The preacher or evangelist proclaims, "If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all!" This cleverly worded cliché certainly sounds good and has been repeated so often that many people (even many Christians) assume that it is true. However, it is actually a misleading and unbiblical response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we will see below, according to the Scriptures, it is clearly not how a person receives forgiveness of sins and eternal life!
Over 160 times in the New Testament alone, the Bible makes it clear that a person is made right with God, not by their personal devotion, dedication, or desire to change (etc.) but by believing in - trusting in - what Jesus Christ has already done for us by His substitutionary and sacrificial death on the cross. Simply put, a person receives forgiveness of sins and is pronounced 'perfectly righteous forever' in God's sight when (and only when) they put their faith in Jesus Christ alone, totally apart from personal righteousness or merit; or a promise, commitment or pledge of allegiance or obedience; or a determination to make Jesus the master or ruler of their life.
Important Note: There is no question that Jesus is the rightful Lord, Master, Ruler, and Sovereign of all men and over all of His creation - indeed the entire universe! The point of this article is to point out that, although ultimately "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11), only those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ alone will be saved from eternal damnation! Some day all men without exception, will bow before Him and confess that "He is Lord!", but only those who have believed in Him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life will be saved! "For God so loved the world, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life!" (John 3:16)
The reality of the Gospel of Grace is that Jesus shed His "precious blood" for us, and in doing so he did what we could never do for ourselves! As a result, "the gift of God [the free gift of God] is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" and "anyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name." "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works so that no one can boast." (1 Peter 1:18, Romans 6:23, Acts 10:43, Ephesians 2:8-9)
In the Bible, the English verbs "believe" and "faith" are translated from the same Greek word that means to believe (or to believe in), to have faith (or have faith in) someone other than yourself. Perhaps the clearest way of expressing what this means in terms of what a person needs to do to be saved is 'Anyone one who trusts in Christ with simple childlike dependence on what He has already done for them on the cross, receives forgiveness of sins!'
Because "There is no one righteous in God's sight, not even one..." (Romas 3:10-12) and "We have all become as an unclean thing and all our righteousness is like filthy rags in His sight" (Isaiah 64:6), even the best of our devotion, dedication, and so called commitment is utterly rejected by God as a means or response to receiving the gift of eternal life. The reason for this is that anything we give, or give up, for Jesus is corrupted by our inborn and inherent sinfulness. In other words, a lost sinner is entirely incapable of doing anything righteous whatsoever, no matter how well-meaning or sincere. "The sinful mind is hostile to God, it does not submit to God's Law. Nor can it do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God!" (Romans 8:7-8)
The premise behind the modern teaching known as "Lordship Salvation" is that in order to be saved, a lost sinner must first make Jesus the Lord (ruler) and Master of every area of their life.
it is not enough for Jesus to be your Savior, He must also be the Lord, Master” or "If Jesus isn't the master of every area of your life, you cannot be saved." An additional requirement or condition that is often added to faith in Christ for salvation is called “Lordship” or "Lordship Salvation". "If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all!" - This cleverly worded cliché...is actually a misleading and unbiblical response to the gospel."
The idea of lordship is authority or control. The teaching of lordship salvation requires that a person be completely surrendered to the will of God in order to be saved. Perhaps you have heard the catchy phrase, “If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” This cleverly worded cliché certainly sounds good and has been repeated so often that many people assume that it is true. However, it is actually misleading and unbiblical, especially when it comes to the gospel and how a person receives forgiveness of sins and eternal life. "If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all!” - This cleverly worded cliché certainly sounds good and has been repeated so often that people generally assume that it is true. However, it is actually a misleading and unbiblical response to the gospel."
Lordship is a matter of obedience. But, the Bible makes it clear that we are not saved by being obedient (Romans 4:5; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5, etc.). We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ only, which means to simply depend on, or rest on, His finished work on the cross for us. Obedience is something we do. Therefore obedience can never save us or help us get saved in any way. Salvation is what Christdoes. By His death and resurrection, He has already provided everything necessary for us to be saved freely by His grace, through faith, totally apart from our obedience, surrender, or good works. According to the Bible, God's grace is the very opposite of our works (Romans 11:6). The Bible also makes it clear that faith is trusting in someone other than yourself (Romans 4:5). It is trusting (relying) only on what Christ has already done for you on the cross and not on anything that you can do, give, or give up for Him.
