Both Satan And God Pressure Humans To Take Sides

Joshua 24:15, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

1st Kings 18:21, “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions?  if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.  And the people answered him not a word.”

Revelation 3:15-16, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Matthew 26:69-74, “Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.”

I was reading in the news today that actor Chris Pratt is under pressure from fellow actress Ellen Page and the LGBTQ community. I like Chris Pratt, who has openly professed that he is a Christian. Unfortunately, I have not been able to confirm that he is born-again, simply because I haven't found enough clear information. We know that Roman and Orthodox Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists and other pseudo-Christian religions are NOT genuine Christians, because they pervert the Gospel in various different ways. But as far as I can tell, Chris Pratt is not involved in any of those cults.

But Pratt does attend the popular ecumenical Zoe Church in Los Angeles, which preaches a FALSE GOSPEL. On their website it reads:

'We believe that all men are sinners by nature and choice and are therefore under condemnation, that God regenerates by the Holy Spirit those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.' [emphasis added] ~SOURCE

WRONG! The Bible plainly defines “the Gospel” for us in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 as Jesus' DEATH on the cross, His BURIAL and His bodily RESURRECTION three days later. The Zoe church doesn't even mention these truths, they instead errantly teach lost sinners to “repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.” That is NOT God's simple plan of salvation.

Dear reader, the unsaved fools in Matthew 7:21-23 confessed Jesus as “Lord, Lord,” doing “many wonderful works” in Jesus' name. They were dedicated followers of Christ, but the dear Savior adamantly denied knowing them. Why? It is because they failed to do the will of the Father, which we find 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.” I fear that Chris Pratt may merely be following Jesus as his Lord, having repented of his sins as Judas did (Matthew 27:3), yet still not be saved.

Also, I found this website titled: 'How Chris Pratt Became A Devout Christian.' The article says:

Pratt was introduced to religion as a wayward teenager in Maui, Hawaii, by a complete stranger.

"This guy came by and was like, 'What are you doing tonight?' I was like, 'Oh, I dunno...' So he's like, 'Will you fornicate tonight?' I was like, 'I hope so.' 'And drugs and drinking?' It's like, 'Most likely, yeah. Probably all three of those things. I mean, at least two of them, possibly all three,'" Pratt told Esquire magazine in 2014.

"He was like, 'I stopped because Jesus told me to stop and talk to you. He said to tell you you're destined for great things.' My friends came out, and I was like, 'Hey, I'm gonna go with this guy.' I gave my soul to Jesus within, like, two days. I was stuffing envelopes for his organisation, Jews for Jesus." ~SOURCE

Folks, if that is the extent of Chris Pratt's testimony of how he got saved, he is NOT SAVED!!!

Both Satan And God Pressure Humans To Take Sides

But regardless of whether Chris Pratt is truly a Christian or not, the heathen world thinks he is, and so they are pressuring him to choose sides. Whenever a celebrity is neutral on a moral matter, ESPECIALLY if that person claims to be a Christian, the wicked majority want to force that person to show their true colors.

We see this reality in the inspired King James Bible in our text passage from Matthew 26:69-74. The Apostle Peter wanted to remain neutral, mixing in with the crowd in incognito. Peter was scared of persecution, prosecution and crucifixtion. The Romans were cruel to those convicted of crimes. I bought a very interesting book several years ago while waiting for my connecting flight in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book is called: “Killing Jesus” by Bill O'Reilly and Bill Dugard. The book gives the reader an intriguing glimpse (full of fascinating facts) from behind the scenes. The book covers details of Herod, Tiberias, Rome and other information.

I learned from the book that there were other popular methods of executing prisoners. Of course, crucifixtion was very popular. But Roman soldiers also sealed people in bags full of scorpions! Ouch! Disemboweling victims was also quite common. The Romans were notorious for their cruelty, represented by the legs of iron on Nebuchadnezzar's image, which dream was interpreted by the prophet Daniel, in Daniel chapter two. The two separate legs represented the divided Roman empire, which eventually fell to anarchy, invaders and chaos in 476 AD. Contrary to the thinking of many theologians, there will not be a “revived Roman empire”; but rather, a New World Order (Revelation 17:12). It is from the 7th kingdom (NWO) that the 8th (the Antichrist, or Man of Sin) will arise from its midst.

We see that three different unsaved people pressured Peter to take sides. They recognized him and insisted that Peter was one of Jesus' disciples. Peter was scared and all three times vehemently denied knowing Jesus, even cursing the dear Lord's name. That is what public pressure can do to a person!!!

Likewise, Chris Pratt is under fire right now because he professes faith in Jesus Christ. In response he has attempted to defend himself. Chris has denied being religious, trying to distance himself from organized religion. The wicked world is putting on the heat! This is what the Devil and his children do, refusing to allow anyone to straddle the fence. With Satan you're either in or out, there is no middle ground. Actor after actor in Hollywood has been put in the hot-seat, with ungodly liberals and the evil LGBTQ community demanding to know where they stand on the social issues of abortion, homosexuality, gun control, gender change, critical theory, illegal aliens, child discipline, feminism, et cetera.

But dear reader, God also puts the pressure on. A godly preacher will give an invitation at the end of his sermon, putting the pressure on for people to take the next step. God never intended for church to become a time of entertainment, fun and social engineering. Most churches today are pathetic, because today's pastors have bad attitudes, making every excuse imaginable for their laziness, incompetence and lack of spiritual vision for the church. I am so disgusted every time I visit another church, seeing a ton of problems. I don't go looking for weakness, faults and shortcomings in churches and pastors, but it's kind of like watching the debris after a deadly train wreck (you cannot help but see the horrific disaster).

In our text Scripture from Revelation 3:15-16, God pressured the church of Laodicea to repent (think differently). The Lord said He vomited them out because they were LUKEWARM. God wants every believer, church and pastor to be HOT or COLD, because He hates LUKEWARM. God is telling us that He has more respect for an honest person, who admits that they just don't care and choose to be COLD; than He does for some two-faced Harvey Dent type of shady character, who cannot make up his twisted mind. Most churchgoers today are a trainwreck in progress, and their pastor is the reckless train engineer who ran the train off the bridge. The average church today is headed for Casandra's Crossing!!! (a 1976 deadly disaster movie about a train that crashes fiery down into a deep valley)...

