Who is the Biggest Sinner?

Who is the Biggest Sinner?

By David J. Stewar

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” —James 2:10

You are! I am! We all are! It is human nature to look upon the sins and faults of others, while often overlooking our own sins. This is hypocrisy. One of the worst deceptions is overlooking our own faults. The Word of God proclaims in James 2:10 that committing even ONE SIN makes a person GUILTY in God’s eyes of breaking every command in the Bible. This is a startling doctrine that is hardly touched upon in churches today.

This is why the divorce rate amongst professed Christians is equal to that of the heathen unsaved world. In filing for divorce, a person is saying: “My spouse is a bigger sinner than I am; therefore, I have a right to abandon, quit and break my marriage vows.” No you don’t! Divorce is a horrible sin rooted in one’s own hypocritical self-righteousness. Nearly everyone who files for divorce blames their spouse. This is evil. The Bible teaches that we are all as guilty as the vilest sinner in God’s eyes. This doctrine is virtually unheard of nowadays, because few preachers stress the Law of God anymore, which condemns all of us as guilty sinners before God.

“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” (Romans 3:19).

In the eyes of men, murdering someone is obviously worse than stealing their lunch; but as far as God is concerned we are all equally lacking any righteousness of our own. We are each as dirty and rotten as the other guy. Oftentimes what people perceive as acceptable, such as homosexuality and abortion, is an abomination unto God. If we SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, then we can only come to the conclusion that we are as sinful as the worst sinner in God’s eyes and it matters not who is more guilty. We are all guilty (Romans 3:10,23). The fact of the matter is that we are all sinners deserving of punishment in Hell (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15). Although we may never commit murder or rob a bank, that does not make us any less guilty of being a horrible sinner in the eyes of God.

People tend to selfishly judge themselves based upon what sins they personally DON’T commit. The Bible perfectly illustrates this in Jesus’ account of the Pharisee and the publican who went up to the temple to pray.

“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).

The Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14 made the grave mistake of comparing himself with other people, instead of measuring himself up against the holy Law of God. If we foolishly look at other people who commit worse sins than we do, then we naturally become self-righteousness and think we are “better” than that person. I tell you, you are as filthy and rotten as Adolf Hitler in God’s eyes, and so am I.

“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” (Isaiah 64:6).

Would to God that Christians in churches today would stop saying, “he has sinned” or “she has sinned” and that we’d all start saying, “we have sinned“. It is sinful pride that causes a wife to publicly criticize or divorce her husband. It is sinful pride that causes the manure spreading newsmedia to mercilessly destroy people’s lives. It is sinful pride that causes children to broadcast their parent’s dirty laundry to others. It is sinful pride that causes self-righteous hypocrites to meddle in other people’s marriages. I came to the realization one day as a believer that I am as rotten and sinful as the worst sinner. I am just as sinful as any adulterer, mass-murderer, homosexual, thief, liar or Satan worshiper…etc out there in the world. My sins are just as woeful and wrong. I have no room to condemn.

The Apostle Paul realized this great truth.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1st Timothy 1:15).

The Apostle Paul was a faithful missionary, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and helped people everywhere he went. Paul suffered horribly from shipwreck, hunger, turmoil and malicious beatings from his enemies; yet he kept going for God. Paul was a mighty preacher and a strong Christian. Although Paul was arguably the greatest missionary who ever lived, he still addressed himself as the “chief of sinners”. I don’t know too many believers today who are anywhere near as dedicated and committed to Jesus Christ as was Paul. If a good Christian like Paul esteemed himself as the “chief of sinners”, then we ought to feel the same way.

Judging versus Condemning

We must distinguish between condemning someone for their sins versus publicly exposing them because they are a threat to society. I publicly expose abortionists (murderers), homosexuals (sex perverts) and religious deceivers (liars) through my online ministry; but I do not condemn any of them personally. I am not condemning them; God’s Word condemns all of us (Romans 3:19-23). I am as rotten and sinful as the worst sinner. I am not self-righteous; I am trusting upon HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:21). I deserve to burn in Hell and there’s absolutely nothing good about me except the Lord Jesus Christ Who lives in my heart, thankfully.

If a local school has a teacher who is teaching teens how to have homosexual “fist sex”, which is happening nowadays in Massachusetts, then that evil person needs to be exposed. Godless heathens are quick to cry out, “Jesus said, ‘judge not lest ye be not judged.’ ” They conveniently fail to quote John 7:24 where Jesus stated, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” So we are supposed to judge, but rightfully so.

Ephesians 5:10-11 reads, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” The word “proving” in Ephesians 5:10 is the Greek word “dokimazo” and means “to test”. Thus, God wants us to test everything, to judge righteously, to discern whether or not something is acceptable to Him, i.e., in agreement with His holy Word. Certainly, it is NOT acceptable to teach children that it’s acceptable for Timmy to stick his fist in Johnny’s backside as an expression of love. We are living in a sicko society in America. Ephesians 5:11 commands God-fearing believers to reprove [Greek: elencho, i.e., “to expose”] all works of darkness. This is not condemning; but rather, judging righteously as we are supposed to do.

Conclusion

Would to God that more believers today would realize the extent of their wickedness in the eyes of God. We are a sorry bunch. Our only hope is the precious Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that He freely offers to us, paid for by His own shed blood.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1st Peter 1:18,19).

If it weren’t for the literal precious blood of Jesus Christ, we’d all be doomed to the Lake of Fire. God is a good God… “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Amen!

One day I had preached a rip-snortin’, shingle-pullin’, window-rattlin’, hell-fire and damnation sermon to a group of about 80 people in Chicago. After the sermon I stepped outside for some fresh air. I glanced over and noticed a gentleman smoking. He felt embarrassed and said, “I’m sorry reverend for smoking in front of you.” I replied, “I preach against sin from the pulpit; but away from the pulpit I’m just as much a sinner as anyone else. You’re in good company friend. You need not apologize.” He had wrongly esteemed that he was a bigger sinner than me; but I am the biggest sinner I know. If you want to see the biggest sinner, then just look in the mirror. You and I are as guilty of sin as anyone else.

Jesus’ Own Claim to be the Son of God Brings Muslim to Christ

Jesus’ Own Claim to be the Son of God Brings Muslim to Christ

Issue Date: July/August 2000
By David Daniels

You love Muslim people, and you want to witness to them. But when you talk to them about Jesus, they say, “Jesus was not God’s Son! He was just another one of the prophets.” In fact, they are likely to challenge you with the question: “Where did Jesus ever claim to be God’s Son?”

The question is vital, because they are taught that Jesus was a prophet of God, and that prophets do not lie. Where did Jesus Himself make the claim to be God’s Son?

The answer is right there, in God’s preserved words. Don’t try to use a corrupt modern version, it will let you down.

In John 10:36, Jesus said, “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”

Obviously, Jesus was being accused of blasphemy for claiming to be God’s Son. Where did He say it? In the previous chapter, John 9:35-38, where Jesus had just healed the man born blind, and the Pharisees cast the healed man out of the synagogue.

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.”

Ask your Muslim friend, “Only God can receive worship, right?” When he says yes, reply “Then Jesus clearly claimed to be God. Only as God could Jesus, who cannot lie, receive worship.”

These simple, straightforward Scriptures convinced a very good Muslim friend of mine. He is now a Christian, and going to heaven. May God give you success as you witness to your Muslim friends.

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“He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for HE SAID, I am the Son of God.” -Matthew 27:43

“I Need More Proof”

“I Need More Proof”

By David J. Stewart

“Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverb 1:20-22).

There is so much truth available today that you have to not want the information to remain in darkness. The same was true in Bible times. The Bible proclaims in Proverbs 1:20-22 that wisdom crieth out in the streets for people to listen; but they do not. It is interesting that God mentions “scorners” (i.e., critics) and “fools” who hate knowledge. The Bible is brutally honest. Many people are critics. No matter what you say, they simply won’t believe it because they don’t want to believe. The reason why is because they HATE knowledge (i.e., facts and evidence that PROVE them wrong).

They Didn’t Listen to Jesus Either

Jesus had the same difficulties with people, who refused to believe Him no matter what He said and did.

“Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?“ (Matthew 11:2,3).

“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?…” (John 14:7-9).

“Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32).

“Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matthew 27:41,42).

“And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself” (Luke 23:36,37).

“And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not…” (John 10:23-25)

“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” (Luke 23:39).

“And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven” (Luke 11:16).

We find a pattern in the Scriptures of unbelievers and doubtful believers who continually placed Jesus on trial “If Thou be the Son of God…”

Thus, it shouldn’t be surprising to us today that people refuse to believe the truth, even in the face of irrefutable evidence and facts. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, made the lame to walk and the blind to see; yet, many of the Jews rejected Him as the Christ and refused to believe His Word. Today, 2000 years later, scornful people are still rejecting Christ’s Word. The problem is NOT a lack of evidence or facts; but rather, a sinful heart of indifference and unbelief.

Wisdom Crieth in the Streets

The truth is available if people want it. Although the internet is plagued with heresy and lies, it is also still one of the last remaining bastions of truth. God always makes a way to get the truth to those who desire it. The truth is present amidst the lies, and those who have a good and honest heart will recognize it. There are thousands of informative books available freely on the internet that contain the truth about nearly every subject. We must have enough character to be willing to “buy the truth and sell it not” (Proverb 23:23). Fortunately, the two most important truths in our lives are also freely available, the precious Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The worst place to look for the truth is from the lying news-media, from the lying criminal politicians, from the lying public school system, or from today’s lying apostate churches. It is tragic that so many professed “Christians” get their doctrine from the latest New York Times Bestseller. Jesus commanded in John 5:39 “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!!“

Conclusion

There is proof of God all around us “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” This Scripture should scare you immensely if you are a professed atheist or Christ-rejecter. God won’t accept any excuses on Judgment Day. All the “proof” you need is outside your front door.

