The Dr. Ruckman that Robert Breaker Knew: 1990s Sinner's Prayer Compilation
Robert Breaker claims Ruckman from 1995 to 1998 preached that A. confession was a work and B. the only thing that could save you was mental assent in believing in Jesus shedding his blood. FALSE. Dr. Ruckman from 1950s to his death taught that there were two conditions to being saved, believing and confessing.
If you didn't believe and didn't confess, you weren't saved. If you confessed and didn't believe, you weren't saved.
Breaker teaches that confess to be saved, you weren't saved.
That is not what Dr. Ruckman taught.
Thank you to Brother Don Nesbitt as always (his youtube handle is @w46try7) and He Must Increase for the clips. Brother Ed for indirectly giving me the Pig video.
Thank you God for Brother Don, the Lord's bloodhound.
I didn't date them as they were already dated.
[00:00 - 00:15]
Robert Breaker:
Now, I know he changed. I know you can go online and hear him saying it differently. I know, because some other chips off got into the church, the 1-2-3 repeat after me, the other gospel, but that’s not what he was like in the beginning. That’s not the man my dad knew. That’s not who I knew, that I heard preaching the gospel.
[00:15 - 01:00]
Text on screen
The opening clip is why this video exists.
Robert Breaker of the Cloud Church claims that young Dr. Peter S. Ruckman from the years 1960 to 1998 (when Breaker graduated from Dr. Ruckman’s school, PBI) taught three things:
A. Belief and confession as the two required conditions to be saved is a WORK.
B. The only way to be saved is head belief in the blood of Jesus Christ, and Breaker claims Ruckman taught that anything else than head belief was a work that would damn you to hell.
C. Confession/sinner’s prayer as a requirement for salvation is adding to Christ, and the sinner’s prayer is a work.
[01:00 - 01:46]
Text on screen
That is called the “Young Ruckman myth.”
Now, why does this matter? Because Breaker definitively uses this as a matter of authority for himself. Breaker claims that any fan of Dr. Ruckman who does not believe in Breaker’s “head belief” is a hypocrite who rejects what Dr. Ruckman “taught.”
This is very false.
But, first, allow me to give you what Breaker himself believes so that you might contrast it with what Dr. Ruckman believes.
[01:46 - 02:36]
Speaker 1 (Breaker on stream):
... is to confess with their mouth that the Lord is Jesus, or Jesus is the Lord. Wouldn’t that be Israel? So when I read Romans 10, I see Jews asking Paul, “Hey, what about Israel?” And he says, “Well, if a guy is a Jew and he has confessed that Jesus is his Lord, that Jesus is his Messiah...”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“... and if he believes that God hath raised him from the dead, well then he can be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“So if he believes in who and what, then he’ll be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“I don’t think he’s telling you you have to do both, and that you have to say it with the mouth or you’re not saved. If he’s saying you have to believe from your heart in something and say it with your mouth at the same time, then that would be a faith plus works gospel, and that would nullify what Jesus did because it’s not just what he did, it’s what you say, which would be a work.”
[02:36 - 03:10]
1991
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
You take that kind of stuff, that stuff, that stuff, that stuff is important. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That’s the stuff it is. Nothing more important than that. Just Simon Peter Richards, I don’t know who he was. Bob Jones Sr. said, “I’ve had brush harbor meetings out there,” and he said, “I think I was saved sometime before I was five years old.”
He said, “I don’t know,” but he said, “I can remember going home when I was five years old and screaming and crying and asking God to save me because I didn’t want to burn in hell.” And he went to Bob Jones to get many assurances, but he got saved. And his whole life got saved.
[03:10 - 03:20]
Text on screen
Let’s go back to Breaker.
[03:21 - 04:09]
Speaker 1 (Breaker):
... is to confess with their mouth that the Lord is Jesus, or Jesus is the Lord. Wouldn’t that be Israel? So when I read Romans 10, I see Jews asking Paul, “Hey, what about Israel?” And he says, “Well, if a guy is a Jew and he has confessed that Jesus is his Lord, that Jesus is his Messiah...”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“... and if he believes that God hath raised him from the dead, well then he can be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“So if he believes in who and what, then he’ll be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“I don’t think he’s telling you you have to do both, and that you have to say it with the mouth or you’re not saved. If he’s saying you have to believe from your heart in something and say it with your mouth at the same time, then that would be a faith plus works gospel, and that would nullify what Jesus did because it’s not just what he did, it’s what you say, which would be a work.”
[04:10 - 04:20]
Text on screen
Let’s go back to Ruckman.
[04:20 - 06:08]
1992
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
Unless tonight, if you’re here tonight, you want to find and prepare to meet God, or want to be prepared to die when you have to go, it’s real simple: you ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you right now. And ask him to take away your sins. And he has done for you what needs to be done to do it, and he can take them away. The Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what kind of condition you’re in, can fix you, so if you’d die tonight, you’ll come up and get by the judgment with flying colors, and you won’t have to worry about going to hell. I don’t care how rough a shape you’re in, it doesn’t make any difference. Christ died for sinners. If you’re a sinner, he died for you. And he’ll take you if you’ll take him. Now, the trouble is folks won’t take him. Now, if you will take him, let’s pray a little while. If you will take him, while we’re in prayer, just pray, “Lord, I don’t want to go to hell when I die. I know I’m a sinner.
