What Is Lordship Salvation?

Matthew 7:21-23, “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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Here is Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold's helpful definition of 'Lordship Salvation':

“Lordship Salvation is the unsupportable and unbiblical belief that the performance of good works, the promise of good works, or the evidence of good works, must accompany faith in Christ to establish or provide evidence that such faith has resulted in eternal life.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, "Jesus Versus John MacArthur"

God’s Word clearly states that salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. 

Ephesians 2:8-9, “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.”

As Dr. Yankee Arnold said, Lordship “salvation” is the unsupportable and unbiblical belief that the PERFORMANCE of good works, the PROMISE of good works, or the EVIDENCE of good works MUST accompany faith in Christ in order to establish, or provide evidence, that such faith has resulted in eternal life:

1. Lordship Salvation can be overt (i.e., one must forsake all of his sins and follow Christ in obedience and discipleship in order to receive eternal life);
2. Or it can be VERY SUBTLE [i.e., one’s behavior will change once he has received eternal life, one must desire to get better (sometimes expressed as one must want to be delivered from the power of sin, or that one must want to be freed from the practice of sin) in order to receive eternal life, and one must want to have a relationship with Jesus in order to receive eternal life].

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that any of these man-made conditions are necessary for a lost sinner to receive eternal life. And yet, such things are sadly taught today by many churches, ministries and pastors throughout professing Christendom. Lordship Salvation is a perversion of the Gospel.

Christians must expose the people who promote Lordship Salvation because, they:

1. Keep people lost (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 8-12; 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4)
2. Subvert whole houses (Titus 1:9-14)
3. Preach another gospel (Galatians 1:6-7)
4. Are accursed by God (Galatians 1:8-9)
5. Deceptively appear as ministers of righteousness (2nd Corinthians 11:13-15)
6. Obscure the truth (Matthew 7:13-14; 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4)
7. Negate God's grace (Romans 11:6)
8. Frustrate God's grace (Galatians 2:21)
9. Make salvation of Debt instead of by Grace (Romans 4:4)
10. Bewitch churches with a counterfeit gospel (Galatians 3:1)
11. Have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4)
12. Are to be marked and avoided (Romans 16:17-18)

In addition to the above, Lordship Salvation causes people to focus on themselves, rather than on Christ, for assurance of salvation.

We cannot know whether or not someone influenced by Lordship Salvation is saved. In some cases, they may have never even heard the Gospel presented clearly, and may have never believed on Jesus as their Savior (Acts 15:1). In other cases, they may have believed in Jesus as their Savior, and are saved, but have received bad teaching that causes them ongoing confusion (Acts 15:5). We cannot tell which is which. But, in any case, they need our prayers and they need a clear presentation of the Gospel.

Although the following list is by no means complete, these are some of the terms which are commonly associated with Lordship Salvation (taught as being requirements for receiving eternal life):

1. “Repent of your sins”
2. “Turn from your sins”
3. “Forsake a lifestyle of sinning”
4. “Be willing to turn from your sins”
5. “Put Christ on the throne of your life”
6. “Surrender all to Christ”
7. “Give your life to Christ”
8. “Change your behavior to prove you've repented to be saved”
9. “Become a Christ follower”
10. “Commit to follow Christ”
11. “Invite Christ into your life”
12. “Invite Jesus into your heart”
13. “Give the steering wheel of your life to God”
14. “Live a lifestyle of repentance”
15. “Pray a sinner's prayer”

Most proponents of Lordship Salvation will claim to believe that salvation is by Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; but then they will insist that a saved person will show signs of being saved, such as sinning less and doing good works. If these “signs” are not present, they will insist (or at least heavily suspect) that a person has never believed in Christ as Savior. This thought process can never lead to assurance of salvation, because it is always dependent on how one thinks he is DOING at any given point in time (I put DOING in all cap letters, because it is a WORK). Jonah 3:10b says that “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way...” Turning from one's sin is WORKS!!!

Other folks may think that God knows whether or not they are TRYING (we put TRYING in all caps, because it is also a WORK). Trying to turn from sin will not help you attain eternal life. Eternal life is a free gift, which Jesus paid for with His precious blood, freely received when someone trusts in Christ alone for it. You must simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you.

If you think you may be under the influence of Lordship Salvation, and would like to read a clear presentation of the Gospel by Pastor Ron Shea, click here: 'The Gospel'

Here is a related blog that I wrote.

Here is Pastor Jack Hyles explaining and refuting the false teaching of Lordship Salvation.

Pastor Curtis Hutson authored a helpful book titled, "Salvation Crystal Clear." The last chapter in his book is titled: "Lordship Salvation: A Perversion Of The Gospel."

Those resources should answer the question: 'WHAT IS LORDSHIP SALVATION?' Lordship Salvation is adding lordship to faith. The Bible teaches that a person gets saved by coming to God as a guilty sinner (Romans 3:19-20), and BELIEVING the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) that Jesus died on a cross to pay our debt of sin, He was buried, and then He bodily resurrected three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-6).

In sharp contrast, Lordship Salvation requires MORE. Those who preach Lordship Salvation require that a person turn away from their sinful ways, surrender 'all' to Jesus as the supreme "Lord" (Master) of one's life, so that their life and behavior will improve.

I knew a Christian lady who attended the incompetent Family Baptist Church on Guam. At church on a particular Sunday, when people were asked to share testimonies, she stood up and shared with the church how she led 3 co-workers to Christ that previous week. The ungodly intern pastor corrected her, saying that she doesn't really know if they are saved yet, until we have watched their lives for a couple years to see if their lives have changed. That is false doctrine.

You see, that is Lordship Salvation. That terrible wannabe pastor is errantly teaching people that we cannot know if someone is saved without monitoring their behavior. That is works! When 3,000 souls were saved in Acts 2:41, nobody's life was watched and monitored to see if their behavior had changed. They simply GLADLY RECEIVED the Gospel Peter preached and they were all immediately saved. That is the simplicity that is in Christ.

We hear a preacher preach the Gospel and we receive THE TRUTH and are saved. Galatians 3:2, "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵?" I love that! We get saved by putting our faith in the Gospel as we hear it preached (Hebrews 4:2). That is the hearing of faith. It is that simple to get to Heaven.

Unfortunately, Lordship Salvation says faith is not enough to be saved. In addition, proponents of Lordship Salvation falsely claim you must also follow Christ as "Lord" of your life. You must be willing to do whatever Jesus wants you to do. You must turn away from the world, and forsake your former sinful ways which results in a changed holy life. Anybody who claims to be saved, but is still living a lifestyle of sinning, is wrongly accused of not being saved. That person is told they have never repented of their sins and are not truly saved. Of course, none of this is what the Bible teaches.

