Very Few Preachers Are Correct On The Gospel Today

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.”

The inspired King James Bible could not be any clearer that salvation is a free gift from God without works. You cannot earn it. You cannot merit it. You don't deserve it. We all deserve to go directly to Hell and burn in fire and brimstone for all eternity for our sins. That is what we justly deserve from God. But in His unspeakable love our Creator has made a way of escape through faith in His only begotten Son, whom He sacrificed on Calvary's cruel cross 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem. John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

One of my favorite free grace preachers is Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) who taught a free grace view of the Gospel. Consider further the following beautiful quote by 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.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: 'What Is The Gospel?'

Bravo! That is just wonderful.

Tragically, the doctrinally sound teaching that you've just read is the exact opposite of the garbage being taught and preached in most churches today, including in Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches (my own camp for the past 46 years, since I got saved at age 13 in 1980). I am absolutely disgusted with what I have found in most Baptist churches. I am at the place where I consider myself more non-denominational today than in the past. I am just about done with the Baptists. I mean, how can I continue to call myself a fundamentalist Baptist when over 95% of Baptist churches today are wrong on God's simple plan of salvation?

Today's Doctrinally Corrupt Baptist Churches

Case in point, take a look at the Statement of Faith of the Phaniels Baptist Church in Rockwell, North Carolina. I just randomly found this church, for no particular reason, just to make a valid point how corrupt the churches are today...

We Believe that all people are lost and have no hope outside of God's free gift of eternal and abundant life by repentance of sin and relying on Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross. [emphasis added] SOURCE

Where does the inspired King James Bible teach that you must repent “of your sin” to get to Heaven? It doesn't. We know that repentance is necessary for conversion, which is simply a change of mind unto the Gospel itself; but the phrase “of your sin” doesn't appear in Scripture. The false idea that you must first be willing to reform your life of sinful behavior as a prerequisite to saving faith is Satanic. No such teaching is found in the King James Bible.

I intentionally mentioned the King James Bible, because the Devil's modern English revisions have changed and corrupted God's inspired Words, perverting the true meaning of repentance. See for yourself...

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) — Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” [emphasis added]

EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) — Mark 1:15, “He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!” [emphasis added]

That is so horribly wrong! You don't have to change your own life as a requirement to be saved. Rather, it is the Holy Spirit who comes in to indwell a sinner at the time of salvation, who changes one's heart and life over time as we grow in the milk of the Word (1st Peter 2:2). Remember, Christians grow in grace not in strength (2nd Peter 3:18).

The Greek word for “repent” in Mark 1:15 in the King James Bible is metanoeo, which means, “to think differently.” It is a change of mind. It DOESN'T mean to “change your hearts and lives,” which is what the corrupt ERV says!

Beware Of The Southern Baptist Convention

Here's another example of a corrupt Baptist church. In their horrible statement of faith, the First Freewill Baptist Church in Stanley, North Carolina, writes:

FBC Stanley is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), and we hold to the statements made in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Below is a short summary of our core beliefs. SOURCE

Oh my! The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has become as corrupt as can be, both doctrinally and morally. Here is the damnable doctrine of the SBC:

Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour. — “Baptist Faith & Message 2000,” Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Whoa Horsie! Where does the Bible teach that to be saved you must:

1. Turn from sin?
2. Commit your entire personality to Jesus Christ?
3. Commit yourself to Jesus as “Lord”?

I hope you can clearly see how evil and unbiblical this junk truly is dear reader.

The Bible Way To Heaven

In the inspired Scripture there are at least two different instances of someone asking how to be saved:

1. The first was when some people asked Jesus in John 6:28b, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Here was Jesus simple reply in John 6:29b, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
2. The second instance is found in Acts 16:30b, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The Philippian jailor at Rome asked Paul and Silas what he needed to do to be saved. Here was their simple reply in Acts 16:31b, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Nowhere in these two helpful passages of Scripture do we read anything about being required to turn from your sin, commit your entire personality to Christ, or commit yourself to Jesus as “Lord” to get to Heaven. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. If salvation is truly by grace, then you don't need to start or stop anything to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift from God (Romans 6:23). One is saved by God's grace through faith in the finished Work of His Son on the Cross as payment in full as our pardon for sin.

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty. What the SBC is teaching is of the Devil. It is certainly not sound Bible doctrine! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Whatever happened to that beautiful 1836 hymn of the Christian faith written by Miss Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871)...

JUST AS I AM

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Anyone who tells you that you must first be willing to change your ways, habits or sinful lifestyle to be saved is a BIG LIAR! Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15-18, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). A gift can simply be received without any obligations whatsoever to the recipient. We've got a bunch of sincere but very corrupt preachers and theologians today, who would be wise to resign their positions to instead become plumbers, dog catchers or barbers.

I cherish Pastor Harry Ironside. I really do. I cherish him because, unlike most preachers, he saw the plain truth of a free grace Gospel and defended it. Here is another great statement that he made in his Gospel tract titled, “Another 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."

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, 'Another Gospel'

Amen and amen. I love it! 

