04. Chapter 3: The Greats Have it Wrong

Chapter 3 The Plan Of Salvation According To Charles Stanley

At the time this chapter was written, In Touch Ministries had (and may still have) an Internet page called the “God Quiz.” Using the information on the God Quiz, let us examine Charles Stanley’s viewpoints on what the bible has to say about salvation.

Dr. Stanley starts by asking the question of how well each of us really knows God. He then tells readers of his page that God loves them, that God wishes to have a personal relationship with them, and that our heavenly Father has a special plan for everyone’s lives. Stanley then supports his assertion of God having a special plan for everyone by providing a scripture from the New Living Translation version of the Bible — Jeremiah 29:11 — which states, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Again, Stanley puts great emphasis on letting readers know that God wants a relationship with each of us.

Next on the agenda is where Stanley informs his readers about the barrier of sin that stands between God and mankind. Stanley refers to a slightly reworded New Living Translation version of the Bible when he states Romans 3:23 as his proof text concerning the fact that we are all sinners. “For all [that means us!] have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Stanley also refers to Romans 6:23, which is a key verse in any witnessing attempt; however, he does not write this verse out for readers to see. Rather, he tells readers that the punishment for sin is death in hell, and that no matter how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves or earn our way into heaven. I want you, the reader, to lock on to this assertion that Stanley just made in that last statement (although I am paraphrasing it): “...that no matter how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves or earn our way into heaven...” By keeping this statement firmly in your mind as you progress onward in this chapter, I will explain how the plan of salvation according to Charles Stanley is different from the plan of salvation that Jesus taught. I will say this in his favor — Stanley is correct in telling us that no matter how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves or earn our way into heaven; however, as you will soon see, Stanley’s plan of salvation goes through a process of metamorphosis. In Stanley’s version, salvation goes from being something we cannot earn or merit to being something that we, in fact, must earn by both following Christ in discipleship and by adhering to Christ’s Lordship over our lives. Essentially, he tells you “one thing” up front, and in the end, he changes the terms of God’s plan to reflect “another thing” altogether by combining human works with God’s grace in a way that is so subtle that few people ever come to the realization that they have, in fact, violated Christ’s plan of salvation by the inclusion of their own self efforts. Christ will flat-out refuse to take into consideration any self efforts on our part when it comes to a person’s salvation. Essentially, it is the equivalent of me showing up at your birthday party with a gift. I give you the gift and you receive it with joy and thankfulness. Then I hold out my hand and tell you, “That will be $25.00, please.”

Commercial advertisements used to take advantage of a form of deception known as bait and switch.

Now banned by law, the bait and switch tactic involved the advertisement of a certain item that sounded very reasonable and good; however, when you arrived at the place of business to buy your item, you were informed that the item in question was either not in stock or was no longer available.

Instead, the seller would try to convince you to buy another item. This method of operation was, at its core, a calculated plan of deception intended to bilk more money out of the customer. In a similar fashion, although I don’t believe he realizes he is doing so, Stanley offers you the free gift of salvation though faith alone in Christ, but later makes the surrender of your life to Christ (becoming a disciple) an essential element in your salvation. To make this ever more clearer for you to understand, let us assume that you want to buy a new Ford Mustang car that a dealer has been advertising during every commercial break on television as being overstocked in number and that he must sell them all immediately or he will go out of business. You are in love with this brand new car with the V6 engine, sunroof, and other opulent amenities that you have been seeking, you have saved your money, and now you are ready to take the plunge and indulge yourself with this luxurious new sports car. When you arrive at the dealership, you are told that there are no Ford Mustangs fitting the description of the commercial you watched on television only an hour before you arrived to buy one. The seller then directs your attention to a brand new Ford Mustang Boss GT with a V-8 engine that costs far more than the car you had originally set your sights upon. Disappointed beyond your ability to cope, the seller launches a carefully rehearsed speech in an attempt to persuade you into buying the more expensive car because you deserve the best. Little do you know, that morning the owner of the dealership had all of the less expensive Ford Mustangs removed from the lot. You do not realize that you have been lied to deliberately by the dealership in order for them to con you out of your money by getting you to buy the more expensive option. Fed up with the hassle of it all, and convinced you are deserving of a much pricier model, you sign the contract and drive off in your new dream machine. Later, as you realize you cannot afford the insurance payments, as well as the other hidden fees, then you must pay for upkeep and maintenance such as new brakes, new tires, oil changes, etc., and you begin to struggle to make other household payments as a result of so much money going for your new car, you start to become disheartened with your decision and you regret the decision you made to purchase that wonderful machine that held so much promise because now, as you drive by that car lot, it is filled with those V-6 options that you had originally wanted all along. You realize, eventually, that you were lied to, and an awful feeling of being conned into something you didn’t want in the first place begins to take control of your thoughts, but you are still bound by the contract you signed, you cannot get out of it, and in disgust you resign yourself to a mentality of victimhood. The dealer won, he got your money, and you lost because of your ignorance over the deceitful bait and switch tactic employed by a dishonest salesman. Please, reader, keep this new Ford Mustang scenario in your mind as you proceed onward in your reading, not just in this chapter, but in every subsequent chapter, as well. In the middle of the God Quiz, Stanley says that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and that three days later He came back to life from the dead. Stanley inserts a link to the verse Romans 5:8, but it is not written out for the reader to see.

