The Ommission of the Blood of Jesus Christ

I've been saying it for years, that modern FUNDAMENTALISTS, EVANGELICALS, and so-called CHRISTIANS, are GUILTY of ommitting the blood of Jesus Christ in their gospel message, either ignorantly or willfully. By saying this, I've gotten a lot of angry letters, emails, phone calls, etc. They all tell me things like, "Well, you don't have to know about the blood to be saved!" or "You don't have to know anything to get saved. Just come to God the best way you know how!" But is that so? Of course not. A person must first HEAR the gospel before he can believe it, and before he believes it, he must UNDERSTAND it! That's just sound Bible doctrine.

I was reading through a commentary by J. Vernon McGee the other day, and read the following. I believe it's very important for us today, for there are many today who claim to be Christians, yet they leave out the blood of Jesus Christ for salvation. I quote from page 20 of his commentary on the book of 1 Peter:

" 'And sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ...' There is often a silence about the blood of Christ, even in fundamental circles. As long as the blood of our Lord coursed through His veins, it had no saving value for us; but when that precious blood was shed, Christ Jesus gave His life. The life of the flesh is in the blood. He shed that blood that you and I might have life.
Remember that Peter is writing to Jews who had been brought up in Judaism. They were the Diaspora, believing Jews living in Asia minor. They knew the Old Testament, and they understood that the high priest on the Day of Atonement took blood with him when he went into the Holy of Holies, and that he sprinkled the blood seven times on the mercy seat. Now the Lord Jesus Christ has taken His own blood to the throne of God (the throne at which we are judged as guilty sinners), and He sprinkled His blood there. He gave His life and paid the penalty for us. Now that throne of judgment is the throne of grace where you and I can come and receive salvation.
My friend, the gospel has not been preached until the meaning of the blood of Christ has been explained. It may offend you aesthetically--the offense of the cross is that He shed His blood. Of course it is not pretty, but your sin and my sin are not pretty either. Our ugly sin is what made it necessary for Christ to die for us.
This reminds me of a story about a terrible accident which occurred at a railroad crossing. Several people were killed when the train hit a car. There was a court trial, and the watchman who had been at the crossing at the time of the accident was questioned.
'Where were you at the time of the accident?'
'I was at the crossing.'
'Did you have a lantern?'
'Yes.'
'Did you wave that lantern to warn them of the danger?'
'I certainly did.'
The court thought that was enough evidence. When the watchman walked out of the court he was heard to mumble to himself, 'I'm sure glad they didn't ask me about the light in the lantern because the light had gone out.'
My friend, there can be a lot of lanterns waved in the circles of fundamentalism and evangelicalism and conservatism. However, unless there is the message of the blood of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of the blood which cleanses us from all sin, there is no light in the lantern."

One old preacher once said, "You can't preach the Gospel without preaching the BLOOD, and you can't preach the BLOOD without preaching the Gospel!" What on earth, then are modern so-called Christians preaching?

Oh yeah, that's right. They are preaching a "BLOODLESS GOSPEL" which is "another gospel," of which the apostle Paul warns us about in Galatians chapter one. What is their gospel? It goes something like:

Just ask God to save you

Ask or invite Jesus into your heart

Make your committment to Christ

Call on the Lord through prayer alone and ask him to come into your heart

Repeat this prayer after me

Simply Recite the Sinner's Prayer

But, all of these modern gospels have one thing in common -- THEY ALL LEAVE OUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, and FAITH ALONE IN IT FOR SALVATION!

Further, they can all be done in the MIND, without any faith whatsoever from the HEART.

So HOW ON EARTH, can so called Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, and Christians preach THESE rather than simply pointing sinners to Christ crucified and salvation by faith alone in his precious shed blood? It's insanity!

I'll close with this. I'm constantly working to get people the truth about the Spanish Bible, and which one is the best. Through my studies, I'm convinced it's the Valera 1602 Purified Spanish Bible. But I'm also amazed at how many FUNDAMENTALISTS and EVANGELICALS disagree, choosing instead other versions. One of those is the modern GOMEZ Spanish Bible. And, I found a new book by one Emmanuel Rodriguez defending that version and Mr. Gomez who produced it. In that book I read about the tesimony of Mr. Gomez, and that book gives the following information about his "salvation" experience. I quote from pages 22-23:
Gomez speaking: "My religion never taught me that God was willing to save a wretch like me. They never told me that if I would PUT MY FAITH IN THE BLOOD THAT CHRIST SHED FOR ME ON THE CROSS [emphasis mine], that, not only would He save me from an eternity in hell, but He would change my life. ...but something happened to me today. I ASKED JESUS TO SAVE ME. [emphasis mine] And he did. He changed my life."
This is very interesting and is typical of what we see in modern Fundamentalists circles today. Some might talk about the blood and say that to be saved a person MUST put their faith in it. But then later they will give another conflicting idea for their plan of salvation, that of ASKING for God to save them. But where's the faith in the blood if you are asking? For asking God to save you, apart from trusting him and his blood atonement to do so is another gospel.
Is Mr. Gomez even saved according to this testimony? He tells us an American Missionary from Colorado told him the right way to be saved: By FAITH IN THE BLOOD, but then on the next page, he confesses that he rather "ASKED JESUS TO SAVE HIM." So which is it? Did he trust the blood, or did he only ask?
I'm not calling into question Mr. Gomez' salvation. He could very well be saved, and I hope he is. But why does he give two conflicting statements in his testimony in that book? Thank God he "mentioned" the blood and wasn't "silent" like many modern Fundamentalists. However, why did he say he "asked" for salvation, rather than "trusted" the blood like instructed?

This is an important point. For there are countless millions of people today who call themselves Fundamentalists or Evangelicals who rather than preach the Blood, pressure people to "repeat a prayer" or "call vocally upon God asking for salvation" without stressing a Sinner's need to trust the blood atonement. They are like Mr. McGee said, watchman with no LIGHT in their lanterns.

I'll close with one more example. I was preaching in Guatemala once with a man who had a big church and bus ministry. I preached on "THE BLOOD of Jesus Christ." Afterwards, the Pastor got up and apologized publically for not having preached the blood before, and he promised from then on to preach the blood alone for salvation. Yet, he'd been in the ministry for decades and claimed he had won thousands to Jesus Christ. What then was he preaching? It was a "BLOODLESS GOSPEL." But he was only doing what he'd been instructed to do in his own Bible College when he went "soul winning." What was that? A quick 1,2, 3 repeat after me method of quickly pressuring a sinner to REPEAT a prayer, without any signs of REPENTANCE from the heart. And absolutely no mention of the blood atonement, nor one's need to trust it alone for salvation. Who was this man? I'd rather not give his name, needless to say, he uses the Gomez Spanish Bible now. Could there be a pattern here?

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Gomez Bible is now printed by Chick Tracts. You know, the ones with the cartoons in them. And, have you ever read the back page of a Chick Tract? They instruct you to "ASK" Jesus into your heart. Where's the FAITH IN THE BLOOD like the evangelist from Colorado instructed Mr. Gomez to follow? They might mention the blood, but they don't instruct Sinners to trust or rely solely in the shed blood by faith alone. They try to get sinners to ask or beg for salvation apart from resting only in the finished work of Christ.

I'm a BIBLE BELIEVER, and I'm quickly getting as far away as I can from modern apostate FUNNY-MENT-AL-ISTS who claim to be standing for the faith, when they preaching another plan of salvation. I don't want to be connected to anyone who OMITS the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's exactly what they are doing.

If you are a Fundamentalist, an Evangelical, or a Christian, make sure you don't go along with them in the error of their ways in ommitting the blood atonement of Jesus Christ. Preach the blood with all your might! Make sure there is LIGHT in your latern!