The inspired Holy Bible already plainly defines “the gospel” for us:

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.”

This is the gospel which saves those who believe it (Romans 1:16). The Apostle Paul didn't mention anything about turning from your sin, committing your entire personality to Christ, or committing yourself to Jesus as “Lord” to get to Heaven, did he.

Tragically, we've got a bunch of lying false prophets behind America's pulpits today, who have succumbed to the deadly influence of other corrupt preachers, merely following what they are preaching instead of SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Here is the gospel: God says that we are guilty sinners and that no amount of good works or behavioral changes on our part could ever make us holy enough to enter Heaven. God sent His only begotten Son to pay for all of our sins. Jesus paid for our crimes by dying on a cross for us all 2,000 years ago. His dead body was buried in a grave. On the third day, Jesus miraculously physically arose from the dead.

The instant you believe this dear reader, Jesus knows it and He saves you. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). The free gift is based solely upon your trust in what Jesus did for you, and has nothing at all to do with what you do for Him. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God Loves The Sinner

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.”

I was reading an intriguing book today from my library published in 1980 by Pastor Lee Robertson (1909-2007) titled, “Ten Thousand Tears.” I want to share with you something beautiful that I read on pages 48-49...

GOD LOVES THE SINNER

   The death of Christ is the manifestation of God's love. Jesus said, “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.”

   Paul wrote to the people of Rome, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). As we contemplate the matter of life and death and the future, we would remember certain things.

   First, God knows the eternity of the soul of man. He made man, and He knows what is in man. Man is an eternal soul. That soul will live on throughout eternity. In the presence of God, the soul of man will enjoy blessedness and peace. In the place called Hell, “prepared for the devil and his angels,” the soul will have only suffering forever and forever. God knows the soul of men. Hence, we should understand the great love that God has for the sinner.

   Second, God knows the awfulness of Hell. The suffering of Hell is known to the Father. In this Book, the Bible, we are told of Hell and its suffering. In the account of Hell given by the Lord Jesus recorded in Luke 16, we find the story of the rich man. He died and went to Hell. In Hell he said, “I Am tormented in this flame.” I remind you that this is the Word of our Saviour.

   Again, we find a picture of the awfulness of Hell in Matthew 25:4.

   “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

   God has done His best to save men. He sent his Son to die for us. The Saviour shed his blood upon the cross, fulfilling gods requirement for salvation. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).

   God gave His Son that we might have life. God has given us the Bible to be a barricade to Hell. The Bible warns men of the awfulness of Hell, and the Bible plainly points the way to life everlasting. God has spread around this world gospel churches, many faithful preachers, and thousands of missionaries all with one task—to tell the story of salvation through Jesus Christ. God loves the sinner! —Pastor Lee Roberson, Ten Thousand Tears, Chapter 5 - “Concerning Them Which Are Asleep,” pp. 48-49

Amen and amen. God loves the sinner unconditionally. It matters not who you are or what you may have done, God still loves you. God hates all sin and evil, but that is a separate matter from His great love for humanity. ...

Romans 5:6-9, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

The Lord desires for all men to repent to believe the Gospel to be saved, but even if you don't, Christ died on a cross 2,000 years ago because He unconditionally loves you dear sinner. Please don't neglect such great love and salvation being offered to you.

Pastor Phil Kidd Is A Dangerous Preacher

Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

His ministry website says that at the age of 16, Pastor Phil Kidd was trapped in a cycle of drugs, gangs and street life. Phil Kidd staggered into a church and after hearing of the grace of God was saved. Two years later he answered the call to preach. He has spent his years doing the work of an evangelist and traveling the country and abroad. His serious no nonsense approach has wielded him the title: 'One of Americas Most Controversial Evangelists.'

Unfortunately, Dr. Kidd is also caught between grace and works. Read what he says in this 2020 heretical sermon titled, “The Heresy Of Eternal Security”...

Lasciviousness means a license to sin. I worry about people, that when you address them about something in their life that is Biblically wrong, they say back to me: “Well, I'm saved anyhow it doesn't make any difference.” You didn’t get the same grace of God I got in my heart! Oh yeah, I don’t care if you shout or pout, I don’t care. When you confront somebody about drinking and the first thing they want to talk about is eternal security, that's lasciviousness! When you talk about people and shacking up, and say: “Look here's what the Bible said” and they say: “Well I'm saved anyway,” that's last seriousness! Here's what your Bible said, “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” What’s that grace of God do? “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil world.” If you say, “I know Jesus therefore I can live like I want to — that's eternal security,” that is heresy! You have been deceived! You are twisted in your doctrine, and you're gonna fry like a sausage in Hell when you die! You don't live like that and stay right with God. That is heresy! And for all you've fallen-from-gracers and free-willers, and all of you all that are hanging on; the next time I hear you go around talking about Baptists giving people a license to sin, I'm going to flat out call you a liar! I've never given anybody a license to sin. You get born again; you'll get out of the sinning business! [15:11 time in his sermon] —Pastor Phil Kidd, 'The Heresy Of Eternal Security'

In essence what Phil Kidd is errantly teaching is that you are not saved unless you have declared war on your sinning. That is works, not grace (Romans 4:4). The only prerequisite to be saved is to admit that you are a guilty sinner in need of the Savior. 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 law shows humanity our SINNERSHIP, and brings us to the SAVIOR to be saved by grace alone through faith alone in Him.

