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Dear Friends:
The e-mail at Expreacherman is primarily to provide any requested clarifying information regarding how to have eternal life.
We are pleased to answer gospel-related questions, but we do not intend to provide extensive, ongoing advice or dialog related to other issues. Please be respectful of our time, and the focus of this ministry.
Please note that we are unpaid, unaffiliated laypeople. We have no background in the pastorate, in ministerial counseling, etc.
Anyone is free to disagree with the positions of this ministry. However, our e-mail is not a forum for debate or discussion. We do not go to others’ websites to contradict nor debate them and we respectfully ask that you afford us the same courtesy.
We reserve the right to accept or reject any email, and may respond only as we deem appropriate.
Please note that e-mail responses, if any, will come from the following address: johninnc@john524promise.com
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Notes From A Retired Preacher 
Please note that e-mail responses, if any, will come from the following address: johninnc@john524promise.com
If you have sent an e-mail and are looking for a response, please check your spam folder to make sure you haven’t missed it.
Response to e-mail from today:
We have had extensive discussion of 1 John 3:14-15.
1 John 3:14-15 is part of a passage that is an admonition for Christians to love one another, and a reminder that the world that rejects Christ will reject them by extension.
Please note that this passage does not mean that we can tell whether we are saved by a “feeling” of love toward others, including other believers, nor that someone who commits murder is not born again. We know from multiple other passages in scripture that Christians are capable of murder, but never as a manifestation of their new nature.
The Bible gives the clear basis for assurance of eternal life:
John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Substantial previous discussion of this passage can be found bracketed by the comments linked below:
Regarding Ezekiel 18:21-24, my view is that this pertains to physical life. If this had to do with gaining or losing eternal life, then one could do so repeatedly. If a righteous man could turn to wickedness and lose his eternal life, and a wicked man can turn from his wickedness and gain eternal life, then what would keep someone from going back and forth? And, if so, how would eternal life ever be eternal?
Anyone who interprets this passage to mean that one must turn from sins (works) to gain eternal life, or that one could lose eternal life by sinning (works) does not understand the concept of eternal life. Again, I would refer to John 5:24, which says that anyone who has believed in Jesus as Savior has passed from death unto eternal life. Eternal life can never be lost or forfeited.
Response to e-mail question: yes. That will be fine.
Response to e-mail: We are so thankful that you found your way to our site and that you are sharing these resources with your family. I have prayed for you and your family.
Your e-mail was very encouraging to me!
Note to email prayer request: I have prayed about your concern. Please know that I pray for the people who read this site, as well as for their families.
John, thanks for your kind words and encouragement in your e-mail message.
Note to e-mail inquiry about posts not showing up: it is possible that things are going into spam by mistake. I will try to check spam for comments, but given the volume of spam it can be kind of a needle in a haystack.
Response to email concern and prayer request from today:
I have prayed for the person for whom you are concerned. People are being barraged with all sorts of false messages these days, and our brothers and sisters in Christ are no exception.
Response to email question regarding the ESV Bible:
We do not recommend the ESV Bible, as it leans toward Calvinism/Lordship “salvation” in some of its passages.
We prefer the KJV Bible as the best overall English language Bible translation.
DK, thanks so much for your encouragement!
You are right that much of the world of professing Christendom has departed from a clear gospel message. That makes it all the more important to continue to promote and defend the gospel.
Note to email comment from Mike: We have had a few comments about David Jeremiah in the past and we do not recommend him. I agree that he gives an LS message. Please see below link to a past comment:
https://expreacherman.com/wiki-heresies/#comment-34327
P.S. We are glad that you find this site to be a blessing.
Here is Northland Church’s ‘The All’s of salvation’ link.
Click to access the_alls_of_salvation_booklet_pdf.pdf
Thank you Johninnc for the reply in relation to church separation.
I will take your advice on board.
Response to e-mail question regarding separating from a church that teaches reformed theology.
It is my strong belief it is unwise to attend any church that teaches Calvinism, Lordship salvation, or lack of eternal security. Separating from such a church is generally the right thing to do.
If there are no sound churches in your area, you might look for another family or small group of like-minded believers with whom you can meet.
My wife and I have another local couple with whom we have been meeting in our homes. The circumstances under which we met were so unlikely that I believe it was God’s doing.
To Patrick: Please contact Northland Bible Baptist Church for copies of “The Alls of Salvation.”
Response to email about Ray Comfort:
We are saddened that some other ministries both promote and defend the false gospel of Ray Comfort, even after having been notified of Ray Comfort’s error. In my view, the willful blindness of such ministries is inexcusable.
Response to e-mail question: I don’t have a current e-mail for Ron.
His street address is:
Ron Shea
1985 W. Riverside Blvd, Apt. 101
Rockford, IL 61103
To email request for prayer:
I have prayed for you.
I think you may find the booklet linked below to be helpful:
Click to access English-Display-Pkg-2014.pdf
Response to e-mail inquiry:
We are not aware of any denominations within professing Christendom that dependably promote and defend the gospel. We hold out the possibility that individual churches within organized denominations may preach the gospel faithfully, but we do not endorse any denominations.
To my young friend:
I have prayed for your well-being, and for you to have peace and rest.
I don’t have medical advice for you, but if it recurs or persists, I would recommend having it evaluated by a doctor.
PLEASE DO NOT POST RESPONSE TO THIS COMMENT!
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Regarding the e-mail question today on the outer darkness passages:
These are fairly controversial passages within the grace community, as well as being completely butchered by works-salvationists.
We had quite a bit of back and forth regarding the outer darkness passages a while back under another thread.
Rather than rehashing that debate here, please refer to the link below (starting with comments on September 11, 2015):
Quite a few of our contributors believe that the outer darkness passages refer to hell, while some others think they may have to do with loss of rewards.
Three salient points:
1. Lordship “salvationists” commonly misuse these passages to prove that lack of good works proves that a person does not have eternal life. This explanation is diametrically opposed to grace, and can therefore be given no merit whatsoever.
2. The loss of rewards view ranges from the passages being a metaphor for loss of rewards in general, to church-age believers being excluded from the millennium.
3. If outer darkness refers to hell, it applies to non-believers, who have not relied on Christ alone for eternal life (not being properly clothed or burying the illuminating testimony of the gospel).
Response to recent email inquiry:
(Please note that our outbound email is not working, and I generally do not use my personal email to respond to email inquiries.)
Please carefully read the following verse:
John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Does this verse indicate that one must manifest good works or fruit for assurance of eternal life?
The answer is clearly NO.
You said: Just asking because I’ve heard some things and now I’m confused.
My comment: You “heard some things.” SO.WHAT. Be careful what you read and listen to. There are a lot of people teaching bad doctrine that undermines the gospel. They have not been sent by God to confuse you.
The Bible never says that good works or fruit are automatic in the lives of believers. If they were automatic, then every Christian would have them, and you could look to those things for assurance of eternal life. Their absence would be a clear indication that one lacked eternal life.
Anytime one is tempted to look to works, fruit, or feelings for signs of eternal life, they are looking in the wrong place.
Be reminded that LS people find works for eternal life anywhere and everywhere, and there is just no bottom to it.
Following are some good things to keep in mind when trying to interpret scripture:
1. Is it consistent with eternal life by Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone?
2. Is it consistent with eternal security?
3. Is it consistent with assurance of eternal life, based on God’s promise alone (i.e., it is not internally-focused on changes in attitudes, behavior, etc.)?
Any interpretation that meets ALL of these conditions MAY be correct. Any interpretation that does not meet ANY ONE of these conditions CANNOT be correct.
Aristotle, without watching the videos you shared, I can tell you that anything that is put out there by a “Ray Comfort protege” is bad news.
Also, I’m not surprised by what you found with Ravi Zacharias. We have had several unfavorable comments about his associations in the past.
You are right that some of these guys spend very little of their time on how to receive eternal life. It may be because they don’t really know.
Formatting went wrong on my previous comment, I meant to italicise ‘is possible’ but it ended up looking like ’empossible’! Thought I’d better clarify my intent.
Yes I remembered that Corinthians passage just after I posted, as ever.
Keith, I agree completely.
Soil number two in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1-8) possesses eternal life because he hears the word (gospel message) and receives it with joy, even though he falls away and produces no fruit. Likewise with the one who suffers total loss of reward at the judgment seat in 1 Cor. 3:15. So it is possible to possess eternal life without bearing any good fruit whatsoever, although it is not what God desires or intends for believers (Eph. 2:10).
Hobbs, I think it is likely that most believers will do at least some good works. However, the utter absence of good works for the entirety of a Christian’s life would in no way invalidate his salvation.
It would be a waste for a believer to have no good works. It is God’s will that we should do them. But, they are not in any way required to receive eternal life, keep eternal life, or provide evidence that one has received eternal life.
After all, if good works were automatically existent in every believer, then their absence would mean someone was not a believer. Hence, good works would be a required part of being a believer and would therefore be a requirement for eternal life. One would be compelled to “fruit inspect” for assurance of eternal life.
This is not what the Bible teaches.
Interesting concept, that of a person having ‘zero’ good works. Is that even possible? A good deed can be almost imperceptible. Even unsaved people often don’t have zero good works, although theirs are always in the flesh whereas a believer has the ‘option’ to do them in the Spirit. This is why the epistles exhort us to make every effort to continue in them, because ‘grace’ means it is</em possible to be eternally saved and yet become an utter self-centred slob. God forbid.
