The Precious And Highly Exalted Name Of Jesus

Acts 10:43, “To him [Christ] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

They didn't know the name of “Jesus” in the Old testament, so how could they believe on His name? That is simple, they didn't need to know The Savior's actual name, they just needed to believe on the nameless Messiah. Christ was known by many different names in the Old Testament, but the spelling of His name was not what mattered. What mattered is that sinners believed on the coming prophesied Messiah, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

The dear Savior has many names. Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” I love that! My favorite name for Jesus here is: “The Everlasting Father.” Jesus is the everlasting Father, and the everlasting Father is Jesus. That is, they are both equal members of the Godhead (aka, the “Trinity” in theology). The Godhead (or Trinity) is an absolute fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. No one is saved who denies the Godhead, after being taught this truth from the inspired Word of God.

You don't have to be a theologian to be saved, you just need to know that Jesus is the virgin born Son of God, the Christ. When I got saved at age 13, I didn't know that Jesus is almighty God. I wasn't taught that Bible truth until I was age 18 while I attended Hyles-Anderson College (which my favorite preacher, Pastor Jack Hyles, started in 1972 to train young men and women to serve God full-time). I am an eternally grateful graduate of Hyles-Anderson College. I thank God and the dear saints at Hyles-Anderson who invested in me, so that I could effectively serve God today in the power of the Holy Spirit, not my own human strength. Zechariah 4:6, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Mary And Joseph Commanded To Name God's Only Begotten Son, 'Jesus'

A few years ago there was a big ruckus on social media between Pastor Steven Anderson and Evangelist Sam Gipp. It got ugly and personal, especially with Sam Gipp, whom I humbly feel took some unfair cheap shots at Pastor Anderson. The conflict started when Sam Gipp quoted the following Bible verse, claiming that Mary and Joseph were NOT supposed to name the only begotten Son of God, “Jesus.” Sam Gipp teaches that Mary and Joseph were supposed to name Him, “Emmanuel.” Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Unfortunately for Sam Gipp, Pastor Anderson strongly refuted him with Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” We can see clearly throughout the New Testament that the only begotten Son of God went by the name of “JESUS.” Kindly said, Sam Gipp is WRONG!!! ...

Sam Gipp Blasphemes the name of JESUS!!!

Jesus is the Name Exalted Above Every Other Name

The name of Jesus is not like any other name...

Philippians 2:9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There is no other name as wonderful and highly exalted as the precious name of “JESUS.” Neither is there salvation found in Mary, Muhammad, Hara Krishna, Zoroaster, Confucius or any other name, but that of the precious name of JESUS CHRIST OF NAZAERETH...

Acts 4:10-12, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

The only way to become an adopted child of God is through faith in Jesus' name...

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Amen and amen! No one has ever gone to Heaven who trusted in the Devil's Sacramental Salvation of Roman and Orthodox Catholicism. Salvation is found only through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (Romans 10:3-4; Philippians 3:9). 

Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God Made Flesh

Jesus is the Living Word, the inspired King James Bible is the Written Word. Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) rightly called Jesus and the Bible “twins.” How is a man a Book, or a Book a man? I cannot explain that truth...

John 1:1-3 and 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Jesus is: THE WORD OF GOD!!! Revelation 19:13, “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” I cannot wrap my tiny brain around such a great truth, but I believe it. My humble thought about the matter is the common saying that: A man is only as good as his word. Likewise, God is only as good and trustworthy as His faithfulness to keep His Word (i.e., His promises). Mark 13:31, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”

I am so thankful to God that He made His plan of salvation for humanity very clear in the Holy Bible, so that we can point to God's promises in the Bible. I KNOW that I am going to Heaven because in 1st Corinthians 1:21b, God promised “to save them that believe.” I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God. I believe the Good News (Gospel) that Jesus died on a cross to pay for my sins, and that He was buried, and after three days He physically resurrected in His glorified body (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). I realized as a 13-year-old body that I was a guilty sinner, but Jesus washed all my sins away by faith in Him, and now God the Father only sees the imputed righteousness of Christ when He looks at me (Philippians 3:9). Praise God!

Dear reader, think about what we have learned here. Jesus is THE WORD OF GOD!!! So why do churches use two dozen different English Bible versions today? If Jesus is the Word of God, then do we have two dozen different Jesuses? No, of course not. So what does this say? It plainly says (shouts in fact) that there can only be one true Bible in any particular language. There cannot be two Bibles! The man with two watches never knows what time it is, and the man with two Bible versions doesn't know what THE TRUTH is!!!

Don't Let Religion Inoculate You From Walking With God

2nd Chronicles 25:1-2, “Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem.  And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.”

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.”

Sadly, all my life I have seen professed Christians go through the outward external motions of living the Christian life, but they weren't very good Christians. In fact, quite a few of them were rotten as can be. Some borrowed money from me but never repaid what they borrowed. I never asked them to pay me back because I loved them enough to want to avoid a conflict. As a general rule, you should never lend any amount money to someone that you wouldn't be willing to lose. I have lived by that policy for many years. I rarely lend money to anybody, because it is very unlikely that they will ever pay you back.

I have known umpteen professed Christians (I say “professed” because only God knows if someone is truly born again) in my lifetime who lived devout religious lives. They attended a church faithfully. They claimed to read their Bible and pray each day, and I believed them. They tithed and went through all the motions of living the Christian life. Yet, they sinfully filed for divorce from their spouse during times of marital trouble. God hates the sin of divorce (Malachi 2:16). 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.”

These devoutly religious people broke their word to me. They held grudges against me. I have been personally mistreated, shunned, abused emotionally and banned from attending church by ungodly pastors (namely, Marty Herron, Jeff Redlin, Timothy Zacharias, Joe Hensen, Jared Baldwin, Gary Walton, et cetera). I do not think any of the aforementioned pastors are going to Heaven, except maybe Jeff Redlin and Tim Zacharias (the incompetent pastors of Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College). But sadly, PCC's pastors promote infidel Ken Ham and his Satanic “turn away from your sinful ways to be saved” heresy!

In an earthly court of law, small details can have a profound impact upon one's verdict in the case. Do you think God pays no less attention to the details of His simple plan of salvation? Do you really think that God allows for discrepancies, embellishments and alterations to the Gospel of free grace? No, God does not!!! So why do so many pastors today change God's simple plan of salvation, requiring things to get to Heaven which God does not require? It is a VERY serious matter to change and alter the Gospel, requiring more than faith to be saved.

