1st Corinthians 15:1, 3-4 “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.”
You just read “THE GOSPEL” (i.e., GOOD NEWS) my dear friend, by which we are saved, if we
simply believe with childlike faith (trust). There is no need to guess how
to be saved. The Word of God in the King James Bible is very plain. The
“GOSPEL” is comprised of three things:
What a precious Savior, Jesus Christ!!!
Please read 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.” The Gospel is the power of God UNTO SALVATION, to every one that BELIEVETH!!! Amen!
What does it mean to “BELIEVE”? I'm glad you asked my fine non-feathered friend. Please notice that the Bible calls believing “TRUST” in Ephesians 1:12, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” It doesn't get any simpler than that folks, If you hear the Gospel preached, and you place your trust in that Good News, you are immediately, irrevocably, permanently and forever saved!!!
It is called the Gospel of “free
grace” because we are saved by God's grace and it is completely free, paid
for in full “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot” (1st Peter 1:19). Anyone who adds human effort
to the Gospel eliminates grace. This truth is made abundantly clear in
Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace
is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise
work is no more work.”
All Modern Bible Versions Corrupt the Free Grace Gospel
Galatians 1:6-9, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 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. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
I must give you a serious word of admonition, warning. The Devil is very cunning and shrewd, a master deceiver, who has crept counterfeit Bible versions into most churches today. These corrupt modern Bible versions CHANGE the Word of God, perverting the Gospel by redefining wrongly what it means to “repent.” The Greek word for “repent” in Mark 1:15 in the King James Bible is metanoeo, which means, “to think differently.” This is the verb form of the word. The noun form is metanoia (“a change of mind”). Repentance is a simple change of mind. It is a change of mind from thinking WRONG THOUGHTS to believing the Gospel. Repentance is unto the Gospel itself. It DOESN'T mean to “change your hearts and lives,” which is what the corrupt modern versions say.
Let's take a look at the corrupt Easy-To-Read Version (ERV), which some Bob Jones University (BJU) graduates are using and promoting in their churches. The ERV says!!! . . .
KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) — Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” [emphasis added]
EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) — Mark 1:15, “He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!” [emphasis added]
WICKEDNESS!!! That is wrong, wrong, wrong! Repentance is “a change of mind,” not “a change of heart and life.” You cannot show me anywhere in the Bible that says to “turn from sin” or “repent from sin” to be saved. Acts 20:21 speaks of “repentance toward God,” not from sin. We are saved by BELIEVING, not repenting. Yes, repentance is necessary for salvation, but to “repent” simply means to change your mind so that you will believe the Gospel.
You don't have to change your own heart and life, as a requirement to be saved. That would constitute “works.” Rather, it is the indwelling Holy Spirit that comes into a person at the time of salvation that changes one's heart and life, over time as they grow in grace, by nurturing on the milk of the Word (1st Peter 2:2). Respectfully, Pastor Charles Lawson of the Temple Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, also gets repentance wrong. He views repentance as a drastic change of heart that leads to a drastic change of life. This is manmade transformation, not the new birth in which God's Holy Spirit changes a man (aka, the “fruit” of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23).
The Bible warns men in 2nd Peter 3:16-17 about tampering with the Word of God if they are not qualified, not knowing what they are doing, lacking the proper skills for “rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2nd Timothy 2:15). Therefore, they commit “the err of the wicked” (2nd Peter 3:17). Every foolish pastor today who uses, tolerates and supports the Alexandrian Bible revisions (i.e., all the modern Bible versions) will give account to God for gross theological incompetence one day, and receive no rewards for their counterproductive labors, if they make it to Heaven at all.
As I have warned you before from the holy Scriptures, so warn I you again (all you independent Baptist pastors, non-denominational, et cetera), “beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked” (2nd Peter 3:17). Sadly, I have found that often church congregations control the pastor. They hire a slackdog ecumenical pastor from the get-go, expecting apostasy from the very beginning, and that's what they get!!! My friend, the modern Bible PERversions are of the Devil. The ONLY Bible in English that you can trust today is the beloved and accurate King James Bible, which was translated from texts originating out of Antioch, Syria.
ALL of the modern Bible versions are translated from an entirely different Greek source, which was corrupted millenniums ago in Alexandria, Egypt. But even if you just do a simple comparison between the different versions, you can clearly see that something is VERY WRONG with the new versions. For example: Take a look at what they do to butcher Psalms 12:6-7. Also, the new modern versions completely REMOVE Acts 8:37, about Jesus being the Son of God. Without that Verse, Acts 8:36 and 38 makes no sense at all, unless you believe being dunked in a puddle of water is enough to be saved. That was no accident folks! The Devil hates Jesus' deity.
We Are
Saved by Submitting to God's Righteousness, Through Faith in Jesus Christ
Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
I love
Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Notice in
these Scripture passages that no mention is made of reforming one's life,
which is nothing more than manmade repentance, to be saved. Eternal life is a
free gift, because Christ has already paid for it. In fact, did you know that
you don't have to ask Jesus to forgive your sins? That is absolutely correct!
Jesus has already paid for our sins with His own precious blood. That's why
forgiveness of sins and eternal life are free gifts. They're already paid for
in full. Jesus has already paid for everyone's sins! So all you have to do to
be saved is simply BELIEVE (TRUST) the Gospel, by accepting Christ's sacrifice
on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He is risen from the
dead!!! 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.”
What a beautiful truth!!! Jesus is so precious, my Savior and my God!!!
Do you believe the Gospel friend? Jesus said in 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.” And again we read in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Could the Word of God be any plainer that we are saved by BELIEVING? I think not!
I love the simplicity which the apostle Paul uses in Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” When a person gets saved, they are immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24). This is what Paul means here by “Received ye the Spirit” (notice the capital “S” for Holy Spirit). Paul is asking them how they were saved. Paul asks, “Did you get saved by keeping the law?” “Or did you get saved by THE HEARING OF FAITH?” The latter is salvation, the former is damnation. Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The only way to be saved is BY THE HEARING OF FAITH. That is, when you HEAR the Gospel preached, you simply place your FAITH in it to be saved.
That's how 3,000 souls were saved in Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” And again we read in Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Many of the Hebrews perished in their sins in the Wilderness, going to Hell forever in unbelief, because they heard Moses preach THE GOSPEL, but they didn't have any FAITH in it. Do you believe the GOOD NEWS my dear friend. I think I've made THE GOSPEL as simple as can be, but it is now up to you whether you will accept it or reject it. The choice is yours alone to make. I love you in the Lord, whoever you may be, and I am begging you to get saved friend, before it is too late. END
