A Review Of Dr. William P. Grady's Book: "What Must I Do To Be Saved?"

Galatians 1:6-8, “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.”

I have in front of me a 63-page book by Dr. William P. Grady that I just ordered. The book is titled, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” Pastor Grady also includes the Gospel of John and Epistle of Romans after his 63-page presentation on how to be saved. Before I say any more, my heart goes out to the Grady Family for the sudden loss of their beloved son, Daniel, who at age 46 was killed in a car crash in Arkansas in 2022. The Bible warns that we never know what a day may bring (Proverbs 27:1). The important thing is to make sure you are prepared to meet thy God. That is, ye must be born again (John 3:3-7).

Dr. Grady was one of my Bible professors at Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993). I took the class “Biographies of Great Men” by Dr. Grady. Little did I know at the time that I would someday be exposing him as a false teacher! I am going to share with you some disturbing quotes from his book, which I think you will see when compared with the inspired Scriptures are in disagreement with the Bible.

We All Have A Death Sentence Because Of Sin

In chapter one, which is titled “A Rope of Sand,” he begins by writing:

THE INITIAL PURPOSE of this book is to deprogram the reader from man-made “religion” in order to ground him, or her, on the truth of God's Word, as revealed in the Holy Bible. The most important lesson to unlearn is the false notion that Heaven is a reward that is earned on earth by doing more good deeds than bad ones (i.e., a works-based salvation). 

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 1

Now, I fully agree with the latter part of the preceding quote. Eternal life is a gift, not a reward. Having said that, having already read the entire book, I am alarmed that Dr. Grady claims that his PURPOSE in this book is to “deprogram the reader from man-made religion.” I am alarmed because in fact he is PROGRAMMING the reader with false teachings, as I will show you from his numerous heretical quotes.

Most of Dr. Grady's book is good stuff. In chapter 4 he emphasizes the truth that all lost sinners are on “death row.” That is biblical. The Old Testament law was given to humanity is a measuring stick (Romans 3:19-20), by which when we compare ourselves we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The law condemns all mankind to death because of our sins, and then brings us to Christ in the New Testament to be saved by God's grace (Galatians 3:24-26). So, I agree with Dr. Grady that salvation is a gift, not a reward.

We Need More Preaching Today On The Reality Of Hell

I also agree with him in chapter 6, “The Other Place,” that the reality of Hell has been watered down in the churches today. On page 32 Dr. Grady rightly states:

One of the main reasons why modern Americans are so flippant about eternity is that they rarely hear preaching on Hell anymore—the ultimate incentive for salvation (i.e., “Turn or burn!”). While twenty-first century sinners may now find refuge in any number of Hell-denying “churches,” such was not the case in our country's formative years. 

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 32

I couldn't agree more! Here is an excellent quote from the soulwinning man of God, Pastor Lee Roberson (1909-2007) wrote these wise words concerning eternal punishment:

Somebody says, 'The thought of Hell is so horrible.' Well, my friend, so is cancer, so is tuberculosis, so is the grave. Someone said, 'I believe sin ought to be punished, but not for eternity.' That's your view, not God's.

Again another says, 'I don't believe in the wrath of God.' Then you don't believe your Bible. The Bible says the wrath of God abideth on the one who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ. He is lost forever.

Now, these things come to us out of the Word of God. The teaching of eternal punishment should give us a hatred for sin. We ought to hate sin. The reason we have changed so much in this day in all of our churches is that we are not hearing much on this subject. Therefore, we endorse sin. We engage in sin. We camouflage the sin in our lives and allow things to go by, instead of hating sin as God wants us to hate sin . . .

The teaching of eternal punishment should give us a passion for the souls of men.

SOURCE: Dr. Lee Roberson, “Disturbing Questions... Solid Answers,” chapter 16, pp. 196-198; Sword of the Lord publishers, 1978

On pages 32 and 33, Dr. Grady shares numerous intriguing quotes from dozens of hellbound atheists regarding their views of Hell. For example, Dr. Grady writes these words concerning Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger:

More recently, during the writing of this manuscript (2023), former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked about life after death in an interview with Danny DeVito for Interview magazine. The 75-year-old “Terminator” appropriately replied, “It reminds me of Howard Stern's question to me. 'Tell me, Governor, what happens to us when we die?' I said, Nothing. You're six feet under [i.e., terminated]. Anyone that tells you something else is a (blank)ing liar.'” (Included among these “liars” would be Arnie's creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.)

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 33

The inspired Holy Bible tells us in 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” I thank God that I got saved at age 13, before I grew older and foolish. I've read that statistically at age 70 the chances of a person ever getting saved is only 4%. A whopping 80% of all believers were saved before the age of 18. Amen.

Dr. Grady Gets Repentance For Salvation Wrong

Having said all that as way of introduction, now let's move on to the bad parts of Dr. Grady's book, in which he gets repentance for salvation wrong. In chapter 7, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” Dr. Grady teaches there are 3 things necessary to be saved (he uses the story of the Philippian jailer being saved in Acts 16 to prove his points):

1. Conviction (“came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,” Acts 16:29b)
2. Repentance (“What must I do to be saved?,” Acts 16:30b)
3. Belief (“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” Acts 16:31)

Like many false teachers do, Dr. Grady is focusing on one passage of Scripture while ignoring the entire Gospel of John. Telling a lost person that they must experience conviction, and then experience repentance, before belief is confusing at best. When asked “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?,” Jesus simply answered in John 6:29b, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Jesus didn't tell those men to first feel conviction, then go repent. No, He simply told them to “believe on Him.”

Dr. Grady writes on page 44:

The consummate evidence that a “convicted” sinner is finally ready to “repent” will be an unprecedented disposition to “do” whatever it takes to appease God's wrath (i.e., because of his or her sin). This great truth is expressed  in the very question that the jailer asked—“What must I do to be saved?” The implication here is that he was absolutely willing to “do” whatever Paul told him. As a person's soul consists of a mind, emotion, and will, the process of repentance will involve all three components. Beginning with a change of mind, a change of emotions will follow, ending with the inevitable change of one's will. In the final analysis, repentance is reduced to nothing more than a tired old sinner raising the white flag of surrender—no longer wanting his or her will—but now desiring nothing but God's will!

The irony in the jailer's question, “What must I do to be saved?” is that there was absolutely nothing that he had to “do” (in a technical sense) but simply believe the Gospel. Paul described this surrender of the will as “the obedience of faith” (Romans 16:26) while conversely labeling the damned as those “that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” *II Thessalonians 1:8).

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 44-45

I have some serious problems with Dr. Grady's teachings on repentance, because an unsaved person upon reading all this WILL be utterly confused. Remember, he states that his book's initial PURPOSE is to “deprogram the reader from man-made religion.” I don't see how Dr. Grady is helping to deprogram deceived religious people, when he fills their mind with extra junk that is not necessary to be saved. I mean, he mentions the need to repent so that you desire nothing but God's will! That can be very confusing to a lost sinner. It sounds like Dr. Grady is saying that you must be willing to submit and follow God's will in order to be saved. That is the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation, not the Gospel of free grace.

In God's simple plan of salvation, you simply need to admit that you're a sinner. You need to know what you're being saved from. You are a sinner (and so am I, and everybody else too). There is a penalty on sin, which is death. This includes being cast into the Lake of Fire forever, which the Bible calls the “second death” in Revelation 21:8. The ONLY requirement to placing your faith in the Gospel to be saved is to realize that you are a hell-deserving guilty sinner. You do not need to be willing to turn from your sins, submit to obey God's will for your life, follow Jesus as Lord, be willing to forsake sinful ways, nor anything else.

Again, Dr. Grady writes on page 44:

The consummate evidence that a “convicted” sinner is finally ready to “repent” will be an unprecedented disposition to “do” whatever it takes to appease God's wrath (i.e., because of his or her sin). 

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 44

This is another gospel. When you start placing restrictions, prerequisites and pressure on lost sinners to commit to make some type of change to their behavior to be saved, you have perverted God's simple plan of salvation. I don't find any Scripture in the Bible which mandates having a certain frame of mind that is willing to submit to obey God's will instead of your own self-serving sins to be saved. Dr. Grady is complicating God's simple plan of salvation.

