The heresy
that saving faith does not involve commitment or surrender to the Lordship of
Christ is, sadly, very influential in a variety of fundamental Baptist circles. It is very easy to refute this heresy. The following five points will be brought
forth.
that saving faith does not involve commitment or surrender to the Lordship of
Christ is, sadly, very influential in a variety of fundamental Baptist circles. It is very easy to refute this heresy. The following five points will be brought
forth.
1.) Saving faith involves repentance, and repentance requires
turning from sin to Christ as Lord. This fact is demonstrated in my paper here and is also simply evident from
many texts such as: “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and
live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11). “For they themselves shew of us what manner of
entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from
the dead, even Jesus, which delivered
us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
turning from sin to Christ as Lord. This fact is demonstrated in my paper here and is also simply evident from
many texts such as: “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and
live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11). “For they themselves shew of us what manner of
entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from
the dead, even Jesus, which delivered
us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
2.) The idea of committal or entrustment in the common New
Testament verb to believe, the verb
found in texts such as John 3:16, is evident.
The verb is translated in a form including the word “commit” in Luke
16:11; John 2:24; Rom 3:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Timothy 1:11
& Titus 1:3. “He that believeth in
me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47) includes an act of committal or surrender
to Jesus as Lord.
Testament verb to believe, the verb
found in texts such as John 3:16, is evident.
The verb is translated in a form including the word “commit” in Luke
16:11; John 2:24; Rom 3:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Timothy 1:11
& Titus 1:3. “He that believeth in
me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47) includes an act of committal or surrender
to Jesus as Lord.
3.) Furthermore, the common Biblical phrase for saving
faith in Christ, pisteuein eis auton (“believe in/on Him”),
involves submission and surrender. In
the words of a standard Greek grammar:
faith in Christ, pisteuein eis auton (“believe in/on Him”),
involves submission and surrender. In
the words of a standard Greek grammar:
Deissmann in Light
From the Ancient East gives several convincing quotations from the papyri
to prove that pisteuiein eis auton
meant surrender or submission to. A slave was sold into the name of the god of a temple; i. e., to be a temple servant. G. Milligan agrees with Deissmann that this papyri
usage of eis auton is also found regularly
in the New Testament. Thus to believe on
or . . . into the name of Jesus means to renounce self and to consider oneself
the life-time servant of Jesus. (pg. 105, A
Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, H. E. Dana & Julius R.
Mantey. New York, NY: MacMillan, 1955. Greek characters have been transliterated.)
From the Ancient East gives several convincing quotations from the papyri
to prove that pisteuiein eis auton
meant surrender or submission to. A slave was sold into the name of the god of a temple; i. e., to be a temple servant. G. Milligan agrees with Deissmann that this papyri
usage of eis auton is also found regularly
in the New Testament. Thus to believe on
or . . . into the name of Jesus means to renounce self and to consider oneself
the life-time servant of Jesus. (pg. 105, A
Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, H. E. Dana & Julius R.
Mantey. New York, NY: MacMillan, 1955. Greek characters have been transliterated.)
4.) All believers are disciples, and discipleship involves surrender to Christ’s Lordship. Here at “What is Truth?” we posted a study of the word
“disciple” to see if disciples were a subcategory of believers. It is
here:
http://kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/01/are-all-believers-disciples-part-1.html
http://kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/01/are-all-believers-disciples-part-2.html
http://kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/01/are-all-believers-disciples-part-3.html
It is very clear that “disciple” and
“believer” are synonymous categories from a study of the word
“disciple. No clear texts contrast “believers” as a bigger
category and “disciples” as an elite subcategory, while in many
passages disciples are contrasted with lost people and in other passages Christ
calls lost people to become disciples and thus receive salvation. For that
matter, the Greek of Acts 11:26 equates as identical categories
“disciple” and “Christian,” so anti-Lordship people should
exhort saved people to become Christians by a post-conversion act of surrender if
they really were consistent with their denial that all believers are
disciples.
