What About These Verses?
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When defending their unfounded beliefs, such as “repenting of sin” for salvation or the idea that one can lose salvation, Lordship Salvationists resort to using Bible verses that they have misinterpreted and taken out of context. They must do this, since Scripture does not agree with them unless they pervert it. Oftentimes, they will point you to Scripture that is directed at those already saved. These verses encourage true believers to live right because they are already saved and so it is the proper thing to do. But keep in mind that salvation has already occurred. Lordship Salvationists enjoy placing a load of work on the lost person by telling them they must change their lifestyle before God will accept them. That is a lie straight from Satan. Satan knows that salvation is a free gift (Romans 5:15), and he hates it! He works tirelessly to make salvation impossible through people like Lordship Salvationists, who also perpetuate the lie that salvation can be lost. Let’s take a look at some examples of Scripture that this crowd likes to abuse.
Romans 6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
In the preceding verses, the apostle Paul was addressing believers in Rome, who were saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Lordship Salvation heretics will say “See? A Christian cannot sin! If you continue to sin, you are not saved!”
What they will not tell you is that in the three previous chapters of the book of Romans, Paul dealt with the subject of salvation. Those chapters were spent explaining that all are sinners, guilty before God by means of the law (the Ten Commandments), salvation is a gift of God, and that righteousness is recorded to the file of one who has believed on Jesus Christ. Once Paul has thoroughly established these concepts, he moves on to other teachings for those who are already saved. Paul started with the subject of salvation, because that must be settled first. This is what Paul referred to in 1st Corinthians 3:10-15:
“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
Essentially, Paul compares himself to a construction worker. As Paul traveled, preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles (those who were not Jews), he presented them with the good news about Jesus Christ. Those who believed the Gospel and were saved now had a foundation. Another teacher could come and build on that. The person who was saved could also build on it. The important thing to remember is that the foundation must be Jesus Christ. What is built on that foundation will either last, if it is good, or it will fade, if it is bad. Regardless, the foundation itself will remain, because the foundation is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who is faithful.
1st Corinthians 1:9: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Getting back to the Scripture in question, with what we have just learned, take another look at Romans 6:1-2:
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Does this passage teach that a person who has been saved cannot sin anymore? No. Does it teach that if one who has been saved continues to sin, then they were never truly saved? No. But that is what the Lordship Salvation crowd wants you to believe. So what is this passage of Scripture actually teaching? Let’s look at a few other verses to get an understanding.
Romans 6:2 states that believers are “dead to sin”. Does that mean that believers can no longer sin?
1st John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Romans 7:17: “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”
Both of the preceding verses were speaking of believers, the first of Christians in general, the second of the apostle Paul. So if Christians can and do still sin, then what is “dead to sin” referring to? Christians are not dead to the act of sinning. They are dead to the curse of sin. In reality, there are two curses caused by sin. The first is death, and everyone dies.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
Adam’s sin resulted in death, which came upon him and all of his descendants, because all have sinned. There is still a second curse, and that is Hell.
Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
This brings us to the law, or the Ten Commandments. The law was written in order to make people aware of their sin (Romans 3:19). The law itself, or the keeping of the law, cannot save anyone (Romans 3:20). The law is what gives sin its power, by declaring sin to be the wicked thing that it is.
Romans 7:13: “Was then that which is good (the law) made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good (the law); that sin by the commandment (the law) might become exceeding sinful.”
Romans 7:8: “But sin, taking occasion (opportunity) by the commandment (the law), wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.”
Romans 7:11: “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it (the law) slew me.”
So in a sense, the law is what brings about condemnation. The law is what defines sin, and thus there would be no sin without the law (Romans 7:7). Remember the phrase “dead to sin”? Look at the following verse:
Romans 7:4: “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
Christians are dead to the law, which is why they are dead to sin. Christians still sin, but because they are dead to the law, sin no longer holds the same curse as before. Again, the law empowers sin. If the law is taken away, then sin has no power. Jesus Christ has made believers free from the law.
Romans 7:6: “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
Galatians 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Made free from the law, believers on Jesus Christ are no longer subject to the curse that sin once held over them.
Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
Sin is no longer the master of one who has believed on Jesus Christ, because a believer is not under the law anymore, but under God’s grace (mercy). One who does not believe on Jesus is still under the law, while a believer has been set free from this law which can never be kept. Because of this newfound freedom, a believer should no longer serve sin, but should strive to serve Jesus Christ instead.
Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him (Jesus), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Paul says that a person’s old self is crucified with Christ when that person becomes saved. Therefore, that person is no longer a slave to the curse of sin. Since a believer is no longer under the rule of that curse, they should not act like they still are. If you were a butler, and your master died, why would you continue to serve him? This is what Paul was teaching.
But what happens if a believer in Christ continues to sin? He will lose rewards in Heaven (1st Corinthians 3:11-15), fellowship with God (1st John 1:6), and a testimony that could bring others to belief in Christ (1st Corinthians 15:34). This believer will also be disciplined by God (Hebrews 12:6-8).
But what about the question at hand? Does a believer lose salvation because of sin? No!
Romans 6:1: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”
While Paul is quick to say that this would be a bad idea, nevertheless, grace (mercy) will abound even if a believer in Jesus Christ continues to sin. If grace could not cover sin, then we would have a serious problem. How much sin would be allowed? How could anyone be sure they are still saved? Lordship Salvationists will say that you are to know you are saved by your works and “repenting of sin,” but that is a lie. That would mean that sin in a believer’s life would prove they were not truly saved. The apostle Paul said that God’s grace still covers the believer who sins, which means that sin cannot cause a believer to lose salvation.
So does this passage in Romans support the doctrine of Lordship Salvation? No. It does the opposite. Next.
2nd Timothy 2:12: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.”
Lordship Salvationists like to say that if a believer denies Jesus Christ in word or deed, Jesus will deny that believer his salvation. Once again, Lordship Salvationists prove they have no comprehension skills. Let’s surround the preceding verse with those it is placed between in Scripture.
2nd Timothy 2:11-13. We’ll break this down verse by verse.
Verse 11: “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:”
Verse 12: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”
Verse 13: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
Verse 11 says “…if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.” Just who is dead with Christ?
Romans 6:3: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”
The word “baptized” there is not referring to a literal baptism, but a figurative baptism. Those who have believed on Jesus Christ have been baptized into Him, and into His death as well. Take another look at a verse mentioned in the previous section:
Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
2nd Timothy 2:11 teaches that a person who has believed on Jesus Christ has died with Him and will live with Him.
Verse 12 says that if a believer suffers, meaning that he suffers for the cause of Jesus Christ, he will one day reign with Jesus. If, however, a believer denies Jesus, in words or deeds, Jesus will deny him. Here’s the key, the part that Lordship Salvationists won’t tell you: Jesus doesn’t deny salvation to the believer who denies Him. Read the verse again for yourself, and you will see what it clearly says. If we suffer for Christ, we will reign with Him. If we don’t suffer for Him, but instead deny Him, we will not reign with Him. He will deny us the reward of reigning with Him. Do you see that salvation is not even the subject at hand in this passage of Scripture? While Lordship Salvationists pervert verse 12 to mean a believer can lose salvation, an actual reading of the verse makes it clear that it is speaking of a reward.
Let’s take this a step further. What if verse 12 was indeed saying a believer could lose his salvation? Then what do you make of the very next verse?
“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
This verse, which Lordship Salvationists would love to omit from the Bible, completely shuts down the heresy of Lordship Salvation. It says that if one who has believed on Jesus Christ changes his mind and decides he no longer believes, God still saves that person! Why? Because the Holy Spirit is inside that person, and the Holy Spirit is another form of God. God cannot reject Himself!
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Once a person believes on Jesus Christ, he has done an irreversible thing. He has been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. If a believer later gives up on his belief, it is too late. The Holy Spirit is still inside that person, and God cannot reject a person who has the Holy Spirit inside, because that would mean God would have to reject Himself!
Jesus does not deny a believer his salvation in 2nd Timothy 2:12 like some would have you believe. A Lordship Salvationist simply hopes you do not actually think for yourself.
So does this verse support the doctrine of Lordship Salvation? No. When taken in its proper context, it does the opposite. Next.
There are many of these, but for now we will take a look at two more that go together.
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
1st John 5:18: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
These verses make a Lordship Salvationist jump for joy while saying “See?! If a person is saved, they cannot sin!”
In reality, that is impossible. Back up a few chapters in 1st John, and you will find an interesting pair of verses.
1st John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1st John 1:10: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
The preceding verses say that believers still have sin present within them. On one hand, the Bible claims that “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” On the other hand, the Bible says that if believers think they have no sin, they are deceived.
Immediately following verse 10, chapter 2 of 1st John opens with verses 1 and 2:
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Lordship Salvationists claim that a person who is saved is instantly changed and no longer desires to sin. Well, actually, they teach that you must stop sinning, then get saved, and then magically you will no longer live in sin, or even have the desire to. In sharp contrast to that nonsensical teaching, the apostle John wrote that the first chapter of 1st John was written in order to encourage those who are saved not to sin. Why do they need this encouragement if Christians don’t sin? Also note that John points out that if a believer sins, he has an advocate in Jesus Christ, who defends the believer to God the Father.
So to recap: John wrote that someone who is born of God does not sin. But John also wrote that believers do indeed have sin present within them, and that he was writing to believers in order to convince them not to sin.
What is going on here? Understanding it all is just a matter of keeping things in context.
First of all, in chapter 1, John explained that a believer does not have fellowship with God if he is living in sin. Salvation is not in danger, because a believer has already been saved. Fellowship is what is on the line. In order to maintain that fellowship, sins should be confessed to God. John also warned believers not to become so high-minded of themselves that they think they have not sinned. That, in and of itself, is sinful, and it will break fellowship with God. Chapter 2 begins with John explaining that he has written these things so that believers will be encouraged to say no to sin, but that believers can be assured that Jesus Christ remains the advocate for the believer who still sins.
Now, getting back to those two verses in question, let’s find out who exactly is born of God.
1st John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, or the One who paid for the sins of the world, then you are born of God. You can’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God but didn’t pay for your sins. You can’t believe that Jesus died for your sins but that you must “repent of your sins” to be saved. To believe that Jesus is the Christ is to believe that Jesus is that one time sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14), that one name by which all must be saved (Acts 4:12).
So the person who has believed on Jesus is “born of God.” The Bible says that means that person does not commit sin. Yet the Bible says that if we say we don’t sin, we are lying. What is happening here?! Let me share what I believe. Let’s jump over to the book of Romans.
Romans 4:5-8: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
God does not impute, or record, the sins of one who has believed on Jesus Christ. If God did record those sins, He could not accept that person. Therefore, God does not record those sins, but that’s not all, folks. He goes a step further. He places righteousness onto the record of the believer! God takes a record which should be filled with offences, and He fills it with righteousness instead! Why does He do this? Because God justifies the believer (Romans 4:25). This was His plan all along! God’s plan was to save sinners by sending Jesus Christ to die for them! God saves the sinner who has simply put his faith on Jesus Christ!
1st John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (sacrifice) for our sins.”
If you understand what I have just shared, then you will understand what those troubling verses in 1st John are referring to. Of course a believer in Christ still sins! But not according to God’s record books! Want more proof?
1st John 3:5: “And ye know that he (Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
This doesn’t mean that Jesus makes us stop sinning, because as already stated, believers still have sin present within them. Jesus takes a believer’s sins away in the sense that those sins are no longer in the record books.
1st John 3:8: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Who commits sin? The person who is of the devil. The Bible says a believer in Christ is still a sinner, but it says that the believer in Christ is born of God. Jesus Christ came here “to take away our sins” and to “destroy the works of the devil.” A believer still sins, but Jesus put an end to the devil’s work, which was to introduce humanity to sin, thus making them unacceptable to God. A believer is made acceptable because his sins are no longer recorded, and he has righteousness placed onto his record because of his faith. Let’s take another look at those two troubling verses from 1st John.
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
The believer is resting in Jesus Christ, who is the seed of God. When God looks at a believer, He sees righteousness, which is by faith unto all who believe on Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). God made it this way so that a believer could be justified and not destined for Hell. Since a believer cannot create or earn his own righteousness (Romans 3:10, Romans 10:3), he needs the only righteousness he can get: the righteousness of Jesus.
1st John 5:18: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
How does a believer in Jesus Christ “keep” himself? He has kept himself, or protected himself, by believing on Jesus, and so the devil cannot touch him. A believer can still be tempted by the devil, but the believer’s soul, which the devil wants, is safe. Remember, Jesus destroyed “the works of the devil.” A believer can still sin, but that sin will not send him to Hell because it is covered by God’s grace. In this sense, the devil’s work has been stopped.
Is this teaching that a believer has a license to sin? No.
1st John 1:6: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
If a believer lives in sin, he does not have fellowship with God. That does not mean that believer loses his position in grace, or his eternal security.
John 1:12-13: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Your parents cannot change the fact that you are their child. You may lose fellowship with a parent, but you are still their child. The same applies to being a child of God. Believing on Jesus Christ makes one “born of God.” Sin separates a believer from fellowship with God, but it can never take away the status of being a child of God. Can a birth be undone? Can a person undo their own birth? They did nothing to cause their birth, and they cannot reverse their birth. A believer in Jesus Christ did nothing to earn their salvation, and likewise, a believer can do nothing to lose their salvation.