Dr. Grady further writes on page 47:

“The best proof that that (typo is his) a person was sincere when they initially trusted Christ, would be their subsequent efforts to please the Lord.”

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 47

Kindly said, that is unbiblical garbage! So, according to Pastor Grady, if you don't desire to please the Lord then you're not really saved. That is junk theology! Did Samson desire to please God while he chased unholy skirts his entire life? Did Demas desire to please God when he forsook Paul on a missionary journey, having loved this present world? Did Lot desire to please God when he brought alcohol out of Sodom, which caused him to impregnate his two daughters while drunk? The Bible is full of sinful saints, who lived sordid lifestyles of wickedness. According to the accursed Lordship Salvation cult none of them were saved.

My ministry friend Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold gets it 100% correct, who said:

“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”

That is totally contrary to what William Grady is teaching in his misleading book. Our efforts to please the Lord is NOT evidence of the new birth. 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.” The only true evidence that someone has been born-again is the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that is only something that the individual can know. To properly understand the Epistle of 1st John, you need to approach the book from the viewpoint that God authored it to the individual believer. God authored the Epistle of 1st John to help YOU (as an individual) determine if you have the Holy Spirit living inside you (1st John 5:13). The evidence that we have been born anew is the free gift of God's Holy Spirit, which every saint has (Romans 8:9).

I fully agree with Dr. Yankee Arnold, who also said:

“If you have to look at your life to prove that you are saved, it proves that you're not!” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, “Why Lordship Salvation is WRONG!”

To be saved we simply trust Jesus Christ, receiving by faith His sacrifice on the cross, believing that He was buried, and then resurrected three days later. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” It is unfortunate that Dr. Grady makes a ridiculously long deal out of conviction and repentance, which causes the reader to become boggled down with theology instead of seeing the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

Dr. William P. Grady Is A Dangerous False Prophet!

Pastor Grady makes a bunch of controversial statements which complicate the Gospel. For example: On page 47 he writes:

The main difference between a true “possessor” and a mere “professor” is that the former will display his (or her) gratitude by desiring to live for God after salvation!

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 47

That is damnable heresy and the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation!!! Nowhere in the inspired Scriptures are we taught that we must live a changed life to prove we are really saved. Pastor Grady is foolishly mixing service with salvation. He is combining sanctification with justification. He is confusing discipleship with sonship. That is why my favorite preacher's quote is from Pilgrim's Progress author, John Bunyan (1628-1688), who wisely 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.” —Evangelist John Bunyan

Bravo John Bunyan!!! When bad preachers like Dr. William Grady confuse and combine a believer's sacrifice of service (Romans 12:1) with the gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), they corrupt God's Word and cast stumbling blocks before the people. Dr. Grady's new book, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” is a stumbling block to salvation!!!

Let me quote Pastor Grady again, to reiterate the heresy that he is shamefully preaching...

The main difference between a true “possessor” and a mere “professor” is that the former will display his (or her) gratitude by desiring to live for God after salvation!

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 47

So according to Bill Grady, you are not saved unless your behavior changes. He errantly teaches that you must desire to live for God to prove you're saved. It gets much worse in his horrible book. Look what he writes on page 46:

When a sinner raises that white flag of surrender, he or she is essentially coming clean with theirself—acknowledging that they no longer want to do their thing, but rather God's thing.

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 46

Dr. Grady cleverly manipulates the Bible to appease both sides of the debate. That is, the debate between free grace believers, versus the infidel Lordship Salvation crowd. He teaches that a lost sinner must go through a radical change of mind toward one's sins, that results in a strong earnest desire so submit and obey God's will, no matter what it is. And then he counters his works-based plan of salvation, by saying that faith is all you need to be saved. Well, which is it Mr. Grady?

Read his words again...

When a sinner raises that white flag of surrender, he or she is essentially coming clean with theirself—acknowledging that they no longer want to do their thing, but rather God's thing.

