Do Christians Have a License to Sin?
by
David J. Stewart | February 2005 | Updated March 2019
“Do we then make void the law through
faith? God Forbid: Yea, We Establish the Law.” —Romans 3:31
Over
the years I have frequently received e-mails from people who are upset at the idea that
a person can be saved simply by trusting Jesus Christ as one's personal
Savior, without obligation to live a moral life and surrender to
Christ's Lordship. In particular, they are upset at the idea that someone can
profess faith in Christ and still continue to live in sin, in effect... A
LICENSE TO SIN!
I've
been accused of teaching
antinomianism. What in the world is “antinomianism”? . . .
ANTINOMIANISM:
Antinomianism comes from the Greek meaning lawless. In Christian
theology it is a pejorative term for the teaching that Christians are
under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality. Few, if any,
would explicitly call themselves "antinomian," hence, it is usually a
charge leveled by one group against an opposing group.
Antinomianism may be viewed as the polar opposite of legalism, the
notion that obedience to a code of religious law is necessary for
salvation. In this sense, both antinomianism and legalism are considered
errant extremes.
SOURCE:
Antinomianism -
Theopedia, an encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity
I DON'T AGREE WITH
ANTINOMIANISM. It is a false doctrine! I DO believe that Christians are
under obligation from God to obey His laws and ethics, BUT NOT AS PART
OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION!!! That's all I'm teaching!
Romans 3:31,
“Do we then make
void the law through faith? God Forbid: Yea, We Establish the Law.”
Every born-again believer is obligated to obey and fulfil
the law, not to be saved, but because WE ARE saved.
When an unsaved (non-Christian)
person sins, they are held responsible by God as their eternal Judge
(Revelation 20:10-15). But when a Christian sins, they are held
responsible by God as their heavenly Father (2nd Corinthians 5:9-11).
So, either way, we will all be held accountable for our sins! The only
difference is what is going to happen to you when you leave this earthly
tabernacle (body) and enter into eternity. Everyone either, DIES IN THE
LORD (Revelation 14:13), or they DIE IN THEIR SINS (John 8:24). Please
make sure you get born-again, friend, so you will die in the Lord, and
spend eternity with Him, instead of burning in the fires of Hell. The
choice is yours alone to make!
Some people have wrongly
criticized me for saying that Christians have a license to sin. They
have deliberately taken my words out of context. Christians only have a
“license to sin” in the sense that they have eternal security. If you
believe otherwise, then you are saying that Christians can lose their
salvation. I don't even like the term “license to sin,” because NO ONE
has God's permission or blessing to commit sin. NO ONE!!! I only say
that “Christians have a license to sin,” as a counter statement to the common
saying which says, “Just because you're saved doesn't give you a license
to sin” (as an attempt to teach the heresy of Lordship Salvation). The
truth is that you can live in sin if you so choose, but there are always consequences
(Hebrews 12:6-8).
I am not saying that it is
acceptable to live in sin, God forbid. I am simply saying that if a
person is saved, they are always saved. If you think that the gift of
God's salvation can be lost, then you don't have it. Please listen to
the awesome MP3 sermon titled, “How
Permanent Is Your Salvation,” by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008). God has given to each person a
freewill, to decide how we each behave. I have to edit articles
continually, honing my teachings, to counter the retarded bickering of psuedo-scholars who
run to extremes to bolster their straw man heresies. I don't sanction
anyone living in sin, saved or unsaved. I'm simply defending the gift of
God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23;
Titus 1:2).
No Christian has a license to
sin in the Lord's eyes concerning practical righteousness as His
children; but we DO HAVE A LICENSE TO SIN when it comes to salvation,
because we are saved by the imputed righteousness of God, and it
has absolutely nothing to do with how we live.
Romans 4:5-6, “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.” This one Scripture passage alone says it
all.
Please read the following, doctrinally correct, words by former
Moody Memorial Church Pastor Harry A. Ironside
(1876-1951)...
“The
Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make
restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These
things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for
the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do
not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a
call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a
more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …
Nor
is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins,
that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all
these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved
at all.”
SOURCE:
Dr. Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon:
What
Is The Gospel?
One man who
e-mailed me was very sarcastic and thanked me for opening his eyes. He
said that he was extremely happy now that he knew he could live in wild
sin and still be saved. He said that my teachings on salvation had
given him a license to sin. I would like to just share a few
thoughts with you on this matter and clear up any misunderstandings. I
think the problem that quite a few people have is a lack of
understanding about Biblical “repentance.” They
confuse
the “root” of the believer's faith (Romans 4:3-5) with the “fruit” of
the indwelling Holy Spirit (James 2:18-21). The word “repentance” in the
Bible means “a change of mind.” The Bible clearly teaches that repentance
is necessary for salvation (Acts 2:38). How else could you believe if
you didn't change your mind about yourself as a sinner, and Jesus Christ
as your Savior? It is impossible for anyone to be saved without
repentance. But what exactly is repentance in the Bible? Please read,
The Great Biblical
meaning of “METANOIA”!
