Program
#L11—“The Theological Adventures of Johnny Lukewarm and
Pastor Loophole: More Grace Loopholes”
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Radio Show Transcript, © 2001, Persuade The
World Ministries, Gordon James Klingenschmitt, Servant. Copying
and distribution (without editing) is highly encouraged.
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<Many more transcripts and free MP3 radio shows CLICK HERE>
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Opening introduction by Mark
McWilliams…
Welcome and thank you for joining this radio
broadcast of Persuade The World Ministries. You’re
about to hear our radio production of the book written and taught
by Gordon James Klingenschmitt, entitled “License To Sin,
The Number One Reason America Is Losing Its Moral
Foundation.” If you call us in the next hour,
we’ll mail you a free cassette tape of today’s
broadcast, which you can copy and give to your friends. Just
call our toll-free phone number: 866-Obey-God. That’s
toll free, 1-866-O-B-E-Y-G-O-D. Gordon James Klingenschmitt
is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, and a
seminary graduate of
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Thanks Mark. Today we continue our
mini-drama entitled “The Theological Adventures of Johnny
Lukewarm and Pastor Loophole.” You remember our
characters: Johnny Lukewarm is a non-Christian who calls
himself a Christian. He wants to go to heaven when he dies,
but doesn’t want to make Jesus the Lord of his life. So
he gets his advice from Pastor Loophole, who tells him everything
his itching ears want to hear.
(Higher) “Pastor Loophole, I’m very upset about this particular passage of scripture. It seems as though God is commanding me to do something I really don’t want to do. Do I really have to repent, and stop sinning, and obey God? Or is there some other alternative?
(Lower) “Why, certainly there is, Johnny Lukewarm, you just
relax. I can offer you dozens of alternatives, and give you
very logical reasons why you don’t have to obey God.”
(Higher) “Oh, thank goodness. For a minute there, I
thought I’d actually have to change my behavior and obey
God!” Johnny breathes a sigh of relief. He sits
forward eagerly, with his itching ears searching for some way of
escape from the Holy Spirit’s conviction. But the
Spirit of God is grieved away, and He slowly withdraws his
conviction from Johnny’s life.
(Start) Now
let’s continue with Loophole #6, entitled “Guilt is not
from God.”
(Lower) “Watch out, Johnny, for the accuser of the
brethren,” says Pastor Loophole, referring to the devil.
“If you ever hear an inner voice pronouncing you
“GUILTY!” just ignore it. That voice comes
from the devil, trying to make you forget what Jesus did for you
on the cross. Jesus forgives your sins even while you
continue to enjoy them, even if you don’t repent. So
if you feel ashamed of your sinful behavior, stop feeling so bad!
Guilt doesn’t come from God.”
(Higher) “Wow, thanks, Pastor Loophole; that really
helps,” says Johnny Lukewarm. “Now I don’t
feel so guilty. Now I can suppress all that conviction and
guilt I’ve been feeling.”
TIME OUT !! Let’s look at the
scriptures everybody, and analyze Pastor Loophole’s advice.
Let’s rightly divide the word of truth, and separate the
truth from the lies in the advice given by Pastor Loophole.
First, I want to acknowledge the true part. It’s true
that the devil accuses believers of their sins when he’s
talking to God. But the lie is that every time you feel
guilty, it’s the devil who’s making you feel guilty.
And the lie is that Jesus forgives your sins even while you
continue to enjoy them. But here’s the truth to
replace those lies: When you feel guilty about your sins,
that’s your conscience speaking, not the devil. When
you feel convicted, that’s the Holy Spirit convicting you to
repent! He’s finding you guilty, just like in a court
of law, when a jury convicts you as guilty. The Bible says,
When He [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the
world of guilt in regard to sin…[1] God himself might be convicting you of
guilt in regard to sin, so he can then persuade you to forsake
that sin, and set you free from it.
