UNDERSTANDING THE LORDSHIP SALVATION CONTROVERSY
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." —Romans 4:5
Lordship Salvation is the teaching that a sinner must cease (or be willing to cease) from a sinful lifestyle to be saved. No such doctrine is taught in the Word of God. A changed life is the fruit of genuine repentance; and not a part of the root of saving-faith. The change is the fruit, the result, of repentance; not repentance itself.
Proponents of this teaching pervert the Biblical meaning of the Word "repent." Whereas the Greek meaning of the word "repent" is metanoia, meaning "to change one's mind"; Lordship Salvationists claim that it means "to cease from living in sin." If a person has to stop committing sin to be saved, then self-righteousness and works is required for salvation.
What must I do to be saved? When I first started in the ministry the answer to that question was quite simple. "....Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
In evangelism class at Bible College we were taught the four things God wanted you to know. 1. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" (Rom. 3:10) 2. You cannot save yourself. "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." (Eph. 2:8, 9) 3. Christ died for you. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) and 4. You must receive Him as your personal Saviour. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" (John 1:11, 12).
Based upon these four things God wanted you to know a sinners prayer was developed which went something like this: SINNERS PRAYER: "Lord, I know I am a sinner, I am sorry for my sins, I know I cannot save myself, I know Christ died for me and I receive Him as my Savor. Thank you Jesus for saving my soul. amen"
And then there was the Roman Road to Salvation. The Romans Road to salvation is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans. It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining why we need salvation, how God provided salvation, how we can receive salvation, and what are the results of salvation.
The first verse on the Romans Road to
salvation is Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God." We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing
to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture
of what sin looks like in our lives.
The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us
about the consequences of sin - "For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment
that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal
death!
The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:8 declares, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. " Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.
The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, "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." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: " Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins.
Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Out of those verses and that information there comes a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! "God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!"
Nowhere in the bible does it ever say that anyone prayed either of these prayers. Nowhere in the Bible will you find either one of these prayers. They are not there. Both of them takes what God wants us to know, what God wants us to believe and puts them into words that anyone can by faith say to God, I understand what your Word says, I believe what your Word says, I receive what Jesus did for me on the cross to forgive me of my sins and give to me eternal life. The words will not save anyone but faith in what God has done through the work of Jesus on the cross will. These words tell God you have that faith.
What must I do to be saved? Something has happened. The answer to this question has become so controversial that it has divided some quarters of evangelical Christianity into hostile factions. The issue involved is the nature of salvation and saving faith: What is saving faith? What does it mean to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior? How much must one surrender to the Lord at the time of salvation? What are the fruits of repentance?
In comes Lordship Salvation. "Lordship salvation" advocates say that in order to be saved, one must not only believe and acknowledge that Christ is Saviour, but also submit to His lordship. In other words, there must be — at the moment one trusts in Christ for salvation — a willingness to commit one's life absolutely to the Lord. The actual practice of a committed life may not follow immediately or completely. Non-lordship proponents argue that such a pre-salvation commitment to Christ's lordship compromises salvation by grace.
The present debate is largely due to the publication of John F. MacArthur, Jr.'s "The Gospel According to Jesus" (Zondervan, 1988). MacArthur is Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church and president of The Master's Seminary both in Sun Valley, California. is a lordship salvation advocate.
He wrote his book in response to (among others) a 1981 book by Zane C. Hodges entitled "The Gospel Under Siege" (Redencion Viva). Hodges, former professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, espouses the non-lordship view, and argues that much evangelical gospel-preaching is guilty of compromising the grace of the gospel. Hodges followed MacArthur's book with still another book entitled "Absolutely Free" (Zondervan, 1989).
Another scholar responding to MacArthur's book is Charles C. Ryrie (of The Ryrie Study Bible fame). Ryrie recently published So Great Salvation (Victor, 1989) in which he strongly affirms the non-lordship position. According to Ryrie, the non-lordship position states that accepting Jesus as Lord does not refer to a subjective commitment to Christ's lordship in one's life, but rather a repentance (or changing of one's mind) about one's ideas of who Christ is -- ( He is the Sovereign and God) and exercising faith in Christ. Ryrie argues that repentance from sin is what follows in the Christian's daily walk with the Lord.
A lot of confusion has overshadowed this controversy because of a lack of precise definitions of key words (although Ryrie does provide some working definitions in his book). Neither side is saying that salvation is by works. Both affirm the clear teaching of Scripture that salvation is a gift freely given by God to man. Nor is either side advocating "easy- believism," a term coined by Lordship proponents to describe the idea that one receives salvation by simply giving intellectual assent to a set of doctrines.
It is important, however, that a clarification between the act of justification and process of sanctification be injected. Justification is the judicial declaration by God that the believer has a righteous standing before Him. This takes place the moment a person receives Jesus as his or her Savior by appropriating Christ's redemptive work on the cross. Sanctification is the lifelong work of the Holy Spirit which conforms the believer into the image of Christ.
Martin Luther once said that "Faith alone justifies, but not the faith that is alone." "Works," Luther said, "are not taken into consideration when the question respects justification. But true faith will no more fail to produce them than the sun can cease to give light."
Our responsibility as Christians is to present the claims of Christ to a lost and dying world. We may rest secure in the fact that a person's acceptance of the Gospel will result in the fruit of repentance — but this is the work of the Holy Spirit, not man.
"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." (Eph.2:8,9)
REASONS WHY LORDSHIP SALVATION IS WRONG:
If someone says: repent for sins or you are not saved, what do they mean by that? Do they mean, when I turn from sin, I turn from all practice of sin, that I will never sin again? ... I am curious to know if there are any people living today who can say that Christ, is one hundred percent Lord of my life? ... When you speak of Lordship Salvation; when you make the statement: If Christ is not your Lord, you are not saved. Or, you can only be saved if you make Christ your Lord. What do you mean by that statement? Do you mean He must be the Lord every moment of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year? Does that mean that when you are a carnal Christian, as is taught in Corinthians, that you are really not saved? ... I would like to ask, when someone says to a sinner that he must accept Christ as Saviour and Lord, do they take him and give him a month or six weeks or three months of discipleship so that he can understand what Saviour and Lord means; so then he can accept Him as Saviour and Lord? ... I really don't know anyone who would dare say: Christ is one hundred percent Lord of my life. A genuinely born again Christian can be carnal. The Bible plainly teaches this (1 Corinthians 3).
To require that a sinner make Jesus Christ Lord of every area of his life is an impossibility and would be the greatest form of works salvation ever devised. This false doctrine is taught by some independent Baptists, but I do not support it. It is a very dangerous doctrine that causes people to look inside themselves and to examine their experience rather than to look solely upon the Lord Jesus Christ and to trust solely upon His shed blood.
I believe and am sure that salvation changes a man's life, and I preach this boldly. Does Salvation Make a Difference? The answer is yes! If a person says he is saved but he has absolutely nothing to prove it, he is deceived (2 Corinthians 5:17). To continually examine oneself, though, and to continually look at one's experience as the basis for determining if one is saved, is extremely dangerous. Even the Apostle Paul, who, in our estimation, was the most dedicated Christian who ever lived, said of his own experience, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (Romans 7:18). That is the experience of every born again child of God. The old flesh is still there even after salvation.
I know I am saved today because I have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for my eternal salvation, and "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). My faith is exclusively in Jesus Christ, not in myself and my changed life and my Christian experience. My Christian experience is lousy when I compare myself with what the Bible requires of me. The Bible requires perfection. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Peter 1:15). I don't live up to this perfect standard. I am perfect only in my position in the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. If I don't keep my mind and heart focused on my perfection in Christ, I become extremely discouraged. I become tossed about like a bottle upon the waves of the sea. I lose my anchor (Heb. 6:19).
To preach a "lordship salvation" that requires that sinners make Jesus Christ absolute Lord of every area of their lives in order to be saved is to confuse position and practice, justification and sanctification. This is similar to the error made by many Armenian who believe the child of God can lose his salvation. An excellent testimony about the danger of this false teaching is in the book "Holiness: The False and the True" by the late Harry A. Ironside (Loizeaux).
As a young preacher, Ironside was involved with the Salvation Army. He was taught that he could have an experience, a "second blessing," whereby he could obtain perfect victory over his old nature. As all genuinely born again people do, he earnestly desired such an experience. He agonized over his sinfulness and spiritual imperfection. He diligently sought the "blessing," praying, fasting, crying out, striving, believing. Finally he thought he had obtained "it." He stood in the testimony meetings and joyfully told the people that he had "it," that his struggles with sin were over.
Of course it wasn't long before he realized that he had been deceived and that the struggle with sin was still within him. At that point he became so discouraged and disheartened that he had to be hospitalized in a mental ward. He was so disillusioned that he had determined to leave the Christian life and return to his old loves, feeling that it would be vain to attempt to seek the things of Christ any further. In the hospital, though, he met some saintly Christians who patiently taught him the simple and lovely truth of biblical sanctification, and through this ministry of the truth he became anchored in Christ and went on to have a long, fruitful preaching ministry. It was the truth that set him free (John 8:31-32).
In many independent Baptist circles a serious lack of sound teaching in regard to justification and sanctification, position and practice. Without such teaching new converts are left to struggle with the flesh without a proper understanding of the positional stability and victory they possess in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Salvation is not difficult. A child can trust Christ and be saved; a weak-minded person can trust Christ and be saved. "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14). Jesus invited all who labor and are heavy laden simply to come to him and receive His gift of rest (Matt. 11:28-29). He likened salvation to eating and drinking (John 6:35). Salvation is not difficult, except in the sense that the sinner has to humble himself and acknowledge his sinful condition and turn to the one true and live God for his salvation.
Salvation does not produce perfection, but it does require repentance, and repentance is a change of mind toward God and sin and Jesus Christ and the Bible that will result in a change of action; it is a turning from a life of self-will to a life of submission. Salvation does not require obedience, but salvation will result in obedience; and if it does not, at least to some degree or other, it is not biblical salvation. Faith in Christ cannot be divorced from repentance toward God. "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21).
The greatest concern I have is that repentance is NOT emphasized in the preaching of the Gospel. It is mentioned sometimes, but it is not emphasized as it is in the preaching of the Apostles. A prayer is emphasized. The number of prayers are counted as salvations. "Eight people got saved in the church service this week." What does a statement like that mean? It usually means that eight people raised their hands and prayed a prayer. Is that, in itself, salvation? Is that repentance? No, a repentant man who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved, but some will call upon the Lord in prayer who will not get saved.
The Word of God clearly teaches that a person is saved by faith in Christ. This is evidenced by Romans 4:5; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5 and hundreds of other Scriptures. Romans 4:5 states... "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
The Bible couldn't possibly be any clearer on this matter. Salvation is through faith in Christ's righteousness alone (Romans 4:5-6). This has nothing to do with Christian living. James 2:18 speaks of the fruit of a man's faith, which should be evident in every believer's life; BUT, that is completely separate from the root of a man's faith, which is by faith alone in Christ. Lordship Salvationists confuse the two.
Lordship proponents don't allow for a Christian to backslide. As far as they're concerning, a backslidden believer is no believer at all. This is adamantly refuted in the Word of God by numerous references, to heroes of the faith who backslide into horrible sin (such as king David who committed adultery and murder).
The doctrine of Lordship Salvation leaves absolutely no allowance for a believer to backslide. Like it or not, there is an constant passionate battle in every believer between the sinful flesh and the Spirit of God (Romans 7:22,23; James 4:1).
Even the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:19, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Now why would the Apostle Paul do evil if Jesus were his Lord and Master? Hmmm? This Scripture alone proves the error of the proponents of the Lordship Salvation. Even the best of Christians, such as the Apostle Paul, commit sin.
Because Jesus Christ is already the Lord and Master of every saved person. When you place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, He immediately becomes your Lord and Master. Now whether you acknowledge Him as such in your daily life is up to you. But you don't make Jesus Lord; He is Lord!
Proponents of Lordship Salvation pervert the meaning of "Lord" in the New Testament to mean "surrender in obedience." However, the Greek word for "Lord" when referring to Christ is always KURIOS, meaning, "Supreme in Authority."
We read in John 13:14, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet." The word "Master" here is the Greek didaskalos and simply means, "Teacher." Jesus never asked us to recognize Him as our teacher to be saved. The error of Lordship Salvation is rooted in a corrupted understanding of Biblical terms, specifically the meaning of the Words: repent, Lord, and Master.
Look up the Biblical Greek meaning of these words and the foolishness of Lordship Salvation crumbles away. Every believer recognizes Jesus Christ as the One who is Supreme in Authority, -- God Almighty. This is a quite different meaning than the nonsense which Lordship Salvationists teach.
Just because a believer backslides doesn't mean that they've not acknowledged Christ as their Lord and Master, -- God and Teacher. What it does mean is that they don't love Jesus like they should (John 14:15). We read in Revelation 2:1-4 the message concerning the church of Ephesus. We read in Verse 4, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
The believers at Ephesus had backslid, and wandered away from the Lord; but they were still saved. This is why every church needs to have revivals from time to time. Whether a believer lives for Christ in obedience, or backslides into sin, is irrelevant to the fact that Christ is still the Lord and Master of every saved person.
Because Lordship Salvation eliminates growth in grace. 1st Peter 2:2 states, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." A new convert is a babe in Christ. They need the milk of God's Word if they are to grow strong in the Lord. The Apostle Paul states in 1st Corinthians 3:1, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."
Carefully read through 1st Corinthians and you'll be surprised just how bad these believers were. They were suing each other (6:6). They were coming to the Lord's Supper drunk (11:21). They were divided amongst each other in quarrels (1:12). Fornication was openly allowed in the church (5:1). They even ate meats offered to idols (8:4). According to the Lordship Salvation crowd, there's no way these rascals could be saved; but the Apostle Paul called them "babes in Christ."
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." —Romans 4:5
A wonderful explanation concerning the Gospel and repentance, by Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951). Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel... "The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past … Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all."