Jesus Himself warned us repeatedly that there would be false prophets who, like ferocious wolves, would come into our churches and spiritually destroy congregations.
Today, John MacArthur preached a sermon on the radio that was largely concerned with what “saving faith” is.
Even though he is widely accepted and highly regarded in Christian circles, through his radio broadcasts and his books, John MacArthur is a false prophet. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I have serious problems with what John MacArthur teaches, but more importantly, ~God~ has a fierce disagreement with what John MacArthur teaches.
Very simply, John MacArthur has been teaching for many years that if you have big sins in your life, then you will not go to Heaven, ~even if you are a believer in Jesus~.
This directly contradicts the Bible, which says that ~all~ of our sins have been forgiven totally, and we are saved forever, in the moment that we believe the Gospel truth that Jesus is true God and true man, and that Jesus died for all of our sins on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day.
Every human being is a sinner.
All human beings will go to Hell to be punished for their sins, the very minute that they die, if they do not have Jesus as their Savior. This is God’s justice against people who have done evil. (This is the justice that everyone wants for everyone else, but not themselves.)
The sins in a person’s life do ~not~ determine whether a person will go to Heaven.
What determines whether a person will go to Heaven or Hell is whether that person believes the Gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians15:1-4) and therefore:
has been (past tense) permanently forgiven of all his or her sins, past, present and future, by God, through Jesus Christ’s substitutionary perfect life and His death on the cross (totally satisfactory to God), and His burial and His resurrection (1st Corinthians 15:1-4)
has been made a new person in Christ, permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13,14), and
and has been permanently guaranteed to inherit Heaven.
(Ephesians 1:13,14, again)
This is the Gospel (1Corinthians 15:1-4), the Amazing Good News, and the results of believing that Gospel, contained in the Bible.
I have also heard “saving faith” being misrepresented by many churches and preachers, (most notably by Billy Graham), as: “making a commitment to Jesus,” or, “having a relationship with Jesus,” or, “making a decision for Christ.”
“Making a commitment to Jesus” could be a commitment to live a good life and be saved by your good works–with Jesus as your “coach.” (This is Roman Catholic works-righteousness.)
But that is ~not~ the saving Gospel.
“Having a relationship with Jesus” as a “moral life coach” also will not save you.
Also, no one is saved by “doing his best” with Jesus as his coach.
“Making a decision for Christ” to follow the moral precepts of Jesus is ~not~ the same thing as believing in what Jesus ~has done~ to save you.
Salvation is a ~Free Gift~ from God.
Once we receive salvation in Christ by faith, it is permanent, and it can never and will never be taken away (by God or by the person himself, nor by anyone else) who has once believed in Jesus. God guarantees this in Ephesians 1:13,14; and John 10:28-30.
Believing who Jesus is (God and man) and what he did for you on the cross (died for your sins), is called “being justified by faith.” (“Justification.”)
Obeying Jesus’ commands, obeying the Holy Spirit in your intuition, believing that God ~has made~ you a new person in Christ, being filled with the love of God, and becoming more Christ-like through the obedience of grace, is called “sanctification.”
If you try to combine Justification and Sanctification, you will get the most deadly and common false doctrine that exits:
the false teaching that you can save yourself by being good and holy.
This is sinful human pride.
This is the false doctrine that is taught by all of the worldly religions of Man: Judaism (The Law of the Ten Commandments), Islam (Sharia Law), Hinduism (Karma), Buddhism (Dharma), and Atheism (Being a Good Person).
You ~cannot~ save yourself by avoiding sin or by doing good things–because you would still have sins that would need to be forgiven.
Once a person believes in Jesus, it is important to that person’s ~fellowship~ connection with God that he or she be exhorted and encouraged, with God’s help, to forsake sin and to live a righteous life, by God’s grace and the faith that God gives.
But, without faith in Christ as Savior: forsaking sin, living a righteous life and doing good works cannot save you–and cannot sanctify you.
Salvation is a ~Free Gift~ through faith in Christ, whereby God enables us to be forgiven through Jesus, who alone forgives sin.
God’s apostle, Paul, twice said in Galatians 1:8,9, that he (Paul) cursed and damned to Hell anyone who preached a false Gospel.
Telling people that they are saved by a definition of “faith” that includes a certain level of practical life holiness is to completely cancel the Gospel and, indeed, to preach another Gospel, a false Gospel that God damns people to Hell.
(Good works and sanctification can flow, but not automatically, from a person who has already been saved through believing in Jesus.)
The major false Gospel in the world today says that you are saved by your continued faith and by your good works and by your good life–
–rather than by the biblical truth that you are saved through faith in what Jesus has done for you and what He has made you on the cross and through His resurrection: the true Gospel of God that is taught clearly and simply in the Bible. –C.S.
Grace, Insight, and Art 