Ray
Comfort (pictured to left), who operates Living Waters ministry, has
produced a video titled "Another
Interview with God." At the end of the video presentation Mr.
Comfort states:
This is what you could pray to get right with God:
"Dear God, I repent (turn away from) of all my sins (name them if they come to mind). This day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior because I know You sent Him to save me from your wrath. Please forgive me and grant me your gift of everlasting life. Change my heart, and make me who You want me to be. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen."
I think it is significant to point out that Ray
Comfort speeds along the video during the preceding message, so fast in fact
that the entire message only appears for one second. The message first
fades in at 3:44 and is completely faded out by the end of 3:46. You
can't read the message while it is fading in or out, so you can only make
out some of the words for the brief second the message is displayed.
Even the fastest speed-reader in the world couldn't read Ray Comfort's
perverted Gospel in one second! Look for yourself. Does Ray
Comfort have a false doctrine to hide? Yes.
Ray Comfort Perverts the Biblical Meaning of the Word "Repent"
The
problem (and I'm really surprised at the ignorance of Mr. Comfort) is that
he totally MISINTERPRETS the Biblical meaning of the word "repent."
In Mark 1:15 Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel." The word repent
here is the Greek METANOEO, meaning "to change one's mind."
When a person realizes that they're a GUILTY sinner, under the condemnation
of God's Law, deserving of Hellfire; and then that person believes upon the
Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness—they are saved eternally.
Listen again to the words of Mr. Comfort in The Evidence Bible...
We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and until we forsake them through repentance, we cannot be made alive in Christ.
That is a lie of the Devil. Ephesians 2:1-9 beautifully explains the relation between our sins and the gift of God...
Eph:2:1: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph:2:2: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph:2:3: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph:2:4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph:2:5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph:2:6: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph:2:7: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph:2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph:2:9: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
There is absolutely NOTHING in Ephesians 2:1-9 that requires us to "forsake" our sins as Ray Comfort teaches to be saved. Eternal life is a "free gift" (Romans 5:15; 6:23), paid for by Jesus' literal, physical, precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; Hebrews 9:12). Forsaking one's sins to be saved is SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS! Ephesians 2:8 plainly states... NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD. In salvation, it is God Who changes man; and not man changing him self.
You cannot show me one Scripture that requires a person to forsake their sins to be saved! If that were true, then who could be saved... "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John 8:7). The entire notion of forsaking one's sins to be saved is the height of sanctimonious self-righteous hypocrisy. Is there a Christian without sin? No! Ray Comfort has perverted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by requiring lost sinners to forsake their sins to be saved; thus, teaching works salvation. This heresy is called "Lordship Salvation," and it is a common lie today. Other false teachers, such as Pastor John MacArthur, teach this same garbage.
We are
the sinners, and Jesus is the Savior. It's that simple. Please
read, What is
Biblical repentance? Repentance in the Bible,
when concerning salvation, NEVER means to forsake one's sins. It
always refer to "a change of mind." Requiring a sinner to forsake
their sins to be saved is a lifestyle change, which eliminates the
growing in grace process spoken of in 1st Peter 2:2... "As newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."
A Sinner's Faith is Counted for
Righteousness
Ray Comfort has been caught up into the deceit of Lordship Salvation,
which is nothing less than an utter perversion of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Mr. Comfort talks from both sides of his mouth, in one breath
calling everlasting life a "gift"; but in the next breath teaching that lost
sinners must forsake their sins to receive that same GIFT. No sir!
A gift cannot be earned. Romans 4:5 states, "But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness." When the vilest sinner places
his faith in the Savior to forgive his sins, whether he intends to forsake
them or not, that man's FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Get
mad at God if you don't like that, because He said it. I realize this
shocks some people today, mainly the Lordship Salvationists; but this is
what the Word of God teaches, like it or not.
Does this give believers a license to sin?
Of course not (Romans 3:31). 2nd Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new." Please keep in mind that the
change comes AFTER salvation, and is a RESULT of being born-again. The
change is not a prerequisite to be saved. It is Jesus Christ Who is
the "new creature" Who changes us. But this is a byproduct of being
indwelt with the Spirit of Christ at salvation (Romans 8:9); and not a
mandatory step to receive eternal life. As with the Apostle James, I
would question the salvation of any professed believer who lives in open sin
(James 2:18). But realize that
James speaks
of the FRUIT of the believer's faith; whereas, the Apostle Paul in Romans
4:5 speaks of the ROOT of the believer's faith. The Lordship Salvation
crowd get these two confused, so they combine them into one and pervert the
Gospel into self-righteousness.
Beware of Ray Comfort
I do not hate Ray Comfort, nor anyone else. I do hate evil as God instructs all believers to hate (Psalm 97:10). Ephesians 5:11 tells us to "refute" (Greek: elencho, i.e., "TO EXPOSE") Satan's works of darkness. It is not too late for Mr. Comfort and I sincerely pray that he would reconsider his doctrinal position and make amends. Everyone is wrong at times in life, even preachers. I don't want anyone to believe anything I say... I want you to go check it out for yourself. We need to follow the Word of God, i.e., the King James Bible, and question every doctrine that men present to us. The best way to expose darkness is to shine the Light of God's Word upon it. Don't let the Devil make a fool out of you.
Lordship Salvation is a lie of the Devil. One of the reasons that this heresy has become so popular is because of the "new" corrupted bibles on the market, such as the hell-spawned New International Version (NIV). It ought to be called the HIV bible, because it is more dangerous than the AIDS virus! The NIV has produced a generation of Lordship Salvationists who foolishly believe that a person cannot be saved without making Jesus Lord. Here's Romans 10:9 from the King James Bible, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Now here's Romans 10:9 from the perverted NIV... "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." The Bible never requires us to make Jesus our "Lord" to be saved, only trust Him as our Savior (John 14:6). Read More
Ray Comfort is a false prophet, who perverts the Gospel message by ADDING self-righteousness. Salvation cannot be a gift if a person is required to forsake their sins to receive it. This is common sense, as well as Biblical truth. Again, the fact that Ray's INTERVIEW WITH GOD video, speeds along so fast that you can't even read his perverted Gospel message, is clear evidence to me that he is very uncomfortable with it. In my opinion, either Ray realizes he has been wrong and is too proud to admit it, or else he is being deceitful by hiding his true beliefs from newcomers to his ministry. Look at the video and you'll see. The entire video is slow until it gets to his false teaching. Either way he is making lots of money and needs to be exposed as a false prophet. John MacArthur does the same double-talk and is deceitful about his beliefs.
It's time for Christians to get into their Bibles and stop following the teachings of wayward men. You can't be misled if you diligently study the Bible and make It your Final Authority in all matters of faith and life. You don't need the latest New York Times Bestseller, you need the old 1611 King James Bible.
