Repentance is one of those Biblical words that is sadly misunderstood.
So what is repentance?
Repentance is a complete and permanent change in ultimate intention. It's a change from selfishness to benevolence. A change from all known sin and willful rebellion against God to entire obedience to God.
Repentance is not just leaving sin, however turning from sin is implied in repentence. Certainly when the Prophets spoke, they intended for people to quit sinning and stop sinning now.
Repentance is not sorrow for sin. Sorrow by itself is not enough, and certainly sorrow by itself is significantly less than Godly repentance. We've all seen plenty of people that are sorry for their sin that neither quit sinning, nor turn themselves wholeheartedly to God.
Which leads to the next idea of repentance - making things right. Part of repentance is setting things right with your fellow man if and when possible.
Also implied in the Biblical idea of repentance is the idea that complete repentance is possible. To say that repentance is impossible is to blashpheme God by saying he requires men to do what they cannot possibly do.
Another thing that is required by repentance is immediacy. You are required to repent and repent immediately and completely. If you don't repent now, it shows exactly how evil, wicked and rebellous towards God you are in your heart.
A common misconception about repentance is that it can be anything less than complete. There's a common falacy in the church that somehow God accepts something less than total and complete consecration from the hearts of men. As far as I can see this is one of the most dangerous fallacies on planet earth, and it has contributed millions of souls to the eternal coffers of hell.
Make no mistake repentence must be complete and whole hearted. You must give your heart wholly to God. You must be converted. You must turn from sin to holiness. You must turn your back upon your past life. Don't be like Lot's evil wife and turn back and long for your sin.
Repentance is turning to God with all your heart, and loving your fellow man as yourself. Nothing less is accepted.
John
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Impending Doom - My Search for Truth Part II
The 2nd thing I realized in my search for truth is that the Church of Jesus Christ doesn't teach the Judgment and the Wrath of God like it should. Before I go on and lose your attention, let me say,
There, I got that out of the way and now we can go on. First of all, I charge the Church with moral cowardice, because we're not able to stand up to people like John the Baptist did. John called the religious leaders of his day to account by saying, "you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" And then John called Herod to account by saying, "it is not right for you to have your brother's wife."
This age was not worthy of John and so he was beheaded.
Instead of warning people to flee impending wrath and prepare to stand before God at the Judgment, we tell them Jesus loves them (which is certainly true and not a bad thing to tell them). However, the Ungodly and Wicked have heard, "Jesus Love You," until it's become useless to them. They don't even pay attention to it anymore. Even worse, they make fun of the sayings, "Jesus Saves," and "Jesus Loves You." So now it's time to change our message, and make it more Biblical.
It's time to tell people that there is a final Judgment for both the Wicked and Righteous. Each man will stand before the Lord God most high and give account for everything done in this life, both good and bad. The Godly will recieve a reward for the good things they have done, and the wicked will suffer eternal punishment because they refuse to repent and turn to God.
And if you're a professing Christian that is practicing sin - stop now. The Holy God commands you to be holy and accepts nothing less. Don't think that just because you go to church that God somehow allows you indulgences. God forbid. God accepts only one thing from you - entire obedience to his will.
In the service of the Holy One,
John Wheeler
YOU WILL STAND BEFORE GOD TO ANSWER FOR THE DEEDS YOU DID IN THIS LIFE!
There, I got that out of the way and now we can go on. First of all, I charge the Church with moral cowardice, because we're not able to stand up to people like John the Baptist did. John called the religious leaders of his day to account by saying, "you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" And then John called Herod to account by saying, "it is not right for you to have your brother's wife."
This age was not worthy of John and so he was beheaded.
Instead of warning people to flee impending wrath and prepare to stand before God at the Judgment, we tell them Jesus loves them (which is certainly true and not a bad thing to tell them). However, the Ungodly and Wicked have heard, "Jesus Love You," until it's become useless to them. They don't even pay attention to it anymore. Even worse, they make fun of the sayings, "Jesus Saves," and "Jesus Loves You." So now it's time to change our message, and make it more Biblical.
It's time to tell people that there is a final Judgment for both the Wicked and Righteous. Each man will stand before the Lord God most high and give account for everything done in this life, both good and bad. The Godly will recieve a reward for the good things they have done, and the wicked will suffer eternal punishment because they refuse to repent and turn to God.
And if you're a professing Christian that is practicing sin - stop now. The Holy God commands you to be holy and accepts nothing less. Don't think that just because you go to church that God somehow allows you indulgences. God forbid. God accepts only one thing from you - entire obedience to his will.
In the service of the Holy One,
John Wheeler
Friday, September 7, 2007
What will Heaven be like?
What will Heaven be like?
The question of what will heaven be like is probably best answered by asking, what are you like? For Heaven is a place that will be created for YOU!
God is self-existent (meaning he always existed and wasn’t created), so he existed before Heaven was created. Therefore Heaven wasn’t created for God – he didn’t need it. Since Angels are spirits, it’s possible that they didn’t even need heaven; or at the very least they don’t need the same things in heaven that you and I need in Heaven.
So Heaven is created for us.
Think about the splendor of Heaven. Heaven will not have any sin, evil, or decay, so all of the things that are ugly and lack beauty here on earth will not exist in Heaven. When you walk around Heaven you will be aware of the beautiful Holiness and Purity of the place. Heaven will be clean and pure in a way that you cannot imagine right now. There will be no sickness or disease. There will be no poverty. Heaven will be perfect because God made it that way and there will be nothing to change that.
Heaven will be a place of peace and love. When the Beatles sang about peace and love in the 60’s they were longing for Heaven. Heaven, and the fact that it exists has been birthed in your heart. It will be like your most fantastic dream come true. You will see the lion lay down with the lamb. You will bask in the love, mercy and presence of the Almighty God. God will walk with you face to face. People will love each other in a way that you cannot even imagine in this life.
Heaven will be more beautiful than you can even imagine. Heaven will be the most beautiful place that The Almighty can imagine. You’ll be awed by just how wonderful his imagination is. If you’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon and stood on the rim and marveled at the size, scope, beauty and grandeur of this amazing place, then you’ve had a teeny tiny sample of what heaven will be like.
Every place in Heaven will be incredibly more beautiful than anything you’ve ever seen or dreamed of on earth. You will see mountains that will absolutely awe you with their beauty and grandeur. There will be waterfalls that will floor you with how beautiful they are. There are going to be islands that will make the Caribbean or Hawaii look like garbage dumps, because they are more beautiful than anything you’ve ever thought of.
And one of the most interesting things about Heaven will be it’s size. We read in Revelation about the New Jerusalem and think that Heaven will be limited. NO WAY!
Heaven will be made for people that are going to live forever; a people that like to explore; a people that must learn new things to be challenged; a people that are filled with insatiable curiosity; a people that could easily become board in eternity if Heaven weren’t designed to meet their needs. So heaven will go on forever and ever. You will never explore it all. Nobody will. You will go to a waterfall one day (there won’t be days in Heaven, but bear with me. It’ll be easier for both of us to understand if we talk in terms of this age that we understand.) The next day you will go to another beautiful waterfall and you will marvel at its beauty, and so it will continue. Each place and each experience will be rewarding, mentally challenging, and invigorating. Heaven is made to keep you interested and fulfilled forever.
So like Jesus says, “Lay up your treasure in Heaven.” Keep your mind fixed upon Heaven and your eternal home. The 80 years of hardship that you endure here on earth will be immediately forgotten as soon as you get to Heaven.
John Wheeler
The question of what will heaven be like is probably best answered by asking, what are you like? For Heaven is a place that will be created for YOU!
God is self-existent (meaning he always existed and wasn’t created), so he existed before Heaven was created. Therefore Heaven wasn’t created for God – he didn’t need it. Since Angels are spirits, it’s possible that they didn’t even need heaven; or at the very least they don’t need the same things in heaven that you and I need in Heaven.
So Heaven is created for us.
