on Calvary's cross as payment for our sins. The Pharisee lawyer in Luke 10:25-29 is seeking self-justification, and Jesus knew it; so the dear Savior used the law as it was intended to be used, to show men that no matter how much they may try to keep the law perfectly to merit eternal life, they cannot.

Again, we know that this passage in Luke 10:25-28 cannot be a plan of salvation, because it would contradict plain passages of Scripture; such as, the entire Gospel of John. A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. In the Gospel of John we find the word “faith” mentioned 85 times, but there is no teaching of doing works, praying, turning from sins, speaking in tongues, surrendering to Christ's Lordship, confessing, following, serving nor of water baptism to get to Heaven. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

The two greatest commandments in the Holy Bible are to LOVE GOD, and to likewise LOVE OUR NEIGHBOUR. These two commandments are really just one: TO LOVE!!! But loving God means different things to different people. Biblically, loving God means to obey His commandments, the foremost of which is to believe on His only begotten Son, the Christ (John 3:16; 20:31). No one has rightly divided the inspired Word of God, who thinks that a person can be saved through personal righteousness. In fact, we can only be saved by God's imputed righteousness, which is 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:”

Friday, May 19, 2023

The Worst Pervert in The World Is The Gospel Pervert

Galatians 1:6-12, 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. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
“The worst pervert in America is the Gospel pervert!” —Evangelist Lester Roloff (1914-1982), “The Gospel Perverts Or Jesus?
Amen and amen! Brother Roloff is exactly right, as we read in our text passage of Scripture. Please notice the portion of our text passage from Galatians 1:6-7, “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.” Some ungodly people pervert the Gospel on purpose, but the most deadly

It is truly disturbing that the Gospel is being presented inaccurately in thousands of churches today. Sadly, this includes so-called “independent fundamental Baptist churches. I have been an independent fundamental Baptist since the day I got saved at age 13 in 1980. Of the approximate 6,500 independent Baptist churches across the United States, I dare say only 3% accurately present the Gospel. Case in point, take a look at the demonic counterfeit gospel preached by Sam Adams, senior pastor of Independent Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida.

It is in our flawed human nature to merely go along with the program, to believe what we hear without questioning it, without thinking objectively for ourselves. Then there is peer pressure, causing humans to fear going against the herd (the majority, the crowd). Nobody wants to be rejected, avoided, shunned and ostracized by their peer group. This is where we separate those who truly love God above all else, versus those phonies who merely profess to love God, but when push comes to shove they choose the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:42-43, “
Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

There's not a more phony cult group today than Pensacola Christian College (PCC). They talk the talk but they don't walk the walk. PCC is nothing more than a secular institution today with a Christian religious label slapped over it. PCC doesn't care about individual people, of which I am living proof, having been permanently banned from attending their Campus Church since August 2, 2022. SHAME on PCC!!! Only a religious CULT selectively decides who can or cannot attend a local New Testament church. I sit home from church on Sunday and Wednesday nights, and visit different churches on Sunday, having no home church, because of PCC's hatred and refusal to allow me to attend their church. What wicked people!!!


PCC wickedness bids Godspeed to infidel Ken Ham, who teaches that more than faith is required to get to Heaven. It is tragic that professed Christians today only care about making filthy lucre, but don't care about contending for the faith. PCC has never contended for the faith, they merely parasite off off the churches to make lots of money.

