The False And Misleading Theology Of Lordship Salvation

John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture? Since the beginning of human civilization, the Devil has inspired mankind to pursue salvation through self-righteousness. When the serpent first appeared in the paradise of Eden, he appealed to Eve's selfish interests. The serpent subtly convinced Eve that she was missing out on a better deal. The serpent misquoted the instructions which God had given to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17. Whereas the Lord had said they COULD eat freely of ALL the trees in the garden, except one, the serpent deceitfully said in Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” That is not what God said! Do you see how the serpent (Satan) undermined the authority of God's Word, by simply questioning it, but subtly changing what God had said at the same time? Wow, the serpent is a slick dude!

I was doing some research today online, preparing for this article, about the art of deception. A Austrian-British philosopher named Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) wrote these helpful words: 

Deception, unlike conjuring, generally depends for its success on keeping intended victims unaware that deception is taking place.

Deception can be defined broadly as the manipulation of appearances such that they convey a false reality. However, when one tries to list a variety of deceptions and their contexts, it becomes difficult to find a common set of features that characterizes all of them. At best, the various types of deception bear what Wittgenstein calls a family resemblance to one another. Deception includes both dissimulation (hiding or withholding information) and simulation (putting out wrong or misleading information). Both deception and lying can be accomplished by omission as well as by commission. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Ludwig Wittgenstein, “Philosophical Investigations,” published in 1953 after his death

That is exactly what the serpent did! The serpent withheld information (dissimulation), assuring Eve that she would become as “a god” if she ate the forbidden fruit, but he didn't tell her what that really meant. She became as “a god” only in the sense that she could now make her own choices concerning good and evil, but would also have to suffer the consequences!

Likewise, we see that the serpent gave Eve wrong information (simulation), misquoting what God had commanded them in Genesis 2:16-17. So the Devil deceived Eve using both dissimulation and simulation. The serpent kept Eve unaware the entire time that she was being woefully deceived!

Lordship Salvation: A Very Misleading False Gospel

Now let's examine the popular deception of Lordship Salvation, and see how these tactics of deception apply here. First, what exactly is “Lordship Salvation”? We are talking about the false doctrine which says that in order for a person to be saved, he must make Jesus the absolute “Lord” of his life. He must “surrender all” to Christ as Lord, exchanging all that he is for all that Christ is. The most popular teacher of this false doctrine today is Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church located in Sun Valley, California. 

The inspired King James Bible teaches something very different. When asked what “WORKS” God demands of men to be saved, Jesus simply said to BELIEVE ON HIM. John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” I love the Lord's simple answer, which clears up any debate over what “WORKS” are necessary to go to Heaven.

Having said that, something is VERY wrong with the Lordship Salvation theological circus found today in most Baptist churches. Of course, these are religious cults, and not true Bible believing New Testament churches. God's curse is upon anyone who preaches “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-3; 5:4; 6:7). Those serpents in the pulpit today, who preach Lordship Salvation, use both dissimulation and simulation to deceiver the naïve. 

They withhold information (dissimulation), by not telling lost sinners that they can be saved without giving up their sinful lifestyle. I have received many emails from upset people, who said that they almost went to Hell, because for years they wanted to be saved, but were told by Jack Chick, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Gary Walton, John Piper, David Cloud, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Paul Washer, Chuck Phelps and other wicked false teachers (all Calvinists to some degree), that God wouldn't save them unless they were willing to stop living in willful sin. I don't blame those people for being upset at those lying preachers.

Dear reader, there's not one verse in the King James Bible (which is the only English Bible you can trust), that says to “repent of your sin” or “turn away from your sin” to be saved. The only way that false teachers can support their Lordship Salvation heresy with the Bible, is to wrest (torture) obscure passages to make it fit their agenda. There is a woeful misunderstanding in the churches today about what it means to “repent.” A simple Greek lexicon shows that the biblical meaning of repentance is a change of mind. Yet, we here all these lying false teachers in pulpits today, heretically preaching that repentance means “to change your life” and “to turn away from your sinning.” No, they are wrong folks!!!

Repentance according to 2nd Timothy 2:25b is “the acknowledging of the truth;” It is the admission that you are a guilty sinner in the sight of almighty holy God, seeing your NEED for redemption, believing the Good News of Christ crucified, buried and risen to be saved. Repentance does NOT mean that you must be willing to stop living a lifestyle of sin, which would be WORKS!

I am so sick and tired of hearing these shady used car salesman type preachers today, who insist that salvation is still solely by God's GRACE, yet at the same time they also insist that if you do not perform WORKS in your Christian life, then your FAITH is not genuine. That is so deceptive on many levels! Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Calvinists (i.e., those who follow the false teachings of a man named John Calvin, 1509-1564), have a hard time wrapping their brain around the fact that eternal life is A FREE GIFT FROM GOD, promised to anyone who BELIEVES ON JESUS as their personal Savior.

When I lived in the city of Chicago many years ago, a certain politician ran for the office of governor of Illinois. I remember that while candidating, one of the biggest promises that he made to everyone was not to raise citizen's income taxes. He won the election! Do you know what weasel did? He kept his promise not to raise income taxes alright, but he added new taxation to over 200 services and things that were formerly not taxed. WHAT A DECEIVING LIAR!!! For example: Prior to his election, you only paid taxes on the auto parts used to repair your car. But the new governor of Illinois passed a new law, charging people taxes on the charges for the mechanic's service as well. He did this on over 200 formerly non-taxable items. Do you see how he lied to everyone? He did in fact raise the citizen's taxes, while keeping his promise not to raise income taxes. It didn't surprise me when that politician was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, for a series of other crimes.

I couldn't give you a more perfect example of what the Lordship Salvation camp are doing to God's free and simple plan of salvation. I am so sick of it. And by the way, so was Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) sick of it (my hero of the Christian faith). Lordship Salvation is a perversion of the Gospel, as Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) rightly exposed it. Yet these (what I call) “devil dog preachers” of Lordship Damnation, just like that lying politician I mentioned, falsely claim that salvation is by grace alone without works, yet they still demand that you do works as a Christian or else they say you're not really saved. WHAT DECEVING LIARS!!! 

What saith the Scripture? Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” Could the Bible be any plainer? Dear friend, “WORKS” simply has no place in God's plan of salvation (not before, during or after getting saved), except that you obey the Lord's words in John 6:28-29 to BELIEVE ON HIM.