Religion wants to fit us with glasses, but the Lord wants to open our eyes! Thank God for the truth of His precious Word, which is “a lamp unto my feet” (Psalm 119:105). America's churches influence the world, so if Satan can corrupt our churches here at home, then he can corrupt the world, because the United States sends out more missionaries than any other nation. Sadly, there is MUCH heresy and false teachings circulating on the radio, television and in our churches nowadays concerning what a person must do to be saved. What exactly is the Gospel?
There is no need to guess what the “Gospel” is because the Bible plainly tells us:
1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “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.”
That is “the Gospel”—the “GOOD NEWS” that Jesus DIED on the cross for our sins. He was BURIED. And He bodily RESURRECTED three days later for our justification according to the Scriptures. If we BELIEVE THE GOSPEL, we are saved! The Bible teaches that the Gospel is “THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH.” Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Religion cannot produce the new birth in Christ Jesus. Good deeds cannot produce the new birth. Turning over a new leaf cannot produce the new birth. Turning away from one's sinful behavior cannot produce the new birth. Committing one's life to Jesus cannot produce the new birth. Inviting Jesus into one's heart cannot produce the new birth. None of these are the Gospel.
It is ONLY by believing the Gospel that a person can be born-again, that is born anew, by the Holy Spirit of God. Being born-again is a supernatural miracle of God in response to a person's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 16:30b-31a, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” That is the way to be saved, Oh sinner, simply believe the Gospel. Nothing else is required.
But Don't I Have to Repent to Be Saved?
Yes, repentance is necessary for salvation, but to “repent” doesn't mean what many people have errantly been taught. Notice that no mention is made of “repenting” in Acts 16:30-31 or in John 6:28-29, but it is mentioned in Mark 1:15. Why the discrepancy? Throughout the Scriptures we are provided different terminology by the various writers, who all wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. God is the Author of the holy Bible, not men. 2nd Peter 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The important thing is that we never base any doctrine upon just one Scripture alone.
In dozens of places in the Scriptures we are taught that we are saved by BELIEVING, with no mention of repentance. For example: John 6:40, “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.” Repentance is simply the admission that I am as guilty a sinner as God has declared me to be in His Word. Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” No one ever got saved who didn't admit that he is a sinner! You've got to know what you're being saved from.
The fact that the apostle John mentions the words “believe” and “believed” 85 times in the Gospel of John, but never mentions the word “repent,” evidences that the person who believes has also repented. The stated purpose for the writing of John's first Epistle is “that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1st John 5:13b), yet John never mentions the word “repent” (not even once). Clearly, repentance is not a separate act in salvation; but rather, a means to believing the Gospel. In other words, we repent TO believe, we don't repent AND believe. We are not saved by repenting, we are saved by placing our trust in the Gospel (Good News) of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen. Christ paid our debt of sin, taking our place on the cross.
The modern English meaning of “repentance” is VERY different than the Biblical Greek meaning. Since the word “metanoia” (a noun) simply means “to change one's mind,” it requires supplemental information, because we don't know what to change our mind about. The verb form of metanoia is “metanoeo,” which means, “to think differently.” Whereas the English word “repent” definitely means to turn away from sins, the Greek word metanoia doesn't give us any specifics. The Word of God gives us the needed supplemental information in our text verse from Mark 1:15b, “repent ye, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL.” Hence, repentance is unto the Gospel itself. The Gospel is what the change of mind is about.
The beautiful great meaning of the word metanoia is that is applies to anything and everything that hinders a person from believing the Gospel. It is an all-inclusive word, which God intentionally used. God never does anything by chance. Nothing in the Scriptures are accidental, coincidental or incidental. Whatever it is that has been hindering a sinner from believing the Gospel, the Scriptures command them to think differently toward God (Acts 20:21) and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL. The Gospel itself is what the change of mind is about. Obviously, the English word for “repent” means something very different than the Biblical use of the Greek word. This has caused much confusion in the churches. This shows the importance of Bible study.
