Charismatic vs Cessationism

This from SpaniardVIII was so good I thought I would reblog it on one of my sites. Thanks for the good work you do at Spiritual Minefield, Spaniard.

Spiritual Minefield

Not all Charismatics are false but all false prophets come from the Charismatic Movement.

Spiritual Minefield

Cessationism are Calvinistic and they believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer active for today. They stifle and limit the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to ever work in them like healing someone or actually speaking in a different tongue to preach the gospel to someone who doesn’t know your language.

Where I Personally Stand On The Issue To Show That I Take Neither Side As They Teach It

I am not a Pentecostal nor am I a Reformer (Calvinist). I believe that you cannot lose your salvation but through the transformation of the Holy Spirit living inside of you by conversion, you will live a life of holiness, not perfect but will strive to please God through repentance when at times you come short through sin. I believe…

View original post 1,132 more words

Advertisement

What does the Bible say about self-defense? By Beth Hyduke

SOURCE: What does the Bible say about self-defense? Is it biblical to fight — or even kill — an attacker? Throughout the Bible we are told we have a general obligation to protect life, which would apply to preserving and protecting our own life as well as the lives of others. The Bible also tells us, however, that not all killing is wrong; the soldier killing in the line of duty and the civil government executing its God-given authority to enforce capital punishment are two examples of this. Exodus 22:2 offers a third example: “If the thief is found breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.” This is talking about a situation in which a citizen uses lethal force to defend himself, his family, and his property. The Bible says that it is not wrong to use violence in such a scenario in order to protect one’s life and property, but delineates between self-defense (protecting oneself during an attack) and revenge or vigilante justice (getting even after an attack).

So we see that it is justifiable for someone to act in self-defense. But is preparing to defend oneself in some way showing a lack of faith in God to act on our behalf? Nehemiah 4 provides a great account of everyday citizens preparing to defend their homes and lives. The Israelites, newly returned to Jerusalem from captivity, were forced to deal with the threat of enemy attackers as they attempted to rebuild their city wall. These were not trained warriors or professional soldiers. These were common citizens like you and me. Verse 13 says that Nehemiah stationed “people according to their families” around the city they were preparing to defend against its potential attackers. These people had armed themselves with “their swords, their spears, and their bows” (v. 13), all lethal weapons of their day. There is no implication that by arming themselves in preparation for an attack they are in any way sacrificing their trust in God. In fact, Nehemiah 4:14 shows us that trusting in the Lord and being willing to fight for what is right are paired together: “And I [Nehemiah] looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'”

This pairing of belief and action continues throughout the crisis. Verse 20 says: “Then I [Nehemiah] said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, ‘The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.'” Though these common citizens had armed and equipped themselves with weapons to meet a very real threat, they fully recognized that God was the key element and the only reason for their ongoing and final success. No weapon or tool can guarantee protection any more than owning a fire extinguisher guarantees that your house will not burn down. The Psalmist proclaims this truth when he says, “I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies…” (Psalm 44:6-7).

It is wise for believers to both prepare to defend themselves and trust in God for their safety.

This doesn’t mean that God will always protect us from harm. The combination of free will and God’s sovereignty means that He will not always come to our physical rescue. But it may be that He will use our readiness to protect in His plan to protect. Provided we understand, acknowledge, and rely on that same crucial truth — that God alone saves — we can reasonably conclude that it is very wise, on both a spiritual and physical level, to adequately prepare and equip ourselves for days of battle.

http://blogos.org/christianlifeandgrowth/christian-self-defense.php

How God Uses Problems In Your Life

This little jem was posted in a forum and a friend pasted it to his facebook page, so I am sharing it here. The authors name is Amanda Hadaway.

——————————————

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Proverbs 20:30

2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags . . . if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? “When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.” James 1:2-3

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something … health, money, a relationship … by losing it. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.” Psalm 119:71-72

4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good .” Genesis 50:20

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity. “We can rejoice when we run into problems . . . they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.” Romans 5:3-4

Here’s the point: God is at work in your life – even when you do not recognize it or understand it. By reading these 5 Lessons of God, be mindful to ask “Why have you endured a situation?” If ANY situation exists and YOU can see no way out, pause, meditate, and ask God to show you the way out. (WORK, HOME, SCHOOL, the interstate, ANYWHERE). Sometimes the lesson can be one of patience, so be receptive to ALL God’s ways. God will show you. Have faith in the outcome of God’s work. God does all things in our life to strengthen us. We are His children. Each road we journey is a lesson for life. If you continually seek understanding from life, you can be receptive of its lesson.

