That a booklet of this title should even be necessary
tells of the sad condition of our times. It makes it seem as if there
is more than one type of salvation, or more than one way to be saved.
It gives the appearance of putting a descriptive element on salvation to
distinguish one type from another. For example, it seems to imply
that there is a Lordship salvation and one that is not Lordship salvation.
This flies in the face of Jesus' statement in John 14:6, where He says,
"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father,
but by me." There is only one way to be saved; one scriptural
way to be saved.
What has happened, is that some have begun to teach
that Jesus' two relationships with the believer, that of Saviour, and that
of Lord, can be acknowledged at different times. There is a teaching
that one can turn to Jesus to be saved by simply accepting or acknowledging
Him as Saviour, and can then make Him Lord at some later time in their
life through submission to Him. We will deal with the foolishness
of this as we go on, but we will first agree that Jesus does act in these
two capacities. We do not find our cause for argument over this.
We will prove that they cannot be separated.
The Bible does teach that Jesus is 'Saviour,'
and He is 'Lord.' There is ample evidence given in scripture
here to prove this, but let us look at several witnesses in a few verses
to establish the facts.
First of all, that Jesus is Saviour is seen in Matthew
1:21. The angel of the Lord says, "And she shall bring forth a
son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from
their sins." The name Jesus means Saviour in Hebrew. Also,
in John 1:29, John the Baptist says, "...Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world." To take away is to save from.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:11, "For the Son of man is come to save that
which was lost." We could give more verses, but here are three
witnesses that Jesus is Saviour. If one won't believe an angel of
the Lord, a man of God, and Jesus Himself, they won't believe a multitude
of verses!
That Jesus is Lord can also be established by the
Scriptures. Mark 1:3, tells us that John the Baptist was 'preparing
the way of the Lord.' The disciples called him Lord in too many
places to list, but we can show in one verse where all of them did so.
In Matthew chapter 8, there is a great storm that threatens the boat they
are all in, and in verse 25, it says, "And his disciples came to him...saying,
Lord, save us: we perish." If you don't think 'disciples'
was all inclusive, you haven't properly pictured the conditions in that
boat! They were all calling on Him. Those who had their sins
forgiven called Jesus Lord. In fact, even those who sought only fleshly
help called Him Lord, and we shall deal with that later also. But
surely the best proof that Jesus is Lord is seen in His own statements.
In Matthew 12:8, He says He is Lord of the Sabbath, and in Matthew 10:28,
He says He is the Master of the house. It is the household of faith
according to Paul, as seen in Galatians 6:10. Again, we could give
more, but this should suffice to show that Jesus is Lord.
The issue now becomes one of whether or not these
two relationships are consecutive or concurrent in salvation. That
is, do they come one after the other, or do they operate together?
Are theses two relationships separate, or co-existent? That is, can
you have only one of these relationships with Christ, or must you have
both to have either? Here, again, we must look to the scriptures.
No one who came to Jesus and had their sins forgiven,
that is, who benefitted from him being the Saviour, ever called him simply
Jesus. There were some who were healed in the flesh, or ate the loaves
and fishes, or beheld the power of God through the miracles, who did not
appreciate His Lordship, but they were not saved from their sins.
The confusion on some preachers' parts has come
from a misunderstanding of scriptural precepts. One evangelist of
great reputation has written a booklet refuting Lordship salvation, and
calls it 'a perversion of the gospel.' He justifies his negative
position, in part, by implying that Jesus is not Lord if a believer disobeys
Him one time. If that is so, then one must believe that Jesus can
never be Lord to a believer unless we reach a state of 'sinless perfection.'
This has never been a Baptist belief, because we all disobey at one time
or another! I would direct you to Luke 17:5-10, where Jesus puts
us all in our place with his response to the disciples request to have
their faith increased. He says in verse 10, "...when ye shall
have done all those things which were commanded you, say, we are unprofitable
servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." We may
be saved in our spirit, but we must always battle the flesh. A person
can submit to the Lordship of Christ in attitude at the time of salvation,
and yet in a moment of weakness disobey. The fact is, though, that
he cannot continue in that manner for any length of time due to conviction
and chastisement. This same preacher likely believes that a 'saint'
can go long periods of time in a 'backslidden' condition if Jesus is not
yet Lord. This is a deception that Satan has sold many folk!
It is also necessary that we deal with the idea
of 'making Jesus Lord.' The evangelist we spoke of earlier
who wrote denouncing the doctrine of Lordship salvation said it is a doctrine
of works. If one did, indeed, make Jesus Lord, this might be true.
But as we have already seen, Jesus IS Lord. It is a
misnomer to believe that we decide whether He will be thus or not, or that
we would have the power or authority to do so if we wanted to. The
truth, that the Scriptures teach, is that we submit to His Lordship at
salvation, but it is because God enables a rebellious soul to do it.
Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure." The work is a work of God, not
of man. Also, an attitude of submission is what is required, not
a performance of obedience. A believer becomes willing to obey at
salvation.
Let me say at this point that if one does not submit
to the Lordship of Christ at salvation, they are not saved. Further,
it is not an unconscious decision. By this I mean that the individual
must be aware that he is becoming subject to that Lordship. It is
not something that dawns on you later, or that you grow into spiritually.
Again, we look to Scripture to prove the point.
Romans 10:9 is surely the most known verse in the Bible regarding salvation.
It says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved." This verse does not say one must confess
simply Jesus, nor does it say to confess the Saviour Jesus. It says
'the Lord Jesus.' It may be redundant but it bears repeating
at this point that one must confess the Lord Jesus, not make Jesus Lord.
To confess means to admit, to agree, or to get in line with. Paul
says in II Corinthians 4:5, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ
Jesus the Lord..." Here we see that one should understand that
Jesus is Lord at salvation, because true preaching presents Him in that
light. Peter preached the same truth. In Acts 2:36, he says,
"Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath
made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Again, the individual seeking salvation would be able to recognize that
he was placing his confidence in one who was Lord, and was Lord because
God made Him so. Paul and Silas gave the same message to the Philippian
jailer in Acts 16:31, where we read, "And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." I
don't know about the reader, but I will take the word of these preachers
over those who say one doesn't need to acknowledge Jesus as Lord at salvation!
Then, too, salvation is referred to as entering
the kingdom of heaven in several places. In Matthew 11:12, Jesus
said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
In Luke 12:32, He said, "Fear not, little flock; for it is the Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Jesus told the scribes
and Pharisees in Matthew 23: 13, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither
go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
Salvation is also referred to as entering the kingdom
of God. We are told Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you." Luke 16:16, tells us, "The law and the prophets were
until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man
presseth into it." These are the words of Jesus in both instances.
Some may argue that we will not enter these kingdoms until we leave this
world, especially the kingdom of heaven. I do not have the space
to deal with the differences between the two kingdoms mentioned, nor is
it important to the subject we are dealing with. Let me simply remind
the reader that according to Philippians 3:20, '...our conversation
is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ.' The word conversation means 'a state,' 'commonwealth,'
or 'form of government.' It means we are already citizens
under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that it calls
Jesus 'Saviour' here, but clarifies that it is as the Lord Jesus
Christ that He is so. Ephesians 2:11-22, confirms the fact of our
citizenship and subjection to the Lordship of Christ. Again, space
prevents dealing with all that is in that tremendous passage, but notice
in particular that we who were at one time 'aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel,' have been made 'fellow-citizens with the saints, and of
the household of God.' We become subjects of God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ in particular, at salvation.
From these texts, we can see that the spiritual
realm is a kingdom. Every kingdom has a ruler, or Lord, if you will.
The kingdom involving salvation is no different. There must be a
ruler to rule it. Since Jesus is a Lord, and the spiritual realm
is a kingdom, this must be where He reigns and exercises authority.
It is His kingdom. Jesus said His kingdom was not an earthly one.
Many today have the idea that it is like in the United States where we
have rulers, but men act as though they are free to obey or not to obey
laws as they see fit. It works as long as one does not get caught.
