Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
448 Reasons why I cannot trust any modern Bible versions
Check to see if a version has these changes or deletions.
http://bible-truth.org/BibleVersions448Reasons.pdf
http://bible-truth.org/BibleVersions448Reasons.pdf
Monday, May 14, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
An excerpt from C.H. Spurgeon's book "Come Ye Children"
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| Courtesy www.jeanmillet.org |
Mat 19:13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
Mat 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
More thoughts on "Asking"
Many times in Scripture the sinner is told to come. In the last invitation in the Bible it says;
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
This is the proper order. We are told to come to Him, not Him come to us. I love the simplicity here. "come" and "take". Salvation is already freely offered. We must but in faith believe it is a valid offer and take it to ourselves. When someone gives us a birthday present do we need then to ask for it? To ask for that which in love is freely offered is to not understand the nature of the gift.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
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| Photo courtesy of Flikr by Hoyasmeg |
Sunday, May 6, 2012
From Stacy Huerta
Hey Frank! I tried to comment last night on your blog, but It would
not post.
This issue of asking Jesus into your heart, has been a concern of
mine for a long time. So many people go through life thinking they are saved
because they "said" a prayer. It especially concerns me for children. I was
guilty of this when Jakob was small. I led him through a prayer thinking I was
doing right,the Lord showed us later that was not biblical salvation which is
now a part of Jakobs testimony:) Anyways, I have witnessed through Vacation
Bible Schools and Upward Basketball, hundreds of children being asked to pray
this "prayer" and if they really meant it, they are saved. Yes, of course the
Lord can save someone at that time, but MOST of those children are being
deceived. I believe this is one of satans tactics in deceiving people into
having a head knowledge, but not truly being born again. We saw this video I
attached @ a Paul Washer conference recently. It was chilling and disturbing.
Although the boy was converting to Islam, it shows a comparison to American
Christianity leading people through prayers the same way any other religious
organization does. Love you guys!!!
Because of His
mercy,
Love,
Stacy
Friday, May 4, 2012
Misapplied and misunderstood verses
The idea that a person could pray as the direct means to enter into salvation is based on a few misapplied verses. The primary one is Rom.10:13 where the word "call" occurs. It is by many thought to mean pray or ask. But it does not say pray or ask. The word is call. In the greek it is epikaleomai. It is defined; to invoke, to appeal to, to summon, to call as a witness. Just as you would appeal unto an attorney or judge or call someone to witness to a fact. The same word is used in Acts when Paul appealed unto Caesar. Acts 25:11. So to call in the sense that is in Romans 10:13 is to refer to the work of the Lord as our claim to salvation. When you appeal unto a doctor or lawyer to take your case it is an act of trust or faith you place in them. It is an act of committment. All hope is upon Him to whom we have committed our soul.
2Ti_1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
I do not mean to say that all those who have prayed a "sinner's prayer" are not saved. I am saying that they were saved because they believed the Gospel and committed the keeping of their soul to God through the work of Christ on the cross and by faith in His blood. The prayer was incidental and not the means by which they were saved. It is the normal thing for a baby to cry out with his first breath as he enters into life. So also the sinner who believes will cry out in a prayer of thanksgiving crying "Abba. Father"after he is saved. A person who has truely believed and trusted in the Work of Christ is saved, whether he prays the sinners prayer and asks Jesus into his heart or not. When we truely believe, the Spirit of Christ enters into us even if we don't ask. Let me give an example. Let's say a father gives his son a car for his sixteenth birthday. The son did not ask for a car. It was a surprise gift. He goes for a drive and gets stopped by a policeman. The policeman asks " do you own this car?" The boy says yes. The policeman asks for documentation. The boy says well it's mine because my father gave it to me. The officer asks for documentation again. This time the boy opens the glove compartment and takes out the title and proves it is his by the written document. He has appealed unto the document and those who signed it. That is secure and will hold up in a court of law. He has a car he did not ask for but simply accepted and now he owns it and can prove it. The written Word of God is the documentation of our salvation and our relationship to our Father.
If I think that my salvation came to me through my prayer then I leave myself open for an attack upon the sincerity of that prayer. That is shaky ground. A ship has an anchor to keep it from being tossed by the waves and driven by the winds. The anchor must be stuck to something solid like the solid Rock of our Lord Jesus Christ. A ship who sticks it's anchor into the bottom of the ship will have no security. If we trust our emotions or our works we are not trusting the anchor to the solid rock but to ourselves.
If someone feels compelled to tell the sinner to pray then guide him to a prayer of thanksgiving after he has believed. Note that in Rom.10:14 that the call comes after the person believes, not before.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Let's remember that saving faith comes by hearing the Gospel preached through the Word. In the first instance of Gentiles being saved, Cornelius and his house heard the word of the Gospel from Peter and the Holy Ghost fell on them that heard the Word. Acts 10. There is no mention of praying in that account except when Cornelius prayed for information on how to be saved and God sent him a preacher to tell him to believe the Gospel.
Also in the case of the Philippian jailer.
Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Notice again that no instruction to pray is there. Every word of truth is holy. We have no right to change or modify the presentation of the Gospel to cater to current trends. We will be judged for how accurately and faithfully we preach and teach the precious Good News of salvation.
2Ti_1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
I do not mean to say that all those who have prayed a "sinner's prayer" are not saved. I am saying that they were saved because they believed the Gospel and committed the keeping of their soul to God through the work of Christ on the cross and by faith in His blood. The prayer was incidental and not the means by which they were saved. It is the normal thing for a baby to cry out with his first breath as he enters into life. So also the sinner who believes will cry out in a prayer of thanksgiving crying "Abba. Father"after he is saved. A person who has truely believed and trusted in the Work of Christ is saved, whether he prays the sinners prayer and asks Jesus into his heart or not. When we truely believe, the Spirit of Christ enters into us even if we don't ask. Let me give an example. Let's say a father gives his son a car for his sixteenth birthday. The son did not ask for a car. It was a surprise gift. He goes for a drive and gets stopped by a policeman. The policeman asks " do you own this car?" The boy says yes. The policeman asks for documentation. The boy says well it's mine because my father gave it to me. The officer asks for documentation again. This time the boy opens the glove compartment and takes out the title and proves it is his by the written document. He has appealed unto the document and those who signed it. That is secure and will hold up in a court of law. He has a car he did not ask for but simply accepted and now he owns it and can prove it. The written Word of God is the documentation of our salvation and our relationship to our Father.
If I think that my salvation came to me through my prayer then I leave myself open for an attack upon the sincerity of that prayer. That is shaky ground. A ship has an anchor to keep it from being tossed by the waves and driven by the winds. The anchor must be stuck to something solid like the solid Rock of our Lord Jesus Christ. A ship who sticks it's anchor into the bottom of the ship will have no security. If we trust our emotions or our works we are not trusting the anchor to the solid rock but to ourselves.
If someone feels compelled to tell the sinner to pray then guide him to a prayer of thanksgiving after he has believed. Note that in Rom.10:14 that the call comes after the person believes, not before.
Also in the case of the Philippian jailer.
Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Notice again that no instruction to pray is there. Every word of truth is holy. We have no right to change or modify the presentation of the Gospel to cater to current trends. We will be judged for how accurately and faithfully we preach and teach the precious Good News of salvation.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Asking Jesus into your heart is not Biblical
Click here for written article
Click here for short video.
Praying to receive Christ or asking Jesus into your heart as a way to be saved is a relatively recent development in the history of the Apostacy (great falling away 2Thess. 2:3). It arose with the rise of Revivalism around the turn of the 20th century. Emotionally based preaching began to move away from the presentation of faith in the historic act of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the basis of the assurance of salvation to other "evidences" such as crying out in prayer until a feeling of peace would come upon the seeker. We knew an old man in Kentucky who went to a revival after years of living without claiming faith in Christ. After the preaching he went forward during the "altar call" and began to try to "pray through" After a long while of agonizing at this with others around him also praying he got up and went home without a peace of knowing he was accepted in Christ. We visited him later to show from the Scriptures that his feelings were not the basis of his acceptance but his faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection. God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Other forms of this approach made it a lot easier by having the seeker simply pray a model prayer asking Jesus to come into his heart. Many tracts of this type make no mention of the true Gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It truely has become a false gospel based on works. Praying, like giving is a work. This formula also puts Jesus Christ in the role of having to be the one to respond rather than the sinner having to respond in faith believing the Gospel. People can be led into a false assurance that could keep them from true salvation. People say something like,"I know I'm saved because on a certain date I asked Jesus to come into my heart." The emphasis being on what the person did and not on what Jesus did historically.
Click here for short video.
Praying to receive Christ or asking Jesus into your heart as a way to be saved is a relatively recent development in the history of the Apostacy (great falling away 2Thess. 2:3). It arose with the rise of Revivalism around the turn of the 20th century. Emotionally based preaching began to move away from the presentation of faith in the historic act of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the basis of the assurance of salvation to other "evidences" such as crying out in prayer until a feeling of peace would come upon the seeker. We knew an old man in Kentucky who went to a revival after years of living without claiming faith in Christ. After the preaching he went forward during the "altar call" and began to try to "pray through" After a long while of agonizing at this with others around him also praying he got up and went home without a peace of knowing he was accepted in Christ. We visited him later to show from the Scriptures that his feelings were not the basis of his acceptance but his faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection. God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Other forms of this approach made it a lot easier by having the seeker simply pray a model prayer asking Jesus to come into his heart. Many tracts of this type make no mention of the true Gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It truely has become a false gospel based on works. Praying, like giving is a work. This formula also puts Jesus Christ in the role of having to be the one to respond rather than the sinner having to respond in faith believing the Gospel. People can be led into a false assurance that could keep them from true salvation. People say something like,"I know I'm saved because on a certain date I asked Jesus to come into my heart." The emphasis being on what the person did and not on what Jesus did historically.
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