Stanley then provides the verse John 14:6, which says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” After the insertion of this verse, Stanley says specifically that in order to both reach God and to go to heaven upon your death, you must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.

Now, because of the potential for copyright violations, I will paraphrase the gospel according to Charles Stanley which is available for all to see on the In Touch Website under the heading of “Are You Sure Of Your Salvation?” Stanley’s plan of salvation goes like this: If you want to accept Jesus as your savior then you must pray and admit the fact to God that you are a sinner, that you must believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins on the cross, that He came back to life, and then you must obligate yourself to His rule by transferring control of your own life over to the control of Jesus.

Stanley then goes on to say that everyone who has prayed this prayer has just now begun a new relationship with God and that you will “definitely” go to heaven. Lastly, he asks that if you have just made the “decision to follow Jesus Christ” to please let his organization know about it. This is all particularly painful for me. For the record, there is perhaps no other pastor whom I have loved more than Dr. Charles Stanley. I followed his teachings diligently. I recorded all of his sermons on my VCR for several years, never missing one. I purchased virtually every tape and compact disc of his that talked about how to be saved. I gave over 10 percent of my income to In Touch Ministries without fail. Thousands and thousands of my dollars went to support his ministry. After my entire department at the corporation I worked for was laid off due to downsizing, I would still take money out of savings and give toward Stanley’s work because I believed so much in him and in what he taught; however, the purpose of this chapter is not to question the integrity of this wonderful man or his ministry, or to judge him personally. The purpose of this chapter is to compare Charles Stanley’s plan of salvation to the plan of salvation that Christ gives to us in the bible. You, the reader, must decide whether or not Charles Stanley is right and Jesus Christ is wrong, or if Jesus Christ is right and Charles Stanley is wrong because, although extremely similar, their individual messages do not match. Both cannot be the true gospel; therefore, we can logically conclude that one of them is wrong, for according to the bible, there is only “one gospel.”

Keith Vitali is the most amazing karate expert I have ever seen. He is known worldwide for his lightening speed and his incredible enthusiasm for American karate. He was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame and is considered one of the best-ever martial artists in the world. When I was a child, I had the privilege of earning several belts under his instruction at a karate school owned by Joe Corley (another karate expert in his own right) located on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Vitali would demonstrate for us how to execute proper defensive and offensive techniques. We, as a class, would sit awestruck as he showed us the many kicks, punches and blocks in his arsenal. To this day, I have never seen his equal, and although I took lessons from him 30 years ago, I can still recall with vivid clarity the perfection of his movements. Sparring, or pretend fighting, was necessary for us in order to learn how to use the techniques in real-world situations. At first, I was terrified of having to spar with an opponent, but Mr. Vitali’s constant encouragement and praise of each of us began to extinguish my fears of having to face one of my classmates in mock combat. Eventually, I took to sparring the way a duck takes to water after my first victory over a much larger opponent. It was during class one evening that Mr. Vitali paired me up with a much larger student. This fellow had a height advantage over me of at least two feet and weighed at least 50 pounds heavier than me. Mr. Vitali stayed to my left and watched us both with a careful eye. He told me to look for an opening in my opponent’s defenses and to not be afraid of sticking a properly executed sidekick into that opening.

Because he was there with me, and because I trusted him completely, I lost my fear and began focusing upon what he told me to do. As my opponent lunged toward me he, without realizing, opened his defensive posture just a bit in order to throw a left jab at me. In a flash, I let loose a right-legged sidekick that slipped in between his forearms and landed squarely on his ribs before his jab even reached me halfway. My opponent grimaced in pain and gave me a very confused look. Mr. Vitali stepped in immediately and praised me in a manner that I will never forget because of what he had just seen me do. As a result of following his instructions, I was victorious. Mr. Vitali has said on numerous occasions that a properly executed technique has all the power and speed necessary when it comes to fighting, that, essentially, the technique itself will do the work for you and that you don’t have to strain in order to achieve more power and speed. Now, how does this scenario of my karate instructor and me tie in with the plans of salvation according to both Charles Stanley and Jesus Christ?

Simply put, there is a right way and a wrong way of doing things. When you do the right thing, you win. When you do the wrong thing, you lose. Salvation is as black-and-white as the night is from the day. A false gospel is the direct opposite of the true gospel. Because I trusted Jesus Christ as my savior the way He said to do, I am a winner because I have believed upon what He said we must believe in order to be an eternal winner; conversely, when you trust another gospel, such as Charles Stanley’s gospel, you have not done what Christ said to do. You have, instead, done what Charles Stanley told you to do. When you trust man’s plan of salvation, you have not trusted in Christ’s plan; therefore, you are an eternal loser. When Charles Stanley says that in order to be saved you must give control of your life over to Christ in order to be saved, he is giving you an “extra step” that is not found in the bible. Stanley is requiring something of you that Christ never spoke about when it comes to salvation. What Stanley is requiring of a lost person is that they become a disciple in addition to faith in Christ in order to go to heaven. This is a “works-based” plan of salvation that will not save a lost person from God’s wrath, and therefore it is a false gospel according to the bible. While I love Charles Stanley and will always speak well of him, the plan of salvation that he teaches is not the same one that Christ teaches us in the bible. I would like to give you some choice verses for you to consider. One of my favorites is 1 Thessalonians 4:14. Examine carefully, if you will: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

While the Holy Spirit is explaining to us through the writing of Paul the reality of the rapture in this particular chapter of 1Thessalonians, specifically how those saved persons who have died and whose bodies are presently in graves (yet their spirits are with God right now) will be resurrected first when He descends from heaven and into the clouds to receive both the dead and the living into His care, I want you to focus solely upon the salvific aspect of this magnificent verse. Within this verse, the gospel message is presented with complete clarity. Look carefully at where it says “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again...” because, in a nutshell, that is the true gospel that saves a lost soul from eternal damnation. By implication we, as bible scholars, realize the unstated significance of the fact that He died “for our sins” when this verse says “Jesus died...” Christ, with His own blood, paid for our sins by His death. He was buried in a grave. Three days later He rose from the dead. This verse is telling us in no uncertain terms “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again...” we will be “bodily resurrected” and shall live in heaven with Him for eternity whether we are dead or alive at the time of the rapture. Now, because we currently inhabit sinful, mortal bodies that will not last forever, Christ is going to give both dead and living believers “new bodies” at the rapture that will last eternally in perfect health. Despite this glorious fact of receiving new bodies that will never age or become ill, the true glory of 1 Thessalonians 4:14 is its reference to the clear, unpolluted gospel of Jesus Christ that saves a lost person through simple faith in the fact that Christ paid for our sins by His death and resurrection and that death itself is nothing more than a doorway to His presence.

