Acts 3:26 is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible, for it shows those who want to know the truth about salvation that faith is only the first step of many steps leading to eternal life. Here Luke tells truth seekers that God sent Jesus of Nazareth to mankind for one primary purpose: TO TURN MEN AWAY FROM SIN. Not, as we are led to believe by Satan’s false prophets, to enable church people to sin and get away with it. To “turn away from” in the spiritual sense means to do an about face and go in the exact opposite direction. Satan tells us that, due to Adam’s dna-infecting sin, man has no choice but to follow the course his spiritual dna dictates–to sin. Church people love this false teaching and reject any and all Bible proof that God hates it. See Human Nature.

However, in numerous passages the Lord commands us to “flee” from sin, to “eschew” sin, to “abstain from even the appearance” of sin, to be “set free” and “delivered from” sin and to not get close enough to “touch” it. Does this sound like God approves of the church’s “sin-repent” cycle parishioners are told they must practice throughout their so-called “Christian life”? As I have stated before, the road to hell is not paved with good intentions, as we are told, but rather with repentance.

The early church knew two things that the modern church refuses to acknowledge: that man did not inherit sin from Adam, and that faith alone will not save the soul. They also knew that Moses had prophesied that God would send a Prophet to Israel Who would teach them His Truth. Moses told them: “Him you must hear in ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER HE WILL SAY TO YOU” (22). But, as verse 23 tells us, hearing what He would tell them (and us) was (is) not enough to save the soul.

“And it shall come to pass that EVERY SOUL (human) who will not hear that Prophet SHALL BE DESTROYED FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE–put to death.” Hearing and believing the Words of Jesus Christ is not enough to save the hearer/believer as we are told in James 1:22: BE YE DOERS OF THE WORD AND NOT HEARERS ONLY, (THEREBY) DECEIVING YOURSELVES.” This same James warned that faith in the Word without doing (obeying) the word is dead faith. Those who believe God’s Word and do not obey it are dead men walking, which describes approximately 3.2 billion church people today.

Conversion, which the church mistakes for “salvation,” is not a New Covenant idea. The following are a few examples of Old Testament commands to be converted: “Turn (convert) unto the Lord … with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 30:10). “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments” (2 Ki. 17:13). People must “Humble themselves, pray, seek My face and turn from their evil ways” (2 Chron. 2:14). “Repent and turn … from all of your abominations” (Eze. 14:6).

This was echoed many generations later when John the Baptizer admonished people to “repent … and bring forth fruit (proof) of true repentance”–true conversion (Mat. 3:2,6). Without true repentance and true conversion there can be no salvation. Many in the Institutional Church repent repeatedly while only a minutely few  truly convert, come out of “the unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6:17) and join God’s congregation. Incredibly, only a minutely few of those who join His church choose to remain therein, thereby qualifying for salvation if, that is, they remain in holiness until the end (Mat. 10:22). These few will be saved (Mat. 7:13,14), but just barely (1 Pet. 4:18). You do not hear this message in church because Satan will not allow his ministers to tell you the Truth about God’s Word. L.J.