THOUGH YOUR SINS BE AS SCARLET….
81 ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE, THE POWER OF SIN CANNOT ABOLISH GOD’S
PROMISE OF SALVATION TO THE BORN AGAIN. 1 Cor. 15:56, Gal. 3:17
The strength of sin is the law. And the covenant, that was confirmed before
of
God in Christ, the law
which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot
disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.”
Millions of Christians
believe the power of sin can cancel out a believer’s salvation. The natural
mind is so contrary to sound doctrine that many believers inadvertently become
ministers of Satan as they falsely teach that the power of sin can prevail
against and ultimately overwhelm the power in Christ’s blood that saves us. (2 Cor. 11:13-14) Religionists will withstand you face-to-face
adamantly insisting the power of sin can cause you to lose your salvation, when
the Word of God explicitly states that it cannot! Although legalism teaches the power of sin
can destroy the believer’s salvation, “Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture?”
(Gal. 4:30) Can the power of sin
disannul a believer’s salvation? Let’s
investigate.
According to Scripture, where does sin obtain every ounce of
its power? It’s not from Satan, like
many assume. The same people who believe the power of sin can destroy a
believer’s salvation refuse to open their Bibles to “search the Scriptures” to
find out what the power of sin actually is! Therefore, ask them to open their
Bibles and read aloud 1 Corinthians 15:56, and you will hear: “The strength of sin is the law.” Only after reading this Scripture will they acknowledge that sin
derives all of its power, not from evil nor the tragedy it brings, and not from
the Devil, or the power of darkness but from the Law of Commandments called:
The Ten Commandments
1) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
or any likeness of
anything in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth, thou shalt not
bow thyself to them to
serve them….
3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy
God in vain, for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh
his name in vain.
4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, in
it thou shalt not do
any work, thou, thy son, daughter,
maidservant, cattle….
5) Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days
may be long upon
he land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee.
6) Thou shalt not kill.
7) Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8) Thou shalt not steal.
9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.
10) Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor’s wife, nor his maidservant, nor
his ox, nor his ass,
nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.
When the average Christian hears that the Ten Commandments are the
“strength [power] of sin,” it baffles them.
This is because many Christians exalt the Ten Commandments and have it
hanging in their homes on plaques having no idea that it is the very strength of sin against them that
would bar them from heaven’s gates. (1 Cor. 15:56, Col. 2:14) Imagine if
someone invited you to their home and you spotted a plaque of the Ten
Commandments on their wall. Suppose you
pointed to the plaque and announced the truth that, “this is the strength of
sin.” (1 Cor. 15:56) Your hosts would
think you were woefully ignorant, a
heretic, and adamantly disagree with you.
For legalism builds its Christianity on the power of keeping the Law,
sin’s strength. (1 Cor. 15:56) On the
day of judgment, legalists intend to parade before God boasting in their works
of keeping the Law, the strength of sin and declare how hard they worked for
the Lord. Then, He will reject them and their life’s offering as He did Cain,
saying “Depart from me, ye cursed…” For “as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” (Gal. 3:10) Unlike Paul, they will find out too late that
what they thought would grant them life will usher them into the second death
in the lake of fire that popular Christianity rarely mentions. (
Although the Law of Commandments is “holy, just, and good,” humans, mere flesh, cannot meet its standards. (Rom. 7:12, 1 Tim. 1:8-9) The law is a cruel schoolmaster, in that if you fail one point of its examination, it will take your life. (Rom. 6:23, 1 John 3:4) Death was the curse of the law. (Gal. 3:24, Heb. 7:19) Jesus Christ came and took our “schoolmaster’s” test for us, passed it, and gave us His perfect score. But even that wasn’t enough to make us perfect for “the law makes no thing perfect.” (Gal. 3:12) Therefore, Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us the extra credit we needed of His holiness, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. (Matt. 5:48, 1 Cor 15:17, Rom. 10:9-11) Then, as a good professor who throws out a test that’s too tough for his students to pass, Jesus Christ took the law out of our way, because it “was against us and contrary to us nailing it to his cross.” (Col. 2:14, Eph. 2:15) After fulfilling every jot and tittle of the of law, Jesus:
“abolished, the enmity, even the law of
commandments
contained in ordinances by the cross having
slain the enmity
thereby.”
(Eph. 2:15-16)
“Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against
us and contrary to us and took it out of the
way
nailing
it to his cross.” (Col. 2:14)
“Without the law sin is dead.” (Rom. 7:8)
Now, when
something is dead, does it pose any threat to you? No!
Well, “without the law sin is dead,” yet not one pastor in ten is
willing to preach or report this good news to his congregation. (Eph.
2:15-16) Most preachers declare that sin is alive and well – so alive and well that it can strip born again
believers of their eternal salvation if they are not careful.
Nevertheless, when Jesus abolished sin’s power on his cross, sin has
been graveyard dead for over 2,000 years and counting. (Eph 2:15, Col. 2:14) This fact alone “puts to silence the
ignorance of foolish men” who teach that “the strength of sin” can separate the
redeemed from their salvation. (Rom. 8:39)
The law, sin’s strength, has been crucified with Christ, and it is
written that “without the law sin is dead.”
Since sin’s power source has
been crucified on Christ’s cross, pray tell, what alternate power source can
sin use to re-strengthen itself to displace one believer’s salvation? (1 Cor.