'Cassandra's Crossing' Movie Represents Average Baptist Church Today!

I am so sick and tired of hearing woefully ignorant preachers tell people to repent “OF YOUR SINS,” when no such phrase or teaching is found in the inspired King James Bible. What is wrong with today's stupid pastors? Hey, I didn't add to the Word of God, they did! 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.” When your pastor says you must repent “OF YOUR SINS” to receive God's free gift of eternal life, he DIDN'T get that from the Holy Bible, he got it from other corrupt preachers. But please don't take my word for it, “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES” for yourself as Jesus commanded in John 5:39a. I triple-dog dare you to show me “OF YOUR SINS” in the inspired Word of God.

Repentance is simply a change of mind (Greek noun: metanoia), where a lost sinner realizes that he is a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God, so that seeing his need he turns to Jesus Christ by faith to be saved (Galatians 3:24-26). Why do humans always complicate things? It is because our very carnal sin nature compels us to add human effort to God's grace. But to do so is a counterfeit plan of salvation, which cannot produce the new birth. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Chrisdtian life without ever being born-again.

This is the great danger of churches like the Zoe Church in Los Angeles. Their damnable false plan of salvation is centered in man's following Jesus as Supreme “Lord” of one's life, and repenting (turning) away from your sinful ways. This is partial faith in Christ plus WORKS!!! Nowhere on their website does the Zoe Church preach the Gospel. Instead, they are preaching false religion, Lordship Salvation and misunderstood repentance. If this seems like a small matter to you friend, or splitting of theological hairs, then I am worried about your salvation as well. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

In the Bible we see where Satan's crowd pressured Peter to deny Christ, or risk being killed if he proclaimed the name of Jesus. Likewise, we see in the Bible where God's prophet, Joshua, pressured the people to choose sides. Also, the godly prophet Elijah, pressured the people to make a choice! But they answered Elijah not a word the Bible says (1st Kings 18:21). No one can go through life and escape making a choice for God or Satan! Whether you want to or not, we all eventually choose up sides. I am on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

Misunderstood Repentance:
An Enemy Of Soulwinning

Religion Is The Worst Thing That Ever Happened

Matthew 6:7, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

Matthew 15:7-9, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Mark 7:6-9, “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

The Holy Bible teaches that religion is a dangerous thing! Our text passages of Scripture plainly reveal that religion can become corrupt, vain and deadly in the wrong hands. In Matthew 6:8 we learn that HEATHENS can pray, superficially appearing as God's children, but in actuality are children of the Devil practicing false religion.

In the past I have considered the heresy of Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation) merely a false doctrine, but it has exploded into a religion in the United States. I love this helpful quote from Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, explaining what Lordship Salvation is:

“Lordship Salvation is the unsupportable and unbiblical belief that the performance of good works, the promise of good works, or the evidence of good works, must accompany faith in Christ to establish or provide evidence that such faith has resulted in eternal life.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold (Jesus versus John MacArthur)

Sadly, the biggest offenders are Baptist churches, which have fallen away from THE TRUTH. I'm talking about the deadly cult at Bob Jones University (BJU) today, which has become a demonic cesspool of deadly Calvinist doctrine and Satanic deceit. Last I checked, there are about 75 different branches of Baptists in the United States. Some of them even deny Jesus' deity, go figure! Sadly, most Baptist churches have succumbed to Satan's lie of Calvinism, which has reached the tipping point in 2022 in the apostate Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The SBC has twice now revised their own Bible, producing a damnable text based upon Westcott and Hort's perverse Greek. To HELL with the Southern Baptist Convention and their 45,000 corrupt and complicit churches!!! No pastor and church that is right with God would remain in that cesspool of iniquity! The SBC is of the Devil. J.D. Greear (their new SBC chairman) openly endorses the LGBTQ community.) God's curse is upon the SBC!!!

Dear reader, religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this world! The Bible has very little good to speak about religion. If you missed it, please go back and read our text passages of Scriptures. In nearly every case of existing religions around the world (about 4,000 the last I checked), nearly all of them elevate MAN'S COMMANDMENTS over the inspired WORDS OF GOD. Mark 7:9, “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” Manmade tradition is at the core of 99% of the world's religions. Sadly, as I have already mentioned, even most of our once trustworthy Baptist churches have now become corrupted by Satan.

False religion is how a pervert named Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS Mormons), was able to con 78 women into marrying him. At least 24 of those wives were underaged girls when Jeffs violated them. When scrutiny heightened in Arizona and Utah against Warren Jeffs alleged criminal activities, he fled to the state of Texas. Unbelievably, in Texas Jeffs used Mormon money to build a so-called Holy Temple of Mormonism, in which he sexually assaults a 12-year-old girl, and records the entire crime. What an idiot! Jeffs belongs in an episode of the world's dumbest criminals!!!

With disgust, in the now made public recordings, you can literally hear Mormon elder Warren Jeffs breathing heavy as he violates the little girl, telling her that he is doing it: “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is religion folks!!! Why doesn't the government go after the entire Mormon cult? Jeff's father married several dozen women himself, many of which his biological son Warren remarried when he Dad died and went to Hell forever. Mormonism is, in all its  entirety, of the Devil. It is by very nature a sex cult. Just go read their official dogma! I mean no unkindness to anyone, truly, but if you follow the religious lies of Mormonism, you will spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell.

Look at the Heaven's Gate cult in California. One nutcase by using religious indoctrination was able to successfully convince 41 people to take their own lives. This shows us the frightening power of religious brainwashing!!! I am sickened to know that there are 15 million Mormons in the world. It sickens me to know that there are over ONE BILLION hellbound Roman Catholics, who've all been lied to to believe that some sinful priest, who dresses like a woman, but tells people to call him “Father,” can absolve their sins. NO PRIEST, POPE OR PASTOR CANNOT FORGIVE ANYONE'S SINS!!! Only God can forgive sins. The Lutherans erroneously believe that their pastors have God's power to forgive people's sins. NO THEY DON'T!!! Lutheran pastors are LIARS!!!