What Ken Ham preaches is called 'Lordship Salvation,' which is a perversion of the free grace Gospel. Lordship Salvation combines and confuses DISCIPLESHIP with SALVATION. Pilgrim's Progress author, John Bunyan (1628-1688), made this beautiful statement in defense of a free grace Gospel:
“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan
Yes, incompetent preachers, evangelists, missionaries, chaplains, laymen and pastors everywhere nowadays are corrupting the Gospel, casting stumblingblocks before the people, damning men's souls to the Lake of Fire forever. Here are some excellent helpful quotes differentiating between SALVATION versus DISCIPLESHIP to help you see the difference...
"It is an inexcusable error to confront sinners with problems that concern the Christian life and call upon them to make promises regarding them. An unsaved person is never called upon to surrender himself to God. The saving act is in no instance represented as our 'giving ourselves to God'; it is, on the contrary, taking His Son as our Savior." —Ryrie, Charles, Balancing the Christian Life; Moody Press, Inc., 1969 (p. 170) 
"The second approach finds faith in the gospel alone an 'easy Believism' and seeks to add something to faith in order to accomplish salvation. To repent is to 'change one's mind,' and to believe is to remove one's trust from that in which it has rested and place it in Christ." —Howard, William, Is Faith Enough to Save?, Bibliotheca Sacra; January-March, 1942 (p. 99) 
"This kind of faith is not 'easy believism'. It is not easy to say, 'I can't save myself, I must recognize that there is something wrong with me, and I must seek help from someone else.'" —Hook, H. Phillip, A Biblical Definition Of Saving Faith, Bibliotheca Sacra; April-June, 1964 (pp. 133, 138) 
"Eternal life is free. Discipleship is immeasurably hard. The former is attained by faith alone, the latter by a faith that works... the former brings with it the righteousness of God so that a man is 'justified freely by his grace' (Romans 3:24). The latter develops a personal righteousness, based on good deeds, so that a man was also 'justified by works' (James 2:24). The former constituted the believer God's workmanship, the latter fulfilled the wonderful purpose for which he had been created. The former cost man nothing, the latter could cost him everything, including life itself." —Hodges, Zane C, The Hungry Inherit; Moody Press, Inc., 1972 (pp. 114, 115) 
"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." —DeHaan, M. R., Hebrews; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)
"For the unregenerate man, repentance is the change of mind whereby he turns from unbelief to faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ." —Post, Roger, The Meanings of the Words Translated 'Repent' and 'Repentance' in the New Testament; Master's Thesis, Wheaton College, June 1972 (p. 80)
"There are those who, in their zeal to get people to turn from their sinful ways and receive the Lord, almost put repentance on a par with believing... Repentance, as it relates to Christ, means to change our minds about Him, who He is and what He's done to provide forgiveness and deliverance from our sins. When we place faith in Jesus as having taken our place personally on the cross and borne the penalty due our sins, then we're automatically repenting, because we couldn't accept Him in this way without having had to change our minds in some way concerning Him." —Lindsey, Hal, The Liberation of Planet Earth; Zondervan Publishing House, 1974 (pp. 136, 137)
"Discipleship is frequently equated with salvation and often erroneously made a condition for becoming a Christian." —Pentecost, J. Dwight, Design For Discipleship; Zondervan Publishing House, 1971 (p. 11)
"Certainly discipleship is a most important aspect of our relation to Christ, but it belongs to the sphere of Christian life rather than entrance upon that life... One does not become a disciple in order to become a Christian, but because he has become a Christian by faith in the Savior, it is fitting that he embark upon a life of discipleship." —Harrison, Everett F., Must Christ be Lord to Be Savior?-No; Eternity, September 1959 (p. 14)
"There is no more piously subtle abrogation of the Gospel than to tell a Sinner that he must not only believe in the Savior, but dedicate himself to do God's will, crown the Savior Lord of his life, etc., etc. Obviously, dedication and service are highly desirable, but they are the privilege and the duty of the saved, never a condition of salvation for the unsaved (cf. Romans 12:1, 2)." —Unger, Merrill F., God Is Waiting To Meet You; Moody Press, 1975 (pp. 117, 118)
"People are sometimes led to believe that there is saving value in some public confession of Christ, or profession of a decision. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." This is salvation. "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This is the voice of the newborn child speaking to and of its father. The only condition on which one may be saved is to believe." —Chafer, Lewis Sperry, Salvation; Dunham Publishing Company, 1917 (p. 46)
The evidence that we are saved is the indwelling Holy Spirit, not the way we live. 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
“If you have to look at your life to prove that you are saved, it proves that you're not!” —Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold, “Why Lordship Salvation is WRONG!

Sunday, May 14, 2023

The Harm Of Infant Baptism

Acts 8:36-38, “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

by Dr. John R. Rice

Since salvation must come, according to the Bible, before there can be Bible baptism, it is obvious that there is no reason for baptizing babies, unaccountable infants. There is not one New Testament record of the baptism of an infant. Jesus did lay His hands on little children and bless them, but certainly He did not baptize them or the Scripture would somewhere have said so.

In the sixteenth chapter of Acts, there are two cases where households were baptized. The first was the household of Lydia of whom the Scripture says in Acts 16:14,15:
“And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.”
We do not know who was included in her household. Nothing was said about children, and it is not even intimated that she was married. Certainly there is no teaching of “infant baptism” here. In the case of the jailer, in the same chapter, the Scripture makes it certain that there were no unaccountable babies. That passage in verses 29 to 34 says:
“Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 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, And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”
Verse 33 does say “and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.” But notice that verse 32 states that Paul and Silas preached the word “to all that were in his house” and verse 34 says that he “rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” Certainly everybody who was baptized in that household heard the word and believed in Christ.

BABIES CIRCUMCISED, WHY NOT BABIES BAPTIZED?
It is true that boy babies were circumcised in Israel when eight days old (Genesis 17:12). But baptism and circumcision are two entirely different matters. Circumcision was for boys and men only, while baptism is for both sexes alike. Circumcision was for every boy or man of Hebrew blood, while baptism is only for saved people. Circumcision and baptism mean entirely different things. Circumcision meant that this child was an Israelite, one of the chosen race by natural birth. Baptism means that the one baptized is born again and one of God’s children by a birth from Heaven. One has no right to be baptized until he is born as God’s child. The Bible does not say one word about dedicating little children to the Lord by any kind of Christian ceremony and certainly does not mention baptism of babies anywhere in the Bible.

It is a sad and remarkable fact that many earnest Christian people have followed Roman Catholics in sprinkling unaccountable babies when there is not one verse in the Bible to even intimate that it was the will of God! In the Bible, people were baptized after they believed and were saved, as was the case with the jailer and his entire family.

