Ray Comfort's Wrong Understanding Of What It Means To Be 'Born Again'

1st Timothy 6-7, “From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”

There is a disturbing trend among evangelicals to explain being “born again” as an “EXPERIENCE,” instead of as a supernatural miracle of God in response to a man's faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a copy of Ray Comfort's “THE EVIDENCE BIBLE” in front of me. I bought it a few years ago. On page 1529, under the commentary section, “How Can You Know That You Are Saved?,” The Evidence Bible states:

Christians believed in God's existence before their conversion, however, when they obeyed the Word of God, turned from their sins, and embraced Jesus Christ, they stopped merely believing. The moment they reached out and touched the heater bar of God's mercy, they moved out of belief into the realm of experience. This experience is so radical, Jesus referred to it as being born again. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: The Way of the Master Evidence Bible, by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, page 1529; ©2003 by Bridge-Logos Publishers.

May I say, being born again is NOT an “experience.” Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron wrongly understand being “born-again” as an EXPERIENCE that involves forsaking one's sinful lifestyle and “EMBRACING” Jesus Christ. Ray Comfort gets this idea from an errant understanding of James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Many foolish Bible teachers misinterpret James 2:19 to mean that simple BELIEF on Christ is insufficient to be saved. This is not what the Bible is saying here. It simply means that no one is going to Heaven just because they believe there is a God.

This is why Jesus told His disciples in Luke 13:23-24, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” You can believe in God all you want—you can serve Him, go to church, tithe, sacrifice and do good all your life, and then go straight to the Lake of Fire forever to burn!!! Jesus said: “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).

What did Jesus mean by “born again?” The question is answered in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” When you were born the first time into the world, that was of the flesh; but the new birth (or second birth) is when the Holy Spirit of God comes inside your body to indwell you (upon your faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Being “born again” means that you have been born into God's family! Whereas all men are born spiritually DEAD from birth (Romans 5:15), in order to enter into the Kingdom of God a person must be born for the second time, spiritually (John 3:6-7). The first birth is PHYSICAL, earthly; The second birth is SPIRITUAL, by the Holy Spirit of God (John 1:12-14).

Biblically, mere childlike BELIEVING is all that God requires to be saved. This is what Jesus said in 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.”

In Mr. Comfort's thinking, being born again means moving from the realm of merely believing in God, to the realm of leaving one's sinful ways and clinging to Christ. Mr. Comfort recognizes this as an EXPERIENCE, which to him means being born-again.

The Word of God teaches something entirely different. A person is “born again” by the Holy Spirit of God, which is initiated by mere childlike belief in Christ's death on the cross for our sins, His burial and resurrection three days later. The Bible defines this as the “Gospel” in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. Whereas The Evidence Bible teaches that a transforming “radical experience” is what it means to be born-again; the Holy Bible teaches that it is the transforming power of God's Holy Spirit that produces the new birth:

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

It is a false plan of salvation to explain the new birth as a mere transforming experience. Any radical transformation is wrought solely by the Holy Spirit of God. It is heresy to require an experience, a radical change, or some transformation from a person in order to be saved. This is because eternal life is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved. It is the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit that changes a person, and not our own human effort.

Ray Comfort understands salvation backwards. He requires a person to commit to leave their sinful lifestyle, and embrace Christ, which is the radical experience he requires from people to be saved. Biblically, you don't have to embrace Christ to be saved, you simply need to believe on Him. That's what the Bible teaches. John 3:16, “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.”

Although a person may or may not express emotions at the time of salvation, emotions are not required for salvation. Neither tears, nor any outward manifestation of inner changes, nor a desire to serve God, nor forsake sins, nor any radical experience is necessary to receive the free gift of eternal life. IT IS A GIFT, and a “gift” is free in every sense. For a wonderful presentation of the simple plan of salvation by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), please see Get God's Gift.

Furthermore, forsaking one's sinful lifestyle is NOT what it means Biblically to “repent.” Repentance is “changing one's mind,” that is, realizing and acknowledging one's guilt of sin for breaking a holy God's commandments (Romans 3:19). The only thing you need to repent of to be saved is whatever has been hindering you from coming to Christ to be saved (Hebrews 6:1). The man who BELIEVES the Gospel has repented, otherwise he never would have come to Jesus Christ to be saved (John 3:20). Our part in salvation is simply to BELIEVE on Jesus Christ, and whatever else is a part of our salvation is solely God's department, and you can be assured He will attend to that.


The Term “Born Again” Doesn't Refer To Having A “Radical Experience”

I have nothing personal against Ray Comfort nor Kirk Cameron. I am a born-again Christian and a Baptist preacher. As such I am simply contending for the Christian faith as Jude 1:3 commands us all to do as believers. It concerns me when I hear Bible teachers who don't truly understand the Bible, teaching that the new birth is merely a radical transformation caused by turning away from sinful living and embracing Jesus Christ. That's not the Gospel. That's not salvation. That's not the new birth. That's reformation!!! I am 100% convinced that Ray Comfort is not a genuine Christian.

The Way of the Master Evidence Bible has much good information in it, but if they are wrong on salvation, they are wrong on everything. It's like buttoning a shirt, if you get the first button wrong, then all the buttons will be wrong. Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron have a wrong grasp on what it means to be saved. According to the quote I provided to you from The Evidence Bible earlier, they understand the new birth to be a descriptive term used by our Lord to describe the “radical experience” of forsaking sinful bad habits and embracing Christ. May I kindly say, the term “born again” does not refer to having a “radical experience.” That's not why Jesus used the term.

