Lordship Salvation is a false doctrine.

Neostarwcc

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I know what all of you must be in shocked awe. A Calvinist that is against Lordship salvation. Yes. A true faith will ALWAYS have repentance and works which involve obedience.

But the very act of saying that decipleship to Jesus is required for inital salvation is wrong. There is only one requirement for salvation and there always have been. Faith and our faith alone. A true faith will always have repentance, a true faith will always have works. A true faith cannot and will not be broken by ANYTHING. John puts it way greater than any theologian ever could when he said "They went out from us, because they didn't belong to us for if they belonged to us they would have remained with us."

A true God given faith, is ETERNAL. I know what some of you are saying, there! He's teaching Lordship Salvation because he's saying we should have obedience to Christ! Yes, I am. But all of that comes AFTER salvation. The difference between Sproul and McArthur is, McArthur teaches that you have to obey Christ to be saved not after.

Sproul isn't alone though, the truly reformed church NEVER for over 500 years believed that Lordship to Christ was a requirement of salvation. Discipleship is a FRUIT of salvation not a requirement. Therein lies the difference. Salvation is by faith alone but that faith is never alone.
 

Jesus is YHWH

my Lord and my God !
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I know what all of you must be in shocked awe. A Calvinist that is against Lordship salvation. Yes. A true faith will ALWAYS have repentance and works which involve obedience.

But the very act of saying that decipleship to Jesus is required for inital salvation is wrong. There is only one requirement for salvation and there always have been. Faith and our faith alone. A true faith will always have repentance, a true faith will always have works. A true faith cannot and will not be broken by ANYTHING. John puts it way greater than any theologian ever could when he said "They went out from us, because they didn't belong to us for if they belonged to us they would have remained with us."

A true God given faith, is ETERNAL. I know what some of you are saying, there! He's teaching Lordship Salvation because he's saying we should have obedience to Christ! Yes, I am. But all of that comes AFTER salvation. The difference between Sproul and McArthur is, McArthur teaches that you have to obey Christ to be saved not after.

Sproul isn't alone though, the truly reformed church NEVER for over 500 years believed that Lordship to Christ was a requirement of salvation. Discipleship is a FRUIT of salvation not a requirement. Therein lies the difference. Salvation is by faith alone but that faith is never alone.
Here is a newsflash. Jesus is Lord.

When Jesus carried His cross up Golgotha to be crucified, no one was thinking of the cross as symbolic of a burden to carry. To a person in the first-century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by the most painful and humiliating means human beings could develop.

Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day, the cross represented nothing but torturous death. Because the Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion, bearing a cross meant carrying their own execution device while facing ridicule along the way to death.

Therefore, “Take up your cross and follow Me” means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless.

When Jesus began teaching that He was going to die at the hands of the Jewish leaders and their Gentile overlords (Luke 9:22), His popularity sank. Many of the shocked followers rejected Him. Truly, they were not able to put to death their own ideas, plans, and desires, and exchange them for His.

Following Jesus is easy when life runs smoothly; our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. Jesus assured us that trials will come to His followers (John 16:33). Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost.

In Luke 9:57-62, three people seemed willing to follow Jesus. When Jesus questioned them further, their commitment was half-hearted at best. They failed to count the cost of following Him. None was willing to take up his cross and crucify upon it his own interests.

Therefore, Jesus appeared to dissuade them. How different from the typical Gospel presentation! How many people would respond to an altar call that went, “Come follow Jesus, and you may face the loss of friends, family, reputation, career, and possibly even your life”? The number of false converts would likely decrease! Such a call is what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these questions:

• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means alienation from your family?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means the loss of your reputation?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your life?

In some places of the world, these consequences are reality. But notice the questions are phrased, “Are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean all these things will happen to you, but are you willing to take up your cross? If there comes a point in your life where you are faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which will you choose?

Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the price. Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift of life in Christ: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25-26).got questions

The Great Commission

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So being a disciple is not an option its the beginning point in the great commission. One cannot be a follower of Jesus without being His Disciple. A Disciple is the starting point of a believer, a christian.

Who is the Lord ?

Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28). From then on, the apostles’ message was that Jesus is Lord, meaning “Jesus is God.” Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost contained that theme: “Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). Later, in Cornelius’s house, Peter declared that Jesus is “Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). Note how in Romans 10:9 Jesus’ lordship is linked to His resurrection: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The statement “Jesus is Lord” means that Jesus is God. Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). He is Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). He is “our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4). He is, in fact, the Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14).

Jesus referred to Himself as “Lord” many times (e.g., Luke 19:31; John 13:13). And when we compare the Old Testament with the New, we find several times when the “LORD” (Yahweh) of the Hebrew Bible is equated with the “Lord Jesus” by the apostles. For example, Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good,” and that passage is alluded to in 1 Peter 2:3, except there Jesus is the “Lord” who is good. Isaiah 8:13 says that “the LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy”; in 1 Peter 3:15 we are commanded, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” (ESV).

Amazingly, the Lord Jesus left His exalted position in heaven and came to earth to save us. In His Incarnation, He showed us what true meekness looks like (see Matthew 11:29). Just before His arrest, Jesus used His power and authority to teach us humility: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). The last will be first, according to our Lord (Matthew 19:30).

In saying, “Jesus is Lord,” we commit ourselves to obey Him. Jesus asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). An acknowledgement of Jesus’ lordship is logically accompanied by a submission to Jesus’ authority. If Jesus is Lord, then He owns us; He has the right to tell us what to do.

A person who says, “Jesus is Lord,” with a full understanding of what that means (Jesus is God and has supreme authority over all things) has been divinely enlightened: “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Faith in the Lord Jesus is required for salvation (Acts 16:31).

Jesus is Lord. It’s the truth, whether or not people acknowledge the fact. He is more than the Messiah, more than the Savior; He is the Lord of all. Someday, all will submit to that truth: “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).got?

Cheap Grace !

The term “cheap grace” can be traced back to a book written by German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, called The Cost of Discipleship, published in 1937. In that book, Bonhoeffer defined “cheap grace” as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.” Notice what is emphasized in Bonhoeffer’s definition of cheap grace and what is de-emphasized. The emphasis is on the benefits of Christianity without the costs involved; hence, the adjective cheap to describe it.

Jesus, in His Great Commission to the 11 remaining disciples, commanded them to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them (Matthew 28:19-20). Evangelism and discipleship go hand in hand. A disciple is one who observes (keeps, obeys) all that Jesus has commanded. There is no two-stage process in Christianity—first, be saved; then become a disciple. This arbitrary distinction is foreign to the New Testament and therefore foreign to Christianity.

To play off the title of Bonhoeffer’s book, let’s look at what Jesus said to His disciples about discipleship in Luke 14:25-33. In that passage, Jesus says to the crowds that no one can be His disciple unless they first hate their family (v. 26). Furthermore, the one who cannot bear his own cross cannot be His disciple (v. 27). Two conditions are given by Jesus in order to be His disciple. The first is to be willing to renounce family in order to follow Jesus. The second is to be willing to die, both literally and metaphorically (“die to self”) in order to follow Jesus. Jesus then gives two examples of “counting the cost.” The first is an example of a man who desires to build a tower without first counting the cost of building the tower. After realizing he cannot complete it, he gives up in shame and embarrassment. The second is that of a king preparing to go to battle and making sure he can defend against the superior foe. The point Jesus is making is that discipleship has a cost.

Furthermore, discipleship requires repentance and obedience. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the message He preached was a message of repentance (Matthew 4:17). The message of the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension was also one of repentance (Acts 2:38). Along with repentance comes obedience. Jesus told a crowd of listeners that salvation and obedience go hand in hand: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus then goes on to differentiate the one who builds his house on the sand from the one who builds his house on the rock, that is, the man who not only hears the words of Jesus, but does them, too.

Cheap grace seeks to hide the cost of discipleship from people. It seeks to claim that as long as we make a profession of faith, we are saved. God’s grace covers all our sins. Again, that is a wonderful truth! The apostle Paul says as much when he writes, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20-21). Yet, right after writing that, Paul follows it with this: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). Salvation by grace alone through faith alone is so much more than simply mouthing the words “Jesus is Lord.” We are not saved by a profession of faith. We are not saved by praying the Sinner’s Prayer. We are not saved by signing a card or walking an aisle. We are saved by a living and active faith (James 2:14-26), a faith that manifests itself in repentance, obedience and love of God and our neighbor. Salvation is not a transaction; it’s a transformation. Paul says it best when he says we are “new creations” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is nothing “cheap” about grace! got?


hope this helps !!!
 
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Soyeong

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I know what all of you must be in shocked awe. A Calvinist that is against Lordship salvation. Yes. A true faith will ALWAYS have repentance and works which involve obedience.

But the very act of saying that decipleship to Jesus is required for inital salvation is wrong. There is only one requirement for salvation and there always have been. Faith and our faith alone. A true faith will always have repentance, a true faith will always have works. A true faith cannot and will not be broken by ANYTHING. John puts it way greater than any theologian ever could when he said "They went out from us, because they didn't belong to us for if they belonged to us they would have remained with us."