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 46

Dr. Grady is clearly implying that a “willingness” to total surrender to follow Christ is necessary to be saved, even though he says such surrender is not actually required to be saved. In other words, he is teaching that you MUST be “willing” to do works to get to Heaven, even though you don't have to do any works to get to Heaven. That is confusing, unbiblical and false teaching.

At the end of chapter 7 Dr. Grady offers this suggested Sinner's Prayer. He acknowledges that saying a prayer cannot save someone; but rather, it is the faith behind the prayer that saves:

“Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner, and if I died right now, I would go straight to Hell. But I believe that you died for me and that you were buried and rose again from the grave. Right now, as best I know how, I want you to become my personal Saviour and take me to Heaven when I die. Amen.” 

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 50

That is 100% correct! Unfortunately, after reading the preceding portion of chapter 7, the reader by now is utterly confused, wondering what obligation they have to “prove” that their salvation is real by serving God to show their “gratitude” as Grady pressures them to do. ...

The main difference between a true “possessor” and a mere “professor” is that the former will display his (or her) gratitude by desiring to live for God after salvation!

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 47

This is not a gift! Let me ask you a question friend—If I give you a gift, are you required to show gratitude for that gift in order to possess or keep it? No, absolutely not, it is yours whether you show me gratitude or not. Likewise, when you trust Jesus as your personal Savior, God gives you His free gift of eternal life. Whether you appreciate it or not is irrelevant!

Right Doctrine Matters

I am sick and tired of corrupt preachers (like William P. Grady) perverting the Gospel message by embellishing it. The Gospel of John according to John 20:31 is His Gospel tract, “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.” Not once in the entire Gospel of John is the word “repent” mentioned, but we do find the word “believe” mentioned 85 times. Repentance is automatic. The man who believes has repented. That is, he has changed his mind from unbelief to belief.

Here is what the Bible teaches about repentance, as explained by Dr. Mark G Cambron (1911-2000)...

Repentance is necessary for salvation.

The Greek word for repent is metanoeo, which, translated into English is: to change ones mind. It does not mean to turn from sin. That would add works to salvation.

Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from men's ideas of salvation and religion, to an acceptance of Gods only way of salvation.

This results in a completely new creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever after salvation and has not been reformed . . . The old nature can now be controlled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

God guarantees salvation. This is His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient son.
God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient son.

God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.

Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly, by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not understand Gods great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely unscriptural. It is Galatianism and a counterfeit of the gospel.

It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. The Cambron Institute is dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives not to be saved but because they are saved.

Shallow Christianity cannot be cured by adding works to salvation.

Salvation is not the result of what we do, but is by receiving what God has done for us. Acts 13:38, 39; Acts 20:20: Gal. 1:8,9; Gal. 2:4; Gal. 2:21; Gal. 3:1.3; Gal. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10; II Cor. 5:21;John 3:16-18; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5-8:11 Cor. 11:13-1 5.

SOURCE: The Cambron Institute

Bravo! Dr. Cambron has several (at least eight that I counted) earned degrees from various theological seminaries. It is refreshing to see a man with so much education actually be correct about God's simple plan of salvation. Most highly educated men are fools! I am thankful to God for Brother Cambron and his helpful books and sermons that he freely left behind for others to be edified from.

In sharp contrast, read what Dr. Grady writes on page 43:

The role of Biblical repentance in your potential conversion is that you too must undergo a serious “change of mind.” This bottom-line “change” involves your attitude—specifically, regarding the fact that your sin has alienated you from God!

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 50

A “serious” change of mind? If I were an unsaved person and I read that I must have a “serious” change of mind to be saved, I would feel intimidated. I just don't like the wording and pressure that Dr. Grady places on the sinner to change. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? Read what Dr. Grady says on page 44 about turning from your sins to get to Heaven:

Now when this proper attitude adjustment occurs, sinners will sense a natural change of mind about their individual sin. Before conviction, a lost person basically worships himself, as his or her own “god.” ...