And I believe what this preacher said, that Jesus Christ died for me. I want you to show me. And if I should trust him, I want you to show me. And if I should, I will. And do it now. Do it now.” Father, bless the invitation. Bring those here tonight who need to make this decision. Bring them to open confession of Jesus Christ, we pray. It will be the high point in their life, a night they’ll never forget. And may you meet them here face to face, reveal yourself to them. I tried to reveal you, I tried to speak about you the best I know how. These faltering lips of clay have done no justice to the subject. I know that. I’ve done the best I can, and I pray you do the rest. I can’t do it this hour. For Jesus’ sake, Amen. Let’s stand.
[06:09 - 06:18]
Text on screen
What does Breaker believe?
[06:19 - 07:07]
Speaker 1 (Breaker):
... is to confess with their mouth that the Lord is Jesus, or Jesus is the Lord. Wouldn’t that be Israel? So when I read Romans 10, I see Jews asking Paul, “Hey, what about Israel?” And he says, “Well, if a guy is a Jew and he has confessed that Jesus is his Lord, that Jesus is his Messiah...”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“... and if he believes that God hath raised him from the dead, well then he can be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“So if he believes in who and what, then he’ll be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“I don’t think he’s telling you you have to do both, and that you have to say it with the mouth or you’re not saved. If he’s saying you have to believe from your heart in something and say it with your mouth at the same time, then that would be a faith plus works gospel, and that would nullify what Jesus did because it’s not just what he did, it’s what you say, which would be a work.”
[07:08 - 07:26]
Text on screen
Breaker believes anything but head belief is a work and that a sinner’s prayer EVEN BELIEVING IS A WORK.
Dr. Ruckman preaches you have to BELIEVE AND CONFESS/do a sinner’s prayer to be saved. A sinner’s prayer, according to Breaker, even BELIEVING IS A WORK. Don’t believe me?
[07:26 - 08:37]
April 28, 2022
Robert Breaker:
Salvation is not us coming to God and saying, “Hey, hey up there! I’m calling on you. Save me already!” That’s not salvation. That’s a vocal with the lips calling. But I’ve showed you the context of Romans chapter 10. You call on the Lord, it’s the faith from the heart that speaks and calls. Salvation is based upon blood, and whether you accept the blood atonement. So you come to Jesus, you realize, “I’m lost, and I can’t save myself.” And you come to the cross, and you look at Calvary, and you see the bleeding Savior dying in your place for your sins, and you say, “I’ll take that!
I trust him! I trust what he did! I accept that for me!” Your heart cries out to God, and God in heaven goes, “That’s a saved man, ’cause he’s trusted in Christ for salvation, not in himself.” Yes, it can come out the mouth, and it should, but it’s not the mouth part that saves. It’s whether you see it and believe it and understand it and trust from the heart. That’s salvation, folks.
[08:38 - 08:57]
Text on screen
Breaker’s views are then this:
The calling that is described in Romans 10:
13 is the heart itself and not a vocal salvation. If you ADD confession as a requirement/condition to being saved alongside head belief, you are adding to salvation.
That is what Breaker, NOT RUCKMAN, believes. For the final time, I will repeat this clip.
[08:58 - 09:46]
Speaker 1 (Breaker):
... is to confess with their mouth that the Lord is Jesus, or Jesus is the Lord. Wouldn’t that be Israel? So when I read Romans 10, I see Jews asking Paul, “Hey, what about Israel?” And he says, “Well, if a guy is a Jew and he has confessed that Jesus is his Lord, that Jesus is his Messiah...”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“... and if he believes that God hath raised him from the dead, well then he can be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“So if he believes in who and what, then he’ll be saved.”
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
“I don’t think he’s telling you you have to do both, and that you have to say it with the mouth or you’re not saved. If he’s saying you have to believe from your heart in something and say it with your mouth at the same time, then that would be a faith plus works gospel, and that would nullify what Jesus did because it’s not just what he did, it’s what you say, which would be a work.”
[09:47 - 10:09]
Text on screen
I want you to now keep this in mind.
Robert Ray Breaker III (not II) went to PBI from 1995 to 1998.
This is the exact first year that Robert Ray Breaker III would define as the Ruckman he knew. Everything you hear is what Breaker would have heard.
Everything you see is what Breaker would have seen.
[10:09 - 14:00]
1995
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer. Father, bless your word tonight, bless your people tonight. I know I’ve been kind of heavy tonight, maybe kind of obtuse, I hope not, but I know that you’ll show them the truth.
They stay in the Book; we know the Book has the answers, it’s got all the answers. We know, Heavenly Father, this Book is a kiss of God on the lost soul of man, and if it weren’t for this Book, we wouldn’t have any revelation about these things at all. Well, thank you, Father, that you preserved that Book in this country as long as you have. And we know, Heavenly Father, the only hope this country ever had was this Book. We know the degree to which this Book has been ignored and slighted and corrected and attacked, our country has deteriorated with it in direct proportion. And I pray if there’s anybody here tonight that’s unprepared to meet you in judgment in your pure, naked holy glory, they’ll get ready tonight and take the offering that you sent down here for them to die in their place.
Now let’s remain heads bowed and eyes closed for just a few minutes, and I’d like to have our pianist play something for us while we remain in prayer a few minutes. And let me be very specific on what I’m getting ready to say: I know most of you folks here tonight are saved, probably all of you. Probably all of you. But don’t you take a chance. You can’t stand what you’re going to face. You cannot do it. All the great, wise, noble, intelligent, brave men of the world wouldn’t have been able to take it. You can’t take it. You can’t take it. You can’t take the One that made the nebulae and the star clusters facing off with you on your sins. You can’t do it.