15:56, Col. 2:14, Gal. 3:17, Rom. 6:14)
So far, no alternate power source has been found to replace “the
strength of sin.” (1 Cor. 15:56) Since
sin’s strength, the breaking of the Commandments, cannot disannul the promise
of salvation to you, what more can you possibly do beyond that? (1 John 3:4, 1 Cor. 15:56,
Note:
Legalists are quick to quote Jesus’ statement, “Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, I am not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it,” and this
is as far as their limited knowledge carries them. (Matt. 5:17) They fail to quote Jesus saying that not one
jot or one tittle of the law shall pass away until all be “fulfilled.” After Christ satisfied every jot and tittle
of the law fulfilling all its demands, He crucified it because “it was against
us and contrary to us, so he took it out of our way, nailing it to his cross.”
(Matt. 5:18, Col. 2:14) The law that
could not be denied has been satisfied and crucified. Now, “Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness for all them that believe.” (Rom. 10:4) This is how “by faith we establish the law,”
right where the Word of God puts it: fulfilled in Christ and nailed to his
cross – “abolished!” (Eph. 2:15) This is exactly how we, by faith (the hearing
of God’s Word) know how to establish the law; crucified with Christ Jesus and
taken out of our way because “it was against us and contrary to us.” (Col.
2:14, Eph. 2:15-16) For without the law
sin is dead. (Rom. 7:8) Now go, stand,
and preach this good news! When a
legalists states the strength (power) of sin can annihilate a believer’s
salvation, our topic Scripture reproves them as liars by pointing out that the law, the Ten Commandments with its
613 ordinances, cannot nullify the promise. (Prov. 30:6) So, exactly what was the promise? “This is the promise that he has promised
us, even eternal life.” (1 John 2:25) Is
God slack concerning His promise? No! (2
Pet. 3:9) The born again retain their
“free gift” of eternal life forever without the threat of sin displacing our
eternal inheritance that is reserved in heaven for us.
82 NOT A
SINGLE SOLITARY SIN CAN BE CHARGED AGAINST THE BORN AGAIN!
Sin
is the transgression of the law, and ye are not under law, but under
grace.
Where there is no law there is no transgression. For sin is not imputed (charged
against you) when there is no law.
Most Christians, including pastors, are
clueless that God cannot charge sin
against the redeemed for the simple fact that they are not under Moses
law. As it is written:
Sin is not imputed
[charged against you] when there is no law.
For where there is no
law, there is no transgression [sin].
For
without the law sin is
dead. Blessed is the man unto whom the
Lord will not impute
sin.” (Rom. 5:13, 4:15, 7:8)
When
you quote these Scriptures
to legalists, they immediately become suspicious
of you and wonder what you are doing that is so terrible that you must invoke
these passages on behalf of your salvation.
They themselves are totally clueless to the fact that these very Scriptures
are what protects them from the fires of
hell. Only born again believers have been redeemed from
the curse of the Law. To deepen our
understanding of how God refrains from imputing sin to the record of the
redeemed, let’s examine his Old Testament pattern. In the Old Testament,
God foreshadowed how he would refrain
from imputing sin to his New Testament saints.
This concept is what the Bible calls “strong meat” that only those
skillful in the Word will grasp. So
here we go. (Heb. 5:14)
The born again are priests unto God
like the Levitical priests of old of whom Jesus said:
"Have ye not
read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the
priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?" (Matt.
12:5)
God needed priests to offer
daily sacrifices for the sins of his people, which meant his priests would have
to labor on the Sabbath, the day everyone was to keep holy by abstaining from
work. His priests’ righteous works on His
Sabbath made no difference to God, since Jesus points out that God still
regarded their works as profaning his
holy day. For “all of our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags” before Him. (Isa. 64:6) The only way God could regard his priests as
blameless was by not putting them under the law of keeping the Sabbath. For:
“where no law is there is no
transgression [sin].” (Rom. 4:15)
For:
“Sin is not imputed [charged/ascribed]
when there is no law.” (Rom. 5:13)
If God
had not taken his priests from under this law, they would have been guilty of not keeping the Sabbath holy and
promptly put to death. (Rom. 5:13)
Others who so much as picked up sticks on the Sabbath were stoned to
death. (Num. 15:32)
As the priests of the Old Covenant were exempt from
this law in particular, Almighty God removed the born again from under the
burden of Covenant of the Law and put them under His Covenant of Grace. God did this so he could hold us blameless as
He did His priests of old. (Matt. 12:5)
Remember, sin can only be imputed (ascribed) if the person is under the
law. Here’s an example of how this principle operates: If a Christian and a
sinner committed the exact same offense at the same time and place, the offense
would be imputed (charged/ascribed) to the sinner's record as sin, because sin
is imputed to anyone who is under the Law and violates it. (1 John 3:4) Whereas, the Christian who committed the
exact offense at the same time would not
have it charged against him or her as sin, because “sin is the transgression of
the law,” and believers are not under the law to transgress (break) it. We are under grace as it is written:
“where no law is;
there is no transgression (sin)."
(Rom. 4:15)
The
mere mention of this principle inflames legalists. Be that as it may, our Father in heaven
instituted this principle to insure our salvation would be protected forever
and eternally secured. When you believed the good news that Jesus died and rose
again to save you, your faith was exchanged for his righteousness and Jesus
washed away your:
“sins
which were past” or what Peter called:
“your old sins”
having
forgiven you all trespasses. (1 John 1:9, Rom. 3:25, 2 Pet. 1:9, Col.
