Moses Angry Children
In our Linkathon! this week we linked to an article from the (amusingly titled) Grace To You crew.
In that article they accused Tullian Tchividjian of being a “hyper-grace” teacher.
Thus, they begin with a falsehood.
Tchividjian is a teacher of the Reformation doctrines of law and Gospel, and of grace…with a distinctly Lutheran flavor.
He is fully within the bounds of historical orthodoxy.
Hyper grace teachings are a distinct set of doctrines popularized by men like Robert Wilkens and Zane Hodges that claim we no longer have any need to confess, repent, or ask forgiveness for our sins because we are in Christ. They take sound doctrines to their illogical and unbiblical extreme and thus make them unsound doctrines.
Tchividjian, ( and his mentor and mine, Steve Brown) have denied those teachings numerous times.
The folks at Grace To You are simply carrying on a centuries old debate about what constitutes anti-nomianism and what constitutes legalism.
There have always been those in the church who were really, really worried about other peoples sin.
They have a common tendency to focus on law as if the gospel were a reward for those who can keep it properly.
They judge people by their perceived estimate of their sanctification, not on the finished work of Christ on their behalf.
The only proper use of the law is to break the sinner and lead them to the cross where the Gospel does it’s work…and that process is ongoing throughout the life of the believer.
The modern day children of Moses love to bring the law to bear on people without a full revelation of the Gospel given, and in doing so deny the finished work of Christ on behalf of sinners and doubt that His Gospel can do what He claims it will.
They want to see you work, they want to see you sweat.
More than anything else, they want you to look just like them.
The children of Abraham are blessed by the promise that those who believe will receive all the gifts that Messiah brings when one has faith in Him…and that it’s His work, not ours, that is credited to us for righteousness.
They respond in gratitude for what’s been done and that gratitude produces good works…but even those good works are set before us by our gracious God.
Our sweat won’t cut it, only the blood of Jesus.
It.
Is.
Finished.
Grace is truly radical, truly amazing.
It is utterly undeserved by all.
It is not given piecemeal to those who perform, but is given fully to those who know of their utter lack of ability to perform.
It recognizes that under the law each one of us stands completely condemned every day.
It then wipes away all condemnation in the blood of the Lamb for those who believe.
“There is now no condemnation”…
The eyes of grace see us fully in Christ by faith despite our behaviors, the children of Moses judge how close we’re getting to that we can never achieve under the law.
Grace allows us to repent with the promise of restoration. the law condemns without hope.
I do not doubt my Father’s parenting skills…He is able to keep what I have entrusted to Him until the end.
I trust Him with you too…
You put that up quickly. You have said well and done so without creating pictures of those your responding to with false characterizations of those people and their beliefs. I wish more bloggers would learn from your example.
CucifED,
Thanks…I had to get it done while I’m still sitting upright. 🙂
It’s not my best, but it’s what I’ve got today.
What CrucifED said.
Excellent response. Yes….HE is able!
One of the beautiful things about our Gospel is that it doesn’t have to take a whole lot on our part to proclaim it. Just the simple message that Christ has saved us in-spite of our works or lack thereof.
It defends itself as it is spoken and stops people in their spiritual tracks as quick as the sword.
THANK YOU. From your sick bed, you hit a homer:
“They have a common tendency to focus on law as if the gospel were a reward for those who can keep it properly.”
A to the Z-men.
I can’t even listen to John Mac….. I’m certain he’s always mad at me and he keeps telling me that God is mad at me with no chance of appeasement.
Be well my dear.
Michael, you stated it very well for us pew sitters – so well that i think you should close the comments section on this post 🙂
praying for you to be strengthened, rested and healed – Lord, let it be soon
Thank you, all…I have to go pick up the little man now.
No rest for the wicked… 🙂
Love the topic! Since we are talking about radical grace, where do you stand with Two Timothy 4 ten? Being a former CC guy, some there teach that he fell away. Not so sure that forsaking Paul and loving the world equates to losing one’s salvation.
