Lie #1:  Everybody Needs Jesus...
You may have heard it said before that everybody needs Jesus Christ.  I've even heard people say "if they have life in them, they need Jesus."  That's just not true.  The only people that need Jesus are the ones that don't want to go to hell.  This is true, if someone wants to go to heaven, then they'll need to 'go through' Jesus.  But there's another way to get to heaven... keep reading.

Lie #2: Jesus is the only way to heaven...
Have you heard this before?  Jesus is the only way to heaven?  That's actually not the case... there's another way.  No, I am not saying that all roads lead to heaven... because that is not true.  But, there is one way outside of Jesus.  It's quite simple really - to be perfect.  The only reason someone would need Jesus as their savior is if they were in danger; and the only reason a person would be in danger is if they violated God's Law. So let's take a brief look at God's Law (The 10 Commandments) to see if you've violated it. The 9th commandment is "You shall not lie." The 8th commandment is "You shall not steal." The 7th commandment is "you shall not commit adultery" - safe on that one?  Well Jesus clarified (magnified) the meaning of this commandment by telling us that if you even look with lust, you're committing adultery in your heart (see Matthew 5:27).  The 5th commandment is to "honor your father and mother."  Have you always done that?  The 3d commandment is "you shall not use God's name in vein" (or mis-using His name).

If you're honest with your answers to the above questions (ever told a lie, etc.), you're likely a lying thief, and a blasphemous adulterer-at-heart who has dishonored their parents.  So, those are just a few of God's Laws, which you've violated; you're in big trouble.  When you die, you'll face God on Judgment day.  You'll be guilty before a Just and Holy God.  Do you think he'll send you to Heaven or Hell? Most people say heaven, because they think God is Good and therefor will forgive them.  Sadly, the one thing their betting on to go to heaven, God's Goodness, will be the thing that sends them to hell.  Because God is Good, he must punish sin.  What would we call a Judge that turned a blind eye to the law?  Corrupt.  And God is not corrupt, he's good, and therefor, he's just. So if God gives you what you deserve, can you see you'd wind up in Hell.  I don't want that, you don't want that, and neither does God.  Read the next 'lie' for good news.

Lie #3: Sinners go to Hell!
If you've ever heard someone say that "All sinners go to hell!" they might not have been lying, but they were misinformed. If it were the case that all sinners go to hell, everybody would go to hell. Don't you see that everybody is a sinner (Romans 3:23); sin is breaking God's Law (1 John 3:4). At this point, you might be realizing that we've gone in a circle.  Can you see now why everybody 'needs Jesus'. Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the fine for your sins.  God gave you a conscience ('con' means with, and 'science' means knowledge) and you went against it.  When you were lying and stealing, you knew it was wrong. You broke the law, and Jesus paid your fine.  See, you wont go to heaven because you're not a sinner, but because you are a sinner who's been saved by God's grace.  Now the question is... what must you do to be saved? Say a prayer?  See the next lie.


Lie #4: Accepting Jesus into your heart* will save you from Hell!
So you understand that you're going to be in big trouble on Judgment Day.  What must you do now?  Should you say a prayer to be saved?  Accept Jesus into your heart?  Nope, that wont help you. First of all, you don't need to accept Jesus, He needs to accept you. In other words, you don't need to give the Creator of the world permission to enter your heart, but rather God commands "all men everywhere to repent, for He appointed a day in which the world will be judged in righteousness" (See Acts 17:30).  Next question might be "what is Repent?".  Repentance is, in my opinion, best simply defined by the phrase "Confess and forsake."  It means we must confess our sins to God (not man);apologize, and then forsake (abandon) them.  Remember, Sin is breaking of God's law, so for help confessing your sins, look at his Law in Exodus 20 in the bible.  Also, ask God to remind you of the sins of your youth... this is one prayer that typically gets answered (at least for me) quite promptly. But back to the question; How can you be saved. Well, Jesus said "unless a man is born again, he will not see the kingdom of heaven" (See John 3:3).  So you must be born again. Born again, is not something that you do, but rather a result of accepting a Gift of God.  If you're still alive, then God is patiently waiting for you to repent; Turn from your sins, and put your faith / trust in Jesus Christ.  If you'll repent and trust Jesus, you will be born again by the Holy Spirit.  God will give you a new heart with new desires, you'll become a new creature.  The old (sinful) things you once loved, you'll hate and the righteous things you once despised you'll love.  You'll hunger for God's word, and it'll make sense.  Jesus Christ will be precious to you.  You'll have a deep concern for the salvation of the lost, and God will grow you in holiness.



Lie #5: The Christian life is 'better' ...
Once you become a Christian, your life may not be 'better' than non-Christians... but you're after life will be infinitely better.  There are (at least) four things that you're promised as a Christian; Persecution (you'll be hated because you're a Christian), trials & tribulation (not fun), temptation (you'll be tempted to Sin against God), and ... the good part... everlasting life (as opposed to everlasting Death and suffering). We deserve to go to hell, but God is so kind and merciful that He allows us to Repent and gave us the free gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  If you're not a Christian, I am not any better than you, but I'm eternally 'better off'.  If you are not born again, please get right with God today.  There is nothing more important that your eternal salvation.  Repent (confess and forsake your sins), and put your trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation. Then read your bible everyday and obey what you read.  Click here to read "Save Yourself Some Pain": 10 steps for new and growing Christians.

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If you're a Christian already, please consider watching a couple very important messages that talk about using Biblical evangelism and the consequences of forsaking the biblical teaching.  These messages are both about an hour or less and they are free.  They are Hell's Best Kept Secret  and True and False Conversions both by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron.

(*Read 10 Reasons Not to Accept Jesus into Your Heart; by Todd Friel here )

I respect Britney.  Last Saturday night I was open-air preaching on Mill avenue in Tempe, AZ.  Britney was troubled as she walked by and heard me talking to another individual about their personal sin against God.  I asked them if they had ever told a lie and then asked them what they call people who do that.  I respect her because she was willing to approach me and inform me that she believed I was doing [evangelism] the wrong way. She said that it's not right to tell people about their sin. (Which is sort of ironic, because she was telling me about something I was doing wrong…)

On one hand I respect her. In the same way that we do, she was lovingly telling me something that I was doing wrong because she thought that the consequences would be serious if I continued doing it.  I offered to send her some literature of a link to a video that would help explain why open air preaching and the use of God's Law in evangelism is biblical.  That's what I do respect her for, speaking up when she thinks it's beneficial. But I lost respect for her because it's been a week and she has yet to contact me for those resources.

Doesn't she understand that she did what we do?  We speaking in love telling people what they are doing wrong (lying, stealing, fornication, blasphemy, etc.) and we do this because we know that they are in grave danger if they continue to live like this.  We, unlike Britney offer them even more.  Instead of just telling them that they are wrong, we warn them that the punishment is death and eternity in hell - but that there is one way that their sins can be forgiven.  We tell them about "God's Wonderful Plan:" that He sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die on the cross to pay the price for their sin.  That He rose from the dead defatting death.  We let them know that God commands them to repent and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for the forgiveness of their sin.

The father of lies has certainly blinded people in this world from the truth.  Even professing Christians will tell you that telling other people what's wrong and right is wrong… they are blinded by the irony of what they're doing.  Telling someone that they are in the wrong,  in love, is not bad.  If you think I'm wrong, just let me know.

By God's Grace
~ brandt dary