We Have An Inspired Holy Bible Today

2nd Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Sadly, nothing is killing the faith of churches today like Bible colleges! Today's churches are in spiritual shambles because the Bible colleges have gone apostate! Nearly every Bible college today shakes the faith of young people in the inspiration of the Holy Bible. The young folks enroll into Bible college, spending their parent's hard earned money, just to be convinced later by soul-barren, spiritually lifeless professors that we don't have an inspired perfect Holy Bible today! Dear reader, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are inseparable!

You cannot have one without the other. What do you think the word “inspired” means in 2nd Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” It absolutely makes no sense to me how we could have God's Words today if they weren't 100% verbally (word for word) and plenary (those whole canon of Scripture) inspired.

The Greek word for “inspired” here is Theopneustos, which means, God + air (breath). Many foolish Baptist preachers believe the unlearned scholars, who limit this word Theopneustos to just mean the process of God breathing His Words to man (Hebrews 1:1-2). But dear friend, that doesn't mean God's Words are no longer inspired today! The meaning of the word inspired is just what it says... IN SPIRIT! John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

If today's King James Bible is not inspired, then the Holy Spirit is not involved and they are worthless words! It blows my mind that so many preachers today deny that God has preserved a perfect inspired copy of His eternal Words for this generation! I am tired of hearing preachers claim that the King James Bible is the best, but not perfect or inspired. I find no fault in the inspired and accurate King James Bible!!!!!!!

The Holy Spirit And Growth In Grace

by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)

(Chapter 10 from Dr. Hyle's excellent book, “Meet The Holy Spirit”)

Regardless of the degree of one's spiritual maturity, he is always a minor here. Romans 8:23, "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Notice the word "adoption." It means "majority" or "adulthood." The child of God does not reach spiritual majority or adulthood until his body is redeemed. That time will take place when Jesus comes for us and we receive our glorified bodies. I John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." Though we cannot grow to full maturity until then, we can, nevertheless, grow as children. As long as we have this body of flesh, we will be known as children of God.

If leaving the flesh at the rapture means us adults, then the lessening of the flesh and it's influence in our lives will enable us to grow to adulthood. This is the reason that the Corinthian church members were babes. I Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither fan he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Corinthians 3:1, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." They were carnal. The word "carnal" means "flesh." To the degree that a Christian lives after the flesh he becomes childish. As he lives less after the flesh and more after the Spirit, though he is still a child, he does grow toward adulthood. The sad thing is that this growth is not necessarily progressive. At best, it is gradual. The growth is certainly not inevitable, it can be reverted. In other words, a Christian can grow in grace and become more mature. He then can become less mature by living more after the flesh. Consequently, the Christian's growth inn grace is in exact ratio to his walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

This growth in grace is a progressive one. Notice the words in I John 3:2, "We shall be like Him; FOR we shall see Him as He is." Why shall we be like Him? Because we shall see Him as He is. We shall not see Him as He is in a full sense until the rapture, but until then, the more we can see Him as He is, the more we will be like Him, for seeing Him as He is what makes us like Him. These words, "for we shall see Him as He is," in I John 3:2 could be translated, "as He shall be made manifested." This word "manifested" means "unveiled." This is like the unveiling of a statue. Day by day as we walk with God and walk in the Spirit, a little more of Christ is unveiled to us, and as we see more of Him due to this unveiling, we become more like Him. Hence, here is the divine order of growth in grace: 

1. We walk with Him. 

2. A little more of Him is unveiled. 

3. We see Him more as He is. 

4. When we see Him, we want to be like Him. 

5. We then yield to the Holy Spirit, Who forms us more in the image of Christ.

Notice again, He makes us like Himself TO THE EXTENT THAT WE SEE HIM. We are as an unfinished block seeing more of the finished sculpture thereby desiring to be more like Him. With that desire and yielding, the Holy Spirit responds to making us more like Jesus.

We find then that the secret is to see Him more, for when we see Him, or appetites are whetted to be more like Him, and then the process of growth in grace is put into motion. How then may we see Him more? First and foremost, we must read and know the Word of God. If we would see Him, we must live in His Book. Second, we must walk with Him and talk with him in prayer. The more time we spend with Him and the more we consequently see Him, the more we will become like Him. Then also, we can see Him as we walk with people who are like Him, our desire to be like them and like Him is increased. Then, of course, a day-by-day yielding to the Holy Spirit is necessary in order that He may reveal Christ to us as we behold His glory. II Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Now as we walk with Christ and fellowship with Him and become more like Him, we then begin to yield the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22, 23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." This fruit is not generated by human effort. It is caused by a constant walk with Christ in the Spirit so that subconsciously we take His traits upon us. One cannot love because he DECIDES to love. He walks with the Author of love, and then gradually, love is transferred to him. One cannot have peace because he decides to have peace; peace is a fruit of the Spirit. As one walks in the Spirit, he then becomes more like Him, and peace is a natural result. Through constant fellowship with Christ, as we walk in the Spirit, He rubs off on us. This process brings forth the fruit of the Spirit.

Notice it is all one fruit. The Apostle does not say, "the FRUITS of the Spirit," but rather, "the FRUIT of the Spirit." One does not work on getting love and then work on getting joy and then work on getting peach, and once he gets those, works on getting longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, etc. He walks with the One Who is the embodiment of this fruit, and as one fruit, these ingredients come to us.

It is an accepted fact that constant dwelling with a person will make us take on his habits, his mannerisms, his gestures and oftentimes this even affects one's looks. Hence, we are not to seek the fruit; we are to seek HIM!

I guess the two people who have influenced me the most in my personality have been my Uncle Harvey Harris and Dr. John R. Rice. In the early days of my life, I got to know my uncle very well. His personality was contagious. The more I was with him, the more of his mannerisms I acquired.

For 22 years I spent much of my life with Dr. John R. Rice. I preached with him, shared motel rooms with him, ate meals with him, prayed with him, fellowshipped with him, and in so doing, acquired many of his mannerisms. Now, I did not TRY to do so; it just happened.

