by Rev. Joda Collins.

Do not pollute!

Lordship Salvation is the false doctrine that salvation from Hell is the result of combining faith with any prerequisite promise or condition of being a good person. The rhetoric of Lordship Salvation is the invitation to become a Christian which contains words such as, "Make Jesus Lord of your life," "Surrender", "Obey the Commandments," and "Trust Jesus as your Lord and....," and "If Jesus is not Lord of all then he is not Lord at all." Are you offended? Be courageous and continue reading. Let the energy used to be offended be turned into energy needed for repentance. Are you confused? Read on and replace confusion with confidence.

The debate has and will always rage among church members about whether salvation from Hell requires good works/behavior or the promise of good works/behavior - even though the Bible clearly states that salvation is "....by grace through faith and not of works...." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Still, some church members tout the mandate of towing or promising to tow the moral line or else go to Hell. The moral mandate for the salvation experience is kept in place by some even though the Bible clearly states that salvation is "not by works of righteousness which we have done," commit to do or promise to do. (Titus 3:5-7). Keeping the 10 Commandments, sinless living or near sinless living (or the promise of) is the standard for the salvation experience that is set by many who promote it for others but exempt themselves. Such hypocrisy is long standing among church people. The early church leaders had those who mandated more for the salvation experience for others, than for them.

(10) Now therefore why do you tempt to anger God against you by putting a burden on the neck of others which we cannot meet? (11) Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ others are saved, just as we are saved. (9) There is no difference between us and them; God saves others by faith just like God saves us by faith and not good works/behavior. (Acts 15:10, 11 and 9). (Paraphrase with commentary)

On the other end of the spectrum are church members who declare that every person who repeats a specific prayer (for salvation) is saved whether or not the speaker is sincere.

Both extremes are wrong.

Between those two extremes are those who by habit or on purpose hint at salvation by works by mixing works and/or keeping the 10 Commandments - plus faith, in their invitation. It goes something like this, "If you will make Jesus the complete Lord of your life and believe in him as your Savior you can be saved." Sometimes it is worded like this, "If you make a full surrender of your will and life to Christ and believe in him as your Savior you can be saved." Sometimes it is worded like this, "Trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you can be saved." This is the gospel of faith and the promise of future good works (being good) as the two requirements for salvation. To be fair and to be kind where kindness is warranted, many people who use this language do so because they have heard it so many times they say the words without realizing they are mixing faith and works for salvation. We are all creatures of habit.

Be honest. None of us have made Jesus the full and undisputed Lord of our life; we all have areas of our life where the Lord does not have absolute lordship control. So, why put the burden of full lordship on others as a condition for their salvation experience. None of us have made a full surrender of our will to the will of God. So, how can we in good conscience put the burden of full surrender of one's will on the backs of others as a prerequisite for their salvation? None of us can boast that we have trusted the lordship of Christ in every area of our life. If that were true, every Christian would give financial support to a church, every Christian would be regular and active in church attendance and every Christian would have a ministry tied to the local church. No Christian would have need of repenting because the lordship of Christ would keep them on the holy road of right living. Since no Christian can boast of living under the full control of the Lord, it is not right that we demand that of others as a condition of their salvation. It is not right. It is not kind. It is not Christian. I have a great idea. Don't do that!

Many decades ago, I wrote to Chick Publications (a producer of various gospel tracts/pamphlets) and suggested wording to replace their Lordship Salvation message with the gospel message. I forgot exactly how I worded it, but it was something like this, "If you will believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that he rose from the dead, you can be saved. Becoming a Christian means that you believe Jesus died for your sins and rose from the grave, and that you want him to be the Lord of your life." Chick immediately changed their gospel message to the word-for-word suggestion I provided. Again, I forgot exactly how I worded it, it was so long ago and I do not have a Chick tract in my immediate possession to check the invitation wording. One thing I can tell you for sure, I never used the words "Make him Lord of your life," "Surrender," "Keep the 10 Commandments" or "Trust Jesus as your Lord." Neither should you.

Salvation is a free gift with no strings attached. There is no small print and no bait and switch. No good works needed. No moral test required. Trust me, when Jesus the Savior becomes real to a person, Jesus the Lord starts working on and with that person. We do not have to lie or misrepresent the FREE gospel with words of "good works" or threats like Santa Claus -- "You better be good or else no salvation for you!", in our effort to make the life cleaning power of God come alive in the life of a child of God. When we pollute the gospel of salvation from Hell with any insinuation of good works or the promise of good works/behavior as a prerequisite, we diminish the meaning of the Cross and insult the grace of God. When I hear a preacher do that, I feel like burying my head in my hands and weeping. The greatest thing in my life is the grace of God. The greatest motivation for me to live holy is the grace of God. When the saving grace of God is spit upon, even if unintentional and/or by the ignorant, it hurts.

"Then they spit in His face...." (Matthew 26:27).

Romans 5: (1) Therefore, being saved by faith alone without good works, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (8) God committed his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinful, Christ died for us. (9) We are saved by his blood and we shall be saved from God's wrath because of Jesus alone. (15) Salvation is God's free gift to us. Adam sinned and all of humanity was judged guilty. However, the greater truth is that because of Jesus Christ and the free gift of God's grace to save us, salvation is experienced by many. (15) Because of Jesus alone and his free gift we are saved. (17) The free gift of salvation is by one man only, Jesus Christ. (18) It is a free gift. (19) We are saved by Jesus' obedience to go to the Cross and die for us. (Paraphrase with commentary)

Do not pollute the free gift of salvation with forced promises of living under the full lordship of Jesus, mandated obedience to the 10 Commandments, or the use of words that mandate surrender. God is not the enemy to surrender to. God is our loving Father. Fall in love with the Father and you will spend your energy trying to please him. Let the goodness of God lead you to repentance. (Romans 2:4). The weight of failed promises of lordship, Commandment keeping, or surrender will never serve well. Lordship Salvation is a hellish doctrine. It spits in the face of Jesus, degrades/pollutes the meaning of the Cross, frustrates the grace of God, tempts God to be angry with you, and puts a burden on others that no one can bear including me and including you.