Salvation w o Repentance ETS Paper 11-21-14

8/9/2019 Salvation w o Repentance ETS Paper 11-21-14

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Salvation without Repentance from Sin? A Critique of the “Free Grace” GospelNov. 2 ! 2" #$ %&S Annual 'eetin(! San )ie(o! California

*a+ne Gru,em

[Note: Please understand that this is an unpublished paper and should not be taken as my final,

published viewpoint on the question of Free Grace theology! hope and e"pect that ! will get useful feedback on this paper when ! read it at the #$% meetinin %an &iego, and after that ! plan to refine it to correct any misstatements or inaccurate claimthat may be in it ! am happy for anyone to download and print this paper and use it however may seem appropriate, but ! ask that you would not quote it in any published material asrepresenting 'ayne Grudem(s position )) not until ! remove this initial disclaimer or actually publish it somewhere other than posting it on my website as an unfinished paper $hank you*'ayne Grudem+

!ntroductory notes:$here are many things that ! greatly appreciate in the official statement of beliefs the-.ovenant/0 of the Free Grace 1lliance: [! will mention 2ust some of those things:+

Covenant$1s members of the #vangelical $radition, we affirm the 3ible alone, and the 3ible in itsentirety, is the inspired 'ord of God and is therefore inerrant in the autographsFurthermore, God is a $rinity, Father, %on, and 4oly %pirit, each an uncreated person, oin essence, equal in power and glory 1s members of this tradition, we are concernedabout the clear understanding, presentation, and advancement of the Gospel of God(s

Free Grace'e affirm the following:5 $he Grace of God in 2ustification is an unconditional free gift5 $he sole means of receiving the free gift of eternal life is faith in the 6ord 7esus .hrist,the %on of God, whose substitutionary death on the cross fully satisfied the requiremenfor our 2ustification8 5 Faith is a personal response, apart from our works, whereby we are persuaded that thefinished work of 7esus .hrist, 4is death and resurrection, has delivered us fromcondemnation and guaranteed our eternal life9 5 .hrist has delivered us from condemnation and guaranteed our eternal life

5 7ustification is the act of God to declare us righteous when we believe in 7esus .hristalone

8 WG comment: I would agree – but I would have a fuller definition of “faith” than FreeGrace advocates—see below9 WG: This is true, but I thin there is more than !ust being "ersuaded of this fact – adecision to trust in the living "erson #esus $hrist%

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[%D!P:+ $his understanding of the word -alone/ in the Ceformation principle of -faithalone/ then leads to several pastoral practices, such as:

80 #vangelism: #vangelistic messages generally do not include any call to turn from si

-works/090 1ssurance: People who accurately understood the Gospel and sincerely said that the

believed in .hrist in the past, but now say that they no longer believe in .hrist, are likelystill saved and we can assure them they are saved b?c 2ustifying faith is a one)time a

0 1ssurance: 1 professing .hristian(s sinful conduct of life should not ordinarily be

used as a basis for warning that the person might not be saved rather, that the person foolishly not living according to who he?she really is0


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-.hrist 2ustifies no one whom he does not at the same time sanctify $hus it is clear htrue it is that we are 2ustified not without works yet and not through works/ Institutes of theChristian Religion , 8H 8; vol 8, p I J of 3attles translation; p E9 of 3everidgetranslation 0

.1N=N 88

! wish the reader to understand that as often as we mention Faith alone in this question, we anot thinking of a dead faith, which worketh not by love, but holding faith to be the only cauof 2ustification Galatians E:H; Comans :99 0 !t is therefore faith alone which 2ustifieyet the faith which 2ustifies is not alone: 2ust as it is the heat alone of the sun which warmsearth, and yet in the sun it is not alone, because it is constantly con2oined with light'herefore we do not separate the whole grace of regeneration from faith, but claim the poweand faculty of 2ustifying entirely for faith, as we ought

7ohn .alvin tracts K letters ) 1cts of the .ouncil of $rent: 1ntidote to the canons of the.ouncil of $rent, .anon 88 quoted fromhttp:??www godrules net?library?calvin?8


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!same "ording: #hiladel$hia %a$tist Confession& 16''

0=%>: Faith, thus receiving and resting on $hrist and his righteousness, is the aloneinstrument of !ustification: &et is it not alone in the "erson !ustified, but is everaccom"anied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but wor eth b&

love%e" *am$shire %a$tist Confession& 1'33

9II% % % % regeneration % % %is effected % % %b& the "ower of the ?ol& 5"irit % %evidence a""ears in the hol& fruits of re"entance, and faith, and newness oflife