2:13) Because the Bible states that “sin is the transgression (the
violation) of the law,” God had the foresight to remove your soul from under
the Law to eliminate the possibility of
new sins or future transgressions being imputed (charged) against you.
(1 John 3:4,
The average believer has no idea their
shortcomings cannot be charged against them
as sins. For “sin is the transgression of the Law,” and believers are not under the Law to transgress it. (1 John
3:4) Therefore, the shortcomings of the
redeemed are labeled as wrongs, faults, offenses, and errors. The wages for
these is not death, but rather corrective chastisement as sons of God. (Heb.
12:8)
According to Scripture, if
you are born again:
Your faults
result in you being ….“buffeted for your own faults.” (1 Pet. 2:20)
Your wrongs
result in you.............“receiving for the wrong he has done.” (Col. 3:25)
Your errors
result in you ………“suffering loss, but he
shall be saved.” (1 Cor. 3:15)
Your offenses
result in …………. “woe.” (1 Cor. 9:16)
“All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being
justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus. To declare, I say his righteousness: that he
might
be just, and the justifier of them which
believe in Jesus.”
Jesus is able to present us as blameless and faultless to his Father only because he washed away our sins, and took us out from under the law so no new sins could be imputed [charged] to us. For “sin is not imputed when there is no law” and we “are not under the law but under grace.” Therefore, only the born believer again qualifies, as the “Blessed … whom the Lord will not impute sin.” For “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing [charging/ascribing] their sins against them.” (2 Cor. 5:19) As the Psalmist wrote, “If God should mark [charge] iniquity, who could stand?” (Ps. 130:3) Order audio supplement: “Is God Imputing [Charging] Sin Against the Redeemed?” “Blessed is the Man to Whom the Lord will not Impute [Charge] Sin.” (Rom. 4:8)
Note:
“God hath not called us unto uncleanness,
but unto holiness.” (1 Thes. 4:7) In the
light of this knowledge, Paul warns you and Christians everywhere not to use
your liberty as an occasion for the flesh, but rather in service to God. Let everyone of us “possess his vessel
in sanctification and honor, and not in
lust that the name of our God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.” (1 Thes.
4:5, 1 Tim. 6:1) Amen? Amen!
83 “WHAT THEN?
SHALL WE SIN, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT UNDER LAW, BUT
UNDER GRACE? GOD FORBID.” Romans 6:1, 15
“Shall we continue in sin that grace
may abound? God Forbid. How shall we
who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
After
God showed Paul he was preaching from the wrong side of the boat, Paul
stopped preaching the law for
righteousness, a net that could catch no fish, and began preaching “the gospel
of the grace of God.” (2 Cor. 11:14-15, Gal. 2:21) When Paul began
preaching that the law “was against us
and contrary to us,” Jesus the Messiah “took it out of our way nailing it to
his cross.” Legalists accused him of blasphemy
and promoting lawlessness. Be warned, they will accuse you, the grace
believer, of the same thing. (Col. 2:14,
Legalists believe you are righteous according to the life you live (your works), coupled with a belief in Christ. Therefore, they immediately become suspicious when you correct them by stating that one’s righteous status comes solely by believing in Christ, for like Abraham, our “faith is counted for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:5, Gal. 3:6) When legalists hear you recite Paul’s account that the law has been taken out of the way, their inward thought toward you is, “What would make you want to live right?” Their response is typical, because legalists believe the law of God constrains us, rather than the love of God. (2 Cor. 5:14-15) Generally concerned believers and legalists will bring you to the following Scripture: “What then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Here is where you can show them unequivocally the eternity of your salvation. Paul greatly assisted you by answering his rhetorical question with the words, “God forbid.” Let’s investigate Paul’s use of this phrase “God forbid,” for it is quite different than the way we use it as a trite American colloquialism. Shamefully, even New Age Bibles interpret the words “God forbid” in our American vernacular rather than as God intended. Paul did not use the name of God in vain as depicted in many new Bible translations. Western tradition uses the term “God forbid” to mean “Let’s hope not.” Paul, however, was the only New Testament writer to use the phrase “God forbid” and he was not using God’s name in vain to indicate “Let’s hope not” or “perish the thought” When Paul used the phrase “God forbid,” he was expressing that God himself has forbidden the remotest possibility of that situation ever occurring. Let’s examine his uses of the phrase “God forbid” to prove this.
·
Paul wrote: “Is God unrighteous who takes vengeance? God forbid.” (Rom. 3:5)
This
does not mean “Let’s hope God is not
unrighteous.”
It
means: God has forbidden the remotest possibility of He
Himself being unrighteousness.
·
Paul wrote: “Is the law sin? God forbid.” (Rom. 7:7)
This does not mean “Let’s
certainly hope the law is not sin.”
It means: God has forbidden the remotest possibility of the law
being sin. “For the law is holy, just, and good.” (Rom. 7:12)
·
Paul wrote: “Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.” (Rom.
9:14)
This does not mean “Let’s
hope no unrighteousness is with
God.”
It means: God has
forbidden the remotest possibility of there being
any unrighteousness with
Him.
·
Paul wrote: “Shall your unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
God forbid.”
This does not mean “Let’s
hope it cannot.” (Rom. 3:3)
It means: God has forbidden the remotest possibility of your
unbelief ever rendering the
faith of God (God’s faith) ineffective.
·
Paul wrote: “Is Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.” (Gal. 2:17)
This does not mean “May it
never be.”
