Does Your Baptist Church Teach Heresy?
By David J. Stewart
1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Our text Scripture passage above defines the Biblical Gospel: Jesus DIED, He
was BURIED and He miraculously ROSE from the dead three days later. This is
the Gospel (good news). Many churches today leave out the resurrection,
others add the additional requirements of making Jesus Lord, surrendering
one's will to serve Christ, forsaking the world, ceasing from sinful bad
habits and giving one's life to Jesus. These are all false additions to the
simple plan of salvation. We are saved simply by realizing that we have
sinned against a holy God, and believing the Gospel.
Having said that, I was shocked today while visiting the website of a prominent “First Baptist Church” (I won't mention their location). The senior pastor has both a Master's degree and a Doctorate of Ministries degree from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Yet, I am appalled at the pastor's woeful ignorance of the Gospel. Read for yourself their unbelievable false plan of salvation, which they propagate in their community...
4 STEPS To Get To Heaven...
“HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN
We Believe that all of us have failed God.
For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. (Rom. 3:23 NLT)
We Believe that we deserve eternal punishment for our failure.
In those days, when you were slaves of sin, you weren't concerned with doing what was right. And what was the result? It was not good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. (Rom. 6:20-2 NLT)
We Believe that Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross.
Yet now God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who freed us by taking away our sins. (Rom. 3:24 NLT)
We must give our lives to Jesus because He gave His life for us.
And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to
give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask? (Rom. 12:1 NLT)” [emphasis added]SOURCE:
How to Get to Heaven
They do ok until the last step, which then teaches BLASPHEMY! That's a cursed gospel of lies. Salvation is a gift from God. You don't give up anything to get saved. God is giving us eternal life. It's our choice. The only way to be saved is to receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins, believing that Jesus raised up from the dead after three days. We are saved by Christ's precious, literal, physical, blood sacrifice (1st Peter 1:18-19; Colossians 1:20).
2nd Corinthians 4:2, “...nor handling the word of God deceitfully...”
No doubt, the author of the preceding corrupt plan of salvation was very sincere, likely being misled by apostates such as Billy Graham, Chip Ingram, Ray Comfort and John MacArthur.
They're ADDED the self-righteous work of consecrating one's life to God to get to Heaven. In sharp contrast, the Biblical Gospel is totally free and has no requirements, obligations nor strings attached. The gift of God is free for WHOSOEVER will have it by childlike faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
You don't get to Heaven by giving your body to
God. According to the preceding false plan of salvation, they use Romans
12:1 as a text verse for salvation. In reality, this verse speaks about
consecrating one's life to God, discipleship, which comes later after a person is
saved. Consecration has absolutely NOTHING to do with the gift of
eternal life. Sonship has nothing to do with discipleship. You don't have to give your life to Jesus to be saved. This
are doctrines of devils. This false gospel is based in 100%
self-righteousness, which is a road to Hell. Salvation is not human effort
plus partial faith in Christ. Either God does all the saving, or you aren't
saved. Our part is simply to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
(Acts 16:30-31).
Salvation Is Absolutely Impossible Without The Resurrection Of Jesus
Notice also that this wayward church quotes from the perverted New Living Translation (NLT) of the Bible. There's also nothing about Christ's resurrection mentioned. And their final appeal to the sinner is to “We must give our lives to Jesus because He gave His life for us.” What a doctrinal nightmare! This is 100% John Macarthurism!!! If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching in vain. 1st Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” Even atheists and unbelievers admit that a man named Jesus once lived and died. But very few people, and I mean VERY FEW, genuinely believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God Who was raised up miraculously from the dead after three days.
Most people deny the miraculous Virgin Birth, and they deny the miraculous Resurrection of Jesus from the dead by the power of God. Most secular writers, unsaved modernists and religious humanists all teach the basic teachings of Jesus Christ, but they totally reject His literal virgin birth, deity, sinless life, Godhead and bodily resurrection. Thus, it is critically important that we as Christians preach the resurrection of Christ when presenting the Gospel. To say that Jesus died and was buried is not enough to be saved.
I can further evidence my teachings here with Romans 10:9-10...
Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
As you just read, to be saved we must believe
that Jesus was raised up alive from the dead. When Jesus arose from the
dead, He was visibly seen by over 500 brethren at once and others (1st
Corinthians 15:6). Jesus ascended bodily and visibly into Heaven, departing
from His disciples (Acts 1:9-11; Romans 8:34).
Jesus Was Raised Bodily, Ascended Bodily, And Will Return Bodily
The Jehovah Witnesses (JW) false cult have a demonic teaching that says Jesus only raised in spirit, but not bodily. No, the Bible teaches that Jesus rose bodily and in spirit, and was seen by over 500 people. Jesus in His glorified new body ate and drank with His disciples. Christ's return will also be bodily and visible. JW's have another strange doctrine which says that World Wars I and II were outward manifestations of Christ's spiritual (but not bodily) return. JW's are false prophets! Christ's Second Coming hasn't happened yet. First the Rapture will occur, at any moment. And then the 7-year Tribulation period.