All this ties in to why we left our old home church. It was over this very issue. If you desire a real eye-opening read, then please go to:

http://www.rrb3.com/Left/reasons_left_church.htm

This is a very important topic. That of salvation. For there very well could be countless millions of people within the Fundamentalist, Evangelical, and even Independent Baptist movements which are lost, trusting a BLOODLESS GOSPEL rather than the true BLOODSTAINED GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. It is for them that I keep my lantern lit! Wouldn't you do the same?

Note: Part of the reason for me posting this blog, is because I've recently been personally attacked by Mr. Emanuel Rodriguez, in his following article:

http://www.deanburgonsociety.org/PDF/is_gail_riplinger_right.pdf

In this article, Mr. Rodriguez states that for "dishonest practices" I was "kicked" out of my old home church. I know of no dishonesty on my part, nor of any dishonest practices. All I know is that I of my own accord left that church over this very issue, an issue in which they used to be in complete agreement with me. (Click on the link above about why we left our own home church to read the letter of my old Pastor to my father, where he too once claimed to be against "Ask Jesus Into Your Heart.") It appears the doctrine of SALVATION and the SPANISH BIBLE are quickly being melded together, and in order to find the right Spanish Bible, you need to make sure the people who try to steer you in the direction of thier own version(s) have the RIGHT GOSPEL of salvation to begin with! For this is a very, very important issue.)

The Most Important Fundamental

I get a lot of stuff in the mail. One thing I get is a lot of Independent Baptist Magazines and Newspapers, and I read them. They help me stay informed with what's happening in the Independent Baptist Fundamentalist movement. (Sadly, I see them going downhill with much man worship, pride, and the love of fame, money, and power).

In the latest magazine I received, there was an article about what exactly Fundamentalism is. The writer defined it not only from the Dictionary, but also from what he personally believed it to be. But all of those who defend the "Fundamentals" of the Christian Faith and "Fundamentalism" all seem to leave out the most important of all the FUNDAMENTALS of the Christian Faith, and that is the BLOOD ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST!

All the books, magazines, tracts, pamphlets, etc. put out by "fundamentalist" Christians who claim to be "Fundamentalists" all seem to leave out the most important of all the Christian Fundamentals. Oh, they claim to believe that salvation is by faith alone, but faith in what??? They never say!

They also claim to believe that it took God's blood being shed to pay for man's sins, but even the Devil knows that! Where is their definitive statement on believing that a sinner must TRUST completely and solely in the shed BLOOD ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ? It's not there.

All throughout the Bible, we read that God only forgives man's sin through blood atonement. Even before the law, God demanded a blood sacrifice from sinners. This is why Adam, Abel, Seth, Noah, Enoch, Job, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, etc., all offered up animal sacrifices of blood to God for the forgiveness of their sins. It's because God demands BLOOD for payment for sin.

Later, God used Moses to write the law, and in the law God told the people how to bring a blood sacrifice to the Lord. We read of how in Leviticus chapter 1:

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.

A sinner was to KILL the sacrifice himself. But that wasn't all. He was to put his hand on the head of the animal, signifying it was for HIM and in HIS PLACE for HIS SINS. And it was the BLOOD that the priests collected and offered up to God for the man.

This is why we read this is Heb. 9:22, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

God only remits sins (or forgives them) through SHED BLOOD!

But the shed blood was not all there was to it. The Sinner also had to have faith. And what was the Sinner's faith in? It was in THE BLOOD!

A Sinner who sinned against God and wanted forgiveness of his sins knew that the only way to make peace with God and to have his sins remitted was through making a SHED BLOOD ATONEMENT. But he not only had to do that himself, he also had to TRUST that it was sufficient, for it was exactly what God demanded of him. In other words, HIS FAITH WAS IN THE BLOOD!

Now, when Jesus showed up and lived 33 years under the law, he never made a sacrifice for himself. He didn't have too. He was sinless.

Yet Jesus himself became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of all mankind himself when he died on the cross of Calvary, shedding his own blood (God's blood, according to Acts 20:28) to pay for man's sins.

Jesus Christ was THE LAMB OF GOD, and the FINAL SACRIFICIAL BLOOD SACRIFICE for the sins of the world. What Jesus did was sufficient to forgive man all their sins. But what's lacking? Is the entire world already forgiven because Jesus did that?

No, something is lacking. And that something is FAITH in that finished work. That is specifically, FAITH IN THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!

Romans 3:25 makes it so clear when it states of Jesus, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [a substitutionary blood atonement] THROUGH FAITH IN HIS BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Notice that the word of God says that Jesus will only be declared righteous and can only be your propitiation when your FAITH is in his precious shed BLOOD!

It's that simple. Salvation has always been in the Bible through faith in a blood atonement made on the Sinner's behalf. In the Old Testament, it was faith in the shed blood of an animal, usually a lamb. In the New Testament, it is through faith alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

This is sound Biblical doctrine! Yet today it is often ommitted and yeah even mocked frequently, even by those who call themselves "Fundamentalists."

Why would they leave out the most important of all Fundamentals of the Christian Faith, that of trusting upon a BLOOD ATONEMENT for the forgiveness of sins?

Many Christians today don't preach the blood, or a Sinner's need for reliance upon the blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. Instead, they are guilty of preaching a "BLOODLESS GOSPEL," of which there are many. They go something like this:

Just make a decision to follow Christ.

Just turn your life over to God.

Just Ask God to forgive your sins, begging and pleading him to do so.

Just Ask Jesus into your heart and/or life

Just make a commitment to Jesus

All of these things might sound good to the ears of the hearer, but they are not "Fundamental" in nature, nor are they Biblical, for they all do the same thing, THEY ALL LEAVE OUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!

This is why it bothers me so much to hear people bragging on being "Fundamentalists" and then writting down their little creeds, doctrinal statements, and lists of what they believe the Fundamentals really are, but then they leave out FAITH IN THE BLOOD altogether!

Could it be they really aren't all that Fundamental? Could it be they might even be LOST, because they haven't even gotten the most basic of the Fundamentals right, that of salvation only through FAITH in a BLOOD ATONEMENT?

I believe there is a great problem in "Fundamentalism," "Christianity," "Evangelicalism" and "the Independent Baptist Movement" today. I believe they all consistently leave out the most important of all the Christian Fundamentals, and that is the simple basic doctrine of YOU MUST TRUST THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST IN ORDER TO BE TRULY BORN AGAIN.

This, as harrowing, horrible, and unbelievable as this might seem, means that there are Pastors, Missionaries, Evangelists, Deacons, Church Members, Sunday School Teachers, and even Bus Captians in our churches today who are not saved! They brag upon being Fundamentalists, but they have left out the most important of all the Fundamentals, RESTING IN THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST ALONE, TRUSTING ONLY HIS SHED BLOOD FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS.

I have met such people. It's easy to spot them. All you have to do is ask them their testimony. If they say they "DID" something, and they leave out trusting the blood atonement for salvation, then they are lost. It's sad, but true. And our churches are full of such people. When you ask them for their testimony, they usually say things like: "Well, I asked God to save me, and I don't know if he did or not, so I just ask him again every night just to be sure."

This is NOT salvation! For a person like this has no assurance of salvation. They don't know they are saved, they only hope they are. And they are NOT trusting in the blood atonement of Christ, for if they were, they would not for sure that their sins are forgiven.

IN these last days in which the Bible calls days of apostasy well shall see more and more of this BLOODLESS GOSPEL. And it's so sad, because it ought not so to be.

What bothers me is that there are so few who preach the right Gospel (of 1 Cor. 15:1-4), that of salvation by FAITH in the blood atonement. Instead, many today are preaching the Beggar's Gospel of just ask Jesus into your heart, or beg his forgiveness, or make a commitment to him, etc. But, why would God save anyone outside of man's faith in HIS BLOOD ATONEMENT ON CALVARY??? It just doesn't make any sense.

God help us.

In the mean time, you there reading this blog. Let me ask you this: "Are you saved? How'd you get saved?"

Now let me ask you this also, "When did you trust the Blood of Jesus Christ alone to save your soul and forgive you of all your sins?"

Time is short. Jesus is coming soon. If you really are a "fundamentalist," then why are you leaving out the most important of all Fundamentals; that of FAITH ALONE IN THE SACRIFICIAL BLOOD ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ?

Focusing on Each Other Instead of Focusing on the Issue

I think probably the greatest tool that Satan has is to get people's eyes off of what's happening and getting people's eyes on one another.

As I watch American Politics, I see this is exactly what's happening today with the whole "debt" issue. Democrats are against Republicans and will not pass or sign anything they put out. Republicans are the same way. Thus, they only do what's best for their party. They focus on EACH OTHER instead of on the important ISSUE. They are not interested in what's right and what's best for the country. They are only intersested in themselves and furthering their political careers. Because of this, they are at a standstill, a deadlock, neither one wanting to give an inch, and neither one wanting to compromise with the other. Thus, Satan has won, as nothing can be done.

And who suffers for it? The American People.

Sadly, there is politics in the Church as well. And, all too often this politics mirrors the national politics in Washington. Just as politicians focus on one another rather than on the issue, so too Pastors, Missionaries, Evangelists, etc. focus on one another. And often, they are only interested in making themselves or their "camp" or "Bible College affiliation" look good, while lamblasting and putting down others. This is why there is so much bitter infighting among "Independent Baptist" Preachers. They don't get along, and it's because they focus on EACH OTHER rather than on the differences that supposedly divide them.

Instead of having Bible Studies and looking at truth, and discussing it, most Indies (what I call Independent Baptists) will not even crack open their Bibles and look at it with other ministers. They claim to be Bible Believers, but they refuse to have Bible Studies with others.

Instead they focus on the man himself. Once they find something they can use as an excuse to make someone they don't like look bad, or find a way to make them look not as spiritual as themselves, or somehow make them look stupid, then they can write that person off, and not even look at what that person is teaching. But what if that person has a good point?

The Independent Baptist's answer is: "So what! Who Cares!" And the person is blackballed and his doctrine, ideas, and words are not even looked at.

This is sad, but this is rampant in our churches today. Instead of unity in Christ and uniting around what the Scriptures teach, there is much dissention and division in Christian circles, and very little charity.

I speak from experience. This is what happened to me. I was part of a big Independent Baptist movement. But someone lied about me, and told people I was crazy and such. They said, "Bro. Breaker is against PRAYER all together!"

But that is simply not so. However, because they said it, and they focused on ME instead of on my teaching (which is nothing more than sound Bible Doctrine), I was blackballed and they told those within their group not to even listen to me at all. The focus was on ME, not on the scriptures.

Next, they told people things like, "Breaker has gone off the deep end!"

And finally, they LIED by saying that I called my old Pastor a "heretic." But I never said such a thing. Those were words that a person tried to put in my mouth that I never uttered.

Thus, the focus was on me, not on my teaching. I was a "crazy person" teaching false doctrine in their eyes, and I was ridiculed, mocked, and made fun of. But never once was what I was teaching looked at by any of them.

However, what I was teaching was nothing more than what I was taught from the Bible by the very man who turned against me! I went back and read his commentaries, his tracts, even a letter of his to my own father, and they all confirmed that what he once taught is what I'm teaching, and that I was not the one who changed.

The problem was that he and his croonies had changed and I had not. But I could not turn the focus on them. They would not allow it. If I tried to say, "You have changed your position," then I was labeled the crazy person who was speaking foolishly and the heretic that no one should listen to. They even attacked my credibility, and claimed I wasn't a Pastor, I never led anyone to the Lord, and I never started any Churches in Honduras.

That was fine with me. If they wanted to lie about me and discredit me, not problem. I know it's a lie and so does Jesus. But it does hurt some, especially since they were drawing a line and pushing me across it and telling others not to go along with me in anything.

Truly, I can't wait till the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that God will show them they were wrong.

But that's not important now. What is important is the issue itself.

The Issue once more is this, "Can a person be saved by prayer, and is it possible for a person to be tricked into trusting in their Prayer rather than trusting in Jesus Christ's shed blood alone for salvation?"

The answer is: "No on is saved by their prayer, and YES A PERSON CAN BE DECEIVED INTO THINKING THEIR PRAYER SAVES THEM!" This is exactly what happened to me. It also happened to my wife, and it's happened to many others.

In our day and age of "shallow soulwinning" in which a "soul winner" gives a person a presentation of only three or four verses from the Roman's road and then quickly pressures them to "Repeat a Prayer," it is common to see people tricked or deceived into thinking they are saved BY their prayer. That is they think the prayer itself is the SAVING MEDIUM.

This leads to a person eventually doubting whether they are saved or not, and the remedy for this by those same "soul winners" is for them to just "say the Prayer over again for ASSURANCE." Oftentimes, people pray the prayer over and over again night after night, HOPING they'll be saved because of it. But are they? Are they?

That's the issue, but nobody will touch it. Nobody wants to think that Churches are full of people like I was, who might have sincerely prayed a prayer, but have never been born again. It's because they are trusting in what they've DONE (their prayer), and not in what Jesus DID FOR THEM (in dying on the cross in their place for their sins.)

This "1-2-3, repeat after me" type of soulwinning often does more harm than good, as it does not give a clear presentation of the Gospel. Often, many are left thinking their prayer saves them. But where is this in the Bible? People like this are not saved. They cannot be. For if they trust their prayer, then they trust their own righteousness, and not Christ's alone.

But where are those faithful ministers of the Gospel who are pointing this out? They are few and far between. They don't want to "rock the boat." They just want to go along with what everyone else is doing, especially when it's easy to get a person to "repeat a prayer" and doing so makes it easier to "BRAG UPON YOURSELF and HOW GOOD OF A SOUL WINNER YOU ARE!" (Modern Christianity has become a "braggers club" and it's no longer about Jesus and what he's done for Sinners, rather it's about you and what you do for Jesus.)

So we see the focus is not on the Issue, rather on the man. People who talk like I do, are looked upon as "anti-soul winning." But that's not the case! I am very much for Soul Winning! I'm just against doing it in a shallow manner in which a person can end up deceived into thinking they are saved when they aren't!

But very few want to look at this issue. It's just easier to label someone a "Calvinist" who doesn't do things the same way you do. (I'm very much against Calvinism, by the way!).

So who gets hurt when the focus turns from the issue itself to attacking each other personally? Why lost Sinner's of course. They are the ones losing out. For they are left LOST and still going to Hell, but no one seems to care enough about them to make sure they are presenting them the Gospel clearly, and instructing them plainly to TRUST THE BLOOD OF JESUS ALONE for salvation.

But I care. I care a lot about lost souls. I truly want them to be saved. I also care about lost religious people who think they are saved, but aren't. I want to see them saved as well.

But once again, when I say something like that, the PHARISEES will bypass the issue and go straight to focusing on me, saying things like, "Oh, you just want to talk people out of their salvation! That's all you are interested in."

But that's not true at all! If a person is saved, I don't want to cause doubt. However, at the same time, as I read the scriptures, I see that a person who is saved will have assurance. So could it be that those who don't have assurance aren't saved to begin with, and they are the ones who truly need to be saved?

In closing, it's sad to see how focusing on each other instead of on the issue itself has led not only to the downfall of America and its economy, but also to the downfall of the Church as well. Because "politicians," both secular and religious, would rather play their silly games and exalt themselves in the eyes of others, people get hurt. In American politics, those who get hurt are the American taxpayers, who are asked to pay higher taxes for the stupid spending of those in power. But why should we have to pay for their mistakes and mismanagement funds?

