By johninnc
I have posted a new article on john524promise.com, entitled “A Walkabout with the Whatabout.”
Please see attached link: New Article
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
EXCELLENT NEW BOOK !!
We recommend this excellent new book, Secure Forever! God’s Promise or Our Perseverance?, by Dr. Tom Cucuzza, one of my former Assistant Pastors. Available on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Click the book for a link to Amazon.com.
NEW E-BOOK - Links:
Tom's Church
Recent Comments
William on ♦ Prayer Requests William on ♦ Prayer Requests johninnc on ♦ Prayer Requests fryingpan9 on ♦ Prayer Requests johninnc on Lordship Salvation: Greg Lauri… Robin Rose on Lordship Salvation: Greg Lauri… William on ♦ Prayer Requests johninnc on ♦ Prayer Requests D on ♦ Prayer Requests johninnc on ♦ Prayer Requests
Notes From A Retired Preacher 
Preston, it’s always good to hear from you!
My family and I are doing reasonably well and we are thankful for God’s goodness to us and for our eternal life through
Jesus. The world continues to throw a lot of things our way, but I am thankful that none of it can separate us from His love.
Hey John. Its been a while. Came to mind to check the site today. Hope you are doing well.
Also, hello to ALL my spirit family at expreacherman. Hoping “this life” is going ok for you too.
Andy, I once had someone so angry at me, that she told her sister, dump me as a friend or she was done with her. She told me she hated me for 7 years, and read everything I wrote on my blog so she could find a way to prove me wrong. When I interacted with her on FaceBook, she’d get angry, and I’d try to keep sound speech that couldn’t be condemned. Tried to remember to keep that grace and salt 🙂 I didn’t hold out much hope, but I kept using examples and kept searching His Word for them (there are many). She believed you could walk away from your salvation too.
Anyways, her sister and I were praying and both of them came out of error. Her sister first of course. Then her. There’s hope, don’t give up, keep giving them the Word and the examples in it, speaking the truth in love. His Word is powerful and won’t return void.
Thanks for the additional ammo but they are so dogmatic in their stance that I think prayer is the only option at this point, I forgot to thank John for praying for them and thank you for your comments, I’ll read up and load up for our next next get together, andy
Holly, yeah, it had been awhile since I posted any new articles. I was reminded, in writing it, of the commonality of so many of the objections raised to the truth of the gospel, despite all of the different packaging.
fryingpan so nice to see you here again. I’ve missed the frequent fellowship.
Andy Race Boy do we all miss Jack Weaver. Thankful for his life. Happy for him that he is with his Savior. Your brother and sister-in-law may have good intentions, but often it is just because they do not know His Word very well (I’m sure they’d disagree). Maybe bringing up some of the believers who were carnal occasionally, or the ones that were taken out of this life (1 Cor 11), or those who didn’t add to their faith that were barren and unfruitful? (2 Pet 1:5-9). What about the ones like Hymenaeus, Philetus? Paul doesn’t say they were never saved. I find it odd that they can’t see that all throughout the epistles, carnal believers are being dealt with. Praying they will have ears to hear and eyes to see.
William Paul Washer loves to often tell people they are not going to heaven, and never based on not believing the gospel, but always based on works. He is a horrible man.
Thanks John, good to come and see an article posted. Mine have been few and far between recently.
William – good example of the ‘good people’ out there that don’t have Christ indwelling them. Made me think back on all the ‘Christian testimonies’. It was all about the fabulous things they had done. There was some mention of Christ in places, but mainly all about them. I remember when I was young, I always wanted a testimony, but my life was just too normal. And I began to feel like I wasn’t one of them, and they also felt the same. After all, where was my ‘testimony’?
He is my testimony now. It doesn’t need to be a long story. Anything good I’ve done in Him, is all Him. Anything bad I’ve done, is all me. I could share stories, and I do at times, but it’s not my testimony, it’s His.
Andy, thanks for your word of encouragement. Demas is a good biblical example to make the point that any supposed evidence of eternal life can be fleeting. I have prayed for your brother and sister and law, and I hope that will avail themselves of more clear teaching on the gospel.
you’re doing great, wish i could get my brother and sister in law to read this and more importantly accept it, unless they see a change and fruit in your life then you never really accepted Christ as your personal savior, you have to start serving the Lord as evidence of salvation, I use Demas as an example in our go no where discussions to no avail, I do read and agree with all the your post on ex preacher man, never change , Jack spoke highly of you before his home going ,andy
William, people who have an LS bent will misuse anything they can to bolster their false teaching. John 5:24 destroys their lame arguments.
