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Free Grace theology refers to a distinct view of Christian topics, such as faith, repentance, assurance of salvation, and perseverance, that is tied to dispensationalism. Two organizations that promote it are the Grace Evangelical Society (GES), and the Free Grace Alliance (FGA).

In spite of areas of disagreement, the core of "Free Grace" is the view that the Christian concept of eternal salvation is bestowed on anyone who believes in Jesus irrespective of the subsequent behavior of the recipient of eternal salvation. Its historical antecedents are considered to be Anne Hutchinson, Robert Sandeman,and John Cotton . Both in its historical antecedents and in its contemporary expressions such as GES and FGA, Free Grace theology is a critical response to the view of Calvinism's Lordship salvation, Catholicism, and Arminianism that final salvation from the penalty of sin requires not only belief in Jesus Christ, but also a commitment to and perseverance in good works. Free Grace theology was initially found among dispensationalists, but has since found acceptance in other groups as well.

Free Grace soteriology

Free Grace Theology is distinguished by its soteriology or doctrine of salvation. Like most Conservative Protestant Christians, its advocates believe that God justifies the sinner on the sole condition of faith in Christ, not subsequent righteous living. Free Grace Theology insists that faith is a passive persuasion that Jesus is the messiah and that he provides eternal salvation as a free gift to those who believe in Him. Free Grace teaches that one need not proffer a promise of future behavior or good works in exchange for God's eternal salvation such as repenting from one's sins, or "making Jesus the lord of his life," that he cannot lose his salvation through sin and subsequent failure, and that he can be confident that he has obtained eternal salvation by reflex reflection upon one's faith in the Gospel promise, rather than through introspective assessment of one's personal good works. This view strongly distinguishes the gift of eternal life and the declaration of justification by faith from subsequent good works. There is also an emphasis within Free Grace on the judgment seat of Christ, where Christians are rewarded based on good works done in faith.

Opposition

Traditional Protestant Christian theology agrees that faith alone in Christ alone is the sole means for receiving the free gift of eternal life "eternal salvation". However, the definition of faith within the Free Grace community differs from the view of Reformed scholarship. The Reformed tradition has typically advanced the belief that faith stemming from one's free will cannot save. Within Calivinism, "grace" is a mystical substance infused into a sinner to overcome their "bound" or "fallen" will, and empower them to believe. Because "grace" is believed to be "irresistible" in the reformed community, ones who are elected (and thereby receives God's grace) shall be drawn "irresistibly" to saving faith. Moreover, since grace is "irresistable," once received, it will continue on a course by which it irresistibly conforms the convert to Christ-likeness. Accordingly, one who believes without producing good works had never received God's grace, and therefore, was "never really saved" within the reformed community. A great deal of exegetical gymnastics within the reformed community has been devoted to defend the proposition that faith inherently includes good works. No argument, however, has been advanced for why the same Greek word, "pistis" is used hundreds of times throughout Scripture, and thousands of times throughout extant Greek literature, in mundane ways in which human works cannot sensibly be added. Reformed theology frequently asserts different "kinds" of faith, some which can save, and some which are incapable of imparting salvation to a lost sinner. Faith that is the product of God's "grace" is the saving type. Faith which was merely the product of the fallen will of the lost sinner is not of God's grace, and therefore, not capable of saving. They nature of one's faith, therefore, can be identified by the ensuing works. If good works and a godly lifestyle ensue, the faith is determined to be the product of "irresistible grace," and was, in retrospect, of the saving variety. If a sustained change of life is not experienced, the "faith" is determined to have been from some source other than God's "grace." Hence, the subject is declared to have been "never really saved."

Free Grace & Dispensationalism

Free Grace theology is dispensational in its assumptions regarding the philosophy of history and in terms of its networks and affiliations.

