Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:
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1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye
are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 |
I received an email through my website this week from a man
who had several questions concerning the King James Bible
and the doctrine of salvation. In response to his question
about the King James Bible, I gave him a statement that I
make where I say: “The King James Bible is a perfect book,
that presents a perfect plan of salvation, through the
perfect Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ”. I also state that
the King James Bible is Miraculously Magnificent and
Majestic: the crown jewel of all Bible translations. The
King James Bible is the living word of THE LIVING GOD. My
email contact stated that he had heard that the Devil had
supernaturally changed the Bible over the years. I told him
that what he heard was right. The Devil has accomplished
that by taking possession of and using unsaved Greek and
Hebrew scholars on translation committees to pervert the
words (WORD) of God. I have studied the issue for over 33
years now. From my studies, I am convinced that if Satan
could destroy one, and only one, book on the face of the
earth, it would be the King James Bible. God will not allow
that to happen.
An absolute faith in the truth of the word of God is an
absolute necessity to avoid the pits of hell and the lake of
fire. According to Luke 16:27-31, not even sending unto the
lost sinner one resurrected from the dead will save them
from the fires of hell and the lake of fire if they will not
hear the word of God. Luke 16:27-31 says:
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27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that
thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For
I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this place of torment. 29
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay,
father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Luke 16:27–31 |
Folks, “Moses and the prophets” is the word of God. The LORD
Jesus Christ is saying that if you will not receive the word
of God as the source of your salvation from hell neither
will you receive one that arose from the dead as your source
of salvation from hell! The LORD Jesus Christ is the one
that arose from the dead! In Luke 16, the LORD Jesus Christ
is putting his WORD above even his resurrection. The Holy
Ghost said this about the word of God in Psalm 138:1-2:
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1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the
gods will I sing praise unto thee. 2 I will worship
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast
magnified thy word above all thy name. Psalm 138:1-2 |
Psalm 138:2 is an amazing statement about the word of God.
That is especially true if you consider the fact that 100
times God specifically calls out his name by using the
phrase “my name”. He is JEALOUS for his name. The phrase
“holy name” is used 20 times in the Old Testament in
relation to the name of God. The name of God was considered
to be so holy that most Jewish people even refused to speak
it. Scribes when they were preparing to write the name of
God (Jehovah) in manuscripts considered the name to be so
holy they would wash their whole body before writing it.
Would to God that the whole wolfpack of modern day Bible
correcting heretics, apostates, and demon possessed scholars
had even a touch of this type of respect for God and the
word of God. The Apostle Peter added an exclamation to the
importance of the word of God in 2 Peter 1:16-21 where ir is
written:
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16 For we have not followed cunningly devised
fables, when we made known unto you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from
God the Father honour and glory, when there came
such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And
this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we
were with him in the holy mount. 19 We have also a
more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well
that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a
dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star
arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old
time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter
1:16-21 |
The Apostle Peter said that the word of God was a more sure
word of prophecy than even the appearance of the
transfigured LORD Jesus Christ on the mount of
transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-6. Apostate Christianity has
nothing but contempt for the word of God. There is no sure
word of prophecy coming forth from their corrupt minds. That
is the logical outcome of publishing one perversion after
another that they call a “new and better translation”. So,
God’s word is to be exalted above his name. His word is more
powerful than his transfiguration. His word is more powerful
than his resurrection.
The Holy Ghost said in Romans 10:17: “So then faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The Bible is
personified as a preacher in Galatians 3:8 where it states:
“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed”. The
Bible also says of itself in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of
God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.”. The Bible not only
knows your thoughts it knows the motivation behind your
thoughts. The Bible is also God’s great washing machine for
the church. Ephesians 5:26 says that God sanctifies and
cleanses the church with the washing of the word. Because of
an outright denial of the word of God and the refusal to
teach and preach all the counsel of the word of God, most
churches in America are a stench in the nostrils of God.
They stink of uncleanness and unholiness because they are
not being washed by the word. If you are a Christian and
will not study your Bible, you will get to stinking before
God too.
