By Gary Ray Branscome
The words, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, prowls around
like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour,” are a warning that
Satan will do everything he can to thwart, and subvert the means of grace
(1Peter 5:8). And, over the centuries he has come up with dozens of ways to
make the means God has put in place ineffective.
Those who carry out one of his attacks
deny that God needs any means. And, it may be true that God does not need
means. However, the Bible plainly tells us that God uses means. The words, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God,” tell us that the Word of God is the means of grace (Romans
That brings us to those who deny that the written or spoken
Word is needed. Instead of pointing people to God’s promise of forgiveness in
Christ, those who hold this error urge them to wrestle with God in prayer for
assurance of salvation. However, feeling “saved” is not the same as trusting in
Christ. What if you had an experience that made you feel absolutely sure that
you were saved, and then Satan appeared to you on your death bed, and told you
that he had given you that experience to deceive you.
What would happen to your confidence then? The only people who have a valid
“salvation experience” are those who trust in Christ. And, their confidence is
not in what they felt at some point in time, but in the sure Word of God, and
His promise, “He who believes on Him [Christ] is not condemned” (John
3:18).
There is at least one cult that tries to change grace
itself from God’s mercy in Christ, into an ability to keep the law. Those who
hold this error pay lip service to what the Bible says about Christ’s
sacrificial death, and victory over death, but deny it by their emphasis on
works. Like most cults, they make their own leaders the authority, and explain
away any Bible passages that do not agree with their ideas. However, the words,
“If by grace, then is it no longer by works,” make it clear that saving grace
does not consist of works, and, in fact, excludes works (Romans 11:6). And, the
words, “To give His people the knowledge of salvation by the remission of
their sins,” tell us that God’s saving grace consists of forgiveness, not
works (Luke 1:77).
There is another sect that undermines the means of grace,
and robs people of assurance of salvation by denying that God’s promise of
forgiveness in Christ is meant for everyone. The limitation that they place on
Christ’s atonement is a perversion of the gospel, and as such is condemned by
the words, “Some who want to pervert the gospel of Christ are troubling you,”
(Galatians 1:7). The words, “The Lord is… patient with us, not wanting
anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance,” tell us that God does not
want anyone to go to hell (2Peter 3:9). The words, “They should seek the
Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him, and find Him,” tell us
that God wants all men to seek Him (Acts
When the Bible tells us that Christ’s church is, “Built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” it is telling us that it
is built on the Word of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20). And,
Christ’s own words, “Nor do I pray for them alone, but also for those who
will believe on me through their word,” tell us that people are brought to
faith through the word of the apostles (John