Lordship Salvation Requirements
Last week I took some time to interact with Kent Brandenburg around
an article he wrote, at his What is Truth blog, in support of
the Lordship Salvation (LS) interpretation of the gospel. Kent has continued his
discussion of LS with a new article. Kent makes various claims that are virtually
universal among advocates of Lordship Salvation. I would like to address some
of his claims here. Kent opened
his new article with this,
As a pejorative, inventors of a new doctrine of salvation have titled what is the historical and biblical plan of salvation, “Lordship salvation.” The terminology doesn't sound bad to me, so I own it. However, all sorts of garbage have been dumped on it to where it must be defined. One risk is cherry-picked quotes taken out of context. Lordship salvation isn’t hard to defend, just avoiding tortured sound bytes. (LS for Dummies, bold added)Men who reject the Lordship Salvation interpretation of the gospel have documented scores upon scores of quotes from various LS advocates. The most prominent and prolific of these is Dr. John MacArthur. Dr. MacArthur’s core themes of LS run like a thread through all of his works on the gospel. When MacArthur speaks on LS, he is speaking in the context of the gospel, what he believes to be the requirements for a lost man to be born again, justified. We can know what teachers of Lordship Salvation believe, preach and defend by reading and/or hearing how they define their position in their own words. In the following article Brother George Zeller answers the question, What are the “Lordship Salvation Requirements” for Salvation?
What do Lordship Salvation
advocates actually require of the sinner? What do they say a person must do to
be saved? John MacArthur is recognized as a leading proponent of Lordship Salvation.
If you search through John MacArthur’s three books on Lordship Salvation [The
Gospel According to Jesus (abbreviated GATJ), Faith Works (abbreviated
FW) and Hard to Believe (abbreviated HTB)] you will find numerous
statements that indicate different salvation requirements. Consider the
following:
Lordship
Salvation Requirements
A person must have “a
transforming commitment to the living Christ” (GATJ, p. ix, written by J. I. Packer).
“Follow Him in submissive
obedience” (GATJ, p. 21).
Deny self, take up a cross,
forsake all and follow Christ (GATJ, p. 30).
Repent, surrender and have an
eagerness to obey (GATJ, p. 31).
Obey Christ (GATJ, p. 45).
Yield one’s life to the Lordship
of Christ (GATJ, p. 67).
Be willing to forsake everything
(GATJ, p. 78).
Commit yourself to obedience
(GATJ, p. 79)
Make Christ the highest authority
in your life (GATJ, pp. 86-87).
Be willing to obey (GATJ, p. 88).
Repent and follow Jesus (GATJ, p.
106).
Turn from sin (GATJ, p. 112).
Forsake oneself for Christ’s sake
(GATJ, p. 135).
Be willing to sacrifice
everything to acquire the kingdom (GATJ, p. 138–parables of hid treasure and pearl).
Give up all for the kingdom
(GATJ, p. 138).
Totally abandon self-will (GATJ,
p. 140).
Exchange all that you are for all
that Christ is (GATJ, p. 140).
Make a full exchange of self for
the Savior (“absolute surrender”) - (GATJ, p. 141).
Turn from sin, abandon self and
intend to obey God (GATJ, p. 161).
Repudiate the old life (GATJ, p.
162).
Turn from evil and intend to
serve God (GATJ, p. 163).
Surrender to Christ and choose to
obey Him (GATJ, p. 170).
Deny self and follow Christ
(GATJ, p. 196).
Love Christ more than your own
family members, be unquestionably loyal to Him even above your families (GATJ,
pages 200-201).
Obey Christ’s divine authority
(GATJ, p. 204).
MacArthur teaches that James
4:7-10 is “perhaps the most comprehensive invitation to salvation in the
epistles” (GATJ, p. 218). Based on this statement we must add the following
requirements:
- Submit yourself to God
- Resist the devil.
- Draw nigh to God.
- Cleanse your hands.
- Purify your hearts.
- Be afflicted and mourn.
- Humble yourselves.
Turn from your sins (FW, p. 74).
Surrender heart, mind and will to Christ (FW, p. 194).
Deny self (HTB, pages 2, 6).
Take up your cross daily (HTB, p.
6)
Follow Christ (HTB, p. 6).
Refuse to associate any longer
with the person you are (HTB, p. 7).
