“Council of Antioch” beginning 09/20/07

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“Council of Antioch”beginning 09/20/07

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Receive a more detailed explanation of the events that led up to Dr. Wilkin's visit, and

the events following

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Introduction

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Brief introduction to Dr. Wilkin, GES, and Zane Hodges

• Dr. Wilkin founded Grace Evangelical Society in 1986.

• Zane Hodges mentored Bob Wilkin, and is a regular contributor to GES’s Journal.

• They regularly speak together and endorse each other’s books and writings.

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More on Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (Ph.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) After graduating from college he joined the staff

of Campus Crusade for Christ, serving two years each at Arkansas State University and North Carolina State University.

Dr. Wilkin has written three books, Confident in Christ, The Road to Reward, and Secure and Sure as well as two booklets, and hundreds of newsletter and journal articles.

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Overview• Bob Wilkin believes that all that i

s necessary for salvation is faith that Jesus can give you eternal life.

• Bob Wilkin denies that knowledge of the cross or our sin, and belief in the cross and our status as sinners, is necessary for salvation.

• Bob Wilkin denies that repentance (defined as sorrow for sins and willingness to turn from them) is necessary for salvation.

• Bob Wilkin denies that there is such a thing as a false profession or false faith.

• Bob Wilkin believes that saving faith is ONLY intellectual assent.

• Bob Wilkin believes that saving faith is placed in the "promise" of Jesus rather than the "person" of Jesus.

• Such theology forces a reinterpretation of several passages.

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Bob Wilkin believes that all that is necessary for salvation is faith that Jesus can give you eternal

life.

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a. “The Deserted Island Scenario”

http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2000ii/Hodges.htm. Local Link.

1. Believes that all that is necessary for salvation is faith that Jesus can give you eternal life.

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b. “Saving faith is the conviction that . . . that the one who simply believes in Jesus has everlasting life." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005ii/wilkin.html by Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

c. “Our works, feelings, will, and desires play absolutely no role in whether we believe something and whether we know we believe or not.” Id.

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d. "Many today, indeed the vast majority, of those who believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again are not born again. The reason is simple. They have not yet believed that the one who simply believes in Jesus has everlasting life." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005ii/wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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e. "I never told my Dad [who was an alcoholic] that if he repented of his sins he would have eternal life. But I often told him that if he simply believed in the Lord Jesus Christ he would have everlasting life." (http://www.gespodcast.blogspot.com Wilkin, post from Monday, 9/14/07 titled "Repentance Toward God and Faith Toward Our Lord Jesus Christ?")

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f. "Faith is the conviction that something is true. To believe in Jesus ('he who believes in Me has everlasting life') is to be convinced that He guarantees everlasting life to all who simply believe in Him for it." (http://www.faithalone.org/about/4.html GES Doctrinal Statement / Affirmation of Belief)

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g. "Eternal life is given to those who believe that Jesus Christ was speaking the truth when He said, "He who believes in Me has everlasting life' (John 6:47)." (http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1992/92nov3.html Wilkin)

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h. "So the minimum a person must believe is that Jesus of the Bible (that is, the one spoken of in the Bible) guarantees everlasting life to all who simply believe in Him." (Wilkin, from an email to The Starks on 7/16/07)

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i. "You can believe many biblical concepts and still miss the one truth that is saving—the truth of the gospel. For example, you can attest to Jesus’ deity, His virgin birth, and His bodily resurrection, and yet not believe Jesus’ promise to give you eternal life freely if you just believe in Him for it. There is only one truth that will save: Jesus’ guarantee that anyone who believes in Him for eternal life has it." (Wilkin, from his book Confident in Christ)

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j. "What they fail to understand is that biblical faith in Jesus is not faith that He existed, nor faith in His deity, nor even faith that He died for our sins and rose again. In the Bible, to believe in Jesus is to be convinced that He who died and rose again guarantees eternal life to all who simply believe in Him." (Wilkin, from his book Secure and Sure)

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k. "Jesus made it clear that the only condition [for salvation] is being convinced that He guarantees eternal life to all who believe in Him. Add anything to that and you have a different gospel." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1998ii/J21-98d.htm Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 1998)

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Bob Wilkin denies that knowledge of the cross or our sin, and belief in the cross and

our status as sinners, is necessary for salvation.

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2. Denies that knowledge of the cross or our sin, and belief in the cross and our status as sinners, is necessary for salvation

a. " My view is that the Lord Jesus told us what the saving message is and we can’t err by proclaiming the message He proclaimed. Since He rarely even alluded to the cross or the resurrection in His evangelism, it can only be required to believe in it if Jesus’ method of evangelism is no longer valid. If course, His method is not invalid." (Wilkin, from an email to The Starks on 8/6/07)

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2. Denies that knowledge of the cross or our sin, and belief in the cross and our status as sinners, is necessary for salvationb. "In John 11:25-27, a pivotal expression of the

saving message in John (compare John 20:31), we find no mention of sin or the cross. Jesus rarely used the words saved or salvation when He evangelized (see John 3:17 as a rare use). What the Lord Jesus referred to over and over again is everlasting life. So that is what I stress, though I do sometimes speak of eternal salvation." (Wilkin, from an email to The Starks on 8/6/07)

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c. "No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one’s sin, baptism or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered part of, faith as a condition for receiving everlasting life." (http://www.faithalone.org/about/4.html GES Doctrinal Statement / Affirmation of Belief)

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d. "Neither explicitly nor implicitly does the Gospel of John teach that a person must understand the cross to be saved. It just does not teach this." (Zane Hodges, “How to Lead People to Christ, Pt.1,” JOTGES 13 (Autumn 2000)

Note: Wilkin, Hodges, et al. believe that the Gospel of John contains all that is necessary for salvation. If it's not found in John, then it's not required, according to them.

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e. "In recent years I have become aware of a way of presenting the gospel invitation that troubles me. I believe I have heard it from my earliest years, and I admit it didn’t really bother me for a long time. Now it does. I have heard people say this: 'In order to be saved you must believe that Jesus died on the cross.' In the context of our present discussion, I mean that this is their summary of the requirement of faith. It is not just one item, among others, to be believed. Whenever I hear that nowadays, I get extremely uncomfortable." (Zane Hodges, “How to Lead People to Christ, Pt.2,” JOTGES 14 (Spring 2001)

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f. "In the first two chapters of his book [titled Road to Reward], Wilkin appropriately offers an evangelistic appeal to faith in Christ before delving deeply into the subject of rewards for Christians. However, there is a glaring and obvious omission in these two chapters: the death of Christ for our sins and His resurrection are NEVER mentioned—only appeals to believe in Christ as the guarantor of eternal life." (http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/crossless.htm an analysis offered by Tom Stegall, Pastor of Word of Grace Bible Church in Milwaukee, WI, and a former GES member for 15 years who left GES over this issue)

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g. "In a subsequent book by Wilkin, Secure and Sure, he states no less than 113 times throughout the book in almost mantra-like fashion that a person receives eternal life simply by believing in Jesus for it, or some varied form of the same expression. Yet NEVER ONCE in his entire book, despite 113 occasions to do so, does Wilkin state that by believing in Jesus for eternal life he means someone must believe that Jesus is God-incarnate who died for his sins and rose again." (http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/crossless.htm an analysis offered by Tom Stegall, Pastor of Word of Grace Bible Church in Milwaukee, WI, and a former GES member)

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h. "What they fail to understand is that biblical faith in Jesus is not faith that He existed, nor faith in His deity, nor even faith that He died for our sins and rose again. In the Bible, to believe in Jesus is to be convinced that He who died and rose again guarantees eternal life to all who simply believe in Him." (Wilkin, Secure and Sure)