This is true concerning the fruit of the Spirit. We are not to try of obtain the fruit; we are to try to walk with Him Who possesses it in it's perfection, and as we walk with Him and yield to His Spirit, the Spirit of God gives us more and more of this fruit. Now we are not to try to be like someone else, we just join their venture and let it happen. It may be that this is the most important part of education. Perhaps the most important thing obtained by formal training is not collection of facts and the acquiring of certain knowledge, but rather the privilege of having close contact with great people. In so doing, their personalities merge with ours and we are the better for it. This is the reason young people should go to Christian schools where dedicated, Spirit-filled professors and teachers cannot only impart to them great truths but show to them the fruit of these truths in a life. Perhaps if we would spend less time wanting to be like Jesus and more time wanting to be like Him, maybe we would be more like Him. Maybe if we spent less time attempting to walk LIKE Him and more time walking WITH Him, we would then walk more like Him. Oh, yes, to be sure, we should have a desire an yearning to be like Jesus, but being like Him does not come because of a desire or yearning; it comes because we get to know Him better; perhaps by osmosis we become more like Him.

The same is true concerning walking and fellowshipping with the wrong crowd. Galatians 5:19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Most people who begin doing the works of the flesh do not start on such a path by seeking to do so. Rather, they walk with those who possess these qualities and are subconsciously affected by them until they find themselves doing the works of the flesh because of their association with those who embodied these evil deeds.

The Bible says that we are predestined to be like Jesus. Romans 8:29, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Here the word "predestinated" means "determined." Here the word "predestinated" means "determined." The words "to be" in that verse are durative, which means, "to be being." The word "conformed" comes from two words meaning "with form." Put them together and we have, "God has determined for us to BE BEING with the form of His Son." This passage is not speaking at all about salvation; it is simply telling us that God in His foreknowledge wanted to conform us to the image of His Son and to make us like Jesus, and He is doing that now, in that we are to BE BEING like Jesus. So it is the will of God that we BE BEING like Jesus or that we become more like Him daily.

God has also predestined us to be holy. Ephesians 1:4, 11, "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." God has determined that we should be holy, or set apart. Note also Ephesians 1:5, "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." The word "adoption" here means "majority" or "adulthood." God has predetermined that someday we will be adults. Romans 8:23, "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Notice that this adoption comes AT THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES. The redemption of our bodies comes at the rapture. So one day we will become adults. The Holy Spirit will see to it. In the mean time, God wants us to be becoming more holy all the time. This is done as we yield to the Holy Spirit.

I can recall my mother telling me when I was a little boy, "Son, I love you, but I loved you even before you were born. I loved you before I knew what you would look like, how big you would be, and what color your eyes and hair would be." Jesus is saying, "A long time before you were born, I knew you would be saved, and I loved you. Even then I determined that someday I would make you like Me and that the Holy Spirit would perform this work." He is saying, "Before you were born, I wanted for you to be holy and set apart and live for the praise of God's glory."

Now the Holy Spirit's part in all this is found in Romans 8:13, "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Our part is in Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." We are to present our bodies or yield or bodies constantly a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. The word "reasonable" here means "spiritual," which means that EVEN THIS is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.

There is one other thing that God has chosen us to do. John 15:16, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He shall give it you." These words do not teach that God has chosen some people to go to Heaven and some to go to Hell! Nothing is farther form the truth! They do teach us that God has chosen that each of His children should bring forth fruit. Again, this fruit is brought forth as the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

We can then say that before the foundation of the world, God ordained that those whom He knew would trust Him would have the Holy Spirit to help them to be more and more conformed to his image, that this same Holy Spirit would lead them to win others to Christ, and that this same holy Spirit would lead them to win others to Christ, and that this same Holy Spirit would someday present them faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy. Jude 24, "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Hence, the Holy Spirit will someday make me like Jesus. Until that day, it is the plan of God that I yield to Him more and more so that He can make me more and more like Jesus, until that day when I awake in His likeness.

MEET THE HOLY SPIRIT

Pastor Steven Anderson Is Wrong That Praying Is The Bible Method To Be Saved

Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Can a person simply come to God as a needy sinner, and put their faith in Jesus Christ without praying a prayer and still be saved? Yes, absolutely, you don't have to pray to be saved. Now, Pastor Steven Anderson believes that too, but he errantly believes and teaches that it is God's way to lead lost sinners to pray a Sinner's Prayer to be saved. That is false! It is NOT the Bible way to get saved to pray, call, confess or ask. We are saved by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

When we trust in Jesus as our personal Savior, we are saved on the basis of his death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection. Salvation comes as we gladly receive the 'Good News' (Gospel) that Christ has paid the debt of sin we owed, so that salvation itself is the free gift of God. As the Apostle Peter preached the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost, the Bible says that 3,000 hearers gladly received his words and were immediately saved. Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” They were water baptized AFTER they got saved, as a public profession of their new faith in the Gospel. Baptism symbolizes Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Nobody prayer a Sinner's Prayer in Acts chapter two, they simply gladly received the Good News and were born-again.

In the Gospel of John (which is God's Gospel tract according to John 20;31), we find the word "believe" mentioned 88 times in the inspired King James Bible. But there is no mention of praying for God to save you. There is no mention of turning away from your past sinful ways to be saved. John 6;47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Jesus simply said to BELIEVE ON HIM!!!

Anybody who teaches that you cannot get to Heaven without calling, asking or praying is a liar. They are preaching another gospel. God is already freely offering eternal life as a gift to all humanity, which is received through faith alone in the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of Jesus' crucifixtion, burial and resurrection. If you read Acts 2;41 and Acts 10;41-43, you will plainly see that people got saved simply by BELIEVING. They didn't have to ask, call or pray, they simply heard the Gospel being preached and they believed what they heard.

The following video featuring Pastor Steven Anderson is false doctrine. He calls it the "dumbest doctrine I've ever heard" of, to say that you don't have to call, pray, confess or ask to be saved. Well, like it or not, dumb as it may seem, it is 100% Biblical that you don't need to ask, pray, confess or call to be saved. I am actually surprised that Pastor Anderson has made such a big fuss over this doctrinal matter, knowing that the Church of Christ religious cult requires publicly confessing Christ to be saved (which is another gospel).

Sadly, there are false prophets who teach that faith is not enough to be saved. In fact, Evangelist Billy Graham is one of them! In the preceding article you can read the interaction between a young college student and Billy Graham. The young student says that he wants to trust Jesus to be saved, but he is asking if he has to tell the other students, because he doesn't want to be persecuted for his faith. Billy Graham shamefully lies to the young man, telling him that God will not save him unless he is willing to publicly profess the name of Jesus. We know that Mr. Graham is a liar based upon John 12:42-43, “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Also, Joseph of Arimathea in the Bible was “a disciple of Jesus, but secretly” (John 19:38b). Billy Graham has the blood of that young student on his hands if he perishes into Hell. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

In the following disturbing video, numerous "New IFB" (New Independent Fundamental Baptist) movement pastors horribly gang up on Evangelist Norm Diamante. Albeit, I 100% defend and support Brother Norm in this important matter of not having to pray to be saved...