Therefore, I am somewhat doubtful of the pastors' salvation in the PCC camp, since they wickedly bid Godspeed to false prophet Ken Ham and the Calvinist Bob Jones University cult. When I attended Campus Church in 2021 (before they banned me from returning since 2022), I was disgusted to watch Ken Ham's heretical Young Earth Creation (YEC) videos all summer for their Wednesday night Bible study. It is shameful that the pastors at PCC are lazy and refuse to study the Word of God for themselves. Instead, they wickedly support Ken Ham financially and doctrinally, making themselves ungodly partakers of Ken Ham's evil deeds (2nd John 1:11). There is nothing more evil than to corrupt the Gospel. According to Ken Ham, faith is not enough to get to Heaven, he says you must also turn away from your sinful ways (which is “WORKS” according to Jonah 3:10).

I want to point out two things...

First, it is important to understand that an unsaved person can in fact live the Christian life without ever being born again. That is what we see happening in our text passage from Matthew 15:7-8. Roman Catholics are a perfect example of this truth. They speak high praises of Jesus. They claim to love God. Some of the sweetest and morally good people whom I've met in my life were Catholic. God knows that I love Catholic people, which is why I honestly warn them that Catholicism is a prisonhouse of religion. From the cradle to the casket, Catholicism has a religious package for you, but then you will go to Hell forever! Catholics have been deceived by the Devil, trusting in their manmade Seven Sacraments to get to Heaven, instead of ceasing from their works and resting only in Jesus Christ alone (Hebrews 4:10-11).

Second, it is important for you to understand that a saved Christian can in fact live like a heathen, while errantly thinking they are pleasing to God. We see this in our text passage from 2nd Chronicles 25:1-2, where Amaziah “did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.” Amaziah trusted in the Messiah, so we know that he is in Heaven today with Jesus. Acts 10:43, “To him [Christ] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” 

It is impossible to determine if someone is genuinely saved by merely examining their outward lifestyle. The only way to know for certain is by a direct testimony from their mouth about what they are trusting in to get to Heaven.

Yet, so many believers today live shallow lives. They have been inoculated from the real thing. That is, from real Christianity. In the medical world, inoculations are given to healthy people to prevent them contracting the real disease. Literally, a small amount of the dead inactive virus is injected into a healthy person's bloodstream, which then causes the body to build up an immunity to the real virus. Unfortunately, there are always serious potential risks, even death. 

The famous Bible preacher Jonathan Edwards once took a smallpox vaccine to show everyone that there was nothing to fear in taking the vaccine. Well, the vaccine killed him! You can verify that on Wikipedia. Also, few people know that the U.S. federal government has paid out over one billion dollars in compensation to parents whose children became brain damaged because of taking vaccines. The mercury in the vaccine substrate (used to inject multiple vaccines in one shot) has serious potential side effects, including mercury poisoning. I am NOT an expert in these matters, so please do your own homework before taking an vaccine.

However, for the sake of this illustration for my blog, you just need to know what an inoculation does. It protects you from the actual disease. Likewise, millions of Christians have been sucked into so-called “Christian” radio, Tv, magazines, books, films and seminars, so that hardly anyone abides in the Word of God anymore. Sadly, the religious world has become inoculated from Bible Christianity. Most of what we hear preached and taught on social media today is lame, watered down, shallow and empty neo-evangelical garbage.

“Neo” means “new.” All of the new music sang in churches today is what is commonly called “7/11 music,” that is, 7 words repeated 11 times!!! I detest today's Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) in the churches. CCM is boring, lacks ley changes, uses few chords, has no harmony or melody and fails to touch the heart of the participants. Like a defective firework on the 4th of July, CCM takes the listener into the stratosphere emotionally, but then leaves you feeling empty with no grand finale. There are no Biblical lyrics that the Holy Spirit can use to convict a person's soul.

I love the old Gospel hymn which goes: “What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus!” Today's retarded song lyrics could just as easily apply to a boyfriend or a girlfriend in many cases, and not the Lord at all. Many songs linger on repeatedly with the lame words: “He is holy. He is holy. Alleluia. Alleluia. Blah Blah Blah Blah!” I dread the new music, which to no surprise matches the dead sermonette that always follows. There is no preaching against sin. There is no contending for the Christian faith. There is no power of the Holy Spirit. Most churches today are mere social clubs, entertainment venues and cults.

All I am saying dear reader is to open your inspired King James Bible (hopefully you have one). All modern Bible revisions are corrupted by Satan and will hurt your faith. The man with two set differently watches doesn't know what time it is, and likewise the man with two different Bible versions doesn't know the truth. There is only one Jesus, so why would there by 39 different English Bible versions? Does that make any sense? I mean, at all? Of course it doesn't. There is only one Jesus (the incarnate living Word of God), and there is only one written inspired Word of God. Anything else is apostasy and fraud!

Pensacola Christian College (PCC) is a perfect example of a group of religious people who have become INOCULATED from true Christianity. At the ungodly PCC camp in Florida, they go through the superficial motions of playing church, enforcing harsh rules and abusive authoritarian cultish control over its members and students. I can testify personally that I am a victim of PCC's abuse and cruelty. In fact, as of August 2,2022 I have been banned in writing by PCC leadership from attending their Campus Church. That is a cult!!!

Individual people do not matter at PCC or Campus Church. You will find hundreds of complaints on social media, from former PCC students about the abusive atmosphere that is prevalent and ongoing in the PCC cult. Sadly, no one cares in their organization. That is why they banned me from returning. I had attended Campus Church in 2021, but Pastor Jeff Redlin was abusive, rude, inconsiderate, mean and falsely accused me in our conversations. Jeff Redlin ought not be their senior pastor, because he is as phony as they come. It is my daily prayer that God will remove Mr. Redlin, and bring a genuine man of God to lead Campus Church back to God from their apostasy. Ken Ham is a devil, not a born-again Christian. PCC needs to stop wickedly bidding Ken Ham Godspeed, partaking of his Lordship Salvation heresy (2nd John 1:11). RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

Have you also been inoculated from walking with God dear friend? Please turn off the Christian radio. Turn off “The Chosen” series junk (Mormons are heavily involved in its making and popularity). Please pet down the Christian books, magazines and courses. Jesus commanded us to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES (John 5:39). It would be a good thing if we'd all put down everything except THE KING JAMES BIBLE. Beware that you don't become so caught up and enamored with everything that is labeled as “Christian” nowadays, which the Devil will use to hinder you from SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES as God commanded!!!

