Exposing Missionary David W. Cloud's Satanic Gospel

1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” 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.”

Longtime missionary to India, Evangelist David W. Cloud is a corrupt and dangerous man doctrinally, responsible for sending thousands of people to Hell with his false gospel. The inspired Word of God very plainly defines “THE GOSPEL” by which we are saved, those who BELIEVE IT! The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS of Christ's death on the cross to pay for our sins, His burial and His miraculous bodily resurrection three days later from the dead.

In a 2012 (updated in 2019) article on his website, titled: “Repentance In Evangelism,” David Cloud heretical starts off his article with this untrue statement:

“Repentance is often a missing element in evangelism today, but it is a prominent theme in the Bible. Following are the answers to some important questions about repentance.” ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

First off, although repentance is a prominent theme in the Bible, it is NOT a prominent theme in salvation. Evidence of this is that not once does the entire Gospel of John mention the word “repent.” Not once! This is because the man who BELIEVES the Gospel has also repented. Repentance and faith are not two separate actions, even though they are two separate things theologically. The word “repent” in the Bible concerning salvation always is either the Greek noun, metanoia, which means: “a change of mind”; or it is the Greek verb, metanoeo, which means: “to think differently.”

Repent in the Bible concerning salvation NEVER means to forsake or turn away from your sins, because that would constitute works. Nor does repentance mean to be willing to turn from sins. Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible (beware of the corrupt modern perversions of the Bible) says to repent “of your sins” to be saved. Ungodly false prophets added those unbiblical words to God's simple plan of salvation (Proverbs 30:5-6). As I just plainly showed you from 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, the Apostle Paul in his defining of the Gospel, never mentions turning away from your sins, nor surrendering your life to Christ as “Lord,” as David Cloud wickedly teaches (which I will show you in a moment).

Pastor Cloud is wrong on repentance and; therefore, wrong on salvation. He is an infidel, an unsaved religious man, still hellbound in his sins. This explains why David Cloud cannot understand God's free grace, which is without works (Romans 4:4-7). 

Cloud further falsely states:

“Many churches don’t preach repentance. They say that only faith is necessary for salvation. But repentance is commanded by God. It is mentioned 60 times in the New Testament.” ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

Neither does the Gospel of John preach repentance! 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.” As you just read for yourself, the entire purpose for which God authored the Gospel of John is to show humanity how to get to Heaven. If forsaking one's sinful behavior, quitting the old sinful life, and surrender to Christ as supreme “Lord” to follow Him faithfully, were required to get to Heaven, then certainly John would have said so, but he doesn't! Neither did the Apostle Paul mention repentance in his definition of the Gospel, which Paul said in Romans 1:16 and 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 we are saved by, if we simply BELIEVE IT.

The truth is found in John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” Carefully notice that the Bible DOESN'T say: “he that turns from his sins cometh to the light”; but rather, it says: “he that doeth truth cometh to the light.” Repentance is a matter of acknowledging THE TRUTH that you are a guilty sinner, seeing your need for redemption, so that you will turn to the Savior in faith alone to be saved by God's grace.

This is something very different than committing yourself to give up your sinful ways, which NO ONE has ever done. Even the best of God's saints still sin continually (Romans 7:14-25). Sadly, David Cloud is woefully ignorant of the Holy Bible, because he is still unsaved and leans upon his own human understanding, instead of trusting upon the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-7).

If you still need more Biblical evidence to support the truth I just taught you, please read 2nd Timothy 2:25, “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.” Again, we see here that repentance for salvation is NOT from sinning, but to acknowledge THE TRUTH — “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth...” Pastor Harry A. Ironside gets repentance 100% correct:

“It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.” ~Pastor Harry A. Ironside; “Except Ye Repent,” p. 36)

Clearly, Dr. Ironside taught a free grace view of the Gospel. Pastor Ironside correctly recognized repentance as the confession that “one is utterly without merit” and that if one is “ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Salvation is without works of self-righteousness. Romans 4:5 plainly teaches that a man's faith is COUNTED for righteousness, i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to one's heavenly record by faith. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

Pastor Ironside further eloquently states:

“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.” ~Pastor Harry A. Ironside; “Except Ye Repent,” chapter 3)

And also this helpful quote on Bible repentance from Pastor Ironside:

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.” ~Pastor Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: “What Is The Gospel?”