In the religious world, the pride of ministers wanting to be looked upon as right while everyone else is wrong has led to a false gospel and a deceitful plan of salvation which gets a Sinner to DO something with their lips, without trusting only in what Jesus has DONE from the heart. And, even though this method makes the soul winner look good in the eyes of the "brethren" by counting how many people he's gotten to "repeat him in prayer," it doesn't really get a lot of folks truly saved. Instead, lost people suffer for it, as many of them get a false assurance of salvation, thinking they are going to heaven based upon their prayer, rather than on the Biblical means of faith from the heart.

Sadly, the issue is never dealt with. Politicians don't deal with the national debt, and get it paid off completely, and most Preachers don't deal with man's sin debt, pointing him to the shed blood of Christ that paid for it.

Instead, they are happy attacking on another, exalting themselves, and forgetting about the important issues.

Truly the Judgment will be terrifying for such men who only care about themselves rather than truly caring about others enough to deal with the issue so that they might be saved.

For more about THE REAL ISSUE of salvation and the sad deception of deceiving people into trusting their PRAYERS instead of in Christ Jesus' bloody PROPITIATION for man's sins, go to:

http://www.rrb3.com/mypub/books/hrsy_sin_pryr.htm

This deals with the ISSUE at hand.

Getting lost and Getting Saved all Within a few Feet and a few Years

I'm blessed to be living in the house that my father built. My grandfather and my uncle also worked on this house, so it's a blessing to be living in the home that has three generations of Breaker's involved in its construction. (As I'm continually working on the house trying to keep it in good shape).

The other day I was in the kitchen of this house, and I broke down in tears as I looked at the kitchen counter, as I realized I'd been eating off this counter most of my life. I also realized that counter was were I got lost, and also where I got saved!

I used to eat breakfast at the end of that counter on a little stool every morning, right under a small plaque with the following Bible verses on it:

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Prov. 3:5,6)

It was at this table that I distinctly remember at the age of five years old thinking about death for the very first time. I didn’t think about heaven or hell, or that I was a Sinner. I only remember thinking that I would one day die, and then cease to exist. The thought scared me that I would not be alive anymore, and I worried about it greatly. My Mom then came over and asked, “What’s wrong?” I answered, “I’m going to not exisit one day and then I won’t be anymore.”

My Mom told me I just needed to ask Jesus into my heart, which I did following her in prayer. But I was NOT saved that day. That I know for sure. I didn’t even know who Jesus was! I thought he was some guy who sat in the back of the church or something.

But that day my Mom counted as my day of salvation. And she told me many times after that I was saved because I did that, i.e., I repeated the prayer.

As I got older, I read Chick tracts, and I would follow the prayer at the end those tracts time and again. I must have prayed that prayer conservatively over 3000 times, as I’d pray it every night before bed. (Starting from age 8 till age 18 makes ten years, and ten times 365 equals 3,650 times I prayed that prayer at least!)

But I was not saved by doing that. In fact, I was trusting in my PRAYER instead of trusting in Jesus Christ. Although I knew who he was and what he did for me, I wasn’t trusting that alone. I was trusting the “formula” at the end of the tract and the prayer it told me to pray to be saved. I was confused. I was deceived. I was lost.

Later my Mom divorced my Dad in 1988 and moved my sister and I to Oklahoma, where I lived for the next four years. I spent that time in a Pentecostal church, and I can honestly say I never heard the Gospel one time in that denomination. All they said was, “Speak in tongues, get filled with the Holy Spirit, and do your best not to lose it!” Once again I was deceived, for you can’t earn your salvation by what you do, and you can’t keep it by what you do. And since I didn’t have it to begin with, I kept trying to get it, and hoping if I did (cause I didn’t ever know if I did or not), that I didn’t lose it! I was in constant turmoil day and night hoping I was saved, but never knowing if I was. I was trusting in what I did (I prayed the prayer, I spoke in tongues, I tried to live a good life, etc).

It wasn’t until July 22, 1992 that I left Oklahoma and went home to live with my Dad. I’d just graduated High School, and I decided I’d go to college at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, and I would live with my Dad while there.

My father accepted me with open arms, and a week later (the 29^th) he sat me down and asked me some questions. I answered the best I could, but I knew my answers were lies. I knew I was a Sinner. But my Dad then told me the Gospel, and I can honestly say that even though I’d been in church every day of my life since I was born, I never heard it before. This was the very first time.

Not only did I hear it, but I understood it, and I accepted it. That was July 29^th, 1992, and it was right there in the kitchen as I sat on the counter top, not three feet away from where I used to eat as a child, and where I repeated a prayer as a child.

I like to say it this way, in 1979 I got lost and deceived, but in 1992 I got saved, and knew it!

I still can’t walk by that kitchen counter without stopping and looking at both spots. How it thrills my heart that God gave me the Gospel and allowed me to get saved, even though it took 13 years (I was 5 when I prayed the prayer, but 18 when I trusted Christ as my Saviour). How short a distance (only three feet), but how long a time (13 years).

It’s amazing to me to still be able to sit down in the dining room in the house I was saved in and just look over at the counter where I was born again. I feel so blessed to have been able to have been born again at the very same spot in which I got lost, even though it was years later. And I’m thankful that I had a Dad who loved me enough and cared enough about me to take me through the scriptures and show me Christ crucified. Without him, I’d probably still be lost and in agony, wandering through the motions of a religious denomination, but never having that blessed assurance in my heart of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m saved and on my way to heaven.

I think about it sometimes, knowing the rapture is soon, and I think to myself, “Wouldn’t it be cool to be sitting on that same kitchen counter with the rapture comes?” Then I could go out of here the same place I got saved! That’d be so cool! Until then, I’m going to keep preaching the Gospel and hoping others will get saved, for there are countless millions of people out there like I was – religious but lost. I pray they too will see the light and come to Jesus alone for salvation, giving up trusting in anything and everything they’ve ever done, and rely completely upon what Jesus did for them.

Bringing Men to Christ

I love old books! When I'm out and about I love to stop at Antique Shops, Flea Markets, Book stores, and more, looking for old literature. The older the better, for modern books don't give you as much information as those of old.

My recent find was a book by R.A. Torrey from 1893, entitled, "How to Bring Men to Christ."

It his preface, the author writes: "This book is written because it seems to be needed. The author has been repeatedly requested by Ministers...Christian Workers, and his own students to put into a permanent and convenient shape the substance of what he has said at Conventions, Summer Schools, and in the classroom on personal work. The time has come to yield to these requests..."

When I read that I was stupified. He said that there was a NEED to write a book about how to bring men to Christ. Why would he say this? Didn't Christians in his day know how to bring men to Christ? I mean, shouldn't they know how to win souls? Obviously many of them didn't.

The author continues: "...Never before in the history of the Church were there so many who desire to win others to Christ... But while they desire to do this work, many do not know how. This little book aims to tell them."

What a confession! In 1893, the notable evangelist R. A. Torrey said that there were many that wanted to win souls, but very few that actually knew how to do so!

If that was true in 1893, I wonder what things are like today? Could there many in our day who also don't know how to win souls to Christ? Are there even any left who desire to see souls saved?

Obviously, we are in a time of apostasy. That means there are very few who have the truth. And, there are even fewer still who are preaching it.

The Independent Baptist Movement wants us to think that they are the last "bastillon of orthodoxy" and only they are holding up the truth amidst a day of darkness, as they are the only denomination left that hasn't fallen head-long into apostasy. But sadly, they too are apostate in many of their practices, especially in that of evangelism, as they are now preaching the same apostate Gospels that many other denominations are teaching. They are "BLOODLESS GOSPELS" which entirely omit the blood of Jesus Christ.

In short, there are more modern day "soul winners" that are damning souls then there are actually winning souls to Jesus.

