By John Larkins
The King James version of the Bible, although re-written several times by totally unauthorized heretics, still provides an excellent source of truth. If you have decided to reject any Bible version, you and I have no basis for communicating. Best wishes to you.
If you think you have no personal responsibility in saving your soul, you are under the influence of a false teacher. That person is blatantly discarding God’s word. You yourself are ignoring several important disclosures by Jesus, by which He wants to save your soul. For example, He plainly stated that, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Have you chosen to disobey Him in this regard? When asked if all would be saved, Jesus said, “The way to salvation is narrow, the way to Hell is broad; many will not find the narrow way.” Does this sound to you as if all will be saved? If all are not saved, who will be saved? How will this salvation be accomplished?
Jesus was born as a human who spent 33 years enduring not just an ordinary trying experience (as we all do) but suffered torture that ended in a human death. But then came the Resurrection! A big part of Jesus’ mission on earth was to compensate His father for the great sin of Adam and Eve, thus reopening the gate to heaven for possible entrance of human souls into Paradise.
All during the ages before Jesus, God directed Moses to train God’s chosen people in the basics of worshiping their creator being readied for the New Covenant – the Church – described in the writings of Jesus’s bishops-in-training. If you do not want to be saved, I for one am willing to let you exercise your choice. Please let me know at the e-mail listed below if I can be of assistance in your salvation.
As always, the best way to try and understand God’s will starts with the Bible message. Bible writings were comprised of authenticated holy messages up to about the year 100 AD. After that, as 1 Timothy 3:15 notes, “the Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth.” This fulfills Jesus’ early grant of authority to Peter, His first Pope, that “What you say on earth is heard in heaven and what is heard in heaven is heard by my Father.” In Matthew 16:18, Jesus proclaims that the “gates of Hell will not prevail against My Church.”
So, a key part of Jesus Christ’s mission was to provide a Way for us who live today but perhaps not tomorrow. In Mark 16: 15-16, Jesus charges His apostles, “And he said unto them, go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Matthew 28:16-20 says, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, and when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and in the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
John 20: 21-23 says, “Then Jesus said unto them again, ‘Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, even so send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said unto them, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.”
The words are not so exceedingly long, but explaining them might take a little longer. Just for the most revolutionary, Jesus sends His apostles “As my Father sent me.” So, the apostles are granted the authority and responsibility to dispense salvation itself, in whole cloth! Also, a result of rejecting Christ’s teaching is not tolerated. After death, unrepented, it sends one to Hell!
For the past 15 years, John Larkins has evangelized on the street, door-to-door, in tent revivals and in church situations. Contact him at johnlarkins@bellsouth.net.