Misunderstood Repentance And Lordship Salvation

There is the popular deadly false teaching of Misunderstood Repentance, which is similar but sometimes taught separately from Lordship Salvation. Usually the lies of Lordship Salvation and Misunderstood Repentance co-exist, but some pastors actually reject Lordship Salvation, while still preaching the error of Misunderstood Repentance. Sam Adams is one such corrupt preacher. David W. Cloud is another. Please don't fall hook, line and sinker (like so many do today) for the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. Remember, Satan is a beautiful liar!

We do not have a part in God's free gift of salvation. Our part is to cease from our own WORKS (as God did from His on the 7th day of creation), and to completely REST in what Jesus did to pay for our debt if sin through Calvary's cross. Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” The man who has ceased from his own works, and is resting solely in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ is saved. ...

“More people will die and burn in Hell, because they're trusting too much!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”

“Everything that's hard and complicated about salvation is God's side of it!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”

Dear reader, the very idea that you must repent of your sins to get to Heaven is preposterous, in lieu of the fact that NO ONE has ever turned from his or her sins. You may clean up your life of obvious sins, so as to live above reproach and convince others that you are a changed person, but the fact of the matter is that you are still a dirty rotten sinner! Whether you are trying to live right, or not, it doesn't matter as far as getting saved in concerned because you are still a sinner. Committing even one sin makes you guilty, as if you broke all of God's commandments. Either way, you are unclean (James 2:10).

The great unbiblical error of “repenting of your sins” to be saved has consumed the religious masses today. This dangerous heresy has infected nearly every neo-evangelical church and Bible college today, espousing doctrines of devils. The only thing that you and I contribute to our own salvation is the sin that made it necessary. Salvation is of the LORD. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan said it best, I humbly think...

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Bravo! To protect and Gospel of free grace, it is imperative that we always keep service separate from salvation. We must keep discipleship completely sperate from sonship. One thing has nothing to do with the other thing.

Pastor John MacArthur's False Gospel

Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

One of the most spiritually dangerous religious teachers of our time is Pastor John MacArthur of 'Grace To You' ministry in California. I have nothing personal against Mr. MacArthur, but he has done more than any other preacher, to lead preachers and layman away from the true Gospel of free grace. “Lordship Salvation” teaches that faith in the Gospel is not enough to be saved; but also, you must make full surrender to Christ as your “Lord and Master,” committing to follow Him as His disciple. 

The proponents of Lordship Salvation errantly teach that a person must be willing to turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved. They errantly call this “repentance.” So if you profess faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but still live in willful sin, they say you've never repented and are not saved. The Bible teaches that we repent TO believe, not repent AND believe. Repentance biblically as a noun (metanoia) simply means “a change of mind,” not a change of behavior. The verb form (metanoeo) means “to think differently.” Hence, repentance means to change your mind from WRONG THINKING to believing the 'Good News' (Gospel) of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sins, was buried and resurrected three days later from the dead. That is 'The Gospel' (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). 

The following helpful information is from Pastor Lou Martuneac:

John MacArthur's Discipleship Gospel 

In Defense of the Gospel 

By Lou Martuneac - October 7th, 2006 

The following appeared at Pulpit Magazine on September 29th, 2006. This paragraph from Dr. MacArthur’s post titled True Faith and True Grace encapsulates the major elements in the Lordship controversy. Dr. MacArthur wrote: 

“Those who teach that repentance is extraneous to saving faith are forced to make a firm but unbiblical distinction between salvation and discipleship. This dichotomy, like that of the carnal/spiritual Christian, sets up two classes of Christians: believers only and true disciples. Most who hold this position discard the evangelistic intent of virtually every recorded invitation of Jesus, saying those apply to discipleship, not to salvation.” 

One of the most significant errors with Lordship Salvation is the confusing of passages meant for the born again disciple of Christ (such as Luke 9:23-24, 14:25-33) and presenting them as though they are evangelistic appeals directed to the lost. It is from this error, where much of the Lordship interpretation of the gospel flows. This error leads to a faulty definition of faith, redefines the role of biblical repentance in salvation, both of which result in a gospel message that frustrates grace (Gal. 2:21). Following are three examples of how John MacArthur’s discipleship gospel redefines the faith that saves: 

“The gospel Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow Him in submissive obedience… Forsaking oneself for Christ’s sake is not an optional step of discipleship subsequent to conversion; it is the sine qua non of saving faith.” (The Gospel According to Jesus [Revised & Expanded Edition], p. 27, 142)  

“Thus in a sense we pay the ultimate price for salvation when our sinful self is nailed to a cross… It is an exchange of all that we are for all that Christ is. And it denotes implicit obedience, full surrender to the lordship of Christ. Nothing less can qualify as saving faith.” (The Gospel According to Jesus, p. 140)  

“Let me say again unequivocally that Jesus’ summons to deny self and follow him was an invitation to salvation, not… a second step of faith following salvation…” (The Gospel According to Jesus [Revised & Expanded Edition], p. 221) 

Lordship Salvation conditions the reception of salvation on a lost man’s upfront commitment to what should be the results of salvation. A commitment to perform the “good works” (Eph. 2:10) expected of the disciple of Christ is Lordship’s requirement FOR salvation. The lost man is expected to make a commitment toward what he will do, or become, in “exchange” for what Christ has done for him. John MacArthur states that position this way: 

“That is the kind of response the Lord Jesus called for: wholehearted commitment. A desire for Him at any cost. Unconditional surrender. A full exchange of self for the Savior. It is the only response that will open the gates of the kingdom.” (The Gospel According to Jesus [Revised & Expanded Edition], p. 148) 

In one of the clearest expressions of portraying discipleship as though it is the key to salvation Dr. MacArthur wrote: 

“Anyone who wants to come after Jesus into the Kingdom of God, anyone who wants to be a Christian, has to face three commands: 1) deny himself, 2) take up his cross daily, and 3) follow him.” (Hard to Believe, p. 6) 

The faith that saves is more than simple acknowledgment. Faith is basically a trust or confidence in someone or something. For salvation Jesus must be the object of faith. Faith goes beyond acknowledgement when the lost man transfers his dependence on Christ to save him from the penalty of sin. Mere acknowledgement of what Jesus has done does not save. When biblically defined, faith does not include upfront promises of commitment and surrender.
Discipleship comes at a cost, salvation (justification) does not! It is clear that Lordship Salvation requires much more than a faith that acknowledges one’s sin, a pending judgment for sin, and one’s need of the Savior. The Lordship position does not depend solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. 

