I recently heard a popular Baptist
evangelist/radio preacher, say that everyone should have the same Lordship
salvation experience as Paul (Saul) when he got saved. Kindly, that's wrong.
Paul's conversion experience was definitely out of the ordinary. You can read
the full story in Acts 9:1-16, but here are the primary Scriptures...
Acts 9:5-6, “And he said, Who art thou,
Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into
the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”
It is wrong to demand this type of spectacular
experience from anyone to be saved. The Bible is filled with plenty examples
of saints who were saved quietly and without any sensationalism. Not everyone
has the same immediate dedication to serve God that Paul did. Paul was raised
as a Pharisee in the strictest sense of the law (Acts 26:5). Paul was a woeful
threat against the new Testament Church, Galatians 1:13, “For ye have heard
of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure
I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.”
God's Holy Spirit had been dealing with Saul's
heart for a long time, which is why God said to him in Acts 9:5... “it is hard
for thee to kick against the pricks.” The word “pricks” here means “a point,
that is, a sting or goad.” A “goad” is a long pole with a point on the end
used to poke at livestock (like cattle) to get the herd to move. It is very
effective! God had been poking at Saul's conscience for a long time, and now
the chickens finally came home to roost. When the Lord confronted Saul, he
instantly repented and asked God where to go from there. I love the story of
Paul because it shows that some of the most stubborn sinners also have the
potential to become the best Christians when they get saved.
Oh listen my
friend, Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lamb of God, the Prince of peace, the
Everlasting Father, the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and Morning Star, the Lily
of the Valley, the Son of God, the Savior, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
the Resurrection, the Door, the Great Shepherd, the One and Only, the
Redeemer, the Great Physician and Almighty God of the entire universe!!!
These are all wonderful and accurate names for the precious Lord Jesus
Christ, but the only one that matters concerning our salvation is SAVIOR!
Jesus Christ is the Savior of all the world. Whether or not you receive Him as
your personal Savior is completely up to you. Your going to Heaven depends
upon it.
Receive Christ As “Savior” To Be Saved,
Not “Lord And Savior”
We
often read in tracts that one must accept Jesus as “Lord and Savior” to be
saved. This heresy is not taught in the Bible. Many Bible preachers and
teachers use this terminology in their preaching.
Let me say, there is a
“growing-in-grace” period for the believer in Christ. As a matter of fact, it
is a life-long growing process. Being born-again happens immediate, but the
sanctification of the believer (conforming us into the image of Christ) is a
lifetime process. No Christian can ever claim to have “arrived” in this
fleshly body. We are all sinners saved by God’s grace—deserving of hell. It
matters not how good a Christian you may think you are, you are a nobody
without God. Immature believers hypocritically point fingers, saying “He has
sinned” and “She has sinned,” when they ought to be saying “WE
HAVE SINNED!”
Listen to the words of
the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:3, “For
if a man think himself to be something, when HE IS NOTHING, he deceiveth
himself.”
There are no big shots in the Church,
only little shots. Jesus said that the greatest are made to serve.
Matthew 20:27, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your
servant.” Jesus washed His disciple's dirty feet as an example to us
how to serve OTHERS. Yet, this has absolutely nothing to do with salvation,
which is a gift. DISCIPLESHIP and FELLOWSHIP are not the same as SONSHIP. Some
people attempt to use 1st John 1:6 to support the Lordship
Salvation heresy, “If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” Please notice
that the subject is “fellowship” and not “sonship.” Sonship is established the
moment that we are born-again by the Spirit of God.
Oh the delusion of so
many people, they think they’re God’s gift to the world. Let me tell you, we
are nothing without God. The only good thing about any believer is the Lord
Jesus Christ. Apart from God, we are simply wicked, hell-deserving, sinners.
Don’t misunderstand the Bible, we are special to God and the object of His
love—so much so that He laid down His own life for us. However, Jesus Christ
will never truly be in absolute control of our life until we are rid of this
earthly body. Question: how much would a person have to make Jesus the Lord of
their life to be saved? The answer is simple, none. Why? Because you
can do NOTHING of your own to merit God’s free gift of eternal life—it was
paid for by Jesus alone. It is silly and wicked for anyone to teach that a
person must make Jesus the Lord of their life to be saved.
A person only needs to
trust the Lord for salvation, not dedicate their life to serve Him. In John
12:42-43 we read that “many” of the chief Jewish rulers believed on Jesus, but
secretly so for fear of being kicked out of the synagogue by the unbelieving
Pharisees. The Bible says they valued the praise of men more than the praise
of God. Here we plainly see that these chief rulers hadn't received Jesus as
Lord of their life. John 12:42-43, “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.”
Recognizing Christ as the Master of your life
has nothing to do with being saved. You need NOT do anything to be saved
except admit that you’re a sinner and believe the gospel. The only sin which
you must literally forsake to be saved is the sin of unbelief! Since unbelief
is the only sin that can keep a person out of Heaven, it is the only sin which
must literally be forsaken to be saved. When a lost sinner turns to Christ for
salvation, they have just turned from their unbelief (this is repentance, a
turning point, a change of mind).
John 3:20 Explains The
Meaning Of Repentance
John 3:20, “For every one
that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved.”
John 3:20
is an excellent Scripture to help us understand what it means to “repent”
concerning salvation. Jesus teaches in John 3:20 that unsaved people who love
their sins WON'T come to the light to be saved. John 5:40, “And ye
will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Notice that jesus
didn't say “ye cannot come”; but rather, “ye will not come.”
The Lord teaches
that people who love their sinful lifestyle WON'T come to the light to be
saved, to avoid being reproved for their sins. That is, they don't want to
face the realization that the life they are living is wickedness. The heathen
world doesn't want to feel guilty for their sins.
The light is the
gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ Who died, was buried and resurrected.
2nd Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Since the unsaved man
refuses to come to the light of the gospel to be saved because he loves his
sins, then it becomes clear that the man who repents has changed his mind and
is now coming to Christ to be saved. The very act of coming to Jesus Christ to
be forgiven of one's sins is plain evidence that repentance has taken place.
All that God requires to be saved (concerning sin) is that a person admit they
have a sin problem.
Mark 1:15, “And
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent
ye, and believe the gospel.” The Greek word for “repent” in this
Scripture is metanoeo and means “a change of mind.” Notice that
repentance concerning salvation is a change of mind and not a change
of lifestyle. Although the Bible does not specify what the change of mind
is, John 3:20 provides the answer for us.
The word
“reproved” in John 3:20 is the Greek word elegchō and means “to
confute, admonish: - convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.” The
word “confute” means “to prove false or wrong.” The ungodly world do not want
to be told that their sexual immorality, drunkenness and abortions are sinful
and wrong. Thus, they rename the sin of sexual immorality to “sexual freedom.”
The sin of drunkenness is now called “a disease.” The sin of abortion has been
renamed to “freedom of choice.” And the vile sin of homosexuality is now
considered an “alternative lifestyle.” The Bible calls these acts “sin.”
Again, the word
“confute” means “to prove false or wrong.” Unsaved heathens don't want to be
proven wrong concerning their sins. That's why they won't come to the light
(truth) of the gospel to be saved. No one likes to be told that they are doing
wrong and are sinning against God. Homosexuals don't want to be proven wrong
concerning their same-sex perversion. Abortionists don't want to be proven
wrong regarding their mass-murdering of human life. Unrepentant sinners don't
want to be proven false or wrong!
Lordship Salvation Eliminates Growth in
Grace
Jesus
said in 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.”
That settles it! The doctrine of Lordship Salvation is dangerous because it
adds to what Jesus said concerning salvation. Jesus said, “whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish.” For Christ to be the Lord of your life means that
you have given Him complete control of your life. Though this would be a
wonderful change in the life of any believer, it is NOT a requirement for
salvation.
Again, the Bible
speaks of “growing in grace” ... “But
GROW IN GRACE, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To
him be glory both now and for ever. Amen”
(2nd Peter 3:18). Every new convert needs to grow in grace. It is
impossible for a new believer in Christ to have the understanding and
discernment that a mature Christian would have. How can a newborn baby run a
marathon without first learning to walk, and how can he or she walk until they
first learn to crawl? 1st Peter 2:2, “As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may GROW thereby.”
The Christian life is all about changing. Moment-by-moment, we must ask the
Holy Spirit to show us areas in our life that need improvement, as we obey the
Word of God.
