Harry Ironside DIDN'T Teach 'Lordship Salvation'

By David J. Stewart
September 2008

       I recently heard Dr. John F. MacArthur, Jr. speaking on the radio (his sermon tape, “The Call To Repentance”). MacArthur quoted Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) in an attempt to support his damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation.  MacArthur states...

Let me quote from the book he wrote entitled Except Ye Repent. He was a champion for repentance and rightly so. He wrote this, "The doctrine of repentance is the missing note in many otherwise orthodox and fundamentally sound circles today." This is not a new battle. This is an old battle. People today are preaching a gospel that says, "Well, look, just believe, don't worry about your sin, don't worry about your past, just believe and that will all come later." Ironside fought that battle in 1937.

Further he said this, he spoke of, quote: "Professed preachers of grace who like the antinomians of old decry the necessity of repentance lest it seem to invalidate the freedom of grace and that was the core issue." There were some who said if you call for repentance you're invalidating the freedom of grace and grace is so gracious and so free you don't have to do anything but just believe. Ironside recognized in his day the dangers of an insipient easy believism.

SOURCE: Quote by Spurgeon provided by John MacArthur; The Call to Repentance - Dr. John MacArthur

John MacArthur deceitfully picks and chooses quotes by great men, twisting their words, in a malicious attempt to support his false teachings. This has been the deceitful, lying tactic incorporated by the entire Lordship Salvation crowd. However it shows the fatal flaw and weakness of their perverted theology. They cannot use the Bible, so as a secondary authority, “great men of the past” are being erected as straw-men to bolster their false Gospel. They take excerpts carefully chosen from archived sermons, twisted them out of context, well suited with the error of Cain, to deceive the Church. So now we have Satan’s new Gospel (actually the same old lie) for our modern day.

These men are motivated by the flesh, so it is not strange they will use the sins of the flesh (lying) to exalt the flesh. Sadly, they believe that they are spiritual! They do not fully understand true GRACE and Christ’s imputed righteousness. How can a person truly be saved and follow the perverted Gospel of Lordship Salvation? There are really only TWO religions in the world: it is salvation by human works or by God's Grace alone. It is apparent to me that Ray Comfort is trying to maintain a middle-of-the-road position on the issue of Free Grace versus Lordship Salvation. John MacArthur is clearly on the side of Lordship Salvation. The Bible teaches Free Grace. Eternal life is receiving; not giving.

Pastor Ironside DIDN'T teach Lordship Salvation, he simply taught that Biblical repentance was necessary for salvation, which is evidenced in the following quote by Pastor Ironside...

“Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside; Except Ye Repent, pg. 36

Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel. Consider further the following quote by Dr. Ironside...

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?

I highly suggest that John MacArthur actually read Dr. Ironside's books before making any more quotes, because he's really making a fool out of himself. I'm not trying to be unkind; but MacArthur is trying to make a case where there is NONE.

Read what Dr. Ironside said in his Gospel tract, ANOTHER GOSPEL? ...

“When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, Another Gospel.

In your face MacArthur! Harry Ironside just contradicted everything MacArthur teaches concerning salvation. In sharp contrast to Harry Ironside, here are some of MacArthur's foolishly teachings from his book, The Gospel According to Jesus (Zondervan 1988)...

“Saving faith is 'unconditional surrender, a complete resignation of self and absolute submission'” (page 153).

“Salvation is for those who are willing to forsake everything” (page 78).

“Saving faith is a commitment to leave sin and follow Jesus Christ at all costs. Jesus takes no one unwilling to come on those terms” (page 87).

“Eternal life brings immediate death to self” (page 140).

Is this true? Absolutely not. John MacArthur is of the Devil and his doctrines are demonic!!! There is no way possible to reconcile the beliefs of Harry Ironside with those of John MacArthur and only a wicked person would try. MacArthur clearly teaches that no one can be saved unless they are willing to UNCONDITIONALLY SURRENDER and FORSAKE EVERYTHING. This is not what the Word of God teaches. Please Read: Dr. John R. Rice Refutes Lordship Salvation.

Now let me quote to you again the great man of God, Dr. Ironside...

“Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?

Salvation is a gift, paid for by Jesus' literal, physical, precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; 1st John 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Revelation 1:5). We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33; Romans 10:3,4; 1st Corinthians 5:21); and not our own willingness to do better (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Romans 4:5,6,22). We don't give up our sins to get saved; we give up our sins because we are saved, and that requires time to grow in God's grace (1st Peter 2:2).
 

John MacArthur is a False Prophet

Heretic, Dr. John MacArthur, who denies the efficacy of Jesus' literal, physical blood; denies once saved, always saved; teaches Lordship Salvation; and is a hardcore Calvinist.The false repentance which Dr. MacArthur promotes is entwined in self-effort.  John MacArthur teaches a false gospel which corrupts "the simplicity that is in Christ" (2nd Corinthians 11:3,4).  In MacArthur's audio sermon, The Call To Repentance, he exploits Charles Spurgeon, H.A. Ironside, and others in an unscholarly attempt to support his erroneous position on Lordship Salvation.  As with other false prophets, MacArthur fails to properly exegete the Scriptures, and rests heavily upon manipulating the quotes of great men. 

MacArthur wrongly accuses opponents of Lordship Salvation (such as myself) of teaching that repentance is not necessary for salvation.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Repentance is absolutely necessary for salvation... "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15).  However, repentance unto life is not what John MacArthur says it is...

“That's exactly what James said. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. You are either the friend of the world or the friend of God, not both... that's repentance.”

SOURCE: Quote by Spurgeon provided by John MacArthur, The Call to Repentance  --  John MacArthur

MacArthur teaches that in order to be saved, a person must forsake the sinful world and stop living in sin.  He falsely defines this as repentance.  In sharp contrast, the KOINE Greek in which the New Testament is written defines the word repent simply as "a change of mind" (Greek: metanoia).  Forsaking the sinful world is a fruit (i.e., result) of genuine repentance; but all that God requires for salvation is that a person acknowledge his or her guilty condition as a sinner, thus renouncing the world in their heart, and trust upon the Savior to be eternally forgiven... "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43).

However, this DOESN'T mean that a person who is unwilling to stop drinking booze, stop gambling, or stop shacking-up with a girlfriend, cannot be saved.  To say otherwise is to pervert the simplicity that is in Christ and to corrupt the gift of God, which is eternal life (Romans 6:23).  Salvation is receiving; not giving.  God only requires that a lost sinner acknowledge their guilt of sin (Romans 3:19), and turn by faith to Jesus Christ to be forgiven of their sins (John 3:16). 

If one's repentance is genuine, then there has been an initial change of heart (2nd Corinthians 5:17), and hopefully it will ultimately lead to a life of soulwinning, holiness and commitment to God; BUT, many believers are carnal (1st Corinthians 3:1), have been choked by the cares and pleasures of this world (Luke 8:14), have been overtaken by faults (Galatians 6:1), have not committed their lives to God (Romans 12:1), are more concerned about worldly things than the things of God (1st Corinthians 7:32,33), and some even live for Satan (1st Corinthians 5:5). 
 

Conclusion

Harry A. IronsideMay I quote the words of H.A. Ironside once again...

“Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside; Except Ye Repent, pg. 36

Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel.  H.A. Ironside correctly recognized repentance as the confession that "one is utterly without merit" and that if one is "ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Salvation is without works of self-righteousness.  Romans 4:5 plainly teaches that a man's faith is COUNTED for righteousness, i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to one's heavenly record by faith. 

“Repentance is the recognition of my sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word.”

SOURCE: Except Ye Repent, by Dr. Harry Ironside, chapter 3

Repentance and faith are inseparable. The Gospel of John mentions the words “believe” and “believed” 85-times, but the word “repent” is never mentioned even once. In genuine salvation, one who believes on Jesus Christ has repented, and one who repents has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. END


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