Even if caught, they are judged by their peers and not the rulers.
They can often get off. In a kingdom the Lord is sovereign.
He is free to do what he pleases. If one is not in subjection, the
Lord has the right to pass judgement and pronounce sentence on the rebel.
The sentence is not pleasant, as we shall see in the passage below from
Luke 19. In this nation, if folks don't like the law, the people
can change it. This is 'people rule.' Indeed, our constitution
begins with the words, "We the people..." This is the cry
of the Laodicean church. The name Laodicea means 'people rule.'
This is where the idea of Saviour now, Lord later, comes from. It
is a sign of the times! Jesus spoke of this in Luke 19:11-14, when
he spoke of the nobleman who told his servants to 'occupy till I come.'
The response of the citizens was to send a message after him that said,
'we will not have this man to reign over us.' To reign is
to Lord over. Even in this world, if one is to enter a kingdom as
a faithful citizen, they must bend the knee to that ruler. They will
submit to his authority before they will be accepted as a subject.
Verse 27 tells of the fate of those rebellious citizens, where we read,
"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them,
bring hither, and slay them before me." Since they were called
'citizens,' we see that they are a picture of folks in the church,
not in the world. The world is not expected to be subject, nor can
they be until they are saved. The fate of those who are religious
but lost will be tragic.
At this point, some might try to argue that the
kingdom is ruled by God the Father, not by Jesus, but this is easily refuted.
Although the authority comes from God the Father, the ruler of the kingdom
is Jesus in His office of Lord. Look at Matthew 28:18, where Jesus
says, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
Further, in John 5:22-23, Jesus says, "The Father judgeth no man, but
hath committed all judgement unto the Son: That all men should honour the
Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son
honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." We see from Hebrews
5:8, that Jesus was subject to the Father during His time on earth until
Calvary. The writer said, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered;" But Paul said in
Philippians 2:5-6, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God:" In I Corinthians 15:28, Paul says, "And when all
things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him who hath put all things under him, that God may be all in all."
So we see that Jesus was equal with the Father before His coming to earth,
subject to the Father during His time here, elevated by the Father to supremacy
in this age, and will eventually return all authority to the Father in
the end. What is significant to the issue at hand is that Jesus is
Lord at this present time.
There is a another truth that must be dealt with
at this point, because all who say they believe in Lordship salvation are
not unified in their belief of what salvation is. Some of those who
seem to be the most vocal on the issue and use the phrase most often, are
not even correct on the doctrine of salvation and thus are not even saved.
It is surely true that many will not even take the time to read this due
to their position on the other side of the issue. But there are some
who will read the title of this booklet and say, "Yes brother preach
it. We are with you on this." They will take up the booklet
with great anticipation, but will soon have their excitement turn to frustration
when they see what is set forth herein. They will say, "This
can't be!" But it is certainly true.
Merely acknowledging Lordship is not salvation.
There are many instances in the Scriptures where folks called Jesus Lord,
but did not follow Him unto salvation. In Luke 6:20-49 Jesus is addressing
his followers. In verse 20, it says they are disciples, or those
who claim to be disciplined in, or learning the ways of God. Yet
in verse 46, Jesus says they call Him Lord, but do not obey His commandments.
These are not saved folks. In Luke 9:57-62, we see some of the same
type of people who want salvation now, but submission later. Their
attitude is, "I'll give you some of me, but you can't have all of me."
Jesus says they are not fit for the kingdom. That does not mean they
aren't fit, but saved in spite of it.. None of us is really fit and
are saved despite this, it is true, but don't be misled here. Attitude
is the key in this passage. These folk aren't fit, and they aren't
saved, as evidenced by their attitudes. Then in John 6:24-66, we
have a lengthy passage dealing with this problem. In verse 24, we
are told these are simply 'people,' but in verses 60, 61, and 66,
we are told they were 'disciples.' They called Him Lord in
verse 34, and certainly more often than this if they were in fact disciples.