To be “born again” means to have He (Christ), Who is the beginning (Revelation 1:8), born in us. Jesus taught Nicodemus (a Jewish religious leader) that to enter into the Kingdom of God, a man must be born of both water (the physical birth) and of the Spirit (the spiritual birth). Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:1-7). Ray Comfort places the emphasis upon AN EXPERIENCE, which is produced by forsaking sinful living and embracing Christ; but the Bible places the emphasis upon THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE, which is produced by believing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The great spiritual danger of teaching the new birth as “AN EXPERIENCE” (let along a “radical” experience) is that people will think they must have “an experience” to get saved, and that's not true. When you believe (fully trust) the Gospel (Good News) of Christ's death on the cross, His burial and bodily resurrection three days later, you are saved. When you get saved you won't feel any different inside. When I got saved I didn't see stars, angels or hear heavenly voices. The presence of the Holy Spirit is that still, small, quiet, voice of God:

1st Kings 19:11-12, “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

I love that! The prophet Elijah looked for God in the wind, the earthquake and in the fire, but God came to Elijah in A STILL SMALL VOICE. That is always where you will find God my friend. Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Put down the electronic toys. Pick up the Holy Bible and let God's Holy Spirit speak to your heart in that precious STILL SMALL VOICE.

I could never recommend The Evidence Bible to anyone, because it is misleading concerning the plan of salvation. Mr. Comfort also butchers Matthew 7:21-23. I admire Ray Comfort in many ways as an aggressive street evangelist, and he has so much potential to become a great preacher, but he needs to forsake Lordship Salvation and proclaim the gift of God instead. A gift is a gift is a gift! It's not that hard to figure out.

If you're born ONCE, then you die twice; but if you're born TWICE, then you only die once. It's that simple. Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” We were all born spiritually dead, alienated from God because of sin. All humans are sinners by nature and by choice. Our sinful nature was inherited down through the generations of time from our great ancestor Adam. Romans 5:12-13, “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Adam brought the curse of sin into the world, opening the floodgates of sin and death when he CHOSE to sin.

We learn from Adam that our actions do affect others! But thanks be to God, in Jesus Christ we can have redemption! Romans 5:15, “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one [Adam] many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are the FREE GIFT of God. Jesus paid for this gift with His broken body on the cross and precious shed blood.

I really hate when foolish preachers sometimes refer to Jesus “spilling” His blood. Dear reader, Jesus shedding His blood on the cross for our sins was no accident! Nothing was spilt! Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Nobody did anything to hurt Jesus that He didn't wilfully choose to endure for our sakes, so that we could be freely offered the free gift of eternal life by FAITH ALONE WITHOUT WORKS.

With these precious truths in mind, Oh how foolish it is for any misguided by sincere preacher today to require lost sinners to turn away from your sin to receive God's free gift. It is not what can can do for God that saves you dear friend, but what our magnificent Savior has already done to pay for our sins through Calvary's cross. When Jesus raised up from the dead three days later, He was physically seen by over 500 believers at once (1st Corinthians 15:6), and He physically ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:11), and physically entered into the heavenly Holy Place (Hebrews 9:12), where He sprinkled His physical blood upon the Mercy Seat (Hebrews 12:24), in the presence of God the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 9:24), to appease the wrath of God (propitiation) against sinners with His precious BLOOD (1st John 2:2; 1st Peter 1:23). Amen and amen! Jesus is precious!!!!!!!

Ray Comfort Foolishly Says Sinful Believers Are Not “Safe” In Jesus

One thing I notice is that Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron avoid the topic of The Eternal Security of the Believer entirely. On page 1513 of THE EVIDENCE BIBLE, under the section “Questions & Objections,” Ray Comfort addresses the statement: “Because Jesus died on the cross we are forgiven of every sin.”

Here’s Ray Comfort’s disturbing reply to this statement...

“The forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ is conditional upon ‘repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21). It is a gift that God offers to everyone, but individuals must receive it by repenting and trusting in Christ, or they will remain dead in their sins. No one has Biblical grounds to continue in sin, assuming that they are safe just because Jesus died on the cross. See 1 John 3:4-6.” [Emphasis added]

SOURCE: THE EVIDENCE BIBLE, by Ray Comfort, pg. 1513; 2003, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Orlando, Florida

Those are some very dangerous words at the end, “…assuming that they are safe just because Jesus died on the cross.” Are not all believers “safe” in Jesus Christ? Yes, they certainly are safe (Ephesians 1:13; Isaiah 28:16; Romans 10:11); but Ray Comfort teaches they are not. Ray Comfort does not fully understand the Biblical doctrine of the IMPUTED righteousness of God (Philippians 3:9; Romans 10:3-4).

Ray Comfort is teaching damnable heresy to say that believers who fail to forsake their sinful living are not safe in their salvation. Such reasoning places a heavy burden upon the sinner, requiring one to depart from sinful bad habits as a prerequisite to be saved. This is human effort added to God's simple plan of salvation. First of all, no one can repent of all their sins. Even the best Christians still commit sin every day, both in deed and thought. It is a sin even when we fail to pray as we ought (1st Samuel 12:23).

Check what I say and you'll discover that it is true, that... Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witness, John MacArthur, Paul Washer and Ray Comfort all define repentance THE SAME wrong way. They all mistakenly define repentance as ceasing from a sinful lifestyle and surrendering one's entire will to Christ's Lordship as a requirement to be saved. If a person professes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but still hangs onto their sinful bad habits, they are wrongly accused of never having repented and are said to still be unsaved. Thus, salvation requires some degree of human effort with all these aforementioned religious cults and false prophets.

Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron totally fail to grasp the reality that eternal life is a FREE GIFT (Romans 5:15, 18). Ray Comfort teaches a performance-based plan of salvation; whereas, the Bible teaches that eternal life is a GIFT. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Being born-again is not an experience; but rather, it is a supernatural miracle of God in response to a person's faith in the Gospel message. The Holy Spirit of God comes to indwell (live inside) the body of every believer the moment they receive Jesus as their Savior (John 1:12; Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 3:16-17). The “new birth” refers to the Spirit of Christ which comes to indwell the believer (Romans 8:9). If you're born once, you die twice; but if your born twice, you die once. Although we must all die a physical death, the second death is only for Christ-rejecters who die in their sins (Revelation 21:8).

