God so loved mankind that He came down through the virgin birth and became a member of our race in order to be, on the Cross, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Having paid the penalty in full demanded by His own justice, God can righteously forgive all who admit their guilt and accept the pardon He graciously offers.
When the Philippian jailer cried out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”, Paul and Silas gave a simple answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts:16:31). Surely that means more than simply believing that someone called Jesus Christ existed. Who was He? Lord means “God”; Jesus means “Savior from sin”; Christ means “Messiah,” the one promised in the Scriptures. His very name indicates that He is God who became a man to die for our sins in fulfillment of what God’s prophets foretold.
The Old Testament repeatedly presents God as the only Savior. He offers to save Israel from her enemies, and he also desires to save all men, both Jews and Gentiles, from the judgment sin brings. God declares, for example, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else” (Isaiah:45:22). Thus, when Christ said that He had come “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke:19:10), He was declaring that He was God the Savior—exactly the name that the New Testament repeatedly calls both Christ and God the Father.
Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” He went on to explain why they were not saved, though they had “a zeal of God”: “For they…[seeking] to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end [goal] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans:10:1-4). Despite their zeal for God, the Jews were lost because they would not come to God on His terms.
Suppose one claims to believe that Christ died for man’s sins but that one must add to their beliefs good deeds, trust in Mary to intercede, suffer in purgatory, belong to a certain church or keep certain rules or sacraments in order to be saved, or that Christ must be sacrificed again in the Mass. Is that man saved? The Bible says no. To believe that anything else is necessary for salvation is to deny that Christ paid the penalty in full, thus rejecting the gospel. How can those who trust in a church for salvation be trusting only in Christ and His finished work? Or what about those who agree to accept some church’s interpretation of God’s Word? Can it be said that they personally know God and are believing in Him?
Many who claim to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” have attached their own meanings to the seemingly biblical words they use. Thus are manufactured the many false gospels that usually include false concepts of “Christ.” The Science of Mind cult, for example, teaches, “We do not deny the divinity of Jesus, but rather we affirm the divinity of all people….” They call Jesus a Savior, but add, “Any world teacher [Buddha, Muhammad, Freud, et al.] who helps mankind to be free from material, intellectual, or emotional bondage is a spiritual ‘savior.’” Yet Robert Schuller put a picture of Della Reese, a leader in Science of Mind, on the cover of his Possibilities magazine and featured her as a Christian.
Mormonism teaches that “God” (who has another “God” over him and so on endlessly) was once a sinful man redeemed by a “Christ” on another planet. The “Christ” of our planet (Satan’s half-brother in a pre-earth spirit world) was conceived when “the God of this world” came to earth in his physical body and had sex with Mary. Mormonism’s “Christ” was not God who became man, but a spirit entity who came to earth to get a physical body so he could become a “God,” a metamorphosis that is the ambition of every Mormon male (females become goddesses). To a Mormon, eternal life is not a free gift of God’s grace but must be earned and culminates in one’s becoming a “God,” who manufactures another world with another Adam and Eve, another Satan, another fall, another Jesus, and so on, ad infinitum absurdum.
Yet Robert Schuller has Jack Anderson, a leading Mormon, as a guest on his Hour of Power and passes him off as a Christian—and our four living ex-presidents [as of 1991] and President Bush, all professing Christians, along with Billy Graham and other leaders, praise Schuller for his Hour of Power. Earl Paulk likewise calls Mormons “Christians.” The Church Council of Greater Seattle apologized to American Indians for Christianity’s opposition to traditional Native American spiritual practices (i.e., their pagan religion). The “formal apology” was read to a group of Indians by Episcopalian Bishop Robert Cochrane. Pope John Paul II has likewise endorsed the same paganism. Ecumenism is both appealing and appalling.
In Catholicism, everyone, no matter of what religion, is somehow “saved” through some mystical association with the Roman Catholic Church. Summarizing this doctrine in a popular Catholic newspaper, Fr. Benjamin Luther writes, “The Catholic Church has not and cannot change its teaching that it is itself necessary for salvation….” This priest then goes on to explain how Catholics can, nevertheless, deny that Rome teaches that outside of her there is no salvation. One need not be a member but can be saved through “some form of participation in the life of the Church. Pope Pius XII spoke of ‘hidden bonds’ joining nonmembers [with the Church]. So, the Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and even those following the great pagan religions, such as the Hindus and Buddhists, can share in the supernatural life—and the grace—found solely within the visible boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, through the Church alone they [all] can gain salvation” (Catholic Twin Circle, Jan. 8, 1969, p. 15). Amazing! Although opposing God’s truth and persisting in their pagan practices, all religions can be united under the Vatican! What a perfect setup for the apostate world religion under Antichrist!