New IFB Pastors Wrongly Attack Evangelist 'Norm Diamante'

Kindly said, I love Pastor Steven Anderson and support his ministry, but he is doctrinally wrong in the preceding video. Pastor Norm Diamante is 100% correct that you DON'T have to call, pray or ask God to be saved. God is already freely offering everyone His gift of eternal life. Why would you ask God for something that He is already offering you? That would make no sense. The so-called "new IFB" movement is really the Pastor Steven Anderson's movement (i.e., a group of young pastors who are parroting Brother Anderson's doctrines and methods). Pastor Bruce Mejia is one of them. Whatever Pastor Anderson preaches, they all follow along in unison.

To no surprise, Pastor Mejia also attacks Pastor Norm Diamante for rightly preaching that you DON'T have to call, pray or ask God to get to Heaven, you simply need to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Acts 16:30-31). Anyone who comes to God as a guilty needy sinner, and receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins, believing that after being buried He bodily resurrected from the dead three days later, that person is saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-6).

In the preceding heretical video, Pastor Mejia takes Romans 10:13 out of context to bolster up his strawman heresy (I like Pastor Mejia and also support his ministry, but he is wrong in this doctrinal matter) of calling on the Lord to be saved. You can just BELIEVE to be saved. ...

Romans 10:13-16, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”

Do you see the progression? First the light of the truth of the Gospel is preached. Lost sinners hear the Gospel. They BELIEVE the GOOD NEWS and are saved. They call (go to the Lord) because of their faith. But do they really need to call, ask or pray to be saved? No. They are saved the moment that they believe the GOOD NEWS!!! Proof of what I say is found in the Gospel of John. As I mentioned earlier, in the Gospel of John (which is God's Gospel tract according to John 20;31), we find the word "believe" mentioned 88 times in the inspired King James Bible. Yet you won't find even one verse in the Gospel of John that teaches to ask, call or pray to have eternal life.

I know I am making enemies here, but what saith the Scripture? Romans 3:4, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” The inspired Holy Bible does not agree with Pastors' Steven Anderson, Bruce Mejia and Roger Jimenez in this matter of praying to be saved.

I love these truthful quotes from Onorato Diamante...

“To assert that man is not saved until he calls, knowing that believing precedes (or comes before calling) is to assert that man is not saved the moment he believes.” —Evangelist Onorato Diamante

“The conversion of Cornelius and his household completely contradicts the notion that faith must be coupled with prayer in order to result in salvation. Acts 10:43, 'To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.' 'While Peter yet spake these words...' Don't miss that! 'While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.' Notice, 'WHILE PETER YET SPAKE THESE WORDS, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.' Why? Because their hearing was mixed with faith. These men were saved while the preacher was still speaking.” —Evangelist Onorato Diamante

To clarify, I heard Pastor Anderson say that a person CAN be saved by just believing without praying. So he is correct on the Gospel. However, he is wrong that praying to be saved is the Bible way, because it is not the Bible way. If it were the Bible way, than Jesus would have said in John 6;47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” If praying is required then John 6:47 would have read: John 6;47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me and asks me to save them hath everlasting life.” Ladies and gentlemen, it is a serious thing to ADD words to what God has said. 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.”

In the preceding sermon video by Pastor Mejia, he says that “only wicked people remove things from the Bible.” Yet, Pastor Mejia wickedly adds words to the Bible. Pastors Anderson and Mejia base their heresy mainly on Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” They emphasize the last part of verse 10—CONFESSION IS MADE WITH THE MOUTH. But I like what Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) rightly said: “A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.” That is the mistake that Pastors' Anderson and Mejia are making, using an obscure passage of Scripture in Romans 10:9-10, while totally ignoring the entire Gospel of John.

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. YOU don't have to pray to be saved. We must stay true to the simplicity of the Gospel!! Childlike trust in the GOOD NEWS of Christ crucified, buried and risen is enough to be saved. We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3). There are false prophets going around teaching that faith is not enough to be saved, you must also call upon the name of the Lord.

Respectfully, Pastor Anderson calls the matter a “stupid issue,” and he wrongly calls people like me an “idiot” because I preach that you don't need to ask, confess, call or pray to be saved. I need to preach this truth because there are heretics who claim that you cannot get to Heaven without confessing the name of Jesus publicly, asking to be saved, praying or calling upon the Lord to be saved. Humbly, I do not think this is a stupid matter. I am not an idiot for defending the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). I am being faithful to contend for the faith.

Pastor Anderson's  reasoning is flawed. He argues that it is natural for a person who believes on Christ to also call upon Him. Whether this is true or not is not the question. The $64,000 question is can a person put their faith in Jesus Christ without praying a prayer and still be saved? The Bible answer is a resounding yes, yes, yes!!! I agree with Pastor Anderson that it is natural for people to want to pray and call upon the Lord to accompany their faith; however, that doesn't make it mandatory to pray.

At the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, Pastor Anderson teaches his people to lead lost sinners to pray a Sinner's Prayer to be saved. That is fine, just so long as they explain that you don't get saved by praying, you get saved by God's grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. The inherent danger of leading lost sinners to pray a prayer of salvation is that they may misunderstand what God requires of them to be saved.

I know Christians who struggled with the assurance of God's gift of salvation for decades, because they kept focusing on the content of their prayer, wondering if they left something out or missed something. Since they could not remember exactly what they said when they prayed, they lived in needless fear, tears and discouragement, worrying that perhaps they weren't really really saved. But when they finally learned THE TRUTH that believing on Jesus as the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is enough to be saved, and you don't need to pray at all, they finally found the perfect peace that solidified their salvation beliefs.

Dear friend, I encourage you to read two free books online (search online and you'll find them right away):

1. I Never Knew You (by Evangelist Michael P. Bowen)
2. Salvation And The Public Invitation (by Pastor Max D. Younce)

Those two insightful books are 100% Bible based and will help you immensely to settle the important matter of salvation if you haven't found that peace yet.

