God’s word is so beautiful and simple, such that any man may come to understand it and be saved.  The precious word of God is the final “life-line” that God has thrown to those drowning in the cesspool of sin.  All God requires of man is that he hold on to the precious gospel and follow it to Him Who gave it.  If all men would do this, then all would enjoy eternal life in heaven.  However, Satan wants all men to drown in the sea of sin.  He confuses men and obscures the way to salvation by tying a few “nots” in the precious gospel lifeline.  If man truly desires to be saved, then he must untie these “nots” that Satan has formed.
     One “not” that Satan has tied regards baptism.  Satan wants all men to preach, teach, and believe that baptism is not for the remission of sins and that baptism does not save.  Of course, this is in direct contrast to what the Bible teaches.  The Bible proclaims that baptism is “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), and that “baptism doth also now save us” (1 Pet.3:21).  Satan and his followers are not shy about slipping their “nots” into these plain Bible truths.  A Baptist preacher on the radio a few months back showed that he was well acquainted with these “nots”.  As he was preparing to baptize an individual, he made it clear that this person was not being baptized for the remission of sins, nor was he being baptized to be saved.  If only men would rely on God’s word instead of the words of men, this “not” would be easily untied.
     Another “not” Satan ties in the gospel lifeline is his teaching that a child of God cannot fall from grace.  Again, this is a complete contrast with the truth of God’s word.  Paul clearly stated to those Galatian Christians who attempted to hold the law of Moses and the law of Christ simultaneously that they were “fallen from grace” (Gal.5:4).  Day in and day out scores of naïve people swallow this fatal doctrine.  Once they are “saved”, they go through life never giving a second thought to their spiritual condition.  Unfortunately, many of God’s own children live as if they believe this doctrine.  The Christian life does not end at the waters of baptism; rather, it begins there (2 Cor.5:17; Rom.6:4).  A thorough knowledge of God’s word will easily untie this “not”.
     Yet another “not” that Satan has tied is the idea that those who do not obey the gospel will not be lost forever in the fires of hell.  Yet again, this is a direct contradiction with plain Bible truth.  When the end come, Jesus will return and take “vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Th.1:8).  There are those who claim that people who have never heard the gospel, thus never having been given the opportunity to be saved, will not spend eternity in hell if they die never having heard the gospel.  Even some of our brethren proclaim this.  The sad reality is that a drowning man is still a drowning man, and a soul lost in sin is still lost in sin, whether or not he has had the opportunity to hear and obey the gospel.  Those who do not obey the gospel are lost, and will be forever lost in hell if their spiritual condition remains unaltered.  Let us do all that we can to untie this damnable “not”.