John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” 1st John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
Once a person gets saved (born-again), the Bible says we have PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE. It is the same as when a child is physically born. Once born, always born!!! Ray Comfort says that Judas is his favorite of all the disciples, because Judas showed him that it is not enough to BELIEVE in Jesus to be saved; it's not even enough to follow Him.
Dear reader, Ray is oh so wrong! When asked directly what “works” we must do to get to Heaven, Jesus replied with the simplest of answers. He just said—BELIEVE ON HIM!!! 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.” As we see, clearly, BELIEVING is enough to be saved.
At 42:32 minutes into the preceding video, Ray heretically says:
“Yeah, I don't believe 'Once Saved, Always Saved,' that you can live like the Devil.”
SOURCE: Ray Comfort, 'Ray Comfort Exposed (Repent of your sins)'
Ray Comfort is preaching another gospel, accursed by God (Galatians 1:6-9). What Ray fails to understand is that we are saved by God's imputed righteousness. To “impute” means to credit something to a person or source. Romans 4:5-7, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Both words “counted” and “imputeth” come from the SAME Greek word. They mean the SAME thing!!! So we can use these words interchangeably. So to the sinful man who worketh not, but BELIEVES on Jesus Christ, God credits His righteousness to that sinful man. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” What a precious Bible truth!!!
I fully agree with my friend Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, who said:
“'You can't tell me you can trust Christ as Savior, and then go out here and live like the Devil, and still go to Heaven!' Yes, I can tell you that! That's what the Bible says. If you don't come to the conclusion, that—Yes, you can trust Christ as your Savior and live like the Devil, and still go to Heaven when you die—you don't get grace, because that is the exact truth! That is the truth! I do not have to change my life! I don't have to stop one sin! You say, 'I've never heard a preacher say that.' You just heard one! And you listen to me—I want to live as holy and as godly as I possibly can. I am now 70 years old. I've been saved for 52 years. ... the only reason I'm going to Heaven is because, 52 years ago in a little living room, I accepted Christ as my Savior.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, a helpful quote from the awesome sermon: “Calvinism And Grace Are NOT Compatible | MP3”
We know that the clichรฉ “ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED” is totally Biblical, simply because we are saved solely by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, not our own righteousness. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” What saith the Scripture? Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” We get saved by submitting to God's righteousness, which is through FAITH alone in the Gospel (Good News) of Christ crucified on the cross, buried and bodily risen (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
What saith the Scripture? Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” We receive God's free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life, by ceasing from our own works and completely resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Literally, all you have to do to get to Heaven is simply believe that Jesus did it for you.
Dear reader, I sincerely love Ray Comfort, but he is going to Hell forever if he doesn't repent of his wrong repentance. Mr. Comfort chose Judas as his favorite disciple because he says Judas proves that believing in Jesus and following Him is not enough to be saved. But dear reader, Judas never did believe in Jesus as his personal Savior. We read in Matthew 27:3 that Judas “repented himself.” Judas was a reformed man, he turned away from his sins. Judas even returned the 30 pieces of silver, for which he was paid to betray the innocent one. By the way, 30 pieces of silver was the going price of a slave. Judas returned the money, which theologically is called “penance.” Judas felt sorry for what he had done, which theologically is called, “penitence.” Let's itemize these theological terms:
- penitence = sorry for sin
- penance = making a mend for sin
- reformation = turning away from sin
- repentance = a change of mind
Judas experienced penitence, penance and reformation, but he did NOT repent toward God (Acts 20:21). Judas did not believe Jesus was the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, as Peter did. Matthew 16:16, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 followed Jesus, calling Him, “Lord, Lord.” They did many wonderful world sin Jesus' name. They cast out devils in Jesus' name. Like Ray Comfort, they prophesied (preached) their message in Jesus' name. Yet, Jesus said He didn't know any of them, and told the angels to cast them into the outer darkness of Hell forever.
The dear Savior tells us plainly what they did wrong in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” The best way to interpret the Bible is with the Bible. What is the will of the Father? Jesus plainly tells us in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” There you have it, right from the Savior's own mouth, the will of God is to BELIEVE ON JESUS!!! John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” That's it, that's all, no more!!!
Salvation is not a reward for the righteous; it is a gift for the guilty!
Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.
If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from?
The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.
We must stay true to the simplicity of the Gospel!! Repentance regarding salvation is a change of mind from unbelief to belief!!! We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).
Kindly said, Ray Comfort is dead wrong to deny the great Bible doctrine of “Once Saved Always Saved.” Ray says you cannot be saved and continue living like the Devil. But you can my friend, you certainly can! I didn't say you should, because you shouldn't. The first thing I remember when I got converted as a 13-year-old young man, was the indwelling Holy Spirit began convicting me about the sin in my life. I sometimes listened, but at other times ignored the Holy Spirit.
