Repent America!
By David J. Stewart
"Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." —Luke 24:47
Michael Marcavage is the director of REPENT AMERICA. I admire their ministry and efforts to call America to repentance. Certainly, America needs to repent and turn back to God. Please read, The Philadelphia Eleven.
However, I wrote this article to explain to my web visitors that I do NOT agree with Paul Washer nor Ray Comfort, who are promoted on Repent America's website. There's a common misunderstanding of what Biblical repentance means. I agree with Dr. Harry Ironside, former pastor of Moody Memorial Church, who stated . . .
“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: Pastor Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?
Pastor Ironside teaches that repentance is not a call to repentance. Pastor Ironside is speaking of repentance in the sense of amending one's ways. This is one meaning of “repentance” in the Bible. The Bible does not require a person to forsake the world nor the act of sin to be saved, for that would be self-righteousness. Eternal life is a gift freely given to those who receive Jesus as the Christ (John 1:12).
The Bible says that Judas “repented” (Greek: metamellomaiin, meaning, “to regret”) in Matthew 27:3. Yet, Jesus said Judas had a devil (John 6:70). Judas didn't repent toward God in faith to be saved; but rather, he felt regret that he got caught for betraying the Lord. Judas brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the Pharisees, but they refused it. Judas cast down the coins on the floor and went and hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). Turning from the act of sin is not salvation. The false repentance of Judas evidences this truth.
The false prophets in Matthew 7:21-22 said “Lord, Lord,” but they were not saved. They had amended their ways... speaking in Jesus' name, performing good works and miracles; but they were unsaved and went to Hell forever in their sins. They failed to do God's will concerning salvation. John 6:40 tells us God's will, “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.” Lordship Salvationists are not saved because they think repentance means to change your lifestyle to be saved, which is self-righteousness. If you're wrong on repentance, you're not saved (just like Judas)!
Concerning salvation, the Bible uses a different meaning for repentance, which is simply “a change of mind.” Repentance in this sense is necessary for salvation. Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” The word “repent” here in mark 1:15 is the Greek metanoeo, meaning, “to think differently.” Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” Lordship Salvationists need to repent from their dead works of religious self-righteousness and trust the simple gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do you know that Islam and Lordship Salvation are both rooted in self-righteous works? I witnessed once to a Muslim who thought I was arrogant to say that I KNEW I was saved. You see, in Islam you do your best and hope for the rest. Muslims fear Allah and at best can only hope that they are accepted when they die. Paul Washer teaches the same exact religious garbage as the Muslims...
“But if you profess to have gone through the narrow gate, and yet you live in the broad way ... just like all the other people who are carnal and wicked ... the Bible wants you to know that you should be terribly, terribly afraid — you know not God.” (time: 24:37 in video)
Fear? Is that the salvation that God has promised to us... that we should FEAR? What happened to the “hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2)? Paul Washer is a false prophet. The Christian's salvation is based upon God's PROMISE of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Jesus plainly taught in John 3:1-7 that the spiritual birth is as irreversible as the physical birth. Oh how evil is the false teaching of Lordship Salvation.
I wish I could give Paul Washer the benefit of the doubt, that he simply means that a sinful churchgoer may never have been truly saved to begin with. The Bible does teach in 1st John 3:8 that whosever committeth sin is of the Devil. Albeit, Mr. Washer attacks the sinner's prayer for salvation...
“...stupid evangelists walking around telling men after they've made some little prayer ...”
SOURCE: Paul Washer Sermonette
Clearly, Paul Washer errantly believes that a person is not saved unless they try really hard to stop sinning. Paul Washer is a heretic!!! God saves the vilest sinner who cries out even with the faintest and smallest of prayers, believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). Ray Comfort attacks soul-winners for practicing what he calls, “quick-Fix” evangelism. They despise the idea of showing a person some Scriptures from the Bible and then leading them in a sinner's prayer to be saved. Paul Washer calls such preachers of the gospel “STUPID EVANGELISTS.” Isn't that terrible? Paul Washer should be ashamed of himself. If the Bible teaches anything, it teaches that the gospel is simple, and it's very easy to be saved. You simply come as a SINNER and you believe upon the SAVIOR. It's that simple!
