Jonathan Cahn - Heretic "Rabbi" Teaches Works Salvation

Rabbi Jonathan "Cain" Cahn is an increasingly-popular end-times and prophecy writer. His writings are captivating many in various denominations, including Baptists. This post will expose him as a fraud, a wolf sporting himself in white wool.

Upon clicking on his website, you can find this image of a lamb superimposed onto a Jewish star:

I assume that lamb in the middle of the star is supposed to symbolize Christ. Immediately, these verses jumped to the front of my mind:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

Mixing the symbolism of Christ with an idolatrous symbol is blasphemous. The Jewish star, commonly referred to as the "star of David," symbolizes the wicked, satanic religion of Judaism. What part does Judaism have with Christianity? The Messianic Jew and Hebrew Roots Movement is full of Judaizers who are bringing in Jewish customs, idols, and practices. The "star of David" is mentioned no where in Scripture. The only star I can think of that can be associated with Christ was the one in the eastern sky which shone over his birth. I don't believe this is the star in the picture above.

The star in that image is the star of Remphan. The martyr Stephen in Acts called out the paganistic, unbelieving Jews for their worship of this star.

Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them. (Acts 7:43)

Could it be more obvious where this star came from? No credible scholar, Jewish or otherwise, will acknowledge that this star originated with David. It's the false god Remphan's star. It's Baal-worship. It's of the devil, and why would Christ have any relation to it? We as Christians ought to have no fellowship with the images of Baal or the symbols of a blaspheming religion like Judaism.

Here are some verses I thought of when I saw him decked in full regalia:

...and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. (Mark 12:40)

But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. (Matthew 23:5-8)

Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts. (Luke 20:46)

It's like this Messianic, Hebrew-Roots religion takes everything Christ said NOT to do and does it. The number one tip-off that Jonathan Cahn is a Cahn-man is that he calls himself "Rabbi." Catholics get dogged all the time for calling their priests "father." Shouldn't the same level of criticism be directed at these Judaizers like Cahn? If someone ignores such a basic command as "Don't be called Rabbi," can they be trusted in any regard? You either have to be a retarded Christian or an unsaved person to follow this false prophet.

To get to the point of works salvation, you'll find his gospel message on this page. The intro is fair, but obviously being in hell is not "separation from God." I imagine those in hell want to escape God's presence, but He is both the God of heaven and God of hell. David said if he made his bed in hell, God would be there, too. But it's clear he believes in heaven and hell. Fair enough. He correctly identifies it's not how good you are or what religion you're apart of. Heretics typically start off with truth.

It would make sense if you're going to say "Jesus says.." that you would actually quote and cite a specific verse in the New Testament. Besides a few partial references, he uses virtually no Scripture in any of his gospel presentation on his website.

So far so good... I guess. It still doesn't have any Scripture, and he's misquoting God. But the right flow of thought is there.

Jesus never said "follow me" to be saved. He said "believe on me." Isn't following Christ equated with doing what He commands? Isn't following commandments... works? Ephesians 2:8-9 states that salvation is the gift of God and it's not of works lest any man should boast. But here the Cahn-man is equating being "born again" with "following Christ." Consider these Bible verses on what it actually means to be "born again."

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God ... For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:1,4)

That seems simple. Actually, it sounds too good to be true. Surely there's more to being "born again," right? Cahn-man thinks so.

This is an epic fail at rightly dividing the Word of God. "I'm not going to sin" is Jonathan Cahn's way to heaven. You can no longer be a slave to sin if you want to be born again. You must make Jesus Lord by giving up your selfishness and "all that." What the heck is "all that"? Reference, please? I thought All That was a 90's kid's television show. I would have to give up All That to go to heaven.

All kidding aside, if you had to give something up in order to go to heaven, what would it be? Jesus said in John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." (See how I actually quoted the Bible there?) It appears the only thing you would have to give up is your unbelief. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is the only requirement for obtaining eternal life and being born again. But if you haven't given up being a slave to your sins and all that, then you cannot inherit eternal life according to the Cahn-artist. Last I checked, we're all sinners, subject to the desires and gratification of the flesh. Did the Cahn-man finally stop following sin and become perfect? If that's the requirement for salvation, none of us are going. No one has stopped being a slave to their sin; the Apostle Paul said, "I am carnal, sold under sin." (Romans 7:14). If the Apostle Paul was a slave to his sin, then how could we ever hope to see any glimpse of heaven in the afterlife?

 

Finally, he's going to correct himself on what it means to be born again. "How?" the Cahn-man asks. He answers, "Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart." Wait.. believe what? Confess what? He finally says the word "believe" which is the most critical part of the gospel. But he doesn't clue us in on what to believe. The verse, in full, is quoted: "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." Instead of quoting the verse in full, he jumps straight to "if you follow him you will be saved." Let's readjust Romans 10:9 for Cain...err, Cahn:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth and believe in your heart, and shalt follow Him, and give up all that, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9 New Cain Version)

And not only that, but from now on you must turn away form[sic] the darkness to the light - and only then will you be born again. Is that a continual turning form[sic] darkness? Or is it once? Do I have to make Jesus Lord and turn form[sic] darkness, following Him and rejecting sin as my master? Vague much? Did he bother spell-checking his literary masterpiece of the gospel?

If you're ready to get saved, and you mean it, you can pray this prayer. Remember, you have to mean every line, every sentence - the whole thing. You can't leave anything out. Ready? Begin praying:

Did you make it? I've noticed that unsaved people make long, winded prayers in the hopes that God will actually answer their prayers, as if some doubt is present. Cahn-man is thinking, "I'll follow you.. I surrender everything.. You're the Lord.. I surrender again.. I'll be your disciple.. please save me!" He's hoping something he throws out there will stick so he can be saved. Many people, myself included at one point, promise God to live right in hopes of becoming saved. This only breeds continual doubt over salvation. Did the Cahn-artist really commit every moment of his life to Christ? Does he really believe the dribble he just wrote? Even if he did, it's not like "committing your life to Christ" can save you anyway. 

Then he mentioned during this pretentious prayer that he "repents from the darkness." I'm assuming this means he has turned from his sins to be saved. Jonah 3:10 says that "God saw [Nineveh's] works, that they turned from their evil way." God considers turning or repenting from sins works. Therefore, repenting of certain sins in your life cannot save you, nor is it necessary to have eternal life. Not only that, but which commandments of Christ must we follow to become saved? Love your enemies, preach the gospel to every creature, love your neighbor as yourself, don't commit adultery, deny yourself, or get baptized?

I'm glad that God is black and white when it comes to salvation. He never said "Follow me if you want to be saved." He said, "..that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned." And again in John 3, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." If Cahn-artist is right, then how do we know we've followed Christ enough to know for sure that we're saved? If we go with the Bible, we can know for sure that we're saved if we have believed on Jesus Christ to be saved. That's pretty simple. But simplicity is lacking in the above gospel presentation[sic] thus far.

I congratulate anyone else who endured until the end of that prayer as well. 

I would put my money on a first-grader over Cahn in an essay contest, any day. Not only does he not mention eternal security of the believer, but he didn't use ANY verses in his salvation message. The word "faith" was not mentioned ONCE. "Believe" was never emphasized. He only said "believe in your heart" and didn't say WHAT to believe. The resurrection and burial of Christ were NEVER hinted at. Here's the gospel defined according to the Bible:

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

"Rabbi" Cahn-artist didn't go into any details on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It wasn't remotely touched on. People cannot be saved without hearing the death, burial, and resurrection. It's the whole point of the gospel. Christ is the focus, not you.

Instead, in Rabbi Cain's message, "Follow me" is the crying call for salvation. YOU are the focus of salvation. If YOU follow him.. YOU repent of your sins.. YOU surrender all.. YOU make Jesus Lord.  It's all about what YOU can do!

This gospel message was poorly written and terribly executed. It's the gospel presentation of an unsaved man. It's an insult to everything Christ did. It's the lying words of a heretic out of hell, the "Rabbi" Cain, the Christian Cahn-artist himself. I feel sorry for him. It looks like he tried his best on writing that salvation message. He's trying his best to follow Christ to get into heaven. What a shame. Here's how to be truly saved and on your way to heaven according to the Bible:

• It's not our ability to follow Christ or turn from our wicked sins that saves us. It's not our surrendering our lives or making Jesus Lord that credits righteousness on our account. 

• The Bible declares that Jesus Christ was set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. Through the shedding of Christ's blood and his death, he willingly took our rightful place, enduring hell and punishment in our stead.

• We know that by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight. Following Christ, giving your life to Him, surrendering your will to His will, or turning from your sins are all vain attempts to justify yourself in the sight of God. None of that will help one bit.

• King David in Psalms described the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord will not impute sins, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

• How are our sins remitted and completely forgotten? Through faith in His blood. Through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, that he was slain on the cross for our sins, bore the wrath of God for those sins, and raised himself up from the dead and out of hell. We are declared justified by faith - just if I'd never sinned.

• What does it mean to believe on Christ? Ephesians 2:8-9 says, 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. Grace is something we don't deserve. Salvation comes about by faith in Christ and not by any of our own deeds.

• To believe on Christ means to put your faith, your trust, in Him alone to be saved from that awful torment in hell. The lake of fire is the destiny of all who sin. But that can be changed.

• When one trusts Christ for salvation and believes that He was dead, buried, and raised for our transgressions, he is born again. He is given the gift of eternal life.

• A gift has no costs or strings attached. It is offered freely. It was purchased by the blood of our God, who stepped off his throne in heaven and became man, the man Christ Jesus, and was slain for the sins of the whole world. Salvation is easy, no strings attached, and completely free - completely paid for.

• Accepting the gift is as simple as asking Jesus Christ for it. Believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead... for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!

• Christ promises eternal life unto all who believe. It is a gift. A gift cannot be taken back. Eternal life can never end. Once you are saved, you are always saved, no matter how many sins or works you have. The promise of eternal life is kept by God's Word. You can never lose your salvation for any reason whatsoever under any circumstance.

• The Bible says in Romans 4:5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 

• Works and faith don't mix. You don't need works to earn salvation, maintain salvation, or properly evidence salvation. You can be sure that you are saved because none of it is dependent on the way you act, how many sins you commit, or how many good deeds you have done. You are saved by faith in the redeeming work of Christ. He alone is who we look to for salvation!