June 14, 1996 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - I would like to commend to you a Gospel pamphlet by the late Evangelist John R. Rice entitled "What Must I Do to Be Saved." In my estimation, most Gospel tracts today have two serious drawbacks:

(1) They do not give enough information. Many people in North America today are as ignorant of the true God of the Bible and of the basics of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as any Hindu in darkest Asia. It is crucial that we begin with the basics with these people, and that we explain biblical terms thoroughly, otherwise, when they hear terms such as "saved," "believe," "Christ," "God," "sin," they won't have the proper idea of what we are talking about, and any "profession" they make will be empty. While Dr. Rice's Gospel pamphlet does not give a full explanation of these terms, it gives much more information than most tracts being used today.

(2) The second serious drawback is that most tracts do not deal with repentance. Most don't even mention the word, yet the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles preached repentance plainly and demanded it from those who would be saved. Salvation only comes by "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). This, and this alone, is the apostolic Gospel. A gospel without repentance is a false gospel. Old John Rice did deal with repentance in his widely distributed Gospel pamphlet.

We have posted the entire gospel pamphlet entitled WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED at the Way of Life Literature web site. Check it out at http://www.wayoflife.org/

See "Biblical Repentance"

See "Unscriptural Presentations of the Gospel"

See "How to Avoid False Professions"

See "Pentecost vs. Hylescost"