However, once they “see the light,” a change of action will inevitably occur. Paul commended his converts for this shift: “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God....” (I Thessalonians 1:9) Anyone who says that repentance does not involve turning away from some sin has never read this passage, for how can one turn to God without turning from idolatry? And just for the record, regarding secular, material-minded Americans, Colossians 3:5 specifically defines “covetousness” as “idolatry.”

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 50

Throughout his book Dr. Grady pushes the false idea that you're not really saved unless your life shows it. He writes on page 47:

Thus, a common Bible Belt expression says, “Watch out for those 'converts' who ask Jesus to save them on Saturday and the FBI can't find them on Monday.” The New Testament pattern is found in Acts 2:41-42, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized... And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 47

It is wrong for Dr. Grady to use this single passage of Scripture to establish a precedent for all converts, requiring everyone to continue stedfastly in church attendance, Bible study and fellowship to prove they are really saved. As far as we know, when the Ethiopian eunuch got saved in Acts chapter 8:36-38, he didn't have a church to attend, or meet the so-called “pattern” Dr. Grady speaks of in Acts 2:41-42.

By the way, you've probably already noticed that I haven't once referred to William P. Grady as “Brother Grady.” That is intentional, as I do not consider him a born-again Christian due to his perverted understanding of what it means to “repent” to be saved. The false idea that repentance is a change mind so serious that it results in a change of behavior is manmade reformation, not the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Every Christian must CHOOSE to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). It is not automatic! Most believers do not choose to walk in the Spirit, they live carnal lives. Dr. Grady would wrongly accuse them of having never been saved at all, but the Apostle Paul called them “babes” and “carnal” (1st Corinthians 3:1).

The problem is not that there is something wrong with the Gospel; but rather, pastors today have stopped preaching against sin.

Mr. Grady is also very wrong to teach (as that nutcase Peter S. Ruckman foolishly taught) that no one was ever saved in the Old Testament. Dr. Peter Ruckman (1921-2016) was a religious punk! He was arrogant, cocky, abusive toward people with whom he disagreed, a cult leader, and guilty of preaching a handful of bizarre heresies (like claiming that abortion was okay). Today, the corrupt Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola continues propagating Ruckman's damnable heresies. People in the Old Testament were saved by grace through faith, just as we are today (Acts 10:43; Romans 4:4). Beware of the Ruckmanite cult, of which Bill Grady is a devout follower!

It is tragic that 95% of Baptist churches today are religious cults! They have succumbed to the Devil's lie that faith is insufficient to save someone. In addition, one way or another they will ADD turning from your sinful bad habits, living a changed life, being willing to turn from your sins, being willing to forsake your selfish desires and obey God's will instead, et cetera, to get to Heaven. The truth is that none of these things have anything to do with being saved, nor proving that you're saved.

Foolish religious men like William Grady want to associate a changed life with the new birth, instead of associating the new birth with Christ's sacrifice on the cross. I am saved because of what Christ did through Calvary's cross to pay for my debt of sin. I am not going to Heaven because of how I choose to live, nor does my lifestyle evidence whether I am saved or lost. Remember, the hellbound false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 did “many wonderful works” in Jesus' name. They “prophesied” (preached) in Jesus' name. They lived good lives! Bill Grady would have ass-u-med that they are saved, but he would have been wrong.

I hate Lordship Salvation! Throughout Dr. Grady's book he teaches that you must receive Jesus as your, “Lord and Saviour.” Yet, interestingly in his suggested sinner's prayer he only mentions Jesus as one's Saviour. Grady's inconsistent teachings are telling. It is obvious to me that his book was carefully and cleverly written to appease both sides of the debate over the true meaning of repentance. I'm not buying it (actually I just did buy it for $9.90...lol). At best the book is confusing!

Read again what Pastor Grady writes:

When a sinner raises that white flag of surrender, he or she is essentially coming clean with theirself—acknowledging that they no longer want to do their thing, but rather God's thing.

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 46

That is dangerous talk when speaking about the Gospel. What in the world does not wanting to DO YOUR OWN THING anymore, have to do with receiving God's free gift of eternal life? Do you see what he is doing? Dr. Grady is subtly adding works to grace, requiring that a lost sinner be willing to “surrender all” (aka, Lordship Salvation) to be saved. That is another gospel which cannot produce the new birth. Bible repentance DOESN'T mean to raise a white flag of surrender.