It means: that this
shall never be because God has forbidden the
remotest possibility of
Jesus Christ being a minister of sin.
Again, Paul’s New Testament’s use of the phrase “God
forbid” has nothing in common with our American value system’s use of the
phrase as to mean let’s quiver, shudder,
and hope not. Neither does it
mean “May it never be.” God forbid means it shall never be because God has forbidden
it to be! In each of Paul’s fourteen
uses of the phrase “God forbid,” he is
telling the redeemed that God has forbidden
the remotest possibility of that situation ever occurring, and this
Scripture is no different, as it reads:
“Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we who are dead, (not dying, but
dead) to sin, live any longer therein.” (Rom 6:2)
The answer is:
It’s impossible. The born again
are not “dying” to sin as popular Christianity teaches, but are “dead to sin,”
as Bible-based Christianity teaches.
When reading this Scripture, we find it is asking us:
“HOW shall we who are DEAD
TO SIN live any longer therein?”
According to Scripture, when Christ redeems a
soul, does it “live, and move and have
its being” in sin or in Christ? The
answer is: In Christ, and “in him there
is no sin” for you to continue in!
(1 John 3:5) According to 1 Corinthians
6:17, we have been joined unto the Lord as “one Spirit,” the new creature that
cannot sin because he is born of God. (1 John 3:9) Since you are joined unto the Lord as one
Spirit, what is the name of the Lord’s spirit that you have become one
with? It’s Christ’s Holy Spirit. Since being made one spirit with Christ’s
Holy Spirit, can you become any more dead to sin than that? No!
This is all in relation to your new man, the new creature of Christ in
you, born at the new birth and hence “cannot sin,” and not in relation to your
old man that “cannot cease from sin” because it “serves the law of sin” and
death, Moses’ Law. (Rom. 7:25)
Now,
let’s look at this from another angle.
God forbade the remotest
possibility that the born again can ever live in sin. First of all, no one has ever “lived” in sin.
If you recall we were “dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1, Rom. 7:9) Secondly, in God’s sight, you are in one of two
states. You are either in the bride of Christ, which is the Church
of the living God, or you are in the
Great Whore known as man-made religion that side-steps faith in Christ for
salvation by opting to work for it. Likewise, you are either dead in sin or
made alive in the body of Christ, and the body of Christ is not dying to sin but “dead to sin.” (1
John 3:9) Since “Christ is our life;”
then in the new creation you are just as dead to sin as the mystery of your
godliness “Christ in you,” your only hope of glory. (Col. 3:4, 1:27) Since Christ is our life, then our life in
God’s sight is:
“DEAD TO SIN” (
while the humanity of your human nature, the old
man, remains:
“DEAD IN SIN” (Eph. 2:1)
Every believer became dead to sin when God redeemed
our souls after we placed faith in Christ.
Since our old man was crucified with Christ, he cannot continue in sin
because he’s dead in sin and the dead cannot continue in anything except being
dead. So:
“Shall we continue in sin that grace
may abound. God
Forbid. For how
shall we who are dead to sin live any longer
therein?” (Rom.
6:2)
It’s impossible.
84 THE LARGEST CULT
MASQUERADING AS CHRISTIANITY PREACHES THAT
SALVATION IS BASED ON
THE LIFE YOU LIVE, AND NOT SOLELY ON FAITH
IN CHRIST. ONLY THE BORN AGAIN HAVE ESCAPED THIS
“DOCTRINE OF
DEVILS” PREACHED BY
MINISTERS OF SATAN. 2 Cor. 11:14-15, Matt. 7:22-24
“Do not marvel: for Satan himself iis transformed into an angel of
light. Therefore, it is no great thing
if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness; whose
end shall be according TO THEIR
WORKS. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
And in thy name have cast out devils?
And in thy name done many wonderful WORKS? And I will profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that WORK iniquity.
For Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you who are
justified by (works of) the law ye have fallen from grace.”
When legalists hear you quote the passage in Colossians 2:14 that Christ has taken the law out of our way, they don’t understand what would make people live godly lives if the law did not threaten to withhold their eternal salvation. Interestingly, the hardest thing for legalists to accept is that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, apart from human effort. Legalists don’t think faith alone is good enough. Knowing the evil that lurks in their own fleshly nature, they ask, “What vile things are you doing that make you think you need such beliefs to save you?” Therefore, they taunt you with statements such as: “Oh, you’re one of those people who believe that once saved always saved stuff. You think you can just live like the devil and still be saved.”
Paul commands you to “let not your good be evil spoken of.” (Rom. 14:16) When legalists began labeling him a heretic over this issue, he countered their accusation by stating:
After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my
fathers, believing all things which were written in the law and the
prophets. For the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.
