To give a definite answer to the question about what one should do to enter the salvation of God, I say this: repent sincerely of your sins when told about the Gospel of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then, get baptized in His name, by being immersed in natural, living-water, by a genuine servant of God.

That is the way of God and of His son Jesus Christ for one to become Born Again. It was also the way of the apostles. It must therefore be our way today, if we are to be Born Again, or saved, or enter God’s Kingdom.

Who in the Bible accounts said a prayer to be saved? From all the Bible narratives about the salvation of people, which one of them did not hinge on repentance and baptism?

You will not get one single evidence in all your search of the Bible, where prayer, and for that matter a so-called Sinners’ Prayer or Prayer for Salvation, brought any salvation-seeker the Born Again experience. Do not therefore trust in prayer to get Born Again.

In the Great Commission of Luke 24:46-48, Jesus authoritatively teaches that only repentance and remission of sin can bring any salvation-seeker into the Born Again experience.

I like to tell you in all seriousness that, remission of sin is different from forgiveness of sin. Sadly, the understanding of many preachers of the Bible is that remission of sin is the same as forgiveness of sin.

This stance is what takes many preachers of the Bible into the error of asking in prayer, for the forgiveness of their sins, in their bid to qualify to enter the Kingdom of God.

Forgiveness of sin is what you can get from God by repenting of your sin, and confessing it, silently or audibly to Him. Forgiveness of sin is also what a fellow human being can give to you, when you repent of your sin of causing him (or her) some hurt, and ask for it.

Furthermore, forgiveness of sin is what Jesus could give to people who he saw to be sick in consequence of their sins, as He crisscrossed the land of the Jews before going to Calvary.

Forgiveness of sin is what Jesus could ask of the Father to give to those who insulted Him, slapped Him, derided Him, or nailed Him to the cross of crucifixion, even before he died in their hands to bring salvation to mankind.

On the other hand, remission of sin is what Jesus could only make available in His death. He announced at the Last Supper, to His disciples that, He was going to the cross to make available remission of sins for everybody.

Jesus Christ in His sacrifice made remission of sin to be available and beneficial to all righteous mankind, from Creation to End-time. His sacrifice was to bring remission of sin to those who were even dead before His sacrifice; those living at the time of the sacrifice; and all who would come into the world after His sacrifice.

Remission of sin is what God demands of any members of the human race whose desire it is to obtain reconciliation with Him. Jesus Christ came as the Lamb of God, to pay for the sins of mankind, to enable God grant anyone who believes in, and accepts this sacrifice, the chance to obtain remission of sin.

The payment of the ransom by Jesus, to enable God grant mankind deliverance from the power and dominion of sin, are what constitute remission of sin.

John the Baptist went crying in the wilderness of Jordan, teaching Israel about a fast-coming salvation of God that was to be made available to mankind only in remission of sin (Luke 1:77, King James Version, KJV).

That was the good news John the Baptist was sent to proclaim to all Israelites, at a time they were already enjoying the blessings of forgiveness as one of two ways that God dealt with sin in their lives. The other was by atonement of sin.

Remission of sin is obtained from God, not by asking for it verbally, but in the obedience of His instructions on repentance and baptism into the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38, KJV).

If you want to enter the blessing of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, you do not ask for it in prayer, you access it by taping the right keys of God’s information-system. These keys, which one must strike to enter the salvation of God are, ‘repentance’ and ‘baptism’.

Repentance and baptism will usher every repentant sinner into the state of remission of sin. When one enters into this state, one gets the gift of the Holy Spirit of God to indwell one’s heart. This is our assurance of being in God’s salvation from the accounts of Acts 2:37-39, KJV. This assurance is what has been enjoyed by men since the Day of Pentecost.

Remission of sin is payment by Christ of our debt of sin. Remission of sin takes the sin-nature out of our spirit and body. Remission of sin comes to sinners only once in their life-time. It therefore contrasts greatly from forgiveness, which can come as many as ‘seventy times seven’ times, even in one day, quoting the words of the Master. In further contrast, man can render forgiveness of sin to fellow men, whilst remission of sin can only be given by God to sinful-man.

A book written by me that teaches on these issues is on sale in Ghana. It is entitled “BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation”.

In this book, the true doctrine of God’s salvation is taught. The false doctrine of Sinners’ Prayer recitals and the prayers of preachers for sinners to get Born Again are also taught. Please get a copy of it. It will bless you richly. It will put you on the right track into the Kingdom of God.

