Saturday, March 18, 2006


A Biblical Response to the Teachings of Zane Hodges,
Joseph Dillow, and the Grace Evangelical Society
(Called the "Free Grace" Movement)

Some of you may be wondering where my article on the Free Grace movement has gone. For those still interested in reading it, it has been posted on "monergism.com". I am humbled and grateful that such a fantastic site as "monergism.com" would post the article.
Please understand that I did not post the article to be pugilistic. It has been my prayer that, by getting this article posted, it may benefit others who are struggling with the teaching of this movement. I studied their teachings for seven to ten years, and this article is the fruit of that study. If I help someone to evaluate the movement by compiling for them the Scriptures which I found to be relevant to studying it, then it has been worth the effort. You can find the article at:
I am no longer offering it here, because it is such a huge paper (nearly 40 pages when printed off), and because it is now offered at a site that has a much larger readership. You can still post your comments here after reading the article, though.
It was an unusual endeavor for me, so don't anticipate a regular dose of "Free Grace"-bashing posts. Our Lord is so marvelous, and there are such depths to be explored in His wonderful Word, that I feel it's time to move on. Every now and then, though, the truth does need to be defended from error. You'll read more about my personal journey with this teaching in the article.
Thanks to all of you who provided such helpful feedback on this article! In Christ,
-Phil

3 Comments:

At 9:29 AM, Blogger Timothy said...

Well written and defended, but still heresy by my faith. (Not a Baptist)

I noted at the end you cited the Bereans. This is interesting because the Bereans proved the truth of the apostles using the Old Testament and Jewish tradition alone. (The New Testament wouldn't be writen for hundreds of years).

I'm astounded that in your treatise that there were so few citations from the Old Testament.

 
At 6:55 AM, Blogger Phil Simpson said...

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to read the article. You are not the first to comment on the scarcity of Old Testament passages. My reasoning for omitting them is that "free grace" teachers are dispensationalists, and I felt any attempt to use the Old Testament would be met with the counter argument, "that's not our current dispensation". I felt that would leave us at an impasse in these verses, so felt that using mostly NT passages would be the most convincing arguments.

However, it may be helpful for me to briefly cite OT passages, to show OT/NT continuity (we are all saved by grace through faith), so, as time allows, I may work on adding that to my paper. Thanks for your input! --Phil

 
At 11:50 AM, Blogger Chris Krycho said...

Well put. Excellent argumentation and great use of Scripture throughout. Thanks - it was a blessing. I may not completely agree with all of your explanatory reasoning (some of your more Calvinist-leaning points, specifically), I do agree 100% with your refutation of free grace. Thanks for the essay. :)

 

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