By David J. Stewart | June 2017
Hello Vicki,
I can help you clear the confusion. It's okay to be confused, as we all are at
times on various issues, and I commend you for being honest with yourself in
the matter, which is half the battle with anything in life. Please notice the
following Scripture.... 2nd Corinthians 5:21, “For he [God the Father] hath
made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.” Jesus was sinless, perfect in every way. We are
sinful, corrupt in our ways as human beings. Because man sinned, we couldn't
have eternal life, regardless of how hard men tried to atone for their own
sins. So God in His love sent His only begotten Son into the world, to pay a
debt on the cross that He did not owe, because we owed a debt of sin that we
could not pay. Literally, 2nd Corinthians 5:21 teaches that Jesus died a
sinner's death, in our place on the cross, so that we could be made the
righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, we cannot do anything to
merit salvation. It is the gift of God.
If I offered you a birthday gift Vicki, let's say a new acoustic guitar, but
then I said you can have the gift if you wash my car, you say, “Wait a minute,
you said this was a gift? How can it be a gift if I have to wash your car to
get it?” It's no different with Lordship Salvation. Ray Comfort and John
MacArthur falsely tell people that they cannot be saved unless they turn away
from sinful bad habits, which they misunderstand to mean repentance.
It is true that repentance is required for salvation, but in the Greek, the
word for “repent” is the noun metanoia, which simply means “a change of mind.”
The verb form is metanoeo, which simply means “to think differently.” Now if
you look up the word “repent” in an English dictionary, it says something
like, “to turn away from sin, to be sorry and show contrition for wrong
doing.” This is NOT the Greek meaning of the word. As you can see, the English
meaning of the word has caused much confusion in the churches. Repentance is a
change of mind unto the Gospel itself.
Salvation is so simple, which is how God intended for it to be. The Bible even
calls the Gospel, the simplicity that is in Christ” in 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4.
The apostle Paul warned that anyone who preaches “another Gospel” is
“accursed” by God (Galatians 1:6-9). There is only one Gospel, as defined in
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.”
We are saved by believing “THE GOSPEL.” There is no mention of forsaking
sinful bad habits, which would constitute “works” for salvation. In the Gospel
of John we read the words “believe” and “believed” 85 times, but the word
“repent” is not mentioned even once. That speaks volumes! We are saved by
BELIEVING, not by repenting, but non one has ever believed who didn't repent
(i.e., think differently toward sin, God, Jesus and the Gospel). A man must
admit that he is a sinner to be saved, but forsaking sins is a matter of
growth in grace and discipleship, not sonship (i.e., salvation). Repeatedly in
the Scriptures we are simply told to believe.
For example: John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we
might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
I wrote a helpful article on God's imputed righteousness...
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/Doctrines/imputation.htm
To go to Heaven, we must be 100% righteous, perfect in every way. Obviously,
that is impossible. That's why Jesus died on the cross and shed His precious
blood to pay for our sins (1st Peter 1:18-19), so that we could be declared
100% righteousness by faith in that precious blood. There is no other way to
be saved.
To summarize my letter to you Vicki. Please get this one truth... We are saved
by GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, not our own. If you understand that, then it will be
100% clear to you that Lordship Salvation is of the Devil. You and I are
horrible sinners in God's sight, so that even the good things that we do is
filth to God (Isaiah 64:6). Romans 4:5 is one of my favorite Scriptures, which
says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
I have a copy of Ray Comfort's “The Evidence Bible” here at home, in which he
comments on verses from Genesis to Revelation, but he has absolutely NOTHING
to say about Romans 4:5, because it exposes his false teachings on Lordship
Salvation! BUT TO HIM THAT WORKETH NOT! I'm not shouting at you by the way,
I'm simply emphasizing certain truths to help you. I really want you to get
this Vicki, because it is so clear if you ponder these Scriptures. I don't
want you to follow my teachings; but rather, I want to show you the Word of
God, so you'll see it for yourself. Ray Comfort cannot use the Scriptures to
support his heresy, so he cherry-picks the sermons of great men like Charles
Spurgeon, misrepresenting him. Notice what Romans 4:5 says... HIS FAITH IS
COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS!!! I love that!
When a sinner places their trust (believing faith) in the death of Christ on
the cross, His burial and bodily resurrection three days later, they are saved
immediately and forever. Our faith is counted for righteousness, because we
have no self-righteousness to offer God, and He won't tolerate us adding
anything to the Gospel. The very idea of having to stop committing willful
sins to be saved is as wicked as can be, robbing Jesus of credit that He only
deserves. I was saved at age 13 by God's imputed righteousness, and I have no
part in that, except to trust the Lord.
I sure hope Vicki my words have helped you clarify this matter. If not, please
ask me questions and I'll help you with this. We need to make sure that you
form a solid conviction concerning your salvation, otherwise you'll never have
a solid foundation in your Christian life to build upon. You've got to KNOW,
beyond any shadow of a doubt, that you are saved, that your sins have been
washed away by the precious blood of the Lamb (Revelation 1:5). Nothing is
more important. I am your friend and I'm here to help others in the Lord. God
bless you and thank you again for visiting my website ministry. Kindest
regards.