And he knows you can’t do it. So he loved you and came down here as a man. You can understand that; you can dig that, see? ’Cause you’re a man. And took your place. Now have you trusted him for your salvation? In that day, are you going to be safe in him or stand there, you know, blind, gaping, trembling, shaking, facing hell on wheels?
How many of you people are saved and know it? Let me see your hand. You’re saved and you know it. All right, if you couldn’t raise your hand here tonight, there’s one of two things wrong: either not saved, or else you got saved and so backslidden you can’t give a testimony anymore, you don’t know you’re saved, or something else. And what you’ll do right now before we close this service is right there where you’re sitting, just bow your head and close your eyes and call upon his name for salvation and trust what he did for you. You say, “I can’t believe it.” Then you’re in one cotton-picking mess. And you’re not about to get out of it, either.
If that Book is true... you see what I’ve showed you here tonight, that’s just touching the hem of the garment. The hem of the garment. If that Book is true, you’re facing a disaster. Never mind the churches, the preachers, the sacraments, all that stuff. You’re facing a catastrophe if that Book is true.
Father, bless your word tonight. May the Holy Spirit do his job tonight, convicting of sin, righteousness, and judgment. I’ve said all I can say, I’ve done all I can do; you’ll have to do the rest. Lord, may you confirm your word.
You said heaven and earth shall pass away, but your word wouldn’t. And help somebody to see that tonight and put their faith in that eternal, immutable, infallible word, and believe what you promised. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Amen.
Amen. Well, I’m going to let your pastor close the service tonight as the Lord leads him.
[14:00 - 14:34]
Text on screen
This is the video where Dr. Ruckman talks about the Alton story.
If you want a full video on that, watch my “Alton Story” video.
He preaches the sinner’s prayer in it. However, that is another video.
This is the full, unedited altar call.
This is shown in full because I want you to know that this is what Dr. Ruckman taught and believed, and not the work of sly editing.
[14:34 - 17:55]
1995
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
Amen. Amen. Let’s go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you for this blessed promise. There are many men and women in this building who know nothing about this promise, that poor souls if they were to walk out that door, they couldn’t look anybody in the face and say, “I know that all things are working together for my good.” And it’s offered to them free, to have a chance to lay claim to the greatest promise that God ever gave man or man ever gave man. I pray somebody tonight will accept Christ as Savior, and somebody tonight will trust his shed blood for their sins, and somebody tonight will openly confess him and receive him and have the joy of salvation.
Knowing that from tonight on, come hell or high water, come aliens from outer space, UFOs, terrorism, bankruptcy, international war, atom bombs, nuclear bombs, revolution, whatever, whatever, it’ll work together for their good. Let’s remain in prayer a few minutes before we get the invitation tonight. Let’s pray just a few minutes while the musicians play.
And I want to ask you tonight:
Are you saved tonight? Are you ready? Can you claim the promise? Can you look God in the face tonight and say, “Lord, I’m yours and you’re mine. So I’m claiming that everything that’s happened to me is going to work together for my good.” Listen, question: If you’re not saved tonight, nothing is working together for your good. What’s working on you is God, the goodness of God trying to bring you to repentance. And the accidents you’ve been through, the narrow escapes, the near-calamities, the tragedies, the sickness, the heartaches, the bills, the frustration, the dirty deals, the raw deals have been just for one thing: and that’s to turn you to Jesus Christ where you can have eternal life.
And if you haven’t done that yet, then you’ve defeated the purpose of your suffering. God sent it to you to be merciful. He doesn’t want to see you hurt forever. If you die without Christ, your suffering’s just starting, and it won’t end. God help you.
Father, bless your word. Honor your word. May it bring forth fruit here tonight like a good tree. Bring forth fruit. May somebody here tonight understand what I’ve said tonight and lay hold of this promise. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen. Let’s stand. Pastor, if you’ll come and conduct the invitation as the Lord leads you.
Pastor steps up to lead the altar call hymn “I Surrender All”
Pastor:
Number 310. Number 310. Now some of you folks here tonight, you’re mad at God, you’ve been blaming God... you need to come and get your heart right...
[17:55 - 18:12]
Text on screen over video
“CALL ON HIM AND TRUST HIM”
Dr. Ruckman explicitly approves this altar call.
Pastor (continuing):
... so that you’ll call on him and trust him. So why don’t you come? If you need to be saved, we’ll have somebody take a Bible and show you how to be saved. If you need somebody to pray with you, Christian, you come and get somebody to pray with you. Come on. “All to Jesus I surrender...”
[18:12 - 19:41]
Congregation sings “I Surrender All”
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
Title slide shown: Biblical “Chalk-Talk” by Dr. Peter Ruckman
[19:42 - 20:08]
1995
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
I’m I’m I’m the Lord’s junkyard dog! And I like results.
And uh, but in season and out of season. One of the one of the when I pray, I pray, “Now God, I’m going to be at this meeting for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That’s 1, 2, 3, 4 services. You surely can save two grown men in each service without slowing down the apostasy.” Now if you got your mind to bring us in the apostasy and drop the bottom out, it won’t hurt you to save, you know, just to eight men in a week, can you? It ain’t going to be puncture I mean, who we trying to kid, man? If eight grown men got saved in this meeting, it wouldn’t slow anything down in Detroit. You know that, don’t you?
[20:08 - 21:07]
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
Y’all know that. And and I pray like that, and sometimes uh one or two men get saved, sometimes no men get saved. You know, and I get, you know, fussing and fuming about it and kicking the lawn around. You know how Well, maybe you don’t. You know, but I do. And getting, you know, bitter, mad at the Lord about it. And uh then the Lord began to open this stuff in these jails.