"Obedience is something we do. Therefore obedience can never save us or help us get saved in any way."
Lordship Salvation is a matter of personal submission, devotion and self-righteousness. However, the best that anyone of us has to offer - the very best of our submission, devotion and self-righteousness - is entirely inadequate in the sight of God. We need the gift of Christ's perfect righteousness. But, our hearts deceive us and tell us that surely there is something more that we must do, than just believe in (trust in) a crucified and risen savior. We feel that we must have a deep yielding and submission that makes us different than others who call themselves 'Christians', but who show no real change or commitment to the Lord.
The biblical truth is, "There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who does good..."
The biblical truth is, "There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who does good..." (Romans 3:10) This means that even the best of our devotion is unacceptable to God. "All of us have become like an unclean thing and the righteous things we do are like filthy rags [in God's sight]..." (Jeremiah 64:6) "The heart is deceitful above all else. It is desperately wicked. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
How blind we can become to the fact that our submission, yielding, and obedience are totally inadequate and insufficient, having no place whatsoever in our justification before God. Our natural self-righteousness and self-deception cause us to deny, or ignore, our broken and utterly helpless condition. "I know that in me, that is in my flesh dwells no good thing...The sinful nature is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law. Nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." (Romans 7:18 & 8:7-8).
"Our natural self-righteousness and self-deception causes us to deny, or ignore, our broken and utterly helpless condition."
Consider carefully the words of the hymn, Rock of Ages. "Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law's demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die." (Augustus Toplady)
When a preacher or evangelist tells unsaved people that they must completely surrender to the Lordship of Christ, he is asking them to do the impossible. Even worse, He is asking them to do what God has not asked them to do! The unbeliever cannot possibly do anything that is pleasing to God (Romans 8.8). Even those those of us who have been saved for decades, still struggle with the Lordship of Christ and our obedience to Him on a daily basis. I, myself, am not completely obedient all of the time (and neither are you). I still sin (and so do you). I still make choices that are contrary to God’s will (and so do you). Any honest Christian will admit that often Christ is not in complete control of their life. If He was, we would never sin!
"When a preacher or evangelist tells unsaved people that they must completely surrender to the Lordship of Christ, he is asking them to do the impossible. Even worse, He is asking them to do what God has not asked them to do!"
By God's infinite wisdom and grace, the issues of Christ’s Lordship over our life, our devotion to Him, and our personal obedience have absolutely no part in the Gospel (if they did, all of us would doomed for all eternity). These issues are, however, a very important part of our spiritual growth once we have been born again by faith alone in the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.
As born-again believers, God wants us to live by faith moment-by-moment, in order to enjoy intimacy with God and fulfill His perfect will for our lives. We must learn to rely, not on our own strength or commitment, but on the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers us to obey Christ. This is a lifelong process that involves a growing realization of our own unfaithfulness and lack of devotion, and of His perfect faithfulness and undying devotion to us. This is an ongoing work of the Spirit, as He applies the truth of God's Word to our daily lives, and it will not be completed until Christ takes us to Heaven. (I John 3.2-3)
The important thing to understand, and never lose sight of, is that we are not saved by making Jesus the Lord (master, ruler or king) of our lives, or by surrendering our all to Him, dedicating our life to Him, or by making a promise of submission to Him. We are not saved by our obedience, good works or personal devotion to Christ. We are not saved by going to church, making a so called 'public confession' or getting baptized. We are saved only by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone! We are saved by what He accomplished for us by His sacrifice on the cross and not by something we sacrifice for Him! We are saved by "the precious blood of Christ" shed for our sins and our salvation! (1 Peter 1:18) And, "...everyone who believes in Him, receives forgiveness of sins through His name." (Acts 10:43)
"We are saved by what He accomplished for us by His sacrifice on the cross and not by something we sacrifice for Him!"
"To the one who does not work, but trusts God who justifies the wicked. His faith is credited to him as righteousness." (Romans 4:5).
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).
"He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time..." (2 Timothy 1:9)
"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope [the confident expectation and assurance] of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)
Written by Dave Armstrong & Rob Armstrong If you have any questions or comments, feel free tocontact us To learn more about this subject, read "Counterfeit Christianity"
