Beware Of Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill's Counterfeit Gospel

Galatians 4:16-17, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.”

Kindly said, in the following sermon video clip Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994) is corrupting the Word of God and misleading people by confusing sanctification with justification. ...

Repentance, Regeneration, and the Glory of God

I admire Ravenhill's zeal but it is misguided zeal at best. Galatians 4:16-17, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.” We read the same thing concerning the Jews in the Holy Bible:

Romans 10:1-4, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

The Jews were devout worshippers in the Apostle Paul's time. Even today in 2021 religious Jews are very devout, loyal and diligent in their commitment and worship of their God of Judaism. Unfortunately, today just like back in Bible days, the Jews have a zeal without knowledge! They were going about to establish THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!

We still see this salvation by works heresy everywhere today, appearing in its various forms. What Leonard Ravenhill is preaching is the same Calvinistic garbage that Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit and other infidels of the Christ faith preach! Dear reader, right words matter! Right doctrine matters! The Truth matters!!! I am so sick and tired of hearing pastors, churches and Bible colleges claim to believe that THE TRUTH is important, while they hobnob with Pastor John MacArthur and Bob Jones University (BJU) that bids him 100% Godspeed!!! It is WICKEDNESS!!! BJU needs to be marked and avoided (Romans 16:17-18).

Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688) said it best:

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —Evangelist John Bunyan

I agree with Leonard Ravenhill in the preceding sermon clip that likely less than 5% of professed Christians in America are truly born-again, but it is not because of easy-believism—it is because of false religion, misunderstood repentance, Calvinism (aka, "Lordship" salvation), false Bibles and shoddy presentations of the Gospel. Evangelist Alexander Marshall (1846-1928) had repentance right doctrinally:

“I HAVE NOT REPENTED ENOUGH”

What do you mean? “I am not sorry enough for my sins.”

And if you were very sorry, would God be more willing to save you than He is now? “I think so.”

Then you are completely mistaken.

“But does it not say, unless we repent we shall perish?”

Yes; but what do you think is the Scriptural significance of “repentance”? If you say “sorrow for sin” you are wrong. It does not mean sorrow for sin: it means a CHANGE OF MIND (Matt. 21:29). This change will doubtless produce sorrow; but sorrow and repentance are two very different things (Heb. 12:17. margin, and II Cor. 7:9). When God calls on you to “repent, and believe the Gospel,” He wishes you to lay aside your wrong thoughts, and believe the glad tidings that He proclaims to you. Formerly you may have imagined that you were required to feel very sorry before being saved. Change your mind. You may have supposed you must first “feel” some great change in order to know you were saved. Change your mind. First believe in God's great love to you, as revealed in His gospel, and you will KNOW that you have eternal life (John 5:24).

SOURCE: The Horrible Misrepresentation Of Evangelist Alexander Marshall

Yes, that is excellent. Mr. Marshall is 100% correct! Yet, some unlearned and/or heretical person changed his tract, completely removing the preceding section on repentance from the work. Marshall plainly says that sinners are saved by BELIEVING THE GOSPEL, that is, he says, “to lay aside your wrong thoughts [Repentance], and believe the glad tidings [Gospel] that He proclaims to you.”

What I just shared with you from Alexander Marshall is drastically different than what Leonard Ravenhill is preaching! There are not two Gospels. Galatians 1:6-7, “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.” I am sick and tired of today's haughty self-righteous preachers placing demands upon lost sinners which God Himself does not place upon them.

Nowhere in the Word of God are we told that to be saved a person must repent “of your sins.” Repent, yes, but of one's unbelief. Since the only sin that can keep a person out of Heaven is UNBELIEF, then that is the only sin which you need to change your mind about to be saved. As we just read, Alexander Marshall said it very well. Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Carefully notice that it wasn't their refusal to repent of their sins that caused the Jews to perish in the Wilderness, it was their lack of FAITH in the Gospel.

Dear friend, beware of these corrupt well-meaning preachers today who pressure people to give up your sinning to receive God's gift of eternal life. Hello all you Calvinists, it is a “GIFT.” Somewhere along the way the concept of a gift has been lost in evangelical circles. In classic Satanic deception, false teachers will insist that eternal life is still a free gift without works, but if you're life hasn't changed you didn't really get saved. What a contradiction! A “gift” means that once I take it, then it is mine forever and the manner of lifestyle I choose to live has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether I received the gift or not! Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Bible doesn't call eternal life a trade, exchange or something that will cost us anything! Pastor John MacArthur says eternal life is a trade, an exchange. Boy, he sure was inspired by demons when MacArthur called eternal life an exchange! And then there is Evangelist Billy Graham, who horribly said that eternal life will cost you something! What is all this nonsensical talk about exchanging, trading and costing us to be saved? 

“Now you say, 'Brother Hyles, you make an issue.' You dead sure better know I'll make an issue!” —BATTLE OF THE AGES (MP3, Dr. Jack Hyles, “The King James Bible crowd is going to come out on top!”)

And I'll make an issue too, bless God! Right doctrine matters!!! All these ignorant preachers running around today telling people to repent “OF THEIR SINS” didn't get that from the inspired King James Bible. Repentance is nothing more than you acknowledging before a holy God that you are a guilty sinners, so that seeing your need you'll BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST and be saved. Acts 16:30b-31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Nothing more is required or permissible. Salvation is by faith alone!

Repentance is automatically included with believing. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. That is why in the beautiful Gospel of John we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times, but the word “repent” is not found even once. The Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract to humanity, written to show all men the simple way of salvation through faith in the GOOD NEWS of Christ crucified on a cross, buried and bodily risen three days later. 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.” Simply believe oh guilty sinner and you will be immediately, irrevocably and forever born-again!!!