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.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

The Devil is a beautiful liar! Satan knows that the best place to hide a lie is between two truths. The half-truth is the most effective form of deception, because in part it can be defended with incontestable logic. This is what makes false religion so dangerous, because its damnable lies are surrounded and protected by religious truths, making it's spiderweb of deceit even more deadly and unsuspecting to vulnerable passing prey.

Dear friend, I could go on writing this one blog for hours, expounding you in the bizarre and insane world of false religion. Years ago I made my new favorite Bible verse Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” The reason why people foolishly join a cult like the Jehovah's Witnesses or Seventh-Day Adventists is because they are deceived by the Devil (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15). Jesus warned us that the way unto life is narrow, and the highway to Hell broad, because FALSE PROPHETS appear as sheep to deceive their prey (Matthew 7:13-15). Now you know why I love Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Please don't allow yourself to be deceived friend. Please use and trust ONLY the inspired King James Bible. Please believe only what you can PROVE with the Holy Scriptures. You cannot backup the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation with the King James Bible. No you cannot! All you can do, at very best, is cite obscure passages of Scripture, wresting (twisting) them out of context in a foolish lame attempt to bolster up your strawman perverse doctrine. Lordship Salvation is of the Devil, which teaches that more than childlike faith is required to be saved. 

In addition, proponents of Lordship Salvation (which is actually the Devil's Calvinism repackaged) says you must surrender all to Christ, turn away from your sinful lifestyle, follow Jesus as “Lord” of your life no matter what the cost, run the Christian race faithfully to the end, invite Christ into your life, repent (turn) from your sinful ways, count the cost and pay the price, give up control of your life to Jesus, and a bunch of other junk theology no found in the Holy Bible. How is any of that a free gift? 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.” This is perhaps the most ignored Bible verse!

If we take the preceding Scripture passage at face value, then NONE of all those extra things that I just listed, can be required of a lost sinner to obtain eternal life. Eternal life is the free gift of God, which a needy sinner receives by faith, by simply receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins, and believing that Jesus after being buried resurrected from the dead three days later. This is The Gospel, that is, The Good News, by which we are saved if we BELIUEVE IT (1st Corinthians 15:1-6; Romans 1:16).

Please don't let religion mess with your head. Many people suffer from Religious Scrupulosity, which is where we feel guilty, confusion or emotions because of religion. What saith the Scripture? ...

Psalms 1:1-5, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Dear reader, if you will give God your HEART, He will comb the kinks out of your HEAD! Search the Scriptures Jesus commanded in John 5:39.

There Are No Apartment Buildings In Heaven

John 14:1-6, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

I heard a nutty preacher say something years ago that really bothered me. He said that we will live up in Heaven in apartment buildings. Folks, would you rather live in an apartment building or in your own completely paid for home? I know I want a home in Heaven!!!

Jesus said in our text Sculpture from John chapter 14 that He is going to prepare a place for us in Heaven, which in the Greek means “abode” (i.e., a place to live). As the old adage goes: “Home is where I hang my hat.” It sure is!

Kindly said, I heard another pastor say that the King James Bible translators were wrong to use the word “mansions” in John 14:2 for the Greek word mone, which means: “a staying, that is, residence.” But I personally don't think the 54 godly men whom God used to translate the King James Bible were wrong. I have often began to envy wealth famous people like David Lee Roth, Donald Trump, Gene Simmons and hundreds of other rich, famous and spoiled people. But then the blessed indwelling Holy Spirit comforts my soul, reminding me that those rich celebrities have everything now on earth, but Hell awaits them in eternity.

I know the pain of loneliness, since my former wife sadly abandoned me in 2006 (16 years ago). I have lived alone since. I have tried many times to find a Christian wife, but things never worked out. In two cases it was because of ungodly new-evangelical pastors (at the Satanic Harvest Baptist Church on Guam), who banned and ostracized me (since 2014) from attending their church services anymore, because I befriended them with THE TRUTH that the modern bibles are of the Devil, and Lordship Salvation is of the Devil, and Martin Luther did not go to Heaven (because he trusted in water baptism to get him to Heaven, instead of Christ alone). Consequently, the two women (at different times) whom I wanted to marry, rejected me because of misguided loyalty to their cult leaders at Harvest. God will avenge me!!!

Because of the divorce I lost my paid home. I lost everything! I lost my pets, not even able to say goodbye to them. I was given a court order by the judge not to return to my home, and I never saw my home again!!! My belongings were packed in boxes and sent to me. One day I had a home, the next day I had none! That is what our wicked U.S. courts do to families. That is what divorce does to a person. I know the inexplicable pain of loss, emotional torment and betrayal by a loved one. There is not a more ungodly institution in the world than the U.S. legal system. They legalize the evils of homosexuality. They legalize the evils of abortion, which is first-degree murder. They legalize the evils of divorce, which is an abomination unto God. I fought to stop the divorce, but the wolves in the court system won! My former wife refused to reconcile with me, and I have that in writing with her ungodly signature on it, as a witness before God and man that I didn't want a divorce.

I forgave my former spouse a long time ago, because I know that God has forgiven me (Ephesians 4:28-32). God promises to avenge me (Romans 12:29-21). No one has a right to destroy someone else's life!!! It is a horrible sin to file for divorce. It is even worse to complete the divorce. Only by pride cometh contention (Proverbs 13:10). My former wife abandoned me on March 20th, 2006. While praying and hoping for her return, I started a new soulwinning website in May of 2006 called: Soulwinning.info, which was my way of obeying the Bible in Romans 12:21, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

To my horror, on June 5th, 2006, two U.S. Marshalls on Guam came to my job and handed me a summons to divorce court. I was working alone that night in maintenance. I turned out the lights in the parts department and wept like a baby for the next 3 hours in the dark. I wanted to die! Life is not fair folks. The Devil doesn't fight fair, he plays dirty. God has forgiven me of MUCH, so I choose to forgive others as well, which is what God commands. My soulwinning.info website wouldn't exist today, if it were not for the evils which befell me at the hands of my wicked former wife. Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

In hindsight, I definitely married the wrong person in 1987. The woman that I ignorantly married in my youth (I was age 20 at the time), was never cut out to be a wife or a mother. She was a dangerous sponge! Whatever malicious ideas that ungodly people put into her head, she ran off halfcocked with a loaded gun, knife, phone, pen in her brutish rage. But what's done is done, I must move forward with my life for Jesus Christ. I am a big sinner just like everybody else! The famous preacher, Charles Waggle (who wrote the famous hymn: “No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus”) shares my inexplicable pain of soul, because his wife abandoned him too. God hates divorce! Jeremiah 3:20, “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.”

Anyway, there are no apartment buildings in Heaven, I assure you. Who would want to live in such a place? I suppose that there are many people, who have become accustomed to living in an apartment from necessity, settling for less than for what is best in the future, but only because they have lost sight of having a better life someday in eternity. I think everyone should have their own home.

And I can guarantee you that there WON'T be any property taxes in Heaven!!! Here in the United States, no one really owns their home. I triple dog dare you (if you own a home) to stop paying your taxes and see how fast the government confiscates your home and boots you out the door!

I heard about a woman in Chicago many years ago, whose husband worked his entire life to pay for their home. It was paid for! He died and she became a widow. The woman suffered from depression and didn't keep up with her bills. The water bill went unpaid for years, surmounting staggering debt from increasing interest charges. Her bill, which had only originally been for a few hundred dollars, was now at several thousand dollars. Long story short, the city of Chicago put her home up for auction and she lost her paid home. Folks, that is criminal. When a widow can lose the paid home that her husband worked for his entire life, over an unpaid water bill, you know that we are living in a perverse, ungodly, corrupt and wicked nation. What should have happened was to simply turn her water off permanently until the bill was paid, but NO ONE should ever be able to lose a home that is paid for in full. In Heaven that could NEVER happen. God is not a thug. God is not unjust. God is kind and ethical, always.

Don't you tell me that believers won't have a home in Heaven as nice as Eddie Van Halen's mansion was here on earth. Sadly, Eddie was a lifelong Roman Catholic, which is a false religion that puts their faith in sinful men (priests) to forgive their sins, instead of the Lamb of God with the nail scared hands and feet.

Don't you tell me that the pervert, Hugh Hefner (who spent his life as a whoremonger, mocking the moral God of the Holy Bible), had a nicer home here on earth than we will as believers in Heaven. I am not sure how God will do things in Heaven, but I can assure you that God will keep His promise in Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” I love that Bible verse! God will one day give us ALL THINGS the Bible says.

Romans 8:32 says that God will give us ALL THINGS. So I think anything that is right, holy and good God will grant. I am convinced that if you are a child of God, and you want to see your old pet pal Fido the dog, Fluffy the cat or Ben the mouse, God will grant your request. Is that not a part of ALL THING in Romans 8:32? Do you mean to tell me that our almighty God and Creator couldn't or wouldn't give back life to a beloved furry pet that you once owned? This is speculation, of course. I cannot prove what I am teaching; however, God did promise in Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

I once heard a Baptist pastor criticize the idea that Jesus was a carpenter while on earth, and so subsequently He is building us homes in Heaven. Hey, what is so strange about the idea that our dear Savior is a carpenter also in Heaven? The Lord did promise to PREPARE a place for each saint in Heaven. To prepare something clearly implies that Jesus will do just that... PREPARE a residence in Heaven for us. I sincerely don't think we will be dwelling in stacking bunk beds, or an apartment building, or a hippie commune in the Pearly City.

I learned a beautiful truth from Pastor Jack Hyles from one of his sermons. Remember that men, and not God, put the chapter divisions in the Holy Bible. So in the original Koine Greek manuscripts of the New testament, John chapters 13 and 14 are one. So if we read chapter 13, where Jesus predicted that the Apostle Peter would deny Christ 3 times before the rooster crowed 3 times, in chapter 14 the dear Savior reassures Peter that when he repents afterwards, that the Lord is going to Heaven to prepare a place (a residence) for Peter, so that when Jesus returns for the saints, we will all be together in Heaven. That is precious! And truly, Jesus' precious promise to Peter in John 14:1-3 applies to every born-again believer.

John 14:1-3 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I have been reluctantly renting an apartment since 2006, after I lost my home to pay several tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees for an unwanted divorce. Lawyers are rotten thieves!!! I love that scene in the classic 1993 movie Jurassic Park, where the hungry Tyrannosaurus dinosaur east the lawyer in the restroom outhouse (I don't have to explain the symbology). Wait until you see what God is going to do to them in eternity! Hell is full of dirty crooked lawyers.

Since I once had a home, but lost it due to misfortune, Jesus' solemn promise in John 14:1-3 means all that much more to me. I don't know if I will ever be blessed to own a home again in this earthly lifetime; but if not, I know assuredly that God is preparing a mansion for me in Heaven.

Beware Of Satan's Master Counterfeits

Matthew 7:13-15, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

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.”

Admittedly, they do seem saved, but so do Seventh-Day Adventists (Calvinists), Church of Christ (Calvinists), Lutherans (Baptismal Regeneration), Presbyterians (Calvinists) and Lordship Salvationists (Calvinists). I watched a Mormon sermon yesterday and it sounded like a Baptist church. Mormons ONLY use the King James Bible! You can verify that online. Mormons sing just like Baptists. A naïve person could easily think that Mormonism is Christianity, if they didn't understand sound doctrine from the Word of God.

I was thinking last night about counterfeit money. The goal of the counterfeiter is to make the fake money as close to authentic money as possible, to deceive people. The Devil does the same thing with religion! Satan makes false religion look, feel and sound just like genuine Christianity, so close that the person unlearned in the Scripture couldn't discern the difference, and so they are deceived and damned (Matthew 7:13-15; 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

I was surprised to find mainstream this website that sells counterfeit money that allegedly looks realistic. Why doesn't the government stop them? Go figure! Dear reader, I don't want you to be deceived by the Devil. God's standard for salvation is THE 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.” God authored the Gospel of John for the specific purpose of showing humanity how to have eternal life.

There is no mention in John of confessing, following, surrendering, committing, praying, calling, serving, running, turning or repenting to obtain God's free gift of eternal life. The only requirement taught is to BELIEVE ON JESUS. John 6:28-29, “When said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

John chapters 19 and 20 teach Christ's death on the cross, His burial and subsequent bodily physical resurrection three days later . This is THE GOSPEL (i.e., the GOOD NEWS) according to 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:” Any guilty sinner who believes (places their confidence in) this Good News is saved immediately, irrevocably and permanently. Getting saved is that simple.

Tragically, millions of false churches around the world base their counterfeit plan of damnation upon obscure passages of Scripture, while totally ignoring and contradicting the Gospel of John. As a general rule we ought never use an obscure passage of Scripture to contradict a clear one. The Gospel of John is clear, salvation is WITHOUT WORKS!!!

• Roman Catholics errantly teach that salvation requires FAITH AND WORKS.
• Calvinists errantly teach that FAITH WILL WORK.
• The Bible teaches that FAITH IS WITHOUT WORKS (Romans 4:5).

Please dear reader, do not allow Satan and his sinister ministers to deceive you! Hell is hot, life is short and eternity is a long time!!!

The Devil is a master counterfeiter! Tragically, BILLIONS of Roman Catholics, Orthodox Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, Calvinists, Church of Christ, United Methodists, Unitarian Universalists, Bahai Faith, Presbyterians, Baptists, Scientologists, Christian Science, Judaizers and other infidels have been DECEIVED by the Devil concerning how to get to Heaven. Lordship Salvation is of the Devil. Calvinism is of the Devil. Works to be saved before, during or after salvation are of the Devil.

The Devil is a beautiful liar! Satan knows that the best place to hide a lie is between two truths. The half-truth is the most effective form of deception, because in part it can be defended with incontestable logic. This is what makes false religion so dangerous, because its damnable lies are surrounded and protected by religious truths, making it's spiderweb of deceit even more deadly and unsuspecting to vulnerable passing prey.

Today could be the last day of your life!

Have you been born-again?

And Such Were Some Of You . . . But Ye Are Washed!!!

1st Corinthians 6:9-11, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

1st Corinthians 6:9-10 is one of the most misinterpreted, misunderstood and misapplied passages of Scripture in the Bible. It is almost always overlooked. The Holy Bible is in fact saying that anyone who commits these sins CANNOT go to Heaven. This means NO ONE can go to Heaven, because we are ALL GUILTY of committing these sins, even if merely by thought. Jesus taught that hatred is equivalent to murder in God's eyes (Matthew 5:22), and lust the same as adultery with God (Matthew 5:28). Ah, but thanks be to God for the gift of His dear son, Jesus, the Christ, Who paid the price for our sins. Let the world know...

JESUS CAME TO SAVE SINNERS!!!

Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

God the Father sent His only begotten (biological) Son into the world to pay the PRICE for man's sins (John 3:16). Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay. The PRICE for the Church is the precious BLOOD of Jesus; and the PLACE is the heavenly Mercy Seat, where the liquid blood of Christ is sprinkled (Hebrews 12:24; 9:12,24).

My friend, the price for your sins and mine has been paid in full by the Lord Jesus Christ! This is why the apostle Paul could say in 1st Timothy 4:9-11 that Jesus is THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN, SPECIALLY THOSE WHO BELIEVE!!! 1st Timothy 4:9-11, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. These things command and teach.”

If you go to Hell one day, it will only be because you rejected and refused the free grace of God that brings salvation. There are confused people all around the world today who are desperately trying to discover if there is truly a way to receive eternal life. There is a way. There is way! Jesus is the way!


Completely Rest in the Gospel to Be Saved

Jesus said in John 14:6, “ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Acts 10:43, “To him [Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” You simply acknowledge that you are a guilty sinner in God's eyes (Romans 3:19), totally incapable of saving yourself in any way (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9); and you completely REST, Hebrews 4:10-11) in the name of Jesus, the Christ (Acts 4:10-12; Romans 10:13; John 20:31)—Who died upon the cross for our sins, He was buried, and then miraculously raised up from the dead after three days (the Gospel, 1st Corinthians 15:1-4). JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN!!!

We are saved by ceasing from our own DEAD WORKS (Hebrews 6:1), and completely RESTING in Jesus Christ, Who is our Sabbath. The Hebrews are the people of God, but that doesn't automatically make them the children of God. Only by resting in Christ's finished work of redemption can anyone (whether Gentile or Jew) become a born-again child of God:

Hebrews 4:9-11, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Galatians 3:26-29, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Have Your Sins Been Washed In The Blood of the Lamb?

Many people quote 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, but few people ever quote verse11:

“And Such Were Some Of You . . . But Ye Are Washed” —1st Corinthians 6:11

The Bible is acknowledging that God saves even the worst and vilest of sinners. Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” One-third of the Bible was penned by pardoned MURDERERS (Moses, David and Paul). Just as the Lord forgave the murderers, harlots (prostitutes) and publicans (shady tax-collectors working for the oppressive Roman empire) who believed on His name, so also will Christ forgive you regardless of what evil things you have done throughout your life. God desires for all men to come to repentance to be saved (2nd Peter 3:9).

Many Christians in today's soul-winning and evangelical churches have come out of a horrible life of sin... “BUT YE ARE WASHED” the Bibles says, washed by the sin-cleansing blood of Jesus Christ!!! 1st John 1:7, “...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” It is Christ's precious blood that washes ALL our sins away, and not human effort that saves us. For anyone to say that a person must try to stop sinning in order to be saved is teaching a false plan of salvation. I desire to live right because I AM SAVED, and not TO GET SAVED. People who forsake the world, turn from sinful living and make a full surrender to Christ as part of their salvation are not truly saved, having never experienced the new-birth by faith alone in Christ's death on the cross, His burial and resurrection from the dead.

1st Corinthians 6:11, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

Amen! Our sins have been washed away by the literal blood of Jesus! We have been SANCTIFIED, set apart for God's purpose and glory. I now belong to Jesus, and Jesus belongs to me! Praise God! I have been JUSTIFIED... “JUST-IF-I'D” never sinned. We are saved by God's grace, through faith in the gospel. We are saved by completely RESTING in the precious name of Jesus Christ, because He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and is bodily risen. Christ bodily ascended into Heaven and “BY HIS OWN BLOOD” (Hebrews 9:12, King James Bible) Jesus entered the Holy Place and paid the price by sprinkling His liquid blood (Hebrews 12:24) on the Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:12,22-24)! Thank you Lord! Have you been delivered through the power of the Gospel from the power and depths of Satan?

