Is Faithfulness to Christ Necessary to be Saved?

Have you heard of so-called "anti-Lordship" theology? Those who hold it believe that since salvation is “through faith” then our obedience, as good as it may be, is not necessary to be saved by Christ. This is a very destructive idea. Those who hold this view do not understand the nature of salvation and the gospel itself.

JESUS IS KING

Though it is not disputed that salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), this saving faith is produced by the saving gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14). The import of this concept is lost on our anti-Lordship friends. Kingdoms are dominions. They are realms of rule and authority, and where there is rule and authority there is also the obligation to be ruled. Moreover, coming into Jesus’ Kingdom is tantamount to salvation as is seen in Matthew 19 where a rich man asks Jesus about “eternal life” (v. 16), and following the discussion, Jesus speaks of the difficulty of rich men “entering the Kingdom of heaven.” He hasn’t changed subjects. It's apparent that “entering the Kingdom” is having “eternal life,” but if that isn’t enough to solidify the point, the disciples follow up with, “Who then can be saved?” Receiving eternal life and entering the Kingdom is salvation.

The “gospel of the Kingdom” (Matthew 4:23), is, in fact, about Jesus Christ Who is the King (Zecheraiah 9:9; Matthew 2:1; 28:18-20; Acts 2:29-36; 17:7), and His kingdom is where the saved are located (Colossians 1:13). Kings demand subjection. Those who refuse are not spared from the very punishment due for their rebellion against the King in the first place. Instead, rebels are destroyed (Matthew 22:7; Luke 19:27).

The significance of “entering the Kingdom” should not be overlooked. Jesus already possesses rightful authority over all people everywhere because God has “made Him Lord” (Acts 2:36), and He has “all authority in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). But not all have “entered the Kingdom” as is evident by the New Testament speaking of the need to do so. Rather, "entering the Kingdom" occurs when one acknowledges the objective reality of Christ’s rule and surrenders.

JESUS IS THE HEAD OF THE BODY

A favorite metaphor from the apostle Paul about Christians is that of the Lord’s own body. The church (in the New Testament always a reference to Christ’s people — never a building) is Jesus’ “body” (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Colossians 1:18, 24; Ephesians 1:22-23;), wherein individual Christians are “members” (1 Corinthians 12:27). We’ve all likely noticed that functioning bodies have heads. Heads control the body. Christ is the head of His body, the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23), and for Paul, salvation is “in Christ” (Ephesians 1), and so to be in Christ is to be a member of His body and controlled by the head.

Now I can imagine a potential objection to my argument. It may be said that some bodies have paralyzed limbs. Such limbs are still very much part of the body but without function, that is, not controlled by the head. But remember that Paul’s analogy of Christ’s body never includes such body parts. Metaphors are meant to communicate particular points, and the very purpose of the head in the imagery is to illustrate the master-subject relationship that Christ has with His members. Paul believed that any individual who has been saved “in Christ” is a living member of His church who acts under His rule.

FAITH IS TRUSTING IN THE LORD

In Acts 16:31, a Jailer from the city of Phillipi asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, and the answer received was to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” For Paul then, salvation is a matter of believing in One Whom is Lord. How can one profess to trust in a Lord but also profess that no allegiance is necessary to this Lord? To call someone Lord is to acknowledge that such a person has rightful authority over you. The anti-Lordship crowd may think otherwise. Jesus did not. He asked rhetorically, “Now why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

The faith that saves, in the first place, is trust. It is reliance. A lack of this faith resulted in man’s fall at the beginning. Eve disobediently ate the forbidden fruit once Satan had convinced her that God had lied about the certainty of death. Satan said, “You surely shall not die!” (Genesis 3:4). Eve had trusted God up until that conversation, and once she no longer had faith in God, her behavior changed. Distrusting, she disobeyed. When she trusted God, she refrained from eating from the forbidden tree, and when she believed Satan, she ate. Faith acts. Faith works.

Take an example from faithless Israel during an Old Testament account. In Deuteronomy 9:22-24, Moses reminds Israel of their former disobedience in failing to act on God’s command to fight the occupants of the promised land despite His promise to give it to them via military victory. He says,

Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. “When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God; you did not believe Him, and you did not listen to His voice. You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day I knew you.

Israel became aware of the massive size of the inhabitants they had to fight, and being afraid, they “rebelled” against God’s orders. Yet, God had sworn to them conquest, but their lack of trust in His promise led to disobedience, as Moses said, “you did not believe Him.” Again, disobedience to God goes hand in hand with distrust in God.

It is more than evident that faith produces obedience, as James 2 tells us, “faith, if has no works, is dead by itself” (James 2:17), and Hebrews 11 details numerous examples of people who acted in obedience through faith in God, such as Abraham who “by faith, when he was called, obeyed,” or Noah who “by faith” responded to God’s command and “prepared an ark for the salvation of his household.”

So the only proper conclusion is that the faith through which sinners are saved is such faith that necessarily produces the fruit of obedience to the very King who has saved them—the King who is worthy of our trust.

• The savior, Jesus, is Lord and King and must therefore be obeyed to be saved

• The Gospel that saves is the Gospel of the Kingdom and those in the Kingdom must be ruled

• Jesus is already Lord and King so "entering the Kingdom" refers to one's surrender to Him

• Heads rule the body. The church is compared to a body that obeys its head. 

• To have faith in Jesus is to trust that He is truly Lord and King

• Faith in King Jesus necessitates subjection