THE HARM OF INFANT BAPTISM
Baptism of an unaccountable baby does untold harm. For one thing, it leaves the impression that the change of heart is not necessary. It leaves the impression that the religion of the Lord Jesus is a matter of ritual, not of personal faith. It ignores the Bible teaching that baptism represents the burial and resurrection of Jesus and the believer’s change of heart. Worst of all, the one who is thus given a ceremony which was only for Christians, often is led to believe, in after years, that since he is a member of a church, has been baptized, and is a respectable citizen, therefore he does not need the change of heart, does not need to be converted, saved by the blood of Jesus. Whatever fine argument you may make for the sprinkling of a little baby, it is answered by the plain, indisputable fact that Jesus did not command it and it is certainly unscriptural and wrong.

We begin to see, then, why the Lord Jesus puts such stress on baptism. It is the gospel, so simple that every new convert can preach it. It pictures the plan of salvation. Yea, it safeguards the plan of salvation. If I change the form of baptism, I change the meaning of baptism, I change the doctrine of salvation. If I take a little child, unaccountable, who has not trusted in Christ for salvation, and without his volition, I put water upon his head and “baptize” him, I have taught an entirely different plan of salvation. 
I have said to the unthinking world that people do not need a change of heart, but that with a simple rite of dedication they have a right into the fellowship of a New Testament church. When I change the form of baptism, I have lost all the picture about the death of Christ, His atonement, His resurrection, the change necessary in the believer’s heart and the change commanded in his life. When people go wrong on baptism, they go wrong on the doctrine of salvation.

If people have a right to change the form of baptism, they have a right to change the form of church government, change from the New Testament program of soul winning to the modern program of education. Good, old time Methodist people who believe, as John Wesley did, in a change of heart, oftentimes wonder why that strong tendency of modern Methodism toward teaching salvation by works, by character, by education and by culture instead of salvation by the blood! One reason is, they do not have Bible baptism, a burial of the believer with Christ, to picture to the world the great teaching of the plan of salvation. Sprinkling babies teaches against the need for a change of heart.

STAY WITH BIBLE BAPTISM
Suppose we even retain the form of baptism, but still teach it as essential to salvation as do our Catholic friends and as do Churches of Christ or Disciples, Lutherans and others. When one is baptized, then, he says to the world. “I am saving my soul by my good works.” The preacher or priest is saying, perhaps unconsciously, to the world, “The church by rites and ceremonies is saving this man’s soul.”

The candidate baptized, the preacher or priest, and the onlookers alike all miss the blessed, blessed teaching that Christ died for our sins, that men are saved simply by faith in His shed blood, that a deep-seated, fundamental change has been made in the heart of the believer, called the new birth. BIBLE BAPTISM IS GOD’S SAFEGUARD AROUND SOUND DOCTRINE ON THE PLAN OF SALVATION. That is the reason if baptism was not done the right way, or if it was done with the right method, but without the scriptural teaching in the minds of the people, it should be done again, as Paul baptized the second time those converts at Ephesus as told in Acts 19:1-6. Let us stay with the Bible as to the form and meaning of baptism and baptize only those who have a Bible right to baptism, that is, saved people. Certainly baptism of babies is unscriptural, dangerous and wrong.

"𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗠 - 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗡𝗘" (𝗗𝗿. 𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗗. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲)
"𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗠 - 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗧𝗪𝗢" (𝗗𝗿. 𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗗. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲)

Friday, April 28, 2023

Many People Try To Complicate 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:”

Many people try to complicate the Gospel by adding THEIR self righteous works/human self efforts/self reformation/behavioral changes/good deeds. The Bible says we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone plus nothing, when we simply BELIEVE how that JESUS Himself died on the Cross for all our sins, was buried and bodily rose three days later for our justification.

The Gospel does not include the following meritorious works of THE LAW:
 Repent of your sins
 Make Jesus the Lord of your life
 Give your life to Jesus
 Confess all your sins
 Live a changed life
 Join a church or denomination
 Say a special prayer
 Keep the Mosaic law
 Get water baptized
 Obey the Ten Commandments
THESE ARE ALL WORKS!
Read what God’s word says about His simple plan of salvation for mankind (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 1:16-19, 3:23-27 & 4:5; Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:8-9 KJB).

Here is a tremendous quote from Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995):
“I maintain that anything short of truth is a lie. But I also maintain that anything beyond truth is a lie. If you tell a man he can be saved, without believing on Christ, you've come short of the truth; but if you go beyond the truth and tell a man he's saved by believing plus being baptized, plus keeping the Ten Commandments, plus enduring to the end, you've gone beyond truth. I say we ought to stick with what the Bible says, even if it doesn't coincide with what we've always thought it meant.” —Dr. Curtis Hutson, “The Determining Factor In Salvation” (MP3 sermon)
Dear friend, faith is the only righteous thing that you can do! Just come to God as a guilty sinner and BELIEVE the Gospel. The Gospel is the “GOOD NEWS” that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God—the Christ—who died on a cross to pay for your sins and mine, He was buried and three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead.

