The Inerrancy of Scripture

I feel that I must address a particular issue that has come to my attention recently, the issue at hand being the inerrancy of Scripture. Surprisingly, some of the most ardent opponents of this doctrine have come from within the church itself. Sometimes with fervor that makes the the most vicious atheists appear tame, these apostate Christians have sought to remove the absolute authority of Scripture and replace it with experience and rationalism – often completely abandoning logic in in process. Yet, if we do not hold Scripture to be inerrant, it has the potential to cause a great number of problems – in fact, a great deal of harm has been done by those who do not hold Scripture to be inerrant; far more than those that do. It is absolutely imperative that we hold Scripture to be inerrant, in spite of the difficulties that it may present. Here, I will attempt to give some of the reasons why this is so important.

Inerrancy Defined

Inerrancy simply means to be without error. To say that the Scriptures are inerrant means that Scripture as a whole, at least in regard to the original text, is completely without error. Naturally, this is seen as absurdity to the unbeliever. Yet, if we are to hold that Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, then it should been seen as absurdity to consider the Scriptures to be errant. Inerrancy is a critical foundation for all sound doctrine and truth and is the basis of literal interpretation.

When we say the Scriptures are inerrant, we say that they are completely accurate. Does that mean then that they are completely precise? Not at all. Precision and accuracy are two different things. While both do correspond, accuracy is not affected by precision unless the degree of imprecision becomes so large that it exceeds a defined level of tolerance at the desired level of accuracy. The higher level of accuracy demanded, the more precise a value must be. As an example, shots fired at a very large target will be accurate, even if imprecise, assuming the shooter has an accurate aim. A much smaller target demands a much more precise shot in order to be accurate, again assuming the shooter's aim is accurate. Another example is if I say that the sun both rose and set today, I would be completely accurate in my statement, although to a very imprecise degree. Yet my precision is sufficient enough to support the claim that the sun does in fact rise and set. Now, if someone wanted to know the exact times of the sunrise and sunset, the precision of my statement would be nowhere near sufficient. Thus, if I say the sun rose at 6:53am MST and set at 4:39pm MST in Colorado Springs, CO on the day of November 26, 2010, then I would have a very precise statement that would be sufficient enough to be accurate in regard to exact times. In the end, what really matters is that the precision of a statement is sufficient to render it accurate in a given context. Another example would be attendance at a sporting event. If I say that 80,000 people attended, that would be sufficient for general reporting, but not enough for statistical record keeping. Now, if 81,426 people actually attended, giving that data would now be sufficient for record keeping. It all depends on the context; for what purpose the information is going to be used.

In the context of Scripture, many statements may be rather imprecise, but they are sufficient in regard to the purpose for which they are used. For example, many measurements and population numbers are rounded, but the purpose of the Bible is to communicate the gospel, not be a statistical record book. Therefore, though the numbers may be imprecise, they are still accurate in regard to the purpose for which they were intended. And often the Bible goes far beyond the level of precision needed to maintain accuracy. Much of what is seen as error in Scripture is simply imprecision. For example, the accounts of the four Gospels have a degree of variation in them. If we were looking for absolute precision, we would say that these accounts would be in error. Yet, if we look only for enough precision in order to maintain the truths of Scriptures, we find that though there be imprecision, the accounts are precise enough to uphold the truth contained within them. As an example, Matthew records Jesus healing two demon-possessed men (Matthew 8:28-34). In Mark's and Luke's accounts, both record Jesus healing only one demon-possessed man (Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-30). Many would see this as an error, yet whether there be one or two men, the truth still remains. Jesus still drove a large number of demons of this man (or men), that went into a herd of pigs that then drowned themselves. The locals were terrified and pleaded with Jesus to leave. In the end, the account of the miracle itself is accurate, though imprecise as to the number of men that had demons driven from them. What is important here, and the truth that is upheld, is the act of Jesus driving out demons. Here and in many other places, we can see that Scripture is imprecise, but still precise enough to uphold the essential truths contained within. As to the truth it professes, Scripture is completely accurate and thereby inerrant. All that matters is that the precision of Scripture is sufficient to uphold its claims, in which case it is.

Inerrancy vs Free Will

Does inerrancy preclude free will? Many have argued that if Scripture is truly inerrant, God would have had to literally possess the writers and take control of them. However, this argument has no sound basis. Had God done so, the text would have been immaculate, completely flawless and free from any human influence. Yet, when we look through Scripture, we see that God did in fact allow the writers to express their own unique individuality. The writers of Scripture were simply faithful scribes, writing down the word given to them by the Spirit. This is what we mean when we say the Word was inspired by God. Though the Bible is written by man, it is ultimately authored by God. While this means that God did not turn His writers into robots, it also means that He did not give His writers completely free reign over what they wrote. Although Calvinism holds a much more limited view of free will than Arminianism does, even most Arminians can agree that God did work in the heart of His writers, keeping them from introducing their own ideas or error into the text. Only those who hold to the view of existentialism would have trouble with this, for they see man as having a will completely free to do as he pleases, and in that they hold God to be powerless to have any sort of influence on man's will, which is simply not true and puts God's majesty in a very low view, if ascribing to it at all. The danger of putting too much value on free will is that it can lead to free will in itself becoming an object of idolatry. Holding free will too highly is to put man on the same level as God. This is the great error of existentialism, in that it seeks to remove man from under God's authority. Such belief led to the fall of Satan and his angels, it led to the fall of man and has led to countless millions being condemned to hell. If God holds no authority over man, then He could not have inspired inerrant Scriptures. Furthermore, it reduces God to a powerless figurehead, and not the ruler over all creation. Such a God is not the God of Israel, but the God of man's imagination, a mere idol that exists nowhere but in the mind. We cannot hold God to such a view. We must think rightly of God. Having said this, we can then conclude that by being inerrant, the inspiration of Scripture neither wholly denies free will, nor does it allow for it without limit.

The Infallibility of God and Inerrancy

Another issue with denying the inerrancy of Scripture is that it also denies the infallibility of God's nature. The Almighty is not One to have some kind of weakness. He is perfect in every way; His power is infallible. God has never failed in anything He has set out to do. Did God fail in creation? No, God saw that it was good (Genesis 1). Did God fail in creating mankind? Not at all, for it is written:

“What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” - Romans 9:22-24

Rather, God allowed mankind to fall that he might reveal His wrath against those prepared for destruction, and to reveal mercy for those prepared for glory. Is then the Old Covenant a failure, since the Israelites rebelled? By no means. It instead laid the groundwork for Christ and was fulfilled in His coming. Should we then say that God set out to reveal His word to mankind, yet failed in bringing it to men without error? Such a claim is preposterous. All that God has ever done and ever will do will be done without failure. If God is not infallible in His nature, then He is not perfect in His nature either. A perfect God is not prone to failure, and He will not allow that be reflected in the Word He has revealed to us.