John, In regards to positive life change and the absence of life change in a Christian is that Lordshippers will always go to a passage like Luke 8:6-7/Luke 8:13-14, and Luke 8:8/Luke 8:15 and use that as one of their “notable proof texts” as an acid test to determine “who’s not saved” and “who’s really saved.”
I mean just look at the wording of phrases in Luke 8:8/Luke 8:15 in the NIV which is one of the favorite translations of Lordshippers:
Luke 8:8 – 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and YIELDED A CROP, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Luke 8:15 – 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, RETAIN IT, and by PERSEVERING PRODUCE A CROP.
In the minds of most, if not all Calvinist/Lordship Salvationists, the phrases that go “YIELDED A CROP” and “RETAIN IT” and “PERSEVERING PRODUCE A CROP” will no doubt be interpreted in the Calvinist mind as the presence of WORKS, where James 2:14-26 will pop into their minds and “PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS”.
Automatically, they will no doubt think that Luke 8:8/Luke 8:15 is the ONLY saved person, but dismiss Luke 8:6-7/Luke 8:13-14 as “unsaved false professors with non saving faith” because of the absence of works and perseverance.
Hence, Paul Washer’s infamous statement that goes, “If you don’t have works, then you’re not going to heaven.”
Andy, it is good to hear from you. Jack was dedicated to preaching the gospel in its clarity, and promoting and defending the gospel message is still our primary focus.
Glad to see the simple, clear plan of salvation that Jack Weaver used to lead me to the Lord over 40 years ago is still being supported on this site.
William, it is true that positive life change should never be viewed as evidence that a person possesses eternal life, just as the absence of positive life change should never be viewed as evidence that a person lacks eternal life.
William, all great examples!
John, Great article! Too many Lordshippers are obsessed with “life change” and “fruit” as evidence of regeneration. Just thought I’d share the following that I have learned.
In my city there was once a notorious gang leader who terrorized the city back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. We’re talking about big time extortion and murder. This gang leader was finally arrested and spent years in prison and after this person finished the prison sentence, he went through rehab and experienced a LIFE CHANGE. This person is no longer a gang leader, but over time has become a college professor with a Ph.D, is married, has kids that are in college and is doing pretty well financially, BUT this person is not a Christian.
In Japan, there is a writer named Shoko Tendo who was a gang member in her teens and 20’s who lived a life of gang violence, drugs, and sex. In fact, her father was a mafia boss in Japan (the Yakuza mafia), now deceased. After Shoko was severely abused both physically and sexually by her frequent boyfriends and after several failed suicide attempts, she finally woke up to reality and left behind the awful lifestyle she was in.
Her turning point in life came when she decided to get a full body tattoo and she stated that getting the tattoo empowered her to change. She experienced a LIFE CHANGE and became a writer in Japan and I believe she is also an activist helping abused women. Shoko is not a Christian and her book indicates that she is Buddhist in her religion. She is currently a single mother raising a daughter.
Here are 2 examples of people who turned from sin and evil and experienced life change, but are not Christian.
Change is not always an accurate indicator of whether one is saved. God has given all men free will to obey/disobey, be faithful/unfaithful, but the problem with mankind in general is innate PRIDE and SELFISHNESS which makes it hard for a person to change whether the person is saved or unsaved. Change is not automatic after one is saved and it is not easy and it always requires willful cooperation on the part of the person being willing to do things God’s way. Many saved people SHOULD change, but the lack of it is not an indication of being unsaved. The lack of it is usually again due to pride, selfishness, and LAZINESS – James 2:14-26, 1 John 3:17-18, and also because of our inborn sin nature (Romans 7:14-25) that will not be eradicated until Christ returns at the Rapture to transform us – 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1 John 3:2.
There are many kind hearted people in society like philanthropists, humanitarianists, Buddhists, the Boys/Girls Scouts of America, and even some atheists who do good works and exhibit love and concern for others, but many of these people are not saved and many are of a false religion. These kinds of people can sometimes exist side by side with genuinely saved Christians who don’t exhibit good attributes.
The example of the thief on the cross in Luke 23:42-43, the woman in Luke 7:50, and the blind man whom Jesus healed in John 9 who later came to faith in John 9:35-38 are all perfect examples of John 5:24.
Eternal life is instant and eternal.
fryingpan, thanks for sharing the article. I hope that it will benefit some readers over there.
Great article. I shared it on Truth Social from your other blog, John.