Think about the splendor of Heaven. Heaven will not have any sin, evil, or decay, so all of the things that are ugly and lack beauty here on earth will not exist in Heaven. When you walk around Heaven you will be aware of the beautiful Holiness and Purity of the place. Heaven will be clean and pure in a way that you cannot imagine right now. There will be no sickness or disease. There will be no poverty. Heaven will be perfect because God made it that way and there will be nothing to change that.
Heaven will be a place of peace and love. When the Beatles sang about peace and love in the 60’s they were longing for Heaven. Heaven, and the fact that it exists has been birthed in your heart. It will be like your most fantastic dream come true. You will see the lion lay down with the lamb. You will bask in the love, mercy and presence of the Almighty God. God will walk with you face to face. People will love each other in a way that you cannot even imagine in this life.
Heaven will be more beautiful than you can even imagine. Heaven will be the most beautiful place that The Almighty can imagine. You’ll be awed by just how wonderful his imagination is. If you’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon and stood on the rim and marveled at the size, scope, beauty and grandeur of this amazing place, then you’ve had a teeny tiny sample of what heaven will be like.
Every place in Heaven will be incredibly more beautiful than anything you’ve ever seen or dreamed of on earth. You will see mountains that will absolutely awe you with their beauty and grandeur. There will be waterfalls that will floor you with how beautiful they are. There are going to be islands that will make the Caribbean or Hawaii look like garbage dumps, because they are more beautiful than anything you’ve ever thought of.
And one of the most interesting things about Heaven will be it’s size. We read in Revelation about the New Jerusalem and think that Heaven will be limited. NO WAY!
Heaven will be made for people that are going to live forever; a people that like to explore; a people that must learn new things to be challenged; a people that are filled with insatiable curiosity; a people that could easily become board in eternity if Heaven weren’t designed to meet their needs. So heaven will go on forever and ever. You will never explore it all. Nobody will. You will go to a waterfall one day (there won’t be days in Heaven, but bear with me. It’ll be easier for both of us to understand if we talk in terms of this age that we understand.) The next day you will go to another beautiful waterfall and you will marvel at its beauty, and so it will continue. Each place and each experience will be rewarding, mentally challenging, and invigorating. Heaven is made to keep you interested and fulfilled forever.
So like Jesus says, “Lay up your treasure in Heaven.” Keep your mind fixed upon Heaven and your eternal home. The 80 years of hardship that you endure here on earth will be immediately forgotten as soon as you get to Heaven.
John Wheeler
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
My Struggle for the Truth
My Personal Struggle for Truth (Part 1)
At about the age of 18 I started a long and arduous spiritual journey to find the truth about God. I grew up in church, but a lot of what I had been told didn’t make sense. The gospel that I was taught didn’t intuit well – it made no sense. I saw people come to church on Sunday and live like the Devil the rest of the week, and we were supposed to believe that they were children of God and even elders in the church. It makes no sense that you can live anyway you like and not offend a holy God.
I was taught that salvation required no works. In fact to think that you had to do anything to procure salvation was evil. All one had to do to be saved was to sincerely pray the sinner’s prayer.
I heard and saw people pray the sinners prayer and they didn’t make any changes their lives. Obviously they didn’t have any faith in God or Jesus other than that he possibly existed; but because they prayed the sinner’s prayer the pastor or other religious leader would pronounce them miraculously “saved.” Sometimes this rite of the church was such a farce that the saved person himself didn’t even believe that he was saved and didn’t understand what he had just said. Not to worry, we were taught that salvation was so wonderful the carnal mind could not fathom it, and these were new citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Like so many other Christians, I believed what I was taught about salvation until one night I saw a great travesty. A woman had come to the church. She was the mother of a young lady that attended the church. The woman, who’s name escapes me, was from a Pacific Island, barely spoke any English, and if she wasn’t a little mentally ill at the very least she was simple minded.
Her Daughter had a great desire to see her mother saved, so when the Pastor made an alter call that evening, the daughter helped her mother to the front of the church. After a few moments at the front of the church, the mother, the daughter, myself and possibly some others were directed into a room off the main sanctuary where we could spend some time with the woman.
I’m not really sure what the woman understood about God, about Jesus, or about religion in general. To my mind, it seemed like she understood nothing about God (although because of the language barrier, I may have gotten the wrong impression). Our time with the woman centered on getting her to recite the Sinner’s Prayer and have faith. She belligerently resisted for at least 20 minutes, but the crowd’s desire to see her “saved,” and the fact that her daughter was in anguish for her mother’s unrepentant soul caused people to persist. The poor woman was encouraged and badgered with words such as, “Don’t you want to go to heaven?” “All you have to do is say this prayer with us, and you will go to heaven,” or, “just have faith in Jesus, that’s all you need.”
Finally, I think they told her just to say, “Jesus,” and she would be saved. As I remember it, the woman finally repeated whatever the group wanted her to repeat, and there was exuberant praise because another soul had been added to the Kingdom.
I was less than convinced by the conversion. I don’t think she had saving faith at all. I doubt that a soul was added to the Kingdom that night, and I don’t see that God was glorified by our actions.
In fact this night has haunted me like Poe’s Raven, constantly causing me to question the instructions that we give sinners.
John Wheeler
PS, I will post Part II soon
At about the age of 18 I started a long and arduous spiritual journey to find the truth about God. I grew up in church, but a lot of what I had been told didn’t make sense. The gospel that I was taught didn’t intuit well – it made no sense. I saw people come to church on Sunday and live like the Devil the rest of the week, and we were supposed to believe that they were children of God and even elders in the church. It makes no sense that you can live anyway you like and not offend a holy God.
I was taught that salvation required no works. In fact to think that you had to do anything to procure salvation was evil. All one had to do to be saved was to sincerely pray the sinner’s prayer.
I heard and saw people pray the sinners prayer and they didn’t make any changes their lives. Obviously they didn’t have any faith in God or Jesus other than that he possibly existed; but because they prayed the sinner’s prayer the pastor or other religious leader would pronounce them miraculously “saved.” Sometimes this rite of the church was such a farce that the saved person himself didn’t even believe that he was saved and didn’t understand what he had just said. Not to worry, we were taught that salvation was so wonderful the carnal mind could not fathom it, and these were new citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Like so many other Christians, I believed what I was taught about salvation until one night I saw a great travesty. A woman had come to the church. She was the mother of a young lady that attended the church. The woman, who’s name escapes me, was from a Pacific Island, barely spoke any English, and if she wasn’t a little mentally ill at the very least she was simple minded.
Her Daughter had a great desire to see her mother saved, so when the Pastor made an alter call that evening, the daughter helped her mother to the front of the church. After a few moments at the front of the church, the mother, the daughter, myself and possibly some others were directed into a room off the main sanctuary where we could spend some time with the woman.
I’m not really sure what the woman understood about God, about Jesus, or about religion in general. To my mind, it seemed like she understood nothing about God (although because of the language barrier, I may have gotten the wrong impression). Our time with the woman centered on getting her to recite the Sinner’s Prayer and have faith. She belligerently resisted for at least 20 minutes, but the crowd’s desire to see her “saved,” and the fact that her daughter was in anguish for her mother’s unrepentant soul caused people to persist. The poor woman was encouraged and badgered with words such as, “Don’t you want to go to heaven?” “All you have to do is say this prayer with us, and you will go to heaven,” or, “just have faith in Jesus, that’s all you need.”
Finally, I think they told her just to say, “Jesus,” and she would be saved. As I remember it, the woman finally repeated whatever the group wanted her to repeat, and there was exuberant praise because another soul had been added to the Kingdom.
I was less than convinced by the conversion. I don’t think she had saving faith at all. I doubt that a soul was added to the Kingdom that night, and I don’t see that God was glorified by our actions.
In fact this night has haunted me like Poe’s Raven, constantly causing me to question the instructions that we give sinners.
