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John Baik made an implication on his recent sermon on 2 Timothy that current members are saved by works. Here is the evidence from Baik’s  2 Timothy 1b-2a sermon titled Guard the Good Deposit:

 …you work hard for God, and you enjoy God’s reward; you endure hardship in doing God’s work and thereby please your commanding officer, Jesus Christ, then, he gives you great reward.

Many people misunderstand the gospel of Jesus Christ. They think that the gospel is about salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. But that’s not all; that’s just one part of the gospel. People just hold onto this one part of the gospel only and refuse to do anything for God, even quoting from the Bible, saying, “We are saved by grace alone, not by works… They don’t know what they are talking about…

 …simply, you receive your reward from God when you work hard for Him. How does that sound? It sounds just, fair, and reasonable; everyone can accept it and agree to it. The gospel is sound teaching; it is the sound doctrine.

Work hard for God and be blessed by God.

As God’s servants, we must keep teaching this sound doctrine. We must help all our students accept this sound teaching and build up their life based on this sound teaching of the gospel. Source: http://www.shepherdschurch.org/Current-Message/sundayjanuary212018

All of those quotes are in chronological order. Baik not only implies that you are saved by doing UBF works: testimony writing, church attendance, shepherding but he takes it two steps further by saying that it’s a sound doctrine that needs to be taught by students.

Charles Spurgeon, a notable Christian minster in the 19th century proves Baik wrong. Spurgeon does this mutilipe times his sermon title Salvation by Works a Criminal Doctrine.

Spurgeon points out the fallacy of Baik’s argument/statement several times in the  Salvation by Works a Criminal Doctrine sermon. Here are quotes from Spurgeon’s sermon in chronological order:

THE idea of salvation by the merit of our own works is exceedingly insinuating. It matters not how often it is refuted, it asserts itself again and again and when it gains the least foothold it soon makes great advances. Hence Paul, who was determined to show it no quarter, opposed everything which bore its likeness. He was determined not to permit the thin end of the wedge to be introduced into the church, for well he knew that willing hands would soon be driving it home. Hence when Peter sided with the Judaizing party and seemed to favor those who demanded that the Gentiles should be circumcised, our
brave apostle withstood him to the face. He fought always for salvation by grace through faith and contended strenuously against all thought of righteousness by obedience to the precepts of the ceremonial or the moral law.

So fascinating is the doctrine of legal righteousness that the only way to deal with it is Paul’s way. Stamp it out. Cry war to the knife against it. Never yield to it, but remember the apostle’s firmness and how stoutly he held his ground, “To whom,” says he, “we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour.” The error of salvation by works is exceedingly plausible. You will constantly hear it stated as a self-evident truth and vindicated on account of its supposed practical usefulness, while the gospel doctrine of
salvation by faith is railed at and accused of evil consequences.

It is affirmed that if we preach salvation by good works we shall encourage virtue—and so it might seem in theory, but history proves by many instances that as a matter of fact, where such doctrine has been preached, virtue has become singularly uncommon and that in proportion as the merit of works has been cried up, morality has gone down.

Self-salvation, either by his personal worthiness, by his repentance, or by his resolves
is a hope ingrained in human nature and very hard to remove.

On the other hand, the doctrine of salvation by works has not a word of comfort in it for the fallen. It gives to the elder son all that his proud heart can claim, but for the prodigal it has no welcome.

This unmerciful doctrine bars the door of hope and hands over the lost ones to the executioner in order that the proud Pharisee may air his boastful righteousness and thank God that he is not as other men are.

It is the intense selfishness of this doctrine which condemns it as an evil thing. It naturally exalts self. If a man conceives that he will be saved by his own works, he thinks himself something and glories in the dignity of human nature.

 Now, he that hopes to be saved by his own righteousness
rejects the grace or free favor of God, regards it as useless, and in that sense frustrates it. It is clear, first, that if righteousness come by the law, the grace of God is no longer required. If we can be saved by our own merits we need justice, but we certainly do not want mercy. If we can keep the law and claim to be accepted as a matter of debt, it is plain that we need not turn suppliants and crave for mercy. Grace is a superfluity where merit can be proved

 I say, then, that the man who believes that by keeping the law, or by practicing
ceremonies, or by undergoing religious performances, he can make himself acceptable before God, most decidedly puts the grace of God on one side as a superfluous thing as far as he is concerned. Is it not clearly so? 

