Lordship salvation, which springs from Calvinism's perseverance of the saints, is the unsupportable
belief that the performance of good works, the promise of good works, or the evidence
of good works must accompany faith in Christ in order to make that faith result in eternal
life.
The proponents of this doctrine, many of whom are also Arminians, say that they believe
in faith alone to be saved, but we will see that that is just not the case.
It is a dangerous, self-righteous, and condemning doctrine, and it often makes hypocrites out
of those who propagate it and those who are caught up in its net.
It also destroys any assurance that a believer may have after being saved, because like a
hamster on a wheel, they go around and around, always looking to their works as a test to
see whether or not they are truly saved, but never knowing if they have done enough
to secure their salvation.
In reality, lordship salvation is nothing more than the damnable Roman Catholic doctrine
of faithless works, and it destroys the clear line between justification by faith, which
happens the moment a sinner believes the gospel, and sanctification, which is a lifetime process
of being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
Lordship advocates routinely accuse those who reject their doctrine as being in favor
of antinomianism, which is the belief that there are no moral laws God expects Christians
to obey, but that is just not the case.
We do believe that we are created in Christ Jesus onto good works, Ephesians 2 verse 10,
and that holiness is what the Bible expects from us, 1 Peter 1.16.
But we believe that the gospel of grace is perverted and destroyed when sinners are told
that works of submission and obedience are required for them to be saved, that is frontloading
the gospel, and then they are told that they must persevere in good works as proof that
they have truly believed, that is backloading the gospel, which is no gospel at all.
Simply put, lordship salvation is not salvation at all, but man-made probation, a disbelief
in God's word which clearly states that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and
Christ alone, Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, and Galatians chapter 2 verse 16.
Lordship advocates also charge their opponents with believing in so-called cheap grace or
easy believism, but in the scriptures, grace is not only cheap, it's free, or it would
not be grace, see Romans 5.15.
Likewise, believing in Christ is not hard to do, because that's all we can possibly
do.
Romans chapter 4 verse 5 says, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Contrary to the lordship advocates and their work-centered theology, salvation is pictured
as simply looking, Isaiah 45.22, coming, Matthew 11.28, receiving, John chapter 1 verse 12,
eating, John chapter 6 verse 51, drinking, John chapter 7 verse 37, trusting, Ephesians
chapter 1 verse 13, and taking, Revelation 22 verse 17.
Many lordship advocates also deny that a person can be a carnal Christian, but that is precisely
what the Apostle Paul called the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses
1 and verses 3 and 4.
As a matter of fact, that church was the most worldly church in the New Testament, and yet
Paul called them brethren over 18 times in the book.
The fact is, believers have two natures, the fleshly nature and the spiritual nature, and
the Apostle Paul wrote about them both in Romans chapter 7 verses 14 through 25.
Lordship advocates also redefine the meaning of the words repent and faith.
Redefinement simply means a change of mind, but they redefine it to mean turn from sin,
which is a work, and worst of all, they ask unbelievers to do precisely that before coming
to Christ.
Unbelievers do not have the power to turn from sin, and the scriptures simply ask them
to believe the gospel, Romans chapter 1 verse 16 and Acts chapter 16 verse 31.
The word faith is also redefined to mean obedience.
Thoughts are added to it, but that is false.
Real faith is simply believing, period.
See John chapter 2 verse 22, John chapter 4 verse 50, John chapter 20 verse 31, and
many other scriptures.
If a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law, Romans 3 verse 28, then
conduct, works, performance, obedience cannot be a part of faith.
So the lordship salvation gospel can be recognized by such statements as repent of sin, make
a commitment to Christ, be willing to follow Christ or become a Christ follower, and unyielding
commitment to obey Christ is needed.
Also, the sinner must fulfill the demands of discipleship or at least be willing to
fulfill them in order to have eternal life, and that is one of their biggest errors.
Kings of salvationists confound salvation, which costs nothing, and which happens in
an instant, with discipleship, which is an ongoing process.
The true gospel that sets us free is not what I do for God, it is what God has done for
me.
Salvation is a free gift, not a loan paid back by good works.
Now who are the propagators of this heretical, bankrupt, and damnable doctrine?
Well the list is extremely long, but some of the biggest names are Pastor John MacArthur,
my former pastor and the undisputed king of lordship salvation, and the man who has influenced
more pastors and lay people on the subject than anyone else.
MacArthur has a worldwide radio ministry.
He is the president of the master's seminary and the master's college.
He's a prolific author and a popular conference speaker, so his influence is felt in every
area of Christendom.
MacArthur's most well-known book, and also his most controversial, is the gospel according
to Jesus.
It is a defense of lordship salvation, and it is considered the lordship bible by many.
Most of the preachers and teachers today who propagate lordship salvation spout the same
unbiblical and heretical ideas found in that book.
Men such as Paul Washer, probably the most condemning and self-righteous of the bunch,
Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love, David Platt, author of Radical, John Piper, R.C.
Sproul, Tim Conway of I'll Be Honest, Kyle Adelman, author of Not a Fan, Kirk Cameron,
Ray Comfort, Todd Friel, Phil Johnson, who edits all of MacArthur's books, Steve Lawson,
James White, and a host of other well-known Pharisaical fruit inspectors have decided
to set themselves up as the judges and gatekeepers of heaven by deciding who has brought forth
enough fruit in their lives to merit the glories of heaven.
These men all speak out of both sides of their mouths.
They will say that we are saved by faith alone, but then in the next breath say that if fruit
is not noticeable in a person's life, then they are either false converts or they were
never saved to begin with.
How much fruit does a person need to bring forth in order to prove that they are really
saved?
The self-righteous fruit inspectors never say, but the twisting of scriptures like Matthew
7 verses 21-23 and 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5 are used to justify their bankrupt and
works-righteous theology.
Matthew 7 verses 15-23 is about judging the doctrine of false prophets, and that passage
has absolutely nothing at all to do with judging a believer's salvation.
The false prophets trusted in their works to be saved, instead of the finished work
of Christ.
Just read the passage, it's all right there, and they will be damned to the lake of fire
for it.
See Revelation chapter 20 verses 11-15.
2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 5 is also a favorite of the lordship salvationists.
They point to the phrase, examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, and then say that
we must look to see if we have brought forth enough fruit in our lives to see if we are
saved.
The context of that passage has to do with the Corinthians questioning Paul's apostleship,
when in reality, they were the proof of his apostleship.
It was through him that they were led to the Savior.
If they wanted to see his credentials, they should look at themselves.
So the proof of Paul's authority is that Jesus Christ is in them.
Paul also had no doubt about their salvation, because all throughout the epistles of 1 and
2 Corinthians, he calls them brethren over and over again.
Paul was not an irrational and double-minded preacher.
He would not tell the believers in Rome and Galatia that they were justified by faith,
but then tell the Corinthians to look at their works to see if they are saved.
Paul was no work salvationist.
Also, if we were to examine several people in the Holy Bible, their works would seem
to condemn them as false believers, but they were soundly saved.
Lot was a judge in Sodom and Gomorrah, and the last time we read about him in the Old
Testament, in Genesis chapter 19, he is in a cave, drunk, sleeping with and impregnating
his two daughters.
But Peter tells us that Lot was a just and righteous man, in 2 Peter chapter 2 verses
7 and 8.
Samson was a fleshly man all the days of his life, but he is listed in the Hall of Faith
in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 32.
King David committed adultery, impregnated Bathsheba, and then killed her husband Uriah
to cover up his sins.
But David is referred to as a man after God's own heart, in Acts chapter 13 verse 22.
Solomon, David's son, was a serial polygamist.
He also served the abominable gods of his foreign wives, and he even erected an idol
to Molech, which was for child sacrifice, 1 Kings chapter 11.
However, the book of Ecclesiastes records Solomon's testimony and his subsequent change
of mind, see chapter 12 verses 13 through 14.
Solomon was a believer when he did all of those wicked acts.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, we read about a man who was sleeping with his father's wife,
and he was subsequently disciplined by the church, but he was still considered a brother,
see 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11.
The list could go on and on, but if the modern day, self-righteous, lordship proponents were
living in those days, they would have condemned all of those men to the lake of fire for their
works, but they were saved, as scripture clearly testifies.
By the way, Judas Iscariot did more works than most Christians will ever do, but he
was a lying, thieving, hypocritical son of Satan who is currently in hell.
The scribes and the Pharisees also did a lot of works, and most of the people in Israel
were fooled by those works, but our Lord unmasked them for the fools, hypocrites, blind guides,
serpents, vipers, and sons of the devil that they truly were, see Matthew chapter 23 and
John chapter 8.
Now, MacArthur says that he believes in faith alone, but his book is all about works and
fruit inspecting.
In his book, MacArthur says that believing the facts about the gospel is not enough to
be saved, and so does every other lordship's salvationists.
Funny, the Roman Catholic Church says the exact same thing.
Scripture on the other hand says differently, see Acts 16 31, Romans chapter 10 verses 9
and 10, and 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 through 4.
