Bloodless Love Cannot Save
There is a false gospel that says that God loves everyone, which is true, and that He has put away sin in Christ, which is also true, and that if you confess these things you are already saved, which is decidedly untrue. Saying it is so does not make it so, but by faith and obedience. Otherwise, as proponents of this gospel practice, lawlessness is called grace, and accepting lawlessness is called love. One such proponent was Stacy Wood of Promised Seed Ministries, with whom we corresponded about the true love of God that leads to salvation and life.
A letter sent to Stacy (who had extreme health problems) and Pamla Wood, from Promised Seed Minstries, whose motto is, “Proclaiming the Good News of the Happy God, who is Savior of all and Condemner of none”:
Greetings in the Lord Jesus, Stacy and Pamla,
You recently sent us your newsletter. As a result I went to your web page and browsed around. One article I red was “Pamla’s Back to the Basics – Who Me?” When I just went back to retrieve it again, it was no longer available. Nevertheless, I recall what I wished to say to you in general about this article.
The Scriptures say that God is love. We know this is true. The demonstration of this fact is that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, laid down His life for us when we were yet His enemies. When you say that God loves people as they are, it is true, but not as you apply it. Seeing that God is love, He cannot be or do otherwise. But His love is not expressed as an acceptance of us as we are, but as an act of His will and Nature, to change us from what we are in order to form us into His image. He laid down His life, not in vain, but to reconcile us to God, and from there to make us acceptable in Him.
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He has made us accepted in the One having been loved” (Ephesians 1:6 MKJV).
You are preaching a false gospel that binds the sinner to his sin nature, and you can only do this if you are also presently bound. I see the wrath of God on you in illness and much else, which surely you will consider as an evil condemnation coming from me, but I tell you the truth. You are perishing in that which you teach. You need to hear this.
God is not the monster many religious have made Him out to be, but neither is He is the mountain of mush you make Him to be. Repent, you two. God is hurting because His people are believing and indulging in the kinds of things you partake of and teach. Read The Deadly Error of the Universalists.
I have made some comments in the introductory segment on your site. Read below; your article is in colored print with my replies in black. The will of the Lord be done.
In Him alone is there safety and salvation,
Paul
Article: What is the Gospel?
Very few people have every heard the Gospel or more accurately the “Good News.”
Paul: Have very few heard? Or is it rather “Who has believed our report?” But I must agree that the pure truth is rare these days, for which purpose we have been sent to speak. That is why I am “critiquing” your work, which is not unadulterated truth, but unholy mixture.
Article: It is a recognized fact that bad news sells better than good news. Thus, most Christians are busy telling the world God is mad at them, in hopes of saving a few.
Paul: Are most Christians hoping to save a few by telling the world God is mad at them? Firstly, I truly do not hear many professing Christians telling people that. Secondly, those who do so in a spirit of enmity with God and man are not hoping to save others, though that may be their justification for what they say. Thirdly, I can tell you that God is, without a doubt, angry with the religious hypocrites and self-righteous who take His Name in vain. We are speaking this to you and to others in The Issues of Life, and indeed we hope not only to save a few, but know that all in the end will be saved, yet only by the truth and fire. There is no other way.
Article: The world outside of the church is continually told that they are terrible and wrong. Some call this kind of preaching “the Gospel,” but let me ask, “Where is the Good News?” This certainly is not what God commissioned us to share with humanity.
Paul: Again, where do you hear this kind of preaching? Implied in church dogma, perhaps. But what we see is that the religious are no different than the rest of the world, and cannot condemn the world without condemning themselves. So most religious refrain and do not, yes cannot, speak boldly against the man of sin. By your very stance you are siding with sinners, and not with the Lord Who comes declaring, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Article: The Gospel is in two parts:
Reconciliation and Salvation
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Paul: Images depicting things in heaven violate the Second Commandment. This is sin to you. It brings wrath on your household according to the law of God, His nature.
Article: —First, RECONCILIATION. God has given us the “word and ministry of reconciliation!” (2Co. 5:14-21). He sends us to the world to tell them the “Good News.” God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He was not imputing their trespasses to them. That is, God restored harmony and fellowship between himself and humanity no matter what the condition or state of being.
Paul: We, the saints, have a present ministry of reconciliation. You err to say the reconciliation is past, just as those err who say the resurrection is past.
Article: He accomplished this for ALL HUMANITY and not just for believers. It is not just the people who are in church, that He loves, but everyone! That’s right. The worst reprobate sinner in the world is every bit as reconciled to God as the believer is.
