A Perversion Of The Gospel: Lordship Salvation

"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 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. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." 

by Dr. Curtis Hutson

Galatians 1:1-9 Lordship salvation is an unscriptural teaching regarding the doctrine of salvation and is confusing to Christians. Those who teach it claim that one must make Jesus Lord of his life in order to be saved. They use such expressions as, "You cannot receive Jesus as Saviour without receiving Him as Lord," or, "If Jesus Christ is not the Lord of your life, then you are not saved." The Bible teaches salvation by grace through faith. 

Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, "For by grace ye are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." But those who teach Lordship salvation say that is is not enough to trust Jesus Christ; you must also make Him Lord of your life in order to be saved. This kind of teaching frustrates the grace of God and is called in the Bible "another gospel." 

I. Another Gospel Which Is Not Another 

In verse 6, Paul said, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into grace of Christ unto another gospel." Paul contrasts the Gospel of the grace of God with "another gospel" which he does not define. In verse 7 he said, "Which is not another...." That sounds like a contradiction, but the word "another" does not come from the same Greek word. 

In verse 6 it means "another—different from the one we preach." 

In verse 7 the Greek word means "another of the same kind." So we might paraphrase the verse, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him who called you unto the grace of Christ unto a different gospel which is not like the one we preach." He goes on to say, "There be some that trouble you" (vs. 7). The preaching of another gospel troubles people. He also calls it a perversion of the Gospel of the grace of God.

Then he says something very strong in verse 8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed [or "let him be damned"].

Then he emphasizes it again in verse 9: "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach another gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed [or "let him be damned"]. Paul said, "I am startled; I marvel; I can't believe that you are so soon removed from the Gospel of the grace of Christ unto another gospel." "Another gospel" is not defined, so I will define it based upon the implication of the text. The Gospel of the grace of Christ is one thing. Another gospel would be anything that contradicts the teaching of salvation by grace through faith. If a man preaches that one is saved by the substitutionary death of Jesus, by trusting Christ, then adds some from of good works, he contradicts the Gospel of the grace of God. 

I could not put it any better than Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." Salvation cannot be by grace and works. It has to be either grace or works. Most people have a poor concept of grace. I used to work for a loan company. I would give what is called a "grace period." If you didn't pay your debt in time, you had five days "grace" before you got a notice and were tagged with a late charge. That is not grace; that is a probation. Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God toward Hell-deserving sinners. There is so much confusion over the doctrine of salvation.

If you ask the next ten people you see, "How does a person get to Heaven?" you will probably get ten different answers. And it is very likely that none would be correct. In the final analysis, there are only two schemes of salvation that are taught by all religions. One is that man saves himself; the other is that God saves a man. They say that man saves himself by reforming or cleaning up his life before he is saved in order to merit salvation; or that man saves himself by promising to keep the Ten Commandments before he is saved; or man saves himself by obedience. Others teach that man saves himself by behaving. Those who teach Lordship salvation say that man saves himself by making Jesus Lord of his life.

Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ: for it [the Gospel] is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that behaves..."? No, "...to every one that believeth." The only thing you can do with the Gospel is believe it. The Gospel is the Good News of how Jesus Christ came to this earth, how He died on a cross in our place for our sins, how he was buried and rose again the third day. That is the Gospel. Don't confuse the truth with the Gospel. The Gospel is the truth, but all truth is not the Gospel.

It is the truth that I wear a necktie to church, but that is not the Gospel. It the truth that I brush my teeth every morning, but that is not the Gospel. All truth is not the Gospel, but the Gospel is the truth. When I preach on Hell, I preach a Bible truth that ought to be preached and one that Jesus preached, but it is not the Gospel. hell is not good news; Hell is bad news. If I preach on judgment, I preach the truth but not the Gospel. But when I preach that Jesus loved sinners, that He died in the sinner's place to pay the sinner's debt, that He was buried and after three days God raised Him form the dead to show His satisfaction with the payment, then I preach the Gospel. 

An old preacher spoke to a large crowd of young preachers. Before leaving the platform, one young pastor said to him, "Sir, before you leave, give us a word of advice." The old preacher thought for a moment, then said, "My preacher brethren, make it plain to men how they are to saved." Far too many preachers are muddying the Gospel. The waters of the grace of God must be kept crystal clear. It disturbs me when preachers scramble the grace of God with works. Paul said, "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you...LET HIM BE DAMNED!"

Strong language, but that is how God feels about preachers who pervert the Gospel. Paul says that even an angel is to be damned for preaching another gospel. Something about us religious humans make us want to add to the Gospel. We want to help God with our salvation. If we can't help Him save us, we want to help keep ourselves saved. Adam and Eve gathered fig leaves and sewed them together to make aprons to cover their nakedness. They knew something was wrong and tried to right it before God came to visit. They were happy and well pleased with their fig-leaf religion until God came, then they were embarrassed with their fig-leaf covering and ran and hid themselves. God called them unto Himself, killed an innocent animal (a picture of the substitutionary death of Jesus), took the skin from the animal and made coats for Adam and Eve. He didn't let them keep one single fig leaf of their own making. Salvation is of the Lord. You may be satisfied to stand before men with you religion, but are you going to be satisfied when you stand before God Almighty?

Remember, God put His Son on a cross, loaded Him down with your sin, and poured out His wrath on His own Son so He could save you from the penalty of sin, which is Hell! Are you going to be satisfied when you stand before God with fig-leaf religion? There is no promise in the Bible to those who partially believe on Christ; one must trust Him alone and nothing else. Those who teach Lordship salvation say, "If you do not give over the control of your life to Christ at the moment of salvation, you are not saved."

II. Must There Be a Commitment to Christ as the Lord of One's Life in Order to Be Saved?

Those who teach Lordship salvation say that you cannot divorce His Saviourhood from His Lordship; that you can't accept Him as Saviour without accepting Him as the Lord of your life also; that unless Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, you are not saved. But when you question these same people, you discover that Jesus is not Lord of their lives. I asked one who taught Lordship salvation, "Has Jesus been Lord of your life since the day you trusted Him as Saviour? Has there ever been a time since you were saved when Christ has not been the absolute Lord of your life?" He hesitated a moment, then said, "Well, He has always been Lord, but there have been times when I didn't obey Him." When we don't obey Him, He is not Lord of Boss. When we are in control, Jesus cannot be in control. In Luke 6:46 Jesus said, "And why ye call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

It is inconsistent to call Him "Lord, Lord," and not do what He says. When this man I mentioned realized that Jesus had not been Lord of his life, he rephrased his statement: "Well, I am not saying that you must absolutely make Him Lord of your life in order to be saved, but there must be a willingness to be controlled by the Lord at the time of salvation in order to be saved." If there must be a willingness for Jesus to have absolute control over one's life in order to be saved, how long can he wait before he becomes unwilling and disobeys again? There are not two ways to be saved. One is either saved by grace through faith or saved by grace through faith plus surrender.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." If it is salvation by grace through faith, as this Scripture declares, then it is not salvation by grace through faith plus surrender, or plus anything else. It is salvation by grace through faith. PERIOD! You say, "Dr. Hutson, don't you believe in surrender?" Absolutely! Wholeheartedly! But not to be saved. Surrender can be right or wrong, depending where you put it. A diamond ring is a beautiful thing on a lady's finger. It brings pleasure to the lady. But put that same ring in her high-heeled shoe, and it causes pain and discomfort.