In my above mentioned book, advice is given to salvation-seekers to read the New Testament as God’s Final Theocratic Constitution. This Constitution contains articles on how humans on our earth can gain membership to the Kingdom of God. Also, one can find in it, clauses and sub-clauses on son-ship and adoption of mankind as children into the kingdom of God.

When one is conversant with this constitution, one will easily see the practice of Sinners’ Prayer recitals in attempt by salvation-seekers to enter the kingdom of God as unconstitutional and therefore powerless in enabling salvation-seekers become Born Again; and therefore denounce the practice.

Study the Bible in the spirit of serious-minded salvation-seekers who Apostle Paul met in Berea, of Acts 17: 10-11 fame, and you will easily see the Sinners’ Prayer recitals as absolutely incapable of making mankind Born Again.

God’s Theocratic Constitution will spell out to all subscribers to it, their privileges, responsibilities, code of conduct, status, and future rewards in Heaven for their service to this constitution when they were on earth. Please study this Constitution to be approved by God. You will be tested by it. You will be blessed by it. You will also be judged by it.

You can never be blessed by any passionate, zealous, or sincere recitals of a so-called “Sinners’ Prayer” or “Prayer for Salvation”, in your quest to become Born Again into the kingdom of God. May you therefore please seek to obtain the Born Again experience through your obedience of God’s Word to you to repent of your sins and to be baptised into Christ.

Shalom, peace from God the Almighty to you.
Chris Bapuohyele is an evangelist to the Body of Christ, and is the author of book entitled: BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation. His e-mail address is: [email protected].

Dear reader, I am happy that you and I are living in the same times and seasons, according to the plan of God Almighty. I am particularly happy that you are reading this article that God has led me to write on the Born Again doctrine of the Christian faith.

My prayer for you is that, before the generations after us come to benefit by some rare teachings on salvation that God has led me to render to humanity, you my precious contemporary, would have been blessed ahead of them.

If you are serious about the Christian faith, as I am, and are an ardent listener to radio broadcasts or a viewer of television programmes of teachings by some pastors, general overseers, apostles, archbishops, etc., you might have observed something I am about to bring to your attention as an error to the Christian faith.

This error has persisted for a very long time, centuries in fact, and has therefore gained acceptance as genuine that, it passes as being able to deliver on its promises when in fact it cannot.

Did you hear the preacher-man on radio, or watch him on television this past week? Did you hear him at the end of his preaching ask you to do something if you wanted to be Born Again into God’s Kingdom? Did you hear him instruct you to place your hand on the radio or television set, and to pray a prayer after him, if you were repentant of your sinful-life, and wanted Jesus to take control of your life or get to be Born Again?

As for me I hear these every day. If you do not, begin to listen to preachers (Men of God?) on radio and television.

The prayer they ask their listeners to recite after them, when these preachers are ending their programmes on radio or television, is known by many as the “Sinners’ Prayer” or the “Prayer for Salvation”.

This is a prayer of confession of sins by repentant sinners who want to enter the Born Again experience, or start life all-over, after the power of sin has messed-up their lives. It is also a denunciation of the devil, request for God’s forgiveness, and the profession of Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Master.

The faith of the proponents of this doctrine is that, if any sinner repents of his sins, recites this prayer after the preachers of it, in sincerity and all seriousness of heart, they are instantly Born Again! Their claim is that, they are instantly passed from death to life and have had their names written into the Lamb’s Book of Life, if they were sincere in saying that prayer!

Dear reader, I would let you know that, if you ever did that, trusting the word of pious- and or sanctimonious-looking persons, who seemed worthy of your trust, then you were deceived. Nobody can get Born Again by and of prayer: be it known as the Sinners’ Prayer or the Prayer for Salvation.

Maybe, the peddlers of this doctrine are themselves ignorant that prayer cannot make one Born Again. In fact, that is the sad aspect of this doctrine – many of its proponents do not know they are in error.

Could it be that after-all, the preachers of this wrong doctrine are simply being mischievous, and cashing-in on the ignorance and gullibility of their listeners and therefore deliberately teach falsehood? I do not want to think so, even though at times one is tempted to.

What did Jesus say to Nicodemus about how anybody can ever enter into the Kingdom of God? Did Jesus say to Nicodemus to pray to enter into His salvation? Did Peter, on his very first assignment to lead people into the Born Again experience on the Day of Pentecost, instruct his listeners to pray some special prayer to be saved?

From all the Bible accounts, nobody ever said a prayer to be saved, or get Born Again. Why is it then so popular a practice for salvation-seekers to be told by so-called Men of God to recite special prayers after them so as to become Born Again?

