For many years, I was in the circle of Lordship Salvation and Calvinism. I always wanted to seek the truth because I thought I was missing something, but I did not know what that was. I went to churches, both evangelical and Baptist, to see the difference. Unfortunately, Lordship salvation mentality has infiltrated a very high percentage of churches, the same as Calvinism. The thing is that many of those people are not even aware of it (I once liked them.) Towards the end of this article, I included some references that you can check if you are interested in studying Lordship Salvation and Calvinism.
Before I realized what free grace is, I was attending a Baptist church. Everything seemed okay and biblical; I barely recognized the error because most of the time, sermons are topical. Not until one missionary preached about how he got saved. He shared with the congregation that he used to believe in God, but he was backslidden, and eventually he realized that he was not saved. He then surrendered his life to the Lord and started to see his life change until he became a missionary.
Upon hearing that, my radar suddenly buzzed. I have been hearing this kind of salvation testimony within the Calvinist and Lordship Salvation community. From that point on, I started to be vigilant, but I was cautious because I knew that no one believed me. I came to the point where I used to equate salvation with the outward fruit of people and judged them based on whether they were saved or not. I was already skeptical after hearing that testimony from the missionary, but I kept silent because I saw people saying, “Amen.” It meant that they did not understand the idea behind it. I just prayed to God to once again show me the right way.
If we truly seek answers, God won’t be so far as to give you answers for your questions. God sent a man (my husband now) to clear me from all those doubts and questions that I kept in my mind for so long. He was able to explain to me the clear way of salvation. I was sure that at some point, I had trusted God to be my Savior during the time that I sought deeper into Christianity. For the rest, I diligently searched for the answers in Scripture and listened to countless preachings from free grace pastors.
Here are some common errors in attaining salvation:
I. Repent of Sins/Turn From Sins. (Matthew 3:2, 2 Corinthians 7:10)
This is the most common error in salvation because of the word “repentance,” which is associated with turning away from sins, and the commonly used verses are the following, with background:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2
During this time, when John the Baptist preached this to the people, their way of salvation was different. We knew that Judaism was the religion of most people, and many cling to their self-righteousness and good works to be saved. Thus, Jesus is not the only way to salvation, but rather, their beliefs and traditions were. Repentance here is used as “change of mind” from believing other means to be saved and is in no way related to turning away from sins or changing your outward behavior to be saved.
No one has ever repented and turned away from sins 180 degrees (as some may say). This is just a mental assent—people just say and believe it without truly understanding. Because if this is not a mental assent, who is not sinning at this point?
Repentance is just a change of mind from believing other means of salvation to accepting that only Jesus can save us, and there is no other way to be saved apart from His finished work on the cross. (During this time, believing this was hard.)
This definition of repentance as a change of mind that leads to a change of action or feeling sorrowful or remorseful is used by many people, including Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, Methodists, Baptists, and so on, as it is defined by dictionaries as “the action of repenting; sincere regret or remorse” (online dictionary). A biblical meaning is different. The fact that many religious people and organizations use the same meaning is already problematic. So, logically speaking, without looking into Scripture, this word is already shady.
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10
Many people would say, “See? This verse pertains to sins, and you must turn away from sins to be saved.” Yes and no. Yes, because true enough, this verse is about sins of commission, such as lying, thieving, adultery, fornication, etc. But no, because salvation here is not about the spiritual. It’s about physical salvation.
Let’s look at some previous chapters and the theme Paul was discussing to understand this verse better.
2 Corinthians opened with Paul’s salutation (Chapter 1, verses 1 and 2).
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-17
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? ”And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
Before this, in 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul was already discussing the sins and idolatry of people in the church and urging them to live separate lives as children of God.
2 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.”
Now, let’s go back to the verse.
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10.
Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation—this is the sorrow that we feel when we do something wrong. David’s Psalm 51 clearly illustrates this godly sorrow.
Sorrow of the world worketh death—the best example I could think of of this is Pharaoh. He never truly repented, though he acknowledged God.
“And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked.” Exodus 9:27
“Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.” Exodus 10:16
And so, Pharaoh’s worldly repentance led them to destruction.
Another is the account of Jonah’s story. They repented of their evil ways, and God spared them from destruction, but eventually, they went back to their old ways, and God destroyed them for good. This is not spiritual salvation but physical.
God mentioned in Chapter 3:4-5 of this book that he would overthrow the city if they would not turn away from their evil works.
“Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Jonah 3:10
Obviously, this pertains to their annihilation if they continued their sinful ways. It was not about their spiritual salvation.
II. Accept or Invite Jesus Into Your Heart. (Revelation 3:20)
Many people misuse Revelation 3:20 as a verse for salvation. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In the first 3 chapters of Revelation, God rebuked and commended 7 churches, one of which was the Laodicean church in Chapter 3. Therefore, the context of this is that God was talking to the church of Laodiceans, who were already saved. They were only considered lukewarm by God. So, they need to repent, and God was inviting them to commune and have fellowship with Him again. This was addressed to the church and in no way should be used as a salvation verse.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
III. Prayer and Confession (1 John 1:9)
Another misunderstood verse is 1 John 1:9, which is used for believers. This book is for believers because we need to live a lifestyle of repentance. God is always gracious and merciful to us, and whenever we sin, we need to confess it to God, and according to this verse, He is always righteous and just to forgive us. Again, this is not a salvation verse.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Confession is only admitting our wrongdoing. This verse applies to believers and should not be used when sharing the Gospel.
IV. Discipleship Salvation (Matthew 16:24)
Discipleship salvation is when we try to mix salvation and discipleship. Thus, we form these statements:
Commit your life to the Lord.
Surrender your life to the Lord.
Make Him the Lord of all
If He is not the Lord of all, He is not the Lord at all.
I have some problems with these statements. Because honestly, my commitment and surrender to the Lord are not consistent. So, if these are the conditions of salvation, when can I be assured of my salvation?
Also, regardless of how we view it, He is Lord, whether we accept it or not. The problem is not in His deity. The problem lies with us. But it won’t change the fact that He is Lord.
V. By product, Not a Way of Salvation
Baptism
Good works
Being morally upright
Faithful attendance in church and ministry
Fruit-bearing
Remember, salvation is by grace through faith alone. There is no other requirement or prerequisite for salvation. Nonetheless, it is not free at all. Salvation is God’s work alone. It’s free. Discipleship involves our willingness to follow Him. Let’s not mix them, or we create what Paul mentioned in Galatians 1:8—OTHER GOSPEL.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Lastly, our assurance of salvation is not determined by the outward fruit we have or our performance as Christians, but His Word, because if we rely on our outward fruit and performance, no one can really be assured of their salvation. Only His Word that clears us from all these doubts and confusion.
May you truly seek God according to His Word, not men’s.
Good Resources
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