Colossenses 2:6

In particular, Paul encouraged his readers to continue following Christ in harmony with the sound teaching that had resulted in their conversion. [Note: See H. Wayne House, "The Christian Life according to Colossians," Bibliotheca Sacra 151:604 (October-December 1994):440-54.] His point was not that as the Colossians had become Christians by faith in Christ they should continue to walk by faith. This is clear from Paul’s word translated "received." It usually refers to the reception of truth through transmission (cf. Colossians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 11:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:9; Galatians 1:12). It is also clear from the expression "as you were instructed" (Colossians 2:7) and the context (Colossians 2:4-5; Colossians 2:8).

"Christ Jesus the Lord," a phrase that Paul used nowhere else, counteracts three false conceptions of the Savior. These are His deity ("Christ") that Judaism denied, His humanity ("Jesus") that Docetists denied, and His sovereignty ("Lord") that many varieties of false teaching denied.

". . . Paul here meets the two forms of Gnostic heresy about the Person of Christ (the recognition of the historical Jesus in his actual humanity against the Docetic Gnostics, the identity of the Christ or Messiah with this historical Jesus against the Cerinthian Gnostics, and the acknowledgment of him as Lord)." [Note: A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 4:489.]

"Since the basic sense of kurios ["lord"] is that of superior to inferior (master to slave; king to subject; god to worshiper), with formally acknowledged rights of the former to command or dispose of the latter (see also Colossians 3:22 and Colossians 4:1), all would have recognized that acceptance of Christ Jesus as Lord included within it submission of the believer to this Christ and unconditional readiness to act in obedience to him." [Note: Dunn, p. 140. ]

Advocates of "lordship salvation" get into trouble when they go beyond this statement. Their position is that unless a person consistently obeys-they never specify how consistent one must be-he or she never truly accepted Christ.