Defending the Gospel of Grace

Here is a sneak preview of a new theological resource from Grace Theology Press. It is called called A Defense of Free Grace Theology with Respect to Saving Faith, Perseverance, and Assurance. The contributors include Drs. Dave Anderson, Jody Dillow, Paul Tanner, Ken Wilson and myself. It is a response to Dr. Wayne Grudem and his critique of Free Grace theology. Below is a portion of the opening chapter.

The Perennial Problem for Protestants
Fred Chay, Ph.D.

“Grace: You don’t deserve it. You can’t buy it. You can’t live without it.”1On this, all evangelicals can agree. However, we enter into difficulty when we discuss exactly how God’s grace operates in our lives. Defining the gospel has been difficult from the beginning. This seems counterintuitive since it is simply the presentation of a free gift that needs only to be received and believed for one to be justified forever and possess the gift of eternal life. It is a gift you can never earn and a gift you can never lose. But the simplicity of the gift of the gospel from the glorious grace of God has always raised issues, issues brought on from the Judaizers of the first century, with whom Paul had contentious debates, or from the Roman Catholic Church locked against Luther and the Protestant Reformation. The conditions and circumstances regarding how the gift of God’s love is received have always been argued. We should all agree that, by definition, grace is a gift and therefore free to the recipient, even if costly for the benefactor.²

Nevertheless, the modern evangelical church has engaged in a number of dialogues and debates regarding the presentation of the gospel and the proper response to the gospel. This is a “family issue,” it is an “insider debate” among brothers and sisters in Christ who have a high sense of fidelity to Scripture and wish to be faithful in presenting the Savior and his life-giving gift to a lost and dying world.

As a young Christian, the words of the Apostle Paul always struck me as strange, but no longer. He told the Corinthians, “When you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you” (1 Corinthians 11:18-19; emphasis added).

To say it in a more modern way, “Our critics keep us on our toes.” The term “factions” or “divisions” that Paul selected under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is the Greek term αἵȡεσιȢ(hairesis), anglicized into the English term “heresies.”

Divisions come from confusion, and we must confront confusion with clarity, courage, compassion, and, above all, charity. This book is a call for theological clarity delivered with genuine Christian charity.

Dr. Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary, has written a book that expresses both a personal burden and a concern for the corporate church concerning both Systematic and Biblical Theology and their impact on Pastoral Theology. The title says it all, “Free Grace” Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel.³

This is a provocative title and an essential topic of theology. I became aware of this theological battleground, having been introduced to Lordship Salvation under the teaching of Dr. Ray Steadman, my first pastor, and then under the teaching of Dr. John MacArthur in 1970. Both had a wonderful impact on my life and formed my early theological commitments. I was then challenged at Dallas Theological Seminary, in particular by Dr. Charles Ryrie and Zane Hodges. I began to embrace Free Grace theology and formalized my views with my master of theology thesis: “Lordship Salvation as Taught by John MacArthur.” Dr. MacArthur was gracious enough to read and re-read the chapters to make sure that I understood him correctly and quoted him accurately. As we met for the last time at breakfast, he affirmed that I expressed his views faithfully and then said to me, “I think I need to write a book on this topic.” He wrote what has become the classic text on the topic of Lordship Salvation—The Gospel According to Jesus.⁴

After a number of years serving as a pastor, I had the honor of being a Professor of Theology at Phoenix Seminary for 21 years. The school was founded by Dr. Earl Radmacher as a Free Grace seminary.⁵ During my last 13 years at Phoenix Seminary, I had the privilege of having Dr. Wayne Grudem as a colleague. His commitment to the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scriptures, as well as his courageous stance on complementarianism, was encouraging, and his personal commitment to a charismatic theology was enlightening. Concerning soteriology, both “Reformed” and “Free Grace,” we dialogued on many occasions in my office or over a pizza dinner or before a friendly card game of Hearts. Anyone familiar with his award winning Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine⁶ knows that he has addressed this topic in some detail.⁷ But our discussions provided him a more up-to-date report on the status and defense of the views of Free Grace theology.

Dr. Grudem became convinced that Free Grace theology was a danger to the church and hence presented a lecture on “Conversion” to The Gospel Coalition, Arizona Chapter. It was a clear frontal attack against Free Grace theology and implored the audience, mainly pastors, to stay away from such dangerous teaching. Having attended the lecture, he and I had a“debriefing session” a few days later. He then provided a similar lecture to his adult Sunday school class, which happened to be at the same church I attended. We had another debriefing session later. Finally, he delivered a similar talk in a workshop presentation at the national Evangelical Theological Society meeting in San Diego, California. Again, we debriefed later as to its contents and his portrayal of Free Grace theology.

