The modern debate over the role of repentance in salvation
began to heat up in the late 1980s between some of the theologians at Dallas
Theological Seminary and John MacArthur through a very public exchange of
pamphlets and published books. Although
the terms “Lordship Salvation”, “Easy-Believism”, “Free Grace Theology” etc.
are fairly recent in their origin, the ideas behind these terms are not new at
all. A similar issue was hotly debated
in the sixteenth-century between Martin Luther and his colleague Johannes Agricola, and again in seventeenth-century England
among the Puritans during the so-called “Antinomian” controversy. Antinomianism (meaning ‘lawlessness’) is the
opposite extreme of Legalism and teaches that Christians are not in any way
bound by the moral law of God (ie. Ten Commandments). The seventeenth-century English “Antinomians”
interpreted justification by faith alone (sola
fide) to mean that good works were not necessarily required in order to
have genuine saving faith. In other
words, you could be saved by believing in Christ without truly repenting
(turning away from sin)! But the
controversy goes back even further than this.
The Apostle Paul himself anticipated that his strong emphasis on grace
alone through faith alone would be misunderstood by some. In Romans 6, Paul denounces in the strongest
possible way, the ‘antinomian’ position that the Christian can continue in sin
so that grace may abound. James also
vigourously attacks the Antinomian heresy which was rearing its head as early
as AD 40. Modern Day Muslims often interpret
Paul’s emphasis on grace as a form of antinomianism and frequently attack
Biblical Christianity on that basis.
The
so-called “Free Grace” theology which has been advocated most strongly by
Charles Ryrie and Zane Hodges of DTS,[1]
seems to indicate that salvation occurs in two phases. Justification is primarily an intellectual
conversion when a person ‘believes’ the gospel truths and is saved. Later on, this person may come to a deeper
understanding of the importance of Lordship and may commit themselves to the process
of sanctification and begin to grow in holiness. “Free Grace” advocates do not deny the
importance of sanctification or repentance in the life of a believer, but they do not insist
that it begins at the moment of justification.
It is quite possible for a person to have an intellectual conversion –
even to trust in Jesus, and to remain in a perpetual state of “carnality” where
the ‘Christian’ lives like a non-believer (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1). Some understand repentance to be a "change of mind" about sin (metanoia) rather than an actual turning away from sin. Because of these convictions, these “Free
Grace” theologians do not believe that
assurance of faith should be based on the presence or absence of good works in
the life of a believer. Assurance comes from
assent to the truth of the gospel and is frequently associated with a prayer to
receive Christ when that person moves from unbelief to belief. Any person who truly believes and has
received Christ is eternally secure.
The
so-called “Lordship” position which has been strongly advocated in recent years
by John MacArthur[2] is
basically identical with the emphasis of the Puritans in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. Like Calvin and
the Puritans, MacArthur teaches that justification and the lordship of Christ go
hand in hand. In other words you cannot
divide Christ – you must receive Him as Saviour and Lord, or you cannot receive
Him at all! Lordship theology emphasizes
the critical importance of good works in the life of the true disciple and
insists that every person who follows Christ must first count the cost by
turning away from sin immediately! This
is not to say that no sin remains in the life of the believer, or that a true
believer cannot backslide, but rather that the Lordship commitment happens with
justification, not afterward in a second stage.
Like the Puritans, MacArthur believes that assurance of salvation can be
gleaned from careful self-examination.
If no evidence of regeneration is present in the life of a believer (ie.
No changed affections, no love for the brethren, no good works, etc.), there
are no grounds for assurance whether or not that person prayed to receive
Christ. Assurance is the result of
perseverance, and the evidences of grace which the Holy Spirit produces.
Free
Grace advocates frequently accuse Lordship Theologians of teaching a form of
legalistic works- righteousness that compromises the doctrine of justification
by faith alone. Lordship advocates
frequently accuse Free Grace Theologians of teaching a form of antinomianism
which cheapens grace and is leading thousands of “professing Christians” to
hell by giving them false assurance of faith.
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