Mark 1:14-15, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2nd Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
Pastor Sam Adams is the senior pastor of Independent Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida. Pastor Adams is guilty of corrupting the Word of God. I humbly do not believe that Sam Adams is a born-again Christian. Pastor Adams is arrogant, cocky and woefully ignorant of the Scriptures, just like Pastor John MacArthur. In the following quote from Sam Adams he calls those who disagree with his theology “pseudo-Baptists” (false Baptists). Here is what his church website errantly says:
Further, contrary to another associated heresy prevalent among those same pseudo-Baptists, the repentance required for salvation most certainly DOES mean TURNING FROM SIN, and consequently turning to the only remedy for our sin, the Lord Jesus. We are not saved by works or by ceasing from sin; but until a man understands the seriousness of his sin and its terrifying consequences, and therefore desires to be free from his sin, he will not be prepared to truly come to Christ or be truly converted. The commands of the Lord Jesus are clear: “that REPENTANCE and remission of sins SHOULD BE PREACHED in his name among all nations” (Luke 24:47), and further as Paul preached on Mars Hill; that God now “commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Repenting IS believing. [emphasis added] SOURCE
It ceases to amaze me how dishonest the proponents of “LORDSHIP” salvation are! God gave us an entire book of the Bible for the specific purpose of showing man the way of salvation. That book is the blessed Gospel of John. 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.” In the Gospel of John we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times, but the word “repent” is not mentioned even once. That speaks volumes! It is clear to see that the man who BELIEVES HAS REPENTED. If repentance were a separate act from believing, then the Bible would have said so in the Gospel of John.
Now, Pastor Sam Adams is very subtle and cleverly deceptive! He readily admits that “Repenting IS believing”; yet he still insists that repentance means TO TURN FROM SIN. That is double-speak. In one breath Adams says repentance and faith are inseparable (and he is 100% correct). But then he goes 100% astray by teaching that a person must desire to be freed from living a life of sin to be saved. That is damnable heresy! Nowhere in the Bible are we required to forsake a lifestyle of sin to receive God's free gift of eternal life.
The big problem with the idea of “turning” is that one preacher draws the line somewhere different than the next preacher. Who are you or I to draw any lines? The Greek word from which our English word “repent” in the Bible comes is metanoia, which simply means “a change of mind.” The verb form metanoeo means “to think differently.” So in the sense of changing one's mind repentance DOES mean to turn around. But it is a turning from unbelief to belief to be saved. We know that it cannot mean anything more than a change of mind unto the Gospel itself, because then it would involve works if it did.
Most of what Pastor Adams says is correct, but then he goes horrible astray when he embellishes the definition of Bible repentance to mean that he “desires to be free from sin.” No, that is wrong! The only thing that a man needs to desire to be freed from is the penalty of sin, which is death and Hell (the second death - Revelation 21:8). Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Here is what you must know to be saved:
- WHO Jesus is - He is the only begotten Son of God, the Christ.
- WHAT Jesus did for you - He died on the cross for your sins, was buried and three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead.
- WHY Jesus did it - You and I are guilty sinners in the sight of our holy God. Since we have no righteousness of our own to offer God the Father, and God requires 100% sinless perfection to enter into Heaven, we need a Savior. Jesus is the sinless Lamb of God. He paid our sin debt, so God could give us His righteousness by faith.
“The greatest need for any sinner is to have his sins blotted out, but a man will never have the pardon of sin while he is in love with his sin. There must be a hatred of sin, a loathing of it, a turning from it. Repentance is a revolution in dealing with our attitude and view toward sin and righteousness. Repentance is not something that one does with his hands but is an inward attitude of the soul. Sin must become in the eyes of the sinner exceedingly sinful and that's when you come to Christ for salvation. ...and so if you came to Jesus thinking you can hold on to your sins, you came to the wrong Jesus!” [emphasis added] —“True Salvation = LORDSHIP Salvation” (Easy-Believism Refuted)
What a false message of bondage Sam Adams is preaching! Adams is guilty of perverting God's grace and preaching another gospel which is accursed (Galatians 1:6-9).
Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) well understood the Gospel and repentance. Read what Pastor Ironside correctly states about repentance in chapter 16 of his book, EXCEPT YE REPENT . . .
“In all that I have written I have failed completely to express what was surging up in my soul if I have given anyone the impression that I think of repentance as something meritorious which must be produced in man by self-effort ere he is fit to come to God for salvation.” —Dr. Harry Ironside, a quote from chapter 16, THE PREACHING THAT PRODUCES REPENTANCE, from his timeless classic book, EXCEPT YE REPENT.Repentance “From Sins” For Salvation is Not Biblical
There are only a few references in the Bible where the word “repentance” is used with sin. The Bible usually speaks of “the remission of sins,” but never commands anyone to repent from sins to be saved. Search the Bible and you will find that “repentance” is almost always mentioned with salvation, but it never tells us that forsaking sinful bad habits is the way to be saved. Ceasing from sin is self-righteousness. The truth is that God's indwelling Holy Spirit begins to change us when we get saved. This means a lifetime of being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Getting saved happens in a moment of time by trusting Jesus Christ, but becoming Christlike takes a lifetime. That's how it's supposed to work.
In sharp contrast, false prophets mandate change as a requirement to be saved. They “frontload the Gospel,” that is, they require all the traits of a mature Christian upfront as a condition of salvation. They're trying to do God's job instead of letting the Holy Spirit work. God changes lives, not we ourselves. Man trying to change himself is reformation, not regeneration. Our part is simply to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). To demand that a person change (i.e., forsake the world and sinful living) to be saved is a false Gospel of self-righteousness. Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23), paid for by Jesus' precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19). Please listen to the awesome MP3 sermon by Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, “Caught Between Grace And Works.”
But don't I have to repent? Yes, of course! Biblical repentance is “a change of mind” that causes a person to believe the Gospel. Repentance is NOT a desire to stop sinning. Repentance is realizing that you are a guilty SINNER, so you believe the Gospel and are saved. Repentance is changing your mind about whatever was previously hindering you from completely resting in Christ for salvation.
Repentance is not a separate event from faith, although they are not the same thing. Here is the best quote that I've found on repentance, by Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951):
The only thing that we need to repent from to be saved is UNBELIEF. Do we have to realize our sinful condition to be saved? Of course, yes! But there is not one verse in the entire Bible which requires a person to forsake sin to be saved. Nor does the Bible give anyone God's permission to commit sin just because they are saved (Romans 3:31). Every time Jesus forgave someone and healed them, it was only AFTERWARDS that He said: “Go and sin no more.” John 5:14, "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” (Except Ye Repent, p. 16)
“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.” [emphasis added] —Evangelist John Bunyan
Once a person is saved, they begin to grow in grace by nurturing on the milk of God's Word (1st Peter 2:2). As a believer grows in the Lord, he or she is convicted by God's indwelling Holy Spirit. The blessed Holy Spirit works in that person's heart. Thus, we begin to see the “FRUIT” of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). A changed life is the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and NOT a prerequisite to salvation or a part of saving-faith. Proponents of Lordship Salvation place the cart before the horse and have it all backwards. They frontload the Gospel, requiring mature aspects of a believer's life upfront. This is not the Gospel, it is damnable heresy!
In Mark 1:4, John the Baptist speaks of “...repentance for the remission of sins”; NOT “repentance of sins.” Acts 20:21 reads... “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that Biblical repentance is “TOWARD GOD.” In Acts 11:21 we read, “And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” So you see, in the Bible “repentance” was always “TOWARD GOD,” never from sin. A man may have to repent from the denial of his sins, so that he will BELIEVE THE GOSPEL, but there is no Biblical requirement to “turn from sins” to be saved.
Consider the following quote by the mighty man of God, Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951)...
