By David J. Stewart | November 2014
Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Kindly, please read the following excellent words by
author Michael Patrick Bowen from pages 113-115 of his book, “I NEVER
KNEW YOU,” concerning Ray Comfort's and Kirk Cameron's false plan of
salvation and the naive professed Christians who link to promote the
Living Waters / Way Of The Master websites...
Well, one day, I found a great page about salvation on the Internet. The fellow is born again, and the true plan of salvation is easily seen on his site. Thrilled by what I had found, I contacted the owner and we began a pen pal friendship. His Internet site is massive, with many links to different pages as well as other sites. I found one very interesting link about everlasting life, clicked on it, and was immediately taken to Ray Comfort’s “Living Waters” site. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. So, I wrote my new friend, who is born again, this very same note you are about to read:
“I need your prayers. I appreciate your statement of faith, too; but you have a link on your resource page that takes you to a man who promotes salvation by ‘works.’ How, how, how can you allow their link on your site when everything they say is in direct conflict with what Jesus Christ said concerning salvation? You must remove their link from your site, else, you are in conjunction with a counterfeit gospel that cannot save anyone — you are giving home to blasphemy — you are giving aid and comfort to the enemy— Living Waters’ salvation stance is directly opposite of Ephesians 2:8-9. Christ said in John 6:40 that the will of the Father is for everyone that recognizes the Son as the Messiah and believes on Him alone will have everlasting life — in John 6:47 Christ said, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believes on Me has everlasting life.’ Notice there are no works here. Ray and Kirk are calling God the Father a LIAR with their false gospel. You must remove it.” About a day later, my friend wrote me back in complete agreement. He put up a page on his site that condemned the false plan of salvation according to Ray Comfort.
The plan of salvation according to Ray Comfort and his cohort Kirk Cameron defines repentance incorrectly. In the most elemental sense possible, their plan of salvation is based upon an academic flaw. Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you. Neither of these gentlemen use the original Greek meaning of the word for repent which is metanoia.
As defined in the Greek language, metanoia is “meta” (change) and “noia”(mind). Metanoia is simply a “change of mind.” That is all it means. Nothing else is added to it. If someone says it means a change of mind about bananas, they would be wrong. If a crafty pastor who claims salvation is by faith “plus” works and deeds of the law (under the clever guise of “committing your life to Christ”) says that metanoia means a change of mind about sin, he would be wrong. Metanoia, by itself, simply means a “change of mind.”
When Christ used the word “repent” He was always referring to “a change of mind.” In proper context, Christ used “a change of mind” to refer to what people were trusting in to get them to heaven. Jesus would tell people to “change their minds” from keeping all the established laws of righteousness to instead trust upon Him alone in terms of Him being the sin-bearer, that He would “solve” the problem of sin once and for all by His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead. You see, Christ took care of the sin problem.
When we, in any way whatsoever, attempt to remedy the problem of sin by turning our backs on it, forsaking it, or promising God
that we will quit certain things that we know bring Him grief, we are essentially telling Christ that our faith in His death and resurrection from the grave is “not enough” to save us. If there was any way at all we could save ourselves by our works and behavioral changes, Christ may not have had to die on that cross; however, we know that God says in Romans 6:23 that the “wages of sin is death.”That means one sin, such as a small lie, condemns us to the spiritual “death penalty.” And because the wages, or payment, for that small lie is death, the “only way” we could pay for it is to be cast into the eternal lake of fire. We “cannot” pay for a single sin by promising God we will change our behaviors, or by “turning from sins.” It will not erase the “death sentence” that God has passed upon sin. For us to be able to enter into God’s heaven, we must be “as righteous” as God is righteous. In no way can our works, deeds, discipleship or promises ever make us “as righteous as God.” That is precisely why we need a “savior” and that is precisely why Comfort and Cameron’s plan of salvation will not work — it is not the gospel message of the bible; therefore, it is counterfeit. But that is not to say that these are not good men, for they are good men. They are moral, they espouse many biblical doctrines correctly, and they are masters at getting people to see their sinful natures before a holy and righteous God; however, because of one academic flaw — the misinterpretation of the word repent — their plan of salvation does not match with the plan of salvation that Christ offers to us in the bible.
SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER NEW YOU” (pp. 113-115)