The surrender of the life to the Lordship of Christ is a beautiful and wonderful thing; but when you make surrender a requirement for salvation, it becomes an ugly, dirty, wicked thing and frustrates the marvelous grace of God! 

III. Bible Examples of Uncommitted Believers 

Let me give you some Bible examples of uncommitted believers. First, I will call your attention to some who had definite lapses from a fully surrendered life after they were saved. Second, I will call attention to believers who did not commit their lives to Christ until long after they were saved. Third, we will call attention to one in the Bible who trusted Christ as Saviour but never surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. David is an example of one who had a definite lapse in his surrender. Now David may or may not have surrendered his life to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation, but Jesus dead sure wasn't Lord of David's life when he committed adultery with Bathsheba.

David was lord at the time; David was running the show. David may or may not have surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation, but Jesus Christ was not Lord of David's life when he sent Uriah into battle and had him killed. If Jesus was Lord of David's life, then it is certain that David had a lapse of his surrender. David's life was not committed to the Lordship of Christ when he committed adultery and murder! So If he had committed his life, he definitely had a lapse. If total surrender to Christ was a prerequisite for salvation, then David lost his salvation until he totally surrendered again.

But he didn't lose it! According to Psalm 51:12, all he lost was the joy of salvation. He prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation." He didn't pray, "Lord, save me because You have not been the Lord of my life." Noah is another example of one saved by the grace of God who, if ever committed to Christ, had a relapse. The Bible says in Genesis 6:8, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Noah was saved and may or may not have surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation. But when the ark landed, Noah got drunk; and in a drunken stupor lay naked before his sons. If Noah had surrendered and committed his life to the Lordship of Christ when he was saved, he certainly had a lapse. You can't say Jesus Christ was controlling Noah's life when he got drunk! Noah was controlling his own life. You can't blame his immoral conduct on the Lord.

The Apostle Peter is another example of one who, if ever committed, had a relapse. Peter said, "Though al men forsake thee, I will never leave thee" (Matthew 26:33). But he followed the enemy and warmed himself by the Devil's fire. One of the enemy came and said, "Hey! That fellow there is one of them; he's one of the Lord's boys." Peter said, "Oh, no! I don't know Jesus." Another one said, "Yes, Peter is one of Jesus' followers." Peter insisted, "No, I don't know Christ. I'm not one of them!" A woman said, "You are one of His disciples! Your speech betrays you." And Peter began to curse. He said, "You blankety-blank-blank, lowdown, sneakin' woman, I don't know Jesus Christ and never knew Him!" If he surrendered to the Lordship of Christ in total commitment at the moment of salvation, he certainly had a lapse when he cursed and said, "I never knew Jesus Christ!"

In John 21, Peter quit the ministry. He said, "I go a fishing" (vs. 3). This was a public announcement that he never intended to preach again. "I am through preaching—I quit!" And six preachers went with him! When he got out on the lake in a boat, he took off his clothes and was out there naked in the middle of the night in a boat, fishing. It is all in John 21. If he was surrendered to Jesus Christ totally at the moment of salvation, he was not surrendered totally now. He quit the ministry and never intended to preach again! The Lord had to come and warm his backslidden heart by the fires of John, chapter 21, before he preached in Acts, chapter 2, and had 3,000 conversions. There are other examples in the Bible of men whom if they were totally surrendered, had a lapse in their yieldedness or commitment after they were saved.

Now let me give you an example from the Bible of some believers who were saved and later made a commitment of their lives to Christ. In Acts 19 we have the conversion of some people at Ephesus who had been worshipping the goddess Diana. An important part of worship included the superstitious dependence on magical words and charms and saying. Paul had been there two years preaching, and these people had believed on Christ. "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds" (vs. 18). Some of them had believed as much as two years earlier. Verse 19 says, "Many of them also which used curious [magical] arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver"—$9,300 worth of books burned! They were just now burning their books of magic--two years after trusting Christ!

These people were saved without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation. We know many believers who trusted Christ as Saviour, then years later quit bad habits such as smoking. We even know some who, like Noah, got drunk after they were saved. Now we are not condoning sin; we are simply showing that Jesus was not Lord of these believers' lives. I know some Christians who were saved and a year later quit some habits, while others waited several years.

As a matter of fact, I don't know one Christian anywhere who surrendered to the absolute Lordship of Christ at the moment of conversion and has continued a life of complete surrender. One dear man who teaches Lordship salvation told me that if Jesus was not Lord of an individual's life, then that individual was not saved. He also said that he had surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at the moment he was saved. Later this man was dismissed from a Christian organization because of conduct unbecoming of a Christian. You don't get better to get saved; you get saved to get better. You can't get better until you do get saved. You don't have anything to get better with.

In Acts 19 we have people who were saved though they had not totally committed themselves to Christ at the moment of trusting Him as Saviour. Two years later they burned their magic book—two years late! These people certainly contradict the teaching of Lordship salvation. The third example is one of a lifelong refusal to commit oneself to the Lordship of Christ. If you read only the Old Testament references to Lot, you wouldn't believe he was saved. But the Bibles says in 2nd Peter 2:7- 8 "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)"

Twice in verse 8 he is called "righteous," and verse 7 calls him "just Lot" Now Lot was saved, justified. Second Peter 2:7-8 makes this amply clear. But when you read the Old Testament account of his life, it is plain to see that he was never surrendered to God before or after he was saved. His Uncle Abraham set out on a journey, and Lot just followed his uncle! In the process, his herd of cattle grew; and his herdsmen began to fight with Abraham's herdsmen. Then they decided they had better separate. This little, puny, potato-string backboned nephew looked up at this giant of faith, Abraham, who said to Lot, "You choose either direction you want.' Lot looked towards the mountains, then toward the wellwatered plains of Jordan.

If he had been surrendered, he would have said, "Uncle Abraham, I am not even supposed to be out here. I just followed you. You make the choice, and I'll take the one you don't want." But that little pipsqueak took the well-watered plains of Jordan. He wasn't surrendered. When he went down to Sodom and called the Sodomites "brothers"—that is not being surrendered. If you call somebody who doesn't believe the Bible a "brother in Christ," you are not surrendered. It shows you don't know much about the Bible.

