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!!!
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!”
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