Lordship Salvation, according to John MacArthur above, is a barter system, an “exchange” of what man must offer Christ to receive His free gift of salvation. To imply that receiving the free gift of God requires that man “pay the ultimate price” is a gospel of faith plus works. 

My book, In Defense of the Gospel, does not contain errors that are so common in the works of other men who have written in objection to Lordship Salvation. Many have been alarmed at the increasingly meaningless presentation of a gospel that seems to ignore the Person of Christ, the sinfulness of man, the finished work of Christ and the pending judgment of God. This gospel calls men to salvation when they have been given only a vague idea of just what they need to be saved from. There is, furthermore, a reductionist interpretation of the content of saving faith, with which I strongly disagree. The most extreme example of this reductionist view is known as the “Crossless” gospel. This is a relatively new interpretation of the Gospel originated by (the late) Zane Hodges and is almost exclusively perpetuated by the Grace Evangelical Society’s membership. 

My book does not minimize or reject the lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord and Savior throughout all eternity. We all agree that Jesus is the Savior; the only hope mankind has for eternal salvation from sin, death and Hell (Acts 4:12). We all agree that Jesus is the Lord, the King of Kings, and all power belongs to Him (Rev. 19:16; Matt. 28:18). If He is not the Lord, He is not God. If He is not God, He is not the Savior. Christ’s lordship, however, should not be used to create a message where the reception of salvation is conditioned on a lost man’s upfront commitment to surrender and submission, which Lordship Salvation does.
Pastor George Zeller wrote an article titled, The Relationship Between God’s Grace and Lordship Legalism, which appears in the appendix of my book. 

Following is a brief excerpt. 

“Don’t confuse saving faith with that which saving faith ought to produce. Don’t confuse repentance with the fruits of repentance. Behavior and fruit are the evidences of saving faith but they are not the essence of saving faith. Don’t confuse the fruit with the root. Before you can ‘come after’ Christ in discipleship (Luke 9:23; Matt. 11:29-30), you must ‘come unto’ Christ for salvation (Matthew 11:28). Discipleship is not a requirement for salvation; discipleship is the obligation of every saved person.” 

When a man tries to carefully introduce verses about discipleship as part of God’s plan for salvation, remember that the Bible teaches we come to Christ for salvation and that we come after Christ in discipleship. It is wrong to present discipleship verses as salvation verses. We must not use verses intended to teach discipleship to try to lead a man to Christ. To do so creates confusion and frustration. It becomes a gospel of faith, plus works. 

Lordship Salvation demands from a lost man a promise of what he will do, or become, to receive the gift of eternal life. Once man offers anything in addition to the finished work of Christ for salvation that message becomes false through the addition. A gospel that calls for man to do or offer anything in addition to what Christ has done is wrong! 

Dr. MacArthur - I know you mean well, you believe you are being true to the Scriptures. Changing the terms of the gospel, however, to upfront demands for commitment and surrender in “exchange” for salvation, will not make the problems of loose living carnality found in some professing believers go away.
In Defense of the Gospel fully defines and biblically answers the doctrinal and practical problems with Lordship Salvation. I wrote my book to alert Christians, across the broad spectrum of evangelical Christianity, about Lordship’s works based, man-centered interpretation of the gospel that frustrates grace (Gal. 2:21). 

There are many areas where one must balance soul liberty and Christian charity and agree to respect different views. The gospel, however, is not an area in which we can agree to disagree. The doctrine of Lordship Salvation and the Lordship advocates must be vigorously debated, and its spread biblically resisted. END

Any plan of salvation that requires you to do more than simply trust Jesus Christ as your Savior is false! Christ died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. Three days later He resurrected from the dead for the justification of our faith. The moment you believe This “Gospel” (Good News or Glad Tidings) when you hear it preached, you are saved and forever sealed with the Holy Spirit. Simply receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, trusting the risen Savior. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved.

You're not preaching the Gospel if you're not preaching eternal security. If you think you can lose salvation, you don't understand it and are not saved. Remember, it is God's salvation, not yours. We are saved by GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS (Philippians 3:9; Romans 10:3-4). You truly understand the Gospel when you know that you cannot lose it! If you are not preaching eternal security, you are not preaching the Gospel. Once saved, always saved!

Sealed With The Holy Spirit (Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold)

The Torment, Fear, Confusion And Anxiety Caused By Lordship Salvation

John 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

More deadly than a mother bear robbed of her cubs is the Devil's damnable lie of Lordship Salvation. What is Lordship Salvation? It is a deadly heresy that teaches faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not enough to be saved. In addition, a lost person is falsely told that they must turn away from their sinful behavior, surrender their life to serve Jesus, follow Christ no matter what the cost, commit your life to Christ, live a changed life, et cetera.

Lordship Salvation requires WORKS as evidence that you FAITH is genuine. So if a professed believer in Christ doesn't live a changed life, proponents of Lordship Salvation will conclude that the person's faith is not real and they are still unsaved. See and hear for yourself what the heresy of Lordship Salvation does to wreak havoc on a person's mind and soul...

The Damage of Lordship Salvation with John MacArthur

(This Should Make You Angry!)

This my dear reader is the sorrowful fruit of Lordship Salvation: stress, anxiety, worry, guilt, fear, condemnation, confusion and torment. This is what happens when you are taught to focus on the sinner rather than the Savior; analyzing self rather than searching the Scriptures; resting in my performance rather than His promise; looking in the mirror rather than looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Pastor John MacArthur horribly lies to this young woman in the preceding video, telling her:

“The way you know that you're saved is by your desire.” —John MacArthur

That is a lie of Satan! Should we base the assurance of God's free gift of salvation upon the subjective experience of sinful man; or should we base the assurance of God's salvation upon the objective truth of God's inspired Word? Which of these two do not change? Our human feelings can and will change from moment to moment, but God's inspired Words will NEVER change. Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Luke 16:17, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

We Must Keep Service Separate From Salvation

You don't have to love Jesus to go to Heaven, you have to trust Him as your Savior. I try to serve and please God because I love Jesus (John 14:15); but the only reason I am going to Heaven is because Jesus loves me, who sacrificed His life for me on Calvary's cruel cross (John 3:16; 1st John 3:16).

When you trust Christ as your personal Savior, you have eternal life. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” When you got saved God didn't take away the old carnal nature, He gave you a new birth. He gave you His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 3:16-17; 1st John 3:24). When we sin, it is only because we are choosing to walk in the flesh; but when we obey God, it is because we chose to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). At any given time a believer can choose to walk in the Spirit (i.e., if we yield in obedience as the Holy Spirit teaches, guides, comforts, rebukes and leads us with the inspired Holy Bible). The unsaved person (lost man) doesn't have the Holy Spirit. No lost person has ever possessed the Holy Spirit of God! And no child of God lacks the Holy Spirit.