The only man who is your brother is the one who has received Jesus Christ as Saviour. You become a Son of God by faith (John 1:12). When he called those wicked Sodomites "brethren," do you think he was surrendered to Christ? Two angels came down from Heaven, and Lot took them into his house. The young and old men of the city of Sodom compassed about the house of Lot and clamored and cried, "Send those men out to us that we may know them" (Genesis 19:5). They wanted to commit homosexuality with two angels who came from Heaven. That is where we get the word "sodomy."

Do you know what Lot did? "I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." Does that sound like a committed Christian? It certainly doesn't! When God sent an angel down to get Lot out of Sodom, Lot lingered. He didn't want to leave. Finally the angel had to get him by the arm and drag him out of Sodom before the fire and brimstone rained down from Heaven. 

He was so worldly and uncommitted and unsurrendered that his sons-in-law laughed at him when he tried to get them to leave. They laughed at his testimony. But keep following him; his life gets worse. Before fire and brimstone rains down from God out of Heaven, they leave Sodom and Gomorrah. He takes with him his wife and two daughters. His wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. Lot goes into a cave with his two daughters and gets drunk. There was no liquor store in that cave, so Lot must have brought that wine with him when he left Sodom.

While he was drunk, he committed incest with both his daughters; and both gave birth to babies. Lot is a Bible example of one never surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, one who never made a total commitment to the Saviour. But we know he was saved because the Bible says so in 2nd Peter 2:7-8. So you have three Bible examples of uncommitted believers: those who trusted Christ had lapses in their yieldedness or surrender after they trusted Christ as Saviour but did not surrender until some time later, and Lot who never did yield his life to the Lordship of Christ. 

IV. Scriptures That Clearly Refute Lordship Salvation 

Not only do Bible examples refute Lordship salvation but clear passages of Scripture refute it also. First Corinthians 12:3 says, "...no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Now keep in mind that one does not have the presence of the Hoy Spirit in his life until after he is saved. Romans 8:9 says, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The Bible says in Galatians 4:6, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." John 3:6 says believers are "born of the Spirit." They are sealed by the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). If you can't call Jesus Lord without the Holy Ghost, and you must call Him Lord to get saved, and you are not saved without the Holy Ghost, you have a problem!

Romans is a book about salvation. Romans, chapter 3, says that everybody need to be saved. It describes humanity. It lays man out on God's examination table and gives him a divine diagnosis. God looks at man and says, "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways" (Romans 3:13-16). He describes man from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and says that he is a totally depraved sinner. In Romans 3:10 God says, "There is none righteous, no, not one."

In verse 23 He says, "For all have sinned, and come short upon the glory of God." Romans 3 teaches that everybody needs to be saved! Romans, chapter 4, gives three ways you cannot be saved. Verses 1 to 4 teach that one cannot be saved by works. Verses 9-12 teach that one cannot be saved by the observance of ordinances. Verses 13 to 25 teach that one cannot be saved by keeping the law. Romans, chapter 5, tells you the only way to be saved. Verse 1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Justified by what? By surrender? By commitment? By making Jesus Lord of your life? No. "Justified by FAITH." Romans, chapter 12, is written to those who are already saved, and verse 1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Notice that Paul refers to them as "brethren," meaning they were saved. there is no such thing as the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. The only people who are our Christian brothers are those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Everyone who has trusted Jesus or received Him as Saviour, has become a son of God and is therefore a brother to all others who have trusted that same Saviour.

These people to whom Paul is writing are born-again believers but not committed, surrendered believers; and Paul is pleading with them, in view of all God's mercies, to present their bodies as living sacrifices. They are saved but Jesus is not the Lord of their lives. Some say, "But the Bible says, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). The Bible says if you don't love the Lord with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and hate your father and mother and all that, you can't be a disciple. The Bible says if you don't forsake all you have, you can't be a disciple (Luke 14:33). That is all true, but remember He is saying, "You cannot be my disciple." He didn't say, "You can't go to Heaven." We must not confuse the requirements for discipleship with the requirement for salvation. Every disciple is a believer, but every believer is not a disciple. A disciple is a learner, a student.

God never says to the unsaved man, "Come after Me for salvation." He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But after one accepts Christ as Saviour, then He says in Matthew 4:19, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." We come to Him for salvation and come after Him for service. It is one thing to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour and quite another to surrender one's life to the Lord. There is such a thing as the dedicated Christian life. And there are carnal Christians, according to 1st Corinthians 3, who have never yielded their lives to Christ. The yielding of one's life or making Jesus Lord of one's life is not a requirement for salvation. That is Lordship salvation and a perversion of the Gospel. 

V. Some Arguments of Those Who Try to Prove Lordship Salvation

Those who teach Lordship salvation say, "But the Bible says, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'" Sure it does. But it does not say, "Obey the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."; it is always careful to identify the object of our faith. Our faith, our trust, our dependence must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot trust our good works, our good life, our surrender, our baptism, our ordinances or anything else. We must trust Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation. He plainly said, "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me" (John 14:6). Why must we confuse the most important message in the world? Suppose I am going to jump from a building into a net held by four men.

A mechanic is holding once corner of the net, a dentist one corner, an airplane pilot one corner, and an insurance salesman the other corner. I am going to trust them to catch me. Some one could say, " Believe on Mr. Domansky, the dentist, and thou shalt be saved," but that doesn't mean I have to let him pull all my teeth in order to get saved. It simply means that I am going to have to trust him to catch me in that net. Someone else could say, "Believe on Mr. Smith, the insurance salesman, and thou shalt be saved." But that doesn't mean I have to buy my insurance from Mr. Smith to be saved. It simply means I must trust him to hold that net for me. When the Bible says in Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," it doesn't mean you have to make Him Lord of your life. It simply means you must trust the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation.

Verse after verse in the Bible clearly says that salvation is simply trusting in Jesus Christ. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." The man who is trusting anything other than Jesus Christ is not saved. That is plain teaching of the Bible. The man who claims he is trusting in Jesus Christ—plus his ability to yield to the Lordship of Christ, is not fully trusting the Saviour; and there is no promise to those who trust Jesus Christ plus something else, no matter how good the other thing may be.

When we get to Heaven, we are going to sing: "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Revelation 5:9). We are not going to sing: " We are worthy for we have committed and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ." Now when you teach salvation by grace through faith, that one is saved simply by trusting Jesus Christ, some call that "easy believism." But you will not find that expression in the Bible. That is a manmade expression. It is not easy to get one to trust Christ, Him alone, and nothing else for salvation.

