Acts 15:1,24,
“And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and
said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be
saved. Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us
have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be
circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment.”
The
Bible says that “certain men” came down from Judaea who taught false
doctrine to the brethren, perverting the Gospel message. They taught that a
person who is not circumcised and fails to keep the Law cannot be saved.
This greatly troubled the brethren, who had been previously taught by the
Apostle Paul that salvation was wholly of God's grace and not of works.
We still have these “certain men” with us
today, men like John MacArthur and Ray Comfort, who trouble the Church by
teaching that a person must depart from sinful living to be saved. The Bible
gives no such commandment.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is very simple—We
are sinners and Jesus is the Savior! One who acknowledges his or her guilt
of sin for breaking God's holy commandments, and who believes on the Lord
Jesus Christ for forgiveness will be saved. Acts 10:43, "To him give all
the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins." The change of life that ought to follow is
the result of genuine repentance, and not a part of saving-faith itself.
This blessed truth is clearly taught in Romans 4:6, "Even as David also
describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works."
It is through faith that God attributes the
righteousness of Christ to our record in Heaven. Literally, we are saved by
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; and all these things shall be added unto you." Romans
10:3,4, "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth."
The reason for so much confusion in our
churches today is a common misunderstanding of the word “repentance,” which
Biblically means “a change of mind.” It does not mean a change of
lifestyle.
Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) said it best...
"Repentance is the recognition of my
sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be
in His holy Word."
SOURCE:
Except Ye Repent, by Dr. Harry Ironside,
chapter 3
Some people have claimed it is just
a matter of semantics concerning Ray Comfort's teachings and what
the Bible says. Not so.
Ray Comfort Corrupts Matthew 7:22-23
"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
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity." —Matthew 7:22,23
On page 1197 of THE EVIDENCE BIBLE, Ray
Comfort comments on Matthew 7:22,23...
"These are perhaps the most
frightening verses in the Bible. Vast multitudes of professing
Christians fit into the category spoken of here. They call Jesus 'Lord,'
but they practice lawlessness. They profess faith in Jesus, but have no
regard for the divine law. hey tell 'fibs' or 'white' lies, take things
that belong to others, have a roaming eye for the opposite sex, etc.
They are liars, thieves, and adulterers at heart, who will be cast from
the gates of heaven into the jaws of hell."
SOURCE: THE EVIDENCE
BIBLE, by Ray Comfort, pg. 1197; 2003, Bridge-Logos Publishers,
Orlando, Florida
Ladies
and gentleman, Ray Comfort is teaching works salvation! According to what we
just read by Ray Comfort, every believer who is still living in deliberate
sin won't be allowed into Heaven.
The correct interpretation of Matthew 7:22,23
must include verse 21...
"Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
What is "the will of the Father"? The answer is
found in John 6:40...
"And
this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth
the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will
raise him up at the last day."
The group in Matthew 7:21-23 were unsaved
because they refused to do God's will concerning salvation. It wasn't
because they still had personal sins in their life. Every believer still has
sin in their life! We all sin every day. That's not to say that we have
God's approval to sin, God forbid (Romans 3:31). It just means that even the
best of Christians are still sinners. Ray Comfort wrestles the Scriptures to
his own destruction.
Don't Add to the Gospel
Just as those false prophets in Acts 15:1 added
keeping the Law to get saved, so do Catholic add keeping the Seven
Sacraments to get saved. Catholicism is a lie of the Devil, which billions
of people foolishly follow. No one puts on a religious show like Catholics,
but they pervert the Scriptures, adding requirements for salvation that God
never commanded in His Word. It is a woeful sin to corrupt the Gospel
message. The Bible plainly states that salvation is wholly by God's grace
through our faith in Christ. No one can get to Heaven by doing good works or
by getting water baptized or by keeping sacraments. Anyone who says that a
person must keep the Law to be saved is a liar.
Jesus paid for our sins so we wouldn't have to.
It is impossible for anyone to keep the Law. Even our best efforts are
futile. No one is capable of fully obeying God's Law. Jesus plainly stated
that even sins of the heart are just as wicked in God's eyes as literal sins
of the flesh (Matthew 5:28). Those who teach that salvation can be lost fail
to realize the extent of their own wickedness, for if salvation could be
lost, then we all lost it a long time ago. Who is without sin except our
precious Savior?
The Bible says in Acts 15:2 that "Paul and
Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them." In other
words, they got into a big confrontation. Paul wouldn't back down concerning
the truth and told those men they were heretics. Those men had corrupted the
Gospel, having added circumcision and keeping of the Law as a requirement to
be saved. Let us never make the grave mistake of adding anything to
childlike faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. We are woeful sinners and
Jesus is the Savior. It's that simple.