Answering 11 Objections To The Deity Of Jesus Christ

SOURCE: There are several groups that deny the deity of Christ. Four of the most common are: Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Way International, Christadelphians and Unitarians. The most common arguments used by these groups, and some others that are not listed, are cited below. It is out of obedience to Jude 3 and love for the truth of God that this study has been presented. (The Christian worker should become familiar with the contents of this study. See 1 Pet. 3:15.)

[Before the following refutations are given, it is imperative that you know two basic truths about the Lord Jesus: (1) When a Christian says, “Jesus is God,” he is NOT saying Jesus is the Father! Jesus is NOT the person of the Father, yet He is equal to the Father BY NATURE. In other words, Jesus is God BY NATURE, as are the Father and the Holy Spirit. (2) Jesus is both God BY NATURE and man. In other words, He is both true God AND true man. Jesus’ humanity is shown in Heb. 2:14 and 1 Tim. 2:5.]

——————————————————————————–

OBJECTION #1. Jn. 14:28 reads, “… my Father is greater than I.” If Jesus is equal to the Father, as the Trinity definition states, then why did Jesus say His Father was “greater” than He?

ANSWER: Jesus spoke these words after He humbled Himself and became a servant (Phil. 2:5-8). Furthermore, the word “greater” refers to OFFICE or POSITION and not NATURE! God is God because of His “NATURE” (Gal. 4:8). Jesus is saying in Jn. 14:28 that His Father has a “greater” OFFICE or POSITION than He does. This is how the word “greater” is used as clearly seen in Gen 41:40. That verse reads, “You [Joseph] shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I [Pharaoh] be GREATER than you,” (NIV). Pharaoh was “greater” than Joseph only by OFFICE or POSITION, but not NATURE. The nature of Pharaoh and Joseph was the same, that is, human being. Similarly, the president of the USA is GREATER than we are, as far as OFFICE or POSITION is concerned, but certainly not by NATURE!

——————————————————————————–

OBJECTION #2. 1 Cor. 11:3 reads, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” If Christ has a “head,” then He can’t be God.

ANSWER: Does this show Jesus inferior to the Father by NATURE? If one will insist that it does, then to be consistent, he would have to say the same regarding the woman to the man! Though a wife is subject to her husband in the Lord, she is NOT inferior to him by nature. The same is true with the relationship between the Lord Jesus and the Father.

——————————————————————————–

OBJECTION #3. 1 Cor. 15:28 says, “And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” If Jesus is “subject” to the Father, He can’t be God.

ANSWER: Again, this argument is similar to Arguments #1 and #2. This verse doesn’t refer to NATURE either, but only to OFFICE or POSITION! In Lk. 2:51, the SAME GREEK WORD translated “subject” is found. No one would say that Jesus was inferior BY NATURE to Joseph and Mary from Lk. 2:51, which would be the natural conclusion if the word “subject” refers to NATURE! Likewise, Jesus is NOT inferior BY NATURE to the Father, since He is God. See Jn. 1:1, Greek; Jn. 20:28; Phil. 2:6; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1 and 1 Jn. 5:20.

——————————————————————————–

OBJECTION #4. Mk. 13:32 declares, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” If Jesus was God, then He would have had this knowledge.

ANSWER: Again, we must bear in mind that Jesus is true man besides true God. The Lord Jesus spoke these words when He was limited by His humanity and was relying upon the Father entirely (Acts 10:38; Jn. 12:49). After His resurrection, however, Jesus would have to be all-knowing, since He can be prayed to (Jn. 14:14, Greek; Acts 7:59; 9:14,21; 1 Cor. 1:2). In other words, if a group of Christians is praying to Jesus in Canada, Mexico and Japan at the same time, He would have to be all-knowing to know their requests! Also, since prayer is a form of worship, it would be idolatry to pray to Jesus unless He was and is God by NATURE. (If He wasn’t God by NATURE, then the early Church was guilty of idolatry by praying to Jesus, which is IMPOSSIBLE!)