Dr.
Harry Ironside (1876-1951) said it very well...
“Repentance is the recognition of my
sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be
in His holy Word.”
SOURCE:
Except Ye Repent, by Dr. Harry Ironside,
chapter 3
To be saved my
friend, you MUST come to Christ as a SINNER (1st John 1:8-10). If you
are not a sinner, then why would you need a Savior? It would not make
any sense at all for a self-righteous person to ask Christ for
forgiveness. This is exactly why Jesus said that He DIDN'T come to save
the righteous; but to call sinners to repentance. My point is that you
must turn from your “good” image of yourself and confess to God your
“sinful”
condition. This does NOT mean ceasing from deliberate sins. Eternal
life is a gift. It is received, not achieved. We simply trust the
SAVIOR, Who then forgives us SINNERS. That's what salvation is, i.e.,
getting your sins forgiven through faith in Jesus' name (Acts 10:43).
Whatever happened to “the gift of God,”
which “is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Anyone who says that eternal life is a “gift,” but changing the course of
your life (or being willing to turn from your sins) is necessary, is a
Gospel pervert!!! ARE YOU A GOSPEL PERVERT?
Here is the best quote that I've found on
repentance, from Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951):
“Which comes first,
repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the
gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the
first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one
without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul
puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him.
Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until
the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No
man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he
has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is
repentance.” (Except
Ye Repent, p. 16)
Boy, that's good
teaching! Biblical
repentance is turning TOWARD Christ Jesus to be forgiven of one's sins,
not first giving up one's sins as a prerequisite to qualify placing
one's faith in Christ.
Faith in Christ
always precedes a changed life. Salvation leads to discipleship, and not
discipleship to salvation. That is not to say that ever saved person
decides to becoming a follower (disciple) of Jesus Christ. Demas forsook
the apostle Paul, having loved this present world (2nd Timothy 4:10).
Yet, at an earlier time, just a couple years prior, we find Demas
serving alongside Paul as a fellowlabourer in Christ (Philemon 1:24).
Discipleship is not a requirement for salvation (which is the free gift
of God).
Salvation is not doing your best, it is having
Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. God will
not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are
trusting to be saved.
Faith in the
Gospel that works the miracle of the new birth happens first, and then
God through the indwelling Holy Spirit makes the necessary changes over
time in a believer's life. No one can run until they first learn to
walk, and a person cannot walk who doesn't first learn to crawl. Getting
saved is a gift that is freely offered (Romans 6:23), freely paid for by
Christ's blood (1st Peter 1:18-19), and is freely received by childlike
faith in the Gospel (Romans 10:13; 1st Corinthians 1:21; 1st Corinthians
15:1-4). A changed life is the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy
Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26; 1st John 3:24; Romans 8:9), and NOT a part of
the ROOT of saving-faith (Romans 4:5-6; Genesis 15:6). Paul
speaks of the ROOT of the believer's faith in Romans 4:1-6;
whereas James speaks of the FRUIT of a believer's faith (James
2:18-23), which is produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit (the Godhead
in us). Please read chapter 10
from Dr. Jack Hyles' awesome book, “MEET
THE HOLY SPIRIT,” titled, “The
Holy Spirit And Growth In Grace” (excellent teaching on the FRUIT of
the Holy Spirit).
Most people reject
Jesus as their personal Savior and
continue their downward spiral into hellfire and damnation. But a FEW
people, and only a few (Matthew 7:13-14), decide to come to Christ. It is at the
very moment that they decide to turn to Jesus Christ that repentance has
taken place. They've "turned" towards the Savior to be
forgiven of their sins. Note that a person cannot turn to Christ without
also turning their back against sin. Think about it. If you turn about
face toward the Savior, then you have turned your back to the world,
sin, and self. But this is a natural consequence of repentance and not a
mandatory requirement for salvation.
God requires
repentance; but Biblical repentance is properly: a change of mind,
which happens simultaneously the moment you BELIEVE on Jesus as the
Christ, the Son of God. Believing and repentance always go together and
are inseparable. This is why the words “believe” and “believeth” are
mentioned 85 times in the Gospel of John, but the word “repent” is never
mentioned even once. Thus, the man who believes has
repented, and the man who repents has believed. This is quite
different than forsaking one's deliberate sins as a prerequisite to be
saved.
