01 - Free Grace versus Lordship Salvation

Well, welcome to our class on free grace versus lordship salvation. And in doing so, in this lesson, we're going to be explaining what the controversy is all about and the problem of garbling the gospel. So, let me invite you to open your Bibles with me to the book of James. James chapter 1. James chapter 1.

You know, the book of James is misunderstood by many. And it is helpful to remember that he's writing to my brethren, my brethren, my brother, and my brother, and my brethren. He's writing to believers in the family of God. And as we think of the three tenses of salvation, he's dealing with second tense issues. Faith here, saved here, and so forth. In the book of James, he's talking about in the second phase or tense of salvation. The only real distinct verse in the whole book of James that addresses first tense justification, or being born again, is found in James chapter 1 and verse 18. It says, "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, by means of the word of God, and in particular the gospel, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

Now, in light of the fact he calls them "my brethren," the term "brought us forth" or "born again" is so fitting. Because how do you enter a family? You enter through a birth. How did they enter the family of God? It was through the new birth. Now, if the word of God could impact you to the point of being used by the Lord to birth you spiritually, would it not be safe to say, as Peter would say, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby"? And thus, we read in verse 19, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, be not many teachers, they shall receive the greater judgment." Chapter 3, verse 1. "Slow to wrath." Why does he say slow to wrath? Because they were dealing with various issues, and one of them in chapter 5 was the fact they were dealing with being defrauded. And when you're being defrauded, and you are in need of basic income to survive, it is easy to become angry. And while there can be a place for righteous anger, "Be angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath." And so, he's cautioning them here to be slow to wrath. Verse 20, "For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." We're talking about in second tense salvation, your Christian life. Therefore, "lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness, humility, the implanted word, which is able to save or deliver your souls." Deliver them from what? From spiritual damage, from the power of sin, as it were.

And so, this is a great thing to be reminded of as we begin this series. Because I'm going to say some things that could rub someone the wrong way. I'm going to quote some authors that sometimes people really like. In fact, I like some of them on certain subjects. But we're addressing this whole issue of free grace versus lordship salvation. And just keep in mind that whether it's myself or John MacArthur or whoever it is that's being quoted or said, the bottom line is always, what does the word of God say? Remember in Acts 17, how the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. They were more fair-minded, they were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and they searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. And this is what I would appeal to you in our class: to receive what's being taught with all readiness, but then search the scriptures daily to find out whether these things are so. Because again, the bottom line is, what does God say in His word?

Now, keep in mind, could there be anything more important than the whole issue of the gospel? And that's what the controversy is all about in lordship salvation: What is the gospel, and how is someone saved? Now, the adherents of this lordship view teach that in order to be saved by grace, and they'll say it's by grace, you must be willing to, or actually turn from your sins, which is their view of repentance. And you must be willing to totally surrender with costly discipleship commitments of submissive obedience to Christ's lordship or mastery over your daily life. You must be willing to pay the price, count the cost, surrender, and follow Him. You must be willing to be obedient to Christ, not only for a day, but for the rest of your life. And by the way, this is all supposedly subsumed under the phrase "saving faith." They'll say it's by faith, but keep in mind that faith is either front-loaded or back-loaded with a lot of things. It's not simple trust as we would define it. Now, that's the front load of it. This is how you get it. Now, here's the back load. The adherents of this view teach that if you are truly saved, you will live a fruitful, righteous, godly, transformed lifestyle of obedience, and you will have a faith that endures and perseveres to the end of your life. And so, saving faith is fruitful, saving faith is persevering faith. And thus, while they allow for some wobble room, per se, on the other hand, if you don't endure to the end of your life, what happens? Well, either you will lose your salvation, that's the Arminian view of lordship salvation. Or the more popular view is, you were never really saved or elect, and that's the Calvinistic view. And so, either you lose it, or you never really had it. You just thought you had it. It was artificial. It wasn't saving faith. You weren't really born again. You're not really one of God's elect. And the proof of the pudding is, you didn't remain faithful and fruitful all the days of your life.

Now, the adherents of lordship salvation arrived at these conclusions due to basically three things. First of all, a dismay at the professing church and its sad spiritual condition. They were bothered about the fact that there were so many people who claimed to be saved, but they didn't seem to be fruitful, and they weren't living godly lives. Now, let me remark upfront, students, that there are many people who claim to be saved and really aren't. And there are people who are saved who don't live like it. And there are people who are saved and live like it. And all three are issues that you have to deal with. So, this bothered them, and so they started to teach, in a greater way, lordship salvation. Secondly, they arrived at these conclusions due to a genuine desire for fruitfulness and faithfulness among believers. And again, this is something we would all want. Thirdly, they arrived at these conclusions due to faulty exegesis and forced eisegesis of Jesus, that imports or overlays a theological viewpoint upon various passages of scripture. And as we work our way through this course, we're going to look at passages of scripture that they use as their proof texts. We're going to look at the four soils, we're going to look at the rich young ruler, we're going to look at Simon the sorcerer. We're going to look at various passages that are used to teach something from a certain perspective, and we're going to try to seek to do biblical exegesis and let the Bible speak for itself.