The requirement for eternal life
is to be willing to give up all your earthly possessions if the Lord should ask
this (HTB, p. 9).
Be willing to give up as much as
it takes (HTB, p. 11).
“If you want to become a Christian, slay
yourself! Refuse to associate any long with yourself, reject all the things
your self longs and wants and hopes for. Be willing to die for the sake of
Christ.” (HTB, pages 11-12)
Totally and absolutely deny self
(HTB, pages 14-15).
Be willing to hate your father
and mother (HTB, p. 15)
Be willing to dump all your
earthly goods (possessions)–Luke 14:33 (HTB, p. 15).
“The complete surrender of all
possessions is the essence of salvation” (HTB, p. 16).
Give yourself totally to Him
which involves self-denial, cross bearing and following Him in obedience (HTB, p. 67).
Deny yourself and give Him your
life (HTB, p. 69).
Die to yourself (HTB, p. 70).
You must obey the Sermon on the
Mount (HTB, p. 81).
Leave all your possessions behind
(HTB, p. 85).
“Salvation isn’t the result of an
intellectual exercise. It comes from a life lived in obedience and service to Christ as revealed in
the Scriptures” (HTB, p. 93).
I have learned that this last quotation (page 93 in Hard to Believe) was not written by MacArthur, but erroneously made its way into the text by way of an editor. I’ve been told that subsequent editions of the book have corrected this. However, I do not find this quote to be out of harmony with MacArthur’s Lordship position. If self denial, full surrender, loving Christ more than anyone else, forsaking all possessions are all requirements of salvation, then why can’t obedience be added as well?
Affirm your commitment to the
lordship of Christ to the point where you are willing to forsake everything
(HTB, pages 132-133).
“You can’t receive His salvation
if your family means more to you than He does” (HTB, p. 134).
Give up your life and embrace His
(HTB, p. 178).
On the back flyleaf of the book
HTB, it says, “The hard truth about Christianity is that the cost is high, but
the rewards are priceless: abundant and eternal life that comes only from
faithfully following Christ (emphasis mine).”
Observations
1. These Lordship salvation
requirements all focus upon what the sinner must do. When it comes to salvation by grace, the
true focus should be upon the finished work of Christ and what He has done. See our study
entitled Do or Done? Salvation is based on God’s mercy, and it is not based on “works of
righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). “But to him that worketh not, but believeth
on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness”
(Rom. 4:5). See also Ephesians 2:8-9. It is not our sacrifice that saves us, it
is the perfect sacrifice of Jesus
Christ (1 Peter 3:18). MacArthur says, “We contribute nothing to our salvation” (HTB, p. 188), but
if you read the list of requirements above, it seems that man does contribute a great deal.
2. As you consider this list of Lordship requirements, it is obvious that MacArthur and others like him believe that the terms of discipleship are the same as requirements for salvation. To them “What must I do to be saved?” and “What must I do to be a disciple?” are identical questions. See our paper, A Contrast and Comparison Between Discipleship and Salvation. The only requirement for salvation is faith in the Person, Work and Word of God’s only Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. The requirements for discipleship are many and are essential for the believer’s sanctification. Lordship Sanctification is biblical; Lordship salvation is not!
3. One example of a discipleship requirement is loving Christ more than your own family members, and being unquestionably loyal to Him even above your own loved ones (GATJ, pages 200-201, HTB, p. 134). In other words, Christ should be the supreme object of my love. I should love Him more than family members, more than my own possessions, even more than my own life. This discipleship requirement is merely a re-statement of the greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt. 22:37). Thus, Lordship salvation men are essentially telling us that the greatest commandment is a requirement for salvation, and since the greatest commandment sums up the 10 Commandments (Matt. 22:40), then this means that salvation is obtained by keeping the Law. And yet we know that none of us have kept the law perfectly, and none of us have loved God supremely. The greatest commandment (along with the other laws which it summarizes) condemns every one of us to hell! If loving God supremely is a salvation requirement, then all of us are doomed! We have all failed to do this. How thankful I am that Christ Jesus came into the world to save guilty lawbreakers! See 1 Timothy 1:15.