You can be saved and not love God. You can be saved and not serve Christ. You can be saved by just believing the Gospel. You don't make Jesus the Lord, HE IS LORD!!! Thank God that going to Heaven is not dependent upon our turning away from sins and our performance, or else we'd ALL be going to Hell someday!!! The ONLY thing that makes me (and you if you are a born again child of God), any more righteous than mass-murderer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, is the precious blood of Jesus! The ONLY thing that makes me any more righteous than the worst sinner on planet earth is the precious blood of Jesus that washed away all my sins (1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 1st Peter 1:18-19). Colossians 1:14, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” (By the way, nearly all of the Devil's modern Bible perversions butcher this verse, removing, “THE BLOOD.”)

The great fear and confusion caused by Lordship Salvation is because preachers fail to SEPARATE service from salvation. They fail to separate personal sanctification within from justification without. They fail to keep separate discipleship from sonship. John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Many Bible students make the mistake of citing Bible references from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke to support the heresy of Lordship Salvation. For example: Luke 14:27, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” False prophet Billy Graham (1918-2018) often quoted these passages out of context to bolster up his straw man heresy of Lordship Salvation.

One of my favorite Bible preachers is Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688), because he clearly understood the theological concept of God's imputed righteousness, which is BY FAITH ALONE...

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

John Bunyan nailed it! Yes, that is exactly what is wrong with Lordship Salvation, it mixes and confuses the lines between sanctification and justification, obscuring the Gospel and perverting God's grace. Oh, dear reader, please reject the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation, for it is “another gospel” accursed by God (Galatians 1:6-9; 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15).

Pastor Yankee Arnold Responds To Lordship Critics

The religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 FELT like they were saved. They boasted to Jesus of their “many wonderful works,” and that they “cast our devils,” and they called Him: “Lord, Lord.” They felt like they were true Christians. They felt saved. Based upon their own subjective human experience, by all indications they were going to Heaven. But what saith the Scripture? Lordship Salvation is serving Christ and living the Christian life without ever being born-again...

Matthew 7:21-23, “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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

As you just read for yourself, Lordship Salvation is serving Christ and living the Christian life without ever being born-again. That is what happened to these cursed false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23. They had churchianity without Christianity! Dear reader, the most dangerous thing you could ever do is to blindly trust some preacher about how to get to Heaven. I feel so sorry for the thousands of people in Pastor John MacArthur's church cult, who are all victims of his damnable Satanic lies. The only way to stay safe is to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES...

John 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

If you have any doubts and concerns about going to Heaven dear friend, I implore you to listen to the Gospel of John over and over and over, until you see the simplicity that is in Christ, which is: THE GOSPEL.

What saith the Scripture? 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” What does the Bible command all men concerning getting saved? John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” That is God's commandment to receive eternal life.

Let'[s see what Jesus said in 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.” Many people wrongly divide the Word of Truth (the Bible), tormenting themselves with a lie. One could easily assume that 1st John 3:24 is speaking about keeping all of God's commandments to get to Heaven, but that would be foolish, because we should NEVER base a doctrine on a single passage of Scripture. A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. We have the entire Gospel of John, which was authored by God specifically to show mankind how to get to Heaven. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

I receive hundreds of emails each year from people who are afraid they are not saved because of the sins in their life. This is the adverse consequence of the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. These poor souls have been lied to by wicked preachers. They have been deceived by the Devil concerning what God requires to get to Heaven. The Devil is a beautiful liar! Lordship Salvation is damnable heresy which causes stress, anxiety, fear, torment, tears and confusion in its victims. Those who trust in Lordship Salvation are always analyzing them self instead of "searching the Scriptures" (John 5:39). They are looking in the mirror, instead of looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Dear friend, RUN from Lordship Salvation. 

My dear friend in the ministry Michael P. Bowen was also a victim of Lordship Salvation for several years. Michael admits that if he had died during that time of anxiety, stress and confusion over God's plan of salvation, he would have went to a burning Hell forever. Thankfully, Michael testifies that one day he heard a sermon by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) that finally showed him THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL and Michael became a born-again Christian. That sermon is called: 'How Permanent Is Your Salvation?'

Michael Bowen wrote a helpful book about his ordeal, and he shows you exactly how you can also know that you are going to Heaven. The book is titled: I Never Knew You: The Horror Of The Great White Throne Judgment And How You Can Avoid It' (free .pdf version). You can obtain hard copies at Amazon.com store. I regularly order a few copies here and there to give away to the people in my life. A hard copy is much more likely to get read than a .pdf file.

Lordship Salvation is of the Devil. You get saved by coming to God as a needy guilty sinner (not by forsaking your sinful ways), and simply receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins. Nothing more is required or allowed by God, except faith in the Good News (Gospel) of His only begotten Son crucified, buried and risen for your sins (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the Gospel of free grace! Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Thank you humbly for reading my blog. To God be ALL the praise, credit and glory (John 15:5).

Lordship Salvation Causes Fear, Torment, Anxiety And Stress

John 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

More deadly than a mother bear robbed of her cubs is the Devil's damnable lie of Lordship Salvation. What is Lordship Salvation? It is a deadly heresy that teaches faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not enough to be saved. In addition, a lost person is falsely told that they must turn away from their sinful behavior, surrender their life to serve Jesus, follow Christ no matter what the cost, commit your life to Christ, live a changed life, et cetera.

Lordship Salvation requires WORKS as evidence that you FAITH is genuine. So if a professed believer in Christ doesn't live a changed life, proponents of Lordship Salvation will conclude that the person's faith is not real and they are still unsaved. See and hear for yourself what the heresy of Lordship Salvation does to wreak havoc on a person's mind and soul...

The Damage of Lordship Salvation with John MacArthur

(This Should Make You Angry!)

This my dear reader is the sorrowful fruit of Lordship Salvation: stress, anxiety, worry, guilt, fear, condemnation, confusion and torment. This is what happens when you are taught to focus on the sinner rather than the Savior; analyzing self rather than searching the Scriptures; resting in my performance rather than His promise; looking in the mirror rather than looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Pastor John MacArthur horribly lies to this young woman in the preceding video, telling her:

“The way you know that you're saved is by your desire.” —John MacArthur

What saith the Scripture? 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” What does the Bible command all men concerning getting saved? John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” That is God's commandment to receive eternal life.

Let'[s see what Jesus said in 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.” Many people wrongly divide the Word of Truth (the Bible), tormenting themselves with a lie. One could easily assume that 1st John 3:24 is speaking about keeping all of God's commandments to get to Heaven, but that would be foolish, because we should NEVER base a doctrine on a single passage of Scripture. A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one. We have the entire Gospel of John, which was authored by God specifically to show mankind how to get to Heaven. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

I receive hundreds of emails each year from people who are afraid they are not saved because of the sins in their life. This is the adverse consequence of the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. These poor souls have been lied to by wicked preachers. They have been deceived by the Devil concerning what God requires to get to Heaven. The Devil is a beautiful liar! Lordship Salvation is damnable heresy which causes stress, anxiety, fear, torment, tears and confusion in its victims. Those who trust in Lordship Salvation are always analyzing them self instead of "searching the Scriptures" (John 5:39). They are looking in the mirror, instead of looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Dear friend, RUN from Lordship Salvation. 

My dear friend in the ministry Michael P. Bowen was also a victim of Lordship Salvation for several years. Michael admits that if he had died during that time of anxiety, stress and confusion over God's plan of salvation, he would have went to a burning Hell forever. Thankfully, Michael testifies that one day he heard a sermon by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) that finally showed him THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL and Michael became a born-again Christian. That sermon is called: 'How Permanent Is Your Salvation?'

Michael Bowen wrote a helpful book about his ordeal, and he shows you exactly how you can also know that you are going to Heaven. The book is titled: I Never Knew You: The Horror Of The Great White Throne Judgment And How You Can Avoid It' (free .pdf version). You can obtain hard copies at Amazon.com store. I regularly order a few copies here and there to give away to the people in my life. A hard copy is much more likely to get read than a .pdf file.

Lordship Salvation is of the Devil. You get saved by coming to God as a needy guilty sinner (not by forsaking your sinful ways), and simply receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins. Nothing more is required or allowed by God, except faith in the Good News (Gospel) of His only begotten Son crucified, buried and risen for your sins (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the Gospel of free grace! Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Thank you humbly for reading my blog. To God be ALL the praise, credit and glory (John 15:5).

The Heresy Of Lordship Salvation Defined

Ephesians 2:8-9, “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.”

I obtained much of this vital information from an excellent helpful Christian website called: “Expreacherman.” Lordship “salvation” is the unsupportable and unbiblical belief that the PERFORMANCE of good works, the PROMISE of good works, or the EVIDENCE of good works MUST accompany faith in Christ in order to establish, or provide evidence, that such faith has resulted in eternal life. God’s Word clearly states that salvation is by Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

Lordship Salvation can be overt (i.e., the false claim one must forsake all of his sins and follow Christ in obedience and discipleship in order to be saved) or VERY SUBTLE (i.e., the lie that one’s behavior will change once someone is saved, or that one must desire to get better in order to be saved, or the lie that one must want to have a relationship with Jesus in order to be saved, or that one must go beyond mere intellectual assent and actively respond (i.e., do something; such as Rahab opening the door to spies, or Abraham offering Isaac on the altar) in response to God’s message in order to be saved). These are all false teachings!

No where in the Bible does it say that any of these man-made conditions are necessary for one to receive God's free gift of eternal life. And yet, such things are taught by many churches, ministries, and pastors throughout professing Christendom. Sadly, this includes many Baptist churches, and even so-called Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches today. I am an Independent Fundamental Baptist myself, gladly so, but I hate and expose the lies of Calvinism (all 5 heretical points), Lordship Salvation, turning from sins to be saved, and anything that denies the Eternal Security of the Christian believer. The Bible teaches ONE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED!!! It is what Jesus Christ did through the cross that saves us, by the sprinkling of His shed blood upon the heavenly Mercy Seat, and not by what we can do for Him in the flesh!

Christians must expose the teachers of Lordship Salvation, because they:

1. Keep people lost (Luke 8-12;  2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
2. Are accursed by God for perverting the Gospel (Galatians 1:6-9)
3. Frustrate God's free grace (Galatians 2:21-22)
4. Bewitch believers, rendering them ineffective in their Christian lives (Galatians 3:1-3; 5:4)
5. Are to be marked and avoided for teaching things contrary to sound doctrine (Romans 16:17-18)
6. Cause people to focus on themselves, rather than on Christ, for the assurance of salvation. (The doctrine of Eternal Life is the same as Eternal Security, they are not separate teachings.)
7. Cause a lot of believers to have fear and insecurity about salvation (Acts 15:1-2, 22-24)

We cannot know whether or not someone influenced by Lordship Salvation is saved. In some cases, they may have never even heard the Gospel presented clearly, and may have never believed in Jesus as their Savior. In other cases, they may have believed in Jesus as their Savior, but have received bad teaching that causes them ongoing confusion. We cannot tell which is which. But, in any case, they need our prayers and they need a clear presentation of the Gospel.

One wonders why so many thousands of seeking souls flock to the false message of Lordship Salvation. Could it be the cultic draw by charismatic personalities who manipulate the Scripture, relish the attention, enjoy the fame and the dollars cleverly conned from their followers? Sure, I think so! There's a bunch of religious con men out there! Lordship Salvation is really Satan's sure plan of damnation, not the saving Gospel. 

The person who is fed the Lordship Salvation false teaching is being steered away from the truth. It is tragic that this is happening in hundreds of thousands of churches today around the world. After all, people naturally want to trust authority figures (and they sure do). When a pastor or religious leader teaches people Lordship Salvation, it is a form of spiritual murder, because you are damning their souls to the Lake of Fire forever with false assurance (Revelation 20:11-15). I cannot warn you enough. Moody Bible Institute in Chicago is of the Devil, who openly admit to being “generally Calvinistic.” Calvinism demands more than simple childlike faith for salvation, and is; therefore, a perverted gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works. Moody Radio is aired on at least 73 radio networks around the United States, who promote Dr. John MacArthur, a deadly false prophet. So you see, the Devil has crept a false gospel of Lordship Salvation into hundreds of thousands of churches!!! 

Although this list is by no means complete, following are some of the heretical terms that are associated with Lordship Salvation as being requirements for receiving God's free gift of Eternal Life:

1. “Repent of your sins”
2. “Turn from your sins”
3. “Be willing to turn from your sins”
4. “Put Christ on the throne of your life”
5. “Surrender all to Christ”
6. “Give your life to Jesus”
7. “Make a commitment to Christ”
8. “Live a lifestyle of repentance”
9. “Publicly confess Christ”
10. “Commit to follow Christ”
11. “Count the cost”
12. “Forsake the old ways of living”
13. “Put Christ on the throne of your life”

In sharp contrast to these EXTRA requirements which God does not require to be saved, the inspired Holy Bible teaches EASY-BELIEVISM!!! Getting saved is so easy that even a small child can be saved (2nd Timothy 3:15; Matthew 19:14). Some proponents of Lordship salvation will allow that salvation is by Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; but then will insist that a saved person will show signs of being saved, such as sinning less and doing good works. If these “signs” are not present, they will insist, or at least heavily suspect, that a person has never believed in Christ as Savior. This unbiblical and dangerous thought process can never lead to assurance of salvation, because it is always dependent on how one thinks he is DOING at any given point in time. 

Other folks think that God knows whether or not they are TRYING. Folks, DOING and TRYING are works!!! God doesn't save anyone who is trying to be saved, He only saves those who are trusting to be saved. Salvation is received, not achieved. Trying will not help you attain eternal life.  Eternal life is a free gift, received when someone trusts in Christ alone for it. Salvation is a take proposition from God, not a give proposition! You simply take His free gift by faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen for your sins!

When a person gets saved, they don't change one bit. The only difference is now they have the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. All things become new, as a baby believer's spiritual eyes are now opened for the first time, and they must begin to grow. There may be instant coffee, but there are no instant mature Christians!!! PGM's UNSHACKLED radio programs give the impression that a person must commit them self to substantial lifestyle changes in order to be saved. That's what they repeatedly teach! The Holy Bible says that salvation is a gift! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

I love this helpful quote from Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951):

“When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him.” —Pastor Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, 'Another Gospel'

Pacific Garden Mission (PGM), whether they intend it or not, teach Calvinism in some of their episodes. In one UNSHACKLED episode I heard a man teaching that you cannot just write your name in the back of your Bible; but rather, you need to surrender your life to Jesus every day for the rest of your life. That is a satanic plan of damnation!!! Eternal life is a free gift, that you receive ONE TIME by faith alone, and then it is yours forever. Calvinism requires a believer to persevere in holy living, otherwise they say you're not saved. This is a false works-based plan of salvation.

The idea that repentance is from sins for salvation is not found anywhere in the Bible, and constitutes a works-based plan of salvation. In UNSHACKLED episode #3399, the story of “Dorie: The Girl Nobody Wanted,” the PGM narrator guides the listener to pray “Please come into my heart and transform me to be more like you.” Although innocent sounding, this is not the Gospel. You don't have to “ask” Jesus into your heart to be saved. You don't have to ask Jesus to “transform” you to be saved. Being “transformed” according to Romans 12:2 comes only by having our mind “RENEWED,” which comes by nurturing on the milk of God's Word (1st Peter 2:2).

Kindly, Pacific Garden Mission hypes the spectacular ideology that a man is supposed to get saved and become an instant transformed creature! That is not Biblical. Growth in grace requires a lifetime. A new believer requires YEARS to mature. A new believer can choose to behave as a mature Christian does, but there are no shortcuts, the same as is true in the physical body. A child may choose to act like an adult in some ways, but they won't actually be an adult until they become an adult. The same is true spiritually in the Lord.

In a rescue mission, souls are pulled from the flames of Hell by the preaching of the Gospel, saved as by fire. It is totally unbiblical to propagate the idea of instantly transformed alcoholics, perverts and bums off the street into transformed Christians! I realize that some people do get saved and instantly demonstrate some type of outward change, but that is not the norm. Alcoholics are chemically addicted to the drug alcohol and in most cases will required medical intervention to recover. You cannot just tell them to believe the Gospel and be transformed from alcoholism to recovery. I'm just going by what is propagated in the UNSHACKLED programs. UNSHACKLED's episodes are saturated with the heresy of Lordship Salvation!!! You'll extensively hear the 13 heretical terms I mentioned earlier.

The simple Gospel is this—You are a guilty SINNER (Romans 3:19). That is the bad news. As such, you NEED a Savior, which is Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Christ died on the cross to pay your sin debt (and mine). He was buried and miraculously resurrected physically three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That is the 'GOOD NEWS' (aka, 'The Gospel'). If you will come to God as a needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, trusting in the risen SAVIOR, you will be immediately, irrevocably and forever saved! It's that simple!!! Please trust Christ right now as your personal Savior.

“You don't go to Hell because you won't quit your sinning!” —Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995); a great quote from the classic sermon, 'Why Do Men Go To Hell?' (exposing 'Lordship Salvation')

Lordship Salvation Refuted By Pastor David Breese

Acts 16:30-31, “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.”

David William Breese (October 14, 1926 - May 3, 2002) was an evangelical Christian pastor and theologian from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century. Pastor Breese authored the following excellent defense of the Gospel, refuting the damnable doctrine of Lordship Salvation, titled:

“Danger,” by Pastor David Breese

One of the animated discussions which is now in the evangelical Christian scene surprisingly concerns the very issue of salvation itself. The question, therefore, of “What must I do to be saved?” is now being answered in a more complicated fashion than simply, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). Traditional fundamentalists and most Evangelicals have long held to the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. The answer has now become more elaborate than that, as Christians newly discuss whether salvation is by faith alone or by faith plus some other things.

Stated very simply, the view that is now called “Lordship Salvation” (a view rarely defined to the satisfaction of anyone) holds that the offer of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is false, for faith includes good works.

There are a number of deficiencies involved in this view, which should be noted:

1. It improperly understands justification by faith. Justification does not mean to be “made righteous” or to “progressively become righteous.” Rather, it means to be “declared righteous.”

It is improper to define faith as “commitment,” “dedication,” “surrender,” or any other expression which suggests a kinetic response on the part of the soul.

2. It ignores imputed righteousness. We are not saved by imparted, infused, or earned righteousness. No indeed, we are righteous by imputation.

3. It confuses justification and sanctification. To say that progressive sanctification is an “inevitable result” of salvation is evidence of doctrinal confusion. In each Christian, there may be at times a varying degree of affirmation to the leading of the Lord.

4. It misrepresents salvation itself. Salvation is presented in the Scripture in three tenses or three aspects. When I accept Christ, I have instant and eternal salvation in the sense of deliverance from the penalty of sin. As I live my life in commitment to Christ under the leadership and empowering of the Holy Spirit, I am delivered from the power of sin. Some Christians are insufficiently delivered from the power of sin, even to the extent of sickness (1 Cor 11:30) and physical death (1 Tim 1:20).

In the future, I am promised deliverance from the presence of sin. The Christian’s future in heaven is vouchsafed because of salvation by imputation and positional sanctification. When he believes, he is already seated in the heavenlies with Christ (Eph 2:6), and he is promised that he will never perish (John 10:28).

5. Lordship Salvation diminishes the value of New Testament truth for the Christian. A very high percentage of the epistles of the New Testament are written as instructions to believers. These instructions have produced conviction and commitment in millions of Christians down through the history of the Church. Lordship Salvation cancels the value of these admonitions, in that it declares that if one does not obey these instructions, one is not a Christian. Therefore, the answer to Christian imperfection (obvious in the character of many Christians) is that this person was never saved and needs to be saved. So evaporates the value of all instructions to grow in grace.

6. It holds the impossible doctrine of salvation by perfect commitment. The doctrine that one is saved by submission to the Lordship of Christ, cannot admit to the possibility of imperfect commitment. For, from a logical point of view, imperfect commitment is not, in fact, commitment. In that most honest Christians will admit to imperfect commitment, they are thereby admitting that they are not Christians. The impossibility of “perfect commitment” is a troublesome problem to the Lordshipists. So “Semi-Lordship Salvation” is what this notion is at best. We await word as to what percentage of commitment produces salvation. (Hint–the scriptural answer is zero, for salvation is by “unmerited favor,” i.e., the grace of God.)

7. Therefore, Lordship Salvation makes assurance tenuous or impossible. Submission to the Lordship of Christ as the basis of salvation holds open the possibility that at some future date one may be less than perfectly submissive. If one holds to the Lordship Salvation view, one’s basis of assurance of salvation is gone.

8. It diminishes the value of Calvary. In the Lordship view, Christ becomes less the Savior and more the Helper. Under this view, I cannot “cast my helpless soul on Him,” but rather I must cooperate with His helpfulness.

9. It equates discipleship and salvation. The advocates of salvation by commitment to Christ uncritically (and with profound lack of discernment) view the many calls of Christ to His own to come and be His disciples as the call to believe the Gospel. Consequently, the expression “Follow me” becomes the way of salvation. Hence, until one becomes a disciple, he is not a Christian. The call to become disciples of the King, extended to Jewish individuals, is very different from the call to believe and therefore be saved by grace and become a member of the Body of Christ.

10. It misunderstands repentance. To translate metanoia as “repentance” has been most unfortunate. “To do penance” is not its meaning. It means “a change of mind.” Too often this will be thoughtlessly defined as “a turning about,” “sorrow for sin,” “being sorry enough to quit,” “a complete change of character,” or “making restitution”–all such definitions are falsehoods. By these inaccurate definitions, faith in Christ is freighted with burdens impossible to bear. Such defective epistemology has demoralized many a Christian.

11. It disorganizes the Christian mind. Salvation is either by grace or by works. They cannot be mixed (Rom 11:6). Works produce no standing before God or merit for heaven. Mixing grace and works overly strains the Christian mind. With these inchoate ideas (exhumed doubtless from the vicinity of Rome) who can say with assurance “I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim 1:12)? Paul could.

Conclusion

These and many other considerations should be kept in mind when one examines the various ways of salvation being offered on the evangelical scene of our time. Much of the confusion of these days would be instantly resolved if we would remember that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. To redefine these words is not permitted, for they have real, changeless, and eternal meaning. Let us then remember: “Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5).

We know that we are people of eternal consequence because we were made in the image of God. We were redeemed by the most precious substance in the universe, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ. We were called by the Holy Spirit into a life of great purpose.

Charlie Kirk Was Deceived By Lordship Salvation

Matthew 7:20-23, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Our text passage of Scripture from Matthew 7:20-23 plainly condemns Lordship Salvation. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again. The Bible warns in Galatians 5:4 that anyone who adds works to grace is making the Gospel of none effect to save lost sinners, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” When someone speaks of accepting Jesus as your “Lord and Savior,” they are preaching another gospel.

Lordship Salvation: A Perversion Of God's Grace

(by Pastor Curtis Hutson, 1934-1995)

I understand that “Lord and Savior” sounds so good and religious, tantalizing to our human pride and hatred for our neighbour's sins. That being said, it is totally unbiblical to take Jesus as one's “Lord” to get to Heaven. Jesus is Lord, you don't make Him Lord! The moment that you trust Him as your personal Savior, Jesus automatically becomes your Lord. What they mean by receiving Jesus as your “Lord” (Master) is that you will no longer continue to live a lifestyle of sinning, and that you will faithfully serve Christ for the rest of your life, and that you will follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins. These things are NOT part of the free Gospel of grace, nor are they even allowed. We are at war today over God's simple plan of salvation folks, so please don't take this important matter lightly.

I am so sick of the damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation that I want to go regurgitate. I love Charlie Kirk (1933-2025), but he was misled by Pastor Rob McCoy (Charlie's faith teacher) about God's simple plan of salvation. Pastor McCoy preaches hard core Lordship Salvation. I wrote a whole article at my other ministry blog yesterday, which you can read if you'd like. It is titled, “Charlie Kirk Did Not Give A Clear Gospel Presentation.” As with many celebrities, there is a personality cult following Charlie Kirk today. So, I know my blogs will likely offend some readers. But as Charlie would challengingly say: "PROVE ME WRONG!"

The only reason why corrupt religious institutions today; such as, Pensacola Christian College, Liberty University, Bob Jones University, Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Seminary are all preaching Lordship Salvation is simply because not enough born again Christians are calling them out and exposing them. Sadly, the opposite has happened, these corrupt institutions have succumbed to the Devil's popular lie of Lordship Salvation to fit in with the crowd, to follow the herd of mainstream rotten evangelicalism in America. There is a famine of truth today!

The Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation has crept into nearly every Bible college and church today, perverting the grace of God. Case in point is Jeff Redlin, the theologically incompetent senior pastor of Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College (PCC), who preaches hard core Lordship Salvation...

At the end of Jeff Redlin's ungodly heresy-filled video, he invites the viewer to pray these words to be saved...

“Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that my sin has separated me from you. I believe that Jesus is God, and I accept Him as my Lord, my Saviour God, please come into my life. Make me part of your family. Save me.” SOURCE: Pastor Jeff Redlin, “A Good Question”; Campus Church at PCC, https://campuschurch.com/a-good-question/

Kindly said, there are numerous things very wrong with Jeff Redlin's toxic plan of salvation, which unfortunately does NOT match up with what the inspired Word of God teaches. I refute Pastor Redlin's damnable false plan of salvation in this helpful blog. The Bible exhorts learned Christian men to “REBUKE THEM SHAPLY” who pervert the grace of God (Titus 1:9-14), so that they might become sound in the faith (so far they haven't listened to the truth at PCC because they don't care). PCC  wickedly hobnobbed with the infidels at Bob Jones University, so now they have also been infected with Satan's Lordship Salvation heresy.

Charlie Kirk And The Lie Of Lordship Salvation

Charlie Kirk's faith teacher, Rob McCoy, former 20-year senior pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, California, teaches hardcore Lordship Salvation! Their so-called “church” requires turning from your sins and surrendering to Jesus as supreme “Lord” of your life to get to Heaven, which is a false gospel. The following is damnable heresy! ...

The Gospel

We believe that all people are, by nature, separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord. SOURCE: https://www.godspeak.com/our-beliefs

No, that is NOT THE GOSPEL! There is NO Gospel folks! Where is Jesus' death on the cross, His burial and bodily resurrection from the dead the third day. I mean, this is “the gospel” according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-6. What Rob McCoy is preaching is worthless theological dung! Their plan of salvation is actually a plan of damnation. Godspeak Calvary Chapel is a religious cult! The sad truth is that 99% of professed Christians today are not saved at all. They are merely living the Christian life in Jesus' name, but they've never actually been born again by the Holy Spirit of God in response to childlike faith in the Gospel.

To the man with a hammer in his hand, everything starts looking like a nail sticking up. Likewise, to these misfit neo-evangelicals who are infatuated with the Lordship of Christ, they see all things through a misguided lens of Jesus being “Lord, Lord,” while neglecting to preach the simple truth of a free grace Gospel message. The pure Gospel is “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). By adding taking Jesus as one's Lord, and adding repenting of one's sins, to be saved—these FALSE TEACHERS are perverting God's grace.

Misunderstood Repentance: An Enemy Of Soulwinning
(by Pastor Jack Hyles, 1926-2001)

I humbly think that Charlie Kirk is an American hero, and I am sad that he was assassinated on September 10, 2025, by a hateful monster. God bless Charlie's family. And please understand dear reader that I didn't write this blog to cast a negative view upon Charlie; but rather, to raise awareness to the heresy of Lordship Salvation.

I realize that calling Jesus one's “Lord and Savior” doesn't necessarily mean this is what someone is trusting in to get to Heaven. Albeit, from all that I have learned about Charlie Kirk's beliefs, he did trust in Lordship Salvation. His pastor clearly taught Lordship Salvation. We cannot say with any certainty where Charlie went in the afterlife. My heart wants to believe he is in Heaven with Jesus and the heavenly family; but due to his relentless mention that to be saved you must receive Jesus as your “Lord and Savior,” and that he gave his life to Christ in fifth grade to be saved, concerns me deeply.

You cannot get born again by giving your life to Christ. That is not how God's simple plan of salvation works. For someone who adheres to the fallacy of Lordship Salvation, they have a completely different mindset than a sinner who is simply resting in Christ's redemptive work for salvation. Charlie Kirk endorsed Ray Comfort, which is not a good sign. Ray Comfort literally teaches that faith in Jesus Christ is not enough to be saved.

In addition, Ray Comfort errantly says that you must repent to “live a lifestyle” of turning from your sinning. Ray actually calls trusting Jesus the “second thing” you must do to be saved. He says the first thing is to turn away from your sinning and walk in holiness for the rest of your life. Whereas the inspired Holy Bible says trusting Jesus is the only thing you must do to be saved (Acts 16:30-31). Ray foolishly misunderstands being “born again” to refer to a radical change of behavior. In sharp contrast, we know biblically that being “born again” refers to the supernatural miracle by which a lost sinner is indwelt of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (John 1:12-14; 1st John 3:24; Romans 8:9).

Dear reader, there is absolutely nothing wrong with accompanying one's faith with a sinner's prayer, deciding to follow Jesus as one's Lord, or desiring to turn from one's sinful ways, JUST SO LONG AS you don't add these things to your faith to be saved. If you add any of these things to your faith, you cannot be saved. God the Father will not accept anything more or less than your childlike faith (trust, reliance) in His only begotten Son, Jesus, who died on a cross in your place and mine. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

I don't have to follow Jesus as my “Lord” to get to Heaven. That is strictly a matter of rewards in eternity. I don't have to live a lifestyle of repentance from sins to get to Heaven. I don't have to persevere in holiness to get to Heaven. I don't have to be water baptized, pick up my cross to follow Jesus, go to church, forsake the world, nor serve the Lord to be saved. In fact, biblically, I don't have to do anything to get to Heaven. All I did as a 13-year-old young man was to by faith rest completely in Christ's crucifixtion, burial and resurrection to get to Heaven. 

Dear reader, if you will simply take God at His Word as written in the inspired Holy Bible, to receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He raised up from the dead three days later, you will be instantly and forever saved. You have God's promise of it in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

I cannot say with any certainty that Charlie went to Heaven or Hell. Only God and Charlie know where he went. I just know that Lordship Salvation is a counterfeit plan of salvation. I know that repenting of your sins is NOT taught in the Scripture to get to Heaven. I know that when Charlie says he got saved in fifth grade by giving his life to Christ, that is NOT how a lost sinner gets saved. Judas Iscariot gave his life to Christ too, becoming one of Jesus' apostles, yet we know that Judas died in unbelief and perished into the Lake of Fire forever. But you say, “Wait a minute, Charlie believed.” Yes, but what did he trust in to get to Heaven?

Partial faith in Jesus Christ plus something more is a counterfeit plan of salvation. I once witnessed to a teacher at the Harvest Baptist Church of Guam. I asked him if he believed a person could simply come to God as a guilty sinner and believe the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus' crucified, buried and risen to get to Heaven? To my horror he replied, “Uh, I think a little more is required.” I knew right then that he was still lost in his sins without Christ. This is my concern with Charlie Kirk. Did he trust in Christ alone, or did he foolishly think (as tens of millions of hellbound neo-evangelicals do today) that MORE IS REQUIRED?

John 3:15, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

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.”

John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

John 11:25, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”

Acts 16:30, “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.”

Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Again and again the inspired Holy Scripture exhorts us to simply BELIEVE ON JESUS to get to Heaven, without any mention of taking Him as one's Lord, water baptism, sacraments, repenting of your sins nor anything else. You just need to believe that Jesus did it all for you! Tragically, 99% of professed Christians today have never been born again, they are merely living the Christian life.

All of the unscriptural talk nowadays in churches of taking Jesus as one's Lord, repenting of your sins, surrendering your will to do God's will, giving your life to Christ, and becoming a Christ-follower to get to Heaven, just further confuses lost sinners and obscures God's simple plan of salvation (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4). I do not question Charlie Kirk's sincerity, but I do contend that he preached a vague, watered-down and amorphous plan of salvation. We must be alert to the danger of the pulpit. The Bible in the hands of an idiot is the most dangerous weapon mankind has ever faced.