Q: What would you say to someone who believes in the necessity of Lordship Salvation if you only had one minute to get your point across?

A: If he has a Christian background, I can assume he believes that Jesus is the Savior (in some sense) and that He died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead.

With that background, I would emphasize that Jesus did 100% of the work of salvation so that you can do 0%.

I would stress that God is fully satisfied with Jesus’ work. There’s nothing more that He requires. Your good deeds cannot improve upon or add to the Lord’s perfect sacrifice on the cross.

That makes for some very good news.

Since Jesus did 100% of the work, He can give you salvation for free. That’s why Paul calls it a gift, i.e., it has already been bought and paid for. Thanks to Jesus, you can have eternal salvation by grace, through faith, totally apart from your works (Eph 2:8-9).

For whom are your good works? Your neighbors. That’s why God commanded you to love the people around you. That’s why good works are important. While you can’t earn eternal life by feeding the hungry, helping someone change a tire, or caring for the sick, those good deeds really do help your neighbors.

So instead of trusting in your works for salvation, rest in Jesus’ perfect work, and believe in Him for everlasting life.