In Acts 1:11 there were two angels in white apparel standing with the disciples as Jesus ascended into the clouds. The two angels said that the Lord will one day return to the earth in like manner as He left, which means bodily and highly visible. When the Lord returns to the earth at the Second Coming, every eye shall see Him. The world will be gathered for judgment. Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” The Second Coming (or Second Advent or Revelation) of Jesus Christ, happens at the climax of the 7 year Tribulation. The Lord with ten thousands of His saints shall put down and defeat the Dragon (Satan, Revelation 20:2), the Beast (Antichrist) and the False Prophet.
Some Bible-students argue that Jesus new body only has bone and flesh without blood. Albeit, I tend to agree with Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) on this matter, who believed that Jesus' glorified body DOES have blood. It is not man's blood, but God's blood. Since Jesus drank liquids, there must be a digestive process and the means for liquids to travel throughout the body. Veins would require liquid and blood vessels. When the two angels came to Lot's house in Genesis, the Bible says that they FEASTED. Angel's eat! Amen! In Heaven, believers in their glorified bodies will enjoy eating with the Lord and the angels. What a time of feasting and fellowship it will be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!!!
The Bible says in Leviticus 17:11 that the life
of man's flesh is in the blood; but I believe the life of our new glorified
body will be the Spirit of God Himself. If corruption is to inherit
incorruption as 1st Corinthians 15:52-53 teaches, then the sin-tainted blood
of man must be gone forever. That's why Jesus could not have an earthly
father, because of man's poisoned blood stream. Acts 20:28, “Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of
God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
Whew! God purchased the Church with His own blood! Amen!!! Jesus' body had
God the Father's blood flowing in His veins, for it was the Holy Spirit who
overshadowed Mary with a miraculous conception not involving physical
relations (as perverted Mormons teach). Mitt Romney is a devout teacher of
devil doctrines in the Mormon cult. I wonder what else he teaches. The
Mormons take
hands-on-training to a whole new meaning of the word.
The Holy Spirit Of Promise And Truth
Placing faith in Jesus is not the gospel message. The cross upon which Christ died must be included. Our text Scripture passage in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 defines the Gospel as Christ's DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION. Adding any self-righteous works to that corrupts the Gospel. You must not add water baptism, nor the mass, nor confessional booth, nor confirmation. False Bible versions produce false doctrines, which produce false converts and false churches. But God is a God of truth. Jesus said He is the truth (John 14:6). The Word of God is truth (John 17:17). Jesus came into the world to bear witness unto the truth (John 18:37). The truth is important to God!!! Sound doctrine is truth!
The Catholic teaching of Confirmation is totally of the Devil, unsound doctrine, a big lie. Hellbound Catholics claim that Confirmation (which they call a sacrament) is when the Holy Spirit comes into a person's life. In sharp contrast, the Bible teaches repeatedly that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer the moment that you trust Christ as your Savior (Romans 8:9). Ephesians 1:13, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” The Holy Spirit comes in to seal every believer the very second they believe the Gospel. I love what the Bible calls God's Spirit in us... that holy Spirit OF PROMISE!!! God promised to give us His Spirit...
John 14:17, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me."
John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
The Holy Spirit is often called the Spirit of Truth. No wonder Jesus said in John 4:24 that God the Father can only be worshipped in spirit and truth. Amen! So many churches these days have fallen prey to devils of doctrines and apostasy. A church that teaches a false plan of salvation is a religious cult, not a New Testament Church. I am saddened for all the people involved with this apostate Baptist church who teach the doctrine of Cain, that is, works salvation.
Romans 4:5 plainly states that salvation is without works. We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, that is, Christ's righteousness (2nd Corinthians 5:21), and not any good of our own (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9. Note: All Scripture references are only to the trustworthy and inspired King James Bible). That's part of the problem with this particular First Baptist Church, that is, they're using a corrupted version of God's Word. If your Bible version is flawed, then so also will be your church doctrines and morals.
By the way, the word “sacrament” is not taught in the Bible. It's a lie of evil men, as it Protestantism. Baptists are NOT Protestants. Lutherans are Protestants, because Luther protested and came out of Catholicism. Tragically, although Luther departed from the religious whore of Catholicism, Catholicism never departed from Martin Luther and he taught the damnable heresies of: Baptismal Regeneration, Mary Worship and Sacramental Salvation until the day he died and plunged into Hell beneath. Salvation is by grace through faith plus or minus nothing. Too bad Luther added a bunch of self-righteousness to what he wrongly understood as faith.
My friend, you can give your life to Jesus as you want, and still go straight to burn in the fires of Hell when you leave this earthly tabernacle (body). Judas was one of Christ's very apostles, yet he was a known thief and had a devil Jesus said (John 6:70). Our flesh is just a tent the Bible says. But the apostle Paul says if our tent becomes uninhabitable anymore due to wear from age, or from sickness or premature death, then we have a home in Heaven. 2nd Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” ...