John Wheeler
PS, I will post Part II soon
Monday, July 30, 2007
SO GREAT SALVATION
There is nothing, either real or imagined, that even comes close to the greatness of salvation. Even in our fictional stories like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, nobody has ever dreamed of anything as wonderful as the salvation that is offered us by our God.
Sometimes, in our carnal state, we think of salvation as just forgiveness of sins, but salvation is much more than just forgiveness of sins. Even human governments can and often do pardon crimes (forgive sins) and offer clemency. Certainly, included in the offer of salvation from God the forgiveness of sins, but salvation is so much more.
Salvation takes you from a position as an enemy of the government of God, pardons you for all your past crimes, and then raises you to a position of high honor in the Kingdom of God and the universe. Never once in all of our dreams, our fantasy, and our fiction has anything so great, so wonderful, so magnificent, so undeserved as the salvation of sinners ever been conceived of by any human mind. Only the Divine Mind could possibly concoct a plan that would take willfully unlawful criminals, reprobates, and God-haters, and change them into holy members of the Royal Family of the infinite, holy, and sovereign Lord God All Mighty
Through salvation, you have gained all of the rights given to the children of God, and you are given a position of honor in the Kingdom of Heaven with all the privileges and powers that come along with being a representative of the King of Kings. You are an Ambassador of Heaven, sent to further the Kingdom of Heaven and make disciples and converts. You have been given the ministry of reconciliation. You are told to further the Kingdom and allowed to use the name of Jesus to transact Kingdom business. You are given the power over demons, sickness and disease, and all enemies of the Kingdom. You are made a Holy Priest of the Most High. The Holy Spirit of God lives within you and leads you. As a member of Kingdom of Heaven, you are supported and backed by all the power of God and great hordes of Angels. You are given eternal life, and will spend eternity in a place created just for you called heaven. And for the rest of eternity you will live in amazement at the grace, goodness and mercy of God because of the salvation that he has freely given you.
Salvation is infinitely more than just forgiveness of sins. You have been adopted into the family of God, made a member of the Kingdom of Heaven, and given a duty and a great purpose for your life.
John Wheeler
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Rich Man and Lazarus
The Rich Man and Lazarus
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.
The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
Luke 16:19-31
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD-ROM:
In response to my concern that people are going to be fooled by the enticements offered by Carlton Pearson’s Universalism, I was going to go into a long proof that Hell actually exists. But I figured it would be a waste of my time; other than to say, as horrible as it is here for some people; Hell will be worse than you can even imagine.
So let me share what’s on my heart now. When I was a child, I used to wonder how I would feel at the judgment when I saw my ungodly friends sentenced to eternal suffering in Hell. Would I run in front of God and beg for mercy and compassion for them? How would I deal with it?
Recently, I realized that I have an example of how the Righteous feel about the inhabitants of Hell, and its right here in The Rich Man and Lazarus.
When the Rich Man shrieks in agony for the smallest drop of water, because he dare not even ask for a glass of water, how do Abraham and Lazarus reply?
Abraham says, “you had your good things in life.”
Now most people will glance over that part and miss what he’s truly implying, so stay awake here.
What Abraham is saying is, “God is just by sending you to Hell.”
Ouch!
Abraham didn’t say, “Oh you poor man, I ache for you. Lazarus will be right over and he’ll bring you lots of refreshing water.”
Abraham didn’t say, “Hey dude, it hurts me to see you suffer like that, but I can’t help you because of the chasm between us.”
Abraham didn’t say anything that even implied that he had even the slightest sympathy and compassion for the Rich Man in Hell. Now why not?
It’s easy. Abraham is a servant of God. He loves God with all his heart, soul, and being. Abraham’s Number one desire is bring glory to God and further the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Rich Man is a rebel. All his life he refused to listen to the message of the prophets and turn to God. The Rich Man sneered in the face of a just, and holy, and sovereign God.
There is no way that Abraham can approve of such behavior in another being – not when his own heart is completely set on glorifying God. If Abraham had sympathy for the Rich Man and sided in with him, it would put Abraham in direct opposition to the Justice of God. In essence he would be calling God unjust for punishing this criminal.
