Soul Winning
Repent or Perish
Sep/12/11 13:39
Reprinted September 14, 2011 (first published September 14, 1998) (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article)
The following is from a sermon by the late Evangelist Lester Roloff. It is excerpted from sermon #R03404 from Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises, Corpus Christi, Texas --
Every man must repent of his sin. What is repentance? John the Baptist told the people to bring forth fruit meet for repentance (Matthew 3:8). I want to say this to my preacher brethren. I really mean this. We ought not to be too hasty in getting them to join the church, if they haven’t repented. It doesn’t hurt for them to prove their faith for awhile. It doesn’t hurt for them to prove that they have been saved by the grace of God and their lives are changed. John said, "Bring forth some fruit meet for repentance." What are the fruits?
Number one would be a new heart and a new start. You’ll become new. The Bible says that "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). One fruit of that experience ought to be restitution. I believe we ought to make right what we can make right. What if I was staying with a group of preachers and one of them stole my wallet while I was sleeping? The next day he comes up to me and tells me he is terribly sorry and asks me to forgive him. I would be glad to hear that he is sorry for stealing my wallet, but I would certainly want and expect more than that from a repentant thief. I would want my wallet back! I don’t believe he has really repented unless he brings my billfold back. I DON’T BELIEVE YOU HAVE REPENTED UNTIL YOU GET RIGHT AND SAY, "LORD, I’M GOING TO LIVE DIFFERENT FROM NOW ON," AND BY THE GRACE OF GOD YOU WILL LIVE DIFFERENT. Continue reading this article……
The following is from a sermon by the late Evangelist Lester Roloff. It is excerpted from sermon #R03404 from Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises, Corpus Christi, Texas --
Every man must repent of his sin. What is repentance? John the Baptist told the people to bring forth fruit meet for repentance (Matthew 3:8). I want to say this to my preacher brethren. I really mean this. We ought not to be too hasty in getting them to join the church, if they haven’t repented. It doesn’t hurt for them to prove their faith for awhile. It doesn’t hurt for them to prove that they have been saved by the grace of God and their lives are changed. John said, "Bring forth some fruit meet for repentance." What are the fruits?
Number one would be a new heart and a new start. You’ll become new. The Bible says that "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). One fruit of that experience ought to be restitution. I believe we ought to make right what we can make right. What if I was staying with a group of preachers and one of them stole my wallet while I was sleeping? The next day he comes up to me and tells me he is terribly sorry and asks me to forgive him. I would be glad to hear that he is sorry for stealing my wallet, but I would certainly want and expect more than that from a repentant thief. I would want my wallet back! I don’t believe he has really repented unless he brings my billfold back. I DON’T BELIEVE YOU HAVE REPENTED UNTIL YOU GET RIGHT AND SAY, "LORD, I’M GOING TO LIVE DIFFERENT FROM NOW ON," AND BY THE GRACE OF GOD YOU WILL LIVE DIFFERENT. Continue reading this article……
Responses to "What's Wrong With Most Soul-Winning Courses"
Dec/20/10 09:46
Following are some of the responses I received in regard to the article “What’s Wrong with Most Soul-winning Courses” which we published on December 15. (All of the feedback was positive, so I am not withholding anything.)
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I am a Baptist missionary. Every year we have volunteer teams come from the States to assist us with our work here, and it is a constant struggle to try to get them to understand “biblical evangelism vs easy prayerism.” The article that you wrote is exceptional and I would like to include it in our training/orientation of the teams.
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I greatly appreciate your ministry and pray for you and your family weekly. I have given away many copies of your book "Repentance & Soul-Winning." I commend your recent article calling out the "Sword" evangelism methodology.
I wonder whether you have ever considered having a conference on the issue of preaching repentance as part of salvation. It's amazing to me that most fundamental Baptists seem to act as if there is no controversy within their camp. Certainly, the "Sword" crowd acts as if there is no other position than theirs. ...
The most tragic is those profess that repentance is essential, but yet use the methodology of those who don't. Thus producing false converts galore and not understanding why.