Each of these presentations remained fairly consistent, and as such, the final form of his research is presented in his book “Free Grace” Theology: 5 ways It Diminishes the Gospel.⁸

In response to his book we will seek not only to answer the questions and alleged dangers that Dr. Grudem presents, but also to explore some of the issues that are an integral part of the discussion.⁹ Dr. Grudem has stated that he had a limited focus and did not wish to wander off in certain directions of theological articulation such as “Lordship Salvation,” which he feels is not an accurate description of the issue¹⁰ or the topic of “carnality.”¹¹ However, it is precisely with such issues that one finds resolution to some of his difficulties with Free Grace theology. Hence, we will endeavor to show the correlation of theological concerns that cause confusion, along with answering directly his points of disagreement.

Finally, before examining the specifics of Dr. Grudem’s arguments against Free Grace theology, there are three matters of prolegomena that need to be addressed. As a paradigm for doing theological studies, it is agreed that the best paradigm is one that handles the most data with the least assumptions. Hence, theology must be comprehensive, congruent, and complete as far as a proper theory of validation will allow us to go. Complete verification awaits the glory of a future day, in which we are unimpeded by dimensional limitations. For now, we see dimly, but we do see some things.

I invite you to purchase a copy of the book (you can now pre-order through Amazon).  It is both academic and pastoral, and with 630 pages, we attempt to give a significant defence.  I believe you will find it helpful in responding to the recent attack on free grace theology and give you confidence in why we believe about the glorious grace of God.

¹ R.T. Kendall, Grace: You Don’t Deserve It. You Can’t Buy It. You Can’t Live Without It. (Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House, 2006).

² The term “free grace” is even utilized in the Westminster Confession of Faith to describe the essence and nature of the gift of eternal life (see Westminster Confession of Faith, 3:5, 11:3, 15:3 and Westminster Longer Confession 70, 71, 74, 194 and the Shorter Confession 34, 35).

³ Wayne Grudem, “Free Grace” Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway 2016). Dr. J. I. Packer has written a similar fourpoint critique, “Understanding the Lordship Controversy” n.p. [cited 20 August 2016]. Online: http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/other_studies/understanding-the-lordship-controversy.shtml. His points include: “The Error about Christ,”“The Error about Works,”“The Error about Repentance,” and “The Error about Regeneration.”

⁴ John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988).

⁵ Phoenix Seminary is no longer a Free Grace school. All of its full-time faculty in the Theological and Biblical Studies Department and the Missions and Intercultural studies department hold to a Reformed position on soteriology

⁶ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994).

⁷ Ibib., 709-717.

⁸ Other recent critical analyses of Free Grace theology have been presented by Matthew W. Bates, Salvation by Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works and the Gospel of Jesus the King, (Grand Rapids, Mich., Baker Academic, 2017); Sujaya T. James, Salvation and Discipleship Continuum in Johannine Literature: Toward an Evaluation of the Faith Alone Doctrine, (Lewiston, New York: The Edward Mellen Press, N.Y. 2014); Thomas R. Schreiner and Matthew Barrett, Faith Alone — The Doctrine of Justification: What the Reformers Taught . . . and Why It Still Matters (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 2015); Alan P. Stanley, Salvation Is More Complicated Than You Think, (London, UK: Paternoster, 2007) and Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works: The Role of Works in Salvation in the Synoptic Gospels, (Eugene Ore., Pickwick Publications, 2006) originally from The Evangelical Theological Society Monograph Series Volume 4; Bradley G. Green, Covenant and Commandment: Works, Obedience and Faithfulness in the Christian Life, (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2014). Also, much of Dr. Grudem’s book has been anticipated by Dr. J. I. Packer in his article, “Understanding the Lordship Controversy,” n.p. [cited 20 August 2016]. Online: http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/ other_studies/understanding-the-lordship-controversy.shtml. For similar lines of argument see Mike McKinley, Am I Really a Christian?, 9 Marks Series (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011); Greg Gilbert,What is the Gospel?, 9, Marks Series (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010); and Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology:Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008),551-560 for similar categories of Dr. Grudem’s presentation.

⁹ There are two others works that have sought to interact with Dr. Grudem’s book. Free Grace Theology: 5 Ways It Magnifies the Gospel, ed. Grant Hawley, (Allen, Tx. Bold Grace Ministries, 2016) and Free Grace Theology on Trial, Anthony Badger, (Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017).

¹⁰ Grudem, “Free Grace” Theology, 22, 143.

¹¹ Ibid., 143.