And here’s 10 getting saved here, and 20 here, and 30 here, and 10 here, and 40 here, and 40 here, and 50 here, and 5 here. And I’m not I’m not reporting these things like they report them. When I say the 15 conversions, they’re 15 first-time conversions. When you kneel down and say the prisoners, “I’ll show you how to pray to be saved, follow me in prayer,” 70 of them will pray.
[21:07 - 21:19]
Text on screen over video
Notice Ruckman is not saying that the PRAYER DOES NOT COUNT.
He is saying that the prayer IF NOT WITH BELIEF is not saving.
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
But you know about 60 of them be retreads. They figure you can lose it; they figure they lost it. So I don’t even count those. I don’t count those.
[21:19 - 22:08]
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
When I get through, I say, “How many of you fellas prayed that prayer for the first time?” Up go the hands. And one day I got thinking about it, I got adding those things up: something like 155 of them saved in a year. Grown men. Oh, maybe 100 of them blacks, and 40 of them whites, and 15 of them Hispanics. A few Hispanics get saved and whites; they’re Catholic. And uh I got thinking I got that, and I think, “Well, let’s see now. Wait a hold the phone here, man.” Here’s eight fellas every weekend. Here’s something like 160.
That’s uh what what’s going on here, man? And I suddenly the Lord realized the Lord had given me almost two men per service for something like 10 years. But he just...
[22:08 - 22:23]
Text on screen
Robert Breaker believes ANY FORM of confession for salvation is a work.
I trust that you don’t need me to repeat the Breaker clip for the 6th time to prove that. I will, however, show what Breaker believes about Young Ruckman’s form of evangelism. The logic must be applied to Ruckman.
[22:23 - 23:25]
September 20, 2021
Text card on screen: “(If anyone thinks I am saying that he is talking about Ruckman, I am not. The shallow soulwinner in the story is not Dr. Ruckman. However, Breaker’s hatred of the shallow soulwinner is a 1:1 fit for Dr. Ruckman’s own actions during Breaker’s time at PBI from 1995 to 1998.”
Robert Breaker:
“Oh, now they’re going to go do it for money, huh?” I went with another brother that I knew that went to the same Bible school as me. We went out. Two colored folks came up, two colored boys. I watched him for 45 minutes take them through scripture after scripture after scripture, and I saw their hearts get tender and the tears coming down their eyes, and I saw him lead those two boys to the Lord.
Then I saw this other guy come, and he’s all bragging, (Text on screen: “(There is not a single thing that the ‘shallow soulwinner’ did that is not applicable to Dr. Peter S. Ruckman in one way or another from his prison ministry.)”) “I got three! Three people I won to the Lord! I got three!” and he’s all bragging like that. I’m thinking, in that short amount of time, you got three different people to get saved? How did that And so he comes up and he’s like, “Did you win anybody?” “No, brother.” “Oh, well, I did three!” and he’s all patting himself on the back. And he comes up to us. And this is what he said, he said, “Did you lead anybody to the Lord?” And uh my friend said, “Brother, two guys just got saved.” And he said, “Two? I got three! Huh!” and he walked away. And I went to myself, “That shallow soulwinner.” And I said, “Sir, what did you do?” He said, “Well, I got them all to say the prayer.”
[23:25 - 23:36]
1996
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
... throws it down, and some other drunk come along and picks it up before it’s bounced twice. And this guy that comes up there says uh he says to me, he says, “I’m saved, ain’t I? I’m saved, ain’t I?” I said, “I don’t know, are you?”
[23:36 - 25:39]
Text on screen over video
Notice the two prerequisites for Ruckman considering him saved.
He trusted (believed) Christ as his savior and he CONFESSED.
A sinner’s prayer is an essential requirement to be saved as much as believing is.
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
He said, “Well, you said if I’d trust Christ my Savior, I’d get saved.” I said, “That’s right. Did you trust him?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Did you ask to save?” He said, “I did it right now.” I said, “Well, if that’s true, you’re saved.” He said, “Good,” and hauled out a .38. And, you know, I don’t know what’s going to happen, man. I’m getting ready to shift left, move right, and he holds out this .38 and he says uh he says, “Uh, I was on my way to kill my wife just now. Said, ‘I just got out of jail 12 years, second-degree murder. On my way to kill my wife. I’m going to go down and tell her that I’m a Christian.’” And flapped open that chamber and gave me the shells.
We got in the car, took that fellow down to where he said his house was. And his wife wasn’t there, but his daughter was living there with his son-in-law. And they were there. And we came up there and parked at the door, let him out. He went at the door, knocked at the door. And back there parked out in the car, we could see uh what was taking place. And they had the door locked, you know, and that latch, that night lock on the door. And when he knocked, they didn’t let him in. But he stood out outside that door and the and his daughter came to him with her husband, talked to him through the door. And they we couldn’t hear what they were saying, but we could see that that she looked like this, and the the son-in-law would look like that. And and this fellow’d just stand here like this. One time he turned around like this, and he’s wiping tears off his face.
And about a minute later, they opened the screen door, and both of them stepped out on the porch with him. And I’m telling you, all three of those got on their knees on that front porch and had a they had them a camp meeting right in that front porch in front of me, right there. You know what happened? I came through Spartanburg the next weekend, and Chuck Hunnicutt... that was the guy’s name... Chuck Hunnicutt was out there on the street. He bought him a big dime-store Bible, or Montgomery Ward, you know these big pulpit Bibles? Just a new babe in Christ, didn’t have any sense. He’s trying to do personal work with a pulpit Bible! When I drove down the street, I saw him, he had a guy rammed up against the pool hall there, and he had this Bible open in his arm, he’s going... preaching out of this Bible. And all men did marvel.
