“21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:21-29).

     When it comes to the issue of Lordship Salvation, there have been many solid Bible scholars that have proposed numerous positions on the subject. There are some questions we must ask and answer with Scripture to be clear and Biblical about in our understanding.

1. What exactly is involved in confessing Jesus as Lord?
2. Does confessing Jesus as Lord include a commitment to live a sinless life?
3. Does confessing Jesus as Lord include a decision of consecration in service and to discipleship or is this another decision separate from a salvation decision?

     If we read texts like Matthew 7:21-29 all alone without the context of the harmony of the rest of the Scriptures, we will be greatly confused and most probably led astray in our understanding. All of the above questions can be answered very simply when we do not fractionalize the Word of God by taking verses out of the context of the rest of what the Scriptures teach regarding what is required in a faith decision to receive the gift of salvation and the impartation of God-kind righteousness in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.

     Yet, texts like Matthew 7:21-29 do pose some problems regarding what it means to confess Jesus as Lord and defining what is involved in this confession/profession. The questions we must ask regarding this text is whether doing the “sayings” (commandments and teachings) of Jesus is the manifestation (outworking) of genuine salvation or if doing the “sayings” is a work for salvation. We have many texts that tell us that “works” follow genuine salvation and that tell us “works” never procure salvation for us. One of the primary texts that teach that “works” are the normal expectation of regenerated, Spirit indwelled people is Ephesians 2:8-10. These three verses are usually quoted out of the context of the preceding verses. Read it carefully.

“1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us {Aorist Indicative, made us alive} together with Christ, (by grace ye are {Present Indicative, i.e., being} saved {Perfect Passive Participle, referring to a finished work; the idea would be that of God’s work of preservation in salvation};) 6 And hath raised us up together {Aorist Indicative}, and made us sit together {Aorist Indicative}in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew {Aorist Subjunctive}the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved {Present Indicative; i.e., being saved; the idea would be that of God’s work of preservation in salvation} through faith; and that not of yourselves: it {the whole work of salvation} is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship {Present Indicative}, created {Aorist Passive Participle} in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).

     Understanding Greek verb tenses are very important to understanding many portions of Scripture. However, the problem lies with many people equating Greek verb tenses with English verb tenses. Greek verb tenses are not equal to English verb tenses. English verb tenses are usually just about time; i.e. past, present, future. Greek verb tenses are more about the kind of action. There are five (5) Greek verb tenses that are commonly used (see handout for your use; the Pluperfect Tense and the Future Perfect Tense are rarely used).

     So clearly from Ephesians 2:1-10, “works” are an expected outcome of regeneration/salvation. However, it is also clear that “works” are not included as a requirement for salvation. There is a very thin line here. There are no requirements of doing “works” in order to be saved, but there is an expectation that those who receive the gift of salvation will begin to do good “works.” Understanding this should be part of a faith decision to receive Christ. In other words, a person could receive the gift of salvation and be “born again” and never do good “works.” However, God will not allow a person to get away with such a life style of selfishness. They will not be condemned to Hell for such selfishness carnality, but they will bare the consequences of disobedience to God’s commands in chastisement and loss of rewards.

“4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all {true children} are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:4-11).

     Lordship Salvation tries to top-load the Gospel of Jesus Christ with commitment, consecration to service, and practical sanctification. Some of the terminology of Lordship Salvationists will reveal their false teaching.

1. Submission to the Lordship of Jesus
2. Surrender your life to Jesus
3. Taking up one’s Cross to follow Jesus is essential to salvation (this is a discipleship decision, not a salvation decision).

“25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:25-27).

     Making becoming a disciple, submission, and surrender aspects of a faith decision for salvation greatly distorts God’s intent. These are all decisions that follow salvation and are moment by moment decisions that need to be made every day of our lives. These decisions may be evidence of genuine salvation and a living faith, but they are not part of a salvation decision. They should follow after a genuine salvation decision as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit of God. If these kinds of decisions do not follow a true faith decision, the person without these later manifestations of the in-working of the Spirit, really ought to question the reality of his/her regeneration. This becomes the issue of assurance of salvation; IF regeneration actually occurred.

     I John is the IF epistle of the New Testament intent upon positing and answering questions regarding the reality of regeneration. The word “if” is used on 21 different occasions in the short epistle of I John. It is from the Greek word ean (eh-an'), which is a conditional particle. It is often used in connection with other particles to denote a hypothetical situation, indefiniteness, or uncertainty. Some uses are conditions for fellowship with God and are not about salvation, but most of the uses of “if” in I John have to do with manifestations of the indwelling Spirit of God revealing genuine salvation and regeneration.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit} is not in us” (I John 1:8).

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit}” (I John 1:10).

“3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit}. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit}, is a liar, and the truth {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit} is not in him” (I John 2:3-4).

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit} is not in him” (I John 2:15).

“18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit}: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (I John 2:18-19).

“If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness {as a manifestation of the indwelling Spirit} is born of him” (I John 2:29).

“11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (I John 4:11-13).

     Clearly these verses in I John are not conditions FOR salvation. These are issues to assure ourselves that regeneration has taken place due to empirical evidences of the indwelling Spirit of God.

“18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him” (I John 3:18-19).

     It is not my purpose in this study to answer every Bible text that is posited to support a Lordship Salvation position. I think I have shown the reason why many Lordship proponents have wrongly arrived at the position they hold. The reason for this faulty position is simple. They have taken texts intent upon manifesting genuine regeneration for assurance of salvation and made those texts conditions of salvation. Granted, there is a narrow line here, but there is a clear line of demarcation from the necessary Biblical response to the gospel when surrender, submission, consecration, becoming a disciple, and/or practical sanctification are made part of a faith decision for salvation.