I'm Afraid That Carnal "Christianity" is Also Sending People to Hell By the Multitudes!
I'm getting tired of arguing with the "Easy Christianity" movement. They have all the nerve to slander me as a Pharisee or whatever false accusation they can give. Their malicious attacks launched with a lot of logical fallacies involved such as the strawman attacks (claiming to have beaten me), Ad Hominem, poisoning the well and Nom Sequitur attacks just to name a few. Worse, they have taken the Scriptures straight out of their context (which also drives me dizzy listening to it) and even if I show to them the Scriptures in context they still refuse to believe. They want to defend their damning doctrine of carnal "Christianity".
The doctrine of the carnal Christian says that one can have faith but that faith may never produce works. They say that these works aren't evidence of salvation. Honestly, where do you find that in Scripture? Doesn't Jesus already warn in Matthew 7:16-20 saying: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Do I say that good works are required to get saved or stay saved? I don't and please take time to understand what I'm talking about. What I'm emphasizing is that no matter how immature the Christian is that they can't live like the rest of the world. It's the absolute truth of the matter that true faith begets works. I'm amazed at how people can cook up such a doctrine. If works salvation is so horrible then so is the idea that a person can get saved and stay the same. Worse, they have distorted the whole idea of what it means to be Once Saved Always Saved. There's a difference between a person who's Once Saved Always Saved vs. the person who's Once Prayed Assuming Saved.
Many today are told that if they pray a prayer they're automatically saved. Now I have nothing against the sinner's prayer. Some people actually had a true conversion from a sinner's prayer evangelism not because of it but because the pastor wasn't preaching a watered down message. This same pastor would question the credibility of conversions. Today, we're lacking pastors who question the credibility of the conversion of people who claim to be saved but evidence suggests otherwise. As long as they supposedly said this prayer then they're supposedly saved. That's not what the Bible says. Revelation 3:20 doesn't only talk about inviting Jesus into your life but also what happens after it happens. If you've truly asked Jesus into your heart (though this term isn't really biblical) then if He's in your heart, your life ought to start to differentiate from the rest of the sinful world. What does it mean to have the grace of God? Here's what Titus 2:11-14 says:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
I don't see God's grace in those verses to be a license to sin. Listen, only false teachers teach that God's grace is a license to sin (Jude 1:4). If you've got the grace of God then your life will be different. God's grace is never a license to sin and it's rather the counterattack against sin. It grants power against sin. Christians are saved not only to serve but given that power to serve. These carnal "Christians" may say that so and so is unteachable. What they ignore is that God's grace makes the unteachable, teachable. That's what grace is about. It's undeserved and it's not by one's own effort. God is too holy and too loving to save anyone but never change their desires to love and serve Him. I have no reason to believe that I can get saved and live like the rest of the world. No, I may not be perfect but God will give me the grace to overcome sin. I have no power against sin on my own but by the grace of God!
But ye believe not, because ye are not of My sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.
The characteristic of a truly saved person who has a personal loving and knowing relationship with Jesus Christ is characterized by obedience. A Christian isn't perfect but they're being perfected. The characteristic of Jesus' personal relationship with His sheep is that they hear His voice and they follow Him. Nobody and I mean nobody can truly be a follower of Christ and remain perpetually disobedient. It's true that Jesus gives them eternal life and they shall never perish while Jesus also warned that such people are characterized by the desire to obey and serve Him. Nobody can be a Christian and still be living like the rest of the world. Immature Christians may have some way to go but they don't live like the rest of the world. If you're really Once Saved Always Saved then it's manifested by a loving obedience and relationship with Jesus Christ.
Why do the carnal "Christian" crowds hate Reformed Theology and preachers like Charles H. Spurgeon? Spurgeon always had his diary against Antinomianism. They immediately conclude that he teaches works salvation because he warned that a faith that doesn't produce works is a false faith. James 2:14-26 says:
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
That's a very strong warning and I'm afraid that the passage is frequently distorted. I've seen Papists and Arminians teach that such passage adds works to getting saved never mind James 2:10-11 warns that no one can keep the whole Law. The other is that even with the obvious warning that a dead faith can't save anyone they still insist that it saves. Again, the Scriptures always warn that true faith results to good works. I dare such people to read Hebrews 11 to prove to me that the faith of the people mentioned produced no works. They'll read it but they'll just take things out of context and further proceed to twist the Word of God as they want to do so. They're no better than the Papists who add works to salvation yet live lives like they have a license to sin.
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Do they not read, "And such were some of you." There's sanctification from a life of sin. There's a real conversion that's going to change the life of the person. The test of true conversion also goes, "And such were some of you." The more I read the Book of Acts and see the Gospel spread, the more I see sin is not celebrated but repented of. If that repentance doesn't repent of sin then it's not truly repentance. True repentance produces good works as a result of it. It's just a sad fact so many people actually deny that they hate true holiness and sanctification. They want salvation to sin not salvation from sin. It's going to be a sad thing that such people are just as lost as those who trust in their own righteousness for salvation.