Beware Of Complicating Repentance

John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

I hear so much heresy concerning repentance from the pulpit. I was listening to a sermon today by Pastor Chuck Baldwin called: “Repentance And Faith.” In the sermon Chuck emphasizes repentance to the point that it would frighten any lost person. Why make the Gospel harder than God intended? You cannot show me anywhere in the Gospel of John where the Lord goes into some long explanation of what you must do to repent. Nor will you find anything mentioned about repentance in Acts 16:30-31, when the Philippian jailer asked what he needed to do to be saved. Paul and Silas simply told him to “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.”

So where do preachers get the errant idea that you must experience such a profound conviction over your sin, and feel sorrow and regret to such a great extent, that it produces a radical change in your attitude toward your sins that results in a change of behavior? This is the exact junk theology being taught at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) cult today.

I have a problem with what Pastor Chuck Baldwin is preaching. He is complicating God's simple plan of salvation. Bible repentance is a change of mind, period, end of story. Yet we hear preacher after preacher adding to what repentance means, inferring that repentance involves a radical change of your thinking toward sin that compels you to reform yourself. Repentance does not lead to reformation!!! It is the indwelling Holy Spirit of God in every believer, who produces the fruit of the Spirit, IF (and that IF means we have a choice), IF we choose to walk in that Holy Spirit.

Whenever a Christian sins, it is because we are walking in the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit. At any given time I can choose to walk in the Spirit, but I won't always make that right decision, because I am a sinner by nature (and so are you). No one walks in the Spirit 100% of the time!!! A changed life is NOT the result of genuine repentance, it is the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit in a child of God (IF we choose to walk in that Spirit). Getting saved is solely a matter of what Jesus did to pay for our sins on Calvary's cross. Allowing the Lord to live a changed life through us is solely a matter of sanctification. Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Why cannot preachers simply tell lost people, that to be saved a person needs to admit they are a guilty sinner? Why must someone feel profound conviction to the innermost of their being? Why must they feel regret, sorrow and 

“They've got to swallow their pride. They've got to Humble their hearts and acknowledge the sinfulness of their sin. They've got to recognize the wretchedness of their life. And how offended God is at their words their conduct their thoughts. To repent they've got to change their mind about their own sin. They've got to change their mind and recognize that my sin is a horrible stench in the nostrils of a holy righteous God, that God is offended highly at my sin. They've got to change their mind, and recognize the the gross wickedness of their heart, which requires humility. As long as men are filled with pride they'll never be able to humble themselves before God as a sinner. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. I [Jesus] came not to call the righteous, but sinners under repentance. If you think you're a goody two-shoes, and that you don't think that your sin has offended God, you don't think that your sin is a absolute stench in the nostrils of God, you can never be saved until you change your mind about your own sin. Humble yourself before God.” ~Pastor Chuck Baldwin, “Repentance And Faith” 

I am not saying that Chuck Baldwin is not saved, I just humbly think that he goes way overboard in what God requires of a person to be saved? What Pastor Baldwin is asking of a lost person is something that would be expected of a saved person after 20 years. All that God requires of a person to be saved is to simply BELIEVE ON JESUS. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” You will never find the dear Savior telling a lost person to “change their mind and recognize that my sin is a horrible stench in the nostrils of a holy righteous God, that God is offended highly at my sin. They've got to change their mind, and recognize the the gross wickedness of their heart, which requires humility.” That is not true! You simply need to recognize your need for Christ. This is what the Bible plainly says:

Galatians 3:24-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

The Ten Commandments (the law) was given by God to Moses, as a measuring stick, by which when men compare themselves they utterly fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The law then brings lost men to Christ, to be saved by God's grace through faith alone. The sole purpose of the law in salvation is to show men their sinnership, and then point them to Christ. If you recognize that you are a guilty sinner, you can be saved by simply receiving Christ's payment on the cross for your sins, believing that Jesus is risen. There is no Biblical requirement for you to experience some radical type of guilt process over sin to be saved.

Perhaps you think I am nitpicking concerning Pastor Baldwin's sermons. Perhaps so! But I just humbly think we need to do our best not to make getting saved complicated. Again, Pastor Baldwin says to be saved sinners must: “change their mind and recognize that my sin is a horrible stench in the nostrils of a holy righteous God, that God is offended highly at my sin. They've got to change their mind, and recognize the the gross wickedness of their heart, which requires humility.” Isn't just admitting you're a sinner enough? Yes, it is.