I really love Pastor Ironside. A young 12 year old Harry Ironside heard Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) preach in Los Angeles. Two years later Harry fell under Holy Spirit conviction and got saved at age 14. The church building was so packed that there was no more room to enter. So a teenaged lad named Harry Ironside climbed up along the ceiling rafters, and listened intently while looking down upon the meeting. Harry didn't repent to turn away from his sinful ways and commit his life to serve Christ to be saved; but rather, he repented (i.e., changed his mind) unto the Gospel itself, turning from unbelief to belief.

If repentance means “to turn away from your sinful ways,” then that means you must start keeping the law (no more stealing, no more adultery, no more dishonoring your parents, no more covetousness, et cetera - Exodus 20:1-17). What saith the Scripture? 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.” The primary purpose of God's Old Testament law is to show mankind that WE ARE SINNERS — “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Thus, God NEVER intended that someone should be required to try to keep the law (i.e., turn away from their sins) to be saved. The very suggestion is wickedness and a false gospel. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

We must stay true to the simplicity of the gospel!! Repentance regarding salvation is a change of mind from unbelief to belief!!! We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).

What About The Repentance Of John The Baptist? 

David Cloud tries to uses John's repentance as evidence that we must turn from sins to be saved today. I would like now to quote Dr. John R. Rice, who perfectly explains the Baptism of John, showing that is was no different than BELIEIVNG on Jesus Christ to be saved, by faith alone:

There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith.

Everyone who genuinely repented under the preaching of John the Baptist put his trust in the Saviour John the Baptist preached, and was regenerated. There is no such thing as being “a disciple of John the Baptist” in any honest sense without being a disciple of Jesus, that is, without trusting Christ for salvation. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Oh dear friend, that is so beautiful. Please don't miss it! I have heard Missionary David W. Cloud and other false teachers, attempt to portray Dr. Rice as a proponent of Lordship Salvation, saying he taught that people must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved. David Cloud even goes as far as to wickedly pitch Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) against his successor Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995). I explain this issue in the preceding article link. Mr. Cloud claims that Curtis Hutson leaves off repentance, thus corrupting the Gospel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So we see that Dr. Rice is correct, the man who trusts in Christ HAS also repented. It is unfortunate that Dr. Rice chose to use unbiblical terminology, because the Bible NEVER says: “turn from sins” to be saved anywhere! No doubt Brother Rice heard other preachers using that junk theology and he adopted it, which is a major problem among nearly all preachers. Please remember, Dr. Rice is not our final authority, the inspired Word of God is!

Beware Of False Prophet David Cloud's Counterfeit Gospel

In the following quote from David Cloud, you will see how he subtly wrests THE TRUTH of God's Word into a lie, teaching that to be saved your life must change (sadly, this is the demonic garbage that is preached by Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College today):

Repentance is not a change of life. Repentance a change of mind about God and sin that results in a change of life. Many who “believe” or “pray the sinner’s prayer” have no intention to change or to allow God to take control of their lives. They are not interested in being a disciple of Christ. They want a ticket to heaven that keeps them out of hell, but they want to continue to live as they please. They want to “believe in Jesus,” but they have no interest in obeying Him. That is not biblical salvation. The sinner must be ready to turn from his false gods, including self-worship, in order to worship and serve the true God (“ye turned to God from idols,” 1 Thessalonians 1:9). ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

David Cloud is a LIAR!!! According to the preceding quote by Pastor Cloud, you cannot be saved unless you:

1. have intent to change your life
2. have intent to become a disciple of Christ
3. allow God to take control of your life
4. have intent to stop living in sin
5. have intent to obey Jesus

NONE OF THAT is Biblical! Dear reader, I triple dog dare you to go back and read our text passage of Scripture from 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, and see if any of the things which Mr. Cloud requires for salvation are mentioned in Paul's Gospel. They are not! That means David Cloud is a liar, an infidel and a false prophet! What saith the Scripture? Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” David Cloud is a liar for adding words to God's Word.

Pastor Cloud in the article I have shared with you claims that Jesus, Paul and Peter all preached repentance. But THE TRUTH is that David Cloud is taking the words of all those men out of context. Nowhere in the Gospel of John does Jesus tell anyone to repent to be saved. What saith the Scripture? 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.” Do you see that repentance leads to BELIEVING the Gospel? Jesus is rebuking the self-righteous Pharisees here. Jesus said the Pharisees didn't repent (change their mind) to believe when they heard John's preaching, but THE ADMITTED SINNERS DID!!! Carefully notice that Jesus said the harlots and tax cheats repented to BELIEVE. The Bible never says they turned away from their sinful ways.

David Cloud falsely claims in his horrible article that no believer in the New Testament didn't change:

First, we have plenty of examples of believer's who lived in horrible sin (Demas, Ananias and Sapphira, Peter, the harlots and publicans, the saved man and his girlfriend in 1st Corinthians 5:1-5, the saved man who received no rewards in 1st Corinthians 3:15, Mary Magdalene, et cetera). 

Second, just because saints changed later on as a result of God's indwelling Holy Spirit sanctifying them (John 17:17), has absolutely NOTHING to do with the free gift of getting saved! David Cloud is foolishly front-loading the Gospel, making demands of lost sinners that only a mature believer would posses. Consequently, many people aren't getting saved because they think God requires them to forsake sinful bad habits to be saved, and that blood is all upon David Cloud's incompetent and wicked hands!!!

Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan said it best, I humbly think:

“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.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

David Cloud is guilty of corrupting the inspired Word of God, casting stumbling blocks before the people, damning their souls to an eternity in the Lake of Fire with his false gospel. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again.

Pastor Cloud is your typical confused and lying false teacher. In one breath he teaches that salvation is a gift, but in the next breath he insists that it will cost you your sins and your life. It simply cannot be both dear friend. Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” David Cloud is caught between grace and works, hellbound in his sincere misunderstanding of the light of the truth of the Gospel.

At the end of his article on repentance, Pastor Cloud writes this heresy:

“Many gospel tracts don’t contain a hint of repentance. This is not scriptural soul winning. If Christ and the apostles preached repentance, then we must preach repentance! We need to explain that the individual must be ready to surrender to God, and not give him the false impression that it is possible to be saved without this.” ~Evangelist David Cloud, “Repentance In Evangelism”

Well, neither does the Gospel of John contain a hint of repentance. Although we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times in John, not once do we find any mention of repenting, confessing, turning, surrendering or following to be saved; just BELIEVE ON JESUS!!! John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

What David Cloud has done is cherry-pick the Scriptures, citing obscure passages of Scripture to bolster his strawman heresy of repentance from sins to be saved, which the Bible does not teach. A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. God authored the entire Gospel of John to show the reader how to get to Heaven (John 20:31). Yet, every proponent of Lordship Salvation, like David Cloud, must quote randomly from obscure passages of Scripture in order to find support for their false teachings. This is called wresting (twisting) the Scriptures:

2nd Peter 3:16-17, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.”

I am saddened that most clergy (missionaries, evangelists, pastors) and their congregations have succumbed to a false plan of salvation. Jesus plainly warned in John 3:3b, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The perversion of God's grace called “Lordship Salvation” does not produce the new birth, because it is centered in YOU giving up your sins, surrendering “all” to Christ, and to follow Him in obedience as the “Lord” (Master) of your life. These are all rooted in self-righteousness (Adam's fig leaves and Cain's grain offering), and not the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ through the cross of Calvary. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

David Cloud is a skeptic. He preaches another gospel that cannot save a sinner. Pastor Dwight Moody had it right, all we can do is tell THE TRUTH:

“Skeptics and infidels may say they don't believe in it. It is not our work to make them believe in it; that is the work of the Spirit. Our work is to give them the Word of God.” —Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)

One of my favorite free grace preachers today in 2022 is Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold:

“If you have to look at your life to prove that you are saved, it proves that you're not!” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold; an excellent quote from the awesome YouTube sermon titled, “Why Lordship Salvation is WRONG! | MP3”

Amen! A changed life cannot be used as evidence of salvation, because the Devil's crowd cannot imitate it. Can a child of the Devil live a changed life? Yes, of course. There is only one thing that a child of the Devil cannot imitate, and that is being indwelt by God's Holy Spirit. 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” That is what the Epistle of 1st John is all about. Many Bible students focus on the wrong thing, and end up misinterpreting the Epistle of 1st John.

Lordship Salvation is Calvinism repackaged; it is a deadly perversion of God's grace that teaches faith alone is insufficient to get to Heaven; but in addition, Lordship Salvation requires that you turn away from your sinful ways, surrender "all" to Christ to obey Him from now on, give control of your life over to God, and to follow Jesus as "Lord" (Master) of your life no matter what the cost. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Salvation Is A Free Gift That You Take, Giving Nothing In Exchange

Sadly, over 90% of preachers today have succumbed to the Devil's fraud of Calvinism, which is based in self-righteousness. It is a false gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works. I am amazed how many preachers utterly fail to recognize that Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation) requires a person to keep the Mosaic law to be saved. Everyone is familiar with God's Ten Commandments (i.e., Thou shalt not murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not covet, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain, Thou shalt not steal, et cetera). So what do you think it means if you tell a lost sinner to “turn away from your sins” to be saved? You are essentially requiring them to stop breaking God's Ten Commandments to get to Heaven, which is self-righteousness!

The Lordship Salvation camp are so woefully ignorant of the Bible, that when you tell them the truth I just shared with you, they will say retarded things like: “Oh, so you think a person can keep committing murder, committing adultery, and stealing and still go to Heaven?” Do you see their fatal error? They are doing exactly what John Bunyan warned against:

“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.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Getting saved is strictly a legal matter of you coming to God as a guilty sinner, and God the Father pardoning your sins solely on the basis of your trust in the Good News (Gospel) of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. When David Cloud speaks of salvation being “a gift,” he speaks with a forked-tongue. In one breath Mr. Cloud speaks the truth that eternal life is a gift from God, but in the next breath he says that YOU must:

1. have intent to change your life
2. have intent to become a disciple of Christ
3. allow God to take control of your life
4. have intent to stop living in sin
5. have intent to obey Jesus

How is any of that “a gift” dear friend? What if (let's say as your parent) I bought you a birthday present, but before I handed it to you I first required that you intend to keep your room clean for the rest of the year, and intend to take a bath every day from now on, and promise to obey your Mom and Dad in every way, and commit not to disobey or doing wrong anymore? Well, first of all, you would know that your so-called “birthday gift” is no gift at all, but instead a reward. Secondly, you would feel overwhelmed by all those requirements. It would ruin your birthday and you know it!!! It sure would mine! And thirdly, if you did accept that false gift, you would feel bad, thinking of all the requirements which I had imposed upon you.

Kindly said, this is David Cloud's insane plan of damnation!!! The man is utterly confused, not having enough spiritual discernment to put a difference between justification (getting saved by faith alone), versus sanctification (the believer's growing in grace). I think Pastor M.R. DeHaan said it very well:

"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." ~M.R. DeHaan, “Hebrews”; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117).

And also, Pastor Zane Hodges said this helpful words:

"Eternal life is free. Discipleship is immeasurably hard. The former is attained by faith alone, the latter by a faith that works... the former brings with it the righteousness of God so that a man is 'justified freely by his grace' (Romans 3:24). The latter develops a personal righteousness, based on good deeds, so that a man was also 'justified by works' (James 2:24). The former constituted the believer God's workmanship, the latter fulfilled the wonderful purpose for which he had been created. The former cost man nothing, the latter could cost him everything, including life itself." ~Pastor Zane C. Hodges, “The Hungry Inherit”; Moody Press, Inc., 1972 (pp. 114, 115).

If we simply always keep getting born-again completely separate from sanctification of the believer, then we will never be led astray with the error of the wicked doctrinally. 

Eternal Life is a Free Gift!

Dear friend, if you are truly saved, that is, you are a born-again child of God, then you have the proper Biblical mindset that your salvation rests in nothing more than Jesus' righteousness, which is by faith alone (Philippians 3:9). You need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS...

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

You have no righteousness to offer God dear friend, and neither do I, which is why the sinless Lamb of God came into the world and went to the cross to be crucified as a common criminal for our sins! Christ died for the ungodly, for heathens like you and me (Romans 5:6-9). You get saved by CEASING from all the garbage David Cloud is telling you to do, and then simple RESTING in Christ's death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection the third day. That is the blessed GOOD NEWS by which we are saved, for all those who simply BELIEVE IT!