The works of the flesh are these:

Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

If you have ever done any of these sins you cannot enter into Heaven. WE ARE ALL GUILTY SINNERS! No one deserves Heaven. NO ONE is worthy of God's grace. We are all just as sinful as the vilest sinner in God's eyes. James 2:10 says to break even one commandment of God makes us guilty of all. Why? It's because committing even ONE SIN is enough to keep us out of Heaven, forfeit eternal life, and send us to the Lake of Fire forever!!!

When you get saved by trusting in Christ ALONE for your salvation, that is, by believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross, buried and risen, then YOU ARE WASHED as the Bible teaches in 1st Corinthians 6:11. We read further in the Scriptures:

1st Peter 1:18-21, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

Biblically, ALL Christians have come out of a life of sin, but some much worse than others (at least worse in men's eyes). NO ONE is perfect. NO ONE is without sin. Every believer is a sinner saved by God's grace. Those professed Christians who are quick to condemn other believers who sin, showing little or no mercy or understanding, only do so because they have not truly grasped the depth of their own sinfulness. Jesus taught in Matthew 7:1-5 that we will all be judged by God in eternity on an individual basis, being judged by the same measure by which we have judged others. If we are harsh and difficult toward others who have sinned, then God is going to be harsh and difficult toward us in eternity. If we don't forgive our sister or brother in the Lord, then neither will Christ forgive us (Matthew 18:22).


Two Ways To Heaven: Be Perfect or Rest In Jesus Christ

The word “inherit” in the Greek is “klēronomeō” and means “to be an heir.” A “heir” is a person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another who is entitled to something. In other words, you are not entitled to enter into Heaven if you have broken the Mosaic law (aka, The Ten Commandments) in the Old Testament. We are all guilty of breaking God's laws, which is the entire purpose for the law, that is, to be used as a measuring stick to show us out total inability to save ourselves.

There are only two ways to Heaven:

KEEP THE MOSAIC LAW PERFECTLY (given to Moses by God to give to the Hebrews). God gave us His laws in stone, because you cannot bend stone without breaking it. You either keep or break God's commandments. If you break even one commandment, then you cannot inherit Heaven, because you have no divine legal right. James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Some religious Jews attempted to earn their way to Heaven by keeping the law. Paul reminds them in Romans 2:13 that the DOERS and not the HEARERS of the law shall be justified. Just as the boasting self-righteous rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21 and the boasting self-righteous unsaved workers in Matthew 7:21-23 at The Great White Throne Of Judgment, so we find boasting self-righteous religious Jews in Romans 2:23, “Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?” Paul is pointing out that they weren't keeping the law, just as the Lord pointed out to the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21 that he was covetous and hadn't “kept all these commandments from my youth up” as he boasted.

Then Paul clearly explains in Romans 3:19-20 that no one can be justified by the keeping of the law, because no one can perfectly keep the law. WE ARE ALL SINNERS, FALLING SHORT OF GOD'S GLORY (Romans 3:23). NO ONE has ever got to Heaven by keeping the law, because all men are sinners who fall short of the glory of God. Only Jesus Christ is without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

REST COMPLETELY IN CHRIST (Who died upon the cross for our sins, He was buried, and then He was resurrected from the dead after three days). Since we have no righteousness of our own to offer God (Isaiah 64:6), and are incapable of perfectly keeping God's law (Romans 3:10), God offers HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS to us instead through faith in Christ. This is called the doctrine of IMPUTATION. 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.”

Romans 10:3-4, “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.” We are saved by GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” When a person trusts Christ alone and is saved, from that moment forward God doesn't see that person's sins anymore; but rather, He sees the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus.

“And Such Were Some Of You ...But Ye Are Washed” —1st Corinthians 6:11

The Heresy That You Must Confess “Jesus Is Lord” To Be Saved

Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

 
I am so sick and tired of false teachers! 1st Timothy 1:5-7, “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” It seems these days that everybody and their dog wants to be a Bible teacher! The problem is that they aren't qualified, because they have not studied to rightly divide the Word of Truth, that is, the Holy Bible. 2nd Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

I just read the following heresy online today, from a neo-evangelical religious website:

Moses wrote that those who practice law-based righteousness will live by that righteousness. However, no one can practice that righteousness. Therefore, attempting to earn righteousness is a futile act. However, Paul explains from the Old Testament that righteousness based on faith, or imputed righteousness, recognizes that Christ ascended into heaven, and that He died. Furthermore, these facts are in the believer’s mouth, or confession, and heart, or worldview. In addition, these facts are components of the “word,” or message, of faith that Paul was preaching: if one confesses with one’s mouth that Jesus is the Supreme Authority, or Lord, and believes that He rose from the dead, one will be saved. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Romans 10:1-21 - The Nation of Israel (Not All Jews) Has Rejected the Gospel, But Gentiles Trust in It

Dear reader, that is a FALSE GOSPEL!!! Nowhere in the Bible are we required to confess (agree with God's Word) that Jesus is the “Supreme Authority, or Lord” to get to Heaven. Pastor Curtis Hutson wisely said: “A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.” Romans 10:9-10 is definitely an obscure passage of Scripture, because taken by itself (out of context), one could conclude that to get to Heaven a person must make public confession of their faith in Christ to be saved, which is not true Biblically. Taken by itself, this passage could also be construed to teach that (as you just read from the Bearing Christ blog), that you must confess Jesus as Supreme Lord to be saved, which again is not Biblical. So how do we know for sure?

I am glad you asked my fine non-feathered friend! The proper way to study the Bible is to compare Scripture with Scripture. Isaiah 28:13, “But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” Amen. And also, we read in 1st Corinthians 2:13, “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” That is how we properly study to discern God's Word, comparing Scripture with Scripture.

When I was a child, my grandmother from Sweden bought me a game that originated in Sweden called: “ Husker Du.” In hindsight, I cannot help but wonder if God had a part in introducing me to that fun board game, because the whole idea of the Swedish game is to compare pieces with each other, and try to remember where you found them to win the game. What a great way to prepare a child to study the Word of God! Every false doctrine that exists was fabricated by basing a belief on a single (or limited handful of) Scripture, while ignoring the whole of Scripture! Anytime that we present a suggested interpretation of a Scripture, we must first verify that our suggested meaning agrees with the rest of the Word of God. If it does, then we know we've found the correct meaning. Unfortunately, many Bible students refuse to accept defeat, wresting the Scripture in order to teach their strange doctrine.