A Living Dog Is Better Than a Dead Lion

Ecclesiastes 9:1-6, “For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”

Solomon wisely said that a LIVING DOG is worth more than a DEAD LION. I am always encouraged when I read this Bible verse. The greatest man I have ever known is Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), my hero of the Christian faith! For people who didn't know Dr. Hyles, it is easy for strangers to dislike, hate, slander and disregard a man's greatness. I was there during Dr. Hyles heyday!!! I watched this dear man's life firsthand. I heard him preach in person. I met with him and shook Dr. Hyles' hand. I loved him then during my Hyles-Anderson College days (1985-1993), and I still love him today, even more so, because I have lived long enough to see that his preaching was right on que! Pastor Hyles served God as a pastor for 55 years, pastoring his first church at age 19 in east Texas. Dr. Hyles pastored five churches total during his lifetime, being used of God to win millions of lost sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. THANK GOD FOR JACK HYLES!!!

Something unique about Dr. Hyles was that he chose to live on life's Sunnyside. Dr. Hyles lived ABOVE THE CLOUDS, where the Son is always shining, removing himself from the dark and dreary rains of criticism and persecution UNDER THE CLOUDS. That was so wise! What saith the Scripture? Colossians 3:1-3, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” I love that! The Word of God teaches us as God's redeemed children to SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE!!! Amen. In other words, we should set our thoughts on heavenly things; such as, holiness, love, righteousness, soulwinning, prayer, walking with God, studying the Bible and meditating therein, thanking and praising God in every situation, trusting God at all times, serving God in a local church, helping the poor in Jesus' name, contending for the faith, fasting, et cetera.

I receive umpteen emails each year from hurting people whose lives are in chaos. Nearly all of them do not attend any church regularly. Many of them are messed up because they spend their time listening to corrupt TV, radio and internet neo-evangelical preachers. In most situations they have made some very bad decisions in their past, which have come back to haunt them. The Devil is a beautiful liar! Sin thrills and then it kills. Sin fascinates and then it assassinates.  Low living usually comes at a high cost! Be careful about sowing your wild oats, or you may end up praying for crop failure!

I am always humbled by Ecclesiastes 9:4, “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” I am just a DOG! Dr. Hyles was a LION! I wish my ministry could make the kind of IMPACT that Brother Hyles' labours did. I want to get as many people saved as possible. Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

There are not many truly “great men” in the world today concerning Christianity, not compared to the 20th century. The words “godly man” are only found mentioned once in the book of Psalms. Psalms 12:1, “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.” Where is the faithful man today? Where are the 7,000 who have not bowed their knee to Baal? Job 17:10, “But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.”

I thank God for the godly influence in my life from GREAT MEN of time past; namely, Billy Sunday (1862-1935), Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951), Jack Hyles (1926-2001), John R. Rice (1895-1980), Lee Roberson (1900-2007), Curtis Hutson (1934-1995), Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968), A. Ray Stanford (1916-2012), Lester Roloff (1914-1982) and many more imperfect but faithful soulwinning men of God. 

Jeremiah 5:5, “I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.”

I have been in the presence of great men. I saw and heard Pastor Lee Roberson in person preach at Hyles-Anderson College. I saw, heard, met and shook the hand of Pastor Jack Hyles. These were great men. Dr. Hyles never met Billy Sunday (who died in 1935), but he met Ma Sunday (Helen Sunday). Thankfully we still have the preserved sermons of great men like Brother Lester Roloff, Dr. Tom Malone, Dr. John R. Rice and Pastor Harry Ironside.

I may not be a lion like these great men of the faith were, but they are all dead now, and I am still alive, and a living dog is better than a dead lion the Bible says. Part of my ministry is promoting the sermons of these great men. That is the least I can do, to try to help others. Please don't listen to today's fake preachers (e.g. Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Robert Jeffress, John Hagee, Pat Robertson, Rick Warren, Ray Comfort, Ken Ham, et cetera). These men are all compromised and simply cannot be trusted theologically. Get you to the old preachers that I mentioned earlier. Go look up the sermons online by Pastor Curtis Hutson. Order his books from the Sword Of The Lord publishers online. You will be blessed if you do.

Notable Quotes On The Holy Bible

The following quotes are beautiful, honoring God's inspired Word. And may I say, today's modern Bible versions are NOT based any any legitimate ancient language; but rather, they are the mere rantings of scholarly madmen hellbent on making a buck from marketing their own copyrighted version:

“The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all who oppose it.” —Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

“It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.” —Horace Greeley (1811-1872)

“The existence of the Bible, as a book for the people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity.” —Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

“That book [King James Bible], sir, is the rock on which our republic rests.” —U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)

“The Bible has been the Magna Carta of the poor and oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it.” —Thomas Huxley (1825-1895)

“So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible every year.” —U.S. President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. ” —U.S. President George Washington (1732-1799)

“The Bible, composed by many authors, over a period of many centuries, yet ONE BOOK, is, in itself, the outstanding Miracle of the Ages, bearing aloft its own evidence of its Superhuman Origin.” —Henry H. Halley (1874-1965)

“The Old Testament is an account of a Nation. The New Testament is an account of a MAN, The Nation was founded and nurtured of God to bring the Man into the world.” —Dr. Henry H. Halley (1874-1965)

“Bible reading is an education in itself.” —Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.” —Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

“The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever growing influence of the Bible.” —U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872)

“God Himself became a Man, to give mankind a concrete, definite, tangible idea of what kind of Person to think of when we think of God. God is like Jesus. Jesus was God incarnate in human form. His appearance on earth is the Central Event of all history. The Old Testament sets the stage for it. The New Testament describes it. As a man, He lived the most strangely Beautiful Life ever known. He was the Kindest, Tenderest, Gentlest, most Patient, most Sympathetic man that ever lived. He Loved people. He hated to see people in trouble. He loved to Forgive. He loved to Help. He wrought marvelous miracles to feed hungry people. For relieving the suffering He forgot to take food for Himself. Multitudes, weary, pain-ridden, and heart-sick, came to Him, and found healing and relief. It is said of Him, and of no other, that if all the deeds of Kindness that He did were written, the world would not contain the books. That is the kind of man Jesus was. That is the kind of Person God is. Then: He Died, on the Cross, to take away the Sin of the world, to become the Redeemer and Saviour of man. Then: He Rose from the Dead: is Alive Now: not merely an historical character, but a Living Person: the Most Important Fact of History, and Most Vital Force in the world today.” —Dr. Henry H. Halley (1874-1965)

“The reason you don't like the Bible, you old sinner, is because it knows all about you.” —Billy Sunday

“The Bible will always be full of things you cannot understand, as long as you will not live according to those you can understand.” —Billy Sunday

I am a big fan of preacher quotes! Quotes are nuggets of truth to help us discern truth and live right. You cannot live right if you don't first think right. A man who walks with wise men shall be wise. Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” We've got a bunch of fools in church pulpits today, who've been influenced by false prophets like John MacArthur, who denies that children can be saved, who denies that Jesus' blood is on the Mercy Seat in Heaven, and who requires discipleship for salvation (which is NOT the Gospel of free grace). The Devil well knows that human beings are very impressionable. We all love heroes! We all have people whom we look up to, good or bad. We need heroes and mentors. For the atheist, George Carlin is their hero. For a born-again, soul-winning, believer as myself, Pastor Jack Hyles is my hero!