[25:39 - 26:04]
Text on screen
He believed AND confessed and was not saved until he had CONFESSED.
Which is what Don Nesbitt believes and Breaker condemns Don Nesbitt for believing.
Do I need to have the clip repeat of Breaker saying any sinner’s prayer is a work?
[26:05 - 28:22]
1996
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
I remember one time I preached at Spartanburg jail. And that morning, a couple of them got saved. There was one big old towheaded kid up there, about 6 feet 3, about 300 pounds. And he on the top bunk, he’d roll over, look at me, and went, “Pfft,” went back to sleep, and pull a comic strip paper over in front of his face, you know, so we couldn’t see. Which don’t bother me any. I mean, when a guy does that, he’s he’s usually he’s usually listening more carefully than the rest of them. They’re putting on that show, you know. He pulled his newspaper over his face like this and lay down there. And I went on and preached. A couple of them got saved, and I left. Didn’t think any more about it, forgot it.
Well, I had a couple other meetings up a couple of weeks, and personal work next couple of weeks. About 6 weeks after that, I was in downtown Greenville passing out tracts at night, been doing some personal work, went out with a couple of Bob Jones boys. And coming back toward the car, a fellow said uh, “There’s a fellow up here been sleeping in the city park. We talked to him, and he says he knows you. Says his name is Whitey Woods.” I said, “I don’t know any Whitey Woods.” Said, “Well, he said he knows you.” I said, “Okay, let’s check him out.”
So we come up here, and here this big old shaggy bum gets up and comes over this hill. He’d been sleeping out here in the park. I see him rise up over this hill coming toward us. He comes up to me and says, “You remember me?” I said, “No, I don’t remember you.” He said, “Well, you preached down in jail,” said, “a couple weeks ago when I was there. And,” said, “I didn’t treat you right, preacher.”
Said, “My mother’s a Christian. I know better than that. I didn’t treat you right. I just want to apologize for it.” Was that big fellow covered up his face in the newspaper.
And I said, “That’s all right. Don’t worry about it. Came to them all.” And he said uh, “I wonder if you could get me a place to sleep?” I said, “Well, where at?” He said, “Down at the mission.” I said, “You’ve been boozing, haven’t you?”
He said, “Yeah, but I think I’m sober enough to make it.” He said, “They won’t take you if you’re drunk, man.” “Well, we’ll drive you down and see if we can get you in.”
So we got him in the car and drove down there, and drove down to the mission. It was, oh, about a mile or so, so I dealt with him about his soul. And he listened. Listened careful. And when I got through, he said he’d be willing to accept Christ. So he bowed his head there in the back seat and asked the Lord to save him, called upon the Lord to save him, you know. When I have them pray that, I have them pray, “And Lord, fill me with the Spirit.” I have them pray that too. That just That may not be exactly scriptural, but it’s it’s safe, you know. I mean, gaff the fish so they don’t jump out of the boat! And I said I said uh I said, “Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.” That was all there was to it.
[28:22 - 28:42]
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1997 was one year before Breaker graduated. If there was such a thing as a young and old Ruckman, then the difference would be apparent now.
[28:43 - 34:31]
1997 cassette tape playing
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
... in the women’s prison preaching there, and I say they all all think they’re going to lose it, and all worried about losing their salvation. Charismatics got them all tore up there just like get them tore up out here, dumb stupid nuts. And and those prisoners worried about that, that sort of colored woman, I said, “Sister,” I said, “stand up and read us Romans 10:13.” Big old skinny black woman gets up there, and she says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I said, “Would you read that again?” “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
God says that if you call upon him, he’ll save you. Now if you call upon him, either you’re lying or he’s lying. Because he said he’d save you, and if he said he’d save you and you call upon him, he did, unless he’s lying. And that woman reading that scripture said, “The Lord ain’t no liar!” That was the best thing I ever heard in the service: “The Lord ain’t no liar!”
And I’ll tell you, before I was saved, I was a pretty stupid fellow. I was a real fool, you know. God takes care of fools and drunkards; I had double protection. And I used to do a lot of wild things before I was saved, but I wouldn’t do anything that wild. I wouldn’t take a chance like that. Now you want to know what it’s going to be like? I’ll tell you what it’s going to be like:
you’re going to find yourself someday standing like this, and the trouble of standing like this is you ain’t standing on nothing. There’s no earth there! The passage, heaven and earth are gone. You’re in outer space. And you’re facing a light you can’t look at. And you duck your head like this, and that voice coming like the sound of many waters... did you ever hear Niagara Falls? It’s like that!
And you’re standing there, and you look down like this, you say, “My God, what’s holding me up?” And then it’ll get you. You’ll get the message then. The only thing that’s holding me up is God. Now me, I don’t have to learn that; I got that one down. See, I’m standing here, I’m not dumb enough to think my legs are holding me up. And I’m not dumb enough to think that floor is holding me up. I’m just not that stupid. I learned how to read when I was about seven. You know who’s holding me up? God’s holding me up! And God’s held me up for 75 years. And when he says, “Drop,” over we go. And my legs are no good and that floor Don’t kid me. Don’t kid me. I know who’s holding me up: God’s holding me up. Touched my lung one time, touched my heart one time, buddy, I’m gone.