This is undeniable, as the church is not growing, instead the world is growing wickeder, and there are less people in our churches than ever before. Yet, Independent Baptists, among almost all other denominations, are still bragging on how many souls they've won, and how big their "Mega-churches" are. But, if this is so, why aren't those souls they claim to have won changed? And, why aren't they in church? Why is it they are still in the world doing the same things they did before? And why isn't the world getting better if there are so many souls being won, as many denominations claim?

Let's look at what the Bible says and then at what modern day "soul winners" are saying.

In the Bible, the Gospel is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. There, it states:

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:

Here the scriptures tell us exactly what the Gospel is. It has five points, just as our Lord had five bleeding wounds. They are clearly seen in the above verses:

1. Christ died

2. On the cross

3. Was buried

4. Rose again

5. According to the Scriptures

This is the true Gospel, and one can't look at it without clearly understanding that it's Bloody. It's not about man and what he's supposed to do or not do. It's about Jesus, and what HE DID for man. He died a bloody death, crucified on a blood-stained cross, shedding every drop for our sins. He was then buried in the very same blood-soaked ground he died on, and then he rose again after three days to put his blood on the mercy-seat in heaven. And he did all of this, according to the scriptures, which prophecied of him in type with the death of sacrificial lambs mandated by the Old Testament law.

In short, the Gospel is BLOODY, and it's all about Jesus Christ and his SHED BLOOD for our sins to offer us forgiveness and eternal life, which we obtain not of works, but by simple FAITH in Jesus' bloody payment for our sins in our place!

But is this what is being taught today by modern soul winners? Unfortunately it is not. They quite often leave out the blood of Jesus in their presentation of what they call the "plan of salvation." Instead of stressing a sinner's need to trust Jesus' blood atonement for their sins on their behalf, most "soul winners" of today instruct Sinners to only do one of the following:

Repeat a Sinner's Prayer

Ask Jesus to Save them

Invite or Ask Jesus into their hearts

Beg Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins

Make their commitment to Christ

These are common sayings from many modern day "soul winners," but are they Biblical? Are any of these the true Gospel of salvation? According to the Bible, they most certainly are not! For they all have one thing in common, THEY LEAVE OUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, and MAN'S FAITH IN IT ALONE FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS. These then are BLOODLESS GOSPELS, devised by men to get sinners to DO something, rather than simply rest by faith in what Jesus has DONE for them 2000 years ago. They, then, are damnable heresies which twist the emphasis from Jesus to man himself. And they will save no one.

Oftentimes, so-called modern day soul winners will simply tell a Sinner to be saved all he has to do is "call" upon Jesus. They take Rom. 10:13 as their main text, (instead of 1 Cor. 15:1-4), and teach that this "calling" is only through prayer. But to do so, they wrestle the word of God to their own destruction. For in the scriptures, calling upon God for salvation is by FAITH, not by a vocal prayer alone. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT CALLING UPON GOD BIBLICALLY

This is important, as many of those today which brag about being "soul winners" don't make this distinction. In fact, they don't do much more than just quote Rom. 10:13, and then tell a Sinner they are saved by their prayer. This leads to a Sinner, if and when he doubts he is saved (which he will do, because he's not saved if he's not trusting the finished work of Christ alone), to simply repeat a prayer over again until he feels like God heard him. Sinners who believe they are saved by prayer never have assurance of salvation (something the scriptures say all true believers should have), so they often times pray the prayer again, many times every night of their lives before bed, hoping some how each mystical enchantation will give them eternal life. This leads to them doubting their salvation, as they never know for certain if they are saved. This is why they pray the prayer again, over and over.

And, many of those who do this are the very same people who claim to be "soul winners." It's all they know, and they go out instructing others to do what they have done. (Notice, it's all about what they have done, not about what Jesus did for them).

Maybe this is why in Chapter one of R. A. Torrey's book, "How to Bring Men to Christ," he says: "There are certain general conditions, the fulfilment of which is absolutely essential to real success in bringing men to Christ. These conditions, fortunately, are few and simple and such as any one can meet. First, The one who would have real success in bringing others to Christ must himself be a THOROUGHLY CONVERTED PERSON."

This is so important! For how can you get others saved if you are not saved yourself? Sadly, it appears that many of those who claim to be Christians today are not saved. They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof (i.e. the BLOOD OF JESUS). They might be making "converts" but they are not truly, nor "thoroughly converted," for they oftentimes end up trusting in the prayer they SAID, instead of the blood God SHED.

If anyone doubt this, just ask anyone who claims to be a "Christian" what their testimony is, and you'll be surprised to see how very few will tell you they are trusting the finished work (i.e. the shed blood) of Jesus Christ. Instead, they'll say things like, "Well, I said the prayer," or "I asked Jesus into my heart," or "I commited my life to Him," or "I asked God to forgive me my sins."

But all of these things can be done by man without trusting in what Jesus did for him. Why do they all consistenly leave out the blood? And why are they trying to do something to be saved instead of simply resting by faith in what Jesus did for them?

I'm not saying that all those who claim to be "Christians" are lost. I'm not saying that. But I am saying that not all those who claim to be "Christians" are saved! There are countless millions of people who label themselves as Christians, that are religious but lost.

These people need the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, for they've been dooped into thinking they can obtain salvation by something they do; some religious ritual they must perform.

They truly need someone to show them how to come to Christ the right way-the Bible way-through FAITH in His bloody sacrifice as sufficient to forgive them of their sins.

Mr. Torrey wrote a good book, but he too left out the blood on many occasions in his illustrations and verses to present a Sinner in his many different ways to "come to Christ." However, he did redeem himself on page 34, when he said, "The way of salvation can be made plain by the use of Exod. 7:7,13, and 23. These verses show that it was the blood that made the Israelites safe and just so it is to-day the blood that makes us safe, and when God sees the blood he passes over us. The only thing for us to do is to get behind the blood. Then show the inquirer that the way to be behind the blood is by simple faith in Jesus Christ."

Have you come to the cross of Calvary and trusted the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone for salvation? Romans 3:25 says, "Whom God set forth to be a propitiation, THROUGH FAITH IN HIS BLOOD..." Is Jesus your propitiation? Have you trusted his blood for the forgiveness of your sins? If not, why not?

Or, are you one of those who prays the prayer every night, each time hoping somehow you'll get assurance and know you are on your way to heaven? If so, you can be saved and know it. You can be ASSURED of your place in heaven. Just trust the shed blood of Jesus.

It's clear that anyone can pray a prayer. But just because a man approaches God and speaks to him doesn't mean he's saved. Salvation is by heart-felt faith in the finished work of Christ. Any man who approaches God outside of believing upon him for salvation is not saved! Thus, they need to be brought to Christ. How? Through the Blood!!!

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BOOK THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Confessing for Forgiveness?

It never ceases to amaze me how "Christian" ministers can say or preach something without thinking about what they are actually saying. I know they usually just repeat what they have heard others say, but how come those people don't think about what they are saying? It doesn't make sense.

One of those things that doesn't make sense to me is the modern teaching that a Christian must "confess his sins to God and ask God to forgive him of those sins."

Many preachers are preaching this, even Independent Baptists. But do they actually stop to think about what they are saying?

To tell a man he must confess and ask for forgiveness implies that his sins are not forgiven until he asks.

This means the payment of Jesus Christ on Calvary did not pay for all sins past, present, and future, and that a man's forgiveness is dependent upon his repeated confession.

Does that sound right to you? It sounds rather Catholic to me!

You see, on Calvary, Jesus paid for all sins, past, present, and future. And when a man receives that payment by faith, he is forgiven of all sins, past, present, and future! Why then would he ask God to forgive him of sins he does later. Doesn't that sound a little odd? Doesn't that sound like he didn't believe God forgave him of all his sins?

