Millions have been led to think they are "saved," who are only deceived, and don't know it!
Here is a frank, daring article, making the truth PLAIN!
IT'S DIFFICULT to believe, but it's true. In today's religious confusion millions have supposed they had salvation spiritually — they have believed on Jesus Christ — and are not saved!
Would you suppose one could actually worship Christ — and all in vain?
Can One Worship Christ — IN VAIN?
Do you know what Jesus Himself said of these people who want to worship Him without obedience to God's Commandments?
Listen to His words: "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men . . . Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition" (Mark 7:7-9).
Back to the Faith Once Delivered
But what does GOD tell you in His Word?
Through Jude, God says: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares . . . ungodly men, turning the GRACE of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 3-4).
Yes, even before the New Testament was completely written, ungodly men had crept inside the Church to corrupt it — turning GRACE into LASCIVIOUSNESS.
And what is "lasciviousness"? It means "license" — unrestrained liberty — abuse of privilege. In other words, license to do that which seems right in human eyes — according to human conscience — though it disobeys God's LAW! And that is exactly what those ungodly men, even in the first century, did — turned GRACE into unrestrained privilege to disobey God's Law and turned to human conscience as a guide! And once introduced, the practice has persisted and spread over the whole world until today!
This is one of the FABLES the Apostle Paul warned us men would turn to. Paul said: "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived! . . . For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts [lasciviousness — human reasoning] shall they . . . turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto FABLES" (II Tim. 3:13; 4:3, 4).
But, one will argue, Jude said these men would deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not the men who teach a "no works" doctrine believe in Christ? Do they deny Him?
Yes, they DENY Him! God says: "They profess that they know God; but IN WORKS they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every GOOD work reprobate" (Titus 1:16). The way of human reason — that seems RIGHT — is often DISOBEDIENCE to God!
What the Savior Himself Taught
These deceived teachers have just one favorite text. They quote Acts 16:31: "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
Now that text from the inspired pen of Paul means what it says. But there are two kinds of BELIEVING — the living faith that brings salvation, and a dead "no works" faith that produces only DEATH!
But WHY do they, in their tracts and their sermons, never quote what the Savior Himself said in answer to the question? WHY?
Jesus was asked: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 18:18) Some might try to tell you that the SAVIOR Himself did not know, or teach, the way of SALVATION — He was teaching Old Testament religion. Well, He was asked HOW to gain ETERNAL LIFE. Is that salvation? It certainly is! Old Testament religion teaching lasted until John — not until the cross — not until "Pentecost." Just UNTIL JOHN (Luke 16:16). Jesus preached the SAME Gospel He commanded His disciples to teach ALL nations — Gentiles included — the same Gospel Paul preached to Gentiles. He preached only the NEW Testament Gospel. He revealed THE WAY OF SALVATION.
Here is His answer — that of the SAVIOR HIMSELF on HOW TO BE SAVED:
"IF thou wilt enter into LIFE, keep the commandments." And He enumerated enough of the Ten Commandments to show it was this particular law that must be obeyed AS A CONDITION to receiving eternal life as God's GIFT. Jesus said "IF" — (there was a CONDITION) — "IF" we are to be saved, by God's grace, WE MUST KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS! God lays down His own terms and conditions. His FREE GIFT is conditional — you get it ONLY if you "keep the commandments."
You can't EARN it. God GIVES it — but only to those who "KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." God will not GIVE you eternal life in sin. And what is sin? "SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW" (I John 3:4).
Some who pervert God's truth insist
Jesus did not name ALL of the Ten Commandments in the above scripture. Sin is the transgression of THE LAW. It is a COMPLETE LAW. He named enough of its points to designate WHICH LAW He was talking about. And James says that Law has "POINTS" — and, if we break any ONE of the ten points of the Ten Commandments, we BREAK THE LAW, and are sinners! (James 2:8-11).
The very same day the Holy Spirit came — the very day the NEW TESTAMENT Church commenced — thousands, hearing the inspired Peter's sermon which struck straight to their heart, asked: "What shall we do?" YES, WHAT SHALL WE DO TO BE SAVED?
The inspired answer was:
"REPENT, and BE BAPTIZED every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Jesus said, "REPENT YE, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL." We must BELIEVE not only in Jesus as Savior, but we must believe also THE GOSPEL He brought and preached — the Gospel of the Kingdom of God — the AUTHORITY of God and the WORD of God over our lives — a message not preached today by most organized churches!
After His resurrection, in His parting instructions to His disciples for preaching the way of salvation, Jesus said: "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that REPENTANCE and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:46-48). This is the Gospel for ALL NATIONS!
But what must we repent of? WHAT IS SIN? Do you realize that VERY FEW people know? Very few know the BIBLE definition of SIN.
God's inspired definition of sin is this: "Sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4). Paul would not have known what was sin, except by the Law. But what law? The very law which says: "Thou shalt not covet" (Rom. 7:7). That law is the Ten Commandments.
This Law is summed up in the one word — LOVE! It is further defined in the two Great Commandments, LOVE to God, and LOVE to neighbor. But the same Law is further defined, and divided into ten points, by the Ten Commandments — the first four of which tell us how to love God, the last six of which tell us how to love neighbor.
James' Inspired Answer
And thus it is explained in James: "IF ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well" (James 2:8). Here is the Royal Law — the whole Law as a general principle.
The Law is LOVE — and LOVE is the fulfilling of the Law. Jesus fulfilled it, setting us an example that we, too, should fulfill the Law. We fulfill it with LOVE not any natural, carnal
love in human nature, but "the love of GOD is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 5:5). The Holy Spirit in us is merely GOD'S LAW IN ACTION IN OUR LIVES! And so, if we fulfill this Royal Law we do well — but if not, we commit sin (James 2:9). Now read verse 10. If we keep the WHOLE LAW — the general principle of LOVE to neighbor — yet offend in one point, we are guilty — we have broken the law — and the penalty is DEATH, not eternal life.
Notice, please, the Law is divided into points! And it is divided into TEN POINTS — the Ten Commandments. These are merely the ten points, or subdivisions, of the General Royal Law, LOVE to God and to neighbor. "For He that said [or, that law which said], Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery" — if you do not break that specific point — "yet if thou kill" — you just break that one point — "thou art become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:11). So you see the TEN COMMANDMENTS is the very Law it is sin to transgress.
It is a SPIRITUAL law (Rom. 7:14). It is fulfilled by the SPIRITUAL LOVE which is God's precious gift to us — His love placed within us. "Wherefore the law is HOLY, and the commandment HOLY, AND JUST, AND GOOD" (Rom. 7:12).
To REPENT of sin means to turn from sin. It means to QUIT SINNING! And that means to stop transgressing God's holy Law. And the way to stop breaking it is to begin KEEPING God's Commandments — ALL OF THEM, for if you break only one, you bring on yourself the penalty — ETERNAL DEATH, and you lose salvation.
Now Jesus "magnified the law, and made it honorable" (Isaiah 42:21). When we put a spiritual "magnifying glass," so to speak, on the Ten Commandments, it is enlarged in spirit and principle into many more points. And in a larger aspect the ENTIRE BIBLE is a magnification of God's Law. The Law is the basis of all Scripture. It defines THE WAY of life — THE WAY to happiness, joy, eternal life!
Notice how like God it is! The Law is GOOD (Rom. 7:12). God is good. The Law is HOLY (Rom. 7:12). GOD is holy!
The Law is JUST (Rom. 7:12). GOD is just!
The Law is SPIRITUAL (Rom. 7:14). GOD is spiritual!
The Law is PERFECT (Psalm 19:7). GOD is perfect!
The Law — including all His Commandments — is immutable, ETERNAL, stands fast FOREVER AND EVER (Psalm 111:7-8). And GOD is eternal!
Of course — for the Law is the very character, the very nature, of God! It is the WILL of God.