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Continue reading this article……
___________________________
I am a Baptist missionary. Every year we have volunteer teams come from the States to assist us with our work here, and it is a constant struggle to try to get them to understand “biblical evangelism vs easy prayerism.” The article that you wrote is exceptional and I would like to include it in our training/orientation of the teams.
___________________________
I greatly appreciate your ministry and pray for you and your family weekly. I have given away many copies of your book "Repentance & Soul-Winning." I commend your recent article calling out the "Sword" evangelism methodology.
I wonder whether you have ever considered having a conference on the issue of preaching repentance as part of salvation. It's amazing to me that most fundamental Baptists seem to act as if there is no controversy within their camp. Certainly, the "Sword" crowd acts as if there is no other position than theirs. ...
The most tragic is those profess that repentance is essential, but yet use the methodology of those who don't. Thus producing false converts galore and not understanding why.
___________________________
Continue reading this article……
Repentance and Lordship Salvation Revisited
Apr/15/10 17:31
Updated April 15, 2010 (first published December 6, 1996) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
In July 1996 we published an article in O Timothy magazine entitled “Repentance and Lordship Salvation,” in which we dealt with five errors we have observed among independent fundamental Baptists in regard to the doctrine of repentance:
1. The error that repentance is wrapped up in faith and does not have to be preached.
2. The error that to define repentance as a change of mind which results in a change of life is a “new” thing.
3. The error of confusing repentance with “lordship salvation.”
4. The error of saying salvation can be divorced from accepting Jesus Christ as God and Lord.
5. The error of saying that it is unbelief alone which condemns men and sends them to hell.
This is difficult subject and it is easy for a man to be misunderstood, particularly if a reader has not seen many of our materials and does not understand our overall position and ministry. Also, when we mention the name of an independent Baptist leader who is promoting what we believe to be an error, it is natural for those who respect the man to react negatively toward us. They tend to shoot the messenger! We received a letter from a pastor who cancelled his subscription to O Timothy because of this particular article; and, as it turned out, the problem was that he misunderstood us and thought we were promoting “lordship salvation.” I wrote to this pastor in an attempt to more clearly explain my position, and he called me and apologized for the misunderstanding and for the harshness of his letter. I greatly appreciated the humility and Christian graciousness of this pastor and his willingness to call and discuss this matter. Continue reading this article……
In July 1996 we published an article in O Timothy magazine entitled “Repentance and Lordship Salvation,”
1. The error that repentance is wrapped up in faith and does not have to be preached.
2. The error that to define repentance as a change of mind which results in a change of life is a “new” thing.
3. The error of confusing repentance with “lordship salvation.”
4. The error of saying salvation can be divorced from accepting Jesus Christ as God and Lord.
5. The error of saying that it is unbelief alone which condemns men and sends them to hell.
This is difficult subject and it is easy for a man to be misunderstood, particularly if a reader has not seen many of our materials and does not understand our overall position and ministry. Also, when we mention the name of an independent Baptist leader who is promoting what we believe to be an error, it is natural for those who respect the man to react negatively toward us. They tend to shoot the messenger! We received a letter from a pastor who cancelled his subscription to
Repentance and Lordship Salvation
Apr/14/10 17:26
Updated April 14, 2010 (first published July 1996) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The Bible very plainly gives us a doctrine of repentance, but there seems to be some confusion among Independent Baptists in this regard. In the June 1996 issue of O Timothy we noted that some even claim that repentance is not a doctrine and that it is not necessary to preach repentance. That this is a widespread problem is testified by the title of a book that was published some years ago by a veteran Independent Baptist missionary. The title was “The Great Omission,” and the subject was the lack of repentance in the preaching of many fundamental Baptists. Not only is repentance almost entirely omitted in many ministries, it is also widely misunderstood and misinterpreted.
I have read dozens of books, articles, and sermons touching on this topic, and the following are some of the errors that I have seen cropping up repeatedly:
ERROR NUMBER 1: REPENTANCE IS WRAPPED UP IN FAITH AND DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PREACHED.