Yet they missed salvation. Simple acknowledgement of the authority
of Christ is not salvation. There must be a Divine operation of the
Spirit of God which at a point and time, through Holy Spirit conviction,
produces Godly sorrow leading to repentance toward God and faith toward
the LORD Jesus Christ. Notice in Acts 20:21, Paul emphasizes
all three titles attributed to Jesus.
Even if there is submission to the authority of
Jesus Christ which leads to apparent faithful service, this is not a sure
sign that one is saved. This is seen in Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus
says in verse 22, that 'many' would say that they had done many
wonderful works, while calling Him Lord. Yet He would say to them,
"I never knew you." Matthew 25 tells of ten virgins, which
implies purity on their part. Yet five of them had no salvation and
were outside looking in at the wedding. One can be a hard worker
who is under the authority of Christ and yet not be a saved individual.
This may be the folk the evangelist I alluded to earlier is looking at
when he accuses those who preach Lordship salvation of preaching
a salvation of works. I would agree with him that these appear to
do so. But these folk are not saved, even as Jesus said. I
know this not only from the scriptures that we have seen, but my own life
bears witness to this fact. Also, I have seen many others who were
just like I was, and still see many who are yet in that condition!
Space prohibits me from giving my testimony, but
it is in print and available to anyone who desires to have it. If
you will write to the address on the back cover of this booklet, I will
send it to you free of charge. Ask for 'Make Toward Shore - How
God Saved A Lost Baptist Preacher."
Let me give you a practical illustration of the
validity of this truth. The previously given scriptures should suffice.
But in order to erase any further doubt in the reader's mind that these
things can be so, a natural application of the spiritual truth may be helpful.
Jesus taught in parables because He knew that people could grasp the natural
easier. God must still give one illumination of the spiritual, but
it may start with something easier to comprehend. I will use the
United States as an example. Although we do not have a king, we do
have a seat of authority whose laws we are expected to obey and who we
are answerable to. We could look to another country such as England,
which has a queen, but neither this writer nor most of the readers are
familiar enough with that system to do it justice. The truths we
wish to present can be adequately seen from this country's system.
In this country, we have individuals who are not
citizens. They are called 'resident aliens.' Their citizenship
is in another country. They are free to live here, work here, and
enjoy the benefits of this nation as long as they are subject to the laws
of the land. If they are found to be in violation of the laws, they
are deported. But as long as they submit, they may reside and work
here. If they desire, they can apply for citizenship and it will
be granted if they meet the prescribed requirements. They do not
have to, however, and many never do. They are satisfied with being
resident aliens. There are certain benefits they never enjoy, but
they are satisfied with what they have. They may obey every law,
rule, regulation, and ordinance set down by the government. But if
they lack the fulfillment of one requirement; that which is necessary for
citizenship, they remain aliens. They may even look and act like
citizens. They may learn the language of this country and even lose
their accent and talk like the other citizens, but they are still aliens.
They may become so like the citizens that they see themselves as citizens,
but they remain aliens. And this is the saddest truth of all, they
may outwork the citizens, and often do. They may do it for far less money,
which again is true. And they may live in substandard conditions
compared to the citizens. Yet they do it because the conditions,
the pay, and the work brings more reward and satisfaction than that which
they had in their own country.
So it is in our churches. A person who has
come out of the world and into the church but is not saved, will still
be better off than they were before, and so will often settle for what
they have. Just as a foreigner hesitates to become a citizen of this country,
for whatever reason, so do these individuals in our churches. In
the case of a foreigner in this country, it may be due to a lack of knowledge
of what citizenship affords them, or fear of the process of naturalization,
or pressure from their relatives who are still aliens, or any number of
other reasons. The result is, they remain aliens from the United
States. And for whatever reasons, many in our churches remain aliens
from the commonwealth of God. These individuals are the 'tares' spoken
of in Matthew 13:24-30, that Jesus said to allow to grow along with the
wheat. They do no harm, and in the case of people in our churches,
many of them can be reached if the truth is taught and practiced.