As matter of fact, that may be the hardest thing in the world to do. You are called upon to believe in Someone whom your eyes have never seen. You are called upon to believe in Someone, and you have never met an eyewitness who ever saw Him. You are called upon to believe on Someone whom the so-called scholarship of the day denies. You are called upon to believe in Someone who died on the cross two thousand years ago. You are called upon to believe in Someone of whom the only record you have of Him has been kept by His friends. You are called upon only to believe in His existence, but to believe that by depending on Him you can be justified on the basis that He was made guilty for your sins. Now that is not easy!

It is hard enough to trust someone we see and know, someone we have shaken hands with and talked to. But to trust in Someone whom we have not seen is difficult. That fact that most religions teach works, ordinances, sacraments, baptism or something else for salvation show how difficult is is to get a person to simply trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Salvation by grace is "believism" all right, but it is certainly not "easy believism." Now don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that you simply admit there is a Christ and thou shalt be saved; I am saying what the Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

The Bible word "believe" means to depend upon, to rely upon, to trust in. Some argue that verse in James 2:19, "...the devils also believe, and tremble." But the devils do not trust Jesus Christ as Saviour; they simply admit His existence. It is one thing to believe an airplane can fly; it is quite another to trust your physical life to the pilot and plane to take you across the nation. To be saved, one must trust Jesus Christ completely for salvation. No Christian in the world can say that when he was saved he totally committed himself to Christ and has since then been absolutely surrendered. Not even those who teach Lordship salvation will say that. 

They will say, "Jesus has been my Lord, but many times I have disobeyed Him." Then when you disobeyed Him, He wasn't the Lord of your life. Those who teach Lordship Salvation say, "He's always Lord." "Lord" comes from the Hebrew word Adonai, meaning "Master." It also comes from the word Jehovah, the personal name of God. There are several translations of the word. In that sense, He is everybody's Lord. He is the tadpole's Lord, the bumblebee's Lord, the bullfrog's Lord, the rattlesnake's Lord—but that doesn't mean they are saved. He is Master of the whole universe. he can do what He want to do, when He wants to do it! 

Philippians 2:10-11, declares, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Does that mean that everyone will be saved, since the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord? Of course not. When we talk about Jesus being Lord of one's life, we mean yielding to Him for the control of the life. Jesus is Lord over many things about every individual—the color of my eyes, my height, my parents, etc.

The Lord determined who my parents would be. He was the Boss; He was the Master. The Lord determined my height. he determined the size of my ears, nose, the texture of my skin. But one important area of my life where He gives me control is my will. God made us free moral agents. We are creatures of choice. He wants to be Lord of our wills, but he doesn't want to force us. He wants us to yield to Him because we want to do so. He was a willing Saviour, and He will have only willing servants. We trust Him for salvation, and we yield to Him for service. 

VI. The Teaching of Lordship Salvation Confuses Believers 

I have often heard those who teach Lordship salvation brag that three of four preachers got saved in their service. Some have said, "The youth pastor and three deacons got saved!" Now I am for people trusting Christ as Saviour who have not already done so, but I am against any teaching that confuses believers. We heard of a youth director who was supposedly saved after hearing a sermon on Lordship salvation. Then many of the young people who trusted Christ under the youth director's ministry, deciding they must not be saved, went forward and, in the words of the evangelist, were "really saved."

There is no difference between being saved and "really saved." There is no such thing as degrees in salvation. No one is more saved than the other. The Bible says in John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth upon him." Nothing can be plainer: those who are trusting Jesus Christ are saved, and they have everlasting life. And those who are not trusting Him are not saved, but the wrath of God abideth on them.

Saying one is "really saved" is like going to a funeral home, pointing to a casket and saying, "The person in that casket is dead," then pointing to another casket and saying, "The one in that casket is really dead!" There is no such thing as being dead, deader, and deadest. One is either dead or alive, saved or lost, guilty or justified, believing or not believing. There is no between. Why do good Christians supposedly get "really saved" under the preaching of Lordship salvation? Because they believe the preacher

If I believed that one must make Jesus Lord of his life in order to be saved, then I would go forward every time I heard a sermon on the subject and get saved because there have been times when I have been a disobedient child, times when I have yielded to my old carnal nature. The problem is, those who go forward and supposedly really get saved will have the same problem again later because they are not going to live a perfect life. There will be times when they will yield to the flesh; then when they hear a preacher say, "Unless you make Jesus Lord of your life, you are not saved," they will look back and see that Jesus has not been Lord of their lives and reason that if the preacher is correct, then they must not have been saved. 

So they will go forward again to trust Christ as Saviour, and make Him Lord of their lives so they can really be saved. Lordship salvation confuses believers and makes them doubt their salvation. The Bible is very plain: the only way to be saved is by trusting Jesus Christ. In John 3:18 Jesus divides the whole world into two groups: "He He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." The condemned criminal is the one who has been arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced.

The Bibles says the man who is trusting Jesus Christ is not under the sentence; he is not condemned. And he who is not trusting Jesus Christ is condemned. Why? Because he has "not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." He is not trusting Jesus Christ fully for salvation.

Does Jesus Know You?

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.”

I saw a meme yesterday on Facebook that alarmed me. It read: “If you want to go to Heaven make sure you know Jesus.” I instantly knew that was heresy. Did not Judas Iscariot know Jesus? Yes, Judas did know Jesus, being one of His very apostles. Yet, we know that Judas died in his sin of unbelief and went to Hell forever.

Dear reader, it isn't enough for you to know Jesus, He must know you. In our text passage of Scripture from Matthew 7:21-23 the dear Savior Himself denied knowing these people as His sheep. Jesus plainly tells us why He didn't know them, because they failed to do the WILL OF THE FATHER. We find what the Father's will 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 will of God the Father to get to Heaven is that you simply BELIEVE on the name of His only begotten (biological) Son. All guilty sinners who BELIEVE on the name of Jesus are going to Heaven. You just need to believe that Jesus did it all for you through Calvary's cross.

Beware Of The Lordship Heresy

Salvation is not trusting Jesus as your Lord and Savior; but rather, simply as your Savior. I am tired of the Lordship Salvation heresy which has infected nearly all churches (cults) today. When a corrupt pastor insists that you first “repent of your sins” to be saved, he is lying to you. You need only repent (change your mind) from unbelief to belief to get to Heaven. Since unbelief is the only sin which can keep you out of Heaven, then unbelief is the only sin you must change your mind about to be saved. Whatever changes God wants to see happen in your life after you are saved is His department and you can rest assure dear reader that He will attend to it. God is not an absent parent (Hebrews 12:6-8).

So, the $64,000 question is then: DOES JESUS KNOW YOU?

Does Christ recognize you as one of His redeemed sheep?

If you have placed all of your childlike faith (trust, reliance) in Jesus' death on the cross for your sins, His burial and bodily resurrection three days later, then He knows you dear friend. You are one of Christ's sheep!

