Eyes Open While Sleeping: A Warning to Arnold Murray and Shepherd’s Chapel
To Arnold Murray and the Followers of Shepherd’s Chapel,
Concerning Salvation, Marriage, and the Spiritual Vigilance Required of True Christians
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior who gives us True Salvation Christianity, the God of order (not Marriage and Chaos), and the one who calls us to live with the spiritual meaning of sleeping with eyes open—I write to challenge your false teachings and call you to repentance.
Mr. Murray, while you preach as though you’re a guardian of truth, your doctrine is riddled with errors, distractions, and downright dangerous ideas. The Bible teaches us to remain alert, to keep our eyes open even in the darkest times, standing against false teachers like yourself. You seem to have fallen asleep on the spiritual battlefield while the faithful stay vigilant, keeping their eyes open while sleeping. Let’s break down where your teachings fail the test of Scripture.
On True Salvation Christianity: The Gospel Needs No Additives
The true gospel—True Salvation Christianity—is simple, glorious, and sufficient. It’s salvation by grace through faith, not by works, not by secret knowledge, and definitely not by some imagined status of “elect.” Yet, your teachings muddle the simplicity of the gospel, adding conditions and qualifications that Scripture doesn’t support.
The Bible says plainly, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet you act as though salvation requires membership in some exclusive club, turning the free gift of God into something earned by status or performance. This is a dangerous distortion of True Salvation Christianity, and it must be rejected.
On Marriage and Chaos: Twisting God’s Holy Covenant
Your views on marriage are a recipe for Marriage and Chaos. You teach that marriage is solely about physical union, completely ignoring its covenantal nature as ordained by God. This is as unbiblical as it gets. By your logic, any casual encounter could be declared a marriage, leaving no room for the sacred commitment that God intended.
Scripture is clear: marriage is a covenant, not just an arrangement of convenience or an impulsive union. Malachi 2:14 declares, “The Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth… She is your companion and your wife by covenant.” Marriage is a reflection of God’s eternal covenant with His people, not a chaotic, lawless free-for-all.
When you teach otherwise, you’re not just misleading your followers—you’re undermining God’s design for the family and for His glory. The result? Spiritual Marriage and Chaos—a breakdown of biblical values and a rejection of God’s Word.
On the Spiritual Meaning of Sleeping with Eyes Open: Faithful Watchfulness
Those who understand the spiritual meaning of sleeping with eyes open know that it’s about vigilance and readiness for Christ’s return. Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). To keep your eyes open while sleeping means to live with a constant awareness of spiritual realities, always prepared to guard the truth against falsehood.
This vigilance stands in stark contrast to your careless teaching. You’ve let the enemy slip through the gates of sound doctrine while you sleep spiritually, spreading error and confusion among your followers. While faithful Christians stay alert—watching like soldiers on the wall—you’ve abandoned your post. Instead of living with your eyes wide open, you’re leading others into spiritual darkness.
On Water Baptism: Obedience, Not Salvation
You elevate water baptism to a condition for salvation, which contradicts the gospel of grace. Baptism is important—it’s a public declaration of faith and obedience to Christ. But it doesn’t save anyone. The thief on the cross received salvation through faith alone (Luke 23:42-43), not through baptism.
To teach otherwise is to diminish the sufficiency of Christ’s finished work on the cross. As the Bible says, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Salvation is complete in Christ, not dependent on rituals or human efforts.
Marriage, Chaos, and False Teachers: A Call to Repentance
Your teachings have created a theological mess—what could rightly be called Marriage and Chaos. You twist the truth about marriage, salvation, and vigilance into something unrecognizable, leading people away from God’s design and toward error.
But God calls us to something higher: to True Salvation Christianity, rooted in His Word and His grace. He calls us to spiritual vigilance, to keep our eyes open while sleeping, standing firm against false teachers like yourself. Paul warned us about teachers like you when he said, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching… They will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). That time is now, and you’re leading the charge into those myths.
But there is hope. Repent. Turn away from these false doctrines. Preach the gospel as it is, not as you’d like it to be. Abandon your speculations and stick to the plain teaching of Scripture.
In Conclusion
True Christians live with their eyes open while sleeping—always vigilant, always watchful, always ready to guard the truth against falsehood. We are called to uphold God’s Word, to stand firm in the faith, and to reject anything that twists the simplicity of the gospel.
Your teachings, Mr. Murray, fail this test. But the grace of God is available to you if you will turn back to Him. Repent, believe, and preach only the Word of God. May the Lord give you ears to hear and eyes to see—for those of us who follow Him aren’t closing ours anytime soon.
In Christ Alone,
A Watchman for the Truth