But you’ll stand up there and say, “Only God’s holding me up.” He’ll say, “Okay, grind them, roll them.” And that Bible out there on that screen, I mean, full CinemaScope, high-tweeter-woofer stereo, full-color sound, will come everything you’ve done and said and thought since you were born. “Thus saith the Lord: I know the thoughts that come to your mind, every one of them. The Lord searcheth all the hearts and the imaginations of the thoughts. There’s not a word in my tongue, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Nothing hid that shall not be uncovered. The day that God shall judge the secrets of men...” You’re going to face that.
Not me, brother! I’m going to put it right there: Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed me white as snow. But you’ll get out like this and see that thing right there, and you’ll you’ll you’ll make them stop that thing before it’s halfway through. I mean, you can’t face the record!
You you good folks here tonight, come on now, come on, just be reasonable, okay?
If I had to if I had to give if I had to show you on the screen right now everything I’ve thought in the last 24 hours, some of you’d be puking, and I’d go to hell like a bullet. But I’ve been saved 48 years. You’re surely a holy character, aren’t you, huh? You’d cuss, “Stop that thing!” you’d say. And he’d stop it, and he’d say, “Okay, depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Pitch him out.”
And about the time they This is Christ:
“Bind him hand and foot, and cast him...” I’m You’re not You’re not talking with me. “Bind him hand and foot, cast him into outer darkness. Go get him.” The angels step in to grab you, and about that time the Lord says, “One more thing before you go.” Say, “What’s that?”
“Down you go, boy. Down you go.” The Bible says every knee down, every head bow, should confess that Jesus is Lord. That isn’t a Christian confession; that’s confession of things under the earth as well as the Christian. That’s what the that’s what the devil is going to have to confess: “Jesus is Lord.” Down you go.
He’ll call him in. You know, Madonna, down on your knees. Michael Jackson, down you go, buddy. Muhammad, front and center. Buddha, down, baby, lie down, roll over, speak.
And then they get to the end of that thing, you know, he’ll call on the devil and say, “Lucifer, front and center.” He steps up there, and the Lord says, “Hey, you remember that deal you gave me in Luke chapter 4? You remember when you said if I’d you I’d bow down and worship you, you’d give me all these kingdoms? You remember that deal? Yeah, okay, down, boy.” And you’ll see the devil go down like that and confess that Jesus is Lord.
Now you know something? Us preachers may look like a bunch of fools, but we’re on the winning side! These Bible-believing preachers you’ve got in here, you know what they’re going to live to see? They’re going to live to see the day that everybody they preach to gets converted. You know what my batting average is? 1,000. The trouble is, you’re going to get converted at the wrong time. I’m going to I’m going to see you accept Christ. I’m going to see you do it. But it’ll be too late. Why don’t you do it now? Why don’t we sing “Just As I Am Without One Plea,” but that thy blood was shed for me, and while you’ve got some ground under your feet and can still walk around...
[34:31 - 34:59]
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But wait! How do you access the blood shed for you? Breaker, as stated, believes that it is head belief alone “trusting” in the blood that saves you and that confession to be saved is a work.
What does Ruckman then believe? If Breaker is right and young Ruckman believed in head belief, we should not at any point hear him teaching sinner’s prayers!
As Breaker believes sinner’s prayers alongside belief to be saved is a work! And Breaker says the Ruckman he knew taught that this was a work too!
[34:59 - 35:41]
1997 cassette tape playing
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
... down, boy. And say not just “Jesus is Lord”...“Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Lord.” Let’s stand for prayer.
Father, bless the invitation, speak to hearts of men, women, boys, and girls.
May no man or woman or child leave this place unsaved tonight and face the record. Lord, may nobody here test me out to see if I’m telling the truth. May nobody here test me out and stand up there to see if I told them the truth about hell, about the Great White Throne Judgment. May they accept it by faith that this is the word of God, and this is what you have in store for them. And may they take their chances at Calvary instead of out there in eternity at that last judgment. And I pray it in Christ’s name, Amen.
[35:42 - 36:07]
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This is from 1999.
Tell me if you notice Dr. Ruckman falling into heresy as Breaker would tell you.
I will allow the full unedited 12-MINUTE clip to play as to prove to you that I am not cherrypicking this as Breaker did to the prayer of a dying man named Alton Nelson.
[36:08 - 48:12]
1999 audio playing over image of harmonica
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
One time down in Pensacola, Florida, years ago when I was a radio announcer, I worked there and there was a fellow in the radio station, I forget his last name, we just called him Buddy. And Buddy’s a young fellow about 17, he got to be 18, joined the Marines. He wasn’t saved, I wasn’t saved either then. And his mother, she worked as a waitress in a church in a in a in a restaurant down there, and she was a divorced woman and stayed single the rest of her life, raised that boy, and prayed for him, and he wasn’t saved. Went off in the Marine Marines. In the meantime, I got saved. And I got saved, and when I came back I got preaching, and after about, oh, about three years, in comes Buddy home on leave from Korea.
And he’s sitting back in the church and I’m preaching, and he’s a big old brawny marine man, about 6 feet 2, broad, just brown as a coconut, and left chest look like an Army/Navy store, stuff hanging over there. And I preached, and he didn’t come forward that night. We got all through, and he got all through, I came down off the platform, and he come up to me and he said, “Boy,” he said, “Ruckman, something sure happened to you.” I said, “Yeah, I got saved. Why don’t you get saved right now? Let’s go back in the prayer room.” He said, “I won’t do me no good to pray, Ruckman.” Well, he didn’t say “brother,” he said, “Ruckman, won’t do me no good to pray, ’cause I don’t believe in God.”
I said, “Well, you want to find out if there is a God?” He said, “If you saw what I saw, you wouldn’t believe in God either.” You know, in Korea, that’s where he was. And I said, “Well, are you willing to find out if there is a God?”
He said, “Well, okay.” So we went back in the prayer room. We got back there, and I pulled a something on him that You know, my my stuff isn’t all original; I borrow a lot of stuff. I borrow a lot of techniques from other guys, other ways of doing things, and I I knew how to handle this fellow by how I know a fellow handled a student.
So I got him back there and I said, “Now I want to pray.” He said, “I don’t know how to pray. I don’t believe in God.” I said, “Okay, listen to me pray, and if you can pray what I pray, pray it, and if you can’t pray it, don’t pray it.” So I bowed my head, and I said, “God, if there is a God...” And he said, “God, if there is a God...” And I said, “... if Christ is your Son...” He said, “... if Christ is your Son...” I said, “... I want to know it.” And he said, “... I want to know it.” I’ll try to try this prayer. I said, “God, if there is a God...” He said, “God, if there is a God...” “... and I need to be saved...” He said, “Well, I don’t believe” I said, “Never mind that, if, if, if.” He said, “Okay. Oh, if I need to be saved, and if Christ is your Son, and if Christ died for me, I want to know it right now.” He said, “I want to know it right now. Amen.”
And like a long story short, after about five of those, I turned to him and I said, “God, I know I’m a sinner.” He said, “God, I know I’m a sinner.” And boy, you talk about he would bawl like a baby, and got saved! Now you say, “How’d you get that wisdom?” You ask the Lord for it. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God. I can’t think up a lot of stuff; I made every mistake you could make, but after a while the Lord will help you out if you mean business.
I went out there, his his mother was out there, she’s one of these little foreign cars, which we didn’t have much of in the United States in those days.
That was back there sometime around 19 oh, 1956 someplace. But she’s got one of those little cars, I don’t know if it’s a Volkswagen or what, but she’s out there, white-haired, she’s white-haired and she wasn’t even 40 yet, and she was wringing a handkerchief, you know, sitting in that car waiting. Church services was over, most folks had gone home. And I walked out of that car with Buddy and I said, “Tell your mom what you did.” That big old tall marine came up alongside that car and stood there and looked down at her.
“What is it? What is it? Did you have to see the blue cue tonight? You watch that cotton-picking television until hell froze over, you’ll never see what I saw that night.” That guy’s standing just like that, looking down at his mother, been praying for him, you know, 20 years, 22 years. I said, “Tell your mom what you did, son.” That big old marine standing there with medals all over him, I thought he wasn’t going to make it, man. He was trembling like a leaf in the wind. And he choked up, and he said, she said, “What did you do, son?” And he said, “I got saved!” I mean, Mama got out of that car, and they’re hugging each other, and we knelt out there by that little old car and had a camp meeting right out there in that parking lot!
And what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
I wouldn’t take nothing for that. Absolutely nothing! You haven’t got the price for it, just don’t waste my time, you haven’t got it. You haven’t got it.
All right, that’s the message, and now finally, what’s the decision? How do you get a decision? After all, the final thing is can you get him get him on the dotted line, that’s the thing, that’s what the that’s what the salesman’s tried to sell you on. He says, “What what’s the bottom line?” And when he gets finished giving you the pitch, he wants you to sign something. Now when you get dealing with a fellow, some of you know how to deal with them, you’ve dealt with them, but you for some reason why some of you folks don’t get more decisions than you do is you don’t press for a decision.
Now you should press for a decision if there’s conviction. If there’s no conviction, then don’t press. Don’t press for a decision if there’s no conviction. The guy doesn’t realize he’s a sinner, don’t. When I tell a fellow, I say, “If you’ll accept Christ as your Savior,” I say, “take my hand,” hold my hand out there. And if you’ve given the father the truth and haven’t cut corners, he won’t take your hand unless he means business. I’ve had some of them take my hand when I started to pray, and they got halfway through the prayer and quit. I told a fellow, “If I pray something you can’t pray, don’t pray with me.”
I’ve had them stop in the middle and had their hand go back and say, “Well, I’m not quite ready yet,” see?
They’ll do that if you shoot straight with them. But shoot straight with them.
Now you say, “How do you get get a decision?” The best way to do it is a handshake. That’s a natural gesture for people. Tell a fellow how to get saved, and talk to him about his soul for a while, and then when you get through and you think there is conviction, you ask him, “Would you like to accept Christ as your Savior?” And the fellow says yes, you say, “Well, if you will, if you would like to, give me your hand.”
Now if he’s if you if you move him toward it, you get him by the hand and say, “Now, in your own words, ask Christ to save you. Just go ahead and pray.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” He may not pray.
Some of them don’t know how to pray, some of them are afraid to pray, some of them are shy, some of them think if you don’t pray like a preacher, you’re not praying right, see? Uh wisdom, brethren, wisdom, see? You got the You got the hook in him, now set the hook, see?
And with a bass, you got to you got to set the thing pretty hard, you know. And other fish that bite, you can’t set it until he’s taken it down. You got he’s a rubber worm, if you flap things too quick, you won’t have him. You take a trout, do like that, a speckled trout down there, you rip his jaw off, and that’s called a weakfish. They got a He made men like fishes. “Follow make follow me, I’ll make you become fishers of men.” And so you got to be careful now. Get up there, don’t get the fish in the boat and then gaff him.
All right, so you got you got you got the hand out there and said, “Just take my hand.” You take the hand. “Now in your own words, ask Christ to save you.” And he may begin to pray, and he may not. If he doesn’t, don’t quit. If he doesn’t pray, say, “Well, all right, you didn’t mean business.” Don’t do that now, see?
