Donald Trump: "I am Christian"

By Justin Edwards

Donald Trump appeared on CBN News this morning apparently courting the evangelical right in a bid for a 2012 presidential nomination. I first discovered this interview yesterday as CBN published a portion of that interview where Trump professed to be a Christian. As there was no mention of Jesus during the clip, which of course was disappointing especially since the interview took place on a Christian network, I was inclined to give somewhat a benefit of doubt in hopes the full interview would be posted and reveal any mention of Jesus Christ. To my disappointment, my expectations fell flat. 

Below is the full interview with CBN correspondent David Brody.  As you will see, Donald Trump will appeal to the conservatives of America, but if this testimony is representative of what is in Mr. Trump's heart - a form of religiosity - then let us be in prayer for this presidential candidate that he might come to know the risen Lord Jesus Christ through faith and repentance.





To understand more why this interview was disappointing yet typical of a professing American Christian testimony, please see the post yesterday at The Speak:Truth Project titled, A Rich Man's Testimony.  When you come across a testimony from a professing Christian on the streets in witnessing encounters, it's essential to know how to share the Gospel with someone who professes to be a Christian yet doesn't seem to know what faith in Christ is.  This article will help you learn what to do.

What Is Wrong with NON-Lordship Salvation? - Part 6

By Justin Edwards

Chosen vessels of mercy, notwithstanding their backslidings, are brought back; but ah! remember that nine out of ten of those who backslide never were God’s people. - Charles Spurgeon

In this series addressing the erroneous arguments in Dr. Andy Woods' article against lordship salvation titled, What Is Wrong with Lordship Salvation?, I have attempted to biblically counter each of Dr. Woods' points with regards to saving faith, repentance, carnal Christianity, and sanctification. In each of these articles, it has been shown that Dr. Woods has a flawed view in these respective areas and significant misunderstanding as to what lordship salvation actually is. The reason for this, of course, is primarily because Dr. Woods adheres to a low view of God's glory in our salvation, which causes him to attribute any type of repentance or committing one's life to Christ as works-based effort to achieve salvation. With a biblical view of salvation, one understands that eternal life begins and is completed with God, and it is His work, not ours, that causes us to be born again and subsequently progress into holy living, without which no one will see God (Hebrews 12:14).

The common theme throughout the articles in this series (as is the common them throughout Scripture) has been the view of the glorious sovereignty of God in our salvation. God's sovereignty is so critical in understanding the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) that if one fails to grasp its fundamental truths, then the rest of their understanding of salvation will crumble or not make any sense. The doctrine of biblical assurance of salvation is no exception to this and will be the final argument addressed in Dr. Woods' article.

Part 6 - Biblical Assurance of Salvation

Dr. Woods opens his fifth and final argument with the following:

Fifth, Lordship Salvation destroys the believer's assurance of salvation. 

On the contrary, NON-lordship salvation gives false converts false assurance of salvation whereas lordship salvation exhorts one to examine himself in the mirror of God's Word:

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. - 2 Corinthians 13:5

Whereas NON-lordship salvation condemns any such self-examination because it assures potential false converts that as long as they were once sincere when they "asked Jesus into their heart" they are saved, Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 17:9,

The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

The truth of the matter is, biblical assurance of salvation cannot be destroyed when one entrusts himself to the promises of God by engaging these promises in the objective truth of God's Holy Word. Too often, men and women depend on their feelings and subjective experiences to give them assurance of salvation, and what's worse, they have easy-believist pastors of the false modern evangelical gospel potentially leading them down the path of destruction instead of encouraging them to examine themselves in the Scripture.

Dr. Woods continues,

Lordship advocates never precisely define what kind of commitment to Christ is necessary in order to become a Christian. 

I find this to be an interesting false premise as I never have a hard time telling people what kind of commitment is necessary to become a Christian. Jesus was pretty clear in this regard when He said, 

whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. - Luke 14:33

Salvation costs us everything, Dr. Woods. Whatever has been revealed to us is what we must forsake. If there is anything for which the cost has been counted and we are not willing to lay it at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we do not want a Savior any more than we want a Lord. Let's use a practicing homosexual as an example.

Joe is a practicing homosexual and has just been exposed to Dr. Woods' gospel message, which according to his article, might be something like this:

Jesus loves you and wants to forgive you of your sins. All you have to do is ask Him to forgive you and trust Him to be your Savior. If you ask Jesus to come into your heart, He will!

So Joe prays a prayer to ask Jesus into his heart, then Dr. Woods might say something like this,

If you just said that prayer and are sincere in believing in Christ as your Savior, then you're saved and I welcome you to the family of God!

Now Joe, being that he knows nothing of repentance, the holiness of God, the judgment of God, and the power of God in our salvation to change the hearts of men, continues to practice homosexuality. When Joe said the "sinner's prayer", he was not broken over his sin and certainly did not repent of it, yet believes himself to be saved because he believes in Jesus to have forgiven him of his sins. Years later, Joe, still an unrepentant homosexual, runs into Dr. Woods and expresses doubts that he is saved. Dr. Woods might tell Joe he remembers him coming to the alter a few years back and as long as Joe was sincere in believing in Christ, he is saved. If given the chance, Dr. Woods might also tell Joe that he needs to submit to the second part of God's plan for his life and commit his life to Jesus as a disciple. In the end, Joe continued as an unrepentant homosexual and never turned from his sin, but because he "changed his mind about God and Jesus", Joe will die a homosexual saint.

Blasphemous! Can you see the obvious error in this false gospel? I used the sin of homosexuality because it is often seen by the evangelical church as a "worst-type sin". But the same verses that condemn homosexuality, are the same verses that condemn drunkenness, adultery, fornication, idolatry, thieves, liars, revilers and more (1 Corinthians 6:8-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5-6).  It is for this reason that one cannot remain in their sin and abide in Christ (1 John 3:6).  When God justifies us, He also washes us and cleanses us from these sinful lifestyles (1 Corinthians 6:11) so that this will be true:

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. - 1 John 3:9

To be clear, this verse is not saying Christians do not sin. The Apostle John is referring to living in a habitual pattern of practical righteousness rather than living in a habitual pattern of sin. The Christian walk, therefore, is a lifestyle of repentance where one is continuously repenting (out of godly remorse) as they are progressively sanctified (2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10) and directionally conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 12:2).  This is why John says the following in 1 John 3:10,

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

And as if it could not be any more clear:

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. - 1 John 3:7-8a

 
Even though these Scriptures make it abundantly clear that the Christian does not and cannot habitually practice a lifestyle of sin, there are many in the easy-believist camp who might say all Christians habitually sin because we are sinful creatures.  They twist the Scripture to fit their agenda or misunderstanding of salvation and sanctification, or perhaps to justify the grip that sin has on their own lives, yet we see in the Word of God that sin no longer has dominion over the believer (Romans 6:14) and Christ came to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8). What's more, those who have been set free by the Truth have been freed from the bondage of sin (John 8:34-36; Romans 6:17-18) to where it no longer controls us (Romans 8:1-2; Galatians 5:16-26). Therefore, an assurance of our salvation is whether or not we are controlled by sin to obey it or controlled by the Spirit of God to obey Him (Romans 6:22).

