The Bible
teaches something very different . . .
“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.” —Acts 16:30-31
On their website's statement of faith, Chick
ministries
state concerning salvation:
“Salvation is the gift of God and includes
the forgiveness of sins, the imputation of the Righteousness of Jesus
Christ, and the gift of eternal life. Union with the triune God provides
all blessings in this life and the life hereafter. Salvation is received
by faith alone, apart from all good works and merit.”
SOURCE:
http://www.chick.com/information/general/statementoffaith.asp
Yet, Mr. Chick horribly contradicts himself in
every tract he writes when he REQUIRES lost sinners to “Be willing to
turn from sin” to be saved. No Sir! Why doesn't Mr. Chick
mention this in his statement of faith? Jesus plainly said in
Revelation 21:6, “I will give unto him
that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life FREELY.”
Jesus said in John 7:28, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Kindly, Jack Chick
perverts the Gospel. He not only asks sinners to admit that they've sinned,
but he also goes a step further and requires them to “be willing” to stop
committing those sins. That is a works-based salvation! The Word
of God NEVER requires anyone to attempt to turn from their sins to be saved. This doesn't mean that
anyone has God's permission to sin (Romans 3:31), it just means that salvation is of the
Lord, paid for completely by Jesus' blood sacrifice, and we have nothing to
do with salvation other than reaching out to receive it as a gift through faith in
Jesus Christ. Amen.
As the prophet Jonah pondered in the belly of
the whale, “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9b). Man has no
part in God's plan of salvation for man, except to get out of the way and
submit to God's righteousness, through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith.” Salvation is realizing that you
are a hopelessly condemned sinner under God's holy LAW, and running to God's
GRACE for escape, through faith in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ
crucified, buried and risen! Christ the Son made the full payment for your
debt of sin, so that God the Father could offer eternal life to you and me
as a free gift! What a wonderful God and Savior!
I don't like the hymnal lyrics which read:
“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe!” No, “JESUS PAID IT ALL, NOTHING
TO HIM I OWE!” That is Biblical! The Scriptures teach in Romans 12:1 that it
is our “REASONABLE SERVICE” to give our lives to Christ as a living
sacrifice in service. We have been “bought with a price,” and we ought to
follow Jesus as His disciple. 1st Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought
with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God's.” That “price” is the precious blood of Jesus! My friend, that
is exactly why you CAN (which you shouldn't) go out and live a horrible life
of sin, and still know assuredly that you have eternal life, which you can
NEVER lose! I could go out right now, God forbid, and murder a thousand
people, and still be 100% redeemed and on my way to Heaven. The reason why
is that my salvation wasn't purchased by my good behavior (nor lost by lack
thereof), it was purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the
sinless Lamb of God! Having said that, I have God's Holy Spirit dwelling in
me as His redeemed child (John 1:12-13; Romans 8:9), Who convicts me about
sin, so that I don't want to displease Him, because of the pain of soul
(religious scrupulosity) that it brings. That is one of the evidences that I
am saved. 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.”
I think cartoon evangelist Jack Chick
(1924-2016) was sincere in his beliefs and teachings, even though he was
very wrong about what it means to “repent.” Before he died, I visited his Chick Tract website and searched through his Statement of Faith, and NOT
ONCE did he even mention the word repentance. However, he did mention the
imputed righteousness of Christ (which is exactly right). It is my personal belief that God
was convicting Jack Chick about his doctrinal position, and he was trying to
save face by avoiding it in his Statement of Faith. That is simply my
opinion. In my ignorance, I admired Mr. Chick throughout my childhood, who won the hearts
of millions of people through his incredible art work evangelism. Any honest Bible student must admit that repentance in the Holy Bible,
concerning salvation, simply means “a change of mind.” Anyone who reads more
into that intended meaning is adding to the Scriptures! To be saved, you
simply change your mind to believe the Gospel. Repentance facilitates
believing. Thus, the object of repentance is always to BELIEVE the Gospel,
and never to turn away from a life of sin.
I never thought in a thousand years that I
would be exposing one of my childhood heroes of the faith as a wolf in
sheep's clothing, but I had to wake up one day and face the fact that Jack
Chick ADDS to the Gospel. In Mr. Chick's errant plan of salvation (it
is not God's), you cannot simply come to Christ as a needy sinner and
believe the GOOD NEWS of Christ's death on the cross, burial and bodily
resurrection the third day; but in addition, he says, you must BE WILLING TO
TURN FROM YOUR SINFUL WAYS! That is manmade reformation, not divine
Bible repentance! In the legitimate Bible plan of salvation, God saves you
and then the indwelling Holy Spirit changes you!
Respectfully, Jack Chick wrongly teaches that a sinner MUST be
willing to stop living a sinful lifestyle to be saved. According to Jack Chick, it's not enough to admit you're a guilty sinner,
you must also be willing to do something about it. That is unbiblical.
A changed life is the result of the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit
(Galatians 5:22-25), not a requirement to be saved. It's not
just a matter of semantics (subtle differences of opinion). John MacArthur, Justin Edwards, John
MacArthur, Paul Washer, Al Mohler, John Piper, Phil Johnson, Alistair Begg,
James MacDonald, Ray Comfort, Steve Lawson, Kirk Cameron, David Platt,
Justin Peters, Todd Friel, Jack Chick, Mike Ratliff, Ken Silva, and James
White all teach
the damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation!!!
THE GOSPEL can so easily be
corrupted by merely ADDING to or SUBTRACTING from it. It's not what you're doing
that gets you to Heaven my friend, it where you're looking—LOOK TO JESUS!
Any changes that God wants to be made in your life, once you receive Jesus
Christ as your Savior, is solely God's department. If you are saved, the
Holy Spirit WILL work in your soul; God is not an absent parent!
Please read the following
important
information from Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980).
Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) exposes the
heresy of “surrendering one's life to Christ” to be saved . . .
“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?
Mr. Chick states on one hand that he believes
“salvation is the gift of God,” but then on the other hand he teaches that a
person MUST “be willing to turn from sin” to be saved (see item #2)...
Jack Chick wrongly understands repentance to
mean ceasing from one's sinful lifestyle. Point #1 one in his tract is to
admit one's sinfulness. But that's not good enough for Jack Chick, he ADDS
Point #2, which requires sinners to be willing to stop living in sin to be
saved. It is greatly misleading. The Holy Bible doesn't teach what Jack Chick is
teaching.
We must analyze Chick Tracts based upon
their individual content. The above back cover is the same on ALL
Chick Tracts! Notice what Jack Chick requires the sinner to pray in
order to be saved: “I am willing to turn from sin.” Since Mr. Chick has made this a separate
point from admitting one's sinfulness, he clearly expects people to be
willing to forsake their sinful ways to be saved. Who can forsake their sins? The
only perfect Person I know is Jesus. The implication is that a person
must attempt to cease from their sinful activities to be saved. That
is REFORMATION, not REPENTANCE! This is known as the heresy of “Lordship Salvation,” which is nothing less than works salvation
and a sure road to hellfire.
Biblical salvation is when a person turns
toward Jesus Christ to be saved from their sin; NOT turning from their sin
in order to be saved. Romans 3:19 states, "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."
Carefully notice that a person is only required to turn to Jesus to be saved
from the condemnation of sin, and not from the act of sin itself. The Law
of God shows us our sinful condition, which causes us to realize that we are
GUILTY! Repentance is when we "turn" to Jesus to receive His free gift of
forgiveness and eternal life. To turn to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of sins is Biblical repentance. This is drastically different than what
Jack Chick is teaching, i.e., that a person is required to be willing to
turn from the act of sin itself to be saved. You won't find the phrases
"repent of sin" or "turn from sin" anywhere in the Bible. Please read,
What is Biblical Repentance?
