A Response to Bob Wilkin: "Is Lordship Salvation a Saving Message?"

Bob Wilkin, the executive director of the Grace Evangelical Society (GES), wrote an article in the May/June 2019 edition of the Grace In Focus magazine titled “Is Lordship Salvation a Saving Message?” In the article, Wilkin writes:

“Some (many?) in Free Grace circles believe the following is true: Anyone who believes that Jesus is God and that He died on the cross for our sins and rose bodily from the dead on the third day is born again. Well, Lordship Salvation people believe that. So do Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Church of Christ, Assemblies of God, and so forth. Most who call themselves Christians believe that. […] What do you think? Is a person born again if he thinks that faith in Christ is not enough to be born again?”[1]

The short answer is no, of course not. Lordship Salvation is not a saving message. Not if you mean that a person has to surrender every area of his or her life to Christ’s Lordship before they can become worthy of salvation. That’s a faith plus works gospel! That’s a false gospel! The apostle Paul clearly denounces such a gospel in his epistle to the Galatians (see Gal. 1:6-9; cf. Acts 13:38-41).

This question (it’s really an objection) has come up a number of times in Free Grace circles over the years, in relation to the gospel message in 1 Corinthians 15. Jeremy Myers put forward a variation of this question some years ago in his paper titled “The Gospel Is More Than ‘Faith Alone in Christ Alone’”. Commenting on 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Myers asks: 

“But who in Christendom, except for the liberal (and now postmodern) theologians, doesn’t believe these three (or four) truths? Almost everybody in most evangelical schools and churches believes that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. So if this is all that is necessary to receive everlasting life, then almost everyone in Christendom is going to heaven—even all those who believe that our own good works and faithfulness are required along with Christ’s sacrifice.”[2]

And now Bob Wilkin is asking this question again. Well, I think the answer is simple. The word “saved” in 1 Corinthians 15:2 has more than one sense; it has two and even three senses. It can refer to justification (past salvation), sanctification (present salvation), and/or glorification (future salvation).[3] The context will help to determine which sense is being used in the passage (see 1 Cor. 15:1-11; cf. 1 Cor. 1:18-21, 30).

Many Lordship people are saved in spite of their beliefs about Lordship Salvation because at some point in their life, they believed the gospel. The key word here is “believed”. I’m not talking about faith plus works. I’m talking about faith alone. In other words, if any Lordship person is saved (saved from hell), it’s because at some point in their life they believed the gospel by faith alone. You see, Roman Catholics (for example) don’t really believe the gospel. Because by definition, the word “believe” excludes works.[4] So they don’t really believe the gospel because if they did it would exclude works. The Roman Catholics say they believe the gospel, but like so often happens with the cults and false religions, they have redefined the meaning of believe so as to make it include works. But that’s not what the Bible means when it talks about believing.[5] A key verse is Romans 4:4-5 which says: “Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned by grace but as a debt. But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.”

This is important to understand because GES people say that Roman Catholics also believe the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 and they are not saved, so the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 isn’t the saving message because it does not include the teaching of faith alone. But such reasoning is false. In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul includes the teaching of faith alone because the language that Paul uses is consistent with grace (cf. Rom. 11:6). Paul uses the words “received” (verse 1) and “believed” (verse 11). And as I just noted above, when the Bible uses the word believe it doesn’t include works – in fact, it actually excludes them (see Romans 4:4-5). And in regards to Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:2, even Zane Hodges has said that the verb translated “hold fast” (Gr. katecho) can refer to a person initially taking hold of (or believing) the gospel message. Regarding this, Hodges writes the following:

“The problem in correctly understanding this verse [1 Cor. 15:2] is caused by the English translation. A very flexible Greek verb (katecho) is translated ‘hold fast’ in the New King James Version (the AV has ‘keep in memory’). But the verb could equally well be rendered ‘take hold of’ or ‘take possession of.’ In that case it would refer to the act of appropriating the truth of the Gospel by faith. Closer examination of the Greek text suggests that this is indeed the correct understanding. The Greek word order can be represented as follows: ‘by which also you are saved, by that word I preached to you, if you take hold of it, unless you believed in vain.’ From this it appears that Paul is thinking of the saving effect of the preached word when it is duly appropriated, unless in fact that appropriation (by faith) has been in vain. What he means by believing ‘in vain’ is made clear in verses 14 and 17: ‘And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty [the AV has ‘vain’ for ‘empty’]. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins [the AV has ‘vain’ for ‘futile’].’ First Corinthians 15:2 must be read in the light of the subsequent discussion about resurrection. Paul is simply saying, in verse 2, that the Gospel he has preached to them is a saving Gospel when it is appropriated by faith, unless, after all, the resurrection is false. In that case, no salvation has occurred at all and the faith his readers had exercised was futile. But naturally Paul absolutely insists on the reality of the resurrection of Christ. He therefore does not think that the Corinthians have believed ‘in vain.’”[6]

In regards to Hodges’ exegetical insights on 1 Corinthians 15:2, I’m in agreement with another Free Grace advocate who said: “My opinion is that Zane Hodges explained 1 Cor. 15:2 exceedingly well, evidently before he changed his mind about the gospel”.[7] What’s more, Hodges even used this passage evangelistically to explain salvation (justification) by faith alone! (For more information see my blog post: “Where Is Justification by Faith Alone in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11?”) So Wilkin’s argument that “you’ll not find a mention of justification by faith apart from works in this passage” is entirely beside the point, because the concept of justification by faith alone in Christ alone is clearly set forth by the apostle Paul in the passage.

* * * 

Objection: “Justification by faith alone” is not mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. Commenting on 1 Corinthians 15:3-11, Wilkin puts it this way: “Try hard but you’ll not find a mention of justification by faith apart from works in this passage. You find that in Gal 2:15-16 and in Galatians 3 and Romans 3-4. But it just isn’t here. Anywhere.”[8]

Answer: Why does it have to be specifically mentioned? We don’t impose that requirement on other doctrines that are taught in God’s Word, such as the “Trinity” (which is never specifically mentioned in the Bible), nor in regards to the word “Rapture” (which similarly is a word that is not found in the English Bible). Does Wilkin not believe in the “Trinity” because that word isn’t found anywhere in the Bible? I think not. If the concept is taught, then that should be sufficient. On this point Wilkin agrees. Commenting on the gospel in Galatians, Wilkin writes: “We don’t need to use the word justification, but we must preach the concept or its equivalent if we wish to preach the gospel of Paul and Jesus. ‘He who believes in Me has everlasting life’ (John 6:47) is justification by faith alone in different words.”[9] So Wilkin clearly has a double standard in regards to how he (mis)interprets 1 Corinthians 15, a method of interpretation that he does not impose on the rest of the Bible.

I would also point out that justification is first tense salvation, and salvation is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. Unsaved people in the city of Corinth were “being saved” (v. 2) as Christians evangelized them. People were being converted and added to the church in Corinth (cf. Acts 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:18-21, 30).[10]

ENDNOTES:

[1] Bob Wilkin, “Is Lordship Salvation a Saving Message?” Grace In Focus (May/June 2019), p. 6.

[2] Jeremy D. Myers, “The Gospel Is More Than ‘Faith Alone in Christ Alone’” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 19 (Autumn 2006), p. 48.

[3] Cf. Harold Willmington, “He said, ‘I was, I am, but not yet.’” (2019), Dr. Willmington’s Personal Observations of the Bible. 13. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=willmington_personal_observations (accessed 1/22/23).

[4] “There is general agreement among Greek grammarians as to the meaning of the term believe (pisteuo). In his Greek-English lexicon Walter Bauer affirms: ‘believe (in), trust of relig. belief in a special sense, as faith in the Divinity that lays special emphasis on trust in his power and his nearness to help, in addition to being convinced that he exists and that his revelations or disclosures are true. In our lit. God and Christ are objects of this faith.’ (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 661.) In the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown gives a similar understanding of believe (pisteuo): ‘The trusting acceptance and recognition of what God has done and promised in him [Christ].’ (Colin Brown, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 4 Vols. 1:588.) Likewise, W. E. Vine writes: “pisteuo...‘to believe,’ also ‘to be persuaded of,’ and hence, ‘to place confidence in, to trust,’ signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence.” (W. E. Vine, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary, 61.) Lewis Sperry Chafer, quoting the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, affirms the following concerning faith (which is but a synonym for the verb believe): ‘In conclusion, without trespassing on the ground of other articles, we call the reader’s attention, for his Scriptural studies, to the central place of faith in Christianity, and its significance. As being, in its true idea, a reliance as simple as possible upon the word, power, love, of Another, it is precisely that which, on man’s side, adjusts him to the living and merciful presence and action [i.e. person and work] of a trusted God. In its nature, not by any mere arbitrary arrangement, it is his one possible receptive attitude, that in which he brings nothing, so that he may receive all.’ (Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, 4 Vols. 4:148.) By definition, belief is consistent with ‘grace’ (1 Cor. 15:10-11; cf. Eph. 2:8-9). Thus it is clear that belief relies upon another, it trusts something as true, it eliminates obedience [as an added requirement], it excludes good works, it narrows the door.” (Jonathan Perreault, “Getting the Gospel Right,” Free Grace Free Speech blog, October 31, 2009.)

[5] Cf. Douglas J. Moo, Romans, p. 264; Leon Morris, Romans, p. 199; Robert H. Mounce, Romans, p. 123. Note: Wilkin seems to agree on this point. See his blog post: “Works Salvation and the New Birth, Part 3” (February 15, 2021). I discuss this in more detail in my blog post: “Are Roman Catholics Born-Again?” Free Grace Free Speech blog, February 11, 2022.

[6] Zane Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege (Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1981), pp. 85-86, first brackets added.

[7] Art, comment under the post “1 Corinthians 15,” Rose’s Reasonings blog (March 28, 2008), http://rosesreasonings.blogspot.com/2008/03/1-corinthians-15.html#c5057204266597401204 (accessed 1/22/23).

[8] Bob Wilkin, “Another Look at 1 Corinthians 15:3-11,” Grace in Focus (Jan/Feb 2008).

[9] Wilkin, “JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE GOSPEL,” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 18 (Autumn 2005): p. 7, emphasis his. https://faithalone.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/wilkin-1.pdf (accessed January 22, 2023).

[10] I take the view that the word “saved” in 1 Corinthians 15:2 can refer to both justification and sanctification. It has meaning and application for both justification and sanctification. Cf. S. Lewis Johnson’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:2 in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Commenting on 1 Corinthians 15:2a, S. Lewis Johnson writes: “Ye are saved (Gr., present tense) may refer to continual salvation from the power of sin in the lives of believers, or it may refer to the day-by-day salvation of the inhabitants of Corinth as they received the message and formed part of the church of Jesus Christ.” (S. Lewis Johnson, Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, Editors, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary [Chicago: Moody Press, 1990], p. 1255, emphasis his.) Commenting on the same passage of Scripture, Dr. Charlie Bing of GraceLife ministries similarly writes: “We have to get the gospel right to be saved (from hell), but we must also get the gospel right to keep on getting saved (from sin). The deliverance God wants for us is not only from the penalty of sin (our justification), but also from the power of sin (our sanctification) and the presence of sin (our glorification). [...] The gospel that initially saves us is the same gospel that keeps saving us and the gospel that ultimately saves us - and it’s all by God’s grace!” (Charlie Bing, “You are Saved, if you Hold Fast - 1 Corinthians 15:1-2,” GraceNotes, No. 62.)