Does Colossians 1:23 Teach Lordship Salvation?

Colossians 1:20-23, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him 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;”

Brother Lester Roloff (1914-1982) said: "The great need of the hour is preaching preachers!" The Apostle Paul said the same thing in 1st Corinthians 15:2 as he did in Colossians 1:23. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

Paul said they would be saved by faith in the Gospel, "if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." Paul has preached the Gospel to the churches of Galatia, but later they were "bewitched" (Galatians 3:1) by a cult which had infiltrated the churches, teaching that keeping the deeds of the law is necessary to be saved. That effectively is exactly what Lordship Salvation does. Paul was simply warning them that one can only be saved by THE GOSPEL. Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." I love that advice! 

The proponents of Lordship Salvation always use obscure passages of Scripture to support their Strawman Lordship Gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works. Yet they ignore entire books of the Bible, like the Gospel of John. John has been rightly called "God's Gospel tract." John 20:31, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." The purpose for which John said his gospel was written is to convince the reader of these things (that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and that by believing we are saved). 85 times we find the word "believe" mentioned in the Gospel of John, yet not once doe we find the word "repent." Continuous believing is not required to be saved, but a one time event. Receiving God's gift of eternal life is a new birth, not an ongoing process that requires your effort (that would be works).

Repentance is necessary for salvation, but it facilitates believing. We are saved by believing. Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) said repentance and faith are two parts of one step to be saved. Lordship Salvationists teach that you must repent AND then second, believe. The Bible teaches that we repent TO believe. Repentance is simply a change of mind regarding THE TRUTH. 2nd Timothy 2:25, "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" So here we see that repentance is "acknowledgment of the truth," and not turning from sins. Repentance is a change of mind concerning the truth. The Old Testament LAW law shows us the truth that we are guilty sinners (Romans 3:19-20), and then brings us to CHRIST to be saved by grace through faith alone (Galatians 3:24-26). We are saved by believing the truth (Good News) of the Gospel.

So with the Gospel of John in view, Paul could only have meant that to be saved a person must believe the Gospel. False prophets are always creeping into the churches. I am shocked that Bob Jones University now preaches hardcore Lordship Salvation. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) would blow the college to smithereens if he could, because infidels are robbing people of their faith.

I think BJU today is a good illustration of the meaning of Colossians 1:23, they have moved away from the hope of the Gospel. As Dr. Hutson said earlier, we must never use an obscure passage of Scripture to contradict a clear one! The Gospel of John is 100% clear that salvation is by faith alone. John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." Advocates of Lordship Salvation and the heresy of “turn from your sins” to be saved, wrestle obscure passages to their own destruction, while ignoring hundreds of passages which plainly teach salvation is solely by faith. 

Carefully notice in Colossians 1:23 that Paul didn't say they were saved, he says "ye are saved IF." At the end of the verse Paul says, "which ye have HEARD." He didn't say "that ye BELIEVED." That is important to see. They heard the Gospel, but they are only saved IF they BELIEVE it. Carefully notice that the following passage from Galatians explains Colossians 1:23... Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” 

They were REMOVED (an exchange) from the hope (or expectation) of the Gospel (Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and bodily risen). 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;” That is what Paul means in Colossians 1:23. Paul is warning the reader not to be led astray by another gospel.