Jack Chick is no better than Benny Hinn who
teaches the EXACT same perverted plan of salvation...
Dear Lord Jesus,
I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth 2,000
years ago. I believe you died for me on the cross and shed Your blood
for my salvation. I believe you rose from the dead and ascended on high.
I believe You are coming back again to earth. Dear Jesus, I am a sinner.
Forgive my sin. Cleanse me now with Your precious blood. Come into my
heart. Save my soul right now. I give you my life. I receive You now
as my Savior, my Lord, and my God. I am Yours forever, and I will serve
You and follow You the rest of my days. From this moment on, I
belong to You only. I no longer belong to this world, nor to the enemy
of my soul. I belong to You, and I am born again.
Amen! [emphasis added]
SOURCE:
http://www.bennyhinn.org/salvation
Hinn teaches Lordship Salvation! Where
does the Bible say that we have to serve Jesus to be saved? Where does
the Scriptures require us to give Jesus our life to be saved? It
doesn't! Jack Chick and Benny Hinn teach the same garbage. Don't
you dare criticize Benny Hinn if you support Jack Chick!!! Salvation
is receiving; NOT giving. I supported Jack Chick's ministry for years,
but after much convicting by the Holy Spirit have been forced to face the
reality that Mr. Chick is teaching the damnable heresy of Lordship
Salvation. Every tract published by Jack Chick requires a person to
"Be willing to turn from sin" to be saved. No Sir! That is works
salvation!!!
The problem is that a willingness to
turn from sin is a FRUIT (i.e. a result) of genuine repentance, and not a
prerequisite to salvation. People are being misled by Chick tracts. I think Pastor Roloff said it best,
"Real repentance is putting your trust in Jesus Christ so you will not
live like that anymore." 2nd Corinthians 5:17 tells us that
salvation brings a change. But, we must never require a change, or
even a willingness to change, as part of saving faith. To do so
perverts the Gospel message. Salvation is WITHOUT WORKS (Romans 4:5).
The only sin we literally need to forsake to be
saved is UNBELIEF, which is the only sin that can keep us out of Heaven.
A WARNING About the 'Fellowship
Tract League'
Again,
just as with Chick Tracts, we see the damnable heresy of Lordship
Salvation. Carefully notice the back cover of the tract "My
Best Friend," pictured to the right. The "bully" says he was saved
because "...I promised I wouldn't do those things anymore ... and he saved
me..." That is a lie! Salvation is NOT conditional upon a person
promising not to commit sin anymore. Salvation is receiving; NOT
giving! Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15;6:23). If we
have to do anything in exchange for salvation, then it's NOT a gift!
MOST of the Gospel tracts I have read lately
are garbage. I can't believe how corrupt and misleading so many tracts
are. What are we handing to people? Does a person have to
promise not to sin anymore to be saved? Does a person have to be sorry
for their sins to be saved? Does a person have to be willing to turn
from their sins to be saved? The answer is No, No, No!
The word “repent” is NOT found mentioned even
once in the Gospel of John; yet John stated the purpose of his Gospel was to
convince us that Jesus is the Son of God. John 20:31 states, “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.”
Obviously, to believe on Jesus is to repent. To turn to Jesus to be
forgiven of one's sins is repentance. You have already turned from
your sins, i.e., from the guilt and condemnation of sin, to the precious
Savior to be cleansed by His blood (1st Peter 1:18-19).
In fairness to the Fellowship Tract League,
they have many good tracts which are doctrinally acceptable; however, this
one is horrible, and there are others teaching Lordship Salvation.
Heresy is creeping into the churches by the hour. Sadly, it appears
that The Fellowship Tract League merely wants to make money, so they
offer varying plans of salvation for different buyers. I mean, if you
read their tracts there is a vast difference in the plan of salvation
conveyed from one tract to the next. Either a person has to clean up
their life, turn from sin, commit their life to Christ, forsake the world,
and make Jesus the absolute Lord of their life to be saved, or else eternal
life is completely a FREE GIFT with no strings attached. It cannot be
both, but The Fellowship Tract League sells two different Gospels.