I have met countless skeptics and naysayers who demanded “proof” of the truth I attempted to share with them. It is sad and hypocritical that such people blindly accept the unproven theories of Evolution and the junk science of Global Warming; while simultaneously requiring documentable, irrefutable, incontestable proof of the validity of God’s Word. Why the double standard? it just goes to show that such people hate the truth and you simply can’t talk sense to them.

As I mentioned earlier, There is so much truth available today that you have to not want the information to remain in darkness.

Jesus – A Man of Sorrows

Jesus – A Man of Sorrows

By David J. Stewart

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…” (Isaiah 53:3)

Contrary to the health, wealth and prosperity image of Jesus Christ that Charismatics put forth, Jesus was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Jesus said He had no pillow to place His head upon at night… “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Jesus was homeless in all material senses.

Everywhere Jesus went, He was scorned and ridiculed because of His youth… “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?” (John 8:57). Yet, Jesus spake as no man had ever spoken… “The officers answered, Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). Jesus was a remarkable young man who spoke with Authority, i.e., the Truth of God’s Word; and He was hated for it… “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham” (John 8:40). “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not” (John 8:45). Jesus was sorrowful that the Jews didn’t believe His Word.

When Jesus went to His own town of Nazareth, they rejected Him… “And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country” (Luke 4:24). Jesus was angry and grieved because of the hardness of the Jew’s hearts… “And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.“

There were many places Jesus went, where the Bible says He DIDN’T perform any mighty works because of their unbelief… “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching” (Mark 6:5,6). No wonder Jesus was so grieved and sad; He wanted to heal the sick and help others, but oftentimes didn’t because of their unbelief.

In Luke 8:52, 53 we read that the crowd laughed Jesus to scorn when He said He could raise the dead… “And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.”

When Lazarus died, the Jews had no faith and it grieved Jesus’ heart. Instead of having faith that He could raise the dead, they criticized Jesus for allowing Lazarus to die in the first place…

“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave…” (John 11:33-38).

This troubled the Lord, understandably. No matter how many miracles Jesus performed, and how many people He healed, and how many good things He did to help others; the crowd always criticized Him, demanding more miracles and questioning His Word and deity…

“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him” (John 12:37).

Even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t believe Mary when she said Jesus had raised up from the dead as He had promised…

“And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen” (Mark 16:11-14).

Oh how the human heart is prone to unbelief… “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus loved people and wept over Jerusalem because of the unbelief of the Jews…

“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it” (Luke 19:41).

No matter what Jesus did to open the eyes of the Jews, they always came back wanting more proof…

“Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?“ (Matthew 11:2,3)

“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?…” (John 14:7-9)

“Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32).

“Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matthew 27:41,42).

“And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself” (Luke 23:36,37).

“And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not…” (John 10:23-25)

“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” (Luke 23:39)

“And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven” (Luke 11:16).

It is clear from the Scriptures why the Lord was a man of sorrows, because everywhere Jesus went the Jews mocked Him, rejected Him and refused to believe. They always demanded more evidence. Thankfully, many of the Jews who witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the grave DID believe (John 11:45). Even some of the Pharisees believed (John 12:42). However, the majority of the Jews hated Jesus and in their anger demanded His crucifixion, saying to Pilate who sought to release Jesus… “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). Literally, the Jews said to Pilate, “Kill Jesus and we’ll gladly take responsibility for it.” And so it was.

In John 16:33 Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jesus said in John 16:22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” We are living in a cruel, selfish and hateful world where people oftentimes rob us of our joy. People are as rotten as they can be in today’s American society. But Jesus said the day will come when He comes back to get us, that we may live with Him in Heaven, and we shall rejoice in the peace and rest that He will give to us. No one will ever make us sad again! What a day that will be!!! Although the world is a miserable place to live, God promises a bright and peaceful future in Heaven for the Christian believer, i.e., those who have been born-again in Christ Jesus.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” —John 16:20

Salvation is of the Lord

Salvation is of the Lord

By David J. Stewart

“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly… Salvation is of the LORD.” —Jonah 2:9

I was reading the Old Testament Book of Jonah the other day and stumbled across a truth that I never saw before. We often hear the Biblical story about Jonah and the Whale; but I’ve never heard anyone address the prayer which Jonah cried out from the whale’s belly.

Some critics of the King James Bible has quarreled over the word “whale” in the Bible. Matthew 12:40 in the New King James Version (NKJV) and the New International Version (NIV) errantly change “whale” to “fish”. The Greek word used in Matthew 12:40 is ketos. The scientific study of whales just happens to be – CETOLOGY – from the Greek ketos for whale and logos for study! The scientific name for whales just happens to be – CETACEANS – from the Greek ketos for whale! So “whale” is the correct translation, which the King James translators faithfully preserved.

Jonah’s Desperate Prayer from the Whale’s Belly

Here is what Jonah prayed to God from the inside of the whale’s belly:

“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” —Jonah 2:1-10

Jonah said something remarkable in his prayer to God. Jonah stated that people who trust in “lying vanities” for their salvation literally “forsake their own mercy”. That is to say, they forfeit the free gift of eternal life which God in His loving mercy has made available to all mankind through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. This would be equivalent to the Apostle Paul’s statement in Galatians 5:4 “Ye are fallen from grace.” There is ONLY one way to Heaven and that is through the precious redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19). Anyone who tries to merit Heaven some “other way” has fallen from the saving grace of God, and has forsaken the mercy which God has bestowed upon them through the gift of eternal life found only in Christ Jesus (Acts 4:10-12; John 10:1,9).

God’s Merciful Gift of Eternal Life Versus the Lying Vanities of a False Gospel

As I read Jonah’s plea to God, I couldn’t help but immediately think of all the religious people in the world today who trust in “lying vanities” to get them to Heaven. They have forsaken the very mercy that God has bestowed upon them through His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, the wrath of God abideth upon them (John 3:36).

Jonah knew that “SALVATION IS OF THE LORD” and pondered over it in the whale’s belly. I find it very interesting that Jonah was thinking about the merciful gift of God, and of those who trust in “lying vanities” which lead to Hellfire. You see, when Jonah was fleeing from God he was only thinking about himself; but now that Jonah is in woe and desperation, he is thinking about what is important to God—SOULWINNING!!! I believe Jonah was thinking about the unsaved inhabitants of Nineveh (where God had told him to go preach the Gospel). Jonah promised God to obey His will if his life was spared. God caused the whale to spew Jonah forth on dry ground. Interestingly, Jonah made a 3-day journey in just ONE DAY. Jonah ran all the way to Nineveh after God delivered him from being entangled in weeds in the whale’s belly in the depths of the sea. That’s quite a testimony.

Many religious people today have a false sense of peace, like the calm in the eye of a hurricane, because they’ve been lied to by some unholy priest or arrogant minister. Death and destruction await them after the calm is gone, i.e., when they enter into eternity in their sins without the Lord. The most dangerous thing you’ll ever do it trust what men say. You’d better do what Jesus commanded in John 5:39 “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!!” You’ll never go wrong listening to the Word of God.

The Bible is filled with warnings about listening to people:

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” —Psalm 118:8

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” —Proverb 16:25

“Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.” —Jeremiah 7:8

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” —Jeremiah 17:5

“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.” —Romans 3:4

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” —Matthew 15:8,9

Jonah knew that SALVATION IS OF THE LORD, and that those who trust in “lying vanities” are traveling on a highway to Hell. Phooey on what El Papa over in Rome says. Phooey on what your priest says (who’s saturated with sins himself). Phooey on that Lutheran minister who arrogantly and falsely claims to have power to forgive your sins—NO HE DOESN’T. The only One Who can forgive anyone’s sins has nail-scared hands and feet—Jesus Christ. Believe on Him!!!

What Will It Take?

Jonah was your typical person who forgets about God until tragedy strikes. It’s sad, but true, that most of us don’t think about what pleases God until we’re in the back of an ambulance or in a dangerous situation. Whereas Jonah was stubbornly fleeing from the will of God before; now he is in the morbid belly of a whale facing imminent death, crying out in repentance for God to deliver him. Whereas Jonah wasn’t concerned about fulfilling the will of God just days earlier; now he is desperately desiring to do God’s will and preach the Gospel to lost sinners who trust in “lying vanities.”

What will it take for us to surrender our lives to do God’s will? Why does God always have to send a whale to devour us, fiery serpents to bite us (Numbers 21:6), an evil spirit to afflict us (1st Samuel 16:14) or a thorn in the flesh to humble us (2nd Corinthians 12:7). Mankind is sinfully proud and stubborn. Deuteronomy 6:12 warns, “Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” It is so easy to become ungrateful for all the wonderful things that God has done for us. So often as believers we forget about the very God Who brought us forth out of darkness (bondage to sin) and gave to us new life in Jesus Christ.

Trust Upon the Lord Jesus Christ and Simply Say, “Thank You.”

Jonah said that he would sacrifice unto the Lord with “a voice of thanksgiving.” Mankind has no part in salvation other than to receive it through faith in Christ Jesus and say, “Thank you.” Salvation is receiving; not giving. We have zero righteousness of our own. Even our own self-perceived goodness is “filthy rags” in the sight of Almighty God (Isaiah 64:6). The very reason why God sent His Son to pay the price at Calvary for our sins is because we cannot save ourselves. If there are any sins at all on our eternal record, no amount of good can expunge them. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse our sins away forever (1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 7:14).

Jonah had a spirit of thanksgiving because he knew that salvation is based upon GOD’S MERCY and not upon man’s own self-righteousness or any other “lying vanities.” Salvation is of the Lord Jesus Christ. We just receive it and say, “Thank you.”

What Is the Gospel?

