Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Feb. 14, 2026
Update	: Feb. 14, 2026
Parts	: 04

Synopsis:



As I have mentioned on multiple previous occasions, when it comes to the social networks, we would all be very wise to be extremely careful. Why do I say this? Because as many of my readers will already know, the social networks -- and the Internet in general -- are one huge rumor mill which promote all kinds of lies and deception on a huge scale. Sadly, with the rather sudden advent and the very fast-growing influence of AI-generated content, the intentional deception -- and the confusion which results from it -- increases at a very worrisome rate with each year that passes. I discuss the latter subject in the article entitled "AI, Deepfakes and Humanoid Robots", which you will find listed at the end of this same series.

It is bad enough that the children of the world engage in such questionable practices. But when our own Christian brethren also begin sharing false information, whether it is intentional, or simply due to personal ignorance, it really becomes tragic. As some of you will know, I have discussed this very same issue before in a number of BBB articles such as "Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers", as well as in "Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures", to name just a few.

Seriously, my friends, some of the outlandish doctrines and misguided ideas I see certain fellow brethren posting on the social networks really make my jaw drop. I honestly have to wonder what Bible they are reading, and how in the world they arrived at such outrageous conclusions. They certainly are not being Spirit-led. One disturbing group of Christians who I have seen in recent years are the Pauline extremists, who I discuss in the article entitled "Beware of the Pauline Extremists!".

According to those misguided people, the Apostle Paul is the only Apostle for modern Christian believers, and if a book in the Bible was not written by Paul, then it simply does not apply to us today. Some of those people go to such an extreme, that they seem to even elevate Paul's words above the very words of our Savior in the Gospels, and appear to discourage Christians from even reading the four Gospels. Their attitude seems to be that we can learn nothing from the writings of the other Apostles, or apparently from the Lord either. Oh what foolish deception!

Quite frankly, I think those Pauline extremists are rather dangerous, because they are sowing confusion, discord and division amongst the brethren. I am reminded of this set of Bible verses which are found in the Book of Proverbs. Take note of the final seven words:

"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, A LYING TONGUE, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."


Of course, the Pauline extremists are not alone. Yet another alarming trend I have seen are those Christians who condemn long-held beliefs and practices which have been embraced by Christians for decades, if not for centuries. In fact, it is one particular trend which motivated me to write this current series. While I have discussed this issue before in articles such as "To Pray or Not to Pray? That is the Question", I am compelled to discuss it again, albeit from a different angle.

I am referring to those Christians who harshly condemn the practice of praying what has come to commonly be referred to as a Salvation prayer. According to these particular people, Salvation prayers are pointless, useless and mean absolutely nothing. Such Christians have convinced themselves that not a single individual has ever been truly saved by saying such a Salvation prayer. To justify their adamant position, these Christians will point to people who say a Salvation prayer, and then go on living like the Devil. These same Christians will also point out that nowhere in the Bible do we find any particular verses which instruct us to ask Jesus into our hearts.

Well, my dear friends, if what these legalistic Christians are saying is true, then even though I have served the Lord for the past fifty-five years, and have witnessed so much, and written and created so much, and prayed such a Salvation prayer with literally thousands of people over the years, I must still be lost and unsaved. Why do I say this? Well, if you have read my online biography that is found on this same Bill's Bible Basics website, then you will already know that I in fact prayed a Salvation prayer to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in San Jose, California USA back in July of 1971. So am I to believe that my heartfelt prayer was pointless and useless, and that I am not really saved? I think not! I KNOW that I am saved by the Grace of God! As the Apostle John wrote:

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.‭"


My friends, the minute we listen to the enemy, and begin to doubt our very Salvation, we have begun to lose the battle. Thus, the Apostle John encourages his readers, and he wants them to know that they are indeed saved through their faith in Jesus Christ. There cannot and should not be any doubts regarding this particular matter.

The fact of the matter is this. Throughout the New Testament, we find plenty of examples where people were required to take a certain action as a demonstration of their faith. Allow me to share a few examples with you for your consideration. The first concerns the old man Simeon who patiently waited for many years for the appearance of God's chosen Messiah. We're informed that on that special day, he was led by the Spirit to the temple in Jerusalem, as we can easily determine by the following group of Bible verses:

"And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."


You see, the reason why Simeon received that special blessing on that day is precisely because he took action. Simeon was prodded by the Holy Spirit to go to the temple, and the man obeyed by faith. So he demonstrated both faith and obedience through his actions.

In similar fashion, the woman who had an issue of blood for a period of twelve years also demonstrated her faith through her action of reaching out and touching the hem of Jesus' garment, as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour."


We see the very same thing occurring with the blind man who Jesus commanded to go wash in the Pool of Siloam after the Lord had anointed his eyes with spittle and clay. Similar to the previous examples, that man had to demonstrate his faith through his personal action of washing in the pool. It was at that point that he was actually healed of his blindness. Consider the following group of Bible verses which mention this particular miraculous event:

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing."


There are so many other examples I can share with you. Allow me to remind you of yet another one. Consider the paralyzed man who Jesus ordered to rise up and walk. Again, that dear man was required to take personal action as a demonstration of his faith. In other words, he had to have the faith to obey Jesus when the Lord said "Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house." It was in the doing that the man's miracle occurred. Thus we read the following in the Gospel of Luke:

"And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God."


As another example, let us consider the example of the man who had a withered hand. Just as we have seen with all of the previous examples, that man too had to have the faith to believe in Jesus, and to obey Jesus, when the Lord told him to stretch forth his hand. Once again, he had to put his faith into action, as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other."


