Sound Doctrine-3

Sound Doctrine – 3

Luke 17:1–2 (NIV84)

1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.

2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

Teachers of the Word and elders must take absolute care that what they say does not lead others astray or cause one to think that they’re saved, when in actuality they are not because of a watered down, what’s in it for me, bless me gospel presentation.

Matthew 7:21–23 (NIV84)

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The claims these many make can be compared to many Charismatic churches today.

Many claim to have a word from the Lord.

Many claim to have cast out devils.

Many claim to have performed miracles all in the name and approval of the Lord (so they think).

When someone has a “word from the Lord,” how do you know that it was from the Lord?

When someone claims that he had cast out a devil, how do you know that a devil was cast out.

When someone claims to have performed a miracle, where is the proof?

This stuff goes on more often that you think, but there will be a day of accounting, where all these charlatans will be called on the carpet and stand in front of Jesus, the Judge.

“What makes you think that you’re a Christian?

“Why did you become a Christian?”

John 10:10 (AMP)

10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

Romans 10:9–10 (NIV84)

9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Many a person has been lured into thinking that they’re saved using the promise in John 10:10 as the bait and then saying a sinner’s prayer by repeating the words of Romans 10:9, that did not come from their heart but was merely a superficial repetition of what someone else told them to say.

Who wouldn’t want a better life just by believing that Jesus rose from the dead and confessing that He is Lord?

To suggest that this text is the biblical foundation for the sinner’s prayer that concludes many evangelistic tracts and sermons is a serious exegetical fallacy.

Because of this popular belief, many unconverted men, women, and children have an almost impenetrable assurance (“You can’t tell me otherwise!”) of their eternal salvation simply because at one time in their lives they affirmed a few biblical truths and repeated a model prayer.

Afterward, there was no transformation, no continuing work of sanctification, no rejection of the world, and no desire for Christ.

One of the chief evidences of saving faith and true conversion is the growing reality of Christ’s lordship in our lives and our willingness to follow Him, even at the greatest cost.

1 John 2:3–6 (NIV84)

3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

4The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:

6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

The genuinely converted keep God’s commands.

Obedience to God’s commands is evidence of a saving faith, because it’s now what you are; it’s part of your nature.

1 John 3:7–10 (NIV84)

7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray (let no one deceive you, lsb). He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:9 (AMP)

9No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.

10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Today, there are many who think they are Christians because they “completed the formula” for salvation. They “checked all the boxes” and said the right things. These who claim to be Christians practice:

Unmarried couples living together.

“Partying” while using drugs, drinking alcoholic beverages to excess, and engaging in promiscuous behavior.

Vulgar and profane speech

Attend movies that depict all the aforementioned behaviors and don’t think a bit that it may offend and discredit the name of Christ.

They say, “God is love; He’ll forgive me.”

These “Christians” are no different than those in the world. You can’t tell them apart.

Romans 2:21–24 (NIV84)

21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

24As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

There are millions of people convinced of their salvation because they have followed the “steps,” yet they continue in worldliness, without the slightest desire for the things of God.

When a believer falls into sin, his witness is ruined, and the name of His Lord is sullied before the world. Those who claim to be Christians but persistently live in sin give evidence that they carry the name of Christ in vain. And because there is no difference between their standard of living and that of the world, the Lord’s name is blasphemed.

John 1:10–13 (NIV84)

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Received = λαμβάνω lambanō = Metaphorically of a teacher, to receive, acknowledge, embrace and follow his instructions.

In the Scriptures, to believe is not limited to an intellectual understanding of certain facts or even to the acceptance of them.

Instead, it is to trust in and rely upon the object of our faith to the degree that we base our actions upon it.

Our faith or belief in Jesus Christ is not validated by the strength of our verbal confession or even by what we supposedly feel in our hearts (volume or emotions); rather, it is proven true or false by the degree to which His person and His Will determine our actions and direct the full course of our lives.

To receive Christ is to trust or rely upon Him to such a degree that we stake both our temporal and eternal well-being on the truthfulness of His claims, and we direct the entire course of our lives according to His will.

To believe in the name of God is to believe in the totality of His person or to believe in everything that He has revealed about Himself.

It is unsound to think that a person could “receive” Jesus as Savior at one stage in life and then receive Him as Lord and King later.

To receive Jesus in a manner that results in salvation and sonship is to receive the whole of Him as prophet, priest, and king. (Savior and Lord)

Modern-day evangelism leads seekers to believe they can receive the benefits of Christ’s salvation without submitting to the rule of His sovereignty.

They often feel assured of their salvation because they prayed the sinner’s prayer with sincerity, even though there is no evidence of a continuing work of sanctification in their lives.

This is the disease of our time, leading to the deception and destruction of many people.

The gospel does not call us to receive Christ as an addition to our life, but rather as our life.

Jesus Christ is not to be treated as an accessory to our lives in the same manner that a belt or pair of shoes might accessorize a certain outfit.

It is the worst thing to tell sinners that they have a great life, a wonderful family, a beautiful home, and a great job, but they lack one thing to make it all complete—a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Such language portrays Jesus as a cherry on top of an already great life.

It makes Him nothing more than a necessary or complementary addition.

It is foreign to the Scriptures and to those saints throughout the history of Christianity who best understood the supremacy of His person and the privilege of His gospel.

Luke 6:43–45 (NIV84)

43“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.

45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

The condition of a person’s heart will manifest itself in his or her behavior.