“The word ‘repent’ is not even found in the book of John. It is obviously assumed by God that ‘repentance’ is a part of ‘believing’” (Bob Gray, Longview, Texas).
I will reply to the idea that repentance is the same as faith by asking the following questions:
1. If repentance and faith are the same, why does did Paul make such a plain distinction between them? “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). In reality, repentance and faith are two different actions though they are intimately connected and cannot necessarily be separated in time. Repentance is to acknowledge one’s sin and rebellion against God and to change one’s mind about sinning against God. Repentance is surrender. Faith is to trust the finished work of Christ for forgiveness. Repentance and faith are the two aspects of man’s response to God’s offer of salvation. Continue reading this article……
The Bible very plainly gives us a doctrine of repentance, but there seems to be some confusion among Independent Baptists in this regard. In the June 1996 issue of O Timothy we noted that some even claim that repentance is not a doctrine and that it is not necessary to preach repentance. That this is a widespread problem is testified by the title of a book that was published some years ago by a veteran Independent Baptist missionary. The title was “The Great Omission,” and the subject was the lack of repentance in the preaching of many fundamental Baptists. Not only is repentance almost entirely omitted in many ministries, it is also widely misunderstood and misinterpreted.
I have read dozens of books, articles, and sermons touching on this topic, and the following are some of the errors that I have seen cropping up repeatedly:
ERROR NUMBER 1: REPENTANCE IS WRAPPED UP IN FAITH AND DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PREACHED.
“The word ‘repent’ is not even found in the book of John. It is obviously assumed by God that ‘repentance’ is a part of ‘believing’” (Bob Gray, Longview, Texas).
I will reply to the idea that repentance is the same as faith by asking the following questions:
1. If repentance and faith are the same, why does did Paul make such a plain distinction between them? “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). In reality, repentance and faith are two different actions though they are intimately connected and cannot necessarily be separated in time. Repentance is to acknowledge one’s sin and rebellion against God and to change one’s mind about sinning against God. Repentance is surrender. Faith is to trust the finished work of Christ for forgiveness. Repentance and faith are the two aspects of man’s response to God’s offer of salvation. Continue reading this article……
Questions Answered About Repentance
Apr/13/10 16:43
QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT REPENTANCE
Updated April 13, 2010 (first published February 24, 2000) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
My articles and books dealing with repentance and exposing the error of what I call “quick prayerism” have produced questions both from friends and enemies. The following are my answers to these questions:
QUESTION: How can you speak against men such as Pastor Jack Hyles who promote what you call “quick prayerism” when many people have been saved through their ministries?
ANSWER: It is true that people have been saved through the ministries of the men who promote quick prayerism. I know some of them personally, and I praise the Lord for every soul that is genuinely saved through any man’s ministry. I also praise the Lord for every other good thing in the lives and ministries of these men. I don’t consider myself their enemy, though they usually consider me as such. To point out error is a kindly thing to do. Some of these men probably put me to shame in some areas of the Christian life, and I readily acknowledge that before God. The good things in a man’s life and ministry never excuse error, though. Continue reading this article……
Updated April 13, 2010 (first published February 24, 2000) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
My articles and books dealing with repentance and exposing the error of what I call “quick prayerism” have produced questions both from friends and enemies. The following are my answers to these questions:
QUESTION: How can you speak against men such as Pastor Jack Hyles who promote what you call “quick prayerism” when many people have been saved through their ministries?
ANSWER: It is true that people have been saved through the ministries of the men who promote quick prayerism. I know some of them personally, and I praise the Lord for every soul that is genuinely saved through any man’s ministry. I also praise the Lord for every other good thing in the lives and ministries of these men. I don’t consider myself their enemy, though they usually consider me as such. To point out error is a kindly thing to do. Some of these men probably put me to shame in some areas of the Christian life, and I readily acknowledge that before God. The good things in a man’s life and ministry never excuse error, though. Continue reading this article……