As I said, this same requirement to take personal action as a demonstration of one's faith can be found throughout the pages of the Gospels. Most Christians are familiar with the amazing event which occurred in John 11 when the Lord raised his dear friend Lazarus from the dead. But as we read in the chapter, while Martha and Mary believed that Lazarus would indeed "rise again in the resurrection at the last day", what they did not realize was that Jesus could raise Lazarus that very same day. Thus, when Jesus made His intentions known to the two sisters of Lazarus, Martha remarked "Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days."

However, just as in the previous story where the friends of the paralyzed man demonstrated their faith by lowering the man down through the roof so that Jesus could heal him, in similar fashion, when Jesus told the friends of Mary and Martha to roll away the stone, they too put their faith into action and they did as they had been commanded to do. Following are some of the closing verses of that wonderful miracle:

"Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him."


Turning to Matthew chapter eleven, we encounter another man of faith who approached Jesus and humbly requested that the Lord heal him of his leprosy. Once again, this man put his faith into action. He did what he could do by approaching Jesus and requesting healing, and then Jesus did what the man could not do, as we see by the following set of verses:

"And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."


As a final example of faith in action, sometime after He had healed the aforementioned leper, Jesus entered Capernaum in the Galilee region, whereupon a certain unnamed centurion approached Him and requested that the Lord heal his servant who lay "at home sick of the palsy". As I mentioned earlier, palsy is the old name for a type of paralysis which may be accompanied by tremors. What is so amazing about this story is that the centurion's faith was so great, that he did not even request or require that Jesus go to his home in order to heal his servant. Just Jesus' word was enough for him, as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel . . . And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."


My friends, there is no denying that in all of the previous examples, faith was coupled with a particular action, and it was that action which resulted in the miracles occurring. Of course, Jesus performed the miracles, but only after each of the people had demonstrated their faith. So what about our Salvation? Is it any different? Does it require any kind of action on our part? Well, according to the Scriptures, it actually does. In fact, we are plainly told that we have to believe in, receive and confess our faith in Jesus Christ. We also have to open our hearts to Him in a symbolic sense.

My friends, it should be very obvious to you that all four of them are action verbs which require us to do something on our part in order to demonstrate personal faith. If you doubt that this is so, then please consider the following sample Bible verses where these particular verbs are used, taking particular note of the words which I have placed in uppercase letters:

"But AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME:"


"HE THAT RECEIVETH YOU RECEIVETH ME, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."


"Verily, verily, I say unto you, HE THAT RECEIVETH WHOMSOEVER I SEND RECEIVETH ME; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."


"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have everlasting life . . . He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."


"She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I BELIEVE that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."


"And they said, BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."


"That if thou shalt CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and WITH THE MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO SALVATION."


"WHOSOEVER THEREFORE SHALL CONFESS ME BEFORE MEN, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."


"Also I say unto you, WHOSOEVER SHALL CONFESS ME BEFORE MEN, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:"


"BUT THIS I CONFESS UNTO THEE, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:"


"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world . . . And WE HAVE SEEN AND DO TESTIFY that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. WHOSOEVER SHALL CONFESS THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."


"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that NO MAN CAN SAY THAT JESUS IS THE LORD, BUT BY THE HOLY GHOST."


"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and OPEN THE DOOR, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."


So, my friends, there you have the truth of this matter laid out for you as plain as day. Just as the people of the First Century had to demonstrate their faith through their actions before Jesus would heal some of them, today we do something similar when we believe in Jesus by faith, receive Jesus by faith, confess Jesus by faith, and open our hearts to Him by faith as well. With those people of the First Century, they had the expectation of being healed. In our case today, we have the expectation that we will be saved when we believe, receive, open our heart and verbally confess our faith in Christ.

Are you starting to see the similarities yet? Whether we are praying for a miracle of healing, or praying to accept the Lord, they're all demonstrations of our faith, and with each action -- regardless of what it is -- we have a particular expectation in mind. Those four action verbs are all integral parts of the Salvation equation. So considering how similar a Salvation prayer is to a petition that was made during the First Century, why do those harsh Christians criticize and condemn one action but not the other? As we have seen, they are all demonstrations of one's personal faith.

If a person is comfortable with saying a Salvation prayer, why condemn them? If that is their way of acknowledging the Lord in their life, well all I can say is "Wonderful!". Now, while it is not directly related to our current subject of discussion, I am reminded of something the Apostle Paul said in Romans 14 where he discusses eating meat, Jewish dietary laws and observing Jewish holy days. Consider what he wrote:

"Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth."


Applying that verse to our current discussion, if a person feels more secure in their Salvation by praying a Salvation prayer as their way of receiving and acknowledging the Lord; if that is how they wish to express their faith; and if they do not feel condemned by taking such action, then so be it! More power to them! It is THEIR faith after all, and clearly NOT yours. As such, some of you self-righteous accusers need to back off and mind your own business! You really need to stop criticizing and condemning other Christians due to the way in which they've chosen to express their personal faith. You need to stop spreading the lie that Salvation prayers are pointless and useless, and that no one is ever saved by them. Instead of condemning your brethren, you should be thankful that they have accepted the Lord. Isn't that what our faith is supposed to be all about?

Now, if we have truly believed in Jesus, and truly received him, then the Scriptures plainly declare that Jesus' Spirit dwells in our hearts. This sound, Biblical doctrine becomes evident by Bible verses such as the following ones:

"THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"


"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELL IN YOU. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."


"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory:"


"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."


"Hereby know we that WE DWELL IN HIM, AND HE IN US, because he hath given us of his Spirit."


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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