The Torment, Fear, Confusion And Anxiety Caused By Lordship Salvation

John 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

More deadly than a mother bear robbed of her cubs is the Devil's damnable lie of Lordship Salvation. What is Lordship Salvation? It is a deadly heresy that teaches faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not enough to be saved. In addition, a lost person is falsely told that they must turn away from their sinful behavior, surrender their life to serve Jesus, follow Christ no matter what the cost, commit your life to Christ, live a changed life, et cetera.

Lordship Salvation requires WORKS as evidence that you FAITH is genuine. So if a professed believer in Christ doesn't live a changed life, proponents of Lordship Salvation will conclude that the person's faith is not real and they are still unsaved. See and hear for yourself what the heresy of Lordship Salvation does to wreak havoc on a person's mind and soul...

The Damage of Lordship Salvation with John MacArthur

(This Should Make You Angry!)

This my dear reader is the sorrowful fruit of Lordship Salvation: stress, anxiety, worry, guilt, fear, condemnation, confusion and torment. This is what happens when you are taught to focus on the sinner rather than the Savior; analyzing self rather than searching the Scriptures; resting in my performance rather than His promise; looking in the mirror rather than looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Pastor John MacArthur horribly lies to this young woman in the preceding video, telling her:

“The way you know that you're saved is by your desire.” —John MacArthur

That is a lie of Satan! Should we base the assurance of God's free gift of salvation upon the subjective experience of sinful man; or should we base the assurance of God's salvation upon the objective truth of God's inspired Word? Which of these two do not change? Our human feelings can and will change from moment to moment, but God's inspired Words will NEVER change. Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Luke 16:17, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

We Must Keep Service Separate From Salvation

You don't have to love Jesus to go to Heaven, you have to trust Him as your Savior. I try to serve and please God because I love Jesus (John 14:15); but the only reason I am going to Heaven is because Jesus loves me, who sacrificed His life for me on Calvary's cruel cross (John 3:16; 1st John 3:16).

When you trust Christ as your personal Savior, you have eternal life. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” When you got saved God didn't take away the old carnal nature, He gave you a new birth. He gave you His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 3:16-17; 1st John 3:24). When we sin, it is only because we are choosing to walk in the flesh; but when we obey God, it is because we chose to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). At any given time a believer can choose to walk in the Spirit (i.e., if we yield in obedience as the Holy Spirit teaches, guides, comforts, rebukes and leads us with the inspired Holy Bible). The unsaved person (lost man) doesn't have the Holy Spirit. No lost person has ever possessed the Holy Spirit of God! And no child of God lacks the Holy Spirit.

You can be saved and not love God. You can be saved and not serve Christ. You can be saved by just believing the Gospel. You don't make Jesus the Lord, HE IS LORD!!! Thank God that going to Heaven is not dependent upon our turning away from sins and our performance, or else we'd ALL be going to Hell someday!!! The ONLY thing that makes me (and you if you are a born again child of God), any more righteous than mass-murderer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, is the precious blood of Jesus! The ONLY thing that makes me any more righteous than the worst sinner on planet earth is the precious blood of Jesus that washed away all my sins (1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 1st Peter 1:18-19). Colossians 1:14, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” (By the way, nearly all of the Devil's modern Bible perversions butcher this verse, removing, “THE BLOOD.”)

The great fear and confusion caused by Lordship Salvation is because preachers fail to SEPARATE service from salvation. They fail to separate personal sanctification within from justification without. They fail to keep separate discipleship from sonship. John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Many Bible students make the mistake of citing Bible references from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke to support the heresy of Lordship Salvation. For example: Luke 14:27, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” False prophet Billy Graham (1918-2018) often quoted these passages out of context to bolster up his straw man heresy of Lordship Salvation.

One of my favorite Bible preachers is Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688), because he clearly understood the theological concept of God's imputed righteousness, which is BY FAITH ALONE...

“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)

John Bunyan nailed it! Yes, that is exactly what is wrong with Lordship Salvation, it mixes and confuses the lines between sanctification and justification, obscuring the Gospel and perverting God's grace. Oh, dear reader, please reject the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation, for it is “another gospel” accursed by God (Galatians 1:6-9; 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15).

Pastor Yankee Arnold Responds To Lordship Critics

The religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 FELT like they were saved. They boasted to Jesus of their “many wonderful works,” and that they “cast our devils,” and they called Him: “Lord, Lord.” They felt like they were true Christians. They felt saved. Based upon their own subjective human experience, by all indications they were going to Heaven. But what saith the Scripture? Lordship Salvation is serving Christ and living the Christian life without ever being born-again...

Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

As you just read for yourself, Lordship Salvation is serving Christ and living the Christian life without ever being born-again. That is what happened to these cursed false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23. They had churchianity without Christianity! Dear reader, the most dangerous thing you could ever do is to blindly trust some preacher about how to get to Heaven. I feel so sorry for the thousands of people in Pastor John MacArthur's church cult, who are all victims of his damnable Satanic lies. The only way to stay safe is to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES...

John 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

If you have any doubts and concerns about going to Heaven dear friend, I implore you to listen to the Gospel of John over and over and over, until you see the simplicity that is in Christ, which is: THE GOSPEL.

What saith the Scripture? 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.” What does the Bible command all men concerning getting saved? 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.” That is God's commandment to receive eternal life.

Let'[s see what Jesus said in 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.” Many people wrongly divide the Word of Truth (the Bible), tormenting themselves with a lie. One could easily assume that 1st John 3:24 is speaking about keeping all of God's commandments to get to Heaven, but that would be foolish, because we should NEVER base a doctrine on a single passage of Scripture. A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. We have the entire Gospel of John, which was authored by God specifically to show mankind how to get to Heaven. 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.” Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

I receive hundreds of emails each year from people who are afraid they are not saved because of the sins in their life. This is the adverse consequence of the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. These poor souls have been lied to by wicked preachers. They have been deceived by the Devil concerning what God requires to get to Heaven. The Devil is a beautiful liar! Lordship Salvation is damnable heresy which causes stress, anxiety, fear, torment, tears and confusion in its victims. Those who trust in Lordship Salvation are always analyzing them self instead of "searching the Scriptures" (John 5:39). They are looking in the mirror, instead of looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Dear friend, RUN from Lordship Salvation. 

My dear friend in the ministry Michael P. Bowen was also a victim of Lordship Salvation for several years. Michael admits that if he had died during that time of anxiety, stress and confusion over God's plan of salvation, he would have went to a burning Hell forever. Thankfully, Michael testifies that one day he heard a sermon by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) that finally showed him THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL and Michael became a born-again Christian. That sermon is called: 'How Permanent Is Your Salvation?'