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i. "You see, as we noted previously, the facts surrounding the gospel message—such as the death and resurrection of Christ—are important facts for what they tell us about the reasons for trusting Christ. But believing these facts doesn’t save anyone. People are only saved when they believe that Jesus gives them eternal life the moment they believe in Him for that." (Zane Hodges, “How to Lead People to Christ, Pt.2,” JOTGES 14 (Spring 2001)

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3. Denies that repentance (defined as sorrow for sins and willingness to turn from them) is necessary for salvation.

a. "No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one’s sin, baptism or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered part of, faith as a condition for receiving everlasting life." (http://www.faithalone.org/about/4.html GES Doctrinal Statement / Affirmation of Belief)

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Bob Wilkin denies that repentance (defined as sorrow for sins and willingness to turn

from them) is necessary for salvation.

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b. "I plead guilty to the charge that I do not believe that repentance, defined in the sense of turning from sins, is a condition of regeneration or justification." (http://faithalone.org/news/y2005/wilkin3.html Wilkin, Jan-Feb 2005 GES newsletter article)


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c. "Zane Hodges's book Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation was published in 1989. In Chapter 12, he states that repentance is not a condition of eternal life at all. Although I didn't completely agree with Zane at the time (I still thought there were a few passages that conditioned eternal life upon repentance), I was intrigued by his view and resolved to think about it more. I have since become convinced that repentance is not a condition of eternal life." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1998i/Wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Spring 1998)


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d. "Jesus taught the apostles about repentance when He said, "If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him" (Luke 17:4). Again, repentance here is neither faith in Christ, nor a necessary precursor to faith in Christ. It is a decision to turn from one's sins. All fifty-five NT references to repentance bear this out. In each case repentance is a decision to turn from one's sins. It is never a synonym for faith in Christ or a necessary precursor to faith." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1998i/Wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Spring 1998)


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e. "That the only evangelistic book in the Bible fails to mention repentance is a smoking gun. It is a piece of evidence so clear and powerful that the prosecution can rest its case on this alone. Repentance is not a condition of eternal life." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1998i/Wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Spring 1998)


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Bob Wilkin denies that there is such a thing as a false profession

or false faith.

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4. Denies that there is such a thing as a false profession or false faith.

a. "I hold the view that faith is faith. Saving faith is not a special kind of faith. What makes saving faith saving is the object, not some supposed special type of faith. I do not believe that there is even one passage in the Bible which speaks of a faith which is spurious--that is, a faith which is less than genuine faith." (http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1992/92nov3.html Wilkin)

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Bob Wilkin believes that saving faith is ONLY intellectual assent.

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5. Believes that saving faith is ONLY intellectual assent.

a. "Realize that Faith Really Is Intellectual Assent" (title of a point in the article here: http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005i/wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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b. "Whatever believing means when speaking of believing earthly things is the same concept as believing heavenly things. Clearly believing earthly things is simply a matter of mental assent. So, too, is believing heavenly things. Believing is the conviction that something is true. Saving faith is the conviction that the justifying message is true: that the one who simply believes in Jesus has everlasting life." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005i/wilkin.html Wlkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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c. "We cannot evangelize clearly if we think faith is more than intellectual assent, that it is more than believing facts, or that it is anything other than being convinced that the saving message is true." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005i/wilkin.html Wlkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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d. "Free Grace people sometimes introduce confusion about faith when they say something like, “It is not enough to believe the facts about Jesus; you must also trust Him.” Then an illustration is given like the chair illustration.

“Do you believe that chair over there will hold you up if you sit in it?”

“Yes, I believe that chair is fully reliable.” “Well, until you actually go over and sit down on the chair,

you are not trusting it. The same is true with trusting Jesus. Would you like to choose to trust Him for your salvation?” (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005i/wilkin.html Wlkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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e. "Some say that believing the facts of the gospel is not enough. You must also 'trust' Jesus Christ. That is terribly confusing at the least and a departure from the saving message at the worst. Believing the facts is precisely what Jesus preached." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005i/wilkin.html Wlkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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Bob Wilkin believes that saving faith is placed in the "promise"

of Jesus rather than the "person" of Jesus.

