Something that’s really been striking me lately is how important it is for people who claim to be Christians to check whether they are actually in the faith or not. If they are not in the faith, this means they rest under the wrath of God, even now. What do I mean, you say? Our Christian culture is permeated with the idea that if you did this one little thing, “asked Jesus into your heart,” or prayed a little prayer, you are definitely saved, even if you turn away to another religion, rejecting Christ, and living with no regard or care for the things of God. It’s called being a Carnal Christian. Isn’t someone that claims to be a believer supposedly converted? And what does conversion mean? Is it not a heart change from being in total rebellion against God to at least having some concern or care for the things of God? Now that’s not to say that you will be perfect in your desires for the things of God, because we do believe in an idea known as simul iustus et peccator (simultaneously justified and sinful at the same time). But is there any care at all? If you reject the truth altogether, it proves something about the condition of your conversion: it’s non-existent. If someone claims Christ as their Lord and Savior (which aren’t these one in the same because He is indeed both of these, is He not?) and then doesn’t care to do anything that He said, with a willing, joyful heart, then were they converted at all to begin with, or just paying lip service to God? The Israelites did that, and God said, “With their lips they acknowledge me, but their hearts are far from me.” Jesus said a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bad fruit. Can a good tree bear bad fruit, and vice versa? No! Conversion is receiving a divinely regenerated heart by the Holy Spirit alone as a result of the work of Christ in His life, death, and resurrection, that desires, albeit imperfectly, to follow God’s commands willingly! But if someone claims Christ and doesn’t care for anything concerning Christ, lives just like they did before their supposed “conversion experience” or that isn’t convicted at all for their sin, it shows and proves that there has been no genuine conversion to begin with and they are just paying lip service to God. And this is my main frustration and point about Carnal Christianity teaching: To teach that someone can come to faith, but later reject Christ altogether, and yet state they are still saved, is teaching that essentially coddles unconverted souls straight into God’s eternal fury.

People against Lordship doctrine claim we’re adding to faith alone, nullifying this precious doctrine. However, this is non-sense mainly because we’re not saying the works save you at all, or that they are even apart of salvation in any respect, but that if you are saved and converted through faith alone, your faith will never be alone, but genuine care and desire for the things of God WILL follow your conversion, though it is an imperfect process over time called sanctification. If no desires follow at all, then you need to check the genuineness of your faith; you can have no assurance that you’re actually saved because conversion produces fruit, inevitably. Will you still sin? Of course! We’re fallen sinners even as believers! It’s not about perfection, but direction. Does your life in any way point the way to Christ as your Savior? As John Hendryx says, the key to this whole debate is what one believes concerning the doctrine of regeneration, or the new birth. Anti-Lordship people are awesome for wanting to defend Faith Alone, but they’re leaving out a huge doctrine that impacts this whole debate: Grace Alone. I believe that we are saved by [u]Grace Alone[/u] through Faith Alone in Christ Alone. Anti-Lordship people and many other’s believe we are saved by grace + faith alone in Christ alone, adding faith as something we contribute [u]of our unregenerate human nature[/u], to the price of our salvation. So really it is them who are adding requirements to salvation.