I heard a preacher say "turn from sin" to be saved, is he teaching Lordship Salvation?
By David J. Stewart
A
man recently wrote to me, saying he read where Dr. Oliver B. Greene and
Pastor Lester Roloff had used the phrase "turn from sin" concerning
salvation. He asked me to expose these great men of God as heretics
for teaching the lie of
Lordship
Salvation. However, as you will see, they certainly weren't
teaching heresy.
We must be extremely careful about labeling every man of God who teaches
that we must "turn from sin" to be saved as a heretic, because many of them,
especially the older preachers like Lester Roloff and Oliver B. Greene,
didn't mean what people are trying to attribute them as saying. For example:
Here is a quote from the beloved Dr. John R. Rice...
“To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit toward God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. You can see, then, how the man who believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes in Christ. The jailer repented when he turned from sin to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” (John R. Rice, What Must I Do to Be Saved?, 1940).
Now, the above statement can really be
distorted if you don't read carefully what Brother Rice says. Dr. Rice
clearly states that he views repentance and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ as one in the same... "You can see, then, how the man who
believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes in Christ."
Thus, the "turning from sin" which Brother Rice speaks of is only in the
sense of a realization of one's guilt; not actually ceasing from committing
sin as a prerequisite to salvation.
I guarantee you that neither Oliver B. Greene, nor Lester Roloff, believed
that a person had to forsake the act of sin to be saved. What they did
believe, and I do, is that genuine repentance changes a man. The word
"repent" in the Bible means, A CHANGE OF MIND, but we don't know exactly
what that change of mind is. I think Dr. Jack Hyles explains repentance the
best, and I agree with him 100%...
In Brother Hyle's book, Enemies of Soulwinning, in the chapter Misunderstood Repentance, he states:
So, from what must a person repent in order to be saved? He must repent of that which makes him lost. Since "believing not" makes him lost, "believing" makes him saved. In repentance there is a turning from the thing that keeps him from being saved to the thing that saves him. So, yes, there is a repentance from unbelief in order to believe. It is simply a change of direction. It means a turning around. You are going away from believing, and you decide to turn around and believe. You change your direction; you change your mind. With your will you believe and rely upon Christ to save you. In order to believe, you have to repent of unbelief. That which makes a man lost must be corrected.
Dr. Hyles loved, promoted and honored Bro. Roloff often. Do you think Bro. Hyles would have honored Bro. Roloff if he taught heresy? No way!
Obviously, many great men of God used (and use)
the phrase "turn from sin" when preaching about salvation. In the case of
Oliver B. Greene, John R. Rice, Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody and Lester
Roloff—they are all referring to the evidence that genuine repentance
brings—a changed life!
Heretics On Salvation
However, here are some heretics that clearly
teach works salvation:
I expose pastor, John MacArthur, because he foolishly teaches...
"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 Scripture; it's the fruit of actions, not intentions. There's no room for passive spectators: words without actions are empty and futile...The life we live, not the words we speak, determines our eternal destiny" (Hard to Believe, p. 93). [emphasis added]
Well MacArthur certainly makes it hard to
believe! MacArthur speaks blasphemous lies! Salvation is
receiving; not giving. It is obvious that MacArthur is teaching works
salvation, even though he repeatedly teaches salvation by grace through
faith in other places. MacArthur is confused and confusing at best.
Evangelist, Ray Comfort, has
also become entangled into this new evangelical misunderstanding of
repentance.
I know many old preachers who say that a person should receive Jesus as
their "Lord and Savior." I could technically criticize them for preaching
Lordship Salvation," but I'd be dead wrong. Jesus is the Lord and
everyone who gets saved has already received Christ as their Lord (i.e., the
one supreme in authority, God). We don't make Jesus Lord; He is Lord! The
idea of "making a commitment" or "surrendering" to Christ is Christian
discipleship and has nothing to do with being saved. Salvation is a
free gift.
I expose the Salvation Army, because they clearly teach works salvation. If
you look at the Salvation Army's list of doctrines, you'll come down to
doctrine # 9, which reads as follows...
"We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ."
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/salvation_army_heresy.htm
It's damnable heresy! If someone can show me
anywhere where Lester Roloff, John R. Rice or Oliver B. Greene taught that
doctrine I'll expose them as heretics too.
Conclusion
This is definitely a delicate issue. Certainly, Lester Roloff and
Oliver B. Greene are not wrong on repentance. When viewed from the
Lordship Salvation window of our time, it may appear that preachers who
used the phrase "turn
from sin" back then were heretics; but preachers back then taught
salvation and repentance from sin as almost being synonymous, because
genuine repentance brings forth new life—i.e., a changed life.
However, none of the great preachers of the past required sinners to forsake
the act of sin as a prerequisite to be saved. No, rather, they simply
taught that genuine repentance is mandatory for true salvation, which brings
forth a life of righteousness. Of course, even the best of Christians
still sin every day, and the Bible if filled with flawed believers who
messed up horribly.
There is a fine line between the turning from
sin that genuine repentance brings; verses the turning from sin that false
prophets require for people to get saved.
If we're wrong on repentance as believers, then we're wrong on everything
else too.
Kindest regards,
David J. Stewart
