I made a video last year, titled "Please don't reject the gospel." That would be the most relevant video I've done approaching the subject, without labeling it.

In Mathew 12, there's an account of Jesus saying, that all manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men; neither in this world or in the world to come.

This is in response to the accusation the pharisees made against Him, accusing Him, basically, of working by the power of the devil.

The faith without works is dead argument is used so often to try and deny someone's salvation.

I've said before, there's different ways you can look at the book of James, and there may be practical things you can learn from it, but if someone is going to use it to try to deny the gospel, that's wrong.

In context, James was one of the first books written in the New Testament. It was written before Paul's revelation and ministry. Paul directly refutes the argument, later. I think one of the things that can be learned from James, is that this is something they struggled with before Paul's revelation. And it's something some still struggle with today. But they needn't struggle.

Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

We read the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. For most of the people listening, I'm sure you understand this already. But I'll speak to it on the chance there might be a few that run across this video that need it. I can't remember how many times I've heard people say things like, make sure to keep your lamp full of oil. And I'm concerned for these people. I'm not sure what they think they're doing to keep their lamp full.

The oil is the Holy Spirit, given freely when faith is placed in Jesus, in His finished work. And it never runs out.

For those who say "you can't just believe and be saved" I say, yes, you can just believe and be saved. Not only that, but it's the only way to be saved. To simply believe on Jesus, on His finished work. How Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. So that statement suggests a lack of understanding of the most important thing there is to understand in life.

Some hear and believe, simply, and others are stumbled by this lack of understanding, and they may never believe until they come to understand the simplicity of the gospel.

The license to sin argument is old. 2,000 years old. It's an evil heart of unbelief, an antichrist spirit, that attacks the gospel.

Satan will present some offensive sin, and suggest that the grace of God won't forgive that one. It's usually something that the accused would indeed find offensive and have no desire to do. But acquiescing implies that the finished work of Christ wasn't finished, that the gospel is untrue, and God is a liar. Jesus died for all sin, even the ones we may find most offensive.

1 John 4 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

As Jesus is, so are we, right now.

We stand before God, always justified. We are bulletproof.

We are saved, simply because we've believed on Jesus. And when we did, Jesus saved us, and now He's keeping us. Nothing can change that. It's unchangeable. Even we, ourselves, can't change it.

We're at peace and rest. Our foundation is Christ alone.

Please believe. The love of the truth. That God really does want all to come to Him and be saved, and He's not trying to make it difficult. Jesus will do the saving and keeping, if you'll believe that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and resurrected on the third day. He is the savior, the prophesied Messiah who is fully qualified to do that for all who will believe on Him, and He desires to do so.

In the gospel, there is grace. Unmerited favor. You didn't do anything to deserve it or earn it, but rather it is a gift given freely by God, and that's the only way you can receive it, freely, as a gift. It's not for sale.

1 John 1 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

What does it mean to walk in the light or to walk in darkness? Well, it says right here that God is light, and in other scripture, Jesus also refers to Himself as the Light.

What does it mean, to bring into captivity every thought to the obdience of Christ? We read in:

The gospel is simple, and when we believe on Jesus, we are saved. And our salvation rests in the hands of Jesus. Nothing can separate us from Him, not even ourselves. It's about faith. So if you've believed, don't let anybody steal your faith from you because you don't meet with their approval in some way.

It's possible to be tossed to and fro in this life, but God is perfectly capable of finishing what He started in you. Just trust Him. Don't worry and don't be afraid.

It's from God's love for us and God's faithfulness to us that we learn of love and faith. God is for us, and not against us, and He's building up our faith in Christ and leading us into every good thing.

When we're assured of our salvation and forgiveness of all sin, and understand that God is not punishing us, we can walk forward unafraid. We can trust the Holy Spirit will guide us and lead us into all truth and righteousness, and if we make mistakes and get off track, He will always set our feet right again. God's discipline is not a punishment. If we feel chastened or disciplined, or we're facing some austerity or difficulty, regardless of the reason, it's an opportunity to be disciplined as an athlete is disciplined and exercised, so that we may be strengthened in our faith.

Pride is a hard thing. I know it rises up in me from time to time, and I hate it, but there it is, regardless. I pray God will take it from me.

But I think about it sometimes. Why, why is it there? For me, I think it stems from a desire to be understood as being genuine and wanting to find the truth. So when I'm surrounded by deception and it's obvious to me something's wrong, I'm reluctant to go along with it. The problem with deception is, that it's often mixed with partial truths, so when you reject it, you're seen as rejecting the portion that's true as well.

I have a story I’m going to tell. Please take it for whatever it’s worth to you.

I grew up attending a church. It was non-denominational, but basically like a Pentecostal church. I grew up in fear of losing my salvation if I couldn’t repent of sin and pray enough. I knew very well that sin wasn’t just about what you did, but also about your thoughts. Even trying to do my best, I may have hundreds of sins a day, and that’s a lot of praying.