Pastor Harry Ironside ?(1876-1951) said it well:

"When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him."

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, 'Another Gospel'

Dr. William Grady is preaching another gospel (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

Dr. Grady Is A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Dr. Grady is wrong to explain Bible repentance as an “attitude adjustment” toward one's sins. This implies that reformation is required to be saved, which it is not. He errantly states:

However, once they “see the light,” a change of action will inevitably occur.

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 50

The only “action” which God requires to be saved is to BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you through Calvary's cross (John 6:28-29). Dr. Grady implies that turning from some sins is required to be saved. He deceitfully links the sin of covetousness to idolatry to subtly add works to faith. There is only one sin that you need to turn from to get to Heaven, and that sin is UNBELIEF. Dr. Grady writes:

Anyone who says that repentance does not involve turning away from some sin has never read this passage, for how can one turn to God without turning from idolatry? And just for the record, regarding secular, material-minded Americans, Colossians 3:5 specifically defines “covetousness” as “idolatry.”

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” p. 50

He is sneaky. To turn from one's idols is repentance from “DEAD WORKS” (Hebrews 6:1), not repentance from behavioral sins (covetousness is a behavioral sin). It is obvious from reading his book that Pastor Grady is biased in favor of those corrupt preachers today who wickedly teach that to be saved you must turn away from your sinful ways. Evidence of this is that he linked idolatry with the sin of being covetous. I mean, why even bring up something like that? Clearly, Mr. Grady has an agenda!

My humble opinion of Dr. Grady's book is that he is trying to defend bad preachers today, who foolishly teach that to be saved you must be willing to forsake your sinful bad habits. He says that you must experience a “serious” change of mind toward your sins. The truth is that the only change of mind needed to be saved is to admit you are a guilty SINNER, and to admit that Jesus is the SAVIOR. If you place your trust in Christ alone for salvation, you are saved.

Dr. Grady makes way too big a deal of one's sins. All the Bible requires to be saved is to come to God as a needy sinner. You don't need to experience some radical change of attitude toward your sins, that compels you to forsake your selfish will and instead submit to obey God's will. That is Lordship Salvation, not the free grace Gospel. Pastor Grady's entire mindset toward God's simple plan of salvation is flawed, because he attributes the change to the sinner (Matthew 27:3), instead of solely to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 2:20).

In the true Gospel, CHRIST'S indwelling Holy Spirit lives the Christian life through the believer by faith; whereas in the fallacy of Lordship Salvation, YOU are required to reform and produce changes in behavior to prove that you are saved. The former is all of God; the latter is all of man. I hope you see the difference. Dr. Grady makes the dire mistake of placing the burden upon sinner's shoulders to reform, to show their gratitude to prove that their salvation is genuine. That is human reformation, not the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).

The bottom line is that nowhere does Dr. Grady in his book draw a clear line of separation between justification and sanctification. He does unfortunately continually mix and confuse the two things, corrupting God's Word and casting stumbling blocks before the reader. Sadly, Pastor Grady's new book will not be the helpful soulwinning tool that he intended for it to be, it will further hinder men from seeing the light of the truth of a free grace Gospel to be saved. 2nd Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Dr. Grady's book is not the worst heresy that I've seen, which makes it all the more dangerous to the unlearned reader. Remember, the most effective deception is the half-truth, because the part that is true can be defended with incontestable logic. Dr. Grady's suggested Sinner's Prayer to be saved is correct. I'll give him credit where it is due. He gets that right! Unfortunately, for an unsaved person who reads his entire book, he (or she) will be confused about the role of conviction and repentance in the new birth.

As stated on the back cover, the faulty premise of Dr. Grady's book is that you didn't really get saved unless you fell under Holy Spirit conviction before you were saved that resulted in a changed life, that you have a daily conflict between the old and new natures, and have felt the chastening hand of God when necessary. The entire flawed basis of his book is NOT to show the unsaved person how to be saved (as he erroneously claims in the title); but rather, to embellish God's simple plan of salvation to mandate living a changed life to know you're saved. Dr. Grady attempts to retain a free grace Gospel, while simultaneously changing the terms of God's plan of salvation to include living a changed life, and in so doing he unintentionally (I think) corrupts the Gospel.

