I was reading a chapter on the book of Judges today and I came across a sentence that stopped me in my tracks.
God did not wait until His people had cleaned up their lives (i.e., repented) before He saved them. He delivered them when they cried to Him for help ([Judges] 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6-9; 10:10, 12; 16:28; cf. Rom. 10:3).
Upon reflection, I recalled that this writer rejects the view that is sometimes called “Lordship Salvation” in favor of “Free Grace.” But I am mystified that he would find in Judges support for his position!
Before you race through to read my comments, you might want to go back and think through what this guy is saying. Do you agree? What are the problems with his statement? [Don’t worry, I ‘ll wait.]
A salient point that may not be so fresh in your mind is the cyclical nature of the events in Judges. The people are saved from external oppression only until the judge dies. Then they go back to their wicked ways.
Now if I’m going to see a paradigm for salvation today in the deliverances described in Judges, I would apply it this way: dear visitor to church, please walk down the aisle and say you love Jesus. He ‘ll stop your boss from harassing you and he ‘ll help you to quit smoking but your heart will be unchanged and you ‘ll still go to hell.
There is no doubt that God is a God of grace and he gives what his people don’t deserve. This is very clear from Judges and elsewhere. But I wouldn’t want to use that as an argument that a new heart is not required.
As an aside, I reject the silly equation of “cleaned up their lives” with “repented” in the above quotation as well, though I’ve heard it more than once as a characterization of “Lordship Salvation.”
[Note: this chapter was in a book published in 1991 by a seminary faculty that (at that time) was very much against “Lordship Salvation.” MacArthur’s first book on the subject came out in 1988. That it was a hot issue at the time may have contributed to some indefensible statements.]
Thanks for your comments. When you first said it stopped you in your tracks, I was hoping that it was over concern and not warm support. Wherever a person is on the Lordship–Free Grace issue, it is dangerous to use the narratives of Judges to make the point that God saves his people before their lives are cleaned up or they repent. It is also a problem to equate biblical salvation with God’s deliverance of his people in Judges.
“I reject the silly equation of “cleaned up their lives” with “repented” in the above quotation as well”
Totally agree.
While I see your point, especially about repentance, I wonder if what this author means about “salvation” is qualified by the last sentence (i.e. deliverance). So this author might not be speaking of salvation in the eternal life sense, but deliverance in the temporal sense. That being said, the listed text references contain some ambiguity as to whether salvation or deliverance is in view. It is also unclear to me how you see Lordship Salvation being part of the author’s intention. Perhaps it is elsewhere in this chapter, but, it is not readily apparent to me based on this brief quote. (By the way, I do know the source of the quote.)
Charles – it seems clear to me that the author is speaking in terms of the judges and thus physical deliverance. But the phrasing points to application in our present situation. The implication is that all the Israelites needed to do was to cry for help, and likewise all we need to do is cry for help. I contend that this is an invalid analogy because of the different natures of the deliverances. Salvation from the Philistines did not require repentance, but it didn’t require faith either, or, for that matter, even crying out (the Israelites are never have reported to have cried out in the time of Samson).
Because one of the main issues in the debate between “Lordship Salvation” and “Free Grace” is whether repentance is required for salvation, I understand this statement to be supporting one position against the other.
Thanks for the clarification Todd. One remaining caution however is that some care should be exercised in critiquing what a author actually says as opposed to what we might understand the author to be saying. Since this author does not make a direct point regarding either “Free Grace” or “Lordship Salvation,” then I think care should be exercised in what and how we criticize him. Or in other words, the author’s view of repentance is fair game since he actually states his view, but I am less certain about the criticism based on possible inferences concerning Free Grace and Lordship Salvation since he does not actually mention either of these positions.