Dear reader, everything you have you got one of three ways:
  1. you earned it
  2. you stole it
  3. someone gave it to you
There's no other way to get things, and that applies to Heaven too! You cannot earn it (Titus 3:5). You cannot steal it (John 10:1). You can only freely receive it as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). God bless you friend and thank you for reading my blogs.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

REASONS FOR NOT TEACHING “LORDSHIP SALVATION”

“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.” —John 3:16

Here are 11 reasons for not teaching the heresy of “Lordship Salvation,” by Dr. Ray Stanford (1916-2012).
  1. It contradicts Scripture; therefore, it cannot be true. This one reason should settle the matter completely. If a doctrine is contrary to what God says, then it should be discarded immediately. See Romans 3:4; Titus 2:7; Galatians 4: 16.
  2. It causes confusion and frustration to the unbeliever because it leaves the impression that salvation is by works. Therefore, the lost person often puts off accepting Christ until he is "ready" to turn his entire life over to the Lord. If the truth were presented to such a person, that salvation is free, but that after we are saved the Lord would work in our lives, perhaps he would trust Christ. Because of a "grace plus works" message he might NEVER trust Christ (I Corinthians 14:8,9).
  3. This message CANNOT SAVE. If anyone gets saved during such a message, it will be because God has honored a portion of His Word IN SPITE of the unscriptural teaching brought into the message (Romans 4:5; Galatians 5:1-4; Romans 11:6; Isaiah 55:8-11; Romans 10:17).
  4. This message is accursed of God. Any message, no matter how "good" it may sound, is condemned by God unless it is His own salvation message. HIS message is the only one that saves. All others are of satanic or fleshly origin and curse men to hell. Therefore, God curses such a message (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Galatians 1:6-9; II Corinthians 11:13 15; Galatians 3:1-3).
  5. The person who preaches such a message is also accursed of God. Strong statement? Yes, but it is what God says. A man who preaches man's efforts have a part in salvation is leading people to hell, not heaven. Even if a man believes he is sincere, a wrong message still has the effects of the wrong message. Sincerity is no substitute for truth (Deuteronomy 27:18; Proverbs 17:15; 19:5; Jeremiah 23:1).
  6. It, in effect, makes God a liar and the Bible untrue. If salvation really does come to those who turn over their lives to Christ, then God has been wrong all the time, throughout the entire Bible, because salvation is taught from Genesis to Revelation to come only through faith (Titus 1:2, 3; Romans 3: 4).
  7. It causes even Christian preachers to further the error by thinking it might have some merit and preaching it themselves. One well-known Christian returned to America from some meetings he held in a foreign country and made a statement like this: "I really made it difficult for them to accept Christ over there. In America it's too easy to become a Christian, so I made it hard for them there. I told them accepting Christ meant turning from their sins, reading their Bibles, praying every day, giving up bad habits, and going to church regularly. And in spite of such a hard message hundreds made decisions for Christ."

    WHAT A TRAGEDY! When people hear the true gospel after hearing this type of message, they are often unable to distinguish what is truth from what is error, and so many are left confused and unsaved.
  8. The preaching of this error robs the one preaching it of reward. Paul said, "What is our . . . crown? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" The more we are able to win to Christ, the more souls will be in heaven, and so the more reward we will have. But those who preach a confused message hinder people from trusting Christ as their Saviour. Therefore, many souls are left unsaved, and so these preachers will not have the reward that they could have had (I Thessalonians 2: 19, 20; II John 8; I John 2:28; I Corinthians 9:18).
  9. It confuses "laymen" believers and causes them to be ineffective in their witness. A girl recently asked, "I know that you are sincere and seem to have Scripture to back up what you teach, but my pastor is also sincere and teaches differently about salvation than you do. How do I know which one of you is right? How can I witness when I don't know what to tell people?"

    A confused believer isn't going to be a faithful witness because he is going to be in constant turmoil over what to say. When he does try to witness, he will probably give out some mixture of "grace and works" that will not only confuse the lost person, but will also bring discouragement to the believer when he doesn't find people responding to his witness. When the gospel is given out, pure and simple, there will be results. The gospel is good news, and people respond to it.
  10. It hinders the growth of the body of Christ. This is one of the results of the above (#9). When the believer's mouth is stopped (regardless of the reason), then the natural flow of fruit-bearing is stopped. Since Christ's body is composed of believers, the growth of His body is hindered when souls are not won (John 15: 8, 16).

    Incidentally, this will also stop the growth of the local church as well. It is so obvious when you stop to think about it. Why any preacher thinks this accursed "grace and works" message would in any way benefit anyone is a puzzle to me. Let's learn to THINK THINGS THROUGH!
  11. It brings persecution to the believers who stand firm for the Scriptural message of "justification by faith." Those who are clear on the gospel are often accused of preaching "easy believism" or "cheap grace." Nothing could be further from the truth! Tell me, is a person ever saved by "hard" believism? Certainly no Christian I know believes in "cheap" grace! This is absurd. God's grace is precious. The blood of Jesus is precious. The price our Lord paid for our redemption was so high that nothing can be compared with its great value. Salvation is anything but cheap. It is free to us only because Jesus paid the full price. And that price was His precious life blood (I Peter 1:18, 19).

