By our friend and Brother in Christ, John
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Satan, the god of this world, uses the same types of tricks to blind people from the truth as politicians use to get votes. Here is a sample:
1. Celebrity endorsements:
Politicians have their shills and Satan has his. Satan’s shills include a legion of denominational leaders, evangelists, best-selling authors, famous preachers and television ministers who will tell you that something else besides trusting in Christ is necessary in order to be saved. These are seen as the voices of authority. So, as Dr. Tom Cucuzza said in his sermon entitled “The Obvious That Isn’t so Obvious”:
“…people automatically want to believe the authority and so what that does is it leads people astray, into something that’s false and they believe that.
And then, when someone comes along with the true Gospel of Grace, that says your sins have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, once and for all, and that all you can do to be saved is to put your faith in Him, trust in Him as your Savior, they say this: “I can’t believe that. That’s too easy. That’s easy believism. That’s cheap grace.”
2. Card stacking
This approach is used by false teachers, who cite a few verses that allegedly support salvation by works, with no attempt to mention or explain away the 100 plus verses of Scripture that teach that eternal life is a free gift received by Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This is an intellectually vapid exercise that Clear Gospel Campaign describes as follows:
“A few have tried to dismiss the hundred plus verses by the wave of a magic wand, mumbling some idiotic and lexically untenable statement, such as ‘the word ‘faith actually implies works in the root meaning of the word.’ Most, however, don’t even try to answer Scripture. They simply play the ‘you’ve got your verses, and I’ve got mine’ game. This is what the cults do, placing their hands over their ears, closing their eyes, and repeating their proof texts at the top of their lungs so that nothing else can penetrate the barrier. And that is not theology. In contrast, only a few verses in all of Scripture can be reasonably interpreted (in isolation) as teaching that some human work is necessary for salvation. And when scrutinized, those passages invariably yield to alternative interpretations that are consistent with the doctrine of grace.”
3. Projection
This is where the enemy accuses you of doing the same thing he does. For example, telling you that the 100 plus verses that teach that eternal life is a free gift received by faith are being taken out of context.
4. Bandwagon
Satan will attempt to convince you that since most people believe something, it must be true. A good example of this is “repent of sins to be saved”. Again, from Clear Gospel Campaign:
“The phrase ‘repent of your sins,’ is so embedded in Christian culture that it is hard to hear the word ‘repent’ without mentally adding on the three words ‘from your sins.’ And since the word ‘repent’ is often associated with eternal salvation, this leads to further adding on, either mentally, or verbally from the pulpit, the words ‘to be saved’ to the end of the sentence. Together, they form the greatest myth in the history of Christianity . . . ‘You must repent of your sins to be saved.’
This belief is not only wrong, it is an error that threatens the eternal destiny of every man, woman and child on the planet. For it reduces the gospel of grace to a gospel of works.”
Whether you are an honest seeker, a Lordship Salvation troll or just happened upon this site, please tune out all of Satan’s campaign tricks and see the link below for how you can have eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Notes From A Retired Preacher 
John, that is true, it is a bait and switch.
Other tactics come to mind in dealing with them, one is for sure ignoring questions. They either do not answer them, or answer them by asking another question.
Another is credentials. Frequently they pull out the “I’ve been a Christian for ____ many years, Or I went to _____________ seminary. Or, one recently told me, I have been a Precept teacher for ______years. Another form of self-commendation is the books they’ve read.
Another tactic is to assure you that THEY are led Holy Spirit led, (the only obvious conclusion is that you are not) 🙂
Holly, I thought of another dirty trick – trying to run out the clock on your opponent. Like guys who have their own websites that proclaim salvation by works. They send seemingly innocuous questions like “can I ask some questions about assurance”, when in reality, all they are doing is trying to gather fodder for their own campaign of deception.
I really like this John – the ‘projection’ part, so true, accuse you of doing the very thing they are. It’s a common tactic of the enemy i see far too often.
Mike,
Thanks — that is a great Biblical Truth — so often missed by too many “teachers and preachers.”
We appreciate your wonderful comments.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
If we add anything to the FINISHED WORK of the LORD JESUS CHRIST we insult the Lord in light of the aweful sacrifice He did for us mike
Timothy, check out Titus 1:2 (NKJV):
“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,”
The verse above says God CANNOT lie! In this case, notice that eternal life and cannot lie are used in the same sentence. For a believer, eternal life begins the moment he believes. It doesn’t begin when he dies or is raptured. Why would one trust God to keep him in His hand after he dies, but not before?
When you encounter something that “seems to be quite convincing”, please consider whether that source CAN or CANNOT lie! I don’t even need to read the link that has been removed to know it contains lies. If it contradicts God, who cannot lie, it is a lie.
Timothy Sanders,
We are happy you dropped in to comment.
When anyone discusses Eternal Security, please remember, Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh promises you ETERNAL LIFE — the definition being, ETERNAL LIFE. There is no way to parse this phrase spoken by Jesus Himself (and hundreds of other similar Bible phrases) to mean anything but ETERNAL LIFE. Earlier, Bruce mentioned this verse and many others which confirm God’s Promise:
The Lord God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe will not lie to you in His Word about your salvation. Believe Him!!!
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Welcome Timothy!
Thank you for your kind words about the Expreacherman.com site and its contributors. We hope that you continue to come back often and participate as you are able.
Regarding the link that you gave which attempts [yet fails] to explain away eternal security, I observed that much of its line of argumentation actually is directed against Lordship Salvation teaching, NOT at Free Grace Theology. The site correctly points out the fallacy of the cop-out LS position that, in wholesale fashion, writes off backslidden believers as “never having been saved in the first place.” Scriptures abound with examples of individuals who, although were true believers in the Lord, nevertheless, had extended periods of their lives which were characterized by backsliding from their faith—Samson, Solomon, David, Lot, Jonah and Peter come quickly to mind. However, the site wrongly indicates that a believer in Christ can, of his own free will, walk away from his faith and position in Christ.
Timothy, I recommend that you check out the following verses on eternal security: John 10:27-30, 1 John 5:11-13 and Romans 8:38-39. Also, the following is a tremendous article on eternal security of the believer; it is written by our friend Dr. Tom Cucuzza:
Click to access cucuzza-the-permanence-of-salvation.pdf
Hi all,
I have followed this blog for quite a while and am always enlightened by the truth presented here. I understand my post here with the following link may be moderated due to possible bad theology. However, it speaks of eternal security as a false doctrine, and the information contained in the link seems to be quite convincing. I, for one, am and have been one that believed in eternal security in a believer, but this man seems to disprove all the verses that are used to support eternal security. Please take a look with me: [link removed by administrator]
Andy,
I posted the story of your 5 year old daughter on my FB account and got many thanks for it — and a couple of real interesting stories from a couple of dear friends also:
The Lord’s Grace works in amazing ways!!!
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Andy,
We praise the Lord so much for your daughter and her decision to trust Jesus Christ as her Savior. So simple – yet so often confused and complicated by “religions.” Thanks to you for explaining it so clearly – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…”
God’s Amazing Grace – God’s Word NEVER fails for even (or especially) a precious child, your daughter!!!
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Thank you Andy for your beautiful testimony about your daughter’s coming to faith in Christ Jesus. What a blessing and encouragement!
May God continue to bless you and your family.
Andy, how awesome! What a joy it is to hear your daughter’s testimony.
Salvation is so simple. What a joy it was last night at bedtime to see my 5-year-old daughter profess her faith in Christ! When I asked her if she were to die tonight where she would be, she said “Heaven.” I then asked her, “How do you know you would be in heaven?” She replied, “Because I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins.” Those were her exact words! No “pray this prayer” or “asking Jesus into your heart”. It’s just this simple. “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…” Acts 16:31
John,
Well done — very insightful and accurate. “Religions” fail their people every time.
In Christ eternally, Jack
Excellent article. Each point is so true.
Paul and Peter and John were the true famous preachers that spoke the true Gospel. But today most of the “famous preachers” teach LS and go out of their way to rob you of any assurance you might have had. It’s so frustrating.
I pray the Lord raise up more preachers of true Biblical grace, that will terrify these LS preachers with the truth, and that people will turn to grace preachers and away from LS preachers.