This past week I was handed a small card being used by a local Baptist church in door knocking. The title above was used.
The card points out “The Bible says:”, and makes four legitimate points, citing the relevant scripture
- “You must understand you are a sinner” (Rom. 3:23).
- “You must understand there is a penalty for sin” (Rom. 6:23).
- “We must believe that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the death to give you eternal life” (John 3:16).
- “You can have eternal life and go to Heaven when you die” (Rom. 6:23, 10:13).
At this point, however, the card stops quoting scripture. The claim is made that “The Bible says”, but no scripture is actually cited. So, without scriptural proof, the card claims…
- “If we completely trust in Jesus to save us, not ourselves, that He will give us eternal life.” (The statement is an accurate one, though poorly stated. However, the interpretation of that statement, as taught by Baptist doctrine, is not).
- “Once you are saved, you can not lose your salvation, it is everlasting.” (No passage mentioned, because this is egregious error. One of many passages that deny this contention is Hebrews 6:4-6. As Jesus stated, we must “Be faithful unto death” to “receive the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
Finally, the card offers:
“Let us help you word a prayer to tell God that you believe in Jesus Christ and want to be saved and go to Heaven when you die:”
The prayer is as follows:
“Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner, and I deserve to go to Hell, but I believe that you died for me and rose from the dead. Please save me and give me eternal life. I’m only trusting you to save me. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Again, no scripture was offered, because none exists. There is no command in scripture to pray in order to be saved. There is no example in scripture where any alien sinner ever prayed, and was saved as a direct result of that prayer.
Do you want to know what the Bible actually says? Read about the Jews conversion in Acts 2, or any other example of conversion in that book. All of them, when they heard the gospel preached, believed (2:37), repented (2:38), and were baptized (2:38) in order to receive the “remission of sins” and enjoy salvation (2:40-41).
If you want to be 100% sure you will go to heaven when you die, obey all of God’s instructions, not just the ones that fit your peculiar doctrine.
To see The Patternists Page on Facebook, click here, and Like!
