The following passage of Scripture is so clear, providing irrefutable proof that a person DOESN'T need to turn away from their sins, nor even be willing to turn away from their sins, to be saved. ...
Acts 15:1-11, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
As you just read, a group of false prophets had come to town in Jerusalem, teaching that to be saved a person must keep the law of Moses. This teaching creating a big stir, because it seemed to contradict the simplicity of the Gospel which the disciples had preached unto the Jews. So the disciples came to Jerusalem and cleared up the matter. The apostle Peter plainly said that neither the Old Testament saints, nor we, can bear such an impossible yoke of perfectly keeping the law of Moses, nor ought we attempt to do so to merit salvation.
The rich young ruler learned this Biblical truth the hard way, when he met Jesus, Who needed to show the young man that he in fact hadn't perfectly kept Moses' law, and was thus unqualified to have eternal life. You see the young man was deceived, trying to earn his way to Heaven by living a good life; but Jesus used the law to show the young man that he was a guilty sinner, and couldn't get to Heaven by works. It is important to understand in the following passage of Scripture that Jesus is not giving the young man a plan of salvation; but rather, He is simply using Moses' law to convince the young man that he is a guilty sinner, so that he can be brought to God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ to be saved...
Mark 10:17-22, “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.”
Jesus in the preceding passage of Scripture in Mark 10:17-22 was NOT giving the young rich ruler a plan of salvation; but rather, he was using the Ten Commandments as it was intended to be used—to show men their sinnership and need for God's grace in Christ Jesus! Evangelist Ray Comfort has the right idea to use the Ten Commandments as a measuring stick to show people their sinnership, but he goes horribly wrong when he tells people “THAT'S ALL REPENTANCE IS...IT'S A MATTER OF SAYING, 'GOD I'M SORRY, AND THEN LIVING A LIFESTYLE THAT PROVES THE REALITY OF YOUR REPENTANCE... IT'S A CONTINUAL THING!” (YouTube video). Effectively, Ray Comfort is teaching people that you have to attempt to keep the Ten Commandments to be saved. Kindly, Ray Comfort is a bastard preacher—an illegitimate minister—who preaches an illegitimate gospel of partial faith in Christ plus human effort. Ungodly False Prophet Ray Comfort Made $3,571,713 In 2017 (His damnation slumbereth not).
When I woke up this morning, to prepare for my morning walk, I turned on Alexander Scourby reading the book of Luke (it is 2:28 hours long). I like to leave the Bible audibly playing while I am gone walking, so when I return I'll hear the Bible still being read, and won't forget to listen to continue listening to it. So I went for my morning walk at 5:30 and stopped at the store for 7 cans of 'Sloppy Joe' (I love the original 'Sloppy Joe,' you just need ground beef and fresh hamburger buns). When I came back at 7:30 I heard some amazing Scriptures, and my heart got busy writing two articles for my web visitors. One article is called, “The Majestic God Of The King James Bible” and the other is the article that you are now reading—“Turning From Sins To Be Saved An Impossible Yoke.” So far this morning I have listened to Alexander Scourby read the last part of the book of Luke (from which I gleaned the text for the first article), and then all of the book of Acts (2:17 hours long), and my heart is burning with joy and faith in God!
When I heard Acts 15:1-11 my heart leaped, hearing the simplicity of the Gospel; and I wanted to share this great truth, refuting the popular heresy in many churches today, that requires a person to turn from their sinful ways to be saved. That is not the Gospel! There is nothing simple about turning away from lifelong sinful bad habits. The truth is that many people in their utter ignorance wrestle the Scriptures unto their own destruction (2nd Peter 3:16-17). The Gospel does not include turning away from one's sins (which is the false gospel of Ray Comfort and John MacArthur), nor even a willingness to turn away from one's sins (which is the heresy taught by cartoon evangelists' Jack Chick and David Cloud). Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are a free gift, that you simply receive by faith in the 'GOOD NEWS' of Jesus Christ!
I am telling you dear reader—it would be a wonderful thing if Christians would throw away all of the theology books, throw away all of the daily bread booklets, throw away all of the Christian magazines, throw away all of the religious commentaries and Bible study aids, and just HEAR THE INSPIRED WORDS OF GOD IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE!!!