Truly, the LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10).
Simply Believe the 'GOOD NEWS' to Be Saved
The only sin which a person needs to literally
forsake to be saved is the sin of UNBELIEF, because unbelief is the only sin
which can keep a person out of Heaven. John 3:18 says, "He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God." Please notice that the Bible doesn't say "He that
forsaketh not his sins is condemned." No, rather, God's Word says...
"He that believeth not is condemned..." The Biblical
focus is upon whether or not a person believes. Making a commitment,
surrendering one's life to Christ, and being willing to turn from sin have
NOTHING to do with receiving God's GIFT of eternal life. Jesus paid a
debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. You
don't make Jesus Lord; He is Lord!
“When you get
saved, you get saved not because you deserve it, but because you simply
let God save you and because you confess your own poor sinful state and
your inability to save yourself.”
SOURCE: Dr. Rice... Here is My Question,
by Dr. John R. Rice, pg. 304; 1962, Sword of the Lord Publishers;
ISBN: 0-87398-158-8
I couldn't agree more. This is what the
Bible teaches. Dr. Rice also states in his Gospel tract, What Must
I Do To Be Saved...
“The change in your
heart, sinner, is God's part and you may be sure He will attend to that.
Your part is to simply believe in Him. Whatever else is necessary in
your eternal salvation, the Lord attends to when you trust in Him, or
believe in Him.”
SOURCE:
What Must I DO To Be Saved, by Dr. John R. Rice
Amen! Dr. Rice is correct. We need
to leave the changing part to God; Our part is to simply believe.
At first, I pondered in my heart concerning
Chick tracks. I thought to myself, "So many little children love Chick
tracts... they're like eye-candy to people. Surely, Jack Chick must be
doing a good thing." I pondered back-n-forth for months on the issue,
because cartoon tracts are one of the best soul-winning tools in the world.
However, God convicted my heart concerning THE TRUTH. I began to
consider that the Jehovah's Witnesses cult have some of the best artwork and
captivating literature in the world; but that doesn't make it Biblical.
Jack Chick is a talented man; but he is perverting the Gospel. You don't have to "surrender your life" to Jesus Christ to be saved; but you
do need to BELIEVE on Him (i.e., trust Christ) to forgive your sins.
The big question we have to ask ourselves is:
If a person sincerely makes a commitment to try to live better (i.e., be
willing to turn from sin) in order to get saved, did they really get
saved? The answer is a resounding "No"! If you think you're
going to get saved by your own self-righteousness, think again! Jack
Chick is leading millions of people to believe that giving up sin is
required to be saved. If that be true, then salvation is no longer a
gift, because I was required to be willing to give up something to get it.
Like other heretics, Jack Chick does a play-on-words. He ought just be
honest and say what he implies. There can be no mistaking what “Be
willing to turn from sin” truly implies, i.e., if you want to be saved, you
are going to have to give up your sins! To be REQUIRED to be willing
to do something, in order to get something, makes it obligatory. In
sharp contrast to Chick's teachings; salvation is of God, conditioned only
upon our BELIEF (trust) on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior to forgive our sins
(John 1:12).
If an admitted sinner simply has childlike faith in
THE GOSPEL (i.e., GOOD NEWS) of Jesus
Christ—Who DIED on the cross, was BURIED and bodily RESURRECTED three days
later—they are saved immediately, securely and eternally. We are all
guilty sinners (Romans 3:19-23), and Jesus
is the precious redeeming Savior (John 3:16). It's not what
you're doing that gets you to Heaven, it's where you're looking—LOOK TO
JESUS!
Salvation is not doing your best, it is
having Christ's best put to your account through
receiving Him by faith.
God will not save anyone who is trying to
be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved.
Religion is man trying to reach God
through human effort, but Christianity is God trying to reach man by
the sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross.
