Easy Believism

Posted on by

By johninnc

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I have a Christian friend who was relating a conversation he had with someone who said “I don’t believe in Lordship Salvation, but I don’t believe in Easy Believism either.” My friend’s excellent response was “well, pick one!”

I define Lordship Salvation (LS) as follows: LS is the unsupportable and unbiblical belief that the performance of good works, the promise of good works, or the evidence of good works MUST accompany faith in Christ in order to establish, or provide evidence, that such faith has resulted in eternal life.

LS can be overt (one must forsake all of his sins and follow Christ in obedience and discipleship in order to receive eternal life) or VERY SUBTLE (one’s behavior will change once he has received eternal life, one must desire to get better in order to receive eternal life, one must want to have a relationship with Jesus in order to receive eternal life, or one must go beyond mere intellectual assent (head faith vs. heart faith) in order to receive eternal life.

Following are some quotes containing LS concepts from influential pastors/evangelists:

Greg Laurie: Jesus essentially said the only way your sins are forgiven and to know you will spend eternity in Heaven is by putting your complete trust in Him. And there will be tangible results to show you have done that...

You must admit you are a sinner, repent of that sin, and put your faith in Christ.  

(Laurie’s definition of “repent of that sin”: To repent means to “change” or to “turn.”  It’s like driving down the highway, pulling a U-turn and heading the other direction. More than simply being sorry, it is a word of action. Many people feel remorse for their sin but never truly repent. Remorse is being sorry, repentance is being sorry enough to stop.)

My comment: The Bible says that a person receives eternal life when they believe in Jesus as Savior (see John 3:16, above). The Bible also says that a person can be assured of having received eternal life upon believing in Jesus as Savior.

John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Notice in John 3:16 and 5:24 there is no mention of stopping sinning being a requirement for eternal life, nor is there any mention of any tangible results to show that you have received eternal life. Jesus spoke the words in John 3:16 and John 5:24. Greg Laurie gave the above quotes that contradict Jesus’ words.

The late A.W. Pink: There is a faith in Christ which is saving, and there is a faith in  Christ which is not saving. Possibly, the reader says, “But I know that mine is the former: I have seen myself as a lost sinner, realize I can do nothing to gain acceptance with God, and have put my trust in the finished work of His Son.”…

Dear friends, others who were equally sure as you are  now in Hell! Suffer us to enquire, Have you tested your faith by Scripture? Have you taken the trouble to ascertain whether your faith is accompanied by those evidences which are inseparable from a saving faith?

My comment: A.W. Pink contradicted Jesus’ words from John 3:16 and 5:24. Jesus gives no requirements for self-introspection for evidence of eternal life.

The late Billy Graham: As I approached my 95th birthday, I was burdened to write a book that addressed the epidemic of “easy believism.” There is a mindset today that if people believe in God and do good works they are going to Heaven. But there are many questions that must be answered. There are two basic needs that all people have: the need for hope and the need for salvation. It should not be surprising if people believe easily in a God who makes no demands, but this is not the God of the Bible. Satan has cleverly misled people by whispering that they can believe in Jesus Christ without being changed, but this is the Devil’s lie. To those who say you can have Christ without giving anything up, Satan is deceiving you.

My comment: The Bible never says that believing in God and doing good works are how one receives eternal life. The Bible says that a person receives eternal life when he believes in Jesus as Savior. It makes no mention of “giving anything up.” If we had to give something up in order to receive eternal life, then eternal life would not be a gift. It would be a trade. Billy Graham contradicted Jesus’ words.

Not surprisingly, advocates of LS denigrate faithful preaching of the gospel using terms such as “easy believism,” “cheap grace,” “greasy grace,” “sloppy agape,” and the like. Such denigration is in keeping with their contradiction of the truth. To add further weight to their attacks on the gospel, LSers often falsely conflate the faithful teaching that a person receives eternal life by believing in Jesus as Savior with teaching that a person can receive eternal life in other ways, such as “raising a hand,” “walking an aisle,” or “saying a prayer.”

I personally have no objection to the term easy believism, because simply believing the gospel always results in eternal life that can never be lost or forfeited. Always. Belief in the truth of the gospel message means that a person understands and believes that Jesus is not only necessary for eternal life, but that He is enough. If you want to call that easy believism, then I am guilty as charged!

As my friend would say, “pick one!”

If you would like to know more about the gospel click here: THE GOSPEL

23 thoughts on “Easy Believism”

  1. Excellent article. A free gift is not a free gift unless one understands that nothing else is connected to that gift. No strings…period. Just get on the bus. The Holy Spirit will deal with sin, if necessary, while you’re on the bus. Looking forward to the next article. Thanks. Rick.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • ve5mir, it’s great to have you here!

      You are absolutely correct that there are no strings attached to receiving the free gift of eternal life. Eternal life is eternal – once received, it can never be lost or forfeited. And, assurance of eternal life can only be solidly grounded on God’s promise. Any doctrine that contradicts any of these essential tenets undermines the gospel.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓

  2. Seems like an awful lot of ministries are dedicated to fruit inspecting. That seems to be their gospel, which is another. Quite like Santa’s list, they’re making a list and checking it twice (to see who’s been naughty or nice).

    Like

    Reply ↓

  3. Many LSers would be surprised that Jesus Himself taught “easy believism”:

    “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light”. -Matt. 11:28-30

    “Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled’”. -Luke 14:23

    And, his detractors accused the Apostle Paul of teaching “greasy grace”:

    “And why not say, ‘Let us do evil that good may come’?-as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just”. -Romans 3:8

    “And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased”. -Galatians 5:12

    I’d say we’re in good company!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Keith, we are in good company!

      We may not sell a bunch of books, or get testimonials from the biggies, but we are trying to advance and defend the gospel.

      It is amazing to me how so many people think that faithfully following Christ includes corrupting the gospel.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  4. Thank you for this article, and for linking this blog from expreacherman. I am coming off an Easter call where my dad insisted I am going to hell unless I repent of the sins he had prepared to share with me during our call. I stood firm in Grace, but it was still unsettling and painful to experience. Reading these words of Truth have been a balm to me. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  6. Grace = Absolutely Free.
    Just simple faith/ trust in the finished work of Christ on cross. Period,
    Even a single addition to faith ( salvation by Grace through faith ) as a requirement for salvation means it is NO longer Grace.
    Romans 11:6 ‘ If by Grace, it is no more of ‘works’ otherwise Grace is no more Grace’.
    We either accept Eternal Life as a Free Gift of Grace, or we don’t get it at all.
    Jesus gets ALL the glory, praise and thanksgiving, and we get None, because He did ALL the Work of saving us Himself through His death, burial and resurrection.
    We have Nothing to boast about before God, but in the Cross of Calvary.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Holly, I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but I like the way it turned out. I had very good customer service from WordPress – they even made a couple of videos to show me how to set up the site.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

      • I’m not happy with mine at all. People can’t seem to find how to comment, people I know will tell me, but one of these days when I have more time.

        Like

      • Holly, I was surprised to find that one of the most important decisions is which “theme” to select. The one that Jack Weaver used to set up expreacherman was no longer available, so the person helping me at WordPress recommended a couple of themes.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment