Erwin Lutzer is the senior pastor at Moody Church in Chicago. He is very influential but dangerous because he changes the grace of God into a license for immorality (Jude 4).
But I'm convinced that those who have trusted Christ are in heaven today even if they die with the sin of murder on their conscience. (How You Can Be Sure That You Will Spend Eternity With God, Chicago: Moody Press, 1996, p. 101, emphasis mine).
Recently I spoke to a HOMOSEXUAL who believes he accepted Christ at the age of twenty, only to plunge into a life of WANTON IMMORALITY .... Whether or not he was a child of God during those days of heedless carnality (who of us knows for sure?), he lost fellowship with his Father. [ibid., pp. 131,132, emphasis mine].
Why does Erwin Lutzer's teaching about suicide, and/or homicide in general, contradict the clear message of the Holy Bible? The answer is simple. It's because of once saved always saved, which teaches that unrepentant murderers (including suicides) go to heaven, if they ever had a moment of true faith in Christ. If anyone doubts the danger latent in that doctrine, he should read about George Sodini, who murdered others then himself being convinced such would not cause loss of salvation (spiritual death). There is no way for any human to calculate how many murders, especially suicides, have occurred because of eternal security teaching.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean' ... (Matt. 15:19,20).
If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. 'Which ones?' the man inquired. Jesus replied, 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony' (Matt. 19:17,18).
The Apostle John wrote:
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye KNOW that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (1 Jn. 3:15)
God, speaking from his own throne after the infinite work of the Lord Jesus Christ was completed, declared:
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Rev. 21:8)
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:9-11, NASB)
Jude declared:
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those whosuffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 7)
Those who have believed on Christ belong to Him forever. (p. 46)Notice how eternal security teachers base salvation on a past tense act of saving faith. Erwin Lutzer wrote have believed. To them that is all it takes forever. Therefore, they don't know believe on Christ means a continuous faith. Moreover, they also typically believe the only sin that will take one to hell is a continuous state of unbelief -- NOT adultery, murder, theft, lying, etc. Erwin Lutzer went on with this statement:
Once the righteousness of Christ has been credited to us and God has stamped "Paid in Full" across our lives, we are secure in our Father's love. (p. 47)Lutzer is not presenting the real Father, as portrayed by the Lord Jesus in John 15:1-6, who will cut the fruitless off from Christ and have them thrown into the fire. Again, the Father himself will remove one from Christ over fruitlessness. To be removed from Christ means no more salvation for there is only salvation if one is in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 5:12,13). Here is the last quote from Lutzer:
If we are not willing to repent of the sin that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention, He disciplines us by allowing us to be ensnared by the consequences of that particular sin. God has His way of correcting us if we flippantly misuse His grace. Yet our sonship is secure; our future with God is guaranteed. (p. 47)In other words, Erwin Lutzer wants us to believe there are sin addicted Christians, such as alcoholics, pornography addicts, drug addicts, etc. To him that is grace and it allows for Christian drunks, Christian thieves, Christian adulterers, Christian liars, Christian porn addicts, etc. Shocking!
In contrast, the real Christian is freed from his sin addictions (Rom. 6:22; Tit. 3:3; etc.). Note also what Peter wrote about the backslider:
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." (2 Pet 2:20-22)Dear reader, take the words of the Lord Jesus and Paul to heart:
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Mat 10:22)
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap ETERNAL LIFE. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal 6:8,9)
The real truth is, there are now many false teachers, who have distorted God's word to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16) and to the harm of those who will accept their deadly teachings. Such false teachers are a major problem for people who seek truth. Because of false teachings, some Christians had their faith destroyed (2 Tim. 2:18). Of that group of false teachers would be Erwin Lutzer who wants to convince others they can be sexually immoral, etc. and have salvation at the same time. Reader, be alert, self-controlled and carefully examine every teaching with Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16,17). The Bible is final authority, not Erwin Lutzer.
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