When I didn't listen, bad things sometimes happened, as chastisement for doing wrong. Sometimes I got caught, and at other times I didn't get caught. That is true of everybody! But the Bible teaches that the eyes of the Lord see everything, the bad and the good. So that we cannot hide anything from God. Hebrews 4:13, “ Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” I assure you Biblically that no one ever gets away with sinning. Every hidden evil work done in a dark, dreary, obscure place, will be manifest in eternity at the Judgment for all to see (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Romans 14:10-12; Matthew 12:36; Proverbs 24:12). 1st Timothy 5:24, “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”
I sometimes like to watch “Forensic Files” and “Cold Case Files,” which are as fascinating as they are disturbing. I learned that only 50% of murder cases in the United States ever get solved. The infamous 'Zodiac Killer' of the 1960's in California has never been caught. The Zodiac Killer claims to have murdered at least 31 people. I believe him! But the victims (and their families) of this madman need not worry, justice will be met in God's court system!
They're still digging up bodies who were victims of John Wayne Gacy (1942-1994) in Gary, Indiana, over 40 years later. I think the death count just surpassed 40 bodies! Interestingly, curious scientists dissected Mr. Gacy's brain after his execution, slicing it up into pieces to analyze his brain for abnormalities, hoping to identify something which could cause a man to commit such monstrous crimes. But they found a 100% normal brain. That is frightening!!! What saith the Scripture? Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” What made Judas do the evil things that he did? Why did Peter and the other disciples believe on Jesus, but not Judas? There is no answer friend, except that God has given to every human being a freewill to decide for ourselves.
I chose to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior at age 13 in Chicago, in an old-fashioned Baptist church on a Sunday morning; a decision which I have never once regretted, and for which I am so eternally grateful to God. God chose me (the elect) because I first chose Jesus. God never chooses anyone to salvation, we chose Him first. I could write a thick book on all the Biblical reasons why Ray Comfort is doctrinally WRONG to deny “Once Saved Always Saved.” Even the best Christians still continue in a lifestyle of sinning (Romans 7:14-25). As long as we are in the flesh, we will commit sin. It is in our sinful nature. Even though we have a new nature as a born-again child of God, the old nature (the flesh) is still with us. So there is a constant battle going on between the Holy Spirit and the flesh (Romans 7:14-25).
Humbly said, I actually prefer the saying: “If Saved Always Saved.” Once you receive Christ as your personal Savior, God performs the supernatural miracle of the new birth (John 1:12-13). A lot of people fail to understand that getting saved is a supernatural miracle in response to one's childlike faith in the Gospel (i.e., the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day). 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.”
If it were true, as Ray Comfort preaches, that you could lose God's salvation because of intentional habitual sinning, then we could not “REJOICE” as Jesus commands every believer to do (Luke 10:20). We could not have any peace, wondering every time we backslid if we had crossed the line and lost our salvation again. What a horrible life of fear, uncertainty and misery! That is not the free grace Gospel taught in the inspired King James Bible!!!
We can KNOW we are saved, simply because salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). We are saved ONLY by what Christ did to pay for our sins on the cross; and not by our own efforts, faithfulness and continual repenting (turning away) from the sins in our life. That is a false understanding of repentance, which Pastor Jack Hyles exposes in this helpful article.
Once you get saved, it is a done deal, permanent. One of my favorite sermons, and the very message that compelled Michael P. Bowen to get saved, by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) is titled: 'How Permanent Is Your Salvation?' Dear Christian friend—even if you were to kill 1,000 puppies just because you can—you would still be 100% saved and on your way to Heaven. What? I realize that such a statement harelips every dog in the county, but it is solid Bible doctrine:
Romans 5:20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
There is no crime that you can think of which could ever result in losing God's gift of eternal life, which is by faith alone. The only unpardonable sin is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. To understand what that means, you need to know that it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit is God with us, and He is dealing with your soul dear friend when you feel convicted. If you are saved, then you have the blessed Holy Spirit living inside you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, never to leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). I love the Holy Spirit!!! So when the Holy Spirit can no longer speak to a man's heart, because he speaks evil of the Holy Spirit, then how can he be saved? He cannot. That is the unpardonable sin, not getting saved.
Peter spoke evil of Jesus, even denying knowing Him, cursing His precious name; but he later repented when alone. We may get angry and blaspheme the Lord's name by our sinful testimony and words, but the Holy Spirit deals with our heart of hearts, which is what really matters to God. Our Christian testimony may be lousy, as was Lot's and Samson's testimony. But that doesn't mean they weren't saved. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit means that we personally reject Him in our soul, and no believer has eve done that! It is IMPOSSIBLE for a redeemed child of God to ever commit the unpardonable sin. Sadly, Ray Comfort has committed the unpardonable sin, by perverting the grace of God. When you attack the grace of God, you attack the God of grace. God bless you dear friend. Thank you for reading my humble blogs. YOU are my ministry.
Please read: '15 Reasons Why You Cannot Lose Salvation.'
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