Now, the answer to lordship salvation is a clear gospel, and then teaching believers how to abide in Christ in their sanctification. The Lord Jesus, when He spoke these words in the upper room, was speaking only to believers, because again, Judas Iscariot had already departed. He said in verse 3, "Now you are already clean to the word that I have spoken to you." And then He says in verse 5, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing." You see, we need to teach believers their position in Christ. We need to teach them how then to abide in Christ and allow the Spirit of God to produce fruit in their life. And it's a wonderful day and an "aha" moment when you realize that God never asked you to produce fruit. He asks you to bear fruit. What He wants us to do is to abide in Christ, so the life of the vine can flow through the branch and produce the fruit that we bear for the glory of God. So, that's the position. That's what we're talking about regarding lordship salvation. And I gave you a handout tonight from Grace Community Church, or John MacArthur pastors, that is their position paper on lordship salvation, and you can read it on your own. Now, at first, they felt it was a pejorative term, but as time has gone on, they're okay with the term. They even use it in their publications.

So, who are the popularizers of this view? Who teaches the lordship salvation? Now, there are way too many to mention them all, obviously. But I'm going to mention some of the heavyweights first, and some of the lesser known as we go. Well, first of all, I already mentioned Dr. John MacArthur Jr. is a great proponent and was a significant player when it came to this controversy we call lordship salvation. He pastors Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California. He's 81 at this point. You're teaching almost every Sunday, founder of The Master's Seminary, radio teacher, and Grace to You heard all over the world, prolific author, I think over a hundred books. And please note, he's a five-point Calvinist. And I'm going to show you tonight, anyhow, at least with the guys I mentioned, they're all Calvinists. And there's definitely an interconnection between a consistent Calvinism and lordship salvation. Another popularizer of this view is someone that was just in our backyard, as it were, Dr. John Piper, former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, founder of Desiring God ministry, chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, author, conference speaker, and once again, a Calvinist. Very popular style, very different than MacArthur's, but its theology is basically the same. Third person who is now with the Lord, R.C. Sproul, founder of Ligonier Ministries, and around the Orlando, Florida area, radio teacher on a broadcast called Renewing Your Mind, prolific author, conference speaker, and again, a Calvinist. Now, Sproul was a little more crusty, a little more brash, a little more crass than some of the statements he made. And yet, again, I would say this, just for what it's worth. MacArthur is a dispensationalist, though in his eschatology, so he would believe in a pre-trib rapture, a literal premillennial return of Christ, a future kingdom on earth, and so forth. Very few things, if anything, we would disagree with him on eschatology. It's his soteriology, his doctrine of salvation. Now, when it comes to Piper and when it comes to Sproul, their eschatology clearly is not dispensational.

Another popularizer of the lordship salvation is a guy named Ray Comfort, over here. Ray Comfort, he has The Way of the Master ministry. He is really good at getting you lost, and in my estimation, really bad at getting you saved. He teaches evangelism seminars, he does debates. A lot of people have utilized this. I was talking to a person who's part of our church now, who got saved and quote-unquote discipled in another place, and he told me he listened to Ray Comfort's series on evangelism, and about message 35, he wasn't sure he was saved anymore. You know, because again, what happens is, if you're really saved, you're going to do this, live this way, whatever. If you have a conscience, you recognize, well, I don't always do that. So therefore, am I really saved? And again, lordship salvation annihilates absolute assurance. Another more popular guy, just more recently, is Paul Washer, former missionary to Peru, conference speaker, he founded Heart Cry Missionary Society. Calvinist. Yeah, he, he has some messages on YouTube in which he said, probably 90% of you who are listening to my voice aren't really saved. That always shakes people up. Uh, you got Alistair Begg, very popular Calvinist, Truth for Life ministry, part-time pastor, Parkside Church in Cleveland, author of many books. He's again, a Calvinist. And by the way, if you have a British or Scottish accent, you can preach heresy in the United States and we'll love you. I mean, just the way it is. Uh, Steve Lawson is a conference speaker, director, founder of One Passion Ministry, Expositor magazine, professor of preaching and Master's Seminary, author of over 30 books. Again, a Calvinist. There's a lot of things I like that Lawson says, just like there's a lot of things that MacArthur says on the charismatic movement or inerrancy or modern church growth, so forth, that I would certainly agree with. But obviously, we've got to make sure we get the answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" We get the answer right. Then there's, uh, Voddie Baucham, former pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Texas City, Texas, and dean of theology of the African Christian University in Zambia, Africa. Now, very popular speaker, kind of has a commanding, warm feel to them. Mark Dever, senior pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., again, co-founder of Together for the Gospel with Tim Keller. Again, a Calvinist, and and truly a covenant theologian, I mean, strongly covenanted. And then there was Francis Chan. He kind of came on the scene in the last decade or so. He graduated from Master's Seminary, pastored churches in California. He's author of a book, "Crazy Love," that people just fell in love with, which has all kinds of problems. But certainly, we should be overwhelmed by God's relentless love. But again, a Calvinist, and many problems connected with that. David Platt, kind of the up-and-coming picture of Calvinistic teachers. He authored the book "Radical." He had 26, he was the pastor of the, the youngest mega-church pastor in the United States. He became the president of International Mission Board. He presently pastors at McLean Bible Church, which is, I felt, very unfortunate, because McLean Bible Church really grew under Lon Solomon for years. He was a free grace guy. And here now you've got a Calvinist lordshipper. Al Mohler, very popular president of Southern Seminary, he's a Southern Baptist conference guy, podcast "The Briefing" comes out Monday through Friday, author, and again, a Calvinist. Perhaps a little less known is Dr. James Montgomery Boyce. He went home to be with the Lord 20 years ago. Theologian, pastor, author. He followed in the footsteps of Donald Gray Barnhouse at Tenth Presbyterian Church and was there from 1968 until 2000. Again, a Calvinist, but dispensational, just like Barnhouse was. J.I. Packer, a very popular English-born Canadian pastor, prolific author, Calvinist. Uh, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who has been with the Lord for many years, from England. John Gerstner, wrote a book, "Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth," which he wrongly divided in his book, as far as I'm concerned. Some other people, there's, uh, Sinclair Ferguson, professor, Reformed Theological Seminary. Joel Beeke, president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Phil Johnson, elder at Grace Community Church, radio host of Grace to You. And then there's Tim Keller, very popular Presbyterian pastor there in the New York City area. And A.W. Pink, of the past. I will quote him at some point. Shocking quotes. Along also came what was called The Gospel Coalition. The Gospel Coalition was a coalition of individuals, and again, they were Calvinistic. Some of them are charismatic, however. It's an interesting blend. It's not like it used to be when you were a Calvinist, you were not a charismatic. If you were charismatic, you were not a Calvinist. But there is the young and restless crowd. But keep in mind this, you know, as I mention all these individuals, sometimes people think I'm judging. And the fact of the matter is, I am seeking to be discerning. And John MacArthur, in this first chapter on "The Gospel According to Jesus," mentions by name Lewis Sperry Chafer, he mentions Zane Hodges, he mentions Charles Ryrie. He's not afraid to name names, and neither am I. But please note, this study is not a negative attack on their personal lives, on their motives, their sincerity, or even their salvation. I'm not saying they're not saved. But it is an examination of their teaching of lordship salvation under the searchlight of the scriptures. And you know, one of the call letters of the Reformation was "Sola Scriptura," the Bible alone. And indeed, this is the appeal that I make to you again. We must go back to, what does the Bible say in these matters?