You might say, "So, are you saying, Bro. Breaker, that a man doesn't have to confess his sins!" I'm not saying that at all. And, we'll get to that shortly. But what I am saying is that it is HERESY to tell a person that he must ask for the forgiveness of his sins after he is already saved. For either Jesus forgave him his sins or he didn't. Which is it?

The Bible tells us he did, and his payment on the cross was what did it. So to ask God to forgive your sins again would then be to reject God's payment on Calvary and to ask Jesus to die all over again on the cross, wouldn't it? Can you see how anti-biblical this is??? If you are born again, you are either forgiven or you aren't, period.

Now this takes us to "confession." Should a Christian confess his sins to God! Of course he should! This is Biblical. For in 1 John we read:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Here we read of a "Christian" confessing his sins (vs 9) to God. And we find that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. But in verse 7 we read that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from ALL SIN. That would be sins past, present, and future.

Further, the context of this verse is fellowship (vs 7) and we find we are to confess our sins to God for fellowship, not for forgiveness. For if we are truly saved, we already have forgiveness of ALL our sins.

When we sin we do not lose forgiveness and need to ask for it again. Instead, we lose fellowship with God. He is angry with us when we sin, and will chastize us in this life as sons (Heb. 12:6,7). Thus, we should confess to him our sin so he'll know we are sorry, just as we would confess our sins against our natural fathers in this life and tell them we are sorry for sinning against them.

But just confessing our sins to God is not enough. There is more to it than that. We read of what this "more" is in Proverbs 28:13

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Here we read of not only confessing, but also "forsaking" our sins. As we've already seen, the reason we confess our sins to God is for fellowship. It is to tell him we are sorry. But we must also FORSAKE our sins if we desire God's mercy (for him to not chastize us).

Still, the modern day apostate message of "asking for forgiveness of all your sins" is very common today. One thing I can't stand (and I'm sure you've heard it before as well) is hearing a man stand up in church and pray, "Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive us all our sins." Why would he pray that if we are all saved? Wouldn't we already have forgiveness of our sins?

I can't help but wonder if such people who pray, "Lord please forgive me of this, or that..." are even saved to begin with. For wouldn't their praying that way show they have no understanding of the Gospel, redemption, and salvation. Why would they ask for forgiveness, when if they are born again, the Bible says they already have it?

Maybe they are saved, they just haven't thought about it. This could very well be the case. But then again, why haven't they thought about it? Either your sins are forgiven or they aren't. It's that simple.

What confession is for is your chance to tell God you are sorry for the sins you commit after you are saved. And while you confess them, you should forsake them as well, as you renew fellowship with God.

Probably the best way to illustrate this would be in the following way. Let's say I keyed my Dad's car. I mean I really scrapped the doors really bad and took off a lot of paint. Am I still my father's son? Of course. Nothing I can do can keep me from being his offspring. But how would my father react to such a thing. He would be angry, and probably wouldn't talk to me. But if I came to him and confessed my sin, then that would make things better. But he would still be angry and probably would take it out on my rear end, wouldn't he?

But now imagine if I came to my father in tears as I confessed with a humble, repentant heart, hating what I had done. Don't you think he would see this, and realize I was truly sorry. And what if I came and said, "Father, I deserve whatever punishment you wish to lay upon me, but I know I've done wrong and I want to pay for the repair to the car. I'll work off the money to pay for repairs and make it right!"

Would not my father see how torn up I was and how much I wanted to make it right? And would he not then restore fellowship with me? I believe he would.

It's not a matter of whether or not I was lost or saved, i.e. whether I was his son or not. It was a matter of whether or not I forsook my sin when I confessed it, and whether or not fellowship was restored between my father and I.

Thus, we do not confess our sins to God for FORGIVENESS. We confess them for FELLOWSHIP. But we don't confess just to confess and get it off our chest. We are supposed to really be torn up about it. We are supposed to hate our sin. We are supposed to confess and FORSAKE the evil we have done against a holy God.

One old preacher I knew told me one time, "Bro. Breaker, we ought to hate sin so much that we'd rather DIE than sin!"

That really got me thinking. How many of you love God enough that you'd rather die than sin against him? If you did love him that much, imagine how you would approach him when you did sin. You would confess with trembling and diligently forsake what you've done, wanting to never do it again and strive ever the more to please him!

God give us more Christians like that!

Confusing Gospel Tracts

My wife and I went to Chick-Fil-A for a free sandwich the other day, and while there I went to the men's room. As I walked in, I noticed a gospel tract on the cork bulletin-board, and I took it down to read it. It was simply one small piece of paper printed on the front with nothing on the back. What it said was:

"The Bible says in Romans 10:9, "That if thou (you) shalt confess with they mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine hart that God hat raised Him (Jesus) from the dead, thou (you) shalt be saved!"

It's that simple! If you will believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then say this prayer--just say, "God I believe in my heart that Jesus died, shed His blood, and arose from the dead. Jesus, come into my heart and give me eternal life. I now confess that Jesus is my LORD! Thank you, Father for saving me!"

Next, find a local Bible-Believing church and attend regularly. And study God's Word--Get a Children's Bible Story Book, read through it several times. It will give you an overview of the whole Bible from cover to cover. I did it.

You will fail and make mistakes, but DON'T QUIT! Simply ask Jesus to forgive you when you fail, and He will! He is not a hard taskmaster; He is tender, loving and full of mercy. He knows who you are and loves you very much."

Several things were troubling to me in this tract. As I read tracts, I like to try to read them through the eyes of a lost guy, thinking as he does, and wondering what he would think if he read this. And what I saw was this tract could very easily confuse a sinner into thinking that "saying the prayer" outloud alone vocally would be all that's needed for him to do to save himself. Where is the "believe in the heart" in this?

As I looked further, I found in the prayer itself it said: "God, I believe in my heart that Jesus died, shed His blood, and arose from the dead." This was good. And you might be asking: If that's true, then isn't a guy saved? Isn't that all's that necessary, just believing! I say, "YES!" Believing is all that's needed to be saved.

However, what if the sinner prays that prayer from the mouth, with no belief from the heart. In other words, he "repeats" the prayer but doesn't believe in Christ when he does so. Isn't he still lost? Sadly, he is. For prayer and repeating words, save no one. FAITH is what saves.

Next, the tract instructs the sinner to say: "Jesus, come into my heart and give me eternal life." But, where is this found in the Bible? This is the modern new age gospel that has its roots in the Unitarian/Universalist movement. (Which started the "ask Jesus into your Heart" stuff).

The Bible clearly teaches if a man believes, then Jesus does enter in. Why then would a man try to command God to come in to him when God already promised He would at the very moment the sinner believes? Doesn't make much sense.

Later down in the tract is the worst part. It says "You will fail...simply ask Jesus to forgive you..."

If I read my Bible right, and I believe I do, when a person is saved, they are forgiven of all sins: PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE. When then would a person ask God to forgive him after he's saved? Does that mean God didn't forgive him before?

No, the Bible speaks about confessing your sins to God, not for forgiveness, as a true believer already has that, rather for fellowship. When we sin as Christians, we should confess our sins to God alone, and tell Him we are sorry. This is not so we don't go to Hell. It's so that God will not chastize us here on earth. In other words, it's for Him to be merciful to us here. (Prov. 28:13)

Can someone be saved reading this Gospel tract? Sure. If a guy has had a seed planted before and wants to be saved, he can get saved reading this tract. I'm not saying he couldn't. But I am saying the wording of this tract is quite confusing. Why do people write tracts that are so confusing? For a man who knows nothing and simply reads this can end up praying and then trusting his PRAYER. He then can just beg God for forgiveness everytime he sins thereafter, and what has he become? Nothing more than a lost religious person.

Where's the blood in this tract? And where is FAITH alone IN THE BLOOD in this tract? It's not there. Sure it mentions the blood, but it doesn't instruct the sinner to trust the blood atonement alone for salvation.

