Daily Devotional for Wednesday July 23, 2008
Bill O'Reilly's Flawed Theology
(John 3:16; Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6)
Bill O'Reilly's flawed theology! On Bill O'Reilly's FOX News program Thursday night, July 17th, he stated that Tony Snow was in Heaven because he was a "good person." This is a lie that is told and believed by millions, and is leading the souls of men to hell. It is a lie because the Bible says that there are NO GOOD PEOPLE! We all have sinned and come short of God's glory. Being a good person by this world's standards can't save you. Doing what the world would call good works can't save you. The only thing that can save you is faith in Jesus Christ. Based on his personal testimony, I do believe that Tony Snow is in Heaven. However, it is not because he was a good person or did good things, it is because he gave his heart and life to Jesus by faith.
To combat this lie, I have created a YouTube video that shows the clip in question from O'Reilly's program, and my commentary as well as an invitation to accept Christ. This is an excellent witnessing tool and a video every unsaved family member, friend, and person you know needs to watch. Please email this link to everyone you know and ask that they also forward it to the people they know. I am trusting God that many souls will come to Jesus Christ thru this short video presentation of the Gospel! < >
Back in January of 2005, Bill O'Reilly had a segment with "Left Behind" authors Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. During this segment, O'Reilly shared his theological beliefs that clearly have no foundation in God's Word. Sadly, O'Reilly has bought into the big lie of this world that "all good people will go to Heaven." It sounds nice, even sounds right, but is a lie that will lead many into eternal darkness. There is NO Biblical doctrine of "goodness". As a matter of fact, the Bible specifically declares that there are "none good, no not one." There is only ONE way to Heaven, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.
Here are some quotes taken directly from O'Reilly on that night's program: "Yes, I don't know. It seems - well, We have in Catholicism a loophole there. You know, that's why I like my religion because it's an interesting religion. We have something called baptism by desire, and that means you can be baptized by living a good life even if you're not a believer because Catholics believe faith is a gift."
"But I think God forgives all people who lead good lives through this baptism of desire. That makes sense."
Let me correct O'Reilly's false theology. First, there are no "loopholes" to God's plan of salvation. Second, there is NO SUCH THING IN THE BIBLE, our final authority in all matters, as "baptism by desire." This is not even a teaching of the Catholic church, only by some very liberal theologians. The fact is, baptism can't save you, faith in Christ saves you. Baptism is an outward act of an inward work, that of salvation. It is the act of identifying our lives with Christ, symbolically washing away our sins which happens spiritually the moment we accept Christ by faith.
Also, Catholic is not a religion, it is a church. Even though it is a matter of semantics, it is a common error many make. Catholic is the name of a church, just like Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God, Presbyterian, and Lutheran are names of churches. They are churches of the Christian faith. Christianity is not a religion, it is a faith in Christ. Being part of a particular church can't save you, only your faith in Jesus Christ can save you.
THE CHURCH is not a building or a particular group of churches under the same name, THE CHURCH is made up of every man, woman, and child that has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior by faith regardless of the name of the building they choose to worship Him in. I assure you that when you stand before God the moment you die, He is not going to be interested in the name of the church you attended, only if you know His Son Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
As a side, O'Reilly has shared his false theology many times over the years and my PR people have spoken several times with his producers about having me on his program to talk about his false beliefs. Even though Liveprayer reaches as many people daily as his program, he has repeatedly "hid under his desk" as he is fond of crying when people who disagree with him refuse to come on his program. The reason this is important, is because millions have bought into this same false theology as O'Reilly has, that "all good people will go to Heaven." That my friend, is a lie from the pits of hell itself!
*Pray for Bill O'Reilly. Pray today that he will open his heart to the truth of God's Word, and that he will accept the words of our Lord when He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Faith in Jesus Christ is the ONLY road to Heaven. A by-product of the horrible events of September 11, 2001, was a more unified country. For a brief period, people like never before came together in a unified manner, ignoring the racial, ethnic, economic barriers that normally divide us. It was good to see our nation stand together as one. Jesus said, a house divided cannot stand. But I do want to share something I have seen that has disturbed me, and I want to deal with it today.
While I believe in my heart that we as Christians should love and care for those of other religions, while we should be kind to them, we must NEVER compromise the Christian faith just to be politically correct. The fact is, God's plan clearly says that there is only ONE road to salvation, there is only ONE road to Heaven, and that is through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO HEAVEN.
One of the by-products of all of those inter-faith prayer and memorial services was an appearance that anyone who "has faith", is "spiritual" will be in Heaven. MY FRIEND, THAT IS NOT TRUE! God's Word clearly tells us that those who reject Christ as their personal savior in this life will be eternally separated from God their Creator. That means those who have CHOSEN to follow the teaching of Islam, Judaism, or Buddha, or anything other than the complete inspired, inerrant Word of God will be eternally separated from God when this life is over. As wonderful as other religions may be, they are just that, religions. Christianity is not a religion, it is a faith, a relationship, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Many can't quite grasp how a loving God, a God of grace and mercy, would let "good people" die and be eternally separated from Him. It is because of sin. You see my friend, sin is something we are all born with. It has been part of the human condition since man sinned in the Garden of Eden. There is only one answer to sin, and that is the answer God gave us. He sent His only Son Jesus, to this earth to die for the sins of all men. It was God's plan that Jesus, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin thus without sin, and lived a sinless life, would die on Calvary's cross and pay with his blood for the sins of all mankind.
THAT my friend, is why it is ONLY our faith in Jesus Christ that can wipe away our sins. It is ONLY faith in Christ that can allow sinful man to have his sins wiped clean so that upon death, he can spend eternity with a Holy God. Those who never accept Christ, who reject Him, die in their sin and thus are not able to be reconciled back to God their Creator. This was God's plan that He gave us because He loved us so much.
I love you and care about you so much. Please don't misunderstand me. I have many dear friends who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and many other religions. I care about them very much. I pray for them daily to allow God to open their hearts to the truth of His Word. They do many good works here on earth, but the Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8,9 that it is NOT of works that we are saved, but through faith in Christ. PERIOD! I have agreed over the years to appear in several inter-faith events. However, I used my time to not only pray for the concerns being addressed, but share how God so loved this world, that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believed in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.
We must NEVER compromise the truth of God's Word just to make people feel better. Actually, it is better to offend someone than fail to share with them the keys to eternal life. The Bible says that the Gospel is offensive to those who don't believe. Our job is not to make people feel good, but to share with them the truth of His Word. What they choose to do with that truth is between them and God. I pray today for those people of other religions, that they will open their hearts to God's love, and come to know His Son by faith. Jesus is the only hope for this world. Jesus is the only hope for each person. Jesus is the only road to everlasting life with God our Creator!
If you have never asked Jesus into your life, or do not have the assurance that if you died today you would be with God for eternity, pray for God to open your heart, then read the words at this link: http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html.
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller