Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. [Col 2:8]
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; [Eph 4:14]
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. [2Co 11:13-15]
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. [2Pe 2:1]
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Yehovah your God which I command you. [Deu 4:2]
For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. [Rev 22:18-19]
Asking Jesus to forgive your sins is not a stand alone offer being made to you by God. His New Testament offer is that if you promise (covenant) with Him to; repent of all sin, love and obey Him then He will forgive your sin, cleanse your heart and baptise you in the Holy Spirit. This is sometimes summarised as that to make Jesus our Saviour we also need to make Him our Lord. Water baptism being a powerful physical and spiritual declaration of your commitment to be a disciple of Jesus. It is your declaration of your acceptance of God’s offer of a covenant relationship with Him where you make Him your Saviour and Lord.
Peter said to them 'Repent and let everyone of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' [Act 2:38]
This is the scriptural way to respond to God, but many today do not hear the full gospel but still get moved when hearing about Christ and stop at just asking for their sins to be forgiven. This can lead to confusion which is discussed now.
The following phrases; receiving Christ, opening the door of your heart for Jesus to come in, being born again, being baptised into Christ, being baptised in the Holy Spirit, are all the same spiritual event - when your heart becomes a temple of the living God.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. [Eph 4:4-6]
Due to incomplete understanding some people separate being born again and being baptised in the Holy Spirit into two experiences. In many cases this is because when someone realises they need Christ and ask for their sins to be forgiven, they are then told they have been born again but actually they have not. Their heart never engaged with the matter of fully admitting, renouncing and repenting of all their sin and surrendering to God as their master.
Sometimes someone who thinks they are born again may then seek to be baptised in the Holy Spirit and there is a great struggle and sometimes nothing happens. To receive the Holy Spirit simply requires complete repentance of sin and dedication to walking in godly ways. If you are looking for God to be your assistant or as a bless me machine you will have problems. Following the scriptural pattern described above in the Seekers Section will not fail. God is utterly faithful to the principles given in the scriptures.
If someone breaks their marriage vows and commits adultery their partner has a right to divorce them. In similar fashion in the Old Covenant God made with Israel it was only after they continually playing the whore with other god’s that God eventually removed His Spirit from the Temple. If you break your covenant with God and continue to wilfully sin then your spiritual garments are soiled and eventually you will not be counted as part of His holy bride.
Once saved always saved is the terrifying error of Calvinism. Where it is believed that when you believe in Jesus all your sins past, present and future are all automatically forgiven, whether you sin wilfully or not! God is not mocked you will reap what you sow. Your relationship with God requires you pursue holiness. With God within and all demons cast out, anyone can do this. Yes anybody, however destroyed they have been, you can become an overcomer with the Holy Spirit's support. God’s power is phenomenal the release mechanism is repentance, deliverance and surrender. We finish with the words of John Wesley, probably the most famous holiness preacher ever: (scripture references have been added)
"Calvinists who deny that salvation can ever be lost, reason on the subject in a marvellous way.
They tell us, that no virgin’s lamp can go out, [Mat 25:1-13]
no promising harvest can be choked with thorns,
[Mat 13:3-23, Mar 4:3-20, Luk 8:5-15]
no branch in Christ can ever be cut off by unfruitfulness,
[Joh 15:1-6]
no pardon can ever be forfeited, [Mat 18:23-35]
and no name blotted out of God’s book! [Ex 32:33, Rev 3:5]
They insist that no salt can ever lose its savour,
[Mat 5:13, Luk 14:34-35]
Nobody can ever ‘receive the grace of God in vain’, [2 Co 6:1]
‘bury his talents’, [Mat 25:14-30]
‘neglect such great salvation’, [Heb 2:1-3]
trifle away ‘a day of grace’, [Rom 6:15, Heb 12:15, Jud 1:4]
‘look back’ after putting his hand to the gospel plough.
[Luk 9:62]
Nobody can ‘grieve the Spirit’ till he is ‘quenched’ and strives no more, [Eph 4:30, 1Th 5:19]
nor ‘deny the Lord that bought them’, [Mat 10:32-33]
nor ‘bring upon them swift destruction.’ [2 Pet 2:1]
Nobody, or body of believers, can ever get so lukewarm that Jesus will spew them out of His mouth. [Rev 3:15-16]
May God save us from accepting a doctrine, that must be defended by fallacious reasoning!" ~
John Wesley
Also those who have cast off their first faith have damnation! [1Ti 5:12]
| Prof Solberg |
Once Saved Always Saved - Is it biblical? YT(16m)
This is the belief that all the spiritual gifts ceased after the time of the apostles.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom;
to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit;
to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
to another the working of miracles;
to another prophecy;
to another discerning of spirits;
to another divers kinds of tongues;
to another the interpretation of tongues:
But all these work that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
[1Co 12:7-11]
True gifts are rejected through exposure to seeing the Devil's counterfeit gifts. When Jesus cast out demons they often cast the person to the ground for a short time before leaving. However, to say God is moving when most of the congregation start squirming around on the floor, that is not necessarily the Holy Spirit blessing people but it could be demons manifesting.
If a time of "worship" is the equivalent of a loud rock concert there is likely to be more carnal emotional indulgence rather than true spiritual devotion taking place. The evil released in rock concerts can even release spirits of death taking audience members lives as a sacrifice that will be credited to the satanic account of the performers.
Curses are mentioned in the Old Testament but some say they no longer exist in the New Testament or in a believer. This is easily disproved by asking “Why are you going to die?” The answer is because Adam had the curse of death come upon him and because we are descended from him we have this curse of death upon us too. If generational curses did not exist and if we never sinned then we would not die. Generational curses are easily broken by faith in the power made available to us through the death and resurrection of Christ. This matter is dealt with in more detail in the Set Free to Love section.
Demons did not all get sent to Hell when Jesus rose from the dead. They are not all in Africa. They proliferate all over Europe and are hiding in vast quantities in the UK.
The basic line is that if you sow a seed gift into the preachers ministry you will receive a hundred fold return. It does not happen, you just make the preacher rich. It is right to give and then you will prosper, but not through using this legalistic ritual.
| Rack of Glory |
Christianity without the unbelieving compromise YT(6m)