I also encourage you dear friend to start collecting quotes, ponder the greatness of their meaning, and let them change your life for Christ. 

“Now you say, 'Brother Hyles, you make an issue.' You dead sure better know I'll make an issue!” —BATTLE OF THE AGES (MP3, Dr. Jack Hyles, “The King James Bible crowd is going to come out on top!”)

A Perversion Of The Gospel: Lordship Salvation

"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 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. 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." 

by Dr. Curtis Hutson

Galatians 1:1-9 Lordship salvation is an unscriptural teaching regarding the doctrine of salvation and is confusing to Christians. Those who teach it claim that one must make Jesus Lord of his life in order to be saved. They use such expressions as, "You cannot receive Jesus as Saviour without receiving Him as Lord," or, "If Jesus Christ is not the Lord of your life, then you are not saved." The Bible teaches salvation by grace through faith. 

Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, "For by grace ye are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." But those who teach Lordship salvation say that is is not enough to trust Jesus Christ; you must also make Him Lord of your life in order to be saved. This kind of teaching frustrates the grace of God and is called in the Bible "another gospel." 

I. Another Gospel Which Is Not Another 

In verse 6, Paul said, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into grace of Christ unto another gospel." Paul contrasts the Gospel of the grace of God with "another gospel" which he does not define. In verse 7 he said, "Which is not another...." That sounds like a contradiction, but the word "another" does not come from the same Greek word. 

In verse 6 it means "another—different from the one we preach." 

In verse 7 the Greek word means "another of the same kind." So we might paraphrase the verse, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him who called you unto the grace of Christ unto a different gospel which is not like the one we preach." He goes on to say, "There be some that trouble you" (vs. 7). The preaching of another gospel troubles people. He also calls it a perversion of the Gospel of the grace of God.

Then he says something very strong in verse 8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed [or "let him be damned"].

Then he emphasizes it again in verse 9: "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach another gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed [or "let him be damned"]. Paul said, "I am startled; I marvel; I can't believe that you are so soon removed from the Gospel of the grace of Christ unto another gospel." "Another gospel" is not defined, so I will define it based upon the implication of the text. The Gospel of the grace of Christ is one thing. Another gospel would be anything that contradicts the teaching of salvation by grace through faith. If a man preaches that one is saved by the substitutionary death of Jesus, by trusting Christ, then adds some from of good works, he contradicts the Gospel of the grace of God. 

I could not put it any better than Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." Salvation cannot be by grace and works. It has to be either grace or works. Most people have a poor concept of grace. I used to work for a loan company. I would give what is called a "grace period." If you didn't pay your debt in time, you had five days "grace" before you got a notice and were tagged with a late charge. That is not grace; that is a probation. Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God toward Hell-deserving sinners. There is so much confusion over the doctrine of salvation.

If you ask the next ten people you see, "How does a person get to Heaven?" you will probably get ten different answers. And it is very likely that none would be correct. In the final analysis, there are only two schemes of salvation that are taught by all religions. One is that man saves himself; the other is that God saves a man. They say that man saves himself by reforming or cleaning up his life before he is saved in order to merit salvation; or that man saves himself by promising to keep the Ten Commandments before he is saved; or man saves himself by obedience. Others teach that man saves himself by behaving. Those who teach Lordship salvation say that man saves himself by making Jesus Lord of his life.

Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ: for it [the Gospel] is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that behaves..."? No, "...to every one that believeth." The only thing you can do with the Gospel is believe it. The Gospel is the Good News of how Jesus Christ came to this earth, how He died on a cross in our place for our sins, how he was buried and rose again the third day. That is the Gospel. Don't confuse the truth with the Gospel. The Gospel is the truth, but all truth is not the Gospel.

It is the truth that I wear a necktie to church, but that is not the Gospel. It the truth that I brush my teeth every morning, but that is not the Gospel. All truth is not the Gospel, but the Gospel is the truth. When I preach on Hell, I preach a Bible truth that ought to be preached and one that Jesus preached, but it is not the Gospel. hell is not good news; Hell is bad news. If I preach on judgment, I preach the truth but not the Gospel. But when I preach that Jesus loved sinners, that He died in the sinner's place to pay the sinner's debt, that He was buried and after three days God raised Him form the dead to show His satisfaction with the payment, then I preach the Gospel. 

An old preacher spoke to a large crowd of young preachers. Before leaving the platform, one young pastor said to him, "Sir, before you leave, give us a word of advice." The old preacher thought for a moment, then said, "My preacher brethren, make it plain to men how they are to saved." Far too many preachers are muddying the Gospel. The waters of the grace of God must be kept crystal clear. It disturbs me when preachers scramble the grace of God with works. Paul said, "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you...LET HIM BE DAMNED!"

Strong language, but that is how God feels about preachers who pervert the Gospel. Paul says that even an angel is to be damned for preaching another gospel. Something about us religious humans make us want to add to the Gospel. We want to help God with our salvation. If we can't help Him save us, we want to help keep ourselves saved. Adam and Eve gathered fig leaves and sewed them together to make aprons to cover their nakedness. They knew something was wrong and tried to right it before God came to visit. They were happy and well pleased with their fig-leaf religion until God came, then they were embarrassed with their fig-leaf covering and ran and hid themselves. God called them unto Himself, killed an innocent animal (a picture of the substitutionary death of Jesus), took the skin from the animal and made coats for Adam and Eve. He didn't let them keep one single fig leaf of their own making. Salvation is of the Lord. You may be satisfied to stand before men with you religion, but are you going to be satisfied when you stand before God Almighty?

Remember, God put His Son on a cross, loaded Him down with your sin, and poured out His wrath on His own Son so He could save you from the penalty of sin, which is Hell! Are you going to be satisfied when you stand before God with fig-leaf religion? There is no promise in the Bible to those who partially believe on Christ; one must trust Him alone and nothing else. Those who teach Lordship salvation say, "If you do not give over the control of your life to Christ at the moment of salvation, you are not saved."