Anyone who realizes they are a sinner in God's eyes, and believes the Good News of Christ's death on the cross for their sins, and that He was buried and raised up bodily after three days, is immediately saved and has eternal life. Salvation is received, not achieved. Eternal life is a gift, and a gift need only be taken. To receive a gift there can be no obligations, requirements, prerequisites nor strings attached. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

“Nobody can love God who doesn't love sinners!”

(a quote by Dr. Jack Hyles classic MP3 sermon, “The Happiest Man”
- Happiest is the man who will not impute sin to others!)

If you believe what the Bible teaches, attend a church that teaches the Bible!

Another Gospel Which Is Not Another

(a red-hot MP3 by Dr. Curtis Hutson exposing Lordship Salvation)

“The mark of the child of God is that he loves everybody!”

(a quote from Pastor Jack Hyles' classic MP3 sermon, “FORGIVENESS”)

Ye Must Be Born Again! | You Need HIS Righteousness! | Believe The Gospel

You Cannot Lead Anyone To Christ With A False Gospel

Acts 15:1-2 and 24, “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. ...Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:”

Our churches in America are in bog trouble nowadays. The Devil has successfully crept in hundreds of counterfeit Bible revisions, which attack the deity of Jesus, diminish His prominence, remove the Godhead, corrupt the meaning of repentance and how to be saved, and are secularizing the Holy Bible, turning it into a spiritual book instead of a theological book. The Antichrist when he comes will be a spiritual man, honoring “the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not...” (Daniel 11:38b). I believe “fathers” here refers to the Jewish patriarchs, and the God of Israel. Thus, the coming Man of Sin (Antichrist, or “in place of Christ”) will likely be a Jew. He will worship New Age religion.

Because of all the corrupt Bible versions being published by the Devil, God's simple plan of salvation has been corrupted. Calvinism (a perversion of God's grace) has crept into most churches today, presenting getting saved as a lifelong process instead of a new birth. It is tragic that pastors and churches everywhere still support Bob Jones University, when they have gone full blown Calvinist in their doctrine. Calvinism is not the Gospel of free grace!!!

A Christian SHOULD Live For Christ;

But If He MUST, That Would Be Works;

And If He WILL, That Is Calvinism!

Everywhere I turn nowadays I see and hear falsehoods concerning how to get to Heaven. Out of curiosity, I recently typed: “How To Go To Heaven” into Google's search engine. I was saddened to see that Evangelist Billy Graham's ministry appeared at the top. So I went to view their webpage and was disgusted to find a false gospel...

HOW TO GO TO HEAVEN

We can’t earn salvation; we are saved by God’s grace when we have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. All you have to do is believe you are a sinner, that Christ died for your sins, and ask His forgiveness. Then turn from your sins—that’s called repentance. Jesus Christ knows you and loves you. What matters to Him is the attitude of your heart, your honesty. We suggest praying the following prayer to accept Christ as your Savior:

"Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen." [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://peacewithgod.net/how-to-go-to-heaven/

What you have just read is another gospel, not what the Bible teaches. Nowhere in the inspired Scriptures (if you have a trustworthy King James Bible) are we taught to “turn from your sins” to be saved. This is a work! Turning away from sinning is in fact, keeping the law. What saith the Scripture? Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The only purpose of God's Old Testament law in salvation is to give mankind THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.

I have counseled over the decades with umpteen confused people, who said that for many years they refused to come to Christ to be saved, because they were falsely misled by some wicked preacher to think that God wouldn't save them, unless they were first willing to forsake their sinful bad habits. Dear friend, that is not God's free, easy and simple gift of eternal life. God is freely offering you a gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life, based solely upon Christ's sacrifice upon the cross, by the blood that He shed for your sins and mine (1st Peter 1:18-19). God requires NOTHING from you to be saved except that you BELIEVE (put your hope, confidence, trust) in His only begotten Son, Jesus. 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.”

Pastor Steven Furtick in Charlotte, North Carolina, is very popular today around the country. Unfortunately, Pastor Furtick is a false prophet, preaching another gospel of having a relationship with Christ, inviting Jesus into your life, following Christ as “Lord” of your life, turn from your sins, count the cost and pay the price, live a lifestyle of repentance, run the race, confess Christ publicly, get water baptized, et cetera. These popular Satanic lies have infected nearly every church today, which are nowhere found in the inspired Word of God. These wicked false preachers completely ignore the plain teachings of the inspired Holy Scripture.

God specifically authored the Gospel of John to show humanity how to get to Heaven. In the book of John we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times, but there is no mention of repenting, confessing, surrendering, following, having a relationship or anything else to be saved, except 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.”

Where did all these preachers go astray? Where did they get all this garbage that we hear today, that to be saved you must:

1. walk an aisle
2. pray a prayer
3. join a church, denomination or convention
4. turn from your sins
5. repent “of your sins”
6. be willing to turn away from sin
7. feel sorrow for your sins
8. forsake a lifestyle of sinning
9. be baptized in water
10. speak in “tongues”
11. turn over a new leaf
12. ask Christ into your heart
13. invite Jesus into your life
14. surrender your entire personality to Christ
15. surrender all
16. live a holy life
17. live a changed life
18. give control of your life over to Christ
19. faithfully run the race
20. count the cost and pay the price
21. live a lifestyle of repentance from sins
22. turn away from the old life
23. follow Jesus no matter what the cost
24. make Jesus the “Lord” (Master) of your life
25. be sorry for your sin
26. confess Christ publicly
27. keep the Sabbath Day
28. keep God's Ten Commandments
29. get rid of bad habits and vices
30. ask Jesus into your heart
31. have a religious experience
32. feel hatred for sin

NONE of these things are required to get to Heaven. Yet, I can hardly listen to a sermon, or visit a church website, or watch a YouTube video, or hear a Bible college chapel service, or read a religious tract, without seeing these unbiblical additions to God's simple plan of salvation, which is by faith alone in the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-6).

It saddens my heart to hear preachers obscuring, confusing and corrupting the Gospel with all sorts of embellishments. The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” The Devil doesn't want lost sinners to get saved. Satan wants people to burn in the Lake of Fire with him. So the Devil blinds men's minds! How does he do this? Satan hinders people from getting saved by obscuring and hiding the Gospel of free grace.