I am sick and fed up and tired of corrupt preachers demanding that you commit to give up your sinning as a requirement to receive God's free gift of eternal life. And let me say that Eternal Life and Eternal Security are not two separate Bible doctrines. They are one and the same thing! If you have been born again from above by the Holy Spirit of God, then you have eternal life and it is eternally secure. You have been indwelt and sealed with God's blessed Holy Spirit, and that is eternal security dear reader. If saved, always saved!

Beware of Evangelist Phil Kidd, because he is wickedly mixing works with grace, confusing tens of thousands of his listening audience. Somewhere along the way these incompetent sailing preachers have lost sight of the harbor. That is, they have lost sight of the Biblical truth that eternal life is a free gift, paid for in full by the precious blood of Jesus (Romans 5:15-18, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 1st Peter 1:18-19).

No Child Of God Has The Lord's Permission To Sin

And let me clarify that no one has God's permission or blessing to commit sin. Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” A Christian can only fall “in grace,” but never “from grace.” You cannot out-sin the grace of God! Sin cannot triumph over the cross and the blood! The more that a believer sins, the more God's saving grace will abound, so that one's eternal life can never be jeopardized, given back to God or forfeited.

2nd Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” God's redeemed children should be the most honest, decent, upright, cheerful, forgiving and good people in town.

But just because some believers may not be living for the Lord doesn't mean that they were never saved. That is why God put Galatians 6:1-2 in the Bible, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” God is literally reminding you and me dear friend that we are no better than the sister in Christ who commit adultery, or our Christian brother who just went to prison for committing a crime. We all have dirt on our hands!

Once Saved, Always Saved

The old adage is very true: ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED! If you deny that truth you are not saved. The reason why you are not saved is because you obviously think that YOU must do something to maintain a state of salvation. But dear friend, salvation is not a state, it is a new birth by the Holy Spirit of God (John 1:12-13).

That is why I expose the ungodly Salvation Army, who in their official Statement of Faith refer to salvation as a state that YOU must maintain...

“We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.”

SOURCE: 1878 Foundation Deed Of The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army follows the heresy of their founders, William and Catherine Booth, who considered salvation a “state” that could be lost if one fails to continue in obedient faith. May I say, salvation is NOT a “state,” it is a new birth. It is a second birth, a spiritual birth. The teaching that salvation is a “state” that is conditional upon “continued obedient faith” is demonic works-salvation. The believer's salvation is secure in Christ's finished work of redemption. The blood has been applied to the heavenly Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:12,24). The price has been paid. The PRICE is Jesus' blood, and the PLACE is the heavenly Mercy Seat.

Tares Among The Wheat

But what about those professed Christians who stray away from the faith years later, some even claiming to become atheists? What saith the Scripture? 1st John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” The Bible is clear that they were never saved at all. If you are truly saved, then the indwelling Holy Spirit will persevere. I didn't say that the believer will persevere (which is what Calvinists falsely teach), I said that the Holy Spirit will persevere (Hebrews 13:5). ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED!

Dr. Kidd is subtle, intentionally mixing truth with error to confuse his listeners. He is right that it would be wrong for a believer to have a dismissive attitude toward sin. Nobody has a right to live in sin just because we are saved. But dear reader, that is exactly what we all do, isn't it. 

We all sin continually in one way or another, both in deed and in thought, but God never once sanctions our sinning. 1st John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” You see, the Lord doesn't want us to sin, but since we are still in the flesh in human form we will sometimes sin, and Jesus is our Advocate (our Defense Attorney who stands by our side on our behalf as our Redeemer). And you ought to thank God continually that this is so, or we'd all burn in Hell fire and brimstone forever for our sins!

No One Ever “Turns” From Their Sins

There is no such thing as “repenting of your sins” or “turning from your sins.” I don't care how long you may have been a born again Christian, you still sin every day, and so do I. You may clean up your life enough to live above reproach, but you are still a dirty wicked sinner. We are still filthy pigs! The whole idea of telling someone to “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven is flawed, because you are asking them to do something that is IMPOSSIBLE.

Do you not understand that to enter into God's Kingdom you must be absolutely sinless and perfect in every way? Good people don't go to Heaven, perfect people do! That excludes you and me, and the other 8.3 billion imperfect sinners on the planet today. So how does anyone get to Heaven? Ah, that is why God sent His only begotten Son Jesus into the world, who lived a perfect sinless life, and died a sinner's death on Calvary's cross for you and me. Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

So, we can go to Heaven on Christ's merit. The moment that you come to God as an admitted guilty sinner, and by faith (taking God at His written Word) place your childlike faith (trust, reliance) in Jesus' death on the cross, burial and physical resurrection from the dead three days later, God reads your mind and He saves you. It's that simple.

