MATT 10:38 SALVATION OR DISCIPLESHIP?
July 2, 2019
READING TIME: 3-4 MINUTES
“Dave, in Matthew 10:38 (compare Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27) is Jesus referring to conditions of salvation or discipleship?”
SUMMARY: Those who believe in “Lordship salvation” incorrectly think that to “come after” or “follow” in this passage refers to becoming a Christian, but Jesus is speaking to His followers who were already believers and telling them what they need to do to grow in their faith as a disciple.
First, let’s define “Lordship Salvation.” Lordship Salvation critic Robert Lighter defines this doctrine as follows: “It refers to the belief which says the sinner who wants to be saved must not only trust Christ as his substitute for sin but must also surrender every area of his life to the complete control of Christ.”
This quote from the MacArthur Study Bible shows the way a very popular proponent of Lordship Salvation interprets this verse: “He was demanding total commitment from them— even unto physical death— and making this call to full surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others. This same call to life-or-death devotion to Christ is repeated in 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27. For those who come to Christ with self-renouncing faith, there will be true and eternal life (v. 39).”
In Matthew 10:38, Jesus is addressing His believing followers and warning them of the danger to the final significance of their lives by putting their priorities, safety, comfort, and things of this world ahead of obedience to Christ. The passage has nothing to do with salvation. The disciples to whom He was speaking were already regenerate! So, since the disciples were believers at this point (John 2:11), and probably many others in the crowd as well, we should suspect that these conditions address the commitments of a disciple, not the condition for salvation. If we are justified “freely,” how can the enormous cost of being a disciple be imposed as a condition of that justification?
The conditions for becoming a disciple are very different from those for becoming a Christian. One becomes a Christian, according to Jesus, based on faith alone (John 3:16). We are justified “freely” (Romans 3:24) and receive regenerate life “without cost” (Revelation 22:17). But to become a disciple, something in addition to faith is needed, namely, works. A disciple is one who denies himself, is willing to leave his family, and follows Jesus (Mark 8:34). A disciple must love Jesus more than even his wife (Luke 14:26), certainly not a requirement ever stated anywhere for becoming a Christian! The condition for discipleship is to forsake all and follow Christ (Luke 14:33).
To deny oneself is to say “no” to our desires (good and bad) to say “yes” to God’s will for us. Jesus is speaking of a willingness to suffer and die and He is inviting others to do the same to be His disciples. On that day, crucifixion was the cruelest kind of death and included social and religious stigmas (such as God’s curse, Deuteronomy 21:23).
Though carrying one’s cross is stringent enough as a condition for discipleship, Luke 9:23 adds that this must be done “daily” suggesting Jesus is speaking not just of someone’s physical death, but also a daily willingness to suffer for identifying with Jesus Christ.
Normally, a first-century Jewish disciple would follow his master, live with him, eat with him, study with him. It meant giving up one’s agenda and goals for that of the master’s or teacher’s.
You can see how confused people can become if we tell them that they can only be saved if they deny all their desires and adopt God’s, are willing to suffer or die every day for being a Christian, and follow God’s agenda for their lives. For that matter, we who are Christians, rarely keep these commitments fully. For us, they are goals that guide our hearts as we seek to fulfill them perfectly. Making such criteria conditions for unsaved people to obtain salvation will only result in doubt and insecurity about measuring up. On the other hand, it could lead to pride and performance-based legalism. Salvation is not about our commitments and suffering for Jesus Christ; it’s about His suffering and commitment to us.
For each of us as Christians, Jesus Christ challenges us to move to the next level of commitment, something that is relative to where each of us is at the present.
Sources Used
Bing, Charles C. Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship: How to Understand Some Difficult Bible Passages. Grace Theology Press, 74-76.
Dillow, Joseph. Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition. Grace Theology Press. chapter 25.
Lightner, Robert P. Sin, the Savior, and Salvation, 202.
MacArthur, John. NKJV, The MacArthur Study Bible, eBook: Revised and Updated Edition. Thomas Nelson.