I always feel torn. I teach my Sunday School class at church of elementary kids, many from strong gospel-centred homes, and they still think that point of the 10 Commandments is primarily obeying God. They do NOT see that primarily those commandments drive us to the cross, to repentance, to Christ. Thus, most of the time I still think TT’s focus is right on.
I feel the same when, from the bleachers up here in Canada, I see virtually every non-believer conflate Christianity with being against premarital sex, evolution, universal health care and abortion.
But then I go and listen to a podcast like Bad Christian or Drunk Ex-Pastors and, as much as I like their honesty, I wonder where effort towards personal holiness is. And then I think maybe we do need to have some fear of God…
Gospel means “good news” for a reason. Why people want to make it the “okay news” escapes me.
Covered – loving the world can easily equate to falling away IMO, but falling away does not necessarily equate to losing ones salvation. He fell, was he ever restored? We won’t know until we get to heaven.
Read the GTY blog piece. Oh, how they love trying to find someone to excoriate. Truth is they really had to rely on insinuation in regards to Tulian and Elyse. They never came out and made a true charge, it was just a lot of guilt by association.
To take Elyse’s simple prayer, “Lord forgive me for my sin today. Thank you that you love me in spite of all my failures.” and try and make a case that she was not repentant, or that she was invoking a “casual pardon” was pretty lame.
There’s time it seems as if there’s a bunch of folks out there who become jealous of others and then feel the need to tear them down. Why not?
I haven’t read the article but if what Piney says is this person’s prayer, I would not only like to agree but also claim that is the only true prayer of faith and one that is guaranteed to be answered.
Anyone who prays thanking that God has given them the capacity to sin less and clean up their act are probably praying to satan.
I think most of you know what I think of Tullian – when Tullian speaks, even God listens. 😉
Context is king, so here’s the section of the blog that referred to Elyse’s prayer:
“The Hypergrace movement has a somewhat lower view of sin and repentance. Here’s an illustration of repentance from Elyse Fitzpatrick, “Lord forgive me for my sin today. Thank you that you love me in spite of all my failures.” (Give Them Grace, pg. 55)
That is not repentance. There’s not a hint of godly sorrow or true remorse—just another invocation of casual pardon.
Contrast that to the pleading of David in Psalm 51.
Be gracious to me, O God,
according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:1-4)
That ought to be the response of every believer to his or her sin. We need to be broken and contrite over our sin. After all, sin is contrary to our new nature, indicative of our old corruption, and a blight on the testimony of God’s Word and His church. We need to repent of it earnestly—not sweep it thoughtlessly under a rug, and call that “grace.””
The blog article is poorly written. I’m a bit surprised GTY posted it.
I believe GTY teaches that there is only one nature with Christians. But since we still have a sin nature, I am compelled to reject what GTY is teaching about sanctification especially from Rom 7. I am a sinner and a saint but I’m not really hearing GTY admitting they have a sin nature. Isn’t that the what bible calls a liar claiming to be without sin?
The GTY piece is so sad. I think sometimes in putting other people down, we think we are raising ourselves up. In ministry life, there is the added dimension of keeping the faithful fired up against a common enemy, in this case the enemy is often perceived doctrinal error, or even the slightest thing that could tend toward heresy.
Eventually you run out of people to attack, so you start pinpointing people closer to home until eventually you’ve painted yourself into a corner; you’re the only left who has the truth.
I don’t usually visit GTY or the sites of some people associated with it because all it does is raise my blood pressure.
Tchividjean must be regarded as a teacher, his words need to be examined carefully (he does have something to say), but he has a strong personality (is he a strong man? i don’t know) and that strong personality is apt to make folk follow him as another Pied Piper – all teachers need to be heard thoughtfully
FWIW – every now and then a little bit of Billy peeks out of his delivery – genetic? dunno
Good article, Michael.
Here is the link to the GTY article in case anyone missed it: http://www.gty.org/blog/B150617
Thank you, Michael, for this–
Michael, your words here are so important. My experience in church leadership opened my eyes to the massive numbers of people who have been in churches for years, sometimes decades, and how unformed their view of grace and forgiveness is in a functional way.
In education, we speak of the ‘hidden curriculum’; kids hear one thing from us but actually internalize something totally different that what we intended. I wonder what it is we are doing in leadership that people who hear us, watch our lives, internalize ungrace rather than grace.