"Repentance is the recognition of my sinnership—the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word." —Except Ye Repent, Dr. Harry Ironside, chapter 3
Repentance is the admission that I am as guilty a sinner as a holy God hath declared me to be in His Holy Word (Romans 3:19). This is Biblical repentance, turning to the Lord. It is ludicrous for anyone to teach that a lost sinner must give up their sins to be saved. As we saw with Lot and Samson in the Old Testament, and Demas and Peter in the New Testament, not all believers always live for God. Jesus even called the apostle Peter, “Satan” (Matthew 16:23).
Christian author Michael Patrick Bowen states in his excellent book titled, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” on page 114...
“Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you.” —Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER NEW YOU” (Page 114)
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church
“We're not going to win any souls to Christ, by telling them that they don't need to repent of their sin. We're not going to bring anyone to true salvation by deceiving them into believing they can hold on to their sin. They can remain in their sin. By telling them that all they have to do is say a sinner's prayer, repeat the prayer after me, come to church and be baptized and you'll be saved” —Pastor Sam Adams, “True Salvation = LORDSHIP Salvation” (Easy-Believism Refuted)
Adams idiotically calls Pastor Hyles preaching: “Hyles' false gospel.” Dear reader, please listen to this beautiful sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles called: “Fundamentalist Heresy” to learn for yourself what Brother Hyles believed and taught that a lost sinner must do to get to Heaven. As you will quickly learn, Sam Adams is a lying deceiver and false accuser!!!
Pastor Adams further heretically states:
“We cannot receive what Jesus gives us and refuse Who Jesus is. You can't receive His free gift of salvation if we don't receive Him as Lord, because He is Lord. The point of today's message is that you cannot separate saving faith from submission to Christ's Lordship.” —Pastor Sam Adams, “True Salvation = LORDSHIP Salvation” (Easy-Believism Refuted)
What a mess! What gross theological incompetence!!! Sam Adams is a child of the Devil. Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) makes this beautiful observation:
"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." —Pastor M. R. DeHaan, Hebrews; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)
At 24:30 in his awful sermon, Pastor Adams attacks Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), horribly accusing him of preaching a false gospel, which is essentially the same as saying that he went to Hell to burn forever. No, Sam Adams is the unsaved fool. In his wicked sermon Sam Adams slanders Dr. Jack Hyles, unjustly calling him “a lifetime unrepentant adulterer.” In this 1989 sermon you can hear Pastor Hyles deny the allegations against him, exposing his neo-evangelical enemies as liars! There is no evidence to support those slanderous accusations. SHAME ON SAM ADAMS for spreading gossip and unfounded rumors. It is clear to me that Pastor Sam Adams is a bitter angry man who hates anybody who disagrees with his Satanic Calvinist theology.
The purpose of God's law is to show humanity our SINNERSHIP, so that we would see our guilty condition and need for the blessed Savior. Repentance is seeing that need:
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.”
False teachers like Sam Adams require that you forsake your sins as a condition of receiving God's gift of eternal life; but God only requires that you come as a needy sinner so that you will BELIEVE in His only begotten Son to have all your sins eternally forgiven. Isn't the latter so much better? You better believe it is! The latter is THE TRUTH.
Jesus paid our debt of sin. When you come to Christ to be saved, God instantly seals you with His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-15), and the wonderful Holy Spirit begins to work on our life (1st John 3:24), sanctifying you and me with THE TRUTH of the inspired Word of God (John 17:17). God is not an absent parent (Hebrews 12:6-8). My heart breaks for the victimized people being deceived at the incompetent hands of Pastor Sam Adams.
Dear friend, we are at ugly war in our churches and Bible colleges today over the inspiration of God's Word, over the Bible meaning of repentance, over the free grace Gospel. Won't you please join the fight! After the 911 World Trade Center attack in New York City, thousands of courageous young people across the country signed-up to join the U.S. military to fight. That's what we need today in Christianity! We need thousands of believers, young and old, to sign-up in God's army to be a soldier of Jesus Christ (2nd Timothy 2:1-4). We are at war with the Devil (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 6:10-13). Jesus is precious!!!
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