Most everyone reading this book has seen the verse John 3:16 before; however, I will explain this verse for those who have never seen it before. Once, I witnessed to a man who belongs to one of the many Christ cult churches. I asked him if he knew the verse John 3:16, and what he quoted to me was a different version of the verse that added works to Christ’s plan of salvation. When I heard him tell me that Christ said to believe and to exercise faith in doing good deeds, performing various works of righteousness and in being a disciple in order to avoid being destroyed, I almost fell on the floor in disbelief over how badly mangled that verse had become in his church. As a result of this, I always make it a point now to carefully present the verse from the only bible that we can trust — The King James Version of the bible. John 3:16 is as follows: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Examine the words of Christ very carefully: “...that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” The additional step that Charles Stanley includes in his plan of salvation, where he talks of giving control of your life over to Christ, is not found in this verse. This verse is so straight forward in terms of the gift of everlasting life being given to the one who believes in Christ alone that to misunderstand its simplicity can only be attributed to the deliberate obscurement of demonic powers. The demonic forces at work that have twisted the meaning of this verse to read in other ways that render it useless in terms of salvation is the equivalent of one who multiplies two times two and says it equals 59. It is the equivalent of asking for directions to New York City and receiving instead directions for Dallas, Texas. When any pastor or teacher adds discipleship or works of righteousness to Christ’s plan of salvation, then their version is corrupt and will not save a lost person from God’s wrath. The person believing in a false gospel will stand before Christ at the Great White Throne Judgement and he or she will have no grace, no mercy, and no hope — forever. So, reader, let me ask you point blank: Did Christ say to believe in Him (His death, burial and resurrection from the dead) plus join the church? Did He say believe and be water baptized? Did He say believe and make Me the Lord of your life? Did He say believe and preach in My Name? Did He say believe and do works of healing? Did He say believe and do many wonderful works? Did He say believe and tithe? Did He say believe and surrender your life and will over to Him? Did He say believe and feel extremely sorry for your sins? Did He say believe and forsake your sins? Did He, friend? No. The only requirement Christ makes of a lost person to go to heaven is to believe in Him, which, in the context of the third chapter of John, means that we trust His death, burial and resurrection from the dead as our only hope of reaching heaven. Christ alone paid the price for our sins. He neither needs nor requires our efforts to help obtain our salvation. Look closely at Hebrews 1:3, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:” This verse proves that Christ “by himself” paid for our total sin debt. In light of these arguments, one may ask what God’s will is for us in terms of being born again. Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter three that he had to be “born again” in order to go to heaven. But, in addition to 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and John 3:16, is there a succinct verse that shows us God’s will concerning how we are to be saved? Yes! Look at John 6:40 in which Christ Himself is speaking: “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” By “seeth the Son” Christ means that we are to recognize Him as the Messiah, the one who would lay down His life, shed His blood, die and rise again from the dead to secure salvation for “anyone” who would believe in Him. Again, we see from Christ Himself that the only requirement for a lost person to enter heaven is for him or her to believe on Christ alone for the gift of everlasting life; however, Charles Stanley adds an aspect of “human efforts” or “something of self” via the inclusion of discipleship in his plan of salvation when he says we must trust Christ as “Savior” and as “Lord” and “give control of our lives” to Christ.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” That is Ephesians 2:8-9. Do you see where it says “Not of works” in this verse? Do you see where it says “not of yourselves” right after it states most clearly that you are saved by grace through faith? How then could any pastor or teacher add discipleship to Christ’s plan of salvation when Christ Himself does not? The bible is clear that Jesus Christ alone is the “savior.” How then can a pastor or teacher also demand that we make Christ the “Lord of our life” in addition to faith in His death, burial and resurrection from the dead? Did Christ tell anyone to make Him their “Lord” in order to be saved? No, He did not. Nor did He ever imply such a thing in terms of salvation. What is so scary about adding works, discipleship or “Lordship” to Christ’s plan of salvation is that every pastor and teacher ignores Christ’s stern warning about what will happen to those who have placed their faith in “Lordship/Discipleship salvation.” According to Christ, this is the fate of those so deceived:

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

You may read this sad passage for yourself in Matthew 7:21-23.

Christ is showing us that many acknowledge His “Lordship” when you read “Lord, Lord,” in this passage. They recognize Christ “as Lord,” but they have not done “the will of the Father” that has been clearly established in the verse John 6:40, which is for us to trust in His Son for everlasting life rather than in our faith plus discipleship. Christ tells of the major areas of service these lost people have performed in His name. In today’s terms, they have preached, witnessed, handed out pamphlets, etc. in His name. They have healed sicknesses, diseases, and have even exorcised demons out of people in His name. They have done all manner of inexhaustible good works and extraordinary deeds of goodness and righteousness in His name, but because they did not trust in His death, burial and resurrection from the dead, i.e., “the will of the Father” according to John 6:40, He says to them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

You can invite Christ into your heart and life, you can make Him the Lord of your life, your will, your bank account, etc. You can preach, teach and hand out tracts, etc. You can perform a plethora of amazing and wonderful works of righteousness, etc. You can pray, join the church, read your bible, etc., yet still end up in the lake of fire for all eternity despite it all if you fail to do the will of the Father, which is to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation by trusting totally and completely in the fact that He paid for every sin you would ever commit in your lifetime (past, present, future) by His death and subsequent resurrection from the grave three days later. God’s gift to you for placing your trust in His Son is the free gift of everlasting life in heaven.

“...He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1 John 5:10-11). When we attempt to be saved by placing partial faith in Christ and partial faith in our works, we are essentially calling God the Father a liar. God will not accept our works in any shape, manner or form in terms of salvation. Acts 13:39 states that, “And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” If you choose a different plan of salvation than the one that Jesus Christ offers, you will be cast into the lake of fire:

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”(Revelation 20:11-15). In sum, no combination of good works plus faith in Christ can save a lost person from the lake of fire. No matter how sincere you are before God, partial faith in Christ and partial faith in the Christian Lifestyle will not save you. Only faith alone (apart from your good works) in the finished work of Jesus Christ will save you.

Either Charles Stanley is right and Jesus Christ is wrong, or Charles Stanley is wrong and Jesus Christ is right. Whom do you choose to believe, this day?