    God has gone through so MUCH to provide redemption for us! When I think that Jesus even gave His life-died such a horrible death-in order to provide eternal life as a free gift to those who would accept His payment by faith . . . and then someone comes along who professes to be a child of God and wants to make salvation HARD for the lost person . . . how the heart of our dear Saviour must break!

    "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, where with he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" ( Hebrews 10: 29)

    I doubt seriously if anyone could carefully read the Gospel accounts of what Christ went through to purchase our salvation and ever again speak glibly of "cheap grace." No one is ever saved by "cheap grace." They are saved by PRICELESS, AMAZING GRACE! Don't let Satan blind you to the fact that salvation REALLY IS FREE to man. Don't listen to him when he insinuates that "justification by faith" is a dangerous doctrine that will lead to "loose living." The greatest soulwinners who ever lived believed in salvation by grace through faith, and they preached it faithfully . . . and God blessed them and their ministry for it.

    We have a miracle salvation-provided and preserved by God Himself! Let's give out the good news of this salvation simply and faithfully for His glory.

    "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (I Corinthians 1:30, 31).

    SOURCE: Dr. Ray Stanford, Handbook Of Personal Evangelism, chapter VII, pp. 45-49

“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.” —John 3:16

Monday, April 24, 2023

The Lordship Salvation Controversy

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 Kingdom Alert Update believes in salvation by grace through faith (i.e. belief) alone. By "belief" I mean "belief" as it is used in the English language! I mean "believe" as it is used for the first time in the King James Bible in Genesis 15.
Genesis 15:5-6, "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he BELIEVED in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Romans 4:2-5, "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 mean "believe" as it is used the second time in the Bible:
Exodus 4:1, "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not BELIEVE me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee."
I mean "believe" as it is found for the first time in the NT:
Matthew 9:28, "And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, BELIEVE ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord."
Did Jesus mean "commit yourself and turn from your sin" in Mark 9? There is no English dictionary on the face of the earth that I know of (and I have a fair collection of new and old) that defines the word "believe" as meaning "commit," "work," "be good," "turn from sin," "ask Jesus into your heart," "confess," "pray," etc. Yet John Macarthur and other "Lordship Salvation" advocates tell us that "belief" really means "commit" or some other term signifying "works." (They cannot stand it when you call "crossbearing," "committing," "surrendering," "confessing," et cetera, "works.") I trust that the KJV translators understood the original languages better than modern scholars. They knew that words in any language must often be translated various ways depending on the context. When they translated a word as "believe" they were not re-inventing or redefining the word "believe" into some Gnostic, theological definition.

There are many good, fundamental brethren who are rightfully displeased with the state of professing "Christendom." They see the great number of people that are willing to make a decision, but they notice how few there are who are willing to take up their crosses in commitment to Christ. But I do not think the answer to this problem is to re-invent the word "believe." The answer is to present the BIBLICAL truth about the Judgment Seat of Christ for Christians (and the truth concerning the future Kingdom of God) with the same consistency and force that Christ and the Apostles continually presented it. Great Baptist preachers such as Robert Govett, James Graves, D.M. Panton, R.E. Neighbour, W.F. Roadhouse, etc., in one degree or another, knew how to preach responsibility to Christians.

Yet these truths concerning the fear of God practically disappeared in the 1960's among Baptists and other fundamentalists. So the answer is not found in making the Gospel "hard" and thereby destroying the logical possibility for absolute assurance (no one can know for sure they are saved if they have to wait their whole life to make sure they don't one day lack "commitment" for an extended period of time and thereby prove to be only empty professors!). 

The reason professing Christians are so doctrinally flawed today is because the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ's finished work is so often "helped" by preachers, because they are afraid it is too simple when left alone. But if they would preach a Biblical Judgment Seat (2nd Corinthians 5:10) they would find all the warnings and responsibility truth needed to stir people to holiness; and the Gospel could be left pure.

Saturday, April 22, 2023

We Are Living In A Generation Of Incompetent Pastors

Revelation 3:15-18, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Jeremiah 10:21, “For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.”

Jeremiah 12:10, “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.”

Sadly, we are living in a dangerous time of incompetent pastors and preachers. Case in point is that wicked false prophet Billy Graham, who has openly praised the Roman Catholic pope as the greatest spiritual leader of the 20th century! I tell you, the Pope is inspired by Satan, and Catholicism is the biggest cult in the world today! ...

Billy Graham Says 'Salvation WITHOUT Jesus!'

Tragically, Billy Graham (1918-2018) is burning in Hell right now! No man is saved who denies that faith alone in Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to Heaven. Mr. Graham said that unsaved Muslims, Mormons and other unbelievers could be saved without faith in the name of Jesus. BLASPHEMY!!!

I have had the misfortunate of meeting incompetent graduate pastors of the Bob Jones University (BJU) cult. Also, the cult at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) that wickedly bids Godspeed to the deadly BJU cult. To name a few incompetent infidels: Jeff Redlin, Timothy Zacharias, Joe Hensen, Jared Baldwin, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Chuck Phelps, John MacArthur, Sam Horn, John Lewis and Gary Walton. All these men pervert the plan of salvation. Jeff Redlin and the PCC camp errantly teach that repentance requires a change of behavior to prove you are saved. PCC has adopted the demonic false doctrine of BJU, that justification, sanctification and glorification are a package deal which cannot be separated. PCC is not what they appear to be. BEWARE of the cult at PCC!!!

Read what some of their own frustrated alumni have to say about PCC:
“Don't go here if you're a Christian; they don't actually follow the Bible. They just use it as an excuse to treat people like trash.” —Danielle Tate (2016)

“This institution did more to harm my personal development than any other. As a 38 year old professional, I still bear the scars of how I was treated by this harsh, unloving, uncaring college.” —Greg S (2015), a former abused PCC student

“17 years later and I'm still shaking off the trauma. So many extra-biblical rules it'll make your head spin. Great place for Pharisaical training if your into that. The rule book has more rules than the Bible.” —Jorn Anderson (September 2022), former mistreated PCC student

“Pcc is the worst school ever. It was a complete waste of my time and money. They kicked me out for going to the wrong Sunday school class. And that was a year ago. They still will not release my transcripts which has put me behind in my college career. They schools not be called a Christian college if they cannot even live by what the Bible has to say. If I was able to take it all back and not go there I would in a heartbeat. I am warning you if you are thinking about going DONT DO IT!!!!” —Gavin Bufford (2017), abused former PCC student

“I'm a 2018 graduate of PCC and I went here for all 4 years. It's really sad that this place calls itself Christian, its legalistic places like pcc that give Christians a bad name. They do have a lot of rules regulating most areas of life. I was treated very poorly and rude by several "Christians" on staff and faculty and I saw many of my friends treated the same way. I've personally seen people who were once people I would hang out with, when given positions of leadership become legalistic monsters taking joy in getting as many students in trouble as possible, and this is done in the name of Christ! As a student you are guilty until proven innocent and can be kicked out just because someone accuses you of something.” —Nick Harrison (2019), a mistreated PCC alumni

“It is NOT a friendly environment. All they care about is rules instead of encouraging and building you up in your Christian walk.” —Hannah Elizabeth Kirchhoff (December 2022), mistreated former PCC student

“They call themselves Christians, but Christians are supposed to show compassion and patience.” —Angela (January 2023), mistreated former PCC student

“In retrospect, I thank God for not having the opportunity to attend here (Pensacola Christian College) and myself for not making the decision to enroll.” —Richard Deuto (January 2023)

“Crackpot unaccredited school.” —Meryl Montgomery (November 2022)
There is a woeful lack of love at PCC. Dr. Jack Hyles was so right, they are academics, not church builders, so they woefully lack compassion for people. ...
“I am all for standards, but I am not for standards without love.” —Pastor Jack Hyles
There is no love or compassion for individual people at PCC or their rotten Campus Church. All I asked in 2022 was to attend Campus Church, but their thug pastor Jeff Redlin refused. God will punish Redlin for his hatred and unforgiveness! Meanwhile, I am going to befriend all of PCC's hurting graduates who have fallen through the cracks, like Samantha Field who was brutally attacked by a male on PCC campus. She was told by a PCC staff member to stop causing trouble, to repent and let the matter go into God's hands. Poor Samantha Field. I am supportive of Samantha's pain and suffering, because like her, I have been mistreated, shunned, ignored and crapped on by PCC leaders and their ungodly yuppie pastors.

Thankfully, Marty Herron's religious partner in crime, Dr. Steve Pettit, has been removed as the incompetent president of Bob Jones University. Hallelujah and Amen!!! Jeff Redlin needs to go next at PCC's Campus Church. The day Redlin is fired or resigns I am going to throw a party! Tragically, Pastor Jeff Redlin is the worst thing to happen to PCC in a long time, bringing with him a self-righteous, hypocritical, cult minded form of bigotry, arrogance and playing God with people's lives. If you are divorced like me, and single hoping to remarry after 20 years, PCC will cruelly shun and throw you under the bus, as they wickedly did me in 2021 and still ongoing today. SHAME! SHAME!! SHAME on PCC!!! God will be their Judge. Thank God Steve Pettit is gone. God answered my prayer! Now I pray for Jeff Redlin to be fired!!!

These are all incompetent pastors today. The ungodly pastors at PCC's Campus Church all wickedly bid Godspeed to Ken Ham, who says that faith is not enough to get to Heaven. Ken Ham and his shameful Answers-In-Genesis cult falsely teach that you must also turn away from your evil ways to be saved. That is WORKS, not God's saving grace, which is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” I didn't see anything in the Bible about forsaking your sinful behavior to get to Heaven.

Dear reader, God does want you to forsake a sinful lifestyle (Romans 3:31), but this happens as a result of being saved, not to get saved. A believer turns from sin, “if” (and that is the key word, “if”) they yield to the indwelling Holy Spirit (which we automatically get at salvation). Every child of God must choose to walk in that Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). It is possible for a saint to choose to still walk in the flesh, living in open gross immorality. They are still 100% saved certain, because we weren't saved by good works, nor can we be saved by bad works. How can you lose that which was not yours to give in the first place? Salvation is of the Lord. Simply BELIEVE THE GOSPEL and you are saved forever!!!