9III% We believe that @e"entance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inse"arablegraces, wrought in our souls b& the regenerating 5"irit of God7 whereb& beingdee"l& convinced of our guilt, danger, and hel"lessness, and of the wa& of

salvation b& $hrist, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, andsu""lication for merc&7 at the same time heartil& receiving the (ord #esus$hrist as our 'rofit, 'riest, and Aing, and rel&ing on him alone as the onl& andall sufficient 5aviour

+ohn Wesle, (17-3.1791):

We are, doubtless, !ustified b& faith% This is the cornerBstone of the whole $hristianbuilding% We are !ustified without the wor s of the law, as an& "reviouscondition of !ustification7 but the& are an immediate fruit of that faith whereb&we are !ustified% 5o that if good wor s do not follow our faith, even all inwardand outward holiness, it is "lain our faith is nothing worth7 we are &et in oursins% /The 5ermons of #ohn Wesle& B 5ermon C1 The (aw DstablishedThrough Faith: Eiscourse


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.laiming logical difficulty here is failing to understand the sentence in the way it isintended: -2ustified by faith alone/ means that nothing else counts

)) faith and nothing else is what God counts as legitimate means of obtaining 2ustification

3ut )) -faith is not alone/ means it is accompanied by other things, even though Goddoes not count those other things as any part of the means of obtaining 2ustificationand it is accompanied by other things because God connects them together

Com J:9 ) 0

[!n fact, Free Grace author Fred 6ybrand even claims A in book promoted by FG1 A thahe has found the same -contradiction/ in .alvin, 6uther, the 'estminster .onfession ofFaith, 7ohn =wen, 7ohn 'elsey, George 'hitfield, 7onathan #dwards, .harles %purgeon,.harles 4odge, Bachen, 3erkhof, Packer, 7ohn Piper, C . %proul, 3illy Graham, etc Aindeed, almost the whole history of Protestantism* Fred 6ybrand, Back to Faith n p ,

ulon, 9 0, E) 0

1nd his FG book e"presses ama@ement that hardly anybody else has seen this contradiction

! would think that would make him suspicious that he is the one who has misunderstood what is writing about

$o claim a logical difficulty here is to claim that hundreds of the greatest minds in thehistory of the church since the Ceformation, and tens of thousands of the brightest pastors, have failed to notice a simple logical fallacy at the heart of their faithOnlikelyBore likely that the critic is not understanding the sentence in the sense intended

1 contradiction would be

'e are ustifie, by faith alone, and weare not ustifie, by faith alone3ut none of these statements of faith or theologians ever say that Nor do they ever mean that

1nother contradiction would be:$he faith that 2ustifiesis by itself, and the faith that 2ustifiesis not by itself3ut none of the Ceformers ever say that Nor do they ever mean that

!f you think you have found a contradiction in .alvin, '.F, 1nglican 1rticles,7ohn 'esley, great 3aptist confessions, 4eidelberg .at, 6utheran Formula of .oncord,you haven(t ou 2ust have not understood their sentences correctly

c. &herefore the Free Grace movement to,a+ is not uphol,in( the Reformation ,octrine ofsola fide ! or “ ustification /+ faith alone.”

!t is promoting a view of saving faith that the Ceformers never held

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$he Ceformers were striving to separate faith from works done to merit salvation suchas participation in the sacraments A faith plus being bapti@ed, attending the mass, doi penance A all actions, all works to earn merit with God$hey were not trying to separate faith from genuine repentance from sin,

and they were not saying that genuine faith could occur without a change in

someone(s life A they repeatedly said it could not*'here the reformers guilty of adding -works/ to faith as the basis of 2ustificationM

1bsolutely not*$hey were in the midst of a life)and)death struggle for the very survival of the true gospeand the very life of the church 1t the heart of their struggle was sola fidei, -faith alone /$hey were willing to die rather than to add works to faith as the means of 2ustification

et they repeatedly and unanimously insisted that 2ustification is by faith alone, but thefaith that 2ustifies is never alone A it is always accompanied by good works

! think the initial attractiveness of the FG movement is that at first it sounds to people lik

promoting a Ceformation doctrine, but it is promoting a doctrine that the leaders of theCeformation had nothing to do with

!t is promoting a novel view in Protestantism, and we should not think it has its roots in tCeformation

) therefore what is its proofM Not from history of Ceformation or Protestantism, whosekey teaching was -2ustification by faith alone / Bust find support only from the claim

that N$ teaches this view 3ut where is it in the N$M 'here does N$ ever say that faithcan occur by itself in a person who is saved, without repentance from sin, and withoutgood works followingM

! think nowhere

))much N$ teaching that many changes come once one believes in .hrist:/> $orinthians 1:02 D594 Therefore, if an&one is in $hrist, he is a new creation%The old has "assed awa&7 behold, the new has come%

Paul does not say -you were 2ustified and nothing else necessarily happened wheyou believed/ but [after long list of sins:+

1nd such were some of you 3ut you were washed, you were sanctified,you were 2ustified in the name of the 6ord 7esus .hrist and by the %pirit oour God 8.o H:88 #%>0

2. FG theolo(+ wea3ens the (ospel messa(e /+ avoi,in( an+ call to un/elievers to repent oftheir sins.

a 1 call to repentance is frequent in gospel summaries:

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#%> 4e/rews 5$ $herefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of .hrist and go on tomaturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faithtoward God,

3G$

4e/rews 5$ QRS T UVWXYZ XS T W X Z \ Z XS ] R^XS _` SW R T X T W XY_YR`X Xἀ ῆ ἀ ῆ ῦ ῦ ἐUY Y , T _RW Y V_RSW X j __` YWSR YX WS Z S T WY W Wἀ ῶ ἔ R T ^XY Z R T Y`W,ἐ

-repentance/ in this sense is not merely a -change of mind/ in the sense of an mental assentthat one(s sins are evil and worthy of 2udgment

Cepentance includes a sincere commitment to turn from sin

$his is not adding -works/ to faith Arepentance K faith are mentioned together in N$ bec repentance from sin is acomponent of truly turning to .hrist in faith for salvation from sin

1 heart commitment to turn from sin is no more works than is a heart commitment totrust in .hrist 3oth are decisions of the heart Neither one is a -good work/ in thesense of an act one does to merit favor with God

!n 4eb H:8, the -from/ is important: repentance from dead works apo gen0 has themeaning of a repentance that turns you away from your dead works as you turn towarGod faith in God0

Bany other verses:

6u3e 2#$#7 #%>0 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed inhis name to all nations, beginning from 7erusalem

Acts 7$8" #%>0 $he times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

Acts 25$2" #%>0 but declared first to those in &amascus, then in 7erusalem andthroughout all the region of 7udea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent andturn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance

#%> Acts 2"$2 testifying both to 7ews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and offaith in our 6ord 7esus .hrist

3G$ Acts 2"$2 R X ` YWSZ S SRZ XY R T __ ^RWἸ Ἕ X T W Y Z YS T W YX WSR Wἰ R T ^XRW Y Z XS T W RSW W ^S Wἰ ἡ ῶ Ἰ ῦ

) this is his summary of preaching the gospel in #phesus

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)) !n 1cts 9 :98, repentance is not 2ust a change of some mental ideas in what you thinabout God

Paul did not say that he testified to 7ews and Greeks about a change of opinion abousome intellectual facts about God

rather, it is repentance toward God that involves coming into the presence of the onomnipotent and infinitely holy God and crying out as !saiah did,

#%> -saiah 5$9 1nd ! said: 'oe is me* For ! am lost; for ! am a man of uncleanlips, and ! dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seenthe Ding, the 6=C& of hosts* !sa H:E #%>0

The gos"el call is ever and alwa&s a call to turn awa& from &our sin as &outurn to the (ord to see forgiveness:

/Isaiah 11:3B2 D594 5ee the (


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standard Gk dictionary for N$ A 3&1G A not agree that it means -change of mind/ in N$: !t does list -change one(s mind/ as possible meaning ofmetanoeō , p H< 0

!n fact, .harles 3ing, Lordship Salvation , page HI, says that -the basic meaningof the Greek wordmetanoeō is to change the mind(,/ and he gives a footnote to

the 3&1G 6e"icon as his proof fn 9J03ut ! don(t think that 3ing is playing fair with his readers in this quotation 'hat he failsto mention is that the 3&1G 6e"icon does not put any New $estament passages in thisfirst category

Cather, this same le"icon entry puts every New $estament passage under meaning 9,-feel remorse! repent! /e converte, ,/

and for nounmetanoia ,-primarily a change of mind( also with the nuance of remorse( aregret for shortcomings and errors 0 !n our literature with f

the need of change in view of responsibility to deity repentance!turnin( a/out! conversion / H< 0

$hat(s not the only difficulty with 3ing(s discussion ofmetanoeō , because then he goes on with along quotation from the article onmetanoeō, meteanoia in $&N$, vol


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$his very different picture of the $&N$ article given by .harles 3ing, a prominent FreeGrace advocate

d #nglish translations: -Cepent*/ not -.hange your mind*/

3ut there is more: 'hen authors in the FG movement define -repentance/ as -change ofmind,/ they are differing not only with ) standard N$ Greek le"icon, but also with all #nglish 3ible translations known to me

None of them translatemetanoeō as -change one(s mind/ A or even change one(s heart

all translate it with -repent/and for good reason: $he #nglish word -repent/ does not mean merely -changeyour mind/ but in religious sense of -repent/0:

8 $o feel remorse, contrition, or self)reproach for what one has

done or failed to do; be contrite9 $o feel such regret for past conduct as to change one(s mindregarding it:repented of intemperate behavior

[this is most applicable to religious sense+ $o make a change for the better as a result of remorse or

contrition for one(s sins merican !eritage "ictionar# , fourthedition 3oston: 4oughton Bifflin, 9 H0, page 8 : 2 D594 and that re"entance and forgiveness of sins should be"roclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from #erusalem%/+cts >:CH D594 +nd 'eter said to them, @e"ent and be ba"ti ed ever&one of &ou in the name of #esus $hrist for the forgiveness of &our sins,and &ou will receive the gift of the ?ol& 5"irit%/+cts C:0K D594 @e"ent therefore, and turn bac , that &our sins ma& beblotted out,/+cts 02:C= D594 The times of ignorance God overloo ed, but now hecommands all "eo"le ever&where to re"ent,/+cts >3:>= D594 but declared first to those in Eamascus, then in#erusalem and throughout all the region of #udea, and also to theGentiles, that the& should re"ent and turn to God, "erforming deeds in

ee"ing with their re"entance%

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[%D!P:+ ! do not think this should be called -frontloading/ or -backloading/ the gospel!t is simply truthfully e"plaining what is the nature of saving faith!t is adding nothing to saving faith

4owever, a word of clarification:e ! am not willing to say that initial saving faith requires absolute, total commitment of life, fthen nobody would be saved in this life

es, 7esus demands this, and he is 6ord of all3ut we cannot fulfill that demand in this life

f 1nd ! do not believe that saving faith includes obedience! think it results in obedience, but ! do not think it includes obedience Nor does any ma2or Protestant confession say that saving faith includes obedience

[Nor does 7ohn Bac1rthur, 9 J edition of$ospel ccording to %esus +

%ummary:2. FG theolo(+ wea3ens the (ospel messa(e /+ avoi,in( an+ call to repentof one:s sins.

8. Free Grace theolo(+ (ives false assurance of eternal life to man+ people who profess faithin Christ /ut then show no evi,ence in their pattern of life.

a $his weakening of the gospel message in free Grace theology is a ma2or concern! am deeply concerned that this weakened gospel message,

which lacks any call to repent from sins,

will result A and has resulted )) in many unsaved people who think they are save!f you ask them if they are sinners in need of salvation, they would agree!f you ask them if they believe that 7esus died to pay the penalty for their sins,they would agree$hey heard that in church and decided that they thought it was true

1nd on this basis, some Free Grace teachers have assured them that they aresaved3ut they have never repented from their sins$hey are lacking a necessary component of genuine saving faith, according tofrequent and repeated New $estament presentations $hey never had genuinefaith $hey are not born again $hey are lost because of a weakened gospelmessage

*ut the LT e"istles fre uentl& show that regular churchgoers should be warned fromtime to time that the& might not be saved

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/0 #ohn >:CB1 D594 +nd b& this we now that we have come to now him, if weee" his commandments% Whoever sa&s I now him but does not ee" his

commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 1 but whoever ee"s hisword, in him trul& the love of God is "erfected% *& this we ma& now that we arein him:3 whoever sa&s he abides in him ought to wal in the same wa& in which

he wal ed%/0#o C:3 D594 Lo one who abides in him ee"s on sinning7 no one who ee"s onsinning has either seen him or nown him% /0 #ohn C:KB0= D594 Lo one born of God ma es a "ractice of sinning, for God8sseed abides in him, and he cannot ee" on sinning because he has been born of God% 0= *& this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the childrenof the devil: whoever does not "ractice righteousness is not of God, nor is theone who does not love his brother%

/0#o C:0 D594 We now that we have "assed out of death into life, because welove the brothers% Whoever does not love abides in death%

FG advocates give alternative e"planations for these vss8 7ohn 8)< talks about fellowship, not being saved or not saved[see below+