He suggests that works must be understood as part of faith, and so does every other
lordship's salvationists.
According to them, anything less than total commitment is just not saving faith.
Works, works, works.
MacArthur talks about full surrender to the lordship of Christ.
Full surrender, of course, would be nothing less than sinless perfectionism.
He says that the non-lordship position warps and sometimes completely destroys the gospel.
It's the other way around.
There is no gospel in lordship's salvation.
You're put back under the law hoping that your works will be salvific enough at the
point of death.
And he says about the non-lordship position, it is a distinctly different view of salvation
than the biblical one.
Lordship salvation is far from biblical.
It is straight from the pit of hell along with the tulip doctrine that most lordship's
salvationists propagate.
I could go on and on listing the heresies in MacArthur's wicked book, but you get the
picture.
In his book, Grace Unknown, R.C. Sproul says, endurance and faith is a condition for future
salvation.
Only those who endure in faith will be saved for eternity.
Again, works, works, works.
Another lordship heretic is John Piper.
In his book, What Jesus Demands from the World, he says, there is no doubt that Jesus saw
a measure of real, lived-out obedience to the will of God as necessary for final salvation.
And again, what God will require at the judgment is not our perfection, but sufficient fruit
to show that the tree had life, in our case, divine life.
So according to him, it will not be us clothed in the righteousness of Christ that will be
the determining factor as to whether or not we gain entrance into heaven, but sufficient
fruit in our lives.
That is heresy.
In his book, Not a Fan, Kyle Adelman says, biblical belief is more than mental assent
or verbal acknowledgement.
Many fans have repeated a prayer or raised their hand or walked forward at the end of
a sermon and made a decision to believe, but there was never commitment to follow.
Jesus never offered such an option.
He is looking for more than words of belief.
He is looking to see how those words are lived out in your life.
When we decide to believe in Jesus without making a commitment to follow Him, we become
nothing more than fans.
That entire sentence could have been written by a Roman Catholic priest, and his book is
filled with lordship trash like that.
Adelman wants more than a simple belief in order for a sinner to be saved.
So does the harlot of Rome.
Francis Chan, who graduated from MacArthur Seminary, says, put simply, failing to help
the poor could damn you to hell.
If you're in Jesus Christ, you will not go to hell because you did not help the poor.
Francis Chan is a rank work salvationist.
Paul Washer, whose works righteous heresies have been thoroughly documented, says, salvation
is by faith alone.
It is a work of God.
It is a grace upon grace upon grace.
But now get ready for his double talk and dose of works.
The evidence of conversion is not just your examination of your sincerity at the moment
of your conversion.
It is ongoing fruit in your life.
So let me see if I get this straight.
Salvation is by faith alone, but I must examine my fruits to see if I'm saved.
What is the difference between this statement and what Rome teaches?
And how much fruit must we produce in our lives in order for us to know if we're saved
or not?
He doesn't tell us, because he doesn't know.
Paul Washer is a Romanist.
The other lordshippers, Conway, Platt, White, Johnson, Lawson, Freel, Comfort, Cameron,
and the rest of them, are all singing from the same songbook, and it would be redundant
for me to quote them all, because they're all saying the same things.
Listening to just a few of their sermons will make you vomit.
The self-righteousness of these fruit-inspecting and condemning Pharisees is unbearable.
And no wonder multitudes of born-again Christians lack assurance in their Christian lives.
Men like these sow doubt upon doubt, because they make you feel like you're not doing enough,
and you're put under bondage and legalism by their teachings.
All these lordship teachers are nothing more than poisoned, dressed up as desserts.
A teacher writing on lordship salvation said this,
And since you doubt your own salvation in one level, you postulate that others might
not be saved, because they're not obeying that well either.
You reason within yourself that others must not have truly believed or must have had a
false conversion, because they lack obedience.
Lordship salvationists have redefined the gospel to include both belief and a commitment
to obediently follow Christ, which they can't live up to, and somehow judging others where
they appear more obedient gives them the measure of assurance they so desperately seek.
Lordship salvation is another gospel, Galatians chapter 1 verses 8 and 9.
It is the denial of justification by faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from any works
to be saved.
And those who teach it are condemned and on their way to the lake of fire, if they do
not repent, that is, change their minds.
Romans chapter 11 verse 6 says, And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise
grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work.
If you've been seduced by wicked and self-righteous teachers into believing that false and hell-damning
doctrine, stop listening to them.
Throw their satanically inspired books and CDs in the nearest garbage bin where they
rightfully belong, and rest in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30 says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn it me.
For I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
For I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.