Sin should be avoided, because it damages a believer’s walk with God. However, when a Lordship Salvationist teaches that sin can cause one to lose salvation, they are calling God a liar (Titus 1:2). God promised eternal life to those who believe on Jesus Christ, which is the sole condition for salvation (John 6:47).
So do these verses in 1st John support the doctrine of Lordship Salvation? No. Once properly understood, they do the opposite.
Romans 6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
In the preceding verses, the apostle Paul was addressing believers in Rome, who were saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Lordship Salvation heretics will say “See? A Christian cannot sin! If you continue to sin, you are not saved!”
What they will not tell you is that in the three previous chapters of the book of Romans, Paul dealt with the subject of salvation. Those chapters were spent explaining that all are sinners, guilty before God by means of the law (the Ten Commandments), salvation is a gift of God, and that righteousness is recorded to the file of one who has believed on Jesus Christ. Once Paul has thoroughly established these concepts, he moves on to other teachings for those who are already saved. Paul started with the subject of salvation, because that must be settled first. This is what Paul referred to in 1st Corinthians 3:10-15:
“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
Essentially, Paul compares himself to a construction worker. As Paul traveled, preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles (those who were not Jews), he presented them with the good news about Jesus Christ. Those who believed the Gospel and were saved now had a foundation. Another teacher could come and build on that. The person who was saved could also build on it. The important thing to remember is that the foundation must be Jesus Christ. What is built on that foundation will either last, if it is good, or it will fade, if it is bad. Regardless, the foundation itself will remain, because the foundation is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who is faithful.
1st Corinthians 1:9: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Getting back to the Scripture in question, with what we have just learned, take another look at Romans 6:1-2:
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Does this passage teach that a person who has been saved cannot sin anymore? No. Does it teach that if one who has been saved continues to sin, then they were never truly saved? No. But that is what the Lordship Salvation crowd wants you to believe. So what is this passage of Scripture actually teaching? Let’s look at a few other verses to get an understanding.
Romans 6:2 states that believers are “dead to sin”. Does that mean that believers can no longer sin?
1st John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Romans 7:17: “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”
Both of the preceding verses were speaking of believers, the first of Christians in general, the second of the apostle Paul. So if Christians can and do still sin, then what is “dead to sin” referring to? Christians are not dead to the act of sinning. They are dead to the curse of sin. In reality, there are two curses caused by sin. The first is death, and everyone dies.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
Adam’s sin resulted in death, which came upon him and all of his descendants, because all have sinned. There is still a second curse, and that is Hell.
Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
This brings us to the law, or the Ten Commandments. The law was written in order to make people aware of their sin (Romans 3:19). The law itself, or the keeping of the law, cannot save anyone (Romans 3:20). The law is what gives sin its power, by declaring sin to be the wicked thing that it is.
Romans 7:13: “Was then that which is good (the law) made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good (the law); that sin by the commandment (the law) might become exceeding sinful.”
Romans 7:8: “But sin, taking occasion (opportunity) by the commandment (the law), wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.”
Romans 7:11: “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it (the law) slew me.”
So in a sense, the law is what brings about condemnation. The law is what defines sin, and thus there would be no sin without the law (Romans 7:7). Remember the phrase “dead to sin”? Look at the following verse:
Romans 7:4: “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
Christians are dead to the law, which is why they are dead to sin. Christians still sin, but because they are dead to the law, sin no longer holds the same curse as before. Again, the law empowers sin. If the law is taken away, then sin has no power. Jesus Christ has made believers free from the law.
Romans 7:6: “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
Galatians 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Made free from the law, believers on Jesus Christ are no longer subject to the curse that sin once held over them.
Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
Sin is no longer the master of one who has believed on Jesus Christ, because a believer is not under the law anymore, but under God’s grace (mercy). One who does not believe on Jesus is still under the law, while a believer has been set free from this law which can never be kept. Because of this newfound freedom, a believer should no longer serve sin, but should strive to serve Jesus Christ instead.
Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him (Jesus), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Paul says that a person’s old self is crucified with Christ when that person becomes saved. Therefore, that person is no longer a slave to the curse of sin. Since a believer is no longer under the rule of that curse, they should not act like they still are. If you were a butler, and your master died, why would you continue to serve him? This is what Paul was teaching.
But what happens if a believer in Christ continues to sin? He will lose rewards in Heaven (1st Corinthians 3:11-15), fellowship with God (1st John 1:6), and a testimony that could bring others to belief in Christ (1st Corinthians 15:34). This believer will also be disciplined by God (Hebrews 12:6-8).
But what about the question at hand? Does a believer lose salvation because of sin? No!
Romans 6:1: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”
While Paul is quick to say that this would be a bad idea, nevertheless, grace (mercy) will abound even if a believer in Jesus Christ continues to sin. If grace could not cover sin, then we would have a serious problem. How much sin would be allowed? How could anyone be sure they are still saved? Lordship Salvationists will say that you are to know you are saved by your works and “repenting of sin,” but that is a lie. That would mean that sin in a believer’s life would prove they were not truly saved. The apostle Paul said that God’s grace still covers the believer who sins, which means that sin cannot cause a believer to lose salvation.
So does this passage in Romans support the doctrine of Lordship Salvation? No. It does the opposite. Next.
2nd Timothy 2:12: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.”
Lordship Salvationists like to say that if a believer denies Jesus Christ in word or deed, Jesus will deny that believer his salvation. Once again, Lordship Salvationists prove they have no comprehension skills. Let’s surround the preceding verse with those it is placed between in Scripture.
2nd Timothy 2:11-13. We’ll break this down verse by verse.
Verse 11: “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:”
Verse 12: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”
Verse 13: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
Verse 11 says “…if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.” Just who is dead with Christ?
Romans 6:3: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”
The word “baptized” there is not referring to a literal baptism, but a figurative baptism. Those who have believed on Jesus Christ have been baptized into Him, and into His death as well. Take another look at a verse mentioned in the previous section:
Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
2nd Timothy 2:11 teaches that a person who has believed on Jesus Christ has died with Him and will live with Him.
Verse 12 says that if a believer suffers, meaning that he suffers for the cause of Jesus Christ, he will one day reign with Jesus. If, however, a believer denies Jesus, in words or deeds, Jesus will deny him. Here’s the key, the part that Lordship Salvationists won’t tell you: Jesus doesn’t deny salvation to the believer who denies Him. Read the verse again for yourself, and you will see what it clearly says. If we suffer for Christ, we will reign with Him. If we don’t suffer for Him, but instead deny Him, we will not reign with Him. He will deny us the reward of reigning with Him. Do you see that salvation is not even the subject at hand in this passage of Scripture? While Lordship Salvationists pervert verse 12 to mean a believer can lose salvation, an actual reading of the verse makes it clear that it is speaking of a reward.
Let’s take this a step further. What if verse 12 was indeed saying a believer could lose his salvation? Then what do you make of the very next verse?
“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
This verse, which Lordship Salvationists would love to omit from the Bible, completely shuts down the heresy of Lordship Salvation. It says that if one who has believed on Jesus Christ changes his mind and decides he no longer believes, God still saves that person! Why? Because the Holy Spirit is inside that person, and the Holy Spirit is another form of God. God cannot reject Himself!
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Once a person believes on Jesus Christ, he has done an irreversible thing. He has been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. If a believer later gives up on his belief, it is too late. The Holy Spirit is still inside that person, and God cannot reject a person who has the Holy Spirit inside, because that would mean God would have to reject Himself!
Jesus does not deny a believer his salvation in 2nd Timothy 2:12 like some would have you believe. A Lordship Salvationist simply hopes you do not actually think for yourself.
So does this verse support the doctrine of Lordship Salvation? No. When taken in its proper context, it does the opposite. Next.
There are many of these, but for now we will take a look at two more that go together.
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
1st John 5:18: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
These verses make a Lordship Salvationist jump for joy while saying “See?! If a person is saved, they cannot sin!”
In reality, that is impossible. Back up a few chapters in 1st John, and you will find an interesting pair of verses.
1st John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1st John 1:10: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
The preceding verses say that believers still have sin present within them. On one hand, the Bible claims that “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” On the other hand, the Bible says that if believers think they have no sin, they are deceived.
Immediately following verse 10, chapter 2 of 1st John opens with verses 1 and 2:
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Lordship Salvationists claim that a person who is saved is instantly changed and no longer desires to sin. Well, actually, they teach that you must stop sinning, then get saved, and then magically you will no longer live in sin, or even have the desire to. In sharp contrast to that nonsensical teaching, the apostle John wrote that the first chapter of 1st John was written in order to encourage those who are saved not to sin. Why do they need this encouragement if Christians don’t sin? Also note that John points out that if a believer sins, he has an advocate in Jesus Christ, who defends the believer to God the Father.
So to recap: John wrote that someone who is born of God does not sin. But John also wrote that believers do indeed have sin present within them, and that he was writing to believers in order to convince them not to sin.
What is going on here? Understanding it all is just a matter of keeping things in context.
First of all, in chapter 1, John explained that a believer does not have fellowship with God if he is living in sin. Salvation is not in danger, because a believer has already been saved. Fellowship is what is on the line. In order to maintain that fellowship, sins should be confessed to God. John also warned believers not to become so high-minded of themselves that they think they have not sinned. That, in and of itself, is sinful, and it will break fellowship with God. Chapter 2 begins with John explaining that he has written these things so that believers will be encouraged to say no to sin, but that believers can be assured that Jesus Christ remains the advocate for the believer who still sins.
Now, getting back to those two verses in question, let’s find out who exactly is born of God.
1st John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, or the One who paid for the sins of the world, then you are born of God. You can’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God but didn’t pay for your sins. You can’t believe that Jesus died for your sins but that you must “repent of your sins” to be saved. To believe that Jesus is the Christ is to believe that Jesus is that one time sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14), that one name by which all must be saved (Acts 4:12).
So the person who has believed on Jesus is “born of God.” The Bible says that means that person does not commit sin. Yet the Bible says that if we say we don’t sin, we are lying. What is happening here?! Let me share what I believe. Let’s jump over to the book of Romans.
Romans 4:5-8: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
God does not impute, or record, the sins of one who has believed on Jesus Christ. If God did record those sins, He could not accept that person. Therefore, God does not record those sins, but that’s not all, folks. He goes a step further. He places righteousness onto the record of the believer! God takes a record which should be filled with offences, and He fills it with righteousness instead! Why does He do this? Because God justifies the believer (Romans 4:25). This was His plan all along! God’s plan was to save sinners by sending Jesus Christ to die for them! God saves the sinner who has simply put his faith on Jesus Christ!
1st John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (sacrifice) for our sins.”
If you understand what I have just shared, then you will understand what those troubling verses in 1st John are referring to. Of course a believer in Christ still sins! But not according to God’s record books! Want more proof?
1st John 3:5: “And ye know that he (Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
This doesn’t mean that Jesus makes us stop sinning, because as already stated, believers still have sin present within them. Jesus takes a believer’s sins away in the sense that those sins are no longer in the record books.
1st John 3:8: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Who commits sin? The person who is of the devil. The Bible says a believer in Christ is still a sinner, but it says that the believer in Christ is born of God. Jesus Christ came here “to take away our sins” and to “destroy the works of the devil.” A believer still sins, but Jesus put an end to the devil’s work, which was to introduce humanity to sin, thus making them unacceptable to God. A believer is made acceptable because his sins are no longer recorded, and he has righteousness placed onto his record because of his faith. Let’s take another look at those two troubling verses from 1st John.
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
The believer is resting in Jesus Christ, who is the seed of God. When God looks at a believer, He sees righteousness, which is by faith unto all who believe on Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). God made it this way so that a believer could be justified and not destined for Hell. Since a believer cannot create or earn his own righteousness (Romans 3:10, Romans 10:3), he needs the only righteousness he can get: the righteousness of Jesus.
1st John 5:18: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
How does a believer in Jesus Christ “keep” himself? He has kept himself, or protected himself, by believing on Jesus, and so the devil cannot touch him. A believer can still be tempted by the devil, but the believer’s soul, which the devil wants, is safe. Remember, Jesus destroyed “the works of the devil.” A believer can still sin, but that sin will not send him to Hell because it is covered by God’s grace. In this sense, the devil’s work has been stopped.
Is this teaching that a believer has a license to sin? No.
1st John 1:6: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
If a believer lives in sin, he does not have fellowship with God. That does not mean that believer loses his position in grace, or his eternal security.
John 1:12-13: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Your parents cannot change the fact that you are their child. You may lose fellowship with a parent, but you are still their child. The same applies to being a child of God. Believing on Jesus Christ makes one “born of God.” Sin separates a believer from fellowship with God, but it can never take away the status of being a child of God. Can a birth be undone? Can a person undo their own birth? They did nothing to cause their birth, and they cannot reverse their birth. A believer in Jesus Christ did nothing to earn their salvation, and likewise, a believer can do nothing to lose their salvation.
Sin should be avoided, because it damages a believer’s walk with God. However, when a Lordship Salvationist teaches that sin can cause one to lose salvation, they are calling God a liar (Titus 1:2). God promised eternal life to those who believe on Jesus Christ, which is the sole condition for salvation (John 6:47).
So do these verses in 1st John support the doctrine of Lordship Salvation? No. Once properly understood, they do the opposite.
James 2:14-26
Let’s take a look at a passage of Scripture that is cherished by Lordship Salvationists and Catholics alike. The reason they love this passage is because at a glance, it would actually seem to support their heresies concerning salvation. These two groups do not want you to believe that faith in Jesus Christ is enough to save your soul, even though in order to teach this, these people must ignore an enormous amount of Scripture that says otherwise. Talk to enough of these people, and I guarantee you that you will have this passage from the book of James thrown at you. Let’s jump right in and shed the light of truth on this. I have underlined the parts that the Gospel haters love to quote.
James 2:14-26: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
First of all, let’s back up to verse 12.
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”
James wrote that believers in Jesus Christ will be judged by “the law of liberty.” This means that a believer’s works or lack of works will not bring about a loss of salvation, because the believer is judged by the law of liberty, not by the old law, the Ten Commandments. This law is referred to as “the law of faith” in Romans 3:27, and the believer’s judgment is referred to as “the judgment seat of Christ” in 2nd Corinthians 5:10. Believers are under a special law because of their faith in Jesus Christ. This liberty, or freedom, means that the believer can rest assured that he will never lose his salvation. He can, however, lose rewards in Heaven (1st Corinthians 3:11-15), fellowship with God (1st John 1:6), and a testimony that may lead others to Christ (1st Corinthians 15:34).
Now we have laid a foundation, which is this: The believer in Jesus Christ is safe from condemnation because he is under the law of liberty. We are ready to move on to the good stuff.
Verse 14 asks what profit there is for the man who says he has faith but no works. Can this faith save him? This seems to say that a believer must have works to be saved, but that would contradict the Bible’s plain teachings on salvation by grace through faith. So there must be something here that the Lordship Salvationists and Catholics are missing. Are you ready to find out what it is? The key to it all is the word “profit.” Verse 14 says that a person claiming to have faith in Christ, but producing no works, has no profit. Let’s look at another verse in the Bible where works and profit are mentioned together.
Titus 3:8: “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
To paraphrase the apostle Paul here, the person who is already saved should remember to do good works, because good works are profitable. Remember, believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. This is where they will receive rewards or lose them based on the works they did while in this life. This is why Paul speaks of rewards in 1st Corinthians 3:11-15, and also in 1st Corinthians 9:24-27. However, the believer is not the only one who will benefit from good works.
1st Corinthians 10:33: “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
1st Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
A believer’s good works may very well lead those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ to the point where they do so.
So you see that James was teaching that faith without works has no profit, and you now understand what that profit is. But what about the phrase “can faith save him?” That is not speaking about salvation. Keep the phrase in its proper context. James is still speaking of rewards. When a believer stands at the judgment seat of Christ, his faith is what has saved him. But if this person had no good works, will his faith save him from the shame and loss of rewards? No. Faith in Jesus Christ will save a person’s soul. That is God’s job (Romans 5:1-2). Faith in Jesus Christ will not produce rewards in Heaven. That is the believer’s job, to earn those rewards by doing good works.
Moving on, James wrote that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Was James saying that a believer without good works has lost his salvation? No. That is impossible.
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Ephesians 4:30: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
The person who has believed on Jesus Christ has been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. God will not break that seal. If He did, it would make Him a liar, since He promised salvation to those who believed on Jesus Christ. It is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2). So what is James teaching in verse 17? Take a look at verse 26.
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
When a person dies, their spirit leaves their body. Does that mean that the body does not exist anymore? No. The body is still there, but it is not doing anything because the spirit is gone. The same applies to faith. If works are not present, faith still exists, but it is not producing anything. A body can be lifeless, and so can faith. Faith without works is dead because it is lifeless. However, that faith is still going to save the believer’s soul, because that person is already saved! That believer was sealed with God’s Holy Spirit the moment he placed his faith in Jesus Christ. That person’s soul has already been purchased by God.
1st Corinthians 6:20: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
1st Corinthians 7:23: “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”
God will not return His merchandise! God will not take back his gifts (Romans 11:29)! You are saved without works, and you will stay saved without works, otherwise God is an Indian giver! If you possess a dead faith, you will have no works, but you will still maintain your salvation.
Moving right along, James goes on to say the following:
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
James is simply teaching the obvious here. While God knows the heart, and He knows who has trusted in His Son, people cannot see the evidence of someone’s salvation so easily. If a person tells you that they are saved, you will expect to see at least some evidence in order to verify their statement. People look for visible works from the person claiming to be saved. Works are the outward evidence that faith in Jesus Christ truly exists. However, do not be deceived. There are many people who are producing good works, but they are not truly saved. Lordship Salvationists and Catholics believe in living a life full of good works, but they are not saved, because they have not trusted solely on Jesus Christ for salvation (Matthew 7:21-23). They are placing works where they do not belong, making them a requirement for salvation. Salvation belongs to God! Just trust Him and get your hands out of His business!
Moving on, some people will quote the phrase “the devils also believe,” from verse 19, and they will say the following:
“See? Even the devils believe in Jesus! But they are not saved! So believing in Jesus is not enough for salvation! You must have works!”
Now just hold on there. That’s a bunch of ignorance, which Lordship Salvationists and Catholics are well known for. James wrote “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” What does the verse say? The devils believe there is one God. This says nothing of them believing on Jesus Christ. They simply believe in the existence of the one, true God. Many people believe there is a God, and many of those people are not saved.
Next, James again states that “faith without works is dead,” a teaching we have already examined in verses 17 and 26.
Now let’s look at the phrase “by works was faith made perfect,” speaking of Abraham. God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Because Abraham was prepared to do this, his faith was made perfect. Remember, a believer in Jesus Christ can possess a dead faith, one not producing works. Good works will prevent a dead faith, and they will in fact perfect one’s faith. But an imperfect faith will still save a believer’s soul, because that is the work of God. By the way, Abraham was already righteous in God’s eyes. Did you notice what James said in verse 23?
“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
Belief in the promises of God results in righteousness being imputed to the believer’s account. God has always worked this way. Look at Romans 4:5:
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Abraham was righteous because of his belief in God. The works which he was about to do did not make him righteous. They simply perfected his faith, which was already in God. Abraham did not possess a dead faith, because good works were present.
But what about verse 24?
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Is it true that a believer cannot be justified without works? Remember in verse 18 when James said that he would show someone his faith by his works? That idea of being justified before men is continued here. Do you want proof? Head over to Romans 4:1-5.
“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory (boast); but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
If Abraham had been justified by works, he could have bragged about his works to men. But this is not the way that God operates. Abraham could never brag to men or God, because God does the justifying, not works.
Romans 3:24-26: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Romans 4:25: “Who (Jesus) was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:9: “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Now that we have looked at this passage from James in its proper context, we can finally understand the truths that James was presenting:
While faith in Jesus Christ will save a believer’s soul, it will not yield any rewards in Heaven. Good works will be necessary for those rewards.
If no good works are performed, then that believer will possess a dead faith, or a lifeless one, but a dead faith is not the same as a dead salvation.
People will be more likely to believe that someone is saved when the evidence of good works is present in that believer’s life.
A believer is justified before men by good works, but a believer is justified before God by faith in Jesus Christ.
In closing, don’t let a Lordship Salvationist or a Catholic pervert the Word of God. Since God says that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 3:18, 6:40, 6:47, etc.), you must take Him at His word. James was not teaching a “faith plus works” salvation, which is a false gospel that appeals to those who are full of pride. James was instructing those already saved to live the right kind of life. Don’t let those people who hate God’s grace use this passage to support their heresies.
James 2:14-26: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
First of all, let’s back up to verse 12.
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”
James wrote that believers in Jesus Christ will be judged by “the law of liberty.” This means that a believer’s works or lack of works will not bring about a loss of salvation, because the believer is judged by the law of liberty, not by the old law, the Ten Commandments. This law is referred to as “the law of faith” in Romans 3:27, and the believer’s judgment is referred to as “the judgment seat of Christ” in 2nd Corinthians 5:10. Believers are under a special law because of their faith in Jesus Christ. This liberty, or freedom, means that the believer can rest assured that he will never lose his salvation. He can, however, lose rewards in Heaven (1st Corinthians 3:11-15), fellowship with God (1st John 1:6), and a testimony that may lead others to Christ (1st Corinthians 15:34).
Now we have laid a foundation, which is this: The believer in Jesus Christ is safe from condemnation because he is under the law of liberty. We are ready to move on to the good stuff.
Verse 14 asks what profit there is for the man who says he has faith but no works. Can this faith save him? This seems to say that a believer must have works to be saved, but that would contradict the Bible’s plain teachings on salvation by grace through faith. So there must be something here that the Lordship Salvationists and Catholics are missing. Are you ready to find out what it is? The key to it all is the word “profit.” Verse 14 says that a person claiming to have faith in Christ, but producing no works, has no profit. Let’s look at another verse in the Bible where works and profit are mentioned together.
Titus 3:8: “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
To paraphrase the apostle Paul here, the person who is already saved should remember to do good works, because good works are profitable. Remember, believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. This is where they will receive rewards or lose them based on the works they did while in this life. This is why Paul speaks of rewards in 1st Corinthians 3:11-15, and also in 1st Corinthians 9:24-27. However, the believer is not the only one who will benefit from good works.
1st Corinthians 10:33: “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
1st Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
A believer’s good works may very well lead those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ to the point where they do so.
So you see that James was teaching that faith without works has no profit, and you now understand what that profit is. But what about the phrase “can faith save him?” That is not speaking about salvation. Keep the phrase in its proper context. James is still speaking of rewards. When a believer stands at the judgment seat of Christ, his faith is what has saved him. But if this person had no good works, will his faith save him from the shame and loss of rewards? No. Faith in Jesus Christ will save a person’s soul. That is God’s job (Romans 5:1-2). Faith in Jesus Christ will not produce rewards in Heaven. That is the believer’s job, to earn those rewards by doing good works.
Moving on, James wrote that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Was James saying that a believer without good works has lost his salvation? No. That is impossible.
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Ephesians 4:30: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
The person who has believed on Jesus Christ has been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. God will not break that seal. If He did, it would make Him a liar, since He promised salvation to those who believed on Jesus Christ. It is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2). So what is James teaching in verse 17? Take a look at verse 26.
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
When a person dies, their spirit leaves their body. Does that mean that the body does not exist anymore? No. The body is still there, but it is not doing anything because the spirit is gone. The same applies to faith. If works are not present, faith still exists, but it is not producing anything. A body can be lifeless, and so can faith. Faith without works is dead because it is lifeless. However, that faith is still going to save the believer’s soul, because that person is already saved! That believer was sealed with God’s Holy Spirit the moment he placed his faith in Jesus Christ. That person’s soul has already been purchased by God.
1st Corinthians 6:20: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
1st Corinthians 7:23: “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”
God will not return His merchandise! God will not take back his gifts (Romans 11:29)! You are saved without works, and you will stay saved without works, otherwise God is an Indian giver! If you possess a dead faith, you will have no works, but you will still maintain your salvation.
Moving right along, James goes on to say the following:
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
James is simply teaching the obvious here. While God knows the heart, and He knows who has trusted in His Son, people cannot see the evidence of someone’s salvation so easily. If a person tells you that they are saved, you will expect to see at least some evidence in order to verify their statement. People look for visible works from the person claiming to be saved. Works are the outward evidence that faith in Jesus Christ truly exists. However, do not be deceived. There are many people who are producing good works, but they are not truly saved. Lordship Salvationists and Catholics believe in living a life full of good works, but they are not saved, because they have not trusted solely on Jesus Christ for salvation (Matthew 7:21-23). They are placing works where they do not belong, making them a requirement for salvation. Salvation belongs to God! Just trust Him and get your hands out of His business!
Moving on, some people will quote the phrase “the devils also believe,” from verse 19, and they will say the following:
“See? Even the devils believe in Jesus! But they are not saved! So believing in Jesus is not enough for salvation! You must have works!”
Now just hold on there. That’s a bunch of ignorance, which Lordship Salvationists and Catholics are well known for. James wrote “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” What does the verse say? The devils believe there is one God. This says nothing of them believing on Jesus Christ. They simply believe in the existence of the one, true God. Many people believe there is a God, and many of those people are not saved.
Next, James again states that “faith without works is dead,” a teaching we have already examined in verses 17 and 26.
Now let’s look at the phrase “by works was faith made perfect,” speaking of Abraham. God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Because Abraham was prepared to do this, his faith was made perfect. Remember, a believer in Jesus Christ can possess a dead faith, one not producing works. Good works will prevent a dead faith, and they will in fact perfect one’s faith. But an imperfect faith will still save a believer’s soul, because that is the work of God. By the way, Abraham was already righteous in God’s eyes. Did you notice what James said in verse 23?