So, you've seen the position, you've seen the popularizers, who teaches it. And now let's talk briefly about the, the present controversy. How did it develop? Where did we get where we are in 2020, per se? By the way, there are some handouts up here. If you want to come up and get some, you can grab some right here. Okay. So, let me explain historically how this has developed over the years. Historically, it's not new. Adding works to grace is not new. It was happening in biblical times. In fact, it was one of the issues that's being addressed in the book of Galatians, as it were. The Protestant Reformation, by the way, one of the things that Rome accused Luther and others of is that their teaching was antinomianism. And what that means is that it was a license to sin. Now, in recoiling to that accusation and seeking to defend themselves, they came up with this little mantra: "The grace that faith alone says, but genuine faith is never alone." Number one, that's a contradiction. Number two, it's not biblical. And number three, uh, it leads down a path of a lot of problems. But it was their way of trying to address the issue. Then Calvinism and Arminianism developed, not merely with Calvin and Arminius, but even their followers took some things further than they did. And and in the United States, earlier than the 1980s, there were issues going on. If you look at the doctrinal statement of Dallas Theological Seminary, which has been in existence since 1923, you will see, and I'm not sure exactly what year that statement was put together, but I was just reading it last week. They're already addressing issues back in those days of these kind of things. And that's why way back in the day, Chafer wrote the book "Salvation Is Very Clear," that it's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and the gospel, or the work of Christ alone. He wrote the book "Grace," which is to this day, just a wonderful book. A Strombeck book, Shall wrote "Shall Never Perish," and I added the word "Forever" when I wrote my book. Roy Aldrich, the very first graduate ever of Dallas Seminary, wrote the book "Holding Fast to Grace." Because you see, this has always been an issue. Works versus grace is always the bottom line issue.

So, as we think of it in more modern times, the present controversy from 1988 to the present. Let me just mention some books that have been at the center of this, at least by way of the writing forum. Kind of the landmark book that created the firestorm was John MacArthur's book, "The Gospel According to Jesus." I can remember, this is an original edition. I can remember reading this. I would sometimes read this when I took a bath before I went to bed, and my wife finally said, "When you quit reading that book, you come to bed angry every night," because it was so bothersome to me what I was reading. Now, in response to this, and I had an original edition, I couldn't find it when I look for it today, of Ryrie's book, "So Great Salvation," that came out in 1989. And it was a response to MacArthur's book. And then Zane Hodges came out in 1989 with the book "Absolutely Free." And again, I can remember when this book came out. In fact, I was in California at the time, and I actually visited Grace Community Church, and I was talking to a pastor out there who was a very good friend of Zane Hodges, and he was bemoaning the fact that Hodges has changed his view on repentance. And I will talk a little more about that later. 1990, "The Grace Awakening" by Chuck Swindoll came out. Now, this doesn't directly deal with lordship salvation, but it clearly does indirectly. He walks his way through Romans, he talks about grace, he talks about salvation, he talks about eternal security, he talks about carnal believers, he talks about rewards versus gift. He talks about things, he teaches and writes about things that would resonate with us. If I remember right, the only thing I had problems with with the whole book was there was a section on separation, in which he felt we should, you know, we have to be careful what hills to climb. And clearly, some of the hills that he won't climb, I would be willing to climb. So, there was some difference. Then Robert Lightner from Dallas Seminary came up with the book "Sin, the Savior, and Salvation," and again, not directly dealing with it, but definitely directing, definitely relating to this issue. Then in '92, Han just came up with another book called "The Gospel Under Siege: A Study on Faith and Works." And just keep in mind, while indeed I disagree with the lordship salvation, and there's things I do agree with Hodges, he takes some very novel views and different views and views that I can't agree with on some things. And then in 1992, MacArthur came out with the book "Save Without a Doubt," and it's all about First John and how you should evaluate your life based on your walk. And it really should be called "Saved? With Many Doubts," because by the time you're done reading it, you don't know if you're saved or not. In 1993, "Faith Works" came out. This was a sequel. This is "The Gospel Now According to the Apostles." So now he's trying to establish this view on in the epistles, and not merely the Gospels. And then in 2003, he came up with a book, "Hard to Believe," and frankly, when I read it, I thought, this is hard to believe you wrote this, because there are some really bad statements in this book, and I will show you several of them before the night is over. And then many others. And even since then, there's been other books on the clarity of the gospel. J.B. Hixson's book, "Getting the Gospel Wrong," has a chapter devoted to lordship salvation, though he also addresses the crossless gospel. My book, "Shall Never Perish Forever," isn't designed to directly deal with lordship, but I touch on many things that certainly deal with that wrong view. Tom Stegall came up with his book, "Must Faith Endure for Salvation to Be Sure," very good book on the whole issue of perseverance. And then we also came up with a book, as you may know, "Should Christians Fear Outer Darkness?" Because that's one of the issues we do have with some of the free gracers. We know. And I came up with a little book here just a few years ago, "How to Interpret First John," as we will address that whole issue of First John as we work our way through this course.

Another thing that developed historically was new organizations. In 1986, the Grace Evangelical Society, founded by Zane Hodges, Bob Wilkin, and others, started. And frankly, I began getting their literature very early on, and I received their journal for years. And I can remember I appreciated certain articles they wrote until about 1990, when I read something about, "You could be saved, but you didn't have to believe Jesus died for your sins and rose again." I remember thinking, "I don't believe that." But it didn't really come up again for many years. And then since then, you know, it's become a major issue. Uh, the Free Grace Alliance was founded in 2004. I was actually at the very first conference, right at the beginning, the Free Grace Alliance, and was part of that organization, even serving on their executive council for, I was part of FGA for a number of years, and then bowed out. What's the result of all this? Lordship teaching has permeated Bible colleges, seminaries, churches, parachurch missions, radio, books, etc. Now, unfortunately, it didn't come out very well on your handout, and I wish it would have. But as we look at these various books, you might say, well, where do you stand, or where does DBC stand on this issue? And looking at the spectrum, we probably stand right about there. You can see John MacArthur, weight to the left. Charles Ryrie, more in the middle. Zane Hodges, more to the right. We're somewhere between Ryrie and Hodges, disagreeing with some things with Ryrie, disagreeing with some things with Hodges, certainly disagreeing with MacArthur, and so forth. And you'll see why I'm saying that as the course goes on.

Now, as we think of the term "free grace," I want you to go with me to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3. Are there questions about what we've covered so far? Everyone tracking? You understand the position? Understand the popularizers? Understand how we got where we are? Quite a lot of books written on this thing. But then again, we're talking about the gospel and how you're saved, and the foundation of true Christianity.

"Would you like to speak in the mic so we can we can get it on?" "Do people like MacArthur identify themselves as a Calvinist?" "Oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, he's, you know, John MacArthur has claimed to be a Calvinist for years. There are people who tried to think he wasn't a five-pointer, but he's come out. I was watching the Shepherd's Conference opening session maybe four or five years ago when he came out with the statement, and you do know Christ didn't die for everyone. And it's like, yeah, well, how do you take that one out of context, right? You know? So, yeah, no, no, they they joyfully affirm they are Calvinists." "Oh, one more like in representing their position too. It's it's not that they totally ignore the obviously the death of Christ or that sort of thing too. I just know you're not covering everything, but it's not on the handout, but they obviously teach that too. It's just the added stuff that you're covering." "Yeah, no, I'm going to explain that they're going to say that Christ died. Now, depending on your Calvinist, some believe they only died for the elect. So you really can't go up to someone and say, 'I've got good news for you, Christ died for you,' because if they're not elect, he didn't, you know. And so they don't deny death, they don't deny your rose, they don't deny it's by grace, they don't deny it's by faith. In fact, they'll say it's by faith alone, but how they define those terms is the issue. They use the same vocabulary, but a different dictionary."

In Romans chapter 3, and verse 24, right on the heels of verse 23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," we read the phrase, "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Sometimes people ask about the term "free grace." Well, we see here it's biblical. Now, you say, "Why isn't it redundant? If it's freely, then it's grace. And if it's grace, it's free." You're right. But God is purposefully redundant. So why shouldn't believers be? My reservation within isn't because it's biblical. My reservation with it is it's associated today with certain doctrines I disagree with, like the crossless gospel or punitive damages for believers at the judgment seat of Christ. Now, they teach, there are those in the free grace movement that teach not only do you lose reward, but you actually get punished in some form of outer darkness with wailing and gnashing of teeth. Many of them don't believe repentance has any part in salvation, and even believe that many of them it means turning from sin. They also believe the overcomers in Revelation 2 and 3 are only victorious Christians. One of the problems with that immediately is too, the churches didn't receive any critique and therefore weren't told to overcome anything. So how did they get to be overcomers? You see, our view is that we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us, that the overcomers are every believer that's in Christ, and we're being encouraged to live in light of who we are. When we look at those exhortations. See, my my preferred term would be "true grace." But it can sound arrogant. "All your true grace." But where did I get that? Go to First Peter chapter 5. First Peter chapter 5. We begin in verse 10. "But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." "By Sylvanus or Silas, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand." Now, there's some difference of opinion how to translate that last part of the verse. The New American Standard translated, "I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Period. Stand for a minute." In other words, stand firm in true grace. Don't move away from it. Now, I'm okay with free grace, especially since I've qualified it. True grace, I like it, though it can sound a little arrogant. But Peter uses it. It is biblical. But regardless of the terminology, I think you will understand the doctrinal position that will be espoused.

But go with me to Galatians chapter 1. Now, Galatians chapter 1. Because people sometimes will say, "Well, is this really a big deal?" Or they will say, "This is all a matter of semantics." I'm thinking, man, there's a lot of books written here over semantics. Or if it's not a big deal, but you see these authors think it's a big deal, and so do I. In Galatians chapter 1, verse 6, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert or twist the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let them be accursed. The word "let them be accursed" is anathema. And it's kind of interesting because you see, under the law, it was obey, you shall be blessed. Disobey, and you will be cursed. And Paul uses that kind of language here. Those obviously not embracing the law for today by way of a way of sanctification or justification. But he's making it very clear that the message that is preached, if it is not true to the grace of God, is not a message that God can bless. It's something He must curse. He cannot honor that, per se. Now, keep in mind, I'm not saying these guys are unsafe, going to hell, because I don't interpret this passage this way. Secondly, I have found that many Calvinists were led to the Lord by non-Calvinists who preached the clear gospel to them. Which is interesting. As far as semantics and importance, Dr. Charles Ryrie said, and I quote, "Furthermore, it seems to me that those who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible ought especially to be concerned with accuracy in communicating the truth. All the Bible is inerrant and important to us, but certainly how we as Christians express the gospel ought to be our greatest concern. We do not want to confuse or shortchange or obscure God's good news of His grace, how He gave His Son so that we might have eternal life through faith in Him. Semantics is key in understanding and communicating the gospel." He goes on to state, "Just as words were the means God used to record the gospel in the scriptures, so words are the means we use to explain the gospel to others. Therefore, a correct choice of words is important, even essential in stating the gospel well." And who wants to not state it well? We all want to be accurate. We all want to be clear. We all want to be biblical. But we're not all saying the same thing. And as I think of even the importance of standing firm on the gospel, you know, there's verses like "earnestly contend for the faith," "fight the good fight of faith," "hold fast the form of sound words," "guard the truth committed to your trust," and so forth. And so, we are to be diligent. We are to be discerning. We must be willing to defend what the Bible says. And we must make sure that we aren't imposing our theology on the text, but drawing our doctrinal beliefs from the text of scriptures.

So, having explained the controversy, now let's evaluate the controversy. And we're going to work our way over the next few weeks through one problem after another problem with this view. In this first lesson, we're going to address the issue: Lordship salvation garbles the gospel by mixing your works with Christ's finished work, destroying salvation by grace. Keep in mind, they're going to say it's by grace. They're going to say Christ died for the sins of the elect, if not for everyone. But they garble the gospel by mixing works with grace. So, go with me now to First Corinthians chapter 15. It is my conviction that the most definitive passage in the New Testament regarding the content of the gospel is found in First Corinthians 15, that great resurrection chapter of the Bible. Now, I say that because in verse 1, Paul says, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel." So, if Paul says this is the gospel, you know what I think it is. The gospel, the euangelion, the good news, which I preached to you, which also you received, and in which you stand. Now, notice number one, he calls them brethren. And while he's addressing a doctrinal issue relative to their sanctification, he is reminding them of the message he preached to them before they came to faith in Christ. "I declare to you the gospel which I preached," past tense, "to you, which you received in the past, by which you stand." Verse 2, "By which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain." And so, we see here he brings up first of all their past encounter with the gospel, and then he brings up this present issue. "If you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain." Now, it's clear that they had believed. Now, there's two ways of viewing this verse. There's probably more than two, but two I'll bring out. One view: "By which you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain." In other words, it, it is minus the fruit in sanctification that God really wants in your life. That's how some people view this. Okay. Others view it that you believed in vain in the sense that it was without proper content. In other words, it's not really true. And he clearly reminds them in verse 12, "Now if Christ has preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" In other words, if there was no resurrection of the dead, then Christ wasn't raised. If Christ wasn't raised, we don't have a gospel. And that's the gospel you said you believe. So therefore, you're not really saved. That's kind of the line of thinking.

Now, we saw the entrance of the gospel. Now we look at the elements of the gospel. And again, this is not new to you, but it's important to emphasize because if we're going to discern the counterfeit, we need to know the real thing. Well, the first thing we note in verse 3 is the authority and importance of the gospel. Verse 3 says, "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received." The message of the gospel was authoritatively delivered. That word "delivered" means to speak and to speak with authority. And why was Paul so authoritative? Well, he tells us in Galatians, "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which I preached by me, what is not according to man? For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it by man, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ Himself gave me this gospel. That's why I'm speaking with such authority, and I'm unwilling to compromise that message one iota. Secondly, we see in verse 3, the message of the gospel is of primary importance. "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received." Over and above everything I could have shared with you, I didn't teach you the rapture first. I didn't teach you about this verse that first, this first, first of all, I delivered to you the gospel message. That was the message you needed. It was of primary importance. You say, "Really? So what exactly is that message?" Well, as we break down the following verses, we notice first of all that the gospel of salvation centers in a specific person, and that person is Jesus Christ. "For delivering to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He, Jesus Christ, was buried, and that He, Jesus Christ, rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve." You see, when we're preaching the gospel, we're not preaching a church, we're not preaching a lifestyle, we're not preaching a commitment, we're not preaching something we must do for God. We're preaching about the only Savior God ever provided, Jesus Christ. And you see, that's why it's significant. It's significant because of who He is. He's God who became fully man, and yet without sin. He's the only Savior of the world. And I say that because again, so many religions get it wrong. You see, to place your faith in a Christ who is less than God is a Christ who cannot save you. For only God who became a man without sin could save you. And by becoming a man, He could die for our sins. Hebrews 2:9. And so, has been posed before, who is Jesus Christ? Well, there's only three options: He's a liar, He's a lunatic, or He's the Lord. Because He claimed to be God. And therefore, He was either lying, either that He was mad, or He is who He said He was. And He is the one mediator between God and man. And thus, He alone could say, "No one comes to the Father except through Me."

A second reason this is significant is not only because of who Jesus Christ is, but because of why Jesus Christ came. We know from Galatians chapter 4, "When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that are under the law, that we might become again heirs and children of God." You see, it's so important we know who He is, because you see, God alone can redeem us. God alone can save us. And Jesus Christ is God who became a man without sin. So, when you're preaching the gospel, it centers in a specific person, who is Jesus Christ. Secondly, it centers in a specific work, namely that Christ died and rose again. "He died and rose again." Verse 3, "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried," which is the proof that He died, "and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve," which is proof that He rose again. Now, please note that "according to the scriptures" is only attached to His death and His resurrection. So, when you're preaching the gospel, you're preaching Jesus Christ. You're preaching about the fact that He died, and we'll see the significance of that in a moment, and He rose again. He's alive. Now, this is significant again because through His death, the penalty for sin was paid. For the penalty for sin was death. And through His resurrection, He conquered sin and death and can now offer eternal life to you and me. A dead Christ on a cross can't help us. A body in a tomb cannot save us. But He is alive, just as He said. And again, has been pointed out in the past, that as we look at history's graveyard, the founders of all these various religions, you could find their bodies, but you can't find Jesus Christ. He is not here. He is risen, just as He said. Norman Geisler writes, "The bodily resurrection of Christ is the crowning proof that Jesus was who He claimed to be, God manifested in human flesh. Indeed, the resurrection of Christ in the flesh is of such importance to the Christian faith that the New Testament insists that no one can be saved without it." And so, again, the gospel centers in a person, Jesus Christ. A work that He died and rose again.

Now, it also centers in a specific accomplishment, namely that when He died, He died for our sins. "He died for our sins." Now, this is significant because it shows us Christ's death was a substitutionary sacrifice. The word "for" is the Greek preposition "huper" or "hupon," on behalf of, or in the place of, on account of our sins. It's the preposition for substitution. So, it was a substitutionary sacrifice. It's good news because we should have died that death that He died. As He suffered God's wrath in your place and mine. And secondly, it was a complete sacrifice. For if you notice closely, "for our sins" is only attached to His death. It's not attached to His burial. It isn't attached to His resurrection. Why? Because when He died, He cried out, "It is finished." As Jesus paid it all. And thus, His sacrifice for sin was complete, never to be repeated again. And that is why salvation is not a reward for the righteous. It is a gift for the guilty, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who died in our place. No wonder the Bible says, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Whereas Galatians 2:20 says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." You've seen many times this graph, religion says Jesus Christ, it is 90%, but you've got to do your 10%, and that's salvation by works. And God says, "No, Christ did 100%. Jesus paid it all. There's nothing left for us to do. It's all by grace." But like with any gift, it's of no value until you personally receive it.

So, the fourth element of the gospel, sometimes called the response, is that the gospel of salvation requires a specific response to receive its blessing, namely faith alone and Christ alone, as presented in the gospel. Now, I say that because I hear people say, "Well, the gospel is faith alone in Christ alone." Well, it depends what you mean by "in Christ alone," because there are those today who would say, "You just need to believe in Jesus for eternal life," but you don't have to believe He died for your sins and rose again. And so, we see in verse 11, "Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preached and so you believed." And so, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the scriptures alone, for the glory of God alone. It involves a specific person, a specific work, a specific accomplishment, and a specific required response. And that's why, having taught that, Paul then sets forth the evidences of the gospel and how we can know it's true. Proof number one is the gospel fulfilled the scriptures. Notice, "He died for our sins according to the scriptures," and "He rose again the third day according to the scriptures." And so, the death of Jesus Christ was according to the scriptures. You say, "Well, what scriptures?" Well, not the New Testament, for that wasn't written yet. He's talking about the Old Testament, like Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10, Daniel 9:24 and 25, let alone some types and many pictures, as it were, of the Lamb of God who would come and take away the sin of the world. Secondly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ also was according to the scriptures. Which raises the question, well, where in the Old Testament was the resurrection predicted? And again, in places like Psalm 22:19-24, Isaiah 53:10, Psalms 16:8-11. In fact, that is the very passage that Peter quotes to prove it to be true when he preached on the day of Pentecost. And you know, Jesus Christ Himself, students, said that He was going to be raised. He was going to raise Himself up. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it." He preached that He was going to suffer and die and be raised from the dead. And you remember in Matthew 28:6, what the angels said when the disciples came? "He is not here. He has risen, just as He said." So, this begs the question now. So, what do the lordship salvation teachers teach about the gospel and salvation by grace? Do they deny?

The deity of Christ, no, denies humanity. No, do they deny his exclusivity? That only through Christ you can be saved? No. Do they believe he died for sins? Yes. Do they teach that he rose from the dead? Yes.

Now, again, the five-point Calvinist doesn't believe he died for all sin. And by the way, when Paul said that in 1st Corinthians 15:3, when he wrote that, which is the message he preached to them before they were saved, what did he say? "Christ died for our sins," and they weren't saved yet. Which again is the doctrine of unlimited atonement.

So, what do they say? Well, again, they'd say it's by grace. They would say Christ died for sins, though perhaps only the elect. They would say Christ rose from the dead, but they mix your works, your sacrifice, your commitment with Christ's finished work, and thus they destroy salvation by grace and, in a sense, they insult the finished work of Christ.

So, I have a series of quotes here. Most of the quotes that I use in this course are from John MacArthur. He's written more prolifically on it. I've met him on at least one occasion personally. But in his book, *The Gospel According to Jesus*, he says, "Salvation is for those who are willing to forsake everything." Is that the gospel? The gospel about you forsaking, or is it about Christ dying for our sins and being raised from the dead, and you simply believing in him? The direction of the gospel makes it so very clear. The good news is from good news to us, from God to us, and we simply believe it.

He says, "Jesus is Lord of all, and the faith he demands involves unconditional surrender. He says, 'It is total abandonment of self-will. It is an exchange of all that we are for all that Christ is and denotes implicit obedience, full surrender to the lordship of Christ. Nothing less can qualify a saving thing.'" Let me ask you a question: How do you know if you're fully surrendered? Who's fully surrendered? How much of the time are you fully surrendered? Again, how to not know you're saved in one easy step.

1 Corinthians 12:3 cannot refer to just saying the words "Jesus is Lord." It must mean more. It includes acknowledging Him as Lord by obeying Him, by surrendering one's will to His Lordship, by affirming Him with one's deeds as well as one's words. This in no way establishes the gospel of human works. Notice that it is the Holy Spirit who enables a person to confess Jesus is Lord. No one can say Jesus is Lord except for the Holy Spirit. In other words, they cover all these works they require by saying the Holy Spirit produces it. So, is the gospel about Christ's surrender on the cross, or is it about our surrender of our life?

First Peter 3:18. Let's have someone read that verse. Who's got the mic? Okay. "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit." You see, Jesus Christ was willing to surrender to the will of God and to suffer once for sins. That's what the gospel is about.

You know, William R. Newell, who wrote the commentary on Romans, said it so well when he stated, "To preach full, full surrender to an unsaved man as the way of salvation will just make a hateful Pharisee out of him." Harry Ironside says, "When anyone comes promising salvation to those who make full surrender of all that they have to God and who pay the price of full salvation, he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him."

This is not a new issue. He was preaching this way before *The Gospel According to Jesus* came up. Lance Latham, pastor and co-founder of Awana, wrote, "Surely we must recognize who He is or we will die in our sins." John 8:24. "But this is vastly different from making Him your Lord in your life. In other words, promising to obey the rest of your life. This latter is preaching works." By the way, this is Lance Latham. Anyone know who this guy is? Right over here, this is Art Rorheim, who founded Awana with Lance Latham and to be with the Lord a few years ago. I really enjoyed Art.

Here's from the book *Hard to Believe*: "The hard words of Jesus come out. It's not about you. It's about Me and sacrificing yourself to follow Me." Is that the gospel? Is it about sacrificing yourself, or is it about His sacrifice? Well, we know it's about His, don't we?

Hebrews 10:10-12. Mike, by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. By this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. You see, it's not about our sacrifice, it's about His sacrifice. That is the good news.

In his book, *Hard to Believe*, MacArthur says, "We all know someone like the rich young ruler, cocky, self-assured, impressed with his own goodness, who sees Christian salvation as one more goal he can achieve through performance, skill, money, and influence. The Bible tells us that's not how it works. The goal is the unfamiliar one of sorrowfully acknowledging sin, of submission and sacrifice. If we're not willing to separate from the material things that we possess, then Jesus isn't that valuable to us. It's an all-or-nothing proposition." So, is the gospel about our sorrowfully acknowledging sin, of submission and sacrifice, or is it about Christ's payment for sin, about His submission to the will of God, His sacrifice on the cross?

Ephesians 5:2. "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."

Romans 5:6-8. Jason. "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." You see, that's what the gospel is about. It's the good news that Jesus Christ died for us, in our place, as our substitute, and rose again to provide salvation as a gift received through simple, childlike faith in Him alone.

In his book, *The Gospel According to Jesus*, MacArthur said, "They stumble over the twin truths that salvation is a free gift, yet it costs everything." You know, if something's a free gift, it costs you what? Nothing. Not everything. This paradox may be difficult, but it's nevertheless true. Salvation is both free and costly. Well, it is in the sense that it's free to us, and the cost of Jesus is His life. But it's not in the sense that He paid and we pay. It's not a double payment plan, per se.

J.I. Packer, in his book *Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God*, says, "It's not enough to believe that only through Christ and His death are sinners justified and accepted in commerce. Honesty, we must not conceal the fact that free forgiveness in one sense will cost everything." Any problem with statements like that? It's free, but it's going to cost you everything. Can something be both free and costly to the recipient? Is salvation both free and costly to the sinner? Does salvation cost you everything, or was it paid in full by Christ on the cross?

Ephesians 1:7. Stella. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." Galatians 3:13.

Revelation 5:9. "And they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'" Notice when they're singing, they're not talking about their repentance from sin. They're not talking about their commitment, their sacrifice, the price they paid. Oh, it's all about Jesus Christ and what He did.

MacArthur says, "The paradox may be difficult, but it's nevertheless true. Salvation is both free and costly. Thus, in a sense, we pay the ultimate price for salvation when our sinful self is nailed to a cross. It is a total abandonment of self-will. It is an exchange of all that we are for all that Christ is and it denotes implicit obedience, full surrender to the lordship of Christ. Nothing less can qualify as saving faith."

Salvation for sinners costs God His own Son. It costs God's Son His life. And it will cost you the same thing. You know, my Bible says this: "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, but from your aimless conduct, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." Oh, and that blood is precious. And the gospel is all about how Jesus shed His blood, how He died for our sins and rose again.

MacArthur says, "If you're going to come to Christ, you're going to have to count the cost." If you count the cost, do you even understand there's a price to pay? By the way, I have counted the cost. You know what I found out? It's been paid in full. Does that express the proper perspective on salvation? Yes.

"Entrance into the kingdom requires earnest endeavor, untiring energy, and the utmost exertion because Satan is mighty, his demons are powerful, and sin holds us fast. God can break that hold and free our hearts to respond. The kingdom is not for weaklings and compromisers. It's not for the half-committed, the lovers of the world, or the shallow disciples who want to hold on to the stuff that perishes. The kingdom is for those who are willing to affirm their desperate need for salvation from sin and seize the offer of grace." Question: If you got to do all that, how could you say it's an offer of grace?

By the way, there are a couple statements in his book *Hard to Believe* that I believe they later went back and purged, and you can probably understand why. Again, the Bible is clear: the price of our redemption has been paid in full. We're saved by grace through faith apart from works. And that is why Romans 12:1-2, which does talk about presenting or yielding ourselves to the Lord, is not an appeal to the unsaved for justification. Paul has already addressed the whole issue of justification, chapters 3, 4, the blessings of sanctified justification, chapter 5. Chapter 5 and 6, he deals with sanctification, he deals with glorification, he deals with all of those things, and then he gets to this hinge verse before he begins to talk about application. And what does he say? Romans 12:1-2: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves, your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." See, this isn't an appeal for justification. This is an appeal to believers regarding their sanctification. He's writing to brethren, he's writing in light of the mercies of God and all that Christ has done for you, all that you have in Him, all that you now enjoy and will enjoy, even how you are guaranteed future glory and knowing that nothing can ever separate you from God's love. So, in light of that, therefore, now present your bodies a living sacrifice. Therefore, don't be conformed to this world. Therefore, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You see, if all this full surrender happened up front in order to be saved, why are you appealing here for this kind of response to the grace of God?

But when you understand the word of God correctly, when you recognize there are three tenses of salvation, then it makes perfect sense. He's appealing to believers here in light of what Christ has done here, so that God then can transform his thinking and affect his walk, that he might live consistent with who he is in Christ, in view of the fact that one day he's going home to glory. And that's the message of grace, dear friends.

Okay, let's open it up for any questions you have at this point. All of that makes sense to you? Did you stick with me? Okay. So, you, yes, Ella Sale, you have a question. Yep. Go ahead. I have to repeat it for the video, but that's okay. Go ahead. On repentance. Yeah. Yeah, I will actually be addressing that in our next session here. Okay, so we'll hold off till then.