One such strange doctrine is that a lost person cannot be saved until they declare: “Jesus is Lord.” Does that agree with the rest of the Holy Bible? No, it does not. The entire Gospel of John is God's Gospel tract. 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.” So God authored this specific book of the Bible to show humanity how to have eternal life. Yet, every time I hear Lordship Salvation heretics spewed their junk theology, they are citing passages from the Gospel of Matthew in a lame attempt to justify their damnable false doctrine. Folks, God didn't author the book of Matthew to show us how to get to Heaven, He gave us the book of John for that!!! Matthew presents Jesus as a King. John presents Jesus as the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of God (John 20:31).

In the Gospel of John we find the word “believe” mentioned 88 times, but there is no mention of confessing anything. There is no requirement to repent “of your sins” and to “turn from your sinful ways” to be saved. In fact, the word “repent” is not mentioned even once in John. That is because the person who believes on Christ has repented in doing so. Repentance and faith are not two steps to be saved; but rather, one action. What must we do to be saved? Acts 16:31b, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

There is no requirement in the Gospel of John to invite Jesus into your life. There is no requirement to be water baptized to get to Heaven (as Martin Luther heretically taught). There is no requirement to faithfully run the race until the end of life to get to Heaven (as Steve Pettit heretically preaches). There is no mention of counting the cost and paying the price to be saved (as Billy Graham false preaches). There is no mention of asking Jesus into your heart to be saved (as many ignorant preachers teach). No, no, no! There is only the requirement that we come to God as a needy sinner and “BELIEVE ON HIM.” John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Whereas God only requires childlike faith in the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day to be saved, wicked false teachers require MORE! The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. ...

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.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

Must we confess Jesus as “Lord” to be saved? No, ten thousands times no! Although that may harelip every dog in the country, it is nonetheless true according to the Bible. It is a folly and a big mistake to base a doctrine upon one single passage of Scripture in Romans 10:9-10. Nowhere in the Gospel of John (which is God's Gospel tract according to John 20:31) are we instructed to confess anything! You don't get saved by confessing anything (except to admit in your soul that you are a guilty sinner) and BELIEVE on Christ! You get saved by BELIEVING on Jesus Christ as your personal Savior!!!

It saddens me to see fools preaching another gospel based upon one passage of Scripture from Romans 10:9-10, while ignoring the rest of the Bible. Good night folks! The Church of Christ is an example of a group who does this. They cite Romans 10:9-10 to support their unbiblical requirement that to get to Heaven, a person must audibly and publicly confess Jesus as the Christ. The infidel Church of Christ also requires that a person forsake their sinful behavior (which they misunderstand to mean repentance, the same as the cult at Bob Jones University errantly thinks). You DON'T have to stop your sinning, nor even be willing to stop your sinning to be saved, which would be works instead of grace.

When I got saved at age 13, I knew that I was a sinner and believed the Good News of Christ, but that was it. No one required me to make a commitment to clean up (reform) my behavior or bad habits. Then, once saved, God sealed and indwelt me with His blessed Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24) and God's Spirit began to convict me about the sins in my life. That is how salvation works. God trying to rid my life of sinful ways is strictly a separate matter of growing in grace (sanctification), which has absolutely nothing to do with the legal matter of justification (which is by faith alone). We must always keep sanctification completely separate from justification, lest we corrupt the Word of God and cast stumbling blocks before the people. Churchgoers today are confused everywhere because of incompetent pastors, clergy, religious professors and missionaries who combine sanctification with justification, and in so doing merge works with faith, which is another gospel that cannot produce the new birth.

Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” I recently kindly rebuked a man on Facebook in his group that he asked me to join, who quoted Romans 10:9 as “Jesus is Lord.” I told him that he is using a corrupt version of the Bible, because the inspired King James Bible says: “Lord Jesus.”

The man replied that he was just paraphrasing the Bible, and insisted that he only uses the King James Bible. What? Folks, he is condemning himself! Whether you read a perverted version of the Bible that errantly paraphrases God's Word, or you foolishly paraphrase it yourself, either way the Word of God is being corrupted!!! Romans 10:9 does not say nor mean “Jesus is Lord.”

Please read Acts 16:31b, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Does “the Lord Jesus Christ” here means that you must receive Jesus as Supreme Lord of your life to get to Heaven? No, of course it doesn't! You'd have to really read into the text, and wrest the Scripture, in order to come up with such a strange doctrine. The Bible simply means to BELIEVE (put your confidence in) Jesus! He is the Lord Jesus Christ, but that doesn't mean you must follow Him as the absolute Lord (Master) of your life in loyal obedience, service and tuning away from your sinful ways to get to Heaven. That would be works!!!

Calvinism is of the Devil. Calvinism refers to the life's heretical teachings of an unsaved infidel named John Calvin (1509-1564). John Calvin sinfully combined sanctification with justification, confusing his followers into thinking they needed works to prove that their faith was real. The reality of the genuineness of my faith in God's sight is MY FAITH!!!

 

So dear reader, beware of corrupt Bible teachers who base their teachings on obscure passages of Scripture, because you might end up being destroyed with them:

2nd Peter 3:14-17, “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 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.”

The Apostle Peter admitted that he couldn't understand some of the Bible. We've all been there! I sure have. But like Peter, we must be wise and honest enough to admit that we simply don't know what a passage means, rather than wrest it to fit what WE THINK it means, which could result in damnation.

The Holy Spirit, Our Comforter

Here is chapter 17 from Pastor Jack Hyle's excellent book, "Meet The Holy Spirit"...

John 16:7, 8, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."

One of the works of the Holy Spirit is to comfort the believer. The word "comforter" means "one to run to our side and pick us up." This is what Jesus had done while He was on the earth. I John 2:1, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." The word "advocate" is the same word as "comforter" in John 16:7, 8. Hence, Jesus is our advocate, or comforter, or the one who runs to our side to pick us up. Especially was this true during His earthly life, but when He went back to Heaven, He sent us ANOTHER comforter. John 14:16, 17 and 26, "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. But the Comforter, Which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." In a sense, the Holy Spirit came to be the babysitter for the Christians. Jesus was the One Who ran to our side; now He goes back to Heaven. He sends the Holy Spirit to do to all of us what He did when He was here.

