Fallacy of the Sinning Christian
The Plain Truth about Sin
“We know that any one born of God does not sin” (1 John 5:18a, RSV). Is there any plainer way to say it? The truth about sin is that it leads to death. But, the good news is that by faith in Jesus, you can stop sinning and receive eternal life. Your salvation absolutely depends on this. You will not be able to enter heaven in the next life unless you are holy in this life. The modern church’s teaching…
If We Confess Our Sins
“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” (1 John 1:8-9). These words combated the first-century Gnostic heresy that the soul could be clean while the body remained sinful. Today, this heresy continues as, “When God looks at you, he doesn’t see you, he sees Jesus.” This fantasy…
The Second Work of Grace
In the first work of grace, a person is born again and saved from acts of sin. However, as in the Corinthian church, the inclination to sin remains. Jesus desires to sanctify entirely every believer so that this carnal nature is removed and the Christian is made perfect in love. This “high road,” as John Wesley called it, is largely denied by the modern Christian church, and we have fallen so low that many even deny the soul-saving first work of grace.…
The Lie of the Sinning Christian
American and Western Christians today are the children of a modern age of heresy. We possess unprecedented education for pastors, previously unheard of resources for radio and television, and greater religious freedom than ever before–and yet billions around the world, more than at any other point in history, have never heard the name of Jesus. What has so paralyzed the Christian church and resulted in her degradation into sin and failure to fulfill the Great Commission? The fault is not…
The Surprising Antichrist
Did you know that the antichrist is already here? Just as the Jews missed the Christ because he wasn’t what they expected, many professing Christians miss the antichrist because it isn’t what they expect. The antichrist is not a man who will rise up for a few years at the end of time. The antichrist is the Gnostic delusion that teaches, “You’re saved,” while denying the necessity of quitting sin. Today, will you honestly face John Bunyan’s question, “Wilt thou…
O Lord, Change Me!
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, if you may not be changed inwardly and may become as young children, you may never, never enter into the kingdom of the heavens†(Matthew 18:3, Lavender’s New Testament). This inward change is a supernatural work of God on the soul that writes the law of God on the heart and causes a person to stop sinning. In much of the modern church, a dense, dizzying fog of lies obscures this radical gospel.…
The Gates of Hell Will Not Prevail Against the Church!
Heaven’s decree stands: the gates of hell and Satan himself WILL NOT withstand the church. The gospel of holiness has been loosed in America and in Washington, D.C., and it CANNOT be bound. But, Satan has brought incredibly deceptive, false teachings into the church that drain away life, spiritual refinement, and the Holy Spirit from God’s people. The lies of God’s unconditional love, and that you can live in your sin and still go to heaven, block Christians from facing…
Can We Live Wrong and Die Right? (2014)
Does, “I’m saved, and now I have to do my best,” encapsulate your Christian experience? If so, you’ve been duped by a gnostic, self-improvement, legalistic gospel that’s no different than Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or any of the world religions. This flat-earth gospel blocks a true apprehension of the great divide between our heart and the heart of Jesus. In turn, no godly sorrow is felt, and there is no real repentance. Instead of being born again into righteousness, many are…
The Number One Issue Facing America (October 2014)
This robust finale to this week’s broadcasts on the theology of the sinning Christian pinpoints unrighteousness as the number one issue facing America today. America’s wickedness is rooted in unbelief in the power of the blood of Jesus to remove sin now. Though carefully couched in Reformed theology, this unbelief comforts a person in sin. It blocks the crisis of honestly looking at one’s sin and deciding to do something about it. The truth is, only those who are born…
The Vital Elements of the Christian Faith (October 2014)
Building on yesterday’s message, Pastor Ray delves into the lives of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius and their doctrinal movements with the Synod of Dort and the Remonstrance. Calvin killed and imprisoned those who disagreed with him, while Arminius brought to light the lie of the sinning Christian and the truth that we can live without sin in this life. In the 1700s, the Wesley brothers uncovered the doctrine of entire sanctification, thereby restoring the apostolic doctrine of Christianity. This…
A Great Delusion (October 2014)
Following up on yesterday’s broadcast, Pastor Ray shows that the great delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11) which will lead many to receive the mark of the beast is the word manipulation of key salvation terms. While the Protestant Reformation made a vital break with the Roman Catholic Church over salvation by faith, and not works, it did not restore apostolic Christianity. Instead, the doctrine that Jesus received the full wrath of God for the elect, thereby legally satisfying their debt, developed…
The True Gospel in the Early Church and Scripture (October 2014)
In A.D. 148, Hermas wrote, “He said to me, ‘You have heard correctly, for that is so. For he who has received remission of sin ought never to sin again…‘” In this thorough and compassionate encore presentation, Pastor Ray shows that this view of Christian perfection prevailed for the first two centuries of the church. Though much of the modern church remains in the throes of gnostic heresy–a melding of low Arminianism and hyper-Calvinism–the Scriptures continue to testify that to…