There are two methods through which we can know beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus is who He claimed to be. One, by studying the four gospels, evidence of His miracles, and the historical records of those whom He ministered to during His ministry. This has become the primary method used in seminaries. The other is to be born of God's Spirit in compliance with His instructions, which is the only way we can establish a personal relationship with Jesus and gain entrance into heaven. I said that to emphasize, that herein, when speaking of someone that knows Jesus, I refer to one who has been born of the Holy Spirit.
God's adversary (Satan) has the ability to use our pride, our sensitivities, and his power to influence our thoughts to keep us from reading something he does not want us to read. I remind you of that because this writing will bring to light Biblical truth that Satan does not want you to know. Because of this, I have put forth an effort to write this book while under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, displaying Biblical truths without appearing condescending.
Paul tells us how to limit Satan's ability to influence our thinking; saying, "Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Above all, taking the shield of faith, through which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one," (Ephesians 6:11&16). The word "wiles" refers to the various devices Satan has available to deceive us. The fiery darts are thoughts Satan shoots into our mind to influence what we are thinking in an effort to guide our thoughts in the direction he wants them to go.
It may seem that these next few paragraphs contain every warning in the Bible pertaining to Satan's goal to deceive those coming to our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is, they actually contain less than 5% of the many warnings found in the New Testament text. Bringing them to your attention, coupled with the following paragraph will help you better understand why so many were given.
The following statement applies to those of all educational levels and all professional and non-professional skill levels. During the 38 years that I've been serving Jesus, I've never met a professing Christian who would admit the possibility his spiritual teachers may have deceived him with false doctrine. Because of pride, most converts are quick to point out they know the truth because their pastor teaches right out of the Bible, and they read the Scriptures along with him during every service. If you doubt this, then I challenge you to conduct your own survey; your results will be the same.
If we were to believe those making such statements, we would also have to believe that Jesus did not know what He was talking about when He said, "Take heed that no man deceive you? For many shall come in my name, confessing that I am the Christ; and shall deceive many," (Matthew 24:4-5).
On that subject, Paul said, "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," (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Peter warned us saying, "There were false Prophets among the people, and there will be false teachers among you," (2 Peter 2:1). The Apostle John said, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world," (Rev. 12:9).
If we are to believe that all converts know the truth, we must also believe that Satan cannot deceive anyone today. So how can we reconcile the difference between what most converts believe versus what Jesus and the Apostles warned us about? In reality, most converts believe those who disagree with them are deceived, but refuse to acknowledge that Satan could possibly deceive them.
The truth is, we must humble ourselves by stepping down from the pedestal of pride upon which we have perched ourselves, and start taking the warnings of Jesus and the Apostles seriously. We must also cast away our preconceived ideas about what we think the Scriptures mean, and start reading them in earnest.
The Bible states that, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:16). This means that every verse in the Bible applies to each of us, whether Jew or gentile. Nevertheless, because of Hebrews 6:4-6, Hal Linsey proclaimed on his Christian television show that the book of Hebrews was written strictly for Hebrew Christians! (Discover why in part three).
Speaking to the people of this church age, God said, "Your habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit, they [the People] refuse to know me," (Jeremiah 9:6). Remember, the Jewish people lived under the Law, and it was not possible for them to be born of the Spirit, through which they could know God. However, in this church age, through Jesus, we can. Clearly, the deceit which God is referring to is the abundance of false doctrine currently being taught by carnal-minded men.
The main purpose of this writing is to aid those seeking Jesus, by explaining in our Lords own words, exactly what we must do to be born of the Spirit. After which, we can then factually know that Jesus is Lord, and we obtain absolute assurance of our salvation.
Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,"(John 15:13). Friends are people whom we personally know, not acquaintances, or those we merely believe in. Jesus laid down His life to enable us to be born of His Spirit, but Satan seeks to prevent seekers from receiving that life, by deceiving them, such as leading converts to believe they are born again by merely believing in Jesus.
The following is a sampling of three doctrines currently being taught by carnal-minded men, each of which are widely accepted by most denominations, but are easily proven false. (1) Those who teach there will be a great revival before the second coming of Christ. (2) Those who teach that the rapture of the church will occur before the Anti-Christ arrives onto the scene. (3) Those who teach that the rapture will not occur until the end of the seven year tribulation period.
Paul said, "Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him [the rapture] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the rapture] shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin [Anti-Christ] be revealed, the son of perdition," (2 Thess. 2:1&3). Those Scriptures clearly state that the rapture will not occur before the Anti-Christ arrives onto the scene, and there will be no revival before Jesus returns.
In Zechariah chapter fourteen, we read about the stage being set for the battle of Armageddon. Verse five states, "And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto A'zal: You shall flee, like as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." According to Zechariah, the saints of God will come back with our Lord to fight the great battle, which proves the rapture will happen before the battle is fought. More proof on these three doctrines will be found in part five.
Nevertheless, believing the rapture will occur before the tribulation period either begins, or ends, and believing there will be a great revival before-hand, will not keep anyone out of Heaven. But, not being prepared for the time frame the rapture will occur, very well could. Nevertheless, the purpose of this book is not to concentrate on such petty doctrines, but to disprove beyond any shadow of doubt, the abundance of false doctrine that absolutely will destroy you.
Peter wrote, "Be sober and vigilant, because the adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, is walking about seeking those whom he might devour," (1 Peter 5:8). The Scriptures warns us that Satan works almost exclusively within the ranks of Christianity! For example, Christianity has two hundred factions, while the other major world religions have, at the most, only four. This is because Satan and his cunning spirits are kept busy trying to deceive those coming to Jesus, because only through Him can we be spiritually born again.
In fact, Satan's all-out assault on Christianity has been successful, which is why the perceived church is presently perched perilously upon a precipice destined for a great fall. In reality, the perceived church is hurdling towards extinction, and all of the Scriptures required to prove that will be found in parts one through five of this writing. But, rather than adding my personal opinion into the mix as to why this is happening, we will allow God's word to speak for itself: Because the answer, and the proof, can only be found in the Scriptures.
There is a lot of truth to the old cliché: "Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see." However, if a man can back up his statements from the Bible without taking any verses out of context, then it would not be conjecture on his part, and perhaps we should listen to what he has to say.
Jesus said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me," (John 5:39). Jesus knew that Satan would "pervert" the gospel message in an attempt to deceive converts into believing they had received eternal life, when in fact, they had not. Jesus declared, "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free," (John 8:31-32). That Scripture has borne the brunt of many jokes, but no truer words have ever been spoken.
To prevent God from reaping a harvest here on earth, Satan immediately set out to pervert the gospel. His success provoked the Apostle Paul to scold those in the early church saying to them, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ," (Galatians 1:6-7).
Jesus advised us saying, "Strive to enter in at the straight gate: For many I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able," (Luke 13:24). Jesus is the straight gate, and those trying to enter in through Him, "but unable to do so," are the lukewarm Christians coming to Him through the perverted gospel. Paul warned us about this, saying, "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived," (2 Tim 3:13).
Paul scolded many of the carnal-minded men thinking themselves to be wise. Saying, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use of the Scriptures have trained themselves to discern good from evil," (NIV Hebrews 5:11-14).
Our Lord wants us to know whether or not we have been born of His Spirit, and the following are just two of many verses on the subject you will find in part one. Paul said, "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God," (Romans 8:16). John said, "Hereby we know that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because he has given us of His Spirit," (1 John 4:13).
After accepting Jesus, we embark on a faith-walk and live strictly by faith, because generally, at first, we don't feel any different than we did before. However, when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our heart, a change happens. This is due to the advent of a peace that passes all men's understanding, and this is when we truly know that we have received the gift of eternal life, and that God's Spirit dwells within us which gives us complete assurance of our salvation.
Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," (John 3:3). However, that will not happen for most of those being led to Christ through the "Roman Road to Salvation." That method, in use for the past 700 years, is responsible for the many carnal-minded pastors and lukewarm Christians in our churches today. It is also why the perceived church is self-destructing.
The "Roman Road to Salvation," consists of the following seven Scriptures. The perverted version of John 3:16 (to be explained at the end of part one). Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 5:8, "But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 10: 9-10, "If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Last of all, Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
When taking those seven Scriptures out of context along with the dozens of other Scriptures on the salvation message, nothing less than a total misunderstanding of what salvation really means could possibly be the outcome. Because of the way those verses are ministered to new converts, many of them come away thinking that salvation comes through a simple belief in God.
Our Heavenly Father desires for us to know with absolute certainty that we have been born of the Spirit, which is why He inspired Paul to instruct us saying: "Examine yourselves, to discover whether or not you are in the faith; prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates?" (2 Cor. 13:5). The word "prove" means to be in possession of factual knowledge; a simple belief is not sufficient, but it is a beginning. The word reprobate means, a lost soul, or rather, not of the elect.
Jesus Himself gave us the barometer by which we can determine whether or not we have been born of His Spirit. He said, "You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength," (Mark 12:30). He also said, "He that loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me," (Matt. 10:37).
We are not born into this world with the capacity to love God in that manner. However, Paul explained how we could saying: "The Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given to us," (Roman 5:5). God is love, and when His Spirit takes up residence in our heart, so does His love, and it is only through His kind of love (agape) that we are then capable of loving Him above all else. (More on this subject in part one).
Therefore, since we are not born into this world with the innate capacity to love God in that manner, but you know in your heart that you already do, then you have been born again. If you do not already possess this kind of love for God, you need not worry, because part one of this book contains the actual salvation message preached by Jesus and the Apostles on how to be born of the Holy Spirit. While reading, you will obtain a very precise and complete understanding of this process.
Jesus said, "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent," (John 17:3). Notice that Jesus said "know you": He did not say that "belief is sufficient," although that is the first step toward "knowing" Him. Thus far, you have read just three of dozens of Scriptures which prove that you can have a personal relationship with Jesus, all of which will be found in parts one and two.
A carnal-man is a man who has received Jesus, but remains natural-minded because he has not renewed his mind as per God's instructions. Hebrews 5:14 states that we do this by reading God's word. Paul also said, "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," (Romans 12:2). When we obediently and systemically read the Scriptures, God works imperceptibly to gradually renew our minds. (Note: part four of this book contains God's instructions showing us how to grow spiritually).
All too often when discussing a Scripture with a member of the clergy, or even a novice layperson, the response is "Well that's your interpretation," or "you are taking that verse out of context, if you were to let ten people read that verse, you would probably get ten different interpretations." And of course, they would be correct if the ten people were new-converts still on their faith-walk. Jesus explained why that would be the case saying: "I thank thee O' Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because you have hid these things [the Scriptures] from the wise and prudent, but revealed them unto babes," (Matt. 11:25).
Converts become babies in Christ Jesus when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in their heart. However, until then, they remain carnal-minded, which is why when speaking of appointing people to serve in the church, the Apostle Paul said, "Not a novice, least being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil," (1 Timothy. 3:6).
Paul also said, "The natural man, [carnal-minded man] receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they [the Scriptures] are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ,"(1 Cor. 2:14-16). Thus, those who have been born of the Spirit, have God's Spirit abiding within them to teach them spiritual things, providing that they are reading the Scriptures obediently and systematically.
Referring to carnal-minded lukewarm Christians, Jesus said, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I wish that you were either cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth," (Rev.3:15-16). Lukewarm Christians are not cold, because they have accepted Jesus; nor are they hot, because they have not yet received God's Spirit within them, although, they have been taught to believe they have.
Jesus taught us how to recognize those who preach the perverted gospel: He said, "You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles," (Matt. 7:16). Everyone listening to Jesus at the time had personally picked both grapes and figs, and were familiar with those fruit trees, therefore they knew there are no thorns on a grapevine and no thistles on a fig tree. He was simply saying: If you are as familiar with my Word, you will be able to recognize carnal-minded men by the message they preach.
God instructed us saying, "Seek you out of the book of the Lord, and read: not one of these shall fail," (Isiah 34:16). He also said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you,"(Hosea 4:6). Systematic readers of the Scriptures will discover truth, learn to recognize false prophets, and they won't fail. Jesus truly desires to bless you, which is why He said, "If you abide in me, and my word abides in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you," (John 15:7).
Paul did not want anyone to miss the rapture, and he warns us saying, "You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if a man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His,"(Romans 8:9). Notice his words "If a man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." He then explains why, saying, "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you," (Romans 8:11). According to Paul, if God's Spirit does not dwell within us, we will be left behind.
Many of those in the ministry today do not believe Satan is real, and therefore fail to recognize his role in our lives or that of the Church. Children deceived into believing that Santa Claus is real, only to learn a few years later that he isn't, never forget that the adults who deceived them were the people they loved and trusted the most. Satan uses that breach of trust to make many children to grow up thinking that perhaps God is like Santa Claus, and He doesn't exist either. And, it is entirely possible that many such children who grew up in church, and then became preachers, are the end products of the "Santa Claus" deception, which is why they do not believe Satan exists.
For that, and other reasons too numerous to mention, carnal Christians and non-Christians alike regard Satan as a bogey-man, or a mere figment of the imagination. Satan worked hard to get his status reduced to that of Santa Claus, because that makes it easier for him to deceive those coming to Christ. After all, how can he deceive anyone if he doesn't exists?
All denominational leaders will tell you there is no false doctrine being taught in their churches. However, each denomination has established seminaries to train those entering the ministry because they want to prevent the minds of their future ministers from becoming polluted with false doctrine which they perceive is taught in seminaries. Something to think about is it not?
This writing challenges some of the most established ideologies introduced into Christianity during the Dark Ages. Therefore, pains have been taken to make this book as easy to understand as possible, while also delivering an essential and powerful message. While reading, you will learn that most of the mainstream clergy preaching today vastly understate the importance of the Holy Spirit's role within our lives, and most Pentecostals exploit this role; both of these teachings are equally destructive to the body of Christ.
Every new translation of the Bible printed since 1971 has altered key-words to agree with the perverted gospel (this is dealt with in parts one through three). Any lawyer will tell you that words and their proper meaning are very important, and when it comes to understanding the gospel, these textual alterations lead to the difference between spiritual life and death.
The prideful leaders of Judaism in the first century BC believed they knew what was best for their followers, which is why they would not let a miracle working Jesus teach them. However, we now know their ignorance of the Scriptures proved to be the Jew's downfall. Likewise, the vast majority of today's carnal-minded Christian leaders believe they know what's best for their followers, but converts will soon learn for themselves whether or not they are following a man of God, or a carnally minded novice who is unknowingly being inspired by Satan.
The Bible states, "I charge, [command] you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, and, out of season, [meaning when you feel like it and when you don't]; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all long suffering, and doctrine," (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Clearly, we are to reprove those in error of the Scriptures.
Time is running out. I beg those of you who love the Lord to join with me, pick up the mantle of righteousness in defense of God's word, as did Martin Luther, and others who were unwilling to be man-pleasers. All of whom knew they would suffer persecution for speaking out against those teaching false doctrine: not from the world, but from the perceived church itself.