And so it should be with us also. Our first goal must be to bring glory and honor to God. We can never side with sinners. We can never oppose God, and think him unjust for punishing sinners. To do so would be grand blasphemy, and prove that we know little of the goodness and mercy of God.
John
The lies of Carlton Pearson continued
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I’m going to continue to write things about the dangerous doctrines of Carlton Pearson, not because I have anything against him – I don’t. In fact the Bible tells me to love him.
OK, NOW FOR SOME TRUTH
I’ve showed you the complete verse the Carlton quotes within it’s context. Carlton is absolutely correct in saying that Christ died for the sins of the entire world. The people that John was addressing had gotten off track and were thinking that maybe Christ only died for believers. John says Christ died for the sins of the world, but just cause he died for your sins doesn’t mean you’re going to Heaven. John goes on to say, ”We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” So what John is saying is that you cannot be a Christian without keeping his commands.
I’m going to continue to write things about the dangerous doctrines of Carlton Pearson, not because I have anything against him – I don’t. In fact the Bible tells me to love him.
If you look at the last post, I’m required to love him with selfless benevolence and do the best for him that I can. In other words, love him as I love myself. I am not required to love him with the love of approval, because frankly what he’s doing to potentially thousands and maybe millions of souls is teaching them the doctrines of demons. As a result of Carlton’s doctrines, millions of souls may suffer eternal agony as enemies of God. How can any righteous being be pleased with that?
But I don’t want you to be fooled. I want you to know the truth and the truth will set you free. So here’s what Carlton is saying, and what God is says.
Here’s what Carlton Pearson says:
As stated in I John 2:2, "He, (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only our sins [inclusion], but the sins of the whole world.” The atonement of Christ for the sin of the world, was and is inclusive and is not limited to a few fortunate believers.
Here’s what the Sovereign Lord God Almighty actually says in that passage:
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
1John 2:2
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD-ROM
Also, the Lord says the following:
You have wearied the LORD with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Malachi 2:17
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD- ROM
Hmmm, just a little bit of difference between what Carlton says and what the Lord God almighty says, huh?
The problem with a lot of philosophies is that they don’t take into account the entire Bible as being the complete revelation of to mankind, and then they pick and choose which verses they want to use to prove their point.
This sort of thinking is very prevalent in current churches. For instance, a lot of Christians will completely ignore the Old Testament as being irrelevant to them. They won’t even bother to read the Old Testament cause they say, “we’re not under law but grace.” And I’ve even seen people eliminate the sayings of Christ by saying, “well that’s irrelevant because it’s before the cross, and what happened before the cross doesn’t matter now.” And then they pick out a favorite verse that fits their selfish philosophy and then build their entire philosophy and doctrine around that. For instance they’ll say something ludicrous like, “the Bible teaches, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
Well, no the Bible doesn’t teach, “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die,” but the Bible does says, “If the dead are not raised, then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die,” (1 Corinthians 15:32). When you read the verse in context you can understand that the quote is part of an argument about the resurrection of the dead. It is not an instance of the Bible teaching hedonism, amoralism, or anarchy.
So this is what Carlton has done with his idea of inclusion (the idea that everybody is going to heaven); he has pulled a few verses out of context and then tried to build an entire theology around them. I don’t want to see you get fooled or sucked into the tragic lie that he is teaching.
But I don’t want you to be fooled. I want you to know the truth and the truth will set you free. So here’s what Carlton is saying, and what God is says.
Here’s what Carlton Pearson says:
As stated in I John 2:2, "He, (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only our sins [inclusion], but the sins of the whole world.” The atonement of Christ for the sin of the world, was and is inclusive and is not limited to a few fortunate believers.
Here’s what the Sovereign Lord God Almighty actually says in that passage:
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
1John 2:2
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD-ROM
Also, the Lord says the following:
You have wearied the LORD with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Malachi 2:17
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD- ROM
Hmmm, just a little bit of difference between what Carlton says and what the Lord God almighty says, huh?
