Reformed Reflections
Lord and Christ. The Implications of Lordship for Faith and Life by Ernest C. Reisinger.
P & R Publishing. P.O .Box 817,
Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Softcover, 178pp.

Is the Lordship of Jesus Christ optional? Can we agree with a non-lordship theologian's statement that salvation involves "no spiritual commitment whatsoever"? Is the current non-lordship controversy just another storm in a tea cup? Ernest C. Reisinger, pastor emeritus of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, points out that ideas have consequences. The non-lordship view sets up an antithesis between faith and works, law and gospel, law and grace. At stake is the very heart of the Gospel.

Reisinger says that the non-lordship teachers deny that Jesus is reigning now. His kingship is postponed, and only later will He sit on His throne. In the same way you can have Christ as your Saviour, and only later will He become your Lord. Reisinger argues that the father of non-lordship theology is called Arminianism. The mother is dispensationalism, and her sister is antinomianism. Dispensationalism has created havoc in American Christianity. It is a frontal attack on covenantal and Reformed theology.

Reisinger rightly claims that Jesus Christ is Lord now. Salvation is not just an entrance into the Christian life; it is the whole Christian life, and good works and sanctification are an essential part of it. Christians must emphasize God's moral law for all of life. The law restrains sin. Without it this world would be a field of blood. A Christian under grace still must obey God. " The gospel frees us to do right, and not from doing what is right - and the commandments are right." The law is also part of the Gospel proclamation. The law prepares the hearer for the Gospel. Reisinger unashamedly contends for the Gospel as it is expounded in the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, and the Heidelberg Catechism. His clear refutation of the non-lordship view and his careful exposition of the Reformed position are a timely contribution to the non-lordship debate. He did not use theological jargon. He wrote with the average lay person in mind.

Johan D. Tangelder