Of the which salvation the prophets searched diligently and prophesied
of the grace that should come unto you. (Acts 24:14, Gal. 3:24, 1
Pet.1:10)
When legalists accuse you of believing in that “once saved always saved stuff,” remind them it’s either once saved always saved or once saved always unsure, and the latter is “not of faith.” (Gal. 3:12, Rom. 14:23) Their statement “You think you can live like the devil and still be saved” is very telling, because it reveals what they are trusting in to get them into heaven. It shows that they are trusting in the lives they live “for” Jesus to get them through his pearly gates. That’s works, ladies and gentlemen; pure, unadulterated, and unmitigated works! Jesus described the end of these “Christian ministers” who subscribe to that doctrine of salvation, stating:
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out
devils?
and in thy name done many wonderous
works? And I will profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt. 7:22-23)
Did you notice these are “Christian” ministers who preached and acted in the name of Jesus? No doubt these ministers will be totally shocked to hear Jesus say he never knew them and will not admit them in his kingdom. But notice the first thing out of their mouths is the doctrine they preached, believed, and based their salvation on. Works! Works! Works! “Lord, Lord, haven’t I…, and haven’t I …., and haven’t I ….?” These are “Christian ministers” who are pleading with Christ for entrance into his kingdom based on their works. (Tit. 3:5, Matt. 7:22-23) Notice that their wonderful “works” are their first line of defense! All their objections as to why Christ should allow them into his kingdom revolve around their “wonderous works.” Where did these Christian ministers get this works doctrine? Marvel not for:
Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light; Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as
ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their
works [of the law]. For by the works of the law shall no flesh
living be justified. (2 Cor. 11:14, Gal. 2:16)
These ministers did not believe the saving work of Christ dying for their sins and his literal resurrection was sufficient to give them eternal salvation, eternal redemption, much less the blessed assurance of eternal life. They thought that was just too easy, so they despised it as easy believism. They chose to trust in their works to make Jesus the Lord of their lives “and with good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Rom. 16:18)
“While they promise you liberty, they themselves are
servants of corruption.” (2 Pet. 2:19)
Meditate on the double meaning of Christ’s prophecy concerning Satan’s ministers, when he stated:
“Many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ, and
shall deceive many.” (Matt. 24:5)
Satan’s ministers declare themselves to be Christ and deceive many. However, Lucifer’s most deceitful workers are those in “ministry” who proclaim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, but “deceive many” by telling them that we can make Jesus the Lord of our lives simply by the lives we live. On Judgment Day these ministers will boast of their works in hopes of avoiding hell’s flame. Jesus said that they would come in his name and deceive many. Listen as they scream how well they performed to gain entrance into Christ’s heavenly kingdom.
“Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy
name done many wondrous works? And I will
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me,
ye that work iniquity.” (Matt. 7:22-23)
Since Jesus has no salvation for these ministers, then whose ministers were they? They are ministers of Satan who sought to transform themselves into ministers of righteousness “by works of righteousness,” which they have done. (Titus 3:5)
The Apostle James wrote that Satan’s ministers can proclaim Jesus is Lord, for “devils believe this” to the point they tremble, and yet they are not saved and neither are his ministers. It is also noteworthy that these ministers will remind Jesus that they made him “Lord, Lord” of their lives through the performance of “wondrous works in his name,” so he would receive the glory. Impressive, isn’t it? So why will Jesus consign these ministers to hell and announce he never knew them? Did not he say we would know them by their fruit? Couldn’t he see their fruit? Yes, he plainly saw their fruit, which is why he sends them to hell, because “the fruit of their lips” confessing their plan of salvation was based on the wonderful works they performed for the Lord, neglecting the works of his death, blood, and resurrection – the things he did for them.
When you read what these ministers will feel that should grant them eternal life; their plan of salvation shall roll off their lips in the form of “many wondrous works,” all in the Savior’s name, no less. These ministers quoted, but never took seriously, Isaiah’s words that “All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isa. 64:6) This means our prayer life, our prophesying, our casting out devils, our good works, our giving, our preaching, our witnessing, and ministering the Word of God. None of these things save us! Again, for the “dull of hearing” “ALL of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isa. 64:6) The prophet used the term “filthy rags,” which in his day described cloths women soiled with their monthly discharge. God referred to our righteousnesses in this context stating:
“Thou shalt cast them away as a menstrous cloth;
saying unto it, Get thee hence.” (Isa. 30:22)
Jesus will again repeat this phrase, “Get thee hence” to those who chose to stand before him in their works of righteousness, known as self-righteousness, rather than believe in him and have their faith counted for his righteousness. (Isa. 64:6, Rom. 3:26) Only the born again, mind renewed, Christian can proclaim the truth of the gospel that “Christ is our life,” and thereby make their boast in the Lord. (Ps. 34:2) Whereas, Satan’s “Christian” ministers boast of their own works and have produced the largest cults that masquerade as Christianity. Ministers of Satan preach the most damnable doctrine there is – a doctrine so seductive, so enticing, so alluring, and so reasonable that: “if it were possible they would deceive the very elect.” Ministers of Satan preach that salvation is based on the life you live for the Lord, or rededicate to the Lord or gave to the Lord, instead of solely based faith in the death, blood, and resurrection of the life Jesus gave for and to you. One song some ministers allow in their churches is the very reason many souls will be “cast alive into the lake of fire.” This song is the plan of salvation for many ministers of Satan. It is called, Let the works I’ve done, (life I live/service I give) speak for me. These people are more comfortable standing before God having the works they’ve done speak for them, rather than trust in the blood of Christ “which speaketh better things.” (Heb. 12:24) These ministers, while in the Lord’s presence, will still feel more comfortable trusting in their lives, service, and works rather than trust in “the life” that was “given as ransom for many.” (John, 14:6, Matt. 20:28) Satan’s Christian ministers have always been welcome on Christian radio and television stations. They draw swelling crowds and get rousing “Amens” while occupying great dignity in pulpits, while they spout moral purity for salvation. They are as earnest as Cain, who wanted to please God by works through the sweat of his brow but was rejected. (Gen. 4:5)
