Lordship Salvation

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15

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The following is the concluding article of the 7-part series titled, What Is Wrong with NON-LordshipSalvation?, which is a refutation of Dr. Andy Woods’ article, “What Is Wrong with Lordship Salvation?  Each piece goes in depth to cover why lordship salvation is the Gospel according to the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite you to explore each article in this series, and continue to the plethora of resources at the bottom of this page.

It is critical that we get the Gospel right, lest we be deceived and play a role to deceive others, intentionally or not.  This Gospel is under attack now more than ever in these last days, so we must, therefore, faithfully proclaim the promise of God that those whom God justifies, He will also sanctify, and one day glorify, without exception, to the praise and glory of Himself alone!

What Is Wrong with NON-Lordship Salvation? – Part 7

On March 19th the Bible Prophecy Blog posted an article by Dr. Andy Woods of Sugar Land Bible Church refuting the biblical doctrine of “lordship salvation” titled, What Is Wrong with Lordship Salvation?  I’m very thankful this was posted and praise God for the opportunity to carefully examine critical and essential doctrines of the Christian faith that are under attack by modern evangelicalism. As a result of Dr. Woods’ article and by God’s grace, I was able to sharpen my understanding of God’s work in salvation and hopefully provide you understanding of what this doctrine does and does not teach. The series was broken up into the following 6 previous parts:

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Saving Faith

Part 3 – Repentance

Part 4 – Carnal Christianity

Part 5 – Sanctification

Part 6 – Biblical Assurance of Salvation

And now,

Part 7 – Conclusion

spacer In my own experience in discussing these issues with various people and reviewing the work of those on both sides of the debate, I conclude that much of the controversy is derived from a gross misunderstanding of what lordship salvation teaches, which gives birth to misconceptions and misrepresentations when dismissing or condemning this doctrine.

At root, as I understand it, whether or not one adheres to lordship salvation is the view through which one sees the work of salvation.  On the one hand, those who view salvation as a work of God alone for the glory of God alone (monergism) accept “lordship salvation” as nothing more or less than the pure Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  While through the lens of synergism, on the other hand, believers view salvation as a work of God with the cooperation of man to achieve salvation, which lends to the misunderstanding that any type of commitment to Christ or repentance from sin are additional works instead of gifts from God.

Dr. Woods is one such person who embraces synergism. As far as I can tell, Dr. Woods is a sincere man who may love the Lord, but he is significantly confused in his theology.  Reading through Sugar Land’s statement of faith, they have elements of the sovereignty of God and work of the Holy Spirit to sanctify those God justifies. If sanctification is an absolute and direct consequence of justification, then Dr. Woods’ positions from his article on saving faith, repentance, carnal Christianity, and assurance conflict with his statement of faith.  This type of confusion is rampant in the visible church, which has left many sheep disillusioned and giving perhaps many more nominal christians false assurances of salvation. Especially around the doctrines concerning salvation, the following Scripture from James 3:1 is ever so important:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

This applies to preachers and teachers of the Gospel, and preachers and teachers of false gospels.  I do not know the heart of Dr. Woods nor would I assume anything about him, but I would call him to repent from the repentant-less gospel he is preaching, to humbly submit himself to the Lord that he might gain the knowledge of the truth in matters of soteriology, and contend for the faith that was once delivered to him.  At the end of the day, the message we preach will be out of the abundance of our hearts, so it is critical we examine what we believe lines up with the Word of God, most especially in matters of salvation, lest we deceive ourselves and deceive those who listen to us.  The consequences for not doing so could be damning if we fall outside of orthodoxy into heresy (Galatians 1:8-9).

To close this series out, I’d like to briefly outline what lordship salvation is and what it is not.

What Lordship Salvation Is NOT

  1. Lordship salvation does not teach that one must change their behavior before coming to Christ.
  2. Lordship salvation does not teach that one must consciously assess every area of one’s life and consciously forsake every single sin and idol before coming to Christ.
  3. Lordship salvation does not teach that there is no such thing as a Christian living carnally.
  4. Lordship salvation was not developed as a response to fight carnal Christianity.
  5. Lordship salvation does not teach salvation through justification by faith plus works.
  6. Lordship salvation does not steal the joy of salvation or take away assurance of salvation from born again believers.
  7. Lordship salvation does not teach that one must be perfectly obedient or is sinless after one is saved.
  8. Lordship salvation does not confuse sanctification with justification.