A true God given faith, is ETERNAL. I know what some of you are saying, there! He's teaching Lordship Salvation because he's saying we should have obedience to Christ! Yes, I am. But all of that comes AFTER salvation. The difference between Sproul and McArthur is, McArthur teaches that you have to obey Christ to be saved not after.

Sproul isn't alone though, the truly reformed church NEVER for over 500 years believed that Lordship to Christ was a requirement of salvation. Discipleship is a FRUIT of salvation not a requirement. Therein lies the difference. Salvation is by faith alone but that faith is never alone.

In Romans 10:4-8, Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness for everyone who has faith. This faith references Deuteronomy 30:11-16 in regard to saying that God's law is not too difficult to obey, that the one who obeys it will attain life by it, and in regard to what it means to submit to Jesus as Lord. In Romans 10:9, for if we confess with out mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, then we will be saved, so we need to confess that Jesus is Lord before we can be saved. In Titus 2:11-14, it does not say that once we are saved, then we will be trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, but rather is describes our salvation as being trained by grace to do those things. Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4), so it is contradictory to try to remove the need to live in obedience to God's law from the concept of being saved from living in transgression of God's law. Being saved from missing the mark involves hitting the mark. It is contradictory to say that faith is never alone while arguing that there was an initial point where it was alone.
 
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Junia

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I know what all of you must be in shocked awe. A Calvinist that is against Lordship salvation. Yes. A true faith will ALWAYS have repentance and works which involve obedience.

But the very act of saying that decipleship to Jesus is required for inital salvation is wrong. There is only one requirement for salvation and there always have been. Faith and our faith alone. A true faith will always have repentance, a true faith will always have works. A true faith cannot and will not be broken by ANYTHING. John puts it way greater than any theologian ever could when he said "They went out from us, because they didn't belong to us for if they belonged to us they would have remained with us."

A true God given faith, is ETERNAL. I know what some of you are saying, there! He's teaching Lordship Salvation because he's saying we should have obedience to Christ! Yes, I am. But all of that comes AFTER salvation. The difference between Sproul and McArthur is, McArthur teaches that you have to obey Christ to be saved not after.

Sproul isn't alone though, the truly reformed church NEVER for over 500 years believed that Lordship to Christ was a requirement of salvation. Discipleship is a FRUIT of salvation not a requirement. Therein lies the difference. Salvation is by faith alone but that faith is never alone.

Amen! Am not a Calvinist but I agree

God saved !e in my sin..as I was. Like the thief on the cross. But as I started to follow Him I started to change
 
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Junia

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The only reason anyone of us is saved is because we trusted in Jesus and His finished work on the cross...

that is the but that qualifies us for heaven. All who have that bit are saved.

but after we saved God wants us to star living For His kingdom! and he calls is to surrender , often step by step, our lives to Hi! so He can use the! As He pleases

Sanctification is a process. It is becoming !it's and more like Jesus, forsaking things which are not loving Jesus or our neighbour (that is what sin is in the covenant we are under) e.g. Gossip, lying, i idol wor ship,.greed etc
 
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Soyeong

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The only reason anyone of us is saved is because we trusted in Jesus and His finished work on the cross...

that is the but that qualifies us for heaven. All who have that bit are saved.

but after we saved God wants us to star living For His kingdom! and he calls is to surrender , often step by step, our lives to Hi! so He can use the! As He pleases

Sanctification is a process. It is becoming !it's and more like Jesus, forsaking things which are not loving Jesus or our neighbour (that is what sin is in the covenant we are under) e.g. Gossip, lying, i idol wor ship,.greed etc

In Titus 2:11-14, it describes our salvation as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, which is what God's law was given to instruct how to do, and Jesus set an example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to God's law, so our salvation that is being made to be more like him looks like obedience to God's law. In Titus 2:14, it describes the work that Jesus finished on the cross by saying that he gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law is what it looks like to trust in Christ's finished work on the cross (Acts 21:20).

There are no Christians in Heaven because they.did good works, it is the other way round. We do good works because we believe and are saved.
Doing good works is what it looks like to believe that we are being saved from not doing good works.
 
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Neostarwcc

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In Titus 2:11-14, it describes our salvation as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, which is what God's law was given to instruct how to do, and Jesus set an example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to God's law, so our salvation that is being made to be more like him looks like obedience to God's law. In Titus 2:14, it describes the work that Jesus finished on the cross by saying that he gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law is what it looks like to trust in Christ's finished work on the cross (Acts 21:20).


