He is LORD

It is quite amazing how watered down the Gospel has become in modern Christianity. It is heartbreaking to see the amount of false conversions that never produce any fruit, changes in behavior or life, and real saving faith. Even more sad, the deception that pastors all over the country, and world, are responsible for, as they preach a false Gospel, unbiblical and unsaving. Where do we go from here then? I wish I could say it was something difficult which would give these heretical teachings, deceptive lies, and terrible false conversions some sort of excuse, but that is far from the truth. It's simple, it's clear, and it's found where it has always been...in the very Word of God.

In Luke 9:23-25, Jesus himself tells us what it means to be saved..." Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? "

Wait a second, you might be thinking, isn't Jesus' command to just believe? Well, yes, but I would argue that belief is more than a mere profession, a moment of agreement, for it to be real. If you really believe something, it CHANGES YOUR LIFE. And you see, Jesus didn't stop at just believe, he specifically called those who believed, to FOLLOW HIM, to be His "disciples" and to a life of obedience.

I have been listening to JMac's series on Lordship salvation and have been blessed, stretched, challenged, encouraged, convicted, and comforted. Some see the whole idea of Lordship salvation as wrong, a works based salvation, rather than a grace based. But the reality is that you are saved by grace, and if you are truly saved by grace, you will be transformed by the grace, changed, and that change will result in a new life, which produces a genuine love for God, obedience to Him and His Word, and ultimately fruit.

Jesus MUST be Lord of your life. You do not make Him Lord. The power of the Gospel transforming YOU, makes Him the sovereign Lord of your life. You willingly submit, prayerfully follow, and surrender all to His sovereign hand of control. There is no easy-believism with true saving faith. It is a miraculous event by the Spirit's drawing that changes the saved FOREVER. It results in a precious love for the Savior and a surrender to His Lordship, willingly. The life of the saved is kept in Christ, you can't lose that salvation, in Jesus Himself says that nobody can snatch His kids from His hand, not even satan. The life of the saved is evident, people see the change and can spot the true born again believer.

The answer to all these false conversions as people fall away, is to replace the watered down Gospel with the Biblical Gospel found in the WORD of God. To preach a true salvation, of repentance and faith. To call people, as Jesus did, to count the cost and to leave it all to follow Him. The truly called will come, and the ones who were never His won't be deceived.

If He saves you, you WILL love Him. If you love Him, you WILL obey Him. If you obey Him, you WILL produce fruit. Fruitless Christianity is not Christianity at all.