These ministers will be the first group escorted from the gates of hell and into the lake of fire, because they are “the fearful and the unbelieving” in God’s salvation plan by grace through faith. (Rev. 21:8) Like Naaman, they shun being washed in the blood as being to easy, easy believism. God’s plan tells us we are saved by faith in Christ alone, apart from human effort. (Eph. 2:8-9) The Scriptures state:
“They profess they know God but in works they deny him.” (Titus 1:16)
“If we deny him he also will deny us.” (2 Tim. 2:12)
How did these ministers deny him? “In works they deny him.” In the light of their “wonderous works” Jesus labels them “workers of iniquity.” These preachers thought their ministerial works made Jesus Christ Lord of their lives for salvation, but failed to understand that no one could live long enough to pay the debt for eternal life. For if salvation:
“be
of works then it is no more of grace,
and if by grace then
it is no more of works.” For to him that worketh is the reward
not reckoned of grace but of debt. (
They should have ceased laboring for “the free gift,” for by their works they denied him. It is written that God’s salvation is:
“To him that worketh not but believeth that on him that
justifeth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
(Rom 4:5)
In addressing Lordship preachers, I write, “Hear now, ye rebels,” no person will ever get to heaven based on the life he or she lived or stopped living. Salvation has always been obtained by believing in the life you cannot live, Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) Jesus is the life that cannot sin, that is born of God in you at the second birth. (1 John 3:9) It is his life that makes us holy, acceptable, and unreproveable in his sight. Is it not written, “he that hath the son hath life,” and that “we shall be saved by his life?” (1 John 5:12, Rom. 5:10) The only reason Jesus can send a soul to hell is if that soul appears before him clothed in its own works of righteousness, just as Satan’s priests will appear before Christ pleading their works.
PLEAS MINISTERS OF SATAN WILL USE FOR HEAVEN’S
ENTRANCE:
1. Lord, Lord have I not prophesied (preached) in THY NAME?
2. Lord, Lord have I not cast out devils in THY NAME?
3. Lord, Lord have I not lived (denied myself) for you?
4. Lord, Lord have I not done many wondrous WORKS in THY NAME?
These ministers have “I” trouble. (Matt. 7:22-23) They rely on their works to make Jesus Lord of their lives and to secure their salvation. Unfortunately, this “I based” plan of salvation will send them straight to hell. It’s interesting to hear what these ministers will not plead to gain access into heaven.
MINISTERS OF
SATAN WILL NEVER PLEAD:
1. Lord, Lord faith in you makes us righteous, not our works.
2. Lord, Lord the blood you shed for us makes us worthy.
3. Lord, Lord being justified by faith in you gave us peace with God.
4. Lord, Lord we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.
5. Lord, Lord with our hearts we believed unto righteousness.
6. Lord, Lord we believed the gospel of what you have done for us.
7. Lord, Lord we believe Jesus Christ is our righteousness.
8. Lord, Lord we are saved by grace through faith in you, not by our works for you.
9. Lord, Lord we’ve been redeemed by thy blood, and have eternal forgiveness of sins.
10. Lord, Lord you were born of God in us, giving us the second birth.
11. Lord, after we believed the gospel we were sealed by your Holy Spirit of promise.
12. Lord, you promised eternal life to all that trust you for it.
13. Lord, we believed in the resurrection of Jesus to justify us from all things.
14. Lord, it is written “we shall be saved by his life,” not our own.
15. Lord, we believe that your death, blood, and resurrection granted us eternal life.
No one obtains salvation by the life he or she lives or
does not live. Those who “live like the devil” are nice
and not-so-nice people who base their
salvation on their life’s righteousness
rather than on the life that “cannot sin,” Jesus the Christ, as it is written,
“We are saved by his life.” For if you
have so much as one sin in your life,
your life is lived like the devil, because one sin
is too much in God’s sight because it makes you “guilty of all.” (1 John 3:8, James
2:10) Order the audio supplement titled:
The Difference Between the Works of Satan and the Works of the Flesh.
Note: Ministers can be saved and sincere and still promote false doctrines as well as those who are lost and sincere and promote false doctrines. Sincerity has nothing to do with truth. When you were in school and took a math test sincerely believing the answers you supplied were correct. Did you’re sincerity cut any ice with the instructor? No. Did your instructor give you any extra credit for your sincerity? No. You were sincere but sincerely wrong. Before his conversion, Saul sought governmental authorization for the execution of those in “that way.” When Paul, a law abiding Jew, boldly preached that faith in Christ alone, apart from the Ten Commandments, made souls righteous, it was more than his Jewish brethren could take, so they labeled him a heretic. His message aroused forty men to vow to kill him for preaching salvation by grace. This same gospel of the grace of God arouses hatred in the hearts of legalists, just as it aroused murder in the heart of Cain and Saul, prior to his conversion, the hard workers who tried to produce fruit acceptable to God from that which their curse, the earth and the Lord respectively. (Gen. 3:17, Gal. 3:10) Perhaps Cain noticed his brother Abel had not labored for months, but at the last minute offered a simplistic offering of a lamb by faith and God counted him righteous for it, Cain became so angry that he murdered him. Abel was the first to suffer persecution for righteousness sake. Paul, prior to his conversion, was the chief legalist and would have killed anyone who preached that only faith is counted for righteousness, the rest is counted as filthy rags. The religious mind of the natural man is proud and despises the gospel (good news) of the grace of God, like Naaman, who wanted to do some hard thing to earn God’s salvation other than obey God’s only cleansing solution. Beware of the self-righteousness for salvation doctrine promoted by Lordship preachers. “Verily, Verily I say unto you, they shall have their reward.” Order audio supplement: Letting Men See Your Good Works; the Finished Works of the Cross.