Dr. Grady's book title is very misleading. The title suggests that the book was written to lead unsaved sinners to Christ. Yet, he writes on the back cover:

This book was written for people who love God and want to know for sure that they will go to Heaven when they die. While such a “target audience” would primarily consist of God-fearing religious folks, their Scriptural knowledge about salvation would be seriously lacking.

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” back cover

Huh? I thought the book was written to show people how to be saved! This is confusing. The back cover says Dr. Grady wrote the book for “God-fearing religious people.” In accordance with the words I just quoted to you from the back cover, I think a more appropriate title for his book would have been, “How To Know That You Are Saved.” Albeit, he chose to title his book, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” Why would “God-fearing religious people” want to know “How to be saved?”

Dr. Grady further states on the back cover of his book:

Dr. R.G. Lee, the most famous Sothern Baptist pastor of the twentieth century, thought that as much as 80% of the SBC membership was lost; the Convention's greatest evangelist, Dr. J. Harold Smith, put the figure at 90%.

SOURCE: Dr. William P. Grady, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” back cover

I agree that few SBC members are saved. But the reason why I think most SBC members are not saved is not because their lives haven't changed; but rather, it's because of the counterfeit plan of salvation taught by the Southern Baptist Convention which requires turning from your sinful ways to be saved (which is WORKS). Jesus Himself warned that only a “few” people shall be able to enter into Heaven. Luke 13:23-24, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” The reason why is not because of shallow conversions that don't result in living a changed life (as Dr. Grady alleges); but rather, it is because the simplicity of Christ (which is a free grace Gospel) has been corrupted (complicated) to include works.

It is unfortunate that Dr. Grady spends the majority of space in his book emphasizing our required behavioral changes to know that we are going to Heaven, instead of emphasizing the dear Savior who paid for everyone's sins. 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. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? Granted, I believe that over 95% of churchgoers today are as lost as a moose in a caboose in Taboose! The reason why they're not saved isn't because they were misled by “quick-prayism” or “easy-believism”; but rather, it is because they've been misled to put their trust in a faulty partial faith in Christ PLUS something more (works) to get to Heaven.

On page 45, Dr. Grady shares what he considers to be the best illustration of Bible repentance he's ever heard. The fictitious story happens in the time period before the American Civil War. It is about a slave named Willy and his master, Mr. Jim. In the process of time Willy gets born-again and exhibits a radical transformation in his life. After observing Willy for some time, Mr. Jim wants the happiness that Willy has. So Mr. Jim asks him how to be saved. Willy takes Mr. Jim to the muddy hogpen and then tells him to wear his nicest white suit and jump into the mud with the pigs. Mr. Jim refuses and leaves. After a couple weeks he sees how happy Willy is and returns, this time wearing a white suit, with white shoes and a white hat. Mr. Jim stands up on the fence, ready to jump into the pigsty. He pauses and asks Willy, “Do I really have to jump into the pigsty to be saved?” Willy then says, “No, you've just got to be willing to.” Dr. Grady says the same thing holds true for getting saved.

Now, I paraphrased the story a bit to save time. I just wanted to get Dr. Grady's point across to you. For Dr. Grady to use this fictitious story in an attempt to explain Bible repentance to get to Heaven, speaks volumes about how offbeat he is concerning how to be saved. Pastor Grady says you don't have to actually give up your sins to get to Heaven, but you must be willing to surrender “all” to do whatever God wants you to do (including forsaking your sinful bad habits). He errantly thinks this is “repentance.” He alleges that the surrendered attitude of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30, who asked: “What must I do to be saved?,” proves that repentance means full surrender to do God's will instead of your will. Albeit, Dr. Grady is wresting the Scripture to his own destruction, reading into the Bible what it doesn't say (2nd Peter 3:16-17).

