Nine pages and counting, blah blah blah.
In the confused gibberish of the Lordship debate, two ideas are juxtaposed; the need for a wholehearted commitment to love and follow Christ as part of our faith in Christ as savior and lord, and the need to strive to follow Christ after we have been born anew.
It might sound like blah, blah, blah, to somebody who's just weary from hearing all the arguments that really don't convert anyone's thinking. I cannot fault anyone for that take on it.
But, some of the responses have been following the main question of "What is it", not why it is wrong.
The issue is not as simple as whether our faith includes works, or if works should grow out of our faith. The ultimate issue is access into grace. Both sides agree on the surface with "Sola Fide", but each side has a different view of what that means.
There is one side which says we are saved when we believe the gospel, or believe in Christ, or believe the promise of God, or maybe a few other ways of wording it. And that it brings immediate assurance of eternal life
The other side says that we believe the gospel, and that is necessarily and inevitably accompanied by works. That faith and works are bound up together. And we really cannot know til our life is over whether we cut the mustard or not.
In view of these two positions, how are we supposed to proclaim Christ?
Scripture gives us two major components of obtaining eternal life - merit and access
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The merit is found only in Christ, and all orthodox denominations/sects/factions agree. The disagreement is access.
Do we access grace through faith, or works, or a cooperation of the two together, or a blending of the two into one ?
Scripture says Not of Works
Romans 4:5 says But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness
Funny how some like to rail against "works salvation", yet espouse even worse. Water baptism? Oh, that's works salvation. Sabbath observance? Oh, that's works salvation
Then go talk out of the other side of their mouth that works are an integral aspect of saving faith
The one-time work of baptism is rejected as a works salvation
The weekly work of Sabbatarians is rejected as works salvation
But the daily work of trying to justify one's self to men is accepted as "Faith Alone"
Uhhh, yeah.
And if you don't believe that's what Lordship Salvation proponents are advocating, just pick up a commentary by one of these "scholars" and read the notes on James 2:14-26
The bottom line in this is that what we view as access into grace can quickly turn into our view of merit also.
How many believe that Christ died to merit salvation, and that it is accessed through baptism, then later develop into the thinking that they're saved be-
cause they were baptized?
How many believed at one time that they were saved "through" faith, then later develop into the thinking that they're saved be-
cause "I called on the Lord"
Hogwash, that's a work. Nobody was ever saved by any cause other than Christ.
And nobody was ever saved through any access other than faith.
And if faith is not faith alone, then it isn't faith. That means it isn't a biblical gospel.
That's what all the blah blah blah is all about.
The other side says, "But you're leaving out Ephesians 2:10, that we were created for Good works, that we should walk in them."
That's very true. But it also says that we Are HIS workmanship. Everybody from the other side has become a self appointed fruit inspector, always looking for "Fruit" in someone's life.
They're nitpicking God's orchard. It's HIS work. And they aren't content leaving Him to do his work. They think they've got to micromanage everything God's doing in a man?