Michael Bowen wrote a helpful book about his ordeal, and he shows you exactly how you can also know that you are going to Heaven. The book is titled: I Never Knew You: The Horror Of The Great White Throne Judgment And How You Can Avoid It' (free .pdf version). You can obtain hard copies at Amazon.com store. I regularly order a few copies here and there to give away to the people in my life. A hard copy is much more likely to get read than a .pdf file.

Lordship Salvation is of the Devil. You get saved by coming to God as a needy guilty sinner (not by forsaking your sinful ways), and simply receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins. Nothing more is required or allowed by God, except faith in the Good News (Gospel) of His only begotten Son crucified, buried and risen for your sins (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the Gospel of free grace! Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Thank you humbly for reading my blog. To God be ALL the praise, credit and glory (John 15:5).

The Incompatibility Of Lordship Salvation With The Gospel Of Grace

The deadliest threat to New Testament churches in the 21st century is something called: Lordship Salvation. This popular heresy falsely teaches that more than faith is necessary to get to Heaven. In addition, proponents of Lordship Salvation errantly preach one or more of the following unbiblical things are required to be saved: 

• Live a changed life.
• Commit your life to Christ.
• Forsake your sinful ways.
• Follow Jesus as the absolute “Lord” of their life.
• Surrender all to God.
• Run the Christian race faithfully.
• Endure unto the end.
• Live a lifestyle of repentance.

My friend in the ministry, Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, makes the following helpful true statements:

“Salvation can only be evidenced by works, if works are required to be saved.” —Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold, “Why Lordship Salvation Is Wrong!”

“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"

The following excellent information by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) is from the helpful Christian website: Get God's Gift...

THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF THE LORDSHIP GOSPEL WITH THE GOSPEL OF GRACE

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8,9

The importance of this question can't be overestimated in relation to both salvation and sanctification. The message of faith only and the message of commitment of life can't both be the gospel; therefore, one of them is a false gospel and come under the curse of perverting the gospel or preaching another gospel.

"It is an inexcusable error to confront sinners with problems that concern the Christian life and call upon them to make promises regarding them. An unsaved person is never called upon to surrender himself to God. The saving act is in no instance represented as our 'giving ourselves to God'; it is, on the contrary, taking His Son as our Savior." Ryrie, Charles. Balancing the Christian Life. Moody Press, Inc., 1969 (p. 170).

"The second approach finds faith in the gospel alone an 'easy Believism' and seeks to add something to faith in order to accomplish salvation. To repent is to 'change one's mind,' and to believe is to remove one's trust from that in which it has rested and place it in Christ." Howard, William. "Is Faith Enough to Save?" Bibliotheca Sacra. January-March, 1942 (p.99).

"This kind of faith is not 'easy believism'. It is not easy to say, 'I can't save myself, I must recognize that there is something wrong with me, and I must seek help from someone else.'" Hook, H. Phillip. "A Biblical Definition of Saving Faith." Bibliotheca Sacra. April-June, 1964 (p. 133, 138).

"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." Hodges, Zane C. The Hungry Inherit. Moody Press, Inc., 1972 (p. 114, 115).

"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." DeHaan, M. R. Hebrews. Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117).

"For the unregenerate man, repentance is the change of mind whereby he turns from unbelief to faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ." Post, Roger. "The Meanings of the Words Translated 'Repent' and 'Repentance' in the New Testament." Master's Thesis, Wheaton College, June 1972 (p. 80).

"There are those who, in their zeal to get people to turn from their sinful ways and receive the Lord, almost put repentance on a par with believing... Repentance, as it relates to Christ, means to change our minds about Him, who He is and what He's done to provide forgiveness and deliverance from our sins. When we place faith in Jesus as having taken our place personally on the cross and borne the penalty due our sins, then we're automatically repenting, because we couldn't accept Him in this way without having had to change our minds in some way concerning Him." Lindsey, Hal. The Liberation of Planet Earth. Zondervan Publishing House, 1974 (p. 136, 137).

"Discipleship is frequently equated with salvation and often erroneously made a condition for becoming a Christian". Pentecost, J. Dwight. Design for Discipleship. Zondervan Publishing House, 1971 (p. 11).

"Certainly discipleship is a most important aspect of our relation to Christ, but it belongs to the sphere of Christian life rather than entrance upon that life... One does not become a disciple in order to become a Christian, but because he has become a Christian by faith in the Savior, it is fitting that he embark upon a life of discipleship". Harrison, Everett F. "Must Christ be Lord to Be Savior?-No." Eternity, September 1959 (p. 14).

"There is no more piously subtle abrogation of the Gospel than to tell a Sinner that he must not only believe in the Savior, but dedicate himself to do God's will, crown the Savior Lord of his life, etc., etc. Obviously, dedication and service are highly desirable, but they are the privilege and the duty of the saved, never a condition of salvation for the unsaved (cf. Romans 12:1, 2)." Unger, Merrill F. God is Waiting to Meet You. Moody Press, 1975 (p. 117, 118).

"People are sometimes led to believe that there is saving value in some public confession of Christ, or profession of a decision. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." This is salvation. "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This is the voice of the newborn child speaking to and of its father. The only condition on which one may be saved is to believe." Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Salvation. Dunham Publishing Company, 1917 (p. 46).

SUMMARY
Lordship salvation is where someone teaches that there must be a commitment to Christ as Lord of one's life in order to be saved. Recently there has been a modification of this position to say that willingness to be controlled by the Lord at the time of salvation is all that is required in addition to faith in order to be saved. The message of faith only and the message of faith plus commitment of life can't both be the gospel; therefore, one of them is a FALSE GOSPEL and comes under the curse of perverting the gospel or preaching another gospel.

Galatians 1:8, 9 says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed."

If only committed people are saved people, then where is there room for carnal Christians? What kind of dedication must be preached to people, if in order to be saved, they have already dedicated their lives to the Lord? Where do you stop if you start adding something else to this which is the gospel revealed in the Bible? Look at what God says about adding to the revelation of Jesus Christ (gospel), "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book (Revelation 22:18)." The Bible plainly declares that we are saved by faith, and not by works. Where does it say this? 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." What are you trusting in to get you to heaven?

* Written by Dr. Hank Lindstrom

You are saved in a moment of time, because you are trusting in the true Savior now, not working your way to Heaven day by day, which is not even possible.