“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
Belief in the promises of God results in righteousness being imputed to the believer’s account. God has always worked this way. Look at Romans 4:5:
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Abraham was righteous because of his belief in God. The works which he was about to do did not make him righteous. They simply perfected his faith, which was already in God. Abraham did not possess a dead faith, because good works were present.
But what about verse 24?
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Is it true that a believer cannot be justified without works? Remember in verse 18 when James said that he would show someone his faith by his works? That idea of being justified before men is continued here. Do you want proof? Head over to Romans 4:1-5.
“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory (boast); but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
If Abraham had been justified by works, he could have bragged about his works to men. But this is not the way that God operates. Abraham could never brag to men or God, because God does the justifying, not works.
Romans 3:24-26: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Romans 4:25: “Who (Jesus) was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:9: “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Now that we have looked at this passage from James in its proper context, we can finally understand the truths that James was presenting:
While faith in Jesus Christ will save a believer’s soul, it will not yield any rewards in Heaven. Good works will be necessary for those rewards.
If no good works are performed, then that believer will possess a dead faith, or a lifeless one, but a dead faith is not the same as a dead salvation.
People will be more likely to believe that someone is saved when the evidence of good works is present in that believer’s life.
A believer is justified before men by good works, but a believer is justified before God by faith in Jesus Christ.
In closing, don’t let a Lordship Salvationist or a Catholic pervert the Word of God. Since God says that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 3:18, 6:40, 6:47, etc.), you must take Him at His word. James was not teaching a “faith plus works” salvation, which is a false gospel that appeals to those who are full of pride. James was instructing those already saved to live the right kind of life. Don’t let those people who hate God’s grace use this passage to support their heresies.
John 8:3-11
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
The last three words spoken by Jesus in the preceding story have been quoted many times by Lordship Salvationists who say that a true Christian cannot sin. As usual, Lordship Salvationists have taken Scripture and ignored what it is teaching in order to twist it to fit their distorted views.
In this passage from John, the Pharisees, the Lordship Salvationists of times past, came to Jesus with a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. Being very strict in their religious ways, the Pharisees felt that the woman should be stoned to death, based on the writings of Moses. The Pharisees, who were proud of their religious lives, were condemning the woman for her sin. Jesus ignored the accusations and gave these men a chance to come to their senses, but when they continued to accuse the woman, Jesus told these Pharisees whichever of them had no sin of his own should throw the first stone at the woman. One by one, the Pharisees walked away, as they realized that none of them were in a position to throw any stones. Soon, Jesus and the woman were the only ones left. Jesus told the woman that He did not condemn her, and that she should “go, and sin no more.”
What did Jesus mean by that phrase? Let’s take a look at two different interpretations.
The Lordship Salvation crowd will say, “See? Jesus told the woman to sin no more! Christians are not supposed to sin! If a Christian is still sinning, then they were never really saved! You can’t be saved if you are not following Christ, and He said to sin no more!”
Nonsense aside, now are you ready for the real meaning of this passage? First of all, this passage has nothing to do with salvation. Where did it state otherwise? Since salvation was not the subject of this story, this passage should not and cannot be used when discussing salvation, whether how to be saved or how to remain saved.
Secondly, did Jesus tell this woman to stop all of her sins? “Stop drinking, stop smoking, stop lying, stop stealing, and stop all of your other sins.” No. Jesus simply said “go, and sin no more.” Jesus was referring to the sin that had gotten this woman in so much trouble. This woman was about to be stoned to death for having committed adultery. In other words, this woman’s sin almost cost her her own life. Adultery was the sin that the woman had been engaged in, and adultery was the sin that Jesus was telling her not to repeat. Would adultery keep this woman from being saved? No, and that is not what was at stake here. Remember, this woman was about to be killed for her sin. Jesus was advising this woman to not be found committing adultery again, because next time, it could prove to be the end of her. Don’t believe me? Cross reference this passage with another story from the book of John.
John 5:5-14: “Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”
Judging by what Jesus said to this man, it was sin which had given this man his infirmity. This infirmity appears to have been God’s way of punishing this man for his sin, which goes unspecified here. After Jesus healed the man, Jesus said “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” The first time around, the unnamed sin had resulted in illness for thirty-eight years. Now that the man was healed, Jesus told him to sin no more, for fear of something worse than illness. This man was sick for thirty-eight years because of his sin. The woman caught in the act of adultery was nearly killed for her sin. Jesus told both of these people not to repeat the sins that had gotten them into their troubles. Jesus was there to bail both of these people out, but He would not necessarily be there the next time to do the same.
Neither one of these passages from the book of John was dealing with the subject of salvation. Jesus was not telling these people to “sin no more” in order to be saved or remain saved. Jesus was not expecting them to never commit sin again. The sins that Jesus was referring to were specific to those two people. Adultery for the woman, and an unspecified sin for the man who had been healed.
While Lordship Salvationists love to bring up the phrase “sin no more,” they are taking it completely out of context, which is typical for them. That is the only way they can support their heresies. They pick and choose verses and phrases from the Bible, and they hope that you will not read the source material for yourself, thus exposing their blatant lies and/or ignorance.
Let’s close out this article with a quick recap. Jesus told the woman caught in the act of adultery to “sin no more,” meaning do not commit adultery again. This was stated to her for the same reason that the man who was healed of his infirmity was told to “sin no more.” Sin comes with earthly ramifications. For the man, it was sickness. For the woman, it nearly resulted in her death. Sin will not, however, cause the loss of salvation, because sins are not even recorded to the believer’s account (Romans 4:7-8). When a Lordship Salvationist brings up the story of the adulterous woman from John chapter 8, it is a worthless point.
The last three words spoken by Jesus in the preceding story have been quoted many times by Lordship Salvationists who say that a true Christian cannot sin. As usual, Lordship Salvationists have taken Scripture and ignored what it is teaching in order to twist it to fit their distorted views.
In this passage from John, the Pharisees, the Lordship Salvationists of times past, came to Jesus with a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. Being very strict in their religious ways, the Pharisees felt that the woman should be stoned to death, based on the writings of Moses. The Pharisees, who were proud of their religious lives, were condemning the woman for her sin. Jesus ignored the accusations and gave these men a chance to come to their senses, but when they continued to accuse the woman, Jesus told these Pharisees whichever of them had no sin of his own should throw the first stone at the woman. One by one, the Pharisees walked away, as they realized that none of them were in a position to throw any stones. Soon, Jesus and the woman were the only ones left. Jesus told the woman that He did not condemn her, and that she should “go, and sin no more.”
What did Jesus mean by that phrase? Let’s take a look at two different interpretations.
The Lordship Salvation crowd will say, “See? Jesus told the woman to sin no more! Christians are not supposed to sin! If a Christian is still sinning, then they were never really saved! You can’t be saved if you are not following Christ, and He said to sin no more!”
Nonsense aside, now are you ready for the real meaning of this passage? First of all, this passage has nothing to do with salvation. Where did it state otherwise? Since salvation was not the subject of this story, this passage should not and cannot be used when discussing salvation, whether how to be saved or how to remain saved.
Secondly, did Jesus tell this woman to stop all of her sins? “Stop drinking, stop smoking, stop lying, stop stealing, and stop all of your other sins.” No. Jesus simply said “go, and sin no more.” Jesus was referring to the sin that had gotten this woman in so much trouble. This woman was about to be stoned to death for having committed adultery. In other words, this woman’s sin almost cost her her own life. Adultery was the sin that the woman had been engaged in, and adultery was the sin that Jesus was telling her not to repeat. Would adultery keep this woman from being saved? No, and that is not what was at stake here. Remember, this woman was about to be killed for her sin. Jesus was advising this woman to not be found committing adultery again, because next time, it could prove to be the end of her. Don’t believe me? Cross reference this passage with another story from the book of John.
John 5:5-14: “Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”
Judging by what Jesus said to this man, it was sin which had given this man his infirmity. This infirmity appears to have been God’s way of punishing this man for his sin, which goes unspecified here. After Jesus healed the man, Jesus said “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” The first time around, the unnamed sin had resulted in illness for thirty-eight years. Now that the man was healed, Jesus told him to sin no more, for fear of something worse than illness. This man was sick for thirty-eight years because of his sin. The woman caught in the act of adultery was nearly killed for her sin. Jesus told both of these people not to repeat the sins that had gotten them into their troubles. Jesus was there to bail both of these people out, but He would not necessarily be there the next time to do the same.
Neither one of these passages from the book of John was dealing with the subject of salvation. Jesus was not telling these people to “sin no more” in order to be saved or remain saved. Jesus was not expecting them to never commit sin again. The sins that Jesus was referring to were specific to those two people. Adultery for the woman, and an unspecified sin for the man who had been healed.
While Lordship Salvationists love to bring up the phrase “sin no more,” they are taking it completely out of context, which is typical for them. That is the only way they can support their heresies. They pick and choose verses and phrases from the Bible, and they hope that you will not read the source material for yourself, thus exposing their blatant lies and/or ignorance.
Let’s close out this article with a quick recap. Jesus told the woman caught in the act of adultery to “sin no more,” meaning do not commit adultery again. This was stated to her for the same reason that the man who was healed of his infirmity was told to “sin no more.” Sin comes with earthly ramifications. For the man, it was sickness. For the woman, it nearly resulted in her death. Sin will not, however, cause the loss of salvation, because sins are not even recorded to the believer’s account (Romans 4:7-8). When a Lordship Salvationist brings up the story of the adulterous woman from John chapter 8, it is a worthless point.
2nd Corinthians 7:9-10
“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
This small passage of Scripture is misunderstood and abused by many people. Some people use it to teach that repentance means “godly sorrow.” Meanwhile, other people, who believe that to repent means to “experience godly sorrow,” use this passage to teach that great sorrow must be felt in order for a person to be saved. Both of these teachings revolve around ignorance or lies. We are going to find out what is really being said in this passage, and we will start, as always, by looking at the context that this passage was taken from.
The book of 1st Corinthians was written to the believers at the church of Corinth.
1st Corinthians 1:2: “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:”
Paul was writing to the “saints,” those “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” That is referring to people who have believed on Jesus Christ for salvation. In his first letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul addressed certain problems and questions in the church. These included carnality (worldly living), believers going to law with each other, the matter of marriage, eating meat, taking Communion, and the issue of Corinthian believers incorrectly using the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. In addition, Paul dealt in his letter with a certain believer in the church who was committing fornication with “his father’s wife” (1st Corinthians 5:1). Paul instructed the Corinthian believers not to keep company with this man.
Now, moving on to the book of 2nd Corinthians, it is clear in chapter 7 that Paul’s first letter had had an effect on the Corinthians. This brings us to the passage in question, quoted at the top of this article. I will now place it within its proper context, so that we can get a broader idea of what is going on.
2nd Corinthians 7:8-12: “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle (letter) hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.”
This is an interesting passage, and one that must be taken in carefully in order to understand it. Unfortunately, there are people who cannot understand Scripture, or who simply refuse to do so. There are two very ignorant conclusions that some people come to after viewing the preceding Scripture:
1. Repentance means godly sorrow.
2. Godly sorrow must be experienced before a person can be saved.
Both of these statements are false. Nowhere in the preceding Scripture is repentance defined as “godly sorrow.” Repentance in the Bible is always used in regards to a change of mind. Sometimes that change of mind is about sin. Sometimes the change of mind is experienced by God. When it comes to salvation, repentance means to change your mind and go from unbelief on Jesus to belief on Him. Repentance does not mean turning from sin, nor does it mean experiencing godly sorrow.
What was the apostle Paul saying in the passage of Scripture above? He had written a letter to the Corinthian believers, calling them out on the errors in their church. Paul said that even though his letter had made the Corinthian believers sorry, he himself was not sorry for having done so. Paul was glad that he had made the Corinthians sorry, because that had caused them to change their minds and fix the problems in their church. Because of Paul’s letter, the Corinthian believers became more careful in their actions, were fearful of doing wrong, were filled with zeal, and also had displeasure for those things which Paul had rebuked them for. Paul wrote his first letter to the church in order to show his care for the Corinthian believers, and the letter had indeed brought about good changes.
Why do some people insist on using this passage to teach what it does not? Let’s put an end to those two previously mentioned misconceptions that are derived from this passage.
1. Why do some people insist that this passage defines repentance as godly sorrow? Where does it say that? It says “godly sorrow worketh repentance.” Sorrow is a state of feeling grief, regret, or sadness. People who believe that repentance is godly sorrow teach that you must feel great sadness for your sins, attempting to force an emotion to come out of a person who wants to be saved. People who teach this idea are just as confused and wrong as those people teaching that repentance means to turn from sin. You don’t have to turn from sin to be saved, and you don’t have to feel great sadness for your sin in order to be saved either. And besides, this passage had nothing to do with eternal salvation! We will get to that in a moment. What the apostle Paul said in this passage was simply that godly sorrow can bring about repentance, or that feeling regret can bring about a change of mind, and possibly a change of actions, as was the case with the Corinthian believers. After the Corinthian believers were made to feel regret by Paul’s first letter, look at the changes that occurred:
“For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
2. Why do some people teach that godly sorrow must be experienced before a person can be saved? Well first of all, they mistakenly define repentance to mean “godly sorrow.” Secondly, they take the phrase “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation,” and they assume that this is speaking of eternal salvation. It is not. But some people do not wish to find the truth, because they are more concerned with using Scripture to back up their unfounded beliefs.