The only thing that changes at the moment of salvation is that God gives you His gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and He begins to work to change you. But depending on the influence of your friends and family, whether or not you attend a good Bible-believing soulwinning church, if you use only the King James Bible, and other factors, will determine if you grow in grace or languish in immaturity as a babe in Christ.

Many believers never mature (as we learn about in the parable of The Sower And The Seed in Luke 8:11-15). This parable is commonly mistaken as a passage on salvation, but it is about maturing as a believer to win souls. Many babes in Christ today are not in an environment conducive to growth in grace, so they become stunted and retarded as saints, still worldly and out of church. That is the local church's fault for not obeying The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

Ignorance Of The Scripture Is The Problem

The main reason why there is so much false doctrine circulating in the churches today is simply because of woeful ignorance of the Scripture. We live in a nation of Biblical ignoramuses today! Pastor J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) said that, and he's absolutely right.

I am sick and fed up and tired of hearing ignorant pastors teach that repentance results in a change of behavior. No Sir, that is the heresy of Lordship Salvation, requiring works to prove that you've been saved. In sharp contrast, the inspired Holy Bible teaches in Galatians 5:22-26 that a changed life is the result of the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit. ...

Galatians 5:22-26, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Do you see dear reader? God saves the vilest sinner, just as you are without the least desire to live right or turn from your sinning; but then once you are IN CHRIST (2nd Corinthians 5:17), the indwelling Holy Spirit starts to convict and change you, and in time if you choose daily to Walk in the Spirit, then Jesus will live the Christian life THROUGH YOU. What saith the Scripture? Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Many new believers try to live right and fail and fail and fail, because they haven't learned yet that you live the Christian life the same exact way that you got saved, BY FAITH. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

The dire mistake that Dr. Phil Kidd is making is that he is placing the impossible heavy burden upon the sinner's shoulder to live right, associating their eternal security with their behavior, which is evil and wrong to do. My favorite preacher's quote is by Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688)...

“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)

During Phil Kidd's sermon, 'The Heresy Of Eternal Security,' he pauses half way through and says that it is quite in the auditorium. Of course it was, because he freaked them out by denying one of the most fundamental teachings in God's Word, that every redeemed child of God has eternal security!!! Those poor people were as confused as ever because of a bad and theologically incompetent preacher. Eternal Life is Eternal Security!

We Have Liberty Through Faith In Jesus

The Bible teaches that before someone is saved, we are in bondage under the curse of the Mosaic law (aka, the Ten Commandments). But when we get saved, all of our sins (past, present and future) are washed away by the precious blood of the Lamb. We are now under liberty, so that we can never (no matter how we choose to live) be under bondage again. If we couldn't be saved by good works, then we cannot be lost by bad works. We are under grace.

That being said, God doesn't want us to use our new found liberty in Christ as a cloak for sin:

Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Galatians 5:13, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

James 1:25, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

1st Peter 2:16, “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.”

When we got saved, our POSITION in Christ was forever settled; but how we choose to live from day to day is our CONDITION in Christ. One thing has nothing to do with the other. The former is salvation, the latter is service. The former is sonship, the latter is discipleship. We are saved by faith in “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). How we choose to live our life as a child of God has absolutely nothing to do with being saved, for if it did then it couldn't be a free gift.

Phil Kidd couldn't be more wrong. I have no doubt that he is sincere, but Hell if full of sincere people. Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” This is a very serious matter folks.

In the quote from Phil Kidd that I shared with you at the beginning of this article, he says that you'll “fry like a sausage in Hell” if you're still shacking up, getting drunk and living in sin as a Christian and refuse to stop. He is very wrong and confused as a preacher!

Later in the sermon he says:

They’re deluded in thinking that a prayer that never altered their life will get them into Heaven. [21:06 time in sermon]

Well, first of all you don't get saved by praying, although it is perfectly okay to accompany one's faith in the Gospel with a sinner's prayer (which is a natural desire to do). You just need to understand that you could just as easily believe on Jesus in your heart, and never open your mouth, and still be saved. Furthermore, getting saved DOESN'T alter your life! As I explained earlier, a changed life is the fruit of the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) living the Christian life through you by faith. Repentance (thinking differently) from unbelief to belief at the time of salvation has NOTHING to do with behavior modification.

That is why I expose Pensacola Christian College (PCC) for errantly teaching that “Repentance is a change of mind resulting in a change of behavior.” That is their official teaching at Campus Church in their Foundation's Class. It is damnable heresy! That is the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation! Any time a preacher associates your behavior changing with God's free gift of eternal life, he has perverted the grace of God.

Kindly said, run from Dr. Phil Kidd!

Where Did The Repent “Of Your Sins” Heresy Originate?

Acts 3:19. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

The “repent of your sins” heresy is often traced back to misunderstandings of Biblical teachings on repentance and salvation, particularly the conflation (mixing) of repentance with a requirement to turn from sin for salvation. This view has been justly criticized by various theologians, laymen and clergy who argue that true Bible repentance is a change of mind, rather than a prerequisite to forsake sinful behavior to be saved. The concept is a misinterpretation of inspired Scripture, which wickedly emphasizes works over faith.