The problem with a lot of philosophies is that they don’t take into account the entire Bible as being the complete revelation of to mankind, and then they pick and choose which verses they want to use to prove their point.
This sort of thinking is very prevalent in current churches. For instance, a lot of Christians will completely ignore the Old Testament as being irrelevant to them. They won’t even bother to read the Old Testament cause they say, “we’re not under law but grace.” And I’ve even seen people eliminate the sayings of Christ by saying, “well that’s irrelevant because it’s before the cross, and what happened before the cross doesn’t matter now.” And then they pick out a favorite verse that fits their selfish philosophy and then build their entire philosophy and doctrine around that. For instance they’ll say something ludicrous like, “the Bible teaches, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
Well, no the Bible doesn’t teach, “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die,” but the Bible does says, “If the dead are not raised, then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die,” (1 Corinthians 15:32). When you read the verse in context you can understand that the quote is part of an argument about the resurrection of the dead. It is not an instance of the Bible teaching hedonism, amoralism, or anarchy.
So this is what Carlton has done with his idea of inclusion (the idea that everybody is going to heaven); he has pulled a few verses out of context and then tried to build an entire theology around them. I don’t want to see you get fooled or sucked into the tragic lie that he is teaching.
OK, NOW FOR SOME TRUTH
I’ve showed you the complete verse the Carlton quotes within it’s context. Carlton is absolutely correct in saying that Christ died for the sins of the entire world. The people that John was addressing had gotten off track and were thinking that maybe Christ only died for believers. John says Christ died for the sins of the world, but just cause he died for your sins doesn’t mean you’re going to Heaven. John goes on to say, ”We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” So what John is saying is that you cannot be a Christian without keeping his commands.
You can come up with whatever rules for salvation that you want, but the truth is just what John says it is; if you don’t keep his commands, you don’t love God and therefore you have NO hope for salvation and NO POSSIBILITY of eternal life in heaven.
Furthermore, look what the prophet Malachi says. He says that we weary God when we say that people who do evil are pleasing to God. It’s just not so brothers. How could it be?
The truth is simple, all the law is summed up in 2 commands: Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. The Wicked don’t love God with all their heart. Their supreme desire is not the greatest possible good of God and his Kingdom. In fact they are diametrically opposed to God and all things good.
Irregardless of what Carlton says, sinners are diabolically evil, rebellious, and dead set against God. God sent his son to reconcile the entire world to him, and they reject that sacrifice and spit in the face of God. Sinners do everything they can to resist the grace and goodness of God and they ignore his attempts to reconcile them to himself. The worst sin you can commit is refusing to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. I don’t care what code of morality you dream up, if it doesn’t begin with 100% consecration to God then it’s blatantly wrong, evil and immoral.
Please don’t think that you can reject the goodness, mercy, and patience of The King of Kings without eternally offending him, his government, and his justice. The writer of the Hebrews says, "those who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10: 28 & 29)
Furthermore, look what the prophet Malachi says. He says that we weary God when we say that people who do evil are pleasing to God. It’s just not so brothers. How could it be?
The truth is simple, all the law is summed up in 2 commands: Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. The Wicked don’t love God with all their heart. Their supreme desire is not the greatest possible good of God and his Kingdom. In fact they are diametrically opposed to God and all things good.
Irregardless of what Carlton says, sinners are diabolically evil, rebellious, and dead set against God. God sent his son to reconcile the entire world to him, and they reject that sacrifice and spit in the face of God. Sinners do everything they can to resist the grace and goodness of God and they ignore his attempts to reconcile them to himself. The worst sin you can commit is refusing to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. I don’t care what code of morality you dream up, if it doesn’t begin with 100% consecration to God then it’s blatantly wrong, evil and immoral.
Please don’t think that you can reject the goodness, mercy, and patience of The King of Kings without eternally offending him, his government, and his justice. The writer of the Hebrews says, "those who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10: 28 & 29)
The only reasonable place for those who refuse to repent and turn to God is somewhere far away from the Holy God, in a place of punishment. That place is called hell.
May God be exalted,
John Wheeler
May God be exalted,
John Wheeler
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