Please recall that the Corinthian believers that Paul wrote both of his letters to were already saved. The first letter was meant to rebuke disorders in the church at Corinth. The second letter made mention of how those disorders had been corrected. Paul had no need to tell the Corinthians how to be saved, because they already were. So what is “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” referring to?
In the Scofield Reference Bible, the following excerpt is from a footnote found in the book of Romans: “The Hebrew and Greek words for salvation imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification.”
It is a mistake to think that each time the Bible mentions salvation that it is referring to eternal life. Let me show you two prime examples from the Bible where the idea of salvation was used to illustrate something other than eternal life.
Philippians 1:19: “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,”
Was Paul saying that he was not saved? No. Look at the context. In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul mentions being in bonds, meaning that he was imprisoned, in verses 7, 13, 14, and 16. The salvation that Paul was hoping for here was being free from prison. Paul possessed eternal salvation already, so his mention of salvation in the preceding verse was clearly referring to something else (his imprisonment).
James 2:14: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
Contrary to popular belief, the phrase “can faith save him?” is not referring to eternal salvation. James was teaching that faith without works would result in no rewards for the believer. Look at the two verses directly preceding verse 14.
James 2:12-13: “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
Believers on Jesus Christ will not be judged for their sins, but they will be judged for their works. This is known as “the judgment seat of Christ” in 2nd Corinthians 5:10. James wrote that faith alone will not save the believer when it comes time to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. A lack of works will leave the believer with loss, but the believer’s soul remains saved (1st Corinthians 3:15). So you can see that even though the word “save” was used in James 2:14, this was not referring to a person’s soul. It was speaking of an entirely different event. Please see my article above on James 2:14-26 for much more on that particular passage.
Now, getting back to the verse in question, we can begin to see what is being taught.
2nd Corinthians 7:10: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Do you remember what was happening here? The church at Corinth had some problems. Paul wrote a letter to the church and addressed these problems. The believers in Corinth were made to feel regret because of the letter, and this resulted in them having a new mind and changing their actions. Recall that the original Hebrew and Greek words for salvation in the Bible implied the ideas of deliverance and/or healing. The salvation that had come upon the believers in Corinth was a deliverance from their carnal state, a healing from their disorderly actions. Want more proof?
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
Notice that Paul said to “behold this selfsame thing,” meaning “look at this exact same thing.” In other words, Paul was addressing the same thing he had just mentioned. The changes that had taken place at the church of Corinth were synonymous with the “salvation” that had occurred there.
Let me paraphrase what Paul said: Godly sorrow, or regret, leads to repentance, or a change of mind, that results in a change of actions that a person should not go back and change his mind about. Is that really that difficult to understand?
Furthermore, sorrow is not necessary in order to be saved. If it was, then Jesus lied.
John 6:47: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
In conclusion, repentance is not godly sorrow, and sorrow is not necessary for a person to be saved. Two completely unfounded theories have been based on a passage of Scripture that does nothing to support them. A simple reading of these verses in their proper context immediately does away with the false teachings that have become a burden to this misunderstood passage from the Bible.
This small passage of Scripture is misunderstood and abused by many people. Some people use it to teach that repentance means “godly sorrow.” Meanwhile, other people, who believe that to repent means to “experience godly sorrow,” use this passage to teach that great sorrow must be felt in order for a person to be saved. Both of these teachings revolve around ignorance or lies. We are going to find out what is really being said in this passage, and we will start, as always, by looking at the context that this passage was taken from.
The book of 1st Corinthians was written to the believers at the church of Corinth.
1st Corinthians 1:2: “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:”
Paul was writing to the “saints,” those “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” That is referring to people who have believed on Jesus Christ for salvation. In his first letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul addressed certain problems and questions in the church. These included carnality (worldly living), believers going to law with each other, the matter of marriage, eating meat, taking Communion, and the issue of Corinthian believers incorrectly using the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. In addition, Paul dealt in his letter with a certain believer in the church who was committing fornication with “his father’s wife” (1st Corinthians 5:1). Paul instructed the Corinthian believers not to keep company with this man.
Now, moving on to the book of 2nd Corinthians, it is clear in chapter 7 that Paul’s first letter had had an effect on the Corinthians. This brings us to the passage in question, quoted at the top of this article. I will now place it within its proper context, so that we can get a broader idea of what is going on.
2nd Corinthians 7:8-12: “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle (letter) hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.”
This is an interesting passage, and one that must be taken in carefully in order to understand it. Unfortunately, there are people who cannot understand Scripture, or who simply refuse to do so. There are two very ignorant conclusions that some people come to after viewing the preceding Scripture:
1. Repentance means godly sorrow.
2. Godly sorrow must be experienced before a person can be saved.
Both of these statements are false. Nowhere in the preceding Scripture is repentance defined as “godly sorrow.” Repentance in the Bible is always used in regards to a change of mind. Sometimes that change of mind is about sin. Sometimes the change of mind is experienced by God. When it comes to salvation, repentance means to change your mind and go from unbelief on Jesus to belief on Him. Repentance does not mean turning from sin, nor does it mean experiencing godly sorrow.
What was the apostle Paul saying in the passage of Scripture above? He had written a letter to the Corinthian believers, calling them out on the errors in their church. Paul said that even though his letter had made the Corinthian believers sorry, he himself was not sorry for having done so. Paul was glad that he had made the Corinthians sorry, because that had caused them to change their minds and fix the problems in their church. Because of Paul’s letter, the Corinthian believers became more careful in their actions, were fearful of doing wrong, were filled with zeal, and also had displeasure for those things which Paul had rebuked them for. Paul wrote his first letter to the church in order to show his care for the Corinthian believers, and the letter had indeed brought about good changes.
Why do some people insist on using this passage to teach what it does not? Let’s put an end to those two previously mentioned misconceptions that are derived from this passage.
1. Why do some people insist that this passage defines repentance as godly sorrow? Where does it say that? It says “godly sorrow worketh repentance.” Sorrow is a state of feeling grief, regret, or sadness. People who believe that repentance is godly sorrow teach that you must feel great sadness for your sins, attempting to force an emotion to come out of a person who wants to be saved. People who teach this idea are just as confused and wrong as those people teaching that repentance means to turn from sin. You don’t have to turn from sin to be saved, and you don’t have to feel great sadness for your sin in order to be saved either. And besides, this passage had nothing to do with eternal salvation! We will get to that in a moment. What the apostle Paul said in this passage was simply that godly sorrow can bring about repentance, or that feeling regret can bring about a change of mind, and possibly a change of actions, as was the case with the Corinthian believers. After the Corinthian believers were made to feel regret by Paul’s first letter, look at the changes that occurred:
“For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
2. Why do some people teach that godly sorrow must be experienced before a person can be saved? Well first of all, they mistakenly define repentance to mean “godly sorrow.” Secondly, they take the phrase “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation,” and they assume that this is speaking of eternal salvation. It is not. But some people do not wish to find the truth, because they are more concerned with using Scripture to back up their unfounded beliefs.
Please recall that the Corinthian believers that Paul wrote both of his letters to were already saved. The first letter was meant to rebuke disorders in the church at Corinth. The second letter made mention of how those disorders had been corrected. Paul had no need to tell the Corinthians how to be saved, because they already were. So what is “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” referring to?
In the Scofield Reference Bible, the following excerpt is from a footnote found in the book of Romans: “The Hebrew and Greek words for salvation imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification.”
It is a mistake to think that each time the Bible mentions salvation that it is referring to eternal life. Let me show you two prime examples from the Bible where the idea of salvation was used to illustrate something other than eternal life.
Philippians 1:19: “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,”
Was Paul saying that he was not saved? No. Look at the context. In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul mentions being in bonds, meaning that he was imprisoned, in verses 7, 13, 14, and 16. The salvation that Paul was hoping for here was being free from prison. Paul possessed eternal salvation already, so his mention of salvation in the preceding verse was clearly referring to something else (his imprisonment).
James 2:14: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
Contrary to popular belief, the phrase “can faith save him?” is not referring to eternal salvation. James was teaching that faith without works would result in no rewards for the believer. Look at the two verses directly preceding verse 14.
James 2:12-13: “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
Believers on Jesus Christ will not be judged for their sins, but they will be judged for their works. This is known as “the judgment seat of Christ” in 2nd Corinthians 5:10. James wrote that faith alone will not save the believer when it comes time to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. A lack of works will leave the believer with loss, but the believer’s soul remains saved (1st Corinthians 3:15). So you can see that even though the word “save” was used in James 2:14, this was not referring to a person’s soul. It was speaking of an entirely different event. Please see my article above on James 2:14-26 for much more on that particular passage.
Now, getting back to the verse in question, we can begin to see what is being taught.
2nd Corinthians 7:10: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Do you remember what was happening here? The church at Corinth had some problems. Paul wrote a letter to the church and addressed these problems. The believers in Corinth were made to feel regret because of the letter, and this resulted in them having a new mind and changing their actions. Recall that the original Hebrew and Greek words for salvation in the Bible implied the ideas of deliverance and/or healing. The salvation that had come upon the believers in Corinth was a deliverance from their carnal state, a healing from their disorderly actions. Want more proof?
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
Notice that Paul said to “behold this selfsame thing,” meaning “look at this exact same thing.” In other words, Paul was addressing the same thing he had just mentioned. The changes that had taken place at the church of Corinth were synonymous with the “salvation” that had occurred there.
Let me paraphrase what Paul said: Godly sorrow, or regret, leads to repentance, or a change of mind, that results in a change of actions that a person should not go back and change his mind about. Is that really that difficult to understand?
Furthermore, sorrow is not necessary in order to be saved. If it was, then Jesus lied.
John 6:47: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
In conclusion, repentance is not godly sorrow, and sorrow is not necessary for a person to be saved. Two completely unfounded theories have been based on a passage of Scripture that does nothing to support them. A simple reading of these verses in their proper context immediately does away with the false teachings that have become a burden to this misunderstood passage from the Bible.
If you would like to see how the New King James “Bible” perverts 2nd Corinthians 7, please visit the following link and scroll down to the second part.
Colossians 1:23
Colossians 1:20-23: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him (Jesus) to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
Lordship Salvationists will point to that last verse and call it evidence that a person must live the right kind of life in order to be saved. At first glance, this would indeed seem to be the case. But since the Bible plainly teaches that salvation is a free gift apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:28), there must be a way to reconcile Colossians 1:23 with the rest of Scripture. Otherwise, the Bible contradicts itself, and there would be no point in listening to such a book.
What does it mean to “continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel”? Does it mean, as Lordship Salvationists would suggest, that a believer in Jesus Christ must turn from sin and do good works? Does it mean that after having believed on Jesus Christ, a person must continue on into a life of obedience, or he will lose his salvation? None of that is stated in the verse. So what exactly is it to “continue in the faith”?
We are going to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Have a look at the following passage:
Romans 11:17-23: “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.”
Allow me to quickly explain what the apostle Paul was saying. Jews and Gentiles (non Jews) were compared to tree branches. The natural branches, the Jews, were broken off of the tree because they did not believe on Jesus Christ. Because of this, salvation was made available to the Gentiles. Gentile believers should not, however, be prideful of this fact. Gentiles must “continue in his (God’s) goodness”, or else they will be cut off as the Jews were. But what does that mean? Let me answer that by asking this: How do you get cut off from this hypothetical tree? This passage states that “because of unbelief they (the Jews) were broken off”. It goes on to say that “if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in”. In other words, if Jews give up their unbelief and instead believe on Jesus, they will be made branches of this tree again. So you see that unbelief causes you to be cut off, which means that to “continue in his (God’s) goodness” is to believe on Jesus. A person can be presented with the Gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, but if that person does not believe the Gospel, then it does them no good. Look again at Colossians 1:23:
“If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
You hear of the Gospel, or the faith, or God’s goodness, and you believe it. Whatever you want to call it, it all boils down to the same thing: Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again to justify you, but you must believe on Him. If you do not “continue in the faith”, if you do not “continue in his (God’s) goodness”, then you have been “moved away from the hope of the gospel”. Would you like to see another example of this same teaching?
Acts 13:38-43: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.”
Here again, we find the concept of people being told of the Gospel (“though a man declare it unto you.”), but who chose not to believe it. This was mentioned by Paul as he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a group of Jews. Afterwards, some of the Jews followed Paul and Barnabas, who tried to convince these Jews “to continue in the grace of God,” which again means to believe on Jesus Christ.
Let’s compare certain Bible verses that have been addressed thus far, so that you can see how they are teaching the same truths. This may seem repetitious, but there are people out there who will not believe certain Bible truths no matter how many times they are made very clear. We will look at two sets of verses. Pay close attention to the underlined areas.
Romans 11:20: “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:”
Acts 13:41: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”
Both of these verses are speaking of Jews who did not believe on Jesus Christ. Let’s move on.
Acts 13:41: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”
Colossians 1:23: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
Both of these verses mention the fact that hearing the Gospel will do a person no good unless they “believe,” or “continue in the faith”. Now take a look at the following:
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
1st Corinthians 1:21: “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Here are the steps to getting saved:
1. You hear the Gospel.
2. You believe on Jesus Christ.
If you do not believe in the Gospel once you have been made aware of it, then you have failed to “continue in the faith”, or to “continue in his (God’s) goodness”. But is the Gospel the same thing as “the faith”?
Galatians 3:2: “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
You receive the Holy Spirit once you have believed on Jesus Christ, and you believe on Jesus Christ after “the hearing of faith”, or after you have been presented with the Gospel. So yes, the Gospel is the same as “the faith” when it comes to a person hearing the truth about Jesus Christ.
What have we learned? Continuing in the faith, otherwise known as continuing in God’s goodness, otherwise known as continuing in the grace of God, does not mean turning from sin and living a holy life. To continue in these things, which are all one and the same, is to take the next step forward after hearing the Gospel, which is to believe on Jesus Christ. When you are presented with the faith, also known as God’s goodness, also known as the grace of God, you continue in it by believing in it. If you do this, then you will escape Hell, and one day Jesus will “present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”.
Lordship Salvationists will point to that last verse and call it evidence that a person must live the right kind of life in order to be saved. At first glance, this would indeed seem to be the case. But since the Bible plainly teaches that salvation is a free gift apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:28), there must be a way to reconcile Colossians 1:23 with the rest of Scripture. Otherwise, the Bible contradicts itself, and there would be no point in listening to such a book.
What does it mean to “continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel”? Does it mean, as Lordship Salvationists would suggest, that a believer in Jesus Christ must turn from sin and do good works? Does it mean that after having believed on Jesus Christ, a person must continue on into a life of obedience, or he will lose his salvation? None of that is stated in the verse. So what exactly is it to “continue in the faith”?
We are going to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Have a look at the following passage:
Romans 11:17-23: “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.”
Allow me to quickly explain what the apostle Paul was saying. Jews and Gentiles (non Jews) were compared to tree branches. The natural branches, the Jews, were broken off of the tree because they did not believe on Jesus Christ. Because of this, salvation was made available to the Gentiles. Gentile believers should not, however, be prideful of this fact. Gentiles must “continue in his (God’s) goodness”, or else they will be cut off as the Jews were. But what does that mean? Let me answer that by asking this: How do you get cut off from this hypothetical tree? This passage states that “because of unbelief they (the Jews) were broken off”. It goes on to say that “if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in”. In other words, if Jews give up their unbelief and instead believe on Jesus, they will be made branches of this tree again. So you see that unbelief causes you to be cut off, which means that to “continue in his (God’s) goodness” is to believe on Jesus. A person can be presented with the Gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, but if that person does not believe the Gospel, then it does them no good. Look again at Colossians 1:23:
“If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
You hear of the Gospel, or the faith, or God’s goodness, and you believe it. Whatever you want to call it, it all boils down to the same thing: Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again to justify you, but you must believe on Him. If you do not “continue in the faith”, if you do not “continue in his (God’s) goodness”, then you have been “moved away from the hope of the gospel”. Would you like to see another example of this same teaching?
Acts 13:38-43: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.”
Here again, we find the concept of people being told of the Gospel (“though a man declare it unto you.”), but who chose not to believe it. This was mentioned by Paul as he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a group of Jews. Afterwards, some of the Jews followed Paul and Barnabas, who tried to convince these Jews “to continue in the grace of God,” which again means to believe on Jesus Christ.
Let’s compare certain Bible verses that have been addressed thus far, so that you can see how they are teaching the same truths. This may seem repetitious, but there are people out there who will not believe certain Bible truths no matter how many times they are made very clear. We will look at two sets of verses. Pay close attention to the underlined areas.
Romans 11:20: “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:”
Acts 13:41: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”
Both of these verses are speaking of Jews who did not believe on Jesus Christ. Let’s move on.
Acts 13:41: “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”
Colossians 1:23: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
Both of these verses mention the fact that hearing the Gospel will do a person no good unless they “believe,” or “continue in the faith”. Now take a look at the following:
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
1st Corinthians 1:21: “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Here are the steps to getting saved:
1. You hear the Gospel.
2. You believe on Jesus Christ.
If you do not believe in the Gospel once you have been made aware of it, then you have failed to “continue in the faith”, or to “continue in his (God’s) goodness”. But is the Gospel the same thing as “the faith”?
Galatians 3:2: “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
You receive the Holy Spirit once you have believed on Jesus Christ, and you believe on Jesus Christ after “the hearing of faith”, or after you have been presented with the Gospel. So yes, the Gospel is the same as “the faith” when it comes to a person hearing the truth about Jesus Christ.
What have we learned? Continuing in the faith, otherwise known as continuing in God’s goodness, otherwise known as continuing in the grace of God, does not mean turning from sin and living a holy life. To continue in these things, which are all one and the same, is to take the next step forward after hearing the Gospel, which is to believe on Jesus Christ. When you are presented with the faith, also known as God’s goodness, also known as the grace of God, you continue in it by believing in it. If you do this, then you will escape Hell, and one day Jesus will “present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”.
2nd Corinthians 5:17
Let’s take a look at some ignorance in the “Christian” community.
“Repentance in the Bible has three basic elements: a genuine sorrow towards God (II Cor. 7:9-10), a genuine separation from sin (Heb. 6:1; Acts 26:20), and a genuine submission to God's will (Acts 9:6; I Ths. 1:9). In other words, repentance involves a totally changed life. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." According to the Bible, all things are new once a man is in Christ, and old things are passed away. Repentance is certainly a requirement. Jesus began his ministry preaching, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mat. 4:17) In Matthew 9:13 he said, ". . . I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He upbraided cities in Matthew 11:20 "because they repented not." Repentance is required for salvation, and no honest and serious student of Scripture can claim otherwise.” – taken from biblebelievers.com
“Evidence of true repentance: A total change... (2 Cor 5:17 KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – taken from revivaltheologyandprophecy.com
“God commands repentance of sin: Acts 17:30, Romans 2:4
Man must respond in repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ as his Redeemer and Savior: Acts 16:31, John 1:12-13, Romans 10:9-10, 13
The evidence of salvation is living for Jesus: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 3:1-3” – taken from calvarybaptistpreble.com
You have just witnessed three random examples of websites that are sharing a false gospel by teaching that a person must change his ways in order to receive salvation. This false doctrine usually stems from a severe misunderstanding of repentance. If you have not done so already, please read my page concerning the truth about repentance:
“Repentance in the Bible has three basic elements: a genuine sorrow towards God (II Cor. 7:9-10), a genuine separation from sin (Heb. 6:1; Acts 26:20), and a genuine submission to God's will (Acts 9:6; I Ths. 1:9). In other words, repentance involves a totally changed life. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." According to the Bible, all things are new once a man is in Christ, and old things are passed away. Repentance is certainly a requirement. Jesus began his ministry preaching, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mat. 4:17) In Matthew 9:13 he said, ". . . I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He upbraided cities in Matthew 11:20 "because they repented not." Repentance is required for salvation, and no honest and serious student of Scripture can claim otherwise.” – taken from biblebelievers.com
“Evidence of true repentance: A total change... (2 Cor 5:17 KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – taken from revivaltheologyandprophecy.com
“God commands repentance of sin: Acts 17:30, Romans 2:4
Man must respond in repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ as his Redeemer and Savior: Acts 16:31, John 1:12-13, Romans 10:9-10, 13
The evidence of salvation is living for Jesus: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 3:1-3” – taken from calvarybaptistpreble.com
You have just witnessed three random examples of websites that are sharing a false gospel by teaching that a person must change his ways in order to receive salvation. This false doctrine usually stems from a severe misunderstanding of repentance. If you have not done so already, please read my page concerning the truth about repentance:
Now, let’s get back to the topic at hand. The three excerpts I presented at the top of this article have more in common than a false gospel. Each one utilizes 2nd Corinthians 5:17 as a way to enforce the idea that a person must change their ways in order to be saved. False teachers have a tendency to repeat each other’s flawed doctrines. This is a shining example of “monkey see, monkey do.” Lordship Salvationists cling to Bible verses they do not understand, and they attempt to use these verses to support their unfounded heresies. Enough is enough already. It’s time to reclaim 2nd Corinthians 5:17, in the name of Jesus Christ.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Lordship Salvationists use the preceding verse to “prove” that a true believer on Jesus Christ will cease from his sinful ways and surrender his life in obedience to God. But where does the verse say any of that? Does the verse say that if any man be in Christ, he will forsake his sins? Does the verse say that if any man be in Christ, he will surrender his life to God? No. Lordship Salvationists only assume those things because it would help their cause. Take another look at the verse to see what it actually does say.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
A new creature? Old things passed away? All things made new? What is this referring to? Go down a few verses to 2nd Corinthians 5:21.
“For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Because Jesus Christ was made to be sin for us, meaning He suffered in our place, we can become righteous through Jesus. Believers are made “new” because they are declared righteous by God for having believed on Jesus.
Romans 4:5-8: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
The faith of someone who has believed on Jesus Christ is counted for righteousness. In addition, believers do not have their sins recorded against them.
Galatians 2:16: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Believers on Jesus Christ are justified by their faith.
Romans 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Believers on Jesus Christ are free from the law of sin, which results in death (Hell). Believers are instead under grace (Romans 6:15), also known as the law of faith (Romans 3:27), also known as the law of liberty (James 2:12).
Galatians 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Believers have been removed out from under the curse of the law (The Ten Commandments) by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Believers are adopted into the very family of God.
2nd Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure (the Gospel, which results in salvation for those who believe) in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
Believers on Jesus Christ are indeed made into something new. They have been declared righteous, justified by faith, freed from the law of sin, redeemed from the curse of having to keep The Ten Commandments, made God’s children, and all of this has been done while believers are still in their “earthen vessels,” or human bodies. Believers may look the same as everybody else, but rest assured, they have been made into something entirely new by God. Pay close attention to what I am about to say. God makes things new. Not people. Why is this important? Because Lordship Salvationists teach that a person must have a changed lifestyle, or else that person is not saved. This goes back to the issue of pride that Lordship Salvationists have. When it comes to eternal salvation, Lordship Salvationists like to believe they play a part by “turning from sin” and/or “feeling godly sorrow.” Likewise, they want to take credit for the phrase “all things are become new.” They fail to understand that it is God who makes things new. Lordship Salvationists are so full of pride that they truly believe they can somehow earn God’s favor because of their self-righteous ways. They do not want to own up to their truly sorry state before God and others. They want to believe that they can create their own righteousness, even though the Bible says they cannot (Romans 3:10-12, Romans 10:3-4). Should you have any confidence in your human abilities?
Philippians 3:3: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
The apostle Paul says that we should not have confidence in what we can do. Thinking otherwise leads to pride and self-righteous delusion. It leads to Lordship Salvation, which is a false religion that wants to take credit for what God has done, be it salvation or the miraculous changes that accompany it.
Lordship Salvation teaches that if a person is truly saved, then they will no longer struggle with sin and will live a life of obedience to God. If it were really that simple, then what do you suppose that Paul meant in the following passage?
Romans 7:14-25: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
It doesn’t take a scholar to figure out from the preceding passage that Paul still had a problem with sin in his life. I suppose that Lordship Salvationists will just have to start teaching that the apostle Paul was not saved.
Now, prepare yourself. We are about to enter into a realm that is foreign to the Lordship Salvation crowd. We call this the land of common sense. It is an unchartered and unexplored land that Lordship Salvationists simply refuse to visit. Welcome to the wonderful world of reason. Next stop: The end of Lordship Salvation.
Let’s suppose for a moment that what the Lordship Salvation crowd says is actually true. In that case, once a person is truly saved, they will experience a changed life resulting in an abandonment of sins and an unwavering obedience to God. Remember, if someone who is saved does not show evidence of these two things, then they were never actually saved, according to the prideful Lordship Salvation crowd. So if a person must forsake sin and surrender their life to Jesus Christ, and then they are saved, there would never be any need to tell one who is saved to stop sinning or to live the right kind of life, correct? Those things are an absolute must for one to be saved, again, according to Lordship Salvation. If someone has not forsaken all of his sin and is not living in strict obedience to God, then he was never saved, so says the Lordship Salvation crowd. That would mean that those who are truly saved would never need any exhortations (advice, recommendations, or warnings) concerning sin and their walk as a Christian. That would be the logical conclusion, would it not? You wouldn’t tell a person who claims to be a Christian, but who is living in sin, to clean up his act. You would tell that person to get saved, since that person has not changed into the new creature that Lordship Salvation demands. There would be no such thing as a Christian who is not living right. Supposing that this train of thought is true, then what do you make of the following verses from the Bible? Keep in mind that these verses were all written to people who had believed on Jesus Christ, as they were referred to as “saints” and “brethren” by the apostles. That means that these verses were for people who had already been saved.