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) - Acts 3:19, “So you must change your hearts and lives. Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins.”

I loathe the toxic modern English Bible revisions, which are corrupted by Satan. Repentance has absolutely nothing to do with changing your heart and life. To “repent” simply means to think differently to agree with what God says in His inspired Word.

Here's a bizarre translation... 

AMPLIFIED VERSION (AMP) - Acts 3:19, “So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day].”

Unreal! Dear reader, none of what you've just read is Biblical. Repentance for salvation does not mean to change your inner self, which would be reformation, not repentance. Nor does Bible repentance to be saved require regretting your past sins. Seeking God's purpose for your life is a matter of service and discipleship, not salvation and sonship.

One of my favorite Bible teachers is Pastor Brad Strand in Texas. I recently purchased his 'The Strand Study Bible.' I love it so much that I bought five of them (2 new and 3 used). Here is Brother Strand's commentary for our text passage from 2nd Corinthians 7:8...

Repentance may include “remorse” (made you sorry), but remorse is not repentance. If so, then Judas repented because he was remorseful over what he had done to Christ (Mt 27:3). You can weep over sin and even express great remorse, but until you “change your mind” as to who you are and who Christ is and agree with God (Mt 3:2), you have not repented biblically.

Repentance may include “sorrow” (you were made sorry), but sorrow for sin is not repentance. Hell is full or sorrow, but only for the consequences of sin. The rich man who died and went to Hell uttered not a word of sorrow for his sin, only sorrow for his pain (Lk 16:19-31). You can weep over sin and even express great regret, but until you “change your mind” as to who you are and who Christ is and agree with God, you have not repented biblically.

Repentance may include “conviction” (after a godly manner), but conviction is not repentance. If so, then Felix repented when he trembled before Paul (Acts 24:24-25). You may be convicted that you are a sinner and even admit that you are lost, but repentance is a two-sided coin. You not only have to “change your mind” as to who you are, you have to also “change your mind” as to who Christ is and call upon Him to be your Savior (Rom 10:9-13). Otherwise, you have not repented biblically.

SOURCE: Brad Strand, “The Strand Study Bible,” p. 1938

I am so thankful for Pastor Strand, that he is one of few preachers today who gets repentance correct. Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) in a sermon titled: “A Vote For Preaching,” spake in this excerpt about the false gospel of Lordship Salvation which is unfortunately being preached from nearly every pulpit today. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

Evangelist Billy Graham's Counterfeit Plan Of Salvation

Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

I ran across a YouTube video today in the suggested links. This sermon is from 1971, preached by the famous evangelist, Billy Graham (1918-2018). ...

Billy Graham's Prophetic Word In 1971 Is Happening RIGHT NOW

Kindly said, this is not the Gospel. Toward the end of the video, the narrator says to "surrender your life" to Christ to be saved. He says to "give your life to Jesus Christ" and to "turn from your sins" to get to Heaven, but there is no Gospel. Hundreds of millions of lost sinners have foolishly fallen for this deadly trap, coming to religion without ever being born again. So sad.

Here is the gospel: God says that we are sinners and that no amount of good works or behavioral changes on our part could ever make us holy enough to enter Heaven. God sent His only begotten Son to pay for all of our sins. Jesus paid for our crimes by dying on the cross for us all. His dead body was buried in a grave. On the third day, Jesus arose from the dead. The instant you believe this, He knows it and He saves you. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” The free gift is based solely upon your trust in what Jesus did for you and has nothing at all to do with what you do for Him. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

So, for anyone to tell you to turn from your sins, give your life to Jesus Christ, or surrender your life to Him to be saved is preaching a counterfeit plan of salvation. The Apostle Paul plainly defines "the gospel" for us in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 as Jesus death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection the third day. Too many preachers are guilty of embellishing God's simple plan of salvation, and in so doing they obscure and confuse the truth of the Gospel, hindering men from coming to the light of the truth of the Gospel to be saved.

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty.

Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

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?

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

If salvation is truly by grace, then you don't need to start or stop anything to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift from God (Romans 6:23).

One is saved by God's grace through faith in the finished Work of His Son on the Cross as payment in full as our pardon for sin.

Please don't let a lying false prophet deceive you. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again. This is what 99% of the pseudo-Christian religious world are guilty of doing today. They're living an elaborate lie!

According to John 20:31, the Book of John is God's Gospel tract to humanity. In John we find the word "believe" mentioned at least 85 times, but there is no requirement to turn from your sins, give your life to Jesus Christ, become a Christ follower, life a lifestyle of repentance (Ray Comfort's favorite line), or surrender your life to Christ to be saved.

The reason why the friendly man in this video is so woefully deceived is because he has been hoodwinked by Billy Graham's false gospel. Mr. Graham skirts around the truth, beating around the bush, never honing in on the target of the Gospel itself. This is one of the Devil's most effective strategies to deceive his victims, by circling in orbit of the truth without ever landing. Put another way, the most effective deception is the half-truth, because in part it can be defended with incontestable logic.

