There's an eye-opening article in the May/June 2018 edition of Grace In Focus that's titled "Moody: Then and Now" by Shawn Lazar.[1] The article compares and contrasts the doctrine of salvation as presented in the 1989 edition of The Moody Handbook of Theology with the newer 2014 edition of the book, and shows how the "Revised and Expanded" Moody Handbook of Theology appears to have subtly added works to saving faith![2] This is seen in several instances; for example, the 1989 edition says: "The issue of the terms of salvation is important because the purity of the gospel is at stake. What are the terms of salvation? Is salvation something in addition to faith? The issue is critical because Paul pronounced anathema on anyone who preached a gospel contrary to what he had preached (Gal. 1:8-9)."[3] But in the 2014 edition, the question about adding works to faith is changed so that it now reads as follows: "The issue of the terms of salvation is important because the purity of the gospel is at stake. What are the terms of salvation? Is intellectual assent to the gospel all that is required? The issue is critical because Paul pronounced anathema on anyone who preached a gospel contrary to what he had preached (Gal. 1:8-9)."[4] The question about "intellectual assent" shifts the focus away from the original question which was about adding works to faith, a topic that the editors of the newer edition apparently do not want to discuss. And why not? Could it be because they are guilty of adding works to faith as a requirement for salvation? Furthermore, the 1989 edition was quite clear in saying that intellectual assent to the gospel is not all that is required for salvation. Under the heading "Biblical View", the 1989 edition correctly stated: "Many passages of Scripture affirm that man's only responsibility in salvation is believing the gospel (John 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; 5:24; 11:25-26; 12:44; 20:31; Acts 16:31; 1 John 5:13, and so forth). But what is faith? What does it mean to believe the gospel? Faith may be succinctly defined as 'confiding trust.' John's use of the word faith is similar to Paul's use in describing faith as believing 'into Christ.' For John, faith 'is an activity which takes men right out of themselves and makes them one with Christ.' Saving faith, however, is not mere intellectual assent to a doctrine; it involves more than that."[5] Thus the 1989 edition was clear on the definition of saving faith, and clear on the fact that faith apart from works is all that is required for salvation. Whereas the 2014 edition subtly implies that adding works to faith is also required for salvation.
Another significant difference to notice between the 1989 edition and the 2014 edition is that, in the 1989 edition, the number one false view of the conditions for salvation was "Repent and Believe." The 1989 edition correctly pointed out that biblically, repentance is part of believing in Christ, not a separate condition for salvation. But amazingly, in the "Revised and Expanded" 2014 edition of the book, the number one error in salvation is "Believe only"! Shawn Lazar correctly points out: "Did you notice the number one heresy in the new edition? Is it salvation by works? Nope. Is it legalism? Nope. Is it sacramentalism? Again, no. The number one heresy is to believe only. Faith alone is the number one error in salvation according to the 2014 edition of The Moody Handbook! Let that sink in."[6]
LORDSHIP SALVATION CREEPS IN
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
If "believe only" for salvation is false, then we might as well throw away the entire Gospel of John and take the apostle Paul's response to the Philippian jailer out of the Bible. In response to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30), the apostle Paul in Acts 16:31 gives only one condition: "Believe"! In the words of the great evangelist D. L. Moody: "Do nothing, only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."[11]
References:
[1] Shawn Lazar, "Moody: Then and Now," Grace In Focus (May/June 2018): pp. 45-47.
[2] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (2014 edition), pp. 344-345.
[3] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (1989 edition), pp. 342, emphasis added.
[4] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (2014 edition), pp. 344-345, emphasis added.
[6] Shawn Lazar, "Moody: Then and Now," Grace In Focus (May/June 2018): p. 46, emphasis his.
[7] John MacArthur, "Off with the Old, On with the New, Part 2" (Grace To You), https://www.gty.org/library/study-guides/193/the-portrait-of-a-new-life
[8] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (1989 edition), pp. 330-31.
[8] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (1989 edition), pp. 330-31.
[9] J. D. Greear, Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2013), p. 40.
[10] Ibid., p. 70. Furthermore, Greear affirms that repentance is essentially a change of mind: “Repentance is, in its essence, a Spirit-generated change of mind.” (J. D. Greear, Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart [Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2013], p. 68.)
[11] D. L. Moody, J. B. McClure, Editor, Anecdotes and Illustrations of D. L. Moody, p. 156.
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