BEWARE of today's incompetent pastors. You will know them by these warning signs:
  1. They preach the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation (this heresy says that more than faith is necessary to get to Heaven. In addition, proponents of Lordship Salvation falsely claim that you must turn from your sinful ways, surrender to Christ as the supreme “Lord” of your life, give control of the steering-wheel of your life over to Christ, follow Jesus no matter what the cost, et cetera. You get the picture. The Bible teaches that faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.
  2. They preach a misunderstanding of 'repentance' to be saved. They claim that “repent” means to give up your old lifestyle of sinning. This is a false gospel. Christ came to pay for our sins, because we simply cannot turn away from them. No one can! Who can stop sinning? Do you really think that God demands for you to become less a sinner than a bigger sinner as a requirement to go to Heaven? Dear friend, God requires for you to be absolutely 100% perfect to enter into His Kingdom! There is no way for you and me to achieve that of our own accord. That is why Jesus went to the cross, to pay our debt of sin, so that God could impute (credit) His imputed righteousness to us through faith (Romans 4:5-6; Philippians 3:9).
  3. They use, sell and promote the Devil's corrupt Bible. All of today's English Bible revisions have been tampered with and corrupted by Satan. Only the inspired King James Bible is trustworthy.
  4. They ban truth-tellers like me from attending church. I have been banned by the ungodly Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, and the ungodly Campus Church at PCC. PCC and Harvest are in bed committing spiritual whoredom together, blaspheming the Word of God. Harvest Baptist Church on Guam is a repository of ungodly perverted BJU alumni, who all preach Lordship Salvation, teach the Devil's misunderstanding of repentance, and use the Devil's Bibles. Yet, PCC refuses to contend for the Christian faith to rightly expose the BJU cult. That makes PCC guilty, partaker of their evil deeds (2nd John 1:11). Woe unto the PCC and BJU camps! I will have the last laugh in eternity, when God punishes them in my sight and rewards me for exposing all of them. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS! All that matter sot PCC and BJU is money.
  5. They don't contend for the Christian faith. Any pastor who fails to teach and warn God's flock which has been entrusted to him is incompetent.
  6. They don't have compassion or love individual people. It is tragic and pathetic how unloving the average pastor is today. I have met so many people who shared sad stories with me, about abusive pastors who couldn't have cared less about them as a human being. It is wickedness!!! Jeff Redlin (at Campus Church) and Marty Herron( as Harvest Baptist Church on Guam) left me to rot and die, shunning and banning me from attending church anymore, for which my blood is on their filthy hands. They are guilty in God's sight for pulling on the same rope as the Devil, when I befriended and tried to sincerely help them.
I love people, but I can't stand pious arrogant pastors who won't allow people to come to church. They play God at PCC and BJU with people's live. I'm not kidding. The stiffnecked leaders at PCC are abusive and look down on people. They have huge egos! Sure they'll lie and claim to be humble and kind, but I am living proof that they are abusive liars, and so is Samantha Field evidence of abuse at PCC. I won't shut up! America is going to Hell because of incompetent pastors that don't love people. People just want to be loved.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

People Confused About The Gospel Are Not Saved

Acts 15:1-5, “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. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

I keep hearing ignorant wannabe theologians on YouTube, and unlearned preachers, say that many people are saved even though they are confused and partly wrong on the Gospel.

Dear reader, how can that be? Let me ask you a question: How wrong can a person be concerning the Gospel and still be saved? I have heard preachers claim that some people who are caught between grace and works are saved. What saith the Scripture? 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.” There is no middle ground dear reader. You are either saved entirely 100% by grace, or else it is partially by grace plus 10% your own works, but it cannot be both.

Also, please take a look at:
Romans 4:2-5, “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.”
God doesn't owe you or me anything except eternal damnation in the fires of Hell. This passage of Scripture puts to rest the nonsense that people in the Old Testament were saved by works, or faith plus works. No they were not! As we just read in Romans 4:4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” If anyone at any time in human history has, is or ever will be saved by faith plus works, then salvation was by DEBT, and not GRACE! The Bible very plainly teaches that salvation is solely by God's grace. 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.”

It astonishes me, it really does! The Bible speaks so plainly that salvation is by God's grace alone, without works. Yet, millions of incompetent clergy today in the world preach something drastically different than what the inspired King James Bible teaches. Nowhere in the Word of God are we taught to “repent of your sins” or “turn from your sins” to be saved, yet dishonest preachers add those requirements to God's simple plan of salvation, perverting it!

I contend dear reader, based upon the authority of God's inspired Word, that no one is saved who adds the slightest bit of works to the Gospel. I mean not before, during or after being saved. There are all sorts of heresies being taught today in churches and Bible colleges regarding how to get to Heaven.

