Scriptures That Clearly Refute Lordship Salvation

Luke 14:26, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

by Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995)

Not only do Bible examples refute Lordship salvation but clear passages of Scripture refute it also. First Corinthians 12:3 says, "...no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Now keep in mind that one does not have the presence of the Hoy Spirit in his life until after he is saved. Romans 8:9 says, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The Bible says in Galatians 4:6, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." John 3:6 says believers are "born of the Spirit." They are sealed by the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). If you can't call Jesus Lord without the Holy Ghost, and you must call Him Lord to get saved, and you are not saved without the Holy Ghost, you have a problem! 

Romans is a book about salvation. Romans, chapter 3, says that everybody need to be saved. It describes humanity. It lays man out on God's examination table and gives him a divine diagnosis. God looks at man and says, "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways" (Romans 3:13-16). He describes man from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and says that he is a totally depraved sinner. In Romans 3:10 God says, "There is none righteous, no, not one." In verse 23 He says, "For all have sinned, and come short upon the glory of God." Romans 3 teaches that everybody needs to be saved! 

Romans, chapter 4, gives three ways you cannot be saved. Verses 1 to 4 teach that one cannot be saved by works. Verses 9-12 teach that one cannot be saved by the observance of ordinances. Verses 13 to 25 teach that one cannot be saved by keeping the law. 

Romans, chapter 5, tells you the only way to be saved. Verse 1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Justified by what? By surrender? By commitment? By making Jesus Lord of your life? No. "Justified by FAITH." 

Romans, chapter 12, is written to those who are already saved, and verse 1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." 

Notice that Paul refers to them as "brethren," meaning they were saved. there is no such thing as the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. The only people who are our Christian brothers are those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Everyone who has trusted Jesus or received Him as Saviour, has become a son of God and is therefore a brother to all others who have trusted that same Saviour. 

These people to whom Paul is writing are born-again believers but not committed, surrendered believers; and Paul is pleading with them, in view of all God's mercies, to present their bodies as living sacrifices. They are saved but Jesus is not the Lord of their lives. 

Some say, "But the Bible says, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me' (Matthew 16:24). The Bible says if you don't love the Lord with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and hate your father and mother and all that, you can't be a disciple. The Bible says if you don't forsake all you have, you can't be a disciple (Luke 14:33)." 

That is all true, but remember He is saying, "You cannot be my disciple." He didn't say, "You can't go to Heaven." We must not confuse the requirements for discipleship with the requirement for salvation. Every disciple is a believer, but every believer is not a disciple. A disciple is a learner, a student. 

God never says to the unsaved man, "Come after Me for salvation." He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But after one accepts Christ as Saviour, then He says in Matthew 4:19, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." We come to Him for salvation and come after Him for service. 

It is one thing to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour and quite another to surrender one's life to the Lord. There is such a thing as the dedicated Christian life. And there are carnal Christians, according to 1st Corinthians 3, who have never yielded their lives to Christ. The yielding of one's life or making Jesus Lord of one's life is not a requirement for salvation. That is Lordship salvation and a perversion of the Gospel.  

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