Dr. Woods asks,

How much surrender is required? 

That's also an easy question to answer, Dr. woods. Total and absolute surrender is required. When Christ purchased us with His precious blood, we became His exclusively (1 Corinthians 6:20). This means our money, our time, our possessions, our family, our bodies and our very life are now His. He owns us. We may not realize at the time of our salvation just how much He owns us, but He owns us nonetheless. The evidence that one is born again, therefore, is the willingness to continue to surrender to the Lordship of Christ (Luke 9:23).  This total and absolute surrender is simply devotion and unwavering allegiance to Christ the King. It's as simple as giving up control of one's life and submitting to the will of God in as much as one knows what that means at the time of salvation. As God conforms us to Himself, we will increasingly understand what it means to surrender to His will, and as He destroys our idols one by one, we will all the more surrender to His Lordship.

Dr. Woods also asks,

How long is this surrender to last?

Another easy question to answer. Surrender is to last forever, Dr. Woods. The evidence of this can be found in Scriptures that tell us we must abide, finish the race, persevere, and live in the Spirit such as 1 John 2:24, Colossians 1:23, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Hebrews 12:1-2 and Romans 8:12-14. These, of course, are only possible by the hand of God who will allow nothing in all of creation to snatch His children out of His hand (Romans 8:38-39; John 10:27-29). Every Christian, then, abides, finishes the race, perseveres, and walks in the Spirit as a pattern of life.

Dr. Woods, again, has another easy question to be answered:

How much fruit must this surrender produce?

Jesus tells us this fruit will be a hundredfold, sixty, or thirty (Matthew 13:23). How much is this? I don't know exactly, but the point is there is fruit indeed. By this we know there is no such thing as a continuously fruitless Christian. 

Dr. Woods asserts,

Because these questions are never precisely answered, the believer spends the rest of his Christian life wondering if he truly made enough of a commitment to become a Christian. 

It seems I have answered these questions, Dr. Woods. In any case, the Christian does not spend the rest of his life wondering if he has committed enough to become a Christian. The false convert, on the other hand, may never have biblical assurance of his salvation if he does not examine himself in the Scriptures to know whether he has the Spirit to testify with his spirit that he is a child of God (Romans 8:15-17). Yet, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6) and diligently seek God (Hebrews 11:6) through the Word of God do not have to worry about whether or not they are saved. This is because their hunger and thirst for the things of God through the application of the Living Word will manifest the fruit that gives evidence of one's salvation.

On "backsliding, Dr. Woods points out,

Because of the believer's potential for “backsliding,” the Christian can never really know until his dying day if he is a committed Christian. 

It is important to define terms here. If by "backsliding" Dr. Woods means one can remain "backslidden", then no, there is no such thing as a backslidden Christian. Such a person needs to be born again. But if by "backsliding" Dr. Woods means one can fall into sin and be restored unto fellowship with God by the discipline of the Father through the Holy Spirit, then yes, Christians can "backslide". Lordship salvation does not teach otherwise.

Assuming that Dr. Woods' definition is of the first definition, he sets up another false premise to suggest lordship salvation causes one to never know "until his dying day if he is a committed Christian." (On a side note - "committed Christian" is redundant as all Christians are committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ). This is ludicrous as the born again believer, eg one who has surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, most certainly may have biblical assurance of salvation during the extent of their Christian walk. It is when the born again believer falls into sin that their assurance might be shaken, which is why we are called to make our calling and election sure to see that we are progressing in our sanctification (2 Peter 1:5-11; Philippians 2:12-13). Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the continued exposure to the Word and believers to hold us accountable, we will be brought to repentance and restoration of our assurance. This is all part of the loving discipline of the Father to assist His children to becoming more like Christ. If one never undergoes such discipline, God Himself says they are not His child:

But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. - Hebrews 12:7-11

Lastly, Dr. Woods concludes his argument stating,

Thus, Lordship Salvation steals the joy that accompanies the knowledge that one's eternal destiny is sealed. Far from such a guessing game, Christ gives all believers instantaneous assurance of salvation at the point of justification (John 5:24; 6:47).

The true Gospel, Dr. Woods, yes, the true Gospel according to so-called "lordship salvation", actually gives rest to the souls of men. By obtaining assurance of salvation through objective examination in the Bible, the souls of men and women can rest in the grace of God as they begin to see their reflection in the mirror of God's Word. This, of course, is quite different than giving mere lip service for the assurance of salvation. Do you suppose God gives instantaneous assurance of salvation to the rocky soil and the thorny soil hearers?  Of course He doesn't as they are not saved (Matthew 13:20-22).

The evidence of our salvation does not come from prayers or emotional experiences; rather, the evidence of our salvation comes through God's preservation of our souls as we continue in the faith and can see the progression of the work of grace in our lives (Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 1:5-9). And why is this case? Because salvation is of the Lord and it is He who is perfecting His work in us through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.  If one can see no evidence of grace-bearing fruit in their life, then they have every reason to believe they may not be saved.

Whether one is truly born again or has surrendered to the Lordship of Christ can perhaps most easily be seen in asking this question:  have I entered into the yoke of Christ to be taught in the way of righteousness? (Matthew 11:29-30)

This is true rest for our souls. And what is the condition of our finding rest for our souls? To bow in humility and put on the yoke of Christ. To be lowly in heart and meek, which is to say to be submissive to the authority of one's master. Christ, our Master, has called us to a life of obedience, so when one confesses the Savior as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), he is confessing to God that he is willing to obey Him and trust that He will direct our paths.

Submitting to the Lordship of Christ means nothing more and nothing less. Out of love for the Sovereign King and Pierced Savior, we commit our lives to Jesus because this is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). The evidence that we love Christ is whether we obey Him (John 14:15, 23; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6). If one is not willing to obey Christ, then how could they possibly have assurance, much less be saved? Even more so, how can one claim to love authority when they do not obey them or have the desire to learn from them? That is as ridiculous as it is absurd.

Dr. Woods and those of his persuasion are the very cause of the false conversions and continuously carnal Christians who hold faulty fire insurance policies. They base the assurance of one's salvation solely on mere profession and attempt to make the narrow gate as wide as possible. The Word of God is clear, however, that those who are born again and love Christ have departed from wickedness (2 Timothy 2:19) and yield to the command to "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). The blood-bought believer is committed to righteousness, holiness, and newness of life (Ephesians 4:24; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Romans 6:4).  The believer desires to please the Lord in everything (Ephesians 5:10) and constantly seeks to understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:17).

The believer is zealous for good works (Titus 2:14) and has a heart to see lost souls saved (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). The believer loves the brethren (1 John 3:14) and does not forsake fellowship with believers (Hebrews 10:24-25). The believer increasingly manifests the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:8-10) and puts off the old man and the works of darkness (Ephesians 4:17-24; Colossians 3:1-17).

These are just some of the evidences or marks of one who is now a slave to righteousness - a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. These things will become realities in the life of the believer in increasing measure as God perfects His righteousness in the life of the Christian until the day of Redemption (Ephesians 1:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 8:29-30). It is because God has planted His seed in us that we can no longer live according to the flesh and remain lovers of our sin to live in it (1 John 3:9), but rather we will increasingly love the things that God loves (righteousness) and hate the things that God hates (evil). As Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-4,

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

The only alternative to the person described above is found in Philippians 3:19-20,

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

Believers set their mind on heavenly things as a pattern of life, while nonbelievers set their minds on earthly things as a pattern of life. There is no middle ground, regardless of what Dr. Woods and others might teach.

That brings us to the end of Dr. Woods' arguments against lordship salvation. We have covered saving faith, repentance, carnal Christianity, sanctification, and biblical assurance of salvation. In an effort to tie up loose ends, I will hopefully conclude with Part 7 by the end of the week.

In the mean time, I highly recommend going through the following series from Paul Washer titled, Biblical Assurance of Salvation. It is a 5-part series that will help you understand further the contrast between the born again believer and a mere professor of the faith.

If any man be not sure that he is in Christ, he ought not to be easy one moment until he is so. Dear friend, without the fullest confidence as to your saved condition, you have no right to be at ease, and I pray you may never be so. This is a matter too important to be left undecided. - Charles Spurgeon

What Is Wrong with NON-Lordship Salvation? - Part 5

By Justin Edwards

Had it been possible for you to have had salvation without sanctification, it would have been a curse to you instead of a blessing. If such a thing were possible, I cannot conceive of a more lamentable condition than for a man to have the happiness of salvation without the holiness of it; happily, it is not possible. - C.H. Spurgeon

Lordship salvation is one of the most hotly debated topics in the evangelical church today. The dividing line is generally made along the lines of monergism and synergism, which house the set of beliefs of Calvinism and Arminianism, respectively.

Monergism is the biblical view that regeneration (our being born again) is the work of God alone. There is nothing that we do to add to this work of the Holy Spirit, lest we be contributors to our salvation. Therefore, because our rebirth into new creations is a work of God alone, God alone may get the credit for our salvation, thus making no room for anyone to boast (Ephesians 2:9).

Synergism, on the other hand, is the non-biblical view that man's will cooperates with God's will in the work of regeneration. It assumes that God's sovereign work of redemption is ultimately limited by man's sovereignty of his own "free will". Therefore, man can boast in his salvation as having done something (believing by his own will and ability). This view posits that God wants to save all but can't, and he wants to make them holy but can't.

Simply put, monergism declares salvation is for the glory of God alone (Soli Deo Gloria), while synergism puts man in a position to share the glory with God.

With this basic foundation laid, we can now move forward into the doctrine of sanctification and its relationship with justification in this series titled, What Is Wrong with NON-Lordship Salvation?

Part 5 - Sanctification

In his article posted at Bible Prophecy Blog titled What Is Wrong with Lordship Salvation?, Dr. Andy Woods of Sugar Land Bible Church argues that lordship salvation proponents - that is, biblical Gospel proponents - blur the lines of justification with sanctification. In his fourth argument, Dr. Woods wrongly suggests,

Fourth, Lordship Salvation confuses sanctification with justification. 

To be clear, justification is the judicial decision of God to declare sinners not guilty in His holy courtroom.  Because of the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, which is to say He is the only righteous man to walk the earth having perfectly kept the Law of God, He was fit to be a substitute on our behalf to atone for our sins against God (2 Corinthians 5:21). The theological term for the unblemished Lamb of God taking our punishment for us is substitutionary atonement (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18). When sinners turn to God in repentant faith, having trusted in the Person and finished work of  Christ alone, they are immediately declared righteous before the throne of God (Romans 3:21-26). This righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus Christ whereby God looks at the saved sinner as though perfect in His eyes because they are clothed by Christ's righteousness having been justified freely by His grace. This is justification and it comes by faith alone (Romans 5:1).

Sanctification means to be set apart, to be made holy. When we are justified by faith, we are immediately sanctified positionally (1 Corinthians 6:11). This means we are set apart by God as a holy new creation born of Himself (1 John 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17), having been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14, 22; 1 John 1:7). This positional sanctification means we have been eternally separated unto God as a holy people (1 Corinthians 1:30; Hebrews 10:10, 14).

Neither justification or sanctification can occur without regeneration. As mentioned in Part 2, sinners are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). They can no more make themselves alive or raise themselves from the dead than Lazarus could have raised himself from the dead (John 11:43-44). Jesus called the dead man Lazarus to come forth, and he did. So it is with every sinner who is spiritually dead, who cannot possibly please God (Romans 8:7), who cannot discern the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), that must be called forth from the spiritual grave by the voice of the Son of God (John 5:25). Without Jesus calling sinners forth, they cannot be made alive (Ephesians 2:5), and every single sinner He specifically calls forth, will hear and live. This is the authority given to Him by the Father (John 17:2). When Jesus calls us forth and the Holy Spirit makes us alive, this is what it means to be born again (John 3:3-8).  And as we can see in John 1:12-13, being born again is not something we do by a decision to choose God and believe:

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

and it is according to the mercy of God:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, - 1 Peter 1:3-5

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. - Titus 3:5

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”  - John 6:63-65

It is important to explain each of these elements of salvation (regeneration, justification, and sanctification) because it becomes clear that salvation is a work of God alone for His glory alone (Ephesians 1:3-14). We can no more choose or cause ourselves to be born again than a baby can choose or cause himself to be born from his mother's womb.  We can no more choose to become adopted children of God than orphaned babies can choose their adoptive parents.  This is therefore imperative to understand when deconstructing a position such as Dr. Andy Woods' position against lordship salvation.

When Dr. Woods makes the unbiblical claim:

After coming to Christ, God issues another call for His children to pursue practical sanctification or discipleship, 

he does so with a synergistic understanding of Scripture.  What Dr. Woods means by practical sanctification, at least in the biblical sense, is the working out of our positional sanctification into every day holiness.  But Dr. Woods considers such practical sanctification an option for the professing believer and not necessarily something that is guaranteed to follow justification.  This is what we know from Scripture:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. - Philippians 2:12-13

There are some who take verse 12 to mean we must work to keep our salvation, but that is not what the text is saying at all.  Looking to verse 13, we see that it is God who is working His good pleasure through us according to His will.  Paul is telling us to be submitted to the will of God and yield to the purifying work of the Holy Spirit.  Our sanctification is a cooperative effort with the Holy Spirit to fulfill God's will for our lives - our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8) - and the works we do are the works God has predestined us to work (Ephesians 2:10). Most assuredly, these plans of God (His will for us) cannot be stopped:

“I know that you can do all things,and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." - Job 42:2

So to assert as Dr. Woods that sanctification or discipleship is second-tier Christianity or an optional second calling of God for us to become practically righteous and holy is to fundamentally misunderstand that

he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Philippians 1:6

and that Jesus is

the founder and perfecter of our faith... - Hebrews 12:2

Even Dr. Woods at some level understands this by his contradictory Position Statement #6 that "...salvation in Christ will result in a changed life (2 Cor. 5:17, 1 Cor. 6:11)."  Why?  Because God is the author of our faith and He is the perfecter of our faith, which is to say He makes us alive to hear the Gospel to respond in repentant faith to be conformed to the image of Christ to finally be glorified with Him in heaven (Romans 8:29-30).