Enigma wrapped up in mystery…
GTY makes me want to vomit over many things.
I have also seen the insanity of what “hyper-grace” people believe, and even worse, how they behave. And two of them I know very well, who treat others HORRIBLY, have a singular devotion to Tullian Tchividjian. For one of them, he is the only guy they quote from.
I know guilt-by-associatiation is listed as a logical fallacy, I’m just giving you one person’s “word on the street.”
jtk and others might have to explain to me what is “hyper grace” – to me you have grace or you have no grace.
Simple question – what is the message of the gospel? who is this message for?
This is a self inflicted evangelical problem and I know it well after growing up in it for 25 yrs of my Christian life (I should say growing down but that’s another story). The self inflicted problem is separating sanctification from justification. So now in the evangelical world it is now that you have been saved (justification complete) what are you going to do now?
How many evangelical churches preach the gospel – what Jesus has done for you – to their congregation? Never … let me repeat – Never. It is always “now that you are saved, here is what you must be out doing.
No, sanctification is not some phase 2 – it is all wrapped up in your justification and that is the message that needs to be heard, week after week.
So who are the “hyper grace” people – are they somehow advocating that Jesus gave incomplete grace or that Jesus grace was doled out on a quid pro quo basis and they are here to correct that?
I know that I am screwed up, all these Christian years later – I don’t need another church course on how I should be doing it – no, I need to hear each week and feed each week off of that same old gospel message. Jesus died for me and forgave and forgives my sin – now go home.
Preaching a message of the good works I should be doing, or the behavior modifications I should apply is no different than the priest giving me 5 Hail Marys and 3 Our Fathers. I know what I should be doing – I need to hear a message what I should do about my failure.
“If your preaching of the gospel of God’s free grace in Jesus Christ does not provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you’re not preaching the gospel of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.”
― D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Nice quote Piney! 🙂
And, at least back in the day, MLJ was a seemingly favorite theologian of John MacArthur. Quoted him often. Go figure.
Sometimes MLD you make my blood boil. However, today, your #24 is spot on, and this from a non-Lutheran.
Sometimes, it’s just wanting to be the theology police. We need to stop fretting over what is the correct prayer and if he really meant it or whatnot.
Look, Jesus forgave sin even when there was no wailing and gnashing of teeth. I sure didn’t see the woman at the well shedding a lot of tears and/or pleading for forgiveness, just an acknowledgement that Jesus was correct in his information.
See, this is why as I get older I keep going back to Jesus and the Bible. In my younger days I listened to JMac a lot and tried to read all the theology I could get, now only once in a blue moon, so to speak, do I listen to him and on something that won’t cause me to fret over what he might or might not say. I have also cut down on trying to read all the theology I can. Just too much and I struggle to keep up with the Bible, let alone live it out. Don’t get me wrong, as a Librarian I fully support great theological text, but too often pastors and books become a replacement.
Sure, we need teachers and sermons and iron sharpens iron, but sometimes I think we have gone to information overload.
As for grace, that is why it is called grace. I have read stories from ex-JMac church people that relate that there is not much grace to be found the higher you are in that church.
I know, I have also heard the stories, some even here, I think, about the guy who worked on Mac’s house and he overpaid him. Well, I won’t deny that happened, but all that tells me is that Mac and his ilk can be conflicted. In the end, I will still show Mac grace, even if he is conflicted.
To sum up, I still go back to our Lord’s summation of all of it, basically, love God with everything you have and your neighbor as yourself. I realize w/o the spirit none of us can do it and even then the flesh will war against the spirit, but sometimes we drive ourselves and everyone else batty with our disputes.
Don’t get me wrong, I love this site and true abuses in the church should have light shined on them, but sometimes GTY and others need to find better causes to fight over.
In the end, Jesus will have the final say anyway.
MLD, I’m just using the term as it is used today.
“Hyper grace.”
There seems to be a point where grace “ends,” where one can’t find repentance though he seeks for it with tears…am I right or am I right?
And knowing who or when is above my pay grade.