By johninnc
Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
I was almost 50 years old when I first understood and believed the gospel. In coming to faith in Christ, I almost immediately realized that much of what I had heard from the world of professing Christendom was not based on biblical truth, and had actually hindered my understanding of the gospel message.
A few months later, I came across the Expreacherman ministry while searching for someone who understood the error being promulgated by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Expreacherman was one of the sites I found that seemed to understand that the SBC had corrupted the gospel message (See “Who Makes These Errors?”).
I approached the founder of Expreacherman, the late Jack Weaver, with some e-mails at first. Having been duped by religion, I proceeded cautiously. Jack encouraged me to comment on the site, which I did, and he eventually asked if I would write or co-write some articles. Finally, Jack asked that I become a co-administrator. Jack died in January, 2015 and I became the principal administrator for the site.
It’s now been almost seven years since Jack Weaver went to be with the Lord. This ministry has continued to have as its primary goal sharing the clear gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. Our commenters have been instrumental in identifying teachings, and teachers, that undermine or confuse the gospel message.
The ministry has been successful when we have maintained a laser-like focus on our primary mission, and we have had many joyful testimonies of how this site has helped people in coming to faith in Christ, in escaping the false gospel snares of Calvinism/Lordship Salvation and returning to faith in Christ, and in becoming better grounded in the truth of the gospel.
Everyone who knows Christ as Savior has their own unique story, life circumstances, and testimony of how they came to faith in Christ. Our testimonies, when properly articulated with the gospel message, are a great way to witness to others.
I appreciate that there are biblical truths beyond the gospel message, and some passages for which there are varying interpretations, even among people who are clear on the gospel. While legitimate issues for discussion, this is not the focus of the expreacherman ministry. There are ministries and sites that are oriented toward delving more deeply into these things, and if anyone has a particular passion for any of them, starting a dedicated website is fairly easy. I would respectfully ask that we keep expreacherman focused on promoting and defending the gospel.
John 10:10: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I also know that most of us are undergoing difficulties related to the coronavirus, including the attendant encroachment on our freedoms, and the threats to our livelihoods.
The coronavirus cult, and its tyrannical trappings are a visible manifestation of the thief. Most people don’t see it, because they are constantly bombarded by the worldly fearful images of death, case counts, variants, “vaccines” and so on. Many believers are also misled by hirelings, who go along to get along.
Those of us who can see the evil unfolding in the name of public health are in the stark minority, and want to scream at people to wake them up from this nightmare. We find few friendly faces, and when we do, we naturally want to share information and resources. Remember to be cautious. Satan is not beyond using people who share our views on COVID (or any other matter) from introducing us to doctrine which should be properly marked and avoided.
As Christians, we can tell people about the thief all day long, but it is what comes after the colon in John 10:10 that is the good news about eternal life in Christ Jesus!
For those of us who are familiar with Expreacherman, I would repeat the following sentiment from a previous post:
I join you in asking God to bless this ministry. I pray that those who come here who know Jesus as Savior will seek to honor God with their posts, that we will be faithful to Him and His word, that we will comfort and encourage one another, that we will be bold in proclaiming and defending the gospel, that we will be gentle and wise, that we won’t become confused with the wisdom of men, and that we will not allow our comments to become sidetracked with unimportant things.
Also, I pray that those who come here who are seeking truth, and do not know Jesus as Savior, would hear/read and understand the gospel message.
If you would like to know how to have eternal life, click here: THE GOSPEL
Notes From A Retired Preacher 
Cody, thanks for sharing.
We have a section on repentance in our statement of faith that we think is also helpful.
I saw a good article by Charlie Bing today. Sometimes he’s a little iffy on certain topics, but this was good on repentance. Basically he summed it up how repentance isn’t a separate step or specific condition for salvation. It’s instead synonymous, or “overlaps” with faith. As we all know here, faith, by definition would a be a literal change of mind from not believing something to believing. The quote he used was good. “Faith involves repentance, but repentance doesn’t always involve faith”. You could repent all you want about sin and even God. But if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done for you, then you aren’t saved no matter how much you repent or do good things.👍
Chris
Always so thankful to meet other like-minded believers, who put His Word above religion at all cost.