The Consequences of not Upholding Inerrancy

Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of fallout from those who do not hold the Scriptures to be inerrant. A great deal of heresies have emerged, especially from those in influential positions. One of the most significant of these has been denial of the deity of Christ, or the overall denial of the Trinity. This is especially prevalent in Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witness system. Yet John and the other apostles put a great deal of effort into making it clear that Jesus was both man and God. Another set of heresies has been salvation by works and the equally false doctrine of “easy believism” i.e., the notion that one can be saved and yet persist living in sin as before, with no change of life as evidence for salvation. Paul made much to speak against salvation by works, and James made much to speak against salvation that bears no fruit, or worse, bad fruit. Still others deny Jesus is the only way, and have brought forth the false doctrine of universalism, in which everyone is saved, even if they deny Jesus. Yet Jesus Himself says He is the only way (John 14:6). This is only a few; there are more examples than I can possibly count. Yet, if people held Scriptures to be inerrant, there would be none of the aforementioned heresies. Furthermore, this undermines the importance of literal interpretation. If we hold Scripture to be errant, then we are free to interpret it as we like. This is a major reason why there is so much division in the church. Charles Spurgeon once wrote:

“‎Do you think, dear brethren, there would be so many sects among Christians if all believers honestly wanted to know the truth and to know Christ’s will? I do not think there would be. I cannot think our Lord has written a book so doubtful and ambiguous in its expressions that men need differ in interpreting it upon plain points.”

We must hold to “as it is written”, not “well, this is what I think it says” or “this is what it means to me”. And we can only do so if we hold the Scriptures to be inerrant. Otherwise, we have no sound basis for literal interpretation. Someone who interprets how he pleases could simply say, “Well, the Bible is not very accurate, so taking it literally could be just as wrong.” We cannot allow such rationalizations to stand. We must hold firm to inerrancy. Otherwise, sound doctrine has no foundation upon which to stand, and is easily refuted. Therefore, in order to uphold all sound doctrine, we must uphold that Scripture is wholly inerrant.

If we do not uphold the inerrancy of Scripture, we invite all sorts of false gospels and false doctrines into the church. Those who hold Scripture to be errant often allow other institutions to hold authority over Scripture; when, in reality, Scriptures holds authority over all, as it is the infallibly inspired Word of God. As the fathers of the Reformation once stated, “Sola Scriptura”, by Scripture alone. If we are to say that God's Word is not inerrant, then not only do we deny the majesty and sovereignty of God, but we also deny the infallibility of God's nature and the authority of Scripture. To deny the inerrancy of Scripture is to open ourselves to heresy, damning many to hell and making a mockery of God. Let us be above such things. To God alone be the glory. Lastly, to those who have held to such heresies, I urge you to repent. Have you no remorse over reading this? Then I fear you may be lost. Pray for forgiveness and mercy. Put aside pride and self. Look to Christ and come before Him in repentance and humility. For God surely gives grace to the humble. And Christ has borne the penalties of even the most damnable of heresies. And He gives grace to even the worst of sinners. Repent and believe the gospel, all the Scripture testifies about Christ. For He will surely not turn away the genuinely humble and contrite of heart. Do not hold on to lofty thoughts and opinions, but give yourself freely to Christ, that you may be saved.

Find Your Assurance in Christ

I have spent much of my writing discussing self-examination and repentance. While such things are absolutely essential, those of us who are in Christ tend to get discouraged quite easily sometimes. Even the strongest man is still part of the frail, delicate bride of Christ. We tend to beat ourselves down under the same law that we have been saved from under grace. It seems to be human nature in that we tend to try and establish our righteousness, even when we are under grace. Had we not grace, we would be condemned for such things. Yet, as we are foolish creatures, how fortunate the grace we have in spite of who we are. When we do fall into this error, it only brings us misery and discouragement, as we see we cannot live up the standards set before us in God's Law. Yet we have grace! We must remember that it is His righteousness and not ours. This is the grace we have in Christ Jesus. Do we uphold the Law by our own merit? By no means! Yet, the work of the cross within us causes us to uphold the Law, even though we do err frequently. But because of the grace of Christ, we have no worry over our mistakes, for they are covered by His blood. The only one who needs worry is he who forsakes the call of Christ so that he may indulge in his wicked desires. Yet we who are in Christ have no such need to worry. Take delight in what is written: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). There is no condemnation for those who truly are in Christ. Rather, we have the hope of life and the resurrection. We have the hope that we will not perish like the rest of the world. We have no need to be in anguish, for the Lord looks favorably upon His children. The psalmist writes, “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love” (Psalm 33:18). In this we have assurance; for certainly the Lord will not forsake those whom He loves.

Though we will face many troubles (John 16:33), we always have assurance in Christ. The book of Psalms records many laments. But all end with the assurance of the hope that is to come. The lament of Psalms 42 & 43 ends with this: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 43:5). Great is our hope indeed if we put our hope in the Lord, for He is faithful. Those who put their hope in the Lord are the blessed ones: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever” (Psalm 146:5-6). Furthermore, the Lord delights in those who hope in Him: “The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (Psalm 147:11). Those who have put their faith in Christ and have submitted to Him in obedience are the ones who are blessed and the ones in whom the Lord delights. None of which comes of our own merit, but that which is given freely by the grace of God. Fear the Lord and find your hope in Him, and Him alone: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:17-18). There is surely a future hope for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rest assured, and do not look to yourself, but look to Christ. In Him there is hope to the very end; hope without limit.

Have no fear in your struggles, but look to Him who has the power to overcome. Even the great apostle Paul struggled greatly. Yet, he found assurance all the same. He wrote describing his ordeal, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). God's grace is sufficient. No matter what we've been through, what we've done nor what we are facing, God's grace is sufficient in all things. In that we can remember and take hope. This is our assurance. By chance, if you are one who has been trusting in his own merit and cannot find that assurance, know that the assurance is there. For you must come to the point of surrender, abandoning both your own righteousness and your sin. For your own righteousness cannot save you; it cannot cover the stain of your sin. But rest assured that there is Another who has died in your place, bearing your sin and bringing you the righteousness that you could never attain. Will you put your hope and trust in this risen King, the Lord Jesus Christ? He alone can save; look to Him and be saved. Repent, find your hope in Christ! All who come to Him will find hope in Him – an everlasting hope that will never perish. May all you who despair find hope and assurance in Christ; for surely He has not forsaken those whom He loves.

Rick Warren's Great Folly

Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the Purpose Driven Church and Purpose Driven Life, recently spoke at the Desiring God Conference, creating quite a controversy. The reason I bring this up is that I have always had my reservations about pastor Warren, but after watching his presentation, I cannot consider him to be a sound, biblical preacher. I invite you not to take my word for this, but to carefully examine what Warren says against Scripture and the context within which each verse he cites is written. If you want to follow along with my review, the video for Warren's sermon can be found here. This is a long read, but there were many points to cover in Rick's hour long message.

The first thing that comes up is the title of Warren's talk, called “The Battle for Your Mind.” Since when has it been a battle for our minds? Has not the ancient battle been for our souls? This is not a mental battle, but a battle between Spirit and flesh. Scripture says, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Galatians 5:17, NASB). This is the battle that believers face; those who are unbelievers fight against the sovereign Lord (Jeremiah 2:29). These too do not fight a battle for the mind, for their mind is wholly set against the Lord. Those who are in Christ have been given the Spirit, which fights against the lusts of the flesh, that we may be sanctified. Sanctification is not a psychological process, but rather is entirely spiritual. Christianity is not behavior modification, but a complete transformation and renewal of the heart and mind – one that produces fruit in the form of righteous acts (Colossians 1:10).

Rick starts out talking about this battle for our minds and how our greatest asset is our mind. Is it not our soul? This sounds very psychological and not very spiritual. The mind will perish, but the soul will endure forever. Therefore, let not even our soul be our greatest asset in our own sight, but rather let Christ be greatest, and not only greatest, but everything. Rick goes on to say that he has seen mental illness and people whose minds are broken and cannot “connect” to Christ. As though that rests with man and not with God. God sovereignly elects those who are saved, not one's own self (see Romans chapter 9). Furthermore, Rick states that we must learn to, among other things, renew and strengthen our minds. Is this something we learn? Rather, it is the Lord who renews and strengthens us (Isaiah 40:31). Romans 12:2 says, “and be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind ” (YLT). Young's Literal Translation is extremely literal, rendering the words as they are in the original Hebrew/Greek. Note that is says “be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” not, “learn to renew your mind.” What is implied here is that the renewing of the mind is not something of human effort, but rather something we must allow to be done by the Spirit. You should already begin to see some of Warren's theology coming up here, which is largely based upon human works and psychology.

Rick continues, saying, “The battle for sin always starts in our mind.” Psychology again. The battle for sin starts in our fallen nature, the corrupt flesh which lusts against the will of God. These desires may result in a battle in our mind – this is known as a “moral dilemma”. But the real battle is always between Spirit and flesh. Furthermore, moral dilemma is more confined to unbelievers. The one who is saved by grace knows full well where morals stand and does not try to nitpick, in an attempt to justify sin. As Warren continues, he begins to read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, where he states that the strongholds we demolish are “mental blocks.” Again, more psychology. The Bible says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12, KJV). The strongholds mentioned are not so-called “mental blocks” but the powers of darkness. This is a spiritual battle, not a mental one. If we are to say this is of our mind, then the atheist is proven right when he says this is all of our imagination. Warren also talks about how our minds like to wander and do their own thing. This is true, and we must deal with distraction, but this is a much deeper spiritual battle.

Warren brings up a big issue when he says “So many Christians are ineffective today because they do not know how the fight the battle of the mind.” The reality is this: so many “Christians” are ineffective because they are simply not Christians (Matthew 7:13-27; 22:14). Those who are of Christ will not fail to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:8). He then says that we must teach and equip people to fight this “battle of the mind.” No! We must teach and equip people to fulfill the Great Commission! (Matthew 28:18-20) Rick then makes a statement about how much the Bible says on the mind. The mind? What about Christ? I hope you can see by now just how much Warren has departed from Scripture and sound doctrine. Going on, Warren likens sin to mental illness. Since when has sin been a mental illness? Sin is outright rebellion against God, not a mental illness. “We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments” (Daniel 9:5, KJV). Mental illness is an affliction caused by sin. To say otherwise is putting the cart before the horse. Furthermore, to reduce sin to mental illness is removing accountability for our sin, thus making God's judgment upon the world unjust, and thereby nullifying grace. This is dangerous theology that is being put forth by Rick Warren. He also says this is why we have so many fallen leaders. Has any thought been given that many of these fallen leaders were never of us to begin with? (1 John 2:19)

It is ironic that one of the points Warren brings up is that we must “guard our minds from garbage.” This is why we must spend much in Scripture, in prayer and in study of sound doctrine, lest we be deceived by teachings such as these. Warren claims that we should actually spend less time teaching on Scripture and more time on application. This is absurd, because the more we study Scripture, the more the Spirit will reveal to us its application. Men are called to teach the truth of Scripture, not to teach its application. Those who have the Spirit and study diligently will already know all there is to know about application. If we know the Word, then we will know the application. Teaching the truth of the Word is of the utmost importance. Application is meaningless apart from that. Furthermore, any kind of application can only occur through the power of the Holy Spirit, and not by our own efforts. Another thing to note is that Warren frequently changes Bible translations to suit what he wants to say, often using paraphrases. We must do the opposite. We must conform what we teach to what the Bible says, and so relying upon the original language, and not some paraphrase. If we are well versed in the original Hebrew and Greek, we should make an effort to gain a deeper understanding of what Scripture says in its original language. For those who are not, Young's Literal Translation (YLT) is an excellent resource to gain a better understanding of Scripture in its original rendition. Personally, I just avoid the paraphrases altogether. The NIV is about as far as I will go in terms of dynamic equivalence (thought for thought translation).

Further on in his talk, Warren says that we are commanded to bear fruit. That we are. However, Warren implies that this is of human effort, i.e. works-righteousness or Pelagianism. The Bible says true converts will not fail to bear fruit, as it is the result of God's work in us (Matthew 7:15-20, Jeremiah 17:8). Fruitfulness is the evidence of saving faith, not a requirement of it. Warren does preach the Law well, but he leaves out the necessity for repentance and God's grace. He makes much of laying out conditions for the blessings of God which are given unconditionally to those whom He has elected unto salvation.

About 20 minutes in, Warren proceeds to talk about knowledge. Now, knowledge is important; however, worldly knowledge is largely meaningless. Everything there is to know and ever is to know about the world we will know when we enter into the Lord's eternal kingdom. But we will never even begin to grasp the immeasurable greatness that is the Lord our God. Rick talks about the absurdity of pastors who have not taken a class in years. How is that absurd? Is taking a class somehow the key to knowledge? I have not taken a single theological, biblical or other seminary class; therefore, am I without knowledge? Rather, I have resolved not to make myself a student of men and their methods, but instead I have resolved to be a student of Scripture. Any true convert need not be told to acquire knowledge, for he or she will seek it. But, at the same time, we must be careful. If we turn to Scripture, we are told: “We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1, NIV). Rick appears to boast upon his knowledge, it has apparently puffed him up. I will be first to say that my knowledge is indeed feeble; I know that I must be totally dependent upon the Lord for what I know about Him. I know nothing next to the surpassing fullness of what there is to know about this mighty, sovereign King. Warren goes on to claim that the only thing Scripture says we should store is up knowledge, when it also talks about storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20), in reference to forsaking material possessions. Warren then says that knowledge is something we take with us. “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:8). Scripture would not agree with Warren here. When we enter into eternity, knowledge will be at an end. We will go from knowing to beholding. Knowledge in this age is important, but when Christ comes, everything will fade before the insurmountable greatness of beholding Him.

The next thing Rick Warren says just blows everything out of the water: “If you store up knowledge for yourself, you are taking you to heaven.” I simply cannot believe he said this. So if I do these things for myself, I take me to heaven? Where is God in all this? Where is Christ? Where is the cross, the atonement, unmerited grace, the sovereignty of God? Instead, let's throw out the gospel, throw out God, throw out our need for mercy and grace – and replace it with what I can do to get me into heaven. Presenting the “me” gospel, brought to you by the letter H. H for heresy. This is blatant heresy, plain and simple. I hate to say this, but Rick Warren is a false teacher, condemned by his own words. Many who are in hell right now were great men of knowledge and learning. Judas knew everything that the other disciples knew, yet God left him to his own depravity, and he perished in that, taking all his knowledge with him to eternal fire. Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the most famous American theologian, spoke these words:

If we could speak with them, and inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected, when alive, and when they used to hear about hell, ever to be the subjects of misery: we doubtless, should hear one and another reply,

“No, I never intended to come here: I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself — I thought my scheme good. I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief — Death outwitted me: God’s wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter; and when I was saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction came upon me.”

-Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the hands of an Angry God

No matter our scheme, we cannot procure our own salvation. We are depraved beings, wicked beyond all measure, and we deserve nothing less than the eternal fires of hell. Shall we thwart the justice of God by gaining knowledge? Only a madman would make such a claim. The Word of God speaks against Warren: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV). It is by the sovereign, unmerited grace of God that anyone is saved; through faith, but even saving faith is not our own, but given of God, that we should not boast. Is mere knowledge of the gospel sufficient to save? Not in the least. It is by the power of God (Romans 1:16). Part of saving faith is knowledge of the gospel, but mere knowledge is not sufficient. Therefore, if you have not come to grace in Christ, if you have been deceived, repent and “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). If you cannot, cry out for mercy and come to Christ, empty handed, apart from your works. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37, KJV). Let your hope rest in Christ and Christ alone, for all else shall perish. I lament how Rick has so perverted the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is not a man of God, but a lost man and a deceiver. Pray that he would find grace before God, and repent of his ways.

Warren then goes on to boast about his book collection. He says, “The impact on your life will be largely from the people you meet and the books you read.” Whatever happened to the impact Christ has on one's life. If Christ does not have the largest impact on a person's life, then what kind of faith is that? Certainly not saving faith. He continues, boasting that he has over 20,000 volumes in his library and talks about how much he has read. Is that kind of boasting fruitful? If we are to boast, let us boast about our weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30) and boast in the Lord (2 Corinthians 10:17), not boasting in ourselves, our possessions nor our accomplishments. To make matters worse, Warren then boasts about his ministry – how long he's been doing this, what his church has done and then throws up a lot of numbers. He also says that a church's health is based not on its seating capacity, but its sending capacity. How about looking at the fruit that the congregants bear, and not numbers? After saying all this, he says we must not just teach people to love the Word, but to do the Word. We must teach people how to love the word and do the word? The fruit of the true believer is that he or she will love the Word and obey God's commands even without instruction to do so.

As he continues, Warren implies that conviction arises from perspective. This is true from a worldly standpoint. However, true conviction only comes through the Holy Spirit, and not from our perspective. In fact, our perspective is also shaped by the Spirit. Warren then says that “nothing can separate me from God” (referring to Romans 8:38-39) is merely a conviction. That is absurd. That nothing can separate us from God (if we are truly in Him) is by His own power, not by our convictions. Ironically, Warren considers himself to be a Calvinist, yet what he is saying is completely contrary to the Doctrines of Grace (not that what he speaks would be considered Armenian either). He then quotes Romans 8:28-30 and says that it is a conviction. No, it is not a conviction, it is truth. Certainly, conviction is based on truth, but to say that Scripture is conviction nullifies its authority. Scripture is truth, pure and inerrant truth, not a conviction. It is purely of God, and not the conviction of the men who wrote it (2 Timothy 3:16). Warren then implies something even more absurd – that prayer will not bring success, but skill will. Prayer is the means by which all works in the Kingdom are accomplished. Certainly, skill is needed for worldly success, but success in the Kingdom is not determined in the least by our skill, but by our commitment to prayer. God often uses the most feeble of men to accomplish the greatest of things. These were not always skilled men, but they all had one thing in common – they were men of prayer. We can see already Warren's low view of prayer, low view of Scripture, low view of the gospel and ultimately, His low view of God.

Going on, Warren implies that we must teach behavior along with doctrine. Yes, we must be teachers of the Law if we are to be teachers of grace, but to merely teach behavior and doctrine turns salvation by grace into behavior modification, i.e. teaching goats to act like sheep. After discussing this, he says that “we only believe the parts of the Bible we actually do.” So, if I do not a make a sacrificial offering to the Lord for my sins, do I not believe that part of the Law? As it is fulfilled in Christ, the offerings are no longer necessary, but that does not mean that they never happened. Must I partake in this in order to believe in it? Quite a nonsensical argument that Rick Warren has brought to the table. Warren then brings up the whole application mess again, claiming that our lives cannot change probably more than one application a week. More nonsense. By the power of the Spirit, a man can be completely changed in an instant. If you are trying to make applications to your life in order that you may change, then I fear that you might be a goat trying to be a sheep. In that case, you must abandon your works and trust wholly in Christ. For grace comes not of our own effort, but wholly by the merit of Christ. The growth that comes thereafter is no different. True spiritual growth is the result of the work of Christ being done in us, not us trying to apply some biblical or doctrinal lesson to our lives. While we must obey the commands of Scripture and know what it says, we must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to transform us into His likeness. Warren then says that there is a wide gap between knowing and doing, and it is caused by too much teaching. I wish there were more teaching! We must be students of Scripture, while at the same time allowing Christ to work in us.

Another thing Warren says is that “interpretation without application is abortion.” I say that interpretation without allowing the Spirit to work in us is abortion – not only that, but it is the mother of all heresies. Warren then says that “your mental state is totally dependent upon what you think about.” This is actually psychologically wrong, but that's a whole nother venue. Merely thinking about Jesus won't change anything. Christ must be formed in you. You must be conformed to the likeness of Christ by God's grace, otherwise, you will persist in ungodly rebellion, regardless of how much you think about Christ. Satan thinks about Christ all the time, but it is to oppose Him, not to submit to Him. We must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, else we have no means to gain righteousness (John 3:3-7).

Warren then progresses into talking about imagination, and how we must allow God to stretch it. If we try to imagine God, we have created an idol in our minds. God must be revealed to us. We must live in the continuous revelation of God, otherwise, we are nothing more than idolaters. In addition, we cannot imagine what God wants us to do, it must be revealed to us. Otherwise, we are living in disobedience. Warren misquotes proverbs 29:18 (mistakenly says Proverbs 28:8), saying that we must have a dream. If we look Proverbs 29:18 up in Young's Literal Translation, it says: “Without a Vision is a people made naked, And whoso is keeping the law, O his happiness!” Does this mean that unimaginative people are unrighteous or will perish? No, it means that unless people live in the revelation of God, they will live naked, stripped of any kind of righteousness. We must allow God to reveal Himself to us, and not imagine such things. Presumption upon God is a terrible sin, and has led to the vilest of heresies. We do not need great dreamers, but people who will spend much time in the Word and in prayer, living in the revelation of His glory. Warren also misquotes Acts 2:17, but this too simply talks about revelation from God, of God. Warren then poses a question: “What is your dream for your next ten years?” Personally, I have no dream. That may sound like a sad thing, but it is not. I am surrendered to God and am leaning on His will and not my own. I know I am called to be a pastor, but I have no way of knowing how I will get there. God has thwarted all my plans, and for this I am grateful, for I have gained much in Him taking me His own way. The Lord has only shown me a few steps at a time, and never the full path. “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16, KJV). He has not forsaken me, but has lead me along paths unknown – and I refuse to make any sort of presumption as to where He will take me. I walk by faith.

Warren then brings up two things as he finishes up. First, he implies that we can merely put on salvation like a helmet – more salvation by works. Secondly, he reduces repentance to merely changing our minds. Yes, repentance is a change of mind, but the change is not wrought by our own effort, but by the power of God. Salvation is by grace, yet Warren insists on saying otherwise. He has so badly perverted the gospel, and yet is considered a godly man by many. Far from it. Warren then goes back to imagination and likens it to a blank check. Just imagine whatever you want, and if you have the faith you'll get it. Right...sounds very similar to all the prosperity gospel garbage going around. Lastly, in his closing prayer, he finally mentions Jesus – I can't recall him saying anything about Jesus in his whole sermon. Just a bunch of works apart from grace.

In conclusion, I am appalled at what I've heard. Rick Warren is a major influence in the American church and around the world. It saddens me that he brings forth so much heresy. I can only hope that more people realize what he is saying and compare it with biblical truth. Warren would make a great psychologist, but he should not by any means be a pastor. The Bible speaks so clearly about salvation by grace and not by our own effort or self-righteousness. And yet, Warren repeatedly heralds this message. He is completely contrary to sound doctrine, and it is alarming that someone like John Piper, who seemingly champions sound doctrine, would allow Warren to speak at his conference. Until he repents, I cannot take John Piper seriously any longer. Piper says we have slandered Warren, but should we keep quiet on such matters? Rather, we must expose them (Ephesians 5:11). Because of what Warren has said in this sermon, I cannot recommend any of his sermons, books, etc. for they simply do not hold up to biblical truth. I hope you have read through this and watched Warren's speech with discernment, and that you too can come to agreement with what I have written. If you agree with me, please let others know that this man cannot be trusted. If not, I will be glad to discuss this further, but only if you come with an open mind.