I think one of the best illustrations I can give of the Gospel is a clever optical illusion that was popular in the 1990s called “Magic Eye.” I used to enjoy looking at Magic Eye in the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper in the 1990s. The way it works is simple. You hold the image close to your face, but then slowly back your eyes away from the image while staring through it. If it works, you will see a 3D image floating in the foreground, which looks absolutely amazing. Some people cannot see the 3D image. It doesn't work for everybody.

This is exactly how the Gospel works. Millions of people stare at religion their entire lives but never see the truth of the simplicity that is in Christ, which is to say, the Gospel. That is why it is so imperative for Bible preachers to continually preach the Biblical truth, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:3b). I recently heard a related sermon on the topic by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) titled, “The Parable Of The Tares.”

The hellbound false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 boasted of their "many wonderful works" done in Jesus' name. They were living the Christian life, following Jesus as the "LORD" of their life, but they had failed to simply REST in the finished redemptive work of the dear Savior (John 6:40). It's not what you can do for Jesus that saves you; but rather, your faith in what Jesus has already done for you 2,000 years ago through Calvary's cross. You just need to believe that Jesus did it all for you.

I Know 100% That I Am Going To Heaven

1st John 5:13, “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, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

How about you friend? Are you ready to meet God? I am. The reason I KNOW that I am going to Heaven is not because of my own goodness, self-righteous efforts or anything that I have ever done or ever could done. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Your best efforts and mine are filth in God's sight!

I humbly KNOW that I am going to Heaven because my 100% faith (reliance, trust) is in Jesus, the Christ, the only begotten Son of God—because of what He did through Calvary's cross by shedding His precious blood to die for my sins, was buried, and physically resurrected three days later. The Gospel is my ONLY hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

I worked with a Muslim man 25 years ago. One evening at work we discussed our religious beliefs. When I told him that I “know” I am going to Heaven, he was greatly offended. His name was Ed. I still remember Ed's words to me. He said, “How could you say that? What arrogance! What arrogant pride to say that you 'know' you are going to Heaven. You had better do your best and hope that you make it.” Do you know why he said those words? It is simply because in Ed's worldview you earn your way to Heaven by living to please God by your works.

In sharp contrast, as I tried to explain to Ed, the reason why I can say as a redeemed child of God that “I know” I am going to Heaven is because I am trusting Jesus for what JESUS HAS DONE through Calvary's cross to pay my debt of sin. Ed is trusting in his own works to impress Allah (the moon god). I am trusting in Christ alone for what He has already done. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. My heart goes out to Ed, because he is trapped in bondage to Satan. 2nd Timothy 2:26, “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

The inspired King James Bible plainly teaches that we can KNOW we have eternal life, simply because our salvation is solely based on what Christ has done for us, and not upon what we can do for Him.

Most Churchgoers Are Cheating On Christ

John 10:1, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”

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 found this excellent meme this week. I had to change it though. The original meme had the word “Believer,” but I changed it to “Churchgoer.” I changed the word because no one is a believer (born again, saved) who is trusting more than Jesus Christ to get to Heaven. Those who trust in repenting of their sins, or following Jesus as “Lord” of their life, are not saved.

Tragically, a counterfeit gospel is being preached from nearly every pulpit today, and is read in nearly every piece of religious literature today. You will find all of the following embellishments to God's simple plan of salvation, none of which are required to get to Heaven:

1. “Repent of your sins”
2. “Turn from your sinful ways”
3. “Forsake a lifestyle of sinning”
4. “Be willing to turn from your sins”
5. “Put Christ on the throne of your life”
6. “Surrender all to Christ”
7. “Give your life to Christ”
8. “Change your behavior to prove you've repented to be saved”
9. “Become a Christ follower”
10. “Commit to follow Christ”
11. “Invite Christ into your life”
12. “Invite Jesus into your heart”
13. “Give the steering wheel of your life to God”
14. “Live a lifestyle of repentance”
15. “Pray a sinner's prayer”
16. “Walk down a church aisle”
17. “Ask God to join His family”
18. “Run the race faithfully to the end”
19. “Be sorry for your sins”
20. “Commit to do better in the future”
21. “Surrender all to Christ”
22. “Make Jesus the 'Lord' of your life”

You may do all of these things dear reader, and yet never have been born again. Certainly these things have their proper place in the Christian life, but getting saved is strictly a matter of resting in Jesus Christ and His finished work of redemption through Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago (Hebrews 4:10-11).

Are you cheating on Christ? You are if you claim that salvation is by grace, yet you still insist that a person must live a changed life to prove they've been saved. If salvation is truly by grace, then you don't need to start or stop anything to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift from God (Romans 6:23). Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty.

Sadly, nearly all churchgoers today are living the Christian life without ever having been born again. This is Satan's most effective weapon, conning people into living the Christian life without ever experiencing the new birth. John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The required new birth is not optional.

A demon's favorite activity is to make religious people feel comfortable in their lost condition. If you are a religious person, but you have never been born again through faith alone in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you do not realize just how dire your situation is friend. You are just a breath and a heartbeat away from spending the rest of eternity burning in Hell.

