I was typing the address to my blog when I punched the wrong key and up popped a website about the Bible and Bible prophecy, complete with instructions about salvation. Strangely enough, this website contained information about how to be saved that completely ignored, never mentioned, and contradicted John 3:16.
I mention the omission of John 3:16 because that text, that most famous verse in the Bible, doesn't contain any "steps" on how to secure salvation, unless you count "believe" as a step. If that's the case, then John 3:16 contains one step. But this website tells the reader that there are steps, that is, things (plural) to do to be saved.
STEP LIVELY
The writer tells the reader that in to be saved he must "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus--Repent."
There are terrible things about this statement. First of all, it's impossible. Nobody can forsake ALL sin. Nobody. Nobody is willing to forsake ALL sin because we willingly sin everyday. The statement is false on the face of it. The writer himself hasn't forsaken ALL sin as John points out in I John 1:9, a sentence written, as all epistles are, to the saved: "If we [believers] say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." We note that the Apostle John includes himself when he writes, "If we say . . ."
The discerning reader, wanting to know how to be saved, if he takes the words of the writer seriously, should give up immediately; neither he, nor I, nor the writer of that website can give up ALL sin.
Secondly, as we read through the Gospel of John, where do we find, "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus" as a condition of salvation? As we read through the evangelistic sermons of the Apostles in Acts, where do you read such a demand made to the unbeliever?
Yet, this false gospel that demands we "give up all sin," or "be willing to give up all sin," is rife. One author tells us, "If there is a reserve in your obedience, you are on your way to hell." (Arthur Pink) Wait. What? If we're reluctant to obey, we're going to hell? What biblical text teaches us that nonsense?
But the writer would say, "You won't find those demands in John or in the sermons of Acts per se, but they're in the word, "repent." But that's begging the question; are they in the word, "repent?"
Michael Cocoris calls repentance the most misunderstood word in the Bible. Reflecting this misunderstanding, Dr. Richard Seymour writes, "For much of my young life my misunderstanding of repentance kept me blinded and confused concerning the gospel of God's grace. I perceived, as many do, that to repent meant I had to make some major changes in my life before God would even consider being kind or merciful toward me. . . My idea was that I had to do something about my sins. I had to quit committing certain sins like cursing, drinking, and lying. I had to feel deep sorrow and weep over my wickedness. I had to turn my back totally on every questionable habit that might offend God or that would create a barrier between us."
Dr. Seymour goes on to say that he was taught that his salvation depended on the degree of his sorrow and on his efforts to clean up his life. What was happening? He was using his English dictionary to define, "repentance," and not going to the meaning of the Greek word as the New Testament uses it. In the New Testament Greek, "repent" means "to rethink," to change one's mind." It does not mean "feel sorry for," "forsake," or "turn around."
LOOK AT ISLAM
On an Islamic website, Ahmad Farid writes about "Seeking Allah's Forgiveness." He tells the reader to come to Allah in repentance and defines the word as "turning away from wrong action with both heart and body." What's the difference between the repentance of Islam and the repentance Dr. Seymour was taught? Nothing.
Where in I Cor. 15:1ff, which Paul says is "the gospel I delivered to you," do we find, "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus"?
In Acts 2, as Peter brings the message to the huge crowd on the Day of Pentecost, he brings them to accountability for their sin--they nailed God's Son, the Messiah, to the cross. They'd thought Him to be a blaspheming criminal, one who deserved the torture of a cross-death, but in reality, He was the One promised in the Old Testament, going way back to Genesis 3:15! We can almost hear their collective gasp of, "Oh, no! We did do that!"
Cut to the heart, the people ask, "What shall we do?"
Peter tells them, "Repent!" The word he uses isn't the Greek word for "feel sorry." Feeling sorry would do no good because the deed was done some weeks ago just outside Jerusalem. By telling them to repent, he's telling them to change their attitude, to rethink who Jesus is, to change their minds about Him. He wasn't a criminal; change your mind--He's the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior who died for your sins and rose from the dead.
HERE'S ANOTHER THING TO DO WHILE YOU'RE AT IT
But, according to the website writer, there's something else you have to do: beg. He tells the reader to "Ask for forgiveness. Ask for God's mercy." Again, we might ask, "Where to we find that anywhere in the Bible after the death of Christ? The sermons of the Apostles never mention our need of begging God to save us. God has been satisfied by the death of Christ as the full, final, and finished payment for our sins (I John 2:2).
By injecting asking for forgiveness, the writer is giving the impression that salvation depends on my persuasive abilities and is painting a false picture of God as One who is reluctant, One who needs softening up by asking or begging for forgiveness. I once heard a lady, in church, say, "God doesn't forgive you until you say, 'I'm sorry.'" That sounds puerile.
Some carry this begging for salvation into the Christian's life. John Piper, popular author and speaker, writes, "I probably pray the prayer, 'Keep me and preserve me,' as often as I pray any prayer. I think God uses means to cause us to persevere."
Does this begging sound like Islam? On the Islamic website mentioned above, Farid writes that one must seek forgiveness by asking Allah for it: "Seeking forgiveness is similar to supplication in that Allah, if He so wishes, responds to it and forgives the person who seeks His forgiveness. This is especially true if the du’a (supplication) came directly from a heart troubled by wrong actions, or if it was made during the times most favorable for His response, such as in the early hours of the morning or immediately following the prayer."
If we omit the encouragement to come in the morning asking Allah for forgiveness, is there any difference between the Islamic view of gaining forgiveness and the statements of the writer telling his readers to ask God to forgive them?
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
The webmaster/writer, in telling the reader the things to do to be saved, piles it on like a defense gang tackling grace. When asking God for forgiveness, he tells us: "Right now, kneel and pray this prayer out loud, and mean it." (He emphasizes these instructions because he puts them in capital letters.)
We've got to ask the question again--where in the New Testament do the Apostles tell people that to be saved, kneeling and praying out loud are involved? Kneeling is only mentioned twice in Acts, both times regarding those already saved who kneel in prayer--Stephen in Acts 7 and Paul, the Ephesians elders and their families in Acts 21-- but they're not kneeling to beg God to save them.
IS THERE A "SINNER'S PRAYER"?
Where in the New Testament do we find that to be saved a person must pray silently or aloud? The so-called "Sinner's Prayer" isn't anywhere in the Bible. The Sinner's Prayer was born in the 20th century and was popularized by evangelist Billy Graham and Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ (the name of the organization at the time).
Under the leadership of Bright, The Sinner's Prayer has been distributed by the billions, coming at the conclusion of "The Four Spiritual Laws," a booklet published by Campus Crusade for Christ. The Sinner's Prayer, which began somewhere in the 1940's is now so embedded in Christian culture and evangelistic method that people believe a person cannot be saved unless he repeats the prayer. All tracts published by the American Tract Society contain the prayer. One individual whom I was training in evangelism asked, "But isn't the person supposed to pray a prayer?" These additions to the gospel show us just how many barnacles have attached themselves to the gospel.
And what prayer does the writer tell people to pray:
"Dear Jesus, I am sinner. I believe you are the Son of God and died for my sins on the cross. Forgive me all of my sins Jesus, I repent and give you my life. Have mercy on me, a sinner Help me to follow and obey your commandments and to live for you. I ask it in the name of My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen."
WWI
During WWI, because of the Espionage Act of 1917, it was against the law to speak or write in any way so as to interfere with military operations or recruitment. Then in the Sedition act of 1918, President Wilson signed a bill which criminalized any speech or writing that was "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive about the U. S. government or any language that caused people to feel this way about the government." A person could be heavily fined, go to jail for a long time, or even be executed for violating these laws.
HOLD ON, SPARKY
But wait! What about the First Amendment? "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." Going by the First Amendment, those laws were clearly unconstitutional. Any judge who upheld such a law had no authority to do so. But some did and many went to prison and some paid heavy fines.
But Justice Hugo Black cut the Gordian Knot by writing, "The famous 'no law' language of the First Amendment simply means 'no law.'" That was that; case closed.
In the same manner, we could say that three words show the fallacy of the false gospel the writer declares: "Apart from works" means "apart from works." (Romans 4:6; see also Romans 3:21, 28) We could say that even one word shows the fallacy of the false gospel the writer declares: "grace." Grace means "giftwise." Since Paul declares salvation to be a gift, by grace, that is, unmerited favor, a gift upon faith alone in Christ alone, there are no works such as "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus."
The writer puts the emphasis on the wrong person as the giver. He tells us to pray a prayer of promising to give one's life to Jesus, whereas the gospel declares that God is the Giver of salvation; He does the giving, we don't give Him anything, and if we do, it cancels the gift because it ceases to be a gift once we give anything in payment for it.
SO, WHAT CAN WE SAY TO THESE THINGS?
We can say, as Dr. Paul Chitwood wrote in 2001: "Paul’s ethic of evangelism ensures that the gospel, not the method of presenting the gospel, is the stumbling block for those who refuse to believe."
We can say, based on Galatians 1:6-9: the "gospel" proposed on the website has never and can never save anyone.
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Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak, available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."
Comments may be addressed to michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net.
If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.
Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.
Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:
notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org
Also:
Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582
What about Romans 10:9? How do we reconcile that with Acts 16:31?
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