The only prerequisite to believing the Gospel is that you understand you are a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God. Otherwise why would you need a Savior? Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Repentance is not just admitting that you are a sinner. Repentance is seeing God as He is, a holy God—and seeing yourself as you are, an unholy sinner—and saying with Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” God's law shows us our sinnership, and then we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Galatians 3:24-26). You Are Not Saved By Repenting, You Are Saved By Your Faith In Jesus Christ (Pastor Danny Castle; a quote from the awesome sermon, “Acting Responsibly”).
Since part of the Gospel is that Jesus died on the cross FOR OUR SINS, it is not necessary to tell a person to repent to be saved. If they want to be saved, it is because they have repented. The truth is that a person who leaves their pew to be saved is already saved at invitation time, before they ever walk down an isle to pray a sinner's prayer. They were saved the very second that they believed in their heart on the Lord Jesus Christ. They just walk down an isle to the alter to find out what just happened. You don't get saved by praying a prayer, you get saved by believing the Gospel in your heart. You are saved the very moment that you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He bodily raised up from the dead the third day. The Gospel is Good News to be believed, not a life to be lived. Salvation and discipleship are two entirely different things.
Biblical repentance is not turning away from sinful behavior. It is not being “sorry” for your sins. It is not an emotional response. Repentance is not forsaking anything. Nor is repentance a willingness to turn away from sins as Jack Chick errantly teaches. Repentance is simply a change of mind toward God that compels a person to place their trust in Christ's death on the cross for their sins, His burial and resurrection.
The Simplicity That is in Christ
2nd Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” So few people have a clear understanding of how salvation works. Let me make it very simple. YOU ARE A SINNER and unless you accept Christ's payment for your sins on the cross, you will spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell. You cannot add or subtract anything to Christ's payment. Jesus paid the full price of our sins with His precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19). Religion is man trying to reach God through human effort, but Christianity is God trying to reach man by the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
Unless you trust CHRIST ALONE for your salvation, you CANNOT be saved. I don't think Chip Ingram is saved. I also don't think Billy Graham is saved. They both require HUMAN EFFORT to be saved, that is, to try to stop sinning, which is a false Gospel. If we have to repent of all our sins to be saved, then we're all going straight to Hell. Repentance unto salvation is a change of mind, not a change of behavior. A changed life is the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and not a requirement to get saved. But you ask, couldn't a person still be saved even though they are confused about salvation? I find that hard to believe, because if you believe wrong then you trust wrong, and unless you are totally resting in the blood of Jesus that washes our sins away, then you haven't been born-again by the Spirit of God.
Please remember that a man named Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 was a devout religion man. Cornelius feared God, prayed, tithed and fasted, yet he was a religious lost man on his way to Hell. God sent the apostle Peter to witness to Cornelius and thankfully he got saved later in the chapter. God is good! Many good people go to Hell, because they fail to understand that no amount of goodness can cleanse away our past sins. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away a person's sins (1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 1st Peter 1:18-19; Romans 5:9 - all Scripture quotes are only from the trustworthy King James Bible).
There is a cross-less Gospel that has crept into today's churches which merely says to “trust Jesus” or “invite Jesus into your heart” or “commit your life to Christ” to be saved. You can do all of these things and go straight to Hell when you die. My friend, the Gospel truth is that Christ “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.” Surrendering to Christ's Lordship is NOT a requirement to be saved. Forsaking the world and having intent to reform is NOT a requirement to be saved. If you are trusting in the risen Christ, Jesus Who died in your place on the cross for YOUR SINS, then you are saved! It's that simple.
Now to clarify, no one ever got saved who didn't admit that he or she is a sinner! Again, this truth is confirmed in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The Bible silences the boasting of self-righteous men who brag of keeping the law of Moses. We see the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21, boasting that he had kept all of God's commandments “FROM MY YOUTH UP.” Then we see the unsaved group of religious people boasting in Matthew 7:21-23 of their own “MANY WONDERFUL WORKS.”
Ah, but the law of God was intended by God to be used as a measuring stick, by which when compared we see ourselves as A GUILTY SINNER in God's sight. This then leaves us with only one option if we would desire to enter Heaven one day in eternity, and that only option is to BELIEVE THE GOSPEL (the good news of Christ's death, burial and resurrection).
The Scriptures explain themselves very well. Galatians 3:24-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Repentance is a change of mind about what we want to do to get to Heaven, to what God says that we must do to get to Heaven. Repentance is simply admitting that I am a guilty sinner in God's eyes, realizing that I am totally incapable of saving myself in any way.
The man who comes to Christ has repented, which is the very reason he is coming to Jesus to be saved from his sins. Repentance and faith happen at THE SAME TIME, and are inseparable. Repentance without faith is mere declaration of sinnership or reformation (turning over a new leaf), but is not Biblical repentance unless it is accompanied by faith in Christ. Judas repented (a different Greek word meaning to feel remorse afterwards) in Matthew 27:3, but still went to Hell in his sins. Judas had no faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Judas was sorry he got caught, but he hadn't realize that he is a guilty sinner in God's eyes for breaking God's commandments.
If you acknowledge your guilty condition and inability to save yourself, simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Who died in your place) and receive His payment (the Gospel) to be saved. That's how salvation works, that is, you cease from your own DEAD WORKS, and you simply REST in what Christ has done to pay for your sins instead. We are saved through believing; Jesus does the saving! We are saved by God's grace and mercy.
1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
You do NOT have to be water baptized nor doing anything to get to Heaven other than trust upon the Lord as your Savior. Romans 4:5 proclaims... “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him (Jesus) that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” What a wonderful truth! Our faith is COUNTED for righteousness! There is NO self-righteousness involved in salvation. It is the gift of God. You see, we have no righteousness of our own to offer God. No amount of good can undo the bad we've done. Thus, Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay. Salvation is receiving, not giving. We are Sinners and Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is precious!
Faith is Not the Absence of Doubt
Unbelief is the only sin which can keep you out of Heaven. But in fact, if you trust Christ enough to make His death, burial and resurrection your only hope for Heaven, He will save you in spite of any doubts you may still have. For example: Let's say I need to change a defective light bulb. I grab an old chair to stand upon. I'm not too sure about the stability of the chair. It looks flimsy. Yet, if I stand unsupported upon the chair, placing my full weight on it, I have 100% placed my trust in that chair, regardless of any amount of doubt I may still have in my mind. The same is true with salvation. No amount of doubt can hinder you from being saved if you decide in your heart to receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He bodily raised up three days later from the dead.
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! The cross must be included! There can be no salvation apart from the cross upon which Christ died for our sins. Also, the Lord's bodily resurrection must be included, for what good is the dead Lamb of God (John 1:29) without a risen High Priest to intercede between men and God (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:15; 1st Timothy 2:5).
Trusting Jesus is meaningless without the cross. You must believe that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 teaches that the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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 Savior, 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, to have eternal life simply receive Christ as your sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and resurrected three days later. This is the gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4.
If you've never been saved, then now is the time to believe upon the name of Jesus, the Christ, that your sins will be blotted out forever and you can know that your name is written in Heaven. Jesus died on the cross as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), He raised up from the dead as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:15-16) to sprinkle His blood onto the heavenly mercy seat (Hebrews 9:12,24; 12:24), and then He sat down on the Father's right-hand as our Intercessor (Romans 8:34). What an awesome Savior!!!
Christ died for your sins. You are a sinner by nature and by choice (and so am I and everyone else). Jesus took our sins and charged them to His own record. He went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. He says if you're willing to receive Him in faith, He will transfer His payment to your debt, and His righteousness to your sins. He will impute to you His goodness, and impute to His own record your sin; if you in faith will trust Him as your Savior. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” It's that simple to be saved... “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again...”
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A Closer Look at Repentance
The Bible tells us to “repent” in Mark 1:15. As mentioned earlier, the modern dictionary defines repentance as “to turn away from sins.” This is a WRONG meaning for what the Bible is teaching. Modern dictionaries have adopted the Roman Catholic religious definition of the word, which is unbiblical. The Biblical Greek meaning of the word “repent” in Mark 1:15 concerning salvation simply means “to think differently” (Greek: metanoeo, a verb). This is very different than forsaking a sinful lifestyle in order to get to Heaven (which would constitute a works-based salvation of human effort).
Eternal life is a free gift from God. Salvation is a TAKE proposition, and not a GIVE proposition. A gift is simply taken and received, without obligation nor strings attached. It is very simple and easy to be saved. First, you must realize that you have sinned against a holy God. Repentance doesn't mean saying you're sorry, or feeling sorry, or admitting that you were wrong.
Pastor Hyles (1926-2001) correctly explains the Biblical meaning of repentance:
“Repentance is not some little silly, 'I'm sorry.' Repentance is not simply a fear of God. Repentance is not a monk fasting and afflicting his body in a monastery. Repentance is not remorse because of sin's consequences. Repentance is not penance performed before the pope as you kiss his toe... Repentance is not being sorry for what I've done wrong. It is not confessing one's sins to a priest. It is not just conviction of sin. It is not the signing of a pledge of abstinence. Repentance is that thing when you come before God and see yourself as you are, and see Him as he is, and say with Isaiah 'Woe is me, for I am unclean!'” —Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), a quote from the timeless MP3 sermon, 'THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADETH TO REPENTANCE!'
Pastor Bob Gray Sr. at the Longview Baptist Temple church in Texas correctly preaches . . .
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church
In his excellent book, I NEVER KNEW YOU, Michael Bowen states . . .
You can live for Christ, you can love Christ, you can serve Him with all your might, time, talent and wealth. You can pray to Him, read your Bible, get water-baptized, join a church, witness to people, and do every wonderful work contained within the realm of Christianity, but if you fail to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, He will “dump” you.
SOURCE:
I NEVER KNEW YOU (.pdf), by Michael P. Bowen; by Barbour Books, © 2009; page 77
Beware of the false teaching in most churches today, even many Baptist churches, which says that you have to forsake sinful living to get saved, commit your life to Christ and surrender fully to Christ's Lordship. Satan loves to corrupt the gospel by either requiring good works to be saved, or by subtracting bad works to be saved. Whether good or bad, both are DEAD WORKS! (Hebrews 6:1).
Michael Bowen correctly explains Biblical repentance...
“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.”
SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER NEW YOU” (Page 114)
Listen to what Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) correctly states about repentance in chapter 16 of his book, EXCEPT YE REPENT...
“In all that I have written I have failed completely to express what was surging up in my soul if I have given anyone the impression that I think of repentance as something meritorious which must be produced in man by self-effort ere he is fit to come to God for salvation.”
SOURCE: Dr. Harry Ironside, a quote from chapter 16, THE PREACHING THAT PRODUCES REPENTANCE, from his timeless classic book, EXCEPT YE REPENT.
I agree 100%! The entire concept of Lordship Salvation is based in human effort. Most of our evangelical churches today have bought into the Satanic lie that it's not enough to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. The Gospel is that Jesus Christ DIED, was BURIED and RESURRECTED from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, then you are saved. But don't I have to repent? Yes, of course! Biblical repentance is “a change of mind” that causes a person to believe the Gospel. Repentance is NOT a desire to stop sinning.