What Is the Gospel?
By Dr. Harry Ironside

“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” (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

It might seem almost a work of supererogation to answer a question like this. We hear the word “Gospel” used so many times. People talk of this and of that as being “as true as the Gospel“, and I often wonder what they really mean by it.

First I should like to indicate what it is not.

THE GOSPEL IS…
Not The Bible

In the first place, the Gospel is not the Bible. Often when I inquire, “What do you think the Gospel is?” people reply, “Why, it is the Bible, and the Bible is the Word of God.” Undoubtedly the Bible is the Word of God, but there is a great deal in that Book that is not Gospel.

“The wicked shall be turned into Hell with all the nations that forget God.” That is in the Bible, and it is terribly true; but it is not Gospel.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” That is in the Bible, but it is not the Gospel.

Our English word, “gospel” just means the “good spell,” and the word “spell,” is the old Anglo-Saxon word for, “tidings”, the good tidings, the good news. The original word translated. “Gospel,” which we have taken over into the English with little alteration is the word, “evangel,” and it has the same meaning, the good news. The Gospel is God’s good news for sinners. The Bible contains the Gospel, but there is a great deal in the Bible which is not Gospel.

Not The Commandments

The Gospel is not just any message from God telling man how he should behave. “What is the Gospel?” I asked a man this question some time ago, and he answered, “Why I should say it is the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, and I think if a man lives up to them he is all right.” Well, I fancy he would be; but did you ever know anybody who lived up to them? The Sermon on the Mount demands a righteousness which no unregenerate man has been able to produce. The law is not the Gospel; it is the very antitheses of the Gospel. In fact, the law was given by God to show men their need of the Gospel .

“The law,” says the Apostle Paul, speaking as a Jewish convert, “was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But after that Christ is come we are no longer under the schoolmaster.”

Not Repentance

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.

Not Giving Up The World

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.

THERE ARE SEVEN DESIGNATIONS OF THE GOSPEL in the New Testament, but over and above all these, let me draw your attention to the fact that when this blessed message is mentioned, it is invariably accompanied by the definite article. Over and over and over again in the New Testament we read of the Gospel. It is the Gospel not a Gospel. People tell us there are a great many different Gospels; but there is only ONE. When certain teachers came to the Galatians and tried to turn them away from the simplicity that was in Christ Jesus by teaching “another Gospel, “the apostle said that it was a different gospel, but not another; for there is none other than the Gospel. It is downright exclusive; it is God’s revelation to sinful man.

Not Comparative Religion

The scholars of this world talk of the Science of Comparative Religions, and it is very popular now-a-days to say, “We cannot any longer go to heathen nations and preach to them as in the days gone by, because we are learning that their religions are just as good as ours, and the thing to do now is to share with them, to study the different religions, take the good out of them all, and in this way lead the world into a sense of brotherhood and unity.”

So in our great universities and colleges men study this Science of Comparative Religions, and they compare all these different religious systems one with another. There is a Science of Comparative Religions, but the Gospel is not one of them. All the different religions in the world may well be studied comparatively, for at rock bottom they are all alike; they all set men at trying to earn his own salvation. They may be called by different names, and the things that men are called to do maybe different in each case, but they all set men trying to save their own souls and earn their way into the favor of God. In this they stand in vivid contrast with the Gospel, for the Gospel is that glorious message that tells us what God has done for us in order that guilty sinners maybe saved.

THE SEVEN DESIGNATIONS OF THIS GOSPEL are called…

1. The Gospel Of The Kingdom,

and when I use that term I am not thinking particularly of any dispensational application, but of this blessed truth that it is only through believing the Gospel that men are born into the Kingdom of God; We sing: “A ruler once came to Jesus by night, To ask Him the way of salvation and light; The Master made answer in words true and plain, ‘ye must be born again.’ ” But neither Nicodemus , nor you, nor I, could ever bring this about ourselves. We had nothing to with our first birth, and can have nothing to do with our second birth. It must be the work of God, and it is wrought through the Gospel. That is why the Gospel is called the Gospel of the Kingdom, for, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3,7). “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. . . And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you” (1 Peter 1:23-25. Every where that Paul and his companion apostles went they preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and they showed that the only way to get into that Kingdom was by a second birth, and that the only way whereby the second birth could be brought about was through believing the Gospel. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom. It also called

2. The Gospel Of God,

because God is the source of it, and it is altogether of Himself. No man ever thought of a Gospel like this. The very fact that all the religions of the world set man to try to work for his own salvation indicates the fact that no man would ever have dreamed of such a Gospel as that which is revealed in this Book. It came from the heart of God; it was God who “so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He first loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9,10). And because it is the Gospel of God, God is very jealous of it. He wants it kept pure. He does not want it mixed with any of man’s theories or laws; He does not want it mixed up with religious ordinances or anything of that kind. The Gospel is God’s own pure message to sinful man. God grant that you and I may receive it as in very truth the Gospel of God. And then it is called

3. The Gospel Of His Son,

Not merely because the Son went everywhere preaching the Gospel, but because He is the theme of it. “When it pleased God,” says the apostle, “who called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among the nations; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood” (Gal. 1:15,16). “We preach Christ crucified . . . the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23,24). No man preaches the Gospel who is not exalting the Lord Jesus. It is God’s wonderful message about His Son. How often I have gone to meetings where they told me I would hear the Gospel, and instead of that I have heard some bewildered preacher talk to a bewildered audience about everything and anything, but the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel has to do with nothing else but Christ. It is the Gospel of God’s Son. And so, linked with this it is called

4. The Gospel Of Christ,

The Apostle Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost of the risen Savior, says, “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” And He speaks of Him as the anointed One, exalted at God’s right hand. The Gospel is the Gospel of the Risen Christ. There would be no Gospel for sinners if Christ had not been raised. So the apostle says, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). A great New York preacher, great in his impertinence, at least, said some years ago, preaching a so-called Easter sermon, “The body of Jesus still sleeps in a Syrian tomb, but His soul goes marching on.: That is not the Gospel of Christ. We are not preaching the Gospel of a dead Christ, but of a living Christ who sits exalted at the Father’s right hand, and is living to save all who put their trust in Him. That is why those of us who really know the Gospel never have any crucifixes around our churches or in our homes. The crucifix represents a dead Christ hanging languid on a cross of shame. But we are not pointing men to a dead Christ; we are preaching a living Christ. He lives exalted at God’s right had, and He “saves to the uttermost all who come to God by Him.” The Gospel is also called

5. The Gospel Of The Grace Of God,

because it leaves no room whatever for human merit. It just brushes away all man’s pretension to any goodness, to any desert excepting judgment. It is the Gospel of grace, and grace is God’s free unmerited favor to those who have merited the very opposite. It is as opposite to works as oil is to water.” If by grace,” says the Spirit of God, “then it is no more works. . . but if it be of works, then is it no more grace” (Rom.11:6). People say, :But you must have both.” I have heard it put like this: there was a boatman and two theologians in a boat, and one was arguing that salvation was by faith and the other by works. The boatman listened, and then said, “Let me tell you how it looks to me. Suppose I call this oar Faith and this one Works. If I pull on this one, the boat goes around; if I pull on this other one, it goes around the other way, but if I pull on both oars, I get you across the river.” I have heard many preachers use that illustration to prove that we are saved by faith and works. That might do if we were going to Heaven in a rowboat, but we are not. We are carried on the shoulders of the Shepherd, who came seeking lost sheep When He finds them He carries them home on His shoulders. But there are some other names used. It is called

6. The Gospel Of The Glory Of God,

I love that name. It is the Gospel of the Glory of God because it comes from the place where our Lord Jesus has entered. The veil has been rent, and now the glory shines out; and whenever this Gospel is proclaimed, it tells of a way into the glory for sinful man, a way to come before the Mercy Seat purged from every stain. It is the Gospel of the Glory of God, because, until Christ had entered into the Glory, it could not be preached in its fullness, but, after the glory received Him, then the message went out to a lost world.

It is also called…

7. The Everlasting Gospel,

because it will never be superseded by another. No other ever went before it, and no other shall ever come after it. One of the professors of the University of Chicago wrote a book a few years ago in which he tried to point out that some of these days Jesus would be superseded by a greater teacher; then He and the Gospel that He taught would have to give way to a message which would be more suited to the intelligence of the cultivated men of the later centuries. No, no, were it possible for this world to go on a million years, it would never need any other Gospel than this preached by the Apostle Paul and confirmed with signs following; the Gospel which, throughout the centuries has been saving guilty sinners.

THE GOSPEL DECLARED

What then is the content of this Gospel? We are told right here, “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.” There is such a thing as merely believing with the intelligence and crediting some doctrine with the mind when the heart has not been reached. But wherever men believe this Gospel in real faith, they are saved through the message. What is it that brings this wonderful result? It is a simple story, and yet how rich, how full. “I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received.” I think his heart must have been stirred as he wrote those words, for he went back in memory to nearly thirty years before, and thought of that day when hurrying down the Damascus turnpike, with his heart filled with hatred toward the Lord Jesus Christ and His people, he was thrown to the ground, and a light shone, and he heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” And he cried, “Who art thou Lord?” And the voice said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” And that day Saul learned the Gospel; he learned that He who died on the Cross had been raised from the dead, and that He was living in the Glory. At that moment his soul was saved, and Saul of Tarsus was changed to Paul the Apostle. And now he says, “I am going to tell you what I have received; it is a real thing with me, and I know it will work the same wonderful change in you. If you will believe it. “First of all, “That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Then, “that He was buried.” Then, “that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

The Gospel was no new thing in God’s mind. It had been predicted throughout the Old Testament times. Every time the coming Savior was mentioned, there was proclamation of the Gospel. It began in Eden when the Lord said, “The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head.” It was typified in every sacrifice that was offered. It was portrayed in the wonderful Tabernacle, and later in the Temple. We have it in the proclamation of Isaiah, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are healed.” It was preached by Jeremiah when he said, “This is His Name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness” (Jer.23:6). It was declared by Zechariah when he exclaimed, “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones: (Zech.13:7) All through those Old Testament dispensations, the Gospel was predicted, and when Jesus came, the Gospel came with Him. When He died, when He was buried, and when He rose again, the Gospel could be fully told out to a poor lost world. Observe, it says, “that Christ died for our sins.” No man preaches the Gospel, no matter what nice things he may say about Jesus, if he leaves out His vicarious death on Calvary’s cross.

