Four Flaws in the Four Spiritual Laws
by Mark Roberts
www.cvillechurch.com
Have you read the tract "The Four Spiritual Laws"? It was written by Dr. Bill Bright, the president of Campus Crusade for Christ. Approximately 1.5 billion copies of this tract have been printed and distributed all over the world. It was written to quickly and efficiently teach people how to be saved.
www.cvillechurch.com
Have you read the tract "The Four Spiritual Laws"? It was written by Dr. Bill Bright, the president of Campus Crusade for Christ. Approximately 1.5 billion copies of this tract have been printed and distributed all over the world. It was written to quickly and efficiently teach people how to be saved.
Unfortunately, "The Four Spiritual Laws" tract is badly flawed. A simple comparison between its teaching and the teaching of scripture reveals that "The Four Spiritual Laws" simply does not teach God's plan of salvation.
Here are the Four Spiritual Laws:
1. Law 1: God loves you and offers a wonderful Plan for your life.
2. Law 2: Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
3. Law 3: Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
4. Law 4: We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
What exactly does the tract mean "receive Jesus Christ?" How do you do that? We are not left to wonder:
1. We Must Receive Christ - Jn 1:12
2. We Receive Christ Through Faith - Eph. 2:8-9
3. When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth - Jn 3:1-8
4. We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation - Rev. 3:20
What could be wrong with this? A study of the Bible shows these laws are terribly flawed.
Flaw 1: "The Four Laws" forgets that faith works.
Read Genesis 6:13-14. Did Noah have faith? Yes! But did his faith alone save him? Could he have been saved by merely believing God without building the ark? Of course not. Noah's faith led him to obey God ( Gen. 6:22; 7:5, 16).
Romans 1:5 speaks of our "obedience to the faith." Obedience and true faith in God always go together. You can't have one without the other (read James 2:14-26).
Where is this concept in the "Four Laws" pamphlet? The "Four Laws" says nothing about obedience, only faith!
Flaw 2: The pamphlet forgets baptism.
The New Testament teaches that water baptism is very important. It...
1. Puts you into Jesus Christ - Gal. 3:27
2. Saves you - 1 Peter 3:21
3. Forgives your sins - Acts 22:16; 2:38
Baptism is so crucial because it is linked to Jesus' death, burial and resurrection (see Romans 6:3-6).
The "Four Laws" teaches you can be saved without baptism, advocating a prayer and faith alone approach. This simply is not the teaching of the scriptures.
No passage of scripture promises the non-Christian that he can pray and receive forgiveness of sin. No passage of scripture says that you can pray "into Jesus Christ." No passage says prayer can save you. All of these vital functions are ascribed to baptism, not prayer!
Flaw 3: The tract forgets that the N.T. specifically teaches that faith alone cannot save.
The "Four Laws" says that to be saved you need only believe in Jesus Christ. What does the Bible say?
"You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" James 2:24
Once again we see how scripture puts faith and obedience together, while "The Four Laws" artificially and arbitrarily divorces them.
Who should we believe -- a booklet written by a mere man, or the inspired word of God?
Flaw 4: The tract forgets that God's grace doesn't exclude man's obedience.
Many seem to think that there are only two choices: be saved by your actions and doing, or be saved completely by God's grace.
This is why so many oppose baptism. They believe that baptism is an attempt to earn or merit salvation. This is false. The Bible never sees obedience and grace opposing each other.
Read Hebrews 11 and notice how these men and women of faith responded to God's grace by obeying the Lord. Their obedience didn't earn salvation but was absolutely necessary to being saved.
Likewise, you cannot earn salvation today by doing good works. But you must do what God has said if you want to be saved. These works of obedience demonstrate our faith and love for God.
Won't you do what God says so you can be saved today?
What must I do to be saved?
· Believe in Jesus Christ - John 3:16
· Repent of past sins - Luke 13:3
· Confess Jesus as the Son of God - Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:10
· Be baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins - Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16
Don't be fooled by the ideas of men. Read your Bible. Study these things carefully. Then obey God's simple plan for salvation today and become a New Testament Christian!
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posted by Larry Rouse at
6:22 PM
6 Comments:
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.
Isn't it that baptism is only symbolical and not necessary for salvation...It only shows or professes to other people that we are now Christians, the old is gone and the new has come..In the verse, it says that wash your sins away, calling on his name. So I believe receiving Christ is an act of faith. With regards to work, I think it also comes along with it. Because when you accept Christ as an act of the will, it also requires effort because it is a stepping out from our comfort zone. That is if you sincerely accpeted him. And works does not necessarily mean that you intend to do it. Because if you are now a Christian, the rest will follow. And at the end it will come naturally.
I believe that the pamphlet really has some flaws but I also believe that, when we share, we are not relying on the pamphlet written by bill bright but rather on the Holy Spirit working through us. For example, the issue regarding which is more complete, the NIV or the KJV. I believe God can still speak to us even if people take away some parts or alter some things. God has his own way of communicating with us. Thank You.
A fellow believer and follower of Christ,
Mark Ryan To
(drmarkryanto@yahoo.com)
The thief on the cross. He couldn't come down and get baptized, yet Jesus said his faith alone would get him into Paradise. Interesting.
What about the verse that says our best works are filthy rags?
If you are relying on any works of your own, rather than the finished work of Christ... then you will not be saved. You'll we only be saved by Faith and Repentance.
Once again, a preacher trying to get people to think they can work to heaven!
The whole purpose of these tracts is to get people to realize that they are a sinner in need of a Savior, and that they have sinned against God. Once they understand that and then desire to have a relationship with the Lord the rest will follow. "Faith without works is dead." very true. However because of the faith that we have in Christ we should naturally produce good fruit. If the person reading the tract truly puts their faith in Christ then they will naturally bear good fruit without having to be told to do so. They will automatically want to obey Christ because they finally realize what they were saved from. You don't have to tell a person that they need to obey God. They should naturally just desire to because of the faith they have in Him.
to a brother who made this blog...can you save yourself? or can you help God save yourself.
Your argument and not the tract is BADLY FLAWED!
Baptism is not essential to salvation, have you forgotten the thief at Jesus' crucifixion? He went to Heaven without being baptized.
Stop spreading this argument, it is badly flawed.
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