——————————————————————————–

OBJECTION #5. Lk. 18:19 reads, “And Jesus said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God.’” God is “good,” but Jesus isn’t. Therefore, Jesus isn’t God.

ANSWER: If one would look closely at this verse, he should quickly notice that Jesus NEVER said that He Himself was NOT ‘good’! He merely asked, “Why callest thou me good?” Jesus wanted to know “WHY,” that’s all! Furthermore, Jesus openly declared elsewhere that He Himself was the “GOOD shepherd” (Jn. 10:11). Psalm 23 declares YHWH as the “shepherd,” but He isn’t called the “GOOD” shepherd, the description Jesus reserved for Himself!

——————————————————————————–

OBJECTION #6. Jesus is shown in the Scriptures as being created in Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15; Prov. 8:22 and Psa. 2:7. If He was created, He can’t be God, since God is eternal.

Tithing is Not a Christian Doctrine: An Essay by Russell Earl Kelly, PH. D

Tithing is Not a Christian Doctrine
An Essay by Russell Earl Kelly, PH. D., July 5, 2006

Article copied exactly as printed from source:
http://www.shouldthechurchteachtithing.com/

PLEASE NOTE: RUSSELL FREQUENTLY UPDATES THIS ARTICLE.
CHECK HIS WEBSITE FOR MOST CURRENT EDITION.  Introduction:

The following essay is a summary of my book, Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian’s Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine. The book itself is a greatly expanded version of my PH. D. thesis. I challenge Bible educators to be bold, to open up their seminary level research and to promote studies on this subject in the Masters, Doctorate and PH. D. levels. This doctrine is simply too important to ignore.

In many churches today the doctrine of tithing has reached the level of a modern scandal. While on the one hand, most seminary-level textbooks on systematic theology and hermeneutics by highly educated theologians omit tithing, on the other hand, the practice is quickly becoming a requirement for church membership in the very denominations which insist on solid Bible-based doctrines. There is also increasing evidence that lay persons who question the legitimacy of New Covenant tithing are usually criticized and ignored as being troublemakers or weak Christians.

Modern Tithing is Based on Many False AssumptionsOne denomination’s statement on stewardship is typical of what many others teach about tithing. It says that “tithing is the minimum biblical standard and the beginning point which God has established that must not be replaced or compromised by any other standard.” It adds that the tithe is from gross income which is due to the church before taxes.

The following points of this essay contrast the false teachings used to support tithing with what God’s Word actually says.

Point #1 N. T. Giving Principles in Second Corinthians 8 and 9 are Superior to Tithing.

The false teaching is that tithing is a divine mandatory expectation which always must precede free-will giving.

Free-will giving existed before tithing. The following New Covenant free-will principles are found in Second Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9: (1) Giving is a “grace.” These chapters use the word, “grace,” eight times in reference to helping poor saints. (2) Give yourself to God first (8:5). (3) Give yourself to knowing God’s will (8:5). (4) Give in response to Christ’s gift (8:9; 9:15). (5) Give out of a sincere desire (8:8, 10, 12; 9:7). (6) Do not give because of any commandment (8:8, 10; 9:7). (7) Give beyond your ability (8:3, 11, 12). (8) Give to produce equality. This means that those who have more should give more in order to make up for the inability of those who cannot afford to give as much (8:12-14). (9) Give joyfully (8:2). (10) Give because you are growing spiritually (8:3, 4, 7). (11) Give because you want to continue growing spiritually (9:8, 10, 11). (12) Give because you are hearing the gospel preached (9:13).

Point #2 In God’s Word, the Tithe is Always Only Food!

The false teaching is that biblical tithes include ALL sources of income.
Use God’s Word to define “tithe.” Do not use a secular dictionary! Open a complete Bible concordance and you will discover that the definition used by tithe-advocates is wrong. In God’s Word “tithe” does not stand alone. Although money existed, the original source of God’s “tithe” was never money. It was the “tithe of food.” This is very important. **True biblical tithes were always only food from the farms and herds of only Israelites who only lived inside God’s Holy Land, the national boundary of Israel.** The increase was gathered from what God produced and not man’s craft or ability.

There are 15 verses from 11 chapters and 8 books from Leviticus 27 to Luke 11 which describe the contents of the tithe. And the contents never (again), never included money, silver, gold or anything other than food from inside Israel! Yet the incorrect definition of “tithe” is the greatest lie being preached about tithing today! (See Lev. 27:30, 32; Numb. 18:27, 28; Deut. 12:17; 14:22, 23; 26 12; 2 Chron. 31:5, 6; Neh. 10:37; 13:5; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; Luke 11: 42).

