Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Here are some of the lyrics to the classic church hymn, Amazing Grace...
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
Increasingly, many churches are removing the term “a wretch like me” and replacing it with “that saved and strengthened me.” This is horrible! Folks, we are all wretched sinners! If you have a problem with admitting that you are a wretched sinner, you'd better make sure that you're saved...
1st John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Perhaps you say, “Well I'm a sinner, but not a wretch!” My friend, you are a stinking wretched sinner, and so am I. You deserve to burn in Hell for all eternity in torment and suffering, punished for your sins, and so do I. If it weren't for God's merciful grace, the ground would immediately open beneath us and Hell would swallow us alive forever and ever.
Here is an excellent article titled, “Where
Have all the Wretches Gone?” by Timothy C. Tennent.
Turning from Sins is Not Necessary to Be Saved
In 1902, a Wesleyan Methodist minister named Frank M. Graham wrote the song titled, “The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago.” But Mr. Graham wrote one line of heresy in his song, telling people to “repent of all your sins” to be saved, which is not what the Bible teaches. If you believe that you must turn away from sinful behavior to be saved, you are not saved. Either God does the saving, all of it, or else you are not saved. Do you mean to tell me preacher that, “You Can Trust Christ As Your Savior and Live Like The Devil and Still Go To Heaven”? (Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold). Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, because we are saved by submitting to God's righteousness (Romans 10:3-4; Philippians 3:9), and not by our own righteousnesses (which are all as filthy rags according to Isaiah 64:6).
Romans
4:5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom
God imputeth righteousness without works.” One
thing that I never hear Lordship Salvation heretics talking about is the
Imputed Righteousness of God. Case in point, in Evangelist Ray Comfort's
popular, “The Evidence Bible,” he has no comments whatsoever for Romans 4:5-6.
That speaks volumes!!! Ray Comfort is a false prophet regarding the Gospel.
If you think you can lose eternal life, you don't have it. Please listen to the excellent MP3 sermon by Dr. Hank Lindstrom titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation?”
Many of the older songs contain heresy, because of the evil influence of Calvinism in many of the churches. Here is the last stanza of the song “The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago” as it was originally penned...
Now sinner seek the Lord repent of all your sins
Cause this he has commanded if you would enter in
And then if you should live a hundred years below
Well you know you got it settled cause you settled it long ago
Long ago (down on my knees)...
Now here is what many Baptist churches changed it
to, with which I agree 100% needed to be done in order to continue singing the
song...
O sinner, trust the Lord, be cleansed of all your sin,
For thus He hath provided for you to enter in;
And then if you should live a hundred years below,
Up there you’ll not regret it—you settled long ago.
My friend, there is not one Scripture in the entire Holy Bible which tells us to turns from sins to be saved. People have the horrible tendency when they hear the word “repent” to add the mental phrase “of your sins.” The big problem is that these extra words are not Biblical.
I really love listening to Pastor Charles Lawson of the Temple Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee preach. Unfortunately, and kindly, he teaches a wrong meaning of repentance. Listen for yourself to what he says...
Pastor Charles Lawson Is A Calvinist Who Denies Being Saved By Simply Believing The Gospel
Biblical repentance is “a change of mind,” a
change of mind from wrong thoughts to believing
the Gospel.
I Am a Big Sinful Wretch and So are You
We're ALL woeful sinners! If you deny that, then you are naive my friend. 1st John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” God says we are ALL sinners. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Thank God for the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which has redeemed sinners for all of civilization. 1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