The biggest fatal mistake that people make concerning God's simple plan of salvation is that they make it too complicated. I cringe when I hear preachers add the requirement to receive Jesus as your “Lord” to be saved, because there is no such requirement in God's simple plan of salvation. The unbiblical requirement to take Christ as one's “Lord” always carries with it a Trojan Horse of additional implied obligations to the lost sinner; namely, following Christ in loyal obedience, turning away from one's lifelong sinful bad habits, renouncing the world, surrendering one's ambitions and will to serve God faithfully, et cetera. These are not a part of God's simple plan of salvation. In fact, they pervert and prevent the new birth from happening.

In 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 we read about “the simplicity that is in Christ.” This simplicity is none other than the Gospel by which all who BELIEVE IT are 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.”

2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, for which I am forever grateful to God for putting it in His Word. In this passage we are warned about three perversions:

1. another Jesus
2. another spirit
3. another gospel

The Jehovah Witnesses for example have another Jesus. JW's teach that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers, both archangels. JW's deny that Jesus is almighty God. They falsely claim that Jesus is “a god,” but not the God. In sharp contrast, we read Jesus' own inspired Words in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus is almighty God! That reminds me of my younger days in Chicago. I yelled out “Jesus is God!” from our church bus window in my Bible college days and a JW told me in anger to, “Go to Hell!” That is very interesting considering that JW's don't believe Hell exists.

Jesus was never created; He created all things according to John 1:3 (King James Bible). John 1:3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” All of the Devil's corrupt modern Bible revisions change the preposition “by” to “through” in this verse, which attacks Jesus' deity as the Creator.

And may I kindly say that any Baptist church which teaches you must “repent of your sins” to get to Heaven is preaching another gospel. Their church has another spirit that is not the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul plainly defines “the gospel” for us in 1st Corinthians 15:1-6, which he received directly from Jesus (Galatians 1:12). There is nothing in Paul's gospel about being willing to turn away from sinful bad habits as a requirement to be saved. As hard as it may be to grasp, the greatest threat to sinners today has become the doctrinally corrupt local church.

It doesn't matter if you know Jesus dear friend. Don't fall for that falsehood. What does matter is if Jesus knows you! Have you been born again? Are you one of His sheep? John 10:26-28, “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

The One Thing That Determines Salvation

by Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” —John 3:36

What is the determining factor in salvation? Exactly what does a person have to do to be saved? The Bible doesn’t leave us in the dark. The answer is found in the Word of God.

In Acts 16:30-31 the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

The jailer was asking, “What one thing is absolutely necessary for my salvation?” and the Bible answer was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In John 3:36 Jesus divides the world into two groups: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Here you have those who are believing on the Son and those who believe not on the Son. Those who are believing have everlasting life, according to the promise of God; and those who believe not shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on them.

In John 3:18, again Jesus divides the world into two groups: “He that believeth on him is not condemned [is not under sentence]: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Here again Jesus says there are two groups: those who believe and those who believe not. Those who believe have the sentence lifted. They are not condemned. And those who believe not are under the sentence of sin, which is the second death, because they are not believing on “the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Galatians 3:26 says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” This passage plainly says that everybody who is a child of God is a child of God by faith. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Neither time nor space permits me to share with you all the verses that say believing, or faith, is the determining factor in salvation. There are at least 153 verses in the Bible that make believing the determining factor in salvation. Mark 16:16 says, “He that believeth not shall be damned.” So if the Bible is true, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the determining factor in salvation.

I’ve heard or read a number of sermons on “saving faith”; but the Bible never puts the word “saving” before faith. Faith is not the Saviour. Jesus is the Saviour. Faith is an attitude of the soul through which Jesus saves.

The Bible never tells us to believe and be saved. It is always careful to say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” or, “Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” or, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” It’s the Object of faith that makes faith important. Faith in the wrong thing could result in a person’s damnation.

Now since faith is the determining factor in salvation, it is important to know what faith is.

So far as I know, there’s only one definition of faith in the Bible. It’s found in Hebrews 11:1. But while there’s only one definition, there are many illustrations of faith in the Bible. I think the best illustration of faith is found in Hebrews 12:2, where we find the expression, “Looking unto Jesus.”

I. Faith Is Not Looking At Jesus But Looking Unto Jesus

Almost everyone will admit that Jesus Christ existed, that He was a real person. Every time we date a check, we admit the existence of Christ. Faith is not looking at Jesus as a historical personage.

James 2:19 says, “The devils also believe, and tremble.” Even the demons admit the existence of Christ. In Acts 19:15 the evil spirit in the man said, “…Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” No, faith is not looking at Jesus; it’s looking unto Jesus, which is another way of saying depending on Jesus.

Suppose someone cosigned for you to borrow money, and if you didn’t pay, the authorities would put you in jail. And suppose the money came due and you had nothing with which to pay. You called your cosigner and said, “Bob, I’ve got problems. You know that note you signed for me—well, the money is due, and I can’t pay it.”

Your friend replied, “Don’t worry about it. Just look to me!” He means by that, “Just depend on me. I’ll pay it.”

Jesus Christ says that we owe a sin debt. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” To pay what we owe, we would have to die and go into Hell and stay there forever. But He says, “Don’t worry about it. You just look to Me.”

Isaiah 53:6 says, “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Two thousand years ago God took every sin you have ever committed and every one you will ever commit, and God Almighty laid those sins on Jesus Christ. While Jesus Christ was bearing your sins in His own body, God punished Him in your place to pay the debt that you owe as a sinner.

Jesus uttered seven things while He hung on the cross. Just before dying He said, “It is finished.” Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it. It’s complete!

His death on the cross made full payment for your sins. And now He says to you, “Look to Me! Believe that I did die on the cross for you. Believe that I did pay your sin debt and look to Me. Look to Me, and all is well.” Faith is not looking at Jesus; it’s looking unto Jesus, depending on Jesus, relying on Jesus, putting the matter of your salvation in His hands and trusting Him to get you to Heaven.

II. Faith Is Looking Away From Everything Else and Looking Only to Jesus

Martin Luther translated Hebrews 12:2, “Aufsehen zu Jesus,” which means “looking up to Jesus”; in other words, looking away from everything else and looking only to Jesus. It means that you look away from your works.

How long do you think you’d have to work to earn Heaven? Read the description of Heaven in Revelation 21 and 22. Why, the Bible says the street in Heaven is made of pure gold. The gold is so pure it’s like transparent glass. You can see through it. Earth has no way of refining gold that pure. If you worked ten million lifetimes, you couldn’t begin to earn Heaven. And the Bible says in 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.”

And consider this: If a man worked to stay out of Hell, the very motive would render the work ineffective. He would be working from a motive of fear. According to I Corinthians 13, all work must be motivated by love. Paul said in verse 3, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity [or love], it profiteth me nothing.” So if a person worked to stay out of Hell, the motive would render the work ineffective.