This tract looks to me like a compilation of all the various methods or instructions that many are preaching today for a sinner to get saved. It's like the tract is trying to cover all the bases, so Christians who read the tract will like it, each one seeing what they want to see. In the tract we find salvation is by:

1. PRAYING THE PRAYER

2. ASKING JESUS TO COME INTO YOUR HEART

3. CONFESSING THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD

4. ASKING JESUS TO FORGIVE YOU YOUR SINS

And more. To me, this is an "eccumenical" tract, and who ever put it out would do much better to simply quote 1 Cor. 15:1-4 and other verses and then point sinners to Christ through FAITH ALONE in His SHED BLOOD.

To those who claim I'm "straining at gnats" let me give a brief testimony. Before I was saved, I read tracts like this all the time. Mostly, I read Chick Tracts. I "prayed the prayer" over conservatively 1500 times from age 13 to age 18. Never once was I saved. The tracts were confusing me. They told me I had to pray, and I was trusting my prayer to save me. The fact that I had to pray it again and again showed I wasn't saved.

I'm not the only one that this happened to. My wife went through the very same thing. And many others we've spoken to and heard from. This is a real problem today in Modern Christianity. Untold millions are confused by Gospel tracts instructing them to DO something rather than simply believing upon what Jesus has already DONE for them.

If this is true, that means there are countless millions of people who think they are Christians but they are utterly lost. Instead of modern ministers addressing the problem and seeking to see them saved, they gloss over the issue, often times just calling it a problem of "semantics." They just don't want to think that so many could be lost and on their way to Hell. But what if they are?

I believe there is nothing of any greater value to God in this universe than the human soul. It is so precious and dear to Him, that he died on the cross to save it. With this in mind, shouldn't we take a look at this problem? Shouldn't souls be as precious to us as they are to God?

A clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and a plain pointing of sinners to Christ crucified in their place for their sins should absolve all confusion. Preaching the Blood alone for salvation and man's faith in it (Rom. 3:25) completely obliterates all confusion, for as the old Hymn states, "There is power in the Blood!"

With this in mind, let me just show one more tract that I recently was sent in the mail from a famous Tract printing organization that I believe is very confusing, which proves my point that instead of CLARIFYING SALVATION, modern Christians are CONFUSING SINNERS.

The tract is entitled, "I'm a Pretty Good Person." And on the front cover it continues, "I would never hurt anybody. I am honest. I love and care for my family. Surely I will go to Heaven when I die."

Now identify yourself with a lost sinner. When you read that, you might be thinking, "Yep, that pretty much describes me!"

To add to confusion the tract continues on the next page, "It is true; most people are pretty good."

Thankfully, the tract goes on to quote Romans 3:10 and 23, proving Biblically man is not good, but inheritantly evil and in need of salvation.

But as the tract continues, it reads, "You must believe that Jesus died for you." This is great! But it doesn't stop there. The tract continues on the back page with the following:

"...Ask Him (God) to save you and take you to Heaven when you die...Please call on Him today...What a tragedy it would be for a good person like you to die and go to hell."

What??? First it instructs a sinner to ASK God to save them and take them to heaven (instead of simply TRUST him to do so by Faith), and then it calls the sinner a "good person." Weird? I thought it earlier quoted that there was NONE GOOD, no not ONE!

Finally, it ends with the following prayer: "Dear Jesus, I realize I am a sinner and you paid for my sin on the cross. Please forgive me, save my soul from hell, and take me to Heaven when I die. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. Amen."

Notice it doesn't say, "Lord, I trust you and your finished work on the cross." Or "Jesus, I accept by faith your shed blood as sufficient to wash my sins away."

Why not???

It further instructs the sinner to say, "Please." Will God save someone who is sincere, and who begs him nicely for salvation apart from BELIEVING in his Atoning work? Not on your life!

What a confusing tract. It confuses a sinner from the get go, by making him think he is good, then telling him that according to the Bible he isn't, but then in the end stating he is. What??? Am I the only one who sees a problem here?

Then, instead of instructing a sinner to simply BELIEVE upon the finished work of Christ -- i.e. His Shed Blood -- it instructs the sinner to only realize (rather than believe) Jesus died for his sins and then beg Him for forgiveness.

You might say I'm a stickler for things like this and I'm being too critical. But am I? The Devil specializes in deceiving people and he'll use anything he can to damn souls to Hell, even confusing Gospel Tracts!

Why not print Gospel tracts like they did back in the 1800s when they didn't instruct a sinner to do or pray anything? What's wrong with simply ending with, "Trust the blood to be saved or reject it and go to Hell!" Why do they "pressure" a sinner to do something. (By the way, the only thing a man can do that's not a work is believe!)

This is why my wife and I print our own tracts. We can't in good conscience pass out tracts that can and often do confuse sinners. I pray if you are passing out tracts, you'll make sure to pass out good ones with a clear and concise plan of salvation pointing sinners to salvation through God's method--through His blood atonement. For souls are at stake. And if you are Christian, some day you will give account to God. Are you prepared? Do you feel the tracts you use clearly present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a non-confusing manner? If not, then get some good tracts, or else do what we are doing, print your own.

Seven Places Ministers Twist the Scriptures on the Doctrine of Salvation

I believe the rapture is very soon. And I really care about the lost and want to see them saved. The last thing I want to do is deceive people or instruct them to do something foreign to the scriptures. I just want them to hear the Gospel, believe it, be saved and know it.

But it never ceases to amaze me just how few other ministers there are out there that don't find this important. Instead of holding fast to the important Bible doctrine of salvation by faith in God's blood atonement provided us by Jesus Christ, they would rather follow the unitarian teaching of instructing a sinner to just "Ask God to save you." (This perverted Gospel which oftentimes leaves a Sinner trusting in their PRAYER rather than in Christ's PAYMENT for their sins has been dealt with at length and in detail on my blog. In case you haven't read it, please read my blog on Asking versus Trusting.)

The truth is you can beg God for forgiveness a million times over, but until you trust Christ's shed blood alone, you are not saved. This is sound Bible doctrine.

Why is it then that so many ministers today are teaching salvation is by "asking" rather than by the Scriptural way of "accepting" Jesus as your personal Saviour by FAITH in His Shed Blood?

I believe the answer is because they have heard others preach the "Beggar's Gospel" for so long they don't even question its validity.

And, little do they realize that they are twisting the scriptures to teach what they do not. Let's look now at the Seven most popular verses Preachers use to support their teaching that all a sinner must do to be saved is simply and sincerely "ask" God to forgive them, rather than TRUST God's atonement.

1. THE REPENTANT SINNER

In Luke 18:11-14 we read of the publican who utters the words, "God be merciful to me a Sinner." Now I've heard it preached, and I'm sure you have too, that all a man must do to be saved is simply repeat those very same words and they will saved just as that publican. But is that so? Do those words save us?

Where's the Gospel in this teaching? Where's the blood? Where is salvation by grace through faith in Christ's finished work? It's simply not there.

As we take a closer look at the passage, we find that Jesus Christ has not yet died on the cross. (Remember, salvation is by faith in the Gospel, and the Gospel is that Christ DIED, and was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures), so this verse is not dealing with New Testament salvation. It is still under the time of the law. To take this passage and preach it for New Testament Salvation today is to twist the scriptures!

We also see the publican was right in front of Jesus Christ, as Jesus was watching what he did. But the publican by passed Jesus Christ when he uttered his prayer, asking God to forgive him. Is this the plan of salvation today? Are we too saved by by-passing Jesus? Of course not.

How could anyone think that our salvation today could be by doing or saying what this Publican did, rather than by simply TRUSTING in what Jesus did for us at Calvary when he suffered, bled, and died?

