False Teacher Warning: John MacArthur

Regarding false teachers and the need to warn, see Matthew 7:15-20; Romans 16:17; Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 1:28; 1 John 4:1; 2 John 9-11.

In this short 2-minute video linked below, listen carefully to the question asked at the beginning which proves that water baptism is essential, because God plainly and repeatedly said so. Please read the rebuttal to MacArthur’s answer below after watching the video.

Please think objectively. Did MacArthur’s response really prove anything? He tried to explain away all those plain verses, to no avail.… Read more

Ignorance is Not Bliss

First John 2:16 lists three categories of sin: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” These are ways Satan tempts men to sin against God (Gen. 3; Mt. 4), but the Bible also speaks of another category of sin—sins of ignorance. Many have sinned against God in ignorance without being motivated by selfish desires of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. Even so, ignorance does not excuse disobedience to God, so the saying, “Ignorance is bliss” is not a Biblical concept.… Read more

You Are Blessed

If you are a faithful child of God, you are blessed in the greatest ways possible! Here are some of those tremendous blessings:

  • Amazing grace and mercy we all so desperately need, realized in Christ: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7; cf. 1:3; Titus 2:11-12).
  • Having assurance that all past sins were forgiven when you were immersed into Christ: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22; cf.
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“I Know In My Heart That I’m Saved”

I once asked a woman working in a convenience store if she believed the Bible and if she believed in Heaven and Hell. She nodded her head and said she did. I then asked if she could tell me what I would need to do to go to Heaven if I had never become a Christian. Before she could answer, her female co-worker spoke up rather loudly and said, “Get down on your knees and pray.” … Read more

Did Christ Do ALL the Work on the Cross?

Christ finished His main mission on earth by giving His life on the cross, saying, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30), but today some are twisting His statement into a false doctrine. They claim that since Christ said, “It is finished” on the cross, there are no “works” (no actions) men can do today that will have any affect on their salvation. This has led some to the conclusion that baptism cannot be essential, and that once a person is saved, there is no work he is required to do.… Read more

Questions About the Thief on the Cross

If you believe the account of the penitent thief on the cross being forgiven proves that people do not have to be baptized today to become saved, here are a few questions to consider:

1. Can it be proven that the thief had never been baptized to have his past sins forgiven? (see Matthew 3:2, 5-6; Mark 1:4; John 4:1-2).

2. Is it possible to sin after baptism? (see Acts 8:12-ff).

3. Is it possible to be forgiven of sins committed after baptism?… Read more

Time Does Not Wash Away Sin

Time does not wash away sin. Twenty years or more may pass after a sin is committed, and men’s memories may fade, but God’s memory does not. Children of God can deceive themselves into thinking they are fine or someone they love is fine, even when repentance has not occurred, but the blood of Christ is the only thing that can wash away sin, and simply waiting a certain length of time does not make one contact the blood.… Read more

Would You Dare Pull Someone Away from Christ?

How often have faithful members of the Lord’s church begun teaching a lost person, only to have someone else convince the potential convert that he does not need to listen? How often has someone been baptized into Christ, only to have friends or family convince him to leave Christ’s church and become a part of some group that is not in the Bible and not truly following the Bible? Statements or questions like the following are often posed to the person being pulled away: “Who told you that you had to be baptized to be saved?… Read more

Was Water Baptism Only Required for Jews?

When Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost asked what they should do to be saved, Peter commanded them to “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…Save yourselves” (Acts 2:38, 40). In efforts to explain away the clear teaching of Acts 2 and the necessity of water baptism for salvation today, some claim that water baptism was only required for Jews, not Gentiles, and only for a temporary period.… Read more

The One Body of the Saved

What do the following things from the Bible have in common?

– The body of Christ

– The flock of Christ

– The fold of Christ

– The kingdom of Christ

– The nation of Christ

– The church of Christ

– The nation of Christ

– The family of Christ

– The bride of Christ

They are all Biblical descriptions of the one group of people saved by Christ, the group purchased with the blood of Christ in the first century A.D.… Read more

Satan Has Convinced You

Satan and his influencers have convinced many people that a person does not have to obey God to get to Heaven. They have been sold the lie that as long as someone “accepts Jesus into his heart,” nothing else really matters. Friends, anybody who tells you that you don’t have to obey God is working for Satan, whether they realize it or not. Don’t you know that has been Satan’s plan from the beginning in the Garden of Eden, to convince man not to obey God?… Read more

Surprised When Searching the Scriptures

With today’s technology, Bible study has become easier and quicker than ever before. One innovation that expedites Bible study is the ability to search for anything in the Bible very quickly with Bible software. One can learn rapidly from some simple searches, and many people are very surprised at what they find (or fail to find). For example:

  • Search for the phrase “faith only” and you only get one verse: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24).
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Question Your Answers!

If someone were to ask you why you believe what you believe, or why you do what you do religiously, would you be able to answer? More importantly, would your answers come from the Bible?  God commands us to “…be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15). Are we able to do that? In the next chapter of Peter’s same epistle, we are commanded: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). … Read more

The Seven Churches of Asia and Their Works

Did Jesus emphasize works as an essential part of man’s relationship with God, or did He emphasize “faith alone”? Please notice what Jesus said to the seven churches of Asia:

I know thy works…Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent…I know thy works…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life…I know thy works…I know thy works…and thy works…I will give unto every one of you according to your works…And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations…I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.Read more