I woke up this morning and thought about how sad it is, that anyone
would live in constant fear that they are not truly saved (born-again).
This is the consequence of a popular heresy in many churches today
called "Lordship Salvation." This is the false teaching that if you are
really saved, you WILL live a certain type of lifestyle of turning away
from sin, and you WILL surrender your life and will to obey God, and you
WILL follow Christ, and you WILL confess Jesus before men, and you WILL
commit your life to serve God.
To support what I just said, here is Pastor John MacArthur's impossible plan of salvation. One of the most deadly false prophets today is Evangelist Ray Comfort, who actually uses the phrase “LIVING A LIFESTYLE,” which he requires of a woman to be saved. Dear reader, living a lifestyle has absolutely nothing to do with getting saved. 1st John 2:3-4, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” There's those important words again, THE TRUTH! Please consider another Bible verse from 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
Please don't make the mistake of assuming that “commandments” means
“good works.” The Bible doesn't say that a saved person does
good works,
it says they keep God's commandments! There's a big difference! The
religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 did “MANY WONDERFUL
WORKS,” but Christ said He never knew them and they went to Hell,
because they hadn't DONE THE FATHER'S WILL! They didn't keep God's
commandments! John 6:40 tells us the Father's will—“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.” 1st John 3:23, “And this is his commandment, That we
should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one
another, as he gave us commandment.” God's first and only
commandment to receive the gift of eternal life is to “BELIEVE ON THE
NAME OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST”!!! That is a beautiful truth! So when
you read in the Bible about keeping God's commandments to get to Heaven,
it doesn't mean doing good works, it means to trust the blessed
Savior!!!
Devils In The Pulpit Who Propagate Fear, Worry And Uncertainty
I'm
going to give you heretical quotes from three false teachers: Ray
Comfort, Steve Pettit and Paul Washer, who all propagate fear and
uncertainty regarding salvation.
Evangelist Ray Comfort perverts
the Gospel, teaching something drastically different than the Holy
Bible. Mr. Comfort tells this
unfortunate unsaved woman on an airplane, that she must LIVE A LIFESTYLE to
have eternal life, which is torment for a person to even try to attempt.
I feel so sorry for her, because she will likely go to Hell because Ray
deceive her with a counterfeit gospel...
“So if the plane goes down, you'd end up in Hell! There are two things you have to do to be saved. Do you remember what they are? I told you what they are—You've got to repent and trust the Savior! ... God's offering you everlasting life upon your repentance and faith in Christ. Who in his right mind wouldn't say, 'Whoa! That's a good offer!' (The curious woman asks what it means to “repent”?)... Have you ever said you're sorry to someone you did something wrong to? That's all repentance is—You've sinned against God; it's a matter of saying, 'God, I'm sorry,' and then LIVING A LIFESTYLE that proves the reality of your repentance. That's what repentance is, it's a continual thing! God, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not going going to lie or steal or blaspheme Your name ever again. It has that attitude! And the second thing—trust in Jesus!” [emphasis added]
SOURCE: Evangelist Ray Comfort, “I've never killed anyone” (MP3 clip from video)
Ray Comfort further foolishly teaches that no one is “SAFE” just because Jesus died on the cross. Those are some horribly dangerous words! Ray conditions salvation upon turning away from sinful living (which he erroneously understands to mean repentance). So no matter how much faith you may have in Jesus Christ as your Savior, Ray says you are not “SAFE” if you are living in deliberate sin in your life...
“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
Dear reader, I triple-dog dare you to show me even one verse from the Holy Bible that teaches that “LIVING A LIFESTYLE” is required as part of being saved. I triple-dog dare you to show me where a believer is not “SAFE” just because Jesus died for their sins on the cross! You cannot! Now my friend, “a double-dog dare” is serious business, but a triple-dog dare is something you don't want to mess around with! I triple-dog dare you to show me even one Bible verse that agrees with these false statements by Ray Comfort. Mr. Comfort propagates a false gospel of fear and uncertainty!