Doing good works is what it looks like to believe that we are being saved from not doing good works.

Oh yes naturally! But this comes AFTER we are saved and are not prerequisites to our salvation. The bible says over and over again. Salvation is by faith and by faith alone.
 
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Soyeong

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Oh yes naturally! But this comes AFTER we are saved and are not prerequisites to our salvation. The bible says over and over again. Salvation is by faith and by faith alone.

In Titus 2:11-14 does not say that we are trained by grace to do those things after we are saved, but rather it describes our salvation as being trained by grace to do those things, so God graciously training us to do those things is itself part of the content of God's free gift of salvation. Our salvation is from sin and sin is the transgression of God's law, so being trained by grace to live in obedience to God's law through faith is what Jesus saving us from from living in transgression of God's law looks like. To use an analogy, if a professional musician were to teach me how to play an instrument as a free gift to me, then their training itself would be the content of their free gift and participating in that training would be doing nothing to earn it, but rather that is what it would look like to receive it. In Romans 1:5, we have received grace in order to bring about the obedience of faith, and in Psalms 119:29, David wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, so again that is part of the free gift of salvation and that is what being saved by faith alone looks like.
 
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Lifelong_sinner

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hello. this topic has confused me. i believe that calvinism is true, but i dont think im saved. i have tried and tried to repent and live better, but i just cant. i keep sinning the same sins day after day. i do believe in Lordship salvation, but i just dont believe you can sin like i do and call yourself saved.
 
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Hmm

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i believe that calvinism is true, but i dont think im saved.

Just out of interest, why do you believe Calvanism is true?

i just dont believe you can sin like i do and call yourself saved.

We're all lifelong sinners though aren't we? Isn't intention important here. You're obviously not rejoicing in your sin so don't be too hard on yourself.
 
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Neostarwcc

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hello. this topic has confused me. i believe that calvinism is true, but i dont think im saved. i have tried and tried to repent and live better, but i just cant. i keep sinning the same sins day after day. i do believe in Lordship salvation, but i just dont believe you can sin like i do and call yourself saved.

Sorry I was confusing. Feeling guilt for your sins is normal, its a sign that the Holy Spirit is working in you. Repentance and faith have always been the way to salvation. Dont fret God is with you.

Jesus died a death to pay for what we couldn't possibly pay on our own. He lived a perfect life and died for all of our sins past, present and future. You are technically forgiven no matter how much you sin. Yes, repentance is a requirement for salvation but we sin because we are sinners by nature. Give the Holy Spirit time to work in you and you'll notice that you'll sin less and less until the day where you'll never sin against God ever again.
 
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d taylor

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lordship salvation and calvinism say basically the same about a person and how they receive salvation.
Both say a person must repent, both say that a true faith will have works.

And i am guessing they both say if a person falls away they were never saved to begin with.

Really all groups say basically the same message for salvation, works before faith or works after faith, if not, then the faith is not true. Others may add baptism, etc... to their message

The only group that departs from this work before or work after salvation message, is the free grace believers, the one group that teaches a true faith in the Messiah for Gods free gift of Eternal Life. That is not accompanied by any other action by a person.
 
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Gregory Thompson

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I know what all of you must be in shocked awe. A Calvinist that is against Lordship salvation. Yes. A true faith will ALWAYS have repentance and works which involve obedience.

But the very act of saying that decipleship to Jesus is required for inital salvation is wrong. There is only one requirement for salvation and there always have been. Faith and our faith alone. A true faith will always have repentance, a true faith will always have works. A true faith cannot and will not be broken by ANYTHING. John puts it way greater than any theologian ever could when he said "They went out from us, because they didn't belong to us for if they belonged to us they would have remained with us."

A true God given faith, is ETERNAL. I know what some of you are saying, there! He's teaching Lordship Salvation because he's saying we should have obedience to Christ! Yes, I am. But all of that comes AFTER salvation. The difference between Sproul and McArthur is, McArthur teaches that you have to obey Christ to be saved not after.

Sproul isn't alone though, the truly reformed church NEVER for over 500 years believed that Lordship to Christ was a requirement of salvation. Discipleship is a FRUIT of salvation not a requirement. Therein lies the difference. Salvation is by faith alone but that faith is never alone.
The saying "Jesus is Lord" was originally contrasted with the demand to say "Caesar is Lord" with the expectation that you would be executed if you replied with any other statement than "Caesar is Lord."

Therefore, the common day idea that this means to obey what the preacher tells you in order to be saved, is quite perverse and takes away from the original point.

This point is that without the Holy Spirit no one could say "Jesus is Lord" in it's original context.
 
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ViaCrucis

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From a Lutheran perspective the "Lordship salvation" thing as taught by folks like MacArthur is certainly problematic, but we also recognize that the root of the problem is a confusion over the third use of the Law.

Namely the historic "third use of the Law" refers to the fact that God's Law remains as a true doctrine by which we, now regenerate in Christ, ought to conduct ourselves in this life. That we ought to be obedient to God, doing as He has commanded, with love toward our neighbor.

Where this matter has become one of contention, and where the Lutheran Confessions aim to be as crystal clear as possible so as to avoid even the possibility of confusion; is that the third use of the Law is not about our righteousness before God, but our righteousness before the world. The Law renders no man just or righteous before God, but rather condemns men as sinners (this is the second use of the Law). Thus the Law establishes what sorts of lives one ought to lead by faith, not as justification or righteousness before God, but as justification or righteousness before our fellow man. The third use of the Law is not about us getting right with God, but our getting right with our neighbor. The Law does not, and cannot make us right with God, only God makes us right, justifies us, by His grace, through faith, on Christ's account alone.

Therefore any attempt to transform the third use of the Law into a doctrine of righteousness before God (righteousness coram Deo, that righteousness by which men are made right with God) is a perversion of doctrine.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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Lifelong_sinner

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my personal belief in calvinism is that Jesus never made mention that becoming a true christian was easy. i find calvinism reminds of just how terrible a person i really am. i do find assurance difficult as a calvinist, but thats a good thing i think. it keeps me grounded of how much repentance i should do, and i personally feel that so terrible a person am i that i should suffer daily for it. i view the christian suffering as my joy. life isnt easy nor should it be as joy only comes from being allowed in Heaven.
 
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Soyeong

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From a Lutheran perspective the "Lordship salvation" thing as taught by folks like MacArthur is certainly problematic, but we also recognize that the root of the problem is a confusion over the third use of the Law.

Namely the historic "third use of the Law" refers to the fact that God's Law remains as a true doctrine by which we, now regenerate in Christ, ought to conduct ourselves in this life. That we ought to be obedient to God, doing as He has commanded, with love toward our neighbor.

Where this matter has become one of contention, and where the Lutheran Confessions aim to be as crystal clear as possible so as to avoid even the possibility of confusion; is that the third use of the Law is not about our righteousness before God, but our righteousness before the world. The Law renders no man just or righteous before God, but rather condemns men as sinners (this is the second use of the Law). Thus the Law establishes what sorts of lives one ought to lead by faith, not as justification or righteousness before God, but as justification or righteousness before our fellow man. The third use of the Law is not about us getting right with God, but our getting right with our neighbor. The Law does not, and cannot make us right with God, only God makes us right, justifies us, by His grace, through faith, on Christ's account alone.

Therefore any attempt to transform the third use of the Law into a doctrine of righteousness before God (righteousness coram Deo, that righteousness by which men are made right with God) is a perversion of doctrine.

-CryptoLutheran

God's righteous laws reveal God's righteousness and teach us how to testify about His righteousness through faith, but were not given as a means of establishing our own righteousness either before man or God.
 
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fhansen

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I know what all of you must be in shocked awe. A Calvinist that is against Lordship salvation. Yes. A true faith will ALWAYS have repentance and works which involve obedience.

But the very act of saying that decipleship to Jesus is required for inital salvation is wrong. There is only one requirement for salvation and there always have been. Faith and our faith alone. A true faith will always have repentance, a true faith will always have works. A true faith cannot and will not be broken by ANYTHING. John puts it way greater than any theologian ever could when he said "They went out from us, because they didn't belong to us for if they belonged to us they would have remained with us."

A true God given faith, is ETERNAL. I know what some of you are saying, there! He's teaching Lordship Salvation because he's saying we should have obedience to Christ! Yes, I am. But all of that comes AFTER salvation. The difference between Sproul and McArthur is, McArthur teaches that you have to obey Christ to be saved not after.

Sproul isn't alone though, the truly reformed church NEVER for over 500 years believed that Lordship to Christ was a requirement of salvation. Discipleship is a FRUIT of salvation not a requirement. Therein lies the difference. Salvation is by faith alone but that faith is never alone.
It’s both/and. Because salvation is a gift, but a gift we must accept and act upon every day of our lives. It’s the gift of God, Himself, to us. Now we must live and act like His children, with His help. The gift can always be rejected.
 
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