Point #3 Abraham’s Tithe to Melchizedek Reflected Pagan Tradition.

I’m Losing My Religion… Thank God! by Roy Hershberger

SOURCE: A new found friend and I were discussing the many and varied Christian religious sects, when suddenly he asked the unexpected: “What are you?” His question took me back. I just stood there for a moment realizing I didn’t fit comfortably into any “Christian” category anymore. Even the broad based evangelical label could no longer capture me into its mold. I didn’t have an answer, but one thing I knew for sure; I was more confident of the reality of Jesus Christ and His desire to lift me above the sorry state of “normal” human existance then at any time in my religious past. My “religion” was becoming less and less, but the realness of Jesus was becoming more and more.

The problem with “religion,” as understood by today’s standards, is that most people do not see it as part of the real world. Most peoples real religion, the “reality” that they live their life by every day, is a pop, secularistic, relativistic, postmodernism. “Religion” to most people is something tacked on to the outskirts of life, something they do out of obligation or a sense of duty, something to put on a good front. It doesn’t really effect their lifestyle or the very core of who they are. It is not the basis of realty for them at all.

It is this mentality that I am rebelling against when I state that I’m “losing my religion.” It is an attempt to define what I believe about Jesus Christ as reality not as religion thus defined. It was once a common practice for me, as it is for many modern “Christians” to separate my “religion” from what I perceived as the “real world,” that part of life that seemed to be always most outrageously in my face every day. A reality not built around the person of Jesus Christ, but one defined by either the secular media, my materialistic American culture, or my religiousized, humanistically inspired Churchianity. I have discovered that those things were not the real world at all, and that all truth and all meaning in life is dependent on the Living Word of God. If we try to build a “reality” on any other foundation other than Jesus we are destined to develop a view that is severally flawed and leads to a dead end.

In keeping with the spirit of that discovery I feel there is a very real need to level the playing field by helping people to realize that the secularism they take for granted as the “real world” is only another religion or philosophy about life. A philosophy that is just as much full of superstition and false ideas as all the other religions of the world.

There is only one reality that can stand under the force of any test without ever contradicting itself, and that is a reality centered around the person of Jesus Christ, the resurrected first son of our loving Father the Prime Mover, Creator, and Master of the universe. Through the ages we have abused and attempted to shape this reality into something by which we may reach our own selfish ends, but it has nothing to do with any man-made “religion.” It is in fact the very essence of All Truth.

http://www.truthforfree.com/html/article_losingmyreligion.html

What Is The Gospel? – by Dr. Harry Ironside

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor.15:1-4)

It might seem almost a work of supererogation to answer a question like this. We hear the word, “Gospel” used so many times. People talk of this and of that as being “as true as the Gospel,” and I often wonder what they really mean by it.

First I should like to indicate what it is not.

THE GOSPEL IS:
Not The Bible

In the first place, the Gospel is not the Bible. Often when I inquire, “What do you think the Gospel is?” people reply, “Why, it is the Bible, and the Bible is the Word of God.” Undoubtedly the Bible is the Word of God, but there is a great deal in that Book that is not Gospel.

“The wicked shall be turned into Hell with all the nations that forget God.” That is in the Bible, and it is terribly true; but it is not Gospel.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” That is in the Bible, but it is not the Gospel.

Our English word, “gospel” just means the “good spell,” and the word “spell,” is the old Anglo-Saxon word for, “tidings”, the good tidings, the good news. The original word translated. “Gospel,” which we have taken over into the English with little alteration is the word, “evangel,” and it has the same meaning, the good news. The Gospel is God’s good news for sinners. The Bible contains the Gospel, but there is a great deal in the Bible which is not Gospel.

Not The Commandments

The Gospel is not just any message from God telling man how he should behave. “What is the Gospel?” I asked a man this question some time ago, and he answered, “Why I should say it is the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, and I think if a man lives up to them he is all right.” Well, I fancy he would be; but did you ever know anybody who lived up to them? The Sermon on the Mount demands a righteousness which no unregenerate man has been able to produce. The law is not the Gospel; it is the very antitheses of the Gospel. In fact, the law was given by God to show men their need of the Gospel .