John MacArthur: Many Sinner’s Prayer Advocates quickly offer assurance of salvation to the one praying. I remember hearing an evangelical leader lead thousands of people in the sinner’s prayer at a stadium, after a crusade. When he was done, he told them, “You are now Christians, born again, and don’t let anyone ever question that.” These people had not heard a word about discipleship, repentance, or submitting their lives to the Lord. Instead, they were led to believe that they were saved simply because they said the prayer. Imagine the horror of living a carnal life that dishonors Christ, believing the entire time that one is saved, only to come face-to-face with the Savior and hear those terrifying words, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23).

Matthew 7:13–29 (NIV84)

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Hell will come as a surprise to many. This is not something we can take lightly and just assume we are saved and going to heaven, because we were taught and led to believe a certain way.

Just because we are convinced of something, that doesn’t make it right.

What does the Bible say?

Luke 14:25–26 (NIV84)

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

Hate = μισέω miseō = to regard with less affection, love less, esteem less. This has to do with priority.

There have been too many Christian leaders who compromised the truths of God’s Word, because one in their own family may have been involved and caught up in a behavior or lifestyle that the Bible calls sin.

They would make statements that encompasses the Woke Philosophy that a person can be a Christian and still be in a continuous life of sin.

To hate one of your family means that you put God and His Word above any earthly relationship. You will not compromise God’s Word and His standards for the sake of one of your loved ones. For, if you do, you cannot be His disciple. God must have priority, period.

What if your child was a homosexual but claimed that he/she believed in Christ and was a Christian?

Would you say that they were saved and going to heaven?

Your great love and subsequent beliefs do not change what the Gospel states. Just because you say and believe with all your heart that they are going to heaven does not make it true.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (NIV84)

9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

True love does not lie; it does not deceive your loved ones into thinking that they are all right with God, despite their sinful lifestyle.

True love tells your loved ones the truth, even if it hurts.

Being Jesus’ disciple entails primary allegiance to Jesus. No one and no thing can usurp his supreme position.

Ephesians 4:11–16 (NIV84)

11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We must speak the truth in love and not distort it or cover it up.

Luke 14:27-33 (NIV84)

27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

There is a cost in following Jesus. It is not a joyride, nor is it a passage to health and wealth. Jesus promised his followers a kingdom, but he also said that they would face difficulty and suffering because of their faith.

Christians may face loss of social status or wealth. They may have to give up control over their money, time, or career. They may be hated, separated from their family, and even put to death. Following Christ does not mean living trouble-free. All people must carefully count the cost of becoming Christ’s disciple so that they will know what they are getting into and won’t be tempted to turn back when the going gets tough.

“Discipleship to Jesus Christ is not an invitation to a Sunday school picnic. It is an invitation to spiritual warfare.”

Although salvation is free, it will still cost you everything.

“Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (v. 33)

Luke 18:18 (NIV84)

18A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Is there something that we must do to be saved?

Is praying the Sinner’s Prayer a requirement to be saved?

Is the Sinner’s Prayer Scripturally correct?

John F. MacArthur, Jr: I recently received an e-mail from a non-Christian friend who has been exposed to Christianity for many years. He was under the impression that praying a certain prayer would help “make it official.” He wrote: “I want to ‘officially’ become a Christian. I guess ‘born again’ is the term I hear everyone use, and so I was just wondering how to do that.

Is it as simple as saying a certain prayer, or

are there classes I need to complete, or

do I need to be baptized first?”

Although the motives behind this kind of prayer are generally good, the sinner’s prayer can, unfortunately, do a great deal of spiritual damage because

it does not square with the biblical examples, vocabulary, or theology.

This method of evangelism is so popular that even unbelievers are familiar with it.

“The Sinner’s Prayer” checks the box of Christianity.

It is a concrete, specific, observable act that often is emotionally satisfying for both the evangelist and the hearer.

The new convert can move on with his life with little to no understanding of what life in Christ really means.

If someone asks, “What must I do to be saved?” the sinner’s prayer provides a convenient and easy answer.

The sinner’s prayer is a shortcut in evangelism.

It is difficult and time consuming to teach someone what it means to follow Christ, the truth about the gospel, baptism, and all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:19–20).

Instead, the sinner’s prayer offers an abbreviated lesson. It is the TV dinner of modern American evangelicalism.

The sinner’s prayer is measurable.

It provides an easy way to trumpet evangelistic success by the “number of decisions made.”

When counting decisions becomes a measure of a ministry’s effectiveness, there is the latent idea that the evangelist’s skill or the church’s presentation is what brings people to Christ.

Is there an example of the Sinner’s Prayer in the Bible?

Luke 18:9–14 (NIV84)

9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Short and to the point, this man was saved when he turned to Jesus and asked for mercy.

Psalm 51:1–4 (NIV84)

1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

Acts 3:19 (NIV84)

19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Repentance is an essential part of salvation. Jesus repeatedly commanded His hearers to “repent.”

Repentance is the forsaking of sin and self, and the devotion of one’s all to serving and seeking after Christ.

The sinner’s prayer does not convey a sense of real repentance.

Matthew 28:19–20 (NIV84)

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Some believe that saying the Sinner’s Prayer is considered to be the public profession of faith in Jesus as the Christ that new believers must say when they are converted.

Christians are called to make a public profession of Jesus as the Christ, but the scriptural version of this public profession is baptism, not a repeated prayer.

Only God by His grace saves. There is nothing, including reciting the Sinner’s Prayer, will save you.

You are saved by faith, and faith alone, not of works so that any man can boast.

God rules the world, and yet the typical sinner’s prayer reduces Him to a sideline capacity, where He is watching and waiting for the sinner to respond.

We’ll continue our teaching on Sound Doctrine next week, the Lord willing.