My friend, to teach this passage for salvation, or to instruct a Sinner to simply repeat the words of this Publican for salvation is to twist the scriptures to teach what they do not, and is to make a person think they can be saved by uttering words rather than simply receiving Jesus Christ as their Saviour by faith.

2. PETER ASKING TO BE SAVED

In Matthew 14:28-31 we read of the apostle Peter and of his walking on water as he left the boat and walked to Jesus. As he began to sink, he cries out those famous words, "Lord, save me!"

Now I'm sure you've heard, as I have, those words preached by some Pastor, Missionary, or Evangelist, in which he stresses, "Now if you want to be saved, just call out to God the same way!" But is that salvation? Is a man saved by simply saying, "Lord, save me!"

If you'll look at the context, you'll see any man who tries to make this the plan of salvation is blatantly twisting the scriptures to teach what they do not. For Peter was not asking for the spiritual salvation of his soul. Instead, he was asking for physical salvation. He just didn't want to drown!

Again, the things described in the passage happened before the cross. How could a man preach this for salvation when it has nothing to do with the Gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection?

Finally, as we faithfully read the context, we find that Peter is strongly REBUKED for saying what he did as Jesus streched forth his hand and caught him saying, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

For a man to preach that salvation is by simply repeating Peter's words here is for a man to twist the scriptures. This passage is not speaking of salvation and all. But if it was, even the context shows us salvation is by FAITH, and not by begging for God to save you!

3. CALLING UPON THE LORD

Romans 10:13 seems to be the most quoted verse today that many so-called "soul winners" use in dealing with the lost. However, they often don't explain what it means to call upon the Lord Biblically. Usually their whole presentation is just a few verses from the Roman's Road and then they encourage a Sinner to simply repeat a prayer after them. Afterwards, they tell the Sinner they are saved (now watch this) BECAUSE THEY DID THAT.

But is this New Testament Salvation? Is a man saved by what he does or says? Does the actual prayer itself save a person? And where is faith in the the blood in all of this?

If you'll look at the context of Romans 10:13 you'll see that it's clear. Calling upon the Lord must be by FAITH from the heart and not just a vain religious prayer repeated from the lips. Calling is believing (Rom. 10:14).

Yet many a minister claims that to be saved, all a man has to do is just "repeat the Sinner's Prayer." If this is so, why did Jesus die at all on the cross? Why didn't he just stay in heaven and say, "Okay, now anyone who just repeats a prayer I'll save, so just do that and I'll give you eternal life." But that's just silly. No, Jesus had to come and die on the cross. He had to shed his blood, for that was the only way to forgive men of their sins. Now God asks sinners to come to him and receive him by faith in his precious blood. They are to rest in his FINISHED WORK. Sure they can pray, but they should never be deceived into thinking their prayer saves them!

To teach Romans 10:13 as some kind of "Mystical Sinner's Prayer" that grants a man forgiveness and saves him outside of trusting in the blood atonement of Jesus Christ is twist the scriptures to teach what they do not. Biblically, a sinner's calling on God must be by faith from the heart (2 Tim. 2:22) and it must be in truth (Ps. 145:18).

4. OPENING THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART

Probably the most blatant misapplication of scriptures taught today on the doctrine of salvation is the misapplying and twisting of Revelation 3:20. Many soul winners use this verse on lost people and then instruct them to simply "Open their hearts door and let Jesus in." (Others say, "Ask Jesus Into Your Heart).

But is this what the verse is speaking about?

If you'll study the context you'll see this verse is Jesus Christ talking to a CHURCH, not to a lost man. And he knocks on the door of that church, not on anyone's heart.

To teach this verse for salvation as Jesus knocking on someone's "heart's door" wanting to get in is to blatantly twist the scriptures to teach what they do not.

5. SIMPLY ASK GOD TO SAVE YOU

Another place modernist preachers like to preach out of context is Matthew 7:7-8. They take the words, "Ask, and it shall be given you," and they apply these words to salvation, stating things like, "So just ASK God to save you and he will."

But a second look at the passage and the context itself clearly shows this is a complete misapplication of the passage. First, Jesus is not talking about salvation at all! Second, Jesus is speaking to "sons" or those who are already saved in the context! Third, we find in verse eleven that Jesus is speaking about "gifts" and "good things" that God the Father gives to those who ask (saved people in the context).

The passage has NOTHING TO DO WHATSOEVER with salvation. And to try to make it apply to it is to twist the scriptures. We must also remember this is before Jesus even died on the cross! So how can this passage have anything to do with the Gospel and salvation? I can't. And, it doesn't.

6. GOD WILL ACCEPT ALL WHO COME TO HIM

Modern apostates justify their position of stressing Sinners to "ask God for salvation" by quoting John 6:37, specifically the words, "...And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

They say that anyone who comes to God in prayer, asking for salvation, will receive it based on this verse. But do they check the context? Of course not. For if they did, they would find verse 35 defines exactly how a man must come to God. There we read, "...he that BELIEVETH on me shall never thirst."

Coming to God must be by faith or believing and that faith must be in the sacrificial blood atonement of Jesus Christ!

To come to God begging for salvation apart from the blood is not salvation. And for a man to twist the scriptures to teach that anyone who sincerely comes to God and asks him to save them will be saved is very naive. God will only save you if you come to him by faith in his blood.

7. GOD HAVE MERCY ON ME

Another passage modern apostate Preachers love to use is Luke 18:35-39. They quote the words of the blind man in the passage and apply them to salvation, even encouraging sinners to repeat his same words, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me."

But little do they realize these words were not uttered from the lips of a man who was seeking spiritual salvation. Rather, he said these words desiring to be healed of his blindness.

Many Preachers who are faced with this simple Biblical truth say, "Oh, I know that! But I'm spiritually applying the passage to salvation."

That's interesting, for as you read farther down in the passage you find Jesus saying in verse 42, "...And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee."

Notice Jesus said the man was saved by FAITH not by ASKING. It wasn't the Sinner's calling out to God from the lips and begging him to heal him that gave him his healing. It was the FAITH that the man had. Salvation is by faith.

Another interesting point we glean from this passage is that the blind man cried out to God TWICE. This is an important point, because many modern preachers tell sinners that if they have asked God to save them already, and they don't feel saved or they doubt it, then they are to just ask God to save them all over again. This leads to many sinners praying the "Sinner's Prayer" over and over and they never really know if they are saved or not. The question then arises if they really saved at all. For if they were, why would they be begging God to save them over and over. I mean, if you had salvation, why would you be asking for it all over again?

IN SUMMARY

There are many people out there who are wresting the scriptures to their own destruction. Instead of preaching salvation by grace through faith without works (Eph. 2:8-9), they are guilty of preaching another plan of salvation, a unitarian doctrine, which teaches a Sinner doesn't have to know anything about the Gospel or the Blood, rather he simply needs to ASK God to save him. But to preach this, they must twist the scriptures to teach what they do not.

The Bible is clear. Salvation is by faith alone in God's sacrifice for man's sins. For a Sinner to believe this, he must first hear it (for faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God according to Romans 10:14). But how can he hear it if instead he's told to just BEG God to save him apart from trusting God to do so. We then clearly see two very different gospels being preached in our world today. One saves and the other damns. One comes to God through the blood of Christ, the other tries to come to God by by-passing the blood of Jesus. One is the BLOODSTAINED GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, and the other is a BLOODLESS, BEGGAR'S GOSPEL.

How sad that modern ministers don't stop to think about what they are preaching. Sadder still that in my own denomination (Independent Baptist) that I've seen men who are preaching the modern perverted gospel of Asking rather than Trusting. Hopefully after reading this article you will not be guilty of the same. For we need more ministers who will not twist or pervert the Gospel, but will simply and plainly teach and preach it to Sinners the way the Bible does, through faith in Christ's blood atonement.