Salvation is simple,
men make it complicated. Many people are confused on this subject. God wants
nothing from you to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by
Christ's precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19). As a matter of fact, only those
who come to Jesus empty-handed will ever be saved. Just admit that you are a
sinner (repent) and believe the gospel.
Repent And Believe To Be Saved.
Lordship Salvation Adds To The
Simple Plan Of Salvation
I
cannot say for sure whether or not these Lordship salvation folks are saved, I
do believe they are sincere. What I am saying is that the doctrine of Lordship
salvation is of the devil. Salvation is a FREE GIFT of God and we must NOT add
or subtract anything from it. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because
we owed a debt we could not pay. The price has been paid in full by
Christ's precious literal, physical, blood. All we need to do is accept the
free gift of eternal life. “Therefore
as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so
by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification
of life”
(Romans 5:18). Eternal life is a free gift to each and every one of
us, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
The
Devil is a trickster my friend—he is a busy beaver, working to kill, steal and
destroy. I am not saying that every preacher who says to receive Christ as
your “Lord and Savior” is a heretic. A lot of the old-time preachers used that
phrase, but meant it very differently than false teachers do today. The Roman
Catholic religion has infiltrated many of our religious circles, introducing
works salvation into our churches. The heresy of Lordship Salvation
teaches that faith in the Lord is not enough to be saved; but rather, some
degree of self-righteous works are also required, although they deny that such
works are self-righteous. They certainly are self-righteous! Adding anything
to simple faith in the gospel is a false gospel of self-righteousness!!!
It only took God one
day to take Israel out of Egypt, but it took God forty years to take Egypt out
of Israel. Think about that! Though many of the Israelites who wandered in the
wilderness were saved, they never saw the Promised Land. In the same way, we
are saved the moment we trust upon Christ; however, it takes God a lifetime to
straighten us out. Everyone's life is a mess! This does NOT mean we are not
saved, it simply means that we still have a lot of spiritual growing-up to do.
Whether Jesus is the Lord of your life or not, you simply need only trust the
Lord as your Savior to be saved.
Anyone
who adds anything to simple faith in Christ is wrong. Salvation is NOT found
in good deeds or merit, it is NOT found in religion or behavior, it is NOT
found in giving up sins or turning over a new leaf, it is NOT found in being
kind or giving away lots of money, it is NOT found in how good a person you
may think you are—salvation is found in a person, Jesus Christ.
I recently heard on
the news of a man who won $3 billion (that’s billion with a big B) in a
lawsuit settlement. He developed lung cancer from smoking cigarettes all his
life. The cancer had now spread to his liver and to his brain. Needless to
say, this man won’t make it much longer. Death is right around the corner.
What good is $3,000,000,000 if you can’t enjoy it? I wonder if this man is
ready to die? Is he saved? Will he go to heaven or hell for all eternity? How
about you, are you ready to die? Are you right with God? Do you know what it
means to be right with God? Let’s see what the Bible says, “Therefore
being justified by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Romans 5:1). Anyone can have peace with God. We must come to God the
Father through the Son Jesus Christ.
Do you believe that
Jesus is God’s Son Who came to this earth as God Almighty in the flesh? Do you
believe that Jesus is Almighty God today? Do you believe He died in your place
to pay for your sins and redeem you from hell? Do you believe Jesus was
crucified, buried and raised up after three days? If so, won’t you trust
Christ now as your personal Savior if you’ve never done so? If you will simply
confess to God that you are a wicked sinner, deserving of hell and receive the
gospel as full payment for your sins, then you will be immediately forgiven
and saved eternally.
You don’t need to make
Jesus the Lord of your life to be saved; but rather, just believe that Christ
died for YOUR SINS and has risen from the dead. Do you believe? Have you made
Christ's payment upon the cross your hope for Heaven? You don’t need to cease
from sinful bad habits to be saved. There's only one sin that a person must
literally forsake to be saved and that is the sin of UNBELIEF. The only sin
that can keep a man out of Heaven is unbelief; so that's the only sin which
must literally be forsaken to get saved.