Christ Rosebrough has another excellent review of this sermon on his radio show, Fighting for the Faith, found here.

The Seeker-Driven Movement, Biblical or Heresy?

I heard an interesting point brought up in the debate over the seeker-friendly movement. It has been argued against the seeker-friendly movement that the people involved are using the wrong approach. The claim has been set forth that such people are using bait instead of nets. This is in the context of Matthew 4:18-20, where Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to be “fishers of men.” In regard to this, is there a right way and a wrong way to fish for men? Should the gospel be presented as something that men find appealing and are drawn to, or something that men who never sought are suddenly caught up in? Let us explore what it means both biblically and practically.

A major catechism of the seeker-driven movement is that if the church is not drawing large number of people, it is “time to change the bait.” However, is this something biblical, or even logical? Should the church be made attractive to the world? If we read in the Bible, it is anything but. Jesus says, “All men will hate you because of me” (Matthew 10:22, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17). Three of the Gospels repeat the same thing. Jesus already does not sound very seeker-friendly. This is furthered in John 15:18-25. The Bible also speaks a great deal about persecution. If we are to be persecuted for the message that we bring, is it then very seeker-friendly to those who hear it? Quite the contrary, the gospel is an offense; “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The gospel is a message contrary to the culture. In Galatians 5:11, the apostle Paul implies that if the message is conformed to the culture, the “offense of the cross has been abolished.” The message of the cross is offensive to the world, rather than appealing. If we make church appealing to the world, it is no longer church. If we make the church look like the world in order to attract the world, then the church has become just like the world. This is the great error of the seeker-driven movement.

This is why we cannot use bait to “fish for men,” that we may win converts. Otherwise, we only make them a twofold son of hell (Matthew 23:15). In a practical view, fish caught with bait and hook are much less likely to survive than fish caught by net. We are not fishing for food, but to win men and women to Christ. Fish caught with bait and hook are often injured and soon die. This is the stillborn “convert.” He is dead in his sin, and destined for the eternal fire. Some may survive, but often not without significant wounds. Those who may be saved (by the power of God and not by any man's methods) are wounded by perverse, worldly theology that may take years for them to recover from, and some wounds are lifelong. Pastors – take note. Do well to tend to your sheep. Do not bring harm to your flock by catering to goats and leaving your sheep to wolves. This is why we must use nets. The true gospel is a net. It is repulsive. It will scare away any fish who see it. But in that is the power of the gospel. It drives away those who were looking out for their own interest. Yet, it catches those who were never seeking, who were unsuspecting, who had no desire for what fishermen had to offer. These are the ones saved by the power of God. For you see, the worldly seekers seek only out of their own interest. They do not truly seek Christ (Psalm 14:2-3). Those whom Christ has sought, sought Him not. He sought them. They were caught in the net of the gospel, even though it was not what they had desired. Yet these are the ones now rejoicing, having been given eternal life. The rest have either perished on the hook, or will perish in the sea of the world.

I ask you, why do you seek Christ? Is it because you truly want Him and Him alone, or are there other reasons? Do you want more in your life? Are you seeking simply to get away from hell? Do you simply want what Jesus has? Do you simply want to get into heaven? Anyone who seeks these things, who seeks anything other than Christ, seeks not Christ, but only what benefits him or her. Do not seek to save yourself! For, “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37-38). Therefore, lose you life for Christ! Take up your cross and follow. No one who comes to Christ with self-serving intentions will ever inherit the kingdom! Do you want Him, and only Him? Then run to Him, for He has sought you! Are you wanting what Jesus has to offer you? Then he has not sought you. All I can say is pray that He would seek you. For Christ is the only One worth anything. There is no gain in anything else. For the worldly seeker only wants what he can get. The one who seeks Christ, because he has been sought by Christ, only wants Christ and nothing more.

Therefore, those who adhere to this seeker-friendly mentality, turn from it! It is nothing but heresy, and of the worst sort. Those who truly seek Christ have been drawn by Him and they only want Him! They don't want a contemporary gospel. They want to know how terrible their sin is and how merciful God is! They don't want entertainment, they don't want a message that is appealing to the world. They want Christ! Give them Christ! Don't starve them of the Word. Feed them the Good Word, and teach them on it. Do not read a few verses and then teach them how to apply it – that is the work of the Spirit. Teach them the Word. Teach them Christ and Him crucified. Teach them the glory of God. Teach these things in abundance. Let Christ be glorified!

Anyone who happens to read this, I urge you not to buy into this seeker-driven/seeker-friendly heresy. If you preach, preach Christ crucified. Preach as though this is the only message your congregates will ever hear. Will you offend people? Absolutely. Will you drive people away? Without question. But they never wanted Christ to begin with. Remember that the chosen are few (Matthew 22:14). Will you invite persecution? Very likely. At the very least, you will invite mockery and ridicule. But God will be glorified, and in the end, that is all that matters.

I am the Worst of all Sinners

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15-16

I fear that we too often glance over this verse without really taking what it means to heart. The apostle Paul is a making a bold statement here. He is not speaking figuratively. He is wholly and honestly calling himself the worst of all sinners. In his own eyes, he was more deserving of God's fierce wrath than anyone else; and more so, the least deserving of all of God's mercy. God had brought Paul from a self-righteous Pharisee who trusted wholly in his own so-called good deeds, to someone who was completely humbled; being made fully aware of his own moral bankruptcy and absolute need of a savior. Paul had come to realize that he had absolutely no inherent goodness of his own and was therefore wholly and totally dependent upon the goodness of Christ. It was no longer Paul's own righteousness, but solely the righteousness of Christ, that by faith, had been imputed upon him. Paul saw himself for who he really was; he saw the hypocrisy that he had lived in; he saw, foremost, the unending riches of God's sovereign, unmerited grace that was bestowed upon him, the most undeserving of all sinners.

This message stands in stark contrast to today's society, where even the most vile of men consider themselves to be inherently good. The world sees itself not as fallen and desperately in need of a savior, but as a people who can get into heaven of their own righteousness – apart from any need of God. The sovereign Lord, in their eyes, is nothing more than some distant cosmic administrator who may occasionally help them along in life's journey, but who lays no claim whatsoever to their lives – that is if they believe in Him at all. He will not condemn them, they think. “That is only for the likes of Hitler,” they say. They think they can get into heaven upon their own righteousness – all the while they have none. The people of this world see not their utter inward depravity. They cannot see how much they hate God, and how unrighteous they truly are. They cannot see that there is no good in them whatsoever. They have been blinded by their own pride. To make matters worse, many of these people are in our churches, living under the false presumption that they are right with God, not living in the righteousness of Christ, but living and trusting in their own righteousness, all the while continuing in wickedness.

How can we be so ignorant of Paul's message? Do we merely sit back and let Paul confess his absolute depravity, and at the same time consider ourselves to be better than he? It may very well be that Paul, by his deeds, is the worst of all sinners. But more important is that Paul saw in his own eyes that he was the worst of all sinners. Paul saw that he was in no way good. He saw that he was wicked without means. Does this not apply to us as well? Are we not all the same in regard to our sinfulness?

I will be first to say that I am the worst of all sinners. Like Paul, I too once walked in self-righteousness. But having been saved by His great mercy, I cannot lay claim to any righteousness of my own. The Lord has been continually humbling me. I have come to see that, at least in my own eyes, I am the vilest of sinners. If there is anyone who is deserving of the eternal fires of hell, it is surely me. In my own eyes, I have done more to provoke God to anger than anyone else. I am the worst, I am the vilest, I am the most hideous of all creatures. I have no righteousness of my own. The evil of my heart knows no bounds. I cannot trust in my own good to save me, for I have none. I am morally bankrupt. I come to the Lord with nothing but a guilty plea, knowing the righteous judgment I cannot escape. I am like the tax collector. I stand before God, defenseless, knowing my own guilt. And yet, He has had mercy upon me. Another has taken my place. Christ has bore my sins, and his righteousness has been given to me. No longer am I the Pharisee who trusts in his own supposed righteousness. I am the tax collector, vile and despicable, unlovable, coming before an all-merciful savior. How great His mercy indeed, that He should save a sinner such as myself! There is nothing in me that He should find attractive, nothing in me that He should see as worthy. No, I am nothing, an object of wrath. How great His love then, that he should save a sinner like me!

I charge you, do not look to yourself for righteousness, for you will find none. Look to Christ, the source of all righteousness. This is how we must come before Christ. Not having any righteousness of our own, but trusting in His righteousness completely. Let His blood be upon us, cleansing us of our sins, and his righteousness be given unto us, that we may do the will of the Father. We must realize our deep, inward moral bankruptcy. We must see that we have nothing to offer Christ; that we must indeed throw ourselves at His feet and ask for mercy. Do you consider yourself to be righteous in any way? Scripture bears witness against you: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). Therefore, turn from your own righteousness (which is in truth unrighteousness) and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Surrender to Him, for only in that will you find mercy.

We must see that we are without righteousness. Otherwise, we cannot truly love the lost – and certainly not our own enemies. Even for our worst of enemies, we must see ourselves as worse than they. We must see ourselves as less than they; that we are, in our own eyes, far more vile than they are. Otherwise, we exalt ourselves over them, considering ourselves to somehow be better. Out of that only comes pride, bitterness and hatred. The only difference between those of us who are saved and our enemies is that Christ has given us mercy. We are no better than they, no more deserving than they, no more inherently good than they; no we are just as wicked, and so without bounds. How we ought to love them! Those who hate us are just as in need of a savior as we, for “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Therefore, we ought to love all the more, being given that which we did not deserve, desiring that all who hate us be given the same.

Therefore, in our own eyes, we should be the very least. Though we put God first in our lives, we should not take second. Let us be the very last. Let our hearts be humbled and contrite before the great and merciful sovereign God, and let us be the least among all men.

Are You Truly Saved?

“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:10-11)

My dear friends, heed this verse with the utmost regard. Be certain, under careful scrutiny of of your own life, that God has indeed saved you. Salvation is none to be taken lightly. The apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13). Work out your salvation with fear and trembling – for if you are not truly in Christ, then you have much to fear. On that final day, all will come to account for every one of their sins, and those found without the precious blood of Christ upon them shall perish under the eternal judgment of Almighty God.

Bear this message with much fear. Jesus comes not to give us an invitation, but an ultimatum. Repent, or perish under the coming wrath. The good Lord repeatedly warns us of the terrible consequences of our rebellion. The Law has judged the world and all have been found guilty before God. Those who will not repent, those who love the world; to these the Lord has shown us their fate:

If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name (Revelation 14:9-11).

Who, then, might these be who worship the beast and his image and receive the mark of his name? I tell you, anyone who does not do the will of God will be among those. Those who love this world and all that is in it cannot be lovers of God. Scripture clearly speaks this: “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Therefore, if we chose to love this world, if we chose to indulge in material wealth, if we are given over to sensuality, if we make idols of what we have, what we are, what we look up to or anything of the like, then there is no question that we have made ourselves to be enemies of God. If we willfully break God's Law, then we have shown our hatred for His lordship. Make no mistake, God is love; however, for those who would dare to defy Him, their condemnation is deserved.

This is why I charge you, do not presume your own salvation. For it is written: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:8). Examine your own life. See that you are in Christ. Look at the evidence. Do you bear good fruit; that which is borne of a genuine repentance? For as Jesus says to us, “Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:17-21). Therefore, do you bear the fruit of repentance? Or, by the things you say, the things you do and the thoughts and feelings you harbor in your heart, do you bear the fruit which is of wickedness?

Look closely at your life and see if it lines up with scripture. The apostle John yields much insight into this matter in his first epistle:

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives (1 John 1:5-10).

Here we can see that we can have no darkness in our lives – yet at the same time, if we say we have no sin, we make Christ out to be a liar. We must understand, that all end up sinning in this fallen world. However, the one who is in Christ will abhor any sin in his or her life and will repent of it. The wicked will either be indifferent or will revel in their sin. Worse, some will even take their sin in boisterous pride. The evidence of salvation will be that those who sin will be overcome with grief, to the point of confession and repentance before God. If this is lacking from your life, do not take such a matter lightly. For such is a clear indicator that you have, in fact, not been saved. If you so choose to continue in such a lifestyle, then Jesus makes clear the consequences:

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matthew 7:21-23, NKJV).

Therefore, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Come to Christ, for He is mighty to save. Seek His mercy. Throw your life down at the foot of the cross and surrender! Surrender to your King and He will have mercy on you. Defy Him in any way, and you will perish under His wrath. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is worthy of all honor, glory and praise. You are nothing before His greatness. I urge you, dear friend, accept His terms of surrender – your complete, total and unconditional surrender to Him. Surrender! Lay it all down. Cry out to Him until He saves you! For when He has saved you, it is such a mighty work, you will know, for you will no longer be the wicked, idolatrous rebel you once were, but someone who desires nothing else than Christ and to see Him glorified. You will seek after righteousness and so deeply despise the sin you once loved. Above all, you will know a love that you have never known before. You will know the love of Christ, and how great it truly is. He was crushed for your sin. He bore the wrath that you were due. He purchased you with His blood. See how much He loves you – how dearly you are loved! Repent and believe the gospel! Yield to Him, lay down your life . . . surrender! Come to Him and be saved!

Stop Using the Sinner's Prayer

Spend any great deal of time within most evangelical circles, and you will quickly become acquainted with the “sinner's prayer”. It is often seen as an evangelism tool, a way through which sinners are saved. Typically, a pastor will have people who come down to an altar call and repeat this prayer, after which they are declared saved. The same thing can be seen with people witnessing one-on-one or to small groups. An example of it would be something like this: “Father, I admit I have sinned against you. I repent of all my sins. I give my life to you and I will follow you. In Jesus' name, Amen.” All in all, it is a very common site in most evangelical churches. The question is this: Is the sinner's prayer biblical, and is it effective in producing genuine converts? My answer will certainly be controversial, as I myself come from a background where the sinner's prayer is commonplace. To both questions, I must answer no. This can be shown both biblically and empirically. In the end, I hope that I can convince that this so-called “prayer” has no power to save whatsoever, and furthermore, has no basis in scripture.