Once saved you can never be lost, not for any reason. This is because you were born spiritually into God's family the moment you put your trust in Him. Just like your physical birth, which brought you into this human world, your spiritual birth gave you a new spiritual life that is permanent. You were born-again, made righteous and holy by God's imputed (counted to you by faith) righteousness. You then have the righteousness of God. You are sinless and perfect in God's eyes by faith in His only begotten Son, and that's why you can enter into a perfect Heaven.

One of my favorite sayings is:

God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved.

Another is:

Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

You MUST put ALL your trust in Jesus to be saved. Simply trust in the blood that He shed on the cross. Trust that He is God in the flesh. Trust that He made the complete payment for your sins, not just in part. Christ paid for ALL of your sins (past, present and future)! Trust that He rose from the dead after 3 days and 3 nights. In return for your trust, God gives YOU Eternal Life. All false Christians put part of their trust in Jesus, and then some of their trust in a church or baptistery. Some put part of their trust in them self. If you put 99.99% trust in Jesus and 00.01% in something else, you will go to Hell. It must be 100% trust in Jesus and what He did on Calvary's cross to redeem you, and 0% in your works or your church! This information in critical because grace always cancels works, and works always cancels grace! You are going to Hell if it's by your works, or grace plus works. You are going to Heaven solely by Gods grace. It's as simple as that. Lordship Salvation is a perversion of God's grace!

The $64,000 question comes down to: Who are you trusting? Are you trusting yourself to get to Heaven by being a good person, serving Jesus and giving lots of money to your church; or are you trusting Jesus, the Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world to get you to Heaven? You receive the Gift of God (Eternal Life) as soon as you stop trusting in yourself, your church, your synagogue, your mosque, your money, or any other works; and put your childlike faith in Christ ALONE.

False prophets are everywhere, and they will find and kill you (Matthew 7:15). Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again. Salvation is receiving, not achieving! Getting saved is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. It is a free gift. You simply take God's gift of eternal life by faith in His only begotten Son. John3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Remember, when you get saved by faith alone, your STANDING in Christ is forever settled. You were saved by God's grace, which has nothing to do with works or service. The way you choose to live your life after you get saved is your STATE in Christ. If you have to look at your life to prove that you're saved, it proves that you're not.

When we get saved, that is SALVATION. But our growth in Christ as a child of God is our SERVICE (Romans 12:2). We must always keep service separate from getting saved. Put another way theologically, getting saved is the believer's JUSTIFICATION. The life we should live for Christ because we love Him is the believer's SANCTIFICATION. These two train rails must never contact each other, or else you will be spiritually electrocuted and die. I love what Pilgrim's Progress author and free grace Gospel preacher, John Bunyan, said:

“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)

Amen and amen!!!

If all this makes sense to you and you would like to trust Jesus as your personal Savior right now, then simply make your decision to trust Jesus Christ as your only hope of Heaven. You don't have to pray to be saved, but if it makes you feel better, you may tell Jesus that you are no longer putting your trust in your actions, or your church, or your church membership, or your idols, or in your money, or in your Rabbi, or in your synagogue or your Mosque, or in the baptistery water, but that you are putting all of your trust in Jesus Christ alone.

Somebody asked me if they should put their trust in Jesus, or the Good News about Jesus. Dear reader, they are one and the same! You must agree with the fact that you are a sinner in God's sight (Romans 3:23), and there is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). This penalty includes a second death in Hell (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8). You must agree with the facts of the Gospel, which are threefold: Jesus DIED on the cross for our sins, He was BURIED, and then three days later He RESURRECTED.

All Jesus wants is for you to believe that He did it all for you, and if you will simply place your trust in Him, Jesus will save you. Repentance is a change of mind toward THE TRUTH (John 3:21; 2nd Timothy 2:25-26). Biblical Salvation is forsaking any other means of salvation but Christ and casting ourselves fully upon Him for eternal life.

Why Lordship Salvation Is WRONG!

The Wheat And The Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Interestingly, the parable of The Wheat And The Tares is only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. This is an important Bible truth to understand. In any size church there are going to be tares. What is meant by a “tare” in the Bible? A tare is an unsaved person. The wheat is a saved person (i.e., a born-again believer). ...

The Bible Says The Wheat And The Tares Grow Together

The Bible teaches that the wheat and the tares grow alongside each other. We can make several logical conclusions based upon this Bible truth:

1. In every church there will be lost people among the saved (Galatians 1:6-9).
2. We cannot discern the lost from the saved by mere observation (Matthew 5:20).
3. The lost go through all the same outward religious motions as the saved (Matthew 7:21-23).
4. Satan is the enemy who blinds the tares from being saved (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4).
5. God allows the lost and saved to grow together until death (Luke 16:19-31).
6. The tares are dangerous because they hinder others from being saved with their false plan of salvation (Luke 11:52, Galatians 4:16-17).

I have started a new hobby. I now randomly ask members of churches that I visit if they know they're going to Heaven. You'd be surprised (as I have been) to hear some of the responses that I get from churchgoers. One man who has been a deacon in a local Baptist church for 6 years, told me that you must be water baptized to get into Heaven. I knew immediately that he is not a true born-again Christian. That is so sad. His pastor is to blame, for not properly feeding his congregation.

I am thinking of another woman in a local Baptist church, who became emotionally disturbed when she heard her senior pastor teach that you're not saved if you're living in deep sin. That pastor lied to her. In fact, you don't have to forsake your past sinful ways to be saved. No won't find anything in the inspired King James Bible about giving up your sinning to be saved. Jesus came into the world to pay for everyone's sins, not demand that we forsake them as a prerequisite to saving faith. Satan is a beautiful liar!!!

We read some frightening words in 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.” Jesus said that only a few people will ever make it to Heaven, and that most people are traveling the highway to Hell. The dear Savior gives us the reason why in Matthew 7:15. It is because of false prophets who lie to people, preaching a counterfeit plan of salvation. That is why there are so many tares in the churches today.

For example: Pastor Joel Osteen falsely teaches that to be saved you must:

1. Joel says you must “receive Jesus as Lord” to be saved.
2. Joel says you must “repent of your sins” to be saved.
3. Joel says you must “pray” to be saved.
4. Joel says you must “follow Christ” to be saved.

I heard Joel Osteen on TV the other day require those four unbiblical things to be saved. Joel didn't even mention Jesus' death, burial or resurrection in his suggested sinner's prayer. Dear reader, you don't need to do anything of those things Joel requires.

