I usually try to be more open minded than other Christians. However, I am very much of a radical when it comes to defending the Gospel. The Bible is clear that salvation only depends on what Christ did.
However, many people think that's not enough and love adding their works.
"My question to you is, Are there two Gospels? That is, are there two plans of salvation from God for man? The answer is a resounding, “NO!” Yet, there are two very different Gospels being taught today in the churches across America...
LORDSHIP SALVATION — The false gospel of John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Paul Washer, Jack Chick, Aiden Tozer, Rick Warren, James Dobson, David Cloud, John Piper, Charles Lawson and others, which requires a person to forsake (or be willing to forsake) their sinful behavior, make amends, and change their ways, as a prerequisite to saving faith. This false gospel confuses the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy Spirit with the ROOT of saving-faith. The sinner is required to change their own life. Believing is not enough, the sinner must commit to forsaking sinful behavior to be saved. This is a false gospel of manmade repentance. In Lordship Salvation, the sinner changes their own life, which is wrongly understood to be repentance.
THE GOSPEL — The Biblical Gospel teaches that sinners are saved solely by Christ's righteousness, and that no self-righteousness of any kind is required, nor permitted, because we have none to offer (Isaiah 64:6); neither does a person have to quit any sin to be saved. A changed life is the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; Galatians 2:20; 5:22-23), and not a part of the ROOT of saving-faith. We don't give up our sins to BE saved; but rather, we give up our sins because we ARE saved. Believing is enough to be saved! God makes the changes. Our part is simply to believe, God does the rest. Romans 4:5 teaches that a person's faith is COUNTED for righteousness! The “Gospel” defined in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 is that Christ DIED on the cross for our sins. He was BURIED. And then miraculously, after three days, Jesus physically RESURRECTED from the dead. This is “the Gospel” (i.e., Good News) by which sinners are born-again if we “BELIEVE.”" (David J. Stewart on jesusisprecious)
That's absolutely true! I often got into arguments with other Christians - don't know if they were saved or not - and they defended Lordship Salvation by saying they have a very different view.
Sorry, but this is not true. There is only one gate to heaven, not two, as brother David J. Stewart just presented. You must decide. Is what Christ did on the cross of Calvary enough for you or not?
Here is what the famous Charles Haddon Spurgeon said on that topic (from a sermon of 1855):
" You know there are degrees of faith, and yet the least faith saves; so there are degrees of repentance, and the least repentance will save the soul if it is sincere. The Bible says, "He that believeth shall be saved," and when it says that, it includes the very smallest degree of faith. So when it says, "Repent and be saved," it includes the man who has the lowest degree of real repentance. Repentance, moreover, is never perfect in any man in this mortal state. We never get perfect faith so as to be entirely free from doubting; and we never get repentance which is free from some hardness of heart. The most sincere penitent that you know will feel himself to be partially impenitent.
Repentance is also a continual life-long act. It will grow continually. I believe a Christian on his death-bed will more bitterly repent than ever he did before. It is a thing to be done all your life long. Sinning and repenting—sinning and repenting, make up a Christian's life. Repenting and believing in Jesus—repenting and believing in Jesus, make up the consummation of his happiness. You must not expect that you will be perfect in "repentance" before you are saved. No Christian can be perfect. "Repentance" is a grace. Some people preach it as a condition of salvation. Condition of nonsense! There are no conditions of salvation. God gives the salvation himself..."
And he's right! John MacArthur and Ray Comfort often misquoted Spurgeon to make him teach Lordship Salvation.
Well, indeed Charles H. Spurgeon was a Calvinist. However, he only was a one point Calvinist who believed that Christ did not die for everybody (Limited Atonement). He was definitely against Total Depravity (he believed that a man could come to Christ the way he is) and Perseverance of the Saints (he believed in Free Grace, as you can see from this qoute).
Overall we need to recognize Spurgeon was only 21 years old when he did that great sermon!
Here is what Paul Washer, a true "TULIP" (Hyper-Calvinist), says:
"There is no such thing as a carnal Christian... The Bible never teaches that a person, can be a genuine Christian and live in continuous carnality and wickedness and sin all the days of their life..."
Yes, the scripture DOES teach that! See the story of Lot in the Book of Genesis and the 2nd Book of Peter. Please watch that great sermon by brother Afshin Yaghtin...
