Lordship Salvation leads people to think that works are required to remain saved. This is not the Gospel of Christ Jesus. It teaches salvation is by grace but if a person does not MAKE a person Lord of their life with evidence of good works, then, they are not “truly saved”. That statement is very conflicting in Scripture. Why? Because we do not MAKE Jesus Lord; HE IS LORD whether a person is saved or not. If we are saved, the Lord helps us in being fruitful in good works but we do have our free will to live outwardly as we choose. Of course, we should be wanting to live outwardly in good works and love towards others just as Christ loved us. But no one MAKES Jesus Lord. We accept or reject His GIFT of Salvation.
When Does Jesus Become YOUR Lord?
Scripture says Jesus IS LORD OF ALL! Not just believers. He is everyone’s Lord whether they accept Him as the foretold Messiah and savior, the only begotten Son of God, or not.
“The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)” (Acts 10:36 KJV)
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 KJV)
Look what this is telling us in Luke 2. Jesus IS OUR SAVIOUR who is The Lord. What we are to do is to TRUST in Jesus AS OUR SAVIOUR, because He is Lord, the foretold Messiah, The Christ.
“For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, EVERY KNEE shall bow to me, and EVERY TONGUE shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Rom 14:7-12 KJV)
EVERY KNEE WILL BOW
This applies to unbelievers as well at the Great White Throne Judgement where they will find themselves condemned for not accepting the free gift of salvation without works required that Jesus and Paul taught. It is not the works nor deeds condemning them. It is because they are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life and those in that book are those who accepted the free gift of Salvation through Christ crucified died and risen. ALL their sins were paid for by Christ and by believing on Him, the only payment for sins was placed on their account. And all sins and failures we have committed are future from the cross and that includes sins and failures of the believer as well. But those who do not accept the free gift of Salvation by BELIEF ON CHRIST ALONE, and who trust in their ‘many wonderful works’ (Matthew 7:21-21) have boasted in their own efforts to save themselves. So their sins must still be paid for (Romans 6:23); they had rejected the only payment that would eradicate the wages for their sins and that is Christ crucified, died and risen. The ONCE FOR ALL blood atoning sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
No one is saved by their works nor deeds.
Matthew 7 shows this as Jesus states that ‘many wonderful works’ will not save a person but only by trust in Him to save them. Paul stated that thinking salvation is kept by works and deeds makes Christ of “no effect unto you” in Galatians 5,
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:4-5 KJV)
It is fine and good that a believer wants to do good works after being saved. We have a new Spirit after all. Good works are, well, GOOD! Helping others come to salvation as ambassadors for Christ is a good privilege indeed! But to state that if we do not have good works after salvation that we do not have salvation is boasting in PRIDE (Ephesians 2:9).
I will also say this, born again believers, even those currently saved but living carnally, magnify what Jesus DID on the cross. They trust in HIM ALONE for their salvation. That said, I am not condoning living a sin lifestyle, God forbid (Romans 6). Also, new born again believers still need their mind’s renewed by God’s Word, more and more, to even come to understand what things they are doing are sin and which are not. It takes time. So are such new born again believers not saved because they have no good works as evidence of being saved? No, because works and deeds have NOTHING to do with salvation. And just HOW MANY good works are required to know you are saved anyway?
Anyone claiming to be born again and eternally saved who is teaching that NOW, BECAUSE I am saved, I am somehow better. NOW that I am saved I do not sin anymore. NOW because I am saved I am better than others because “I HAVE MADE Jesus Lord of my life” has got it all wrong. A person is only saved and kept saved by Jesus and His FINISHED blood atonement on that cross and rising again. Where is the bragging for a born again believer? In our own efforts, works or repentance after salvation? Or bragging on Christ and what He has done for us? This great love of God is what brings a person to repentance in the first place. Lordship Salvation is leading many to believing salvation has a “works” component to it and that is very dangerous belief.
What actually IS REPENTANCE?
Lordship Salvation teaches that repentance is ‘turning from sin’ and ‘doing good outward works’. If a person believes on Christ but never stops sinning, that they were never saved. Jesus never said such a thing. In fact, in John 3 and John 6 He emphasized BELIEF ON HIM, with nothing else required.
Repentance is just a WORD and it literally is defined by the Bible as “change your MIND”. Before salvation it is changing from our works for righteousness to belief on Christ for righteousness. After salvation it is about again ‘changing our mind’ by God’s Word (Romans 12, John 17:17) to believing the truth by God’s Word FROM SALVATION. This renewal can lead to outward good works but that does mean the good works after salvation will keep a person saved. IT IS CHRIST’S FINISHED WORK – NOT OUR WORKS that save us and keep us saved! Anything else is the sin of boasting and pride.
Lordship salvation teaches that your actions and works is how a person makes Jesus your Lord by “your works and repentance” after belief on Christ for righteousness. Find one verse of Jesus stating that, with the proper context of a verse intact. It is not there.
JESUS BECOMES A PERSON’S LORD AND SAVIOR AT THE SAME TIME
Jesus Christ becomes a person’s Lord, AND SAVIOUR AT THE SAME MOMENT OF TIME and that moment is from the very moment you believe on Christ for righteousness. Jesus was Lord before their salvation you see? We do not need to MAKE HIM our Lord after being saved. What we need is to be BELIEVE in HIM as our saviour and to trust in His finished work on the cross, which we have nothing to do with other than be thankful and accept this free gift of salvation through Christ Crucified, died and risen. Then we need to REPENT FROM OUR SALVATION which is renewing OUR MIND by God’s Word to the truth (Romans 12, John 17:17). Doing so leads to better decisions and God gives us desires to outward works in love for others.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the PURCHASED POSSESSION, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)
The moment we believe on Christ, we were purchased by Christ and He owns us for ever! We are no longer slaves of unrighteousness and we became slaves of righteousness. Apostle Paul wrote,
“Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness…For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.” (Romans 6:18, 20 KJV)
There has been a big change! We were in the prison of unrighteousness and we could not get out by our own efforts in good works. The sin remained and needed to be paid. Believing on Christ and His finished work on the cross we were by grace (Romans 5) transferred to another prison! A prison of righteousness and nothing we do, or not do, can make us unrighteous again either! That does not mean we should just go and sin all we want and not care about how live. It is BECAUSE of this that we should want to.
Our works for Jesus before or after our MOMENT of salvation do not make Him our Lord. Belief on Christ and His blood atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world makes us saved BY THE LORD. To say that AFTER being saved a person needs to make Jesus the Lord of their life by how they live outwardly is to say salvation is BY JESUS PLUS OUR WORKS and that is false! It is confusing the Gospel of our salvation. It is leading many to believe they are saved when they may not be saved!
To bear good fruit what did Jesus tell the disciples?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” (John 15:4-5 KJV)
It is all about Jesus Christ in us, the hope of glory! (Colossians 1:27)
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (1 Cor. 15:1-4 KJV)
“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:30-31 KJV)
BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN YOUR HEART.
That is it. That is all as a REQUIREMENT of being saved. Now that we have been saved BY THE LORD (not trying to make Him Lord by our works after salvation), in great gratitude and by renewal of our mind by guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we SHOULD have outward good works in love for others from our newly created Spirit of God (Ephesians 2:10). Absolutely!
The Work Of Salvation Is Already Done. It was done by Christ 2000 years ago. Our job is to believe it. Renew our mind by the truth of God’s Word and love others.