St. Olaf (a Lutheran college) in Northfield, MN, features courses in Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism. Anantanand Rambachan, a Hindu scholar who has taught at St. Olaf for five years, argues that “the biggest barrier to creating understanding among the great religions is the Christian claim that there is only one way to be saved.” In agreement, Lutheran pastor Clark Morphew declares that “Worldwide religious harmony [is] hampered by ‘one way’ dogma.” Christ’s claim that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John:14:6) is brushed aside by professing Christians in the interest of “religious harmony.” Tolerance for Satan’s lie has become the one virtue! How prophetic were Gorbachev’s words: “Tolerance is the alpha and omega of the new world order.” Truth is not a factor!
With the growing apostasy and popularity of New Age ideas, of ecumenism and disdain of doctrine even among evangelicals, the distinctions between the Truth and the lie are being ignored as if what one believes makes no difference after all. Standing for truth is considered to be “negative,” and letting those who believe false gospels go to hell without telling them the truth is considered an act of “love.” After all, that’s what Mother Teresa, the ultimate exemplar of loving one’s neighbor, has been doing for decades. Rather than giving the gospel to recipients of her charity, she has encouraged Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, et al., to draw closer to their gods—and has been praised by evangelical leaders for launching those in her care from a clean bed into hell!
It isn’t how intelligent we are that counts but whether what we believe is the truth. Our Lord promised, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John:8:31-32[emphasis added]). It is a freedom from the fear that others may embarrass us if we proclaim the gospel, with the freedom that it offers from the power of sin to deceive and attract us. What we really believe not only determines our eternal destiny but our conduct here and now. Thus, God’s truth guards us from evil.
What good news of freedom in Christ we have to proclaim to those who are enslaved by Satan’s lies! Dave Hunt
When the Philippian jailer cried out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”, Paul and Silas gave a simple answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts:16:31). Surely that means more than simply believing that someone called Jesus Christ existed. Who was He? Lord means “God”; Jesus means “Savior from sin”; Christ means “Messiah,” the one promised in the Scriptures. His very name indicates that He is God who became a man to die for our sins in fulfillment of what God’s prophets foretold.
The Old Testament repeatedly presents God as the only Savior. He offers to save Israel from her enemies, and he also desires to save all men, both Jews and Gentiles, from the judgment sin brings. God declares, for example, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else” (Isaiah:45:22). Thus, when Christ said that He had come “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke:19:10), He was declaring that He was God the Savior—exactly the name that the New Testament repeatedly calls both Christ and God the Father.
Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” He went on to explain why they were not saved, though they had “a zeal of God”: “For they…[seeking] to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end [goal] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans:10:1-4). Despite their zeal for God, the Jews were lost because they would not come to God on His terms.
Suppose one claims to believe that Christ died for man’s sins but that one must add to their beliefs good deeds, trust in Mary to intercede, suffer in purgatory, belong to a certain church or keep certain rules or sacraments in order to be saved, or that Christ must be sacrificed again in the Mass. Is that man saved? The Bible says no. To believe that anything else is necessary for salvation is to deny that Christ paid the penalty in full, thus rejecting the gospel. How can those who trust in a church for salvation be trusting only in Christ and His finished work? Or what about those who agree to accept some church’s interpretation of God’s Word? Can it be said that they personally know God and are believing in Him?
Many who claim to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” have attached their own meanings to the seemingly biblical words they use. Thus are manufactured the many false gospels that usually include false concepts of “Christ.” The Science of Mind cult, for example, teaches, “We do not deny the divinity of Jesus, but rather we affirm the divinity of all people….” They call Jesus a Savior, but add, “Any world teacher [Buddha, Muhammad, Freud, et al.] who helps mankind to be free from material, intellectual, or emotional bondage is a spiritual ‘savior.’” Yet Robert Schuller put a picture of Della Reese, a leader in Science of Mind, on the cover of his Possibilities magazine and featured her as a Christian.