Paul: Each person, but in his or her own order. You cannot teach people to assume they are reconciled; they must go through the process and be submitted to the order of God, even as Jesus was (Matthew 3:15).
Article: For when we were yet unable to help ourselves, Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. Moreover, God exhibited his love to us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8).
Look at Romans 5:10 — It says that “when WE WERE ENEMIES, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” Reconciled in this verse is written in the past tense. God has already restored fellowship between himself and the whole world. He did this when the entire world was lying in sin and unable to help themselves. (Rom. 3:23, 5:6-8; Gal. 3:12).
Paul: Jesus said, “It is finished.” The foundation stone is laid, and no man can change that. But the building must be completed, and then things will proceed from there. You err. Read the paper I linked above (universalism).
Article: Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God cleansed, forgave and restored everyone on the face of this earth to himself. (Heb. 9:26ff, 10:8ff). Now all that any of us has to do, is receive this reconciliation and we will begin experiencing the benefits of it. (2Co. 5:20-21). This is the good word God has given us. This is the word we need to share with those who are lost. If we will do this they won’t stay lost very long.
Paul: God adds those to the church that He wills. You are depending on an attractive message to do the job. But the gospel, Paul said, is foolishness to the world, not comely wisdom. It is about losing your sovereignty to God, a Spirit Whom you cannot see, Who became flesh and died a gruesome death, calling you to likewise lay down your life.
Article: —Second, SALVATION. The apostle Paul says, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who IS the Savior of ALL humanity, ESPECIALLY of those who believe. These things command and teach.” (1Ti. 4:9-11). God is clearly the Savior of ALL HUMANITY. However, to those who BELIEVE this salvation is special. Special in the fact that they are able to experience its benefits in their lives right now.
Paul: Yes, but a slight difference that makes all the difference. For those who believe it is not just special; it is REAL. Until a person enters into the covenant made with Christ’s blood, they are not saved, and the devastation they experience because of this is real. You may as well talk to them about Santa Claus and the Easter bunny, heathen concoctions that also do not deliver from destruction, but rather hasten it.
Article: This salvation is found in such benefits as experiencing that “sin loses its dominion” in one’s life (Rom. 6:6, 14), the “works of the devil” are destroyed (1Jo 3:5-11), and the fear of death is made void (Heb. 2:14-15). Moreover, the righteousness, peace and joy of God becomes the experience of one’s life. (Rom. 14:17-18).
Paul: Amen!
Article: If someone asks, “How do I experience this salvation?” It is simple for this word is near to each and every human being. It is a word of faith or persuasion that is in everyone’s mouth and heart. I am speaking of the word that we preach, which declares that God loves, accepts and is benevolent to EVERYONE.
Paul: The Word that we preach is Jesus Christ, not a doctrine or formula, which is what you are preaching, lacking the Substance. The faith is in Him, that is, the faith comes from Him. No person naturally has this faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God preached by those sent of Him. You preach faith in words, not the Word of God.
God does not accept everybody. Why do you insist on lies? What do you think the parable of the sheep and goats is all about? Or vessels of honor and dishonor? The Bible is full of the testimony and acts of God in accordance with Deuteronomy 28, good and evil, which is clearly absent from your gospel. He does all these things by His wisdom and pre-ordained will. You are teaching disrespect of His sovereignty and Him. You do not know what you are affirming. We do; so we speak to you. God is not accepting you in these things.
“ And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto your governor; will he be pleased with you, or accept your person? says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:8 KJV).
“Thus says the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins” (Jeremiah 14:10 KJV).
Article: All one needs to do is confess or agree their mouth that the Lord Jesus manifested God’s love and acceptance of them at Calvary. Then by believing in their heart that God raised him from the dead, you will begin experiencing salvation or deliverance from those things that have held you back from truly enjoying life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10). For it is with the heart that one believes into righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made into salvation. Remember. The Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:8-11).
Paul: God wants us to prosper, and we do so in Him, but there is no place for the cross and suffering in your gospel. Paul and Barnabas solemnly warned believers that “through much tribulation they must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Jesus warned people up front about the costs of following Him, that they would need to count the cost, that they would have to strive to enter in, and that they would also be hated of all men for His sake. Why wasn’t He talking like you do? Or why are you not talking like He does?