Diana! You are my friend! Didn’t realize you were that one ❤ Love you, and glad you are here, and I'm thankful for expreacherman too.
Thank you, Holly. Your personal knowledge on this issue that once had me so perplexed helped me more than you’ll ever know. I will forever be grateful that Ann introduced me to your FB website several years ago. I miss you and pray for you often. I’m glad you introduced me the “expreacher man” site before I left FB. I know this site is a place where God’s truth abides and where I can share fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. God Bless.
Chris, welcome and thanks for your comment.
We are glad that you have found this site to be a blessing.
You are right that to insist upon repentance that in any sense includes a demand for a change of conduct either toward God or man in order to receive, keep, or prove that one has received eternal life, is to create a false gospel that attempts to add an element of works to how one receives eternal life. And, it is all too common.
John, thank you for the new post by the way. Just resting for a moment after some laundry, cleaning, dusting etc. The place we bought has been empty and so there is much here to do. And so it was nice to sit down, look over the lake and just read this article.
William
Thank you for standing strong, praying for you and your friend. We’re trying to branch out and help those in other places who need it. Now it’s gone beyond the medical as we know, and so continuing to pray. God is our Deliverer.
Cody You can’t worry about what’s been done. Just pray for wisdom, and continue building up your immune system. Get out there in the sun and keep moving around and exercising and getting fresh air if you can.
Diana
So many of us can relate to having fellowship at church, it going downhill, and when questioned, we are made out to be the troublemakers. My childhood church spinoff (several other Bible churches were formed), started bringing in not only Rick Warren Purpose Drivel, but also John MacArthur, and other Calvinist material. Then they had some feel good contemplative, mystic types like Brennan Manning. I was brushed off by the Pastor, sent to the assistant, who became angry with me when I pointed out Rick Warren’s God in everything post, and he said Rick Warren was a personal friend. I gave him the page numbers, and he gave me the purpose driven church boot (if you don’t like it get out). It wasn’t the first time for me sadly, it breaks our hearts. Several before us contended earnestly for the faith once delivered, and I know it wasn’t easy for them, so I just keep on speaking when appropriate.
I know that dark feeling though. Not the voice of our Shepherd.
Amen and Amen!! I have always appreciated this ministry for being Bible Believers. So many want to muddy up the waters and end up preaching a false Gospel that doesnt save anyone. All I see today are false Gospels. Repent or Perish types stuck in their flesh doing the devils work. God bless this ministry
Cody, I am glad that you are part of this ministry.
Yesterday evening, the president of the United States effectively declared war on everyone who hasn’t had the vaccines, by issuing a mandate that any business with more than 100 employees must require either vaccinations, or weekly tests for unvaccinated people. In addition, Los Angeles County will require all children 12 years old and up to have the COVID vaccines in order to even go to school. In my county in North Carolina, our county council just voted to require face coverings in churches.
I have prayed for you. I am glad that you are opposed to the vaccine passports, as they are an evil device of coercion and social control.
William, that’s great to hear. Please pray for me as unfortunately, I had already taken both doses and it makes me uneasy knowing I should’ve said no. At first, I guess I had a few suspicions on the vaccine and I didn’t want to get it, same with my parents who are also believers. But as time went on, I guess my parents got kinda scared and with the urging of my parents and not knowing any better at my age, I took the vaccines. Now I do regret it, and whats even more revealing is that in BC where I live, they’re making these “vaccine passports” mandatory (basically making you take the vaccine so you can do normal day to day stuff). I don’t know about the states but it’s pretty weird. I can’t change what I’ve already done, but I know that this passport is wrong and for sure I will not supporting this new mandate on this vaccine card. Diana that’s what I relate to. I’ve been trying to find a grace church nearby but only have found lordship or Calvinist churches or a few churches filled with ecumenism. Every grace church I know is in the states, such as Northland, or Calvary community church. I’ve checked Free Grace Alliance church locater and unfortunately there were no results for Canada. Thought about moving to the states in the future when I complete an undergraduate here lol. But thank the Lord for this site of believers and thank you John for keeping the site working well.
Don, welcome!
We are thankful for all of our readers and commenters, and we are glad that you find this site to be a blessing!
I appreciate this ministry. Thank you!
Luke, I think that false gospels can tend to make people compare themselves to others, and compare their current selves to their previous selves. Custom-made “sin registers” are part of the package.
Since this is no basis for assurance of eternal life, it should make people receptive to the simple Gospel message. However, there are a lot of strident works-salvationists. We have received lots of comments and e-mails from them over the years.
I often wonder if the hypocrisy of the lordshippers ever gets exposed and maybe thats what causes folks to finally believe the simple Gospel message.
I happened to watch my old pentecostal megachurch online this weekend and the pastor preached a heavy works shame based gospel message. He repeatedly preached ‘you cant just make a decision to believe, you gotta be SAVED’. Probably one of the worst sermons Ive ever heard. Then, he was lambasting folks who like to go to the ball games as possibly in danger of losing their salvation and it got very quiet. Ironically he goes golfing, hunting and likes to watch wrestling. As the camera panned the crowd I saw a number of confused faces. I wonder if they were waking up. I hope and pray they do.
Hi Diana. It sounds a lot like what has happened to a lot of grace alone churches over the years. Lordship Salvationists and Calvinists legalizers begin to come into leadership like the Pharisees and introduce works requirements to be saved. Paul had to deal with these false teachers in Galatians. My former Bible church years ago was infiltrated by them in the 1990’s. John MacArthur and his false gospel and teachings creep into grace churches and turn them into faith plus works false teaching churches. But this has been going on going back to Billy Graham who also taught the false gospel of works.
Just remember Diana that as a believer you are always a member of the only church that counts for eternity, the body of Christ, the church of the new born or the church of the first born whose name is written in Heaven. You don’t have to “join” or become a “member” of a local church to fellowship with other believers. The churches that I sometimes attend I have no intention of “joining.” I do pray you find a local church or some fellow Christians you can fellowship with.
Diana, the Baptist Faith and Message, which is part of the DNA of the SBC, has evolved over time, but it has added works to the gospel at least as far back as 1925 (the last version that I could find), and most likely, even before that.
Because of its loose nature of affiliation, there have been SBC churches that did not corrupt the gospel, and many members who have believed in Jesus as Savior. The problem is that the seminaries, educational materials, coordination of missions, etc. all intersect with the Convention, so affiliated churches have a hard time avoiding the SBC’s Calvinist/Lordship “salvation” error. In addition, many SBC churches provide at least some level of financial and other support for certain SBC ministries. I believe it is a serious error to remain affiliated with the SBC in any way.
My wife and I have another couple with whom we have met for discussion and prayer. The circumstances under which we found out our common affinity for the gospel were so unlikely that I believe it was God’s doing.
Yes john. I know there are Baptists churches that are grace alone and teach the true gospel without works. I was only referring to the Baptist churches I have attended. And Tom’s church he is a pastor of here is a Bible Baptist church that is truly grace alone.
Thank you for your input, Phil. My experience at my former SBC was very confusing because the pastor’s teachings and selection of new staff changed so quickly. It actually went from being Biblically grounded to being ungrounded seemingly overnight. The church was filled with true believers who knew things weren’t right, but only a few left. I was raised Baptist and had never experienced anything like that before. Since then, I have attended several other Baptist churches and all have switched to Lordship and/or Calvinism’s false teaching. My deceased uncle was a founder and pastor of several Bible Baptist churches which are grounded in the gospel of Christ. Unfortunately, there are no Bible Baptist churches in my local area, and I haven’t had any luck finding a church that is grounded. I truly miss the fellowship of believers of one accord. I do listen to a few very good pastors on the internet, but you don’t have the fellowship which is so important. I keep praying about it.
Phil, it has also been my experience that Southern Baptists add turning from sins to simply believing the gospel (trusting in Jesus as Savior). The addition of turning from sins makes it a false gospel of works.
I am aware of at least one church that includes the name “Baptist” that does not add that false “turn from sins” requirement.
One more thing Diana: you are not alone, many of us here have been through the same struggles with false teachings of local churches that you have. Many churches heap heavy loads on their flocks. We are an Oasis of God’s amazing grace alone here because Christ already took all our loads for us so we can be with Him forever.
Welcome Diana. Every Baptist church, SBC or other, I have attended I was turned off to for one reason or another. The biggest issue was their twisting of the meaning of “repentance.” It’s true biblical meaning is simply to change ones mind simply believing the gospel of ones salvation. But the Baptists churches twist it around to mean you must trust Christ as your Savior plus you must turn from your sins; both of which they say you must also do to be saved–faith plus works to get to heaven. It’s not just Baptist churches that teach this false doctrine; their are lots of LS and Calvinist churches that teach different forms of faith plus works to be saved.
I sometimes attend one or two Bible churches that are supposedly grace alone, faith alone according to their SOF, but I am not completely sure they are grace alone.
Diana, welcome and thanks for your comment.
I am glad that you had the discernment, wisdom, and courage to leave that church, and that your assurance was not undermined by their false doctrine.
We are happy that you found the expreacherman ministry, and that you find it to be a blessing!
I appreciate your ministry very much, knowing always that it is grounded in the truth of the gospel of Christ. I was once struggling with a separation from a Southern Baptist church that I truly loved. I went there several years, loving everything about the church, especially the pastor’s sermons and Bible studies until someone convinced him to start attending the Southern Baptist Convention meetings of which he had always avoided beforehand. Well, within the first year after he had been attending those meetings regularly, our beloved Associate Pastor left the church, along with our music director. The Pastor’s sermons changed, as did the music. His gospel message was no longer grounded in Biblical truth but rather in man’s wisdom. When I met with the new Associate Pastor to discuss my concerns, he actually told me that I probably wasn’t saved because I didn’t believe what they were preaching. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut and actually felt a dark evil presence in the room during our discussion. I knew that day that I would never return to that church again. Although I knew I was right to leave, I never understood what happened. It was through one of you followers and commentator’s that shed much light on the false Lordship and Calvinist message, of which I knew nothing about beforehand. Now, the mental puzzle and agony I had been struggling with has been solved and relieved. I have no doubt that your ministry has greatly helped other believers who know what some of their pastors are teaching is wrong, but can’t quite put their finger on it, as the lies of Satan are very tricky, manipulative, and accusatory. I have never doubted my salvation, because it was never based on my own works, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. God bless you and your ministry.
William, thanks for the update!
I am thankful that your exemption has been approved, albeit temporarily, and I have prayed that you would be able to get it extended.
John,
Welcome back! Hope you had sufficient rest and sleep to recharge your batteries. Thanks for your prayers for me as my employer finally approved my religious exemption from the vaccine. However, they stated that the exemption is just for now and may change down the line.
I’m required to take the covid nose swab test weekly and wear a mask while at my workplace. So far, it is just me and one other co-worker who is also Christian who had her religious exemption approved and she is subjected to the same weekly testing and mask requirement. The other 2 Christian co workers that I know basically compromised and caved in and went ahead and took the vaccine for fear of losing their jobs.
Thanks for continuing and maintaining this ministry picking up where Jack left off. Many are blessed!
chas, thanks for the welcome back. Yeah, I was just taking a break.
I am thankful for this ministry and our readers and commenters. I agree that there are few places where truth is discussed and accepted, and I am glad you find the site to be a blessing!
Great to have you back, John. Hope you had a good rest (assuming that’s what it was). And thank you so much for keeping this site going. More and more I’m finding it to be an oasis of truth in a world that is increasingly parched.