If you simply realize why you need to be saved, because you are hell-deserving sinner, that is enough to be saved. We are saved by believing, not by repenting. Repentance just facilitates (makes possible) believing. If a man didn't change his mind, he wouldn't believe to be saved. If you have believed the Gospel, you have repented. That is, you have changed your mind.

It is my humble opinion as a Bible preacher, that we ought not make repentance any more difficult than it needs to be. We ought to simply tell lost sinners that they need to acknowledge being a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God. That is all God requires to be saved, that a person come to God as a needy sinner, believing that Jesus died in their place on the cross to pay for their sins. I love what Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) said about repentance:

“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” (Except Ye Repent, p. 16)

Dear friend, simply BELIEVE the Gospel (Good News) of Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). God loves you!!! He paid for all of your sins. All Jesus wants is for you to believe that He did it for you. And if you'll BELIEVE IT, He'll give eternal life to you as a free gift, and He'll never cast you our or lose you, because He loves you. That's something that you can have right now and know it. If you add even one work, you've mutilated the Gospel.

You see, the Devil's Lordship Salvation crowd (e.g., Bob Jones University, Pensacola Christian College, Ken Ham, Marty Herron, Gary Walton, Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, Sam Adams, John MacArthur, Dr. Steve Pettit, et cetera) teach that you must prove the reality of the genuineness of your faith by looking at the good works in your life. If you don't believe me, case in point is Pastor Chuck Phelps of the Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sadly, Chuck Phelps is a hellbound Calvinist! He requires works to prove that your faith is real, which is another Gospel. That cannot be grace! No turning from sin is required for salvation!!!

You won't find the word “repent” mentioned one time in the Gospel of John, which according to John 20:31 is God's Gospel tract. Is repentance necessary for salvation? Yes, of course, but we free grace Gospel believers have a very different understanding of what it means to “repent,” than does the corrupt Lordship Salvation crowd. The free grace crowd simply believe what the Bible says, that repentance is a change of mind. Unfortunately, the Lordship Salvation crowd errantly think to “repent” means to turn away from your sinful ways for the rest of your life, on penalty of going to Hell if you don't because they say it just proves you never really got saved. If you want to read an excellent article about repentance, please read: 'What Is Biblical Repentance?'

“It is 'Good News' if no one must have good works before salvation, or after salvation. For salvation to truly be by grace, it must not have any stipulations of any kind at any time. Works before, during or after; works cannot be evidence of my salvation.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, “Does Calvinism Change The Gospel?”

True salvation is the decision to trust, not a commitment to serve. I'm going to Heaven because I decided, to trust Christ and what He did for me. That's how I know I'm going to Heaven, because Jesus promised if I trust Him He would take me there. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Even so, come, Lord Jesus!!!

Thank you for reading my blog.

New Evangelical: Satan Tries To Redefine The Term “Radical”

Jude 1:3-4, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The following excerpt is from Chapter 23 of Dr. Jack Hyles' excellent book, The Church...

Satan Tries To Redefine The Term “Radical”

A fundamental Baptist church is a church whose faith and practice goes back to 31 A.D. to Jesus. You can be a fundamental Methodist and go back to Wesley. You can be a fundamental Presbyterian and go back to Calvin or Zwingli. You can be a fundamental Lutheran and go back to Luther. You can be a fundamental Catholic and go back to Constantine, but you cannot be a real Bible fundamentalist unless you go back to Jesus.

Two things cause these movements to move away from the fundamentals:

1. Unwillingness to accept the stigma of either extreme. Either position has a stigma. If a man is a strict fundamentalist, the great host of society calls him a radical. Most people do not want to be considered fanatical.

The evangelicals came along and taught fundamentalists how not to be radical. The evangelical movement was not founded because of conviction. It was founded because the evangelical people were not willing to be branded for Jesus' sake. They did not want to bear the stigma.

The farther from fundamentalism the Devil can brand as radical, the better he likes it. He likes it when more liberal Christians are called fundamentalist because it moves the line of what a radical is considered to be. If you are not a fighting fundamentalist, you are an evangelical.

The neoorthodox movement is the same thing to liberalism as the Evangelical movement is to fundamentalism. It is a way to avoid being in the extreme of a movement.

In Washington, D.C. you will not find many old fashioned conservative Republicans. Nor will you find many staunch liberals. The same concept applies. Everyone wants to be moderate, so they will not be considered radical.

The evangelical movement is nothing more than fundamentalists who use liberal terms. The neoorthodox movement is nothing more than liberals who use fundamentalist terms. New evangelicals are those who meet somewhere in the middle.

2. A desire to gather a larger following. Many people make the mistake of believing that they will grow more by appealing to a wider scope of people. In reality, people are drawn to that which is distinct. Most people hold to extreme beliefs and are thrilled to find an institution that has not compromised those beliefs. That has been the secret of the success of the First Baptist Church of Hammond. We have done nothing to try to appeal to crowds other than proclaiming the uncompromised truth of the Word of God.

Many men who had great and growing ministries saw the opportunity to enlarge their outreach and changed their position more towards the middle. In most cases the ministries diminished.

Let me make a few observations...

1. The Devil wants to bring the term radical toward the center.
2. Let us thank God for every group that broke with their original group when it got liberal and went back to what it used to be.
3. Let us hold to our Baptist distinctives. They do matter. Baptism does matter. It is in the Great Commission. Soul winning does matter. It is in the Great Commission. The Lord's Supper does matter. It is one of the church ordinances. It does matter. The doctrine of the church does matter. Let us hold dear and treasure our Baptist distinctives while at the same time admiring those who are willing to take a stand in their denomination.
4. Let us not be ashamed of being considered radicals.
5. We had a stronger nation when each did its own work alone and the rest of us admired each other from a distance. I am a Baptist. I thank God that I am a Baptist. I thank God for my Baptist heritage. I thank God for Baptist distinctives. I thank God for the men who died for them. If they can be martyred for these Baptist distinctives, the least I can do is believe them.

Let us not be ashamed of being considered radicals for Jesus!

Evangelist Billy Sunday
 (1862-1935)

Close To The Gospel Is Not Enough To Be Born Again

John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

I was talking with a professed Baptist Christian recently. She has a family member who is a member of the Church of Christ. Her family member has been pressuring her for years, trying to convert her over to the Church of Christ heresy that says you must be water baptized to get to Heaven. Thankfully, the woman I was speaking with kindly told her family member to stop trying to convert her, or she was going to hang up the phone. The Church of Christ woman ended up hanging up the phone instead, in frustration. Cult members can be pushy!

But what concerned me was what the Christian woman said to me concerning her family member, when I said that we need to pray for her salvation. My friend said that her family member is saved, she is just confused. I kindly corrected her wrong thinking with the Bible, explaining that no one is saved who thinks you must be water baptized to get to Heaven, which is a counterfeit Gospel. My friend replied that God sees her family member's heart and knows that she believes the Gospel. I again needed to correct her with the Bible, explaining that there is only one Gospel, not two or three or more.

Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

The Apostle Paul said to the Galatian churches that he marvelled (he was astonished) that they had quickly drifted away from the true Gospel of free grace which he had preached unto them previously. Paul said that they had been deceived, bewitched (Galatians 3:1) to believe another gospel, which is not really another gospel, because there can only be ONE GOSPEL!

In the following Scripture passage Paul plainly defines THE GOSPEL (i.e., GOOD NEWS), as given unto Him by Jesus Himself (Galatians 1:12). Paul said that whosoever BELIEVES this GOOD NEWS, and does not stray away from it (which would prove that they had never been born-again at all), is saved...

1st Corinthians 15:1-6, “ 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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

There you have it dear reader, THE GOSPEL. Notice the three elements of the Gospel:

1. Jesus DIED for our sins on the cross
2. Jesus was BURIED.
3. Jesus RESURRECTED three days later from the dead.

This is all ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES. This is not religion, which is man's interpretation of the Scripture. This is directly from the inspired Word of God.

Getting back to the two women that I mentioned earlier, one saved and the other lost, the Church of Christ woman who thinks you must be water baptized to get to Heaven is as lost as the Devil. She has never been born-again. How do I know that? I know because there is nothing mentioned in Paul's Gospel (which he received directly from Jesus) about being water baptized to be saved. I just gave you the three parts of the Gospel.

Of course, you do need to know and acknowledge the Bad News too. You must admit that you are a guilty sinner to see your need for the Savior (Romans 3:19-20; 1st John 1:8-10). You need to know what you are being saved from (Romans 6:23). To be saved you must know three things about Jesus:

1. WHO Jesus is - He is the only begotten Son of God, the Christ (John 20:31).
2. WHAT Jesus died for you - He died on a cross for our sins, was buried and raised up the third day (John chapters 19-20).
3. WHY Jesus did it - He did it because we are all guilty sinners, and the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23), including the second death in Hell fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8).

Anyone who comes to God as a guilty needy sinner, who accepts Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that Jesus has raised up from the dead, is saved. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

I hope you can now clearly see why the Church of Christ woman I mentioned earlier cannot be a born-again Christian, regardless of how sincere she may be. Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” In Matthew 7:21-23 we read about a group of people who followed Jesus as their “Lord.” They called Jesus, “Lord, Lord.” They boasted of their “many wonderful works” all done in Jesus' name. They boasted of prophesying (preaching) in Jesus' name. These were committed, dedicated and loyal servants of Christ, disciples. Yet, the dear Savior made this horrifying statement to them in Matthew 7:23b, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

You see dear friend, you cannot get born-again by following or serving Christ. You cannot get born-again by getting water baptized, or by keeping sacraments, or by being faithful to attend and serve in your favorite local church. That is religion, not salvation. That is churchianity, not Christianity!

Look at what Jesus said was their problem in Matthew 7:21, “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.” They had been dedicated to follow and serve Christ in their own self-righteousness, but they had never submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, which is by faith alone in Jesus. They failed to put their trust in Jesus alone as their personal Savior. The Bible plainly tells us what the will of the Father is in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The only way to become born-again is through faith alone in Jesus as the Christ.

Galatians 3:26-27, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The word “baptized” in verse 27 does NOT refer to water baptism. The Bible says as many of you as have been “baptized into Christ,” not baptized into water. The transliterated word baptizo from the Greek simply means “to immerse.” The 54 King James Bible translators didn't have an English equivalent for the Greek word baptizo, so they just carried it over without translating it, which is called transliteration. So what verse 27 means is, as many of you as have been immersed into Christ have put on Christ. That is, they got saved.

I love Galatians 3:29, “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Every born-again child of God is a Jew spiritually, part of the promised seed of Abraham. And every unsaved Christ-rejecting Jew (whether he or she be an ethnic, national, cultural or biological Jew) is NOT a Jew spiritually in God's sight. Which means they cannot go to Heaven. Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” The moment that you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you become a Jew, related to Abraham through the common Fatherhood of God. God is every believer's heavenly Father, including the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Dear friend, if you only put partial faith in Christ, plus something else (whether it be water baptism, turning away from your sinful past ways, following Jesus as “Lord,” living a lifestyle of repentance, running the Christian race faithfully to the end, or anything else), you will go to Hell forever to burn and suffer in torments. I didn't say that, God did in Matthew 7:21-23 and John 6:28-29, 40, 47; Revelation 20:15). I assure you on the authority of the Scripture that God will NOT allow you to slide because you were sincere. The road to Hell is paved with sincerity and good intentions!!! We see this truth plainly in Matthew 7:21-23 in the Bible.

Every Roman Catholic believes that Jesus died on a cross for their sins. Catholics believe that Jesus was buried and resurrected three days later. Catholics know that they are sinners and that there is a penalty for sin, which is death and the Lake of Fire. Catholics believe all that! So why are they not born-again saints? It is simply because they also ADD the Seven Sacraments, the first of which is water baptism. Catholics are foolishly taught that water baptism is the First Sacraments, which they say is the door into the Roman Catholic Church (and they errantly think that the Catholic Church gives salvation). What Satanic garbage!

We read in 1st Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The Apostle Peter is not the Rock (Petra) upon which the Church is built; the only true foundation according to 1st Corinthians 3:11 is JESUS CHRIST!!! Peter was the petros (pebble), not the Petra (Rock). Shame on the Vatican for teaching manmade commandments instead of the inspired Word of God (Mark 7:7-9). Peter was not the first Pope. There is no historical or Biblical evidence to support that false claim. Peter was just one of Jesus' original 12 Apostles, not better or different than the other apostles.

I tell you, the Church of Christ is of the Devil. They errantly require people to turn away from former sinful ways to be saved. Secondly, the Church of Christ require public confession of the name of Jesus to get to Heaven. And thirdly, they errantly require their members to be water baptized to be saved. None of these things are Biblically necessary or allowed to get to Heaven. The Church of Christ is a religious cult, who preach another Gospel, accursed by God (Galatians 1:7-9).

If you know someone who believes the Gospel, but also trusts in something else, you need to warn them kindly that they are not saved yet. The ONLY way to become born-again is the take God at His Word as recorded in the Holy Bible, believing that Jesus did it all for you. You must cease from all your own human effort (works), and REST completely in Jesus Christ, believing that He died in your place on the cross, was buried and bodily resurrected the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That is the GOOD NEWS. Believe it and be saved. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Hundreds of precious passages of Scriptures in the Bible teach us to simply BELIEVE ON JESUS to have eternal life. Yet, the Devil's Church of Christ cult, the Devil's Lordship Salvation cult, and the Devil's Roman Catholic cult, Ken Ham's “turn from your sinful past ways” cult, et cetera—all wickedly take obscure passages of Scripture out of context to bolster up their strawman heresy.

A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. We have the entire Gospel of John, which mentions the word “believe” at least 85 times. Yet, not one verse tells us to get water baptized to have eternal life. No one in the Old Testament was water baptized to be saved. The repent thief on the cross didn't have time to get water baptized. His hands were nailed to a cross!

The same Apostle John who penned the Gospel of John also penned the Epistle of 1st John. In 1st John 5:13 John says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” Yet, John never mentions baptism in any way, fashion or form in the Epistle of 1st John. Surely John would have said to make sure you've been water baptized, if such a ritual were required to get to Heaven. The truth is that getting water baptized doesn't make you a born-again Christian, any more than walking into a garbage makes you an automobile. You get saved by BELIEVING the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

So please, please, please dear reader, DO NOT ADD anything to your childlike faith in Christ alone to get to Heaven. Water baptism is important, don't get me wrong. Baptism is the very first step of obedience for the new believer. But water baptism always comes AFTER a person is saved, never before getting saved (e.g., infant baptism), or as as a step required for salvation. Water baptism is one's public profession of faith in the Gospel. Being dunked under the water and then lifted back out of the water, pictures Jesus' death, burial and bodily resurrection. Water baptism is an outward snapshot of what has just happened inwardly.

I don't like when churches wait 6 months before baptizing converts. That is what the shameful corrupt Harvest Baptist Church on Guam does, they only baptize about four people after 6 months of waiting since their alleged conversion. That is because Harvest Baptist Church on Guam insists on examining someone's life, to see if their behavior has first changed as evidence that their faith is genuine and real. Ladies and gentlemen, that is hardcore Calvinist Lordship Salvation heresy!!!

Since Harvest doesn't preach a free grace Gospel, they are a cult that doesn't lead people to Christ by faith alone. Harvest is a cesspool of Lordship Salvation, Devil's Bibles and Bob Jones University alumni apostates! Sincerity is not enough to please God. In John 3:3b Jesus warned: YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!!! No one has ever been born-again by partial faith in Christ plus something more. If you have to trim your toenails once every million years, plus partial faith in Christ, you are going straight to Hell if you died right now.

Salvation is completely RESTING in what the Old Testament Sabbath Day represented for millenniums, which is Jesus Christ alone. Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” I love that! Have you dear friend entered into God's rest? Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

Please don't tamper with the simplicity that is in Christ. Just believe the GOOD NEWS that Christ did it all for you through Calvary's cross, dying in our place and raising up three days later, because He loves us. I have heard umpteen people throughout my life tell me that they know God is so loving and sweet, that He would never cast anyone into Hell for all eternity. Believe me, if our great, fair and good God allows hunger, torture, pain, misery and death in this temporal earthly life, then He will allow suffering in the next life in eternity, so says the Holy Bible (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 14:11).

If you die in your sins (John 8:24), regardless of how sincere you may be, you will go to Hell forever without rest or hope day nor night forever. That is 100% Biblical doctrine. To get close to the Gospel but not get it right, means that you're trusting partially in something else besides Jesus. To get to Heaven you must be born-again, and the only way to partake of the second birth is to totally REST in Jesus Christ apart from all else.

New IFB Pastors Are Wrong About Prayer Being God's Method To Go Soulwinning

John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

 

Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Kindly, the fact of the matter is that nowhere in the entire Gospel of John are we taught to pray to be saved. According to John 20:31, the purpose for which John was written is to get men saved. Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, is very wrong to preach that praying a prayer to be saved is the Bible method. It in fact is not.

When the Philippian jailer asked what he needed to do to be saved in Acts 16:30, Paul and Silas simply told him in verse 31 to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." No mention is made of saying a prayer, nor of confessing or asking God for salvation. The so-called "New IFB" movement are very wrong in this matter. Since it involves getting saved, I cannot back down on this issue and I won't. The Bible is on my side (Romans 3:4).

I have a few Facebook and web visitors who are angry and emotionally worked up over this issue, because whatever Pastor Steven Anderson teaches they follow with a cult-like loyalty. I on the other hand, support Pastor Anderson when he is correct, and I rebuke him when he is wrong. Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) rightly taught me to be loyal to principles and truth, and never to men or institutions. That is what is very wrong with the Pensacola Christian College (PCC) camp, they are loyal to their institution; and to their unsaved Calvinist buddies at Bob Jones University (BJU). Truth doesn't matter to them at PCC or BJU, which is why they refuse to contend for the faith as I am doing, by God's grace. PCC refuses to expose the BJU infidels that they are in bed with spiritually committee adultery. You'll never expose the devil you are sleeping with!!!

In fairness, I have heard Pastor Anderson teach that a lost sinner can be saved without praying. Unfortunately, some New IFB followers foolishly think that you must pray to be saved, failing to understand that Pastor Anderson does believe you CAN be saved without praying. I agree with Pastor Anderson on that. I would expose him as damnable false prophet if he didn't believe you could be saved without prayer. Thankfully, Pastor Anderson does believe that faith in Christ is enough to be saved.

The problem is that Pastor Anderson errantly thinks prayer is God's way of leading people to Christ. But the Scriptures do not agree with him. Yes, some places in the Bible men accompanied their faith with a prayer at the time of salvation, such as the repentant thief on the cross, who asked Jesus to remember him in eternity. However, as I mentioned earlier, the entire Gospel of John and Acts 16:30-31 teach very clearly that BELIEVING is the Bible way to be saved, not by praying. Nowhere in the Gospel of John did Jesus tell someone to pray, follow, ask, turn from past sinful ways, confess or call to be saved, He simply said to BELIEVE ON HIM (John 3:16; 6:28-29, 40, 47; 11:25-26).

When the Apostle Paul wrote to rebuke the corrupted churches at Galatia, he asked them in Galatians 3:2 if they had been saved by the keeping of the law, or by THE HEARING OF FAITH. Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Again, no mention of praying. It bothers me that the New IFB pastors are insisting that praying a sinner's prayer is God's method to be saved, when the Bible does not support that claim. Just because a few people prayed a prayer doesn't make it God's standard. I agree with what Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) said...

“'Pray to be saved. Ask the Lord to save you.' This is what I heard a minister say to a convicted sinner who came forward for prayer at the close of an evangelistic service. Nowhere in the Bible are men told to pray to be saved. There are examples where men did pray and were saved. Men are told to repent, to believe, to obey the Gospel, but the Bible never says to pray for salvation. It does say that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, but nowhere does the Bible command men to pray to be saved. I think I know why, God, who made the human heart, knew that it was not necessary to tell convicted sinners to pray. If a sinner can see Jesus Christ on the cross, it is as natural for him to pray as it is for birds to sing or flowers to bloom. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Comments On Here And Hereafter,” chapter: Prayer And Praise, page 163; Bob Jones University Press, Inc., © 1942

I am not against pastors who use the sinner's prayer (as Dr. Hyles did), even though I am against using a sinner's prayer unless the person receiving Christ is told that they DON'T get saved by praying a prayer. When I got saved at age 13, I cried out in my soul for Jesus to save me. It was a natural response to my faith. But I was saved by faith, not by praying silently in my heart to be saved. I could have just as easily believed without praying. It is very important to explain to people that BELIEVING the Gospel is enough to be saved, with or without praying, lest they become confused later on and doubt God's free gift of salvation.

Leading people in a sinner's prayer runs the risk of confusing them for years to come. I worried for many years that I wasn't saved, because every religious tract I picked up to read, and every preacher that I heard from the pulpit, unbiblically led people to pray to be saved. Even though I knew that prayer didn't save me, faith alone did, I sincerely thought that praying was God's method to be saved. I had been deceived and lied to by sincere but misguided preachers. For years I cried in fear, wondering if I had missed something when I got saved. What if? What if I missed out on Heaven?, I thought. What if I didn't really know that I was a sinner at the time I think I got saved? What if I didn't really know the facts of the Gospel? I was tormenting myself, looking back and trying to remember what I said when I called out for Christ to save me. Since I couldn't remember what my mindset was at the age of 13, there was no way to settle the matter of whether I was saved or not.

It wasn't until decades later, when I learned from Pastor Max D. Younce's helpful book titled: "Salvation And The Public Invitation" (backup file) that my salvation beliefs were solidified.

I thank God for Pastors' Max D. Younce, Ralph Yankee Arnold, Hank Lindstrom, Mark G. Cambron, A. Ray Stanford and others who preach a simple free grace Gospel without using a sinner's prayer to be saved (as the Bible teaches). I will never use a sinner's prayer again, because it confused me and I know it will confuse others too, by obscuring God's simple plan of salvation, the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

In his helpful classic sermon titled: "Fundamentalist Heresy," Dr. Jack Hyles explains that we are saved by faith alone, not by praying a prayer or asking Jesus into our heart. It bothers me that Pastor Hyles preached that we are saved by faith alone, but then taught us to go soulwinning by leading lost sinner's to pray to be saved. That is a contradiction. I have no doubt that 90% of the people who prayed a sinner's prayer did get saved, but I am also firmly convinced that many of those alleged converts became confused (as I did) and didn't get saved, or as in my case, worried for years to come about not being saved.

It is critically important that people be told that faith alone is enough to be saved. Why even run the risk of confusing someone by asking them to pray? What is the purpose? Why cannot they simply believe the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day?

I do not criticize any pastor who leads lost sinner's to pray to be saved. I have never criticized Pastor Anderson or Dr. Hyles for leading lost sinners to pray to be saved. But I personally don't do it, and I think I am following the Bible more closely than those preachers who do use a sinner's prayer. The Gospel of John is on my side (or I should say, I am on the side of the Gospel of John). I believe most of those people who are led to pray a sinner's prayer did get saved. But I do also think some of them may have been confused, missing the truth of the Gospel because they were told to pray a prayer. The "1-2-3 follow me" lame prayer recital doesn't save anyone. But that is what often happens when Christian workers are taught to lead people in a prayer to be saved. It is inevitable over time, because their is a chain of miscommunication. What saith the Scripture? Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” They didn't tell the Philippian jailer to pray, did they.

The bottom line is that the Bible plainly teaches throughout the Gospel of John, 1st Thessalonians 4:14, Galatians 3:2, Romans 3:24-25, 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, Galatians 3:26 and umpteen other Scripture passages, that faith in Jesus Christ is enough to be saved. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” I don't see any mention of saying a prayer, do you? Oh, why can't preachers just leave the Bible alone!

Faith alone is God's method, not praying a prayer. I will fight the New IFB to the hills in this important matter, because they are wrong. Respectfully said about them, Pastors' Steven Anderson and Bruce Mejia are calling Norm Diamante and me "idiots" and "stupid" for preaching that people don't need to pray to be saved. It's the other way around. Jesus didn't tell the woman at Jacob's Well to pray to be saved. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter didn't tell the 3,000 people who got saved to pray. They simply heard the Gospel and gladly received it and were saved immediately.

So that is my position in this matter. The New IFB are very wrong. I've noticed that whatever Pastor Anderson preaches, all the other New IFB pastors parrot. Steven Anderson is the New IFB movement! I thank God for their aggressive soulwinning efforts, but I won't support them blindly when they are wrong.

In this YouTube video link where New IFB pastors horribly gang up on Evangelist Norm Diamante, Pastor Anderson downplays the issue like it's no big deal, making a fuss of why some preachers are quarrelling over praying a prayer to be saved. Yet, the very fact that Pastor Anderson and his followers are making an issue, proves that this is a sore matter. The very fact that New IFB pastors are ganging up on Norm Diamante to criticize him, proves that this is indeed a critically important matter, which strikes at the heart of preachers. It sure is an important matter to me!

Kindly said, I will expose and rebuke anyone who teaches that praying a prayer to accompany faith is the Bible method to be saved, because it is not according to the Scriptures. Although I am not against someone naturally praying as a result of their soul's faith in Christ, the Bible way to be saved is to simply BELIEVE the Gospel. The fact of the matter is that 3,000 people were saved on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:41, because they "gladly received" the Gospel, without saying a prayer. Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”