You can simply BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:30-31). You don't have to pray. God is already offering you eternal life as a gift, if you will simply BELIEVE. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Nowhere in the Bible are we taught to “repent of your sin” to be saved. Wicked men added that. Repentance is simply realizing that you are a guilty sinner in need of redemption, a change of mind toward God (Acts 20:21), that is part of BELIEVING on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. The man who believes has repented, and the man who repents has believed. They are not two separate acts, but just one. Acts 16:30b-31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Friend, you must choose whether to believe Joel Osteen (who adds at least four additional requirements), or you must believe what the Bible says we must do to be saved. It cannot be both! Something is wrong with Joel Osteen's plan of salvation. It does not agree with God's plan of salvation in the Bible. You only need to receive Jesus as your Savior to be saved, not your Lord. Jesus is Lord, you don't make Him Lord. It is heresy that you must make Jesus your Master, and commit to follow Him, to get to Heaven. If those things were true, then eternal life could not be a free gift, because YOU would have to pay for it.

All of the false Christian cults teach these same heresies that Joel Osteen does concerning how to be saved. All of the cults teach that to be saved you must “repent of your sins.” They teach that you cannot receive God's free gift of eternal life unless you first commit to forsake your lifestyle of sin. This heresy has crept into nearly all Baptist churches today, corrupting the Word of God and perverting the Gospel, casting stumbling blocks before the people. You come as a guilty sinner to the Savior to be saved, you don't need to commit to stop your sinning to be saved.

It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that works repentance in a man unto salvation, and not YOU. 2nd Timothy 2:25 speaks of repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, not turning away from your sinning. Repentance is a matter of the truth that you are a guilty sinner. You need to know what you're being saved from. Galatians 3:24-26 teaches this. The LAW of God shows us our sins and brings us to CHRIST to be saved by God's grace. Joel Osteen fails to understand this biblical truth. CHRIST Himself is sufficient Oh sinner to be saved!

Therefore, you don't need to follow Christ as “Lord” to be saved. It sounds so good and noble, so religious and reasonable, that a person must make Christ their “Lord” (Boss) to get to Heaven. But this teaching goes 100% contrary to the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). CHRIST is the end of the LAW to him that believes, not our behavior changes, commitment to do better, desire to turn away from sins, religious devotion or willingness to follow Christ. 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.”

Oh how simple are the Scriptures! Do you see that dear friend. CHRIST Himself is the END of God's Law to all who believe. How beautiful!!! All that is required to be saved is to simply BELIEVE. Do you know what this means? It means that Joel Osteen is not saved. It means that Joel Osteen is woefully ignorant of God's simple plan of salvation. It means that Joel is a damnable false teacher who is leading the masses into Hell. By embellishing the true Gospel with a bunch of garbage theology that is not required, NOR ALLOWED BY GOD, Pastor Osteen has successfully obscured (hidden) the Gospel from the lost (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without being born again. You can follow Christ as “Lord, Lord” like Joel Osteen teaches, and you'll one day hear Christ's horrifying Words: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b).

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without being born again. You can “repent of your sins” like Judas did in Matthew 27:3, and as Joel Osteen foolishly teaches, and you'll one day hear Christ's horrifying Words: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b).

Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without being born again. You can pray as did an unsaved religious man named Cornelius in Acts 10:2, and as did the unsaved people in Matthew 6:7, and as heretic Joel Osteen teaches, but you'll one day hear Christ's horrifying Words: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23b).

Dear reader, the Bible plainly tells us what we must do to be saved 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.” The only way to God the Father is through faith in God the Son. 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.”

In the Gospel of John we are taught to simply BELIEVE on Jesus to be saved. You need to know Who Jesus is, He is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). You need to know what Jesus did for you, He died for your sins on the cross (John 19-20). You need to know why Christ died for you, because we are guilty sinners (John 1:29). Nothing more is required nor allowed to be saved, except to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). Pastor Joel Osteen gets it woefully wrong!

I dare say that 98% of church members nowadays are tares. Many religions are full of tares (i.e., lost people). There is no salvation in a damnable false religion; such as: Mormonism, United Methodist Church Of Christ, Church of England (Anglicanism), Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholicism, Church of Church, Lutherans, Charismatics, Pentecostals, Bahai Faith, Moonies, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, et cetera. None of these religions preach a free grace Gospel, they all embellished and add to God's simple plan of salvation, which is through faith alone in the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). Jesus warned everyone to BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS!!!

If you are not sure that you are going to Heaven, or are struggling to find the assurance of God's free gift of eternal life, then I encourage you to listen over and over to the Gospel of John, until you see the simplicity of God's wonderful plan of salvation.

Be Not Envious of The Wicked

Psalms 37:1-3, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”

Psalms 73:3, “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

I admit that I have often felt FOMO (Feelings Of Missing Out). Like millions of other hobbyist musicians, I envy the musical artists who tour the world, singing and playing musical instruments together, enjoying the good life. I have always wished that I could have been in a band and cheered people's hearts with beautiful music.

Although I have never been a fan of the rock band KISS, I somewhat admire Paul Stanley in the band. I follow his Twitter channel just to see what he is up to. I have an interest in reading the biographies of famous people, particularly musicians. I just like the way he plays guitar, carries himself in public and how he expresses his opinions on Twitter, et cetera. For a man that is now 70 years old (born in 1952), Paul still looks amazingly young. ...

Paul Stanley of the rock band KISS in 2022

I spend most of my time working hard on my website ministry. I sometimes envy these fellas who tour the world, playing music for millions of people, wining and dining and enjoying the splendors and pleasures of this temporary life. Compared to those guys I don't have much of a life. But dear reader, life is indeed very temporary. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? What saith the Scripture? ...

1st John 2:15-17, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Sadly, Paul Stanley is not a born-again Christian. Neither is band lead singer Gene Simmons (real name: Chaim Witz). Both of these men are Jewish in their faith, meaning that they both reject Jesus Christ as their Savior. My moments of envy quickly fade away into the realization that my name is written in Heaven in the Lamb's Book of Life, but Paul Stanley's name is not as a a child of the Devil. That makes me sad, because I love people and don't want anyone to burn in the fires of Hell forever.

I love all kinds of music. As a musician myself, I admire musicians. Lately I've been overwhelmed with getting settled in Pensacola. I've been battling depression, which I suffered all my adult life. I have joy in the Lord, and peace in Jesus, but I am lonely often without a wife, and sad. God willing, I hope to get back into my music at some time in the future. It's just that right now I don't feel like making music, I feel like working harder than ever on my website ministry for Christ (1st Corinthians 3:7-8).

I play most stringed instruments. I love pedal steel guitar, lap steel and 5-string banjo. I started playing guitar at age 15. One of my favorite artists is Tommy Immanuel. I love this guitar arrangement by Chet Atkins, played here by Tommy. The song is called: Windbreaker 57. There are lots of free tablatures online how to play the song. I love and thank God for music!!!

A KISS band fan named Lori Mullins wrote a sad comment:

“I admire how you [Paul Stanley] have encouraged your children to embrace different faiths. And by the way, that is a beautiful menorah. Happy Hanukkah!”

SOURCE: KISS Paul Stanley Makes An Unexpected 'Religion Related Statement'

That is the Devil talking. The inspired Word of God is very clear that salvation can be found only in the name of Jesus. 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.” Sadly, Paul Stanley does not believe in Jesus as his personal Savior. Therefore, Scripturally speaking, Paul is an atheist. Anybody who denies that Jesus is almighty God is an atheist. Sadly, if Paul died today he would plunge into the fiery depths of an eternal Hell. I am not happy about that. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (a change of mind) to be saved (2nd Peter 3:9). God wants everyone to go to Heaven, but He won't force anyone.

Although I sometimes wish I could travel the world and play music with other musicians, I do not envy unsaved men like Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, who will split Hell wide open when they breathes their last dying breath someday. Again, I say that with sadness because like God, I don't want anyone to perish in their sin of unbelief (2nd Peter 3:9). 2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

Psalms 73:3, “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” David became envious of the prosperity of the wicked. Dear friend, if you have Jesus as your Savior, you have something worth more than all the wealth, fame and pleasures that this world could ever offer you!!! One soul saved is worth more than all the gold in the world. Computer genius Steve Jobs (1955-2011) when he died at only age 56, left behind a whopping estate worth $10,200,000,000. Wow! That's a lot of cheddar! Just like the Bible warns in 1st Timothy 6:8, Steve Jobs couldn't take even a single penny of his amassed fortune with him into eternity.

I admit that I have become envious at times, when watching a documentary of such famous bands as, The Beatles. The groups has composed and recorded at least 140 iconic songs. Paul McCartney and John Lennon are musical geniuses. George Harrison was also an amazing song writer, singer and musician. I marvel sometimes how those four lads came together and stormed the world with their music. Yet, what will it all matter in eternity? Where is George Harrison right now? There is no way that he could have gone to Heaven without Jesus as his Savior.

Sadly, Gorge worshipped Hara Krishna, evidenced by his iconic song: 'My Sweet Lord.' I have no doubt whatsoever that George, despite being a tremendous friendly person, went to Hell forever without Jesus as His Savior. No one has ever gone to Heaven who refused to personally place their hope and trust in God's only begotten Son, the Christ 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.” No one, no matter how morally good or generous and kind a soul, can go to Heaven unless they have received Jesus as their personal Savior.

Where is John Lennon right now? I simply do not know. For a time John did profess to be a Christian. But was he a born-again Christian, or a Christian in name only? We just don't know. Paul McCartney has made it fairly clear that he has no faith in the God of the Holy Bible. With all his $1.2 Billion in accumulated wealth, what else could Paul ever need? Unfortunately for Paul, the Bible warns in 1st Timothy 6:7-8 that no man can take a penny of his wealthy past the grave. Paul will leave this earthly life naked with exactly what he came into it with, nothing.

When I think about these spiritual truths, I jump up and down with joy, knowing that my name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven (Luke 10:20). Hallelujah! Praise God! I wouldn't trade my new birth in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit of God for the universe!!! I got gloriously converted at age 13, by simply putting my childlike faith in Jesus as the crucified, buried and risen Christ. The only reason I am going to Heaven when I die, is because of what Jesus has already done to pay for my sins through Calvary' cross. Nothing I have ever done, am doing now, or will do in the future will help grant my the right to enter into God's Kingdom. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!! This is the proper mindset of a true child of God, that Jesus paid it all and I have nothing to do with saving myself, other than to cease from my own works and rest completely in Christ.

So if you ever start to envy the wicked for all their wealth, pleasures and fame in this sinful world, just realize that you have something infinitely greater as a redeemed child of God. One millions years from now where will The Beatles be? Where will KISS be? Where will Judas be? Where will Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Elon Musk be (who are all agnostic atheists)? The Bible teaches that they will all be burning in the never-ending Lake of Fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels. The GOOD NEWS is that you don't have to go there to join them. There is still hope if you are reading this dear friend. Please read, 'The Simple Gospel.'

I do still sometimes feel envious toward famous celebrities who own homes in multiple places. I'd love to own a house on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, so I can play my Hawaiian steel guitar there. I'd also love to own another house near the Rocky Mountain Range in Colorado. There are some beautiful mountain towns, where I have always wanted to own a house and live there. Only rich people can afford such luxuries in life. I am just an average guy surviving from paycheck to paycheck. Perhaps during the 1,000 year Millennium when the Lord is King of all the earth, and we reign with Him (Revelation 20:6), He will grant my heart's desires. But until then, I am content as 1st Timothy 6:6 teaches God's children should be, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Little is much when God is in it. Proverbs 15:16, “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.”

Inventor Elon Musk has a net worth of over $250,000,000,000, yet he is agnostic, not sure if there is a God. Elon doesn't believe in Jesus Christ as his Savior. That is so sad. Perhaps if he did, Elon would abandon his insane project to colonize the planet Mars with humans by the year 2050. Perhaps he would take that waste of money, and use it instead to help solve world poverty and homelessness in the United States; or perhaps make dental care more affordable for Americans. Who cares about colonizing another planet? Atheists and agnostics say and do the darndest things! I do not envy these wicked people.

Pacific Garden Mission's Deadly False Gospel

Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

Sadly, one of the most damnable institutions today concerning the Gospel is Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) in Chicago. My father was a Skid Row minister, helping the homeless and broken. My Dad used to preach regularly at PGM in the 1970's when Harry Saulnier (1902-1990) was the mission director for 46 years. Back then PGM and their UNSHACKLED radio station still preached a free grace Gospel, but then the neo-evangelical generation arose, which is cursed with the Devil's bibles and Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. Tragically, today we've got a bunch of yuppie type academics, who don't have the Christian old-time religion of men of God; such as, Harry Ironside, John Bunyan and Alexander Marshall.

Pacific Garden Mission Preaches Another Gospel

Let's compare two different plans of salvation—one from a recent UNSHACKLED episode (#4736) with what the Holy Bible teaches, to see if they agree. First, here is PGM's corrupt plan of salvation (which is really damnation). David Tripiciano prays this to God to be saved:

“I want to start a new life with you. I repent of the sins I've committed again you. I'm really sorry for the way I've lived. Would you save me Lord and give me a new life. Would you take the rest of my life and use me for your plans? Use my gifts and talents for your work. Fill me with your Spirit Lord, come into my heart and life, Jesus.” SOURCE: Program #3746 - Aired in 2022, David Tripiciano (time - 18:36)

What saith the Scripture? ...