Watch out for Pastor Loophole’s lies, when he tells you to
ignore your conscience, ignore the Holy Spirit. The
Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the
faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose
consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. [2] Pastor
Loophole, if you’re out there listening, your conscience has
been seared as with a hot iron. That’s why you tell
people that guilt comes only from the devil. But
that’s a lie! The truth is that when the devil acts as
the accuser of the brethren, he accuses you before God, not to
your face. The devil wants to remind God about your sins,
not you. The devil wouldn’t warn you about your sins,
because he’s afraid you might repent! No, the devil
would rather whisper in your ear just how holy you are, telling
you that you don’t have to repent. But don’t
listen to that voice. No, listen to the voice of the Holy
Spirit, who convicts you, and even accuses you, and then
persuades you, to forsake your sins and submit your heart and
mind to the loving rulership of God. If you feel guilty,
confess your sins to God. He’ll cleanse you. He’ll
set you free. But not if you suppress your guilty feelings,
and sear your conscience, and silence the voice of the Holy
Spirit. Don’t grieve Him away. Repent and
forsake your known sins, and by doing so save your life.
Now here’s Loophole #7, entitled,
“There’s No Condemnation!”
(Lower)
“Haven’t you read Romans 8:1?” Pastor
Loophole continues. But notice how he only preaches half
the Bible, and ignores the half he doesn’t like. “There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus.” So if you’ve ‘accepted
Jesus as your Savior, then you should never feel condemnation,
even if you continue to enjoy your sins. You don’t
have to submit to Jesus as your Lord. Just believe he
forgives you, and that makes it true. God won’t speak
words of condemnation to you, even if you continue to enjoy your
sins.”
TIME OUT !! Let’s look at the
scriptures everybody, and analyze Pastor Loophole’s advice.
First, I want to acknowledge the true part. It’s true
that there’s no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus. But the lie is that you’re in
Christ Jesus, if you’re still enjoying your deadly sins.
Here’s the truth to replace that lie: If you’re
still enjoying your sins, you’re not in Christ Jesus!
Haven’t you ever read the second half of that verse, Romans
8:1? “There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.[3] If you walk after the flesh, and
don’t walk after the Spirit, you’re not in Christ
Jesus! The Bible says, No one who live in
him keeps on sinning.[4] If you keep on sinning, you don’t
live in Him. If you keep on sinning, you deserve
nothing but condemnation and more condemnation. You’re
guilty, guilty, guilty, and you’ll perish in hell unless you
immediately repent and forsake your known sins. You’ll
never be saved, unless you immediately surrender to the Lordship
of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, The man who says,
“I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a
liar and the truth is not in him....This is
how we know we are in him: Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus
did. [5] So if you
don’t walk as Jesus did, in actual holiness, then
you’re not in him. Whoever claims to live in
him must walk as Jesus did. And if you’re not in
Christ Jesus, you stand condemned, not by me, but by God himself.
Now some of you out
there listening feel a little bit guilty right now. I love
you and I care about you. But I’m telling the truth.
So if I tell you the truth in love, and it makes you feel guilty,
what should I do? Should I tell you lies instead? Should
I disguise the truth in subtle innuendo, and make my language
more flowery, and beat around the bush, and pander to your
sensual desires, and apologize when you get offended? Should
I remain silent and let you die in your sins? No. I
love you too much for that. Here’s the truth: Without
holiness, no one will see the Lord.[6]
I can hear Pastor Loophole out there, saying (lower)
“he’s just preaching condemnation.” But
it’s really not possible for me to preach condemnation to
you, unless you really are guilty. It’s just not
possible. Let me prove it. Now if I accused you of
robbing a bank, but you’ve never actually robbed a bank,
would you feel guilty? No way! Would you feel
condemned? No way! Your conscience would leap to your
aid, proclaiming your innocence based on reality. You’d
laugh out loud, saying “I’ve never robbed a bank!
I'm not guilty! I don’t feel condemnation.”
Now what if I accused you of being sexual immoral. Would you feel condemned then? Well, if you’re not sexually immoral, you wouldn’t feel condemned. You’d say, “that’s not me.” But if you have been sexually immoral, and you’ve never truly repented, you probably would feel condemned. Now what if I accused you of stealing from God because you haven’t paid your tithes? Would you feel condemned then? Well, if you do pay your tithes, you wouldn’t feel any condemnation. You wouldn’t feel guilty at all, because you know that you do pay your tithes. But if you don’t pay your tithes, and you are stealing money from God, you probably feel condemned right now. So can you how it’s really impossible for me to condemn you, unless you really are guilty, and refusing to repent? Nobody can preach condemnation to you, unless you really are guilty.