Thank you for reading my ministry blog. To God alone be all the glory.

Most People Who Hear The Gospel Won't Believe It

Hebrews 4:1-2, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

Like many Christian believers, I used to errantly think that if we can just get the Gospel out to as many people as possible, they get saved. Although we certainly should get the Gospel out to everybody we can in obedience to The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), the reality of the situation is that most people will not believe the Good News when they hear it.

In our text passage of Scripture from Hebrews 4:1-2, the inspired King James Bible says that the Jews who wandered in the Wilderness of Zin for 40 years heard Moses preach the Gospel unto them, but they simply didn't believe it. Tragically, that means they are burning in the fires of Hell today and forever. That is heartbreaking. What was that Gospel which Moses preached? We read in Acts 10:38a and 43, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power... To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” The Gospel has always essentially been the same (although they lacked the full details we have today) that remission of sins comes through faith in Christ.

Can you imagine the Jews hearing the Gospel preached unto them for 40 years, and still not believing one word of it? When the Apostle Paul taught the Word of God to a group of Jewish leaders, the Bible says in Acts 28:24, “And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.” You will find this situation to be true in every corner of the earth. Humans are so predictable. No doubt a few of the Jews believed Moses' Gospel message, but most of them tragically did not believe.

I wrote this blog, not to discourage Christians from sharing the Gospel with everyone; but rather, so that you will understand we simply cannot lead everyone to Christ. I have often heard Bible preachers say that we cannot save anyone, only God can save a sinner. But that is not entirely accurate. What saith the Scripture?

Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Did you read that? We are to “save” some people with fear. That is, warning them of the judgment to come upon them if they refuse to get saved (Hebrews 10:31; Revelation 21:8). 1st Corinthians 3:9b says, “we are labourers together with God.” Without us to preach the Gospel, NO ONE will ever get saved. So, we DO help save lost sinners, by preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen from the dead unto them.

We need to understand that it is quite normal for only a few people to receive the truth (the light) of the Gospel to be saved. What did Jesus say? 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.” The Bible foretold that only a few people would ever be saved. It's not because God doesn't want them to be saved (2nd Peter 3:9); but rather, it is because “ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40b).

The Logical Inconsistency Of Lordship Salvation

Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

All across the United States, and the world by extension through our missionaries, a false gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works is being preached. The following meme is excellent...

Yes, that is a great analogy. That is the disturbing counterfeit plan of salvation which we hear being preached from nearly every pulpit today. A pastor will tell you that eternal life is a free gift, which cannot be earned by works; and then he'll say that if you are really saved your life should have changed, to produce works.

In his heretical sermon titled, “False Faith,” Pastor Phelps errantly defines Bible faith as meaning more than believing on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” According to Chuck Phelps, faith without works is not sufficient to save. Phelps plainly states in his sermon that if your life hasn't changed, you are not saved! Kindly said, that means Chuck Phelps is NOT saved, because he is preaching another gospel which cannot produce the new birth.

Pastor Phelps at 11:10 time in his heretical sermon says:

“If you're professed faith has not produced CHANGE, it's false faith. He's saying if your confession has not CHANGED YOUR LIFE, it will not result in eternal life. What you say with your lips must be backed-up with your life, or it's false faith!” [emphasis added] —Pastor Charles Phelps, “False Faith” (time - 11:10; November 1, 2009 - Sunday morning)

Dear reader, what you just read is totally unscriptural. If you have to look at your life to prove that you are saved, it proves that you are not! Salvation is a new birth, not a reward or exchange. Salvation is received, not achieved. Salvation is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. God wants you to by faith freely TAKE His free gift of eternal life. God is already offering eternal life to you, so you don't need to ask for it. God is already offering it freely to you. If you will simply by faith take God at His Word, believing what He has recorded in His Written Word, you will be instantly and forever saved. Acts 16:30b-31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” All we are taught to do to be saved is to BELIEVE!!!

Pastor Charles Phelps wickedly corrupts the gospel. Phelps even quotes John Calvin (1509-1564) in his sermon as a secondary authority to back-up his damnable counterfeit gospel. I am fully convinced that John Calvin died in his sins and went to Hell forever! That is a sad thing. And unless he repents of his false gospel, Chuck Phelps will also spend eternity in the Lake of Fire!

Pastor Phelps also makes this heretical statement:

“You can't work to have salvation, but if you have salvation it will work!” [emphasis added] —Pastor Charles Phelps, “False Faith” (time - 30:13; November 1, 2009 - Sunday morning)

That is typical false prophet doublespeak! He is backloading the gospel with works. That's like me saying that you cannot earn your birthday gift, but if you accept it you will earn it! What in the world is Chuck Phelps talking about? Folks, this is junk theology at it's worst!

Nowhere in the inspired King James Bible are we taught that if we receive God's free gift of eternal life IT WILL WORK! That doesn't even make sense! What did Jesus say about works to get to Heaven? 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 laid this question to rest forever about doing works to merit Heaven. The Lord said the ONLY work which God accepts is to BELIEVE on the name of Jesus!!!