Moving along to the remainder of Dr. Woods' argument, he tells us concerning discipleship:

For example, those whom Christ called to be His disciples, like Peter, were already believers (Matt 16:24-25). We see the same salvation pattern at work through Old Testament Israel. First, the nation was redeemed through the Passover Lamb and then, sometime later, the nation was put under the Mosaic Law for purposes of sanctification (Exod 19:1ff). Thus, submission to Christ's Lordship is prerequisite for this second step of sanctification rather than for the initial step of justification. Therefore, the Scripture teaches Lordship Sanctification rather than Lordship Salvation. Lordship Salvation confuses this two-step approach by reading the principles for sanctification back into what is required for justification. In other words, what is the result of salvation mistakenly becomes the initial requirement for salvation. This mistake is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.

Hogwash, Dr. Woods! Every born again Christian is a disciple from spiritual birth!  The very goal of evangelism is to go out and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).  There were many people following Christ at the time He gave the call to be disciples (believers). The crowd had gotten so large (Luke 14:25) that Jesus turned to them and said,

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple...So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:26-27, 33

Not everyone in the crowd is a believer.  In fact, 85% of Americans profess the Christian faith, but how many of them actually live as though they are disciples of Christ?  A mere profession of faith is absolutely worthless in spiritual matters. The one who has not counted the cost to follow after Christ with what has been revealed to them, yielding to His Lordship, cannot be His disciple. This is why Jesus actually upped the ante because He knew there were many just following the crowd.

Just as it was then, there are many today who follow the crowd through their easy-believism because of empty promises of a temporally rich life, to buy fire insurance, to add Jesus as a fad or accessory, to be part of a "church" social club, or any other number of reasons that church or religion might appeal to them. But these people could care less about pursuing holiness, loving God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength through obedience, and following Christ at all costs. These are those who Scripture refers as living as enemies of the cross, whose god is there belly, and who have their minds set on earthly things (Philippians 3:18-19).  These are false disciples who consider the cost of discipleship too high and are not willing to follow Christ (John 6:66).

This, therefore, is the biblical view of sanctification:

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. - 1 John 3:2-3

Do you see that?  Because we are children of the Most High, we will purify ourselves as He is pure.  We are being transformed into the glory of the Lord by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18), which means we will increasingly manifest the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The spirit He has given us is one of love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7), enabling us to become holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16), holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

It is with these promises that we see there is no gap between justification and practical sanctification. The same God who works grace in us to believe is the same God whose grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldliness (Titus 2:11-14).  Lost people are carnal people, and when they are consumed by the grace of God, they are promised to become increasingly less carnal as they increasingly become more holy. That is why carnality as a stagnant state for the Christian is a myth, and it is why Dr. Woods' argument that there are second level Christians who have yielded to "Lordship Sanctification" is blasphemous to the sovereignty and reputation of God Almighty.

From the moment of salvation, God continues to work His salvation in us through the new desires He has planted in our hearts (Psalm 37:4; Ezekiel 36:25-27). And just as the grave clothes were removed from Lazarus giving him freedom to walk in newness of life, our spiritual grave clothes will be removed as we obey the Lord Jesus Christ to put off the old self and walk in newness of life:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self,  which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. - Ephesians 4:20-24

This takes us into the final argument from Dr. Woods against lordship salvation, which he suggests destroys the assurance of salvation for the born again believer. Having thus covered saving faith, biblical repentance, the myth of the continuously carnal Christian, and God's work of sanctification in this article, it will become clear why it is so important to examine oneself whether we are truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5) by studying Scripture to ascertain biblical assurance of salvation. Please then continue to Part 6.

In the meantime, I invite you to add the following message from Paul Washer to your mp3 player as he preaches on true conversion: Paul Washer: True Gospel - Conversion

Sanctification is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration. He who is born again and made a new creature receives a new nature and a new principle and always lives a new life. A regeneration, which a man can have and yet live carelessly in sin or worldliness, is a regeneration invented by uninspired theologians, but never mentioned in Scripture. - J.C. Ryle

Why Christians Won't Habitually Sin

By Justin Edwards

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. - 1 John 3:4

The following comes from page 1951 in the John MacMarthur Bible Commentary and addresses the fact that born again believers do not habitually sin.

Why Christians Won't Habitually Sin

This passage begins with the phrase "Whoever commits sin" (v. 4). Commits translates a Greek verb that conveys the idea of habitual practice. Although genuine Christians have a sin nature (1 John 1:8) and do behave sinfully, their confession of sin (1 John 1:9; 2:1) and acceptance of forgiveness prevent sin from becoming the unbroken pattern of their lives (John 8:31, 34-36; Romans 6:11; 2 John 1:9). God builds a certain growing awareness about sin that provides four effective reasons why true Christians cannot habitually practice sin:

1. Genuine Christians cannot practice sin because sin is incompatible with the law of God, which they love (1 John 3:4; Psalm 119:34, 77, 97; Romans 7:12, 22); whereas habitual sin betrays the ultimate sense of rebellion - living as if there were no law or ignoring what laws exist (James 4:17) - in short, lawlessness.

2.  Genuine Christians cannot practice sin because sin is incompatible with the work of Christ (1 John 3:5). Christ died to sanctify (make holy) the believer (2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 5:25-27). Habitual sin contradicts Christ's work of breaking the dominion of sin in the believer's life (Romans 6:1-15).

3.  Genuine Christians cannot practice sin because Christ came to destroy the works of the arch-sinner, Satan (1 John 3:8). The devil is still operating, but he has been defeated, and in Christ we escape his tyranny. The day will come when all of Satan's activity will cease in the universe, and he will be sent to hell forever (Revelation 20:10).

4.  Genuine Christians cannot practice sin because sin is incompatible with the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who has imparted a new nature to the believer (1 John 3:9; John 3:5-8). This new nature shuns sin and exhibits the habitual character of righteousness produced by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24).

What Is Wrong with NON-Lordship Salvation? - Part 1

By Justin Edwards

What's the Answer for a Culture in Decay, Decline, or Despair?

On Saturday, March 19th, an article came across my Google Reader titled, What Is Wrong with Lordship Salvation? by Dr. Andy Woods of Sugar Land Bible Church. The article was posted at Bible Prophecy Blog, which is generally a good resource for keeping up with end-times happenings. Unfortunately, because of this non-lordship salvation article and its rejection of the biblical doctrine of "lordship salvation", I had to remove it from my Blog Roll as I do not want to cause confusion to the Body of Christ or lend to the false assurance of salvation of false converts. Instead, Lord willing, I will be rebutting Dr. Woods' 5-part argument for his non-lordship position and show why he is in danger of preaching another gospel - one that does not save.