II. Must There Be a Commitment to Christ as the Lord of One's Life in Order to Be Saved?

Those who teach Lordship salvation say that you cannot divorce His Saviourhood from His Lordship; that you can't accept Him as Saviour without accepting Him as the Lord of your life also; that unless Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, you are not saved. But when you question these same people, you discover that Jesus is not Lord of their lives. I asked one who taught Lordship salvation, "Has Jesus been Lord of your life since the day you trusted Him as Saviour? Has there ever been a time since you were saved when Christ has not been the absolute Lord of your life?" He hesitated a moment, then said, "Well, He has always been Lord, but there have been times when I didn't obey Him." When we don't obey Him, He is not Lord of Boss. When we are in control, Jesus cannot be in control. In Luke 6:46 Jesus said, "And why ye call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

It is inconsistent to call Him "Lord, Lord," and not do what He says. When this man I mentioned realized that Jesus had not been Lord of his life, he rephrased his statement: "Well, I am not saying that you must absolutely make Him Lord of your life in order to be saved, but there must be a willingness to be controlled by the Lord at the time of salvation in order to be saved." If there must be a willingness for Jesus to have absolute control over one's life in order to be saved, how long can he wait before he becomes unwilling and disobeys again? There are not two ways to be saved. One is either saved by grace through faith or saved by grace through faith plus surrender.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." If it is salvation by grace through faith, as this Scripture declares, then it is not salvation by grace through faith plus surrender, or plus anything else. It is salvation by grace through faith. PERIOD! You say, "Dr. Hutson, don't you believe in surrender?" Absolutely! Wholeheartedly! But not to be saved. Surrender can be right or wrong, depending where you put it. A diamond ring is a beautiful thing on a lady's finger. It brings pleasure to the lady. But put that same ring in her high-heeled shoe, and it causes pain and discomfort.

The surrender of the life to the Lordship of Christ is a beautiful and wonderful thing; but when you make surrender a requirement for salvation, it becomes an ugly, dirty, wicked thing and frustrates the marvelous grace of God! 

III. Bible Examples of Uncommitted Believers 

Let me give you some Bible examples of uncommitted believers. First, I will call your attention to some who had definite lapses from a fully surrendered life after they were saved. Second, I will call attention to believers who did not commit their lives to Christ until long after they were saved. Third, we will call attention to one in the Bible who trusted Christ as Saviour but never surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. David is an example of one who had a definite lapse in his surrender. Now David may or may not have surrendered his life to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation, but Jesus dead sure wasn't Lord of David's life when he committed adultery with Bathsheba.

David was lord at the time; David was running the show. David may or may not have surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation, but Jesus Christ was not Lord of David's life when he sent Uriah into battle and had him killed. If Jesus was Lord of David's life, then it is certain that David had a lapse of his surrender. David's life was not committed to the Lordship of Christ when he committed adultery and murder! So If he had committed his life, he definitely had a lapse. If total surrender to Christ was a prerequisite for salvation, then David lost his salvation until he totally surrendered again.

But he didn't lose it! According to Psalm 51:12, all he lost was the joy of salvation. He prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation." He didn't pray, "Lord, save me because You have not been the Lord of my life." Noah is another example of one saved by the grace of God who, if ever committed to Christ, had a relapse. The Bible says in Genesis 6:8, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Noah was saved and may or may not have surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation. But when the ark landed, Noah got drunk; and in a drunken stupor lay naked before his sons. If Noah had surrendered and committed his life to the Lordship of Christ when he was saved, he certainly had a lapse. You can't say Jesus Christ was controlling Noah's life when he got drunk! Noah was controlling his own life. You can't blame his immoral conduct on the Lord.

The Apostle Peter is another example of one who, if ever committed, had a relapse. Peter said, "Though al men forsake thee, I will never leave thee" (Matthew 26:33). But he followed the enemy and warmed himself by the Devil's fire. One of the enemy came and said, "Hey! That fellow there is one of them; he's one of the Lord's boys." Peter said, "Oh, no! I don't know Jesus." Another one said, "Yes, Peter is one of Jesus' followers." Peter insisted, "No, I don't know Christ. I'm not one of them!" A woman said, "You are one of His disciples! Your speech betrays you." And Peter began to curse. He said, "You blankety-blank-blank, lowdown, sneakin' woman, I don't know Jesus Christ and never knew Him!" If he surrendered to the Lordship of Christ in total commitment at the moment of salvation, he certainly had a lapse when he cursed and said, "I never knew Jesus Christ!"

In John 21, Peter quit the ministry. He said, "I go a fishing" (vs. 3). This was a public announcement that he never intended to preach again. "I am through preaching—I quit!" And six preachers went with him! When he got out on the lake in a boat, he took off his clothes and was out there naked in the middle of the night in a boat, fishing. It is all in John 21. If he was surrendered to Jesus Christ totally at the moment of salvation, he was not surrendered totally now. He quit the ministry and never intended to preach again! The Lord had to come and warm his backslidden heart by the fires of John, chapter 21, before he preached in Acts, chapter 2, and had 3,000 conversions. There are other examples in the Bible of men whom if they were totally surrendered, had a lapse in their yieldedness or commitment after they were saved.

Now let me give you an example from the Bible of some believers who were saved and later made a commitment of their lives to Christ. In Acts 19 we have the conversion of some people at Ephesus who had been worshipping the goddess Diana. An important part of worship included the superstitious dependence on magical words and charms and saying. Paul had been there two years preaching, and these people had believed on Christ. "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds" (vs. 18). Some of them had believed as much as two years earlier. Verse 19 says, "Many of them also which used curious [magical] arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver"—$9,300 worth of books burned! They were just now burning their books of magic--two years after trusting Christ!

These people were saved without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ at the moment of salvation. We know many believers who trusted Christ as Saviour, then years later quit bad habits such as smoking. We even know some who, like Noah, got drunk after they were saved. Now we are not condoning sin; we are simply showing that Jesus was not Lord of these believers' lives. I know some Christians who were saved and a year later quit some habits, while others waited several years.

As a matter of fact, I don't know one Christian anywhere who surrendered to the absolute Lordship of Christ at the moment of conversion and has continued a life of complete surrender. One dear man who teaches Lordship salvation told me that if Jesus was not Lord of an individual's life, then that individual was not saved. He also said that he had surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at the moment he was saved. Later this man was dismissed from a Christian organization because of conduct unbecoming of a Christian. You don't get better to get saved; you get saved to get better. You can't get better until you do get saved. You don't have anything to get better with.

In Acts 19 we have people who were saved though they had not totally committed themselves to Christ at the moment of trusting Him as Saviour. Two years later they burned their magic book—two years late! These people certainly contradict the teaching of Lordship salvation. The third example is one of a lifelong refusal to commit oneself to the Lordship of Christ. If you read only the Old Testament references to Lot, you wouldn't believe he was saved. But the Bibles says in 2nd Peter 2:7- 8 "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)"

Twice in verse 8 he is called "righteous," and verse 7 calls him "just Lot" Now Lot was saved, justified. Second Peter 2:7-8 makes this amply clear. But when you read the Old Testament account of his life, it is plain to see that he was never surrendered to God before or after he was saved. His Uncle Abraham set out on a journey, and Lot just followed his uncle! In the process, his herd of cattle grew; and his herdsmen began to fight with Abraham's herdsmen. Then they decided they had better separate. This little, puny, potato-string backboned nephew looked up at this giant of faith, Abraham, who said to Lot, "You choose either direction you want.' Lot looked towards the mountains, then toward the wellwatered plains of Jordan.

If he had been surrendered, he would have said, "Uncle Abraham, I am not even supposed to be out here. I just followed you. You make the choice, and I'll take the one you don't want." But that little pipsqueak took the well-watered plains of Jordan. He wasn't surrendered. When he went down to Sodom and called the Sodomites "brothers"—that is not being surrendered. If you call somebody who doesn't believe the Bible a "brother in Christ," you are not surrendered. It shows you don't know much about the Bible.

The only man who is your brother is the one who has received Jesus Christ as Saviour. You become a Son of God by faith (John 1:12). When he called those wicked Sodomites "brethren," do you think he was surrendered to Christ? Two angels came down from Heaven, and Lot took them into his house. The young and old men of the city of Sodom compassed about the house of Lot and clamored and cried, "Send those men out to us that we may know them" (Genesis 19:5). They wanted to commit homosexuality with two angels who came from Heaven. That is where we get the word "sodomy."

Do you know what Lot did? "I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." Does that sound like a committed Christian? It certainly doesn't! When God sent an angel down to get Lot out of Sodom, Lot lingered. He didn't want to leave. Finally the angel had to get him by the arm and drag him out of Sodom before the fire and brimstone rained down from Heaven. 

He was so worldly and uncommitted and unsurrendered that his sons-in-law laughed at him when he tried to get them to leave. They laughed at his testimony. But keep following him; his life gets worse. Before fire and brimstone rains down from God out of Heaven, they leave Sodom and Gomorrah. He takes with him his wife and two daughters. His wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. Lot goes into a cave with his two daughters and gets drunk. There was no liquor store in that cave, so Lot must have brought that wine with him when he left Sodom.

While he was drunk, he committed incest with both his daughters; and both gave birth to babies. Lot is a Bible example of one never surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, one who never made a total commitment to the Saviour. But we know he was saved because the Bible says so in 2nd Peter 2:7-8. So you have three Bible examples of uncommitted believers: those who trusted Christ had lapses in their yieldedness or surrender after they trusted Christ as Saviour but did not surrender until some time later, and Lot who never did yield his life to the Lordship of Christ. 

IV. Scriptures That Clearly Refute Lordship Salvation 

Not only do Bible examples refute Lordship salvation but clear passages of Scripture refute it also. First Corinthians 12:3 says, "...no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Now keep in mind that one does not have the presence of the Hoy Spirit in his life until after he is saved. Romans 8:9 says, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The Bible says in Galatians 4:6, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." John 3:6 says believers are "born of the Spirit." They are sealed by the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). If you can't call Jesus Lord without the Holy Ghost, and you must call Him Lord to get saved, and you are not saved without the Holy Ghost, you have a problem!

Romans is a book about salvation. Romans, chapter 3, says that everybody need to be saved. It describes humanity. It lays man out on God's examination table and gives him a divine diagnosis. God looks at man and says, "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways" (Romans 3:13-16). He describes man from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and says that he is a totally depraved sinner. In Romans 3:10 God says, "There is none righteous, no, not one."

In verse 23 He says, "For all have sinned, and come short upon the glory of God." Romans 3 teaches that everybody needs to be saved! Romans, chapter 4, gives three ways you cannot be saved. Verses 1 to 4 teach that one cannot be saved by works. Verses 9-12 teach that one cannot be saved by the observance of ordinances. Verses 13 to 25 teach that one cannot be saved by keeping the law. Romans, chapter 5, tells you the only way to be saved. Verse 1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Justified by what? By surrender? By commitment? By making Jesus Lord of your life? No. "Justified by FAITH." Romans, chapter 12, is written to those who are already saved, and verse 1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Notice that Paul refers to them as "brethren," meaning they were saved. there is no such thing as the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. The only people who are our Christian brothers are those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. John 1:12 says, "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." Everyone who has trusted Jesus or received Him as Saviour, has become a son of God and is therefore a brother to all others who have trusted that same Saviour.

These people to whom Paul is writing are born-again believers but not committed, surrendered believers; and Paul is pleading with them, in view of all God's mercies, to present their bodies as living sacrifices. They are saved but Jesus is not the Lord of their lives. Some say, "But the Bible says, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). The Bible says if you don't love the Lord with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and hate your father and mother and all that, you can't be a disciple. The Bible says if you don't forsake all you have, you can't be a disciple (Luke 14:33). That is all true, but remember He is saying, "You cannot be my disciple." He didn't say, "You can't go to Heaven." We must not confuse the requirements for discipleship with the requirement for salvation. Every disciple is a believer, but every believer is not a disciple. A disciple is a learner, a student.

God never says to the unsaved man, "Come after Me for salvation." He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But after one accepts Christ as Saviour, then He says in Matthew 4:19, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." We come to Him for salvation and come after Him for service. It is one thing to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour and quite another to surrender one's life to the Lord. There is such a thing as the dedicated Christian life. And there are carnal Christians, according to 1st Corinthians 3, who have never yielded their lives to Christ. The yielding of one's life or making Jesus Lord of one's life is not a requirement for salvation. That is Lordship salvation and a perversion of the Gospel. 

V. Some Arguments of Those Who Try to Prove Lordship Salvation

Those who teach Lordship salvation say, "But the Bible says, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'" Sure it does. But it does not say, "Obey the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."; it is always careful to identify the object of our faith. Our faith, our trust, our dependence must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot trust our good works, our good life, our surrender, our baptism, our ordinances or anything else. We must trust Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation. He plainly said, "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me" (John 14:6). Why must we confuse the most important message in the world? Suppose I am going to jump from a building into a net held by four men.