“The law,” says the Apostle Paul, speaking as a Jewish convert, “was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But after that Christ is come we are no longer under the schoolmaster.”

Not Repentance

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.

Not Giving Up The World

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.

THERE ARE SEVEN DESIGNATIONS OF THE GOSPEL in the New Testament, but over and above all these, let me draw your attention to the fact that when this blessed message is mentioned, it is invariably accompanied by the definite article. Over and over and over again in the New Testament we read of the Gospel. It is the Gospel not a Gospel. People tell us there are a great many different Gospels; but there is only ONE. When certain teachers came to the Galatians and tried to turn them away from the simplicity that was in Christ Jesus by teaching “another Gospel, “the apostle said that it was a different gospel, but not another; for there is none other than the Gospel. It is downright exclusive; it is God’s revelation to sinful man.

The Mormon church teaches there are three levels to heaven

The Mormon church teaches there are three levels to heaven, and only those who are worthy LDS members will attain the highest level:

Telestial Kingdom – is where unbelievers go: “These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus…who receive not his fullness in the eternal world”, but shall be “redeemed from the devil [at] the last resurrection” (Doctrine and Covenants 76: 82-86).

Terrestrial Kingdom – is for religious people who aren’t Mormons and for Mormons who have not met the requirements of the Church, i.e., “Honorable men of the earth who are blinded by the craftiness of men and who therefore do not accept and live the gospel law” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 784). While this level is not as desirable as the Celestial Kingdom, the presence of the Son is evident there: “These are they who receive of his glory but not of his fulness… the presence of the Son, but not the fullness of the Father…who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus…they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 76: 76-79).

Celestial Kingdom – is for Mormons who have kept ALL of the laws and ordinances of their church: “These are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized…in the water…keeping the commandments that they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit …” (Doctrine and Covenants 76: 51-57).; “they are gods, even the sons of God…these shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever…whose names are written in heaven” (Doctrine and Covenants 76: 58-68)

They use this verse in the Bible in addition to their doctrines as reference to their belief.

1 Cor 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

God’s Simple Plan of Salvation By Ford Porter

My friend: I am asking you the most important question of your life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”

In the Bible, God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realise you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to die. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.

“… it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much he gave his only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “For he hath made him [Jesus, who knew no sin] to be sin for us … that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed his blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11) “… without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and he died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, “God … now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).

This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “… Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved… .”

Simply believe on him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected.

His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Saviour.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.

Surely, you realise you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, a sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Just pray:

“Oh, God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when he died on the cross. I believe his shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive him as my Saviour. I thank you for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of your merciful grace. Amen.”

Just take God at his word and claim his salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on him as your crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and his gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive him as Saviour today.

If his plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God’s power will save you, keep you saved and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practise daily for spiritual growth: Pray you talk to God. Read your Bible God talks to you. Witness you talk for God.

You should be baptised in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord …” (2 Timothy 1:8).

“Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

Additional Helpful Verses

John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24
Isaiah 53:6, James 1:15, Romans 10:9-10
Ephesians 2:8-9, Proverbs 27:1
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, John 10:27-31, 1 John 5:13

FREE TITHING BOOK: Should The Church Teach Tithing? by Russell Kelley

Here you can download the complete electronic copy of Russell Earl Kelly’s amazing book, “Should The Church Teach Tithing,” in Adobe Acrobat format (also see the introduction article written by Russ in the paragraph below called “Tithing Is Not A Christian Doctrine”). To download the book, just click the link and you will be taken to a download page. Please note that dial up modem users may experience a longer wait time downloading the book as the file size is fairly large. This book is provided by permission of the author. You can also purchase a copy of the book at Amazon.com by clicking here. Out of all the resources I have personally read concerning the tithe, this is the highest recommendation I can give. Should The Church Teach Tithing by Russell Earl Kelly is simply the most thorough writing ever produced on the study of this subject anywhere! Virtually no stone is left untouched in this amazing examination of the biblical tithe and its unmistakable contrast to that which is called “tithing” today – not to mention undeniable proof that tithing has no connection to the subject of New Covenant giving. If you research any book in regards to the subject of tithing, PLEASE read this one! You will not be disappointed!

CLICK HERE

http://truthforfree.com/files/PDF/REK-Tithing3.pdf