Introduction:
Overall I would say this is a helpful video; not that I agreed with everything. But I found it helpful for several reasons. I'll start with what I liked about the video. I thought it was short and to the point; it was concise and I appreciated that. It wasn't long and drawn out. It was only about 15 minutes in length, and so the video went through the five points rather quickly and I appreciated that. The hosts only spent two or three minutes on each point, so for someone who's looking for sort of a quick synopsis this video would be good to watch. And also something else I liked about it is that the title is "Five Ways". It reminded me of Wayne Grudem's book about Free Grace (FG) theology because his book is titled "Free Grace" Theology: Five Ways It Diminishes the Gospel. What the title of Grudem's book really means, or the way it should be interpreted, is of course coming from his perspective of "Lordship Salvation" (LS). Although he doesn't like to say it, Grudem is absolutely a proponent of Lordship Salvation! So what the title of his book really means, or what Grudem is really saying by the title, is not that Free Grace theology diminishes the gospel, but rather his title means "Five Ways" Free Grace theology diminishes his view of the gospel: which is Lordship Salvation! So in other words, Grudem is presenting "Five Ways" that Free Grace theology diminishes Lordship Salvation. And of course Free Grace theology does indeed diminish Lordship Salvation, because (as I've also noticed elsewhere) Lordship Salvation falls apart under the scrutiny of Free Grace theology — and in this case, it doesn’t even hold up against Reformed theology! So not even considering Free Grace theology, Lordship Salvation can't even stand up to Reformed theology. And that's what this video is highlighting, or one of the things that it's highlighting. So one key take away for me was that even Calvinists are speaking out against Lordship Salvation! Even those in the Reformed camp are speaking out against LS! So when both FG theology and those in the Reformed camp are speaking out against Lordship Salvation, when both sides in the debate are speaking out against it, it shows that LS has serious problems! It reminds me of something Gary Habermas said; he said that when both sides in a debate agree about something, it's called "enemy attestation". And I should make it clear that it's not that the two sides are absolutely or categorically enemies, but it just means that there are two sides in the debate; that's how the term "enemy" should be understood in this context. And so when the two opposing sides in a debate agree about something, in this case both Free Grace theology and Reformed theology agree that Lordship Salvation is wrong, then Gary Habermas is saying it actually is wrong! In others words, it's not a matter of debate anymore, but rather it's a fact!
So those are two things I appreciated: number one, the video was not long and drawn out; it was concise. It moved along and it wasn't overly wordy. And then the second thing I appreciated was that in a way it was a response, maybe not a direct response but an indirect response, to Grudem's "Five Ways" book. And this video about Lordship Salvation is highlighting "5 Ways" that LS is wrong. And although the video is presented from the viewpoint or perspective of Reformed theology, there are certain things that Free Grace people can and do agree with. And so while we may disagree on some things, there are significant areas of overlap where we both agree that Lordship Salvation is wrong. So I would say in general I think this is a helpful video and for the most part I agree with it, or at least I find common ground with it in a number of areas. Obviously I'm not Reformed, but the point of this video is that even Reformed people, even those in the Reformed camp, even those who adhere to Reform theology, have a big problem with the teachings of Lordship Salvation! So that's the common ground and why I found this video helpful is because, like I said, we agree that Lordship Salvation has BIG problems! In other words, it's unbiblical.
Review of the "5 Ways":
So now I'll get into the five concerns that were shared in the video related to the "5 Ways Lordship Salvation Is Not Reformed". And so I'll just get into it: (1) Lordship Salvation confuses the order of salvation. What they mean by that is that they're saying that LS confuses the ordo salutis: the order of salvation. So in other words, in Reformed theology, repentance is the result of salvation, not a requirement for salvation. And John MacArthur and Lordship Salvation teach that repentance is a requirement for salvation. So Free Grace people, or at least traditional Free Grace people, agree that repentance is a requirement for salvation. But obviously we disagree on the meaning of repentance. According to proponents of Lordship Salvation, repentance means to have a severe sorrow for sin, and along with sorrow for sin, repentance must also include the intent to turn from sins or an actual turning from sins. These things are included in the meaning of repentance according to John MacArthur and LS. But what the two hosts in the video are saying is that that's not traditional Reformed theology. If I recall correctly, one of the hosts in the video quoted from the 1689 Reformed Baptist confession of faith and he said when it talks about faith and when it talks about the requirements for salvation there's no mention of repentance. And in my research on the subject, that's also what I found in regards to historic Reformed theology. They view repentance not so much as a requirement for salvation but as one of the results of salvation. And so while I would disagree with that (I believe that repentance is required for salvation), the point being made in the video is that the teaching of Lordship Salvation is not the same as historic Reformed theology in regards to repentance. So even people in the Reformed camp are saying, in effect, "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! That's not our view!" And they're distancing themselves from Lordship Salvation. They're saying, "We don't believe that!" So that was point number one, or concern number one in the video.
