Header

The Second Blessing Conflicts with the Gospel in the Area of Lordship Salvation

Any doctrine that contradicts Scripture is dangerous, especially if it is in direct conflict with the Gospel. The doctrine of Second Blessing conflicts with the Gospel in the area of Lordship Salvation.

Biblical TheologyApr 25, 2026Updated Sep 3, 2026
Image for The Second Blessing Conflicts with the Gospel in the Area of Lordship Salvation
Christians have debated about the baptism of the Holy Ghost in Church History. Genuine and authentic believers are on both sides of the debate. Some people believe that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is the same thing as getting saved in a new birth experience by faith and repentance in the Gospel. Others believe the baptism of the Holy Ghost is a Second Blessing: the first blessing is bestowed upon sinners when they are saved in a new birth experience by repenting and believing in the Gospel, and the second blessing is bestowed upon believers in a post-conversion experience called the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Any doctrine that contradicts Scripture is dangerous, especially if it is in direct conflict with the Gospel. The doctrine of Second Blessing conflicts with the Gospel in the area of Lordship Salvation. Answering the following question will help us expose this conflict.

How do Believers Get the Second Blessing?

The Second Blessing is not a quiet and gradual experience of sanctification. There is a definite moment of experience after conversion where you are instantaneously blessed in a second work of grace. Believers are told to desire the Second Blessing. They are told to seek after it, and that they will certainly know when they get it. It is a definite experience! Nobody can claim to have the Second Blessing if you can’t identify when you got it.
“The baptism of the Holy Ghost is a definite experience, and no man has any right to claim it who does not know that he has received it.” — Duncan Campbell “The baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience, and one may know whether he has received it or not.” — R.A. Torrey “There is no reason why a man should not know whether he has been baptized with the Holy Spirit.” — R.A. Torrey “There is a definite experience, subsequent to conversion, called in the Scriptures the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which brings us into a new relation to Christ and a new power for service.” — A.B. Simpson
Of course, this kind of preaching will lead people to ask the questions. How do you get the Second Blessing? Clearly, some people get it and others don’t. What do believers have to do to get the baptism of the Holy Ghost? Proponents of this view say that it is divinely given based upon certain conditions. Believers must come to a place of absolute surrender to God. Surrendering to God is sometimes described yielding everything, putting yourself absolutely at God’s disposal, or laying down your life wholly at the feet of Jesus.
“The baptism with the Holy Spirit is given to those who surrender themselves absolutely to God.” — R.A. Torrey “There must come a moment when you yield everything—when you are prepared for God to deal with you… then the Spirit comes in power.” — Duncan Campbell “We must put ourselves absolutely at God’s disposal…if we would receive this gift.” — R.A. Torrey “The baptism of the Spirit is that moment when God takes possession of a life laid wholly at His feet.” — Duncan Campbell “What we contend for is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a distinct experience, and must be received by a definite faith, and this involves the crisis: a full surrender and an explicit preparation of the promise of God by faith.” — A.B. Simpson
If absolute surrender is the requirement for the Second Blessing, it cannot also be the requirement for salvation. This is where the Second Blessing conflicts with the Gospel in the area of Lordship Salvation. “If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” (Leonard Ravenhill). One major part of the Gospel is the declaration: Jesus Christ is the Lord. The Lordship of Jesus Christ demands the absolute surrender of all men. Sinners get converted to Christ when they respond to the Gospel by faith in absolute surrender. Compare the former quotes about the Second Blessing with the following about Lordship Salvation.
“We do not ask, Is Christ your"Savior,"but is He, really and truly, your Lord? If He be not your Lord, then most certainly He is not your"Savior."Those who have not received Christ Jesus as their"Lord,"and yet suppose Him to be their"Savior,"are deluded, and their hope rests on a foundation of sand.” — A.W. Pink ”My dear unsaved friend, tears do not count if your heart is in rebellion. More than tears are needed. A great once-for-all "LORD, I SURRENDER" is needed! Repentance is not an emotion or excitement, but repentance includes it.” — Rolfe Barnard ”Somebody said, 'It is so easy to get saved.' Yes, all it will cost you is a full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. All you've got to do to be saved is to die: that's all it costs to get to Christ.” — Rolfe Barnard ”Genuine conversion is always evidenced by"Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?"(Acts 9:6). It is an unreserved surrendering of ourselves to His holy will. Have you yielded yourself to Him? (Rom. 6:13)” — A.W. Pink ”Christ has bands and cords for us; those that will be saved by him must be ruled by Him...” — Matthew Henry “If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do you imagine that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Saviour, while they are wedded to their idols and their hearts are still in love with sin? If I do so, I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.” — Charles Spurgeon ”The idea that God will pardon a rebel who has not given up his rebellion is contrary both to the Scriptures and to common sense.” — A.W. Tozer “Until Christ becomes your King (1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 15:3), until you bow to his scepter, until His will becomes the rule of your life, SELF dominates, and thus Christ is disowned.” — A.W. Pink “To be saved, we must submit to HIS terms. Listen to His terms."Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him"(Isa. 55:7). Said Christ,"Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple"(Luke 14:33).” — A.W. Pink
There is a conflict between the Second Blessing and Lordship Salvation. The explicit and word-for-word contradiction is frightening to behold! And the consequences are eternal for perishing souls. Many people seeking the Second Blessing should be seeking salvation ! Now is the time to examine ourselves If your confession that “Jesus Christ is the Lord” was void of absolute surrender to God, then it is my duty to tell you that your confession was vain, unprofitable, and fake. The Bible is very clear on this point There is no subcategory of Christians who are truly saved and yet they refuse to come to a place of absolute surrender to Jesus Christ.
The Second Blessing doctrine is appealing to Christianity in modern times because the Churches are full of false converts. A watered-down Gospel produces false converts. A pure Gospel produces true converts. Of course, people will be attracted to the Second Blessing if they feel that their conversion to Christ by the Gospel was void of absolute surrender. Plenty of namesake Christians believe that they are truly saved even though they have a mediocre religious life. Only a powerless Gospel will produce these mediocre results. The real Gospel is “the power of God unto salvationTherefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. I pray that many will reconsider their stance on this issue and return to the foundations of the Gospel. 
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” — 2 Tim. 2:19
 

Related

Baptism

The Second Blessing?

Biblical TheologyApr 20, 2026

Most have an oversimplistic approach believing water baptism is salvation, not knowing that only spiritual baptism is salvation.

Read →
Baptism

Tongues & the Book of Acts

Biblical TheologyApr 13, 2026

The O.T. officially transitioned into the N.T. at the commencement of the reign of the Man, Jesus Christ, when he took the Throne of Heaven and made it the Davidic Throne, and thus became the King of the World. This event had to be commemorated with the proclamation of the King in every language.

Read →
Baptism

Speaking in Tongues: Is it Gibberish?

Biblical TheologyApr 2, 2026

Most charismatic Christians are just speaking gibberish. They are deceived to think that they are speaking in tongues because they were coerced by their Pastor to just let their tongue wiggle loosely and run wild.

Read →