Free Grace & Assurance

One of the unique aspects of Free Grace theology is its position on assurance. All Free Grace advocates agree that assurance of salvation is intrinsic to the very nature of the Gospel promise. Dallas Theological Seminary, in Article XI of its doctrinal statement, sums up the general consensus of Free Grace theology in reference to assurance:

We believe it is the privilege, not only of some, but of all who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, to be assured of their salvation from the very day they take Him to be their Savior and that this assurance is not founded upon any fancied discovery of their own worthiness or fitness, but wholly upon the testimony of God in His written Word, exciting within His children filial love, gratitude, and obedience (Luke 10:20; 22:32; 2 Cor. 5:1, 6–8; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 5:13).

Yet within the Free Grace world, there are two views on assurance. The first is that, although assurance of salvation should be the experience of every Christian, Christian individuals may or may not immediately experience this. The realization of one's possession of eternal life may come at a later time, as a result of further study of the Gospel.

A second view is that assurance is of the essence of saving faith. This view holds that faith is a "conviction that what Jesus promises is true." If a person does not believe in his own "saved-ness", then it is posited that he does not believe in Christ.

Repentance

Free Grace theology approaches the doctrine of repentance in a different way compared to the most other Christian traditions. God's "irresistible grace," necessary to impart "faith" to man's fallen will (the bondage of the will), shall, by its very nature, advance the new convert to a state of holiness and Christ likeness. Without the infusion of this mystical "grace," the lost sinner cannot efficaciously believe, nor can he hope to attain to a state of holiness and Christ likeness.

As the reformation began, Erasmus' cry "ad fontes" (from the sources) was applied to terms like "justification," wherein the biblical and extra-biblical Greek literature were examined to establish the meaning of the term "dikaio" (justify). However, other theological beliefs, such as the need to "repent of one's sins" for eternal salvation, remained unexamined within the mainstream denominations. A return to the sources (Scripture and extant Greek literature) for a serious examination of words such as "metanoia" would not be widely observed within the church for several hundred more years.

Some of the earliest developments relating to the doctrine of repentance appeared in Harry A. Ironside ("Except Ye Repent", American Tract Society, 1937) and the Systematic Theology of Lewis Sperry Chafer (completed 1947), returned to consider the fundamental meaning of the Greek word "metanoia" (repentance), which simply means "to change one's mind." In biblical passages commonly understood to be directed to eternal salvation, the object of repentance was often seen simply as Jesus Christ, making repentance equivalent to faith in Christ. Passages identifying a more specific object of repentance were understood to focus on man's need to change his mind from a system of self-justification by works to a trusting in Christ alone for salvation, or a change in mind from polytheism to a belief in Jesus Christ as the true living God. Further exposition came from various Free Grace authors, and Robert N. Wilkin undertook a detailed examination in his doctoral thesis at Dallas Theological Seminary (1985), which he simplified for a more popular audience in the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society from Autumn 1988 to Autumn 1990.

Zane Hodges and Bob Wilkin are notable exceptions to the Free Grace movement’s general consensus on repentance. The teaching of Hodges and Wilkin entirely eliminates repentance toward God as a condition of salvation.

In his book, Harmony With God Hodges took the position that the process of repentance may be a preparatory step in coming to salvation, and should be evident in the life of a believer, but a lost man can be born again apart from repentance by any definition. Hodges also said he no longer held to the “change of mind” view of repentance. In Harmony with God Hodges said there is only one answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” Hodges emphatically stated, “Repentance is not part of that answer. It never has been and never will be.”

Ironically, Wilkin’s 1985 doctrinal dissertation is titled Repentance as a Condition for Salvation in the New Testament. At that time Wilkin held the “change of mind” view and believed repentance was a condition for salvation. The influence of Hodges eventually led Wilkin to abandon the position he defended in his dissertation. At the 1998 Grace Evangelical Society’s National Conference Bob Wilkin revealed he had a “change of mind” about repentance. Hodges and Wilkin defined repentance as “turning from sin” and also announced their view that repentance (by any definition) is not a condition for salvation.

Saving faith

The Free Grace view has historically been that saving faith is believing that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, died for our sins and and then resurrected, and thereby offers justification and eternal life to whomever believes on Him alone for their eternal life. In a departure from the historic free grace position, a splinter movement within the Free Grace community has adopted a deconstructionist or existentialist view of Jesus Christ and the content of saving faith, commonly known as "The Crossless Gospel." This belief, which the Grace Evangelical Society is the prime instigator of, asserts that there is no specific content to one's faith about the person and work of "Jesus." Only the pronunciation of the word "Jesus" is important, and the belief that this undefined existential entity offers eternal life to whoever believes on him. This deconstructionistic movement, however, has not found any traction in countries outside of the United States, where foreign lands have many different pronunciations for the Son of God, or Jesus, such as "Yeshua," "Joshua," "Isa," "Issiat," "Yesus," "Messie," "Son of Sweaty Bog," the "Son of Dumnezeu." Outside the United States, the crossless gospel appears to be a naive American phenomena that focuses on pronunciation of Jesus' name, rather than His character as defined by his eternal character, and his sacrifice for man's sins.

References

1. http://www.freegracealliance.org
2. Bing, Charles Lordship Salvation, A Biblical Evaluation and Response, Ph.D. Dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1991
3. John F. MacArthur, Jr., Faith Works, The Gospel According to the Apostles, Word, 1993]
4. Michael Horton, Christ the Lord: The Reformation and Lordship Salvation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992)
5. David D. Hall, The Antinomian Controversy 1636-1638 : A Documentary History, 1990]
6. Robert Sandeman, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007
7. R.T. Kendall Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649 2nd ed., Paternoster Press, UK, 1997
8. Dean, Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life, CTS Journal, 2006
9. See:
   • Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who is There Crossway Books, 1968, pp. 145-148
   • John Piper, The Future of Justification Crossway Books, 2007 p. 78
   • Charles Spurgeon, Sermon, Justification by Faith, December 1868 http://www.sermoncentral.com/outsideurl.asp?outsideurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Espurgeon%2Eorg%2Fsermons%2F0844%2Ehtm
10. ^ See:
    • Free Grace Alliance Doctrinal Statement
    • Grace Evangelical Society Doctrinal Statement
    • Scripture Unlocked Ministries Doctrinal Statement
11. Earl Radmacher, "Believers and the Bema" Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, Spring 1995 -- Volume 8:14
12. M. Charles Bell, Calvin & Scottish Theology, The Handsel Press, Edinburgh, 1985
13. R. T. Kendall, Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649 2nd ed., Paternoster Press, UK, 1997
14. Gresham Machen, What is Faith?, 1925
15. Gerry Breshears, “New Directions in Dispensationalism”, paper presented to the Evangelical Theological Society, November 1991
16. Dallas Theological Seminary Website
17. See "Gospel Under Siege by Zane Hodges, REDENCION VIVA 1981, page 10. "A careful consideration of the offer of salvation as Jesus Himself presented it, will show that assurance is inherent in that offer.
18. The Reformed tradition, for instance, sees repentance as "a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ" (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 713). Defined as such, it is a component, not just of conversion but also of sanctification, and it is a regularly recurring element throughout the Christian's life. This repentance cannot be present in unbelievers at all (unless perhaps God is in the process of converting them) because only those truly regenerated by God can exercise it.
19. E.g., Dick Seymour, "All About Repentance" (1974); G. Michael Cocoris, "Lordship Salvation, Is it Biblical?" (circa 1983) and "Repentance, The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible" (1993); Curtis Hutson, "Repentance, What does the Bible Teach"; Richard Hill, "Why a Turn or Burn Theology is Wrong"; and Ronald R. Shea, "The Gospel" booklet (1988); and numerous articles by John R. Rice and Curtis Hutson in the Sword of the Lord magazine.

See also

Perseverance of the saints

Free Grace advocacy

• The Grace Evangelical Society
• Free Grace Alliance

• Christian theology