Mormonism teaches that “God” (who has another “God” over him and so on endlessly) was once a sinful man redeemed by a “Christ” on another planet. The “Christ” of our planet (Satan’s half-brother in a pre-earth spirit world) was conceived when “the God of this world” came to earth in his physical body and had sex with Mary. Mormonism’s “Christ” was not God who became man, but a spirit entity who came to earth to get a physical body so he could become a “God,” a metamorphosis that is the ambition of every Mormon male (females become goddesses). To a Mormon, eternal life is not a free gift of God’s grace but must be earned and culminates in one’s becoming a “God,” who manufactures another world with another Adam and Eve, another Satan, another fall, another Jesus, and so on, ad infinitum absurdum.
Yet Robert Schuller has Jack Anderson, a leading Mormon, as a guest on his Hour of Power and passes him off as a Christian—and our four living ex-presidents [as of 1991] and President Bush, all professing Christians, along with Billy Graham and other leaders, praise Schuller for his Hour of Power. Earl Paulk likewise calls Mormons “Christians.” The Church Council of Greater Seattle apologized to American Indians for Christianity’s opposition to traditional Native American spiritual practices (i.e., their pagan religion). The “formal apology” was read to a group of Indians by Episcopalian Bishop Robert Cochrane. Pope John Paul II has likewise endorsed the same paganism. Ecumenism is both appealing and appalling.
In Catholicism, everyone, no matter of what religion, is somehow “saved” through some mystical association with the Roman Catholic Church. Summarizing this doctrine in a popular Catholic newspaper, Fr. Benjamin Luther writes, “The Catholic Church has not and cannot change its teaching that it is itself necessary for salvation….” This priest then goes on to explain how Catholics can, nevertheless, deny that Rome teaches that outside of her there is no salvation. One need not be a member but can be saved through “some form of participation in the life of the Church. Pope Pius XII spoke of ‘hidden bonds’ joining nonmembers [with the Church]. So, the Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and even those following the great pagan religions, such as the Hindus and Buddhists, can share in the supernatural life—and the grace—found solely within the visible boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, through the Church alone they [all] can gain salvation” (Catholic Twin Circle, Jan. 8, 1969, p. 15). Amazing! Although opposing God’s truth and persisting in their pagan practices, all religions can be united under the Vatican! What a perfect setup for the apostate world religion under Antichrist!
St. Olaf (a Lutheran college) in Northfield, MN, features courses in Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism. Anantanand Rambachan, a Hindu scholar who has taught at St. Olaf for five years, argues that “the biggest barrier to creating understanding among the great religions is the Christian claim that there is only one way to be saved.” In agreement, Lutheran pastor Clark Morphew declares that “Worldwide religious harmony [is] hampered by ‘one way’ dogma.” Christ’s claim that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John:14:6) is brushed aside by professing Christians in the interest of “religious harmony.” Tolerance for Satan’s lie has become the one virtue! How prophetic were Gorbachev’s words: “Tolerance is the alpha and omega of the new world order.” Truth is not a factor!
With the growing apostasy and popularity of New Age ideas, of ecumenism and disdain of doctrine even among evangelicals, the distinctions between the Truth and the lie are being ignored as if what one believes makes no difference after all. Standing for truth is considered to be “negative,” and letting those who believe false gospels go to hell without telling them the truth is considered an act of “love.” After all, that’s what Mother Teresa, the ultimate exemplar of loving one’s neighbor, has been doing for decades. Rather than giving the gospel to recipients of her charity, she has encouraged Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, et al., to draw closer to their gods—and has been praised by evangelical leaders for launching those in her care from a clean bed into hell!
It isn’t how intelligent we are that counts but whether what we believe is the truth. Our Lord promised, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John:8:31-32[emphasis added]). It is a freedom from the fear that others may embarrass us if we proclaim the gospel, with the freedom that it offers from the power of sin to deceive and attract us. What we really believe not only determines our eternal destiny but our conduct here and now. Thus, God’s truth guards us from evil.
What good news of freedom in Christ we have to proclaim to those who are enslaved by Satan’s lies! Dave Hunt
