For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever
believes on Him will not be put to shame.’
For there is no distinction between Jew
and Greek, for the same Lord over all
is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever
calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved’.” [Romans 10: 9-13]
Salvation
is free, salvation is freedom – it’s
that simple; not complicated. Just come
as you are to accept the invitation.
If
you are sincere, other things like obedience,
fear [reverence] of God and repentance
[changing your direction and doing that
which is well-pleasing in God’s sight]
will come. The Spirit will give you the
desire to do and be like Jesus!
What makes it complicated is when people
say things that become stumbling blocks
toward salvation. For instance, I recently
listened to a preacher who had a good
message, but at the end, extended an invitation
to salvation with this addendum to the
scripture in Romans: “…and speak
in tongues as evidence that you received
the Holy Ghost.” Now if you were
sitting on a pew and the Spirit was prompting
you to accept the invitation, wouldn’t
you give pause to that condition? Of course
you would; this would all be new to you!
You most likely would not know the difference
between God’s invitation to salvation,
and the gifts of the spirit. Let’s
not be confused.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 reads: “There
are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit. There are differences of ministries,
but the same Lord. And there are diversities
of activities, but it is the same God
who works all in all. But the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to each one for
the profit of all: for to one is given
the word of wisdom through the Spirit,
to another the word of knowledge through
the same Spirit, to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healings
by the same Spirit, to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another
discerning of spirits, to another different
kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues. But one and the same Spirit
works all these things, distributing to
each one individually as He wills.”
Notice: God gives to SOME (as He wills)
the diversities of spiritual gifts, but
He gives to ALL who call on Him for salvation.
People who believe that speaking in tongues
is evidence of salvation, base it upon
scripture in Romans 2:1-4. It was on the
day of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) when
the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles
and other followers of Christ. The Apostles
were not speaking in an unknown tongue,
but rather, were speaking in languages
representative of all the Jews from every
nation who had gathered there in Jerusalem.
It was nothing short of a miracle, but
it was not to be mistaken as evidence
of salvation. If that were the case, then
there are a lot of Christians hell bound
because the gift of tongues has not manifested
in them. Please read and search the scriptures
for yourself, and be not misled by someone
else’s misinterpretation.
The
Bible means what it says! I love our Pentecost
brothers and sisters in Christ, but what
does it profit an unbeliever to walk into
a church where everyone is speaking a
language he or she cannot understand?
Larry
Buford is a Los Angeles-based contributing
writer. Author of “Things Are Gettin’
Outta Hand” and “Book To The
Future” (Amazon). Email: LBuford8101@hotmail.com