Now if you’ve
truly repented, and changed your heart, and your behavior
reflects that change of heart, then rejoice, because Jesus paid
for your sins on the cross. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus
shed blood on the cross makes you clean and forgiven, as white as
snow, no matter what you’ve done in the past. But if
you haven’t repented, and you keep on enjoying your sins,
then what Jesus did on the cross doesn’t apply to you.
You can’t escape those feelings of guilt, condemnation, and
shame, because you’re still embracing your sins. You
stand condemned, not by me, not even by God or the devil, but by
your own guilty conscience.
There are really only two ways to ease your guilty conscience.
One way is to silence your conscience by suppressing it. You
can ignore your guilty conscience until it becomes seared as with
a hot iron. But even if you suppress your sins out
of your memory, God won’t forget them. You may close
your eyes, and even pretend you’re forgiven, but the Holy
Spirit continues to whisper....“Guilty, Guilty,
Guilty.” But if you repent, and change the desires of
your heart, and forsake your known sins, God will forgive you, no
matter what you’ve done. When you confess your sins to
God, the Holy Spirit whispers to your heart, “Forgiven,
Forgiven, Clean. You are my child.” The Holy
Spirit testifies with your Spirit that you are a child of God.
You stand truly forgiven in Christ, and condemnation can’t
touch you. This is the path to eternal life.
Let’s pray together. Would you stop what you’re
doing for a moment, and just pray with me, to God? Pray
these words with me, to God. “Father in heaven, I am
so sorry for delaying repentance, and for continuing to enjoy my
deadly sins. I repent, right now, and I forsake my known
sins, especially this one that you’re speaking to me about,
right now…
Lord, I ask you to forgive me for even
thinking that way. I change my mind, Lord, and I change the
desires of my heart to loving you, instead of loving my own
selfishness. And I forgive that person who hurt me. I
receive your cleansing forgiveness, which Jesus bought for me
when he died on the cross. Lord Jesus, I invite you to come
and rule my heart, forever. In your name I pray. Amen.”
Did you just pray with me? If you just prayed with me,
would you just say, “Amen.” Go ahead and say it
out loud. Amen, Lord Jesus. Now if you prayed with
me, can I ask you to write to me and get a copy of this book
you’re hearing me teach from? Here’s Mark with
that information.
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Middle segment by Mark McWilliams…
Thanks Gordon. He’ll be back in
just a moment. But first, do you know somebody who needs to
hear today’s message? If you call our toll-free number
in the next hour, 866-Obey-God, we’ll mail you a free
cassette tape of today’s broadcast, which you can copy and
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then send us your best possible donation, after you receive your
free cassette. (Gordon: Hey time out! If
it’s your first time calling us, no donation is required!
Just call us!) Our toll free number is 866-Obey-God,
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you’re requesting today’s program. Do you believe
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Thanks again Mark. Now Loophole number
8 is in our book, and it’s when Pastor Loophole accuses all
holiness preachers of being judgmental. We don’t have
time to cover that one, you’ll have to get our book. But
since we’re thinking about it, I just want to remind
everybody listening that I am not your judge. Only God can
be your judge, and Jesus said, ‘Do not judge, or you too
will be judged.’”[7] I’m not
interested in judging you and I’m not smart enough to judge
you. I don’t have authority over you, and you
don’t answer to me. I’m not your Lord, I’m
your equal, your peer, a member of your generation. And I
am not your judge. But I am called to be a messenger, sent
from the one who will judge you someday soon. And this is
God’s message to you: Repent and forsake your sins.
Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Do this and you will live.
Now here’s Pastor Loophole again, with Loophole number 9, entitled “The tyranny of the “should” and “ought…”
(Lower) “Don’t let the words ‘should’ and ‘ought’ ruin your freedom in Christ. All those do’s and don’ts in the Bible just distract you from God’s grace [or God’s tolerance] and make your Christian life much less enjoyable! When somebody says you “ought” to do something, or you “shouldn’t” do something, that’s just the devil trying to make you a slave. Don’t let the words “should” and “ought” take away your freedom in Christ.”