And here's what Jack Hyles says about Noah:
" Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 9:20-24, “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.”
Was Noah saved? Yes, Genesis 6:8 says he “found grace in the eyes of the Lord,” and we know that salvation is by grace. Was Jesus Lord of his life? In Genesis 9:2 1, we find he got drunk and that he was naked inside his tent. In verse 22 his son saw his nakedness. Obviously from verse 24, his younger son had done something to him. Perhaps this was a homosexual act committed with his own father while his father was drunk. To say the least, Noah was anything but a Christian who had allowed Jesus to be Lord of his life. Was he saved? Yes, he was. Was Jesus Lord of his life? No, He was not."
Amen!
Also, some cause confusions about repentance and mix regeneration and reformation:
"If repentance is not part of the Gospel, why did the Jews say, 'That God hath now to the Gentiles granted repentance?' If repentance is not part of the Gospel, then you're just believing some facts, and nothing goes on inside you to change who you are. The change is when you've received it into your heart and acted upon it. And once you received it into your heart and act upon it, a profound change is going to take place. Your attitude towards sin is going to change. Your attitude towards your self's going to change. Your attitude towards the world is going to change. You're going to change. That is repentance, not just changing your mind," (Dr. Charles Lawson)
Well, the Greek word for "repentance" is "metanoia". "Meta" means "change" and "noia" means mind. So repentance is definitely NOT more than a change of mind. Here another person that teaches that backloaded Lordship gospel:
"Biblical repentance is a change of mind and heart about sin. It’s a change of mind about who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for you and it leads to a turning away from sin. Is repentance a work? No, does repentance save you? No, but you can’t place your faith in Christ for salvation without first having a change of mind. We must be extremely careful that we never understand repentance as a work.
We are saved by faith in Christ alone, apart from our works. It is God who grants us repentance. You can’t come to the Lord unless He brings you to Himself.
Repentance is the result of true salvation in Christ. True faith will make you new. God commands all men to repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Genuine repentance will lead to a different relationship and attitude towards sin. False repentance never leads to a turning away from sin.
An unregenerate person says that Jesus died for my sins who cares I’ll rebel now and repent later." (Fritz Chery of http://biblereasons.com/repentance/)
Isn't this a contradiction? First he says that we are saved by Christ alone without works, but then he says we must also be willing to turn from sins? Not saying it was good to rebel against God, but if you trust in both believing in Gospel and changing yourself, you are not saved because you do not see Christ's worked as finished!
This one, by Pastor Dennis Rokser, is rather correct:
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4:5)
Satan's most dangerous trick is to make a person live the Christian life WITHOUT being born again. That's why I am warning. Lordship Salvation actually originates from the Catholic Church, as you can see in this video by brother Jason Jack:
I love what Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold - my favorite preacher, to be honest - from Tampa, Florida said:
"When God saved you, he didn't change the old birth. He gave you a new birth!
Sadly there are too many religions and cults that love to pervert the Gospel:
The kicker definitely is the infamous Landover Baptist Church:
"Anyone can become a Landover Baptist True Christian™ by uniting with the Landover Baptist Church, the one Church that persists in the enterprise of reaching the world for Christ. Exclusively, Church membership is a matter of absolute Repentance, unquestioningly but freely receiving Jesus as both the Savior and Lord and your personal Savior and Lord, experiencing Believer’s Baptism by immersion and following all God’s Commandments." (www.landoverbaptist.net)
Following ALL of God commandments? ABSOLUTE Repentance? If you study the forum more exact, you'll find out you have to agree with ALL of the opinions of the admins, or you are, according to the board's Gospel on your way to hell. In that case the Landover Baptist Church and the Church of Christ both claim to be the body of Christ. And of course both are wrong.
Here a good quote of my YouTube pal Roger Bright AKA savedbyjesusblood (like me a Free Grace believer) on Lordship Salvation:
"How many works is proof that your saved? Some works, lots of works, lots of, lots of works? Imagine living every day judging whether you're saved or not by your performance. What a horrible way to live!"
And he's absolutely right!
Here a Bible verse at the end of this article:
" For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Yeah, SHOULD, not MUST. Look for the difference in your dictionairy.
God bless.
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