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:”

UNSHACKLED doesn't even mention Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection. Like all accursed neo-evangelicals today, PGM is obsessed with YOU repenting of YOUR sins. May I say, the true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) have been corrupted by Satan. They are pulling on the same rope as the Devil at UNSHACKLED!!! SHAME on the mission director for allowing this Satanic garbage to be preached on UNSHACKLED, damning men's souls to Hell!!!

When Paul and Silas were asked directly by the Philippian jailer, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,” their simple answer was to “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST”...

Acts 16:29-31, “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

In sharp contrast to the inspired Holy Bible, PGM's heretical radio program UNSHACKLED falsely teaches that you must do the following to get to Heaven:

1. Tell God you want to start a new life.
2. Repent of your sins.
3. Be sorry for your sins.
4. Ask God to save you and give you a new life.
5. Ask God to take the rest of your life and use it for His plans.
6. Ask God to use your gifts and talents for His work.
7. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit.
8. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and life.

If you missed it the first time, please let me quote UNSHACKLED's damnable lies to you once again, because I really want you to see the junk theology being preached on PGM's ungodly UNSHACKLED today...

“I want to start a new life with you. I repent of the sins I've committed again you. I'm really sorry for the way I've lived. Would you save me Lord an give me a new life. Would you take the rest of my life and use me for your plans? Use my gifts and talents for your work. Fill me with your Spirit Lord, come into my heart and life, Jesus.” SOURCE: Program #3746 - Aired in 2022, David Tripiciano (time - 18:36)

They don't even mention Jesus' death, burial or resurrection. Where is the Gospel? Dear reader, the transcript you have just read from UNSHACKLED is of the Devil! That is NOT the Gospel of free grace taught in the inspired King James Bible (all modern English Bible revisions are corrupt). Please use only the trustworthy inspired King James Bible!!!

I triple-dog dare you to show me anywhere in the Bible, where we are taught to ask God to take control of our life, or to use our talents, or to repent of one's sins! You cannot!!! PGM is guilty of adding to God's Word, which brings dire consequences. 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.” It is not a trifle matter to alter God's simple plan of salvation. In true salvation, you simply come to God as an acknowledged guilty sinner, and receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins.

You don't have to be sorry for your sins, nor turn away from a sinful lifestyle to be saved, which would be WORKS. You just need to acknowledge that you are a guilty sinner according to 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.”

What saith the Scripture? Jonah 3:10, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” Jesus Christ came to pay for our sins, not demand that we first make an attempt to clean up our life of sinning as a prerequisite to saving faith. The sinful carnal nature wants to include the flesh in God's plan of salvation. Ungodly but sincere religious men lean upon their own flawed human understanding, which compels them to require sinners to first commit to reform, to feel sorrow for their sins and to have a willingness to turn away from sinful ways as a requirement to be saved. The big problem is that all those things are WORKS! All of the aforementioned things focus on YOU, when the true Gospel solely focuses on CHRIST. Self has no place in God's simple plan of salvation.

The following wicked men run Pacific Garden Mission and UNSHACKLED: Peter Leavitt, Leon Gombis, A. Ray Charles, Larry Roches, Elwood Chipchase, Phil Kwiatkowski, James Ford Jr., Bob Sheridan and Michael Allen. These ungodly false prophets of Balaam all have much blood on their hands according to Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-3; 5:4; 6:7. These men all empower false teachers to propagate the Devil's lies of Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation) on UNSHACKLED. Pastor Curtis Hutson got it 100% right that, 'Lordship Salvation Is A Perversion Of The Gospel.'

And then again at 27:35 in time in Program #3746 (the same # as above), you'll hear the perverted UNSHACKLED narrator require the listener to “repent of your sins” to get to Heaven, which phrase is nowhere found in the inspired King James Bible. Dear friend, you must choose whether to believe God or UNSHACKLED, because they teach two very different plans of salvation. Things that are different are not the same!!!

What PGM is espousing and teaching to people is VERY different from what the inspired Word of God teaches. The Bible is very clear that we are saved BY FAITH alone without works. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Yet UNSHACKLED says that faith is not enough to be born-again, they say you must first repent of your sins. I dare you to show me that from the Bible. Acts 20:21b speaks of “repentance toward God,” not repentance from sin.

As we read in Jonah 3:10, repentance from sin is a WORK!!! Christ came to die on the cross to pay for your sins and mine, not demand that we first agree to reform (turn away from our sins) to receive God's free gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” At some point, PGM lost sight of the Biblical truth that eternal life is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:15-18), not a trade or exchange of sorts as they are teaching people on UNSHACKLED. God's curse is upon Pacific Garden Mission for preaching another gospel (Galatians 1:8).

Let me kindly repeat, in UNSHACKLED Program #3746 that I just shared with you, they require eight things to be saved:

1. Tell God you want to start a new life.
2. Repent of your sins.
3. Be sorry for your sins.
4. Ask God to save you and give you a new life.
5. Ask God to take the rest of your life and use it for His plans.
6. Ask God to use your gifts and talents for His work.
7. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit.
8. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and life.

Remember, the goal of PGM's radio show is to lead lost sinner's to Jesus Christ! How in the world could anyone ever get saved after hearing all that garbage? Obviously, they cannot! Sadly, in their greed for more donations (which PGM begs for in the middle of every UNSHACKLED episode), they have sinfully dipped their sails in ungodly compromise, perverting and embellishing God's simple plan of salvation to appease their host of unsaved infidel neo-evangelicals supporters.

THE LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10). If PGM started preaching the true Gospel from 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, without adding all that mumbo-jumbo crap to it that I just exposed, they would lose most of the mission's financial support (and they fully know it). I will go to seed over this matter of salvation. The Bible teaches that we are saved by faith alone in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus crucified, buried and risen the third day, apart from all WORKS (e.g., turning away from sinful behavior, doing good works, surrendering control of your life over to Christ, living a lifestyle of repentance, running the Christian race and all other forms of human effort). God only saves UNGODLY SINNERS!!! (Romans 5:5-9).

Dear reader, RUN from Pacific Garden Mission's hellhole of apostasy! Listen to UNSHACKLED at your own risk and peril my friend, because they are preaching another gospel, not what the Holy Bible teaches. Also, please read: 'I NEVER KNEW YOU.'

Things That Are Different Are Not The Same