Some false
prophets teach that a person must stop committing deliberate sin, or at
least be willing to stop committing sin, in order to qualify for
salvation. However, that is damnable heresy which negates the gift of
God. Giving up sinful bad habits, and the desire to turn away from sin,
is a result of growing in grace. If true salvation has occurred, then
God has done a miracle in that soul (but since we cannot see a person's
heart, we cannot judge). It is common for professed Christians to
write-off other sinful believers as being unsaved, which is a wicked
thing to do. The Christian army is the only army in the world that slays
its wounded! God is the only lawgiver and judge (James 4:12). We all
need to be real careful about judging who is saved or not, merely by
viewing one's lifestyle.
The only sure
test of a person's salvation is to simply ask them what they are
trusting in to get them to Heaven? If any person professes to be
trusting in Christ's death on the cross as complete and sole payment for
their sins, His burial, and bodily resurrection 72 hours later from the
dead, we are wrong not to accept them as being saved! Who are we to
conclude any differently? Now if someone adds sacraments, discipleship,
lordship, following Christ, doing many wonderful works, water baptism or
any other works to the Gospel, they are not saved (Acts 15:1, 24;
Matthew 7:21-23).
Jesus paid for
our sins so we wouldn't have to. All a person needs to do to be saved is
to acknowledge their guilt of sin (Romans 3:19) and believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ to be forgiven (Acts 10:43; 16:30-31). If anyone goes away
saying on the internet that Brother Stewart teaches that Christians have a
license to go sin, you are wickedly misrepresenting me. All I'm saying is
that every believer has eternal security, and ONLY in that sense, do
we ave a license to sin. This fact is why there will be a separate judgment
solely for believers, called The Judgment Seat Of Christ (2nd
Corinthians 5:9-11). Hebrews 12:6-8 warns that God will chastise
(discipline) and scourge (whip) His children when they sin, otherwise they
are “bastards” (and that's the actual word the Bible uses, meaning,
illegitimate).
Anyone can be
saved simply by receiving the free gift of God, which is completely
without works (Romans 4:5-6); but then God expects us as His children to
walk in the indwelling Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 8:9)
in obedience to His holy Word. If we choose to walk in the flesh instead
of walking in the Spirit, then we will face the terror of the Lord (2nd
Corinthians 5:11; Hebrews 10:31). Ephesians 2:10 teaches that every
believer has been created in Jesus Christ UNTO GOOD WORKS! Amen!
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
There are two
dangerous extremes that you can go. One is to fail to address the sin
issue altogether. The sin question must be answer. Do you admit that you
are a guilty sinner in the eyes of a holy God? Secondly, the Son
question must be answered. Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God,
the Christ, Who died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and
resurrected the third day? No one has ever been saved who didn't admit
that he or she is a sinner in God's sight.
The other extreme
is to place the burden of sin upon the sinner's shoulder, instead of
Christ Who bore the total weight of our sins upon the cross of Calvary.
It is dangerous to tell a sinner that to be saved he or she must be
willing to turn away from their sins. This is self-righteous works for
salvation. This is not the Gospel, which the Bible calls “the
simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3). So the truth
is in the middle. You don't have to quit your sins to be saved, but you
do have to admit that you are a guilty sinner. You need to know what
you're being saved from.
Caught Between Grace And Works!
|
MP3 |
MORE
(AWESOME TRUTH! By
Pastor Ralph “Yankee”
Arnold - Please share with OTHERS!!!)
“'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
great quote from the awesome sermon, “Calvinism
And Grace Are NOT Compatible
|
MP3”
You Can't Tell How Much Gas is in
a Car's Tank by the Sound of the Horn
I was watching
the news one day and heard something disturbing to me as a Christian. A
woman who makes a living as a porn model professed to be a Christian. She
said that Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden and she didn't
see anything wrong with being naked. You see, she is seeking to justifying her
evil deeds. We'll Adam and Eve were the only two people in the world
at that time. Mankind has a sinful tendency to rationalize
evil
into good. Jesus foretold of the time when the unsaved will murder Christians,
thinking they are doing God a favor (John 16:2). We are living in
apostate times, when
pastors are saying it's ok to be gay. Could this porn star secretly
be saved? Sure, of course, but we do not know. We cannot see her heart
as God can.
Many of the chief
rulers believed on Jesus in John 12:42-43, but they DID NOT CONFESS HIM,
because of the wicked Pharisees who would have kicked them out of the
synagogue. The Bible says those chief rulers loved the praise of men
more than the praise of God, yet they were saved. By outward appearance,
you never would have known that they were saved.