Nowhere in the inspired King James Bible are we taught that we must work to prove that we are really saved. Pastor Chuck Phelps is a theological liar!!! Mr. Phelps is not a born-again Christian, because he is preaching a corrupt gospel based in partial faith in Christ plus works. Phelps misinterprets Titus 1:16, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” 

Pastor Phelps attempts to use this verse to support his heresy that works are necessary to verify that you are saved. But Phelps lifts this text out of its context to create a new pretext. He ignores Titus 1:10 which identifies these false teachers as being “of the circumcision.” They were guilty of adding works to faith, the very evil which Pastor Chuck Phelps is guilty of doing!

Evangelist John Bunyan (1628-1688) said it best:

“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.” —Evangelist John Bunyan

That is exactly what Pastor Phelps and the Bob Jones University camp are guilty of doing! They corrupt the Word of God and cast stumblingblocks before the people, by failing to put a difference between JUSTIFICATION wrought by the man Christ without and SANCTIFICATION wrought by the Spirit of Christ within. One's behavior is entirely a matter of DISCIPLESHIP, not SONSHIP.

Pastor Martin R. DeHaan (1891-1965) said it very well:

“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.” —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, “Hebrews”; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)

It astonishes me how deceived today's clergy have become. Satan is so clever and subtle that he has been able to trick Bible preachers to sincerely think God's free gift requires works to prove that you have it. Huh? That is exactly what they are preaching! I just proved it to you with Pastor Phelps' sermon, “False Faith.” Anybody who tells you that eternal life is God's free gift, but you must have works to verify that you have it, is a liar inspired by demons. They are preaching a corrupt plan of salvation, which is really a plan of damnation.

Your performance (i.e., the life you choose to live after you get saved) has absolutely nothin to do with going to Heaven. The only reason I am going to Heaven when I die is because as a 13-year-old young man I trusted Jesus as my personal Savior, accepting His death on the cross as full payment for my sins, believing that He was buried, but then resurrected from the dead three days later. That is my only hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

How I choose to live my life on earth as God's redeemed child is a separate matter of rewards, discipleship and glory in Heaven. One thing has nothing to do with the other. We must always keep service completely separate from salvation, lest we pervert God's grace.

Obfuscating God's Simple Plan Of Salvation

Acts 15:1, “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.”

I learned some new big words this past week...

“Obfuscation” is the obscuring of the intended meaning of communication by making the message difficult to understand, usually with confusing and ambiguous language. The obfuscation might be either unintentional or intentional, and is accomplished with circumlocution, the use of jargon, and the use of an argot of limited communicative value to outsiders.

“Circumlocution” is the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea. It is sometimes necessary in communication, but it can also be undesirable.

When I first discovered these two words, I couldn't help but immediately apply them to God's simple plan of salvation, which plan has been butchered, embellished, obscured, muddied, perverted and watered-down from nearly every pulpit today. Galatians 1:7b, “but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”

From nearly every Bible college, seminary and church pulpit today the gospel is being OBFUSCATED with ambiguous and difficult to understand jargon. Tragically, if you visit 95% of Baptist churches today, you will hear some garbage from the pulpit about repenting of your sins to get to Heaven, which jargon is utterly confusing for hearers. What does it even mean to “repent of your sins.” Sadly, most preachers don't even know, but they still repeat the heresy. 

Those pastors today who foolishly preach that to get to Heaven you must first be willing to repent of your sinning, they are as wrong and incompetent as were the false prophets in Acts 15:1, “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.” Those wicked false prophets were adding to God's simple plan of salvation.

To them, faith in Christ wasn't enough, you also had to be circumcized to keep the Mosaic law (works). They failed to understand that the law was not given as a means of salvation; but rather, as a measuring stick by which when compared themselves they fell short of God's glory and saw their need for Christ (Romans 3:19-20; Galatians 3:24-26). They were guilty of obfuscating God's simple plan of salvation, as are all the incompetent pastors today who require people to “repent of your sins” to be saved. Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible teaches to repent of your sinning to get to Heaven. The Bible just says to “repent,” and that verb (Greek: metanoeo) just means: “to think differently.”

Since unbelief is the only sin that can keep you out of Heaven, unbelief is the only sin you need to repent (change your mind) from to be saved. The moment that you come to God by faith (taking the Lord at His written Word) to accept Christ's sacrificial death on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, but then miraculously physically ressurected from the dead three days later, you are saved. This is “the gospel” (1st Corinthians 15:1-4), by which all who believe it are saved (Romans 1:16).

And that big word “circumlocution” is certainly applicable to the plan of salvation that I find on many religious websites, which are a book's length long. God intended for the Gospel (the Good News) to be simple to hear, easy to understand, and free to receive. When you hear a preacher talking about what you must surrender, sacrifice and give up to receive God's free gift of eternal life, you know that he has been inspired by demons! If salvation is truly by grace, then you don't need to start or stop anything to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift from God (Romans 6:23). When presenting the gospel to a lost sinner, keep it short and simple.