David Cloud originally never mentioned the word “gift” in his articles on repentance, until I started writing website articles to expose him, so he updated (“enlarged” as he calls it) his articles to include the word “gift.” What a religious conman! I hope this blog has opened your eyes dear reader, to see that David Cloud is a false teacher who is not saved. I do not rejoice in that, it saddens me. It saddens me that such a brilliant man, who so passionately believes in what he is preaching and doing in India, could be so horribly wrong in his doctrine on salvation. I know that David Cloud is not saved, because he has a wrong mindset regarding the Gospel. He has embellished God's simple plan of salvation, to require a bunch of things that God Himself does not even require. Mr. Cloud is sinfully leaning upon his own understanding, as Proverbs 3:5-7 warns us not to do. Salvation is of the Lord friend, not you!

To be saved, you simply get out of the way, and let God do the saving, all of it. I like what Pastor Jack Hyles said:

Redemption is a work of God the Son. Regeneration is the work of God the Holy Spirit. Justification is the work of God the Father as He declares the sinner righteous in the Son. Conversion then becomes the work of the church as we change the use and purpose of a life.

David Cloud is one of Dr. Hyles' worst enemies, slandering the man continually, falsely accusing him of leaving off repentance. In truth, listen for yourself to what Pastor Jack Hyles believes and taught about Bible repentance, in this helpful sermon titled: “The Goodness Of God leadeth To Repentance.” Dr. Hyles DID believe and teach repentance to be saved, he just didn't agree with the false teaching of David Cloud and others, who pervert repentance to mean something ugly and difficult which God didn't intend. Bible repentance is simply a change of mind, nothing less or more. Repentance is not a separate step from believing to be saved, they are one and the same event. So that the man who BELIEVES has repented. That is, he has changed his mind from unbelief to belief. This is why the word “repent” is never mentioned in the Gospel of John. Anyone who teaches that you must repent of your sins, in addition to trusting Christ as your Savior, is preaching another Gospel.

David Cloud insists that what I am preaching is unbiblical. Cloud says that Jesus, Paul and Peter all preached repentance from sins to be saved, but that is not true at all. Paul and Silas where asked by the Roman jailor: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30b). Here was their simple answer. Acts 16:31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” If repenting from sins were such a big factor in getting saved, as David Clouds claims that it is, then why didn't Paul or Silas tell the man to turn away from his sinning?

Furthermore, why didn't Paul mention repentance in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 when he defined “the Gospel,” by which WE ARE SAVED Paul said? Clearly, repentance is automatic and is included with BELIEVING the Gospel. Repentance is simply thinking differently than before, so that you will BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST to be saved. Preachers have been debating and fighting over the meaning of repentance and God's plan of salvation for millenniums, but that doesn't mean that they're all correct!

Both Sides May Be, But One Must Be, Wrong!

I once watched a very interesting 12 hour documentary by historian film producer, Ken Burns, on The American Civil War. It is heartbreaking history! I just heard a quote in the film by President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) that caught my attention:

“In great contests [battles], each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God—both may be, but one must be, wrong—God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time!” —President Abraham Lincoln

Why did Mr. Lincoln say that? It is because both the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy claimed to be doing “God's will” in fighting The Civil War (1860-1965). Both President Jefferson Davis in the south, and President Abraham Lincoln in the north, said they were doing “God's will.” As Mr. Lincoln wisely points out, that is IMPOSSIBLE! When two opposing parties, who are warring against each other, claiming to be doing God's will, obviously someone is WRONG! That is why Abraham Lincoln made that powerful statement!

Either I am preaching THE TRUTH, and David Cloud is on his way to Hell in his sins; or else David Cloud is correct, and I am damned to Hell in my false understanding of the Gospel. But we assuredly cannot BOTH be correct! Either you can simply come as a guilty sinner and REST in the finished work of Christ, which is what I simply believe and teach; or else you must do as David Cloud preaches:

1. have intent to change your life
2. have intent to become a disciple of Christ
3. allow God to take control of your life
4. have intent to stop living in sin
5. have intent to obey Jesus

And only after you've done all that on the list, then put your faith in Christ. Does the latter sound like what Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4? No, not even in the ballpark? Does what David Cloud teach match up with the Gospel of John? No, not on your life. Does what David Cloud teach match the words of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:30-31? Nope, not even close. You dear reader must make the final decisions. I have shown you the inspired Words of God, not my mere human opinions. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES (John 5:39a).

Getting The Gospel Right And Wrong
 (an excellent sermon by Pastor Dennis Rokser)