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January 27, 2012

Lordship Salvation Is 100% Biblical

Time for a little more tough love today following the last study that explored the 'Jesus isn't Lord' apostasy/heresy that's been around for years, but that's gaining strength during these end times.

Last night, I came across these two short videos that make an irrefutable Biblical case for what's called 'Lordship Salvation'. Yes, I'm afraid that those two dirty little words paired together, that dreaded concept, actually goes hand-in-hand with the content from the previous post, which is why I want to share this with you now.

However, let me preface this by defining 'Lordship Salvation', and by pointing out what it is and what it isn't because that's where a lot of the confusion comes into play here.



Simply put, it's based on Romans 10:9-10. Lordship Salvation is not the belief that we are to be 'perfect' by our own doing. It's not a 'Works-Based Theology' at all. That's un-Biblical. When we are "born again" (John 3:3), we are born again as sons and daughters of God. As new creations we desire not to sin, but, unfortunately, we must also live with our old selves, the fallen flesh, or the part of us that thrives on sinning; the old man of the flesh (Romans 7:19-20).

So, a born again man or woman will still sin, but the key here is that they don't desire to sin. Now, if one is truly born again then more often than not, they, because of the power of the Jesus Christ, shall be able to overcome sin more and more as time goes by.

However, if a person claims to be born again, but then acts like they have the right to continue sinning voluntarily, then there's something seriously wrong. In fact, one might wonder if the person is truly saved at all, because they don't act the part (Romans 6:5-8).

Let me try to some it up this way...

His point was, and my point is, that from the time of our first saving acceptance of Christ, he is our King and Lord and Savior and Priest and Prophet and Counselor. All that he is, he is for those who are his. And then begins a life of faltering and growing yieldedness to Christ in all that he is. his can come in the form of decisive crises, or in the form of gradually growing commitment, or in the form of daily surrenderings. The lordship of Christ, in reality, is something that is not discovered and yielded to once, but thousands of times. It is yieldedness to his lordship that is at stake every time we are tempted to sin—every day.

So I reckon it is possible that many people “have Jesus as their Lord” who don’t think much about that term (as evidently you didn’t for ten years after your conversion). If you were not dealing with Christ as one who authoritatively calls for newness of life, you would probably have been changed very little. But your testimony is that Christ “had a powerful influence” on your life in those early days. I believe you were dealing with him as your Lord even though that may not have been a title you fully understood. I’m sure I didn’t in my earliest days as a believer.

In fact none of us yet understands the full implications of the lordship of Christ on our lives. I am struggling every day to know what the Lord is requiring of me in specific choices among good options. I am learning every day the extent of his lordly control of the world and his mysterious ways of fulfilling his promises as Lord of my life and my church. Submitting to the lordship of Christ is a lifelong activity. It must be renewed every day in many acts of trust and obedience. Submission to Christ’s lordship is not merely a once-for-all experience.

I say “not merely” because in a sense it is a once for all experience. I believe this is conversion. And if I understand the main difference between us it is right here. You seem to say that a person can be converted and saved even if they reject the claim of Jesus to be their Lord. I may be wrong here. But that seems to be the implication of what you are saying. For if you are only saying that a person can be saved and not know fully the implications of Christ’s lordship, then we have no argument on this point.

But your response goes further than that, I think, and says that people “do not have Christ as Lord” and yet are saved. I take the phrase, “do not have Christ as Lord,” to mean “reject his lordship.” Otherwise you would only be saying that all saved people own Jesus as Lord of their lives but live out that submission in greater or lesser degrees of consistency. But that is what I am saying. There would be no dispute.

So I take it that you are saying something much more extreme, namely, that people can actually be presented with the claims of Christ as Lord and say, “No, I don’t want to bow to him as Lord, and I do not accept his claim on my life as authoritative Guide and Teacher,” but still be saved (if they believe that he died for them!). If that is what you are saying, then there is a great difference between us indeed. And not only between you and me, but between you and centuries of Christian orthodoxy.

The Bible makes it plain, I believe, that people who persistently refuse the command of Jesus’ lordship have no warrant for believing that they are saved. Such people should not be comforted that they are saved simply because there was a time when they “believed” gospel facts or walked an aisle or signed a card or prayed a prayer. In fact, Jesus seems far more eager to explode the assurance of false “professions of faith” than he is to give assurance to people who are intent on living in sin. Where does he ever bolster the “eternal security” of a person unwilling to forsake sin?

I am not saying that only perfect people are saved. There are no perfect people on this earth. We sin every day and every good work we do is tainted with sinful remnants of corruption. I am saying that a person who goes on willfully rejecting the commands of Jesus for his life has no warrant for salvation.

That was from an exchange involving John Piper who is no stranger to this debate.

Bottom line, Christ is Lord whether we acknowledge that or not (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:11). And it is misleading because he is the Lord of every true believer whether we grasp this fully or obey him fully or not.

To those videos to help bolster this truth...

Romans 10:9 - Lordship Salvation (Part 1)



Romans 10:10 - Lordship Salvation (Part 2)


Yep, I'd say that Romans 10:9 is pretty definitive, but people always want to twist that and rip it out of context by suggesting that it promotes some kind of satanic 'Works-Based Theology', which is absurd.

My dear friends, that verse is not talking about some simple acknowledgment that He is God and the Lord of the universe, since even demons acknowledge that to be true (James 2:19).

This is the deep, personal conviction -- without reservation -- that Jesus is that person's own master of sovereign, and we are His property, or His slaves.

This phrase includes repenting from sin, trusting in Jesus for salvation, and submitting to Him as Lord. This is the volitional element of faith.

As for Romans 10:10, the Greek word for "confession" basically means to say the same thing, or to be in agreement with someone. The person who confesses Jesus as Lord (verse 9), agrees with the Father's declaration that Jesus is Savior and Lord.


In other words, Lordship Salvation is 100% Biblical.

'Lordship Salvation' equals salvation.

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2 Comments:

Mr. Bighead said...

Amen.

Anonymous said...

Excellent article! The Lord Jesus has bought us with His own blood. It would be impossible to then say that we will go our own way. No, we are no longer our own, we are bought with a price.

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