Due to the length of Dr. Woods' article and the many errors within it, I will break my response into at least 6 articles with Part 1 being a response to Dr. Woods' introduction. If you would like to read Dr. Woods' article in its entirety, you can do so here:  What Is Wrong with Lordship Salvation?

If this is your first time hearing of "lordship salvation", you might find the following article helpful to you: Lordship Salvation - It Will Cost You Everything.

Part 1- Introduction

Dr. Woods begins his article with the following:

Lordship Salvation is the idea that an unbeliever must commit all areas of his life to Christ as a condition for being saved. 

A common tactic I have found of those refuting lordship salvation is their use of logical fallacies, such as the Straw Man fallacy above. I do not know of any person who believes in the unadulterated Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, otherwise known as "lordship salvation", who suggests or teaches that one must consciously commit all areas of his life to Christ as a condition for being saved. The implication with Dr. Woods' packaging in the above statement is that one must consciously consider every area of one's life before coming to the cross, and surrender it to the Lord if they are to be saved. This means, according to Dr. Woods' understanding of lordship salvation, that one must repent from every single sin and surrender absolutely every element of a person's life in conscious consideration, if they are to be forgiven. That is a false representation of the lordship salvation position.

The truth is, one must indeed surrender all to the Lord Jesus Christ. Biblically speaking, this means one forsakes everything to be a disciple of Christ (Luke 14:33). Practically speaking, when one is born again of the Spirit, they give up ownership of themselves and their belongings, and they let go of the world and the chains of sin around their neck, broken by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, when one forsakes everything for Christ, they forsake control of themselves and put on the gentle yoke of Christ that leads them in sanctifying grace (Matthew 11:29). As humble servants of their Master, the Christian, from the moment of salvation, will begin a journey that leaves their old life behind in increasing measure as they are transformed by the renewing of their mind (Romans 12:2).

Dr. Woods continues in his introduction,

Another way of articulating Lordship Salvation is, “if Jesus is not Lord of all then He is not Lord at all.” 

Yes, Jesus is the sovereign Lord over all creation. He is Lord of nonbelievers and believers alike. The only difference between the nonbeliever and the believer is that the believer has acknowledged His lordship, which is to say the believer submits to Christ's authority simply by professing Him Lord from the core of their new heart (Romans 10:9). The believer has discovered the preciousness of Jesus Christ as Divine, Sovereign Ruler and Master. The believer has valued Christ more than anything else in the world, including their sin and pride. This does not mean that the saint has perfectly repented, but it does mean he acknowledges his sinfulness, is mournful over it, and submits to the authority of His Master to be taught by His grace to deny worldliness and ungodliness (Titus 2:11-14). What results is obedience to the commands of Christ and a relationship of servanthood out of love for a King. Dr. Woods' position divides Christ into a Savior and a Lord, meaning one can receive one (Savior) without acknowledging the other (Lord). If one only wants half of Jesus, how could they possibly receive all of Him?

Continuing his discussion, Dr. Woods explains,

Lordship Salvation began to significantly enter the American evangelical community in the 1980’s through the ministries of various prominent theologians and pastors. The movement began with the well-intentioned concern to address too much carnality in the Christian world.

Not exactly. As a result of antinomian influence in the American church (namely dispensational and no-lordship antinomianism), which has resulted in countless false conversions due to "cheap grace", easy-believism and decisional evangelism, certain ministries began to take a stand and recapture the Gospel according to the Lord Jesus Christ. One such ministry is that of John MacArthur, who is often vehemently attacked by opponents to the point of declaring him a heretic. It is arguable how the term "lordship salvation" came about, but the fact of the matter is the doctrine is an essential element of the Gospel and has been taught as such down through the ages of church history. Why? Because "lordship salvation" is nothing less or more than the Gospel.  The concern of "too much carnality in the Christian world", as Dr. Woods suggests, has been the concern of godly men since the Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthians and warned them about carnality.

Dr. Woods continues,

However, the proposed solution to this legitimate concern was to increase the sole requirement for salvation in an attempt to argue that carnal Christians were never really saved in the first place since they had never initially yielded to Christ’s Lordship. 

What is the "sole requirement" for salvation, Dr. Woods? According to your next two sentences, your definition of saving faith is severely lacking:

Sugar Land Bible Church does not believe in or teach Lordship Salvation. For example, Position Statement #6 in our church constitution says, “…repentance, as in a person willfully turning from sin, cannot be a condition for salvation.” 

This distorted view of repentance has no Gospel-saving power. What he suggests has been added to the "sole requirement" of salvation has, in fact, always been part of the requirements of salvation - that is, repentance and faith. Dr. Woods, your position allows for a professing Christian to remain in their sins for the totality of their "walk". Your position allows for a justification that does not necessitate sanctification. Your position allows for an infinite gap between justification and sanctification, eg, sanctification may never occur. Your position divides believing and discipleship. Your position allows for one to ultimately walk away from the faith, yet still be considered a Christian because, by golly, they *once* believed. Finally, your position allows for the "christian" to hold on to their sin, continue in the world, continue to love the world, and continue to be a friend of the world as long as they once "asked Jesus into their heart". This, Dr. Woods, is contrary to the Gospel that is the power of God to salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16). The Gospel not only saves people, Dr. Woods, but it changes them - without fail (Romans 8:29-30).  Your position is one of the very causes of "too much carnality in the Christian world."

Many people look at the Lordship controversy as merely semantics. They believe that this issue has no real significance for practical living or ministry. 

Indeed, Dr. Woods, this controversy is not mere semantics and its significance is monumental for practical living and ministry. Ultimately, your gospel is a man-centered distortion of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The latter Gospel, on the other hand, is a sovereign plan of God to redeem a people for Himself, according to the counsel of His own will, to the praise of His glorious Son, and to conform a holy and blameless Bride to the image of the Lamb of God who is King of His Church and who will be King of all kings. The Gospel according to God not only saves people from the wrath to come, but it saves them from the bondage of their sin, which is to say the Truth sets us free, it sets us free indeed (John 8:34-36). 

In closing his introduction, Dr. Woods says,

In actuality, Lordship Salvation introduces at least five problems into the life of a church.

On the contrary, Dr. Woods, as Scripture will reveal in posts to come...

Please continue to Part 2.

An Open-air First in 1st John

This article was originally posted at The Speak:Truth Project

By Justin Edwards

For several months now, I believe the Lord has been drawing and preparing me to preach in the open air. Through wonderful ministries like Go.Stand.Speak and Living Waters, God has equipped and greatly encouraged me to get “on the box“.  I knew the day was coming when I would preach on the street for the first time, and that day came on Friday.