Dear friend, there is only one Gospel, and it is plainly proclaimed by the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4:

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:”

In all my eight years of Bible college, I exclusively used the Roman's method to lead people to Christ, but I came to realize decades later that this religious tract can be dangerous! My big $64,000 question is: Why use the book of Romans to lead someone to Christ, when God specifically authored the Gospel of John to do that? “The Roman's Road” is popular method of presenting the Gospel, using only Scripture passages from Romans.

Please let me WARN YOU that the Roman's Road is a false plan of salvation if you leave out the Gospel, which according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 is Christ's DEATH on the cross for our sins, His BURIAL and bodily RESURRECTION from the dead three days later. Tragically, many versions of the Roman's Road tract that I have read DON'T even mention the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is an incomplete Gospel. It is not enough to believe that Christ died for your sins on the cross, you MUST also believe that Jesus raised up from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:14-17; 1st Thessalonians 4:14). I am not against using the “The Roman's Road,” but you need to understand that it is not the Gospel unless you include Christ's death on the cross, His burial and bodily resurrection three days later. This is “the Gospel” by which we are saved if we believe it. I thank God for the wonderful book of Romans, but remember, God specifically gave us the Gospel of John to be saved.

One of my biggest complaints against The Roman's Road method is that 100% of the time it ends with requiring a lost sinner to pray a sinner's prayer, which can easily confuse some people, as it did me for several years. I couldn't settle the assurance of my salvation, because I kept wondering if I left something out of my prayer at the time I was saved. I knew that Jesus is the Christ, who died on the cross for my sins, was buried and raised up physically three days later. But I overlooked all that simplicity, and focused on the prayer instead, because that is what every preacher had unbiblically told me to do... pray! Dear reader, I abandoned the sinner's prayer many, many years ago. In fact, Biblically, you DON'T need to pray any kind of prayer to be saved, you simply must BELIEVE ON HIM. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Oh, why oh why, do so many preachers feel compelled to complicate God's simple plan of salvation for mankind? YOU are a sinner dear friend. YOU deserve to burn in Hell, fire and damnation forever as punishment for your sins against a holy God. That mighty not set right with you, or make any sense, but that is only because you are not as holy and righteous as God, so you probably think going to Hell forever is unfair. But I assure you that it is what you and I deserve friend, as punishment for all of our own sins.

In the blessed Gospel of John we read in John chapter 3 that we are all sinners. We read in chapters 19 and 20 about Jesus' crucifixtion, burial and resurrection on Sunday. We read throughout the Gospel of John that the simple way to be saved is to BELIEVE ON HIM. 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.” There is no requirement to pray a prayer, nor to surrender control of your life over to God, nor to follow Christ as “Lord” no matter what the cost, nor to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to be saved.

When Adam sinned, it made sense to his new carnal nature to DO SOMETHING to atone (to hide, cover) for his sins. So Adam sewed together some fig leaves, to cover his nakedness and shame. God rejected Adam's fig-leaf religion, and instead killed an innocent animal (which pictured the sinless innocent Lamb of God who was slain for our sins). So you see dear reader, you cannot cover up your sins with religion! You cannot impress God with following Christ, or having a relationship with Christ, or forsaking your sinful ways, in order to get to Heaven.

Listen it is utterly IMPOSSIBLE for any human being to turn away from your sins!!! Do you understand that? You may have once been as wicked as The Iceman (Richard Kuklinski, 1935-2006) serial killer in New Jersey, but found the Lord (Richard didn't). You may have started attending church, helping old ladies across the street, preaching about Jesus everywhere you went, doing many wonderful good works, and becoming the epitome of a good person! Yet, you would still split Hell wide open the second that your spirit and soul departed from your physical body (Hebrews 9:27; Luke 16:19-31). Isaiah 64:6 warns that man's best righteousness is “filthy rags” to God!

Admittedly, it sound really religious that to get to Heaven, a person must forsake the old sinful ways. I mean, how can you expect God to pardon you of your sins, when you have no intention to stop committing those sins? Right? This is how unsaved religious people foolishly think. But they fail to realize that NO ONE has ever turned away from their sinning. All you can do at best is TRY to clean up your life of sin, and make an effort to walk the narrow path of holy living to appease God's wrath. Burt dear friend, this is a false plan of salvation.

The ONLY thing that has, can or ever will appease the wrath of God (which is what the Bible word “propitiation” means in Romans 3:25, 1st John 2:2 and 1st John 4:10) is the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, to those who BELIEVE ON HIM. 1st John2:2, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, God's wrath rests upon you. Be afraid, BE VERY AFRAID if that is you!!! Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I could go on and on, to mention the names of literally hundreds of dangerous false preachers today (John MacArthur, Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, Gary Walton, Sam Horn, Chuck Phelps, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Franklin Graham, Adrian Rogers, Roland Rasmussen, Chip Ingram, William Lane Craig, Steven Furtick, Jack Chick, Unshackled, Liberty University, Southern Baptist Convention, Salvation Army, Keith Gomez, David W. Cloud, Charles G. Finney, Paris Reidhead) and other infidels who pervert the grace of God concerning how to be saved. All of these wicked preachers add to, corrupt and embellish God's simple plan of salvation. Since there is only one Gospel, someone is WRONG! ...

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.”

I contend that I am RIGHT, because I have the inspired King James Bible on my side (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). What verses can all those ungodly infidel preachers quote to support their damnable heresies? All they can do is quote obscure passages of Scripture, wresting them out of context to support their false doctrinal assertions, while completely ignoring clear passages of Scripture (i.e., the Gospel of John, and the Epistle of Galatians). Romans 3:4, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” I am ready to be judged, because what I am preaching agrees with the Gospel of John (God's Gospel tract); but what Marty Herron and these other devils are preaching is NOT even in the ballpark of what the Holy Bible teaches. They have been warned, but they refuse to repent.