A mechanic is holding once corner of the net, a dentist one corner, an airplane pilot one corner, and an insurance salesman the other corner. I am going to trust them to catch me. Some one could say, " Believe on Mr. Domansky, the dentist, and thou shalt be saved," but that doesn't mean I have to let him pull all my teeth in order to get saved. It simply means that I am going to have to trust him to catch me in that net. Someone else could say, "Believe on Mr. Smith, the insurance salesman, and thou shalt be saved." But that doesn't mean I have to buy my insurance from Mr. Smith to be saved. It simply means I must trust him to hold that net for me. When the Bible says in Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," it doesn't mean you have to make Him Lord of your life. It simply means you must trust the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation.

Verse after verse in the Bible clearly says that salvation is simply trusting in Jesus Christ. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." The man who is trusting anything other than Jesus Christ is not saved. That is plain teaching of the Bible. The man who claims he is trusting in Jesus Christ—plus his ability to yield to the Lordship of Christ, is not fully trusting the Saviour; and there is no promise to those who trust Jesus Christ plus something else, no matter how good the other thing may be.

When we get to Heaven, we are going to sing: "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Revelation 5:9). We are not going to sing: " We are worthy for we have committed and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ." Now when you teach salvation by grace through faith, that one is saved simply by trusting Jesus Christ, some call that "easy believism." But you will not find that expression in the Bible. That is a manmade expression. It is not easy to get one to trust Christ, Him alone, and nothing else for salvation.

As matter of fact, that may be the hardest thing in the world to do. You are called upon to believe in Someone whom your eyes have never seen. You are called upon to believe in Someone, and you have never met an eyewitness who ever saw Him. You are called upon to believe on Someone whom the so-called scholarship of the day denies. You are called upon to believe in Someone who died on the cross two thousand years ago. You are called upon to believe in Someone of whom the only record you have of Him has been kept by His friends. You are called upon only to believe in His existence, but to believe that by depending on Him you can be justified on the basis that He was made guilty for your sins. Now that is not easy!

It is hard enough to trust someone we see and know, someone we have shaken hands with and talked to. But to trust in Someone whom we have not seen is difficult. That fact that most religions teach works, ordinances, sacraments, baptism or something else for salvation show how difficult is is to get a person to simply trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Salvation by grace is "believism" all right, but it is certainly not "easy believism." Now don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that you simply admit there is a Christ and thou shalt be saved; I am saying what the Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

The Bible word "believe" means to depend upon, to rely upon, to trust in. Some argue that verse in James 2:19, "...the devils also believe, and tremble." But the devils do not trust Jesus Christ as Saviour; they simply admit His existence. It is one thing to believe an airplane can fly; it is quite another to trust your physical life to the pilot and plane to take you across the nation. To be saved, one must trust Jesus Christ completely for salvation. No Christian in the world can say that when he was saved he totally committed himself to Christ and has since then been absolutely surrendered. Not even those who teach Lordship salvation will say that. 

They will say, "Jesus has been my Lord, but many times I have disobeyed Him." Then when you disobeyed Him, He wasn't the Lord of your life. Those who teach Lordship Salvation say, "He's always Lord." "Lord" comes from the Hebrew word Adonai, meaning "Master." It also comes from the word Jehovah, the personal name of God. There are several translations of the word. In that sense, He is everybody's Lord. He is the tadpole's Lord, the bumblebee's Lord, the bullfrog's Lord, the rattlesnake's Lord—but that doesn't mean they are saved. He is Master of the whole universe. he can do what He want to do, when He wants to do it! 

Philippians 2:10-11, declares, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Does that mean that everyone will be saved, since the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord? Of course not. When we talk about Jesus being Lord of one's life, we mean yielding to Him for the control of the life. Jesus is Lord over many things about every individual—the color of my eyes, my height, my parents, etc.

The Lord determined who my parents would be. He was the Boss; He was the Master. The Lord determined my height. he determined the size of my ears, nose, the texture of my skin. But one important area of my life where He gives me control is my will. God made us free moral agents. We are creatures of choice. He wants to be Lord of our wills, but he doesn't want to force us. He wants us to yield to Him because we want to do so. He was a willing Saviour, and He will have only willing servants. We trust Him for salvation, and we yield to Him for service. 

VI. The Teaching of Lordship Salvation Confuses Believers 

I have often heard those who teach Lordship salvation brag that three of four preachers got saved in their service. Some have said, "The youth pastor and three deacons got saved!" Now I am for people trusting Christ as Saviour who have not already done so, but I am against any teaching that confuses believers. We heard of a youth director who was supposedly saved after hearing a sermon on Lordship salvation. Then many of the young people who trusted Christ under the youth director's ministry, deciding they must not be saved, went forward and, in the words of the evangelist, were "really saved."

There is no difference between being saved and "really saved." There is no such thing as degrees in salvation. No one is more saved than the other. The Bible says in John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth upon him." Nothing can be plainer: those who are trusting Jesus Christ are saved, and they have everlasting life. And those who are not trusting Him are not saved, but the wrath of God abideth on them.

Saying one is "really saved" is like going to a funeral home, pointing to a casket and saying, "The person in that casket is dead," then pointing to another casket and saying, "The one in that casket is really dead!" There is no such thing as being dead, deader, and deadest. One is either dead or alive, saved or lost, guilty or justified, believing or not believing. There is no between. Why do good Christians supposedly get "really saved" under the preaching of Lordship salvation? Because they believe the preacher

If I believed that one must make Jesus Lord of his life in order to be saved, then I would go forward every time I heard a sermon on the subject and get saved because there have been times when I have been a disobedient child, times when I have yielded to my old carnal nature. The problem is, those who go forward and supposedly really get saved will have the same problem again later because they are not going to live a perfect life. There will be times when they will yield to the flesh; then when they hear a preacher say, "Unless you make Jesus Lord of your life, you are not saved," they will look back and see that Jesus has not been Lord of their lives and reason that if the preacher is correct, then they must not have been saved. 

So they will go forward again to trust Christ as Saviour, and make Him Lord of their lives so they can really be saved. Lordship salvation confuses believers and makes them doubt their salvation. The Bible is very plain: the only way to be saved is by trusting Jesus Christ. In John 3:18 Jesus divides the whole world into two groups: "He He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." The condemned criminal is the one who has been arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced.

The Bibles says the man who is trusting Jesus Christ is not under the sentence; he is not condemned. And he who is not trusting Jesus Christ is condemned. Why? Because he has "not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." He is not trusting Jesus Christ fully for salvation.