Please understand that I'm not saying that a preacher who uses the word “Lord” in the gospel is teaching heresy. We ought to receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. I'm talking about those who falsely teach that a person must declare “Jesus is Lord” to be saved (as the corrupt New International Version of the Bible teaches in Romans 10:9). The King James Bible correctly says to confess the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead to be saved. You don't make Jesus Lord, He is Lord! You receive Jesus and believe upon Him as the Christ to be saved; knowing that He died, was buried and rose again for our sins. Jesus paid for our sins with His precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19).
In Islam, salvation is conditional upon one's faithfulness to Islam. In sharp contrast, our salvation as Christians is rooted in the PROMISES of God. That's why we can KNOW that we are saved as Christians. God has PROMISED to save them which believe (John 3:16).
Please understand that the true gospel is based upon the love of God which sent Christ to Calvary to bleed and die for our sins. Thus, eternal life is a free gift, which we receive by faith and can confidently say... I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVETH! I KNOW I AM SAVED! (1st John 5:13).
I am appalled when I read THE EVIDENCE BIBLE by Ray Comfort and THE MACARTHUR STUDY BIBLE by John MacArthur and they MISQUOTE Charles H. Spurgeon extensively, deceitfully leading people to believe that Pastor Spurgeon taught Lordship Salvation. The teaching of Lordship Salvation unbiblically requires a person to amend their ways to be saved. This is a false understanding of Biblical repentance unto salvation. Kirk Cameron promotes The MacArthur Study Bible on his website. Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron are followers of John MacArthur. They're all Calvinist in their core doctrines, which is unbiblical.
John MacArthur often misquotes Charles Spurgeon on the radio in his sermons. John MacArthur and Ray Comfort horribly take Charles Spurgeon's words out of context, claiming that Spurgeon taught the same heresy of Lordship Salvation as taught today. Nothing could be further from the truth, as this quote by Spurgeon himself plainly reveals. Notice that Charles Spurgeon teaches the EXACT same thing as Pastor Harry Ironside, that is, that repentance is not a condition of salvation...
"You must not expect that you will be perfect in 'repentance' before you are saved. No Christian can be perfect. "Repentance" is a grace. Some people preach it as a condition of salvation. Condition of nonsense! There are no conditions of salvation. God gives the salvation himself..."
— 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 September 23, 1855)
Why doesn't MacArthur quote that in his commentaries and sermons? It is clear from Spurgeon's own statement here that he DIDN'T believe in Lordship Salvation at all and MacArthur is barking up an empty tree.
Please don't misunderstand... both Spurgeon and Ironside taught repentance of the mind to be saved, as the Bible teaches; but they strongly denied the notion that a person must repent from sinful living and clean up their ways as a prerequisite to be saved. We are discussing two very different Biblical meanings of what it means to repent.
Ray Comfort unbiblically states that a sinner cannot continue in sin and be saved . . .
“The forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ is conditional upon ‘repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21). It is a gift that God offers to everyone, but individuals must receive it by repenting and trusting in Christ, or they will remain dead in their sins. No one has Biblical grounds to continue in sin, assuming that they are safe just because Jesus died on the cross. See 1 John 3:4-6.” [Emphasis added]
SOURCE: THE EVIDENCE BIBLE, by Ray Comfort, pg. 1513; 2003, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Orlando, Florida
In Ray Comfort's gospel, the burden rests upon the sinner's shoulder, pressuring sinners to try really hard to stop sinning in order to qualify for salvation. What an evil teaching! In Biblical salvation, the burden rests 100% completely on Jesus Christ Who bore our sins at Calvary!!!
In his comments on Matthew 7:22-23, Ray Comfort says professed believers who still lust and tell lies are not saved . . .
"These are perhaps the most frightening verses in the Bible. Vast multitudes of professing Christians fit into the category spoken of here. They call Jesus 'Lord,' but they practice lawlessness. They profess faith in Jesus, but have no regard for the divine law. They tell 'fibs' or 'white' lies, take things that belong to others, have a roaming eye for the opposite sex, etc. They are liars, thieves, and adulterers at heart, who will be cast from the gates of heaven into the jaws of hell."
SOURCE: THE EVIDENCE BIBLE, by Ray Comfort, pg. 1197; 2003, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Orlando, Florida
The Bible does not agree with Ray Comfort.
