Critiquing Dennis Rokser's "Hermeneutical Hopscotch" Method of Bible Interpretation

Is the burial of Christ in 1 Cor 15:4 something to be skipped over when presenting the gospel? What about the appearances of Christ after His resurrection that the apostle John highlights (Jn 20:30-31) at the end of his gospel? Should these facts be skipped over in our presentations of the gospel?

Dennis Rokser, long-time pastor of Duluth Bible Church, takes a non-traditional view of the Free Grace gospel. That is, Rokser doesn't believe that Christ's burial and resurrection appearances are actually part of the gospel. Thus it's not surprising to see how he skips over these important facts in the Gospel of John. For example, Rokser made the following statement in regard to the Gospel of John and "what a sinner needs to believe to have eternal life":

"Furthermore, Hodges fails to note that John does not even personally appeal to his readers to personally believe the content of what has been written in his Gospel until he declares the record of Christ’s death (John 19:35) and His bodily resurrection (John 20:31)."¹

Rokser is right to critique Hodges' view of the gospel. But what's ironic is that Rokser (like Hodges) also has a deficient view of it! Notice how in his statement above, Rokser conveniently skips over the fact that Christ was buried (Jn 19:38-42) and that He appeared to His disciples afterward (Jn 20:19-31). Sadly, Pastor Rokser is playing "hermeneutical hopscotch" with the gospel, skipping over whatever facts he deems are not really part of it and thus twisting the text to meet his own theological agenda (aka "the groundless gospel").² 

But in light of the "content of what has been written" and the context of John's Gospel, Rosker should actually include the truths of Christ's burial and resurrection appearances in the gospel! Thus, Rokser's statement would more accurately read:

"Furthermore, Hodges fails to note that John does not even personally appeal to his readers to personally believe the content of what has been written in his Gospel until he declares the record of Christ’s death for our sins (John 19:35; cf. Jn 1:29-34) and His bodily resurrection from the grave to appear 'in the presence of the disciples' (John 20:30-31; cf. Jn 19:38-21:14)."³ 

This is John's gospel message and what he affirms must be believed for salvation (Jn 20:30-31; cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-11, Gal. 2:6-9). So the next time you present the gospel to someone, don't play "hermeneutical hopscotch"—be sure to include Christ's burial and resurrection appearances as the apostle John does in his Gospel!

ENDNOTES:

¹ Dennis Rokser, "Stakes Through the Heart of Zane Hodges' Hydra Head," In Defense of the Gospel blog (accessed October 8, 2008).

² This is a common tactic among groundless gospel advocates. For example, Tom Stegall skips over Christ's burial and resurrection appearances in Acts 13 (see my blog post titled "What Gospel Did Paul Preach to the Galatians?"), and J. B. Hixson skips over Christ's burial and resurrection appearances in Isaiah 53 (see footnote 7 in my chart "The Free Grace Gospel Debate").

³ This is my adaptation of Rokser's original statement, which skipped over the facts of Christ's burial and resurrection appearances.