TIME OUT !! Let’s look at the
scriptures everybody, and analyze Pastor Loophole’s advice.
First, I want to acknowledge the true part. It’s true
that if you willfully enjoy your sins, the do’s and
don’ts in the Bible will ruin your fun. But the lie is
that God never says should or ought. But here’s the
truth to replace that lie: The word “should” is in the
New Testament 155 times. And every single time it’s
used to tell someone to do something they’re not doing.
In the book of Luke, the crowd asked, “What should
we do then?" John answered, "The man with two
tunics should share with him who has none,
and the one who has food should do the same." [The]
tax collectors…asked, "what should
we do?" “Don't collect any more than you are
required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked
him, "And what should we do?" He
replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people
falsely— be content with your pay." [8]
And in the book of Mark, the disciples went
out and preached that people should repent.[9]
And in Luke, Jesus said, I will show you whom you
should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the
body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear
him.[10]
And when Jesus told
the parable of the persistent widow, it says he told his
disciples a parable to show them that they should
always pray and not give up.[11]
And Jesus said, I have set you an example that you
should do as I have done for you.[12]
Should, should,
should. It’s everywhere in the teachings of Christ.
I embrace these words, should and ought. They enhance my
freedom in Christ, because they help set me free from my deadly
sins. So whenever you see the word “should” in
the Bible, circle it. It’s followed by wisdom from
God. Now Pastor Loophole tells us we SHOULD just ignore
these tyrannical words: should, shouldn’t, do, don’t.
But Jesus tells us we OUGHT to DO what God requires. Now
Johnny Lukewarm, if you’re out there listening, whom SHOULD
you obey? The teachings of Pastor Loophole, or the
teachings of Jesus and the Bible?
Now here’s Pastor Loophole again, with Loophole #10, entitled, “focus on ‘being’ instead of ‘doing.’”
(Lower) “Now we don’t want to get into a
‘salvation by works mentality,’ The first sign that
you’re trying to be saved by works is that you feel guilty
because you’re not doing enough for God. You
may even hear a voice telling you to repent of your laziness,
slothfulness, and selfish-priorities, but that’s just the
devil trying to tempt you into salvation by works. God
isn’t concerned with your doing things as much as he
is with your being. After all, we’re human beings,
not human doings! So if you’re convicted by
scriptures demanding hard work, self-discipline and sacrifice,
just ignore those, and focus on the scriptures which call for
rest and relaxation. If you’re not doing anything for
God, don’t worry. God is still pleased with you.
Christ’s yoke and burden is very, very light.” [13]
TIME OUT !! Let’s look at the
scriptures everybody, and analyze Pastor Loophole’s advice.
First, I want to acknowledge the true part. It’s true
that God wants to transform your heart before he transforms your
actions. But the lie is that God isn’t interested in
your outward actions. It’s a lie that if you’re
not doing anything for God, He’s pleased with you,
just the way you are. But here’s the truth to replace
those lies: The New Testament is full of God’s
commands to do things, and not just be.