America is going to Hell. Our
churches are filled with unsaved religious hypocrites who know not the
Lord Jesus Christ. They've made commitments to serve God, have joined
churches and many claim to have prayed the salvation prayer; but they
are as lost as the Devil himself. They've never repented, i.e., come to
God as a dirty, rotten, hell-deserving sinner in need of the Savior,
Jesus Christ. They've never trusted upon the name of Jesus, the Christ,
to forgive their sins.
The only way to know if someone
is saved is by the direct testimony of a person's mouth. Dr. John R.
Rice taught that truth, and I agree with him 100%! Even the most vile
sinners may be saved, in a backslidden condition, where no one would
ever suspect that they are God's child. There are Christians serving
life prison sentences in America, who committed crimes long after they
were saved. Does that mean they were never saved to begin with? It
doesn't mean that at all, it just means that Satan sifted them as wheat,
just as Jesus warned the Apostle Peter Satan wanted to do to him (Luke
22:31). Let me ask you a question: If you were on trial for being a
Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Look at sinful
Lot, Abraham's nephew. If all we had to go by was the Old Testament,
we'd never think that Lot was a born-again believer. Yet, we know Lot
was a just man from reading 2nd Peter 2:7. Sinful Lot was indeed saved,
and is in Heaven this moment.
Do you know how evil Lot was?
Lot was covetous. Lot wickedly moved to Sodom (a very evil city). Lot
offered two of his virgin daughters to be abused by an angry mob of
homosexuals. Lot brought alcohol with him out of Sodom. Lot got drunk
with that alcohol and commit incest with his adult daughters,
impregnating both of them. Lot's family was a mess. Lot's wife looked
back toward Sodom, after being warned not to do so by God's angels, and
she turned instantly into a lifeless pillar of salt (like mother like
daughters). What a nightmare!!! Yet, the New Testament doesn't mention
any of Lot's horrible sins (unlike the average critical American
churchgoer today). The Bible calls Lot a just (righteous) man! You see,
Lot's sins were washed in the blood of Jesus, and in God's eyes He saw
Lot through the filter of the blood of the cross of Jesus.
We read in James 2:18: “Yea,
a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith
without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James was speaking about being justified
in the eyes of men. Notice that the Apostle James plainly
says, “SHEW ME” and “I WILL SHEW YOU.” This is speaking about being
justified in the eyes of men by our works, because men cannot see our
heart. Albeit, Genesis 15:6 teaches that Abraham was justified BY FAITH,
without works. We must rightly divide the word of truth as
2nd Timothy 2:15 teaches. Many psuedo-scholars butcher the Bible. With
God we are justified by faith alone; but with men we can only be
justified by our works because men cannot see our heart (1st Samuel
16:7).
And may I say, although a changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentance,
and not a part of saving faith, it is wrong to mandate such changes for
salvation itself. I certainly question the salvation of anyone who
professes to be a Christian, while still living in open sin; such as,
Dave Mustaine of the Rock band MEGADETH, and Alice Cooper, and
the porn star I mentioned earlier. However, only God knows if they are
truly saved. The reason why I doubt the salvation of Alice Cooper and
Dave Mustaine is because of their shallow testimonies, speaking of
praying a prayer to get saved. I know it is hard to stomach hearing a
transvestite profess to be a Christian (as Ray Comfort attempts to use
to justify the heresy of Lordship Salvation), but only God knows a
person's heart.
Solomon was a mega sex pervert,
having sexual relations with at least 1,000 whores. Solomon was a
Christian. In Judges 16:1 we read that Samson (God's man) went in unto a
harlot to have sex with her. Samson is in Heaven today, because he was a
Christian. I'm not trying to lessen the awfulness of sin, God forbid.
What I am trying to accomplish in this article is to convince you from
the Bible that salvation is a free gift, which has absolutely nothing to
do with the manner in which we choose to live. Many religious hypocrites
are trying to force people to forsake sins, by adding holiness and
living a consecrated life to the plan of salvation. It is heresy!
The following MP3 sermon by
Pastor Jack Hyles settles the issues, brilliantly explaining the matter
from the Bible. I plead with you to listen to this sermon, titled,
“STEPS IN SANCTIFICATION (OR, THE ROOT OF ALL HERESY),” which I like to
call . . .
Although becoming a born-again
child of God is NOT a process, a growing in grace process does begin at
the time of salvation and continue throughout life (1st Peter 2:2). This
process of growth is the direct result of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Just
as a newborn baby must learn to crawl before it can walk or run, so must
a new convert grow in the knowledge of God. Every believer must go
through the trial of their faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6; 1st Peter
1:7). A faith MUST be tested! The faith you placed in Christ to be saved
is the same faith that carries you through the Christian life, and it's
all by God's grace. A believer's faith never dies out, quits, nor
disappears. People who claim that they "used to be saved" are liars.
They may have had the psychology of Christianity, or have belonged to
some religious organization, or what have you; but they were never
born-again to begin with if they're not saved now. IF SAVED, ALWAYS
SAVED!
The Bible says that the
Christian walks by faith and not by sight (2nd Corinthians 5:7). Most
believers choose, sinfully so, to walk by sight; they are
carnally-minded and worldly (Luke 8:14; Romans 12:1-2; 1st Corinthians
3:1; 5:1-5). Does this mean they are not saved? You don't know by merely
observing. The Bible is filled
with examples of believers who sinned horribly: David, Jacob, Noah,
Samson, Jonah and Solomon. They all sinned horribly at times; yet they were saved. It
is important to notice that of all the believers who sinned in the
Bible, not one of them attempted to justify their sins, parading up and
down the street like homosexuals do, and defying the Law of God. This is
the difference between heathens like
Marsha Stevens,
a proud lesbian who claims to be a Christian; versus the Apostle Peter,
who wept bitterly over his sins. Judas claimed to be a Christian also,
but Jesus said Judas had a devil (John 6:70).
Salvation is more than mere head
knowledge or acknowledgment of some historical data concerning a man who
once lived by the name of Jesus. Salvation is when you personally
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, Who died
for YOUR sins on the cross, was buried, and then rose up from the dead the third day. If that's you, then you
are my beloved brother or sister in the Lord. It is so easy and simple
to be saved. Simply BELIEVE THE GOSPEL! It is that simple to be saved.
In Acts 2:41, thousands of people heard the Gospel preached by the
apostle Peter. This was on the Day of Pentecost (i.e., fifty days after
Jesus resurrected from the dead). On the Day of Pentecost 3,000 people
simply believed and were saved.
The Bible instructs us as believers to judge
“righteous judgment” (John
7:24). We are to
separate from carnal believers who indulge in
sinful living, and from those who attempt to justify sin (1st Corinthians
5:11). Romans 16:17 reads, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark
them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which
ye have learned; and avoid them." Biblically, we are supposed to
expose false prophets and contend for the faith. Certainly, we are not
wrong to question the
salvation of those who live contrary to the Scriptures. In 2nd Corinthians 13:5 the Apostle Paul questioned the
salvation of certain members of the church at Corinth.
In a way, each believer DOES
have a license to sin; meaning, a believer is safe and secure in the
arms of the Savior, regardless of the sins they commit. BUT, no one, and
I mean no one, has God's permission to sin. Romans 6:14-15, “For sin
shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but
under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law,
but under grace? God forbid.” Plainly, these Scriptures teach that
just because a believer is no longer under the curse of God's Law, does
not give us the right to continue in sin. God expects some changes and
He wants to make them for us. 1st John 1:9, “If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.” What a precious Savior!!!
ROOT versus FRUIT of the Believer's Faith
It is important to discern
between the ROOT of a believer's faith; and the FRUIT of a believer's
faith. The FRUIT should be present in the life of a genuine believer,
but that believer will still falter at times... “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but
the wicked shall fall into mischief” (Proverb 24:16). There should be some
type of evidence of a changed life to validate a person's claim of being a
true Christian. HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT MANDATE SUCH CHANGES FOR
SALVATION. This is NOT a part of saving faith. It is the
result of genuine repentance. In other words, a person should live
right because THEY ARE a believer, and not live right as a prerequisite in
order to be saved. If someone claims to be a Christian, but their
life denies their words, then I certainly am going to doubt their
testimony. This is Biblical. But that doesn't mean they aren't
saved. It just means that I don't think they are saved. I cannot know
for certain whether you are saved or not, accept from the direct
testimony from your mouth or writings.
I am not going to
fabricate a false doctrine, as the
Lordship Salvation crowd has done, to require sinners to cease from
sinning in order to qualify for salvation. I am not going to deny
the Biblical teaching of Eternal Security and require believers to
endure in holy living to be saved. That would be Works Salvation (human
effort). Such damnable heresies
corrupt the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3). Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15;6:23), paid for by Jesus'
precious, literal, redeeming, blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). We have no part
in salvation except to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts
10:43; 16:31). God does the saving, all of it!
Does a Sinful
Lifestyle Have to Be Forsaken to Be Saved?
When a sinner turns to Jesus
Christ by faith to be saved, that person's sins are forgiven. They have
forsaken their sins already in their heart, for a man cannot even be
saved without acknowledging his SINNERSHIP. This doesn't
necessarily mean that such a person will have a desire to stop
committing sins, nor does it mean that they hate sin. It just means that
they have acknowledged their sinnership before God.
A man asks, “Do I have to stop
cheating on my taxes to be saved?” That's the wrong question. The
question should be, “Will the Lord forgive a man who is cheating on his
taxes?” When the women allegedly CAUGHT IN THE VERY ACT of
adultery was dragged before Jesus in John Chapter 8, Jesus wrote
something on the ground and they all left one-by-one until they were all
gone. I think Jesus drew a picture of a man on the ground (but I don't
know for certain). As the older scribes and Pharisees figured it out
first, they left; and then the younger men figured it out eventually and
departed in their self-righteous shame. I think Jesus drew a picture of
a man on the ground to say to all of those hypocrites... WHERE'S
THE MAN? You brought the woman whom you claimed was caught in
the very act; so why did you not bring the man too? The reason is
because they had condemned the women, but let the man go. They were
hypocrites. Jesus had them on the spot. Their plot backfired on them
horribly so.
Does an
individual need to stop living in sin to be saved? No. We know that a
person must realize their guilt of sin (Romans 3:19) and believe on
Jesus Christ for salvation (Acts 16:31). But does a person actually have to forsake those sins
to be saved? You forsook them the minute you trusted Christ to be
forgiven of them. What you're really asking is, do I have to stop
committing deliberate sins to be saved? The answer is no, because we all
sin deliberately every day. We shouldn't, and God will hold us
accountable for each deed, work, and word spoken; but our salvation
rests solely in what Jesus did for us on the cross, and not in what we can do for Him.
Eternal life is receiving, not giving. We are saved by trusting, not by
trying. Salvation is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition!
True Biblical repentance
(Greek: metanoeo) means “a change of mind,” i.e., acknowledging
one's guilt of sin before God (Romans 3:19), which compels a man to
believe on the name of Jesus Christ. The “turning” is not from the act of sin itself; but
rather, TURNING TO THE LORD to be forgiven from the condemnation which sin
has brought upon all mankind (Romans 3:19-23; 5:12). In the act of turning
to Jesus Christ by faith alone to be saved, we have simultaneously
turned our back against the sin and unbelief, which were hindering us
from being saved (Romans 3:20). Lordship Salvationists
have perverted the Gospel. Charles Spurgeon said that God will never save a
person in their sins, but from their sins. I agree with that partially, in the
sense that God saves us to deliver us from sin, but Spurgeon didn't mean
that God won't save a person who is not ready to forsake certain pet
sins and sinful bad habits. Listen to what Pastor Spurgeon says:
“'Repentance' is a
grace. Some people preach it as a condition of salvation. Condition of
nonsense! There are no conditions of salvation.” —Charles Spurgeon
SOURCE:
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0044.htm
(Charles
Spurgeon, from
a sermon titled, REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE, preached at the New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, on
Sept. 23, 1855)
Amen! Spurgeon is correct! Don't ever allow
any reprobate to convince you that Charles Spurgeon taught Lordship
Salvation. Granted, Spurgeon DID teach some heresy in a few of his sermons
(as do all preachers who've been preaching for a lifetime). However,
from considering the WHOLE of all of Spurgeon's sermons and
writings, it becomes clearly evident that he didn't believed in Lordship
Salvation. The quote I just gave you proves my point. Turning away from
sinful behavior is NOT required to receive the free gift of eternal life
through faith in Jesus Christ!
The heretics who teach Lordship Salvation teach that repentance and faith are two
separate steps to salvation, and that faith alone in Christ is insufficient
to save anyone, unless they've turned away from their sinful lifestyle too. They
are liars! Salvation is receiving, not giving. Salvation is turning to Jesus
to be forgiven of one's sins, NOT turning from one's sins in order to be
forgiven by Jesus. There's a big difference! The former truth places
salvation unconditionally in the hands of God, but the latter lie conditions
salvation upon the self-righteousness of men. My salvation is rooted in
the PROMISES of God. Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God,
that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”
In a sense, every believer DOES have a license
to sin, i.e., one's salvation is not conditioned upon works. Romans 4:5 plainly states this:
“But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness.”
You need HIS righteousness!!! Don't
you dare go say that Brother Stewart said Christians have a license to
sin. That's not what I said. Romans 3:31 commands believers to fulfil
the law, even though we are no longer under the curse of the law. No one
has God's permission to live in sin. NO ONE! I am simply saying that a
believer cannot lose their salvation. We were not saved by good works,
and we cannot be lost by bad works. The only work by which a man can be
saved is to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:28-29).