Next, he makes the grace of God to be at least a secondary thing which is only a lower degree of the same error. Many think that they are to merit as much as they can by their own exertions and then the grace of God will make up for the rest. The theory seems to be that we are to keep the law as far as we can and this imperfect obedience is to stand good, as a sort of compromise

 Whether men see it or not, this mixture of law and grace is most dishonoring to the salvation of Jesus Christ. It makes the Savior’s work to be incomplete, though on the cross He cried, “It is finished.” Yes, it even treats it as being utterly ineffectual since it appears to be of no avail until man’s works are added to it. According to this notion, we are redeemed as much by our own doing as by the ransom price of Jesus’ blood and man and Christ go shares, both in the work and in the glory

This is an intense form of arrogant treason against the majesty of divine mercy—a capital crime which will condemn all who continue in it.

More than that, he who trusts in himself, his feelings, his works, his prayers, or in anything except the grace of God virtually gives up trusting in the grace of God altogether.

 The apostle [Paul] says in Romans 11:6, “If by grace,
then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” You must either have salvation wholly because you deserve it or wholly because God graciously bestows it, though you do not deserve it. You must receive salvation at the Lord’s hand either as a debt or as a charity—there can be no mingling of the ideas. 

There is another form of this crime, that when men preach up human doings, sufferings, feelings, or emotions as the ground of salvation, they take off the sinner from confidence in Christ, for as long as a man can maintain any hope in himself he will never look to the Redeemer. 

Woe unto those who teach a doctrine which would pluck the crown royal from the head
of our sovereign Lord and disgrace the throne of His glory. God help us to be clear of this rank offense against high heaven.

They who say that the death of Christ goes only part of the way, but that man must do something in order to merit eternal life—these, I say, make this death of Christ to be only partially effective and in yet clearer terms, ineffectual in and of itself. If it is even hinted that the blood of Jesus is not price enough till man adds his silver or his gold, then His blood is not our redemption at all and Christ is no Redeemer!
If it is taught that our Lord’s bearing of sin for us did not make a perfect atonement and that it is ineffectual till we either do or suffer something to complete it, then in the supplemental work lies the real virtue and Christ’s work is in itself insufficient. His death cry of, “It is finished,” must have been all a mistake, if still it is not finished. And if a believer in Christ is not completely saved by what Christ has done, but must do something, himself to complete it, then salvation was not finished and the Savior’s
work remains imperfect till we, poor sinners, lend a hand to make up for His deficiencies.

 For if we can be saved by
the old covenant of works, then the new covenant was not required. In God’s wisdom the new covenant was brought in because the first had grown old and was void by transgression.

If you hold that a man can be saved by his own good works, you pour contempt upon the testament of love which the death of Jesus has put in force, for there is no need to receive as a legacy of love that which can be earned as the wage of work.

The doctrine of salvation by works is a sin against all the fallen sons of Adam, for if men cannot be saved except by their own works, what hope is left for any transgressor? You shut the gates of mercy on mankind. You condemn the guilty to die without the possibility of remission. You deny all hope of welcome to the returning prodigal, all prospect of Paradise to the dying thief.

Source: http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols25-27/chs1534.pdf

Spurgeon not only shows where and how wrong Baik’s implication of salvation by works is be Spuegeon also says/shows that:

  • People like Baik will preach such a criminal doctrine
  • Peole like Baik will be condemned for preaching such a pratice
  • Mixing the idea of salvation by works & salavation by grace is one of the worst things anyone can do
  • Preaching salvation by works is very dangerous
  • such teaching create pharisee-like people
  • the prodigal son/daughter becomes non-existent

What I mean by the last bullet point is the John Baik, Jared Allen, the Senior “Shepherds”.. won’t outright say “ex-members like Eric Navas will never have a chance for a redemption nor will ever become a prodigal son” but it is heavily implied and shown through their actions.

I recommend you the reader to check out the rest of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons and his books

A good book of Spurgeon’s to check out is Around the Wicket Gate