Simply put, the practice of Sinners’ Prayer recitals for salvation is a deception of the devil. This all men should be aware of and denounce the instructions of so-called Men of God to pray special prayers for salvation.

So what must one do to be saved? The answer is to do what a jailor in the city of Philippi did in the early days of the Christian faith (Acts 16:25-34). Was this jailor not the first from the Bible accounts to ask this same question?

To answer the question of this jailor in Philippi, Paul and Silas at midnight, taught him to believe in Jesus if he wanted to be saved. They did not stop there. They went further to explain themselves.

At the end of it all, this jailor rushed to obey the word of Paul and Silas, so he could be saved. At an odd, inconvenient, discomforting, midnight-hour, this jailor rushed out of his home to be baptized in the river on whose bank the city of Philippi was built (Acts 16:12-13, 30-33) in his quest to be saved.

This jailor did nothing like reciting a so-called Sinners’ Prayer or a Prayer for Salvation to enter God’s salvation. He was properly led into the salvation of God by people who were truly sent by God.

This jailor was saved in the ministry of God-called, God-taught, God-anointed, and God-sent, obedient, loyal, and well-informed disciples of Jesus Christ. Sadly, ministers of such glorious credentials are hard to come-by in our world today.

Anybody today, who does not teach the doctrine that Jesus taught Nicodemus (John 3:3-5), or Peter did on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-41), or by Philip to an Ethiopian in the desert of Gaza (Acts 8:26-40), or by Ananias in his ministration of salvation to Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:10-18), has deviated from the genuine way of teaching God’s salvation.

All who follow such a one, are also off-course, in as-much-as getting into God’s Kingdom is their ambition. I hope I can bless your life with this truth: a truth I am charged by God to warn my generation in. [—the concluding part of this article is in Part Two: soon to be published].

Chris Bapuohyele is an evangelist to the Body of Christ, and is the author of the book entitled: BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation. His e-mail address is: [email protected].

For forgiveness, one must repent of the sin and confess it verbally to God, and the wronged person, to be able to receive it. In the case of remission, one must repent of the sin and be baptized in (or into) the name of Jesus Christ, to come into the power it has, of putting the salvation-seeker into the full blessings of Christ’s sacrifice on The Cross.

When so-called Men of God gather salvation-seekers, on what they term “crusade grounds”, or in their plush cathedrals, or air-conditioned chapels, or beside radio and television sets, and teach them to ask God in prayer for the forgiveness of their sins to enable them become Born Again, and or gain entry into the Kingdom of God, they mislead or deceive them.

This is a shoddy way of offering God’s salvation to people who are in dire need of it. No one, who teaches the way into God’s salvation in this manner, has the wisdom of the apostles for soul-winning. None of the apostles, of Jesus Christ, would confuse and mislead salvation-seekers, by teaching them to do such a thing – which was neither instructed by the Master, nor in his mind or wisdom. They dared not. In fact, woes and condemnations awaited them, if they did.

So why do we do this today? Where are the genuine soul-winners of God today? Where are they? Why are genuine soul-winners so hard to come by today? Please wait a minute, and let me see how I may help you appreciate why genuine soul-winners are so hard to come-by today.

You see, many of the so-called Christian teachings, supposedly meant for the salvation of mankind, which evolved through the politico-Christian power-players of the erstwhile Roman Empire, in the immediate post-apostolic times, did not have the power associated with the faith. The glaring potency and unique character of the Christian faith, seen at the start of the church in Jerusalem, on the Day of Pentecost and in the days following it, got lost completely, by the time Rome took upper-hand, in the selection and coronation of bishops for the church.

Once Rome became a force to reckon with, in the selection of leader-teachers for the church, weird non-Jesus teachings, started to rear their ugly heads in the church’s character and administration. What-with, all that history, about the cash-sales of indulgencies by bishops, as the fulfillment of their roles in the Great Commission of the Master, to win souls into his Kingdom?

How about the influx of high-office politicians, idol-worshippers indeed by their religion, who were wrongly considered as followers of Christ, and were thus admitted into the church, without obeying the prescribed rites for membership? These, and many others, are the root causes for the high level of corrupt doctrines to the Christian faith, which we find today.