Another reprobate in the pulpit today, who propagates junk theology is Dr. Steve Pettit (president of Bob Jones University since 2014), who horribly preaches fear and uncertainty to their 2,700 impressionable students...
“For the real reality of the genuineness of your faith is that you are faithful to run the race!” —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 22:44; 'The Daily Platform,' #21, January 26, 2015)
“You can't just speak about getting saved, and you accepted Christ, and then that's it! There is a justification; There is a sanctification; There's ultimately a glorification, and though there are three parts, they are all part of the whole, and you cannot separate them. In order for you to qualify for the award, you have to get into the race, you have to stay in the race, and you have to finish the race. If you want to win, you have to run to the end; and winning in the Christian life is everything, because if you lose—if you don't finish—you lose everything—you lose your SOUL. And so, the Christian race is the life of faith that begins, is run, and is finished when we cross over into Heaven!” [emphasis added] —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 11:34; 'The Daily Platform,' #21, January 26, 2015)
“God's people HAVE TO continue in the faith! They MUST PERSEVERE, because perseverance is the testimony of the reality of your faith!” [emphasis added] —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 25:13; 'The Daily Platform,' #21, January 26, 2015)
Again, I triple-dog dare you to show me in the Scriptures where it says a person “MUST PERSEVERE” to obtain the gift of eternal life! Dr. Pettit says you cannot look to a single moment when you were born-again; but rather, he says you MUST CONTINUE IN FAITH TO RUN THE RACE, otherwise you won't receive the AWARD, which he says is HEAVEN ITSELF...
“We run the race, we cross the finish line, and so what’s the prize? What is the award? Well, there are different viewpoints. Some would have the viewpoint that the awards are crowns in Heaven. But as I read the book of Hebrews and see the whole gist of the book and the flow of the book, I don’t believe its referring to crowns in Heaven. I think it is referring to Heaven itself.” [emphasis added] —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 22:57; 'The Daily Platform,' #21, January 26, 2015)
So if you are not faithfully running 'The Race' as a professed Christian, you risk losing the “AWARD” of “HEAVEN ITSELF.” Folks, that is another gospel! In my humble Christian opinion, Steve Pettit is the worst thing that ever happened to Bob Jones University!!! I say that with love, because I CARE! Remember, the religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 did “MANY WONDERFUL WORKS,” but the Lord said He never knew them. Jesus called them “YE THAT WORK INIQUITY”! They did all their many wonderful works in Jesus' name. They said they preached (prophesied) in Jesus' name. They ran the race faithfully, in their own sight, but Jesus said they failed to keep God's Commandments!!! Dr. Pettit preaches in Jesus' name, doing many wonderful works; but he is preaching another gospel that does not match up with what the inspired Word of God teaches! Who are you going to believe—Steve Pettit or the inspired King James Bible? 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.”
Evangelist Paul Washer teaches the same garbage theology, that causes uncertainty and fear in people, wondering if they are really saved or not...
“But if you profess to have gone through the narrow gate, and yet you live in the broad way ... just like all the other people who are carnal and wicked ... the Bible wants you to know that you should be terribly, terribly afraid — you know not God.” (time: 24:37 in video) —Evangelist Paul Washer - Shocking Message (full length; time - 24:37 in video)
Why should any believer be afraid of going to Hell? Ray Comfort is preaching another Gospel. If I buy you a wonderful steak dinner for your birthday with all the trimmings, it's a done deal once you enjoy it. You eat the steak and it's done! You don't owe me anything! You don't have to run a race for the rest of your life! If you'll always keep in mind that eternal life is the “free gift” of God (Romans 5:15, 16 and 18), then you will see how wicked, unbiblical and silly these preachers are who add all sorts of obligations, requirements and stipulations to the Gospel.
The indwelling Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit to THE TRUTH.
As believers, the Holy Spirit convicts us about the presence of sins in our
life, and compels us continually to repent of those present sins and live for
God. There will be changes inside a person when they get saved, but
those changes may not be evident outwardly to others. It is wrong and
dangerous theologically to judge others by appearance alone. If a person
professes faith in the name of Jesus Christ, believing THE GOSPEL, then
we ought to accept them as saved, regardless of their lifestyle. Can an
unsaved person live a good lifestyle? Yes, of course! So that cannot be
used as evidence of salvation. The only commandment that we need to obey
to be saved is to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31b). The phrase “thy house”
simply means that the invitation to get saved was also extended to
the man's family. You need to keep in mind that the purpose of John's
comments in his Epistle is not to predicate salvation upon keeping God's
commandments.
God Intended Salvation To Be Free, Easy And Simple
I
grew up around Skid Row, tagging along with my preacher father to
various rescue missions in downtown Chicago. How does Steve Petite's
perverted plan of salvation relate to people on Skid Row? To the man
with a hammer in his hand, everything starts looking like a nail
sticking up! In Steve Pettit's cushy little religious world, making a
6-digit salary as executive president of BJU, a snob's life, it may seem
rational that salvation means living the Christian life. However, to a
poor man on Skid Row who has lost everything in his existence, and whose
only companion is a booze bottle, it is absurd to even attempt to apply
Steve Pettit's high-brow, rich man oriented, running the race bullcrap
plan of salvation! What a sad farce!!! The true Gospel reaches down in
humility to those broken men in the gutter, offering them eternal life
as a free gift, in exchange for nothing more than their faith in the
only begotten Son of God.
There is no nutty requirement for those men in the depths of sin to “faithfully run 'The Race',” nor that they “persevere” in holiness, ministry and in service to others! Mr. Pettit's bogus religious teachings are for the wealthy and snobby elite, not the common man. The Biblical Gospel is no more complicated than a father giving his son a bicycle for his birthday! It's a done deal. That son doesn't have to faithfully ride the bicycle for the rest of his life to obtain it! The Devil has blinded preachers by influencing them with religion. The problem is that preachers no longer “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.” Instead they listen to corrupt preachers, and become indoctrinated with the poison of heretics like John MacArthur (which Moody Church in Chicago promotes), Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, R.C. Sproul and Steve Pettit! Calvinism, the “turn from sins” heresy to be saved, and Lordship Salvation, are far more deadly and contagious than the Coronavirus!!! There is no fear, worry or uncertainty in the correct Gospel message—you simply come to God as a needy sinner, believing the 'Good News' of Jesus Christ' crucified, buried and risen—and you are immediately, irrevocably, safely, securely and eternally saved!!! Eternal life is the believer's eternal security! Once saved always saved!!!
Evangelist Ravi Zacharias wins the prize for the most vague, boring and wishy-washy preacher in history! I can listen to him for an hour and have no clue what he is trying to say! I think Dr. Sam Horn comes in second, the Vice President of Bob Jones University. I'll take Brother Lester Roloff (1914-1982) any day! Tragically, Harvest Baptist Church on Guam (a pseudo independent Baptist church) invited and honored Ravi Zacharias in June of 2017, bidding him Godspeed. Ravi's sinister ministry took in $47,353,235 in 2016! Not bad for an evil ecumenical ministry of sinful compromise, watered-down truth, and Satanic support of Mormonism. From listening to Ravi present his plan of salvation, it is very clear to me that he doesn't really know how to be saved. To me it appears to be all about the money!
Amen! The Bible teaches that a person can be saved
immediately, and know it immediately! You don't have to wait to prove
anything to yourself and anyone else. There is no probationary period,
to see how you live, in order to determine if someone is saved. The
Bible calls eternal life a “FREE GIFT” (Romans 5:15b). You don't
have to live in torment anymore dear friend. God wants you to KNOW,
beyond any shadow of a doubt whatsoever, that you have been born-again
and have eternal life dwelling in you. You have God's solemn PROMISE,
recorded in black and white in the inspired King James Bible. John
11:25, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”
Simply believe on the only begotten Son of God as your Savior! Acts
10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
