Eleven Precious Words of Scripture

“The gospel of salvation never changes,” says the preacher. “Amen,” says the church. But, if recent USA surveys are correct, it seems the gospel of salvation has indeed changed. Apparently the majority of Protestant people there no longer believe they are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. They have sided with the Roman Catholic Church, which claims people are saved by grace plus works.  Rome never changes, so does that mean they’ll be going to Mass soon? Quite possibly. When eleven precious words of Scripture get rejected anything’s likely to happen!

Thank the Lord for the apostle Paul and his companion, Silas! Their Philippian jailer asked them, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? If ever there was a time for works to be declared as part of the gospel this was the time to declare it; but no, he was given eleven precious words, plus three more for his family. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved…… Acts 16:31. Yes, he and his household got baptized that night too, but that is not what saved their souls; believing on Christ did that. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast Ephesians 2:8-9. Rather than express joy at the hearing of these Scriptures, some people I proclaim them to express anger.

Why anger rather than joy? One answer: If they cannot boast, then there is no room for pride, conceit, smugness and self-satisfaction. To be stripped of these is a frightening thought for people; the alternative being humility, self-abasement and facing up to reality. People in possession of a grace plus works mentality thrive on the former and despise the latter. In God’s eyes however, the best we can do is filthy. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (literally, a menstruous rag) Isaiah 64:6. There is none righteous, no, not one Romans 3:10. Such a blow to the human ego is the God of truth; the god of one’s imagination would never speak such things. No wonder he holds greater attraction for most people.

Does this god of one’s imagination have a name? Yes, certainly. In non-Christian circles he has many names, but in Christian circles his name is Jesus also – another Jesus. The same apostle who gave us the eleven precious words of Scripture warns us of him. So concerned was Paul, of Corinthian church members becoming doctrinally corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, he went on to say, For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it 2 Corinthians 11:3-4. There goes the god of grace plus works – another Jesus, a different spirit, peddling a different gospel and Protestants are bowing to it.

So what is the gospel that saves those who believe it? Sticking with the one who gave us the eleven precious words of Scripture, he wrote and told the Corinthian church, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. (Underline mine). All Christians believe that, someone says. Why then are they going beyond grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone?

The preacher asks his people, “Can you really call yourself a Christian if you’re not supporting the ministry of this church with your finances?” Instead of answering, “Yes, I can,” they begin to question where they stand on the matter. When once they believed the eleven precious words of Scripture were sufficient to qualify them as such, they now begin to doubt it. They have not spiritually discerned that the preacher is an insecure money-manipulator, so now they give their money believing God will cut them off if they don’t. Over time, they will ask fellow Christians outside of their church the same question. The result of it for some eventually becomes, “Unless I give my money to the church I can’t really call myself a Christian.” Am I saying don’t give money? No.

The preacher asks his people, “Can you really call yourself a Christian if you don’t get involved with the church program?” Instead of answering, “Yes, I can,” they succumb to his manipulation and allow themselves to be rail-roaded into every church working bee, fund-raising car-park sale, prayer meeting and church camp. Soon they think, “If I don’t get involved with the church program, I can’t really call myself a Christian.” That too will get passed on to other Christians at some point. Am I saying don’t get involved with the church program? No. But just like financial giving or not giving, involvement in the church program or no involvement, never allow anyone to question your Christianity if you have embraced the eleven precious words of Scripture.

The preacher asks his people, “Can you really call yourself a Christian if you’re not being a witness for Jesus?” They will not be too quick to answer, “Yes I can,” to that one. The preacher knows that too! He doesn’t do a lot of witnessing for Jesus either once he steps away from the pulpit and out into the real world. That’s why there’s no Bible-based evangelistic program to speak of within his church program. If there’s one question that can cause Christians to feel guilty, that’s the one; don’t allow it for you! Simply stick close to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to give you the right words to speak to the right person. You are not called to speak to everyone who comes across your daily path, but share the eleven precious words of Scripture with that person, then leave it to God.

The preacher asks his people, “Can you really call yourself a Christian if you’re not baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues?” When a person knows they have embraced the eleven precious words of Scripture, their answer is, “Yes I can.” They know the moment they did so the Holy Spirit took up residence within. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…….? 1 Corinthians 6: 19. They know it alright! True, this is not Holy Spirit baptism, but it is Holy Spirit residence and that is all that matters for salvation. Don’t allow a preacher to confuse you otherwise as a result of his own misunderstanding of how the Holy Spirit operates in in a Christian’s life. The gift of salvation is the key, not the gifts of the Holy Spirit.    

The preacher asks his people, “Can you really call yourself a Christian if you are going to leave this fellowship?” So sad it is that many are unable to answer this with a firm, “Yes I can.” It is the only church they’ve ever known and the preacher will take full advantage of that. Never has he told them salvation is theirs by simply embracing the eleven precious words of Scripture. Long ago he changed the gospel of salvation by adding and adding and adding his own silly little laws, rules and obligations to it. There’s no evidence of grace anywhere, only works! The Christ-seekers among them finally woke up to that and told him privately they were leaving. What did he do? He addressed them publicly, hence his question.

The preacher asks his people, “Can you really call yourself a Christian if you are not willing to reconsider the Roman Catholic Church’s historic doctrine that one can only be saved by grace plus works? That’s a rare question from a Protestant preacher thus far, but in near future days it will become a common question. Why? Pope Francis is an extremely influential leader. Some key charismatic “Protestant” leaders have been swooning over him for some years now and when leaders do that it’s not long before the people under them follow suit. Those who have paid lip service to the eleven precious words of Scripture will answer, “No I can’t.” Those who have embraced them to the uttermost will answer, “Yes I can.”  

Stick with the first preacher: the gospel of salvation never changes. What was true for the Philippian jailer is true for you and for me. If the majority of Protestants no longer believe they are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone that means they have also devalued the Person, the name, the blood, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In addition, they have devalued those eleven precious words of Scripture. How foolish! How dishonoring to Christ! How dishonoring to God the Father who sent His Son die in our place for our sin! How dishonoring to the Holy Spirit of God! How dishonoring to the Bible, the only Book to declare: And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved Acts 4:12 NASB