As I look into "Free Grace Theology", I am not familiar enough with its history and core doctrines to distinguish between teachers who are pillars and those who are outliers.
So I could be wrong, but this is what I am seeing as core doctrines from a couple of different teachers:
- Stress on justification by faith alone - to the extent that repentance is not necessary (or is considered just another word for "faith").
- Justification and sanctification are strictly separated. Justification is what secures your place in heaven. It happens in an instant when you feel confidence in Christ's death for your salvation.
- Sanctification involves good works, certainly, and it is the preferrable path for disciples, but it is not at all necessary for salvation. Believers who take sanctification seriously in this lifetime will simply win greater rewards in heaven.
- Once saved, always saved. Justification, once granted, is irrevocable. Believers can have confidence their place in heaven has been secured even if they live a morally corrupt life after their initial moment of faith.
This is a mess and there's so much to unpack here.
So here's one good rule of thumb to avoid getting enmeshed in a misguided theological tradition in the first place: If you are tempted to hitch your horse to any particular theological movement, make sure its roots go back MUCH further than 20th century America.
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