Dr. Grady is heretically teaching that you've got to be willing to turn from your sins, to do whatever God demands of you to do, to be saved. That is NOT what the inspired Holy Bible teaches!!! The ONLY thing you've got to be willing to do to be saved is to: BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Acts 16:30-31). Dr. Grady is a false prophet!!! He errantly ADDS to God's simple plan of salvation, requiring you to surrender all, to be willing to obey God's will instead of your will. This is not the Gospel, not even close!!!

The Day I Was Born Again

By God's grace, I got saved at age 13 in 1980 (I might have been age 12 in 1979; I don't remember the exact year I was saved, but I remember the place and the circumstances in church). When I got saved, no one required me to be willing to do anything! No one told me that I needed to be “willing” to turn away from my sinful ways. If someone had told me those things, I wouldn't have been saved, because I never would have been willing to make such a commitment that I knew I couldn't keep. I am so glad I didn't hear a counterfeit plan of salvation, because I wouldn't have been saved. I know that!

My pastor simply mentioned in his sermon that if you can sin without any conviction whatsoever from the Holy Spirit, you're not saved. I knew I wasn't saved. For the first time in my life I felt convicted about my sins. From my pew, during the invitation time, I bowed my head and asked Jesus to save me. I believed that I was appealing to the risen Savior, the Christ. I put my trust in Him, believing that He died on a cross to pay for my sins, and that He was buried, but then resurrected from the dead three days later. I had attended Sunday School for entire childhood and knew all the facts of the Gospel, but I had never taken any of it seriously until that day. I got saved that summer day!

In hindsight, my mind is blank prior to being saved. There is only spiritual darkness in my mind, no awareness of God's presence in my life. But from the day I got saved until today, I have felt the blessed presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The first thing I remember when I got saved was that I felt convicted by God about sassing my mother. I stopped doing it. I started reading my King James Bible. It was a red-colored Open Note Study Bible. I was hungry for the first time in my life for God's Word (1st Peter 2:2). I remember one evening my mother said to me, “You've changed.” I sure had, I had gotten saved!

But no one mandated that I live a changed life. No one required me to turn from my sins to be saved. No one pressured me to live a changed life to prove that I was saved. You see, preachers and laymen alike today, need to leave God's simple plan of salvation alone and stop tampering with it! The Holy Spirit doesn't need our help! We've got a bunch of ungodly corrupt neo-evangelicals today going around like chickens with their heads cut off, perverting the simplicity of the Gospel in a wicked attempt to force people to live holy lives. But the problem is not with the Gospel, it is with preachers! The problem is with today's Caspar Milquetoast wimpy pastors who refuse to preach against sin. The problem is with lazy local churches who have failed to obey The Great Commission, part of which is to mentor new converts by indoctrinating them with the teachings of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).

Beware of William P. Grady's Perverse Theology

It is regretful that Dr. Grady didn't use his book to uphold the simplicity that is in Christ, which is the free grace Gospel. Instead, he mixes a free grace Gospel with tons of required self-righteousness (aka, the falsehood of Lordship Salvation) to confuse the reader further.

You can always tell a false prophet because they will make a big deal out of repentance, whereas the Bible does not. In all of the New Testament passages concerning salvation, not one of them makes a big fuss or elaborates about what it means to repent. Only those bad preachers who seek to add works to faith need to bloviate about repentance. Dr. Grady goes to great lengths in his book to explain what he thinks repentance means. He tells stories. He uses illustrations. He gives personal experiences. Yet, the inspired King James Bible simply reads in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Remember, the word “repent” is not even mentioned in the Gospel of John. Yet, the Apostle John said in John 20:31 that He penned “these words” to convince the reader to BELIEVE that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the Christ, so that they will be saved. If repenting of your sins, or being willing to surrender your will to obey God's will, was absolutely necessary to get to Heaven, then John would have mentioned it, but he simply didn't. That settles the matter as far as I am concerned. Only a religious fool adds words to the inspired Holy Bible. 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.” The bottom line is that the junk Bill Grady is preaching is NOT in agreement with what the inspired Word of God teaches.