Lucado was named "America's
Pastor" by Christianity Today magazine and in 2005
was named by Reader's Digest as "The Best Preacher in
America." He has been featured on The Fox News Channel, NBC
Nightly News, Larry King Live, and USA Today. His books are
regularly on the New York Times Best Seller List. He
has been featured speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." —2nd Timothy 4:3
Max Lucado is a best-selling Christian author and well-known minister. Lucado has written 60 books with over 30 million copies in print, and currently serves as senior minister at Oak Hills Church (formerly Oak Hills Church of Christ) in San Antonio, Texas.
Tragically, Max Lucado is an ecumenical false prophet, who teaches the Church of Christ's false doctrine that salvation comes only after baptism. Lucado deceitfully claims that he doesn't believe in Baptismal Regeneration; yet he teaches that water baptism is essential to being saved...
"Baptism effectively seals our salvation."
"In baptism God signs and seals our conversion to him."
The following quote came from the Oak Hills Church of Christ official Internet web site — updated 7/15/95; copied 7/12/96; and re-verified 2/98 (The Oak Hills Church pulled this statement from their web site in 1999, apparently due to complaints from evangelicals, and replaced it with a rather generic statement):
"It is necessary to respond to God's free offer of salvation by faith, repentance, and baptism. As we confess Christ as our Lord and are baptized by immersion, God meets us, forgives our sins and gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit that empowers each of us." (Emphases added.)
This is typical Church of Christ false doctrine. Most Christians are not aware that Max Lucado is the pastor of the Oak Hills Church of Christ. Sadly, most Christians are not even aware that the Church of Christ adds water baptism to the Gospel; thus, perverting it.
Lucado falsely teaches that water baptism is an initial sign of being saved. There is NO such teaching in the Bible...
"True believers not only offer their sins, they yield their wills to Christ. Baptism is the initial test of a believing heart."
1st John 5:13 tells us clearly WHY the Apostle John wrote his Epistle... so that we could KNOW that we have eternal life. Interestingly, John never mentions "baptism" even once.
Max Lucado is hiding the fact that he is a Church of Christ minister...
Recently, his church, which has some 5,000 members, even changed its name from "Oak Hills Church of Christ" to simply "Oak Hills Church."
As a result of Lucado's deception, naive churchgoers have embraced Mr. Lucado's heresies...
Christians of all denominations have embraced Lucado's work. He has written more than 50 books -- with more than 39 million in print -- including his latest, "Come Thirsty," (W Publishing Group) which came out last year.
Max Lucado's teachings are dangerous.
Lucado was a speaker at the 1995 Christian Booksellers Association
(CBA) Convention. Lucado gave a call to unity among Christians across
denominational lines. Likening Christians to sailors on the same boat with
"one captain" and "one destination," Lucado urged acceptance between
Protestants and Catholics, Baptists, and Presbyterians (Reported in the
12/95, Fundamentalist Digest). Max Lucado is an unsaved
Modernist who is
actively corrupting America's churches. Any minister who promotes
acceptance of the damnable Catholic religion is of the Devil. The
Devil is using ecumenical ministers to promote sinful compromise between
believers and the unsaved. The Word of God commands us to divide over
truth, rather than being united by error (2nd Corinthians 6:14-17).
Apostate Ministers of Unrighteousness
America has been infected with dime-a-dozen, smiling, happy-go-lucky, imposters who claim to be proclaiming God's message. In reality, they are serving themselves, making millions of dollars from the ignorant public. In John 5:39 Jesus commanded for us to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES! Instead, people search for the latest New York Times Bestseller. These sinister ministers preach about love, joy, and forgiveness; BUT, they don't mention sin, Hellfire, judgment and repentance.
We are living in a generation that wrongly preaches forgiveness without repentance. There can be no salvation without repentance. Now, a person does not have to forsake their sins to be saved; but they do need to become GUILTY before God (Romans 3:19), realizing their condemnation under God's Law as a sinner and justly deserved penalty of Hellfire. Repentance is a change of mind that causes us to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. If a person is genuinely saved, then a changed-life should follow (2nd Corinthians 5:17; James 2:18). Most people who claim to be "Christian" today are still hellbound in their sins. They have churchianity without Christianity, religion without truth.
The preachers who Satan is promoting the most
nowadays are the best "ear-ticklers."
2nd Timothy 4:3 WARNS: "For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears"
(2nd Timothy 4:3). Max Lucado is an ear-tickler, just like Joel Osteen
and Rick Warren. They tell people what they want to hear, i.e.,
messages of health, wealth and prosperity. In Matthew 10:34 Jesus
said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send
peace, but a sword." What does this mean? It means that
the truth hurts! It means that the truth often causes church splits,
family breakups and persecution for those who uphold it. The truth has
few friends these days. Modernist preachers talk much about the word
"truth"; but they speak lies of deceit.
Conclusion
Max Lucado is extremely subtle. It is clear from his writings that he believes that any person who knowingly refuses to receive water baptism will not go to Heaven. He doesn't believe that a person is saved through water baptism. He does believe that a believer who is ignorant of baptism, who hasn't been baptized, may still go to Heaven. However, for those who do know better, and still refuse to receive water baptism, Lucado clearly believes that such a person is not saved. The truth of the matter is that water baptism has absolutely nothing to do with being saved. It is simply an ordinance that the Lord established; but NOT as a prerequisite for salvation. If it were a prerequisite to salvation, then the Apostle Paul and other writer's of the New Testament Epistles to the churches would have emphasized it. They didn't.
It is wrong for Max Lucado or anyone else to teach that baptism "seals our salvation." Ephesians 1:13 clears this matter up, and identifies Mr. Lucado as a false prophet... "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." According to the Bible, each believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit after they believe. Baptism is NOT mentioned. Water baptism does not seal our salvation! The Holy Spirit, Who comes to indwell us at the time of salvation, seals us!
Do as Jesus commanded and SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES and you'll never be led astray by false prophets such as Max Lucado.