Also, the persecutions to death, of the followers of Jesus Christ, a horrible notoriety of the history of the Romano-Christian tradition under Rome, in the immediate post-apostolic days, were aimed not at their persons, per se, but at getting people to accept, believe and act on corrupted and distorted versions of the teachings of Christ. Satan knew from the very beginning of Christianity that, if he could bring into the teachings of Christ, the minutest pollutants, he would succeed in rendering these teachings impotent, in fact useless, for the salvation of mankind.

And so he calculated his plans very well – waiting till the passing away into glory, all the saints of God, who talked, walked, and ate with the Messiah, before orchestrating his intrigues of deception, lies, and introduction of contaminants into God’s Word, to achieve his aims.

How much of the teachings of the Messiah, and of the apostles, do we find among people who profess to be Christians today? Many are comfortable with a system of codes and practices which are in every way, the doctrines of men. They blindly believe them, whole-heartedly, to be the doctrines of Christ.

Even the most serious-minded people, who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ today, have been misled to imbibe as the truth, many adulterated versions of the Word of God. In ignorance of this, they are so zealous in their beliefs in these impure versions, as to defend them with their lives, intolerant of, and hostile to the truth, whenever they are confronted with it.

If today we have so-called Men of God, presenting the salvation message of God in doctrines different from those of Jesus Christ and his apostles, then Rome, of the Second Century or thereabout, must take the blame. The entire leadership of present-day Christianity must also share in this, in being so gullible as to accept the falsehood and deception of that past, when the Bible is readily available for study and correction to these distortions to the teachings of Christ. I cannot help, but be very sad in all this.

The genuine stewards of God are those who know how to truly function as soul-winners. They are those who know how to rightly divide the Word of God, discerning forgiveness from remission.

They are those with a thorough knowledge of the New Testament doctrines of God for the salvation of sinners. They are those who win souls in the waters of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ – using the skills and talents of fishermen, who are transformed into fishers of men.

Such are those Men of God who are indeed called, taught, and imputed with the wisdom of God on how to win souls, and sent out under the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God. These are those sent to do a job that the Son of God himself should have been doing, and therefore cannot afford to do it in their way, but in the Master’s; displaying his wisdom in their service to God’s Kingdom.

It is only such workers who are sure to gain commendation by the Master, as his Wise and Faithful Stewards, at his Second Coming. It is only such workers who qualify to be ushered into the gold-plated royal residences in Heaven, to live in ease and comfort throughout Eternity.

My dear one, are you truly a soul-winner? You who call yourselves Men of God, or are happy with such appellations by men: look to your ways and works closely, and in humility, change them for God’s ways.

Do this, so you do not get disappointed at the Gates of Heaven, on the Day of Judgment, when you and your many ignorant followers, are gathered-up as tares of no use to the Kingdom of God, but for fuel in the fires of Hell.

I hope I have warned you enough.
Shalom.

Chris Bapuohyele is an evangelist to the Body of Christ and the author of the book: “BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation”. His email address is: [email protected]

It was John the Baptist, who came to announce the plan of God that, He was about to introduce remission of sin to deal with the sin problem of mankind once and for all. John taught Israel about the soon-coming and brand-new salvation of God, (only available in Christ Jesus), that could only be accessed through remission of sin. (Luke 1: 77, KJV).

John the Baptist revealed to Israel that, Jesus had come as the Lamb of God to take away their sin (and that of the world). Jesus had come to set those held captive by the devil, free; and to set at liberty, them that are bruised. It was the sacrifice of Jesus’ Life that brought the power which could save Israel (and in fact mankind) from a state they hitherto, were helpless and incapable of freeing themselves from.

John the Baptist went about in the wilderness of the river Jordan, crying out to Israel, about how the Lamb of God was soon to be slaughtered to make remission of sin available so that sin and its nature could be taken out of the spirit and body of every man, who desired deliverance from the power, and dominion of the devil, and from the consequences of sin.

To bring remission of sin to sinful-mankind is the reason for Jesus’ coming to earth. It is the very reason for the horrible manner in which he died on The Cross. He announced to his friends at the Last Supper that he was going to die for the remission of all the sins of mankind. (Matthew 26: 28, KJV).

After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus commissioned his disciples to be witnesses of the fact that, remission of sin was then forever available to sinful-mankind. (Luke 24: 46-47, KJV). The disciples lived all their lives after Jesus’ Ascension, toiling to bring the knowledge of remission of sin to everybody. They all died in this cause, while leading all men to genuinely receive remission of sin.

All the people in the Bible, who were directly involved in the work of God, to bring His salvation in Christ to sinful-mankind, died in the cause of remission of sin. John the Baptist was beheaded while he championed the cause of remission of sin. Jesus Christ was crucified in the cause of remission of sin. And so did all the apostles of Jesus Christ, die either the death of martyrdom, or of exhaustion from their toils, while propagating the blessings of remission of sin to mankind.

It is saddening that, close to two thousand years after remission of sin was made available to the world, most of us are still ignorant of how to obtain it for keeps – this great blessing of God. Why then did Jesus die, if the blessings of his sacrificial death cannot be accessed by sinful-mankind, because of ignorance of how to do so?

Oh Ignorance, you have killed many simple-minded folks of mankind from generation to generation. And yet you are so easily overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of the Saviour, and of the testimony of his redeemed.

Remission of sin comes to the salvation-seeker only once in one’s life-time. It brings about a single-transaction payment for all sins previously committed by the salvation-seeker. (Romans 3: 25, KJV). It wipes thoroughly snow-white clean, the crimson-coloured slate of sin: natural man’s heart, inherited from the first Adam.

Remission of sin breaks the yoke of bondage of Satan over sinful-mankind. Remission of sin establishes the repentant sinner as a branch in the True Vine; it infuses the divine nature of God with the spirit of man. (John 15: 5, Second Peter 1: 4, KJV). Remission of sin therefore, delivers natural man from the power and dominion of the kingdom of darkness, translating him into the Kingdom of Light of God’s dear Son. (Colossians 1: 13, KJV).

Remission of sin makes one the child of God – born of the holy incorruptible seed of God. In fact, the blessings of remission of sin are endless and are of such great value that, it is only God who can grant it to any seekers of it, who deserve to receive it because they do as He has instructed them to.

The simple-minded person, with a rather limited knowledge of the New Testament teachings on God’s salvation in Christ, who is reading this article, may be asking in his mind what we have done wrongly, incompatible with the New Testament revelation, and the apostolic teachings, which have denied us the salvation of God in Christ Jesus.

The answer is simple: all what we have done, not knowing or discerning remission of sin, what it entails and brings to the salvation-seeker, and how one can access it. This ignorance has taken us away from the salvation of God in Christ Jesus.

In particular, our error in equating remission (of sin) to forgiveness (of sin) has taken us far away from the salvation of God in Christ Jesus. This is the greatest error to the Christian faith – an error resulting from the wiles and machinations of the devil, all aimed at denying us the salvation of God in Christ Jesus.

Even though sinful-mankind can obtain forgiveness of sin from God in as many as “seventy times seven” times in even one given day, all that large number in forgiveness cannot equate to or bring about one single blessing of remission of sin. This is because, for the sinner to obtain forgiveness of sin, it does not (necessarily have to) involve the death of Jesus Christ.

No amount or number, of forgiveness of sins, can bring to the repentant salvation-seeker, the salvation of God in Christ Jesus. And to be told by a so-called Man of God to make one single request for forgiveness of sin from God, in one ‘Crusade’ event, to gain God’s salvation, is a ridiculous deception.

You can gain forgiveness of sin through repentance and confession of the sin to God, and or to the person you have wronged, without recourse to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That makes forgiveness to be obviously cheaper than remission, which (remission) must involve the precious blood and sinless life of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to come about.

I do hope we remember that, Jesus Christ could grant forgiveness of sin to paralytics, impotent-halts, and even those who nailed him to The Cross, without them obtaining remission of sin. This was because, it was after they had been forgiven of their sins that Jesus then shed his blood on The Cross, for the remission of sin (for all mankind). This is the great contrast between forgiveness and remission (of sins) that is obviously revealed to us from the spirit (and maybe not the letter) of God’s infallible Word.

You can also gain forgiveness of sin from a fellow man, but you can never obtain remission of sin from your fellow man – not even from your closest kinsman, (except of course, from our one and only Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus Christ). Again, as said earlier, remission of sin is obtainable from God only once in a life-time; forgiveness of sin however, can come to the sinner every day of the week, month, and or year.

Forgiveness of sin exonerates sinful-mankind from the consequences of sin: which are guilt-consciousness, sickness and disease, confusion, misery and poverty. (Deuteronomy 28: 15-68). The wrath of God, which must come upon all who sin, is stayed for those people, who are wise to seek forgiveness for their sins from Him, after repenting of them.

A man called Cornelius, of Acts chapter ten fame, enjoyed life in the blessed state of being in God’s forgiveness, and yet was neither in God’s salvation nor in His Kingdom. In that state of being in God’s forgiveness, enjoying in all, whatever the blessings of God are in that state, he did not have the remission of his sins.

It was much later on, when he was baptized in the ministry of Peter, an apostle, that he gained the remission of his sins, qualifying him to receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God in his heart and as a seal of ownership by God. That baptism also earned him the adoption and son-ship by God, for his addition into His family.

You see, forgiveness (of sin), deals with the issues of mankind’s sin, before and after Calvary. Remission (of sin) however, deals with issues of sin in man at Calvary. Both deals have their unique blessings and ways of being accessed. [—the concluding part of this article is in Part Four].

Chris Bapuohyele is an evangelist to the Body of Christ, and the author of the book entitled: “BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation”. His email address is: [email protected].

Today, it is very important we observe closely, the way the disciples of Jesus executed their first assignment in soul-winning on the Day of Pentecost, and indeed, in all others, so we can imitate them for our own successes. All soul-winners, working in and for God’s Kingdom today, must do exactly as Peter an apostle, and his friends did for the salvation of men on the Day of Pentecost, and in the years after this great day.

Peter and his friends always preached a message whose substance was designed by the wisdom of God, and aimed at bringing repentance of sin to their listeners. Also, they always had the right directive, aimed at leading those who accepted their message to appropriately respond to it, for their genuine entry into the Kingdom of God.

Any time they went out to win souls, the theme of their message was the same. It was always about Jesus the Son of God: who lived a sinless life, was falsely accused and put to death by crucifixion on The Cross, was buried, resurrected on the third day after his burial, and who ascended into Heaven, to be seated on the right hand side of God forever.

For the apostles of Jesus Christ, this is the core-message of the gospel, which has the potency to prick the hearts of any hearers of it, so as to bring them to the point of repentance from their sins. Later on, when Saul of Tarsus joined the company of apostles of Jesus Christ as St. Paul, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say in the Book of Romans that, this message of the gospel is the only one with the cutting-edge power to bring about repentance unto salvation. (Romans 1: 16, KJV).

Again, Paul an apostle, in the Book of Galatians, chapter one, verse eight to nine, in writing to Galatians of his day, stressed to them the importance of accepting only the message of the apostles in their quest for God’s salvation. He stressed that, even if angels came to preach to them some other message beside the one preached to them by the apostles, they should not accept it. Any contrary message, Paul revealed, would bring to both the preachers of it and their hearers, curses from God. Simply put, any such message would deny them the salvation of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, if we are to make any genuine disciples for Jesus Christ today, who are worthy of being admitted into the Kingdom of God, this message of the apostles must be ours to all who would listen to us. We are not to preach to salvation-seekers any other message – not even one on healing from diseases or on deliverance from evil forces, or on prosperity, or on forgiveness of sin, or on any other.

Simply because a particular message can be found in the Bible does not mean it is relevant, or has the power of God, for the repentance of the sinner, toward his salvation. Sadly, many so-called Men of God do not know this! Many are yet to humble themselves to obey God’s Word for their own salvation. This they must do, so the Holy Spirit of God can get to dwell in their hearts, and then to constantly reveal to and teach them, for the benefit of their followers, the truths of God’s salvation in Christ Jesus.

Our message to the salvation-seeker must always be that of The Cross. This is the only one message, tailor-made by God Himself, which can bring a feeling of remorse to the heart of any sinner who hears it, and thereby lead him to repentance onto salvation.

Just as Peter did on the Day of Pentecost for the over three thousand returnee-Diaspora Jews, who accepted his cutting-edge message of The Cross, whenever we have any person today who comes to the realization that it is his (or her) sins that killed the Saviour, and repents of them, that person must be properly taught about how he or she must act, so as to come into the saving-power of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.

The way to obtain reconciliation with God and how to gain entry into His Kingdom, must be for mankind today, the same as was taught by Peter to his hearers in his day. There is no other way taught by God in His Word to salvation-seekers to bring this about.

So what did Peter direct the salvation-seeker to do, to genuinely enter the salvation of God, one may ask? It is very important that we know this, and to also do as Peter did, if we are to achieve any success in our efforts to win souls for Christ.

Peter told his listeners to do two things: first, to repent from their sins, and then, to be baptized in (or into) the name of Jesus Christ. Peter taught them that if they did that out of genuine desire for reconciliation with God, and to enter His Kingdom, they would receive remission of sin, and go on further, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now, this is the only assurance from God’s Word, which we find in Acts 2: 38-39, KJV, on how any salvation-seeker can ever enter His salvation. We must always keep in our minds that, on the Day of Pentecost, when the first crop of salvation-seekers were led into the Kingdom of God, by His sure representatives, the genuine directive as to how to enter it, was for the salvation-seekers to repent of their sins, and to be baptized in (or into) the name of Jesus Christ.

As said earlier on, this baptism was to enable God grant them remission of sin, and also the gift of the Holy Spirit of God to firmly dwell in their hearts, (forever). It seems to me mankind’s difficulty in post-apostolic times, in understanding how to enter the salvation of God, has to do with the words remission of sin. But if God can and will grant His Holy Spirit to anybody who desires it in this Grace Dispensation, it must be through the person’s faith in remission of sin.

Sadly, remission of sin is hardly known or understood by even the learned theologians and self-styled Men of God, in our world today, who claim to be God’s soul-winners. The word remission is a very rare one. It is found only in the King James Version of the Bible, and in only ten verses. It is completely absent in all other popular Versions of the Bible, that I know of.

This fact of remission, as being a rare word, establishes it as a gold-miner’s word. For me, this word is found and understood by only gold-miners: miners who are engaged in the search of nuggets and pearls in the Bible. It is those who are seriously engaged in such a search, who are blessed with the knowledge and understanding of this rare Word of God – remission.

And yet, remission of sin is the best thing that ever came from God, with the intent to make all His blessings reach mankind. We can only fathom the depth of God’s love for mankind, in His gift of Jesus Christ, if we understand what remission of sin is all about.

This is because it is only those who have gained access to remission of sin, by applying the wisdom of God to their ways, who are the genuine disciples of Jesus Christ. They are those, who are in God’s salvation. Anybody else, no matter how good he looks, is in fact a tare, and not the wheat he may think of himself to be. Remember that, tares are wheat look-alike.

These truths the devil and his cohorts know. Sadly, not even the many so-called Men of God, of our generation, know these truths. They wrongly equate remission to forgiveness (of sin)! They are thus unable to properly teach salvation-seekers how to genuinely enter the Kingdom of God.

I have always wondered how the devil has been able to beguile as many as over 99% of so-called Men of God, (who I know), and as many salvation-seekers, not to know or think of remission (of sin) in their quest for the salvation of God in Christ. The devil has easily and cheaply succeeded in leading many so-called Men of God to teach salvation-seekers to ask God for forgiveness of their sins, instead of how they can secure remission of sin through repentance and baptism, in their quest to enter His Kingdom.

Until the advent of John the Baptist, even Israel, the elect of God, did not know anything about remission of sin. All they knew and enjoyed then, were atonement and forgiveness of sin. We can therefore say that, Jesus did not come to our world to die to bring into being, forgiveness of sin – forgiveness of sin being a blessing of God, which was already being enjoyed under the not-so-perfect Old Testament.

What all this means is that, sinful-mankind should not seek to obtain forgiveness of sin in his quest to enter God’s salvation. Rather, sinful-mankind must seek to understand and to secure remission of sin, to enable him enter the salvation of God. [—this article is continued in Part Three].

Chris Bapuohyele is an evangelist to the Body of Christ, and the author of the book entitled: “BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation”. His email address is: [email protected]

The year 2030 will mark the 2000th anniversary of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important to note that this anniversary is only two decades away. It is also important to remember that the Lord Jesus Christ, earlier on, before his Ascension, told his disciples that he would return to earth, a second time, and so mankind must await his return.

We do not know when this Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will take place. Whether it will be before this 2000th anniversary or after, we do not know. Mankind must however start in earnest now, preparations for this return of the Saviour; that is, for those who have not yet done so. For, as sure as the sun shall rise from the east and set in the west, Jesus shall soon come.

Many people, who profess to be adherents to the Christian faith, whether rightly or wrongly, consider themselves to be workers in God’s Kingdom and or stewards to His secrets, mysteries, and blessings. It may be that, it is such serious-minded people who may be preparing for The Great Day of the Lord, which the closeness of this 2000th anniversary of his Ascension seems to be reminding many of us about.

For those who consider themselves to be called by the Lord Jesus Christ, to lead people into his salvation, they have a lot of thinking and preparations to do, if they are to receive any commendations from the Lord at his coming. In particular, they must remind themselves of the Great Commission of the Master, and critically consider what roles they are playing in it.

By this Commission, the Master enlists loyal, knowledgeable, wise, and anointed followers for this special work of soul-winning. Today, those who believe they are in this Commission must be asking themselves how they are faring in the execution of this special work of, and for, the Kingdom of God.

Soul-winning is a specialist’s job. Anyone who is involved in it must be blessed by God to be able to work with His mind and wisdom, if he is to do it effectively for the expected results. This is what the Word of God says about soul-winners: “… he that winneth souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11: 30, King James Version, KJV). This means that only those with the wisdom of God can win souls for Him. Soul-winning is a job for only wise people: those wise in God’s sight, and not in the eyes of mortal men.

This explains why genuine soul-winners of God’s Kingdom have today become endangered species of the male homo sapiens. Did any people ever see this obvious scarcity of God-taught, God-anointed, and God-sent men, in the business of soul-winning? I am sure many people have. Is that why somebody tried to help God out of this, by wrongfully recruiting and sending out women, to execute a God-ordained men-only assignment?

Yes indeed, Mary Magdalene was the first to see the resurrected Christ. But she forever, thereafter, remained in essence and silence, just the first to see the empty tomb of the Saviour. She did not have the mandate of the Master, to be a legal (credible) witness (testifier of, or messenger-carrier of the proof) to his resurrection.

Mary Magdalene was never conscripted and or ordained by the Master, to have either a part or lot in the business of taking the message of his resurrection to the world, with the object of winning souls for the Kingdom of God. And so are all women, the weaker sex to men, and as such the easily beguiled by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, never chosen by God as vessels, to carry His Word (message of salvation, warnings, or direction) to mankind. Throughout all the times and seasons Heaven has been ruling in the affairs of men on earth, God has not as yet used (and will never use) women as message-bearers, in His Information Ministry.

The error by many in depending on the wisdom of men, while trying to render a duty that was to have been done by the Son of God himself, has brought about a sad state of affairs, to the Kingdom of God. The ignorance of many people about God’s ways, and His wisdom for soul-winning, has led them into doing ridiculously weird things, all in the name of soul-winning.

Men who are called, chosen, taught, anointed, and sent out by God for this assignment, must constantly remain focused and fully dependant on the instructions of His Son, if they are to be successful. It is important for soul-winners, to always remain dependant on the Master’s instructions since they work in his stead and not for themselves.

When Jesus Christ was about to depart from earth to the Good Father in Heaven, he took the apostles outside the walls of Jerusalem, to Mt. Olivet, to bid them an unforgettable good-bye. There, he finishes his last pep-talk to the apostles. Then he becomes air-borne, en-route to Heaven. They watched and waved him good-bye, till a cloud concealed him from their sight.

This pre-Ascension pep-talk was on how the apostles were to go about the task of soul-winning, for the Kingdom of God. The success of this soul-winning work depended on these downcast men: downcast because their Master was leaving them, for a very long while.

They could not afford to make any mistakes in this soul-winning business – Heaven and The Throne were depending on them. Any mistakes would attract upon themselves, the Wrath of The Throne. One little mistake, would also bring about a permanent denial of God’s salvation to all the inhabitants of the earth.

They had to understand this, and not make any mistakes. They were to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, to be given to them by God, and on the wisdom in the instructions of the Master. They were also told that the Holy Spirit, upon coming into their hearts to dwell, would constantly keep them in remembrance of the Master’s strict instructions, for their success.

As they waved their Master good-bye, on Mt. Olivet, two men (angels of God?), in white apparel joined their company. The men in white clothes spoke to them, echoing words which their Master had told them earlier on before this Ascension Day. The angels told them about the sure-return of the Master, in the like manner they had just seen him go to Heaven.

Then the apostles returned to their makeshift abode in the Upper Room, in Jerusalem, to console one another with this truth of their Master’s sure-return: cheering themselves up, on the temporal loss of physical contact and fellowship with their Lord.

While consoling themselves, they eagerly await the descent of the Holy Spirit of God into their hearts: by which they are promised by the Master, they would be equipped with power, wisdom, boldness, and the constant remembrance of his instructions on soul-winning to begin to execute the work of evangelizing the world, for the Kingdom of God.

After waiting in the Upper Room for only ten days, the promise by Jesus to send them the Holy Spirit is fulfilled. Then, they immediately move out into the streets of Jerusalem, catapulted by the sheer dynamism of the Holy Spirit of God in them, to execute the high-precision job of winning souls for God’s Kingdom, which can only be done by men who are endowed with the wisdom and power of God. [—this articled is continued in Part Two]

Chris Bapuohyele is an evangelist to the Body of Christ, and the author of the book entitled: BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE of reciting the Sinners’ Prayer for salvation. His email address is: [email protected]