Lordship Salvation
(Chapter 11 from Dr. Hyle's excellent book, Salvation is More than Being Saved)
Colossians 2:16, 17, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a
shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." I Corinthians 2:8, "Which
none of the princes of this world knew- for had they known it, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory."
Now exactly what is Lordship salvation? It is a doctrine embraced by some
who
say that one must receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord in order to be saved. A careful took at this doctrine will show that it is really nothing more but
salvation by works rearing its ugly head. It adds to salvation by faith and
faith alone something that man must do, and that is make Jesus the Lord of his
life.
Those who embrace this doctrine often do so from good motives. They are sick of
sub-standard Christianity and shallow Christian living. They find others who
agree with them, and as they fellowship in their lamentation caused by
disappointment after examining the lives of God's people, their lamentation
becomes doctrine. They do not realize that they are adding works to salvation.
They adopt spiritual clichés such as "if Christ is not Lord of all, He will not
be Lord at all." Then they will adopt other little clichés like, "Don't pluck
green fruit," "Easy believism," etc. Their disappointment and oftentimes disgust
with the shallowness of many Christians causes them to go so far in their
disdain that they teach heresy. They love to talk about returning to New
Testament Christianity. Well, the truth is, people
have not changed since the New Testament. They had shallow Christians then even
as we have today. For example, look at I Corinthians
3:14, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with
meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For
ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and
divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of
Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" Here we have mention of
carnal Christians. Jesus was certainly not Lord of their lives. Yet they are
called babes in Christ.
I Corinthians 5:1-5, "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among
you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that
one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather
mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as
though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed. In the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the
power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus." Here is a member of the church, and the Lord said of him that his spirit
would be saved in the day of judgment. What a tragic testimony! He, like Ananias
and Sapphira and others, had committed the sin unto death. Certainly Christ was
not the Lord of his life.
Galatians 4:8-11, "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them
which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather
are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto
ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and
years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." Once
again we have some weak Christians whose lives were not characterized by the
Lordship of Christ.
2nd Thessalonians 3:6,14,15-- "Now we command you,
brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from
every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he
received of us. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man,
and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an
enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
Was Jesus the Lord of Lot's life when he was in Sodom? Of course not, yet God
called him "just." This does not mean he was just in his behavior, but he was
just in his standing before God because he was a believer. Was Jesus the Lord of
David's life when he sinned? Was Jesus the Lord of Peter's life when he denied
the Lord, denied the faith and denied the church? Was Jesus the Lord of
Abraham's life when he fled to Egypt because of a lack of faith? Was Jesus the
Lord of Moses' life when he lost his ticket to the Holy Land because of his sin
of smiting the rock twice? Was Jesus the Lord of Jacob's life when he was in Haran all those years?
Now certainly there is a doctrine called the Lordship of Christ, and the Bible
is full of warnings, pleadings and exhortations for God's children to yield to
Lordship. Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service." Romans 6-12, 13, "Let not sin therefore reign
in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield
ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves
unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness unto God." Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Galatians
6:10-17, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Ye see how large a
letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a
fair shew in the flesh, they constrain, you to be circumcised; only lest they
should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves
who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they
may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the
world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no
man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." The
admonition to the unsaved is that they accept Christ as Saviour. The admonition
to those who have accepted Christ as Saviour is to accept Him as Lord.
Now here are some observations about Lordship salvation.
1. In the final analysis, it is salvation by works, which is in direct contrast
to the teaching of the Scriptures. Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Romans 3:28, "Therefore we
conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Romans
4:2, "For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God." Ephesians 2:8, 9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should
boast." Romans 4-5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
2. If one must accept Christ as Lord of his life in order to be saved, it would of
necessity remove growth in grace. If one has yielded his life to Christ as Lord
at salvation, there would be no babes in Christ, but the simple truth is that
there are babes in Christ. I Corinthians
3: 1, "And 1, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." I Peter 2:2, "As new born babes, desire
the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby."
3. Lordship salvation necessitates the doctrine of losing one's salvation. If
one must make Jesus his Lord in order to be saved, then when he backslides to
the position to where Jesus is no longer his Lord, consistency would drive us to
believe that he is no longer saved. This would make us doubt the salvation of Peter when he denied the Lord, the
salvation of Barnabas when he had contention with Paul, the salvation of Jonah
when he left the will of God, etc.
4. Lordship salvation makes no provision for the carnal Christian. None of us
takes pleasure in the carnality of a Christian, but the fact remains that there
is such a person taught in the Bible. In I Corinthians 3:1 we have the carnal
Christian and the spiritual Christian. "And I, brethren, could not speak unto
you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as babes in Christ." The world
is divided between saved and lost. The saved are divided between carnal and
spiritual. I do not delight that there carnal Christians, but I must accept the
fact that they exist.
5. Lordship salvation removes grace and would nullify the plainest verses in the
Bible concerning salvation. John 3:15, "That whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but
the wrath of God abideth on him." John
5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on
Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed from death unto life." John 1: 11, 12, "He came unto His own, and
His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." Ephesians 2:8,
9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." All of these verses
plainly tell us salvation is by believing; that is, by faith in the finished
work of Calvary.
6. Salvation is receiving, not giving. John 1: 12, "But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
His name." In salvation it is God Who does the giving, not man. Man does the
receiving. God gives His Son.
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God
gives eternal life. John 10:28, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." God gives
us all things. Romans 8:32, "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" To be
a believer, one accepts what God has given. To be a disciple, one gives.
Salvation comes from the sacrifice of Christ. Discipleship comes from the
sacrifice of self. Salvation depends on God's faithfulness. Discipleship depends
on my faithfulness. Hence, salvation cannot be lost. Discipleship can be lost.
Occasionally someone will say, "You can be saved if you will give your heart to
Jesus." Now I think that people who use this statement are sincere, and many
have been saved in response to their appeal, but technically one is saved, not
because he gives his heart to Jesus; one is saved because he receives Jesus and
His gift of eternal life.
7. Lordship salvation would make salvation a trade or a deal or maybe even a
bribe. It would take away the simple reception of Christ for eternal life and
would become God giving us something if we give Him something. God would say to
us, "You give Me something; I'll give you something. We will trade, and you will
be saved." Salvation is not my giving God something and God giving me something;
salvation is God giving me something and my receiving it. Romans
6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord."
In order to understand the Lordship of Christ, let us notice the following:
1. The unsaved man is IN the flesh and sin is IN him.
2. He receives Christ. Christ comes IN him. Colossians 1:27, "To whom God would
make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
3. When Christ enters, the old man does not leave. Though Christ is in him, so
is the old nature. Romans 7:15-17, "For that which I do
I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If
then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now
then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." There is the new
man and there is the old man in the believer. Romans 7:22, 23, "For I delight in
the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin which is in my members."
4. The new man needs new environment. Hence, he is IN Christ. 2nd Corinthians
5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new." Ephesians 2:6, "And hath raised
us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." The term "in Christ" or its equivalent is mentioned over 130 times in the New
Testament.
5. Now that I am IN Christ, many things are made available to me.
Ephesians 1:3,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." I Corinthians 3:21,
"Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's." Romans 8:32, "He
that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not
with Him also freely give us all things?"
6. Though these things are available to me, they are not forced upon me, though I
live where they are. Notice that I am already in Christ, and now that I am in
Him, these things are available to me, but I must choose to have them. One of
these things is fellowship with God. Ephesians 2:13, "But now in Christ Jesus ye
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Another is a
spiritual walk. I John 2:6, "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked." Another is His approval. Romans 16:10, "Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus' household." Another is spiritual growth. Colossians 2:7, "Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with
thanksgiving." Another is spiritual maturity Colossians 1:28,
"Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all--wisdom; that
we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Another is sanctification. I
Corinthians 1:2, "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place
call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's."
All of these things are available to the believer. All are at his disposal,
whereas none were before he came in Christ. When he became a new creature and
entered into Christ, these and many other things were made available to him. Now
to whatever extent man avails himself of these things that are at his disposal,
Christ is his Lord. Naturally, the baby Christian does not avail himself of all
the things that are his any more than the babe in the house avails himself to
the washing machine or the family car. However, as we avail ourselves more and
more of the things that Christ has made for us, we grow in grace and Jesus
becomes more the Lord of our lives.
Perhaps the greatest Christian who ever lived was the Apostle Paul. In speaking
of himself he said, "0 wretched man that I am." He called himself "the chief of
sinners." He said the things that he would do, he did not, and the things he
would not do, he did. Probably Jesus was Lord of more of Paul's life than any
other person who ever lived, but Paul himself said he had not yet apprehended.
In conclusion, notice the vanity and pride involved in one testifying to his
salvation who believes in Lordship salvation. He is saying, "I have made Jesus
my Lord." That means that Jesus controls his life and he is totally yielded. My,
what a statement for a person to make about himself! On the other hand, notice
the humility in the person's testimony who says, "I am saved because I received
Christ as my Saviour." He is talking about a salvation that he did not merit. He
did nothing to receive it except receive it. It was a gift. Whereas, if we bad
to give something to God to get something in return, he and God made a trade and
his salvation is earned.
More Life Changing Sermons by Dr. Jack Hyles:
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