What Lordship Salvation IS

  1. Lordship salvation teaches salvation is monergistic (a work of God alone) whereby God is the absolute author and the absolute finisher of our faith for which He may get the glory alone.
  2. Lordship salvation teaches that saving faith is more than a mental assent to knowledge about Christ, but rather a trust in the Person of Christ and His work on the cross to not only save us from the wrath to come but also to save us from the bondage of our sin.
  3. Lordship salvation teaches that repentance is more than just a change of mind about sin and Christ, but it involves a change of mind, a change of heart, and a change of attitude toward sin. The result of genuine repentance rooted in godly sorrow will be a change of behavior. In essence, the faith that saves is a repentant faith where one turns from a sinful lifestyle toward God in faith.
  4. Lordship salvation teaches that this repentant faith is a gift from God whereby the Holy Spirit changes the heart of the sinner, thus enabling the person to respond positively to grace through repentance and faith. God actually plants new desires in the heart of the new believer where they will increasingly hate sin and love God.
  5. Lordship salvation teaches that love for God will be evidenced by a life of obedience and a lifestyle of repentance.
  6. Lordship salvation teaches that because salvation is of the Lord, the regenerated believer will submit to the authority of the Lord and Master of all creation to live a patterned life of habitual obedience.
  7. Lordship salvation teaches that the believer will be gradually conformed to the image of Christ in cooperation with the Holy Spirit through sanctification. This sanctification begins at the moment of justification.
  8. Lordship salvation teaches there is no distinction between a disciple and a believer. All believers are disciples.
  9. Lordship salvation teaches that while a Christian may act in carnal ways, carnality will not be the patterned lifestyle of the believer and such carnality is only temporary. All Christians are disciplined by God and convicted by the Holy Spirit to repent from their sinful behavior.
  10. Lordship salvation teaches biblical assurance of salvation by examination of one’s life through the objective Word of God, not based on past emotional experiences or prayers.
  11. Lordship salvation teaches that believers will continue in the faith as it is God who keeps us. This means the believer will continue to surrender to the Lordship of Christ in increasing measure.
  12. Lordship salvation is the historical and biblical doctrine of orthodox Christianity.

Much confusion can be cleared up if one honestly assesses what is being taught by lordship salvation proponents and considers the clear teaching of Scripture on these matters. Some folks are fundamentally ignorant of the truth of this doctrine, while others work as pawns of Satan to destroy souls by blurring the lines of truth and illusion.  A significant reason for why there are so many false converts in American churches today is because of the diluted and polluted message taught from pulpits and the decisional evangelism so rampant today. This has led to a distinctly unbiblical category of “carnal Christians” and will contribute to many professing Christians burning in hell for all eternity under the wrath of a God they did not know.

If you are still struggling with this doctrine or even still deny its truth, please ask yourself:

Have I, myself, surrendered to the Lordship of Christ?

If you have not or do not know the answer to this question, then please, by all means, post a comment below or message me privately. This is no matter to take lightly as it is of utmost importance for you to know that Christ is your Lord as much as He is your Savior.  After all, Jesus Himself said in John 10:27,

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Do you hear His voice? Does He know you? Do you follow Him? All sheep do, so please be sure you have this assurance by biblical examination of your heart.

If you have questions about any information contained within these articles, please post your comments in the appropriate parts of this series.

May God alone be glorified by these efforts to contend for the faith, and may the Body of Christ be stirred to proclaim the unadulterated Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Please also see the following resources:

It Will Cost You Everything – Steven Lawson

The Lordship of Christ – Monergism 

Lordship Salvation Distinctives – John MacArthur

The Carnal Christian Doctrine (Part 1)

The Carnal Christian Doctrine (Part 2)

Lordship Salvation – Segment of Day with Todd Friel (Wretched)

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross – James P. Shelly

Lordship Salvation – Justin Edwards

The Gospel According to Jesus – John MacArthur

Slave – John MacArthur

The Gospel According to the Apostles – John MacArthur

Is Christ Your Lord? – A.W. Pink 

The Lordship Controversy and Repentance – Ernest Reisinger

The Lordship Controversy (stream or download mp3) – John MacArthur

Common Questions about Lordship, Part 1 – John MacArthur

Common Questions about Lordship, Part 2 – John MacArthur

The Lordship Salvation Controversy – Dr. Michael Barrett

Dispensationalism and Lordship Salvation – Reverend John Greer

A 15-Year Retrospective of the Lordship Controversy – John MacArthur

Other Resources on Lordship Salvation from Grace to You

Lordship Salvation – James White

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  • 35 Responses “Lordship Salvation” →
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      Rick Fruehhenryfrueh

      September 23, 2011

      Although I am a notorious free will advocate, I thoroughly enjoyed John MacArthur’s book “The Gospel According to Jesus”. I will always remember this statement:

      “Many men preach such a watered down version of the gospel that even the non-elect cannot reject it” (or something like that)

      Great!

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      tekhelet

      September 23, 2011

      Hi there, thought to let you know that the font size on your blog is very small. It looks like a size 8. For better readability, please consider increasing the font size. Thanks.

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        Justin Edwards

        September 23, 2011

        Hi tekhelet,

        This is the standard size for wordpress blog, so nothing has been done to decrease the font. Are you sure it’s not your computer? Have you tried holding CTRL and scrolling with your mouse to enlarge your screen?

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      Jerry

      November 1, 2011

      I think the trouble with your thinking and others in part is confusing the word christian with salvation. Not all saved people are christians. A christian means like christ. When a person is first born into God’s kingdom he doesn’t all of the sudden become a great almost sinless person. A baby needs fed. If someone instrumental in their salvation doesn’t help them they will have trouble growing. Life happens and ten years later no one has given them direction so he never possibly gets grounded and to many will look like just another lost man. God does not takeyour free will away when you get saved. Though the Holy Spirit will convict him of his sins and may have to chastise him still he still has the old nature and the Devil to help him go the wrong way.. Each man must make the right choice. Lordship proponents will say he never got saved.

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        Justin Edwards

        November 1, 2011

        Hi Jerry, thanks for the comment. There are many things wrong about your comment, and you will find Scriptural reasons for why in the articles contained within this series. I hope you take the time to go through each one of them. I would like to ask you a question about your statement that “not all saved people are christians”. Could you please elaborate on that and provide Scripture to support your argument? Thanks.

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      Jeff Baxter

      December 9, 2011

      Hello friend! I searched for Ephesians 2:8-9 in all of your posts and only found it in reference to what Dr. Any Woods said in his article. And you mentioned it in passing barely touching on the Action of God to Save Sinners. Why did you avoid this core issue of Biblical Salvation? “It is by grace through faith that we are saved so that we do not boast about working for it!” No works at all! It is about Believing and Receiving Jesus Christ as Savior (All of the Gospel of John). That is all! To suggest that we have to do anything to make him Lord of your life at Salvation is to fall into the trap of works.

      You need to read Chuck Swindoll’s book Grace Awakening to balance your Biblical views.

      One more thought, please don’t grab lots of Pastor and Author’s Names lumping them in one big pile to make your point. Every one of them don’t believe the same things with all the doctrines of the faith, but you made it look like they all did just that. That is not fair to you, your readers or these men and woman.

      Blessings to you as you live for Christ!

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        Justin Edwards

        December 9, 2011

        Hi Jeff, thanks for commenting. I actually covered Ephesians 2:1, 2, 5, 8-10 multiple times in this series. Check out Part 3 and 5 for instance, so I’ve not avoided it at all.

        Also, please point out where I said anything about “making Christ Lord” – those are your words not mine. Moreover, you make no mention of repentance – why is that?

        Could you clarify what you mean regarding lumping people in a pile?

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          Jeff Baxter

          December 14, 2011

          Hi Justin, thanks for replying. I know you have spent much time on 7 parts on defending “Lordship Salvation”, but I want to keep my comment brief.

          First, I do not think you have accurately represented all the “Is and Is Nots” above well. The purity of “Lordship Salvation” IS that you need to clean up your act making Jesus both Savior and Lord of your life at salvation. It is not completely by grace alone that you are saved and kept (Jude 1). This is where the term “Lordship Salvation” comes from.

          It is very simple, as I see it and how I read the Biblical Scriptures. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we can do nothing to gain salvation. Nothing. It is free, by grace alone. Not grace + something. I do not need to declare Jesus the full Lord of my life at salvation, otherwise I would be boasting in my works and be getting my life cleaned up before salvation. I just believe and receive him as my Savior. I “change my mind” about who he was and know by the Holy Spirit understand him to be my Savior. That is “repentance”. I is not grace +.

          After coming to Christ, I grow in sanctification giving him more “territory” (if you will) and making him more and more Lord, but I still sin until I go home to heaven for glorification. To declare anything else is a different Gospel and yes, would be heresy. It is clear from these few passages that it is by “believing” alone (Galatians 3:22; John 1:12; 3:15-16; 18; 36; 5:24; 6:40; 47; Acts 16:31; Romans 1:16; 3:22-23; 4:24-25; 6:23, I could literally add another 150 more verses to the list).

          Based on my reading from a variety of sources on “Lordship Salvation,” here are my main concerns:

          1. We can’t earn God’s love and acceptance by resolutions leading to consistent good works (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) before or after salvation. It is by grace alone and God’s work in us. Lordship Salvation does not teach this in it’s purist form.

          2. People are often asked to make Christ Lord of their Life. This implies that acknowledging Christ’s lordship is a human work. If it is a work of God, than we have no debate here, but if it is a requirement, we have confusion. We can’t separate Jesus into parts (Savior Part, Lord Part, Friend Part, etc.). We have Jesus or we don’t.

          3. We will always fall short of a daily commitment to make Christ Lord of our lives. We are always doomed to fail on our own (Romans 8:4; 6:14). This is not seeing the cup half empty, it is the flesh battle we are in even though our position is in Christ as believers.

          4. The negative Impact of Lordship Salvation Theology is causing guilt, insecurity, negativity stripping the fruit of the Spirit from doing it’s work in grace. Not to mention, depression, pride, anger, passive-aggressive behaviors, and personal disorders in people are coming in. On a personal note, I have been in Pastoral Ministry for 17+ years and have seen all of these as a result of “Lordship Salvation” apart from grace + nothing.

          The bottom line: The whole theme of the Bible is God’s extreme sovereignty and grace. We must stand in freedom and grace for mental and spiritual health. We are unconditionally loved and assured in our salvation.

          Lumping People in a Pile:

          You had given a list of names in Part Two, “Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Martin Lloyd-Jones, George Whitefield, John Bunyan, A.W. Pink, B.B. Warfield, John Knox and the Puritans, J.C. Ryle, Leonard Ravenhill, Steven Lawson, John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, Al Mohler, C.J. Mahaney, Ray Comfort, and Paul Washer.”

          I am not sure all of these men adhere to “Lordship Salvation”,

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