Jesus said, Do to others what you
would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and
the Prophets.[14]
And Jesus said, “Not everyone who says
to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.[15]
And Jesus said, “whoever does
the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and
mother.”[16]
And Jesus will say to you on the day of
judgment: “Whatsoever you do unto these, the least of
my brothers, you did it unto me. And whatever you
didn’t do to the least of these, my brothers, you
didn’t do unto me.”[17]
And Jesus asks you, Johnny Lukewarm, if
you’re out there listening: “Why do you call me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?[18] [The] servant who knows his
master’s will and...does not do what his master wants
will be beaten with many blows.[19]
Jesus must have been a human doing, not just
a human being. Because he said, “My food is to do
the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.[20] And he prayed to God, “I have
brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave
me to do.”[21]
Why did God create you? For we are
God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works.[22]
And why did Paul write to Timothy,
“command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds...”[23]
And why did Paul warn the Colossians, Anyone
who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong.”[24]
And why did James write “[Don’t]
merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do
what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does
not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a
mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately
forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently
into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do
this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—
he will be blessed in what he does.[25]
And James warned, Show me your faith without
deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.[26] You see that a person is justified by
what he does and not by faith alone.[27] Anyone, then, who knows
the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it,
sins.[28] And the man who
says, “I know him,” but does not do what
he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.[29]
And John wrote, you know that everyone who does
what is right has been born of [God].[30]
And John wrote, Dear children, do not
let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is
righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what
is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning
from the beginning.[31]
Jesus said in Luke
10 that doing was required for salvation. In fact, doing is
the only way to inherit eternal life. Jesus said in Luke
10, Love God and love your neighbor…Do this and you
will live.” [32]
Now think hard,
Johnny. I read in the Bible that doing is important. But
Pastor Loophole says doing isn’t important, just being.
Now who are you going to believe? This preacher applies a
yellow-highlighter to these commands in the Bible to
“do” things, but another preacher uses a
black-permanent marker to blot them out! It’s a shame
how many preachers water down these scriptures, because of their
theological bias against good deeds.
Now we all know
salvation is by faith and not by works,[33] but your deeds prove
whether or not your heart has really changed! This is how
we know who the children of God are and who the children of the
devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is
not a child of God.[34] Anyone who does
what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has
not seen God.[35]
If preaching “doing”
is legalism, then Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Paul, and
even Jesus Christ were all preaching legalism. But
it’s not legalism to preach about doing good deeds. Doing
is one of the core messages of the New Testament. Don’t
just be, repent and turn to God and prove [your]
repentance by [your] deeds.[36]
Just something to think about, until our
next broadcast. Now everybody go out there and do what God wants
you to do. In the meantime, I hope you’ll write to us
and get a copy of this book you’re hearing me teach from.
In this book and in our future broadcasts, we’ll answer the
questions you may have about faith versus works or legalism or
eternal security, and you’ll hear more theological
adventures of Johnny Lukewarm and Pastor Loophole. So I
hope you’ll write us and tune in next time. Now I love
you, and I care about you. So here’s Mark with more
information.
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Closing trailer by Mark McWilliams…
Thanks Gordon, and thanks everybody for
listening. Do you know somebody who needs to hear today’s
message? If you call our toll-free number in the next hour,
866-Obey-God, we’ll mail you a free cassette tape of
today’s broadcast, which you can copy and give to your
friends. All our tapes are copyable and free, but please remember
that we need your donations to stay on the air and to give away
these free tapes. So please pray and obey God about how
much these teachings are worth to you, and return to us your best
possible gift after you receive your free cassette. (Gordon:
Hey time out! If it’s your first time contacting us,
no donation is required! Just call us!) Our toll free
number is 866-Obey-God, that’s 1-866-O-B-E-Y-G-O-D,
and please specify you’re requesting today’s program.
Now do you believe
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<Many more transcripts and free MP3 radio shows CLICK HERE>
[1] John 16:8 (NIV)
[2] 1 Tim 4:1-2 (NIV)
[3] Romans 8:1 (KJV)
[4] 1 John 3:6 (NIV)
[5] 1 John 2:4-6 (NIV)
[6] See Hebrews 12:14
[7] Matt 7:1 (NIV)
[8] Luke 3:10-14 (NIV)
[9] Mark
[10] Luke 12:5 (NIV)
[11] Luke 18:1 (NIV)
[12] John
[13] See Matthew 11:30
[14] Matthew
[15] Matthew
[16] Matthew
[17] Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
[18] Luke 6:46-47 (NIV)
[19] Luke
[20] John
[21] John 17:4 (NIV)
[22] Ephesians
[23] 1 Timothy
[24] Colossians
[25] James 1:22-25 (NIV)
[26] James
[27] James
[28] James
[29] 1 John 2:4 (NIV)
[30] 1 John
[31] 1 John 3:7-8 (NIV)
[32] Luke
[33] See Romans 9:32
[34] 1 John
[35] 3 John
[36] Acts 26:20 (NIV)