Partial Faith In Christ Plus Something Else Equals Damnation

As an example: When I attended the corrupt neo-evangelical Harvest Baptist Church on Guam in 2013-2014. The church had monthly 'Watchcare Meetings' in staff member's homes. At these quaint meetings we would sing, fellowship, eat food and hear devotions from the staff member. I really enjoyed those meetings and I miss them. At one meeting I witnessed to a staff member of Harvest's Christian Academy. His name is Jason, one of the school's teachers. I asked him if he believes that you can simply admit to God that you're a sinner and believe the Gospel to be saved. I was horrified by his answer. He said: “Uh, I think a little more is required than that.” I knew immediately that he was still unsaved, a child of the Devil hellbound in his sins without Christ. Jason has been woefully deceived by Marty Herron and the cult at Bob Jones University (BJU), who are the devil's servants!

I asked Jason what he believed a lost sinner must do to be saved. He said that a person must repent to turn away from their sinful behavior. He said that a person must make Jesus their “Lord,” following Christ in obedience no matter what the cost. I was sad for him, knowing that the Devil has conned him into living the Christian life instead of being born again.

Dear reader, Jesus said in John 3:3b, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.” No one will ever enter through Heaven's pearly gates, nor walk upon the heavenly streets of gold who adds lordship to grace, and turning away from sins to faith (behavior modification). Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. Good works are not the payment for sin, the payment for sin is death. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

May I remind you friend of Matthew 7:21-23, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. This is a very disturbing passage of Scripture, because it exposes hundreds of millions of false converts today throughout the world.

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again, which is exactly what happened to these unfortunate false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23. They boasted to Christ that they had prophesied (preached) in His very name, but Jesus denied even knowing them. They were not The Great Shepherd's sheep. John 10:27-28, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I love that! Jesus KNOWS His sheep. That is, He knows the children of God, those who have had their sins washed away by the precious blood of the Lamb (1st Peter 1:18-19).

Jesus does not know Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Sam Horn, John MacArthur, Chuck Phelps and other infidels in the Bob Jones University (BJU) cult. BJU is a cult because they use, sell and promote the Devil's corrupt Bible manuscripts translated by Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort. Pastor Peter S. Ruckman (1921-2016) does an excellent job exposing the BJU cult in this work titled: 'The Alexandrian Cult Series.' BJU is also a cult because they preach another gospel called 'Lordship Salvation.' They do not preach a free grace Gospel, which is by faith alone without works. Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) rightly exposes Lordship Salvation as a perversion of God's grace. Pastor Jack Hyles exposes the Devil's damnable lie of Lordship Salvation.

Acts 15:5, “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” In this passage we read about some Pharisees who were believers. They are saved. But the Bible says the Pharisees confused the Gentiles by requiring them to keep the law of Moses, not to be saved (because they couldn't have been saved by works); but rather, because they are saved.

Even today in 2023, we hear corrupt preachers errantly teaching people that you must keep the law if you are saved. No, you do not! You SHOULD keep the law (Romans 3:31), obeying God's commandments, but if you don't, then grace will much more abound (Romans 5:20, 6:1). The more that we sin as saints, the more God's grace abounds, so that no child of God can ever lose salvation. We may lose our happiness and sweet fellowship with the Lord because of sin, but we can never lose what wasn't ours to give in the first place. If we couldn't be saved by good works, then we certainly cannot be lost by bad works. Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9).

Beware Of The Bob Jones University Cult

Bob Jones University falsely teaches that faith is not enough to be saved. Their Statement of Faith errantly requires you to “repent and turn away from your sins” to be saved. That is NOT the Gospel, it is a manmade plan of damnation. Listen friend, the most dangerous thing that you will ever do is to trust a preacher! Some people asked Jesus what 'WORKS' they must do to be saved. Jesus simply told them to 'BELIEVE ON HIM.' 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. There is the simplicity of salvation, which is the Gospel.

If confused churchgoers who think that you must forsake a lifestyle of sinning, or be willing to forsake a lifestyle of sinning, to get to heaven are really saved, then what about water baptism? Are Churches of Christ cult members saved, who believe that you cannot go to Heaven without being dunked in a baptistery? No, they are not saved. No one is saved who has the ungodly mindset that faith in the 'Good News' (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen is insufficient to get to Heaven. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

Hebrews 4:10-11, “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 cherish this passage of Scripture. The Old Testament Sabbath Day was symbolic of the coming Messiah, in whom all who rest are saved. Just as God rested from His labors on the seventh day, so also are we saved by ceasing from our works and wholly resting in Jesus' name. It is that simple to go to Heaven. To be saved, you simply need to BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you.

If you would like to go to Heaven...
Here is the gospel: God says that we are sinners and that no amount of good works or behavioral changes on our part could ever make us holy enough to enter heaven. God sent His Son to pay for all of our sins. Jesus paid for our crimes by dying on the cross for us all. His dead body was buried in a grave. On the third day, Jesus arose from the dead. The instant you believe this, He knows it and He saves you. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life”(John 6:47). The free gift is based solely upon your trust in what Jesus did for you and has nothing at all to do with what you do for Him. “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9). —Michael P. Bowen, 'I Never Knew You,' p. xii
Please don't let some sincere but misled lying preacher take you with him to the Lake of Fire. I thank God for doctrinally sound preachers like Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)...

'The Gospel Or Another Gospel'
(by Pastor Jack Hyles)