Repentance is realizing that you are a SINNER in God's eyes and need the dear Savior, and so you believe the Gospel and are saved. Repentance is changing your mind about whatever was previously hindering you from completely resting in Christ for salvation. In other words, if you believed on Jesus, it is because you have also repented. You cannot have one without the other. You believed the Gospel because you had a change of mind (repented). This is why the words “believe” and “believed” are mentioned 85 times throughout the Gospel of John, but the word “repent” isn't even mentioned once. The man who believes has repented, and the man who repents has believed.
Pastor Bob Gray Sr. at the Longview Baptist Temple church in Texas correctly preaches . . .
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church
Will Jesus Christ Say to You in Eternity, “I Never Knew You!”?
In his excellent book, I NEVER KNEW YOU, Michael Patrick Bowen states . . .
You can live for Christ, you can love Christ, you can serve Him with all your might, time, talent and wealth. You can pray to Him, read your Bible, get water-baptized, join a church, witness to people, and do every wonderful work contained within the realm of Christianity, but if you fail to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, He will “dump” you.
SOURCE:
I NEVER KNEW YOU (.pdf), by Michael P. Bowen; by Barbour Books, © 2009; page 77.Beware of the false teaching in most churches today, even many Baptist churches, which says that you have to forsake sinful living to get saved, commit your life to Christ and surrender fully to Christ's Lordship. Satan loves to corrupt the gospel by either requiring good works to be saved, or by subtracting bad works to be saved. Whether good or bad, both are DEAD WORKS! (Hebrews 6:1).
Michael Patrick Bowen correctly explains Biblical repentance...
“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.”
SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER NEW YOU” (Page 114)
Dr. Mark G. Cambron Has It 100% Correct On Repentance
Here is an excellent and needful writing by Dr. Mark G. Cambron (1911-2000) on the subject of REPENTANCE. Please read the following quote carefully, because Dr. Cambron is one of few theologian who gets it, that is, he understands the simplicity of the Gospel and that repentance does not mean turning from sin as proponents of Lordship Salvation foolishly teach...
Repentance is necessary for salvation.
The Greek word for repent is metanoeo, which, translated into English is: to change ones mind. It does not mean to turn from sin. That would add works to salvation.
Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from men's ideas of salvation and religion, to an acceptance of Gods only way of salvation.
This results in a completely new creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever after salvation and has not been reformed . . . The old nature can now be controlled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
God guarantees salvation. This is His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient son.
God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient son.
God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.
Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly, by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not understand Gods great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely unscriptural. It is Galatianism and a counterfeit of the gospel.
It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. The Cambron Institute is dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives not to be saved but because they are saved.
Shallow Christianity cannot be cured by adding works to salvation.
Salvation is not the result of what we do, but is by receiving what God has done for us. Acts 13:38, 39; Acts 20:20: Gal. 1:8,9; Gal. 2:4; Gal. 2:21; Gal. 3:1.3; Gal. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10; II Cor. 5:21;John 3:16-18; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5-8:11 Cor. 11:13-1 5.SOURCE: The Cambron Institute
God's way to be saved is to simply acknowledge one's SINNERSHIP (repent, Romans 3:19) and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL (Galatians 3:24-26). Repentance and faith are NOT two steps to salvation; but rather, are two parts of ONE STEP that happen at the SAME TIME. It's like flying on an airplane from Michigan to Hawaii. You don't leave Michigan first, and then second fly toward Hawaii; but rather, you are moving toward Hawaii at the same time you are moving away from Michigan. They are both part of one deal. Likewise, salvation occurs when we look up to God the Father, admitting our sinfulness, and turn toward His Son Jesus Christ by faith, believing that He died for our sins on the cross, was buried and resurrected from the dead after three days.
Christ DIED on the cross for MY SINS, He was BURIED and He RAISED up, having shed His precious blood to wash away your sins and mine. Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” You don't have to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. If you receive the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as payment for your sins, then you are saved securely and eternally.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the cross of Christ alone, plus nothing. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve; grace is God giving us what we don't deserve.