(2) Then concern number two in the video, another way that Lordship Salvation is not Reformed, is that it redefines faith. Lordship Salvation redefines faith. And the point in the video is that those who hold to historic or traditional Reformed theology teach that repentance is not part of faith. So this ties in with point number one, when they say repentance is not required for salvation. So if that's true, then obviously repentance would therefore have to be separate from faith, because faith is required for salvation. Some Free Grace people do teach that repentance is not part of saving faith, but that's not the traditional Free Grace view. But the point in the video about it is that Lordship Salvation is not teaching the historic Reformed view of saving faith and repentance. So again, Free Grace people wouldn't quite see it that way. (Here I'm speaking about the traditional Free Grace view of saving faith. Traditional Free Grace theologians teach that repentance is part of faith. And even Daniel Wallace says, at least in the synoptic Gospels or at least in the book of Luke, that repentance is part of faith. [Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, p. 289.] I think it's fairly easy to show from the New Testament that repentance is part of saving faith. Even just thinking about it logically it makes sense. I mean, if repentance means "a change of mind": when a person goes from unbelief in Christ to believing in Christ there's an obvious change of mind! Even Zane Hodges agreed with that before he changed his position on repentance. If you read Zane Hodges' original statement on repentance from his 1985 book Grace in Eclipse, he clearly says that repentance is part of faith. Of course after that he changed his position on repentance and Bob Wilkin and the Grace Evangelical Society then followed Hodges and also changed their position on repentance even though they too at first believed that repentance was simply a change of mind. And that's the traditional Free Grace view of repentance.) But back to the video, the point they were making in the video is that according to historic Reformed theology, repentance is not part of faith; it's not part of saving faith. And so they disagree with John MacArthur and the LS view, because MacArthur includes repentance in saving faith. Of course, MacArthur's definition of repentance is obviously different from the traditional Free Grace definition of repentance. So although we agree that repentance is part of saving faith, we disagree with MacArthur's definition of repentance (and his definition of faith). So traditional FG theology would not agree with the traditional Reformed view that separates repentance from saving faith. So again, I wouldn't necessarily agree with the first two points in the video, but my point is that even Reformed people are disagreeing with Lordship Salvation on these things, right? So again, my point is that this isn't just a "Free Grace vs. Lordship Salvation" debate anymore. (Maybe it never was!) This is also a "Reformed theology vs. Lordship Salvation" debate! So this shows that Lordship Salvation has serious problems however you want to look at it! It has serious problems and even those in the Reformed camp are saying, in effect: "Wait a minute! We don't agree with Lordship Salvation either!" And they're distancing themselves from it. So this is good, in that I think it validates what Free Grace theologians have been saying for years, which is that Lordship Salvation has serious problems! We might disagree on exactly what those problems are, but my point is that however you look at it, Lordship Salvation has serious problems. It has big problems. And what I appreciate about this video is that it highlights some of those problems from a Reformed perspective! Not that I necessarily agree with every single point that they're making (I don't), but if you zoom out and look at the big picture, the main point is that Lordship Salvation has some BIG problems! And even people in the Reformed camp are saying that. Even those in the Reformed camp are saying that Lordship Salvation has big problems! So I appreciate that they're speaking out about it and I think it's helpful to see what is being said.
(3) The third point in the video or the third way that Lordship Salvation is not Reformed is that it collapses Law and Gospel. The way they worded it in the video is that in LS there is "a collapsing of Law and Gospel". In other words, Lordship Salvation in effect teaches that the Law is a means of salvation! And corresponding to this, they say that the Gospel contains all kinds of things to do. The way that they say it in the video is: "The Law is now a means of salvation and the Gospel now contains all kinds of things to do." And so I think that this needs to be pointed out. And this indeed is one of the big problems that those in the Free Grace camp have been pointing out for years about Lordship Salvation; that it's basically works salvation! And that's obviously a huge problem because the Bible says it's "not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5), right? So it's not about what we do in terms of good works. It's not about our trying to keep the Law or anything like that. It's all been DONE by Christ on the cross! See John 19:30. Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" Now if I recall, John Scott in his article trying to prove Lordship Salvation, in his 1959 magazine article trying to prove Lordship Salvation, he appealed to what Paul says in the book of Philippians when Paul says "work out your salvation". I believe that's the Bible verse that John Stott used (misused) trying to prove Lordship Salvation. If it wasn't that exact verse it was one of the verses in Philippians where the apostle Paul is talking about Christian service, not salvation. So Paul is talking to already saved people; he's talking to Christians and it's in reference to the Christian life, not how to be saved in the first place. What Paul is saying is, "Now that you are saved, live like this. These things should be true of you as Christians. It's not how to get saved, but now that you are saved these things should be true of you." So that was concern number three in the video, with my added commentary about John Stott. So that was point number three.
(4) Then moving on to point number four in the video, what they said was that Lordship Salvation has confusion on the uses of the Law. The way they worded it in the video was: "A confusion on uses of the Law". What they were saying is that Lordship Salvation is preaching the Law to Christians in a threatening way: "Do this or else!" I wouldn't necessarily agree with the Reformed view of the Law in terms of how it applies to Christians today, but I do agree with their critique of the LS position. Based on what they were saying in the video, Reformed theology still applies the Mosaic Law to Christians today, although not as a means of salvation. Basically the Reformed view is that the Law, in terms of how it applies to Christians today, is a guide (or at least they use it as a guide) to living the Christian life. Free Grace theology doesn't explain it that way or look at it quite that way. Obviously the Mosaic Law is part of the Word of God and it's profitable for us, although it's not written directly to us. We therefore can derive much benefit from reading it even though it is not written directly to us. As J. Vernon McGee has said, "All Scripture is for us, but it's not all written directly to us." The apostle Paul says, "for you are not under Law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14). And so we as Christians are under something today, just not the Mosaic Law. Free Grace Theology teaches that living under grace is an even higher standard than living under the Law. So I wouldn't necessarily agree with everything in point number four of the video, but I would agree that it's wrong for proponents of Lordship Salvation to be preaching the Law to Christians today basically as a threat: "Do this or else!" That's how they explained it in the video. So I agree with their basic premise and with their critique of Lordship Salvation in that regard: that proponents of LS preach the Law to Christians in a threatening way and that's not right. Where's the grace? So even those in the Reformed camp are saying, "Hey wait a minute, that's not biblical!" They're pointing out what Lordship Salvation is teaching in regards to the Law is not biblical. So that's where I agree with what they're saying in the video. And in particular that's why I agree with point number four.
(5) The fifth and final concern that was mentioned in the video, or the 5th way that Lordship Salvation is not Reformed, is that they said it confuses the relationship between justification and sanctification. The way they word it in the video is: "A confusion of the relationship between justification and sanctification". And they said that Lordship Salvation collapses these two things into one. And what they say in the video is that Lordship Salvation makes it sound like we are building our justification on our sanctification. I'd say that's an accurate critique of Lordship Salvation and a big problem because obviously only justification is required to come into a right standing with God, to have peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, "having been justified by faith, we have peace with God." Sanctification comes later; sanctification is Christian life truth -- not how to be saved. In fact, what they explained in the video is that Lordship Salvation is making sanctification more foundational than justification! Lordship Salvation essentially "puts the cart before the horse". They have it backwards. And so I thought it was a really good point that they made in the video about how this is one of the big concerns with Lordship Salvation. And another way that they explained it in the video is that Lordship Salvation has a "Prove it!" sort of theology or mindset that basically it says you have to prove your salvation in order for it to be genuine. There's so many problems with that I don't even know where to start! It makes assurance virtually impossible and it's a foundation made of sand, because it's basically making you the foundation instead of the Word of God. Instead of the promises of God, instead of the work of Christ, Lorship Salvation changes it to where the individual is now some sort of a basis or the individual's actions are some sort of a basis for his or her salvation or for the genuineness of his or her salvation. So that's a foundation of sand; that's a foundation built on sand. I mean, what kind of foundation is that? Now you are your own foundation? That's sad! That's not what the Bible teaches at all. Christ is our foundation! Christ is the chief cornerstone. Christ is the Rock; Christ is the solid rock, and "on the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!" as the hymn says.