85
JESUS CHRIST IS THE SURETY / CO-SIGNER OR
UNDERWRITER OF EACH BORN AGAIN
BELIEVER’S ETERNAL SALVATON. Heb. 7:22
"Jesus
was made a surety of a better testament."
Wise King Solomon wrote, "he that is surety for a stranger shall smart for
it." (Prov.
11:5) Being a surety is dangerous business. The word
surety means co-signer, one who agrees to pay a debt in the event the
debtor fails to pay, regardless of the reason.
Many people can tell you horror stories of how good friends tearfully
persuaded them into co-signing a loan,
providing suretyship. After a few
months, the friend skipped town or stopped making payments. When the collector could not collect payment,
it’s then demanded from the co-signer/the surety. This is why Solomon, in his
wisdom, wrote:
"Be not
thou one of them that are sureties for
debts.
Why should creditors
take away thy bed from under
thee, if another man
hast nothing to pay? He that hateth
suretyship is sure." (Pro. 22:26-27,
11:15)
At
“If thou
shall be surety for thy friend thou
art snared.
He
that is surety for a friend shall
surely smart for it.
Whosoever
becomes surety for a stranger shall
surely
smart
for it.” (Pro. 6:1-2, 11:15)
Jesus
became our surety and he surely smarted
for it on the cross. (Zech. 13:6) Every
penalty that accrued and accumulated for each person who failed to keep the
whole Law of God, letter and spirit, were exacted from Jesus. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. He was
chastised, so we could have peace, and given painful stripes so we could be
healed. Our surety bore our
grief and carried our sorrows. “The Lord God was angry
with him for our sakes." (Deut. 1:37)
For the Lord “laid on him the iniquity of us all.” These excerpts were written about our surety
in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.
The New Testament states:
"Jesus
was made a surety for a better testament. Wherefore
Therefore, if you are a born again believer, Jesus is your surety by the blood he shed for you. (Luke 22:20) You cannot satisfy your debt for holiness, righteousness, sanctification, or redemption, and those who say they have are deceived. (John 8:44) Jesus must be your surety for these things, or you will not even see the kingdom of heaven. (1 Cor. 1:30-32) If a man could lose his salvation, then his surety, Jesus Christ, would “surely smart for it” in the fires of hell in his place, which means he would still go to heaven! Jesus Christ is the surety of our eternal salvation, thus he is our insurance that we have eternal life. Therefore, born again believers know of a Surety that they cannot lose their salvation!
SALVATION. Romans 10:9-10
heart that God raised him from the dead thou shall be saved."
Religionists teach that the
good go to heaven and the bad go to hell, while
the Bible teaches that believers go to heaven and non-believers go to
hell. (John 3:16) Religionists insist
that the last act of a Christian's life can be detrimental to that soul's
salvation. They maintain that if a believer dies in the very
act of committing a sin, then that last act annuls salvation and damns that soul to hell. If this were true, then each of your ungodly
acts would annihilate any trace of salvation in you, and your godly acts would
serve to support, protect, and defend your salvation. Such logic is an abomination to God. Your pious human actions are not the
guardians of your salvation, because God regards your piety as filth ―
menstrous rags to be exact. (Isa. 64:6)
Those who are persuaded that if a Christian's last act is a sin, then
it's hell for them, “do err not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.”
(Matt. 22:29, 1 Pet. 1:5)
Some men judge salvation on the outward acts of the outer
man, but your salvation is not dependent upon actions. Your salvation is based solely on the very
thing no man can see, the hidden man who
was born in your gospel-believing heart. (John 7:24, Gal. 4:6) When the new man is born in a believer's
heart, that believer is not
immediately endowed with an
innate sense of love, brotherly kindness, or
zeal for good works. (Titus 2-3:8, 1 Tim. 4:11-13) If the new birth automatically enacted godly
behavior in the redeemed, then fornication would not have been "commonly
reported" among the saints of
“Let none of you
suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evil doer, or busy body in
other men’s matters." (1 Pet. 4:15)
Furthermore, it would have
been fruitless for him to counsel saints to: “add to your patience godliness, and unto godliness brotherly
kindness” if they were attendant at the new birth. (2 Pet. 1:5-6) Peter
would not have addressed these things if
godly behavior was inherent in all who experience the new birth. Paul also understood that godly living was
not automatically attendant after the new birth. This is why he wrote letters counseling
saints to put off attributes of their former lifestyle such as lying, stealing,
and fornication. (Eph. 4:25-5:6, Col. 3:5-10)
Paul was not addressing reprobate sinners, but born again believers,
thus illustrating that behavior modification doesn’t automatically occur when
we’re born again, but develops as we
purposefully attempt to grow in grace.