Over the last week I had the opportunity to meet a great new friend, Scott Smith, who had organized an evangelism outreach in Charlotte, NC for the NCAA tournament with Bill Adams of Sports Fan Outreach International. I joined the group on Friday afternoon in front of Time Warner Cable arena, where they were already set up with microphone and speaker.  Having fellowshipped and witnessed with a few of the guys for a couple of hours, I was asked if I was ready to preach.  Truth be told, I had not planned on preaching on Friday, but as this new group of friends encouraged me and gave me a few pointers, what better day to preach the Gospel than this day? After taking a few minutes to prepare, I prayed that God would strengthen me and give me the words to bring Him glory – and I’m here to tell you our God did not leave me or forsake me. The Holy Spirit was with me every second!

Having learned much from Project Ezra and being drawn to preach from 1st John, I began with the Apostle Paul’s exhortation in 2 Corinthians 13:5,

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

From there, I gave a brief testimony as a false convert for 22 years, and bridged this into an introduction of 1st John. I then proceeded into chapter 1 verse 5 where the Apostle John tells us,

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses 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.¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

I have never preached before. And even though I was nervous before I started, and my flesh resisted and was looking for any excuse to not get on the microphone, God empowered me to preach His Word and helped me overcome my flesh.  This was one of the most clear experiences I have had to step out on faith. There is no way possible I could have done this on my own, much less have wanted to, but through faith and obedience, God equipped me to serve Him through the proclamation of His Word. Once I got into my testimony and proceeded into 1st John, it was as if I had preached many times before. I was not nervous, and God gave me every word necessary to fulfill His purposes. Amazingly enough and to the glory of God, I preached for 30-45 minutes.

1st John is a beautiful gift God has given us for faith examination and biblical assurance of salvation. As you can see in the first test in verses 5-10, there is a clear contrast between those who give mere lip service to God, who are Christians in name only, and those who by sovereign grace have surrendered to His Lordship and are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  There are numerous such tests in 1st John, and I found it to be a wonderful book to preach from on Friday.

1st John is also so varied that you have opportunity to touch on many biblical doctrines such as the deity of Christ, saving faith, sanctification, false disciples, perseverance, false conversion, holy living, practical righteousness, deception, sacrificial love, brotherly love, proof of one’s love for God through obedience to His commandments, testing the spirits, defending the faith against cults and heresies, and assurance of salvation. Expositing through 1st John enabled me to preach from many other passages in the New Testament that included godly sorrow, repentance, surrendering to Christ’s Lordship, forgiveness, loving your enemies, hell, the wrath and judgment of God, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Law, mercy, and grace.

All this to say, you will not be short of a sermon by preaching through this epistle!

I share this with you as an encouragement to step out on faith in whatever area of evangelism you find yourself fearful or lacking. I can’t tell you how joyful it was after open-air preaching for the first time, and God gave me every tool I needed, not lacking in anything! God has been molding me, just as He is molding you as “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

A dear brother sent me a message on facebook after I posted a status update about preaching for the first time. It was his first time witnessing one-to-one with a stranger. Just like me, God is helping him overcome his fears, and just like us, God will help you overcome your fears. You just got to trust that He will and step out on faith. To put into perspective what God has done in me recently, this time last year I had never handed a Gospel tract to someone before, much less witnessed to a stranger. Not only that, but public presentation has always been an obstacle for me.  But see what God has done?

So what’s keeping you from taking that next step? Every born again believer is commanded to obey the Great Commission, so if one of hundreds of potential fears is holding you back, what are you going to do about it? We shouldn’t and can’t wait for people to come to us for witnessing opportunities. After all, when was the last time you went fishing and the fish jumped in the boat? You have to cast your line into the sea if you are to catch any fish. Are you ready to accomplish your next first?

If you are faithful in prayer and hiding God’s Word in your heart, “the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:12).  We can then “preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).

I’d like to personally thank Scott Smith, Andrew Burgess, and Alex Burroughs for encouraging me to leap over this hurdle of faith on Friday. Additionally, I’d like to thank in the deepest respect Tony Miano, Chad Williams, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Pat Necerato, and the many associated evangelism ministries that God has used to bring me to where I am today in fulfilling the Great Commission. May He eternally receive all the glory, honor, and praise!

If you would like to go through the book of 1st John with other believers, I encourage you to join us as we go through the remainder of the New Testament, beginning with 1st John tomorrow on facebook.

Are You Living a Lie?

By Justin Edwards

When I come across brothers and sisters in Christ who have a similar testimony as me, I rejoice in the fact that God removed the scales from their eyes like He did mine, but I am made all the more aware that there are still so many people out there who cling to a false assurance of salvation. Carnal Christianity, as it is called, is a cancerous epidemic in the visible church today. It gives rise to a false security, which oftentimes comes in the form of trusting in a prayer someone once prayed at the altar, or perhaps even "rededicating" one's life to Christ. The reality is, however, such decisionism - determining out of one's flesh that they are "gonna get it right this time" or trusting in the once-said prayer prayed 20 years ago as the assurance of salvation - will only lead to death because the evidence of salvation is nowhere to be found in the life of this professing Christian. Please allow me to explain why that is the case.

Are you living a LIE?

The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16). We are not born again because of something we do, no, we are born again because God supernaturally transforms us. He does not make our old life better, no, He actually makes us a new creation. It is therefore futile and unbiblical to believe that man can simply just change the way he thinks, or as someone like Rick Warren teaches, to undergo behavior modification (Pelagianism). That is why so many people, though they profess to believe in God or Jesus, profess to know Him but they deny Him with their works (Titus 1:16) and walk as enemies of the cross because they have their minds set on earthly things (Philippians 3:18-19). Scripture, on the other hand, tells us the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly lives today (Titus 2:11-14). In other words, being conformed to Jesus Christ is not an option for the believer, it is a necessary consequence. And it is not because of some methodical man-made plan, but because of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit to those who have been regenerated, or born again.

My dear friends, as I trust many of you know but some may have not come to grips with these biblical facts, there is no such thing as a continuously carnal Christian! Yes, Christians do sin, but the difference between the Christian who struggles or wrestles with their sin and their flesh and the carnal Christian - that is, the non-Christian or Christian in name only - is that the Christian is a slave to the righteousness of Christ whereas the non-Christian is a slave to their sin. The one is a slave to God, while the other is a slave to the god of this world. The one is a slave to obedience, while the other is a slave to disobedience. The one follows their Master every day, not just superficially on Sundays like carnal Christians who follow the devil Monday through Saturday. The one is a child of God, while the other is a child of wrath. The one has in store for him the riches of the Kingdom of God as a co-heir with Christ, while the other has stored up for him the fury of God's wrath for His unrepentant heart. While the one has crucified his flesh with its passions and desires, the one still continues to love the world, manifesting the works of the flesh and the pride of life, revealing that the love of God is not in him.