According to the scriptures (the Bible), the gospel is the
death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost used the apostle Paul to declare unto us that
gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 with proof of the
resurrection following in verses 5-8. The proof of the
resurrection is also documented in Matthew 28:1-20, Mark
16:1-20, Luke 24:1-53, John 20:1-31, John 21:1-22, and Acts
1:1-11. It is not just a head knowledge of the facts of the
gospel that saves an individual from the eternally burning
flames of hell and the lake of fire. In other words, it is
not an intellectual assent to a bunch of Biblical facts that
saves an individual. The Biblical facts are the truth, but
do you believe them in your heart? That is the key to
salvation. That heart held belief is what we call faith. It
is that faith that causes the Holy Ghost to regenerate
(save) an individual. We call that regeneration being “born
again” (John 3:5-7).
When the Holy Ghost regenerates an individual he also gives
them the gift of repentance. It is that gift of repentance
that changes the heart and works of a once lost sinner. That
repentance is the work of the Holy Ghost in and through the
born again believer. Put another way, repentance is an
outward manifestation of the works of the indwelling Holy
Ghost in the born again Bible believer. That is why any
doctrinally straight Bible teacher or preacher will tell you
that if any person desires to be saved they must exercise
Bible believing faith and repentance. Acts 20:21 puts it
this way: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the
Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ.”. According to Hebrews 6:1 repentance and
faith are the very foundation of salvation. Hebrews 6:1
says: “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God”. Pastor Charles Lawson had this to say about
repentance:
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Repentance is an evident sign of Bible believing
faith. If you don’t have repentance, you don’t have
Bible believing faith. Repentance does not precede
faith. Repentance is a product of true faith. If the
faith that you say you have in the Lord Jesus Christ
does not produce repentance you have got
intellectual assent to a bunch of facts, but you
don’t have saving faith. |
Repentance is proof to individuals that they have not
received a counterfeit salvation. If you have not repented,
then you are not saved. You are still on your way to hell.
According to 2 Corinthians 7:8-11, the difference between
worldly sorrow and godly sorrow is the difference between
heaven and hell. 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 says this:
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8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do
not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that
the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were
but for a season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were
made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for
ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye
might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly
sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be
repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it
wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves,
yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what
vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge!
In all things ye have approved yourselves to be
clear in this matter. 2 Corinthians 7:8–11 |
God the Holy Ghost does not leave lost sinners in the same
condition he found them in. Why is it that I can be so sure
that if you have not repented, then you are still on your
way to hell? If a person can continue in habitual sin, and
it does not bother them, then it is evidence that the Holy
Ghost is not in them. If the Holy Ghost is not in them, they
have not exercised saving faith. Period. People that have
not truly repented are still operating in the power of the
flesh. The Bible says in Romans 8:8-9:
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8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please
God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his. Romans 8:8-9 |
Those that continue to work the works of the flesh do not
have the Spirit of Christ. These be those that are worldly
and sensual. They are also described in Jude 14-19:
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14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied
of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon
all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them
of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
committed, and of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These
are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own
lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling
words, having men’s persons in admiration because of
advantage. 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words
which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord
Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should
be mockers in the last time, who should walk after
their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who
separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
Jude 14-19 |
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Notice in Romans 8:9 and Jude 19 those individuals are
described as not having the Spirit. That means that they are
still lost and on their way to hell.
Salvation is simple. Lost sinners complicate salvation by
trying to add works to it. Many people who come under Holy
Ghost conviction will never get saved because they will
never give up on themselves. That was my problem for many
months before I finally yielded to the Holy Ghost. Oh, what
a change was wrought! You will either give up on yourself,
or you will die and go to hell. By giving up on yourself , I
mean to put your total faith and trust in the Lord Jesus
Christ. There is nothing you can do to save yourself. There
is nothing you can do to forsake the sin that is killing you
outside of the work of the Holy Ghost. You cannot get saved
anytime that you want to. God the Father must draw you. God
the Holy Ghost must convict you of your sin. God the Holy
Ghost decides whether the profession of salvation you claim
is genuine saving faith. When the Holy Ghost decides that
you have exercised genuine saving faith, he then regenerates
you into a born again Christian. The work of God the Father
and God the Holy Ghost would have been of none effect had
not the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross of
Calvary. Thus, all the work that was required to bring
salvation to man has been completed by the Godhead. The lost
sinner must put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That
faith will be evidenced by the repentance that is worked by
the Holy Ghost in the new believer. Repentance is two fold
in its nature. First an everlasting child and Father
relationship is established by the faith and repentance that
leads to salvation. Second, fellowship in that everlasting
relationship is maintained by the child of God living a life
of repentance. So, a quick description of the Bible
requirements for salvation would be: (1) God the Father
draws; (2) God the Holy Ghost convicts (3) the lost sinner
puts their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (4) the Holy Ghost
converts, or regenerates the lost sinner; (5) the Holy Ghost
grants the gift of repentance to the newly regenerated
believer; and (6) the new believer makes an oral confession
unto salvation.
How can we know that we are saved? Romans 8:14-16 says:
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14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,
Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Romans 8:14-16 |
That indwelling spirit is our assurance that we are indeed
saved. 1 John 5:13 tells us: “These things have I written
unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye
may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe
on the name of the Son of God”. Closely connected with the
doctrine of assurance of salvation is the doctrine of
eternal security. There are 26 verses in the New Testament
that use the phrase “eternal life” and 11 verses that use
the phrase “everlasting life”. I have studied all those in
context. As strong as those 37 verses are, they pale in
comparison to 1 John 3:9. Almost without exception, those
who believe that you can lose your salvation base that
doctrine on a belief that if anyone sins they lose their
salvation. If that is true, then what do you do with 1 John
3:9 which states: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God.” Did you catch that? They cannot
sin! That should give any Bible believer, especially Bible
teachers, much pause to consider the doctrine of sin as it
is presented in the book of 1st John.
Many times in the past I have heard folks say during their
testimony that the Devil was making them doubt their
salvation. Folks that is not possible. The Devil makes no
one doubt their salvation. If someone is doubting their
salvation, that is the convicting work of the Holy Ghost.
One of two things is driving that doubt. Either the person
is saved and has gotten into sin or that person has never
been saved. In either case the correct response to that
conviction by the Holy Ghost is to repent. Tragically with
the state of the apostate church in America and the
corruption of the gospel by those churches and Bible
correcters, I fear that most of those who doubt their
salvation are in fact lost and on their way to a Devil’s
hell. Most members of the churches in America have been
manipulated into praying a faithless and repentanceless
sinner’s prayer that is leading them down a primrose path
straight into the pits of hell. God is not in that. God is
not a salesman. God is not a marketeer. God is not a
psychological manipulator. Most of the so-called soul
winners today have been trained to usurp the roles of God
the Father and God the Holy Ghost. The interloping soul
winner wants to do the drawing, the conviction, and the
converting. When he is all finished, he wants to usurp the
ministry of the Holy Ghost in assuring the target that they
are “saved”. As the result of heretical soul winning methods
we have churches full of false converts. False converts and
false professions have become the lepers and leprosy of our
American churches.
Church families in America are dying because they are not
adding born again Christians to their congregations. People
are not being born again because they are being fed a false
gospel. Unsaved people are being added to church rolls that
have been made two fold more a child of hell than the
unsaved preachers and soul winners who pronounced them
saved. In closing I want to briefly deal with a much misused
passage of scripture that is a classic example of a passage
of scripture being ripped out of its context and being used
to teach false doctrine. That passage of scripture is Romans
10:8-17. It states:
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8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of
faith, which we preach; 9 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. 10 For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall
not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord
over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. 14 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? 15 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! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel.
For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our
report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:8-17 |
The point of contention is pulling verse 13 out of context
and using it for a pretext to justify leading some one in a
faithless “sinner’s prayer”. The target of the psychological
manipulation is told: “whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved”. The manipulators leave it at that.
That is the worst kind of treachery because it leaves out
the most important verse in this context; that is verse 14.
Reread verse 14 from above. The omission of verse 14 causes
the passage to teach the opposite of what is actually said.
What the passage is actually saying through a rhetorical
question is that unless a person has believed they CANNOT
call upon the Lord to be saved. There is an axiom that
states that a verse that is pulled out of context is a
pretext for false doctrine. That is a very apt description
of what happens here. The corrupt soul winning techniques
resulting from twisting the scriptures has destroyed many
Bible believing churches.
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