Romans 6:12: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”
Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
1st Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
2nd Corinthians 7:1: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Galatians 5:13: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
Ephesians 4:1: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”
Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”
Colossians 3:5: “Mortify (bring into subjection) therefore your members (your body parts) which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”
1st Thessalonians 2:11-12: “ As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
James 2:17: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
1st John 2:1: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”
Well now we have a strange contradiction. That is, if Lordship Salvation is true. From the preceding verses, it would appear that a person can indeed be saved but not living in obedience to God. That was the reason for all of the exhortations written to believers.
Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Believers on Jesus Christ have been adopted into the family of God, and they are actually referred to as God’s children. Do children automatically behave for their parents? No. They have to be taught to behave. They have to be constantly reminded until it becomes a habit. Even then, those children will never be perfect. Remember all of those exhortations from the Bible that I listed? Think of those like parental advice. The apostles, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, were instructing the children of God to behave. God treats believers on Jesus Christ as His little children, and if they are behaving badly, then He will deal with them accordingly.
Hebrews 12:5-11: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
In conclusion, once again, Lordship Salvation is proven to be a great big pile of nonsense. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 does not teach that Christians will naturally forsake sin and be obedient to God. The phrase “all things are become new” refers to the changes that God Himself makes regarding the believer, not to the Christian walk that must be diligently attended to by the believer. Christians should have “no confidence in the flesh.” They should only have confidence in God and what He can do. Lordship Salvationists have confidence in their “turning from sin” and/or their feeling of “godly sorrow” for their sins. They think that these things prove that they are saved. They have confidence in their own abilities because they are prideful. They have forsaken God’s way of salvation, which merely requires childlike faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 is just one more verse of Scripture that Lordship Salvationists have hijacked for their false religion. Those days are over. God is taking back His Scripture, and those who have abused it for too long will soon have nothing left to stand on.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Lordship Salvationists use the preceding verse to “prove” that a true believer on Jesus Christ will cease from his sinful ways and surrender his life in obedience to God. But where does the verse say any of that? Does the verse say that if any man be in Christ, he will forsake his sins? Does the verse say that if any man be in Christ, he will surrender his life to God? No. Lordship Salvationists only assume those things because it would help their cause. Take another look at the verse to see what it actually does say.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
A new creature? Old things passed away? All things made new? What is this referring to? Go down a few verses to 2nd Corinthians 5:21.
“For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Because Jesus Christ was made to be sin for us, meaning He suffered in our place, we can become righteous through Jesus. Believers are made “new” because they are declared righteous by God for having believed on Jesus.
Romans 4:5-8: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
The faith of someone who has believed on Jesus Christ is counted for righteousness. In addition, believers do not have their sins recorded against them.
Galatians 2:16: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Believers on Jesus Christ are justified by their faith.
Romans 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Believers on Jesus Christ are free from the law of sin, which results in death (Hell). Believers are instead under grace (Romans 6:15), also known as the law of faith (Romans 3:27), also known as the law of liberty (James 2:12).
Galatians 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Believers have been removed out from under the curse of the law (The Ten Commandments) by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Believers are adopted into the very family of God.
2nd Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure (the Gospel, which results in salvation for those who believe) in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
Believers on Jesus Christ are indeed made into something new. They have been declared righteous, justified by faith, freed from the law of sin, redeemed from the curse of having to keep The Ten Commandments, made God’s children, and all of this has been done while believers are still in their “earthen vessels,” or human bodies. Believers may look the same as everybody else, but rest assured, they have been made into something entirely new by God. Pay close attention to what I am about to say. God makes things new. Not people. Why is this important? Because Lordship Salvationists teach that a person must have a changed lifestyle, or else that person is not saved. This goes back to the issue of pride that Lordship Salvationists have. When it comes to eternal salvation, Lordship Salvationists like to believe they play a part by “turning from sin” and/or “feeling godly sorrow.” Likewise, they want to take credit for the phrase “all things are become new.” They fail to understand that it is God who makes things new. Lordship Salvationists are so full of pride that they truly believe they can somehow earn God’s favor because of their self-righteous ways. They do not want to own up to their truly sorry state before God and others. They want to believe that they can create their own righteousness, even though the Bible says they cannot (Romans 3:10-12, Romans 10:3-4). Should you have any confidence in your human abilities?
Philippians 3:3: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
The apostle Paul says that we should not have confidence in what we can do. Thinking otherwise leads to pride and self-righteous delusion. It leads to Lordship Salvation, which is a false religion that wants to take credit for what God has done, be it salvation or the miraculous changes that accompany it.
Lordship Salvation teaches that if a person is truly saved, then they will no longer struggle with sin and will live a life of obedience to God. If it were really that simple, then what do you suppose that Paul meant in the following passage?
Romans 7:14-25: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
It doesn’t take a scholar to figure out from the preceding passage that Paul still had a problem with sin in his life. I suppose that Lordship Salvationists will just have to start teaching that the apostle Paul was not saved.
Now, prepare yourself. We are about to enter into a realm that is foreign to the Lordship Salvation crowd. We call this the land of common sense. It is an unchartered and unexplored land that Lordship Salvationists simply refuse to visit. Welcome to the wonderful world of reason. Next stop: The end of Lordship Salvation.
Let’s suppose for a moment that what the Lordship Salvation crowd says is actually true. In that case, once a person is truly saved, they will experience a changed life resulting in an abandonment of sins and an unwavering obedience to God. Remember, if someone who is saved does not show evidence of these two things, then they were never actually saved, according to the prideful Lordship Salvation crowd. So if a person must forsake sin and surrender their life to Jesus Christ, and then they are saved, there would never be any need to tell one who is saved to stop sinning or to live the right kind of life, correct? Those things are an absolute must for one to be saved, again, according to Lordship Salvation. If someone has not forsaken all of his sin and is not living in strict obedience to God, then he was never saved, so says the Lordship Salvation crowd. That would mean that those who are truly saved would never need any exhortations (advice, recommendations, or warnings) concerning sin and their walk as a Christian. That would be the logical conclusion, would it not? You wouldn’t tell a person who claims to be a Christian, but who is living in sin, to clean up his act. You would tell that person to get saved, since that person has not changed into the new creature that Lordship Salvation demands. There would be no such thing as a Christian who is not living right. Supposing that this train of thought is true, then what do you make of the following verses from the Bible? Keep in mind that these verses were all written to people who had believed on Jesus Christ, as they were referred to as “saints” and “brethren” by the apostles. That means that these verses were for people who had already been saved.
Romans 6:12: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”
Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
1st Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
2nd Corinthians 7:1: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Galatians 5:13: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
Ephesians 4:1: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”
Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”
Colossians 3:5: “Mortify (bring into subjection) therefore your members (your body parts) which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”
1st Thessalonians 2:11-12: “ As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
James 2:17: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
1st John 2:1: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”
Well now we have a strange contradiction. That is, if Lordship Salvation is true. From the preceding verses, it would appear that a person can indeed be saved but not living in obedience to God. That was the reason for all of the exhortations written to believers.
Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Believers on Jesus Christ have been adopted into the family of God, and they are actually referred to as God’s children. Do children automatically behave for their parents? No. They have to be taught to behave. They have to be constantly reminded until it becomes a habit. Even then, those children will never be perfect. Remember all of those exhortations from the Bible that I listed? Think of those like parental advice. The apostles, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, were instructing the children of God to behave. God treats believers on Jesus Christ as His little children, and if they are behaving badly, then He will deal with them accordingly.
Hebrews 12:5-11: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
In conclusion, once again, Lordship Salvation is proven to be a great big pile of nonsense. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 does not teach that Christians will naturally forsake sin and be obedient to God. The phrase “all things are become new” refers to the changes that God Himself makes regarding the believer, not to the Christian walk that must be diligently attended to by the believer. Christians should have “no confidence in the flesh.” They should only have confidence in God and what He can do. Lordship Salvationists have confidence in their “turning from sin” and/or their feeling of “godly sorrow” for their sins. They think that these things prove that they are saved. They have confidence in their own abilities because they are prideful. They have forsaken God’s way of salvation, which merely requires childlike faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 is just one more verse of Scripture that Lordship Salvationists have hijacked for their false religion. Those days are over. God is taking back His Scripture, and those who have abused it for too long will soon have nothing left to stand on.
1st John
The book of 1st John has a lot of interesting and confusing things to say. We are going to take a look at some of those things, because there are teachings in this book that, if not properly understood, can be used by false teachers in their fiendish endeavors to undermine a believer’s eternal security.
Lesson 1: You can be saved and not know God.
1st John 2:3-5: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
The preceding verses seem to suggest that if we do not keep God’s commandments, then we are not saved. These verses are “evidence” used by the Lordship Salvation crowd. Now let’s think about this. If we have to keep God’s commandments to be saved, we better find out what they are. Are they the famous Ten Commandments? No.
1st John 3:23: “And this is his (God’s) commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he (Jesus) gave us commandment.”
God gave us a commandment to believe on His Son. Jesus gave us a commandment to love each other (brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ). Obeying God’s commandment results in eternal salvation (John 3:16). Obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ results in a relationship with Jesus. Let me explain. Turn over to the beginning of 1st John.
1st John 1:6: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
What does it mean to “walk in darkness”?
1st John 2:11: “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
1st John was written to believers on Jesus Christ. Believers are united into the family of God.
Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
1st John is speaking to believers as brothers and sisters in the family of God. Check out the following verses:
1st John 3:13-16: “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
A believer should have high regard for his Christian family. But what if there is contempt instead of love?
1st John 2:11: “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.”
Cross-reference the preceding passage with the following passage. I have underlined the similarities.
2nd Peter 1:5-9: “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”
Both passages speak of being blind, as well as reminding believers that they have been forgiven of their sins. Being blind is the same as walking in darkness. The believer who is walking in darkness has forgotten that he has been forgiven of his sins, and he does not possess the good qualities that should result from being saved. 2nd Peter gives the list of qualities that are desirable, while 1st John teaches that a believer should love his newfound brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. When you hate your brother or sister in Christ, what is the result? Is it a loss of salvation, or proof that you were never saved? Look again at the following:
1st John 2:3-5: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
This passage says nothing of losing salvation or having never had it. To get the context of it all, look again at the following verse:
1st John 1:6: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
This is all about having fellowship with God and His Son. The Bible makes it very clear that eternal salvation is free to those who believe on Jesus Christ (John 3:16, John 6:47, Acts 13:39, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 1:13, etc.). If the book of 1st John comes along and teaches that we are not saved if we do not have a love for other believers, then we are presented with a serious contradiction, since that condition was never a requirement for salvation before. Folks, there is no contradiction to be found. 1st John is clearly teaching believers how to stay in fellowship with God and His Son. You do that by loving your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you confess your sins on a regular basis (1st John 1:9). Sins are not recorded against the believer (Romans 4:7-8), and thus they will never steal away the eternal salvation of the believer. However, sin breaks fellowship with God and His Son, and that is why it was said to confess sins in a book that is teaching us how to stay in fellowship with God.
Now, let’s get into the real meat of this. Just because a person is saved, that does not mean that they know God. Let’s say that you were given away by your parents when you were a baby. You grew up never knowing your real parents. That means you never had a relationship, or fellowship, with them. They are still your parents, whether you know them or not, but you could go through your whole life and never know them. The same applies to being a child of God. When you believe on Jesus Christ, you are born again (John 1:12-13) into the family of God (Galatians 4:5). God becomes your spiritual Father, and you cannot undo your spiritual birth, just as you cannot undo your physical birth. However, it is possible to never know God, or to fall out of fellowship with Him. Let me show you how this is possible.
Galatians 4:9: “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”
In the preceding verse, the apostle Paul pointed out that once you are saved, it is not that you now know God, but rather that God knows you. Does a newborn baby know his parents? No. In fact, that child may grow into adulthood and never know his parents. However, a parent will forever have knowledge of their child once they have been made aware of it. Even if a parent has no relationship with a child, that parent still knows about that child. This same set of ideas applies to God and His children. Once God has adopted you into His family, He will forever know you. If you wish to know God, meaning to have a relationship or fellowship with Him, that will take some work on your part. Let’s stop confusing God’s work with the work that believers are supposed to perform. Eternal salvation, being adopted into God’s family, is a free gift handled by God and given to anyone who believes on Jesus Christ. Fellowship with God is established and maintained by the believer, and the book of 1st John was written to help believers achieve these very things.
1st John 1:4: “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
Do you want your joy to be full? Then you will need to have fellowship with God. Do you want to avoid breaking that fellowship? Don’t walk in darkness. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ and confess your sins. Let’s look at some other verses in 1st John that teach believers to love their family.
1st John 4:11-12: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
1st John 4:20-21: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
Finally, let’s take a look in the book of John, where we can find Jesus Christ Himself speaking on this matter.
John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Jesus was saying that if Christians will have love one for another, it will help the rest of the world to come to know Him. If unsaved people see the great love that should exist in the very family of God, they will want to know how to be a part of that. This passage from John was not concerning the subject of salvation whatsoever. Jesus made it clear that He was teaching Christians how to be His disciples. You can be saved and not be a disciple of Jesus Christ, just the same way as you can be saved and not know God.
Lesson 2: Believers should abide in Jesus Christ.