(Pro. 2:2, 2 Pet. 1:5-8)
The Bible is clear that
after God's grace brings salvation, its mission is to teach believers:
"to deny ungodliness and
worldly lust, and
how to live soberly, righteously, and godly
in this present world.” (Titus 2:11-13)
Notice these
things were not denied for salvation,
nor do they result from salvation. The grace of God begins teaching us to deny
these things after salvation! Why? Because God understands that no one cleans up
to take a bath, so he accepts sinners just as they are. This is why the
Scripture explicitly states that God “justifieth the ungodly” that’s you and
me, bud; that’s you and me. (Rom. 4:5)
What if a believer does not deny ungodliness and worldly
lust and dies in the middle of an unrighteous act? Will he or she go to heaven
or to hell? Regardless of the
unrighteous act, he or she unequivocally would go to heaven because Jesus
Christ became that soul’s inalienable righteousness, since it’s eternal
redemption. Recall that all “our righteousnesses” are no better than our
unrighteousness; both are classified as filthy rags. (Isa. 64:6) To better illustrate this point, if a
Christian died in the middle of a righteous act, the Word of God still cites
that act as equivalent to filth,
regardless of how men may esteem it or the good it may have done. For all our righteous acts are esteemed as
filth to God. (Isa. 64:6) This is why
the last act of a believer cannot determine whether his soul will
keep its eternal salvation, because this
act will always be deemed as
filth. (Isa. 64:6) Our acts are not the determining factor of
salvation; our faith is, and Jesus is “the finisher of our faith,” when all of
our works, whether good or ill, are all classified as filthy. (Isa. 64:6, Rom.
4:5)
Since God cites our personal righteousness as filth, the
Lord himself must be our righteousness.
(1 Cor. 1:30) This is why the
Almighty never allows you to depend on
your self-righteousness to ensure
your salvation a fact that
inflames the legalists. (2 Cor. 4:17)
Job stated that God “puts no trust in his saints." That’s us; the
born again, saints in light. (Job 15:15)
Many born again believers have not grasped the concept that
righteousness is not a behavior, but a nature.
Righteousness is the divine nature of Christ in you. In the Old Testament God was revealed as
Jehovah Tsidkenu, “the Lord our righteous.” (Jer. 33:16, 1 Cor. 1:30) If you are a believer, not only is the Lord
your righteousness, he has became “thy
salvation” too. Jehovah God stated:
not be abolished." (Isa. 51:6)
God does not let
his salvation, which is forever, ride upon the hopes of you doing the right thing(s) until the time of your death. God’s salvation is forever, because it
is based solely on Christ in you and not
on your behavior at the time of your death. God wants you to know his gift of salvation is not some on again,
off again, deal. “Christ in you” is “the
righteousness of God” that shall not be abolished and God’s salvation is
forever. Again, "he putteth no
trust in his saints." (Job 15:15)
Just Jesus!
87 BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS ARE NOT UNDER THE
CURSE OF HANGING IN
DOUBT ABOUT THE CERTAINTY OF THEIR
ETERNAL LIFE. Deut. 28:66
“Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shall fear day and
night, and have none assurance of thy life.”
Until their eyes open in
Glory, many Christians refuse to believe in the certainty of their eternal salvation.
God does not want his children worrying, fretting, or standing in doubt about
the permanence of their eternal life.
Salvation is no guessing game! It
is a gift from God, made sure and secure
by the blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:3) Many Christians
disregard this fact by firmly believing the temporal life they lead will secure
them eternal life. By believing this
way, they are actually saying:
“Yeah, yeah, Christ’s death,
blood, and resurrection are great, but not enough to give me the full assurance
of my soul’s salvation. My salvation
needs another helping hand. Mine!”
This is the unvocalized reprobate thinking that permeates Christianity today. These saints intend to lean on their arm of flesh in a valiant effort to give God a helping hand in saving their souls. (Jer. 17:5) They reject Psalms 60:11 that states:
“Vain is the
help of man.”
These are babes in Christ walking in the vanity of
their fleshly mind. (Eph. 4:17-23)
Millions of Christians
choose to ignore the assurances in God’s Word that indeed they have eternal
life.
“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.” (1 Jn. 5:13)
These “forgetful hearers” have forgotten they possessed eternal life the moment they believed the
Gospel. They think they are still under
the curse of having no assurance of their life.
(Deut. 28:66)
Deuteronomy
chapter 28 lists a host of curses
“Thy life shall hang in
doubt before thee; and thou shall fear day and night, and shall have none
assurance of thy life.”
This curse of the law
threatened only the Israelis, whereas the born again were never placed under
the law with its itemized curses. (Rom.
3:19, 6:14) God considered it a curse to have no assurance of one’s
natural life. How much more did he bless those
he redeemed with the “full assurance of faith” concerning the certainty
of their eternal life?
Born again believers are not cursed to hang in doubt about the certainty of their eternal life, because there is no doubt about it!
eternal life.” (1 Jn. 5:13)
The Father loves you with a perfect love which, if
you believe, will cast out every fear of
you losing your eternal life. Jesus hung on a cross so you would not have to
hang in doubt about the certainty of
your eternal life. Born again
believers have this blessed assurance, so rest assured. (Acts 17:31)
Note: The
Bible states the resurrection of Jesus Christ justifies believers from all things:
“from
which things you could not be justified by the
law of Moses.” (Acts 13:39)
Paul’s use of the phrase
“justified from all things” encompasses “things present and things to come,”
thus giving born again believers full assurance that they cannot lose their
salvation because Jesus Christ made their eternal salvation eternally secure.
(Rom. 8:38) By believing in the death,
blood, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the free gift of eternal life, you
can now sing the song of the redeemed, “Blessed assurance Jesus is mine!” along
with the song of the Psalmist, “The LORD
is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” (Ps. 27:1) Why should you fear, since your salvation
said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee?” (Heb. 13:5) Who should you fear? Legalists with their damnable
doctrines.