Dear Family,
Lordship as a pre requisite to Salvation is the concept or Theological views of the group called the Lordship Salvationist. This is not a new thing as it already created a lot of controversy in the past. In my other email Jay apologized that he only reads that quotes from Mr. Murrel, an author of the book from where he got the quotations. In the current decade this idea or theology is backed-up by John F. MacArthur, one of the great theological teacher in our times. Sometimes he swayed to extremes, but his views are always sounds strong.
In my last trip to the US, I have the chance to befriend a newly acquainted pastor. He graduated from the seminary of John F MacArthur in LA. I told him: " I find you delivering a very balanced sermon(Kuya Wency and I attended his church)...I know a lot of pastors who followed John's teaching, turns legalistic..." I added. To that, he said a big YES..."if you are not careful, you will become legalistic..."
To me, Salvation is not the work of man, but; it is the work of;
1. Someone who has the capability or capacity to save, and
2. Someone who has the willingness to save.
Even saying yes to the gospel is something we can not boast of. Everyman if given the chance to choose, he would not choose Jesus Christ. Man will always choose the world. Saying yes to the gospel(The work of Christ), is the work of the Holy Spirit when he circumcised the heart of man being shared with the gospel. Even the acknowledgment, of sin is a product of a circumcised heart. It is not a product of intellectual understanding alone.
How much more making Jesus as our Lord and savior? We can not do that. The moment we will do that, salvation becomes a result of work. Instead we need to surrender to him and allow Jesus to be the Lord of our lives. Definitely, we can not make him our Lord. Alligning our lives to his Lordship? Who and what kind of man can do that? Definitely, no one...instead we can ask and plead before Him to help us renew our lives. Renewing our lives is not just a matter of counting the gains and losses and make a new action plans in order to allign. It is rather a spiritual in nature because it is a partnership between God and man. With God who ia ready to help, and man who is willing to accomodate the help from God-His grace.
Salvation always revolves around Ephesians 2:8-9, and Titus 3:5:
For it is by grace you been saved, through faith--- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--- not by works, so that no one can boast
He saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Salvation? nothing coming from us...it is a FREE gift. Imperfect lordship? The bible illustrated it through the tax collector who said, " I am a sinful man...", that confession glorifies God but no promise of not doing it again as he reports again the next day to his job, collecting taxes...Did he has a perfect lordship after that? we dont know...what I know is that a lot of us are wrestling with our weaknesses no matter how committed we are inthe presence of God. The issue here is not perfect or imperfect lordship, but what is our attitude towards our sin, which I myself also is struggling and needs a lot of strength and grace from God.
Bobot M.
Thanks to Ed T and Kuya Wency's enlightening views. Thanks also to R.G.'s initiative on this topic.