A boy once asked an old preacher, “Sir, what can I do to be saved?”

The preacher replied, “Son, you’re too late.”

“What!” exclaimed the boy, “too late to be saved?”

“No,” said the preacher, “too late to do anything. You see, son, Jesus did it all two thousand years ago.”

Now wait a minute! I believe in good works, but not as an instrument of salvation. You don’t work to be saved; you work because you are saved.

I would not work my soul to save,
For that my Lord hath done,
But I would work like any slave
For love of God’s dear Son!

“Looking up to Jesus” means I look away from my righteousness and only to Jesus. I’m for living right. You ought to live as clean, as moral and as pure as you possibly can. But Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Isaiah 64:6 says, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”

Now just a minute, friend. The Bible doesn’t say the worst you do is like filthy rags, but the best you do. There is no way that anyone could ever be righteous enough to go to Heaven. You would have to be perfect, and there are no perfect people.

Sam Jones, the Methodist evangelist, once asked a congregation, “Does anyone here know a perfect person?” A lady raised her hand. “Yes.”

“Do you know a perfect person?”

“Well,” answered the lady, “I’ve never met her, but my husband talks about her all the time. She was his first wife.”

The truth is, no one is perfect. Jesus said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Faith is looking away from our righteousness and looking only to Jesus. You don’t get better to get saved. You get saved to get better, and you can’t get better until you do get saved.

A stanza from my favorite hymn says:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

“Looking up to Jesus” means looking away from our church membership and looking only to Jesus. Everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour should join a church. But you don’t join the church to become a Christian. Being in the church won’t make a Christian out of you any more than getting into the garage will make an automobile out of you. I’m a church member, and everybody who’s saved ought to join a Bible-believing church. Acts 2:41 says, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

On the other hand, if you’re depending on the fact that you belong to the church to get you to Heaven, you’ll go to Hell through the church. In Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus said, “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.”

According to the Bible, many will miss Heaven even though they were church members and worked hard, even preaching or prophesying in Jesus’ name. But they will miss Heaven because they did not totally, fully, completely trust Jesus Christ. They trusted their works.

“Looking up to Jesus” means you look away from your baptism and look only to Jesus. I’m for baptism. Every person who accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour ought to be baptized, but baptism is not an instrument of salvation. It’s an outward expression of an inward experience. It’s like putting the wedding band on the finger after you are married. It doesn’t marry you, but it shows everybody that you are married. Being baptized doesn’t save you. It’s an outward symbol telling others that you believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

The man who’s depending on his baptism to get him to Heaven will go to Hell through the baptistry. Now why do I say that? Because John 3:36 says, “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Wait a minute, friend, Jesus Christ says if you’re not depending on, believing, trusting, relying on the Son, you “shall not see life; but the wrath of God” abides on you. The man who’s trusting his church membership or his baptism or his reformation or anything else other than Jesus Christ, will not go to Heaven. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” There is no promise to those who partly believe on Christ and partly on something else.

Someone asked me, “But doesn’t the Bible say in Mark 16:16, ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…’?”

“Yes,” I replied, “but the next expression says, ‘…he that believeth not shall be damned.’” You see, believing is the determining factor, not being baptized. That’s like saying, “He that getteth on the jet plane and sitteth down, shall fly to Jacksonville, Florida; but he that getteth not on the plane, shall not fly to Jacksonville.”

It’s the getting on that gets you there, not the sitting down. But any fool knows if you get on, you ought to sit down. If you don’t sit down, you’ll wish you had sat down before you reach your final destination.

If you’ve trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour, you ought to be baptized. But you should not be baptized thinking that baptism saves you. If you do, you’re not trusting Jesus Christ; you’re trusting baptism. Faith is looking away from everything else and looking only to Jesus Christ.

III. Faith Is Not Experiencing a Feeling But Relying on a Fact

I’ve dealt with people who doubted their salvation because they did not think they had the proper feelings at the time of conversion. There is not a verse in the Bible that tells a man exactly how he has to feel in order to be saved. As a matter of fact, the Bible never says you have to feel any way to be saved. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

I remember when I was first married. We drove back to my wife’s home, and there were some friends in the yard. When we got out of the automobile, someone asked me, “How does it feel to be married?”

I said, “I feel exactly like I did a few minutes ago.” But you know something? I was just as married as the fellow who had some great feeling.

Not everyone reacts the same to the same experience. I remember one night I was driving home from a revival meeting when a car overturned in front of us. Several people were badly injured. Some who saw it cried, others ran to help, while some buried their faces in their hands. One lady fainted. Now they all saw the same thing and had the same experience but reacted differently. I’ve seen people cry when they trusted Christ as Saviour. I’ve been with others who smiled, while others laughed and some even shouted; but they all had the same experience. They all trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. No, faith is not having some particular feeling. Faith is depending on a fact.

Now here’s the fact: Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ died for you. He bore your sins in His own body. God punished Him in your place to pay the debt that you owe. That’s a fact. Whether you ever do anything about it or not, it’s still a fact.

What you must do is believe that fact and not only believe in your head that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay your sin debt, but depend on, rely on, trust Him and what He did for your salvation.

If I were not a Christian and wanted to be, I would simply pray this prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I do believe that You died for me. And here and now I do trust You as my Saviour. From this minute on, I’m depending on You to get me to Heaven. Help me to live for You and to be a good Christian.

After praying the prayer, I would accept what God says in the Bible—that I do have everlasting life because I’m trusting Jesus Christ for my salvation: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36). I mean I’d accept what God says, whether or not I ever had any feelings.

Once you make that decision and trust Christ, perhaps there’ll be some feeling. But whether or not the feeling comes, the Word of God is still true. God cannot lie!

When you trust Him, you will have everlasting life. The determining factor in salvation is believing, trusting, depending on, relying on the Lord Jesus Christ.

F.G. Pentecost said, “Two and two is four—that’s mathematics. Hydrogen and oxygen form water—that’s chemistry. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved’—that’s revelation.”

You ask, “How do I know?”

“Well,” he said, “the burden of proof lies with you. Put two and two together and see if you don’t have four. Put hydrogen and oxygen together and see if you don’t have water. And believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and see if you won’t be saved.”

Ozzy Osbourne Is Dead At Age 76

John 3:1-3, “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 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.”

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (December 3, 1948 – July 22, 2025) died today. sadly. I do not know if he went to Heaven or Hell. Only Ozzy and God know the truth. My gut tells me that Ozzy went to Hell forever in his sins without Jesus as His Savior. I haven't been able to find any testimony where Ozzy professed faith directly in Jesus Christ. Even the Devil appears as an angel of light to deceive his victims (2nd Corinthians 11:13-15).

