““Lordship” SalvationLordship” Salvation

The Gospel According to JesusThe Gospel According to Jesus, (, (pg. 47pg. 47))John MacArthurJohn MacArthur

““The call to Calvary must be recognized for what it is: The call to Calvary must be recognized for what it is: a call to discipleship under the lordship of Jesus a call to discipleship under the lordship of Jesus ChristChrist. To respond to that call is to become a . To respond to that call is to become a believer. believer. Anything less is simply unbeliefAnything less is simply unbelief.”.”

Biblical BackdropBiblical Backdrop

1.1. Grace GospelGrace Gospel2.2. Assurance of SalvationAssurance of Salvation3.3. Grace vs. WorksGrace vs. Works4.4. The Troubling of a False GospelThe Troubling of a False Gospel5.5. The Confrontation of a False GospelThe Confrontation of a False Gospel

tete,lestaitete,lestai

““It is finished.”It is finished.”

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, (pp. 40-41)

“Dispensationalism is a fundamentally correct system of understanding God’s program through the ages. Its chief element is a recognition that God’s plan for Israel is not superseded by or swallowed up in His program for the church. Israel and the church are separate entities, and God will restore national Israel under the earthly rule of Jesus as Messiah. I accept and affirm that tenet, because it emerges from a consistently literal interpretation of Scripture (while still recognizing the presence of legitimate metaphor in the Bible). And in that regard, I consider myself a traditional premillennial dispensationalist.

“There is a tendency, however, for dispensationalists to get carried away with compartmentalizing truth to the point that they can make unbiblical differentiations.…The age of law/age of grace division in particular has wreaked havoc on dispensationalist theology and contributed to confusion about the doctrine of salvation.”

Lordship QuotesLordship Quotes

1.1. The GospelThe Gospel2.2. Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?3.3. Eternal Security/Assurance of SalvationEternal Security/Assurance of Salvation4.4. The Troubling of a Lordship GospelThe Troubling of a Lordship Gospel

Lordship QuotesLordship Quotes

1.1. The GospelThe Gospel2.2. Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?3.3. Eternal Security/Assurance of SalvationEternal Security/Assurance of Salvation4.4. The Troubling of a Lordship GospelThe Troubling of a Lordship Gospel

The GospelThe Gospel

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pp. 202 -203

“No passage in all of Scripture attacks modern-day easy-believism with more force than Matthew 7:13-14. It is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and it amounts to the Savior’s own presentation of the way of salvation… This passage crushes the claim of those who say the Sermon on the Mount is not gospel… Here, in the culmination of all He has said in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord requires that each person choose between following the world on the easy, well-traveled road or following Him on the difficult road. You will not find a plainer statement of the gospel according to Jesus anywhere in Scripture.”

The GospelThe Gospel

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pp. 202 -203

“No passage in all of Scripture attacks modern-day easy-believism with more force than Matthew 7:13-14. It is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and it amounts to the Savior’s own presentation of the way of salvation… This passage crushes the claim of those who say the Sermon on the Mount is not gospel… Here, in the culmination of all He has said in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord requires that each person choose between following the world on the easy, well-traveled road or following Him on the difficult road. You will not find a plainer statement of the gospel according to Jesus anywhere in Scripture.”

“Let me say unequivocally that Jesus’ summons to deny self and follow Him was an invitation to salvation, not an offer of a ‘higher life’ or a second step of faith following salvation. The contemporary teaching that separates discipleship from salvation springs from ideas that are foreign to Scripture. Every Christian is a disciple.” ibid, pg. 219

The GospelThe Gospel

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pp. 202 -203

“No passage in all of Scripture attacks modern-day easy-believism with more force than Matthew 7:13-14. It is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and it amounts to the Savior’s own presentation of the way of salvation… This passage crushes the claim of those who say the Sermon on the Mount is not gospel… Here, in the culmination of all He has said in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord requires that each person choose between following the world on the easy, well-traveled road or following Him on the difficult road. You will not find a plainer statement of the gospel according to Jesus anywhere in Scripture.”