Use wisdom, see? If the guy doesn’t pray, say, “Well, all right, I’m going to pray and you listen to me pray, and I’ll show you how to pray. And if you can mean what what prayer I pray, you pray it, and if you don’t mean it, don’t pray.
If I pray anything you don’t mean, don’t follow me, but if I say something you can pray, sincerely pray it, then you pray.”
And you pray, you pray, “Lord God, I know I’m a sinner.” You start that way.
That’s safe; he’s already admitted that, he wouldn’t be talking with you. See, you ease him into it. Sometimes I have the guy bow his head and say, “Our Father which art in heaven...” which, of course, doctrinally is incorrect, God’s not his Father. But don’t let doctrine mess you up at a time like this! See? Have him say, “Our Father which art in heaven, I know I’m a sinner, and I don’t want to go to hell when I die.” See? “And the best way I know how, I’m going to trust your Son as my Savior.” And you have him pray, “Lord Jesus, I do receive you the best way I know how. Thank you for dying for my sins. I do trust you as my personal Savior.” Something like that. I always have them pray, “And Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit.”
Now I don’t know if that’s doctrinally sound or not, he ain’t going to worry about it! I mean, gaff the fish so he doesn’t jump back in the water! And say, “Fill me with the Holy Spirit, and thank you, Lord, for dying for me. Amen.”
It’ll work.
Man who led me to Christ took me back in the wreck room of the radio station in Pensacola, Florida. He took out a Bible, he said, “Do you believe this the word of God?” And I said, “Yep, that’s it. I’ve been reading it about four or five months, I knew what it was then.” He said, “Do you believe you’re a sinner?” I said, “Yeah, I know I’m a sinner.” “Do you believe Christ died for sinners?” I said, “Well, I guess he did.” “Do you believe he died for you?” I said, “Well, beats the tar out of me, I guess he did.” And I wasn’t trying to be smart, I didn’t know. I didn’t know! I couldn’t have found you John in the New Testament when I was 27 years old, a college graduate.
Now I could have turned you to uh a copy of the Quran and turned to Surah 32, or Surah 56, or Surah 110, and showed what he said about the Shahada, and la ilaha illa Allah, all that junk. I could have done that, but I couldn’t find nothing in the Bible. And I said, “Beats tar out of me.” And he said, “Well,” he said, “would you ask Christ to save you?” I said, “Sure.” He said, “All right, bow your head and pray.” And I bowed my head, and he said, “Now just in your own words, ask Christ to save you.” I said, “I don’t know how to pray.” And I didn’t! I wasn’t trying to be smart. I I knew “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, kingdom come,” flipped the beads, you know, “Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed be the fruit of thy womb,” all that stuff. But I didn’t know how to be saved, you know!
And he said, “Just in your own words, ask Christ to save you.” So I bowed my head, and of course I cussed all the way through the prayer. I mean, you come out of dance bands, and bars, and beaches, and ballrooms, and barracks, and and drill fields, you just feel you don’t talk like Lady Astor, you know! Well, I I came through there and I said, “Lord, I’m a blankety-blank sinner and I’m going to hell sure as blankety-blank if somebody don’t help me blankety-blank quick. I said, ‘God, save my blankety-blank soul for Christ’s sake, Amen.’” And I came out of it, and he was smiling. I said, “What are you laughing at?” He said, “Well, you’re saved.”
And I said, “I don’t feel any different.” He said, “You’re not supposed to feel any different.” I said, “Well, how do I know I’m saved, then?” He said, “You just know.” I said, “No, I don’t.” He said, “Yes, you do.” I said, “I do not.”
He said, “You do so,” and getting kind of fit there for a minute, you know. And he opened the Bible and showed me 1 John 5:13: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life...” God says that you know. Now do you know it, don’t you?
And he had me between a rock and a hard place, man. I mean, when I can’t talk for two or three seconds, something’s wrong. And I mean, he had me I I don’t know what to say. I’ve been bawled out by colonels and majors before and called things Eddie Murphy couldn’t think of. But I’m telling you, that guy comes through there and says, he says, he says, “Well,” he says, “you know.” I say, “Well, I say, well, I guess I do.” And he says, “Well,” uh he says, “you you know. Do you know or don’t you?” I said, “Well, well, I I think I do.” Said, “Does it say think?” And I read it, I said, “No, it doesn’t say think, it says I know.” “Well, do you know or don’t you?”
I said, “Well, it sounds like I’d be lying if I said I knew, I don’t feel like I was.” And he said, “You don’t think God’s a liar, do you?” I said, “No, no, no, no, no liar.” “Well, God says that you’re saved. Now, you know or don’t you?”
And I said, “Well, well, yeah, I know. But it didn’t feel like it did.” Well, you know, so a week later when I helped that church, first gospel sermon I ever heard, first invitation I ever heard, boy, you didn’t have to sing two stanzas for me. Maybe some of you guys, some of you boys since you’ve been around, maybe your problem is you haven’t been around enough. I’ve been around enough, boys, so I know a good thing when I saw it.
Now if you don’t, that’s your problem. But, brother, they didn’t have to sing two stanzas for me, boy, they sang “Just As I Am Without One Plea,” and, brother, I was gone! And I knew I was saved the moment I hit that aisle, boy.
And I’ve known it ever since. I’m a saved man. I bowed my head then and prayed, and what a prayer! But the Book says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
[48:13 - 50:40]
Text on screen
Did Ruckman change?
