There is a relatively
widespread debate going on today regarding what is often called "Lordship
Salvation."
On the one hand, there are those who hold
the dictum that one must commit to obedience to Jesus Christ in order to be
saved, while on the other side of the coin, obedience to Jesus Christ is not
necessary either before or after salvation.
Of course, this is a matter that no
regenerate Christian would have the slightest question about, for EVERY
one who is regenerate knows and understands that in order to go to heaven, one
must OBEY Jesus Christ. There will not be one soul in heaven who felt any
other way in this life.
As has been stated many times before, by many people, "Jesus
will be Lord OF all in your life, or he will not be Lord AT all in
your life."
The problem with this debate is that
popular yet unregenerate men on both sides of the issue have hijacked what is
otherwise plain gospel and simple truth. Neither rightly divides the Word of
God, for these men, both conservative and liberal alike, and neither being
indwelt by the Holy Spirit, have no clue as to the SPIRITUAL nature of
this matter, any more than they have a clue as to the SPIRITUAL nature of
homosexuality.
For example, some of the leading proponents of the
conservative side of the Lordship debate maintain that homosexuals are not born
that way, thus demonstrating that they themselves are complete strangers to spiritual
matters. Their fleshly dogma on this matter keeps those who would be delivered,
those who would win heaven, from entering the gates of salvation through
supernatural deliverance from Jesus Christ himself, for these men, in large
measure, transpose their fleshly "lordship" view onto the homosexual issue
by advocating the false and fleshly notion that the homosexual merely needs to
exercise will-power in order to escape his homosexuality. Of course, nothing
could be further from the truth, and this is just one of many demonstrations by
these men that they know absolutely nothing of the spiritual nature of things. But
then, these men's statements throughout their discourses demonstrate that they
are themselves complete strangers to the new birth.
Additionally, their preaching is utterly without power, utterly without an ounce
of the Holy Spirit, as ANY regenerate man who has listened to them can
tell. In short, they are those of whom E. M. Bounds described to a tee --
| "Preaching is to give life; IT MAY KILL... This letter-preaching has the truth. BUT EVEN DIVINE TRUTH HAS NO LIFE-GIVING ENERGY ALONE; IT MUST BE ENERGIZED BY THE SPIRIT, with all God's forces at its back. TRUTH UNQUICKENED BY GOD'S SPIRIT DEADENS AS MUCH AS -- OR MORE THAN -- ERROR. It may be the truth without admixture; BUT WITHOUT THE SPIRIT ITS SHADE AND TOUCH ARE DEADLY, ITS TRUTH ERROR, ITS LIGHT DARKNESS." E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer |
On the matter of homosexuality, for
instance, as I said, and as any truly
regenerate man with even slight experience in the Holy Spirit knows, this is
ENTIRELY a SPIRITUAL matter. The
homosexual is united in the womb with an oppressive homosexual spirit, a devil,
by the permission of God as a
result of God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation (Numbers 14:18), and
the baby is thereby born with a supernaturally strong proclivity to
homosexuality. The baby is not, in most cases, POSSESSED by this devil,
but rather OPPRESSED, and that continually. This is why the homosexual goes through such agonizing internal
conflicts in younger or slightly later years, for there are two spirits involved
-- his and a devil's. A very real devil whose sole task is to poison and lie and
destroy. This conflict has little to do
with societal norms; rather, it is INTERNAL, waged at the spiritual and
soulical levels, and there is no power of this world that can break this hold
upon him. None.
Consequently, if a man is going to be
delivered from homosexuality, it will take SUPERNATURAL power, as any
regenerate Christian with experience in Jesus Christ, with experience in the
Holy Spirit, knows, a SUPERNATURAL power which we have witnessed with our
own eyes. However, homosexuality is not the subject of this treatise, so I pass
by for now.
Suffice it to say that the same
unregenerate spirit by these conservative promoters of Christianity is also
brought to bear on the Lordship issue. While they maintain in most cases orthodox
doctrine, yet their doctrine is permeated with flesh. There is nothing of the Holy Spirit in
anything they say or write. Accordingly, their words are deadly, their truth poison,
their message deadening, and yet, the fact that they have so many followers only
highlights how FEW are truly born again this day, how FEW can HONESTLY
and LEGITIMATELY testify to an UNMISTAKABLE SUPERNATURAL
EXPERIENCE consonant with the Word of God in the MIRACLE of the new
birth.
And thus, I address this very briefly, but
I address it, as usual, strictly for those who may be concerned -- GENUINELY
concerned (CONVICTINGLY concerned) -- about their eternal state.
To wit: upon the MOMENT of
regeneration, in which the newly regenerate man is FILLED with the Holy
Spirit (which is the very NATURE of regeneration), IMMEDIATELY and
INSTANTANEOUSLY upon this MOMENT of regeneration, not only the
FEAR OF GOD and EXTREME LOVE to Jesus Christ,
but equally so, the DESIRE and the MANDATE to OBEY Jesus
Christ by the same Holy Spirit, are EQUALLY and INFALLIBLY infused
into ALL that are born of the Spirit upon the MOMENT of that new
birth. There are no exceptions.
Let me say that again -- the DESIRE
and the MANDATE to OBEY Jesus Christ are infused into the newly
regenerate believer by the Holy Spirit upon the MOMENT of regeneration.
And OBEDIENCE is the very NATURE of the NEW CREATURE.
To say it another way, the NEW CREATURE absolutely, utterly
DESIRES to OBEY Jesus Christ, and he who doesn't DESIRE to
OBEY Jesus Christ in the FEAR OF GOD, is he who is
INFALLIBLY unregenerate. And this DESIRE to OBEY Jesus Christ
CONTINUES FOREVER in the NEW CREATURE. This
DESIRE abides now, and it will abide throughout eternity. There are NO
exceptions.