4. Lordship men actually soften the requirements of discipleship, something which our Lord never did. In many of MacArthur’s requirements we read phrases like this: be willing to forsake everything, have an eagerness to obey, be willing to sacrifice everything, be willing to hate your father and mother, etc. But the Lord said, “If you hate not father and mother....you cannot be my disciple.” He didn’t merely speak of a willingness to do it, but He spoke of actually doing it. “Whosoever he is of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). The Lord did not just speak of a willingness to forsake all possessions, but He spoke of actually doing it. So MacArthur is actually softening the requirements of discipleship. Believers do not measure up to the full demands of discipleship (even the Lord’s original twelve disciples lacked faith and full commitment on numerous occasions). The good news is that every believer completely measures up to the full demands of God's righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). God has fully provided the righteousness which we could never attain to on our own.
5. On page 9 (HTB) MacArthur states that the requirement for eternal life is to be willing to give up all your earthly possessions if the Lord should ask this. This means that the requirement for eternal life varies for different individuals. For some individuals, the requirement for eternal life would include being willing to give up all earthly possessions if the Lord should ask this. But if the Lord has not required this of other individuals, then they are exempt from this salvation requirement. According to this teaching, the requirement for eternal life varies depending upon what the Lord has asked each person to do. If this teaching is correct, then we would conclude that there is not just one plan of salvation but there is a unique and special plan of salvation specially designed for each individual. This would make personal evangelism very challenging because we would never be sure just which plan of salvation is required for the person we are witnessing to.
6. Fulfilling all the Lordship requirements is complicated indeed. According to MacArthur, salvation is not easy (GATJ, p. 182) and it is very Hard to Believe (the title of his book). How would a person under Lordship teaching ever gain assurance of salvation? Could he be sure that he has loved the Lord supremely? Has he given up all his possessions if the Lord has required him to do so, and how does he really know whether the Lord wants him to do this? Has he measured up to all the demands of discipleship? Is his level of commitment sufficient to satisfy the Lord? Has he surrendered enough? Is he sure that he has surrendered all or are there some things he is holding back? Are there areas of his life where he has not denied self? Has he “turned from sin” in every area of his life or is he still harboring some sin somewhere? If he were to examine his life based on all the requirements listed in this paper, how would he measure up? Would this self-examination lead him to full assurance of salvation? Remember, the more we look at SELF the more discouraged we will be. How wonderful it is to rest on the all-sufficient, finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. May our only boast be in the crucified One (1 Cor. 1:29 31)! “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling!”
“And be found in
Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Phil. 3:9).
Lordship Salvation Requirements
George Zeller
Middletown Bible Church
349 East Street
Middletown, CT 06457
860-346-0907
Excellent article exposing the heretical teachings of the Lord Ship false Salvation gospel that saves no one. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate knowing you found this article helpful.
DeleteThe major issue and crux of the doctrinal controversy is over Lordship’s definition of how the lost are born again. Concerns in regard to the discipleship of genuine believers are an important discussion, but for me that is not where the main controversy lies. The crux of the Lordship debate is over the requirements for salvation, not the results of salvation.
One of the most glaring errors of Lordship Salvation teachers is the failure and/or refusal to recognize that salvation and discipleship are two separate and distinct doctrines. John MacArthur believes that the gospel demands a commitment of one’s life, and a promise of surrender to the lordship of Christ in an up-front “exchange” for the reception of salvation (justification). LS insists that faith must be front-loaded with a commitment to behave like a born again believer to become a born again believer. That is the works salvation! That is Lordship’s works based message that corrupts the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3).
Lou,
ReplyDeleteGood job, I will have to make mention of this at my blog. The list of things a person must do under Lordship salvation to earn salvation reminds me of the litany of things one must do under Catholicism. There is no assurance of salvation in either system. It is truly a non-saving message that frustrates grace.
Jim F
Hi Jim:
DeleteDo let me know when you put something up at your blog. Feel free to link to it from here.
Lou
Lou do you think that Lordship Salvation is a result of Calvinist teachings? Many Calvinist I know are having to prove their salvation daily by preaching the gospel to themselves every day to stay in God's love. According to many New Calvinist, it's not by faith alone but rather by their righteous works to prove their faith in Christ until Glorification. It seems to me that Calvinism and Lordship Salvation go hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, yes Calvinism and Lordship Salvation (LS) go hand-in-hand. Your notes about, “having to prove their salvation…” I’m not so sure I’d describe that way what I think is their dilemma.
DeleteIt is not without exception, but nearly every person who embraces LS is a Calvinist. Conversely, I do know several men who are Calvinists who utterly reject LS.
You asked if, “LS a result of Calvinism”? Yes, in large part LS is a natural extra-biblical result of Calvinism. The following is a brief excerpt from my book (In Defense of the Gospel: Biblical Answers to Lordship Salvation) that addresses the issue you raised.
“Calvinistic theology appears and is addressed in the pages of this book because Lordship Salvation is rooted in Calvinism. It is not my desire or intention to needlessly enflame Calvinistic brethren and thereby create a distraction from the main thrust of this book. I do, however, want to be very clear at the outset that I reject all five points of Calvinism, as I understand them. In the few instances where Calvinism is referenced; I made a sincere attempt to be fair. Men who are Calvinistic in their theology will not agree with my remarks on Calvinism, I do not expect them to. My primary desire is that they will carefully examine and prayerfully consider this polemic on Lordship Salvation.” (IDOTG, pp. 28-29)
There is a larger discussion (pp. 60-70) in the chapter What is the Calvinism Connection? That chapter addresses issues such as the historical connection with LS men making the connection themselves. I also discuss Calvinism’s extra-biblical presupposition that regeneration must precede faith. Two more subsections on the Holy Spirit and sovereignty of God. There is also a large appendix (‘A’) pp. 261-279 What About Calvinism? There I address the five points of Calvinism and related doctrinal issues.
I trust this has been helpful.
LM
Hey Lou,
DeleteHaving been looking into these things a little deeper, I find myself scratching my head whenever I hear you (or another defending the position taken here) having an issue with someone saying we must: Turn from your sins (FW, p. 74).
I sincerely do not understand what issue your position takes with this statement. Maybe you could send to a previous post you've done.
God Bless,
Jay Edwards
Jay:
DeleteFor something at this blog I suggest reading the following:
Impossible Decision: John 16:7-11
In a 20 page chapter of my book pp. 123-ff. I address that issue. Pages 133-138 in particular where I address 1 Thess. 1:9-10. Here is small excerpt from that chapter.
Lost man cannot turn from sin, but he can turn to God to deliver him from the penalty and power of sin (Romans 6). Classic Lordship Salvation contends that repentance is turning from sin(s) or the resolve to turn from sins. Repentance is viewed as a commitment to discipleship and fruit bearing. Scripture has a better answer. The Bible teaches that the Savior saves “the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6) in their sin, and believers from the power of sin (Rom. 6:1-ff; Gal. 5:16). Jurist theologian Ron Shea (Th.M., J.D.) explains that Lordship’s front-loading of the gospel is fundamentally a bilateral contract at law.
“In this view, eternal salvation is not dependent on the performance of a work, but only the promise of future works. In the minds of those determined to adhere to salvation by works, this distinction supposedly allows the works of the law to be somehow added to the equation of salvation without annulling the doctrine of grace. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans would disagree. ‘For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is of none effect.’ The…expression of ‘saving repentance’ is nothing more than a specific form or expression of Bilateral Contract Salvation . . . ‘a promise for a promise.’ The lost sinner ‘promises’ future obedience in exchange for God’s ‘promise’ of eternal life. This errant understanding of the term ‘repentance’ is the most common and pervasive form of ‘Lordship Salvation’ taught within Christendom throughout the world.”
LM
Jay:
DeleteContinuing on your question. One LS teacher wrote, “Lordship sees repentance as more than just a change in dependence. It is also a change of allegiance.” As soon as I read the usage of “allegiance” in his definition of repentance I followed up with a two part question to him from a passage of Scripture.
“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God,” (John 12:42-43).
The Bible says they were not open about, and would not confess a “change of allegiance.” Did they biblically repent; were they believers?
It is a question that man would not, could not answer. Lordship’s repentance, which calls for commitment, submission, and allegiance from an unsaved man as a condition for salvation (justification) infringes on the finished work of Christ. A commitment to do what is right is misplaced dependence. That is depending on behavior for salvation. That is works dependence!
LM
In Dr. Zeller's article above he references John MacArthur's statement on James 4:7-10. In my book, and at the blog I have addressed that concern in some detail. I invite all readers to consider Summary of LS From a Single Page of John MacArthur's book.