[%D!P:+%imilarly: deprives churchgoers of benefit of N$ warnings not to fall away

[%D!P:+ Faith must continue:

/?ebrews C:0 D594 For we have come to share in $hrist, if indeed wehold our original confidence firm to the end%

/0 'eter 0:1 D594 who b& God8s "ower are being guarded through faith for a salvation read& to be revealed in the last time%

/$olossians 0:>>B>C D594 he has now reconciled in his bod& of flesh b&his death, in order to "resent &ou hol& and blameless and above re"roachbefore him, if indeed &ou continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, notshifting from the ho"e of the gos"el that &ou heard, which has been"roclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, 'aul, became aminister%

!(m afraid the result has been numerous unsaved churchgoerswho think they are saved

3ut they often wonder what(s wrong with their .hristian lives,why they don(t have the 2oy they see in .hristians around them,why the 3ible doesn(t seem to make much sense,

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why prayer is not very meaningful at all 0

1nd !(m afraid the result has been numerous other unsaved people who don(t even goto church any more, but who think they are saved

because, if you were to ask them, they would say they think that it(s true that the

are sinners in need of salvationand that 7esus died to pay for their sins$herefore some Free Grace people told them that they were already savedForever 1nd that(s all they needed to hear Now they can(t be bothered to go nea church 1nd they persist in their lives of sin

b FG teaching about assurance makes a fundamental category mistake:

.onsider Grace #vangelical %ociety statement:

+ssurance of everlasting life is based onl& on the "romise God ma es in ?is Word thatever&one who believes in #esus $hrist alone "ossesses everlasting life /#ohn 1:> 7 0#ohn 1:KB0C4% Good wor s, which can and should follow regeneration, are not necessar&for a "erson to have assurance of everlasting life /D"h >:0= 7 Titus C:H4%

FG1 writings A the same: 1ssurance should be based only on the promise of God in thefinished work of .hrist, not on anything in ourselves or patterns of conduct in our lives

3ut this whole line of argument simply involves a fundamental category mistake1ll Protestant theologians would agree that our assurance that .hrist(s work has earnedsalvation for sinners should be based fully and entirely on the testimony of God in%cripture and the finished atoning work of .hrist 3ut that is not the question

$he question is, where do ! get assurance that ! have believedM Ceading 3ible versesabout the atoning work of .hrist tells me nothing about whether ! have believed or not$herefore, saying that assurance must be based on %cripture and the finished work of.hrist is simply a category mistake !t does not address the category, how do ! know tha! have believedM

1nd here the New $estament gives multiple verses telling me about various evidencesthat ! have believed and that God has brought about a change in my life, verses that talkabout how ! can know that ! have come to know God, that ! am born of God, that ! havefaith, that ! have passed from death to life, and so forth [ put verses here+

/> 'eter 0:0= D594 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm &our callingand election, for if &ou "ractice these ualities &ou will never fall%

6virtue, nowledge, selfBcontrol, steadfastness, godliness, brotherl& affection,love.

/0 #ohn C:0 D594 We now that we have "assed out of death into life, because we lovethe brothers% Whoever does not love abides in death%

/0 #ohn 1:0C D594 I write these things 6I thin entire boo of 0 #ohn. to &ou who believe inthe name of the 5on of God that &ou ma& now that &ou have eternal life%

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c% The historic 'rotestant view of assurance does not sa& that it is im"ossible but !ustthe o""osite:

Westminster Confession of Faith , cha"ter 0H, "aragra"hs 0 and >:

5uch as trul& believe in the (ord #esus, and love him in sincerit&, endeavoring towal in all good conscience before him, ma&, in this life, be certainl& assured thatthe& are in the state of grace % % % % This certaint& is not a bare con!ectural and"robable "ersuasion % % % *ut an infallible assurance of faith founded u"on thedivine truth of the "romises of salvation, the inward evidences of those gracesunto which these "romises are made, the testimon& of the 5"irit of ado"tionwitnessing with our s"irits that we are the children of God%

#. Free Grace a,vocates have to a,opt numerous hi(hl+ unli3el+ interpretations of the New

&estament /ecause of the nee, to ,efen, their mista3en un,erstan,in( of the wor, “alone”in the phrase “faith alone”.

! reali@e that Free Grace supporters have speciali@ed e"planations to put these verses invarious special categories another other than tests of genuine saving faith ! cannot go into those e"planations in detail at this point, e"cept to say that ! think FreeGrace -insiders/ have no idea how strained, how idiosyncratic, how artificial andcontrived, how insensitive to conte"t, how completely unpersuasive and foreign to the Ne$estament these e"planations sound1gain and again, they bear the marks of special pleading

!n many cases, they are not even mentioned as legitimate e"egetical alternatives in thestandard commentaries because no serious interpreter in history of the church has heldthese interpretations

)) 4odges, bsolutel# Free : Com 8 : )8I 8


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1cts 88:8J 8E 0; -repentance unto life/ is not the same as repentance unto eternlife

[see $N H,I+ MM

1cts 8I: 80

9 .orinthians 8 :E 9 80: -in the faith/ means acting as a .hristian, not whetheryou are a .hristian at all

)) 7ames 9:8< -can that faith save himM/: -save/ from some physical danger 7ames E:8 )9 : -will save his soul from death/ means from physical death

and then 7ames 9:8I -%o also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead but 4 says 89E)89H0 the point is that such faith was once alive

x the person is still saved, 2ust not rescued from some physical danger0

)) %ome .hristians will be e"cluded from the Barriage %upper of the 6amb Batt

J:88)89; 99:89)8 0 and will be cast into -outer darkness/ Batt J:89; 99:8 ;9E: 0 and will e"perience -weeping and gnashing of teeth/ Batt J:89; 99:8 ;9E: 0 in .hrist(s future Billennial kingdom

Not all Free Grace advocates hold this 0

)) %ome .hristians will enter but not inherit the kingdom of God 8 .or H: )8Gal E:8 )98; #ph E:E0

but see Com J:8I

$he %pirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,8I and ifchildren, then heirs)) heirs of God and fellow heirs with .hrist, provided we suffer withhim in order that we may also be glorified with him3G$ Romans ;$ 5 XS T XS T WY ̂ X Y X WY XR W XR ^ Y T W XV Wὐ ῦ ' 4 1 8 ὅ 2

YSῦ 8I Y Y T XV W , R T _ SW` SR _ SW` SR! Y T W YS , ^ _ SW` SRῦ Y T ] R^XS ,ῦY Y ^ ^\S YW W R T ^ W Sz ^ YWἴ < 8

also: Philip %impson critique 9


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&1., of ane 4odges: -to the best of my knowledge not one significantinterpreter of %cripture in the entire history of the church has held to 4odges(s pattern of interpretation of the passages he treats/ &'egetical Fallacie s, 89 ,speaking of(he $ospel under Siege , 8 J80

9. Free Grace theolo(+ lea,s its supporters to overemphasi an, toun,eremphasi.

!(m trying to take care to be accurate hereFree Grace advocates have pointed me to the Free Grace 1lliance statement of faith,which speaks about -faith in the 6ord 7esus .hrist/ not 2ust believing that propositionsabout .hrist are true!(m thankful for that

'hen ! talk to Free Grace advocates they assure me that they believe in 7esus personally,not 2ust in propositions about him

1nd ! think that(s true Bany wonderful Free Grace .hristians whom ! know pray to7esus, they don(t pray to propositions about 7esus !n church they worship 7esus, theydon(t worship propositions about 7esus !n the language of 8 Peter 8:J, they -love him,/they don(t 2ust love propositions about him

3ut that emphasis simply is not there in how they write about the nature of saving faith 4odges 1bsolutely Free 8 J 0, 8: Faith is -the inward conviction that wha

God says to us in the gospel is true $hat A and that alone A is saving faith /

G#% statement of faith:Faith is the conviction that something is true $o believe in 7esus -he who believes in Be has everlasting life/0 is to be convinced that 4e guaranteeseverlasting life to all who simply believe in 4im for it 7ohn


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you have to talk about a personal encounter with .hrist, coming to his presence, and thatmeans reali@ing that he is your God,that he is your Ding and 6ord for ever, that he is the omnipotent, omniscient,omnipresent, eternal .reator and sustainer of the universe, that he is infinitely holy,

and that you dare not come to his presence while clinging to any sin$hat your only hope in heaven or earth is to cry out, -6ord, be merciful to me asinner*/

$hat in his ma2estic presence any thought of saying, -7esus, !(ll accept you as my%avior today, and ! might be back later to submit to you as 6ord/ is as far fromyour mind as the uttermost part of the sea

90 $rusting in the person of .hrist makes assurance more comple": another reason !think that Free Grace advocates downplay the element of personal encounter with the

living .hrist is that it opens the question of whether the person has really trusted in .hristor not !t makes the question of whether a person has genuine faith more comple"

3ut the question is, what does the New $estament teach %o let(s look at the New $estament:

Savin( faith requires trust in the person of Christ! an, mental a(reement with factsa/out Christ without personal trust in Christ is not savin( faith

!t is foreign to the entire N$ emphasis to almost e"clusively emphasi@e saving faith mere mental agreement with facts about myself and .hrist%aving faith in N$ is regularly represented in terms of an interpersonal interaction

between the sinner and .hrist which leads to trust in .hrist as a person%everal strands of teaching:

= > Savin( faith is picture, as “comin( to Christ”

ohn 5$87 1ll that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me ! willnever cast out3G$ ohn 5$87 W ^ W SR X T S TZ Y T zYR, R T XS T W \` YWSW S TZ Y T Sᾶ ὃ ὁ ἐ ἥ ἐ ἐ ὐ

T j _ z ,ἐ ἔ

not: whoever agrees to some facts about me ! will never cast out

ohn 5$89 7esus said to them, ! am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall nothunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst 7oh H: E #%>0

ohn 5$## No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him 1nd ! willraise him up on the last day 7oh H:0

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ohn 7$87 =n the last day of the feast, the great day, 7esus stood up and cried out, !fanyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink

W XRZ R{ \V^ `Z Y R T RWVXἐ ᾷ ἐ 7oh I: I 3G$0

not: !f anyone thirsts, let him give mental assent to some facts about me-coming to/ someone involves personal interaction with the person

#ven stronger: taking from 7esus and drinking the water of eternal life:that is personal interaction

#%> 'atthew $2; .ome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and ! will give yourest 9 $ake my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for ! am gentle and lowly in heart,and you will find rest for your souls

3G$ 'atthew $2; QY XY `Z Y WXYZ S S R WXYZ R T YUS XR^ VWSR, T ῦ ἱ ῶ ἀ

W ^ Zἀ ὑ ᾶ9

XY XS T W | `W S U Z R T YXY S , XR }Z Y Rἄ ἐ ̓ ὑ ᾶ ἀ ̓ ἐ ῦ ὅ ἰR T X YRWS TZ X , R T Y ~^YXY W ^RW X Z { \ Z Wῇ ᾳ ὑ ἀ ῖ ῖ ὑ ῶ

not: -Give assent to some facts about me, all who labor and are heavy laden /.ome to me Personal interaction, even personal trust A for you are coming to gain resfor your souls

=2> Savin( faith is picture, as “receivin(” Christ

#%> ohn $ 4e came to his own, and his own people did not receive him89 3ut to allwho did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children ofGod,

3G$ ohn $ Y Z X T R _ YW, R T S RSR XS T W S V_ jSWἰ ἴ ἦ ἱ ἴ ὐ ὐ 89 ^SR Y T _ jSWὅ ἔX`W, YW XS Z zS ^ W XV W YS YWV^ R, XS Z R^XY S T WSὐ ἔ ὐ ῖ ἐ ῦ ῖ ἰ ὄXS ,ὐ ῦ

Not: -$o all who gave mental assent to facts about him/ but -$hose who received him/

to receive someone A to receive a person A is to welcome that person into fellowship, irelationship, often into one(s home, and certainly into one(s life

also: $herefore, as you received .hrist 7esus the 6ord, so walk in him, .ol 9:H #%>0

=8> Savin( faith is picture, as “/elievin(” somethin( with +our heart

Romans "$ because, if you confess with your mouth that 7esus is 6ord and believe inyour heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved8 For with the heart one believes and is 2ustified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved

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=#> Savin( faith is portra+e, as “/elievin( in” a person

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#%> ohn 8$ 5 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only %on, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life

3G$ ohn 8$ 5 S X Z T ^YW YS TZ XS T W `^ SW, ^XY XS T W S T W XS T W SWS YWὕ ὁ ! ἱ ῆ

YW, W Zἔ " ᾶ R^XY W Y Z XS T Wὁ ἰ ὐ T `_ X R __ \ | T W WRSWἀ ἀ ᾽ ἔ ῃ ἰ many times in N$, esp in 7ohn: to -believe in 7esus/ means to put one(s trust in him

3&1G Greek)#nglish 6e"icon, pisteuō meaning 9, with persons0: -to entrust oneself toan entity in complete confidence, believe in0, trust, with implication of total commitmto the one who is trusted /

)) $his sense of pisteu• occurs frequently w? pisteu• eis, almost -believe into, entrust yourseto/