Article: We are exhorted as believers to make supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings on behalf of ALL humanity; including all who are in leadership and authority. We are to do this so we may live peaceful and tranquil lives with all godliness and gravity. It is also right and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all humanity to be saved and come to a full recognition of the truth. For there is but one God and one Mediator between God and humanity—Christ Jesus, Himself man; who gave Himself as the redemption price for ALL—this message is valid for every era. (1Ti 2:1-6)
Paul: Amen. However, this is not something God simply wants to happen and is dependent on man to do it. He does it. In fact, men’s works are the paths of the destroyer (Psalm 17:4). That is what is happening here, you are trying to make it happen without the cross, by the will of man. That is not the work of the true Lord Jesus Christ.
“But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name, who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God” (John 1:12-13 MKJV).
Their reply:
Paul,
Each of is accountable for what we proclaim and I will stand in that which the Father has spoken to me and give account. I dis agree of course that my physical condition is God’s judgment, as I realize that the best and the worst of humanity go through physical ailment at sometime or another. Now your appeal to me is appreciated, but I think you did not read enough. Try the balance to the God of Love message if it is not too offensive in the other direction.
You are in our thoughts and prayers,
Stacy & Pamla Wood
Promised Seed Ministry Web Presence
www.promiseed.com
www.greater-emmanuel.org/Promiseed [webpage defunct]
Victor’s reply:
Stacy and Pamla, Victor Hafichuk here.
Some time ago, Paul Cohen sent you a letter (included below) urging you to consider your relationship to God and the likelihood of sin in your life that causes illness. As it is written:
“As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause” (Proverbs 26:2 BBE).
Read God Heals Today, His Way. Therein is contained important emancipating, healing truth, if you can receive it.
Paul’s reply:
Stacy,
You ask me to read and consider your article on evil. I have red it. In it you write:
“Again we find the Lord brought evil upon His people because their deeds were evil.”
We have no problem with that, but apparently you do. You are the one in need of considering your own words, and furthermore what I have written to you that shows you your error, wherein you have gone astray.
You also write in your essay on evil:
“That is, no one makes an active choice of good without a refusal of evil.”
We know that no man is good, and that in our flesh dwells no good thing, so it is certain that, aside from the supernatural resurrection power of God through Jesus Christ, by His righteousness alone, none can choose good. However, my purpose at the moment is not to elaborate on that aspect, but to tell you that the converse here also applies to you, which is that you have made an active choice of evil by refusing the good, the Word of God coming to you by us. Hence you continue to suffer greater things under the wrath of God.
Their reply:
Thank you for the critique, you will get no further disagreement out of us. We stand, as always in that which the Lord Jesus Christ has spoken to us through Father’s word. Sick, yes. Cursed, not so. My sins were judged at Calvary, 2000 years ago, and I not only believe in the One that died for/as me but I walk with Him daily in sweet fellowship. It is true we do not preach the same gospel. But what we declare centers on the one true Lord Savoir Christ Jesus.
Blessings,
Stacy & Pamla
Paul’s and Victor’s replies:
Paul: Stacy, yes, Christ died for you, but you must now die for Him. That you must do, as He said, by taking up your cross to follow Him. You have not done this. Instead, you have tried to sneak in another way. Now confronted on it, you protest that it is legitimate. It is not. You are yet in your filthy clothes. In this you have nothing at all to do with the true living God, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, no matter what your works or feelings. None are permitted to remain at the wedding feast without the wedding garment. You are judged out of your own mouth and your reward awaits you in outer darkness.
Victor: Years after Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, He said this to one of the churches:
“But I have a few things against you because you allow that woman Jezebel to teach, she saying herself to be a prophetess, and to cause My servants to go astray, and to commit fornication, and to eat idol-sacrifices. And I gave her time that she might repent of her fornication, and she did not repent. Behold, I am throwing her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death. And all the churches will know that I am He Who searches the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works” (Revelation 2:20-23 MKJV).
What of the things He had to say to the other churches as well? What of Paul’s warnings to the Corinthians and Galatians? What of his rebuke to Peter? What of many and varied Scriptural testimonies? But you will have none of it, clinging to your sieve of a life raft you call salvation.
The historical fact, obviously, was not enough for His people. There needed to be an ongoing response of the heart, something that you have apparently trashed. You say there will be no more disagreement from you with us. How could there possibly be more? You tell us we serve another Jesus. We tell you that ours has given and continues to give us life, and that abundantly, in every way, and how others may avail themselves (The Good News), while the Jesus you serve is stealing from, killing and destroying you. The imposter snares you.
Go then, if you will, and stubbornly die in your “historically-paid-for” sins.
Victor Hafichuk