There are always two ditches on the side of the road that the driver ought to be aware of, and likewise there are multiple sets of opposing ditches within professing Christendom. One set of ditches that I would like to address today is the ditch of antinomianism and the opposing ditch of legalism. Today they have popped up with new names, and often go under the headings of ‘easy believism’ and ‘lordship salvation’, each one being an over-correction in an attempt to prevent heading into the opposing ditch. The ditch of choice being most loudly promoted today is that of lordship salvation, so it is that ditch which I will attempt to deal with.
‘Submitting to Christ as Lord’, or’ making Christ Lord of all your life’ are common terms within the lordship group, but what exactly are these terms trying to invoke? I believe the answer lies in this direction. The better part of restraining grace being absent from them, lordship salvation proponents must take it upon themselves to invent one. What they refer to as ’submitting to Christ as Lord’, is their effort of hanging fruit on a dead tree to give the appearance of life. Oh foolish trees…..who prefer slavery to husbandry, who would rather be Hagar’s than Sarah’s, who would rather have duties than desires! They know not that ‘thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name’.
The submission to a Lord is very different than to that of a husband, which is why many will submit to Christ as Lord (Matt 7:21), who have yet to receive Him as husband (Rev 21:9). The former is similar to the submission of Islam or Romanism, the latter is that of the Bride of Christ. In life many people call me by my name, and some will even submit to the tasks I require of them, yet it is only my wife who can claim me as ‘husband’. The former may attempt duties out of obligation, or in hopes of a favour returned, yet they never reach the intimacy of the marriage relationship. This is to show that others may ‘submit to me as lord’, or call me lord, or some other such thing, but ONLY my bride can claim me as her husband. Are our wills perfectly aligned? No! Do we always agree? No! Does she always do my will? No! Does that make her any less my wife? No! The difference is that whether or not the ability to perform the things is there, the desire for that most intimate of communion is there! This desire for the very person of Christ is love, and it covers a multitude of sins. To stop at a Lordship type of salvation, leaves one terribly short of the husbandship of Christ (1 Cor 16:22). Stay on the road!
Hosea 2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi (my husband); and shalt call me no more Baali (my Lord).
Thank you Lee for this post. In a nutshell you summed it up, perfectly than I am ever able to do! We are children of the free woman! We are no longer under the yoke of slavery, but we are free. Oh the riches of Christ! But we do not use our freedom as provision for the flesh. Instead we long and desire to walk in the Spirit, we obey because we LOVE HIM! Thats whats missing in the Lordship theology.
I obey and submit to my husband because I love him, more importantly I love God. Is it esay to obey, No? But love perfects my submission and obediance to my husband. Do I always do what he desires for me to, No? BUT my greatest desire is to please him. I do not submit to the lordship of my husband, for he is my head and my lord, thats who he is to me, my lord. As Sarah obeyed Abraham, because she loved Abraham.
Its the same with our Lord Jesus Christ, our greatest desire is sweet communion with Him, because He first loved us, we then love Him. We are free, we are children of promise, we are owned by Christ! How I wish Lordship advocates would understand that! Instead anyone who denies this unbiblical doctrine of submitting to Christ as Lord somehow automatically becomes of the easy believism doctrine! Why desire to be under bondage again?
As you said “They know not that ‘thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name’. Amen!
May I just add, if my husband and I did not love each other, If I had no love for him at all, if I did not know the joy of being his wife, then I am afraid I would have no choice but to submit to him as Lord and surrender to his lordship, which would be bondage!
Lordship advocates believe their way is the narrow way, when in fact it too is very broad. The really narrow way lies BETWEEN the ditches of Lordship and antinomianism (easy believism), but it often seems as narrow as a razor’s edge. It is the road least travelled between the ditches of spiritual harlotry and spiritual slavery. Lordship advocates justify themselves by hurling grenades at the antinomians on the other side, yet they fail to realize they themselves are only in an opposing ditch. The narrow path between harlotry and slavery, is husbandry; this is the path for the bride of Christ, and we ought to shout from the rooftops “this is the way, walk ye in it!”
Lordship salvation is so confusing, they advocate freedom, but imply a form of works. A believer will be on an emotional roller coaster. Feeling good one moment and then find themselves at the bottom and then determine if they are even a christian. It’s like you are trying to juggle, you have freedom…feeling good. But then you wonder, “do I bear the proper fruit…am I even bearing fruit?” Then they tell you, there no condemnation in Christ. Then you feel good again…but you can’t feel to good because to much liberty might be an excuse to be sinful! Then you find yourself slipping into sin, feeling crushed because you walk off the straight line. So they tell you 1 John 1:9 and to walk in the spirit for where the spirit is there is liberty. So your back to square one. Then you start walking in liberty again. Feeling good about yourself…but not to good though. Then again, maybe to much liberty is bad…not being holy enough, pious enough. I had a bad thought, I was angry towards my wife or co worker…shoot!!! I need to submit to His Lordship so I can have complete victory and joy…they it starts all over again.
Yes Mike.
It comes down to these:
“Whom do you love?”, not, “Whom do you love perfectly?” else none would be saved, for the service of self may rise up in the best.
“Whom do you trust?”, not, “Whom do you trust perfectly?” else none would be saved, for doubt may rise up in the best.
Though desires toward perfection in these matters abound in the Christian we have to wait for heaven for a love and trust in perfection!
Mike could not agree with you more! For me it became so confusing that one night I cried to God to just show me truth! I got to a point where I was like Lord I need to know if all these things I am listening to a true. I was in a ditch, the doctrines I was hearing from my most trusted bible teachers left me confused. All I knew was when I got saved, I became aware that I was a sinner, I was grieved in my heart like never before, then I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I felt peace I had never known in my heart, I was forgiven.
Now, I never remember dealing with the Lordship of Christ or making Him my Lord or Surrendering to Him as Lord. Never did I do that.
All I knew was Jesus was now my Lord, I was His and my greatest desire was Him! I did not need to DO anything about His diety to know that I was truely saved….
Lordship Salvation teaching is not only dangerous in that it decieves many who think they are on the right path, but it also confuses new believers to the point of doubting their salvation. But God is always faithful to deliever us out of misleading doctrines.
Jean
You wrote:
“For me it became so confusing that one night I cried to God to just show me truth! I got to a point where I was like Lord I need to know if all these things I am listening to a true. I was in a ditch, the doctrines I was hearing from my most trusted bible teachers left me confused.”
That is the way most believers come to Christ in this era of great apostasy. That is very similar to how I came as well.
Jean wrote:
“For me it became so confusing that one night I cried to God to just show me truth! I got to a point where I was like Lord I need to know if all these things I am listening to a true. I was in a ditch, the doctrines I was hearing from my most trusted bible teachers left me confused.”
So..So true!! I too have walked this walk and still continue to walk it. I was one who listened and believed because they have large ministries, many Christians who upheld them and followed them. They went to seminary..wrote countless books, have large successful ministries. I was told that we must obey and submit to our leaders who rule over us (heb 13:17) I began to ask myself why do I believe or disbelief certain doctrines, subjects that are controversial? Is it because I follow more of the man than what the bible says? Do I look to the word first before what another man says. Truth maybe that whatever scripture shows me may still line up with the popular leaders in Christianity? But what if it doesn’t? Am I unstable now in my faith. I can’t be right if one that has many years of training in the scriptures…can I? There is a popular teacher and preacher..he always says if we come to a crossroad in scripture compare it to 2000 years of church history. So what ever the majority agrees with, we should have confidence in that. There is truth to that, but to me that is still dangerous.
mike