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Is Free Grace Theology Biblical?
By Award-Winning Author & Bible Researcher Eli Kittim
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his.
(Romans 8.9 KJV)
——-
Sola fide
Sola fide (meaning “faith alone”) is a theological doctrine which holds that believers are justified by faith alone. Originally, the purpose of this doctrine was to distinguish the Protestants from the Catholic & Orthodox Churches that relied on sacraments (such as the Sacrament of Penance, aka Confession) and “works” for salvation. By contrast, Sola fide maintained that it is on the basis of faith alone that believers are justified (pardoned) and saved.
However, the original doctrine of Sola fide (faith alone) didn’t mean to imply that nothing happened to the believer existentially, psychologically, or supernaturally *after* they were saved. On the contrary, many reformers emphatically stressed that *regeneration* should produce verifiable evidence of the spiritual life. As 2 Pet. 1.10 warns (cf. 2 Cor. 13.5), make sure your faith is real:
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election
sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never
fall.
The evidence of conversion is a believer’s *new self* in Christ (his new identity cf. Gal. 2.20; Eph. 4.24), with proof of ongoing fruit in their life. Many people mistakenly think they are converted or born again but they show no evidence of a personality change (a recreation) nor any fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace). Alas, despite what they say publicly, they have not been converted; they have not been reborn! Read Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sudden Conversions Are Very Often False.”
The reformers knew the importance of John 3.7: “Ye must be born again.” This Biblical concept doesn’t refer to the time when, during a crusade, you decided to make a spiritual commitment to Christ, or to the time when you made a sincere profession of faith during an altar call at a Jimmy Swaggart rally, or when you decided to give your life to Jesus, in your living room one night, while watching Billy Graham or Joel Osteen. This “decision” is characterized under the category of “works” (since you decided the outcome by yourself), and it has absolutely nothing to do with Biblical regeneration or with God. Why? Because God had nothing to do with it, nor is there any evidence of a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in your life. That’s why 2 Corinthians 5.17 declares:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.
Unfortunately, the sinner’s prayer doesn’t save anyone. It doesn’t change your carnal nature into a new creature. Your sin nature remains the same and dominates your mind and heart. So how, then, are you saved? A saved person is dominated by God, not by his passions.
That’s why the reformers spoke of irresistible grace (monergism). Regardless of whether we agree with it or not, the point is that this soteriological doctrine teaches that God’s grace is effectually applied to the believer in order to save them, and that God overcomes their resistance and *changes* them from *within.* In other words, a transformation takes place on the inside. It’s not just faith alone. If they cannot deny it or resist it, then that means that God’s grace has a direct cause-effect influence in their lives. That’s why scripture emphasizes the need for a baptism of the Spirit (Matthew 3.11): “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16.16)!
——-
Free Grace Theology
Free Grace (aka Easy-believism) is a Christian soteriological position which holds that anyone can be saved and receive eternal life simply by believing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (John 20:31). The only condition for receiving the grace of eternal life is *faith.* Nothing else is required. In fact, one is not even required to stop sinning. They have completely removed Sola fide (faith alone) from its original Biblical and soteriological context, thereby isolating and distorting it to mean something entirely different.
By contrast, *Lordship Salvation* requires obedience to Christ. And this is the actual teaching of Scripture! The free Grace movement apparently forgot Jesus’ teaching which states: “repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1.15). Grace is free, but it’s not cheap. Christ says in Mt 16.24:
If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow
me.
Here are Jesus’ own words in John 14.15:
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Besides, how can *mere belief* ALONE be sufficient for *salvation* if the demons believe just as much? (James 2.19):
Thou believest that there is one God; thou
doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble.
In fact, 1 John 2.3-4 would call proponents of Free Grace “liars”:
And hereby we do know that we know him
[Christ], if we keep his commandments. He
that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is
not in him.
And yet, *free grace theology* is constantly mocking Lordship Salvation, calling it evil and unbiblical. Therefore, we should take heed of Isaiah’s (5.20) stern warning:
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good
evil; that put darkness for light, and light for
darkness.
In this paper, I’m only talking about the *regenerated* or *born-again believer,* and what their salvation consists of. I’m trying to demonstrate that a rebirth entails a new identity, a new creation, and a constant outflow of the fruit of the spirit. Just to be clear, Christian salvation is not based on the *works* of the law. Obeying the commandments of Moses doesn’t save anyone. We are not saved because we obey; we obey because we are saved! Nor is salvation an intellectual assent to the truths of Christianity (see Wayne Grudem’s “Free Grace” Theology). You don’t simply look at the facts, weigh the evidence, and conclude that Jesus must be the Messiah. Salvation is NOT an intellectual exercise. Rather, it’s an experience! In Paul’s “Participationist” model of salvation, we don’t merely stand afar off and believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ. No! Rather, we *participate* “in Christ.” We share in his baptism (Rom. 6.3), death (Gal. 2.20), and resurrection (Rom. 6.8). Psalm 34.8 says:
O taste and see that the LORD is good.
—
2 Peter 3:9 9 The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. AMP
By Dr. Jeanne Sheffield Estrada
Have you noticed that people these days don’t seem to use the word 'SIN' or even recognize that it even exists? The truth of the matter is that Sin Does Exist and the Bible says that sin is any action, feeling, or thought that goes against God’s standards of unrighteous. [ 1 John 3:4; 5:17 ] Sin, quite simply, is simply failing to do what is right.
All of our sins – be they acted out or nurtured secretly in our heart are born out of a belief that by doing the sin will make us happier or make our life easier than obeying God. Nobody sins out of duty, but instead out of SELF.
A good example of this was Adam and Eve. While God told them not to eat from the tree of good and evil, the snake tricked them into believing that “Their eyes would be opened and be as gods, knowing good and evil.” [ Genesis 3:5 ] Satan’s deceitful spin on this tricked Eve into believing that she would be better off if she ate the fruit, and that is exactly what sin is — a deceitful idea that is acted out, but in the end it is never how we’d like it to turn out.
The continuing problem with sin is that one sin usually leads to another. When we are caught in an addicting, habitual sin, we are held captive like a ball and chain in a deceptive belief that it will make us happy, yet it is not only difficult - but destructive - to ourselves, and often times to others. We may even loathe our sin in certain ways, even feel shame over it with a sincere desire to be free, but as long as we allow it we are chained to it.
If that sounds familiar, the secret to cutting that chain is instead realizing that the better promises God has made by following His path and this ALWAYS leads to a better end than “enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season” [ Hebrews 11:25 ]
Is this easy? Honestly, it’s hard because you have shaped your perceptions and behaviors for a long time, and you need to RE-SHAPE your mind into God’s thinking…and this is at the heart of the deep meaning of the word REPENT. To truly repent means to Change One’s Mind. To break free from the chains of sin you have and cut the chain that ties you to old thinking. It cannot be halfway! Either you remain tied or you Cut The Tie.
Friend, unless you become convinced that this is true, your old way of thinking will keep you tied to your sin. Starting today, CHANGE YOUR MIND and “Cut The Chain That Binds You To Sinful Thinking” by “Having the Mind Of Christ.”
God Bless Your Day Jesus Loves You
Amen🙏🏿
what the fuck is going on in there
Repent & Escape the Matrix!!
Repent & Escape the Matrix!!
One year done. Here's to another one :))
