Galatians 1:6-9, “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.”
I had the privilege of attending the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam for the entire year of 2014. It was a privilege because I made some wonderful friends there, whom I still love and cherish and miss, like Doug Abel's and his family, and Dave Morgan and Amy, and Cark and Peggy across the street from me (and their children Scott, Shane, Nelly-Mae and Katy-Joe). I do still miss them all!
Sadly, the church's shameful senior pastor from 1999 to 2018, Marty Herron, is an infidel of the faith, an imposter who is theologically incompetent and has no business standing behind any pulpit. In 2014 I sat among hundreds of church members and heard Pastor Herron make this heretical statement: “It is not enough to admit that you are a sinner to go to Heaven, you must also turn away from a lifestyle of sinning.” I felt numb in my soul. I went home and literally cried. I prayed to God, asking Him what I should do. Harvest is a religious cult
In case you don't already know, what Pastor Herron preaches (and the entire Bob Jones crowd nowadays) is the SAME false gospel preached by Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholics. Humbly said, as you can see, I have done my homework on these different cults and how they relate to proponents of Lordship Salvation. Lest I haven't convinced you yet, please consider that the deadly Mormon cult have made John MacArthur's book: “Faith Works,” official reading at Brigham Young University.
I just wrote a blog refuting the heretical idea that faith must have works to be true faith. Our dear Savior said that faith itself is the only “work” which God allows for salvation:
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.”
The Bible is so clear and plain to understand to the honest person. Jesus plainly said that faith itself is the only work to be saved. And again, we read in Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Then, please do not make the fatal error of somehow or another, adding works to faith! Since the very beginning of humanity, beginning with Adam, he sewed together some fig leaves in a wasted attempt to atone for his sins, and that of his wife Eve. Afterward, we see their offspring Cain, who offered God the best grains which his fields could produce. This also was a wasted attempt, trying to impress God with self-righteousness.
Marty Herron has been deceived by the subtle Devil. Read was the famous preacher George Whitefield (a devout Calvinist) said:
“Our salvation is all of God, from the beginning to the end; it is not of works, lest any man should boast; man has no hand in it.” ~Pastor George Whitefield (1714-1770)
It is a pity that modern preachers do not pay more attention to the method that the apostles followed in preaching Jesus Christ! The success and divine authority of their discourses should impress ministers of the gospel more than all modern schemes. If this were the case, ministers would first learn to sow and then to reap. They would endeavor to plow up the fallow ground and to prepare people for God’s blessings to rain down upon them.
This is the way Peter preached when under divine influence at Pentecost. Despite the fact that many of his listeners were educated, prominent people, he boldly charged them with murdering the Son of God. His piercing accusation entered deep into their conscience and was used by the Holy Spirit to give them a proper sense of themselves.
The apostle then let them know that, although their sin was great, it was not unpardonable. They had been part of the horrid crime of murdering the Lord of life, and had thereby incurred the penalty of eternal death. Yet there was mercy for them in the way prescribed: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). ...
What is conversion then? In order to be truly converted, a man must become a new creature and be converted from his own righteousness to the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Conviction will always precede spiritual conversion. You may be convicted without being converted, but you cannot be converted without being convicted.True conversion means turning not only from sin but also from depending on self-made righteousness. Those who trust in their own righteousness for conversion hide behind their own good works. This is the reason that self-righteous people are so angry with gospel preachers, because the gospel does not spare those who will not submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ! [emphasis mine]SOURCE: George Whitefield, “Repentance And Conversion”
The Devil is very subtle. As with many deceptions, Whitefield tells a HALF-TRUTH. It is true that a man must be convicted of his sin to be saved. It is also true that a man must repent (change his mind) from his own self-righteousness, and instead embrace God's imputed righteousness. Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”
However, it is NOT true that a man must repent “of his sin” to be saved, in the sense that he must turn away from and forsake a lifestyle of sinning. The Bible never teaches that! Nowhere in the Scriptures do we find the phrase “of your sin” in relation to repentance. Yes, the Apostle Peter did preach to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost. Peter reminded them that they murdered their Messiah, but Peter never required them to forsake their sinful ways to be saved. The Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract according to John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” No mention is made in the Gospel of John about turning away from one's sinful ways to be saved.
The following horrible heretical quote is from Pastor Aiden W. Tozer (1897-1963)...
Pastor Aiden W. Tozer Is A False Prophet!
Where does the King James Bible teach that a person must forsake the world to be saved? It doesn't. 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.” Jesus did not tell these people to forsake their sinful behavior, He simply told them to BELIEBE ON HIM.
Forsaking one's sinful behavior is a matter of obedience to God as His child, and not involved with justification. You are the biological child of your earthly parent because they conceived you. It had absolutely NOTHING to do with you. Likewise, you had absolutely nothing to do with God saving your soul (John 1:12-13). The moment that you BELIEVE, God saves you, end of story. Nothing more is required than to simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you! That is so easy and simply.
So why do wicked but sincere men make God's simple plan of salvation so complicated? I agree with Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995):
“But we've so muddied the Gospel, that when men want to make a decision to trust Christ, we've made it so complicated that they can't make a simple decision to 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' We'll say, 'If you don't do this' or 'You don't do that' or 'You haven't done that,' you're not saved'; but the truth of the matter is that when asked in the Bible, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,' one clear simple answer was given to him — 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'” ~Pastor Curtis Hutson, “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same” (preached at Southwide Baptist Fellowship on October 3, 1994)
What about James chapter two? There is much confusing over what James taught. ...
Just hold the phone Joan,Wait a minute...Step on the brake Jake,Watch where you're drivin' Ivan,Wait a minute...
What saith the Scripture? ...
James 2:20-22, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
It is very clear that James was speaking about being justified in the sight of men, because he uses the phrases “shew me” and “shew thee.” James 2:18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James wasn't speaking about shewing God our faith. In sharp contrast, the Apostle Paul in Romans speaks about being justified in the sight of God. ...
Romans 4:4-7, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”
Salvation has always been by faith alone. Beware of the false teaching (popular with the Bob Jones camp) that we are saved by faith alone; but faith is not alone, it must produce works. By adhering to this blatant heresy, the Bob Jones crowd in reality are merging sanctification with justification. I love something that Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan said:
“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 (1628-1688)
I couldn't have said it better! I love Pastor Herron, sincerely, but he is WRONG on the Gospel. Sadly, Marty is leading thousands of people with him into the Lake of Fire. God does not make exceptions for anybody. God does not let anybody slide. If you don't go through faith alone in Jesus Christ, there is no other way of salvation (Acts 4:10-12). God's plan of salvation does not require that you turn away from sin, forsake the world, faithfully run the race, count the cost and pay the price, live a lifestyle of repentance, nor anything else.
Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) made these wonderful helpful statements:"Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation." ~Dr. Harry A. Ironside; Except Ye Repent, p. 36Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel:
Read what Pastor Ironside said in his Gospel tract, ANOTHER GOSPEL? ...“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.” ~Dr. Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?
"When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him." ~Dr. Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, Another Gospel.Dear reader, the truth is so simple and easy to see, if you just let the inspired Holy Bible speak for itself. It's when you start listening to corrupt preachers, who add words to God's Word, that people become utterly confused. A false gospel cannot produce the new birth! I have often prayed for Marty Herron's salvation, and that of his family who follow his false faith, but the truth is ineffective upon a proud and arrogant heart. 2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
A Clear Gospel Presentation In 4 Minutes
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