Here is another $64,000 question for you: How wrong on the Gospel can a person be and still be saved? In Acts 15:1 a religious group came to Jerusalem preaching that you cannot be saved without keeping the law of Moses, specifically being circumcized (for men). Were they saved? No! Acts 15:24 confirms this!

In the Epistle of Galatians a similar religious group had infiltrated the churches of Galatia, infecting them with the idea that faith in Christ must include keeping the law of Moses. Were they saved? No, not the one's who failed to heed Paul's Gospel (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). The Apostle Paul sternly rebuked them for believing “another gospel” in Galatians 1:6-9, calling them “bewitched” in Galatians 3:1-3, telling them they had “fallen from grace” in Galatians 5:4 and that they would “reap” what they had wickedly sown in Galatians 6:7.

Many ignorant preachers praise Martin Luther (1483-1546) as a born-again believer, but Mr. Luther preached the heresy of Sacramental Salvation his entire life! Luther plainly preached that no one can get to Heaven without being Water Baptized and partaking of Holy Communion. Was Martin Luther saved? No way!

Evangelist Charles G. Finney openly denied the imputed righteousness of God to the sinner. Was Charles Finney saved? No way!

How wrong can a person be on the Gospel and still be saved? I contend that the moment even the slightest bit of trust is taken away from Christ alone, and placed upon something else, that person has never been saved at all. You cannot get to Heaven by partial faith in Christ, plus turning away from sinful ways. I have heard stupid preachers galore, attempt to justify their wicked heresy, by claiming that you cannot turn TO Christ without also turning AWAY from something. That is true in a sense, but not in the sense that they use it. It is true that a person must turn AWAY from unbelief in order TO trust Christ as Savior. But it is not true that a person must turn away from their own selfish life, turn away from willful sinning, turn away from maintaining control over one's own lifestyle. As you can see clearly, this form of errant thinking by false teachers can be utilized to JUSTIFY ANYTHING!!!

But we know Biblically, that since the ONLY sin that can prevent a person from going to Heaven is UNBELIEF, then it is UNBELIEF that is the only thing from which you must repent (change your mind) to be saved. The repentant thief on the cross was being crucified for his stealing and sinful crimes, but he simply BELIEVED on Jesus for who He claimed to be, the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, the dear Savior, and that thief was saved!!! That thief didn't repent of his sins, he repented from his unbelief to trust the Savior. This truth is bared out again and again throughout the Scriptures.

In Genesis 15:6 (cf. Romans 4:4-7) we read that Abraham was justified in God's sight by faith alone, and not be repenting of his sinful deeds, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Salvation has ALWAYS been by simple faith alone in Christ. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” No one was ever saved by works (i.e., keeping Moses' law) in the Old Testament. Kindly said, Peter S. Ruckman is a false teacher in this important doctrinal matter (as is William P. Grady up in Michigan, and Robert Breaker down in Florida). Heretics abound nowadays!!! Many preachers love and admire Pastor Peter Ruckman, as do I, but I will NEVER admire any man enough to overlook his heresies! My foremost loyalty is to God!!!

Dear reader, in closing, you simply cannot lead a lost sinner to Christ with a corrupt gospel. If you think that a person cannot continue living in willful sin and be saved, then you are woefully mistaken and not saved yourself. Repent of your false repentance and trust only in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ. CEASE from your own works, and REST only in Christ alone (Hebrews 4:10-11). That is the ONLY way to get to Heaven!!!

It is not a coincidence that over 95% of preachers today are preaching another gospel, because the Devil intentionally hides the Gospel to prevent sinners from coming to the light of THE TRUTH of the Gospel, lest they should be gloriously saved by faith alone without works (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4). So our job as believers is to keep the Gospel simple and uncluttered.

Pastors Get Mad At Me For Telling The Truth: Martin Luther Didn't Go To Heaven!

Acts 15:1-2 and 22-24, “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. ...Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

I love this passage of Scripture from Acts chapter 15, because it confirm A group of false prophets came to Jerusalem preaching that you cannot be save unless you keep the law of Moses. Ladies and gentleman, that is exactly what all these fake preachers are wickedly doing today, adding the extrabiblical requirement that to go to Heaven you must “turn from your sins.” No such requirement is found in the inspired King James Bible. You might find that junk theology in many of the Devil's modern corrupt Bible revisions, but you WON'T find it in the trustworthy King James Bible which hasn't been tampered with.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) is praised, honored and uplifted by nearly every preachers today, but those pastor are woefully ignorant. And tragically, some of them have been told THE TRUTH and warned to stop promoting Mr. Luther as a born-again hero. In fact, Martin Luther taught his entire life the heresy of Sacramental Salvation. 

In his Large Catechism, Luther wrote:

[I] affirm that Baptism is no human trifle, but that it was established by God Himself. Moreover, He earnestly and solemnly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved. No one is to think that it is an optional matter like putting on a red coat. It is of greatest importance that we hold Baptism in high esteem as something splendid and glorious. The reason why we are striving and battling so strenuously for this view of Baptism is that the world nowadays is full of sects that loudly proclaim that Baptism is merely an external form and that external forms are useless.... Although Baptism is indeed performed by human hands, yet it is truly God’s own action (1978, pp. 98-99). [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Luther, Martin (1978), Luther’s Large Catechism, (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia).

Where does the holy Bible “solemnly command that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved”? From Luther’s own comments, it is clear that he required water baptism for salvation. This is called the heresy of Baptismal Regeneration. Many Protestant denominations today have been infected with Luther's damnable heresy. Sadly, most fundamental Bible-believing churches have also been caught up in the woeful Martin Luther deception.

Martin Luther was subtle, just as Satan—teaching that salvation is by faith alone, while simultaneously requiring baptism to be saved. Obviously, Luther didn't consider baptism a self-righteous work. The Word of God states in John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned...” I don't see any mention of “baptism” there. John the Apostle professed in 1st John 5:13 the purpose of his Epistle ... “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” Carefully notice that John never mentions baptism in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd John. By the way, John doesn't mention speaking in tongues either.

