Understanding Surrender And Salvation

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; 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.”

Dear reader, the Devil has always been a dirty liar (John 8:44). The Devil is a beautiful liar! The Devil came in the form of a serpent to tempt Eve, deceiving her with his beautiful lies. The Devil came to tempt our Lord in Matthew 4:1-10, but Jesus knew His Scriptures too well to be deceived by the Devil. The saint who is learned in the Scriptures cannot be deceived.

Having said that, there is an epidemic which has infected thousands of Baptist churches today called “Lordship Salvation,” which is the lie that faith is not enough to be saved. In addition, the advocates of Lordship Salvation say you must turn away from your sins, surrender all to Christ as “Lord” (Master), run the race faithfully until the end to prove the genuineness of your faith, and follow Jesus no matter what the cost to have the gift of eternal life. Yet, none of these things comprise the Gospel. They are perversions of God's free grace.

The following excellent information refuting Lordship Salvation is from Dr. John R. Van Gelderen, president of Revival Focus Ministries:

Question #44: In regard to salvation, what must be surrendered? Would it be accurate to say that one must only surrender his soul to be saved by Jesus? And that surrendering anything else would be a works-based salvation? Isn’t this what lordship salvation teaches? You must be willing to surrender and be willing to turn from individual sins, pride, etc.? What is involved in “surrendering” to salvation? Would it be correct to say that the ONLY sin one must surrender would be the sin of unbelief (not trusting in Christ)? I have heard if one isn’t willing to publicly confess Christ, then they haven’t totally surrendered. But if that is the case, wouldn’t this be works based?

John Van Gelderen Answers:

Insightful questions! There is much misunderstanding in this area. Several questions have been submitted along these lines revealing the confusion that is prevalent. See also Question #14 and Question #18 among others.

The issue is not between soul and body. Soul-focus can be off-based too. The issue is the object of faith and the condition of salvation. The lordship salvation debate is not a debate on whether Jesus is Lord, but on what constitutes the condition of receiving salvation. 

If surrender is made to be anything more than the flip-side of faith, it becomes works. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin as the problem, judgment as the consequence, and the righteousness of Jesus as the answer. [John 16:8-11] Being convinced of these three truths, when someone surrenders to them, they are trusting in Christ as the righteousness needed to be saved from sin and judgment. This is faith. Yet this is surrender in the correct sense. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is not believing in Jesus. Therefore, the core issue of surrender is believing on Jesus Christ.

When surrender is defined as turning from your sins or being willing to turn from your sins (your commitment to do right), grace is violated. This definition unwittingly places your dependence on yourself—your commitment to do right, your willingness to turn from your sins, instead of on Christ (the object of faith) to save you from yours sins. The focus of surrender must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented.

Regarding the public profession of faith, what is stated above applies. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple. This means he was in fact a believer, and his being labeled by the inspired text as a disciple was contingent on his faith in Christ, not his public confession.

SOURCE: https://revivalfocus.org/q-44-surrender-and-salvation

I love that. The issue is not over whether Jesus is Lord; but rather, what is required to receive God's gift of eternal life? The Statement of Faith of the First Baptist Church of El Paso, Texas caught my attention recently. Sadly, they preach another gospel that is totally perverted...

SALVATION

Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://fbcep.com/what-we-believe

Do you see the woeful contradiction? In one statement they say that you cannot be saved by works, but then they follow two sentences later by saying that without works you cannot be saved! That is theologically absurd! Clearly they are ADDING works to faith, corrupting the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). Nowhere does the Holy Bible teach that a person must “turn from our self-willed life” to receive God's free gift of eternal life. It is a perversion of grace. Again, Dr. Van Gelderen rightly states in defense of the Gospel:

When surrender is defined as turning from your sins or being willing to turn from your sins (your commitment to do right), grace is violated. This definition unwittingly places your dependence on yourself—your commitment to do right, your willingness to turn from your sins, instead of on Christ (the object of faith) to save you from yours sins. The focus of surrender must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://revivalfocus.org/q-44-surrender-and-salvation (February 22, 2018

Evangelist John Bunyan (1628-1688) also said it well:

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” [emphasis added] —John Bunyan

Salvation is by faith alone (Acts 10:43). Many of today's apostate Bible colleges (e.g., Bob Jones University and Moody Bible Institute) and corrupt churches (e.g., First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida and Harvest Baptist Church of Guam) are in utter denial, insisting that salvation is still by grace, while requiring people to turn away from their willful sinning to be saved. That is 100% partial faith in Christ plus works, which is no faith at all. The focus of surrender for salvation must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented. A man surrenders by believing on Christ. A man repents by believing on Christ. Nothing else is necessary for salvation except that a sinner believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31).

What is the Gospel (i.e., Good News)? Christ died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. Three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead for our justification (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe it Oh sinner and you will be instantly and eternally saved (Acts 16:30-31). You will be able to confidently say: “I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I know I have eternal life.” You have the Lord's promise of it in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”