Religion wants to fit us with
glasses, but the Lord wants to open our eyes! Thank God for the truth of His
precious Word, which is a lamp unto our feet (Psalm 119:105). America's
churches influence the world, so if Satan can corrupt our churches here at home,
then he can corrupt the world, because the United States sends out more
missionaries than any other nation. Sadly, there is MUCH heresy and false
teachings circulating on the radio, television and in our churches nowadays
concerning what a person must do to be saved. What exactly is the Gospel?
There is no need to guess what the
“Gospel” is because the Bible plainly tells us . . .
1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also
ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep
in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
There you have it, the GOSPEL is
three things:
(1) Jesus DIED on the cross for our
sins.
(2) Jesus was BURIED.
(3) Jesus bodily RESURRECTED from
the dead three days later.
the supreme Lord of the universe;
2) That Jesus raised up from the dead. That was it. That's his shallow plan of
salvation. He didn't mention the cross. He didn't mention the fact that all men
are sinners under the Let me YOU ARE A SINNER! Unless you accept Christ's
payment for your sins, you will spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell.
Please read: 3,000 Souls Saved in One Day! (Acts 2:41 says 3,000 people simply
believed and were saved!).
Unless you trust JESUS CHRIST ALONE
for your salvation, you CANNOT be saved. The biggest lies are always sandwiched
between truths to conceal them. I don't think David Cloud is saved. These
well-meaning men all require HUMAN EFFORT, that is, forsaking sinful behavior,
to be saved, which is a false Gospel. If we have to repent of all our sins to
be saved, then we're all going straight to Hell. Repentance unto salvation is
“a change of mind,” not a change of behavior.
A changed life is the FRUIT of the
indwelling Holy Spirit, not a requirement to get saved. But you ask, couldn't a
person still be saved even though they are confused about salvation? No,
because they have a wrong mindset and are not completely trusting the
redemptive work of Christ. If you don't believe what I say, consider how
closely Seventh-day Adventism comes to the Gospel, yet they are light-years
away. If you believe wrong then you trust wrong, and unless you are totally
resting in the precious blood of Jesus that washes our sins away (1st Peter
1:18-19), then you haven't been born-again by the Holy Spirit of God.
Please remember that a man named
Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 was a devout religion man. Cornelius feared God,
prayed, tithed and fasted, yet he was a religious lost man on his way to Hell.
God sent the apostle Peter to witness to Cornelius and thankfully he got saved
later in the chapter. God is good!
There is a cross-less Gospel that
has crept into today's churches which merely says to “trust Jesus” or “invite
Jesus into your heart” or “commit your life to Christ” to be saved. You can do
all of these things and go straight to Hell when you die. My friend, the Gospel
truth is that Christ:
“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.”
Surrendering to Christ's Lordship
is NOT a requirement to be saved. Forsaking the world and having intent to
reform is NOT a requirement to be saved. Inviting Jesus into your life is NOT a
requirement for eternal life. All God requires is that you see yourself as a
needy sinner and BELIEVE (rely upon) The Gospel. Believing is the way to be
saved. Forsaking sinful behavior is NOT part of the Gospel. Justification and
sanctification are two separate things. Consider this truthful quote by the
author of the classic book Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan:
“If you do not put a difference
between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification
wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word
aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling
blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)
Whatever changes that God expects
of a new believer is the Holy Spirit's department and you can be assured He
will attend to that. It is a horrible mistake and evil, to change the Gospel in
an attempt to force men to reform their sinful ways. The Gospel is a free gift,
and a gift need only be received. If there are any additional obligations or
requirements, then it is not truly a gift. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Anyone who comes to God as a needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the
cross as payment for your sins, is saved immediately, irrevocably and
permanently.
Now to clarify, no one ever got
saved who didn't admit that he or she is a sinner! You need to know why you
need a Savior, because you are a sinner, and the penalty for those sins is to
burn in Hell forever. But Christ paid your debt of sin with His blood on the
cross. This truth is confirmed in Romans 3:19, “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.” The Bible
silences the boasting of self-righteous men who brag of keeping the law of
Moses. You cannot save yourself! We see the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21,
boasting that he had kept all of God's commandments “FROM MY YOUTH UP.” Then we
see the unsaved group of religious people boasting in Matthew 7:21-23 of their
own “MANY WONDERFUL WORKS.” Ah, but the Old Testament law was intended by God
to be used as a measuring stick, by which when compared we see ourselves as A
NEEDY SINNER in God's sight. This then leaves us with only one option if we
would desire to enter Heaven one day in eternity, and that only option is to
BELIEVE THE GOSPEL (the Good News of Christ's death, burial and resurrection).
The Scriptures explain themselves
very well. 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.” Repentance is a change of mind about what we want to
do to get to Heaven, to what God says that we must do to get to Heaven.
Repentance is simply admitting that I am a needy sinner in God's eyes,
realizing that I am guilty and totally incapable of saving myself in any way.
Repentance is necessary for
salvation.
The Greek word for repent is
metanoeo, which, translated into English is: to change one’s mind. It does not
mean to turn from sin. That would add works to salvation.
Repentance for salvation means a
change of mind from men's ideas of salvation and religion, to an acceptance of
Gods only way of salvation.
This results in a completely new
creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever
after salvation and has not been reformed . . . The old nature can now be
controlled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
God guarantees salvation. This is
His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to
the obedient son.
God guarantees chastening and loss
of rewards to the disobedient son.
God does not cast out disobedient
children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His
children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.
Many teach repentance for salvation
incorrectly, by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as
willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has
confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not
understand Gods great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely
unscriptural. It is Galatianism and a counterfeit of the gospel.
It is a tragedy that many
Christians live shallow Christian lives. The Cambron Institute is dedicated to
the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total
dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives not to be saved but because
they are saved.
Shallow Christianity cannot be
cured by adding works to salvation.
Salvation is not the result of what
we do, but is by receiving what God has done for us. Acts 13:38, 39; Acts
20:20: Gal. 1:8,9; Gal. 2:4; Gal. 2:21; Gal. 3:1.3; Gal. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10; II
Cor. 5:21; John 3:16-18; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5-8:11 Cor. 11:13-1 5.
The man who comes to Christ has
repented, which is the very reason he is coming to Jesus to be saved from his
sins. Repentance and faith happen at THE SAME TIME, and are inseparable.
Repentance without faith is mere declaration of sinnership or reformation
(turning over a new leaf), but is not Biblical repentance unless it is
accompanied by faith in Christ. Judas repented (a different Greek word meaning
to feel remorse afterwards) in Matthew 27:3, but still went to Hell in his
sins. Judas had no faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Judas was sorry he got
caught, but he hadn't realized that he is a guilty sinner in God's eyes for
breaking God's commandments.
If you acknowledge your guilty
condition and inability to save yourself, simply believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ (Who died in your place) and receive His payment (the Gospel) to be
saved. That's how salvation works, that is, you cease from your own DEAD WORKS,
and you simply REST in what Christ has done to pay for your sins instead. We
are saved through believing; Jesus does the saving! We are saved by God's grace
and mercy.
1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God.”
You do NOT have to be water
baptized nor doing anything to get to Heaven other than trust upon the Lord as
your Savior. Romans 4:5 proclaims... “But to him that worketh not, but
believeth on Him (Jesus) that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness.” What a wonderful truth! Our faith is COUNTED for righteousness!
There is NO self-righteousness involved in salvation. It is the gift of God.
You see, we have no righteousness of our own to offer God. No amount of good
can undo the bad we've done. Thus, Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe,
because we owed a debt that we could not pay. Salvation is receiving, not
giving. We are Sinners and Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is precious!
Just take God at His word and claim
His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no
good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!
Trusting Jesus is meaningless
without the cross. You must believe that Jesus died, was buried and rose again.
1st Corinthians 15:1-4 teaches that the gospel is the death, burial and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's simple plan of salvation is:
You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your
place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your
crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your
sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.
You say, “Surely, it cannot be that
simple!” Yes, that simple. It is scriptural; it is God's plan. My friend,
believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.
If you've never been saved, then
now is the time to believe upon the name of Jesus, the Christ, that your sins
will be blotted out forever and you can know that your name is written in
Heaven.
Christ died for your sins. You are
a sinner by nature and by choice. Jesus took your sins and charged them to His
own record. He went to the cross and paid the penalty for your sins. He says if
you're willing to receive Him in faith; He will transfer His payment to your
debt, and His righteousness to your sins. He will impute to you His goodness,
and impute to His own record your sin; if you in faith will trust Him as your
Savior.
Romans 8:34, “Who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
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