1st John 2:6: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
1st John 2:28: “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
You can be saved and not be abiding in Jesus Christ. A believer should strive to abide in Christ, in order to avoid the shame that follows a life lived selfishly. This is the same concept that is taught in the book of James.
James 2:12-14: “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
Faith will save a believer’s soul (Romans 3:28), but faith will not spare a believer shame on the day when that believer stands before Jesus Christ. The only way to be spared of that shame is to get busy for God.
Why else should you abide in Jesus?
1st John 3:6: “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.”
Abiding in Christ will help to ensure that a believer is not sinning. As you know by now, when the preceding verse speaks of not knowing Jesus, it is not saying that this person is not saved. It is referring to the fact that the person living in sin does not have fellowship with Jesus Christ. You see, you can be saved and still live in sin.
1st John 3:8: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Being saved does not shield you from the temptations of the devil. A believer can still commit sin, and when they do so, they are “of the devil”. This is easy enough to understand.
1st John 1:5: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
There is no darkness in God, so when a believer sins, they are of the devil. God knows that believers will still sin. That is why the second part of 1st John 3:8 states the following:
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Cross-reference that with the following:
Hebrews 2:14: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”
Sin is of the devil, and since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), you could say that death is of the devil. But more specifically, the second death, which is Hell (Revelation 20:14), is no longer a threat to those who have believed on Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ destroyed that threat, which was the lasting effect of sin (“the works of the devil”), when He sacrificed Himself on the cross.
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
How could the Bible say that a believer does not sin? What about the following verse?
1st John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Look again at 1st John 3:9. Note the phrase “for his seed remaineth in him”. When you believe on Jesus Christ, God puts a down payment on your soul.
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
God’s Holy Spirit enters into the believer. That is why the following is possible:
2nd Timothy 2:13: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
After believing on Jesus Christ you can choose to give up your faith, and God will still save your soul. Once God’s Holy Spirit is inside of a believer, that Spirit never leaves. For God to reject someone who has that Holy Spirit inside, it would be the same as God rejecting Himself. Now look again at the following:
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
A believer can still sin, but God’s seed, the Holy Spirit, remains inside the believer. If God recorded the sins of the believer, while His Holy Spirit was living inside of that believer, it would be like God recording sins against Himself. God created a way for it to be impossible for Him to record a believer’s sins against the believer, in order for the believer to remain secure in his position in God’s family.
Romans 4:5-8: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
Faith in Jesus Christ is counted for righteousness. Sins are not recorded to a believer’s account. However, as has already been established, sin causes a believer’s fellowship with God and Jesus Christ to be broken. Therefore, a believer should seek to abide in Christ in order to avoid the act of sin and the subsequent shame of that sin.
Lesson 3: A believer can avoid stumbling.
1st John 2:10: “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”
Is this stumbling referring to a loss of salvation? Not at all. Remember that 1st John was written to believers in order to help them know God and stay in fellowship with Him. The believer that loves his brothers and sisters in Christ can avoid “stumbling,” or damaging his fellowship with God. How do you stumble? Have you ever tried walking through a dark room? Walking in darkness will cause you to stumble.
1st John 2:11: “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
Lesson 4: 1st John does not make eternal salvation difficult.
The book of 1st John was written as instructions for people who have already been saved. In chapter 5, believers are reminded of how they got saved.
1st John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
1st John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1st John 5:8-13: “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Note that the person who believes in Jesus Christ “hath the witness in himself”. The Holy Spirit is the witness, testifying that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for the sins of the world. The believer is given this Holy Spirit, as mentioned in lesson 2. Therefore, the believer has the witness, the Holy Spirit, living inside, and we already know that the Holy Spirit of God seals the soul of the believer.
The book of 1st John may at first glance seem to contradict the simple idea of believing on Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, but upon closer inspection, we see that this book does no such thing. Just remember that the teachings of the Bible must line up completely, or else the entire book is rubbish, and it would be impossible to know the truth. Take a look at one more verse that may seem troubling:
1st John 2:17: “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
To have eternal life, you must do God’s will. God has commandments, and God has a will. According to the book of 1st John, God’s commandments must be kept in order to maintain fellowship with Him. But what, then, is the will of God?
John 6:38-40: “For I (Jesus) came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Lesson 1: You can be saved and not know God.
1st John 2:3-5: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
The preceding verses seem to suggest that if we do not keep God’s commandments, then we are not saved. These verses are “evidence” used by the Lordship Salvation crowd. Now let’s think about this. If we have to keep God’s commandments to be saved, we better find out what they are. Are they the famous Ten Commandments? No.
1st John 3:23: “And this is his (God’s) commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he (Jesus) gave us commandment.”
God gave us a commandment to believe on His Son. Jesus gave us a commandment to love each other (brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ). Obeying God’s commandment results in eternal salvation (John 3:16). Obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ results in a relationship with Jesus. Let me explain. Turn over to the beginning of 1st John.
1st John 1:6: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
What does it mean to “walk in darkness”?
1st John 2:11: “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
1st John was written to believers on Jesus Christ. Believers are united into the family of God.
Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
1st John is speaking to believers as brothers and sisters in the family of God. Check out the following verses:
1st John 3:13-16: “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
A believer should have high regard for his Christian family. But what if there is contempt instead of love?
1st John 2:11: “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.”
Cross-reference the preceding passage with the following passage. I have underlined the similarities.
2nd Peter 1:5-9: “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”
Both passages speak of being blind, as well as reminding believers that they have been forgiven of their sins. Being blind is the same as walking in darkness. The believer who is walking in darkness has forgotten that he has been forgiven of his sins, and he does not possess the good qualities that should result from being saved. 2nd Peter gives the list of qualities that are desirable, while 1st John teaches that a believer should love his newfound brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. When you hate your brother or sister in Christ, what is the result? Is it a loss of salvation, or proof that you were never saved? Look again at the following:
1st John 2:3-5: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
This passage says nothing of losing salvation or having never had it. To get the context of it all, look again at the following verse:
1st John 1:6: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
This is all about having fellowship with God and His Son. The Bible makes it very clear that eternal salvation is free to those who believe on Jesus Christ (John 3:16, John 6:47, Acts 13:39, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 1:13, etc.). If the book of 1st John comes along and teaches that we are not saved if we do not have a love for other believers, then we are presented with a serious contradiction, since that condition was never a requirement for salvation before. Folks, there is no contradiction to be found. 1st John is clearly teaching believers how to stay in fellowship with God and His Son. You do that by loving your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you confess your sins on a regular basis (1st John 1:9). Sins are not recorded against the believer (Romans 4:7-8), and thus they will never steal away the eternal salvation of the believer. However, sin breaks fellowship with God and His Son, and that is why it was said to confess sins in a book that is teaching us how to stay in fellowship with God.
Now, let’s get into the real meat of this. Just because a person is saved, that does not mean that they know God. Let’s say that you were given away by your parents when you were a baby. You grew up never knowing your real parents. That means you never had a relationship, or fellowship, with them. They are still your parents, whether you know them or not, but you could go through your whole life and never know them. The same applies to being a child of God. When you believe on Jesus Christ, you are born again (John 1:12-13) into the family of God (Galatians 4:5). God becomes your spiritual Father, and you cannot undo your spiritual birth, just as you cannot undo your physical birth. However, it is possible to never know God, or to fall out of fellowship with Him. Let me show you how this is possible.
Galatians 4:9: “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”
In the preceding verse, the apostle Paul pointed out that once you are saved, it is not that you now know God, but rather that God knows you. Does a newborn baby know his parents? No. In fact, that child may grow into adulthood and never know his parents. However, a parent will forever have knowledge of their child once they have been made aware of it. Even if a parent has no relationship with a child, that parent still knows about that child. This same set of ideas applies to God and His children. Once God has adopted you into His family, He will forever know you. If you wish to know God, meaning to have a relationship or fellowship with Him, that will take some work on your part. Let’s stop confusing God’s work with the work that believers are supposed to perform. Eternal salvation, being adopted into God’s family, is a free gift handled by God and given to anyone who believes on Jesus Christ. Fellowship with God is established and maintained by the believer, and the book of 1st John was written to help believers achieve these very things.
1st John 1:4: “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
Do you want your joy to be full? Then you will need to have fellowship with God. Do you want to avoid breaking that fellowship? Don’t walk in darkness. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ and confess your sins. Let’s look at some other verses in 1st John that teach believers to love their family.
1st John 4:11-12: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
1st John 4:20-21: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
Finally, let’s take a look in the book of John, where we can find Jesus Christ Himself speaking on this matter.
John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Jesus was saying that if Christians will have love one for another, it will help the rest of the world to come to know Him. If unsaved people see the great love that should exist in the very family of God, they will want to know how to be a part of that. This passage from John was not concerning the subject of salvation whatsoever. Jesus made it clear that He was teaching Christians how to be His disciples. You can be saved and not be a disciple of Jesus Christ, just the same way as you can be saved and not know God.
Lesson 2: Believers should abide in Jesus Christ.
1st John 2:6: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
1st John 2:28: “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
You can be saved and not be abiding in Jesus Christ. A believer should strive to abide in Christ, in order to avoid the shame that follows a life lived selfishly. This is the same concept that is taught in the book of James.
James 2:12-14: “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
Faith will save a believer’s soul (Romans 3:28), but faith will not spare a believer shame on the day when that believer stands before Jesus Christ. The only way to be spared of that shame is to get busy for God.
Why else should you abide in Jesus?
1st John 3:6: “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.”
Abiding in Christ will help to ensure that a believer is not sinning. As you know by now, when the preceding verse speaks of not knowing Jesus, it is not saying that this person is not saved. It is referring to the fact that the person living in sin does not have fellowship with Jesus Christ. You see, you can be saved and still live in sin.
1st John 3:8: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Being saved does not shield you from the temptations of the devil. A believer can still commit sin, and when they do so, they are “of the devil”. This is easy enough to understand.
1st John 1:5: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
There is no darkness in God, so when a believer sins, they are of the devil. God knows that believers will still sin. That is why the second part of 1st John 3:8 states the following:
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Cross-reference that with the following:
Hebrews 2:14: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”
Sin is of the devil, and since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), you could say that death is of the devil. But more specifically, the second death, which is Hell (Revelation 20:14), is no longer a threat to those who have believed on Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ destroyed that threat, which was the lasting effect of sin (“the works of the devil”), when He sacrificed Himself on the cross.
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
How could the Bible say that a believer does not sin? What about the following verse?
1st John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Look again at 1st John 3:9. Note the phrase “for his seed remaineth in him”. When you believe on Jesus Christ, God puts a down payment on your soul.
Ephesians 1:13: “In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
God’s Holy Spirit enters into the believer. That is why the following is possible:
2nd Timothy 2:13: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
After believing on Jesus Christ you can choose to give up your faith, and God will still save your soul. Once God’s Holy Spirit is inside of a believer, that Spirit never leaves. For God to reject someone who has that Holy Spirit inside, it would be the same as God rejecting Himself. Now look again at the following:
1st John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
A believer can still sin, but God’s seed, the Holy Spirit, remains inside the believer. If God recorded the sins of the believer, while His Holy Spirit was living inside of that believer, it would be like God recording sins against Himself. God created a way for it to be impossible for Him to record a believer’s sins against the believer, in order for the believer to remain secure in his position in God’s family.
Romans 4:5-8: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
Faith in Jesus Christ is counted for righteousness. Sins are not recorded to a believer’s account. However, as has already been established, sin causes a believer’s fellowship with God and Jesus Christ to be broken. Therefore, a believer should seek to abide in Christ in order to avoid the act of sin and the subsequent shame of that sin.
Lesson 3: A believer can avoid stumbling.
1st John 2:10: “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”
Is this stumbling referring to a loss of salvation? Not at all. Remember that 1st John was written to believers in order to help them know God and stay in fellowship with Him. The believer that loves his brothers and sisters in Christ can avoid “stumbling,” or damaging his fellowship with God. How do you stumble? Have you ever tried walking through a dark room? Walking in darkness will cause you to stumble.
1st John 2:11: “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
Lesson 4: 1st John does not make eternal salvation difficult.
The book of 1st John was written as instructions for people who have already been saved. In chapter 5, believers are reminded of how they got saved.
1st John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
1st John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1st John 5:8-13: “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Note that the person who believes in Jesus Christ “hath the witness in himself”. The Holy Spirit is the witness, testifying that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for the sins of the world. The believer is given this Holy Spirit, as mentioned in lesson 2. Therefore, the believer has the witness, the Holy Spirit, living inside, and we already know that the Holy Spirit of God seals the soul of the believer.
The book of 1st John may at first glance seem to contradict the simple idea of believing on Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, but upon closer inspection, we see that this book does no such thing. Just remember that the teachings of the Bible must line up completely, or else the entire book is rubbish, and it would be impossible to know the truth. Take a look at one more verse that may seem troubling:
1st John 2:17: “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
To have eternal life, you must do God’s will. God has commandments, and God has a will. According to the book of 1st John, God’s commandments must be kept in order to maintain fellowship with Him. But what, then, is the will of God?
John 6:38-40: “For I (Jesus) came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Hebrews 10:26
This verse, and a few others like it, are covered in the following article: