Chris Anderson's The Scandal of Schism Reviewed by George Zeller

What follows are select excerpts from George Zeller's comprehensive review of Chris Anderson's, The Scandal of Schism.

In light of the helpful contributions Anderson has made with his hymn compositions, etc., I was saddened to learn that he had published this book which is an attack against fundamentalists. He accuses them of causing schisms and sinful divisions in the churches. In this review I will cite page numbers of Anderson’s book so that his statements can be easily found and checked.

Anderson’s new attack against fundamentalists reminds me of a very similar attack by Jack Van Impe as set forth in his book, Heart Disease in Christ’s Body (written 1984). In this book Van Impe expressed his concern over the divisiveness within the church and he makes a strong plea for broader fellowship among brethren based on love and doctrinal toleration. The book was a virulent attack against what he labeled as“neo-fundamentalists” or “extreme separatists.” I reviewed that book over 40 years ago.See https://middletownbiblechurch.org/separate/heartdis.pdf

Anderson’s position reminds me of a book Chuck Swindoll wrote back in 1990 called, The Grace Awakening. He attacked believers with high standards as “legalists” and pushed his “freegrace” ideas way beyond their boundaries.

Let me comment briefly on some of these “divisive issues” mentioned by Anderson:

Contemporary music- Anderson has no problem with the music of the Gettys, Sovereign Grace, CityAlight or Steve Green (pages 62,132,125 ).

Concerning degrees of Calvinism- Anderson wants believers to be united around the gospel, but how can we join together with men who deny that “God so loved the world,” teaching instead that He loved and died only for the “world of the elect.” Limited atonement is a denial of the true gospel which is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Also many Calvinists teach that regeneration precedes faith. That is, you do not believe to be born again but you are born again so that you can believe. But according to Anderson we should all seek unity under one big tent and not be concerned about such doctrines.

Opinions of a well-known author. Anderson seems to be referring to men such as John MacArthur, Al Mohler, John Piper, etc. Are we to embrace such men even if they hold some very unbiblical positions?

1. MacArthur’s denial of the eternal Sonship of Christ (teaching that Christ did not become the Son of God until His incarnation);
2. MacArthur’s teaching that a believer does not have an old nature, but only a new nature in Christ;
3. MacArthur’s teaching on “Lordship Salvation,” that the requirements for salvation include obedience, surrender and fulfilling the demands of discipleship;
4. MacArthur’s denial of unlimited atonement.
5. MacArthur’s weak positions on dispensationalism; etc.

Does Anderson believe that exposing errors like this is an attack on Christian unity? Apparently he does.

Excessively modest dress- He criticizes women for “excessively modest dress” (p. 53) but has nothing to say about women, even professing believers, who are excessively immodest.

Second degree separation- Anderson is opposed to secondary separation and believes that fundamentalists are guilty of “excessive separation” (p. 58).

The Use of Alcohol- There is a trend today towards a position where believers may partake of alcohol in moderation but avoid getting drunk. The IFCA in recent years changed their policy on alcohol, basically allowing for social drinking and the consumption of alcohol but condemning drunkenness. Anderson takes the same position.

Other positions Anderson takes, reviewed by Zeller, include:

• The timing of the rapture
• How people should dress for worship
• Worship Styles
• Short hair on men

Ernest Pickering in his excellent book, Biblical Separation, wrote, “Church history yields no example of a group or denomination that, having been captured by apostates, has been rescued and restored to a Biblical witness.” Anderson takes issue with this statement and believes that the Southern Baptist Convention has been rescued and restored to a Biblical witness, due to a conservative resurgence around 1979 (p. 72 footnote). He accuses David Beale of maligning SBC brethren instead of encouraging them (p. 73). He cites Beale’s book, SBC: House on the Sand? and claims that the SBC experienced a successful conservative resurgence and a great victory (p. 73 footnote). This “conservative resurgence” in the SBC is highly questionable.

How do we handle the various teachings and positions that are held among Bible-believing Christians? Anderson believes that if a person holds to the fundamentals of the faith and preaches the true gospel then he should be welcomed into “one big gospel tent” and we should not fight over any of these secondary issues. Anderson loves the slogan, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity” (p. 151). The problem here is this: Who decides what is non-essential?

How can we summarize the position of Chris Anderson?
The following quotation is taken from WorldwideImpact, a Campus Crusade for Christ publication, May 1972. Even though this was written a number of years ago, it seems to accurately reflect Anderson’s position,

We are to put aside the peripheral issues (that is, doctrinal issues) that divide us .... Men are reminded that the real issue is Jesus Christ, and that we are to love one another even if we do not agree theologically or philosophically [or doctrinally]. I encourage you to apply this principle of love and acceptance with all of your Christian friends, and help make Christ the real issue.

This philosophy could perhaps be restated as follows: “It is sinful to divide the body of Christ on earth by separating ourselves from any Christian over any doctrinal or ecclesiastical issue. The mark of true orthodoxy is love, not doctrine.

Today as I think of that song [You are Always Good] and the several other Chris Anderson songs that have meant so much to me and to our congregation, I am saddened. I am saddened because the man who had the potential to be one of the finest song writers of our day has decided to go on the attack against fundamentalists and join the ranks of a much wider and broader evangelicalism. It brings to mind the title of Dr. Pickering’s book, The Tragedy of Compromise.

See Brother Zeller's Full Review. It is the sixth article down.

Site Publisher's Closure:

Chris Anderson is squarely among the non-separatist evangelicals who will allow for, tolerate, ignore and excuse a wide range of doctrinal aberrations for the sake of unity. Anderson is doing all he can to influence the next generation to join him in compromise of the Scriptures for the sake of unity with his mentors and friends in T4G and The Gospel Coalition.

LM

Related Reading

John MacArthur Requested to, and Resigns the IFCA

A Mood of Broadmindedness: The NEW New Evangelicalism, Dr. Ernest Pickering

Dr. David Beale Reviews Chris Anderson's Book

Lordship Salvation: Charles Spurgeon’s Personal Testimony Speaks Against It

The following is taken from Spurgeon: A New Biography by Arnold Dallimore (Moody Press, 1984), pages 18-20.

The story of Spurgeon’s conversion is widely known, but it may well be repeated, and it cannot be better told than in the words in which he himself presented it:

I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now, had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Church. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people’s heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved....

The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now it is well that preachers be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was—“LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH” (Isa. 45:22).

He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimmer of hope for me in that text.

The preacher began thus: “This is a very simple text indeed. It says ‘Look.’ Now lookin’ don’t take a deal of pain. It aint liftin’ your foot or your finger; it is just ‘Look.’ Well, a man needn’t go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look.

"But then the text says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Ay!" he said in broad Essex, “many on ye are lookin’ to yourselves, but it’s no use lookin’ there. You’ll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some say look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Some on ye say ‘We must wait for the Spirit’s workin.’ You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, ‘Look unto Me.’”

Then the good man followed up his text in this way: “Look unto Me; I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin’ on the cross. Look unto Me, I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sitting at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!”

When he had . . . . managed to spin out about ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger.

Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “And you will always be miserable—miserable in life and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but look and live!”

I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said—I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought . . . . I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, “Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me. Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away.

There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, “Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.” Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say—

“E’er since by faith I saw the stream


Thy flowing wounds supply,


Redeeming love has been my theme,


And shall be till I die. . .”

That happy day when I found the Saviour, and learned to cling to His dear feet, was a day never to be forgotten by me . . . . I listened to the Word of God and that precious text led me to the cross of Christ. I can testify that the joy of that day was utterly indescribable. I could have leaped, I could have danced; there was no expression, however fanatical, which would have been out of keeping with the joy of that hour. Many days of Christian experience have passed since then, but there has never been one which has had the full exhilaration, the sparkling delight which that first day had.

I thought I could have sprung from the seat in which I sat, and have called out with the wildest of those Methodist brethren . . . “I am forgiven! I am forgiven! A monument of grace! A sinner saved by blood!”

My spirit saw its chains broken to pieces, I felt that I was an emancipated soul, an heir of heaven, a forgiven one, accepted in Jesus Christ, plucked out of the miry clay and out of the horrible pit, with my feet set upon a rock and my goings established . . ..

Between half-past ten o’clock, when I entered that chapel, and half-past twelve o’clock, when I was back again at home, what a change had taken place in me! Simply by looking to Jesus I had been delivered from despair, and I was brought into such a joyous state of mind that, when they saw me at home, they said to me, “Something wonderful has happened to you,” and I was eager to tell them all about it. Oh! there was joy in the household that day, when all heard that the eldest son had found the Saviour and knew himself to be forgiven.

(Taken from Iain Murray, ed., The Early Years (London: Banner of Truth, 1962), p. 87-90).

Originally posted August 10, 2009

OBSERVATIONS (by George Zeller)

1) Notice how Christ-centered the gospel presentation was.


2) Notice that due emphasis was placed on the death and resurrection of Christ, the all-sufficient Saviour (1 Cor. 15:3-4).


3) Notice how God used the “foolishness of preaching” to save Spurgeon, and that the focus was on Christ and Him crucified (compare 1 Cor. 1:20-25).

4) Notice how Spurgeon was instructed to look away from SELF and to focus on the SAVIOUR.


5) Notice that the emphasis of the sermon was upon LOOKING, not DOING. He was to look in the direction of Christ and he was not told to focus on fulfilling any requirements. The only requirement was that he LOOK.


6) Notice how simple the terms of salvation were: “Look and live!” “Trust Christ and you shall be saved.”


7) Notice that the substitute preacher did not say anything about the terms of discipleship and the demands that are incumbent upon every saved person to follow and obey Christ.

8) Notice that the substitute preacher did not tell Spurgeon to “submit to Christ’s Lordship” or “fulfill the terms of discipleship” or “turn from and forsake all sin” or “hate father, mother, wife, children, etc.” These things are the rightful results of salvation but not the simple terms of salvation.


9) Notice Spurgeon’s joyful conclusion: “Simply by looking to Jesus I had been delivered from despair.” “Oh, that somebody had told me this before, ‘Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.’”

For a wonderful sermon by Spurgeon dealing with the question of what a person needs to do to be saved, see his sermon entitled, “The Warrant of Faith” available from Pilgrim Publications, Box 66, Pasadena, TX 77501.

Reprinted by permission from George Zeller.


Spurgeon’s personal testimony and the observations above by Brother Zeller devastate Lordship Salvation’s message of eternal salvation through an upfront commitment of life.

With the reading of Spurgeon’s personal testimony I am reminded of the beautiful hymn Look and Live, (William A. Ogden, 1887). Following are the four stanzas and refrain:

I’ve a message from the Lord, hallelujah!
The message unto you I’ll give,
’Tis recorded in His word, hallelujah!
It is only that you “look and live.”

Refrain
Look and live, my brother, live!
Look to Jesus now, and live;
’Tis recorded in His word, hallelujah!
It is only that you “look and live.”

I’ve a message full of love, hallelujah!
A message, O my friend, for you,
’Tis a message from above, hallelujah!
Jesus said it, and I know ’tis true.

Life is offered unto you, hallelujah!
Eternal life thy soul shall have,
If you’ll only look to Him, hallelujah!
Look to Jesus who alone can save.

I will tell you how I came, hallelujah!
To Jesus when He made me whole:
’Twas believing on His name, hallelujah!
I trusted and He saved my soul.

If you’d enjoy singing this treasured hymn with a piano accompaniment see Look & Live


Please continue this series at- Lordship Salvation: Charles Spurgeon Speaks (more than once) Against It

BJU’s Soteriology: “Turn From Their Sins,” for Salvation

In a previous article, BJU: It’s a Question of Doctrine1 we introduced a discussion of a section in the current BJU Position Statements, which we will examine in a moment. In the Question of Doctrine article our concern was primarily with a chapel message by BJU president Dr. Steve Pettit.  Statements made such as the following were considered.

“What is the race? It is the whole of the Christian life of faith…. When you start [the race] in faith you need to run and finish in faith…. The race has to be faithfully run to the finish, there is justification, sanctification and a glorification. If you lose, if you don’t finish you lose everything, you lose your soul.”

We demonstrated Dr. Steve Pettit teaching the same element of Calvinistic theology (Perseverance of the Saints) as John Piper, R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur and Kevin DeYoung.

Today, we turn our attention more fully to the current BJU Position Statements: Calvinism, Arminianism and Reformed Theology under the subsection, With Regard to the Doctrine of Soteriology.2 In paragraph one this statement appears,

“God offers this salvation freely to all men who are willing to repent and turn from their sins (Acts 3:19, 17:30) and place their full faith and trust in the atonement Christ made by His finished work on the Cross (Luke 24:46–48, Heb. 9:11–15, 10:10–14).” [bold added]

Does God condition salvation on a lost man’s willingness, “to repent and turn from their sins?”  “Lordship Salvation” is an interpretation of the gospel which requires faith in Christ, plus commitment of life, to stop sinning and start obeying in “exchange” for salvation. Here is John MacArthur, on Lordship Salvation’s message to the lost.

“The gospel that Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow Him in submissive obedience, not just a plea to make a decision or pray a prayer…It was an offer of eternal life and forgiveness for repentant sinners, but at the same time it was a rebuke to outwardly religious people whose lives were devoid of true righteousness. It put sinners on notice that they must turn from sin and embrace God’s righteousness.” (Dr. John MacArthur: An Introduction to Lordship Salvation.)

“Seeking the Lord is important, calling upon Him is critical, but so is forsaking wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts. It is impossible to talk about seeking the Lord without talking about turning from sin. It is impossible to talk about turning to the Lord without turning away from iniquity and wickedness. Clearly, this is an essential in the gospel message…. If you’re going to receive the Lord and the salvation He brings, you’re going to have to straighten out…. Salvation comes to those who turn from sin to God.” (The Doctrine of Repentance, Sermon- April 3, 2005) 

“The gospel call of Jesus was a call to forsake sin as much as it was a summons to believe in Him. It was a call to turn from sin.” (The Call to Repentance, Sermon- January 24, 1988)

Dr. Ernest Pickering

John MacArthur is stating what he believes to be God’s plan for the salvation of lost mankind.  MacArthur is stating Lordship’s indispensable condition that must be met if a lost man is to receive “eternal life” and the “forgiveness” of sins. That condition is the lost man “must turn from sin” to receive the gift of eternal life and ultimately enter heaven. Dr. Ernest Pickering recognized John MacArthur's teaching was a departure from the biblical plan of salvation. 

“MacArthur laments, ‘Contemporary Christendom too often accepts a shallow repentance that bears no fruit’ (p. 96). This theme recurs over and over again in the book. The recommended cure for this malady is to require more of the seeking sinner than the Bible requires. Instead of ‘merely’ believing on the finished work of Christ the inquiring soul must also be willing to have Christ as Lord over every area of his life. It seems evident upon an examination of this thesis that those who espouse it are adding something to the gospel that is not in the Scriptures.” (Ernest Pickering, Lordship Salvation: An Examination of John MacArthur’s Book, The Gospel According to Jesus.)

Brother George Zeller wrote, “The unsaved person is told that if he does not turn from sin, surrender, have a willingness to obey, fulfill the demands of discipleship, etc., then he cannot be saved. Sadly, the focus is turned away from the all sufficient, finished work of Christ which is the sinner’s only resting place.”3

From Brother Zeller’s article, John MacArthur’s Position on the Lordship of Christ we read,

MacArthur defines REPENTANCE as turning from your sins (Faith Works, p. 74). He also teaches that true repentance “inevitably results in a change of behavior” (Faith Works, p. 75). But is not TURNING FROM SINS a CHANGE OF BEHAVIOR? Is MacArthur confusing the RESULTS of repentance with REPENTANCE itself? Is not he confusing the FRUITS with the ROOT? MacArthur is more accurate when he says, “true repentance involves a change of heart and purpose (Faith Works, p. 75). The inner change will produce an outward change.4

Dr. John Van Gelderen wrote,

Jesus said, “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). Sick people do not turn from their sickness to a physician. If they could turn from sickness, they would no longer need a physician. Rather, sick people turn to a physician for deliverance from their sickness. Similarly, sinners must turn to Christ, the Great Physician, for deliverance from their sin and its consequence.5

A lost man cannot turn from sin, but he can turn to God to deliver him from the penalty and power of sin (Romans 6). 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). (In Defense of the Gospel: Biblical Answers to Lordship Salvation, p. 128)

Lordship Salvation is a works based, man-centered message that conditions the gift of eternal life on an upfront commitment to change behavior and perform the “good works” (Eph. 2:10) of a disciple that should be the result of a genuine conversion. Calling on the lost to “turn from their sins” for salvation is to condition salvation on behavior, not believing. That is works salvation!

We have looked at everything above to get to this,

The BJU Position Statement on soteriology is virtually identical to John MacArthur’s  

definition of Lordship Salvation.

BJU’s Position Statement says God “offers…salvation freely,” and this is true. By conditioning what God offers “freely” upon the willingness of a sinner to “turn from their sins” BJU’s Statement corrupts the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor 11:3) and frustrates grace (Gal. 2:21).

Historically BJU never allowed the teaching of, let alone publish an official position statement legitimizing Lordship Salvation. In fact, BJU had in years past utterly rejected Lordship Salvation.6

Is it possible BJU unwittingly stumbled into the trap of Lordship Salvation not realizing that is where they have positioned the university’s soteriology? Or has the university officially accepted the “Lordship Salvation” interpretation of the gospel? 

If Dr. Steve Pettit and the BJU administration reject Lordship Salvation they will surely retract and revise the BJU Position Statement we have highlighted here. Otherwise, and tragically, we’re left to conclude that BJU has become a welcoming place for Lordship Salvation.

LM

Related Reading:
An Analysis of BJU's Position Paper on Calvinism, Arminianism & Reformed Theology

Footnotes:

1) BJU: It’s a Question of Doctrine

2) BJU Position Statements: Calvinism, Arminianism and Reformed Theology

3) In Defense of the Gospel: Biblical Answers to Lordship Salvation, p. xi.)

4) John MacArthur’s Position on the Lordship of Christ

5) Repent and Believe, Part 8: Confusing Terminology: “Turn from Sin.”

6) A Review of Walter Chantry’s “Today’s Gospel” by Dr. Stewart Custer

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 to Christ in full self-surrender (FW, p. 49).

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