ReplyDeleteLM
http://indefenseofthegospel.blogspot.com/2008/07/summary-of-lordship-salvation-on-single.html
Hi Lou,
ReplyDeleteI really didn't get hit too much in this article, just my comment about being sound byted, which I noticed happening on my blog with some commenters. I wasn't so much thinking of your doing it to MacArthur, and I didn't want to take the time to find out if you did, because defending him isn't a goal.
I'm going to take only one point here to see how that goes. There is a reason that men explain "willingness," in your point that LS men expect less of discipleship than Jesus. It's true that verses say nothing about the will, but it is a clear implication. Let's take Luke 14:33, which you referred to, without quoting: "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Alright, you would say that an LS person says, "You must be willing to forsake all that you have, or you cannot be my disciple." You would be correct, the verse says nothing about "willing to." But let's apply that to an FG position. Is there anyone who you know who is already a Christian, who never ever does not forsake all that he has? So no one could be Jesus' disciple, because that would require sinless perfection. "Forsaketh" is present tense, like we see often in 1 John very often with verbs. Forsaking is characteristic forsaking of all that you have. It is a willingness to forsake all that you have. That doesn't actually change anything for someone either way. Willing to do something is not softening a requirement of the Lord. On the other hand, when a person is unwilling to forsake all that he has for his entire life, do you believe that he will be saved? I believe that for a person to have eternal life he must give up his life. Why? Because Jesus said so, and He said that more than anything He said, except for "follow me." I'm open to correction there. I'm attempting to be kind, hopefully even being kind, although I'm not sure if I could be kind 100% of the time -- I'm willing to. Because I'm answering criticisms.
To review, the expectation that I have in being willing to forsake, to be Jesus' disciple (a saved person), I'm imagining is exactly the same expectation that you have for someone to be a disciple (someone in the future, who knows when, maybe decades, maybe never). If not, then you would be teaching sinless perfection.
Kent:
DeleteThanks for stopping by. I’d like to give your comment greater attention than I have time for, but with work entering our busiest season I’m quite stretched at the moment. I will hone in on the Luke 14 passage you referenced.
Luke 14:26-27, 33 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. . . So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
and its companion verse
Luke 9:23-24 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
Lordship Salvation interprets these passages from Luke’s gospel, and similar verses about following Jesus, as evangelistic appeals intended for the lost man. They are taking verses that teach discipleship for the believer and mistakenly apply them to salvation of the lost man.
Kent, you wrote, “the expectation that I [Kent] have in being willing to forsake, to be Jesus' disciple (a saved person)…” I want my readers and me to understand your meaning. So, if I may, are you saying that your expectation is for the lost person to be “willing to forsake” all so that he can become a saved person, become one of Jesus’ disciples?
The Bible is very clear on the saving message of Jesus Christ. Lost men are to COME TO Jesus FOR salvation, justification. Once saved, born again he COME AFTER follow Jesus as disciples, sanctification. That is the correct biblical order.
How can the Scriptures teach that salvation is a free gift of God if the human cost to become a disciple, that is, to be born again, is very great as Lordship Salvation insists? Salvation is either the free gift of God, or it is costly to man. The Bible teaches that “the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23), but discipleship or following Christ is costly (Luke 14:26-27).
Thanks again for stopping by.
Lou
Hello again Lou,
DeleteAlright, still willing to be kind. Perhaps I should have quoted your article, so that you know what I was referring to: "Lordship men actually soften the requirements of discipleship, something which our Lord never did. In many of MacArthur’s requirements we read phrases like this: be willing to forsake everything, have an eagerness to obey, be willing to sacrifice everything, be willing to hate your father and mother, etc. But the Lord said, “If you hate not father and mother....you cannot be my disciple.” He didn’t merely speak of a willingness to do it, but He spoke of actually doing it. “Whosoever he is of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33)."
That's all I was talking about at this time. You said that LS advocates (myself) soften what Jesus said. I said, "No." I don't soften it, but there is the idea of willingness in the present tense verb, or else Jesus would be calling for sinless perfection whether it was simultaneous with or subsequent to conversion. That was my only point, and I was attempting to keep it to that.
You didn't prove the biblical order with your comment. You asserted it, but not from any text. I can prove that being a disciple is synonymous with conversion, and I have. I'm talking merely about your statement above to see if we can make headway on a very minor point, but one in which there is disagreement.
