The Simplicity of Salvation
People have always stumbled over the simplicity of salvation. That is why there are so many cults. Each one has a unique slant on the doctrine of salvation -- and each one corrupts the simplicity of the gospel revealed in God's Word (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3) by espousing salvation by human works. Each one of the major cults claims to have a key that unlocks the secret of salvation, yet they are all alike in propagating self-righteous achievement as the way to God.
From start to finish, God's Word disproves them all, and in a wonderfully consistent way. Its message, woven through sixty-six books, written over a span of 1500 years by more than forty different authors, is marvelously unified and congruous. The message is simply that God graciously saves repentant sinners who come to Him in faith. There is no secret there, no mystery, no obscurity, and no complexity.
Despite his great ability as a teacher and his obsession with the details of the law, Nicodemus had fallen short. Nicodemus was nurturing a great sin he was not even aware of -- the sin of unbelief. When Nicodemus said, "I don't understand," (John 3:1-17) what he really meant was, "I don't believe." Unbelief always begets ignorance.
Jesus wanted him to know that faith comes before full understanding. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." Spiritual truth does not register in the mind of one who does not believe; unbelief understands nothing.
This, then, is His message: "You must be born again" (John 3:7). Regeneration is no option, but rather an absolute necessity. No one -- not even the most religious Pharisee -- is exempt from the divine call to a new birth. And thus we have the starting point of Jesus' gospel: that salvation is impossible apart from divinely wrought regeneration.
John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus
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Burbank - April 14, 2018
The Burbank Art Festival was in town and the spiritual warfare was intense.
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Burbank - April 21, 2018
Evangelists from the Master's Seminary stopped by to encourage us, and various hecklers encouraged us by their opposition.
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Glendale - April 28, 2018
Brothers from Grace Community Church joined our outreach to Glendale, along with Brother Arno and his banners.
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Burbank - May 5, 2018
Once again, we were joined by brothers from Grace Community Church. Charlie, Ron, Tony and Marty were sent to various corners with tracts, which expanded our territory considerably.
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Join Us!
Please join us as we proclaim the glorious Gospel to a lost and dying world on the streets of Burbank, Glendale, and surrounding areas. And please pray for God to be glorified and many to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Maranatha!!