CHRIST’S DEATH – NOT HIS LIFE

I was preaching in a church in Virginia, and a minister prayed, “Lord, grant Thy blessing as the Word is preached tonight. May it be the means of causing people to fall in love with the Christ-life, that they may begin to live the Christ-life.” I felt like saying, “Brother, sit down; don’t insult God like that;” but then I felt I had to be courteous, and I knew that my turn would come, when I could get up and give them the truth. The Gospel is not asking men to live the Christ-life. If your salvation depends upon your doing that, your are just as good as checked for Hell, for you never can live it in yourself. It is utterly impossible. But the very first message of the Gospel is the story of the vicarious atonement of Christ. He did not come to tell men how to live in order that they might save themselves; He did not come to save men by living His beautiful life. That, apart from His death, would never have saved one poor sinner. He came to die; He “was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.” Christ Jesus gave Himself a ransom for all. When He instituted the Lord’s Supper He said, “Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. . . This cup is the new covenant in My Blood” (1 Cor. 11:24,25) There is no Gospel if the vicarious death of Jesus is left out, and there is no other way whereby you can be saved than through the death of the blessed spotless Son of God.

Someone says, “But I do not understand it.” That is a terrible confession to make, for “If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (2 Cor. 4:3). If you do not see that there is no other way of salvation for you, save through the death of the Lord Jesus, then that just tells the sad story that you are among the lost. You are not merely in danger of being lost in the Day of Judgment; but you are lost now. But, thank God, “the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” and seeking the lost He went to the cross. “None of the ransomed ever know How deep were the waters crossed; Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, Ere He found the sheep that was lost.”

THE NECESSITY OF DEATH

HE HAD TO DIE, to go down into the dark waters of death, that you might be saved. Can you think of any ingratitude more base than that of a man or woman who passes by the life offered by the Savior who died on the Cross for them? Jesus died for you, and can it be that you have never even trusted Him, never even come to Him and told Him you were a poor, lost, ruined, guilty sinner; but since He died for you, you would take Him as your Savior? HIS DEATH WAS REAL. He was buried three days in the tomb. He died, He was buried, and that was God’s witness that it was not a merely pretended death, but He, the Lord of life, had to go down into death. He was held by the bars of death for those three days and nights, until God’s appointed time had come. Then, “Death could not keep its prey, He tore the bars away.” And so the third point of the Gospel is this, “He was raised again the third day according to the Scriptures. “That is the Gospel, and nothing can be added to that. Some people say, “Well, but must I repent?” Yes, you may well repent, but that is not the Gospel. “Must I not be baptized?” If you are a Christian, you ought to be baptized, but baptism is not the Gospel. Paul said, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel” (1 Cor. !:17) He did baptize people, but he did not consider that was the Gospel, and the Gospel was the great message that he was sent to carry to the world. This is all there is to it. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

THE GOSPEL ACCEPTED

Look at the result of believing the Gospel. Go back to verse two, “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” That is, if you believe the Gospel, you are saved; if you believe that Christ died for your sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again, God says you are saved. Do you believe it? No man ever believed that except by the Holy Ghost. It is the Spirit of God that overcomes the natural unbelief of the human heart and enables a man to put his trust in that message. And this is not mere intellectual credence, but it is that one comes to the place where he is ready to stake his whole eternity on the fact that Christ died, and was buried, and rose again. When Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED” the work of salvation was completed. A dear saint was dying, and looking up he said, “It is finished; on that I can cast my eternity.” Upon a life I did not live, Upon a death I did not die; Another’s life, another’s death, Is take my whole eternity.” Can you say that, and say it in faith?

THE GOSPEL REJECTED

What about the man who does not believe the Gospel? The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15,16). He that believeth not shall be devoted to judgment, condemned, lost. So you see, God has shut us up to the Gospel. Have you believed it? Have you put your trust in it; is it the confidence of your soul? Or have you been trusting in something else? If you have been resting in anything short of the Christ who died, who was buried, who rose again, I plead with you, turn from every other fancied refuge, and flee to Christ today. Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.

“O, do not let the word depart, And close thine eyes against the light; Poor sinner, harden not thy heart, Be saved, O tonight.”

***Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951), a godly Fundamentalist author and teacher for many years, served as pastor of Chicago’s Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948.***

That Which Is Highly Esteemed Among Men

That Which Is Highly Esteemed Among Men

By David J. Stewart

“And he [Jesus] said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” ―Luke 16:15

The above Scripture is followed by the literal account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The Bible contrasts the extravagant and pleasurable life of a rich man verses the sorrowful existence of a poor beggar named Lazarus. In the end, the Bible tells us that the rich man went straight to Hell to be tormented in flames; but Lazarus was escorted by angels into Abraham’s Bosom (i.e. Paradise). There is not a clearer passage of Scripture in the Word of God, testifying to the vanity of earthly fame and fortune. The rich man had it all―health, wealth, prosperity, power, security, friends, and the respect of his peers; BUT, he didn’t have Jesus. In sharp contrast, Lazarus had nothing except Jesus. He was sick and the Bible says that dogs came and licked his wounds. Lazarus ate from the rich man’s garbage, whatever he could scrape together. The Bible tells us that the rich man was consumed in his mind concerning building bigger storage barns for his grain, and laying up massive wealth for his old age; BUT, his retirement never came because God ended his life. The selfish rich man never gave thought to helping Lazarus in any way, nor did he think about God nor the eternal destiny of his soul.

Only one life ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

Jesus told these things to the Pharisees, because they were self-righteous rich men, who regarded neither Jesus Christ, nor the poor. Many people are no different today. Everything that this sinful world highly esteems is void of Jesus Christ. We hear the holy name of Jesus defamed on a daily basis in public, on TV, at work,…etc; BUT, we never hear anything good said about the precious Saviour. The Pharisees were honored and respected everywhere they went, as if they were some type of heroes; but the Pharisees didn’t honor Jesus Christ at all. This is seen much today in the world. Many people adore and praise their Catholic priests, Cardinals, and the Pope, while these very imposters trample upon the finished work of Christ by requiring good works for salvation. These men are all vile, dirty, rotten sinners; yet, they are reverenced as if they were something special above the point of sinners. They are not! Only Jesus is special. Only Jesus is to be honored. It is Jesus Christ alone who is to be praised!

God is not impressed by superficial manifestations of religious piety. God looks upon the heart, as we read in Luke 16:15 above. So many religious leaders today are on their way to Hellfire, having never been born again through faith in Christ Jesus. They have churchianity without Christ. They have religion without truth. The average person today honors ministers and priests as if they are good people; but the Bible says in Mark 10:18 “…there is none good but one, that is, God.” No matter how much we may admire a man or woman of God, we must never forget that they are still vile, dirty, rotten sinners at best, just like you and me (Romans 3:10,19-23).

Most things that are important to the average person today won’t matter a hill-of-beans 100 years from now, or 10,000 years from now for that matter. Consider how many people have given their lives to music, singing, dancing, trading stocks, operating a tavern, computer software,…etc. What will all that matter when you stand before God on Judgment Day? Are you saved? What are you doing with your life for God now? I didn’t ask you if you were religious, phooey on that. I want to know if you’ve been born again? Have you realized your sinful condition, i.e. your guilt and condemnation under God’s holy Law? And have you come to Jesus by faith, trusting upon His precious blood sacrifice to wash away your sins? It’s as simple as this: we are sinners, and Jesus is the Saviour! Won’t you believe upon Him now? Acts 16:31 “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…“

Christian Priorities

Life is short. The carnal world has their priorities backwards, and many professed ‘Christians’ as well. So many people today are consumed with making more and more money. No Christian should ever work overtime at the expense of spending time with their families. Don’t let greed force you to work overtime. Live within your means. It is ridiculous for anyone to work 3 jobs just to double their bank accounts  more quickly. What is admirable about killing yourself? 1st Timothy 6:10 tells us that the “love of money” is the root of ALL evil. Will any of that money matter 100 years from now when you’re dead and gone? No! The Christian believer needs to keep Heaven in view at all times, and rise above the fleeting, frail, and temporal things of this earthly life. Only one life ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

We often hear about the latest New York Times “Best Seller”, but that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination (i.e. intensely hated) to God. James Van Praagh is a false teacher, who openly denies Jesus Christ in his New York Times “Best Seller”, Talking to Heaven. Millions of Americans idolize Oprah Winfrey; yet she openly denies that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to Heaven. Oprah should be considered as one of the most dangerous women in the World! Americans idolize the wicked, especially Hollywood movie stars and Rock ‘n’ Roll singers. These people are serving the Devil, and are highly esteemed amongst men; BUT they are an abomination to God Almighty! It is a shame, and a sin, that people are always looking for the next book to enhance their mind while the Word of God sits unread in their home (if they even have a Bible). King David said in Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Yet, where do people today look for guidance? They look to heretics like John Edward, Dr. Phil, and Pat Robertson. Pat Robertson even practices clairvoyance on his TV program, just like the heathen psychics do.

John the Baptist was despised by the average people in his day, and would no doubt live as a recluse if he were alive today. John lived in the wilderness, and lived off the land, eating wild locusts and honey for food, and was clothed in camel’s hair. I have no doubt that John wanted to live for the Lord, and wanted to escape the sinful temptations (which abound in all bigger cities). I admire people who forsake the city, and move to a smaller town to find a simpler life, where people still have character, backbone, integrity, and honesty. We see what happened to Lot and his family in the Old Testament when they moved to Sodom. The carnal world today wants materialistic things―cars, homes, vacations, boats, cruises, tech-toys, and the pleasures of life; BUT, God wants us to OBEY the Bible.

That Which is Despised Among Men is Highly Esteemed By God

The life of a small baby is despised by many people, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the doctors who perform the abortions, the Nazis who operate the abortion clinics, Planned Herodhood, and every mother who signs to have her own baby tortured to death. It’s interesting that a mother’s signature is required for her to have an abortion. It just seals her doom on Judgment Day when God asks her to identify the signature consenting to her baby’s death. ONLY God can create life, and no man or woman has a right to kill that life (Exodus 20:13). We are a selfish generation of pleasure-seekers in the United States, who only think about what’s best for us, even if it means killing other people to have our own way. Aborted babies are despised in the eyes of the abortionists and lawmakers as subhuman life; but those babies are precious and highly esteemed in the eyes of their divine Maker.

Many women are postponing having children because they have chosen to pursue a career instead. This is so tragic. Money should NEVER be a factor in any decisions we make in life. Oh, the misery which the love of money brings “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” -1st Timothy 6:10 So many women are deciding not to have children, even murdering their own babies by an abortion, so they can pursue a career to MAKE MONEY. How sad! How contemptible! The sorry excuse many women buy into is that they’ll be able to provide a better life for their child after securing a good career. This is simply not the case, as an aging mother with a career will struggle tremendously trying to be a good mother too. 1st Timothy 5:14 instructs women that they should be at home, having children in a Christian marriage, taking care of the family which is the core unit of every society, and not causing trouble for her husband. This is biblical. It’s not just the old-fashioned way, it’s the right way! Motherhood is despised by feminists today, who are increasingly choosing careers over being mothers. God is not pleased with a career woman who neglects her duty as a mother. A woman’s main place is in the home.

Only one life ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

We read in 1st Corinthians 1:28 “And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” The U.S. Army continually advertises that they’re “Looking for a few strong men.” Well, God is “Looking for a few WEAK men.” “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” -2nd Corinthians 12:10. God bypasses the proud, the strong, the able, and the self-sufficient―for they glory in themselves and their own abilities. Rather, God looks for the weak, the despised, the poor, and the underdogs―that Jesus Christ may receive all the glory. Oh that I may be weaker, more despised, and rejected of men―that God may receive glory from my life which He has given to me. Only one life ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

This sinful world places no value on eternal things. Soulwinning means nothing to the average Christian, let alone to the average person. As a Christian, I value the souls of men, especially lost ones. Whereas 99% of this world only value’s their pocketbooks. I have never made a penny through my ministry, in any way, and never plan to. I am serving the Lord by reaching out to others with THE TRUTH. I am just dirt, a hell-deserving sinner saved by God’s grace, who God in His wondrous power saved through the precious sin-cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. My sins have been washed away, thank God! I am an adopted child of the King! Oh what peace this sinful world forfeits by not knowing the precious Saviour.

What will all of Bill Gates’ billions of dollars benefit him when he stands before God as an unbeliever? It won’t. What will the dazzling physical beauty and splendor of all those Hollywood actors and actresses matter when their bodies crumble to dust once again in the soil? It will be too late then. The most beautiful men and women in this world are nothing more than dirt, and that is where their bodies will return when they die. There were billions of beautiful people alive 125 years ago, but they’re ALL DEAD NOW! There are an estimated 6.4 billion people alive today! Did you ever stop to realize that EVERY ONE OF THEM WILL BE DEAD IN 125 YEARS? Yet, this sin-cursed world worships the human body, and cares not for the soul. Fitness centers and gyms abound everywhere, so people can exercise their bodies for their own health; BUT, what about the soul? Are you saved? Are you a soulwinner for Jesus Christ? Are you allowing God’s Holy Spirit to live a righteous life through you? The flesh will die; but the spirit returns to God for judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Hebrews 9:27). Muscles and physical beauty are highly esteemed among men; but this earthly body is only temporal, frail, prone to eventual sickness, and cannot live for long. Are you ready to meet your divine Maker?

Let me clarify a little bit. There is nothing wrong with a woman working a job, or with people exercising, or to invest in stocks; BUT, these all become sinful when they take precedence over getting saved, seeking the truth, raising a family, and serving God. It’s all a matter of priorities. Jesus stated in Luke 12:20,21 “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” The average person is foolish, and thinks that God will bless them for sending their money to some greedy televangelists… Think again! We are commanded to be rich toward God; NOT toward televangelists! We should personally give of our time, resources, and money to genuine churches that reach out to the poor, preach the King James Bible, actively go soulwinning, and take a stand against sins in the community. By the way, good luck finding such a church anymore. The best course of action is for each believer to serve God themselves, on a personal level, and stop giving money to ministries who pamper themselves with splendid Rolex, new cars, nice homes, vacations, and the luxury life. None of the Apostles lived high-on-the-hog.

The Word of God is despised in America. The Word of God was despised so much by the Communist social thinkers behind the heathen Public School System, that they banned the Bible and prayer from their schools. America despises the commandments of God. This is why Las Vegas boasts itself as “SIN CITY”. Americans go there to gamble, fornicate, and commit every sin imaginable in exchange for money. And yet we hypocritically claim “In God We Trust“. No we don’t! God hates Las Vegas; but Americans highly esteem such filth, indecency, and debauchery. God hates Hollyweird; but American’s have made Hollywood’s sex-pig producers and actors filthy rich―idolizing the sexual immorality, cursing in God’s name, lewd adulterous scenes, and vile filth from Hell. How can we have the audacity to claim, “One Nation Under God“? The only “god” which America worships nowadays is Satan. If you don’t believe me, then maybe you’ll be surprised to know that there are even Churches Of Satan in America. The Iranians are correct when they label America as “The Great Satan“! Why does this term offend American’s so much?

What is Important to You?

Nothing will matter 10,000 years from now accept 3 things:

1. Did you die in the Lord and go to Heaven (Revelation 14:13), or did you die in your sins and go to Hell (John 8:24)?
2. What did you do for Jesus’ and the Gospel’s sake while you live on the earth as a Christian (Daniel 12:3; 1st Corinthians 3:11-15)?
3. What kind of life did you live as a Christian? (2nd Corinthians 5:10)

There will be many tears of sorrow in Heaven, over failures in this earthly life―loved ones and friends who went to Hell because we didn’t witness to them, people we hurt or who hurt us, wrongs not righted,…etc. The heathen world teaches its own by example to be tough, hard-hearted, critical, calloused, selfish, and thick-skinned; BUT, we read in Ephesians 4:31,32 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” The Pharisees looked like something special on the outward appearance, but Jesus said they had rotting dead corpses within them “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” -Matthew 23:27. Are you serving the Devil in Jesus’ name? So many people today seem to have-it-all-together on the outside, but they are hellbound in unbelief and saturated with sins within.

Everything in this life is backwards. Men trust in works to save them; but God only accepts faith alone in Jesus Christ (because of the blood that He shed for our sins). Most men think that strength is what’s important; but God is looking for weakness (so that He may be strong in us). Most people think God gave the 10 Commandments to be kept; but they were given to expose our sinfulness when we break them (and thus reveal our desperate need for a Saviour). Most people view the Bible as just another religious book; BUT it is the Word of God.

What will it matter if you spend your entire life making money, and lay up a big 401K retirement, and then you die and go to Hell for eternity? So many people eat, drink, and sleep the stock market, or their mutual funds, or how they’re going to beat-the-game. As believers, we don’t need to play the world’s game. I have known several believers who fell by the wayside because of the love of money. The greatest things in life are not things. What matters to God is whether or not you have been born again, i.e. whether or not you’ve come to Jesus Christ as a sinner, believing upon Him for forgiveness. Many people today claim to be Christians, but they are not. They claim to have faith in Jesus, but they don’t. Are you really a Christian? If you’re a Christian, then are you a soulwinner? That’s what’s really important to God. Is your heart right with God? Christianity is being exploited nowadays at unprecedented levels, so imposters can make lots of money. Any pastor, Bible teacher, or evangelist who doesn’t preach about soulwinning, repentance, holy living, the judgment of God upon sinners, Hellfire, the blood of Jesus, and being born again is a BIG FAKE!!! It’s the TRUTH that impresses God (John 4:24), not some fancy-pants preachers.

Only one life ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

Does the Bible Teach “Once Saved, Always Saved”?

Does the Bible Teach “One Saved, Always Saved”?
By David J. Stewart

“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 10:43; Romans 10:13)

Yes, and I will prove it from the Bible!!!

A man recently wrote to me, attacking me, saying that I am a false prophet, on my way to Hell, and am sinfully proud for teaching “Once saved, Always Saved” i.e. the eternal security of believers. He provided a list of numerous Scriptures as alleged evidence that salvation can be lost. I would like to examine each of the Scriptures he provided, and honestly consider what they really mean.

1st Corinthians 15:1-2

“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.”

Please look down a few verses at 1st Corinthians 15:12-14

“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”

It is clear from verses 12-14 that the Apostle Paul is warning about unsaved religious people in the church in verses 1 and 2; not true believers in danger of losing their salvation. Paul is simply warning the churchgoers at Corinth that they had better examine their faith (see 2nd Corinthians 13:5), because some of them were denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Obviously, such a person would not be saved. There are many professed “Christians” today who deny the deity of Jesus Christ, the Godhead and the Virgin Birth. They are unsaved modernist imposters.

Once again, we clearly see how critics of eternal security pervert the Scriptures to their own destruction.

Hebrews 3:6 and 3:14

“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.”

Proponents of losing one’s salvation are guilty once again of taking Scripture out of context. Please consider Hebrews 3:14-19

“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Carefully notice in verses 18 and 19 the words “believed not” and “unbelief”. Clearly, these Scriptures are speaking about false Christians who were never saved to begin with; not about believers losing eternal life. America’s churches are filled with phonies, who act religious, talk with spiritual lingo, and think they are saved; but they are on their way to hell in unbelief.

Many of the Jews in the wilderness died in unbelief and went to Hell.

“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” (Hebrews 4:2).

So what does Hebrews 3:6 exactly mean? It means that a truly born-again person can never be unborn, a change has taken place that is irreversible, and one’s continued faith in the Lord is evidence of it. A true believer won’t deny the Lord at some later time in life. Continuing faith is evidence of salvation; not a means to maintaining it. One who denies Jesus Christ, claiming that they “used to believe”, is a liar. No one ever lost their salvation. Certainly, many people who once possessed the philosophy of Christianity, or the organization of religion, or the culture of Christianity, may turn away from it and deny the faith. They simply gave up their churchianity; but they never had Christianity. Most religious people today do NOT have the Truth of God’s Word; but rather, the traditions and philosophies of sinful men.

Hebrews chapter 3 is speaking about unsaved Jews who went to Hell, because they heard Moses preach the Gospel, but had no faith (Hebrews 4:2). This has nothing to do with Christians.

Hebrews 10:19-31, 38-39

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Carefully notice Hebrews 10:38,39

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

The issue here is faith. These Scriptures plainly speak about unbelievers, i.e. fake Christians who go back into the world because they never had faith in Jesus Christ in the first place. Our churches are filled with such hypocrites today. Hebrews 10:29 mentions those who have “trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing.” No true Christian would do that. Believers trust Jesus Christ. This is all the writer of Hebrews is saying. One who departs from the Christian faith never had faith to begin with, and is hellbound to perdition in the Lake of Fire. No Christian can ever face perdition. Eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 5:15; 6:23). Salvation is without works (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8,9).

Hebrews 10:26 states:

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.”

This verse speaks of the person who has heard the Gospel and rejected it. If, as those who teach you can lose salvation claim, Hebrews 10:26 applies to Christians, then we’re all in serious trouble. If there “remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” for the believer, then we’re all going to Hell. There’s no such thing as a believer who doesn’t sin. In fact, the Bible defines a “just man” as one who sins repeatedly; but keeps getting back up to live for God.

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again” (Proverb 26:16).

Wicked people don’t even try to live for God, because they have not the Holy Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). Christians, at best, are horrible sinners trying to live right, falling and getting up, falling and getting up, till the Lord returns or takes us home to glory (Romans 7:15-24). All Christians sin every day. This is the great folly of those who claim that salvation can be lost. If living in sin causes a person to lose salvation, then we’re all going to Hell, because we are all dirty, rotten, lousy sinners.

Hebrews 6:4-6

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

These Scriptures are speaking about unbelievers, who have heard the Gospel, have experienced the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and have had the opportunity to get saved; but have deliberately rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

It is ridiculous to claim that these Scriptures apply to believers, because the Bible uses the word “impossible” in Hebrews 6:4. Is it impossible for believers to repent of their sins and get right with God? Did not Peter repent after denying and cursing the name of Jesus? Yes, he did. Did not king David repent after impregnating Bathsheba in an adulterous affair and murdering her husband, Uriah? Yes, he did. 1st John 1:9 promises that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So, clearly, Hebrews 6:4-6 is speaking about the unsaved. A person who rejects the Saviour is hellbound, and there is no other hope for them apart from Christ.

James 5:19-20

“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”

James 1:1 reveals that the Apostle was writing to his Jewish brethren.

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.”

As is the case today, there were many unsaved people amongst the saved. Most of the Scriptures that the proponents of losing salvation claim are Scriptures speaking about unsaved religious people in the church. It is a grave mistake to interpret any Scripture without taking into consideration the truth that eternal life is a free gift.

Ephesians 2:8,9 state:

“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.”

Ironically, proponents of losing salvation profess to believe in the gift of God; yet they contradict themselves horribly when they simultaneously teach that salvation can be lost through sin. By every definition of the term “gift“, it is something freely given, requiring nothing in return.

To say that salvation can be lost is to call God a liar. Repeatedly, in hundreds of Scriptures, the Word of God tells us that one who believes on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins SHALL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13; John 3:16).

John 15:2,6

“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit… If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

I’ve heard some preachers say this Scripture refers to premature death; however, I know plenty of believers who don’t go soulwinning, and don’t seem to care, and are living selfish lives. They should all be dead if that’s what John 15:2 and 6 mean; but they’re not. Clearly, the Scriptures mean something different, otherwise Christians would be nearly extinct.

Notice that John 15:6 says “as a branch“. Jesus was likening a fruitless believers to a fruitless tree. Most believer’s today are unproductive. Jesus told the parable of the seeds in Luke 8:5-15. There is no mention of premature death for believers who fail to go soulwinning. Jesus spoke of selfish believers who are choked by the cares and riches of this life (Luke 8:14), and never win anybody to Christ. Others are immature, having no roots, and are easily discouraged and quit. 1st Corinthians 3:15 teaches that some believers will receive nothing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

2nd Corinthians 5:10 states:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

There is nothing to indicate that John 15:1-7 are speaking about losing salvation. Clearly, these Scriptures are speaking about believers who fail to abide in Christ, and are thus rendered useless for God. The key to the Christian life is abiding in Christ by abiding in the Word of God. Believers with an honest and good heart will obey the Scriptures by sharing the Gospel with the lost. Carnal believers who do not will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:12).

1st John 3:6 and 9

“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him… Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

This Scripture speaks of walking in the Spirit:

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

It has nothing to do with salvation, or losing salvation. Salvation cannot be lost. Only a believer has the Holy Spirit indwelling them (Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 3:16). The unsaved walk in the flesh continually, because they have not the Spirit of God in them. That’s all 1st John 3:6 and 9 are talking about. It is impossible for any Christian to go even a day without sinning. Only a self-righteous hypocrite would claim otherwise.

Luke 12:42-46

“And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.”

These Scriptures warn of coming judgment upon the religious wicked, who know not Christ. We see this plainly taught in Matthew 7:21-23

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

No Christian will ever lose their salvation, nor be cast into Hell. If a believer commits adultery and murder, they will still go to Heaven. King David is an evidence of this Biblical fact. Certainly, no believer has God’s permission to sin, and the Lord will chastise His own (Hebrews 12:8). It is tragic that so many ignorant people are tampering with the Bible, wrongly dividing the Word of Truth. The important rule is to never interpret a single Scripture by itself, without taking into consideration the entire spectrum of Scriptures contained in the Bible. If your interpretation agrees with all other Scriptures, then you have found the correct interpretation.

Eternal life is a free gift, not conditioned upon the lifestyle we choose to live. Certainly, something is very wrong with a man who professes to be saved, but is still living a sinful life without Holy Spirit conviction. He is likely not saved; but Scriptures are filled with such examples of carnal believers who ARE saved, such as when Peter cursed and denied the name of Jesus publicly.

For anyone to teach that unfaithful believers will lose their salvation and burn in Hell goes contrary to other Scriptures in the Bible. Ephesians 2:8,9 plainly state that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. Salvation is not of works, lest any man show boast. It is the gift of God. If living a faithful life is required to keep salvation, then we DO have grounds to boast, because we are working hard to make God happy and stay saved. The Bible condemns such thinking and tells us that salvation is a gift, freely received by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

How absurd that anyone would teach that believers must remain faithful, work hard for God, and walk the narrow path if they want to go to Heaven. False prophets like Paul Washer teach this kind of garbage. Paul Washer corrupts the Meaning of Matthew 7:14

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Mr. Washer differentiates between the words “gate” and “way” in Matthew 7:14, claiming that Jesus is the gate (which is correct), but the “way” refers to a continued life of holy living. This is heresy! Washer’s teaching completely ignores the plain truth of Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.“ Could the Word of God be any clearer? A sinner’s faith is counted for righteousness! It is Jesus who justifieth the UNGODLY by faith; NOT by works! A man’s faith in Jesus is equivalent to a life of righteousness. If Paul Washer is correct, i.e. that Jesus was teaching that salvation requires walking a strait “way” of continued obedience to God, then salvation is a PROCESS.

Luke 8:11-15

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

Ray Comfort, amongst others, foolishly claim that the second group, i.e. the seeds which gladly received the Word at first but then fell away, represent the unsaved who believe on Christ but fail to repent. This is wrong. Luke 8:13 is speaking about saved people, because the Bible says they “receive the word with joy“. The unrepentant wicked don’t receive God’s Word with joy. The seed sprouted and began to grow, so there was a new life. The problem is that the roots didn’t have time to grow. A new believer needs to be mentored, which is what Jesus taught in Matthew 28:19,20. 1st Peter 2:2 teaches that new believers, as newborn babes, must feed on the milk of the Word in order to GROW.

Galatians 5:3-4

“For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

It is silly for anyone to quote this Scripture in an attempt to prove that salvation can be lost, because Galatians 5:4 clearly reveals that the issue at hand is works salvation. Anyone who attempts to enter Heaven by keeping the Law is bound for Hellfire. Again, salvation is of God, a free gift, which simply needs to be received on the basis that we are guilty sinners (Romans 3:19) in need of Jesus’ cleansing blood which washes our sins away (Revelation 1:5).

Romans 8:12-13

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

This Scripture is speaking about the spiritual life of the believer. 1st Timothy 5:6 states, “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” A believer who goes into sin, i.e. walks in the flesh, cannot please God. Romans 8:10 reads, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Our carnal, sinful flesh and the Spirit of God are diametrically opposed to each other. There is no fellowship between them. A believer who lives in sin is running from God, out of God will, just like Jonah in the Old Testament.

Romans 8:12-13 does not in any way indicate that salvation can be lost. A believer can walk in the flesh, which in effect kills the Spirit; but the Spirit of God is still there indwelling the believer.

In Hebrews 13:5 God promises:

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Proponents of the heresy that salvation can be lost are calling God a liar. God has promised never to leave nor to forsake His own. The heresies of Lordship Salvation and Losing Salvation are inseparably linked. Those who believe that salvation can be lost, out of necessity also believe that an effort must be made to remain in God’s saving grace. This is unbiblical. All that God requires is a childlike faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to forgive our sins (Acts 10:43).

2nd Peter 2:20-22

“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

Obviously, this Scripture taken by itself can be interpreted to mean multiple things. The only safe method to interpret this Scripture is by cross-referencing it with other Scriptures. This is why Jesus commanded us to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES” in John 5:39. I believe the context is clearly speaking about a person who has heard the Gospel, attended a church, played the religious game for awhile; but then went back into the sinful world.

If 2nd Peter 2:20-22 are speaking about believers, then it wouldn’t make any sense, because it require that a born-again believer go through the process of being “UNBORN”. That is impossible. Jesus NEVER said anything about being born again and again and again. No, rather, the spiritual birth occurs once, just as the physical birth occurs only once.

Again, if these Scriptures apply to the saved, then where does the gift of God come into play? If one can lose their salvation by going back into a life of sin, then salvation is NOT a gift, because we must live right to keep it. The big irony of all this is that even the best of Christians, who faithfully attend church, and sing in a choir, and tithe, and go soulwinning, are just as much dirty, rotten sinners as the believer who went to a whore house last night. That’s exactly what James 2;:10 teaches:

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Whether it be a saint who faithfully attends church or a pimp who’s out on the street corner, “the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Romans 10:12). If that harelips every dog in the county, I don’t care, the Bible teaches that a man’s faith is COUNTED for righteousness (Romans 4:5,22). I am not condoning sin, not at all. Believers who sin WILL be dealt with accordingly at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:10). I’m simply saying that we are all sinners, and just because our sins aren’t as bad in our own minds as the sins of others, doesn’t mean that they’re lost their salvation.

Another perplexing question for proponents of losing salvation is: If salvation can be lost, then how much sin musts a person commit to lose it? … a little? … a lot? … murder? … adultery? … two murders? … cursing Jesus like Peter did? How ridiculous and unbiblical is the idea that salvation can be lost. Salvation is of God; not man (John 1:10-12). How can we lose that which wasn’t ours to give in the first place? If we’re not saved by good works; then how can we be lost by bad works? We cannot! The man in 1st Corinthians 3:15 escaped the fires of Hell; but all his works were burned by fire and he had nothing to show for his wasted earthly life. Yet, he went to Heaven to be with His Saviour. Also see 1st Corinthians 5:1-5.

1st Timothy 4:16

“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”

This Scripture says “save thyself“. Consider Paul’s words in Philippians 2:12

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Carefully notice that the Bible doesn’t say to work out God’s salvation; but rather, “your own salvation“. This simply means that we are responsible for the life we live, whether we yield to the Holy Spirit or choose to follow our own selfish will. God has given mankind a freewill to decide for himself whether to live for God, or to live for the Devil and self.

In 1st Timothy 4:16, Paul is instructing Timothy in doctrinal matters. 1st Timothy 4:1 states:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils“

Paul is telling Timothy how to be saved from the errors of false doctrine, by taking heed and upholding Biblical doctrine. This clearly has nothing to do with salvation.

1st Timothy 4:1-3

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”

These Scriptures speak of the unsaved, i.e. those who have departed from the faith. They teach false doctrines, like the Catholics, such as abstaining from meats and practicing celibacy. These are doctrines of devils. The masses of society today are departing from the faith, from genuine Christianity, from the Word of God, from morality, from prayer and Bible reading in the public schools,…etc. It is called APOSTASY!

This Scripture is no way indicates that born-again believers would quit their faith and lose their salvation. Such teaching is absurd. Once saved, Always Saved! We could also say, “Lost Now, Lost Then!” Or, “Saved Now, Saved Then!” You’re either saved today and will be saved eternally, or else you need to get saved. Salvation cannot be lost. Most of the Scriptures dishonestly twisted, in an attempt to propagate the heresy that salvation can be lost, are actually speaking about the wicked, many of whom have attended church and heard the Gospel preached, but have never been saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:21-23

“And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

Carefully notice what Colossians 1:20 says

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

Clearly, it is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that brings peace with God. In typical fashion, proponents of the heresy that salvation can be lost fail to take into consideration all Scriptures as a whole. They pervert the Scriptures. Romans 6:23 plainly teaches that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. This Scripture must be reconciled with all others. Ephesians 2:8,9 plainly teaches that mankind has nothing to do with salvation. It is of God.

Salvation is without works (Romans 4:5), and cannot be lost for any reason by those who believe on Jesus Christ (Acts 10:43). How can we lose something that wasn’t ours to give in the first place? Salvation is receiving; not giving. Once saved, always saved! The spiritual birth is as irreversible as is the physical birth.

Biblical Scholar, Kenneth S. Wuest, offers this accurate translation of Colossians 1:23

“Assuming indeed, that you are adhering to your faith, having been placed upon a foundation with the present result that you are on that foundation, firmly established, and that you are not continually being shifted away from your hope held out by the gospel which you heard, that gospel which was proclaimed in all creation, which is under heaven, of which I, Paul, became one who ministers.”

SOURCE: Wuest, K. S. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos

Wuest also has an excellent note on Colossians 1:23, adding that

“The word “if” here is not ean, an unfulfilled, hypothetical condition used with the subjunctive mode, presenting the possibility of a future realization, but ei with the indicative, having here the idea of “assuming that you continue in the faith.” That is, continuance in the gospel as it was preached by Paul would show that the person was saved and thus would be presented holy, without blemish, and unchargeable before God. That is, Paul was here addressing truly born-again Colossians, not unsaved professors of Christianity who would follow the Colossian heresy. Heretics would not so be presented, only true believers. It is not the retention of salvation that is in the apostle’s mind, but the possession of it that would be shown by their continuance in the gospel.”

SOURCE: Wuest, K. S. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos

Pastor J. Vernon McGee states the following concerning Colossians 1:23

“Paul’s point is that we have been reconciled—it is an accomplished fact. So if you are a child of God today, you will continue in the faith grounded and settled. You will not be moved away from the hope of the gospel which you have heard.”

SOURCE: J. Vernon McGee: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos

Clearly, from studying the original Greek, it is evident that the Apostle Paul WASN’T warning Christians that they would lose their salvation if they failed to continue in the faith. Tragically, the internet is saturated with ignorant people who know nothing of the Greek, and are corrupting the Word of God shamelessly “As also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2nd Peter 3:9).

2nd Timothy 2:12-13

“Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

The context of these Scriptures plainly reveal that the issue at hand is belief: “If we believe not“. Clearly, this has nothing to do with losing salvation; but rather, the unsaved. This passage of Scripture speaks of those who have rejected Jesus Christ. Peter denied Jesus 3-times, but he didn’t lose his salvation. The issue is not losing salvation; but rather, have you been saved at all?

Matthew 5:13

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

There is nothing in this Scripture to indicate that salvation can be lost. It just means that a believer who hides his candle under a bushel is displeasing to the Lord.

Ezekiel 18:24 and Ezekiel 33:12-13

“But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.”

The best way to interpret the Bible is with the Bible! I’ve read so much heresy surrounding Ezekiel 18:24. As an example, the Congregational Holiness Church, the Wesleyan Holiness Movement, and the Charismatic Movement all misinterpret Ezekiel 18:24 to teach that a Christian can lose their salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth! Oral Roberts and his family came from the Holiness Movement out of Oklahoma. He was a product that came from the Latter Rain Pentecostal Movement of the late 1940’s, and was a well known demonic faith healer. Taken by itself, out of context, Ezekiel 18:24 does appear to support the doctrine that a man can fall away from salvation. However, as you will see from other Scriptures in Ezekiel, this is NOT the case at all.

Ezekiel 33:12-13 state:

“Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.”

Did you read that: “If he trust in his OWN righteousness“? This is the heart of the matter here. God is simply condemning self-righteousness. The New Testament states in Romans 10:3-4

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

To claim that a person who commits sin can lose their salvation is to totally ignore such powerful Scriptures as Genesis 15:6 concerning Abraham, “And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” The Apostle Paul plainly stated in Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” These Scriptures clearly eliminate “works” as a necessity to one’s eternal salvation. The damnable heresy that a believer can lose salvation is nothing less than a subtle form of Lordship Salvation. Whereas the Lordship Salvation crowd teaches that a person must forsake their sins to be saved; the eternal insecurity crowd teaches that committing sin will cause a person to lose salvation. Both heresies are based upon self-righteousness. Ephesians 2:8-9 is clear on the matter of salvation “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.” Again, carefully read Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.“

Conclusion

Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15), paid for by Jesus’ precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). We are saved by Jesus’ righteousness, and not by our own efforts. Our faith is counted for righteousness (Romans 4:5). This is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 4:22).

Having said that, I just don’t understand how anyone could teach that a person must forsake personal sins in their life, or be willing to do so, in order to be saved. Certainly, genuine repentance should bring about a changed life (2nd Corinthians 5:17); but 1st Peter 2:2 speaks about being weaned as newborn babes on the milk of the Word that one may “grow”. It requires time for a new believer to grow in the Lord, some faster than others. It is rare that a new believer is willing to consecrate his/her life to the Lord right away, as in the uncommon case of Paul. The Bible says that “among the chief rulers also many believed on him“, but secretly so, for fear of being persecuted (John 12:42). All of Jesus’ disciples forsook Him prior to the cross.

It is hypocritical for self-righteous religious people today to condemn those who maintain the simplicity of the Biblical Gospel, i.e. we are guilty sinners and Jesus is the Saviour. Those who believe on Jesus to have their sins forgiven are saved! There is no other Gospel. Lordship Salvation and the heresy that salvation can be lost are wicked, rotten and straight out of the pits of Hell.

“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” — Acts 10:43

Examine Yourselves

Examine Yourselves

By David J. Stewart

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” -2nd Corinthians 13:5

The Word of God cautions us to EXAMINE OURSELVES. The Greek word for “examine” is “peirazo“, which means, “to test“. Hence, God is telling each professed “Christian” to test themselves to determine whether or not they are truly saved, i.e. “in the faith“. 2nd Corinthians 13:5 makes it clear that those who don’t have Jesus Christ living within them are not saved. The Apostle Paul made this clear in Romans 8:9, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” When a person believes upon Jesus Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit of God comes to indwell that person immediately. This is in sharp contrast to the blasphemous Catholic teaching of confirmation, i.e. the false notion that a priest can pray the Holy Spirit into a person. The Holy Spirit comes into our body at the time of salvation; and not at confirmation. The entire matter of confirmation is unbiblical and of the Devil.

How does a person examine one’s self to determine whether they have Jesus Christ or just religion? The answer is to compare your beliefs with the Word of God.

Baptismal Regeneration Exposed

One of the biggest damnable heresies today is Baptismal Regeneration, i.e. the lie that a person must be baptized in order to be saved. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the strongest evidences against Baptismal Regeneration is 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…” The Apostle John states that he wrote his Epistle so that one could KNOW that he is in Christ; YET, John NEVER mentions water baptism–not once! In fact, John didn’t mention baptism in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd John. He didn’t mention speaking-in-tongues either. If baptism were critical to salvation, John surely would have mentioned it. The Apostle Paul stated in 1st Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel…” Paul never would have made such a statement if water baptism were required to go to Heaven. So you see, if you are trusting in your baptism to help you go to Heaven, you are actually bound for Hell in your self-righteousness.

False Conversions

There is a surge of false conversions all across America today because of a lack of preaching against sin. There can be NO salvation without the Law of God. It is common nowadays to see the most immoral people, who pride themselves in their unrepentant sin, claim to be Christians. One such organization is BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music). Marsha Stevens is no Christian! Homosexuality is a horrible sin, and no genuine Christian would proudly and defiantly claim that God approves of homosexuality. Romans Chapter one plainly condemns homosexuality. Another apostate group is JC’s Girls–on their webpage it states, “Heather Veitch… not a hero…not a leader…just a christian girl.” However, it is clear from her website that she is NO Christian! The jcsgirls.com website takes you to Heather Veitch’s webpage, where she promotes sex escorts, homosexuality, pornography, Sin City, rock music, and everything else unholy in the sex industry. How in the world could The 700 Club endorse this Godless filth??? These are imposters, who have not Jesus Christ.

Many people think the way to be saved is to “invite Jesus into your heart“ or to “make a commitment to Jesus“. This is NOT Biblical. Just because you ask Jesus into your heart doesn’t address the issue of sin. You must realize your guilt, and condemnation by the Law of God to be saved. Jesus will not save those who come to Him in their self-righteousness. We must do as Romans 4:5 tells us and believe “on Him that justifieth THE UNGODLY“. You’d be surprised how many people today claim to be a Christian, but don’t think they’re sinful enough to deserve Hellfire. They haven’t yet realize the sinfulness of their sin. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:13 that the Bible made his sin appear exceedingly sinful, “…that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” Many folks today want Jesus, but they don’t want to come to the cross as a Hell deserving sinner. You can’t just decide to follow the teachings of Christ to be saved, i.e. a Christian philosophy. Christianity didn’t begin as a philosophy; but as a relationship with Jesus Christ, which centered on our sinfulness and woeful need for a Saviour. Christianity became a philosophy when it went to Greece. It became an organization when it went to Rome (i.e. the Catholic Church). It became a culture as it spread throughout Europe. And it became a business when it came to America. To 99% of the people today who profess to be “Christian”, Christianity is nothing more than a mere philosophy, organization, cultural lifestyle, or business opportunity. Is it any wonder why God admonishes all of us to EXAMINE OURSELVES, to see whether or not we are in the faith?

There is NO guilt, no remorse, no sorrow over sin today, no conviction, and no desire to repent. This is exactly why the Apostle Paul asked the members of the church at Corinth to examine themselves. A lot of sin had been occurring within the church. This is evidenced throughout the Book of 1st Corinthians. Everything from fornication (5:1), drunkenness (11:21), idolatry (8:10), strife (1:11), and lawsuits (6:6) were happening in the church. This prompted the Apostle Paul to question their salvation in 2nd Corinthians 13:5. In a gentlemanly manner, the Apostle Paul simply warns them to examine themselves, whether they be in the faith. Although no self-righteous works are required to be saved (Romans 4:5), there should be some noticeable changes in a person’s life AFTER they are saved. This is what James meant when he said, “…shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). James was not speaking of salvation by works, which many foolishly claim today.

Roman Catholicism

There is not a more damnable religion in existence than Catholicism (both Roman and Orthodox). Roman Catholicism has it’s headquarters in Rome (i.e. the Vatican); whereas the Russian Orthodox Church has their own Catholic leadership in Moscow. These two dreaded beasts have led billions of lost souls into Hellfire by their man-made traditions and false doctrines. Catholicism varies considerably from Biblical Christianity in that it requires a person to perform sacraments and good deeds to enter Heaven. In addition, Catholics are required to go THROUGH the Catholic Church by means of water baptism to be saved. This is blasphemy! The Catholic Church arrogantly claims that they are God’s sole organization upon the earth. There is NO organization that can save anyone. Salvation is found ONLY is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6), not in any religion.

Members of the Catholic Church are oblivious to the truth of 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.” I have personally witnessed to hundreds of Catholics in my lifetime and nearly all of them were BOASTFUL concerning their own self-righteousness. I witnessed to a Catholic woman last week. I asked her, “What does a person need to do to go to Heaven?” She replied, “Follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. Go to mass. Help others. Live a good life. Keep the Ten Commandments,…etc.” She never mentioned the blood of Jesus, or faith in Christ. Many people think they are ready for Heaven because they were baptized as an infant. Nothing could be further from the Truth of God’s Word. Infant baptism is not taught in the Scriptures. Water baptism never saved anyone, it just got them wet. Salvation is of God, not man.

Do you have Jesus Christ in you, or do you just have religion? Many people today are make-believers, not true believers. Jesus boldly warned the people in Matthew 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Oh, listen friend, except your own righteousness shall exceed that of the Pope and the priests, you will be cast into the Lake of Fire at the Great White Throne of Judgment. Most people today have churchianity without Christianity. They have religion without Truth. God’s Word is Truth (John 17:17). The average Catholic is woefully ignorant of the Scriptures. They are taught to trust the priests, and to receive the message of the Pope as if God Himself were speaking. It is utter blasphemy and wickedness! God “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2), i.e. the Word of God (John 1:1-3,14; Revelation 19:13). God does NOT speak through the Pope, or through apparitions of Mary. We have everything we need to know in the Word of God. The Catholic Church has been inventing new doctrines for centuries, and their naive victims have been going to Hell for centuries. Examine yourself–are you a genuine BORN-AGAIN believer?

Examine Yourself

Turning over a new leaf won’t save you! Making a commitment to God, or joining a church, or trying to improve your life, won’t save you. Praying a prayer won’t save you. Adopting a Christian philosophy won’t save you. The only way to be saved is found in Acts 16:30,31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” Again in John 6:40 we read, “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.” And of course, 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.” Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus came to this earth as the Godhead incarnate (1st Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9)? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the ONLY Saviour of mankind? Do you realize your guilt, condemnation under the Law of God, and justly deserved punishment in Hellfire? God wants to save you, no matter who you may be (2nd Peter 3:9). It is your own choice whether to trust upon Jesus Christ and be saved or to reject Him and be lost (Romans 10:13; John 5:40).

Examine yourself now. What are you trusting in to get you to Heaven? Let me tell you what I’m trusting in for salvation–the Lord Jesus Christ, because of the blood He shed for my sins “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” -1st Peter 1:18,19 I am not trusting upon my own self-righteousness to save me; but rather, upon His righteousness “For he hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2nd Corinthians 5:21). If you ADD anything to faith alone in Jesus Christ to get you to Heaven, you WILL go to Hell when you die (Acts 4:10-12; Isaiah 45:22). It’s as simple as that. Examine yourself. Are you a child of God? Have you been born again? Many people nowadays claim to be Christians; but are not. Singer, Beyonce Nobles, claims that God has given her permission to dress naked and strip in public. She also claims to be a devout Christian. I serious question her claim of being a Christian. She needs to examine her soul, because she doesn’t have Jesus Christ. Being a sinner is one thing, boasting defiantly against the Word of God is another.

I fear that most of the professed Christians in our churches today are simply playing the game, Sunday after Sunday, but they do not have God’s salvation. I’ve seen quite a few people in my lifetime, who only came to church when they were popular, or it was fun and interesting, or it made them feel good about themselves; but then they quit after awhile. 2nd Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” America’s churches are filled with such phonies, the Joel Osteen crowd, who would never tolerate a Hell, fire, and damnation sermon. Health, wealth, and prosperity–that’s all most people want to hear nowadays. Salvation isn’t a prayer, or a religious experience, or a philosophy to be adhered to, or a ceremony, or turning over a new leaf, or dedicating our life to God, or a cultural phenomena–salvation is a supernatural act of Almighty God in response to our faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, because of the precious blood that He shed for our vile and wicked sins that condemned us to Hellfire. Salvation is completely of God!

So I say along with the Apostle Paul, “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith“.