First, let us take a look at the current state of the church. We have huge numbers of new “converts” coming into the church, but many of these quickly fall away and go back into the world. This is contrary to biblical salvations, in which people were eager to be part of the body of Christ and proclaim the gospel to the lost. Instead, you have many in the church who live just as wicked of lives as they did before they were “saved”. Their lives show no difference compared to those outside the church. And I am not even talking about liberal churches here. These are conservative, Bible-believing churches. If we have a bunch of people filling our churches in whom no evidence can be found of their conversion, there is a serious problem. Statistics show as high as a 100% fall-away rate for “converts” in some evangelistic crusades and outreaches [1]. It would appear as though we are taking goats, presenting them with a weak gospel and having them jump through some evangelical hoops before we pronounce them sheep – and yet, in spite of this, they are still goats. From this alone, it becomes clear that the sinner's prayer does not have the power to save as many would think. Granted, part of this is many are preaching a weak gospel (click here for my post regarding this), but at the same time, the methodology of the sinner's prayer must be called into question.

Many would make the claim that the sinners prayer is, in fact, biblically based. They point to Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. In the parable, the tax collector cries out, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” and then returns home justified before God. There are, however, some important things to note. First, this was a cry of desperation. How many people, being led in the sinner's prayer are desperately crying out to God? This tax collector was desperate because he had been convicted of his sin and knew that God was going to carry out His justice upon him. Secondly, the tax collector was repentant. He knew the severity of his sin, and was broken over it. He would not even approach the altar nor look up to heaven. Many who are led in the sinner's prayer are not like this at all. They are upbeat or completely apathetic, showing no brokenness over sin whatsoever. If there is no repentance, and I mean genuine repentance, there can be no salvation. Sure, some claim to be sincere – and they are, but not in sense of being broken over their sin. They are sincere in that they truly do want to see if trying out the whole “God thing” is better than the life of sin they have been living in. No true repentance there. No brokenness over sin. And they will turn away once they see all the hardship that following Christ brings. Thirdly, the tax collector was not led in this prayer. This was a desperate cry of his own heart. He knew full well the consequences of his sin, and he was desperately crying out for mercy. There was no external initiation except the work of God upon his heart.

Take note of this. I am not against praying to God for salvation. I am against using a recited prayer as way to gain salvation. The tax collector cried out in prayer because God had already wrought conviction and repentance in his heart. And he cried out in both faith and in repentance. Merely praying a prayer will not produce salvation. Salvation is a work of Almighty God, not the work of man's tongue. I, for one, never prayed a prayer. My salvation was preceded by conviction and a desire to repent, and finally, during worship, I was overcome with a passion for God that I never had before. It was a spontaneous act of God's mercy, and nothing of my own effort. I was not even seeking salvation, as I considered myself already saved. How great His mercy that He saved me out of false profession in a spontaneous act of His great, unending love. It was only after this that God opened my eyes to the reality of my hypocrisy, and wrought within me genuine faith and repentance. Look at the apostles. Jesus didn't have them pray a prayer – He merely called them, and they followed. It is a purely a work of God. This is a self-evident and biblically supported truth that is often overlooked in today's evangelism. Here are some reasons why the sinner's prayer goes against this truth:

It is an affront to God's sovereignty

One of the greatest errors involving the use of the sinner's prayer in evangelism is that it goes against God's sovereignty. God's sovereignty is absolute, and He cannot be influenced by anything outside of Himself. His sovereignty is spoken of in Scripture over and over again. There is nothing that can make God change His mind, and this is solidly based in Scripture: “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind” (1 Samuel 15:29). There is nothing that can influence the will of God, neither man nor angel. To say otherwise would nullify God's absolute sovereignty, and thus nullify God's unquestionable claim to the throne of heaven. It is out of God's own good pleasure that He saves people, and He has no obligation to save a creature that has been deservingly condemned under His own justice. Whether you consider yourself to be Calvinist or Armenian, all can agree that God is under no obligation to save anyone and it is only out of His own good pleasure that He does. Who are we, to think we can somehow manipulate the hand of God into saving us, when we have absolutely no merit whatsoever that God should find us worthy? We cannot influence God on this. His decisions are his own; they are His to make. We cannot bribe God and pervert the course of justice. This would not only make a mockery of His sovereignty, but as it is written, “A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice” (Proverbs 17:23). Only a wicked man accepts a bribe, and as such, it would make God wicked to accept a bribe, even in the form of a prayer. It not possible that God should become wicked, and furthermore, He will not yield His sovereign claim to power. He is above any and all influence.

Does this mean there is no hope for the sinner? If the sinner has no desire to repent and forsake his sins once and for all, then no. But for anyone who is broken over sin, who desires to repent, who longs for God's mercy and will yield to His lordship, then yes, there is hope. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37, NKJV). God will not cast out those who truly come to Him in submission and repentance. But this is because God has influenced them, not they that have influenced God. In hearing the gospel preached, the Holy Spirit has convicted them of their sin, and God has driven them to repentance. If you feel hopeless before God, take hope in that indeed! Cry out to God that He would save you. Come before the cross and lay your life down to Him that is worthy. If God has broken you and filled you with despair, seek Him out until He saves you. For if He has indeed brought you under conviction and broken you over your sins, run to Him, for He will surely not cast you out. Only in this is there hope, because it is God who has sovereignly brought you to repentance. The unrepentant, however, will continue in their own wicked pride, defiant to the end, thinking they can somehow manipulate God. Their condemnation will come as a great surprise, for they thought they could manipulate God and continue living in sin. How wrong they are, and how deserved is their condemnation!

It is works-based

It is important that we understand that salvation is by grace through faith, and only by those means: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, see also Romans 5:1-2). It would be in vain, and in fact sin in itself, to presume that any of our works could gain us favor with God. Even our faith is not of us, but a gift of God. Scripture clearly speaks against any kind of works salvation: “I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you” (Isaiah 57:12). Our works serve us no benefit whatsoever. Before the righteousness of God, they are meaningless. Yet, if we turn from works and have faith in the Lord:

However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (Romans 4:1-8)

It is by our faith that righteousness is credited to us, not by our works. This is the saving faith in which we are saved by grace. Romans 11:6 probably states it more clearly than anywhere else: “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” If we add any sort of work, it nullifies grace, and we are no longer under it. It is absolutely futile to think that we can be saved by any sort of work. If we seek to nullify grace with our works, we are beyond all hope. For none can be saved of his own merit: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Our so-called “good works” mean nothing to God; in fact, as we are defiled in our sin, even our most righteous acts are repulsive before God. It is only by faith in Christ we are found to be righteous, as His righteousness is imputed upon us. Only in this; only by God's sovereign grace can we be saved.

Therefore, what are we to think that praying a prayer is going to get anyone saved? It is tantamount to works – we are proceeding with an act of our own flesh, and expecting God to look upon us with favor and so save us. Contrarily, it will be repulsive before God, and He will reject it. Many will argue that God must save, because it is promised in Scripture. Those promises are for those who are genuinely repentant and have already been given faith by God. Someone who is expecting to be saved by the act of simply praying a prayer is sorely mistaken. Faith, conviction, repentance and submission are all works that are wrought in the hearts of the believer by God, not by the believer's own efforts. Simply repeating a prayer cannot save! There is no power in it! Salvation is a work of God, by His grace, through faith – and nothing more, nothing less. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved! Stop fooling around with your own worthless deeds! The will not get you anywhere! Do you not have the faith to be saved? Continue to seek the Lord, and if you genuinely desire to yield your entire life to the absolute lordship of Christ, then it will be given. Forget all your works, and lay it all down before Him – for He will save those whom He has drawn.

It gives false assurance

There arises a terrible fallout from the use of this sinner's prayer, in that it has produced a great number of false converts. When these supposed Christians begin to see that their profession may in fact be false, they often seek counseling from their pastors. While well-meaning, many pastors simply ask those who question if they have “prayed the prayer” and if they were sincere about it. If they answer yes, then the pastor pronounces them saved, apart from any evidence of conversion whatsoever, and sends them on their way, justified in their sinful life. If they continue to doubt their salvation, they are told that they need to “yell at the devil” and tell him to leave them alone. The problem is, they aren't telling the devil to leave them alone – they are silencing their own conscience and ignoring the Holy Spirit. Oh, how we have blinded these people! We must change our ways, or their blood shall be on our hands! How can anyone presume that a recited prayer, even done sincerely, will save anyone? We are trusting in a sincere work of the flesh to somehow manipulate the sovereign hand of God, and thus produce “converts” who lack any kind of inward transformation, and show no evidence of being converted whatsoever. As though we can be justified and not be sanctified! Blasphemy! True assurance is that we will hate what is ungodly and love that which is righteous. Jesus talks about this in the beatitudes:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)

Can we not see? It is the broken, the poor in spirit, who lay claim to nothing except for Christ, who shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. The meek, who humble themselves before the Lord and refuse to exalt themselves before anyone, to these, the world is given. It is the one who harbors no malice in his heart that finds mercy before God. Those who yearn for righteousness and in whose heart no wickedness is found, only these shall see God. To those who hold to righteousness even in the face of persecution, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is the assurance: No sinner shall inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21). They will be cast into eternal fire, where there will be no rest. But the righteous will inherit the kingdom of God. Theirs is the Kingdom, eternal life and rest. For the righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17). In this, we have assurance. But those who have merely prayed a prayer and are not living by faith in righteousness, there is only condemnation.

How can we be sure? Again, we must turn to Scripture: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). We must each look at our own lives. We must see if we are being conformed to Christ; being conformed in our thoughts, our feelings and our actions. We must see if we have repentance over sin – not just feeling sorry about sin, but a complete change of mind regarding sin. That we no longer revel in sin, but abhor it; abhorring every bit of sin we find in our lives. Likewise, we will no longer despise the sovereign will of God, but will eagerly submit to His lordship, and we will desire righteousness. If we see this in our lives, we have assurance of salvation. If not, we have much to be concerned about and we ought to seek the Lord's mercy in humility and repentance. Furthermore, the book of 1 John provides an example by which we may examine our lives. Let us examine ourselves, and teach others to do the same. Only in this can we find assurance, not in the act of reciting a prayer.

It is not my intent in any of this to label anyone as a heretic. I know a number of people whom I respect that do use this “sinner's prayer”. But it is neither biblically or historically accurate. But I do say this: It is a grave error to think that having people repeat this prayer will save anyone. Granted, some are saved, but this is an independent work of God that has nothing to do with anyone reciting a prayer. God has pitied and freely given grace those who know and despise their unrighteousness, who are repentant and who are desperate for mercy – not because any of these have casually recited a prayer. It is my hope that I can convince those, especially those in ministry, of the error of their way. I have repented of the sinner's prayer and I hope that you will too. May God open our eyes to see what is true.

References:

[1] Comfort, Ray. God has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life. Bellflower: Living Waters, 2010: 75-79

Preaching the Gospel

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18

The gospel is the very message upon which all Christian belief is based. It is the message by which all are saved, and it is the power of God. It is central to Christianity, and without the gospel, it would be none but a dead religion, emptied of its power. In spite of this, the gospel is rarely preached in most churches, and when it is, it is often a perversion of the true message, having no power to save whatsoever. We have taken the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we have departed from Scripture and filled it with our own worldly knowledge. The apostle Paul forewarned of this: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). As soon as we add to the gospel human wisdom and knowledge, we have emptied the cross of its power and no one will be saved. Such a message will only produce false converts, who want everything to do with a religious system but want nothing to do with God. We are warned in Scripture regarding this:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:6-9)

We must make much of knowing the true message of the gospel, lest we preach a false one. For if we do, we will be held accountable. Preaching of the gospel is not something to be taken lightly. Much effort should be taken in studying and knowing the gospel. As Paul writes:

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

It is very important, therefore, that we resolve to know nothing other than Christ and Him crucified. Anything we add to the gospel ends up taking away from the gospel. We must simply preach the gospel, not relying on any form of manipulation, nor any persuasion – only that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Above all, we must understand what the gospel is. It is not an invitation to prosperity. It is not an opportunity to add an accessory to your life. It is not a call to your best life now. It is not an invitation to an easy life. The message of the gospel is an ultimatum: “Repent or perish!” For, if we do not preach on the impending danger and reality of hell, we have preached no gospel. If we only tell about God's love and forgiveness, and nothing about man's utter depravity, the unyielding justice of God and absolute need of a savior, we have not preached the gospel. If we fail to convict a man of his sins, the message of the cross is meaningless and we have no gospel. Do we entice men who are about to slide into hell with a promise of a good life? Nonsense! We make them aware of the imminent danger and, once made aware, lead them to the saving grace found only in Christ Jesus.

If we are to make much of knowing the gospel, then we must also make much of knowing the Law – and in so, using it to convict the sinner. Everyone will admit that they are a sinner, but most will consider themselves to be good people. We must make it clear to the sinner that he has violated the Law of Almighty God and stands before Him a guilty criminal – in no way a “good” person. We must make man aware of his depravity, and of the perfect, unyielding justice of a holy God. We must make use of the Law, for as Paul writes, “I would not have known what sin was except through the law” (Romans 7:7). If we merely state that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we leave out a huge part of the truth. Sure, we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But worse, we all stand condemned before Him, having broken all of His Law, as the apostle James states, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). We stand as criminals before a just and holy God, and His furious wrath will be poured out upon the guilty.

Once the sinner is made clearly aware of the impending doom, the grace of God becomes greatly magnified. It suddenly becomes meaningful to the sinner. If we fail to convict a person under the Law, the grace of God will mean nothing to him. The best we can do is entice him into a false conversion – and when the promised hardships come, he will fall away. Worse, he may be secure in his false conversion until his death, at which point he will hear the dreaded words: “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23). The sobering reality is that many have come to this fate, and many more will. All because of the modern, contemporary American gospel, which is no gospel at all. Telling people “four spiritual laws”, “five things God wants you to know”, “God has a wonderful plan for you”, etc. will not produce repentance leading to salvation. Their trespass of the Law must be made clear, and that Christ is their only hope. We must make it clear, as in Isaiah 53, that Christ was found blameless before the Law, and yet suffered under God's wrath for the sake of those whom God had chosen.

While making much to know the gospel, we must also make much to preach it. Most pastors, however well-meaning, fail to preach the gospel as often as they should because they are under the presumption that their congregations have already heard it and have no need to hear it again, lest they tire of it. How wrong that is! We cannot preach the gospel enough! Though Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest pastors in church history, would preach on a great variety of topics, every one of his sermons was ultimately written around the gospel. Oh, if only we could have such preaching today! The gospel is the most profound, most beautiful, most powerful message that can be preached, and those who have genuinely been born again will never tire of hearing of it! Please, dear friend, take this to heart. Make much of studying the Bible to understand the gospel (though it can never be fully understood) and pray for the desire and opportunity to preach it. Witnessing to one person and seeing him or her truly saved is more powerful than seeing a hundred potentially false professions at an altar call. The reward of faithfulness is great. Christ has given us his Great Commission, to make disciples of the nations. Let us be faithful in that, that He may be glorified in each and every one of our lives.