Do you see the difference? Merely believing the facts about Jesus does not save you. An emotional experience that urged you to "make a decision" for Christ or "ask Jesus into your heart" on a Sunday morning does not save you. Yes, there are no doubt born again believers who have done both of these things and are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, but they are not saved because of what they did. They are saved in spite of what they did because salvation is the work of God alone by His grace alone. However, it must be made clear, if one made such a decision, and their life reflects one that is in rebellion against God, that "decision" or superficial prayer did absolutely nothing but give you a false assurance of salvation.

This is what the Word of God says:

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. - 1 John 3:9

Can it be any more clear? Now, perhaps this might need to be hashed out a bit to avoid any confusion as to sinless perfection, the heretical doctrine that teaches that Christians do not sin. Let us then look at the words of the great 19th-century preacher, J.C. Ryle:

A person who has been born again, or regenerated, does not habitually commit sin. He no longer sins with his heart and will and whole inclination. There was probably a time when he did not think about whether his actions were sinful or not, and he did not always feel grieved after doing evil. There was no quarrel between him and sin; they were friends. But the true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it. Sin no longer pleases him, nor is it even a matter of indifference to him; it has become a horrible thing which he hates. However, he cannot eliminate its presence within him.

If he said that he had no sin, he would be lying (I John 1:8). But he can say that he hates sin and that the great desire of his soul is not to commit sin at all. He cannot prevent bad thoughts from entering his mind, or shortcomings, omissions, and defects from appealing in both his words and his actions. He knows that "in many things we offend all" (James 3:2). But he can truly say, in the sight of God, that these things cause him grief and sorrow and that his whole nature does not consent to them. What would the apostle say about you? Are you born again?

That is the question, professing Christian - are you born again? Are you solely and completely sold out to God? Have you forsaken everything as the Lord Jesus Christ commanded in Luke 14:33? Have you denied your will, control, and lusts of the flesh, taking up your cross as you slay the misdeeds of the body, and continuing to follow after the Lord Jesus Christ as He commands in Luke 9:23? Or, professing Christian, does your life give evidence that you continue to fulfill the pleasures of your flesh? Do you continue to ride the fence trusting that, although you know you're not living right, one day you will submit to Christ? That God is full of infinite chances and will allow you to continue to trample on the blood of His Son as if you hated Him?

The fact is, dear carnal Christian, you hate God. You are His enemy. Your lip service is only making your destination to hell more comfortable. Unless you cry out to God out of the brokenness of your soul for having offending His holiness and disregarding the grace He freely offers you, you will die in your sins. Jesus said in Luke 9:24-25,

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

Is your sin worth it, carnal Christian? Is your sin worth an eternity in hell? This is what Jesus commands in Matthew 5:29-30:

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Please don't go to hell, dear carnal Christian! Repent from your sins and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ! For if you continue procrastinating, if you continue seeking the pleasures of life and the abominations of the flesh (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), the eternal destruction of your body and soul will be the pleasing aroma of a Holy, Holy, Holy God, and He will be glorified in the fury of His wrath against you. Do not be deceived. Do not justify your lifestyle. He knows your every thought and your secret sins, and demands for you to obey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Out of Christ flows living water, my friend. Jesus did not command you to invite Him to come into your heart - He commanded you to follow Him! His yoke is easy and His burden is light and He will give you rest for your soul (Matthew 11:28-30). Take refuge in the grace of Almighty God. Run to Him with nothing in your hands. Turn your back on this world and the things of it. Neither your friends nor your sin is worth an eternity without the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, repent from your sins, and be saved!

Now, returning to the opening paragraph of this post, I'd like to direct you to the following video. My new friend, Jay Wingard, posted this on his wonderful blog, Soli Deo Gloria, and I want to share with you. Both Jay and Ryan Richie (from video) have seemingly identical testimonies to my testimony. As false converts for 20+ years, we trusted in a prayer, was deceived by the incomplete doctrine of "once saved always saved", and fooled into believing that there are two types of Christians - holy Christians and carnal Christians. Such false assurance permitted us to live the worldly lifestyle, and it's only by the grace and mercy of God that we now stand covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and eternally sealed by the Spirit through repentant faith. I pray Ryan's testimony, in addition to this post, will cause you to examine yourself to see if you are truly born again (2 Corinthians 13:5).

I'm always available to talk about your situation. All you have to do is ask.

Last Days Desperation!

By Justin Edwards

For those of you who have been following my pastor's messages lately, you have witnessed and been a part of the urgency in his preaching. The hour is late, the day draws near - Jesus is coming for His Bride! But as Pastor Livingston has been proclaiming, Christ is only coming for those who are walking with Him in righteousness. Those who are eagerly awaiting His return, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who love the Word of God and obey it, and who are watching and praying as Jesus commanded will be the ones who will escape the wrath to come.

Last Sunday evening, Pastor Livingston preached another must-hear message and then he called the church to pray together for those who are still dead in their sins and loving unrighteousness. As straightforward as possible, pastor preached from Galatians 5:24 and several Scriptures from John and 1 John:

Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

1 John 3:7  Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Scripture cannot be more clear - those who do not practice righteousness, who are living a worldly lifestyle and who love not the truth and obey it, are not born again. There is so much deception in the church today in that people believe they can do everything that sinners do, acting like the world, engaging in activities and social events like the world, and if you ask them if they are going to heaven, they say yes because they are a good person. They might even say they believe in Jesus, but Scripture says they are not saved because they do not practice righteousness. They live in sin and they love their sin, and the Bible says they are of the devil.

As Pastor Livingston says, we must start operating in a last days desperation! While there are countless false converts going to hell, there are many believers who give lost loved ones passes and excuses and pretend they are saved when their life shows otherwise. If they once said a prayer and "got saved" yet live as though they never knew God, some of us point back to that prayer as if it actually converted them. No it didn't, and we must stop pretending like it did. These loved ones need our urgent prayer and they need it now. They desperately need the mercy and grace of God to draw them to repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I invite you, no, I call upon you with great angst to watch this message so your soul will be stirred with an urgency of prayer and a zealousness to proclaim the name of Christ! This is a call to anguish! These are the last days, and we must fight like good soldiers and endure to the end, proclaiming the Gospel without shame until our King comes.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you as you watch the sermon, and if moved to join the congregation and pastor, intercede with them on behalf of your family and cry out to God to spark revival in the hearts of those nearest and dearest to you. As I drove home today from work listening to the message, it was one of the most powerful communions I've ever shared with God. I hope it stirs you in the same way.

Last Days Desperation mp3

 

"Are You Ready?" mp3 - Second Service Now Available

By Justin Edwards

If you had a chance to watch Loran Livingston's "Are You Ready?" message from 2/13/11, then you know how great and urgent a message it was. The video in that post was from the 8:30am service, but I am pleased to announce the audio to the 10:30am service is now available and "stickied" to the top of the blog permanently.

Having less time restraints in the 10:30am service, Pastor Livingston was able to take his time with the message and elaborate on a few points. I highly recommend listening to the 10:30 message and encourage you to download and/or share the link with friends.

The Day of the Lord is rapidly approaching, so the question remains - are you ready?

For convenience, you can download the message here: Are You Ready? mp3

Heart Inventory - do you serve god or God?

