Paul Washer Preaches 'Another Gospel' of 'Lordship Salvation' And 'Preparationism'

The "old" me used to love Paul Washer. I mean, absolutely love him.

And why not? I was attracted to the "on fire -ness" and "passion" and "zeal" that he seemed to regularly display from the pulpit.

After all, it was quite refreshing and welcomed to hear and see in a world where there are so many crazy things being done and said in the name of God these days.

The irony? I never realized that his was a more subtle form of false teaching that almost completely destroyed my faith!

Thankfully, following my exodus from American Evangelicalism I have since come to realize that he was one of the men -- a false teacher really -- that I allowed to influence my Christian faith more so than the Word of God did. Not good.

In recent days, as I continue to explore various channels of Lutheran doctrine and thought online, I've come across some EXCELLENT critiques of Paul Washer's preaching and theology (which is formally called "Lordship Salvation" and "Preparationism") and why it's so spiritually dangerous.

Now, "Lordship Salvation" I have heard of before. In fact, I was once a big proponent of the un-Biblical doctrine (especially as I was regularly feeding on material by John MacArthur). But I had never heard of this theology of "Preparationism" before.

The way that it's clearly defined by Pastor Jordan Cooper from Just And Sinner is spot on accurate though. I now see the doctrine that I was deceived by for so long for what it truly is, which is why I want to share this with you today.

I know what a mess this kind of theology made of my own life for far too long, how it inadvertently led to me accept the "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7; Galatians 1:6-10; Colossians 2:22; 1 Timothy 1:3; Acts 20:30), and how it almost led to a "shipwreck" of my faith (1 Timothy 1:19).

PODCAST: A Critique of The Theology of Paul Washer

PODCAST: The Preparationism of Paul Washer

PODCAST: The Lordship Salvation Controversy

I'm so glad that Pastor Cooper discussed Matthew 7:15-22 in relationship to this entire subject.

That passage of the text is so often misinterpreted and misused by the "Lordship Salvation"/"Preparationist" crowd (I was once one of them!).

It's also the same kind of twisted theology that is presented in "Christian" bestsellers like Francis Chan's Crazy Love and David Platt's Radical.

Notice that in that section of Scripture, the emphasis is on ONE'S "GOOD WORKS" IN THE NAME OF JESUS as opposed to THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.

In that sense, it becomes none other than a commentary on "works righteousness" and how such a view makes one's faith and standing with God based solely on their own SUBJECTIVE actions as opposed to Christ's OBJECTIVE actions for us all.

Cooper also goes on to talk about how these same people (again, I should know, because I used to be one of them!) will often misinterpret 1 John in such a way that it takes away one's assurance by making a "checklist" or "test" for how you can determine if you're really a Christian after all.

See, this is why Lutheran doctrine (a.k.a. Orthodox Christian doctrine) gives the blessed assurance that God intended to give us through His means of grace, or specifically, through Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and The Office of The Holy Ministry.

I am extremely grateful to faithful men of God like Pastor Jordan Cooper who have taken the time to prepare these podcasts so that I can share them with others in the hope that it will free them from the slavery of self-righteousness so that they will put their full trust in the objective work of Christ including His objective means of grace.

It's not about a personal experience in the name of Jesus. It's about belief and faith in Jesus who loves you personally that He experienced death upon the cross for your sins so that you could be forgiven, justified, and redeemed, and then have complete assurance of your standing with God.

The emphasis of the Christian life should be upon JUSTIFICATION more so than upon SANCTIFICATION, because one focuses on the centrality of Jesus Christ and what He has done and continues to do for us (for you!) while the other focuses much more on self and what I have done and do in His name.

Clearly, Paul Washer preaches "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:7) of Lordship Salvation and Preparationism that is anything but Biblical.

In a Lutheran Layman's terms, remember that you are washed by Holy Baptism, which means you can forget about the teachings of Paul Washer no matter how popular they may be.

[NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with Lutheran doctrine -- in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word -- so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

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