Lordship salvation has been a matter of debate for decades even among well-meaning evangelicals. Some maintain that requiring a lordship decision is tantamount to demanding works in exchange for salvation (which is supposed to be a gift of grace). We can do nothing to earn, deserve, nor pay back our salvation, which is a monergistic (one-sided) enterprise of God not a synergistic or cooperative affair between us and God. Salvation is all God's work and we don't help Him or prepare ourselves for it as Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is of the Lord." Jesus Himself demanded the utmost loyalty and surrender in His invitation to follow Him on to know Him (the essence of salvation and its application). We must make a one-time full surrender (as well as daily renewals) to His will for our lives and be willing to follow on to know Him wherever He leads--this was a well-nigh impossible demand that actually discouraged seekers who were not wholehearted followers but merely curious or simply admirers or wanted the fringe benefits of being a follower without paying the cost--which could be the ultimate sacrifice of laying down one's life for the sake of the Name.
In other words, we must be willing to go wherever He leads and do whatever He demands without reservation--holding naught back. Anything less is only being a halfhearted disciple. We must be gung-ho for the Lord and seek Him with our whole heart. We don't do God any favors by "accepting Him" because we must accept Him for who He is without dividing His offices of Savior and Lord. We trust as Savior and submit as Lord. Actually, the terminology of "accepting" Him is unbiblical and only made up to domesticate the gospel call and make it more palatable to the unbeliever. Jesus never made it easy to become a Christan or disciple (interchangeable terms in Scripture) but actually discouraged some.
We have more of a problem of false disciples with a false assurance that we do with believers who lack assurance. Assurance is not an automatic fruit and there are degrees of certitude of one's salvation as one matures in Christ. That's why the only way we can be sure of salvation is to realize it's a sole enterprise of God and we contribute naught. Assurance is a matter of coupling the Word of God with the internal evidence and conviction of the Holy Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God," cf. Rom 8:16). If we had to do anything we'd fail! Lordship, then, is more trusting God through thick and thin and even when the chips are down! Knowing that if the Lord got you to it, He'll get you through it!
Jesus will not save those He cannot command according to A. W. Tozer! The command is to repent and follow Him! We must be obedient for that is the only measure of faith--not emotions, accomplishments, nor success! The mandate is to obey the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7; 2 Thess. 1:8). As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." The two are correlated and cannot be separated as doctrines but only distinguished--they are eternally linked and juxtaposed in Scripture. Hebrews 3:18-19, HCSB, says, "And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." I want to point out that disobeying God doesn't cancel our salvation but the only ones who obey are believers. We must obey the gospel to be saved! But the measure and standard of our faith is its obedience, not its achievements or success, for God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness according to Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa).
He is Lord of all (Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:12) and we don't make Him Lord, for God made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). God the Father has given Him all authority (cf. Matt. 28:18) and we must do the same and follow suit! He is Lord and we must obey and submit like the hymn goes, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus...." If we don't receive Him as our Lord we are rejecting Him; we know Him for who He is! We don't "try Jesus" or give Him a chance to prove Himself; we must take the leap of faith into the light! There's no other way except by faith! In short, we must bow to His lordship and be willing to pay the cost of discipleship (for He stressed that we must count the cost!). He has given His Spirit to those who obey Him (cf. Acts 5:32; Heb. 5:9).
Jesus simply cannot save us if He is not our Lord and that means Lord of all, not withholding anything back or having any reservations or hesitations to follow Him bearing our cross which pales in comparison to His. When they ask, "Who's the boss?" we should unreservedly answer that Jesus is the master of our fate and the captain of our soul! We have surrendered the ownership of our lives to His control and our destiny and future are in His hands! This is not the gospel in vogue today but it is the biblical one. It is not easy-believism which is simply an acknowledgment and it is not cheap grace which justifies the sin and not the sinner! In sum, when we call Him Lord we are admitting that we are His slaves; the point is that everyone is a slave and we only exchange masters from being the slave of sin to being the slave of righteousness! In fact, the more enslaved to Christ, the freer we really are. Soli Deo Gloria!
In other words, we must be willing to go wherever He leads and do whatever He demands without reservation--holding naught back. Anything less is only being a halfhearted disciple. We must be gung-ho for the Lord and seek Him with our whole heart. We don't do God any favors by "accepting Him" because we must accept Him for who He is without dividing His offices of Savior and Lord. We trust as Savior and submit as Lord. Actually, the terminology of "accepting" Him is unbiblical and only made up to domesticate the gospel call and make it more palatable to the unbeliever. Jesus never made it easy to become a Christan or disciple (interchangeable terms in Scripture) but actually discouraged some.
We have more of a problem of false disciples with a false assurance that we do with believers who lack assurance. Assurance is not an automatic fruit and there are degrees of certitude of one's salvation as one matures in Christ. That's why the only way we can be sure of salvation is to realize it's a sole enterprise of God and we contribute naught. Assurance is a matter of coupling the Word of God with the internal evidence and conviction of the Holy Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God," cf. Rom 8:16). If we had to do anything we'd fail! Lordship, then, is more trusting God through thick and thin and even when the chips are down! Knowing that if the Lord got you to it, He'll get you through it!
Jesus will not save those He cannot command according to A. W. Tozer! The command is to repent and follow Him! We must be obedient for that is the only measure of faith--not emotions, accomplishments, nor success! The mandate is to obey the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7; 2 Thess. 1:8). As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." The two are correlated and cannot be separated as doctrines but only distinguished--they are eternally linked and juxtaposed in Scripture. Hebrews 3:18-19, HCSB, says, "And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." I want to point out that disobeying God doesn't cancel our salvation but the only ones who obey are believers. We must obey the gospel to be saved! But the measure and standard of our faith is its obedience, not its achievements or success, for God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness according to Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa).
He is Lord of all (Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:12) and we don't make Him Lord, for God made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). God the Father has given Him all authority (cf. Matt. 28:18) and we must do the same and follow suit! He is Lord and we must obey and submit like the hymn goes, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus...." If we don't receive Him as our Lord we are rejecting Him; we know Him for who He is! We don't "try Jesus" or give Him a chance to prove Himself; we must take the leap of faith into the light! There's no other way except by faith! In short, we must bow to His lordship and be willing to pay the cost of discipleship (for He stressed that we must count the cost!). He has given His Spirit to those who obey Him (cf. Acts 5:32; Heb. 5:9).
Jesus simply cannot save us if He is not our Lord and that means Lord of all, not withholding anything back or having any reservations or hesitations to follow Him bearing our cross which pales in comparison to His. When they ask, "Who's the boss?" we should unreservedly answer that Jesus is the master of our fate and the captain of our soul! We have surrendered the ownership of our lives to His control and our destiny and future are in His hands! This is not the gospel in vogue today but it is the biblical one. It is not easy-believism which is simply an acknowledgment and it is not cheap grace which justifies the sin and not the sinner! In sum, when we call Him Lord we are admitting that we are His slaves; the point is that everyone is a slave and we only exchange masters from being the slave of sin to being the slave of righteousness! In fact, the more enslaved to Christ, the freer we really are. Soli Deo Gloria!
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