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Four Flaws In “The Four Spiritual Laws”

Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles Tags: Bible Lessons on Spirituality

Have you ever read the tract, “The Four Spiritual Laws”? It was written by Dr. Bill Bright, the president of Campus Crusade for Christ. Approximately 1.5 billion copies of this tract have been printed and distributed all over the world. It was written to quickly and efficiently teach people how to be saved. Unfortunately, “The Four Spiritual Laws” tract is badly flawed. For example, what exactly does the tract mean by the phrase, “receive Jesus Christ”? How does one receive Christ? We are not left to wonder because the Bible says: (1) We receive Christ through faith (John 1:12-14; Ephesians 2:8-9), but not “faith only”; (2)When we receive Christ, we experience a new birth (John 3:1-8); (3) We receive Christ by personal invitation (Revelation 3:20).

The tract goes on to say, “You Can Receive Christ Right Now By Faith Through Prayer” and even includes a suggested prayer to ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life and receive Him by faith alone. What could be wrong with this? A simple comparison between its teaching and the teaching of scripture reveals that “The Four Spiritual Laws” simply does not teach God’s plan of salvation.

Law 1 – God loves you and offers a wonderful Plan for your life.
Law 2 – Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life.
Law 3 – Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.
Law 4 – We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.

Flaw 1 – “The Four Laws” Forgets That Faith Works!

Please read Genesis 6:13-14. Did Noah have faith? Yes! But did his faith alone save him? Could he have been saved by merely believing God without building the ark? Of course not. Noah’s faith led him to obey God (Genesis 6:22; Genesis 7:5,16). Romans 1:5 speaks of our “obedience to the faith.” Obedience and true faith in God always go together. You can’t have one without the other (cf. James 2:14-26). Where is the concept that James talks about in the “Four Laws” tract? The “Four Laws” says nothing about obedience, only faith! The inspired penman, Paul, states that “faith works” (Gal. 5:6).

Flaw 2 – The “The Four Laws” Forgets That Faith Alone Cannot Save!

The “Four Laws” says that to be saved you need only believe in Jesus Christ. What does the Bible say? “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). Once again we see how scripture puts faith and obedience together, while “The Four Laws” divorces them.

Flaw 3 – The “The Four Laws” Forgets That God’s Grace Doesn’t Exclude Man’s Obedience!

Many seem to think that there are only two choices: be saved by your actions and doing, or be saved completely by God’s grace. This is why so many oppose baptism. They believe that baptism is an attempt to earn or merit salvation. This is false! The Bible never sees obedience and grace opposing each other. Please read Hebrews 11 and notice how these men and women of faith responded to God’s grace by obeying the Lord. Their obedience did not “earn” them salvation but was absolutely necessary to their being saved. Again, we must do what God has said if we want to be saved (Acts 2:37; Acts 9:6; Acts 16:30). These works of obedience demonstrate our faith and love for God. The Bible teaches that we must:

1) Hear The Word of God – Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6.
2) Believe in Jesus Christ – John 3:16.
3) Repent of past sins – Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30.
4) Confess Jesus as the Son of God – Acts 8:37; Romans 10:10.
5) Be baptized in water for the forgiveness of our sins – Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16.
6) Live faithfully before the Lord (Revelation 2:10).

Flaw 4 – The “Four Laws” Forgets Baptism!

The New Testament teaches that water baptism is very important because it (1) Saves you (1 Peter 3:21); (2) Forgives your sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16); (3) Puts you “into Christ” (Gal. 3:27). In the Bible, baptism is presented as being crucial because it is linked to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection (cf. Romans 6:3-6). The “Four Laws” teaches you can be saved without baptism, advocating a prayer and faith alone approach. This simply is not the teaching of the scriptures. No passage of scripture promises the non-Christian that he can pray and receive forgiveness of sin. No passage of scripture says that you can pray “into Jesus Christ.” No passage says prayer can save you. All of these vital functions are ascribed to baptism, not prayer!

Conclusion

Let’s not be fooled by the ideas of uninspired men! Who should we believe — a tract written by a mere man, or the inspired word of God? Study your Bible (Acts 17:11), then obey God’s simple plan of salvation today and simply become a New Testament Christian!