Thanks, John. For years, I have loved the clarity of your writing and that of the late Jack Weaver, now in the presence of the Lord.
Curtis Smale, glad to help on your questions, and I hope that the following response will cover all of the bases for your readers.
A person who thinks/says that someone “doesn’t act like a Christian” does not, in and of itself, mean that person thinks that works are required to provide evidence of eternal life. However, if someone deviates into “fruit inspection” of oneself or others for evidence of eternal life, that’s when it can indicate a problem.
The Bible exhorts Christians to walk in the Spirit and to maintain good works.
Having said that, I am personally uncomfortable with characterizing good works as a “natural outflow” of someone having believed in Jesus as Savior, because I don’t see any practical reason to exhort someone to do something that is a “natural outflow.” (See Titus 3:8).
I agree with you completely that there is no theological requirement for a person to perform good works to receive eternal life, keep eternal life, or provide evidence that he has received eternal life.
Hi, John. Oh, no problem. Thanks for the clarification. Not sure if you will see this here, but I will paste this on your site as well. Second question: what if a person says, basically, “you know, for a person who claims to believe in Jesus, you certainly don’t act like a Christian.” Certainly, we do want to live as children of God, as crucified and resurrected in Christ, and by the Holy Spirit in our spirits. Could it be that ~some+ “Lordship salvationists” are simply saying that if a person believes in Jesus they should have a Holy lifestyle in practical terms, not just in the spiritual sense of being perfect in Christ? People seem to get very upset and always misunderstand. They think that free grace people are saying that there should be no sanctification, “sin all you want!” whereas all we are saying is that for guaranteed eternal salvation no works whatsoever are required. However, good works are a natural (not guaranteed) outflow of saving faith. But if a person believes in Jesus and has zero works, they are definitely still saved, not that that is the ideal situation. Would you agree? —Curtis
Curtis Smale, I would have responded to you via email, but the outbound email for expreacherman is not functioning.
Believing in Jesus means to believe that He is not only necessary to save us, but that He is enough. If someone believes in Jesus AND their own good works for eternal life, they are not believing that Jesus did enough to save them, but that He requires our works to secure our salvation. They are believing that Jesus plus themselves are their Savior.
If someone has never believed in Jesus as Savior, then that person does not have eternal life.
Name: Curtis Smale
Comment: Hi, I am in 100% agreement with what you teach as far as I know. I have a question of clarification. Some people will agree that if you believe in Jesus you are saved. They simply believe in Jesus and their good works they say that the belief in Jesus cancels out the sin of believing in their works. How can I refute this? Thanks.
Note to Austin:
Please feel free to use our content with your group.
We would respectfully ask that you not take any excerpts out of context.
Also, be aware that you should feel confident to address any competing ideas or pushback from the group or individual parents.
Philis, welcome!
We are dedicated to being an oasis of grace. By way of contrast, much of what is labeled as “Christian” is part of the vast desert of false gospels.
I am not surprised that you are finding few like-minded believers.
New to site. Looking for like-minded believers as I am not finding many
Note to David:
I am not familiar with the seminary you mentioned. I am a layperson who has not attended seminary.
It is beyond the scope of this ministry to recommend, or vet any theological seminaries.
Note to Tina:
Lots of believers have doubts from time-to-time.
I wouldn’t dwell on it. You know the truth. It is the object of our faith (Jesus) and not the quality of our faith that saves.
Note to Tina: Our outbound email is not presently working.
Regarding the unpardonable sin, I’ve seen a couple of interpretations that are consistent with grace.
One is that it is a rejection of Christ as Savior.
The other is that it is having personally witnessed miracles performed by Jesus and ascribing them to demons. In this case, the implication would be that the person was so hardened against the truth that he would ultimately reject Jesus as Savior.
Either way, anyone who has believed in Jesus as Savior has eternal life that can never be lost or forfeited.
Samuel, I am not personally aware of any good churches in California.
Note to Will:
One’s behavior has no bearing on receiving, keeping, or proving that one has received eternal life.
See John 5:24.
Nina, thanks for your kind note to our e-mail!
Response to email request from Gene G.
Our outbound email is not currently functional, so we will not be responding to you via email.
We are pleased that you find the ExPreacherman site to be a blessing.
Regarding your requests, please note:
1. Feel free to use any of our content on your sites. However, we will not provide endorsements or links to any of those sites at ExPreacherman.
2. For permission to use Ron Shea’s booklet “The Gospel,” I would recommend contacting Ron at http://www.cleargospel.org
3. For contact information for Dr. Cucuzza, I would recommend contacting his church at http://northlandchurch.com
I hope this helps!
Thanks. John
Brad,you are welcome to comment.
I have updated account settings, but I still can’t send outbound emails.
Please note that the Expreacherman mailbox is currently functional for incoming emails only.