What is Lordship Salvation?

What is Lordship Salvation? Is it biblical? If not, what’s the Reformed alternative?

Most people have heard of Lordship Salvation.

A Definition of Lordship Salvation

Mike Abendroth who held to Lordship Salvation and who came out of it wrote a great article on the Heidelblog. It’s a three-part series in which he gives the following definition.

The gospel that Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow him in submissive obedience, not just a plea to make a decision or pray a prayer … Scripture teaches that Jesus is Lord of all, and the faith He demands involves unconditional surrender… Surrender to Jesus’ lordship is not an addendum to the biblical terms of salvation; the summons to submission is at the heart of the gospel invitation throughout Scripture.

And so, Lordship Salvation says “You must believe Jesus – and submit to Jesus – not only as Savior but as Lord.”

Is Lordship Salvation Law or Gospel?

From that definition, don’t red flags come up for us?

We must do something. You must submit.

Is that what the Gospel proclaims? That we must first submit before we have Jesus?

Doesn’t the definition sound like Law – like “do this and live”?

The Origin of Lordship Salvation

Now we need to understand where Lordship Salvation comes from. It was a response to what was going on at Dallas Theological Seminary many years ago.

Guys like Zane Hodges who were teaching as if justification and sanctification are two different stages for the Christian. You need Jesus as Savior to be saved – but not as Lord. You’re justified and Jesus is your Savior. But now you need to be sanctified and make him your Lord. You need to submit to him as Lord.

He posited these two different stages. Lordship Salvation is a response to that – saying “no that’s not what it is.” It’s that kind of thinking that leads to the whole carnal Christian / spiritual Christian thing where “carnal Christian” is an actual state that Christians can be in. It’s someone who produces absolutely no fruit for the kingdom but is a Christian.

There are people who believe that you can be a carnal Christian – “I made a decision once. I prayed a prayer once. And even though there’s no fruit bearing witness to the fact that I belong to Jesus I’m still a believer.”

If that’s the case, then what the Church’s job is to get everyone from a carnal Christian to a really good Christian – an obedient Christian – a submissive Christian.

The whole goal then is to get you from carnal to spiritual.

Lordship Salvation’s Errant Response to Hodges

Lordship Salvation then is really a response to that. But even there they overdo it. Because we need to understand that the Gospel that God gives, he gives freely. It does not give to the sinner if the sinner first submits – or if you first commit or if you’re good enough. The believer in response to the saving work of God will produce holy living.

But God’s not calling for holy living before you come to him. What he’s saying is “believe and rest in Christ and I will justify you and I will sanctify you and I will cause your life to be a fruitful life.”

Because what God offers to us is not a piecemeal Jesus. He offers to us the whole of Jesus – all of Jesus’ life. When he saves you he will bring you into submission to himself.

It’s not your duty to bring yourself first. The Gospel – when Jesus grabs hold of you and transforms you – brings about that submission. It brings about that obedience. It brings about that sanctified life.

But it’s not something we must first do. It’s something that he does in us.

Reformed Alternative to Lordship Salvation

To put it plainly, Lordship Salvation isn’t biblical.

Here’s the Reformed alternative.

God Works by Covenant, not Contract

First, understand that God works by way of covenant – not contract.

Lordship Salvation sounds a lot like a contract – “I’m going to save you, but you need to submit. You need to be doing this. You need to be doing that.”

No! God works by covenant and God says “when I save you, I will do this, I will do that. I will put a new heart in you. I will cause you to walk in my ways.”

So, we live by covenant not contract.

Law/Gospel Distinction

Second, we need to understand the Law/Gospel Paradigm.

We tend to confuse Law and Gospel. We look at Law and see it as if it’s Gospel.

That’s what some people do with Matthew 19 with the rich young man. He said, “What must I do to be saved?” and Jesus gives him – not Gospel – but Law.

People are under the impression that what Jesus is teaching there is the gospel. But it’s not the gospel.

Instead of directing people to look to their own lives and to examine themselves to see if they’re faithful enough, they can have assurance by simply looking to the risen Christ.  Take the “it has already been done” instead of the “I must do” approach.

So, we need to have a proper understanding of that Law/Gospel distinction.

Look to Christ Alone

The two preceding approaches form the Reformed alternative to Lordship Salvation.

It’s not “Am I holy enough? Am I faithful enough? Am I contrite enough? Am I good enough?”

Rather it’s resting in Christ knowing that he was all those things – he was faithful – he was good – he prayed enough – he was righteous enough – he did all those things enough for us. And his life when we receive him becomes ours.

And it’s only when Christ becomes ours – when we were united to Christ by faith – that then he produces all of those things in our lives.

You and I make Jesus nothing. You cannot make him Lord. You cannot make him Savior.

He makes himself that for you. He brings you into his fold.

All we are to do is trust and receive and preach the gospel as the gospel and be careful never to confuse it with the law.