“Let me say unequivocally that Jesus’ summons to deny self and follow Him was an invitation to salvation, not an offer of a ‘higher life’ or a second step of faith following salvation. The contemporary teaching that separates discipleship from salvation springs from ideas that are foreign to Scripture. Every Christian is a disciple.” ibid, pg. 219

 “The gospel according to Jesus is nothing like that. It represents Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and demands that those who would receive Him take Him for who He is. In the words of Puritan John Flavel, ‘The gospel offer of Christ includes all his offices, and gospel faith just so receives him; to submit to him, as well as to be redeemed by him; to imitate him in the holiness of his life, as well as to reap the purchases and fruits of his death. It must be an entire receiving of the Lord Jesus Christ.’” ibid, pg. 232

The GospelThe Gospel

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pg. 250

“One of the most comprehensive invitations to salvation in all the Epistles comes in James 4:7-10. While James directs most of his epistle to genuine believers, it is also evident that he is concerned about those who are not genuine… The invitation in 4:7-10 is directed at those who are not saved – guilty, wicked hearers of the Word who are not doers (cf. 1:21-22)… James calls these ‘sinners’ (a term used in Scripture only of the unregenerate) to turn from their pride and humble themselves. Ten imperatives delineate the commands in James’ call to sinners: submit yourself to God (salvation); resist the devil (transfer allegiance); draw near to God (intimacy of relationship); cleanse your hands (repentance); purify your hearts (confession); be miserable, mourn, weep, and let your laughter and joy be turned to gloom (sorrow). The final imperative summarizes the mentality of those who are converted: ‘Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord.’”  

The GospelThe Gospel

John MacArthur, Faith Works, pp. 199-204

“In this brief chapter, I want to focus on some crucial issues relating to the content of the message we are called to share with unbelievers. Specifically, if we want to articulate the gospel as precisely as possible, what are the points we need to make clear?•Teach them about God’s holiness.•Show them their sin.•Instruct them about Christ and what He has done.•Tell them what God demands of them. Repent, Turn, Trust.•Advise them to count the cost thoughtfully.”“… there is a sense in which following Christ – like joining the army – will cost you dearly. It can cost freedom, family, friends, autonomy, and possibly even your life. The job of the evangelist – like that of an army recruiter – is to tell potential inductees the full story. That is exactly why Jesus’ message was often so full of hard demands.”

The GospelThe Gospel

John MacArthur, Faith Works, pp. 199-204

“In this brief chapter, I want to focus on some crucial issues relating to the content of the message we are called to share with unbelievers. Specifically, if we want to articulate the gospel as precisely as possible, what are the points we need to make clear?•Teach them about God’s holiness.•Show them their sin.•Instruct them about Christ and what He has done.•Tell them what God demands of them. Repent, Turn, Trust.•Advise them to count the cost thoughtfully.”“… there is a sense in which following Christ – like joining the army – will cost you dearly. It can cost freedom, family, friends, autonomy, and possibly even your life. The job of the evangelist – like that of an army recruiter – is to tell potential inductees the full story. That is exactly why Jesus’ message was often so full of hard demands.”

J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God , pg. 73

“In our own presentation of Christ's gospel, therefore, we need to lay a similar stress on the cost of following Christ, and make sinners face it soberly before we urge them to respond to the message of free forgiveness. In common honesty, we must not conceal the fact that free forgiveness in one sense will cost everything.”