Yet, according to I John 2:1, in a sense, Jesus is still our comforter, so the Holy Spirit is not exactly a substitute but an additional one to run to our side.

It is interesting to note that the word "comforter" was also used for legal aid or the counsel for the defense; so the Holy Spirit is that. Jesus is our aid at the right hand of the Father; the Holy Spirit is our aid on earth. Jesus is a positions advocate in Heaven; the Holy Spirit is a conditional advocate on earth.

Someone has described it this way. God made a will. When Jesus died, it became valid to those who trust Him. He went to Heaven as our attorney at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit distributes that will for Jesus on earth. There are two things in this will. First, Ephesians 1:7, "In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Notice the words, "The riches of His grace." This is salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of our Saviour on Calvary. Second, "the riches of His glory." Ephesians 3:16, "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." This will come at the rapture when we see Him as He is.

Perhaps the reason Jesus had to return to Heaven was twofold. First, He went to do His work. 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." Second, He went to give the Holy Spirit HIS work to do.

As the comforter, there is another thing the Holy Spirit does. He helps our comforters. John 14:18, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." In other words, He uses human instruments to do His comforting. There are times when the Holy Spirit will comfort you himself without human aid.

There are other times when He will empower and strengthen OTHERS to say just the words you need and give you just the comfort you need. This does not mean the Holy Spirit is not doing the comforting. He is leading and strengthening someone and using him to comfort us and strengthen us in our time of need. At times He runs alongside to help and there is no human aid in sight. At other times, He leads someone to come to us to be our aid, our comforter, to pick us up. In either case, this is the work of the Spirit. He simply sometimes chooses not to use human help and other times He chooses to do so.

In my own life there have been many times the Holy Spirit alone has been my comforter. When I paused at the casket of my unsaved father I touched his face. It was cold and hard as a stone. Suddenly I felt a hand grip my arm. I turned to see who it was, and there was no one there. I could definitely feel fingers touching my arm. It was blessed Holy Spirit coming HIMSELF to give me comfort. Then this same Holy Spirit led the pastor to speak words of comfort to me; He led loving friends to encourage my heart. He was comforting and strengthening me both WITH and WITHOUT human instruments. The Christian should yield himself to the Holy Spirit in order that the Spirit may use him to comfort, strengthen and restore others. When the Christian writes a note of comfort, he should ask the Holy Spirit to deliver it for him and to use it as a strength and comfort. When a word of comfort or strength is spoken to a bereaved or weary friend, the power of the Holy Spirit should accompany that word. Hence, the Christian should speak to the Holy Spirit BEFORE he speaks the word of comfort, asking Him to speak words that he cannot speak and to leave impressions that he cannot leave in order that he may be used as a tool of the Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen the discouraged, weak, lonely, bereaved or fallen brother. There is a wonderful truth in John 14:26, "But the Comforter, Which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Notice the words, "and bring all things to your remembrance." The Spirit-led and Spirit-filled Christian may so yield himself to the Holy Spirit that when he comforts , the Holy Spirit will bring to mind what he ought to say. The Christian will enter into the very work of the Spirit Himself as a tool to be a comforter.

Thank God for those times the Holy Spirit Himself has come to life me up and strengthen me and to comfort me. Thank the Lord for those times when He has touched a friend and spoken through him as a human instrument to comfort me and strengthen me and lift me up. And thank God for those times when He has used me as a tool to comfort others! Oh, Holy Spirit, use me again and again and again and again to strengthen the weak, lift up the fallen, encourage the discouraged, offer fellowship to the lonely, give a smile to the sad and comfort to the bereaved and weary.

It is interesting to note that in a sense Jesus had to leave in order for the Holy Spirit to come, that the Christian might be benefited to the fullest. For one thing, Jesus can serve us better in his glory and we can do greater works because the Holy Spirit came. John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father." Jesus entered the very presence of the Father; at the Father's side He can help us and intercede for us. He knows our needs more. He felt them while He was here, so He can send the Holy Spirit to dispense the fulfillment of our needs. Hence, He helps the Father tot know our needs. Though He doesn't have to persuade the Father to help us, He does remind Him of what help we need.

When I was a young pastor, I did so many things I do not do now. I once filled the baptistery, prepared the communion cup, cooked the unleavened bread, cleaned the building, turned on the lights, built the fire, printed the church bulletin and even led the choir. However, with the passing of the years and the increasing of the church membership I have had to have others to do what I used to do. Though I miss the personal contact and many of the tasks, it is expedient for my people that I administrate so that greater works can be done than were once done when I did it all myself. I could say to my people, "It is expedient that I go to administrate, for I can send many others to do the work that did and get more done."

There is a sense also in which the Lord Jesus can teach us better from the right hand of the Father. When He was on earth, for example, He was in the flesh. Mark 13:32, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." The word "neither" means "not yet". Jesus did not know the day nor hour of the Son of man's coming; at least, not yet, but in His resurrection body, seated at the right hand of the Father, He would know. Consequently, from that position, He can teach us better than through His earthly body here with us.

In summary, our Lord was our comforter while He was here. Though in a sense He continues to comfort from the right hand of the Father, He has sent us the Holy Spirit to comfort us and through that Holy Spirit greater works can be done than were done when our Lord was here.

I am dictating this chapter from the Lucerne Conference Grounds in Lucerne, California. I am in my room. It is 1:30 a.m. If Jesus were in Jerusalem tonight, I would catch the first plane tomorrow morning and I would fly to see Him, but I may not get to see Him or talk to Him, for millions of others would be seeking the same privilege as I. If He were here on earth, it just may be I would never get to touch His hand, see His face or talk to Him personally, but now that He is gone and has sent the Holy Spirit, He is in this room with me in the wee hours of the morning, and I feel His presence. I can talk with Him. In this sense, it was expedient for me that He go away, for through the Holy Spirit, I can be with Jesus anywhere I am, even in the wee hours of the morning in a quiet hotel room in the mountains of northern California.

Pastor Jack Hyles Baptizing Children Who Just
Trusted Jesus As Their Personal Savior