Conclusion:
So those were the five concerns discussed and highlighted in the video in regards to Lordship Salvation. For their concluding remarks, one of the hosts read a quote by John Calvin. I should point out that the "5 Ways" video is actually part two in a series; the host had previously shared this particular quote also in the first video, in part one, and I actually commented on it in that first video. I thought it was a really good quote and apparently a lot of other people liked it too. But in the comment that I left in the first video, I said something to the effect that: "This just shows that even a dead clock is right once or twice a day!" (I was speaking obviously in reference to John Calvin.) So in closing I'll just share what he says; it's excerpted from his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin writes: "For if they begin to judge their salvation by good works, nothing will be more uncertain or more feeble. From this it comes about that the believer's conscience feels more fear and consternation than assurance. If righteousness is supported by works in God's sight it must entirely collapse. It [rather] is confined solely to God's mercy, solely to communion with Christ, and therefore solely to faith." So that's the quote by John Calvin from his Institutes, and I do agree with that statement and I want to say Amen! And I'm glad that Calvin at least here is clear on assurance and on what is the basis for assurance. So that's the video; those are the five concerns that these two Reformed theologians have with Lordship Salvation. And I thought it was a helpful video. I didn't agree with every single thing in the video but I think it makes a good point, which is that even those in the Reformed camp are distancing themselves from Lordship Salvation. And so this isn't just a Free Grace vs. Lordship Salvation debate anymore -- maybe it never was! But we're seeing, I think, more and more as time goes on that this is also and more broadly a Reformed theology vs. Lordship Salvation debate. Even those in the Reformed camp have serious concerns with Lorship Salvation and say it's not biblical. So that's my review of the video "5 Ways Lordship Salvation Is Not Reformed". Overall I would give it probably a three out of five stars.
Addendum:
Here's the comment I left in the comments section of the "5 Ways" video. I was specifically responding to some statements in point #1 made by one of the hosts in regards to his belief that regeneration precedes faith:
Yes, of course God makes us alive. That's regeneration. Free Grace people agree with that. But how are we regenerated? Paul says it's through the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15, "begotten you through the gospel"). And to put an even finer point on it, we are regenerated through *believing* the gospel (cf. Jn. 1:12). By the way, the word "believe" in John 1:12 is in the active voice in the Greek, meaning it is something we do, NOT something that is done to [us] or for us. I know Calvinists teach that faith is a gift of God, and in one sense this is true because ultimately everything is a gift from God (cf. Jn. 3:27; 1 Cor. 4:7; James 1:17), but Calvin erred by taking this to the [unbiblical] extreme and saying that man doesn't even have a volitional choice and can't do anything. You talked about how "Lordship Salvation" is an overreaction, and I agree that it is. But Calvinism is also an overreaction, not to Free Grace, but to the error of Pelagianism. (Calvin followed Augustine in his overreaction to Pelagianism.) Pelagianism is an error and Augustine (and by extention, Calvin) was right to oppose it. But as so often happens, they overreacted to it and taught some things that are also unbiblical. In the Bible, "death" refers to separation, not inability (cf. Gen. 3:9; Lk. 15:24; Rom.1:18-20; James 2:17; Rev. 3:1-2). I think D. L. Moody said it best: "Some say faith is a gift of God. So is the air, but you have to breathe it. So is bread, but you have to eat it. So is water, but you have to drink it. Some today are waiting for a miraculous sensation to come upon them, that is not faith. Faith is taking God at His Word (Rom. 10:17)." [D. L. Moody, The Way to God, p. 51.] That's my parphrase of what Moody said since I don't have the exact quote in front of me. But it was to that effect. And I think he was right on! That's what the Bible teaches, for example, in the Gospel of John, where the noun "faith" is never used. Instead, John uses the verb "believe" (90 times!), and each time, it's ALWAYS in the Greek active voice! You mentioned Ephesians chapter 2, but even Daniel B. Wallace has said that "if faith is not meritorious [and it's not, Rom.4:4-5], then faith is not a gift per se." (The statement by Wallace is in his Greek grammar [p. 335, footnote 53]. Again, the quote is my paraphrase because I don't have his exact statement in front of me, but it was to that effect.) God bless! I appreciate you guys warning people about "Lordship Salvation"!
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