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6. Believes that saving faith is placed in the "promise" of Jesus rather than the "person" of Jesusa. "In the course of my message I indicated that

[the] object of saving faith was not the cross per se, but the promise of Jesus that the one who simply believes in Him has everlasting life. I said that the cross explains how Jesus can fulfill the promise and who it is that makes the promise, but that a person could believe in the cross and not be born again. We must believe Jesus’ promise to be regenerate." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005ii/wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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6. Believes that saving faith is placed in the "promise" of Jesus rather than the "person" of Jesus

b. "When you tell people about Jesus’ death and resurrection, don’t stop there. Go on to tell them that all who simply believe in Him have everlasting life. He is able to fulfill that promise because of His death and resurrection. But call people to believe the promise. When we believe in Jesus, we believe in His promise of everlasting life to the believer. The true object of saving faith is the faith-alone-in-Christ-alone message." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005ii/wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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c. "The object of faith which results in life eternal is the promise of God to the believer. God promises eternal life to all who rely on Jesus and Him alone for it: "He who believes in Me has everlasting life." (http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1992/92nov3.html Wilkin)

6. Believes that saving faith is placed in the "promise" of Jesus rather than the "person" of Jesus

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Such theology forces a reinterpretation of several

passages.

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7. Such theology forces a reinterpretation of several passagesa. I Corinthians 15:3-11 - Almost universally interpreted as Paul summarizing the gospel message ("Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again the third day"). Wilkin reinterprets this passage: "When I hear people point to 1 Cor 15:3-11 and boldly proclaim that is the precise evangelistic message Paul preached, I shutter. How could we get it so wrong? Yes, Paul did tell unbelievers about Jesus’ death and resurrection. But that was not the sum total of his evangelistic message. Nor is Paul’s evangelistic message the point of 1 Cor 15:3-11." (http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2005ii/wilkin.html Wilkin, JOTGES Autumn 2005)

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7. Such theology forces a reinterpretation of several passages

b. John 15:1-6 - "He who does not abide in me is cast out as a branch and burned". Most interpret this to mean a person who professed to be a believer but really wasn't a believer. Since Wilkin's theology does not allow for false professions, he must find a different interpretation for this verse. "Jesus was speaking to and about believers, ones who are clean (v 4). It is such people who are commanded to abide and yet may fail to do so." (http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1994/94may3.html Wilkin, GES newsletter May 1994)

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c. Biblical people such as Cain and Esau are generally considered to be unbelievers. Wilkin disagrees. "While we have no absolute proof, the evidence favors both Cain and Esau being regenerate." (http://www.faithalone.org/Front%20Page%20page%202.html Wilkin, Sept/Oct 2007 GES newsletter)

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7. Such theology forces a reinterpretation of several passagesd. The warnings to false teachers / false professors in 2 Peter 2. Wilkin views them as warnings to believers of the consequences of sin. "Peter is simply saying that if a believer grovels in a life of sin, his life here and now will be worse than if he had never become a Christian. While both non-Christians and Christians experience the terrible consequences of their sins here and now, those consequences are even worse for believers because we are God's children with the Holy Spirit living within us. Certainly conviction of sin is greater. So, too, new consequences for our sins come on the scene (e.g., rebuke by a Christian friend, church discipline). And, the more a believer resists God's discipline, the more He turns up the heat. That is not necessarily true for a non-Christian."

(http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1988/88may2.html Wilkin, GES newsletter, May 1988)

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e. Romans 10:9-10 and Romans 10:13 - Almost universally understood as salvific verses. However, "salvation" in these verses is defined by Wilkin as deliverance from present trouble or tribulations, enabling him to say that the verses refer to believers.

“Council of Antioch” beginning 09/20/07

Documents

Transcript of “Council of Antioch” beginning 09/20/07