“believer” are synonymous categories from a study of the word
“disciple. No clear texts contrast “believers” as a bigger
category and “disciples” as an elite subcategory, while in many
passages disciples are contrasted with lost people and in other passages Christ
calls lost people to become disciples and thus receive salvation. For that
matter, the Greek of Acts 11:26 equates as identical categories
“disciple” and “Christian,” so anti-Lordship people should
exhort saved people to become Christians by a post-conversion act of surrender if
they really were consistent with their denial that all believers are
disciples.
5.) The most commonly used Baptist confessions teach that
salvation involves turning from sin to surrender to Christ’s Lordship. For
example:
salvation involves turning from sin to surrender to Christ’s Lordship. For
example:
“Unfeigned repentance is an inward and true sorrow of heart
for sin, with sincere confession of the same to God, especially that we have
offended so gracious a God and so loving a Father, together with a settled
purpose of heart and a careful endeavor to leave all our sins, and to live a
more holy and sanctified life according to all God’s commands” (The Orthodox
Creed, Baptist, 1679).
for sin, with sincere confession of the same to God, especially that we have
offended so gracious a God and so loving a Father, together with a settled
purpose of heart and a careful endeavor to leave all our sins, and to live a
more holy and sanctified life according to all God’s commands” (The Orthodox
Creed, Baptist, 1679).
“This saving repentance is an evangelical grace, whereby a
person, being by the Holy Spirit made sensible of the manifold evils of his
sin, doth, by faith in Christ, humble himself for it with godly sorrow,
detestation of it, and self-abhorrency; praying for pardon and strength of
grace, with a purpose and endeavor by supplies of the Spirit to walk before God
unto all well-pleasing in all things” (Philadelphia Confession of Faith,
Baptist, 1742).
person, being by the Holy Spirit made sensible of the manifold evils of his
sin, doth, by faith in Christ, humble himself for it with godly sorrow,
detestation of it, and self-abhorrency; praying for pardon and strength of
grace, with a purpose and endeavor by supplies of the Spirit to walk before God
unto all well-pleasing in all things” (Philadelphia Confession of Faith,
Baptist, 1742).
There is no historical evidence at all of other Baptists
criticizing such statements as supposedly teaching works salvation or corrupting the allegedly true anti-Lordship doctrine of the gospel. The true gospel was not lost, and all the Baptists of past centuries are not burning in hell because they allegedly believed in works salvation, the supposedly true, anti-Lordship gospel not having yet been discovered by men like Zane Hodges and Curtis Hutson. Biblical Baptists have embraced the true gospel from the time of Christ
their Founder until today (Mt 16:18). The anti-Lordship gospel is a recent and modern innovation and corruption of the gospel and deviation from Biblical and Baptist orthodoxy.
criticizing such statements as supposedly teaching works salvation or corrupting the allegedly true anti-Lordship doctrine of the gospel. The true gospel was not lost, and all the Baptists of past centuries are not burning in hell because they allegedly believed in works salvation, the supposedly true, anti-Lordship gospel not having yet been discovered by men like Zane Hodges and Curtis Hutson. Biblical Baptists have embraced the true gospel from the time of Christ
their Founder until today (Mt 16:18). The anti-Lordship gospel is a recent and modern innovation and corruption of the gospel and deviation from Biblical and Baptist orthodoxy.
Thus, it is clear that saving faith involves commitment or
surrender to the Lordship of Christ.
Denying this plain Biblical fact is a rejection of a core element of
true saving faith and a serious corruption and perversion of the gospel of
Christ (cf. Galatians 1:6-9). Reject this heretical corruption and separate from those who are unwilling to stand for the true gospel of justification by repentant faith alone in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior.
surrender to the Lordship of Christ.
Denying this plain Biblical fact is a rejection of a core element of
true saving faith and a serious corruption and perversion of the gospel of
Christ (cf. Galatians 1:6-9). Reject this heretical corruption and separate from those who are unwilling to stand for the true gospel of justification by repentant faith alone in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior.
The discussion here:
http://faithsaves.net/historic-baptist-lordship-salvation-free-grace/
is also worth reading.
It is also here:
http://kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-historic-baptist-doctrine-of.html