Sorrow Over Sins Not Required For Salvation
The Bible never requires a person to feel the
emotion of sorrow over sins to be saved. Instead, God simply requires us to
have a change of mind (the Biblical meaning of repentance) concerning
sin that compels us to believe the gospel to be saved. Feeling guilt over sin
is not repentance; but rather, acknowledging one's guilt is repentance unto
salvation. Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law
saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The
law of God diagnoses man's problem, which is SIN! Christ is the solution!
Jesus never told
anyone to give up their sins to be saved, He simply asked us to believe on Him
(John 6:40).
All Jesus wants from us is simple childlike faith. Jesus didn't require people
to give up their sins to be saved, He saved them and then told them
afterwards to go and sin no more,
Jesus said, “...go,
and sin no more”
(John 8:11). To be saved, a person needs only to confess their own
sins and seek Christ's forgiveness; hence, they have repented.
The False Repentance Of Judas
“Then Judas,
which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned,
repented himself, and brought again the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.”
—Matthew 27:3
Did you know that Judas
repented? Read our text verse above in Matthew 27:1. Yes, Judas repented, but
he still hung himself and went straight to Hell forever. Why? It's because
Judas was only sorry for what he had done. A different Greek word is used for
“repented” in Matthew 27:1 (which means “to feel remorse afterwards”) than the
Greek word “repent” in Mark 1:15 (which means, “a change of mind”). Mark
1:15, “...repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Notice that the Bible
doesn't say to repent and turn from sin; but rather, repent and BELIEVE THE
GOSPEL.
The only turning from
sin that God requires for salvation is the admission of our sinnership, the
renouncement of our sins, the realization of our guilt. It simply means that
whereas we used to defend our sins as an unsaved person, now we've had a
change of mind and say, “I have sinned and am guilty in God's eyes.” Biblical
repentance is turning to the Lord to be forgiven of our sins. So we see that
genuine repentance unto salvation and belief are inseparable.
God gave us the Law to
show us the awfulness of our sins (Romans 7:13), to convince us of our GUILT
OF SIN (Romans 3:19). Thus, we MUST come to Christ for salvation as a sinner.
This is the only extent to which a person must “turn from sin” to be saved.
God only saves “THE UNGODLY” (Romans 4:5). To require a change of lifestyle is
a works-based false gospel. To “repent” concerning salvation means “a change
of mind” (not a change of lifestyle). Whereas an unsaved person used to defend
their sins and live shamelessly in shameful sin without guilt, now there has
been a change of mind and they desire forgiveness in Christ, knowing that
they've broken God's Law and deserve to be punished. The Law points us as
SINNERS to Jesus Christ the SAVIOR to be saved (Galatians 3:25-26).
I wrote this article
because there are some people who errantly say that believing on Christ is
sufficient to save a person who does not come as a guilty sinner. Judas is a
perfect example of what I am saying. The Bible says that Judas “repented”
(Greek: metamellomaiin, meaning, “to regret”) in Matthew 27:3. Yet,
Jesus said Judas had a devil (John 6:70). Judas didn't repent toward God in
faith to be saved; but rather, he felt regret that he got caught for betraying
the Lord. Judas brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the Pharisees, but
they refused it. Judas cast down the coins on the floor and went and hanged
himself (Matthew 27:5).
Turning from the act of
sin is not salvation. The false repentance of Judas evidences this truth. This
is why I wrote this article. I am NOT adding a step to salvation which the
Bible does not teach. There are NO STEPS to salvation. I am simply warning
everyone that there is a false form of salvation, a false type of repentance,
that professes faith in Christ without Biblical repentance (which is simple “a
change of mind,” where a person becomes “GUILTY BEFORE GOD” in their own eyes
as Romans 2:19 teaches).
Jesus Is The Savior Of All Men
Read the following precious Scripture, which
teaches that Jesus is the Savior of all men, SPECIALLY of them that
believe...
1st Timothy 4:10, “For therefore we both
labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is
the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”
Jesus is everyone's Savior. The question is have
you received Him as your Savior...
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.”
Let us ponder the words of Jesus, who said in
John 6:37, “...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Any sinner who sincerely wants to be saved, may be saved, if he'll simply come
by way of the cross of Jesus. Jesus didn't say that He would turn someone away
who is covetous or a drunkard; but rather, He promised not to turn anyone away
for any reason!!!
Never let anyone lead
you astray from the simplicity of God’s Word. The “growing in grace” process
is a lifetime process. No believer is without fault or sin. If we as believers
had to meet a certain standard for Jesus to be our Lord, then NONE of us would
qualify.
Mark
1:15 — “Change Your Mind” And Believe The Gospel
In the Gospel of
John we find the words “believe” and “believed” mentioned 85 times, but the
word “repent” is not mentioned even once. Clearly, the person who believes on
Christ has repented, and the person who repents has believed. Repentance is a
change of mind that compels a person to place their faith in the gospel of
Jesus Christ to be saved, and these things happen at the same time. Let's
replace the word “Repent” in Mark 1:15 with the Greek meaning of repentance,
which is “a change of mind.” So instead of saying, “Repent, and believe the
gospel,” we could literally say, “Change your mind and believe the gospel.”
This is the Biblical interpretation of Mark 1:15.
It is a false
understanding to teach Mark 1:15 as turning away from the act of sin (e.g.,
drunkenness, stealing, adultery, et cetera) as a prerequisite to placing one's
faith in Christ. That is known as the heresy of “Lordship Salvation.” Christ
is already the Savior and Lord of all mankind. You don't make Jesus Lord, He
is Lord. Albeit, we each must receive Christ as our Savior to be saved; and
then as our Lord as we follow Christ in fellowship and discipleship. Contrary
to wrong teaching, you don't have to receive Christ as “Lord” to get saved. It
is a false gospel to say that “Jesus is either Lord of all or He's not Lord at
all.” That's a false statement.
King Solomon was
saved, but he was backslidden. 1st Kings 11:4, “For it came to pass,
when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods:
and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart
of David his father.” It is possible to be saved, but not sold out for
God. We read in John 12:42 that “many” of the Jewish chief rulers “believed”
on Jesus as the Christ, but they were afraid to tell anyone. Clearly, these
rulers DIDN'T honor Christ as the Lord of their life. Verse 43 plainly tells
us that these saved rulers loved the praise of men more than from God.
John 12:42, “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.”
What has happened
in our church circles is that many people are sick and tired of shallow
believers who continue in open sinfulness; so they have perverted the gospel
message in an unscriptural attempt to force people to depart from a lifestyle
of sin. Granted, many people who profess to be saved aren't; but we must never
alter or change the gospel to cater to our human agendas, or to force people
to live an upright life. The manner in which a person lives has absolutely
nothing to do with salvation.
Don't
Try To Work Out God's Salvation
Also, notice in
the Bible that we are admonished to “WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION” and not
GOD'S SALVATION. Philippians 2:12, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” We have no
part in God's salvation. John 1:12-13, “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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God.” Dr. Jack Hyles does an excellent job
explaining this awesome truth in his timeless book, “SALVATION
IS MORE THAN BEING SAVED.”
Christ died,
that's history; Christ died for me, that's salvation. Salvation is as simple
as coming to Christ as a sinner to be saved. It's
easy to be saved. Anyone is saved who receives the gospel as full-payment
for their sins. HE IS RISEN!!!
Salvation is a
miracle of God in response to our faith. Salvation is a miraculous, new,
second, spiritual, BIRTH! Salvation is instant, that is, being born-again is
immediate. However, sanctification takes a lifetime. Discipleship is an
ongoing process, so also is fellowship; but Sonship is instant the second that
we believe the gospel, irrevocable. We are immediately SAVED BY FAITH IN
JESUS; but living a consecrated life requires time, until a believer grows in
grace to the point where they are ready to DIE WITH CHRIST, RISE WITH CHRIST
and ASCEND WITH CHRIST...
The Saved, Crucified, Resurrected And Ascended Life
(awesome
MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles
-
Read Article)
There is a heresy
going around in many of our churches today known as “Lordship Salvation.” This
false doctrine teaches that a person must accept Jesus Christ as the “Lord of
their life” to be saved. Proponents (supporters) of Lordship Salvation wrongly
define “repentance” concerning salvation to mean a literal forsaking of the
act of sin in a person's life. So unless a person is willing to cease from
lifelong sinful bad habits, they are told they cannot be saved because they
have not repented. This nonsense is epidemic in America's churches today.