Have you ever had such a LOVE to
Jesus Christ, and such a DESIRE to please him, that you literally ACHED
because of it? If not, you may be certain you are a complete stranger to the new
birth. An absolute, complete STRANGER.
In short, he who believes he can be born
again without OBEYING Jesus Christ AS A RESULT THEREOF is he who
INFALLIBLY has never experienced the miracle of the new birth.
Furthermore, to assert that the Holy Spirit doesn't DEMAND OBEDIENCE to
Jesus Christ is to come very, very near to the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost,
and that is not hyperbole, nor is it hyperbole to say that a man who asserts
that the new birth can occur without the FILLING of that same Holy Spirit
is to demonstrate a complete, total, utter ignorance of the miracle of
regeneration itself.
Accordingly, it is no less true than it is paradoxical
that the genuinely born again Christian, while adamantly maintaining that it is
grace alone apart from works or anything foreseen that saves, yet -- if he is
truly regenerate -- he will simultaneously (and SEEMINGLY paradoxically)
live his life as if his salvation depended upon his works, and that by the
indwelling Holy Spirit, who will convict and chastise him to no end in order to
see that he does. (I know whereof I speak). And again, there are no exceptions.
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"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:3-6 |
As to whether or not a truly born again
believer can backslide, that is another matter entirely. Suffice it to say that
some of God's greatest saints have backslidden, sometimes severely, but they
were utterly, abjectly miserable the whole time of their backsliding, and -- for
anyone above the level of brain dead -- this misery is in and of itself AN
INFALLIBLE PROOF that Jesus Christ DEMANDS OBEDIENCE of those he
regenerates. He who doesn't understand this simple fact is either unregenerate
or has only been born again about five seconds and therefore has never
experienced the misery that accompanies disobedience, a misery that the Holy
Spirit HIMSELF works in the believer as a consequence of his
disobedience.
Of course, I could quote Spurgeon on this
"Lordship" issue, or Whitefield, or Owen, or countless others, but I will
quote one who is greater than them all, as great as they all are --
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"There are branches in Christ, in Christ's body mystical, which is his church, his vineyard, that bear not fruit, wherefore the hand of God is to take them away... This therefore must be your end, although you are planted in the garden of God; for the barrenness and unfruitfulness of your hearts and lives you must be cut off, yea, rooted up, and cast out of the vineyard." John Bunyan, The Barren Fig Tree |
Ah... "in Christ's body mystical" -- and yet, "the hand of God is to take them away." There will be utter SHOCK on the day of judgment with MULTITUDES who THOUGHT they were going to heaven, but who will not set one foot therein.
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"It is but a vain thing to talk of going to heaven, if thou let thy heart be encumbered with those things that would hinder... thou talkest of going to heaven, and yet fillest thy pockets with stones, i.e., fillest thy heart with this world, lettest that hang on thy shoulders, with its profits and pleasures. Alas, alas, thou art widely mistaken... It is the cross that keepeth those that are kept from heaven... Most lose heaven for want of considering the price and worth of it... Art thou unladen of the things of this world, as pride, pleasures, profits, lusts, vanities? What! dost thou think to run fast enough with the world, thy sins, and lusts in thy heart? I tell thee, soul, they that have laid all aside, every weight, every sin, and are got into the nimblest posture, they find work enough to run; so to run as to hold out... I tell thee, if thou art agoing heavenward, thou wilt find it no small or easy matter. Art thou therefore discharged and unladen of these things? Never talk of going to heaven if thou art not. It is to be feared thou wilt be found among the many that will seek to enter in, and shall not be able... Why, man, it is he that holdeth out to the end that must be saved; it is he that overcometh that shall inherit all things; it is not every one that begins." John Bunyan, The Heavenly Footman |
Quotes of this nature from
Bunyan alone, apart from Spurgeon, Whitefield, Owen, et al, on the same score,
would run into the hundreds, if not the thousands.
As the wise man said, the conclusion of
the matter is this: no genuinely born again Christian would EVER assert
that OBEDIENCE to Jesus Christ is not necessary for salvation, that is,
that OBEDIENCE to Jesus Christ is not a necessary FRUIT of
salvation, of GENUINE salvation, which is why the Scripture states so
plainly that those who don't OBEY Jesus Christ and who don't BEAR
FRUIT (GENUINE SPIRITUAL FRUIT, for OBEDIENCE and GENUINE FRUIT
are of the same cloth) will not set foot in the kingdom of heaven, and which is
why Jesus Christ, who will make the final decision of who does -- and who does
not -- enter his kingdom -- for the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed
all judgment to the Son (John 5:22) -- stated categorically --
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"Because strait is the gate, and narrow
is the way, which leadeth unto life, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT."
Matthew 7:14 |
Make Jesus Christ a falsifier of his own words if you dare. Go ahead and rationalize his words if you will. See if he who makes the final decision of who will -- and who will not -- enter his kingdom, will retract a single, solitary syllable of those words in that day.
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"When men have put in all the claim they can for heaven, but FEW will have it for their inheritance. For MANY, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Great, therefore, will be the disappointment that many will meet with at the day of judgment: For MANY will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Going to heaven, therefore, will be no trivial business; salvation is not got by a dream; they that would then have that kingdom must now strive lawfully to enter: For MANY, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." John Bunyan, The Strait Gate |
The unregenerate can't comprehend this seeming paradox -- the SEEMING paradox of the necessity of BOTH grace AND obedience -- but they do so to their own eternal destruction, as will be revealed in the day of the Lamb's wrath.
Fair warning.