I don't visit Harvest Baptist Church of Guam's (HBC) website very often, because they've banned me from returning to church and ostracized me since 2014, and it breaks my heart that I am not welcomed. But I recently took a look at their website and noticed in their Statement of Faith that they clearly claim to believe that salvation is by grace alone. This is a deception friends! HBC employees a bunch of Bob Jones University (BJU) graduates, and the church closely mimics whatever BJU supports and teaches. BJU is headquarters of the cult!
...salvation is possible only through Christ's ransom sacrifice and that individuals cannot be saved until they repent of their sins and call on the name of Jehovah. Salvation is described as a free gift from God, but is said to be unattainable without good works that are prompted by faith. [source]
The Bible shows that you must have works, or acts of obedience, to prove that your faith is alive. (James 2:24, 26) However, this does not mean that you can earn salvation. It is “God’s gift” based on his “undeserved kindness,” or “grace.”—Ephesians 2:8, 9; King James Version. [emphasis added]
SOURCE: https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-salvation
“For the real reality of the genuineness of your faith is that you are faithful to run the race!” —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 22:44)
Can you lose out on salvation?Yes. Just as a person saved from drowning could fall or jump back into the water, a person who has been saved from sin but fails to keep exercising faith could lose out on salvation. For this reason, the Bible urges Christians who have received salvation “to put up a hard fight for the faith.” [emphasis added]
SOURCE: https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-salvation
“You can't just speak about getting saved, and you accepted Christ, and then that's it! There is a justification; There is a sanctification; There's ultimately a glorification, and though there are three parts, they are all part of the whole, and you cannot separate them. In order for you to qualify for the award, you have to get into the race, you have to stay in the race, and you have to finish the race. If you want to win, you have to run to the end; and winning in the Christian life is everything, because if you lose—if you don't finish—you lose everything—you lose your SOUL. And so, the Christian race is the life of faith that begins, is run, and is finished when we cross over into Heaven!” —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 11:34)
One of my very favorite preachers is Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold. He preached a helpful sermon titled: “He That Committeth Sin Is Of The Devil.” If you try to prove that you're saved by how you live, the only conclusion you can come up with is that you're not, because you're still a sinner! If we must faithfully run the race in Christian holiness and service to know that we are saved, then how can any saint ever have the 100% sweet assurance of salvation until we're dead? Steve Pettit's type of thinking goes totally contrary to the plainest teachings of the Word of God. Matthew 22:29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”
In this article I have shown you that the Jehovah's Witness' religious cult preach salvation by grace, just as do Harvest Baptist Church of Guam and Bob Jones University. But like the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Bob Jones crowd use this lie as a smokescreen for their counterfeit plan of salvation. The Bob Jones crowd preach the SAME lie as the Jehovah's Witnesses, that you must turn away from your sins to be saved. That is a Satanic works-based plan of damnation, not salvation. That is not Free Grace Theology!!!
In case you missed it, here again is what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe:
Jehovah's Witnesses believe salvation is possible only through Christ's ransom sacrifice and that individuals cannot be saved until they repent of their sins and call on the name of Jehovah. Salvation is described as a free gift from God, but is said to be unattainable without good works that are prompted by faith. [source]
Bob Jones University is in agreement with the cults! I triple-dog dare you to go search online for what Mormons, Roman Catholics, Church of Christ and Seventh-Day Adventists all believe and teach concerning repentance, and you'll find that they all require people to “repent of your sins” to receive God's free gift of eternal life. The phrase “repent of your sins” is nowhere found in the inspired King James Bible. You'd have to go find a corrupted modern Bible perversion, like the New Living Translation (NLT) to find that Satanic garbage.
“Repent” in the Bible as a noun concerning salvation is metanoia, which simply means “a change of mind.” A person repents by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 21:32, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” Notice that Jesus didn't say they turned from their sins to believe on Him. Nor did Jesus say that they repented to turn away from their sins. No, the Lord said the Pharisees “REPENETED NOT” that they might believe Him. The man who believes has repented, and the man who repents has believed. That is why in the Gospel of John we find the word “believe” mentioned 85 times, but the word “repent” is not mentioned even once. That speaks volumes!!! Repentance is necessary for salvation, but it is automatic, not something extra you must do besides simply believing.
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