This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through;
My treasures are laid up, some where beyond the blue;
The angels beckon me, from Heaven's golden shore;
No I can't feel at home, in this world anymore!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!!!
A Final Word
We truly are surviving in the last days. There's so much lying in the news, fake pictures, staged war atrocities being fabricated by Hollywood-type production crews. You can do anything these days with computer PhotoShop. You can't trust hardly anyone. There are so many liars in the world. War is coming and will always keep coming, because war is very profitable for the wealthy global elite who control the world. They will always start wars, so they can finance both sides and become even more rich and powerful. It's a big game to them (and we are the expendable players).
I really hope and pray that this church changes
their views on salvation, because you CANNOT get to Heaven be giving your
body to God. You cannot surrender your life to Christ to get into Heaven. We
don't hear the truth hardly taught anymore in our churches, that is,
YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN! (John 3:5). I am saddened to have found such
a large church near Nashville, Tennessee, but they teach a cursed false
message of salvation that cannot save anyone. There is no human effort in
salvation other than to trust upon the Lord and what He did to pay for our
sins. God does all the saving! It is God's salvation offered to mankind on
an individual basis by faith in Christ. Without the cross there can be no
salvation. Without the resurrection there can be no salvation. Jesus paid it
all, and we don't owe Him anything!!!
God Does Not Require Any Return Favors To Be Saved
The song Jesus Paid It All, with the lyrics “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe,” was sang in the sense of gratitude and ethics (doing the right thing). The song writer never meant that our salvation was dependent upon giving back to Christ because He has given Himself for us. That's a damnable doctrine of self-righteous foolishness. The truth is that Jesus paid completely for OUR SINS, so we could be eternally forgiven and justified (JUST-IF-I'D never sinned). The Lord requires nothing in return. Not one verse of Scriptures says that God won't save us unless we give something back to Christ. That's the doctrinal garbage that this First Baptist Church is teaching. And by the way, that's the same junk theology being taught in the churches today by John MacArthur and other apostates. They teach that since Jesus gave all for us, then we must give ourselves to Him or else we cannot get to Heaven. That's Satanic teaching!!!
They've mandated discipleship as part of the ROOT of saving faith. Jesus never asked us to give up anything to be saved, not even our unbelief. I don't care how much unbelief you may have, if you have even the smallest amount of faith (even as a small grain of mustard seed), God will save you IF you act upon the faith by believing upon the Lord. No amount of unbelief nor doubt can hinder a man from believing. In fact, the very presence of doubt is necessary in order for faith to exist. For without the presence of doubt there is nothing for faith to overcome.
The truth is that God DOESN'T require a penny back from you, not a second of service, not a minute in church, not a finger of work to repay anything. It's all freely provided by Jesus' precious blood, which He applied to the mercy seat in the heavenly holy place (Hebrews 9:12,22-24). Once and for all, humanity's sins have been paid for. Will you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as full payment for your sins? That's all you have to do to be saved. It's not what you're doing that gets you to Heaven, it's where you're looking. Look to Jesus!
Beware of what church you join these days, because even quite a few Baptist churches are teaching insane doctrines of devils these days. It's hard to believe what I'm finding on the internet lately concerning so-called ministries. I am a Baptist myself and love Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches for their aggressive door-to-door soul-winning, Bus Ministries, strict moral standards, loving sinners back to spiritual health, red-hot Bible-preaching without compromise, loving sinners enough to tell them the truth even if it offends them, and for using only the authorized King James Bible! Only a small handful of Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches today are still going out door-to-door soulwinning as did the early church in acts 20:20 (known as the soul-winner's 20/20 vision).
God deliver us from the woeful apostasy of our time, when we see First Baptist Churches teaching that the way to be saved is to give God one's body and give your life to Jesus. Judas tried that and it didn't work out too well for him. Judas “repented” the Bible says in Matthew 27:3. This is not the same as repentance concerning salvation. It's an entirely different Greek word. Judas was sorry that he got caught betraying the Lord. Judas even tried to return the 30 silver coins. Judas had turned over a new leaf, but reformation is not regeneration. When the reprobate religious rulers refused the silver, Judas tossed the money onto the floor and ran. Judas was a changed man, so it seemed. Yet, Judas went out and hanged himself and is burning in hellfire unto this very day. Why? It is because Judas tried to forsake bad works to be saved, just like the Lordship Salvation crowd are doing. Kindly, if you add anything to faith (reliance) alone in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are going to Hell forever!
Biblical salvation is a free gift, which you simply take by placing your faith in Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins, believing that after three days in the tomb He bodily raised up from the dead. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
Ray Discomfort | Ray Comfort is Wrong On Salvation! | The Damnable Heresy of Ray Comfort
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