Lordship QuotesLordship Quotes

1.1. The GospelThe Gospel2.2. Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?3.3. Eternal Security/Assurance of SalvationEternal Security/Assurance of Salvation4.4. The Troubling of a Lordship GospelThe Troubling of a Lordship Gospel

Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pp. 46-47

“[Those who reject lordship salvation] assume that because Scripture contrasts faith and works, faith must be incompatible with works. They set faith in opposition to submission, yieldedness, or turning from sin, and they characterize all the practical elements of salvation as human works. They stumble over the twin truths that salvation is a free gift, yet it costs everything. Those ideas are paradoxical, but they are not mutually exclusive….Salvation is a gift, but it is appropriated through a faith that goes beyond merely understanding and assenting to the truth.”

Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pp. 46-47

“[Those who reject lordship salvation] assume that because Scripture contrasts faith and works, faith must be incompatible with works. They set faith in opposition to submission, yieldedness, or turning from sin, and they characterize all the practical elements of salvation as human works. They stumble over the twin truths that salvation is a free gift, yet it costs everything. Those ideas are paradoxical, but they are not mutually exclusive….Salvation is a gift, but it is appropriated through a faith that goes beyond merely understanding and assenting to the truth.”  “Eternal life is indeed a free gift (Romans 6:23). Salvation cannot be earned with good deeds or secured with money. It has already been bought by Christ, who paid the ransom with His blood. He has purchased full atonement for all who believe. There is nothing left to pay, no possibility that our own works can be meritorious. But that does not mean there is no cost in terms of salvation’s impact on the sinner’s life. Do not throw away this paradox just because it is difficult. 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.”

ibid, pp.148-149

Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?

John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, pg. 150

Regarding the Parable of the Pearl, Matthew 13:45-46…

“Again, that is a perfect picture of saving faith. Someone who truly believes in Christ does not hedge bets. Having counted the cost, the true believer gladly gives everything for Christ.

“Moses counted the cost (Heb. 11:26)… He gave up spectacular worldly wealth in order to suffer for Christ’s sake. To the Egyptians in Pharaoh’s court, it must have seemed he was trading riches for reproach. But Moses knew that he was really trading Egypt for a heavenly reward. He gave up incredible wealth without a second thought, because he understood the priceless value of the kingdom of heaven.

“That is the kind of response the Lord Jesus called for: wholehearted commitment. A desire for Him at any cost. Unconditional surrender. A full exchange of self for the Savior. It is the only response that will open the gates of the kingdom. Seen through the eyes of this world, it is as high a price as anyone can pay. But from a kingdom perspective, it is really no sacrifice at all.”

Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?

John MacArthur, Faith Works, pg. 177

“We have been justified, we are being sanctified, and we shall be glorified. No true believer will miss out on any stage of the process, though in this life we all find ourselves at different points along the way. This truth has been known historically as the perseverance of the saints. No doctrine has been more savaged by no-lordship theology. That is to be expected, because the doctrine of perseverance is antithetical to the entire no-lordship system. In fact, what they have pejoratively labeled ‘lordship salvation’ is nothing but this very doctrine!”

Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?

John MacArthur, Hard to Believe, pg. 9

“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 our families, separate from the world, separate from the material things we possess, then Jesus isn’t that important to us. It’s an all-or-nothing proposition.” “The complete surrender of all possessions is the essence of salvation. It is, ‘I give up everything. I deny myself. I offer my life, both in terms of death, if need be, and in terms of obedience in life.’” ibid, pg. 16 “Salvation for sinners cost God His own Son; it cost God’s Son His life, and it will cost you the same thing.” ibid, pg. 93 

Salvation—Grace or Works?Salvation—Grace or Works?

John H. GerstnerWrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism, pg. 210

“From the essential truth that no sinner in himself can merit salvation, the antinomian draws the erroneous conclusion that good works need not even accompany faith in the saint. The question is not whether good works are necessary to salvation, but in what way are they necessary. As the inevitable outworking of saving faith, they are necessary for salvation…Thus, good works may be said to be a condition for obtaining salvation in that they inevitably accompany genuine faith. Good works, while a necessary complement of true faith, are never the meritorious grounds of justification, of acceptance before God. ”