! think pisteu• eis always has this sense in N$ A ! think F. agrees, p < 0%o ! don(t think that pisteu• eis is e"actly synonymous w? pisteu• en

some overlap: they both can take sense of -trust in a person/ but ! don(t think pisteu• eis ever in N$ takes sense of -believe facts about a person/ or-believe the truth of facts reported by the person/ without the sense of personal trust

[! don(t think & 'allace means to say they are always synonymous, p E Abutmaybe+

#"ample: 1 person can believe 11 has not had fatal airplane crash in < years, 8 (s ofthousands of flights facts0and that the pilot has 9I yrs e"perience w? perfect safety record facts0and still e"perience great fear when ! board the plane A !(m not trusting pilot, and !(m not trusting employees of 11!(m 2ust believing facts, and that falls short of personal trust

%imilarly, a non).tn can believe that 7esus died to pay for people(s sins, but still not trust in .hrist to save him

$his strong sense of belief in someone is sometimes e"pressed not 2ust with pisteu• ei but also with w? pisteu• en or dative alone A not often, but sometimes0

7ohn E 9< $ruly, truly, ! say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who senme R T R^XY W X V { WX Yῷ has eternal life

andRomans #$8 For what does the %cripture sayM 1braham believed God, and it wascounted to him as righteousness

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3G$ Romans #$8 X T U T _V YR;ἡ ^XY ^YW Y T j T X Yἐ # ῷ ῷ R T _S ^ Xἐ ὐ ῷY Z R RS^ W Wἰ

Now wait* %omeone might say

&on(t you know that pisteu• sometimes speaks of mere mental assentM! agree, bec words have a range of meaningwe determine specific meaning w?in that range from the conte"t both immediate gramm constructionand the sense of the larger conte"t

3&1G recogni@es this:mng 8, -to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one(s trust/ p J8H0

and pisteu• in this sense sometimes refers to believing what another person says, such as

#%>

'atthew 2 $82 For 7ohn came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the ta" collectors and the prostitutes believed him 1nd even when yousaw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him

3G$ 'atthew 2 $82 _ YW T WW Z S TZ Z W R RS^ W Z, R T Sἦ Ἰ ὑ ᾶ ἐ ὁ ῷ ὐR^XY ^ XY X , S Y T XY_ W R R T ` W Rἐ ὐ ῷ ἱ ῶ ἱ ^XY ^ W Xἐ ὐ ῷ Y Z Y T `WXYZ S Y T ὑ ῖ ἰ ὐ

YXY Y_~ XY ^XY SW XS R^XY ^ R Xὕ ῦ ῦ ὐ ῷ

#%> Acts ;$ 2 3ut when they believed Philip as he preached good news about thekingdom of God and the name of 7esus .hrist, they were bapti@ed, both men and wome

3G$ Acts ;$ 2 XY Y T ὅ ^XY ^ W X €R_ἐ ῷ $ Y Y_R|S VW Y R

T X Z j ^R_Y Z XSὐ $ ῆ ῦ

YS R T XS W` XSZ ^S ] R^XS , j X |SWXS W YZ XY R T W Yῦ ῦ % Ἰ ῦ ῦ ἐ ἄ ῖ

)) -believe in/ him would not be a suitable sense in these cases b?c conte"t:7ohn) 3aptist and Philip are not the ob2ect of personal trust

%ummary: all these strands of N$ teaching are given to us to teach us again and again that:

a. Savin( faith requires trust in the person of Christ! an, mental a(reement with factsa/out Christ without personal trust in Christ is not savin( faith

! am concerned because, once again, the result of this weakened gospel may be many unsavchurchgoers who think they are saved3ut they have never truly received .hrist or believed in him in the full New $estament sense$hey may think that they are saved, but they are lost

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Conclusion :

1 1ppreciate many FG advocates and many important doctrines that we both affirm

3 3ut:

8 based on misunderstanding of -alone/ in historic Protestant insistence on -2ustification byfaith alone/9 weakens the gospel message by avoiding any call to unbelievers to repent of their sins

gives false assurance of eternal life to many people who profess faith in .hrist but then showno evidence in their pattern of life< promotes numerous highly unusual, highly unlikely interpretations of the New $estament because of the need to defend a mistaken understanding of the word -alone/ in the phrase -faithalone/E leads its supporters to overemphasi@e one necessary component of genuine faith mentalassent to the 3ible(s propositions about .hrist(s atoning work0 and to underemphasi@e another

necessary component of genuine faith namely, heartfelt trust in the living person of 7esus .hras my %avior and my God forever0

Salvation w o Repentance ETS Paper 11-21-14

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Transcript of Salvation w o Repentance ETS Paper 11-21-14