What is Lordship Salvation?

I've also wondered the same thing Rob, but I believe my Salvation is in Christ and Christ alone!... There is nothing I can do to get it, he alone obtained it for me... Then there are these verses... You know the one about the sheep and the goats... Anyone on here want to tackle it?... Brother Glen

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

First, read it again, but look out for where you might have had a presupposition that isn't there in the text. See if Jesus isn't addressing two groups of people, not individuals.

Second, back in Matthew 7, Jesus says, "I never knew you". He didn't say, I used to know you, but then you didn't do quite enough (fill in the blank).

See if those two things help, at least a little.

 

I believe that not the RYR's actions but primarily the reason for his actions are the important thing. We can do the right thing for the wrong reason and it counts for nothing. Jesus said that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. That's not because they're rich per se. It's because with wealth comes a sense of "I can do it all for myself by myself." A poor person or a person facing a very difficult situation in life (e.g. cancer, loss of a spouse, loss of a job, etc.) is far more likely to recognize that they need God's help and that nothing else can save them. I'm saying that a behavior change is a result of a genuine salvation experience not a prerequisite.

 

How many times do we all still sin?

 

I am a Calvinist who appreciates the intent of the LS bethren, but really think sometimes they tend to become a bit on the legalistic side of things on the extreme side of this position! I also feel those into "free grace" on their extreme emphasis it to such an extent one can still be lost and think right with God!

 

This is the winning post here!

 

I do agree with LS advocates that a true Christian should be maturing more in their faith and have good works accomping their salvation, but just uneasy with the extreme position of "either Jesus is lord over all, or is Lord over none at all!"

 

I don't normally make judgments like this but that little ditty is ridiculousness because it is dependent upon fallacious human logic

HankD

 

It is held by one of the big LS advocates!

 

How many times?! How many times do I exhale every day?

 

I agree with that, was responding to our brothers posting!

 

I know.

I was agreeing with you. I should have said that in my post so that I was clear.

 

I grew up being taught lordship salvation, and it really broke me down. As a teenager who desperately wanted to have the assurance of salvation, I believed when people said: "Jesus is going to spit you out of His mouth if you are lukewarm." So what did us teenagers do? Well, none of us knew how "hot" we needed to be to not be "lukewarm." Some gave up out of discouragement, thinking, "I'll never be good enough for God." Others, like me, resolved to become the very best human beings we could possible be in order to be good enough for God. So the law crushed me as I tried to behave my way to salvation. It was Jesus + Self-Reformation = Salvation.

This, of course, is nonsense, and I know it now. Nobody can ever be good enough for God. All have sinned and fall far short of the God's glorious standard. We must humble ourselves before God and reject every trace of self-righteousness or we will not be able to have the GIFT of salvation that God is giving away for free. It is offensive to God to keep insisting that we earn a gift He wants to give for free.

I'm now a pastor in the heart of New York City (Union Square, Manhattan) at Hope Hill Church. I wrote a book and it's on Amazon regarding my wrestling match with the Gospel and my thoughts on all of this. I'll put a link below. I encourage all of the wonderful people at our church to give every area of their lives to Jesus' lordship so He can renovate their lives. Yes, a believer should give every area of their lives to Jesus so He can teach them, clean them up, and raise them up to be all He calls them to be. But we should never think that turning from sin like this or doing good things adds any help to us being saved. No! Instead, we trust that Jesus did all the hard work when He was brutally killed on the cross as our great Substitute. He took the punishment for our sins so that the guilt is removed from our record. So we accept forgiveness and salvation by faith, and then we can freely obey God out of gratitude—not our of fear that God will throw us away.

I appreciate the conversation, and I hope we can all keep learning more about God's great plan for salvation. Have a nice day.


https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Plus-N...keywords=jesus+plus+nothing+equals+everything

 

Welcome to BB.

Unfortunately, our churches are filled with people who've had a similar experience as you have. I certainly did, and I believe it's because we all start from the default position of Pelagius. We think that we are capable of what we are not. Then we attend churches which preach law-lite, rather than the gospel, and that compounds the problem.

It is only by God's mercy that He brings us to the end of ourselves and our "righteousness" to a rest in Christ and His.

Looking back at my experience, which was a living nightmare, I think it could have been prevented or extremely lessened if I were in a Reformed church.

 

In my experience in the leadership roles for which I have been privileged to serve I know for some saints yielding completely may take years.

Some - maybe not in this life - saved yet so as by fire.

Easy believism?

What's the alternative? Difficult believism?

How do we know when we have arrived?

For me believing on the LORD Jesus Christ is one of the easiest things I know how to do.
Taught by the Holy Spirit of course.

HankD

 

I think we are saying the same thing with different words. Yours are better if they include time in allowing for maturity.

But then again how do we define "His proper role" or measure "maturity" or quantify/qualify any other measure?

HankD