A Review of the Tract, Eternal Life
The tract measures about 2½ inches by 4½ inches and is 24 pages long. The front cover has these words on it:
DO YOU KNOW FOR CERTAIN
THAT YOU HAVE
ETERNAL LIFE
AND THAT YOU WILL GO TO
HEAVEN WHEN YOU DIE?
In the bottom right–hand corner are printed the letters NIV, which does nothing to recommend the contents. The back cover provides a telephone number and a website for more information. The publisher is the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in Alpharetta, Georgia.
After informing the reader that God wants him to be certain about his salvation, which is true, the tract asks what the readers would say if they were standing before God and He asked, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” Of course, the tract assumes that God might ask that question, but nowhere in the Bible is there any indication that He will? Here is what the Bible does say about standing before God.
“As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God (Rom. 14:11-12).
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).
For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or bad (Ecc. 12:14).
Nothing indicates that God is going to ask any questions; so the entire premise of the tract is false. We shall be required to give an account of ourselves, and we will be judged by the words of Jesus (John 12:48).
The tract continues by asserting that the reader can know what he is going to say in this fictitious conversation. It begins on page 3 by citing John 3:16. Page 4 continues by correctly saying that God desires for us to have eternal life and that it is a free gift (Rom. 6:23). The tract also mentions John 10:10 to refer to the quality of life we can have now as well. But where is all this going? Page 5 says we will be with Jesus in heaven for eternity, referencing John 14:3. Of course, this is what God desires—not necessarily what will be.
Sinful Nature?
On that same page, however, is a particular drawback—SIN, which it is proper to call attention to, but not the way the tract does it. They declare that “our sinful nature keeps us from fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives.” It is obvious they are using the NIV because no major translations use the expression, sinful nature. It cannot be found in the KJV, the NKJV, the RSV, the ASV, the NASB, or the ESV; the NIV, however, used “sinful nature” 25 times in an earlier edition. They changed many of those later on so that only two now remain.
Anyone reading the tract should immediately ask himself, “If I have a sinful nature, where did I get it?” God created us and has a purpose for us, but He gave us a sinful nature? “Oh, no,” someone may retort, “we got our sinful nature from Adam. We inherited it.” Only two things are wrong with this assertion. First, no one inherits sin (Eze. 18:20), and, second, it does not solve the problem of sin. Adam did not sin because he had a sinful nature; thus a sinful nature is not required for anyone to sin. We sin because we choose to sin. The statement on page 6 that we are sinners by nature and by choice is false. We are such only by choice. To say otherwise is to affirm that every innocent, sweet baby is born with sin. Who can believe it?
Salvation?
It is true that we cannot save ourselves (6) and that we deserve death and hell (7). The teaching that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is correct, as is the fact that He died on the cross for our sins (8). Likewise, we have no quarrel with John 1:12, so long as it is applied correctly (9). The authors of the tract emphasize both faith and repentance, but they put them in the wrong order (9-10). They put repentance first, but why would anyone repent unless he first believed in God, the Bible, and Jesus as the Son of God? It is faith that causes a person to change his life and repent. The tract says, “As we turn, we must place our faith in Jesus” (11). That is simply backwards.
The reader may have noticed that this tract does not cite one single New Testament conversion; instead Scriptures are quoted from John, Ephesians, and Romans—rather than from the Book of Acts where accounts of conversion are actually presented. For example, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel to the Jews. They asked what they should do, indicating they believed the message which was supported by the Scriptures. He told them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin…” (Acts 2:38). Notice they believed first, then they repented and were baptized. In no account of conversion are people told to repent first and then believe, which makes no sense.
They actually do cite Acts 26:20 as a definition of repentance, but it is a general statement of what Paul did—not a specific account of conversion. It says that those desiring to be Christians must “do works befitting repentance,” which is true; it is reminiscent of John the Immerser telling the Pharisees and the Sadducees to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt. 3:8). Neither of these passages, although valuable in their own right, provides all the specifics of salvation.