If I were going to break down your comment, I would ask, "How can you ask a sinner to COME TO Jesus FOR salvation?" Isn't "coming" a work too? I don't think so, but this is where you're going to have trouble. You want to make "forsaking" a work, but "coming" not a work. Again, this idea of "forsaking" is part and partial to repentance, which is not a work (Acts 11:18). Look at the end of Luke and see what Jesus says He wants the Apostles to preach as part of the great commission. Repent for the forgiveness of sins. You've got to repent. And repentance includes forsaking you. However, where we're at, right now, is your statement about softening. Do you understand?
Kent:
DeleteHad I time to proof my previous more carefully I likely would have edited “softening.” I’ll take your reaction under advisement.
Your reaction to “come” and “forsake” tells me that we have arrived at a doctrinal impasse.
Lordship Salvation, as you are defining believe, faith and repentance having to include the upfront promise of “forsaking,” commitment, surrender in exchange for the reception of salvation, to be born again (justification) is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ll close with an excerpt from my book,
“Lordship Salvation tears at the very heart of the gospel; it corrupts ‘the simplicity that is in Christ’ (2 Cor. 11:3), it is a man-centered message that frustrates grace (Gal. 2:21). Lordship Salvation sets upon the sinner’s path to Christ a stumbling block. Lordship Salvation makes rough and uncertain God’s simple plan of salvation. We will see that in addition to faith and belief in Christ, Lordship Salvation demands promises of surrender and commitment to fulfill what the Lordship advocates consider genuine saving faith. Surrender and commitment of life in ‘exchange’ for salvation is the doctrine of Lordship Salvation. Those are demands and conditions for salvation placed on the lost that the Bible does not mandate for them.” (IDOTG, p. 49.)
I am hopeful one day, with the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, every teacher of Lordship Salvation’s egregious errors will be recovered from and repent if it. In the meantime, we will resist, from the Scriptures, Lordship’s spread, and identify teachers of LS to be avoided (Rom. 16:17).
LM
*I am wrapping up our discussion here.
Hello, I just wanted to make a comment. I used to hold strongly to the Lordship Salvation/Justification point of view. Now I see that it is a terrible perversion of the gospel. I was coming from a reformed Baptist point of view. I was taught that LS isn't works salvation because since submitting to Christ is the result of the Spirit regenerating us, it isn't correct to say that surrendering to Christ's Lordship for Justification is a "work". That is incorrect. Requiring man to make moral choices before justification can occur is still justification by works no matter where you attempt to place regeneration. A work is still a work whether the person who performs it is regenerate or not. That excuse does not get you off the hook. So I gave up on LS because it required man to do a work for justification. But I haven't given up on the idea of unconditional election. I am a man without a church because I can't join the reformed Baptists cause they require works for justification and I can't join the Free Grace Churches because they give the sinner credit for his faith. Faith is a gift and therefore we can't boast that others do not have faith whereas we do. I have decided to call myself an Ultra Free Grace Christian. The Calvinists are Grace Christians. Those like you are Free Grace Christians and those like me are Ultra Free Grace Christians because we give God the credit for all of Salvation without exception. With some Calvinists point of view man still gets works into justification. With your point of view man gets a little credit for salvation since his contribution to salvation is faith. With my point of view and other Calvinists like me who reject LS man gets no credit for salvation whatsoever because man adds no works for salvation and cannot take credit for having faith whereas others do not have faith. We are Ultra Free Grace Christians. Have a good day.
DeleteHello:
DeleteThanks for the input.
You wrote, “I was taught that LS isn't works salvation because since submitting to Christ is the result of the Spirit regenerating us....”
That is Calvinism’s extra-biblical regeneration before faith. See,
http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/danger03.htm
I will add that another extra-biblical teaching from Calvinism that faith is the gift of God. See,
http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/danger04.htm
Neither one is taught in the Scriptures, but are instead forced in to or extracted from the Bible to make the Bible conform to Calvinism’s presuppositions. There is a balance in the Bible. Both Lordship Salvation and Calvinism strike at the heart of that balance.
“With your point of view man gets a little credit for salvation since his contribution to salvation is faith.”
No, that’s not my view. Faith is believing the record God gave of His Son, That he died, was buried and rose again, according to the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:1-4). Jesus Christ did ALL the (cross) work to make salvation possible, faith/believing not a work, it is the biblical plan of salvation for lost mankind (John 3:16; Rom. 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9).
LM