Ozzy Osbourne was a very popular English singer, songwriter and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness." Ozzy was infamous for biting the head off of a live bat in a concert, and for urinating upon the Alamo in Texas for which he was banned by the state from performing future concerts.

As a singer, Ozzy was gifted. Randy Rhoads (1956-1982) catapulted Ozzy career in the early 1980s with his amazing guitar techniques and unique heavy metal guitar tone. Sadly, Randy was murdered by a drug-crazed pilot who commit suicide in 1982, also murdering Ozzy's hair-dresser. I thought it was interesting years ago when I read that Ozzy had visited Ken Ham's Ark Encounter in Kentucky.

I hesitate to say that Ozzy went to Hell when he died, because the man did profess faith in Christ. There is a chance that he went to Heaven. We simply do not know. My concern is that Ozzy identified with the apostate Church of England, who are wrong on repentance and the Gospel. Like so many professions of Christianity today, Ozzy's profession appears to have been merely superficial (Matthew 15:8-9). Was Ozzy born again? I simply do not know. It breaks my heart to think that Ozzy might be burning in the fires of Hell now and forever!

Ozzy rejected organized religion, which is actually a good sign. I reject organized religion too! I hate religion!!! Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this miserable world. No religion can get you into Heaven. Salvation is not found in any religion; but rather, it is found through faith in the person and redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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.” It is that simple to be saved. If Ozzy was solely relying upon Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for his sins, believing that Jesus was buried but then raised up from the dead physically the third day, then Ozzy went to Heaven today. I sure hope so!

No amount of sin or evil done can hinder the vilest sinner from entering through Heaven's pearly gates, if that soul is trusting in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ alone. 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.”

Someone kindly asked me today on Facebook how someone as wicked as Ozzy Osbourne could have went to Heaven. Here is my unedited reply:

There is no denying that Ozzy lived like the Devil for most of his life. The singer struggled with substance abuse and credited his wife Sharon with saving his life. Ozzy has openly said that he has never worshipped Satan. He claims it was all marketing ploys to make money, and I believe him. Granted, Satan used Ozzy's influence to ruin millions of young people's lives, including dozens of families who sued Ozzy over their teens committing suicide while listening to Ozzy's song, "Suicide Solution."

But we must remember that some of the worst people in the Bible were God's children. If it weren't for the New Testament, we'd never know that sinful Lot was saved. I believe Esau was saved, and Ishmael. Noah got drunk. Samson was a lifelong fornicator. David murdered Uriah to cover up the unintended pregnancy with his wife, Bathsheba. Solomon built altars for his heathen wives to sacrifice children to Baal. Isaiah was a man of unclean lips. Jeremiah quit the ministry. Abraham lied and commit adultery. Sarah laughed in God's face and horribly mistreated Hagar. Moses had a viscous hot temper, even murdering a man; Moses smote the rock twice which God had commanded him to strike once, ruining that type of Christ who was once crucified for our sins. The Bible is filled with sinful saints who lived reckless lives of sin and evil, dishonoring the Lord. So, Ozzy definitely could have been saved.

I only have doubts that Ozzy went to Heaven because I couldn't find any direct testimony from Ozzy himself of his faith in Jesus. Many people claim to be a "Christian," but have no clue what it really means to be one. Even the demonic cults of Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholics all claim to be Christians, but we know that is IMPOSSIBLE because they all add works to faith; and in the case of Mormons and JW's they also have another Jesus, and another spirit.

Another Christian woman commented on Facebook that she did understand how someone as evil as Ozzy could have been saved. Here is my unedited reply to her as well:

We read in Matthew 7:21-23 about a group of unsaved people. They were standing in judgment before Christ Himself, but Jesus denied knowing them as His sheep. The Lord said they had failed to do the will of the Father, which is to BELIEVE on the Son without works (John 6:40).

In Matthew 7:22 they boasted of their "many wonderful works." So, here we plainly see that it is impossible to determine if someone is saved or not by examining their life. To do so is to commit the error of Lordship Salvation. These people preached in Jesus' name, did good works in Jesus' name, even cast out devils in Jesus' name, but they still died in their sins and went to Hell forever. By all outward appearances they seemed to be Christians, but in fact they never were saved at all.

To know them “by their fruits” then, in Matthew 7:20, can only refer to their doctrine. The inspired Scripture confirms this truth in 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟰:𝟭, “𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱, 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱: 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.”

Jesus plainly told us what the will of the Father is to get to Heaven 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.”

Dear reader, it is impossible to determine if someone is saved or lost by examining their life. The only way to know for sure is by a direct testimony from their mouth (or writings) concerning what their relationship is to Jesus Christ. Only those who are solely trusting in Jesus, the Christ, because of His work of redemption through Calvary's cross are saved. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty!

In 2023, celebrity evangelist Dylan Novak gave Ozzy a modern Bible with Ozzy's name engraved on the front cover. According to Ozzy's son, Jack Osbourne, Ozzy absolutely loved the gift and cherished it. There has been much ado made in recent news that Ozzy declared his faith in God in the months before his death. Unfortunately, believing in God is not enough to get to heaven. James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

Jesus Himself warned in no uncertain terms in John 3:3b, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” If Ozzy wasn't born again, then he is now and forever burning in the fires, torments and darkness of Hell beneath. Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Ozzy's evil lifestyle couldn't have kept him out of Heaven, but his lack of faith in the only begotten Son of God who died on a cross to pay for his sins certainly could have. Since Ozzy did at least profess to be a Christian, I am reluctant to adamantly say that he went to Hell. We simply do not know. But if you pressed me for my honest opinion, I'd have to say that I doubt if Ozzy went to Heaven.

Ozzy could be in Heaven, but only he and God (and the unseen spirit world) know for certain. As contemptible as Ozzy was in the sight of Heaven, he is still beloved by the wicked world (John 15:19).

Hell Is A Literal Place Of Everlasting Torment And Suffering

Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Revelation 14:11, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Revelation 20:12-15, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

I am amazed and saddened how many people reject the truth of Hell. Even professed Christians, like Miss Renee Roland on YouTube, boldly deny the reality of everlasting punishment. Kindly said, Renee doesn't believe the Holy Bible. Our text passages above very clearly teach that there is a place of everlasting punishment. Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

The Seventh-Day Adventist and Jehovah's Witness religious cults deny the reality of eternal punishment. SDA's and JW's teach the false doctrine of annihilation instead. That is, they believe that when an unrighteous person dies, they cease to be conscious or exist. This is unscriptural. Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” The Bible plainly warns that the wicked shall be turned into Hell.

I used to work as a truck mechanic in the late 1980's and early 1990's, working my way through Bible college. I had a shop foreman who was a Mormon, named Chuck. One day Chuck came up to me, as soon as I clocked into work, handing me a piece of paper with some Bible verses written on it. Chuck knew that I was going to Bible college to become a Baptist preacher. He kindly said that if I studied those Bible passages, I would see that “hell” in the Old Testament simply refers to the “grave” (Hebrew: Sheol), not a place of eternal damnation and torment. Mormons also don't believe in eternal torture in a literal place called “Hell.”

But dear reader, consider this truth—if the righteous and the wicked go to the same place, then Psalms 9:17 makes absolutely no sense! Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” What would be the point if this Bible verse if the saved (righteous)  and the unsaved (unrighteous) go to the same place? Obviously then, the implication is 100% clear that the unrighteous DO NOT go to the same place that the righteous do. The word “Sheol” refers to THE REALM OF THE DEAD, which means more than merely the grave. Sheol refers to the place where the dead go, but this does not limit the meaning to exclude Heaven or Hell. If I say that someone went to the store, it doesn't mean that everyone went to the same store!

So in the context of Psalms 9:17, we see clearly that the righteous and the wicked go to DIFFERENT places after they die. Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Again, we see that the wicked and the righteous do to SEPERATE places in eternity (i.e., Heaven or Hell). There is no such place as Purgatory, which is a fabrication of the Roman Catholic church. The doctrine of Purgatory was first established by Gregory the Great in the year 593 AD.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but no one has a right to their own facts! The Bible is very factual that Hell is a literal place that burns with fire and brimstone (sulfur), where the damned (all Christ rejecters) will suffer in torment in fire and smoke for all eternity without rest day nor night. The way of escape if through faith in the precious Savior Jesus Christ. John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

The Bible has more to say about Hell than it does about Heaven. It saddens me that so many people shirk off the inspired Holy Bible, as did the rich man who went to Hell:

Luke 16:28-31, “For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” 

As we just read, if a person won't heed the written Holy Bible, then they are doomed. God won't send an angel to convince you further. God won't perform a miracle to satisfy your doubts. God won't provide any further proof of His existence than nature (Psalms 19:1-3; Romans 1:20). The inspired King James Bible is all you need and all you're going to get from God to prepare you for eternity. If you reject God's free offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal life, then you cannot blame God. 2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

Why is Hell so awful? ...

• Hell is the Opposite of who God is; it is life Without God.
• Hell is Darkness because God is Light.
• Hell is Torment because God is Comfort
• Hell is Distress because God is Peace.
• Hell is Misery/Depression because God is Joy
• Hell is No Air because God is the Breath of Life
• Hell is No Love because God is Love
• Hell is No rest because God is Rest.
• Hell is Burning Fire and extreme thirst because God is Living Water
• Hell is Loneliness because God is Companionship
• Hell is Eternal Death because God is Eternal Life.

Please don't go to Hell forever! If you want to be saved, simply LOOK TO JESUS. Please read, “The One Thing That Determines Salvation” (by Pastor Curtis Hutson).

“More people will die and burn in Hell, because they're trusting too much!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a precious quote from the MP3 sermon, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”

“Everything that's hard and complicated about salvation is God's side of it!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a precious quote from the MP3 sermon, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”

Preach the Word, Love the People, and Trust the Lord.

If Salvation Could Be Lost, God Would Have To Undo Numerous Things

John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” 1st John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”

The inspired Holy Bible is very clear that when a person gets saved, they have PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE. Getting saved is a bridge that cannot be crossed over twice, nor can we return to the former place of being unregenerated as before we received Christ. The new birth can be likened unto the physical birth in numerous ways:

1. Once born, always born (John 3:4).
2. Neither the physical or spiritual birth can be undone (John 6:47).
3. Just as the first birth was beyond our control, so also is the new birth completely of God (John 1:12-13).
4. No one has ever been born physically or spiritually twice. You can be born twice, but only once physically and once spiritually.
5. Just as we had to be born of the flesh to be alive physically, so also must we be born of the Holy Spirit to be alive spiritually.
6. A person can die physically, but cannot undo being born. Likewise, all humans are both spiritually dead, which is why we need to be born-again of God; but once born-again no one can ever be unborn spiritually. It is absolutely impossible!

If salvation could be lost or undone once spiritual rebirth has already occurred in a believer, God would then have to do numerous things the Bible never speaks of nor teaches! Surely the Holy Scripture would clearly illustrate these things, if God's gift of salvation could be forfeited.

Here are some of the things which God would have to undo, and would happen, if you and I could lose God's free gift of salvation (which is by faith alone in the Gospel):

1. God would have to pass us back from life unto death. John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
2. God would have to take back His free gift of eternal life, making Him a liar. 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.”
3. God would have to remove us spiritually from being seated with Christ in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:6, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
4. God would have to "un-join" us from Christ. Ephesians 4:16, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”
5. God would have to "un-wash" us from the blood of Jesus that already washed me (1st Corinthians 6:9-11; Revelation 1:5). 1st John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
6. God would have to "un-seal" us from the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
7. God would have to impute our sins back to us, which He has already imputed to Jesus Christ by faith. Romans 4:5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,”
8. God would have to restore our sins, no longer removed as far as the east is from the west. Psalms 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
9. God would have to remember our sins again, which He had previously forgotten. Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
10. God would have to break His own covenant He made with His Son and therefore would make Him a liar. Ezekiel 16:8, “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness:​​ yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.”
11. God would have to "un-adopt" us as His child. Romans 8:15, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
12. God would have to leave and forsake us, even though He promised to never do so. Hebrews 13:5, “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.”
13. God would have to "pluck us" out from His own hand, which He has already promised that nothing could ever do! John 10:28: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
14. God would have to take back the free gift of eternal life that He has already given to us by faith. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
15. God would have to “undo” the righteousness that He has already imputed to you and me by faith. Romans 4:6, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,”
16. God would have to fail to raise us up on the last day, going back on His solemn promise to do so. 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.”
17. God would have to fail in completing the “good work” in us, that He has already promised to perform. Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
18. God would have to ignore the prayers of His Son on our behalf, Who intercedes for us as believers. John 17:9, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.”
19. The Holy Spirit would have to stop making intercession for us when we pray. Romans 8:26. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
20. Jesus would have to stop being our heavenly High Priest. Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
21. It would mean that salvation is really a reward and not a free gift, since we must do something to keep it. Romans 3:19-20, “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. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
    
22. It would mean that we are no longer married to Christ. 2nd Corinthians 11:2, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
23. It would mean that no believer can rejoice with 100% confidence that our name is written in Heaven, because we might lose it. Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
24. It would cause every believer to live in fear, worry and uncertainty, never knowing if we are truly saved. 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, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
25. The entire Bible would have to be written to retain God's integrity. The Gospel of John teaches us simply to BELIEVE to be saved. If salvation could be lost because of sin, unfaithfulness or any other reason, for the man that BELIEVES, then God lied. 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.” Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”