Romans 11:6 plainly tells us that if salvation is by works then it is no longer by grace, “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.” If you add anything to simple childlike faith in Jesus as the Christ, then you have corrupted the saving grace of God and the Gospel. Such is of the Devil. Martin Luther taught works salvation. Every hellbound Catholic today who speaks of faith also believes that salvation comes only through keeping the 7 Sacraments of the Church in Rome. Of course, that is a false view of the Gospel and a road straight to Hell, fire, and damnation.

When I kindly showed these truths to the incompetent pastors of the fake Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, they laughed me to scorn and vehemently rejected THE TRUTH (Hosea 4:6). Those pastors are namely: Marty Herron, Joe Hansen and Jared Baldwin. I will have the last laugh in eternity when God vindicates my faithful preaching and stand for THE TRUTH (Romans 3:4). Tragically, all those wicked pastors care about is receiving their next undeserved paycheck. Granted, it is true that many pastors simply do not know THE TRUTH, but dear reader, I GAVE THEM THE TRUTH. I placed the books directly into their hands and spoke to them personally, but they dissed me to satisfy their wicked boss, Marty Herron. God will wipe that arrogant smirk of Herron's face on Judgment Day. Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” You cannot preach a counterfeit gospel and not have much blood on your hands!!!

What greatly disturbs me is that most pastors run from THE TRUTH. When I attend their shallow churches, they mark and avoid me as if I am the bad guy for befriending them with THE TRUTH. When the incompetent pastors of Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, word quickly spread to other island churches, including the Lighthouse Baptist Church on Guam. Sean Quinlan (from Pensacola Christian College) was their pastor at the time in 2018.

Pastor Quinlan wickedly berated me, dissing my ministry, mistreating me with harsh words, simply because I TOLD THE TRUTH that Bob Jones University (BJU) today is pulling on the same rope as the Devil by promoting corruptible seed (Devil's bibles). BJU also preaches the Devil's tommyrot of Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation). When I kindly warned Sean Quinlan of what Harvest is sinfully preaching (which he already fully knew), he horrible said: “It is none of our business what they do at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam.” Although I'm sure the ungodly pastors of Harvest would agree with that, it is simply not true. Dear friend, IT IS OUR BUSINESS what any organization is teaching in our community.

Is it our business if the Ku Klux Klan comes to town and starts teaching members of the community in their group to hate each other? You better believe that it is OUR BUSINESS!!! Since it is our community, and the things that organizations teach and do affect our community; therefore, it is very much OUR BUSINESS!!! So if a cult masquerades as a church, preaching the Devil's counterfeit plan of salvation called Calvinism, local believers need to identify, mark and avoid that cult (Romans 16:17-18). Harvest Baptist Church on Guam is a cult, because they sinfully bid God speed to BJU's Dr. Steve Pettit (they broadcast BJU's daily chapel services throughout Micronesia), and preach the same devilish garbage that Steve Pettit does, damning souls to the eternal Lake of Fire with the lie of Lordship Salvation.

How could anyone be a Lutheran? I mean, if you want to follow Catholicism, then go to the Catholic religion and do it, because that's all Lutheranism is—DIET CATHOLICISM!!! There's not a dimes difference between Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism as far as salvation is concerned, because THEY BOTH require sacraments to get to Heaven!

Folks, there are NO SACRAMENTS in the Holy Bible. Corrupt religious men fabricated those lies! So many Christians today have been suckered into Satan's lie that Martin Luther was a true believer. Yet, according to Luther's very own words in his Catechism that he wrote, there is NO WAY Luther could have been a Christian, since he added “Holy Baptism” and “Holy Communion” to faith. Neither of those religious terms are found in the Word of God.

As we learned in Acts 15:1 and 24, it is a false gospel to embellish God's simple plan of salvation, by ADDING more than God requires to be saved. God only requires that a man acknowledge his sinnership, and BELIEVE the Good News of Christ's death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection from the dead the third day.

Listen folks, Baptismal Regeneration is a damnable heresy which teaches that a person cannot be saved without being water baptized, and Luther taught this:

"Baptism works forgiveness of sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this..." SOURCE: Martin Luther (Luther's Small Catechism, The Sacrament of Holy Baptism)

Apostasy is a “turning away from God.” Lutherans follow Martin Luther, not God. Lutherans don't obey the Holy Bible, Luther's Small Catechism is their Bible. Likewise, Catholics don't read the Holy Bible, but instead listen to the Pope and their wicked priests, following the tradition of the Council of Trent, and other manmade traditions. Jesus clearly warned that such traditions make the Word of God of no effect, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition...” (Mark 7:13). Is this not apostasy, when men turn away from the Living Words of God and cling to lifeless manmade traditions instead? Yes, it most certainly is apostasy! “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar...” (Romans 3:4a).

God knows that I do not hate any human being (alive or deceased). I love everybody with God's love. Albeit, as a Bible preacher it is my duty to cry aloud against the wickedness that I see in churches today, and the apostasy and indifferent pathetic attitudes of pastors toward false doctrine, Devil's bibles and sin. Hey, if you're looking for a big sinner, you need look no further, you found him! I admit that I am not a very good Christian. I want to be, but like you and everyone else, this old flesh drags me down day by day, discouraging me. It is hard to be spiritual when you suffer in constant chronic pain 24/7 as I do (from stenosis, radiculitis and displaced disks in my neck from some old injuries).

God is more than good, and I have no complaints to my precious Savior and Lord, but I am nevertheless always hurting in agonizing neck pain, burning nerves throughout my body, both arms feeling inflated with air, the entire right side of my body feels half asleep 24/7, tight tension in my neck, drug side effects, et cetera. I'm always scraping the top of my bald head while getting into my car, because my neck has atrophy (stiffness), especially in the mornings before I stretch my neck. My health afflictions are a very heavy burden for me. But God uses my suffering to bless my ministry.