As I've pointed out from Romans 3:31 and
Romans 6:15, God expects us to fulfil God's Law as believers. Anyone who
would rejoice in the fact that they can live like Hell, and still go to
Heaven, is not right with God, but that doesn't mean they are not saved. Hebrews 12:6-8 teaches that God chastises and scourges His
children when they sin, otherwise they are not God's children. No
genuine believer can happily live in sin, because God's Holy Spirit Who
indwells them will convict them.
It's been said that faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone. In other words, saving faith should produce
works as the FRUIT of faith. If faith doesn't produce works, then
some preachers say something is radically wrong. However, we must keep
in mind that it is the blessed indwelling Holy Spirit, and not our faith, that
produces a changed life. God saves us and then the Holy Spirit changes us! Those
changes may or may not be outwardly evident. If it weren't for a single Bible
verse in the New Testament in 2nd Peter 2:7, we would never guess that Abraham's
nephew Lot was saved, because his life was so full of sin dwelling in the
ungodly city of Sodom. Lot's family is eerily resemblant of millions of
dysfunctional American families today, who are saturated with wickedness. The
manner in which a person chooses to live their life is absolutely no indication
of whether or not they are saved. Many unsaved religious people live good,
upright and respectable lives in the eyes of the public; and many truly
Christians continue living in sin, which people see. Anything that an unsaved
person can imitate cannot be used as “evidence” of a person's salvation. 1st
John 3:24 teaches that the only true evidence of salvation is the indwelling
Holy Spirit, which only an individual believer can know. The Epistle of 1st John
was written to individual believers, to a group so that they could become fruit
inspectors, who go around deciding who is saved or not!
The reason why so many believers continue living in
sin, is not because they aren't saved, but simply because churches
do not mentor converts nowadays. Part of The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20
is to indoctrinate new converts with Christ's teachings (the Word of
God). We are saved by faith alone. Pastors need to stop accusing worldly
believers of “not being saved,” and instead help mentor them to
spiritual maturity. The Apostle Paul called the believers at the church
at Corinth “babes in Christ” and “carnal” (1st Corinthians 3:1).
Paul discerned that they were immature, rather than accuse them of being
lost.
The Holy
Spirit is our Teacher (John 16:13), but new believers need to be taught
about the Holy Spirit. If it were not important to “teach” new converts,
then God would not have included it in The Great Commission. Most
churches win folks to Christ and then never follow-up, boasting of the
number of souls saved. This is why we have so many worldly believers
nowadays. New believers need to be mentored with Bible-preaching,
Christian fellowship, and believer's baptism into a local church.
God Does Not Approve of Believers Who
Sin
-
Romans 3:31
states: “Do we then make
void the law through faith? God Forbid: Yea, We Establish the Law.” Just
because a born-again person is free from under the condemnation
of the Law, it does NOT give him or her permission to sin;
rather, we must establish the law and keep it. Does a believer
have a license to sin? ... “Yes!” A believer can sin without fear of going
to Hell. If this is not true, then the Bible is lying in
Romans 4:5, Ephesians 2:8,9 and Titus 3:5—which all plainly state
that salvation is NOT by works! Get mad at God because He
said it. However, no believer has God's permission
to sin, nor to make light of evil. God hates sin and commands
every believer to hate sin (Psalm 97:10; Hebrews 1:9).
-
The Bible
clearly warns all believers in Hebrews 12:5 that God WILL chastise His
own children. Listen friend, no one is going to get away with
anything. I think oftentimes that many people get frustrated with the
simple plan of salvation because they think being saved gives believers
a ticket to hurt and abuse others—IT DOES NOT! Romans 12:19 clearly
teaches that God will "repay" (Greek: punish) those who defraud
and hurt others. This includes believers (2nd Corinthians
5:10). 1st Thessalonians
4:6 is a warning to all believers not to defraud each other because God
will "avenge." Why would God have to say something like like that? Why would God have to assure us that justice will eventually be
executed? Simply because sometimes we cannot obtain justice in this
world. God is more fair than any human judge could ever be. We will
receive justice and restitution at some point (or else the Bible is a fraud
and God is not Holy). God's Judgment Seat and Laws supersede any of
man's courts or laws. The Supreme Court may say that abortion is legal
and acceptable, but God says it is cold-blooded murder. If someone
wrongs you, whether there is a law against it or not, God WILL avenge
you if it was wrong. A man desperately
tried to stop his separated
wife from aborting their child, she did it anyway with the backing force
of the courts and law enforcement. That wife will stand trial before
God for murder and her husband and child will receive justice.