By Justin Edwards

Please take inventory of your heart as you read this post, and know that these things as described below are the overall markings of an unbeliever or false convert, and a child of God saved by repentant faith. We are all at different levels of maturity, but rest assured, those who are redeemed children of God possess sovereign grace,

teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.- Titus 2:11-14

Whether by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ or by death, our days are numbered. The question is, are you ready?  Please contact me or comment below with any questions or concerns.

Do you serve the god of this world, or the One True God of the Bible?

If you serve the god of this world (Satan), the world will love you. If you serve God, the world will hate you (John 15:18-19; 1 John 3:13).

If you serve Satan, you try to serve two masters. You may profess to know God, but He takes a back seat in your priorities. Your money, your will, your control, your desires - they are your master. If you serve God, you serve Him alone (Matthew 6:24).

If you serve Satan, the idea of submitting to the lordship of Christ is repulsive to you. You desire to hold on to your sin, while receiving the benefits of salvation. You think you can receive Christ as Savior, but not as Lord. You are proud, and God resists you. If you serve God, you humble yourself before the Lord, donning the yoke of Christ, and with meekness, you commit to serving Him all the days of your life (James 4:6-10; Matthew 5:5; 11:29-30).

If you serve Satan, you love the world and the things of this world. If you love the world, the love of God is not in you. If you serve God, you hate the things of the world because you love God and His love abides in you (1 John 2:15).

If you serve Satan, you are friends of the world. This makes you an enemy of God. If you serve God, you are not conformed to this world (James 4:4; Romans 12:2).

If you serve Satan, your closest friends are of the world and they corrupt you. If you serve God, you are not yoked to unbelievers, rather, your closest friends are born again believers (1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14).

If you serve Satan, you take pleasure in unrighteousness. You love fornication and idolatry. If you serve God, you flee sexual immorality and idolatry and you hunger and thirst for righteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:14; Matthew 5:6).

If you serve Satan, you do not obey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you serve God, you obey the Gospel (1 Peter 4:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:8).

If you serve Satan, your mind is set on earthly things. If you serve God, your mind is set on heavenly things (Philippians 3:18-19; Colossians 3:1-2).

If you serve Satan, you are a slave to sin. If you serve God, you are slave to righteousness (Romans 6:17-18).

If you serve Satan, you are most concerned with the affairs and cares of this world, you seek to fulfill your fleshly desires, you love money, fornication, and drunkenness. If you serve God, you have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (1 John 2:16; Galatians 5:24).

If you serve Satan, you walk in the flesh and are controlled by the works of the flesh. If you serve God, you walk in the Spirit and are controlled by the things of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23).

If you serve Satan, you stand condemned as you have from the beginning. If you serve God, there is no condemnation in  you (John 3:18; Romans 8:1).

If you serve Satan, you are controlled by him and he has dominion over you. If you serve God, you have been freed (2 Timothy 2:26; 1 John 5:19; Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 1:13; John 8:36).

If you serve Satan, you are blinded by him. If you serve God, He has shined His light through you (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

If you serve Satan, you justify and/or deny your sin. You give yourself excuses to live any way you want to, and expect God to just forgive you. You call God a liar, and the truth is not in you. If you serve God, you confess your sins and He cleanses you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-10).

If you serve Satan, you profess to know God but you still walk in darkness. You claim to have fellowship with God, but your lifestyle confirms otherwise. You do not practice the truth, and you are not saved, although you think you are. If you walk in the light, however, you are a child of God and have fellowship with the brethren, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:5-7).

If you serve Satan, you do not keep the commandments of God or the teachings of Jesus. If you serve God, you love Him, which means you obey His commandments and teachings (John 14:15; 2 John 1:6; 1 John 2:3-5).

If you serve Satan, you hate the brethren. You have no fellowship with the brethren, for you'd rather hang out with your worldly friends. You have no actionable desire to fellowship. If you serve God, you love the brethren and seek fellowship with them (Hebrews 13:1; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 3:14-15; 4:20-21).

If you serve Satan, you rely on your self-righteousness to get you to heaven. You believe good works, church attendance, tithes, and being "good enough" will ensure your eternity in heaven. If you serve God, you realize there is nothing in you that is good, no amount of good deeds can save you, and it is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone that you are saved (Romans 3:10; Revelation 3:14-22; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9).

If you serve Satan, you call Jesus Lord but you do not do what He says. If you serve God, you confess Christ as Lord and you do the will of His Father (Luke 6:46-49; Matthew 7:21-23; 12:50).

If you serve Satan, you practice sin as a lifestyle. If you serve God, you practice righteousness as a lifestyle (1 John 3:4-9).

If you serve Satan, you cannot please God and you walk in the flesh. If you serve God, you walk as Jesus walked (Romans 8:6-8; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 2:6).

If you serve Satan, you wallow in your sin and you love your sin. If you serve God, you purify yourself as He is pure, and you become holy as He is holy (1 John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 2:15-16).

If you serve Satan, the commands of God are burdensome to you. His expectations are just to high for you. If you serve God, you love His commandments and they are not burdensome (1 John 5:2-3).

If you serve Satan, you follow his voice as a false shepherd. If you serve God, you do not follow strange voices, but you hear and know the voice of your Shepherd, and you follow Him (John 10:1-30).

If you serve Satan, you are still dead in your trespasses. If you serve God, you have been made a new creation in Christ (Ephesians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

If you serve Satan, you may have received the Gospel with joy and continued for a time, but when trials and tribulations came, or when you desired the cares of the world, you fell away and were choked out by the pleasures of life. If you serve God, you received the Gospel with a noble and good heart, and go on to produce fruit (Luke 8:11-15).

If you serve Satan, your idea of repentance is being sorry because you got caught. Your sorrow is of your flesh, and the guilt you feel is that of feeling guilty of the consequences. If you serve God, the repentance you know is wrought from godly sorrow, for you are sorry for offending God. This causes you to hate the sin that offended Him, and by His grace, you turn from it, which leads to salvation (Matthew 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 7:10).

If you serve Satan, you refuse to forgive those who offend you. If you serve God, you forgive everyone, no matter what they have done to you (Matthew 6:14-15; Luke 17:3-4; Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13).

If you serve Satan, you hate your enemies. If you serve God, you love your enemies and bless those who persecute you (Matthew 5:21-23; 44).

If you serve Satan, you create a god in your own image, one that is not holy, just, or righteous, and one you believe is only love and will forgive you no matter what kind of lifestyle you live. This gives you license to sin and you trample on the grace of God. There is no actionable desire in you to love and serve the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. If you serve God, you know the holiness, righteousness, and justice of God, and because He loved you first, you can love Him. You yearn to serve and love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength (Jude 1:4; Exodus 20:3-4; Psalm 45:7; Deuteronomy 10:12; 30:6; Mark 12:30; 1 John 4:17-19).

If you serve Satan, you will perish in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. If you serve God, you have eternal life (Revelation 21:8; John 17:3).