It would do harm to the church to confront or to reject them. We
must love them and try to help them. It was love, patience, and the
prayers of many true believers who saw what I was and yet left me in the
hands of God that eventually reached me. This booklet and the others
that I have written are for the purpose of helping those who are like I
was. It is not my purpose to divide, but to unite. It is not
to condemn, but to convert others that these are sent forth. It is
to convince others to become citizens and enjoy the full benefits of that
position. This nation has long had a commodious attitude toward immigrants,
and it is significant that none of us can trace our ultimate roots to this
land. We are all by ancestry, at least, foreigners here. We
ought to have a desire to see the kingdom filled with citizens, and do
all in our power to encourage folks to become such. For such were
we once.
There is one difference between the non-citizens
in this country and those in our churches. In this country, the vast
majority of aliens know they are not citizens, to be sure. But there
are likely some who don't. The best way to explain how this can be
so, is to look at those who come here as aliens, and especially their children.
Aliens may not realize that they are not really the same as the citizens
due to lack of understanding. They cannot comprehend the matter.
Or, in the case of the children, it may be that their parents cannot rightly
convey the idea to them as they don't understand it all themselves.
It may be that the citizens cannot explain properly to the adult aliens
the differences that exist between aliens and citizens. There is
often a language barrier which prevents full appreciation of what is what.
There is a mental picture of how their country operated that may hinder
their understanding of ours. There may be a diversity of opinion
among their family members which serves only to confuse them on the issue.
All in all, we begin to see how it can be that there are those who just
don't understand.
In our churches, there are many who do not realize
yet that they are not real citizens of the kingdom. This is for the
same reasons as those seen in the aliens described above. Many don't
have a proper understanding of spiritual things. Many have a worldly
idea of salvation based on the system they came out of. Many have
been given false ideas by those who don't know what real salvation is themselves.
And the confusion caused by so many points of view has hindered others.
Churches have gone so far off into error, that many
people disagree on what really goes into salvation. There is a language
barrier that hinders understanding. What does 'born again'
mean to people? Is there agreement on it? What is 'sin, repentance,
conviction, faith,' or any number of other terms the Scriptures use?
Can the 'sinner's prayer' save a person? Can you begin to
see where there is so much confusion that many have no idea whether they
are citizens of the kingdom or not? This is a fulfillment of II Timothy
3:7, which says, "Ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge
of the truth."
A word about 'illegal aliens' would be in
order at this point. There are some who know they are in this country
illegally, and will not be subject to the laws of the land. Where
most resident aliens strive to become a part of the established system,
these care nothing for the system. They live in constant danger
of being found out and so they live a life of willful deception.
If they are found out and deported, they come in somewhere else.
They claim for themselves rights they do not legally hold. They abuse
the systems designed to help our citizens. They burden the governmental,
educational, institutional, and service sectors of the country with little
or no remorse. They attempt to set the agenda for the citizens and
for the entire country. They demand to be catered to. And time
is on their side, they will not be denied. They eventually wear the
authorities down. They win through persistence, and through sheer numbers.
They overwhelm the authorities. There is so much territory to patrol,
that they creep in through the cracks. These individuals have no
business being here, and ought to be weeded out. In this country,
they have given us bi-lingualism. That is, we no longer have a single
language. They have given us multi-culturalism. We have no
definitive American culture. We have an identity crisis in this nation.
And anyone who tries to approach and remedy the situation is attacked by
the aliens and uninformed, sympathetic citizens alike. Citizens have
begun to view these aliens as citizens! Some would argue this is
a political issue, and so ought not to put in the booklet. But I
do not put it here to attempt to get people to rally to any political cause,
but to prove the point which follows.
It has become this way in most of our Baptist churches.
We have strayed so far from Baptist doctrine, that we are different from
the other denominations only in our belief in 'eternal security.'
Many don't know what salvation really is, but they are certain one can't
lose it. Salvation has come to mean more than one thing. There
is no certain language of Baptist doctrine, particularly where it relates
to salvation. We have become spiritually bi-lingual, and actually
multi-lingual. We have assimilated the practices and beliefs of other
denominations and become multi-denominational. It is a sad day for
our people. There is much confusion and no power due to disunity.
Church members can't tell citizens from aliens! Time and the persistence
of the adversaries have worn us down. Satan knows the time is short,
and he has been, and is continuing to work hard to overcome the churches.
He has flooded us with a vast army of false teachings and many of them
appeal to the ear. They sound good, but their end is death.
There are some who the Scriptures say ought to be
identified and avoided. There are some who are to be withdrawn from.
It is not our business to name them, but to say if anyone does not agree
with what the Scripture says about any doctrine, especially that of salvation,
they are to be identified and held up for public disdain. It is left
to the reader to decide if the propositions and proofs set forth herein
are true. If I am wrong, I take the position of Paul, who said
in Galatians 1:8-9, "But though we,, or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached, let him be
accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that which ye have received, let him be
accursed." I pray the reader will be like those noble individuals
of Berea, who 'received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched
the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.' Search out
what I have written for yourself. I invite examination. If
one can deny what I say, based on scriptural truths, so be it. But
if one cannot, there is a responsibility to embrace it.
The first step in remedying any problem is to acknowledge
that one exists. If I can get folks to see there is a problem and
admit to it, I have done something. To acknowledge the problem is
to acknowledge the truth. Yet I hope to go beyond this and get us
to unify around the truth. One thing that Satan cannot stand is the
truth. And he must flee when we are unified around the truth.
Jesus said, in John 8:32, "...ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free." He said the opposite about Satan in John
8:44, "...He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him.." Paul tells us in II
Timothy 3:1-8, that there would come men who 'resist the truth,'
and in 4:4, that people would 'turn away their ears from the truth.'
But concerning the saints, he said in II Corinthians 13:8, "For we can
do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." We need that
attitude among our people today, especially our preachers. We must
do all in our power to promote the truth. In Ephesians 4:15, we are
told that if we speak the truth in love, it will serve to help individuals
grow up into Christ in all things. Paul told Titus in Titus 1:1,
that acknowledgement of the truth is 'after godliness.' That
is, it demonstrates godliness. It will be because men would not receive
the love of the truth, that they will be deceived by the lies of Satan
in the last days, according to II Thessalonians 2:10. But the difference
in the believer, is that God has chosen us from the beginning to salvation
through the sanctification of the Spirit and a belief of the truth.
John tells the church in II John 1:1-3, "The elder unto the elect lady
and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all
they that love the truth; for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and
shall be with us forever." Here we see that we are positioned
in truth, like-minded with those who love the truth, we love the truth
for the truth's sake [or because it is truth], and that we will have the
truth with us forever.
Truth is seen in its fullest in the person of Jesus.
He said, in John 14:6, "I am...the truth..." The truth is
also seen in the Scriptures according to John 17:17, where we read, "Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth." Preaching and teaching
is to set forth truth as we have seen from Paul's statements about some
who would turn their ears from it, and in that he told Timothy to 'preach
the word,' which we have seen is truth, etc. We must return to
a love of the truth in all its forms if we are ever to turn the present
situation around. We may not like what the truth sets forth, but
we can love the truth for the truth's sake if we are truly citizens of
the kingdom and in subjection to the Lord of the kingdom. Lordship
salvation, or salvation that acknowledges and submits to Jesus Christ as
Lord from the very point of faith, is the only type of salvation
that is real, and that is God-given. We may drop the qualifying word
Lordship in our language and simply call it salvation like Baptists used
to, and hope that we all mean the same thing. But there had better
be an underlying recognition of the truth presented above, or what an individual
possesses is not really salvation. It is something less, something
inferior, and something that will let them down in the end. My prayer
is that people will examine themselves and what they are claiming as salvation
to see if it measures up to the scriptural qualifications. If it
does not, denying the truth will only succeed in preventing one from obtaining
citizenship and will lead to certain destruction in the day of judgement.
Acknowledgment of the truth gives hope that God will grant true salvation.
In closing let me thank the reader for taking the time to read
this booklet. I hope that it has helped you better understand
the issue of Lordship salvation. There is much more we might have
said, but space hindered. May the LORD bless you. - J. M. G.