The authors do well to explain to the reader that faith is not just believing facts about Jesus (11), which is the impression so many tracts give. However, the way they describe salvation is typical of the usual philosophy—at least in obtaining salvation. Somewhat unusual is their emphasis that after “salvation,” there are things that ought to be done.
The tract asks the reader if he is willing to put his faith in Jesus right now. The authors cite Romans 10:13: “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (12). Once again, this is part of a theological argument Paul is making—not a specific account of conversion. Why don’t they ever cite the Ethiopian eunuch? Could it be because immediately after He confessed Jesus, he was baptized (Acts 8:35-39)? Why don’t they refer to the 3,000 who were baptized on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41)? The answer is that it does not fit their theology.
The Sinner’s Prayer
Predictably, they ask the reader to say the following prayer:
Dear God, I know that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross and was raised from the dead. I know I have sinned and need forgiveness. I am willing to turn from my sins and receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus’ name. Amen (13).
See there? No muss, no fuss. Salvation is so easy! The reader may well wonder why no Bible verse is quoted for this prayer, and the answer is that this prayer is nowhere to be found in the Scriptures. Not one person in the New Testament was converted by saying a prayer like this. Not one! The reader is being presented with false information and false assurance of salvation. All that this tract requires someone to do is to say this (non-Scriptural) prayer sincerely, and (shazaam!) salvation occurs.
Follow Up
Now the tract offers some advice on what to do after salvation (which, in reality, has not happened). First is to let Jesus be Lord of one’s life and trust Him to direct that new life (14). Readers are encouraged “to follow Him in baptism and church membership” (15). Notice that while the New Testament puts salvation after baptism, the authors of the tract already have one saved before and without baptism.
Amazingly, the tract cites Acts 2:41—but misapplies it. It does not mention that the 3,000 were baptized in order to be saved; it makes it sound as though they were already saved and then baptized (16-17). The reader needs to read the entire text of Acts 2 to see that the order this tract gives does not follow the Scriptures at all. The tract calls immersion “believer’s baptism,” but Peter told those on Pentecost to be baptized “for the remission of sins”—in other words to procure forgiveness. This tract inverts the process—pretending that people are saved by a prayer not in the Scriptures and then baptized as “believers.” The apostles baptized sinners.
The tract informs the reader that he should “attend church Sunday and share with the pastor that you wanted to be baptized to become a member of the church” (17). First, we don’t “attend church”; Christians (who comprise the church) meet for worship. Second, where is the verse in the New Testament that has a pastor in charge of the church? Third, what church ought a person to attend—any church, a man-made denomination, the church one reads about in the Bible, what? Silence. Why would the reader not think he could go to any religious group in town in order to do this? Denominationalists baptize people to make them members of their group; in the New Testament, sinners were baptized in order to be saved, and the Lord added them to the church as a result of that decision (Acts 2:38, 41, 47).
The booklet then stresses prayer and Bible study (18)—the latter of which is necessary to discern all the errors in this tract. It also advises the new “Christian” to learn to “witness” (19). Acts 1:8, the verse cited, involves Jesus speaking to His apostles to preach in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and all the world. He told them to wait for power from the Holy Spirit before doing so. This Scripture does not empower anyone to be a “witness” today. No one alive today can be a witness. The apostles were there and saw and heard Jesus. We have not been. We are to communicate the gospel to others, but the Scriptures never refer to it as witnessing.
Page 20 is an Eternal Life Birth Certificate. The reader of this tract is encouraged to write down the time and date he “received” Christ. The next page is a lengthier “Decision Form,” asking for pertinent data and wanting to know the sponsoring local church, whatever that means. It is supposed to be mailed to the mission board mentioned earlier—all of which will do the reader absolutely no good.
What would do sinners some good is to read the Bible conversions in Acts 2, 8, 9, 16, and 22 (which repeats the one in chapter 9). The reader could see, for example, how Saul of Tarsus saw and acknowledged Jesus as Lord, how he prayed for three days earnestly (while fasting), and how he was told, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Baptism washes away sins; this is the Biblical way of calling on the Lord. The Lord adds one to the body of Christ then. Those interested should look for someone who presents the truth concerning salvation—someone in the church of Christ.