2nd Corinthians 12:9-10, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

If my calamities (my permanent painful health woes, heart-breaking fallout with numerous bad pastors, inexplicable pain of divorce and broken life, losing my home and retirement savings, et cetera), can all be used by my great God and Savior, for His purpose and glory to get people saved and make an impact for eternity, then I rejoice in it all. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.

Dear reader, if all that I haven't shown you thus far still hasn't convinced you that Martin Luther is not in Heaven today, please consider what Catholics have to say about Luther:

“Finally, his teaching on grace is his legacy. For Luther God is both hidden and revealed. Even in the revelation you still don’t get inside the divine majesty. You get God through the bread and wine of the sacrament, through the waters of Baptism, through scripture and prayer. That’s a means of grace.”

SOURCE: The Surprising Catholic Martin Luther

Isn't that sickening friend? Catholics are praising Martin Luther for his heretical teaching that getting saved “by faith” means partaking of the wine of the sacrament, and the sacramental waters of baptism. That is what Mr. Luther heretically wrote and preached his whole life! That is NOT the Gospel of free grace defined in the inspired Word of God. The Apostle Paul defined “the Gospel” as three things in 1st Corinthians 15:4: Christ DIED for our sins on the cross, He was BURIED, and He RESURRECTED three days later. Amen and amen!

My friend Pastor Max D. Younce is a brilliant Bible scholar, the Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) of our generation in my humble opinion. Dr. Younce has authored a very helpful book exposing Martin Luther titled: “Martin Luther: Master Of Deceit” (YouTube sermons series).

So please remember dear reader that we must never expand, add-to, embellish or change God's simple plan of salvation, which is to come to God as a guilty sinner and place childlike faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen; receiving God's free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life by faith alone. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do! 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.

Martin Luther Was Not A Born-Again Believer!

Evangelist David Cloud Is A Lying False Prophet

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:” Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Longtime missionary to India, Evangelist David W. Cloud is a corrupt and dangerous man doctrinally, responsible for sending thousands of people to Hell with his false gospel. The inspired Word of God very plainly defines “THE GOSPEL” by which we are saved, those who BELIEVE IT! The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS of Christ's death on the cross to pay for our sins, His burial and His miraculous bodily resurrection three days later from the dead.

In a 2012 (updated in 2019) article on his website, titled: “Repentance In Evangelism,” David Cloud heretical starts off his article with this untrue statement:

“Repentance is often a missing element in evangelism today, but it is a prominent theme in the Bible. Following are the answers to some important questions about repentance.” ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

First off, although repentance is a prominent theme in the Bible, it is NOT a prominent theme in salvation. Evidence of this is that not once does the entire Gospel of John mention the word “repent.” Not once! This is because the man who BELIEVES the Gospel has also repented. Repentance and faith are not two separate actions, even though they are two separate things theologically. The word “repent” in the Bible concerning salvation always is either the Greek noun, metanoia, which means: “a change of mind”; or it is the Greek verb, metanoeo, which means: “to think differently.”

Repent in the Bible concerning salvation NEVER means to forsake or turn away from your sins, because that would constitute works. Nor does repentance mean to be willing to turn from sins. Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible (beware of the corrupt modern perversions of the Bible) says to repent “of your sins” to be saved. Ungodly false prophets added those unbiblical words to God's simple plan of salvation (Proverbs 30:5-6). As I just plainly showed you from 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, the Apostle Paul in his defining of the Gospel, never mentions turning away from your sins, nor surrendering your life to Christ as “Lord,” as David Cloud wickedly teaches (which I will show you in a moment).

Pastor Cloud is wrong on repentance and; therefore, wrong on salvation. He is an infidel, an unsaved religious man, still hellbound in his sins. This explains why David Cloud cannot understand God's free grace, which is without works (Romans 4:4-7). 

Cloud further falsely states:

“Many churches don’t preach repentance. They say that only faith is necessary for salvation. But repentance is commanded by God. It is mentioned 60 times in the New Testament.” ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

Neither does the Gospel of John preach repentance! 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.” As you just read for yourself, the entire purpose for which God authored the Gospel of John is to show humanity how to get to Heaven. If forsaking one's sinful behavior, quitting the old sinful life, and surrender to Christ as supreme “Lord” to follow Him faithfully, were required to get to Heaven, then certainly John would have said so, but he doesn't! Neither did the Apostle Paul mention repentance in his definition of the Gospel, which Paul said in Romans 1:16 and 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 we are saved by, if we simply BELIEVE IT.

The truth is found in John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” Carefully notice that the Bible does say: “he that turns from his sins cometh to the light”; but rather, it says: “he that doeth truth cometh to the light.” Repentance is a matter of acknowledging THE TRUTH that you are a guilty sinner, seeing your need for redemption, so that you will turn to the Savior in faith alone to be saved by God's grace.

This is something very different than committing yourself to give up your sinful ways, which NO ONE has ever done. Even the best of God's saints still sins continually (Romans 7:14-25). Sadly, David Cloud is woefully ignorant of the Holy Bible, because he is still unsaved and leans upon his own human understanding, instead of trusting upon the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-7).

If you still need more Biblical evidence to support the truth I just taught you, please read 2nd Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Again, we see here that repentance for salvation is NOT from sinning, but to acknowledge THE TRUTH — “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth...” Pastor Harry A. Ironside gets repentance 100% correct:

“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.” ~Pastor Harry A. Ironside; “Except Ye Repent,” p. 36)

Clearly, Dr. Ironside taught a free grace view of the Gospel. Pastor Ironside correctly recognized repentance as the confession that “one is utterly without merit” and that if one is “ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Salvation is without works of self-righteousness. Romans 4:5 plainly teaches that a man's faith is COUNTED for righteousness, i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to one's heavenly record by faith. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

Pastor Ironside further eloquently states:

“Repentance is the recognition of my sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word.” ~Pastor Harry A. Ironside; “Except Ye Repent,” chapter 3)

And also this helpful quote on Bible repentance from Pastor Ironside:

“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.” ~Pastor Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: “What Is The Gospel?”

I really love Pastor Ironside. A young 12 year old Harry Ironside heard Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) preach in Los Angeles. Two years later Harry fell under Holy Spirit conviction and got saved at age 14. The church building was so packed that there was no more room to enter. So a teenaged lad named Harry Ironside climbed up along the ceiling rafters, and listened intently while looking down upon the meeting. Harry didn't repent to turn away from his sinful ways and commit his life to serve Christ to be saved; but rather, he repented (i.e., changed his mind) unto the Gospel itself, turning from unbelief to belief.

If repentance means “to turn away from your sinful ways,” then that means you must start keeping the law (no more stealing, no more adultery, no more dishonoring your parents, no more covetousness, et cetera - Exodus 20:1-17). What saith the Scripture? Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The primary purpose of God's Old Testament law is to show mankind that WE ARE SINNERS — “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Thus, God NEVER intended that someone should be required to try to keep the law (i.e., turn away from their sins) to be saved. The very suggestion is wickedness and a false gospel. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! 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.

We must stay true to the simplicity of the gospel!! Repentance regarding salvation is a change of mind from unbelief to belief!!! We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).

What About The Repentance Of John The Baptist? 

David Cloud tries to uses John's repentance as evidence that we must turn from sins to be saved today. I would like now to quote Dr. John R. Rice, who perfectly explains the Baptism of John, showing that is was no different than BELIEIVNG on Jesus Christ to be saved, by faith alone:

There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith.

Everyone who genuinely repented under the preaching of John the Baptist put his trust in the Saviour John the Baptist preached, and was regenerated. There is no such thing as being “a disciple of John the Baptist” in any honest sense without being a disciple of Jesus, that is, without trusting Christ for salvation. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Oh dear friend, that is so beautiful. Please don't miss it! I have heard Missionary David W. Cloud and other false teachers, attempt to portray Dr. Rice as a proponent of Lordship Salvation, saying he taught that people must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved. David Cloud even goes as far as to wickedly pitch Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) against his successor Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995). I explain this issue in the preceding article link. Mr. Cloud claims that Curtis Hutson leaves off repentance, thus corrupting the Gospel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So we see that Dr. Rice is correct, the man who trusts in Christ HAS also repented. It is unfortunate that Dr. Rice chose to use unbiblical terminology, because the Bible NEVER says: “turn from sins” to be saved anywhere! No doubt Brother Rice heard other preachers using that junk theology and he adopted it, which is a major problem among nearly all preachers. Please remember, Dr. Rice is not our final authority, the inspired Word of God is!

Beware Of False Prophet David W. Cloud's Counterfeit Gospel

In the following quote from David Cloud, you will see how he subtly wrests THE TRUTH of God's Word into a lie, teaching that to be saved your life must change (sadly, this is the demonic garbage that is preached by Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College today):

Repentance is not a change of life. Repentance a change of mind about God and sin that results in a change of life. Many who “believe” or “pray the sinner’s prayer” have no intention to change or to allow God to take control of their lives. They are not interested in being a disciple of Christ. They want a ticket to heaven that keeps them out of hell, but they want to continue to live as they please. They want to “believe in Jesus,” but they have no interest in obeying Him. That is not biblical salvation. The sinner must be ready to turn from his false gods, including self-worship, in order to worship and serve the true God (“ye turned to God from idols,” 1 Thessalonians 1:9). ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

David Cloud is a LIAR!!! According to the preceding quote by Pastor Cloud, you cannot be saved unless you:

1. have intent to change your life
2. have intent to become a disciple of Christ
3. allow God to take control of your life
4. have intent to stop living in sin
5. have intent to obey Jesus

NONE OF THAT is Biblical! Dear reader, I triple dog dare you to go back and read our text passage of Scripture from 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, and see if any of the things which Mr. Cloud requires for salvation are mentioned in Paul's Gospel. They are not! That means David Cloud is a liar, an infidel and a false prophet! What saith the Scripture? Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” David Cloud is a liar for adding words to God's Word.

Pastor Cloud in the article I have shared with you claims that Jesus, Paul and Peter all preached repentance. But THE TRUTH is that David Cloud is taking the words of all those men out of context. Nowhere in the Gospel of John does Jesus tell anyone to repent to be saved. What saith the Scripture? Matthew 21:32, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” Do you see that repentance leads to BELIEVING the Gospel? Jesus is rebuking the self-righteous Pharisees here. Jesus said the Pharisees didn't repent (change their mind) to believe when they heard John's preaching, but THE ADMITTED SINNERS DID!!! Carefully notice that Jesus said the harlots and tax cheats repented to BELIEVE. The Bible never says they turned away from their sinful ways.

David Cloud falsely claims in his horrible article that no believer in the New Testament didn't change:

First, we have plenty of examples of believer's who lived in horrible sin (Demas, Ananias and Sapphira, Peter, the harlots and publicans, the saved man and his girlfriend in 1st Corinthians 5:1-5, the saved man who received no rewards in 1st Corinthians 3:15, Mary Magdalene, et cetera). 

Second, just because saints changed later on as a result of God's indwelling Holy Spirit sanctifying them (John 17:17), has absolutely NOTHING to do with the free gift of getting saved! David Cloud is foolishly front-loading the Gospel, making demands of lost sinners that only a mature believer would posses. Consequently, many people aren't getting saved because they think God requires them to forsake sinful bad habits to be saved, and that blood is all upon David Cloud's incompetent and wicked hands!!!

Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan said it best, I humbly think:

“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)

David Cloud is guilty of corrupting the inspired Word of God, casting stumbling blocks before the people, damning their souls to an eternity in the Lake of Fire with his false gospel. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again.

Pastor Cloud is your typical confused and lying false teacher. In one breath he teaches that salvation is a gift, but in the next breath he insists that it will cost you your sins and your life. It simply cannot be both dear friend. 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.” David Cloud is caught between grace and works, hellbound in his sincere misunderstanding of the light of the truth of the Gospel.

Getting The Gospel Right And Wrong
 (an excellent sermon by Pastor Dennis Rokser)