So don't think
that Christians have permission to sin. On the contrary, believers will be
held more accountable to God if they are deliberately sinning in the knowledge of the
truth. They have been enlightened. They know better.
No one
has God's permission to live in sin; nevertheless, the Bible does teach that
God only requires simple child-like faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to
be saved and eternally secure. To those false prophets who would add holy living and works
as requirements to receive the gift of
God... you are in league with the Devil. No person can be saved by good
works; and no man can be lost by bad works. Salvation cannot be by
God's grace AND works (Romans 11:6). The Bible declares that it
is through a person's FAITH by God's GRACE that they are saved
(Ephesians 2:8-9). Titus 3:5 proclaims, “Not by works of
righteousness which we have done...” No person is saved by
works, or lost by lack of them. When the Apostle James speaks of
“works,” he clearly says to show “me” your faith without your
works. You see friend, we are justified with mankind by works because
he cannot see into someone's heart; but with God we are justified by faith
because He can see into our heart (1st Samuel 16:7). If you add "works" to your faith,
then it is no faith at all and you are still bound for Hell in your
self-righteousness.
The
“Repent Of Your Sins” Heresy (Awesome!
The Bible says that God
“repented”—was it from His sins?)
Conclusion
Please don't
allow anyone to deceive you on this matter—you do NOT have to live
above sin to be saved. I'm not saying that God approves of wickedness. I'm simply saying that eternal life is a free gift. Can any
believer live above sin? Of course not (but we can live above
reproach). I don't care how close you get to God, you will always sin as
long as you are in the flesh. I am not condoning sin, not one bit. I am
just saying that human beings cannot escape the “body of this death” as
the Apostle Paul called it (See Romans 7:14-24). We are flesh,
which makes us inherently
hateful, greedy, lustful, envious, et cetera. It's in our tainted blood. The ONLY escape is through the
blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who lived a sinless life and
is the perfect Lamb of God.
Only when
believers walk in the Spirit of God can
we live righteously. Galatians 2:20 teaches that Christ lives the
Christian life through us (Christ liveth in me). The Christian life is not hard to live...
it's impossible! Jesus wants to live the Christian life through
us, if we'll let Him. Unfortunately, no Christian walks in the Spirit
ALL the time. We are still cursed by the flesh. We shouldn't sin,
but as long as we are in the flesh we will sin at times. It is a dangerous thing to teach (as the
Charismatic Pentecostals
and Seventh-Day Adventists do) that a person needs to maintain good works
to keep their salvation. It is a lie of the Devil. To go to
Heaven, God only requires a simple child-like faith in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. We are eternally safe in Christ, apart from our own faults, sins and
shortcomings in the flesh. To teach otherwise is to negate the
gift of God, which is eternal life (Romans 6:23).
Howbeit, no Christian has God's
permission to sin. Just because we are saved and can live in sin
without fear of going to Hell doesn't give us permission to do so. 2nd Corinthians 5:10 plainly warns that every believer will stand trial
at the Judgment Seat of Christ, to be judged according to his
works (i.e., the good and the bad). This will be a civil court, not a
criminal court. Carefully notice that the Bible says we must give
account for the “bad,” not our “sins.” The condemnation of the believer's sin
was taken
away by the blood of Jesus, but the consequences of the sins themselves
must be given account for. 1st Corinthians 3:15 tells us that some
believers will have no rewards in Heaven. Tears will flow. There
will be sorrow and remorse for our sins and failures of this life. The
Bible warns those believers who “defraud” a brother or sister in the
Lord (1st Thessalonians 4:6).
Do believers have a license to
sin? Yes, in a sense! Our salvation rests upon the redeeming work of
Jesus Christ, and not upon our own self-righteousness. If a
Christian deliberately goes into sin, thinking that they can do so
without fear of going to Hell because they have been saved by faith
alone, then they are correct! However, no
believer has God's permission to sin and Hebrews 12:6-8 promises that God
will chastise and scourge His children who do live in
sin. No genuine believer can live in sin and truly be
happy, because the Holy Spirit of God will convict the
soul. Proverbs 3:12, “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth;
even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Nevertheless, our salvation is not conditional upon our works,
good or bad. Salvation is the unconditional gift of God—paid for by
Jesus' precious redeeming blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). Thank you Lord!!!
The Eternal
Security of the Believer (by Dr.
Harry Ironside)
The
“Repent Of Your Sins” Heresy (excellent
full sermon by Pastor Steven L. Anderson)
RECENT ARTICLES
The Hypocrisy of Those Who Don't Believe
in Eternal Security
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Lordship Salvation Exposed!
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What is
Biblical Repentance?
